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't^7-iayf  'j'/t^yza. 


HISTORY 

OF 

BALTIMORE  CITY 

AND 

COUNTY 

FROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  THE  PRESENT  DAY: 

INCLUDIN(J 

BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES 

OF    THEIR 

REPRESENTATIVE    MEN. 


j:^thomas  soharf,  a.m., 

AUTHOR  OF  "  CHRONICLES  OF  BALTIMORE  ;"  "  HISTORY  OF  MARYLAND  :"  MEMBER  OF  THE  MARYLAND 
HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  AND  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES  ;    MEMBER    OF    THE    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY 
OF    PENNSYLVANIA  ;    HONORARY  MEMBER  OF  THE  GEORGIA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  ; 
CORRESPONDING  MEMBF.R  OF  THE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETIES  OF  NEW  YORK, 
WISCONSIN,  MINNESOTA,  SOUTH  CAROLINA  AND  VIRGINIA;    OF 
THE    HISTORICAL    AND    PHILOSOPHICAL    SOCIETY  OF 
OHIO  ;     OF   THE    NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORIC- 
GENEALOGICAL  SOCIETY,  ETC.,  ETC. 


IX.LXJSTRA.TED. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 
LOUIS    H.    EVERTS. 

1881. 


Copyright,  1881,  by  Louis  H.  Everts. 


I'RESS  OF 
1.    I,IPPJNCOTT    &    («., 
PHILADELrHIA. 


ROBERT    GARRETT,   Esq., 

THIS  VOLUME, 

WHICH    TREATS    OF    THE    HISTORY    OF    THE    BALTIMORE    WE    BOTH    LOVE    SO    WELL,    AND    THE    CITY 

rOU   AND   YOUR    FAMILY    HAVE   DONE    SO    MUCH    TO    ENRICH    AND    EMBELLISH,  IN  TOKEN 

OF     WELL-TRIED,    LIFE-LONG     FRIENDSHIP     AND     EVER-GROWING     ESTEEM     AND 

ADMIRATION,  IS    AFFECTIONATELY    AND    RESPECTFULLY    DEDICATED    BY 

THE    AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


The  writing  of  the  History  of  Baltimore  City  and  County  has  been  rather  a  "  labor  of 
love"  than  a  source  of  profit  to  the  author.  It  was  undertaken  at  the  request  of  Maj.  Louis  H. 
Everts,  the  enterprising  publisher,  and  from  a  desire  to  preserve  historical  facts  connected  with 
Baltimore  which  came  into  the  possession  of  the  author  in  the  course  of  long-continued  investi- 
gations. In  the  preparation  of  the  work  no  authority  of  importance  has  been  overlooked ;  the 
author  has  carefully  examined  every  source  of  information  open  to  him,  and  has  availed  himself 
of  every  fact  that  could  throw  new  light  upon,  or  impart  additional  interest  to,  the  subject  under 
consideration.  Besides  consulting  the  most  reliable  records  and  authorities,  over  two  thousand 
five  hundred  communications  were  addressed  to  persons  supposed  to  be  in  possession  of  facts  or 
information  calculated  to  add  value  to  the  work.  Recourse  has  not  only  been  had  to  the  valu- 
able libraries  of  Baltimore,  but  the  author  and  his  agents  have  visited  personally  the  entire 
county,  spending  much  time  in  each  district,  examining  ancient  newspapers  and  musty  manu- 
scripts, conversing  with  the  aged  inhabitants,  and  collecting  from  them  orally  many  interest- 
ing facts  never  before  published,  and  which  otherwise,  in  all  probability,  would  soon  have 
been  lost  altogether.  In  addition  to  the  material  partly  used  iu  the  preparation  of  his 
"  Chronicles  of  Baltimore"  and  "  History  of  Maryland,"  the  author  has  consulted  over  five 
thousand  pamphlets,  consisting  of  town  and  city  documents,  reports  of  societies,  corporations, 
associations,  and  historical  discourses,  and,  in  short,  everything  of  a  fugitive  character  that  might 
in  any  way  illustrate  the  History  of  Baltimore  City  and  County.  From  these  and  a  large  col- 
lection of  newspapers  (more  particularly  a  complete  file  of  the  Baltimore  Sun  which  was  kindly 
loaned  by  the  proprietors,  Messrs.  A.  S.  Abell  &  Co.)  great  assistance  has  been  derived.  The 
file  of  the  American  was  mainly  used  by  the  author  in  the  preparation  of  his  "  Chronicles  of 
Baltimore." 

Such  material  only  has  been  retained  as  upon  careful  consideration  and  tlie  closest  scrutiny 
has  been  found  weighty  and  significant.  At  the  same  time  it  has  been  attempted  to  embody  the 
facts  thus  collected  in  a  form  as  free  as  possible  from  the  dryness  of  chronological  recital.  As 
a  rule,  the  original  spelling  of  the  names  of  both  persons  and  places  has  been  given,  and  in  some 
instances  both  the  present  and  former  modes  are  given. 

With  the  aid  of  Prof.  Philip  R.  Uhler,  the  topography  and  geology  as  well  as  the  geog- 
raphy of  the  county  have  received  the  attention  which  their  importance  demands.  Manufac- 
turing, commercial,  and  agricultural  interests  have  also  a  jjrominent  place.  The  statistical 
information  embodied  in  the  work  is  designed  to  connect  the  history  of  the  past  with  the 
present  state  of  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  city,  and  to  present  the  features  of  the  two 
periods  in  striking  contrast ;  and  although  to  some  minds  these  details  may  seem  out  of  place  in 


a  historical  work,  yet  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  statistics  of  to-day  may  become  the  his- 
tory of  ten  years  hence.  Many  of  the  facts  recorded,  both  statistical  and  historical,  may  seem 
trivial  or  tediously  minute  to  the  general  reader,  and  yet  such  facts  have  a  local  interest  and 
sometimes  a  real  importance. 

Sketches  of  the  rise,  progress,  and  present  condition  of  the  various  religious  denominations, 
professions,  political  parties,  and  charitable  and  benevolent  institutions  form  a  conspicuous 
feature  of  the  work.  An  account  of  the  public  school  system  is  also  given,  and  a  history  of  the 
various  institutions  of  learning  for  which  Baltimore  is  so  justly  famed. 

An  honest  effort  has  been  made  to  do  justice  to  both  sections  in  the  relation  of  such  events 
of  the  civil  war  as  came  within  the  proper  scope  of  a  purely  local  history.  The  author  has 
made  no  attempt  to  obtrude  his  own  political  views  upon  the  reader,  and  has  constantly  kept  in 
mind  the  purpose  that  has  guided  his  labors, — to  present  a  work  free  from  sectional  pr  partisan 
bias  which  shall  be  acceptable  to  the  general  public. 

Considerable  space  has  been  given  to  biographies  of  leading  and  representative  men,  living 
and  dead,  who  have  borne  an  active  part  in  the  various  enterprises  of  life,  and  who  have  become 
closely  identified  with  the  history  of  the  city  and  county.  The  achievements  of  the  living  must 
not  be  forgotten,  nor  must  the  memories  of  those  who  have  passed  away  be  allowed  to  perish. 
It  is  the  imperative  duty  of  the  historian  to  clironicle  the  public  and  private  efforts  to  advance 
the  great  interests  of  society.  Their  deeds  are  to  be  recorded  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  follow 
them, — they,  in  fact,  form  part  of  the  liistory  of  their  communities,  and  their  successful  lives 
add  to  the  glory  of  the  commonwealth. 

A  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  work  is  its  sketches  of  the  thirteen  districts  into 
which  the  county  is  divided.  In  them  the  reader  is  brought  into  close  relation  with  every  part 
of  the  county.  The  advantage  of  this  method  of  treatment  is  obvious,  embracing,  as  it  does, 
narratives  of  early  settlements,  descriptions  of  interesting  localities,  and  personal  reminiscences. 
An  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  time  and  labor  required  in  the  preparation  of  the  book,  when  we 
call  attention  to  the  fact  that  tiie  chapter  on  "  Necrology"  alone  contains  nearly  three  thousand 
brief  biographical  si«etches  of  prominent  citizens  who  have  passed  away  during  the  last  century. 

The  maps,  views,  and  portraits  are  a  prominent  accompaniment,  and  add  interest  and 
attractiveness  to  the  subjects  which  they  are  designed  to  illustrate  and  explain. 

Our  acknowledgments  are  due  to  many  friends  not  only  for  a  kindly  interest  shown  in  our 
labors,  but  for  much  valuable  information  furnished  in  many  cases  without  solicitation. 

In  presenting  the  History  of  Baltimore  City  and  County  to  the  public  the  author  feels 
conscious  that  he  sends  it  forth  with  many  imperfections  on  its  head.  In  the  preparation  of  a 
work  of  this  character  many  minor  inaccuracies  and  errors  are  almost  unavoidable,  the  existence 
of  which  it  is  impossible  to  discover  until  the  book  has  been  exposed  to  tiie  light  of  general 
criticism.  It  may  not  be  considered  presumptuous,  however,  to  express  the  hope  tiiat  its  general 
conception  and  execution  will  be  satisfactory  to  the  community  for  which  it  luxs  been  written, 
and  that  it  will  prove  useful  and  interesting  to  all  classes  of  readers. 

J.  Thomas  Scharf. 
Baltimork,  Nov.  8,  1881. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 


CHAPTER   II. 


PTER   III 


Aborigines 

CHAPTER   IV. 
English  Discoveries  and  Settlements 

CHAPTER  V. 
Ancient  County-seats 

CHAPTER   VI. 

The  Founding  of  Baltimore  City 

CHAPTER  VII.  [ 

Pennsylvania  Border  Troubles «*  ]    TheTelegrapli 

CHAPTER  VIII.  1 

Causes  of  the  Revolution 

CHAPTER   IX. 


Transportation 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Commercial  Industries  and  Manufactures 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Trade  Organizations 

CHAPTER    XXVIII 

Banks  and  Bankers 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

Marine,  Fire,  and  Life  Insurance 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

Post-office,  Custom-House,Gas  Companies 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Taverns,  and  Hotels 

CHAPTER    XXXIII 


The  War  for  Independence 

CHAPTER   X. 

Peace  and  Independence 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Development  of  Baltimore 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  War  of  1812 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

Piivateers  and  Armed  Vessels 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

War  with  Mexico 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Political  Progress 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Civil  War 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

Progress  after  the  Civil  War 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Municipal  Government  of  Baltimore 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  City  Government  and  Officers 

CHAPTER  XX. 

City  Departments 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Education 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

Fires  and  Fire  Companies 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

Monuments,  Parks,  and  Squares 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
The  Advantages  of  Baltimore  as  a  Trade  Centre '-281    '    First  District 


69       Religious  Denominations "" 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 
76       charitaWe,Benevolent,  and  Religious  Institutions  and  Associations..  692 

I  CHAPTER    XXXV. 

81   '    The  Press  of  Baltimore ^°* 

'  CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

84       Literature  and  Literary  Men ^'^ 

\  CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

98   j  Baltimore  Libraries,  Miscellaneous  Societies  and  Associatic 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII 

and  Musicians— Art  and  Artists 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 


C57 


Amusements 

CHAPTER    XL. 

The  Medical  Professior 

CHAPTER    XLI. 

CHAPTER    XLII. 

CHAPTER    XLIII. 

CHAPTER    XLIV. 

Mobs  and  Riots 



CHAPTERXLV. 

1   Baltimore  City  and  County  Necrology ''^* 

CHAPTER    XLVI. 

Baltimore  County  and  Districts ^^^ 

CHAPTER    XLVII. 


VIU 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XI.VIII 

Second  District 

CJIAPTEE    XLIX. 

Third  District 

CHAPTER   L. 

Fourtli  District 

CHAPTER    LI. 

Fiftli  District 

CHAPTER    LI  I. 

Sixth  District 

CHAPTER    LIII. 
Sovcntli  District 


CHAPTER    LIV. 


CHAPTER    LV. 

CHAPTER    LVI. 

CHAPTER    LVII. 

.    ... 

CHAPTER    LVIII. 



CHAPTER    LIX. 

Thiitppiitli  District  .. 

ILLXJSTI?.^TIOiTS. 


Al>ell,  A.  S facing  617    ;   Catoii,  Ricliard 

Aboil,  A.  .S.,  City  Residence  of "      020    ;   Chamber  of  Commerce 

Abell,  A.  S.,  Residence  of,  "  Guilford" "      022   |    Chancellor,  M  D  ,  Charles  W 

Abell  Building "      624   I   Chase,  Samuel 

Ahell,  G.  W.,  Residence  of. "      023   '    Cockey,  (liailes  T 

Abrahams,  W "      386   ;   Cockey,  C  lurles  T  ,  Rehidence  of 

Adams  Express  Co.'B  Office "      359       Colton,  Gii.ine 

Adreon,  Harrison "      «5       Congress  Hall 

Albaugh,  J.  W "      688       Coree,  Willi  mi 

American  Building "      609       Councilm  iii,  James  B  ,  Rtsidonce  <: 

Andrews,  R.  Snowden "      669       County  Ma]) 

Armistead,  Maj.  George 91       Court-house  in  1784 

Armstrong,  Cator  &  Co facing  415       Cradock,  liiomas 

Austen,  George "      909       Cradock,  Thorn  ts  Residence  of 

Baker,  Charles  J "      459       Dasbiel,  M  D    Nicholas  L 

Baker,  C.  J.,  Residence  of "      460       Davis,  HenijV 

Baldwin,  Robert  T "      458       Deford,B 

Baltimore  City  in  1800 708       Devries,  V  m  ,  K.  (« 

Baltimore  in  1752 58       Douglas,  R  H 

Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Central  Building.." facing  315       Ducker,  &i  m  „i  I 

Bankard,  H.W "      775       Dulany,  Daniel 

Banks,Andrew "      856       Ehrman,  Itwis  Residence  of 

Banks,  Andrew,  Residence  of "      868       Emory,  Ruhard 

Barney,  Commodore  Joshua 8^       Erich,  M  I) ,  A  F 

Bartlett,  D.  L facing  426       Eutaw  Place 

Bartlett,  George "      406       Ewinst,  H   M 

Battle  Monument 268   |    First  Prcobj tei lan  Chuich 

Bentley,  C.  W facing  429       Fisher,  James  I 

Bitting,  Rev.  C.  C .564      Fisher,  Robeit  A 

Boarman,  R.  R facing  898   j   Fort  Federal  Hill  in  1861 

Booth,  Washington "      771   |   Fort  Marehall 

Bosley,  Daniel "      884   i   Fort  Mcllenij  m  180i 

Bosley,  ,Tohn 913   j    Fountain  Inn 

Boundaries  of  Baltimore 62   1   Fowble,  Peter 

Bowie,  Oden , facing  351       Frank  4  \dler 

Boyce,  James : "      390       Frick,  \\m  F 

Bradford,  Governor  A.  W "      138   \    Front  Street  Thtatii 

Brautly,  Rev.  William  T 662   I   Fuller,  Ro   Richanl 

Bresee,  0.  F facing  489       Garabrill  Cbailcs  A 

Brewer,  James  R "      639   \   Garrett,  John  \\ 

Brown,  Alexander "      474    I    Garrett,  lolin  \V  ,  Residence  of 

Brown,  Hon.  G.  W 126       Garrett,  T  Harrison,  Resldmco  of 

Bruff.John  W 414   |   Gary,  James  S 

Bryan,  T.  .\.,  &Co facing  397   [   George,  Isaac  S 

Burns.W.F •'      471    '.   Gist,Morduai 

Calvert,  Charles,  Fifth  Lord  Baltimore 61    i    Gittings  I)  S 

Carroll,  Charies,  of  Cari-ollton 68,317   |   Gittings,  R  J 

Carroll,  Charles,  barrister 706       Gorauch,  Thomas 

Carroll,  ll.-nry facing  908    I    Goi-such,  Thomas  T 

Carroll,  Ar.hbiKho])  John .'531    i    Griffith,  G   >> 

Carroll,  John,  "The  Caves" facing  700    i    Gunthcr  I    W 

Carrollton  Hotel •'      613    |    lIallowa\   (  harlcs  T 

Carter,  Bernard "      702       Hambltton,  riionuis  F 


..facing  444 

752 

710 

facing  84o 


facing  286 
911 

facing  739 


HamiU,  Charles  W facing  430  . 

Hansoc,  A.  C 782 

Harrison,  F.,  Besidence  of. between  892,  893 

Harrison,  Chas.  K.,  Residence  of. facing  846 

Harrison,  F "        891 

Hawkins,  Dr.  J.  W.,  Residence  of. "       877 

Hawkins,  M.D.,.I.W "       878 

Hodges,  James "       416 

Hoen  Building "        602 

Holland,  John  C "       368 

Holton,  H.  B "        829 

Holton,  H.  B.,  Residence  of. between  828,  829 

Hood,  J.  M facing  357 

Hopkins,  Johns 231 

Horwitz,  OrviUe facing  701 

Howard,  Col.  John  E 206 

Howell,  D.  C,  Residence  of. facing  825 

Hughes,  Jr.,  Hon.C 98 

Hutchins,  H.  C facing  916 

Isaac,  W.M "      894 

James,  Henry "      4C2 

James,  Henry,  Residence  of. "      463 

Jenkins,  T.  Robert "      382 

Jessop,  Joshua "      925 

Johnson,  Reverdy 713 

Jones,  Alexander ; facing  472 

Jones,  M.D.,  R.  E "      889 

Keerl,  Thomas  M.,  Residence  of. facing  774 

Kenly,JohnR 134 

Kennedy,  Anthony facing  821 

Kennedy,Johu  P "      652 

Key,  Francis  Scott "      642 

Klees,  Henry between  404,  405 

Latrobe,  Ferdinand  C facing  180 

Lee,  Gen.  H 783 

Lindsay,  George  W 762 

Lowe,  Alfred facing  866 

Malster,  William  L "      304 

Map  of  Capt.  John  Smith's  Explorations,  Fac-simile  of  Original 

between  38,  39 

Map  of  Original  Tracts  of  Land  within  Limits  of  Baltimore 49 

Martin,  M.D.,  J.  L facing  749 

Martin,  Luther 711 

Maryland  Institute 667 

Maryland  Journal,  Fac-simile  of 607 

Mason,  James  D facing  396 

Matthews,  D.M "      911 

Mayer,  Charles  F "      388 

McCoy,  John  W "      660 

McDonogh  Institute "      831 

McHenry,  Maj.  James 79 

Mclntire,  M.D.,  James facing  753 

Mcintosh,  D.G "      896 

McKaig,  Thomas  I "      726 

McMahon,  John  V.  L 713 

McMnrray,  Louis facing  776 

Merryman,  John "      886 

Miller,  Daniel "      410 

Miller,  Daniel,  &  Co .-. "      411 

Miller,  H.  Clay,  Residence  of "      413 

Mitchell,  Joseph  B 901 

Morison,  N.  H facing  665 

Mowel,  Joseph  W.,  Residence  of. between  916,  917 

Mowell,  Peter .....facing  879 

Mount  Vernon  Place  Methodist  Episcopal  Church "      576 

Myer,  Thomas  J "      396 

New  City  Hull 179 

Newcomer,  B.  F facing  478 

Nichols,  W.  C,  Residence  of "      863 

Ober,  Guslavus facing  400 

Old  Assembly-Rooms 679 

Old  City  Hall 176 

Old  Defenders .-. facing    97 


Old  Jail 783 

Onion,  E.  D facing  392 

Peabody,  George 663 

Pearce,  John  B facing  907 

Peerce,  W.  F "      912 

Peregoy,  Charles "      888 

Peter  Cooper's  Locomotive 320 

Philpott,  Edward  P 863 

Pinkney,  William 711 

Piper,  M.D.,  Jackson facing  899 

Plat  of  Baltimore  Town  and  Jones'  Town 62 

Plat  of  Joppa  in  1725 45 

Piatt,  S.  B facing  394 

Poe  Monument 271 

Poole,  Robert,  Residence  of. facing  837 

Poole  &  Hunt "      8.18 

Powell,  W.S 401 

Pratt,  Enoch facing  464 

Pratt  Street  Bridge  in  1861 790 

Price,  M.D.,  Elias  C facing  766 

Price,  Ezra between  882,  883 

Price.Samuel  M "        882,883 

Pulaski,  Count 78 

Eaine,  F facing  625 


398 


Reckord,  Henry 

Reeder,  Charles 

Rieman,  Joseph  H.,  Residence  of. 

Rieman,  Henry 

Ringgold,  Maj.  S 

Rogers,  C.  L 

Rogers,  C.  Lyon,  Residence  of. 

Ruby,  Wm.  H 

Rutledge,  Thomas  G 

Rogers,  Commodore 

St.  John's  Church,  Western  Run  Parish.. 

St.  Joseph's  Passionist  Monastery 

St.  Mary's  Industrial  School 

St.  Paul's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church... 

St.  Timothy's  Church 

Sailing-car  "Eolus" 

Sanderson,  Thomas,  Residence  of. 

Scarff,  M.D.,  J.  H 

Scharf,  J.  T 

Seeger,  Jacob 

Seidenstricker,  John  B 

Seliger  &  Newman 

Shearer,  M.D.,  Thomas 

8heppard,  Isaac  A 

Sheppard,  Isaac  A.,  &  Co 

Shoemaker,  S.  M 

Sisson,  Hugh 

Slagle,  Charles  W 

Slingluff,  Jesse,  Residence  of 

Small,  George 

Smallwood,  Gen.  William 

Smith,  Henry  C 

Smith,  Jr.,  Joseph 

Smith,  Gen.  Samuel 

Snowden,  Samuel 

Sparks,  Josiah 

Standiford,  James  A 

Steele,  I.  Nevett 

Stellman,  John 

Stewart,  William  A 

Stocks  and  Pillory 

Stirling,  Jr.,  A 

Strawbridge's  Log  Meeting-house 

Strieker,  Gen.  John 

Sun  Iron  Building,  The 

Sutro,  Otto 

Talbott,  J.  F.  C 

Taney,  Roger  Brooke 

Thomas,  J.  H 

Thomas,  John  L .'. 

Towson,  Gen.  Nathan 


CONTENTS. 


Turner,  Leniri  faciiis,   IW)  .    Williams  Glii  OH  %»! 

Tyson,  Ji  ,  Isaac  "      172  ,    W  ilson,  I)  S  fatin(  770 

Tyson,  Jesse,  Resilience  of                                                                    '      "i  '    \\  ll*m   llc\    Franklin  567 

View  uf  Washington  Monument  ^00       Wilson,  Ir  ,  M  D  ,  II   I'  C  facing  743 

Vonderborst    lolin  H  facing  Oil       Wilson,  GO  "       «l 

Wallis,  S    Teackle  "      OaS  I    W  ilson,  James  between  768,  760 

Walters,  W    T  "      07o  I    Wilson,  Wm  "        768,769 

Watson,  Lieut  Col  W  H                                                                           114       Wimler,  Gen  W    H  88 

Webb,  Charles  faung  183  I    Wirt, William  712 

Wetherall  WillmmG  42t       Wise,  Willmm  876 

Wbltelo<k,  W  399       Woodward   Baldwin  i  Noriis  facing  412 

Wildey,  Thomas  7o8       Worthiugtoii,  Charles  "       864 

Wilkins,  William  facing  422       Worthington,  R  H  "       832 

Wilkius,  Wm  ,  i  Co  bct« een '22,  423       Wjnian,  William,  Residence  of  "       887 

Williams  Gcorm  II  facing  717       \ouug,  William  >«  '       442 

.  W    N  "         o3 


STATE            OF            F      E     N     N 

S     f     L     W    A     N      1 

A 

'A 

MAP  OF 

BALTIMORE 

COUNTY 

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HISTORY 

OF 

BALTIMORE  CITY  AND  COUNTY, 

M^EYL^IsTD. 


CHAPTEE    I. 

TOPOGRAPHY.! 

Baltimore  County  forms  an  important  part  of 
the  great  continental  belt  of  country  known  as  the 
Atlantic  slope  of  North  America.  Situated  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  State  of  Maryland,  it  is  the  most 
central  of  the  counties  which  extend  from  east  to  west 
along  the  Pennsylvania  boundary.  It  has  an  area  of 
seven  hundred  and  eighteen  square  miles,  and  presents 
somewhat  the  form  of  a  broad  curved  wedge  with  the 
tip  cut  square  off  at  the  north,  and  with  the  curved 
base  on  the  south  indented  by  tidal  estuaries.  Its 
length  is  about  thirty-five  miles  from  north  to  south, 
by  nearly  eleven  miles  and  a  half  in  width  along  the 
northern  border,  expanding  to  a  breadth  of  twenty- 
eight  miles  between  the  estuary  of  the  Gunpowder 
River  on  the  east  and  the  Patapsco  River  on  the  west. 
The  last  named  and  the  Little  Gunpowder  form  its 
chief  boundaries  on  the  west  and  east.  Two  of  the 
great  areas  of  rain  precipitation  being  included  within 
its  limits,  together  with  the  mildness  of  the  climate, 
give  it  almost  unsurpassed  advantages  for  sustaining 
a  healthy  and  flourishing  population.  Supplied  by 
nature  with  an  abundance  of  water  and  wood,  with 
soils  easily  cultivated,  and  capable  of  yielding  ample 
harvests  of  all  the  cereals,  vegetables,  and  all  the  best 
fruits  of  temperate  climates,  it  rests  only  with  the  in- 
habitants to  advance  their  own  interests  by  adjusting 
themselves  to  the  surrounding  physical  conditions. 
Structurally,  it  possesses  the  most  important  elements 
which  give  strength,  variety,  and  character  to  the 
Atlantic  region.  The  contours  of  surface  are  chiefly 
brought  into  prominence  by  the  underlying  reliefs  of 
hard  rocks  and  of  the  solid  materials  derived  from 
them.  For  convenience,  the  surface  of  the  county 
may  be  divided  into  an  upland  region,  a  midland 
basin,  and  a  lowland  border. 

1  Contributed  by  Prof.  Philip  E.  Uhler,  president  of  the  Maryland 
Academy  of  Sciences. 


Uplands.— The  uplands  embrace  all  that  part  of 
the  country  reaching  from  Western  Run,  about  one 
mile  north  of  Cockeysville,  to  the  Pennsylvania  State 
line.  High  mountains  are  no  longer  included  within 
these  limits,  for  the  peaked  and  craggy  summits  of 
long-past  ages  have  been  softened  into  the  blunt 
domes  and  gentler  ridges  of  a  more  quiet  period.  In 
their  stead  are  ranges  of  high  hills  traversing  the 
county  diagonally,  and  passing  out  of  it  at  a  point 
southwest  of  Reisterstown.  North  of  Parkton  these 
hills  are  lifted  to  an  altitude  of  more  than  eight  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Most  of  them 
are  broad  on  top,  sloping  gradually  towards  the  south 
and  east,  and  give  rise  to  groups  of  lower  domes  along 
their  flanks,  which  terminate  usually  at  the  forks  of 
the  streams.  In  the  very  midst  of  these  lower  hills 
an  abrupt  ridge  of  dark  fissured  rocks  occasionally 
rises,  where  a  rapid  stream  has  cut  a  deep  ravine  in 
its  downward  flow.  The  soft  micaceous  soils  of  the 
rolling  uplands  are  covered  by  farms  richly  cultivated, 
and  yield  abundant  crops  of  wheat  and  corn.  On  the 
1  ridges  are  still  extensive  tracts  of  second-growth 
•  forests  of  oak,  hickory,  chestnut,  and  maple,  sup- 
I  plying  rails  for  fences,  cross-ties  for  the  railroads,  and 
\  logs  for  houses,  as  well  as  wood  for  fuel.  This  sup- 
ply is,  however,  rapidly  decreasing,  and  the  time  is 
near  when  it  will  be  no  longer  possible  to  obtain  trees 
for  most  of  these  purposes.  In  rocky  places,  where 
a  deep  vegetable  mould  has  accumulated,  bodies  of 
slender  young  walnut  growth  may  still  be  seen,  but 
nearly  all  that  of  larger  dimensions  has  long  since 
disappeared.  Along  these  rich  bottoms  and  between 
the  ridges  near  the  streams  the  Kalmia,  or  calico-bush, 
grows  in  vast  thickets.  These  with  the  ferns  and 
lichens  clothe  the  blackish-gray  rocks,  and  decorate 
every  quiet  nook.  Little  cascades  and  rapids  appear 
'  in  all  the  broader  rivulets,  and  a  highly  varied  under- 
growth shades  the  little  pools  in  which  until  recently 
the  speckled  trout  found  its  favorite  abode.  These 
waters  are  still  clear,  and  do  good  service  in  furnish- 
13 


14 


HISTORY  OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ing  power  to  flour-mills  which  stand  hid  away  here 
and  there  in  unsuspected  dells  or  hollows. 

Midland  Region.— The  midland  region  is  a  broad, 
depressed  tract  of  country  extending  from  Chestnut 
Ridge  on  the  west  to  the  Ashland  Ridge  on  the  east, 
and  from  the  high  plateau  north  of  Western  Run  to 
the  Green  Spring  Ridge  on  the  south.  This  inland 
basin  connects  also  with  the  valleys  on  the  east  and 
southeast,  which  spread  away  like  broad  fingers  to- 
wards the  border  of  Harford  County.  Throughout 
most  of  this  extensive  region,  and  even  in  the  valleys 
beyond  the  adjoining  ridges  on  the  east  and  west, 
limestones  of  good  quality  abound.  The  area  in  the 
very  centre  of  this  basin  yields  also  vast  quantities  of 
fine  white  marbles.  The  soil  is  red,  and  of  the  very 
best  quality,  easy  to  cultivate,  and  highly  productive 
of  all  the  cereals.  Iron  ore  is  also  met  with  in  many 
places,  chiefly  in  the  soil  overlying  the  limestone,  but 
also  in  the  hills  adjoining  it  on  the  west.  It  presents 
a  wide  area  of  open  country,  depressed  below  the 
general  level,  occupied  by  large  farms,  and  wooded 
only  on  the  hills  and  ridges  which  project  into  it. 
Several  afiiuents  of  the  Gunpowder  cross  it,  and  an 
abundant  supply  of  good  drinking-water  is  obtained 
from  wells. 

Lowlands. — The  lowland  section  is  an  alluvial 
belt  of  country  which  bounds  the  hills  of  archajan 
rocks  on  their  tide-water  sides.  It  comprehends  the 
whole  of  the  Twelfth,  Thirteenth,  and  the  eastern  part 
of  the  Eleventh,  nearly  all  the  surface  of  Baltimore 
City,  and  sends  ofl"  a  tongue  into  the  Eighth  District  as 
far  as  to  Timonium.  The  surface  of  this  whole  region 
is  clay  and  gravel,  with  areas  of  sand  in  the  lower 
levels  adjacent  to  the  old  •  wat^r-courses,  and  with 
deep  black  bogs  and  marshes  in  the  necks  at  points 
along  the  tidal  estuaries.  These  cold,  thin  soils  admit 
a  stunted  growth  of  black-jack,  scarlet,  and  willow 
oaks,  with  occasional  strips  of  small  pines  and  some 
tracts  of  chestnut  trees.  Where  an  accumulation  of 
vegetable  n|ould  occurs  in  the  beds  of  the  streams,  a 
more  luxuriant  growth  of  trees  is  seen,  accompanied  by 
the  maples,  and  by  a  dense  growth  of  dogwood,  various 
bushes,  and  the  greenbrier.  The  wild  grapevine  also 
grows  in  these  places,  and  adds  a  fine  element  of  va- 
riety to  the  trees  upon  which  it  climbs.  In  a  few 
places  hills  of  clay  and  gravelly  sand  rise  to  a  height 
of  sixty  feet  or  more,  and  break  the  monotonous  level 
of  the  tide-water  plain. 

The  Thirteenth  District,  which  forms  a  tongue  be- 
tween the  Northwest  and  Middle  Branches  of  the 
Patapsco  River,  is  remarkable  for  the  extent  and 
height  of  the  clay  hills  that  form  the  chief  part  of  its 
mass.  It  has  been  at  one  time  attached  to  the  system 
of  clay  ridges  which  pass  through  the  city  of  Balti- 
more and  run  back  into  the  country  on  the  northeast 
to  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the  Gunpowder  River. 
Federal  Hill  once  formed  a  part  of  one  of  these  ridges, 
connected  with  the  hill  on  which  the  Battle  Monu- 
ment now  stands,  and  at  the  same  time  extended 


northeast  certainly  as  far  as  the  valley  of  Herring 
Run,  between  the  Harford  and  Belair  roads.  The 
clay  is  invaded  by  beds  of  sand  on  the  northwest, 
in  various  places  along  North  Avenue,  on  Gilmor 
Street  north  of  Saratoga,  and  in  the  northeast  part  of 
the  base  of  Federal  Hill.  Iron-ore  nodules  occur  in 
various  places  on  both  sides  of  the  peninsula,  and  fine 
sand  suitable  for  glass-making  has  been  extracted 
from  this  hill  near  the  back  basin.  Slabs  of  iron 
sandstone  and  of  pebbly  conglomerates  abound  in 
nearly  all  sections  of  the  upper  member  of  this  clay 
system,  on  or  near  the  surface  of  the  soil.  The  oak 
forests  which  formerly  covered  the  greater  part  of  this 
tract,  aided  by  the  abundant  moisture  derived  from 
the  numerous  springs  in  the  slender  ravines,  con- 
tributed to  the  nourishment  of  a  very  varied  vegeta- 
tion, quite  in  contra.st  with  that  now  growing  upon  it. 
At  one  time  a  cypress  swamp  skirted  this  peninsula 
on  the  south  side,  and  probably  formed  a  part  of  the 
one  near  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Middle  Branch  ad- 
joining Locust  Point,  and  including  a  section  of  the 
Fort  McHenry  submerged  plateau.  The  swamp 
cypress  and  the  white  cedar  have  long  since  been 
exterminated  in  the  vicinit)'  of  Baltimore,  and  the 
only  place  where  a  few  of  them  still  remain,  at  a  not 
very  remote  distance  from  the  city,  is  on  Round  Bay, 
in  the  Severn  River. 

This  part  of  the  Thirteenth  District  has  also  been 
tenanted  by  a  varied  population  of  the  animal  tribes. 
The  red  deer  and  wildcat,  the  bear,  the  gray  wolf, 
red  fox,  wild  hare,  common  mole,  raccoon,  opossum, 
shrew,  and  various  kinds  of  mice,  and  in  the  water 
the  beaver,  otter,  and  muskrat,  have  all  been  repre- 
sented. Most  of  the  smaller  of  these  animals  still 
remain,  but  in  very  limited  numbers.  Only  a  few 
years  ago  this  section  was  much  wilder  than  now,  the 
waters  were  abundantly  stocked  with  fish  and  reptiles, 
and  the  wading  birds — such  as  the  great  blue  heron, 
the  egret,  lesser  heron,  and  belted  kingfisher — held 
complete  sway  over  the  humbler  inhabitants  of  every 
cove,  pool,  and  swamp.  Of  song-birds  there  are  a 
great  variety,  besides  the  wild  pigeon  and  woodpecker. 
The  water  snake,  black  snake,  garter,  ringed-neck, 
and  blowing  viper ;  the  gray  swift  and  striped  skink 
among  the  lizards;  and  the  snapper,  musk  turtle, 
slider,  pond  terrapin,  and  the  land  tortoise,  all 
abounded.  Insects  too  numerous  to  mention  lived 
here  and  enjoyed  the  region,  which  was  also  decorated 
by  huge  tufts  of  the  royal  fern,  and  by  its  graceful 
relations,  the  maidenhair  and  Dicksonia. 

Rivers  and  Creeks. — The  true  rivers  and  principal 
creeks  rise  in  the  high  country  of  the  First  Division, 
or  in  the  ridges  continuous  therewith.  Flowing  be- 
tween the  groups  of  hills,  and  forking  at  frequent 
intervals,  they  run  swiftly  in  a  generally  southejist 
direction  until  the  wider  valleys  are  reached,  and 
then  they  stretch  more  broadly  onward  to  empty  into 
the  estuaries  of  Chesaiieake  Bay.  A  general  down- 
ward slope  of  the  whole  country  determines  the  di- 


TOPOGKAPHY. 


rection  of  these  streams  and  adds  to  the  swiftness  of 
their  currents.  \ 

The  Great  Gunpowder  has  all  its  large  affluents  1 
within  the  limits  of  the  county.  Several  of  these,  [ 
such  as  the  Little  Falls,  Western  Run,  Black  Kock 
Creek,  and  Beaver  Dam,  are  powerful  streams  which 
drain  most  of  the  northwestern  half  of  the  territory. 
The  river  itself  is  one  of  marked  beauty  and  variety, 
and  especially  so  in  its  upper  divisions.  Like  all  the 
rivers  and  creeks  of  the  uplands,  it  plunges  at  one 
place  over  huge  rocks  in  a  heavy  cascade,  at  the  next 
it  forms  strong  rapids  among  the  bowlders,  and  then 
placidly  glides  along  for  nearly  a  mile  in  a  wider, 
deeper  channel,  through  a  bed  of  alluvial  soil.  Its 
course  is  very  sinuous,  and  particularly  so,  on  a 
grander  scale,  south  of  the  great  fork  below  White- 
hall ;  while  farther  down  it  becomes  a  majestic  stream, 
full  of  energy,  and  supplying  power  for  very  large 
mills,  factories,  and  furnaces  at  many  points  along  its 
course.  Yet  it  no  longer  fills  the  wide  channel  which 
it  once  occupied,  nor  can  it  be  estimated  to  contain 
much  more  than  one-fourth  the  volume  of  water  that 
belonged  to  it  about  one  hundred  years  ago.  The 
drying  up  of  springs  which  originally  supplied  its 
tributaries,  and  the  decomposition  of  the  rocks  into 
soils  along  the  banks,  have  changed  the  order  of  dis- 
tribution of  the  water  and  placed  it  in  new  relations. 
Hillsides,  once  covered  with  trees,  shrubs,  and  herbage, 
retained  the  rain-water  near  the  surface  or  allowed  it 
to  flow  in  a  gradual  supply  to  the  springs  beneath, 
while  a  notable  proportion  entered  the  cracks  in  the 
rocks  to  trickle  through  and  converge  in  the  streams 
at  lower  levels.  But  now  the  hillsides,  baked  by  the 
sun,  allow  the  rains  to  run  off  by  a  single  impulse,  to 
be  lost  in  swelling  floods,  while  that  which  falls  on 
the  disintegrated  rocks  is  held  as  in  a  sponge,  and  is 
parted  with  chiefly  by  evaporation  into  the  atmos- 
phere. These  rivers  and  creeks  have  been  a  powerful 
agent  in  grinding  the  hard  rocks  into  sands,  clays, 
and  earth.  The  river  perpetually  rasping  against  a 
hill  in  its  path,  has  made  here  and  there  a  wide  bot- 
tom, over  which  it  has  deposited  soft,  moist  soil,  and 
in  such  places,  often  of  ten  or  more  acres  in  extent, 
the  farmer  now  finds  his  choicest  meadow-land. 

The  Patapsco  River  is  the  largest  and  most  power- 
ful stream  in  the  county,  although  it  forms  rather  the 
boundary  than  a  true  member  of  the  territory.  Most 
of  its  tributaries  belong  to  Carroll  County,  and  the 
principal  ones  rise  in  Parr's  Ridge,  at  a  distance  of 
twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  northwest  of  Baltimore 
City.  These  streams  have  frequent  bends,  and  plunge 
rapidly  over  beds  of  broken  rocks  in  ravines  between 
the  high,  abrupt  hills.  After  reaching  the  border  of 
the  Second  District,  the  West  Branch  becomes  a  wide, 
rapid  creek  of  clear  water,  running  through  a  more 
open  country,  with  beds  of  limestone  near  on  the  one 
hand,  and  with  the  dark,  forbidding  hills  of  the 
Soldiers'  Delight  region  on  the  other.  After  reach- 
ing the  vicinity  of  Marriottsville,  it  unites,  forms  a 


fork  with  the  West  Branch,  and  then  with  redoubled 
energy  rolls  through  a  wide  channel  between  the  high 
domes  of  dark-gray  rock  until  it  reaches  its  extreme 
expanse  among  the  bowlders  at  Ellicott's  City.  At 
this  point  it  plunges  over  a  great  dam  (no  longer  a 
natural  one),  and  furnishes  power  for  several  of  the 
largest  flour-mills  and  cotton-factories  in  the  country. 
From  thence,  after  being  somewhat  contracted  by  the 
rocky  barriers  which  arrest  its  expanse  near  Ilchester, 
and  passing  through  a  deep  trough  to  Orange  Grove 
Mills,  it  opens  out  into  a  beautiful,  wide,  deep  valley 
until  the  wide  gap  is  reached  at  the  Relay  House. 
From  that  point  it  flows  steadily,  and  more  narrowly, 
on  through  an  alluvial  plain  until  it  is  lost  in  the 
broad  estuary  at  tide-water.  It  has  been  in  former  times 
the  avenue  into  the  heart  of  the  country,  through 
which  large  schooners  passed  to  points  nearly  as  far 
up  as  the  Relay  House.  This,  however,  is  no  longer 
possible.  The  great  flood  of  July,  1868,  tore  away 
such  quantities  of  sand,  soil,  and  other  materials  from 
the  country  above  as  to  fill  up  the  channel  for  about 
four  miles,  leaving  only  two  or  three  feet  of  water  in 
places  where  it  was  formerly  ten  or  twelve  feet  deep. 
The  same  flood  affected  all  the  streams  in  the  vicinity 
of  Baltimore,  in  some  thrusting  the  rocks  out  of  their 
places  and  grinding  them  into  fragments,  in  others 
transporting  bowlders,  sand,  and  soil,  choking  up  the 
channels,  and  changing  the  courses  of  the  waters. 
By  this  flood  the  rocks  of  the  cascades  in  Jones'  Falls, 
near  Baltimore,  were  nearly  all  destroyed,  and  the  few 
that  remained  were  almost  obliterated  by  the  subse- 
quent flood  of  August,  1870. 

This  latter  stream  runs  through  a  most  varied  and 
picturesque  region.  Rising  at  the  head  of  Green 
Spring  Valley,  it  flows  between  verdant  hills  of  va- 
rious heights,  through  a  valley  of  great  fertility,  out 
into  the  broad  depression  since  converted  into  the 
great  storage  basin  of  Baltimore, — Lake  Roland. 
From  thence  it  runs  gently  through  a  rocky  bed  until 
it  reaches  an  alluvial  bottom  near  Mount  Washing- 
ton ;  next  it  rushes  over  broken  rocks,  and  continuing 
on  across  an  alluvial  meadow  and  over  the  crushed 
remains  of  ledges  of  rocks,  it  passes  through  the  city 
and  empties  into  the  harbor  of  Baltimore.  All  along 
its  course,  at  intervals  of  a  mile  or  less  south  of  the 
lake,  it  feeds  mills  and  factories  of  various  kinds. 
The  most  pleasant  villages  and  settlements  in  the 
State  are  situated  on  its  banks,  while  the  great  cot- 
ton and  other  factories  at  Mount  Washington,  Wood- 
berry,  and  Hampton  have  drawn  together  a  large 
and  industrious  population.  The  adjacent  hills  have 
become  the  places  of  residence  of  prosperous  mer- 
chants of  Baltimore,  and  land  companies  have  taken 
advantage  of  this  delightful  country  to  build  roads 
and  cottages  for  summer  residents. 

Gwynn's  Falls  Branch  is  a  wide  creek  which  rises 
in  the  high  region  a  little  south  of  Reisterstown.  It 
flows  at  first  through  the  flat  bottoms  adjacent  to  the 
table-lauds  of  the  western  part  of  the   county,  and 


16 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


then  meanders  between  the  more  abrupt  hills  in  a 
deep  channel,  with  bayed-out  intervals  at  points 
where  the  current  formerly  met  an  obstruction,  such 
as  the  sharp  face  of  a  ridge  or  a  mass  of  rocks.  A 
-short  distance  south  of  the  village  of  Franklin  it 
forks,  and  from  that  point  it  continues  over  broken 
masses  of  black  gneiss  rock  until  it  bends  around  into 
the  deep  valley  below  Calverton.  At  this  point  it 
has  until  recently  supplied  water  for  five  large  flour- 
mills.  Formerly  it  yielded  the  motive-power  for 
three  others  on  the  Frederick  road,  for  several  near 
the  Viaduct  bridge  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road, and  for  several  others  near  the  Washington 
road.  Now,  however,  the  volume  of  water  is  so  small 
that  steam-power  has  to  be  employed  for  all  the  mills 
along  its  lower  sections.  The  great  floods  have  also 
wrecked  the  lower  reaches  of  this  stream.  Before 
1868  a  magnificent  cascade,  in  some  of  its  parts  fully 
twenty  feet  high,  dashed  over  a  high  wall  of  granitic 
rock  at  a  point  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  south  of 
Calverton,  but  now  only  the  bed  of  the  rock  remains, 
and  a  low  wooden  dam  takes  its  place.  Originally 
this  natural  fall  was  more  than  seventy  feet  above  the 
])resent  bed  of  the  stream,  the  waters  rushed  over  in 
heavy  volume,  and  the  broken  spouts  of  water  in  the 
western  angle  wore  deep  and  wide  round  pot-holes  in 
the  massive  rocks  beneath.  Some  of  these  basins 
were  as  much  as  six  feet  in  diameter  and  five  feet  in 
depth.  They  were  caused  by  the  water  striking  the 
rock  at  right  angles,  producing  first  a  little  depression, 
in  which  sand  and  hard  stone  lodged,  and  by  the  in- 
cessant revolving  of  the  stone  and  sand  the  hole  was 
widened  and  deepened  until  the  motion  was  arrested. 
Along  this  valley  of  the  creek  numerous  other  falls 
occurred  at  irregular  intervals  of  a  few  rods  all  the 
way  down.  But  at  the  present  time  scarcely  more 
than  a  few  vestiges  of  these  lower  falls  now  remain  to 
mark  their  old  places.  This  stream  empties  into  the 
Middle  Branch  of  the  Patapsco  River  through  a  wide 
marsh  and  mixed  sand-flat,  covered  in  summer  by  a 
dense  growth  of  cat-tail  reed  ( Typha  latifolia]  and 
wild  rice.  The  high  tides  formerly  covered  the  greater 
portion  of  this  tract,  but  recently  a  large  part  of  it  has 
become  dry,  and  has  been  reclaimed  for  the  raising 
of  vegetables  by  the  market  gardeners.  This  was 
formerly  the  habitat  of  the  snapping-turtle,  the  black 
catfish,  muskrat,  aind  edible  crab.  The  latter  ran  into 
the  spaces  between  the  clumps  of  marsh  grasses  for 
protection  while  moulting,  and  during  flood-tide  mul- 
titudes of  soft  crabs  were  thus  easily  obtainable.  In 
other  parts  of  the  estuary  adjoining  this  tract,  where- 
ever  the  water  is  shallow,  the  Potamogeton,  or  pond- 
weed,  grows  in  dense  beds,  aflbrding  shelter  to  the 
shrimp,  pond-fish,  stickleback,  and  countless  num- 
bers of  Cijprinodont)',  or  mud-dabblers.  Larger  fish 
such  as  the  shad,  herring,  rockfish,  and  tailors,  for- 
merly abounded  in  the  channel  at  the  mouth  of  this 
creek,  but  they  have  long  sin(«  been  exterminated, 
and  in  their  place  smaller  numbers  of  white  perch, 


yellow  perch,  pond-fish,  and  crocus  have  appeared. 
I  Cray-fish  also  sometimes  abound  in  the  smaller  tribu- 
I  taries  which  empty  into  this  basin.  Less  than  fifty 
j  years  ago  this  branch  of  the  river  was  unusually  sup- 
I  plied  with  springs,  and  previously,  being  a  place  of 
great  attractiveness,  the  name  "  Spring  Gardens"  was 
applied  to  the  locality. 

Herring  Run  is  another  interesting  creek  which 
waters  the  country  near  Baltimore  City.  It  rises  in 
the  high,  hilly  region  a  short  distance  southeast  of 
Towsontown,  and  flows  in  a  direction  generally  a  little 
east  of  south,  and  empties  into  the  broad  marshy  drain 
at  the  head  of  Back  River.  Its  name  was  suggested 
by  the  large  shoals  of  herrings  which  formerly  ran  up 
to  its  lower  rapids,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Philadelphia 
road,  during  the  first  warm  days  of  spring,  to  deposit 
their  eggs.  While  not  as  broad  as  Gwynn's  Branch, 
it  has  all  the  variety  of  that  stream  in  the  beautiful 
cascades  and  rapids  which  occur  at  irregular  intervals 
all  along  its  course.  It  drains  an  area  of  about  eight 
miles  in  length  by  from  two  to  three  miles  in  breadth. 
Running  through  a  wooded  region,  with  numerous 
ravines  along  its  banks,  each  supplied  with  a  rivulet 
coursing  between  high  banks,  it  deposits  wide  reaches 
of  alluvial  soil,  and  yields  a  supply  of  water  for 
driving  the  wheels  of  several  large  flour-mills  and 
factories.  After  passing  over  a  high,  now  artificial, 
dam  of  black  gneiss  rocks,  it  rushes  against  a  promi- 
nent blufl"  of  granite  and  hornblendic  gneiss,  is  there- 
by turned  around  towards  the  south  for  a  few  rods, 
until,  getting  free  from  the  high  ridge  which  forms  a 
barrier  behind  Hall's  Springs,  it  emerges  into  the 
alluvial  level  next  beyond  and  crosses  the  Harford 
road.  From  thence,  passing  over  the  rocky  debris 
which  has  ftillen  from  the  hills  on  the  northern  side, 
and  having  resumed  its  former  direction,  it  meanders 
through  meadows  and  lowlands  until  it  spreads  out 
into  the  wide  marshy  pool  which  forms  its  mouth. 

Leaving  the  numerous  creeks  of  smaller  size  which 

aid  in  swelling  the  volume  of  the  Great  Gunpowder 

and  Little  Gunpowder  in  their  long  courses  through 

the  hills  of  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  on  the 

j  southeast  the  attention  is  arrested  by  broad  sheets  of 

water,  in  which  the  tide  ebbs  and  flows  in  harmony 

with  the  vast  sheet  of  the  Chesapeake,  of  which  they 

I  form  a  part.    These  are  the  broad  estuary  of  the  Gun- 

I  powder,  and  the  somewhat  narrower  ones  of  the  iVIiddle 

River,  the  Back  River,  the  three  mouths  of  the  Pa- 

,  tapsco,  and  Bear  Creek.     All  of  these  are  confined  to 

the  alluvial  belt  adjacent  to  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and 

!  only  one  of  them  (the  East  Branch  of  the  Patapsco) 

I  is  as  much  as  twelve  miles  in  length.     That  of  the 

I  Gunpowder  forms  an  extensive  bay,  with  low  clay 

I  banks  and  sandy  beaches,  covering  a  basin  about  two 

[  miles  in  width,  at  the  widest  part,  by  a  length  of 

about  seven  miles  from  north  to  south.    Middle  River 

'  is  a  less  land-locked  but  broken  gulf,  scarcely  sepa- 

j  rated  from  the  Chesapeake,  and  chiefly  made  up  of 

'  uneven  pools  of  water,  which  push  out  like  ragged 


TOPOGRAPHY. 


17 


tongues  on  either  side  into  the  flat  necks  of  low 
ground. 

The  Back  River  forms  a  better  defined  and  more 
channel-like  stream,  bent  somewhat  like  the  letter  S, 
and  bounded  on  the  bay  side  by  low  marshy  islands. 
It  is  a  shallow  sound,  with  low  clay  shores  and  sandy 
or  marshy  stretches  of  beach  from  its  source  to  its 
mouth.  Until  quite  recently  these  estuaries  and 
their  adjoining  necks  of  land  have  been  the  favorite 
haunts  of  the  wild  swan,  the  canvas-back,  and  many 
other  varieties  of  the  duck  tribe,  with  a  great  multi- 
tude of  other  water-fowl  too  numerous  to  mention. 
They  still  form  the  resort  of  smaller  numbers  of  these 
same  birds,  while  the  blue  heron,  the  egret,  bittern, 
night  heron,  plover,  snipe,  woodcock,  and  a  few 
species  of  song-birds,  owls,  hawks,  and  sea-birds,  still 
linger  in  the  vicinity. 

Jlost  picturesque  and  attractive  of  all  these  waters 
are  the  estuaries  called  the  East  and  Middle  Branches 
of  the  Patapsco.  The  first  of  these  reaches  from  the 
harbor  of  Baltimore  to  Chesapeake  Bay,  a  distance  of 
twelve  miles ;  its  greatest  breadth  being  at  the  mouth, 
between  North  Point  and  the  Bodkin,  a  distance  of 
nearly  five  miles.  After  leaving  the  Lazaretto,  just 
outside  of  the  harbor,  it  is  a  lovely  sheet  of  water, 
having  undulating  banks  of  various-colored  clays 
rising  on  both  shores  somewhat  abruptly,  sometimes 
to  a  height  of  twenty  feet  above  the  water-level,  with 
the  tides  of  the  Chesapeake  rolling  through  every 
part  of  it  in  dark-green  waves.  Here  and  there  a 
clean  beach  of  gravel  is  present  along  the  levels  be- 
tween the  clifl's,  and  often  behind  these  appear  the 
fresh  green  of  the  swamps,  covered  with  the  cat-tail, 
wild  rice,  and  calamus.  Groves  of  oaks,  sweet  gum, 
and  pines  still  decorate  the  hills  and  valleys  along  the 
banks,  and  the  necks  adjacent  are  made  bright  and 
pleasant  by  the  vegetable  and  fruit  gardens  which 
appear  on  every  side. 

The  second  of  these,  the  Middle  Branch,  extends 
frotn  the  Spring  Gardens  on  the  west  and  connects 
with  the  former  between  Fort  McHenry  and  the  point 
on  which  the  Marine  Hospital  is  situated.  Its  length 
is  about  three  miles,  with  an  average  width  of  rather 
less  than  a  mile.  This  is  a  fine  sheet  of  tidal  water, 
with  a  ship  channel  running  through  its  whole  length, 
having  a  depth  of  from  sixteen  to  twenty  feet.  Along 
the  southern  shore,  however,  the  water  is  very  shallow, 
and  on  this  side  a  frequent  deposit  of  mud  and  silt, 
brought  down  by  the  long  Northwest  Branch,  is  per- 
sistently sweeping  up.  Quite  near  to  the  north  shore, 
east  of  the  Long  Bridge,  there  is  also  a  deep  channel 
which  connects  with  the  other  nearer  the  middle  of 
the  river,  and  affords  excellent  wharfage  for  large 
schooners.  All  of  these  basins  are  more  or  less  sub- 
ject to  the  accumulation  of  drainage  from  the  rapid 
streams  which  receive  their  deposits  from  the  high 
country  beyond.  Hence  the  bottom  is  covered  in 
most  places  by  a  pasty  blackish  mud,  similar  to  the 
oyster  mud  of  Chesapeake  Bay.     It  is  derived  from 


the  carbonaceous  matter  of  the  softer  alluvium,  and 
requires  to  be  dredged  at  occasional  intervals  to  keep 
the  channels  navigable.  The  shores  on  either  side 
are  low,  but  much  higher  along  the  Spring  Gardens, 
on  the  south  side  of  which  the  clay  hills  rise  to  a 
height  of  sixty  feet  or  more.  The  same  side  of  the 
broader  basin  of  the  river  is  chiefly  bordered  by  cat- 
tail marsh  of  variable  width,  and  near  the  Marine 
Hospital  extensive  ridges  of  sand  prevent  their  farther 
extension  in  the  direction  of  the  outer  tide-water.  On 
the  low  tract  behind  this  shore  may  be  seen  strips  of 
woods  of  great  beauty,  including  the  holly,  sour  gum, 
sweet  gum,  willow,  scarlet  oaks,  red  maple,  and  thickets 
of  the  magnolia. 

Bear  Creek  is  a  tributary  of  the  East  Branch  of  the 
Patapsco.  It  enters  the  latter  on  the  southeast  side, 
and  is  chiefly  composed  of  unequal  arms,  projecting 
into  coves,  connected  with  a  central  channel  about 
three  and  a  half  miles  long,  having  a  general  width 
of  about  half  a  mile.  The  banks  are  high  and  low 
at  unequal  intervals,  chiefly  composed  of  iron  ore 
clays,  of  reddish  or  ochreous  colors,  and  of  gravelly 
sand  next  to  and  beneath  the  marshes.  Deep  boggy 
tracts  of  black  mud  appear  between  the  low  hills ; 
these  are  densely  overgrown  by  the  magnolia,  sour 
gum,  maples,  and  a  great  variety  of  bushes,  and  are 
made  almost  impenetrable  by  the  thick  tangled 
masses  of  the  greenbrier  (Smilax).  The  most  beauti- 
ful tree  of  the  region  is  the  evergreen  holly  {Ilex 
opaca).  Its  rich  dark-green  leaves,  strongly  contrasted 
with  the  yellow  green  of  the  vines  and  sweet  gum, 
give  persistent  verdure  to  the  thickets.  Occasional 
groves  of  the  common  pine  still  stand  in  erect  col- 
umns, and  furnish  fine  dark  backgrounds  to  the  vege- 
tation of  the  swamps.  Altogether  it  is  a  region  of 
pleasant  variety,  which  greatly  needs  the  softening 
touch  of  civilization  to  sweep  off"  its  exuberant  wild- 
ness,  and  to  bring  it  into  harmony  with  the  better 
surroundings  of  a  great  city.  It  forms  the  chief  drain 
of  Patapsco  Neck,  and  is  fed  and  kept  supplied  with 
water  by  the  numerous  springs  which  burst  from  the 
ground  in  the  bordering  marshes.  Formerly  it  was 
the  region  of  extensive  fisheries  of  the  shad,  herring, 
rockfish,  white  perch,  etc.,  but  now  only  a  few  of  these 
fish  remain,  and  the  two  former  have  quite  left  the 
locality. 

Dead  Rivers  or  Creeks.— The  drying  or  failing  of 
springs  in  many  parts  of  the  country  adjacent  to  the 
lower  highlands,  south  of  the  middle  of  the  county, 
has  caused  the  obliteration  of  numerous  branches  and 
smaller  creeks  which  were  formerly  important  tribu- 
taries of  the  Gunpowder  and  Patapsco  Rivers,  and  of 
Gwynn's  and  Jones'  Falls.  The  most  striking  in- 
stance of  this  kind  is  Western  Creek,  or  run.  This 
was  once  a  stream  more  than  three  hundred  feet  in 
breadth  above  and  below  the  Pimlico  road.  It  rose  in 
the  hills  east  of  the  Beisterstown  turnpike,  and  emp- 
tied into  Jones'  Falls  through  a  deep  chasm,  next  to 
what  is  now  the  railroad  station  at  Mount  Washing- 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ton.  A  few  rods  east  of  the  point  where  its  two 
branches  unite  there  is  an  extraordinarily  large  dam, 
full}'  three  hundred  feet  wide  by  twenty  feet  high, 
built  of  the  black  hornblendic  gneiss  of  this  region, 
which  shows  what  a  vast  volume  of  water  once  accu- 
mulated at  this  point.  This  work  was  once  used  to 
supply  the  water-power  of  a  large  stone  mill,  which, 
with  its  accompanying  mill-race,  still  stands  in  ruins 
on  the  northern  bank  of  the  old  channel  of  the  stream. 
Terraces  below  the  dam  on  this  same  bank  may  be  seen 
at  intervals,  serving  to  show  that  the  water  had  been  at 
one  time  as  much  as  twenty  to  thirty  feet  in  depth.  A 
remnant  of  the  former  stream  now  remains  as  a  shal- 
low brook,  varying  in  width  from  five  to  ten  feet.  At 
this  point  it  passes  through  an  alluvial  bed,  charged 
with  a  few  small  bowlders,  while  along  the  interval 
between  the  hills  in  Mount  Washington  it  has  worn 
a  deep  gully,  filled  with  broken  rocks  and  bowlders  of 
various  sizes. 

On  both  banks  of  Gwynn's  Falls,  near  and  north- 
west of  Baltimore,  may  be  seen  the  dry  beds  of  many 
small  brooks  which  formerly  fed  that  creek.  Very 
notably  is  this  the  case  in  that  branch  of  the  stream 
which  runs  in  the  vicinity  of  Wetheredsville.  Only 
in  times  of  heavy  rains  are  these  drains  supplied  with 
water,  and  then  only  for  a  short  time.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  Jones'  Falls,  north  of  the  city,  and  also, 
in  greater  or  less  degree,  of  all  the  rapid  streams  which 
drain  the  country  north  of  Baltimore.  The  south 
side  of  the  Thirteenth  District,  between  the  Relay 
House  and  Gwynn's  Falls,  has  also  several  old  beds 
of  former  large  streams  and  indications  of  ancient 
lake  basins. 

Valleys. — ^Valleys  of  surpassing  loveliness  may  be 
seen  in  various  j)arts  of  the  county.  The  chief  of 
these  are  Dulauey's,  Long  Green,  Green  Spring, 
Worthington's,  and  the  Great  Central  Basin.  The  first 
named  extends  from  the  ridge  north  of  Lake  Roland 
(bounding  the"  Northern  Central  Railroad  on  the  east) 
to  that  three  miles  beyond  the  Gunpowder  River,  or 
a  distance  of  about  ten  miles.  It  varies  much  in 
width,  lieing  scarcely  a  mile  across  in  any  part  of  its 
own  proper  depression.  But  it  connects  with  several 
other  short  valleys  on  its  northwest  side  (the  largest 
being  that  through  which  the  Gunpowder  runs),  and 
thus  appears  immensely  expanded  at  a  few  points.  It 
is  not  a  uniform,  unbroken  trough,  but  has  low,  rolling 
hills  bending  in  from  the  upper  side.  On  its  southern 
side  the  hills  are  steep  at  first,  but  they  gradually  pass 
into  the  rolling,  billow-like  prominences  which  stretch 
away  on  the  east  and  southeast.  The  soil  is  generally 
good,  in  some  places  quite  rich.  Large  farms  are 
common,  and  the  southwestern  part  of  the  valley  is 
characterized  by  the  great  estates  of  Hampton  and 
Glen  Ellen.  It  is  richly  supplied  with  almost  inex- 
haustible beds  of  the  strongest  limestones,  yielding 
the  best  (piality  of  burnt  lime,  and  adding  a  highly- 
prized  fertilizer  to  the  resources  of  the  district.  Iron 
ores  of  the  hematite  type  arc  also  to  be  found  in  the 


red  clays  of  the  region  adjoining  the  hill  on  which 
Towsontown  is  situated,  and  which  are  now  being  ex- 
tensively excavated  for  the  Ashland  Furnace. 

Long  Green  Valley  is  a  more  abrupt  depression  be- 
tween the  chain  of  high  hills,  and  it  is  narrower  than 
either  of  the  other  large  valleys.  It  starts  from 
behind  the  high  ridge  which  bounds  the  great  bend 
in  the  Gunpowder  River  near  the  copper-works,  and 
runs  about  three  miles  in  the  direction  of  the  Little 
Gunpowder  River,  while  its  principal  depres.sion  ex- 
tends nearly  north  and  south  for  a  distance  of  about 
four  miles.  Apparently  it  is  a  synclinal  trough  in  its 
upper  division,  underlaid  by  limestone,  which  croj)s 
out  in  beds  on  the  sides,  and  which  in  disintegrating 
adds  an  important  ingredient  in  enriching  the  soil. 
The  Harford  turnpike  passes  through  the  whole 
length  of  its  southeastern  depression,  and  connects 
with  roads  running  into  other  sections  of  the  region, 
making  every  part  of  it  readily  accessible.  The 
valley  is  scarcely  more  than  half  a  mile  wide  in  any 
portion,  but  it  is  rendered  somewhat  unequal  by  the 
rolling  hills  which  flank  it  on  the  west.  On  every 
hand  neat  painted  wooden  houses,  with  large  barns 
and  groups  of  whitewashed  outhouses,  associated  with 
fine  orchards  of  peach,  cherry,  and  apple  trees,  greet 
the  eye,  contrasting  fiirely  with  the  dark  soil  of  the 
hills,  and  testifying  to  the  neatness  and  thrift  of  the 
people.  The  whole  region  is  picturesque,  attractive, 
well  watered,  and  most  inviting  as  a  place  of  summer 
residence.  It  only  needs  a  railroad  to  make  it  speedily 
accessible  in  order  to  draw  a  larger  population. 

Green  Spring  Valley  is  a  beautiful  tract  of  country, 
running  nearly  west  and  east,  and  opening  out  at  the 
basin  of  Lake  Roland.  It  extends  from  near  Owings' 
Mills  to  the  latter,  a  distance  of  about  seven  miles, 
and  is  about  two  miles  in  its  greatest  breadth.  Its 
name  was  derived  from  the  numerous  springs  which 
bubbled  up  in  two  small  lakes  near  the  head  of  its 
depression,  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  tract  remarkable 
for  its  rich  verdure.  The  ridge  on  its  north  side  rises 
by  gradual  stages  from  the  basin  adjoining  the  North- 
ern Central  Railroad,  and  rolls  in  lower  broad  waves 
towards  the  bed  of  the  valley.  On  the  south  side,  a 
chain  of  hills  rises  in  majestic  beauty  above  the  hori- 
zon. This  ridge  starts  from  near  its  opening  with  a 
high  back,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  long,  and  is 
continued  by  six  or  seven  others  of  less  length,  all 
crowned  with  tall  trees,  and  flowing  westward  like  the 
folds  of  a  huge  sea-serpent,  until  lost  amid  the  domes 
at  the  head  of  the  valley.  Fine  large  farms  range  on 
both  sides  and  along  the  flanks  of  the  hills ;  frequent 
belts  of  limestone  cross  the  roads  or  appear  in  the 
sides  of  the  knolls,  and  many  of  the  choice  country- 
seats  of  wealthy  citizens  of  Baltimore  lie  half  con- 
cealed behind  the  groves  of  trees  which  shut  iu  the 
landscape.  The  soil  varies  from  clay  to  loam,  is  well 
watered  in  most  places,  and  yields  abundant  crops  of 
cereals  and  fruits.  The  valley  is  placed  in  the  midst 
of  a  rich  grazing  tract  containing  numerous  dairy- 


TOPOGRAPHY. 


farms,  which  produce  vast  quantities  of  the  richest 
milk  and  cream,  and  prove  the  importance  of  this 
district  to  the  not  distant  city. 

Crossing  the  broad  rise  of  Chestnut  Ridge,  upon 
which  Reisterstown  is  situated,  and  proceeding  a 
short  distance  towards  the  east,  we  are  met  by  a  view 
of  indescribable  natural  beauty.  Worthington's  Val- 
ley stretches  out  in  a  broad  oval  depression,  having  a 
general  northeast  by  southwest  trend,  of  nearly  five 
miles  in  width,  and  of  somewhat  more  than  that  in 
length.  It  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  but  one  by  mod- 
erately high,  almost  abruptly  sloping  hills,  crowned 
with  deep  forests  of  every  variety  of  green.  The  de- 
pression becomes  gradually  deeper  as  Western  Run 
is  approached,  while  several  of  its  tributaries  take 
rise  along  the  flanks  of  the  ridge  on  the  southeastern 
and  western  sides  of  the  basin.  A  short  swell  of  low 
limestone  hills  pushes  into  the  valley  from  near  the 
middle  of  the  southeast  side,  and  contributes  an  ele- 
ment of  variety  to  the  view  in  that  direction.  The 
valley  is  underlaid  by  a  sheet  of  white  limestone  of 
extraordinary  purity  and  excellence,  in  which  exca- 
vations have  been  carried  to  a  depth  of  more  than 
sixty  feet  without  reaching  to  the  underlying  rocks. 
Wells  have  been  sunk  in  niany  parts  of  the  valley, 
some  of  them  twelve  feet,  others  twenty-five  feet,  and 
the  deepest  beyond  sixty  feet,  always  entering  the 
limestone  at  a  point  eight  to  ten  feet  beneath  the  sur- 
face, and  generally  reaching  an  abundant  supply  of 
pure  water.  The  only  hindrance  to  obtaining  the 
water  occurs  where  the  limestone  is  deep  and  dry, 
probably  made  so  by  the  numerous  sink-holes  which 
are  found  in  many  parts  of  this  area.  All  around  the 
inner  rim  of  this  basin  shattered  quartz  fragments  lie 
thickly  settled  in  the  soil,  while  similar  pieces  are 
less  abundantly  seen  on  the  tops  of  the  ridges ;  but  all 
over  the  valley  these  fragments,  of  precisely  the  same 
stone,  have  been  turned  into  more  rounded  bowlders, 
and  lie  buried  there  in  a  stratum  often  six  to  eight 
feet  thick,  in  a  clayey,  micaceous  soil.  Beneath  this 
is  a  layer  of  pure  white  sand,  usually  about  two  feet 
thick,  resting  immediately  upon  the  limestone,  and  is 
turned  into  a  quicksand  wherever  the  water  runs  into 
it  from  the  higher  levels.  The  hills  which  inclose 
this  amphitheatral  basin  are  composed  of  mica  schists, 
everywhere  deeply  decomposed,  and  only  to  be  seen 
firm  in  a  few  small  spots  where  the  damp  shadowing 
vegetation  has  protected  them  from  the  sun  and  at- 
mosphere. These  few  ledges  are  the  harder  remnants 
of  enormous  masses,  which  once  stood  towering  in 
craggy  peaks  above  the  summits  of  the  ridge.  Enough 
remains  to  show  that  they  had  a  general  dip  of  about 
sixty  degrees  a  little  west  of  south.  Bowlders  of  brown 
hematitic  iron  ore  lie  scattered  over  the  surface  near 
the  outer  side  of  the  valley,  and  shallow  beds  of  the 
same  occur  in  the  midst  of  the  quartz  bowlders,  and  on 


the  lower  edge  of  the  micaceous  uplifts.  Numerous 
springs  burst  from  the  schists  which  fill  the  hills, 
yielding  an  almost  inexhaustible  supply  of  limpid 
water,  and  filling  the  air  with  a  cool  temperature 
peculiarly  grateful  to  the  senses.  Nature  has  en- 
dowed this  lovely  valley  with  everything  needed  for 
the  comfort  of  man.  A  deep,  fertile  soil  spreads  out 
all  around ;  vegetable  humus  is  washed  down  from  the 
hills  by  every  freshet ;  all  the  cereals  grow  in  rich  pro- 
fusion ;  fruits  of  all  the  usual  kinds  are  at  home  here ; 
brooks  cut  their  way  through  the  meadows  at  frequent 
intervals,  and  two  kinds  of  water  for  drinking  run 
from  the  hills  or  swell  up  in  the  limestone  wells.  The 
woods  are  full  of  varieties  of  flowering  shrubs  and 
plants,  and  the  ferns  luxuriate  in  dense  thickets  upon 
every  moist  hillside  or  hollow,  and  form  brakes  in  the 
damp  corners  of  the  meadows.  A  solitary  hornblende 
bowlder,  about  the  size  of  a  bushel  basket,  lying  in  the 
upper  part  of  this  valley,  at  a  distance  of  five  or  six 
miles  from  its  native  bed,  attests  the  power  of  the 
floods  which  at  various  times  have  poured  over  the 
hills  into  the  adjoining  basins.  This  peaceful  valley 
rests  in  the  midst  of  a  scene  of  quiet  beauty,  aflbrding 
pleasant  prospects  in  all  directions.  It  only  needs  a 
system  of  good  roads  to  render  ithighly  attractive  to  resi- 
dents of  the  city  who  seek  a  place  for  health  and  repose. 
The  Great  Central  Basin,  as  it  may  properly  be  called, 
is  the  broad  open  depression  adjoining  Cockeysville. 
It  is  a  wide  stretch  of  country,  sloping  inward  from 
the  rolling  hills  on  the  north,  west,  and  south,  but 
itself  rolling  gently  away  towards  the  southeast  and 
south,  and  connecting  with  smaller  valleys  in  those 
directions.  Its  general  expression  is  that  of  an  east- 
and-west  oval  basin,  bounded  by  Chestnut  Ridge  on 
the  left,  and  by  Ashland  Ridge  on  tlje  right.  Beaver 
Dam  Creek  traverses  nearly  its  whole  length  from 
west  to  east,  and  Western  Run  crosses  its  northeast 
corner.  It  is  a  great  limestone  basin,  scooped  out  of 
the  archsean  rocks,  overlaid  by  iron-ore  clays  in  de- 
pressions, and  with  quartz  cobble-stone  and  local  drift 
accumulations  distributed  throughout  in  their  beds. 
It  is  at  once  the  centre  of  the  marble  and  agricultural 
interests.  The  Beaver  Dam  and  other  quarries  yield 
inexhaustible  supplies  of  choice  white  marble  of 
various  kinds,  while  the  Texas  belt  supplies  immense 
quantities  of  valuable  limestone.  In  and  around  the 
basin  large  farms  of  rich  soil  in  a  high  state  of  culti- 
vation are  numerous,  and  on  the  northwest  side  is 
situated  the  celebrated  Hayfields,  the  prize  stock-farm 
of  the  county.  All  the  cereals  and  fruits  grow  here 
in  luxuriance,  and  the  grazing  farms  supply  the  city 
with  an  abundance  of  milk  and  butter.  Situated  on 
the  Northern  Central  Railroad,  within  three-quarters 
of  an  hour's  ride  from  Baltimore,  renders  it  quickly 
accessible,  and  it  is  rapidly  filling  up  with  an  active 
and  intelligent  population. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


CHAPTEK    II. 

GEOLOGY.i 

The  introductory  chapter  of  geological  history  be- 
gins in  a  period  relative  to  which  speculation  takes 
the  place  of  observation,  and  conjecture  or  hypothesis 
must  supply,  as  best  they  can,  the  want  of  exact 
knowledge.  In  this  outline  we  propose  to  leave  these 
misty  regions  unexplored,  and  start  from  a  state  of 
things  which  we  know  to  have  once  existed.  We 
know  that  at  a  certain  time  in  the  world's  history 
this  portion  of  its  surface  consisted  of  vast  bare  sur- 
faces of  rock  and  wide  areas  of  water.  Desolate  and 
hopeless  as  this  prospect  would  have  seemed  to  a  be- 
holder, these  barren  rocks  and  unfruitful  waves,  acted 
upon  by  heat  and  cold,  by  expansion  and  contraction, 
were  to  yield  all  the  varieties  of  surface,  of  rock  and 
soil,  of  hill,  valley,  bay,  and  river,  which  afford  such 
pleasing  diversity  to-day. 

The  first  surface  rocks  laid  down  in  the  primeval 
ocean  were  no  doubt  sediments  produced  by  the  dis- 
integrative action  of  warm  currents  and  chemical 
agents,  and  the  shattering  energies  exercised  by  earth- 
quakes and  electricity.  Hard  volcanic  materials, 
such  as  lavas,  trachytes,  basalts,  diorites,  etc.,  had 
to  be  reduced  to  soft  plastic  masses  in  order  to  be 
changed  into  the  rocks  which  form  the  lower  crust  of 
the  region  as  it  rests  at  the  present  time.  A  general 
deiwsition  along  almost  parallel  lines  running  nearly 
northeast  by  southwest  afforded  an  axis  upon  which 
to  build  succeeding  formations.  As  long  ages  of 
steadily  increasing  shrinkage  and  drying  went  on, 
foldings  of  the  surface  were  pushed  up  above  the 
mist-covered  waters,  and  mountain  ridges  appeared. 
Frequent  agitations  of  the  mass  produced  changes  of 
level,  and  the  dispositions  of  rock  and  water  became 
more  varied. 

Sharing  in  the  several  continental  changes  which 
have  formed  the  Atlantic  belt  of  North  America, 
Baltimore  County  has  been  developed  from  its  condi- 
tion of  primitive  simplicity  into  a  region  of  varied 
complexity.  It  now  embodies  within  its  substance 
the  chief  varieties  of  rocks,  minerals,  and  soils  be- 
longing to  the  whole  territory  east  of  Parr's  Ridge. 
Looking  broadly  at  the  features  which  stand  out  most 
prominently,  the  county  is  seen  to  be  traversed  diag- 
onally by  three  general  ridges  of  high  hills,  inclosing 
the  valleys  by  lateral  spurs  and  clusters  of  domes 
which  deflect  more  or  less  from  the  main  direction  of 
northwest  by  southeast.  Those  on  the  northwest  rise 
in  series  of  high,  chiefly  broad-topped  masses,  with 
here  and  there  a  short,  abrupt  backbone  ridge  break- 
ing their  continuity.  They  rise  to  an  elevation  of 
from  six  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet  above  tide- 
water, and  are  chiefly  composed  of  hydromica  slates. 
The  second  series  forms  the  great  range,  with  its 
many  radiating  members,  which  crosses  the  country 


one  mile  or  more  north  of  Cockeysville,  runs  southwest 
to  Reisterstown,  and  passes  out  of  the  county  beyond 
that  place.  It  rises  to  an  altitude  of  four  hundred  to 
five  hundred  feet,  and  is  built  of  the  hornbleudic 
gneisses,  containing  some  mica  schists,  quartzites,  and 
a  few  granites.  This  is  the  great  central  area  which 
incloses  the  principal  limestone  valleys,  and  which 
has  suffered  deep  erosion,  perhai)s  during  the  Cam- 
brian period. 

The  third  is  the  area  of  lower  blunt  ridges  which 
succeed  each  other  between  the  northern  boundary 
of  Green  Spring  Valley,  Woodstock,  and  the  city  of 
Baltimore.  These  latter  foldings  are  composed  chiefly 
of  the  lowest  rocks  belonging  to  the  county.  On  the 
southwestern  side  they  reach  an  altitude  of  more  than 
four  hundred  feet  above  tide-water,  and  chiefly  con- 
sist of  dense  granites,  altered  from  a  sedimentary  con- 
dition by  the  action  of  heat.  The  other  hills  of  this 
division  are  generally  lower  near  the  middle  of  the 
county,  but  they  rise  to  nearly  the  normal  elevation 
between  the  Great  and  Little  Gunpowder  Rivers. 

The  geological  formations  which  have  thus  far  been 
detected  in  Baltimore  County  belong  to  the  Arch^an 
(Laurentian  and  the  Hydromica  Schist  series),  Pa- 
laeozoic (Cambrian,  or  Lower  Silurian),  Mesozoic 
(Jurassic  and  Wealden,  possibly  Cretaceous),  Ceno- 
zoic,  or  Tertiary,  and  Quaternary,  or  Modern. 

I.  Archaean  Age. — The  first  land  which  in  this 
county  rose  above  the  surface  of  the  general  ocean 
was  the  broad  belt,  twenty  miles  wide,  which  stretches 
across  the  country  on  a  diagonal  line  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  north  of  Monkton  to  about  the 
same  distance  west  of  Reisterstown,  and  extends  from 
that  line  south  to  tide-water.  It  is  pre-eminently  a 
region  of  crystalline  and  hard  rocks.  Hornblendic 
and  feldspathic  gneiss,  both  massive  and  stratified, 
syenite,  granites,  quartzites,  and  some  granitic  and 
gneissic  mica  schists  appear  in  most  parts  of  the  ter- 
ritory. In  addition  to  these,  chloritic  gneiss,  serpen- 
tine, steatite,  talc,  asbestos,  and  magnesian  rocks  ap- 
pear in  an  interrupted  series  of  hills  which  range 
diagonally  across  the  county  from  near  the  southern 
end  of  Lake  Roland  to  a  point  about  five  miles  south- 
west of  Reisterstown.  The  hills  of  the  primeval 
archsean  era  were  less  high  than  those  of  the  hydro- 
mica schist  age  which  succeeded  them  on  the  north. 
But  they  were  once  much  higher  than  at  the  present 
time,  and  erosion,  degradation,  and  decomposition 
have  greatly  reduced  their  size,  and  turned  them  for 
the  most  part  into  rounded  domes. 

At  the  lowest  accessible  level  of  this  formation, 
almost  at  the  edge  of  tide-water,  the  rocks  are  seen  to 
be  hornblendic.  Near  the  mouth  of  Jones'  Falls,  at 
Gwynn's  Falls,  and  at  those  of  Herring  Run  and  the 
Gunpowder  River,  these  underlying  hornblende  rocks 
are  dense,  rather  fine-grained,  and  stratified.  Often 
the  stratification  is  lost,  or  indistinct,  in  the  middle  of 
the  beds,  while  it  is  better  defined  or  even  quite  dis- 
tinct  on    the  outer  limits.      More  commonly  these 


GEOLOGY. 


hornblendic  gneisses  are  destitute  of  scales  of  mica, 
or  when  this  mineral  is  present,  it  appears  only  in 
very  small  grains.  As  we  proceed  northwardly  across 
their  line  of  strike,  granitic  gneiss  appears  at  frequent 
intervals.  Almost  every  hill  has  a  bed  of  this  rock 
of  larger  or  smaller  size.  Some  of  these  granitic 
masses  are  mere  intercalations  between  the  layers  of 
dark  gneiss,  the  stratified  folds  fitting  intimately 
around  every  part  of  their  form.  In  a  few  places 
they  are  intrusive,  cross  the  gneiss  at  nearly  right 
angles,  and  form  slender  dykes  of  chiefly  silicious 
materials.  Near  the  mouth  of  Gwynn's  Falls  granitic 
aggregations  of  various  kinds  occur  in  low  hills  (the 
remnants  of  former  great  ones),  and  in  the  old  bed  of 
the  stream.  These  are  charged  with  large  laminfe  of 
mica  almost  regularly  stratified,  while  the  chief  con- 
stituents of  the  masses  are  quartz  and  orthoclase 
feldspar.  Proceeding  up  this  creek,  the  attention  is 
arrested  by  the  conspicuous  transverse  yellow  belts  of 
granitic  gneiss  which  cross  and  uplift  its  bed.  Wher- 
ever a  gorge  has  been  made  in  the  course  of  this 
stream,  as  at  the  dam  which  feeds  the  race  of  the 
flour-mills  on  the  Frederick  turnpike,  huge  piles  of 
this  rock,  somewhat  squarely  jointed,  jut  up  to  a  con- 
spicuous height.  At  a  date  not  now  known  the 
granitic  gneiss  at  this  place  formed  a  wall  more  than 
seventy  feet  high,  fifty  feet  wide,  and  two  hundred 
feet  long,  which  stood  as  a  barrier  across  the  bed  of 
the  stream.  But  by  the  continuous  wearing  of  sand 
and  water,  driven  against  it  through  long  periods  of 
time,  and  by  the  irresistible  force  of  heavy  floods,  it 
has  been  reduced  to  a  lower  level,  and  finally  broken 
down  to  within  twenty  feet  of  its  lowest  exposure. 
This  rock,  like  most  of  the  others  which  formed  dams 
in  this  stream,  is  of  a  yellowish  color,  coarse-grained, 
and  composed  of  salmon-colored  orthoclase  in  moder- 
ately large  crystals,  mixed  with  quartz  in  masses, 
veins,  and  fragments,  and  including  mica  in  small 
tablets  or  broken  scales.  It  is  dense  in  some  parts, 
loosely  compounded  in  others,  and  shows  evidences  of 
irregular  stratification.  Frequent  seams  of  detached 
bits  of  quartz,  both  smoky  and  white,  run  through 
the  layers  along  the  line  of  strike,  while  the  north- 
eastern end  of  tlie  mass  passes  into  and  mixes  with 
the  hornblendic  gneiss  lying  beneath.  This  rock 
also  bounds  this  great  bed  on  its  upper  side  and  in- 
closes it  beneath,  apparently  constituting  a  great 
mould  into  which  it  fits,  and  in  which  it  has  been 
modeled  by  enormous  pressure. 

This  furnishes  a  fair  example  of  the  type  of  bedding, 
and  of  the  kind  of  granitic  gneiss  which  appears  in 
most  of  the  hornblendic  schists  of  our  Laurentian  area. 

The  whole  county  appears  to  be  built  into,  if  not 
laid  down  upon,  hornblendic  rock  and  gneiss.  The 
former  rock  crops  out  along  the  boundary  line  on  the 
Little  Gunpowder  River;  it  occurs  with  a  few  inter- 
ruptions upon  the  whole  western  boundary  next  the  Pa- 
tapsco,  and  it  occupies  the  principal  part  of  the  country 
between  the  city  of  Baltimore  and  Owings'  Mills.     It 


the  city  in  or  beneath  every  large  hill,  is  con- 
spicuous along  all  the  rapidly-flowing  brooks,  creeks, 
and  rivers,  and  it  contributes  largely  to  the  local  drift 
which  clogs  the  ravines  and  covers  the  low  hills  in 
the  middle  of  the  southern  part  of  the  county.  No 
rock  in  all  this  region  ofiers  such  variety  of  texture 
and  such  peculiarities  of  arrangement.  In  the  region 
south  of  Pleasant  Valley  it  is  as  dense  as  trap,  com- 
posed of  fine  flattened  grains  of  hornblende  and 
ragged  particles  of  quartz,  has  a  conchoidal  fracture 
when  undecomposed,  and  forms  the  central  mass  of 
various  hills,  rising  more  than  seventy  feet  above  the 
bed  of  the  river.  At  a  point  about  one-half  mile 
north  of  Monkton  is  a  hill  of  hornblendic  slates  and 
schists.  The  strata  are  almost  vertical,  but  dip  a 
little  west  of  north ;  they  consist  of  layers  of  gneiss, 
having  hornblende  as  the  principal  ingredient,  to 
which  is  added  feldspar  and  some  quartz.  The  layers 
range  from  an  inch  or  two  to  two  or  three  feet  in 
thickness.  A  few  of  them  are  thickly  set  with  fine 
scales  of  mica,  but  in  general  they  are  not  charged 
with  conspicuous  seams  of  that  mineral.  A  close  ex- 
amination of  this  rock  shows  that  crystallization  of 
the  quartz  sometimes  proceeded  in  narrow  layers, 
passing  diagonally  through  the  plastic  mass,  and 
forming  small  inclosures  of  the  matrix,  like  the  divis- 
ions in  a  nest  of  boxes.  Occasionally  the  strata  are 
abruptly  bent  in  the  midst  of  the  straighter  ores,  like 
a  series  of  steps ;  the  material  on  each  side  of  this 
filling  out  in  progressively  more  even  lines  until  all 
trace  of  inequality  is  lost  on  the  sides. 

The  outer  divisions  of  this  hill  are  composed  of 
broad  belts  of  this  rock,  curving  downwards  and  con- 
verging, while  the  next  inner  series  of  strata  is  pressed 
into  broad  undulations,  which  inclose  the  somewhat 
jointed,  compact,  and  massive  hornblende  granite. 
South  of  Monkton,  as  well  as  directly  next  it  on  the 
north,  the  ridges  are  composed  of  very  variously  ar- 
ranged beds  and  strata.  The  latter  are  twisted  and 
thrown  back  upon  the  underlying  members  until  an 
almost  horizontal  position  is  reached.  This  condition 
obtains  in  the  midst  of  beds  of  varying  texture,  but 
having  a  general  dip  west  of  north  of  about  forty-five 
degrees.  Where  these  abrupt  folds  occur  the  grains 
are  less  densely  compacted,  and  are  somewhat  thrust 
apart,  particularly  in  the  apex  of  the  bend.  Suflicient 
flexibility  has  here  been  attained  rather  by  the  move- 
ment of  individual  particles  than  by  the  cracking  to 
pieces  of  crystals  and  masses.  Several  of  these  in- 
verted folds  inclose  coarse  uneven  granites,  composed 
of  various  kinds  of  feldspar,  of  quartz,  and  of  mica, 
in  particles  or  bits  irregularly  mixed  or  fused  together, 
and  sometimes  very  loosely  compacted.  Several  of 
such  hills  appear  in  succession  as  the  line  of  strike 
is  crossed  in  going  southward,  until  the  limestone 
is  reached  below  Phoenix.  From  that  point  to 
Rider's  Station  no  large  outcrops  of  gneiss  appear ; 
but  near  the  latter  the  folds  are  seen  to  consist  of  feld- 
spathic  gneiss,  stained  yellow  by  the  oxide  of  iron  de- 


22 


HISTORY   GF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


rived  from  the  decomposing  hornblende.  The  eastern 
end  of  Lake  Roland  is  cut  out  of  the  stratified  horn- 
blondic  gneiss  at  the  interval  where  it  has  been 
broadly  cleft  asunder  from  the  adjacent  granite, 
which  outcrops  next  the  dam  of  the  city  water-works, 
on  both  shores.  Decomposing  hornblendic  schists 
succeed  this  in  all  the  hills  along  the  railroad  until 
the  southern  end  of  Mount  Washington  is  reached. 
At  this  point  the  black  rocks  of  hornblendic  granite 
project  along  the  top  of  the  ridge  on  the  right,  while 
the  strata  in  the  lower  exposures  are  seen  to  be  schists 
of  gneiss,  ranging  from  a  coarse-grained,  dark  mix- 
ture through  finer-grained  paler  gray  to  an  almost 
white,  micaceous,  quartzose,  sandstone-like  rock  of 
firm  texture.  A  fault  has  allowed  these  newer  layers 
of  gneiss  to  .slide  down  sixty  feet  or  more,  and  thus 
the  hornblendic  granite,  greatly  cracked  and  dissev- 
ered, stands  on  tojj  in  huge  piles.  Some  of  these 
latter  have  been  precipitated  to  lower  levels,  and  form 
angular  bowlders  along  the  ea.stern  flank  of  the  hill. 
The  gap  thus  made  has  opened  a  trough  across  the 
strike  of  the  strata,  through  which  the  waters  of 
Jones'  Falls  flow,  while  another  break  is  reached 
about  one  mile  farther  down-stream,  where  two  hills 
of  hornblendic  granite  are  made  by  a  split  at  nearly 
right  angles  to  the  direction  of  the  former,  causing 
the  stream  to  alter  its  course  and  make  an  abrupt 
bend.  A  broad  basin  follows  next  beyond  this, 
scooped  out  to  a  lower  level  than  that  of  the  gap  de- 
scribed. The  western  side  of  this  area,  as  far  as 
Woodberry,  is  composed  of  stratified  gneiss  of  less 
dense  texture,  the  top  of  which  has  been  plowed 
down  by  water,  and  perhaps  also  by  ice,  to  within  six 
to  eight  feet  of  the  lower  level.  Over  this  the  wash- 
ings of  the  hills  beyond  have  been  deposited  to  a 
depth  of  four  feet  or  more,  and  along  the  beds  of  the 
two  little  brooks  which  formerly  crossed  this  undula- 
tion the  broken  fragments  of  the  hornblendic  rock 
have  been  distributed  in  rows  of  bowlders.  On  the 
most  northward  of  these  two  streams  the  black 
bowlders  are  of  very  large  size  upon  the  hill,  but 
lower  down  they  appear  gradually  smaller  and  more 
numerous  until  the  bottom  of  the  basin  is  reached. 
The  open  low  areas  of  this  region  have  all  been 
scooped  out  of  the  softer  rocks,  while  the  surround- 
ing hills  are  made  of  tougher  and  more  highly  meta- 
morphosed masses  of  denser  materials. 

South  of  Woodberry  the  hills  are  abrupt  on  their 
eastern  sides,  slope  gradually  on  the  west,  and  are 
rapidly  decaying  in  all  their  exposed  surfaces.  The 
hornblendic  rock  is  succeeded  by  fine-grained,  more 
or  le.ss  chloritic  gneiss,  either  of  a  grayish-black  or 
yellowish-white  color,  which  breaks  down  into  a  fine 
yellowish  powder,  yielding  a  dry,  dusty  soil.  Pene- 
trating the  hill  bounding  Druid  Hill  Park,  on  the 
northeast  corner  is  a  bed  of  unevenly  mixed  granite. 
This  reaches  the  surface  beside  a  crack,  through  which 
runs  a  small  brook.  Being  highly  charged  with  firm 
(juartz,  it  mostly  resists  the  action  of  the  solvents  in 


I  the  water  and  atmosphere,  and  stands  as  a  prop  to 
!  support  its  adjuncts  on  the  south.  On  the  lower 
;  eastern  boundaries  of  Druid  Hill  the  granites  begin 
again,  and  appear  in  large  masses.  They  cross  the 
bed  of  Jones'  Falls  in  high  beds,  giving  rise  to  cas- 
cades, wherever  they  have  not  been  broken  off  by 
heavy  floods.  Some  of  these  are  of  the  kind  known 
as  graphic  granites,  exhibit  a  highly  crystalline  and 
glossy  surface  when  broken,  and  consist  of  coarse 
grains  of  quartz,  fused  together  with  large  crystals 
and  chunks  of  orthoclase,  and  holding  tablets  of  mica 
of  various  sizes.  Most  of  these,  however,  are  more 
fine  and  even-grained,  consisting  of  quartz  and  white 
feldspar,  with  very  little  mica,  and  showing  more 
distinctly  an  orderly  arrangement  of  their  grains  in 
nearly  parallel  lines.  All  the  beds  of  granites  in 
this  section  of  country,  as  far  as  they  have  been  ac- 
cessible to  inspection,  have  proved  to  be  inclosed  in 
the  less  metamorphosed  stratified  gneiss.  The  beds 
lie  between  the  folds  of  gneiss,  the  latter  fits  all  around 
their  form,  and  they  often  send  ofl"  slender  tongues 
between  the  layers,  or  are,  occasionally,  even  con- 
nected with  slender  veins  of  quartz,  w-hich  run  in  vari- 
ous directions  across  the  strata.  The  Jones'  Falls 
quarries,  just  north  of  the  city,  are  an  excellent  ex- 
ample of  the  forms  of  gneiss  and  granitic  gneiss 
which  particularly  belong  to  Baltimore  County. 
Here  are  beds  folded  at  a  high  angle,  fifty  to  seventy 
degrees  north  of  northwest,  having  a  pretty  regular 
strike  in  conformity  with  the  continental  axis,  and 
with  the  tops  of  the  strata  planed  off  throughout  a 
tract  embracing  hundreds  of  acres.  In  this  series  of 
beds  are  the  sedimentary  gneisses  of  every  variety  of 
texture  and  composition,  altered  by  metamorphic 
agents  into  shales,  schists,  and  dense  beds  in  great 
variety.  Black  mica  abounds,  and  forms  a  principal 
ingredient  in  some  of  the  layers.  In  others  the  pale 
mica  appears  in  finer  and  more  even  scales,  associated 
with  hornblende  and  feldspar.  The  broken  ends  of 
some  of  these  layers  project  up  to  a  height  of  eighty 
to  ninety  feet,  while  they  become  gradually  broader 
beneath,  and  are  there  more  altered,  compacted,  and 
I  hardened.  Quarrying  beneath  the  surface  has  ex- 
posed sections  of  these  rocks  equal  to  a  height  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  feet.  This  has  shown  that  con- 
solidation of  the  materials  has  proceeded  from 
beneath.  The  grain  there  becomes  fine  and  close, 
quartz  and  hornblende  are  evenly  associated,  a  mini- 
mum of  mica,  if  any,  is  present,  and  a  fine  granitic 
gneiss  becomes  the  substitute  for  the  shaly  layers 
above.  Here  and  there  a  small  bed  of  coarse  granite 
is  completely  inclosed,  and  in  two  cases  small  rounded 
masses  of  this  rock  have  been  seen  fitted  in  the  strata 
surrounding  them,  like  a  ball  in  its  socket.  Proceed- 
ing into  the  city  of  Baltimore,  the  same  classes  of 
gneiss  continue  until  near  tide-water.  At  intervals 
they  are  interrupted  by  broad  beds  of  disintegrating 
granite,  consisting  of  coarse  and  fine  grains  of  quartz, 
feldspar,  and  a  small  proportion  of  mica  and  horn- 


23 


blende.     In  some  of  the  beds  the  mica  is  abundant 
in  fine  scales,  the  hornblende  is  scarcely  apparent,  1 
and  the  quartz  forms  the  principal  proportion  of  the 
mixture.     These  quartz  grains  are  of  every,  possible  1 
form,  from  a  flattened,  ragged  scale  to  an  oblong  or  I 
rounded  pebble,  and  are  usually  charged  with  cracks 
and   crevices.     For  the   most  part   they   are   rather 
smoky    and    imperfectly   translucent,   often    stained 
brownish  by  the  presence  of  iron,  but  occasionally 
of  great  brilliancy  and  almost  transparent. 

On  approaching  Union  Depot  the  black  rocks  again 
appear,  and  extend  along  and  then  under  Jones' 
Falls  in  a  blunt  ridge  sloping  thirty  feet  beneath  the 
surface  near  the  edge  of  the  harbor.  As  this  rock  is 
directly  overlaid  by  the  micaceous  gneiss  along  the 
outer  edges  of  the  formation  southeast  of  the  city,  and 
as  it  appears  in  all  of  the  less  broken  exposures  on 
the  tide-water  side  between  the  latter  and  the  Great 
Gunpowder  River,  it  is  reasonable  to  infer  that  it  is 
the  bed-rock  everywhere  beneath  the  Jurassic  on  the 
Chesapeake  boundary  of  the  county.  Digging  arte- 
sian wells  has  shown  that  this  gneiss  occurs  at  a  depth 
of  about  one  hundred  and  forty-five  feet  at  a  distance 
of  one  mile  from  the  city  along  the  estuary  of  the 
Patapsco  in  Baltimore  County,  and  that  in  Fort  Car- 
roll, seven  miles  farther  out,  the  same  rock  is  reached 
at  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  feet  from 
the  surface.  Accordingly,  and  from  other  artesian 
excavations,  it  is  plainly  shown  that  the  hornblendic 
granites  have  been  swollen  from  beneath  into  ranges 
of  domes,  which  extend  out  for  unknown  distances 
towards  the  ocean,  and  that  the  intervening,  deeper 
basins  have  been  made  by  powerful  erosion,  which 
has  carried  away  all  the  softer  parts  of  the  upper 
layers  of  archtean  rocks,  and  cut  down  to  the  more 
solid  and  strong  parts  of  the  lower  beds. 

The  region  a  few  hundred  feet  back  from  the  pres- 
ent limits  of  tide-water  is  important,  as  furnishing  ex- 
cellent examples  of  the  type  of  structure  of  many  of 
our  hills.  One  of  the  best  preserved  of  these  is  a 
rounded  hill  dipping  in  all  directions,  which  for  con- 
venience maybe  called  a  cycloclinal, — i.e.,  having  the 
sides  sloping  all  around  the  circle.  It  is  now  a  low 
hill  in  which  the  strata  of  hornblendic  gneiss  follow 
each  other  in  serial  order.  The  upper  layer,  about 
five  feet  thick,  is  of  coarse-grained  dull  feldspar,  con- 
taining a  smaller  proportion  of  quartz  in  uneven  mix- 
ture, of  hornblende  in  fine,  remote  particles,  and  of 
very  small  scales  of  mica  in  moderate  quantity.  This 
stratum  has  been  cracked  into  two  divisions,  and 
jointed  at  frequent  intervals.  It  is  spread  out  more 
horizontally  than  those  beneath,  and  connects  on  its 
eastern  side  with  the  more  broken  remains  of  a  second 
cycloclinal,  which  once  stood  a  few  rods  beyond.  The  i 
next  two  strata  are  about  six  feet  in  thickness,  are  j 
bent  at  a  little  higher  angle,  and  are  very  densely  set 
with  larger  scales  of  black  mica,  constituting  an  un-  1 
evenly  deposited  schist.  The  next  layer  fits  the  above 
intimately,  is  about  three  feet  thick,  less  micaceous. 


but  more  hornblendic,  composed  of  more  regular 
grains  of  feldspar,  and  is  quite  compact  and  strong. 
Underneath  this  is  a  series  of  foliated  layers  of  finer- 
grained  quartz,  feldspar,  and  hornblende,  in  all  not 
more  than  six  inches  thick.  Below  this  a  strongly- 
bent  broad  stratum  of  hornblendic  gneiss  fits  closely  ; 
next  a  few  feet  of  rock  having  more  quartz  and  less 
hornblende,  and  at  the  lowest  exposure  a  highly-bent 
stratum  of  granitic  gneiss,  almost  destitute  of  horn- 
blende, but  containing  a  large  proportion  of  highly 
crystalline  quartz  grains,  in  feldspar,  with  a  little 
mica  in  minute  spangles.  As  this  little  hill  is  set 
directly  in  the  bed  of  Gwynn's  Falls,  it  has  caused 
that  stream  to  deflect  from  a  straight  course,  and  to 
form  a  bend  like  the  letter  S.  The  creek  has,  how- 
ever, hammered  for  long  periods  against  the  hard 
flanks  of  this  rigid  barrier,  and  not  without  some 
success.  For  by  sudden  floods  loaded  with  masses  of 
stone  and  sand  it  has  been  broken  stage  by  stage 
until  most  of  the  upper  part  of  one  side  has  been  re- 
moved and  carried  away.  Next  north  of  this  eleva- 
tion the  edges  of  hornblendic  and  mica  schists  cross 
the  bed  of  the  stream,  and  are  traversed  in  various 
directions  by  thick  and  thin  veins  of  white  quartz. 
These  are  followed  by  thick  strata  of  hornblendic 
rock,  and  by  more  or  less  micaceous  beds,  mixed  with 
coarse  granite  for  a  long  distance. 

The  fine-grained  hornblende  rock  is  a  granite  in  all 
essential  particulars.  It  is  intimately  united  with  all 
our  lowest  granites  and  flows  into  their  mass ;  or,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  granites  flow  into  it.  This  condi- 
tion of  things  does  not  involve  dykes,  although  there 
are  places  near  the  Patapsco  River,  in  the  First  and 
Second  Districts,  where  both  granite  and  hornblende 
veins  push  up  through  strata  of  granitic  gneiss  and 
cross  them  at  various  angles.  So  likewise  on  the 
Great  Gunpowder  River,  etc.  Hornblende  rock  forms 
dome-shaped  upthrusts  in  various  parts  of  this  county. 
Several  outcrops  of  this  kind  occur  along  the  common 
strike  of  the  belt,  between  the  Belair  and  Philadel- 
phia roads,  north  of  Whitemansh  Run,  and  also  be- 
yond the  Great  Gunpowder  River,  in  the  Eleventh 
District,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Third  District,  etc. 
Between  the  Reisterstown  and  the  Liberty  turnpike 
roads  great  beds  of  this  rock  lie  exposed  in  every  deep 
cut.  These  are  of  immense  thickness,  and  of  great 
density,  hardness,  and  weight.  How  deeply  they  pene- 
trate into  the  earth  is  not  known,  but  by  adding  to- 
gether the  exposures  at  the  different  levels  a  section 
of  at  least  three  hundred  feet  might  easily  be  con- 
structed. At  various  points  they  exhibit  a  strange 
phenomenon  in  weathering.  Near  the  new  bridges 
on  Calvert  and  North  Streets  the  centres  of  the  beds 
are  solid  and  only  cracked  into  joints,  but  on  their 
outer  ends  they  are  .seen  to  be  split  into  numerous 
thin  layers.  This  is  due,  in  part  at  least,  to  the 
presence  of  iron  pyrites.  As  the  latter  oxidizes  it 
unites  with  the  moisture  of  the  atmosphere  and 
gradually  works  its  way  in  lines  between  the  flattened 


24 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


grains  of  hornblende,  and  so  forms  an  eroding  agent 
whicli  steadily  splits  the  larger  strata.  Usually  where 
a  conspicuous  proportion  of  feldspar  is  present  the 
hornblende  rock  is  stratified,  while  in  most  eases 
where  there  is  an  absence  of  this  mineral,  or  of  quartz, 
the  stratification  is  not  apparent  without  close  exam- 
ination. 

No  description  of  the  gneissic  system  of  our  archaean 
geology  would  be  complete  which  omitted  to  notice 
the  commercial  granites,  the  chloritic  belts,  the  hy- 
dromica  schist  series,  and  the  older  limestones. 

The  former  constitute  prominent  rolls  in  the  high 
hills  which  flank  the  western  side  of  the  county,  from 
Ilchester  to  the  uplands  beyond  Woodstock.  Most 
prominent  and  best  known  arc  those  which  are  desig- 
nated by  the  name  of  Woodstock,  Ellicott's  City,  and 
Elysville  granites.  The  former  are  obtained  from 
three  large  quarries  exposed  in  the  upper  parts  of 
long  and  wide  hills,  at  an  elevation  of  more  than 
four  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  set  in  a  tract  of 
country  where  this  rock  appears  for  a  distance  of  about 
five  miles  in  length  from  northwest  to  southeast,  by 
nearly  two  miles  in  width  from  northeast  to  southwest. 
To  this  should  be  added  the  interrupted  belt  which 
extends  from  the  Eelay  House  to  a  short  distance 
above  Ellicott's  City.  Each  small  section  possesses 
a  different  kind  of  granite,  so  that  it  is  generally  easy 
to  distinguish  between  one  sample  brought  from  the 
region  of  Granite  village  and  one  brought  from  be- 
yond, or  indeed  from  different  quarries  in  the  same 
neighborhood.  Those  from  the  vicinity  of  the  last- 
mentioned  place  are  finer-grained  than  those  near 
Ellicott's  City,  while  the  most  northwesterly  of  them 
has  the  finest  grain  of  all.  This  statement  must  be 
confined  to  the  granites  which  have  been  introduced 
as  an  article  of  merchandise,  for  there  are  still  finer- 
grained  varieties  resting  m  single  hills  between  the 
gneiss  near  Orange  Grove,  near  Ilchester,  and  near 
the  mouth  of  Gwynn's  Falls.  The  hills  in  which  the 
first-mentioned  varieties  occur  rise  as  gentle  elevations 
of  fifty  feet  or  more  above  the  general  level  of  the 
folds  of  the  adjacent  ridge.  The  rocks  of  the  three 
quarries  mentioned  are  composed  of  ragged  grains  of 
dull  white  feldspar,  with  a  smaller  portion  of  orthoclase 
feldspar,  clear  quartz,  hornblende  in  smaller  spicu- 
lated  grains,  in  medium  quantity,  unevenly  mixed, 
and  with  quite  small  flakes  of  pale  mica  in  small 
quantity.  An  agreeable  light  gray  color  is  the  result 
of  this  composition,  which  strongly  resembles  the 
varieties  brought  from  Richmond,  Va.,  and  from  New 
Hampshire.  AVhere  lying  undisturbed  they  curve 
gently  in  all  directions,  as  if  forming  the  upper  mem- 
bers of  a  cycloclinal  or  anticlinal.  But,  as  yet,  they 
have  not  been  sufiiciently  laid  bare  to  establish  their 
exact  connections  with  the  beds  next  adjoining.  Out- 
lying members  of  the  series,  however,  are  seen  to  fit 
into  the  more  or  less  stratified  hornblendic  gneiss, 
and  to  grade  into  the  hornblende  rock,  as  has  been 
noticed  previously  in  some  of  the  liinary  trriuiites. 


As  the  hill  is  ascended  behind  the  college  at  Wood- 
stock, the  granite  rises  into  the  road  in  the  form 
of  a  dome,  with  a  top  about  four  feet  in  diameter. 
This  is  encircled  on  the  bed  of  the  road  by  a  belt  of  the 
same  rock,  of  about  six  inches  in  thickness.  To  this 
was  added,  originally,  other  outer  layers,  of  which 
vestiges  still  remain,  showing  the  same  curvature  and 
inward  bend,  and  serving  to  establish  the  fact  that 
they  all  belonged  to  a  nearly  hemispherical  mass  of 
granite.  It  should  be  noticed  at  this  point  that  the 
bed  is  slowly  undergoing  decomposition,  and  that  the 
concentric  form  of  these  outer  shells  may  be  due  to 
the  manner  in  which  the  grains  crack  apart  as  they 
lose  tenacity.  However,  throughout  the  upper  parts 
of  the  quarries,  in  the  freshly-broken  rock,  a  similar 
curvature  is  also  seen.  In  a  quarry  of  fine  granite, 
owned  by  T.  Putney,  in  the  near  vicinity  of  this 
road,  a  most  striking  phenomenon  presents  itself.  All 
around  the  upper  part,  as  far  down  as  the  excavation 
has  been  well  exposed,  the  outer  grains  of  the  rock 
have  decomposed,  fallen  aside  or  into  adjoining  joints, 
and  have  left  the  strata  lying  in  the  form  of  huge 
eggs,  or  elliptical  masses.  Some  of  these  are  twenty- 
two  feet  long  by  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  in  diameter, 
while  others  are  scarcely  more  than  five  feet  in  length 
by  three  feet  in  breadth,  and  indeed  they  occur  of 
various  dimensions.  The  outside  of  all  these  bodies 
is  seen  to  be  more  or  less  stained  brownish  by  the 
oxide  of  iron  derived  from  the  particles  of  decom- 
posing hornblende,  but  this  decomposition  extends 
inwards  to  a  depth  of  rarely  more  than  about  six 
inches.  Inside  of  this  the  clear  gray  color  of  the  rock 
asserts  its  tenacity,  and  is  extensively  employed  for 
first-class  buildings.  The  same  phenomenon  occurs 
in  the  other  quarries  of  this  region,  but  on  a  much 
smaller  scale.  In  this  hill,  as  in  the  others  near  it, 
the  granites  lie  in  layers  a  few  feet  in  thickness,  one 
above  the  other.  The  wedge-shaped  end  of  one  fill- 
ing out  a  corresponding  corner  at  the  end  of  its  next 
neighbor,  while  others  taper  in  yet  more  slender 
wedges,  which  run  between  contiguous  ones,  on 
nearly  the  same  plane ;  and  so  the  whole  series  is 
made  up  of  long  bands,  firaetured  obliquely,  or  in 
contact,  end  to  end,  where  jointed  squarely.  Several 
other  varieties  of  granite  occur  in  beds  of  smaller 
size,  near  the  Patapsco  River,  in  the  Second  District. 
One  of  these  is  a  salt-and-pepper  mixed  pattern,  with 
the  grains  of  feldspar  and  quartz  smaller  than  those 
in  the  beds  already  opened  around  Granite  Post-oflice, 
and  have  the  particles  of  hornblende  as  small  as  pins' 
heads,  and  rather  evenly  disseminated  throughout. 
It  occurs  in  layers  a  few  feet  thick,  pushing  up 
through  the  coarse  granitic  and  hornblendic  gneiss 
on  both  sides  of  the  Patapsco  River. 

The  next  variety  is  very  compact,  occurs  in  the 
same  region,  is  almost  pure  white,  and  resembles  crys- 
talline marble  in  its  general  appearance.  The  few 
grains  of  hornblende  that  it  contains  are  mere  atoms 
placed  at  very  remote  intervals,  and  rather  regularly 


25 


distributed.  It  also  appears  in  small  beds,  set  in  simi- 
lar position  between  the  layers  of  coarse  gneiss. 

Across  the  Patapsco  River,  opposite  Elysville,  is  a 
large  outcrop  of  granite,  forming  the  body  of  a  ridge 
fully  sixty  feet  high.  The  rock  is  a  fine-grained  mix- 
ture of  white  feldspar,  quartz,  hornblende,  and  mica. 
The  grains  are  somewhat  flattened,  ragged,  and 
irregular,  and  the  hornblende  is  small,  set  in  slen- 
der streaks  of  jagged  atoms  along  interrupted  lines. 
Atoms  of  mica  are  sparingly  distributed  through  the 
feldspar,  and  are  generally  placed  between  the  finer 
grains.  The  color  of  this  granite  is  generally  that  of 
pale  lead,  a  little  darkened  by  the  short  streaks  of 
black  hornblende.  This  large  bed  is  set  into  a  broken 
mass  of  granitic  gneiss  into  which  it  grades,  the  mica 
increases  in  quantity  and  size  until  a  somewhat  schist- 
ose character  is  imparted  to  the  strata.  Decomposi- 
tion is  making  havoc  with  these  outer  parts  near  the 
road,  and  the  weathering  parts  are  being  variegated 
with  ochreous  brown.  It  then  appears  more  like  a 
sandstone,  the  grains  become  rounder,  and  it  finally 
washes  down  into  a  loose,  sandy  soil. 

The  EUicott's  City  granite  may  be  known  by  its 
dark-gray  appearance,  varied  by  oval  or  square  large 
crystals  of  pink  and  white  feldspar.  These  pieces  of 
orthoclase  are  sometimes  of  an  inch  or  more  in  length, 
while  the  general  average  of  the  fragments  scarcely 
exceeds  the  one-twelfth  of  an  inch  in  size.  In  some 
parts  of  the  beds  extraordinary  diversity  of  mixture 
obtains,  large  and  small  crystals  of  different  kinds  of 
feldspar  are  placed  in  contact  with  quartz  and  large 
grains  of  hornblende,  and  the  rock  displays  highly 
crystalline  and  lustrous  surface.  The  texture  of  this 
composition  is  close,  hard,  and  very  enduring.  In 
the  presence  of  damp,  iron-charged  soil  it  disinte- 
grates and  turns  into  paste,  but  in  ordinary  situations 
it  strongly  resists  the  atmosphere. 

Between  this  place  and  Orange  Grove  the  greatest 
number  of  species  of  granite  may  be  obtained.  Some, 
such  as  the  variety  just  described,  form  the  larger 
jiart  of  the  great  hills  which  constitute  the  ridge 
rising  more  than  a  hundred  feet  above  the  bed  of  the 
river.  Below  Ilchester  long,  intrusive  beds  of  rose- 
colored  porphyritic  granites  jut  out  in  the  midst  of 
tlie  blackish  varieties,  and  within  a  radius  of  two 
miles  southeast  of  this  point  a  dozen  patterns  of 
granites,  from  an  almost  black  species  beautifully 
mottled  and  inscribed  to  a  pale,  delicate  bluish-gray, 
fiue-grained,  wavy-streaked  variety,  form  a  grand 
uplift  near  Orange  Grove.  Near  the  bridge  below 
Ilchester  these  rocks  are  held  in  the  embrace  of  the 
great  hornblende  strata,  in  some  cases  fade  into  them, 
while  the  pale-red  or  salmon  varieties  vein  through 
them  at  difl'erent  angles. 

Another  species  of  granite,  somewhat  resembling 
the  EUicott's  City  type,  occurs  in  and  next  to  the 
Great  Gunpowder  River,  near  the  Philadelphia  turn- 
pike. It  is  a  gray  rock,  composed  of  moclerately  large 
grains  of  feldspar  and  quartz,  the  former  being  some- 


times rosy,  charged  with  black  hornblende  in  short, 
wavy,  slender  lines,  bent  in  every  direction,  and  with 
but  very  little  mica,  in  exceedingly  small  scales.  Oc- 
casionally very  coarse  aggregations  of  hornblende, 
as  well  as  large  crystals  of  ragged  feldspar,  give  it  a 
very  conspicuous  appearance.  In  density,  hardness, 
and  weight  it  will  stand  equal  to  any  of  the  other 
varieties.  It  weathers  into  ridgy,  waved,  broken  lines 
of  quartz  and  feldspar,  very  much  like  the  granite 
from  EUicott's  City.  Away  from  the  centre  of  the 
massive  beds  it  runs  into  thin  layers,  and  finally 
changes  into  stratified  hornblendic  gneiss.  Horn- 
blende invades  it  from  various  directions,  and  pene- 
trates, or  rests  within  its  mass,  in  swollen  wedges,  in 
bent  lines,  in  vein-like,  thick  streaks,  or  in  blunt, 
tongue-like  projections.  Near  the  road,  beyond  the 
bridge,  it  rises  in  concentric  strata,  inclosed  all  around 
by  strata  of  true  gneiss,  having  been  originally  pushed 
up  in  dome-shaped  waves,  which  have  been  planed 
off  by  the  rushing  of  water  and  hard  matter  over  its 
surface.  The  rocks  in  this  region  have  the  u.sual  dip 
towards  the  north-northwest  at  very  high  angles,  while 
the  concentric  strata  connect  with  others  which  ex- 
tend away  in  more  parallel  lines. 

At  the  former  limit  of  tide-water  near  the  mouth  of 
Gwynn's  Falls,  a  gray  granite  of  fine  texture  occupies 
the  lower  and  central  part  of  a  large  exposure  in  the 
side  of  a  hill.  It  is  a  rock  composed  of  ragged  grains 
of  feldspar  and  quartz,  with  finer  fragments  of  horn- 
blende, and  a  few  very  minute  .scales  of  mica.  At  the 
ends,  and  as  it  jjroceeds  upwards,  the  rock  becomes 
stratified,  grades  into  gneiss  and  micaceous  schist,  and 
loses  its  distinctive  granitic  character.  This,  with  the 
preceding  illustrations  of  the  variable  nature  of  our 
granites,  will  serve  to  show  that  at  least  many  of  them 
were  originally  deposited  as  ordinary  sediments  and 
that  they  have  been  changed  to  their  highly  crystal- 
line condition  by  the  action  of  heat,  probably  pen- 
etrating them  in  the  form  of  steam  and  gas. 

The  next  great  rock  system  which  demands  our  at- 
tention is  the  Chloritic,  embracing  the  serpentines, 
chlorite  schists,  soapstone,  talc,  and  magnesian  com- 
positions, with  their  included  ores  and  minerals. 
I  They  occur  most  prominently  in  certain  ranges  of 
rounded,  moderately-elevated  hills  running  in  a  gen- 
erally northeast  by  southwest  direction  along  both 
sides  of  the  great  limestone  basins  of  the  middle  of  the 
county.  The  first  and  smallest  of  these  is  the  tract 
of  country  known  as  the  Bare  Hills,— a  barren,  for- 
bidding region  of  blackish-green,  hard,  dry  rocks, 
everywhere  exposed  at  the  surface  and  in  the  deep 
cuts  of  the  little  streams. 

Tunnels  have  been  cut  into  the  massive,  jointed 
beds,  and  deep  pits  have  been  dug  to  reach  the  chro- 
mic iron,  but  everywhere  the  same  dark  rock  presents 
itself,  relieved  only  by  magnesian  efflorescence,  or 
brownish  stains  of  oxide  of  iron.  As  nearly  as  can 
be  determined,  these  rocks  dip  north  of  east,  at  an 
angle  of  nearly  forty-five  degrees.    They  are  bounded 


HISTORY   OP   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


on  the  east  by  the  granitic  ledges  of  Lake  Roland, 
and  on  the  other  sides  by  the  hornblendic  and  mica- 
ceous gneiss.  Their  unconformability  witli  the  gnels- 
sic  sj'stem  in  this  region  seems  clear;  but  as  we  ap- 
proach Druid  Hill  Park,  along  the  line  of  Green 
Spring  Avenue,  they  cross  the  line  of  strike  of  the 
hornblende  rocks,  are  fitted  into  them  in  belts  a  few 
feet  wide,  and  stretch  oft'  under  the  surface  in  a  nar- 
row tongue,  whicli  has  been  cut  into  on  Charles  Street 
near  Chase.  As  only  the  edges  of  the  strata  are  ex- 
posed on  the  roads  north  of  the  Park,  it  is  not  now 
possible  to  state  whether  the  serpentiue  lies  in  faults 
within  the  hornblendic  beds.  But  at  all  events,  it 
fits  intimately  into  the  places  which  it  there  occupies, 
and  might  readily  be  supposed  to  be  of  the  same  age 
as  the  massive  hornblende.  A  few  indications  of  the 
pi'esence  of  serpentine  are  seen  next  the  great  horn- 
blende area  east  of  the  Pimlico  road,  but  on  both 
sides  of  Green  Spring  Avenue  it  occurs  in  the  chlo- 
ritic  soils  which  display  their  barrenness  on  the  flanks 
and  sides  of  the  hills.  Chlorite  affects  the  rocks  and 
makes  its  appearance  over  a  diagonal  stretch  of  coun- 
try, less  than  an  eighth  of  a  mile  wide,  running  across 
the  Reisterstown  turnpike  to  the  Liberty  road,  about 
one  mile  west  of  Baltimore;  next  appearing  a  few 
rods  west  of  Gwynn's  Falls  on  the  old  I'rederick  road, 
extending  beyond  the  Frederick  turnpike  and  becom- 
ing lost  in  the  hills  southeast  of  Catonsville.  North- 
west of  the  latter  place  it  occupies  a  wide  space  of 
surface,  stretching  off'  towards  Liberty. 

The  largest  area  of  serpentine  in  this  county  is  the 
great  group  of  hills  called  Soldiers'  Delight.  It  is 
dark  and  forbidding  like  the  former,  but  more  ele- 
vated, and  constructed  on  a  grander  scale.  Possibly 
the  hills  are  only  great  mounds  of  rock,  pushed  up  to 
their  present  level  by  the  drying  and  shrinking  of 
the  earth's  surface.  Such  enormous  beds  do  not  seem 
to  be  intrusive  upthrusts,  or  dykes.  Cleavage,  or 
jointing,  is  carried  to  an  extreme  development 
throughout  their  whole  extent,  but  it  is  not  the  joint- 
ing of  gneiss,  nor  the  cleavage  of  granite.  Square  or  I 
diagonal  fracture-lines  pass  through  them  at  frequent 
intervals,  and  give  to  the  weathered  surfaces  the  ap- 
pearance of  gaping  wounds  in  a  parched  integument. 

Two  other  areas  of  this  rock  occur,  the  one  a  little 
east  of  Black  Rock  Run,  north  of  Butler  Post-office, 
and  the  other  near  the  forks  of  the  Great  Gunpowder ; 
but  they  present  the  same  general  features  as  the 
others,  and  have  no  peculiarities  calling  for  a  further 
notice  at  this  time. 

All  of  these  areas  are  of  value  from  the  pockets  of 
chrome  and  beds  of  precious  serpentine  and  copper 
which  they  contain.  In  the  Bare  Hills  valuable  de- 
posits of  several  varieties  of  fine-grained  serpentiue 
exist,  more  than  one  of  which  will  fevorably  compare 
with  the  celebrated  verd-antique  marble.  Here  also, 
as  well  as  in  the  Soldiers'  Delight,  extensive  pockets 
of  chrome  have  been  excavated,  aud  for  several  years 
a  copper-mine  gave  its  quota  of  good  ore  to  the  agents 


who  worked  it.  An  expansion  of  this  formation  ad- 
joins Catonsville  on  the  northwest,  and  there  may  be 
found  beds  of  .soapstone,  seams  of  asbestos,  some  talc, 
and  occasionally  tremolite  and  actinolite.  About  one 
mile  north  of  Druid  Hill  the  hornblendic-magnesian 
rock  has  been  suddenly  bent  into  small  anticlinal  and 
synclinal  folds,  exhibiting  a  highly  metallic  and  al- 
most ftised  appearance.  Some  of  the  folds  have  been 
overthrown,  so  as  to  lie  at  a  very  low  angle.  Most 
jmrts  of  this  member  of  the  series,  however,  dip  about 
seventy  degrees,  a  little  west  of  north,  show  the  strati- 
fication distinctly,  and  pitch  towards  the  west.  Beau- 
tiful thin  seams  of  talc  have  once  been  folded  into 
these,  but  only  a  few  of  their  shattered  remnants  are 
now  left  to  indicate  their  former  places.  Steatite  oc- 
curs in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  First  District,  and 
has  there  been  extensively  quarried  for  commercial 
purposes.  The  great  breaking  up  of  the  surface 
which  seems  to  have  occurred  about  the  close  of  the 
Cambrian  period  scooped  out  vast  quantities  of  these 
magnesian  rocks  with  their  associated  overlying  mica 
schists  and  left  basins,  to  be  afterwards  occupied  by 
corals  and  other  animals,  and  the  algje,  which  con- 
tributed to  the  masses  of  limestones  and  marble  now 
spread  throughout  most  of  their  expanse. 

The  hydromica  schist  formation  naturally  follows 
next  in  order.  It  occupies  the  highest  levels  of  the 
county,  and  stretches  over  its  whole  width  from  the 
Pennsylvania  boundary  to  Reisterstown  on  the  west, 
and  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Little  Gunpow-der  on 
the  east.  High  crests  of  this  rock,  of  a  blackish-gray 
color  on  the  weathered  faces,  stand  up  on  ridges 
which  often  rise  to  an  elevation  of  more  than  six 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  The  masses  are  frequently 
of  immense  size,  cracked  and  dislocated  in  various 
directions,  and  stand  out  at  various  angles  along  the 
steep  slopes  down  which  they  have  slid.  Both  syn- 
clinal and  anticlinal  folds,  both  short  and  long,  stretch 
over  the  whole  width  of  the  area  from  north  to  south. 
In  some  cases  these  rocks  reach  over  like  tongues  into 
the  limestone  country  farther  south,  and  in  a  few  in- 
stances, as  near  Butler  Post-office,  beyond  Ashland, 
and  in  the  ridges  next  above  Green  Spring  Valley, 
they  have  formed  islands,  probably,  in  the  Cambrian 
Ocean.  The  excessive  proportion  of  silvery  mica 
throughout  this  formation  is  its  most  quickly  distin- 
guishing feature.  It  is  mixed  with  quartz,  which 
spreads  out  in  lumpy  layers  between  its  plates,  and 
which  sometimes  pushes  through  it  in  large  veins. 
As  we  proceed  well  into  it,  the  newly-fractured  rock 
of  the  central  parts  of  the  beds  shows  a  slippery, 
satin-like  surface,  coated  with  more  metallic-looking 
mica  (Damouriti:),  and  this  is  often  connected  with 
beds  of  steatite,  which  thrust  their  stout  root-like 
veins  into  the  strata  like  huge  cancers.  Along  the 
southern  boundary  of  this  formation  the  scales  of 
mica  are  coai-se  and  the  slaty  character  less  distinct 
than  it  is  seen  to  be  as  the  State  line  is  approached. 
Beyond  Pleasant  Valley  splendid   examples  of  tlie 


GEOLOGY. 


27 


schist,  of  a  highly  silvery  appearance,  fill  the  nar- 
rowly-folded anticlinal  and  synclinal  hills.  There, 
too,  the  layers  of  that  rock  are  very  neatly  wrinkled 
in  narrow  wavy  lines.  Quartz  in  lenticular  laminie 
rests  between  the  layers,  and,  where  foliated,  its  struc-  j 
tare  is  more  closely  pressed  together,  while  the  little  } 
prominences  set  all  over  the  surface  are  found  to  be  i 
occupied  by  garnets.  These  rocks  are  bent  and  folded  i 
in  almost  every  possible  way.  The  white  quartz  con-  i 
trasts  strongly  with  the  gray  mass,  and  forming  slen- 
der veins,  imitates  many  of  the  more  crooked  letters 
of  the  alphabet.  Compression  of  the  strata  has  often  | 
bent  the  inclosed  granular  quartz  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  force  it  back  upon  itself.  Some  of  these  intercala- 
tions are  several  inches  in  thickness,  and  have  in- 
volved the  surrounding  layers  of  mica  to  such  an  j 
extent  as  to  double  them  inwards  in  a  series  of  com- 
plicated folds.  Near  their  outer  limits,  these  rocks 
occasionally  include  a  bed  of  sandstone  like  gray 
gneiss,  but  usually  these  masses  are  of  small  extent,  ■, 
and  of  no  great  thickness.  A  paler  gray,  closer- 
grained  sandstone  is  sometimes  interstratified  in  other 
parts  of  the  area,  and  it  seems  to  be  of  a  texture  fit 
for  grindstones  and  hones.  The  most  striking  feature 
of  this  formation  is  the  celebrated  Black  Rock,  on 
the  creek  of  that  name,  about  one-half  mile  north  of 
Butler  Post-office,  in  the  Fifth  District.  This  is  the 
shattered  remnant  of  a  former  great  hill  of  tlie  dark 
mica  schist  which  at  one  time  crossed  the  Falls  turn- 
pike near  the  fork  in  Black  Rock  Run.  On  the  west 
side  of  the  road  it  now  rises  in  picturesque  attitude 
to  a  height  of  about  thirty-five  feet.  It  is  weather- 
beaten,  varied  with  patches  of  gray,  green,  and  yel- 
low lichens,  and  partly  encircled  below,  and  on  pro- 
jecting angles,  by  the  beautiful  fern,  Polypodium  vul- 
gare.  The  most  prominent  part  of  this  monumental 
mass  consists  of  two  vertical  bowlders,  standing  on 
end,  q^se  together.  They  appear  to  be  about  twenty 
feet  high,  by  nearly  fifteen  feet  in  width,  rest  upon  a 
large  broken  bed  of  the  same  kind  of  rock,  and  are 
partly  capped  by  smaller  masses,  which  lean  upon 
them  almost  horizontally.  Behind  them,  the  hill  is 
filled  with  similar  pieces  of  large  size,  tossed  there  by 
the  dislocations  which  have  disturbed  the  order  of 
this  whole  bed,  and  shattered  in  part  by  descending 
from  a  higher  level. 

In  Butler  the  outer  edge  of  this  formation  lies 
nearest  to  a  stratified  gneiss  quartz-rock,  separated 
from  it  by  only  a  narrow  gap.  The  gneiss  is  made  up 
of  the  extremely  fine  particles  of  quartz,  feldspar,  and 
mica,  sprinkled  with  atoms  of  hornblende.  It  is  ar- 
ranged in  very  narrow  strata  placed  almost  vertical ; 
and  dips  away  from  the  hydromica  schist,  although 
pressed  against  it  lower  down. 

Another  remarkable  example  of  the  hydromica 
schist  is  the  Raven  Rock.  It  occurs  in  the  Seventh 
District,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  West  Branch  of  the 
Great  Gunpowder  River,  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
southeast  of  Weisburg.     The  rock  is  a  prominent  dark 


ledge,  which  projects  at  least  seventy-five  feet  above 
the  earth,  and  overhangs  the  Gunpowder  River.  It 
is  also  part  of  a.great  ridge,  and  is  as  usual  broken 
and  craggy.  The  wildest  and  most  rugged  region 
of  all,  while  the  highest,  is  that  where  these  rocks 
are  most  prevalent,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
county ;  and  there  they  may  be  studied  in  the  char- 
acteristic and  almost  original  condition  in  which  they 
have  been  left  by  physical  forces. 

All  the  geological  formations  thus  far  noticed  be- 
long to  the  great  underlying  systems  of  primeval 
rocks.  No  remains  of  anything  certainly  known  to 
belong  to  animal  structure  have  been  found  in  any  of 
them.  They  constitute  the  floor  upon  which  all  the 
sedimentary  and  other  formations  of  later  periods 
have  been  laid  down,  and  from  the  broken  remains  of 
which,  in  association  with  the  remnants  of  organic 
beings,  all  the  succeeding  rocks  have  been  derived. 

Palaeozoic  Age.  Cambrian  and  Lower  Silurian 
Formations. — The  period  is  now  reached  when  living 
creatures  and  plants  have  begun  to  make  their  ap- 
pearance in  the  waters.  A  wide-spread  ocean  still 
covers  much  of  the  surface,  and  the  eroded  rocks 
have  left  deep  cavities  in  the  sides  and  between  the 
swellings  of  the  archsean  masses,  where  rank  growths 
of  sea-weeds  and  the  soft  sea-worms  could  find  place 
and  protection.  Doubtless  hot  springs  and  heated 
currents  of  water  coursed  here  and  there  along  the 
margins  of  the  higher  beds;  skirting,  perhaps,  the 
drains  and  narrow  valleys  of  the  hydromica  schists. 
As  this  period  advanced,  broad  sheets  of  silicious 
conglomerates  were  laid  down  on  the  bottom,  where 
the  grinding  waves  had  reduced  the  quartz  seams  to 
rounded  pebbles.  Powerful  storms  stirred  the  shal- 
low waters,  breaking  the  mica  from  the  schists,  and 
sending  it  in  the  midst  of  sandy  streams  to  the  upper 
submerged  plateaus.  Fine  silicious  paste  was  laid 
down  at  more  quiet  intervals,  until  a  broad  deep  sheet 
of  quartz  conglomerate  and  sandstone  rested  over  an 
area  extending  perhaps  from  what  is  now  the  eastern 
edge  of  the  Triassic  brown  sandstone  belt  across  the 
greater  part  of  our  hydromica  schist  formation,  and 
even  projecting  over  a  part  of  the  county  to  within 
the  Third,  Ninth,  and  Eleventh  Districts.  Probably  a 
few  small  belts  of  the  Potsdam  sandstone  and  pebbly 
quartzite  were  laid  down  along  the  old  sea  margin 
immediately  north  of  Baltimore,  since  large  angular 
fragments,  with  multitudes  of  smaller  pieces,  have 
been  dug  out  of  the  drift  along  that  line.  These  were 
not  rounded,  as  would  have  been  the  case  had  they 
been  brought  from  a  long  distance ;  but  their  edges 
were  sharp  and  unbroken,  as  if  they  had  been  cracked 
from  freshly-broken  beds.  Also,  in  similar  deposits 
in  the  same  region,  rounded  small  bowlders  of  the 
same  system  occurred,  but  in  every  case  noticed  they 
came  from  the  harder  and  firmer  parts  of  the  rock, 
which  could  readily  bear  transportation  in  contact 
with  other  rounded  quartz  and  pebble  drift.  The 
latter  part  of  this  epoch  was  characterized  by  enor- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


mous  wear  aud  tear  of  the  thick  silicious  beds  which 
covered  some  of  the  swellings  along  the  bottom  of 
the  shallower  basins.  Some  of  the.se  were  cut  quite 
down  through  the  hydromica  schists  to  the  older 
rocks  beneath.  Some  of  these  basins,  so  made,  are  of 
great  extent,  such  as  Dulaney's  and  Worthington's 
Valleys,  and  all  the  long  depressions  opening  out 
towards  the  southeast.  The  ocean  entered  by  all 
these  avenues,  and  was  perhaps  only  cut  off  from  the 
basins  in  other  counties  by  the  higher  folds  of  ar- 
chiean  rocks  along  the  southwestern  border  of  the 
county.  Life  must  have  teemed  in  the  shallower  parts 
of  the  great  ocean.  The  drains  and  open  gulfs  may 
have  been  peopled  by  the  corals  and  algie,  and  the 
foraminifora,  no  doubt,  filled  the  bottom  of  the  deeper 
waters  with  their  constantly  dropping  shells.  Long 
ages  elapsed,  and  the  slowly  accumulating  deposits 
liad  become  thick.  In  some  places  they  were  com- 
l)act,  in  others  more  loose  and  porous.  Here  and  | 
there  streams  of  oozy  matter,  ground  from  the  flanks 
of  the  older  rocks,  mixed  with  sand,  mica,  aud  sili- 
cious grit,  coursed  through  the  beds  of  limestone  j 
mud,  and  left  a  long,  wavy  trail  wherever  they  flowed. 
Still  other  layers  of  limestone  mud,  mixed  with  what- 
ever sediment  was  carried  by  the  now  gentler  waves,  I 
were  laid  over  the  former  deposits,  and  by  this  time 
a  stratum  had  accumulated  of  several  hundreds  of 
feet  in  thickness.  Exact  figures  cannot  be  given,  for 
no  measurements  ate  obtainable  at  the  present  time. 

Such  has  been  the  method  of  construction  of  the 
Cambro-Silurian  system  of  rocks.     Its  whole  history 
has  not  yet  been  given  to  the  world,  but  enough  has  j 
been  .secured  to  enable  us  to  recognize  its  most  promi-  \ 
nent  features. 

Mesozoie  Age.  Jurassic  and  Wealden  Formations. 
—Whole  ages  of  geological  history  have  passed  since 
the  Cambro-Silurian  period  came  to  an  end ;  but,  ex- 
cepting a  few  badly-worn  corals  and  brachiopods  of 
the  Lower  Silurian  epoch,  buried  in  the  drift  of  the 
Jurassic,  no  remains  have  been  left  to  show  that  these 
periods  had  ever  affected  the  county.  Probably  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Jurassic  time  great  heat  was  active 
in  the  crust  of  the  earth.  Trap  was  thrust  up  through 
the  cracks  of  the  rocks  in  the  brown  sandstone  of 
the  Triassic,  and  through  other  formations,  and  tre- 
mendous contractions  and  expansions  of  the  strata 
dropped  whole  hills  to  lower  levels,  while  it  lifted 
others  in  a  corresponding  degree.  Drying  and  shrink- 
ing of  the  earth's  surface  had  already  settled  the 
bolder  reliefs  of  upland,  and  now  the  ocean  was  being 
pushed  farther  away,  extensive  marshes  bordered  the 
coast,  and  the  lower  midlands  were  covered  with  con- 
sjncuous  groves  of  trees.  Springs  of  water  welled  up 
through  the  sandy  beds  covering  the  primeval  rocks, 
and  lakes  filled  up  the  avenues  between  the  rounder 
hills.  Great  beds  of  canes  spread  away  in  belts  next 
the  shores,  and  lagoons  were  tenanted  by  the  ever- 
hungry  Astrodon  and  his  other  reptilian  relations. 
The  climate  was  warm  ;  in  the  lowlands  tlie  atmos- 


phere moLst,  and  a  plentiful  vegetation  grew  all 
around.  Exquisite  tree-ferns  flourished  in  the  open- 
ings of  the  ravines,  and  the  Cycad  palms  spread  over 
the  deep,  rich  soil  near  the  swamps.  Many  forms  of 
pine-like  trees  were  established  on  the  lower  hills, 
aud  they  were  spread  out  in  wide  forests  as  far  back 
as  the  first  high  elevations  beyond  Druid  Hill  Park. 
Extensive  washings  of  the  surface,  caused  by  the 
melting  of  glaciers  on  the  flanks  and  in  the  cafions 
of  the  high  mountain  on  the  northwest  of  the  county, 
brought  down  quantities  of  .sand  and  gravel  and  small 
rounded  quartz  bowlders  from  the  rocky  streams,  and 
carried  them  out  in  piles  as  far  as  the  border  of  the 
great  ocean  which  washed  the  beach  on  a  line  with 
North  Point  and  the  mouth  of  the  Gunpowder  River. 
On  that  line  beds  of  sandstone  were  being  laid 
down,  layer  upon  layer,  until  finally  a  deep  and 
narrow  strip  of  silicious  rock  stretched  across  the 
region,  which  wa-s  afterwards  to  be  the  estuary  of 
the  Patapsco  River,  and  away  off  through  Cecil 
County,  northeast,  in  the  direction  of  the  Delaware 
River.  Probably  this  rocky  belt  then  formed  a  high 
barrier,  and  served  to  arrest  the  mud  and  sand  which 
was  being  continually  carried  towards  it.  The  car- 
bonaceous mud  of  the  Middle  Jurassic  and  Wealden 
had  now  served  its  purpose  in  supporting  a  luxuriant 
vegetation,  and  the  iron  material  had  been  stored  in 
vast  quantities  throughout  the  beds  of  clay.  The 
repose  of  long  intervals  of  quiet  was  at  length  to  be 
disturbed.  The  ice-barriers  which  had  been  gradually 
extending  towards  the  coast  were  now  being  broken 
up.  Floods  swept  down,  cutting  trenches  through 
the  clays  and  former  drift  mixtures,  and  opened 
channels  into  the  sea.  Ocean-waves  aud  floods  from 
landward  tossed  the  clays  and  sands  about  in  rude 
heaps,  and  carved  canals  between  the  more  refractory 
beds  of  the  harder  clays.  These  once  opened,  the 
higher  tides  rushed  through  them  with  great  energy, 
cut  away  their  corners,  and  left  them  standing  in  de- 
tached domes  and  wavy  rounded  swellings.  Another 
epoch,  the  Cretaceous,  made  little  or  no  change  in 
the  existing  order  of  things,  at  least  so  far  as  any 
record  has  been  left  to  us  within  the  limits  of  this 
county. 

Cenozoic  Age. — And  now  we  reach  a  period  when 
the  whole  region  is  lifted  still  higher  above  the  sea, 
and  later,  when  fluctuations  of  level  in  the  crust  of  the 
earth  forced  up  the  mountains  west  of  our  county,  and 
let  down  our  coast  to  a  depth  of  more  than  one  hun- 
dred feet,  admitting  the  ocean  once  more  as  far  inland 
as  Lutherville  and  Timonium.  Proceeding  stage  by 
stage,  it  distributed  the  gravel  in  high  heajis  over  the 
plateaus  and  in  the  basins,  and  cast  down  some  of  the 
rocks  which  had  become  detached  along  the  summits 
of  the  hills.  A  time  of  greater  quiet  followed  this, 
when  a  scanty  vegetation  of  spruce  grew  upon  the 
ridges  south  of  Dulaney's  Valley,  but  of  all  else 
during  the  remainder  of  this  period  no  remains  exist 
to  point  out  its  liistory. 


GEOLOGY. 


But  now  the  end  of  the  Cenozoic  Age  has  been 
reached,  the  present  position  of  land  and  water  has 
been  reached,  and  a  temperate  climate  permits  the 
growth  of  willows  near  the  streams,  and  of  chestnut 
and  oak  upon  the  rolling  surfaces.  Marshes  of  deep 
black  mud  were  beginning  to  accumulate,  and  the 
tangled  roots  of  grasses  and  shrubs  were  preparing 
the  foundations  of  the  later  peat. 

Glacial  Epoch. — The  genial  temperature  of  the 
Cenozoic  has  now  passed  away,  glaciers  have  again 
settled  on  the  mountains,  and  ice-rafts  are  crashing 
through  every  channel,  carving  more  profoundly  the 
beds  of  the  streams,  and  plowing  deep  furrows  in 
the  surfaces  of  the  bard  rocks.  Swelling  floods,  from 
the  frequent  melting  of  the  ice-masses,  pour  through 
the  valleys,  grooving  and  rounding  the  edges  of  the 
limestones,  and  scoring  parallel  lines  along  the  sides 
of  the  rocky  ravines  leading  down  to  the  rivers.  New 
channels  are  cut  in  the  Jurassic  beds  for  the  passage 
of  the  waters,  and  the  mouths  of  these  in  turn  are 
clogged  with  the  rushing  masses  of  sand,  clay,  and 
drift.  Kows  of  hard  bowlders  are  distributed  in  lines 
from  their  original  ledges  upon  the  sides  of  the  ridges 
and  plateaus,  the  upper  edges  of  the  gneisses  at  lower 
levels  are  planed  off  and  then  covered  with  the  rocks 
detached  from  above.  Finally,  the  ocean  pushes  the 
smaller  bowlders,  gravel,  and  sand  over  all  the  sur- 
face as  far  back  as  the  lower  falls  of  the  rivers,  and 
high  hills  of  these  materials  stand  up  along  the  whole 
tide-water  belt  of  the  county.  Later  floods  in  this 
and  the  modern  period  have  transported  these  gravels 
away  from  several  of  the  hills  and  plateaus  near  tide- 
water, but  the  same  formation  still  constitutes  promi- 
nent elevations  in  places  near  the  outer  limits  of  the 
city,  along  North  Avenue,  near  Fulton  Station,  and 
on  Mount  Royal  Avenue.  But  in  the  region  lying 
six  to  eight  miles  from  Baltimore,  between  the  Phila- 
delphia and  Harford  turnpikes,  they  form  an  elevated 
plateau,  rising  to  fully  one  hundred  feet  above  the 
adjacent  lowlands.  Clays  have  also  been  distributed 
during  this  period  as  shallow  layers  in  the  depres- 
sions washed  out  by  the  receding  waters,  and  marsh- 
mud  has  been  deposited  around  the  shores  and  in  the 
estuaries.  Also,  the  full  fauna  and  flora  of  the  present 
had  its  culmination  at  this  time,  and  all  the  diversi- 
ties of  land  and  water  had  become  established.  The 
great  American  elephant  roamed  over  the  lower  pla- 
teaus and  plains,  and  a  luxuriant  growth  of  the  swamp 
cypress  and  white  cedar  fringed  the  beaches  around 
Locust  Point,  about  the  end  of  the  tongue  of  land 
lying  in  the  Thirteenth  District,  and  along  the  shores 
of  the  Spring  Gardens. 

Iron  Ores. — From  the  earliest  settlement  of  the 
county  iron  ores  have  been  known  to  occur  in  various 
places  near  tide-water;  and  in  course  of  time  their 
existence  was  discovered  in  other  places,  until  now 
almost  every  locality  within  the  range  of  the  archajan 
and  limestone  rocks  affords  more  or  less  of  this  metal. 
First  of  all,  however,  rank  the  Jurassic  clays,  in  the 


amount  and  quality  of  the  ore  which  they  contain. 
A  great  belt  of  these,  extending  from  the  Relay  House 
on  the  Washington  road  to  the  estuary  of  the  Gun- 
powder River  (and  into  the  adjoining  counties),  and 
having  a  width  of  about  six  miles  on  the  west  by  ten 
miles  on  the  east,  is  the  natural  repository  of  the 
highly-esteemed  carbonates  of  iron.  In  the  Twelfth, 
Thirteenth,  and  part  of  the  Third  Districts,  these  an- 
cient deposits  are  more  than  one  hundred  feet  in 
depth.  They  are  the  dried  muds  of  a  once  great 
marsh,  which  covered  the  whole  southeastern  border 
of  Maryland,  from  the  vicinity  of  the  Delaware  and 
Chesapeake  Canal  to  the  city  of  Washington,  and 
which  extended  back  across  the  country  in  a  belt 
averaging  nearly  twenty  miles  in  width.  This  has 
been  the  region  of  dense  forests,  canebrakes,  tree- 
fern  groves,  and  luxuriant  vegetation,  and  from  their 
macerated  and  reduced  remains  has  been  derived  the 
carbon  which  afterwards  combined  with  the  iron,  in 
the  alumina  from  the  hornblendic  rocks  and  pyrites, 
to  form  the  nodules  and  layers.  These  clays  have 
also  afforded  the  air-tight  receptacle  in  which  the 
ores  have  concentrated,  or  settled  in  thin  strata. 

These  carbonates  of  iron,  widely  known  for  their 
richness  and  purity  of  metal,  are  of  two  kinds.  The 
one  called  Hone  ore,  from  the  drab  color  of  its  fresh 
exterior,  and  from  its  resemblance  to  the  fine-grained 
sandstones  used  for  whetstones,  is  found  chiefly  in 
layers  and  flat  masses,  a  few  feet  below  the  bed  of  the 
Patapsco  River,  in  the  region  around  the  quarantine 
station,  also  between  Fort  McHenry  and  the  light- 
house on  the  opposite  shore,  and  near  the  Canton 
water-line.  Large  quantities  have  been  lifted  from 
the  two  former  places,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  a  vast  store  yet  remains,  which  is  now  inaccessible 
because  of  the  valuable  property  which  has  been  built 
above  it.  At  intervals,  from  at  least  the  middle  of 
the  Jurassic  period  to  the  present  time,  the  blackish, 
carbonaceous  ooze  has  been  settling  in  the  bottoms  of 
the  estuaries,  and  thus  the  material  for  a  new  supply 
of  the  ore  has  continued  to  be  present.  It  is  as- 
serted by  various  persons  who  have  been  engaged  in 
collecting  this  ore  that  the  same  beds  may  be  worked 
over  indefinitely.  They  state  that  after  an  interval 
of  a  few  years,  sometimes  as  few  as  from  three  to  five, 
they  have  returned  to  the  beds  at  the  bottom  of  the 
river,  and  found  them  profitably  productive. 

The  second  variety  of  carbonate  of  iron  is  generally 
a  little  darker,  more  lead-colored  than  the  preceding, 
and  more  or  less  hydrated.  It  is  of  a  fine,  close  tex- 
ture, occurs  in  the  form  of  nodules,  often  arranged 
like  a  series  of  shells,  one  within  the  other,  and  is 
generally  more  or  less  liver-colored  towards  the 
blackish,  velvety,  crystallized  centre.  The  interior  of 
such  nodules  is  also  seen  to  be  filled  with  wet,  dark- 
colored  clay,  or  with  sand.  This  is  the  most  abundant 
iron  ore  thus  far  worked  in  the  county.  It  lies  in  the 
lead-colored  or  blackish  clays  which  rise  from  a  few 
feet  below  tide-level;  but  it  may  also  be  met  with  in 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


tlie   paler-colored   and    reddish   clays   overlying,   or  I 
thrust  into  depressions  in  the  darker  ones.   The  places 
which  have  thus  far  yielded  the  largest  quantities  of 
this  ore  are  the  peninsula  of  the  Thirteenth  District, 
the  Caton  tract,  the  Sulphur  Spring  region,  the  belt  j 
along  the  Washington  road  from  the  Relay  House  [ 
to  the  vicinity  of  Gwynn's  Falls,  the  whole  range  I 
of  clay  lands  from  Herring  Run  to  within  one  mile  ' 
of  the  Gunpowder  River  near  the  Philadelphia  turn- 
pike, and  especially  that   part  of  the  county  near 
Steramer's  Run.    In  the  northeastern  part  of  the  city, 
likewise,  extensive  excavations,  to  a  depth  of  sixty  j 
feet  and  more,  have  been  made  to  reach  the  large 
beds  of  nodules  which  rested  there.     Some  of  these 
pieces  were   of   large  size,   weighing   two   hundred  1 
pounds,  and   even   more ;    but  the  greater  number 
ranged  from  the  size  of  the  fist  to  that  of  the  head. 

Next  in  extent  and  value  in  this  county  rank  the 
oxides  of  iron.  These  occur  in  numerous  places  in 
and  near  the  limestone  belt  in  most  if  not  all  of  the 
valleys.  They  are  of  several  difterent  aspects,  but  all 
exhibit  an  earthy  appearance,  and  are  more  or  less 
ochreous  on  some  part  of  the  surface.  Some  of  them, 
such  as  those  found  at  Timonium  and  Ashland,  have 
a  dark-brown,  smooth  exterior,  and  occur  in  lumps 
of  small  size.  These  are  dug  from  pits  in  the  earth, 
and  are  often  found  quite  near  the  surface.  At  other 
places,  as  north  of  Hampton,  and  even  on  that  estate, 
deep  excavations  have  been  dug  for  the  vast  bodies 
of  brown  hematite  deposited  there.  At  Oregon,  also, 
and  at  other  places  near  Chestnut  Ridge,  on  the 
"Caves"  estate  at  the  head-waters  of  North  Run, 
and  about  two  miles  west  of  Hereford,  valuable  va- 
rieties of  limonite  occur  in  considerable  quantities. 
These  are  all  important  ores,  and  generally  yield  from 
thirty-five  to  forty  per  cent,  of  excellent  iron. 

The  county  has  not  been  carefully  explored  for  the 
several  kinds  of  magnetite,  specular  oxide,  titanifer- 
ous,  and  other  oxides,  of  which  small  quantities  have  i 
been  found  in  the  Bare  Hills,  the  Soldiers'  Delight,  i 
and  especially  in  the  hills  of  the  hydromica  schist  j 
series  in  the  northwestern  and  northeastern  portions. 
Rich  magnetites  have  thus  far  been  extensively  mined  i 
here  only  in  the  edge  of  the  chloritic  slates,  near  the 
forks  of  the  Gunpowder  River,  south  of  Whitehall. 
The  importance  of  large  supplies  of  iron  ore  is  fully 
appreciated  by  our  inhabitants,  and  new  deposits  are 
being  discovered  every  year;  but  doubtless  many  of 
the  richest  and  best  yet  lie  hid  away  deep  in  the  rocky 
hills,  where  they  will  be  found  hereafter  only  as  the 
result  of  a  systematic  and  minute  examination  of  the 
structure  of  the  country.  j 

Marbles  and  Limestones.— The  marbles  of  Balti- 
more County  are  celebrated  for  their  usefulness  and 
durability.  These  are  all  white,  or  nearly  so,  and  [ 
while  they  are  distributed  throughout  most  of  the  j 
valleys  of  the  middle  belt,  are  most  easily  developed 
in  the  vast  beds  of  the  Beaver  Dam,  and  in  the  ledges 
of  Dulanev's  Valley.     All  of  them  have  been  more 


or  less  altered  by  the  action  of  heat,  which  has  in 
many  ca.ses  imparted  a  highly  crystalline  and  lustrous 
surface  to  the  fractured  rock.  This  £idmits  of  a  fine 
polish  to  the  dressed  stone,  and  renders  it  highly  de- 
sirable for  the  finishing  and  trimming  of  houses. 
There  are  two  principal  varieties  of  this  rock  which 
claim  attention  first,  because  of  their  firm  texture 
and  solidity  in  large  masses.  These  are  the  fine- 
grained and  the  alum  marbles.  The  former  is  best 
represented  in  the  horizontal  beds  worked  by  Messrs. 
Connelly  and  others  west  of  Cockeysville.  It  consists 
of  small,  even,  glistening  crystals  of  carbonate  of 
lime,  but  little  invaded  with  sulphuret  of  iron,  resting 
in  even  strata  of  great  length.  The  second  is  a  very 
coarse-grained,  and  more  glassy,  crystalline  rock, 
which  occurs  in  the  beds  at  Texas  and  in  Dulaney's 
Valley.  It  occurs  in  immense  blocks,  but,  being 
more  diflicult  to  polish,  is  not  at  present  so  much 
prized  as  formerly.  Both  varieties  have  been  exten- 
sively used  in  the  government  buildings  at  Washing- 
ton, and  the  former  is  the  chief  stone  used  in  the 
fronts  of  fine  residences  in  Baltimore.  The  limcr 
stones  are  the  varieties  of  marble  undesirable  for 
building  purposes,  from  lack  of  evenness  of  texture, 
or  from  resistance  to  polish,  or  softness  of  the  body 
of  the  rock.  But  they  are  precious  as  furnishing  an 
important  fertilizer,  and  one  well  adapted  to  most  of 
the  soils  of  the  county.  The  limestones,  including 
the  marbles,  were  originally  laid  down  in  nearly  hori- 
zontal beds,  but  where  they  rest  in  contact  with  the 
primordial  rocks  the  foldings  of  the  surface  have  let 
them  down  in  deep  synclinals,  the  closing  of  which, 
followed  by  erosion,  allows  their  ends  to  project  at  the 
surface  of  the  soil  in  conformity  with  the  edges  of  the 
adjacent  beds  of  gneiss,  etc.  This  is  markedly  the 
case  in  Western  Run  Valley  and  in  Quaker  Bottom. 
At  the  Gunpowder  end  of  the  new  tunnel  for  the  Bal- 
timore water-supply, the  limestone  runs  under  the  river 
and  juts  against  the  massive  hornblende  rock,  appear- 
ing to  be  nearly  horizontal  at  that  point,  but  bent  into 
a  fold  at  a  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  east, 
where  it  forms  a  prominent  hill.  The  foldings  of  this 
rock  in  the  Texas  district  appear  to  be  chiefly  cyclo- 
clinal,  connected  with  serpentine  waves  following  a 
nearly  northeast  by  southwest  direction,  and  becoming 
lost  in  more  horizontal  layers  as  they  shade  into  the 
broad  valley  on  the  west.  In  Green  Spring  Valley 
broad  belts  of  these  limestones  cross  the  roads,  and 
wide  sheets  of  them  underlie  the  soil  on  the  north  side 
of  Lutherville,  In  the  valleys  south  and  west  of  the 
Great  Central  Basin  they  underlie  the  soil  at  a  depth 
of  six  to  ten  feet,  and  the  ore  overlaid  by  micaceous 
earth  charged  with  small  (]uartz  fragments,  somewhat 
rounded. 

Gold,  Silver,  Copper,  and  Chrome.— Gold  has 
never  been  found  in  Baltimore  County  in  quantities 
sufficiently  large  to  pay  for  its  production.  It  is  com- 
monly found  here  in  the  form  of  fine  dust  or  minute 
specks,  scattered  through   quartz  veins  in   the  slates 


GEOLOGY. 


31 


and  primitive  rocks.  Granites  in  the  archaean  belt 
have  yielded  small  quantities,  and  the  chloritic  slates 
of  the  metalliferous  range  north  of  Hereford  have 
disclosed  a  little  of  the  gold  in  very  minute  particles. 
It  is  an  almost  universally  distributed  native  metal, 
always  hard  to  discover,  and  uncertain  as  to  the 
amount  in  any  one  locality. 

Minute  quantities  of  silver  have  also  been  found 
associated  with  copper  and  iron  in  the  quartzites  of 
the  chloritic  belt,  eight  miles  from  Baltimore.  Speci- 
mens of  quartzite  with  fine  spangles  of  this  ore  have 
been  exhibited  from  the  region  (it  is  asserted)  just 
north  of  Baltimore.  As  seams  of  altered  chloritic 
gneiss  and  almost  fused  hornblendic  rocks  pass 
through  the  section  immediately  north  of  Druid  Hill 
Park,  it  is  not  impossible  that  some  of  the  samples 
might  have  been  extracted  from  those  places. 

Copper  belongs  to  the  area  along  the  borders  of  the 
serpentine  at  the  Bare  Hills,  at  Soldiers'  Delight,  and 
along  the  metalliferous   range   crossing  the  county  | 
about  twenty  miles  north  of  Baltimore.     Indications  j 
of  the  metal  appear  in  the  surface  rocks  east  of  Pleas-  ' 
ant  Valley,  also  southeast  of  Whitehall,  and  near  the 
fork  of  the  Gunpowder  River.     Copper  ores  of  good 
quality  were  formerly  extracted  from  a  shaft  sunk 
near  the  southeastern  border  of  the  Bare  Hills,  but  I 
the  large  amount  of  the  ore  obtained  at  Lake  Superior 
and  elsewhere  caused  the  working  to  be  unprofitable, 
and  it  has  since  been  abandoned.     Native  copper  has  I 
not  yet  been  discovered  in  this  county,  but  that  which 
has  been  worked  is  a  carbonate,  protruded  into  the 
quartz  veins,  and  often  accompanied  by  the  magnetic 
oxide  of  iron.     That  which  has  been  observed  in  the 
Tenth  District  is  found  next  the  soapstone  in  the  midst 
of  hydromica  slate  rocks.  1 

Chrome  still  holds  a  prominent  place  as  one  of  the 
valuable  ores  of  Maryland.  It  is,  however,  less  ac- 
cessible in  Baltimore  County  than  in  the  northern 
part  of  Cecil  County,  and  this  fact  somewhat  represses 
the  development  of  the  digging  in  the  Bare  Hills  and 
Soldiers'  Delight.  It  was  formerly  sought  for  in  the 
form  of  coarse  sand  in  the  gulleys  and  streams  of  the 
localities  before  mentioned,  but  now  the  yield  is  found 
to  be  more  productive  in  the  pockets  of  the  massive 
serpentine  rocks. 

Mica. — This  much-needed  mineral  occurs  in  cross- 
layers  between  strata  of  quartz  in  the  archsean  rocks. 
It  is  associated  with  the  binary  granites,  and  often 
forms  irregular  pockets  in  the  midst  of  their  mass. 
A  seam  of  this  mineral  has  recently  been  laid  bare  on 
St.  Paul  Street,  next  the  northern  end  of  the  bridge 
over  Jones'  Falls,  but  the  only  parts  penetrated  have 
been  too  much  decayed  to  be  of  commercial  value. 
Loose  masses  of  large-sized  mica  plates  have  also  been 
found  in  the  binary  granites  of  the  hornblende  region 
two  miles  east  of  Timonium.  At  that  point  only  the 
decomposed  hills  have  been  examined,  so  that  the 
rock  in  place  may  yet  be  found  to  yield  veins  of  good 
quality. 


Clays. — The  vast  bodies  of  archiean  rocks,  largely 
composed  of  alumina,  have  yielded  by  their  decom- 
position and  erosion  great  hills  and  deep  strata  of  the 
most  important  commercial  clays.  These  now  ri.se  in 
part  as  bluflTs  along  and  near  the  shores  of  tide-water. 
Deep  cuts  along  the  roads  leading  out  of  the  city  also 
expose  them  at  various  points,  and  they  may  likewise 
be  seen  in  the  excavations  for  new  streets  on  its  eastern, 
southern,  and  western  boundaries,  and  along  North 
Avenue  east  of  the  Harford  road.  They  are  of  vari- 
ous colors,  from  a  pure  white  to  a  lead-black,  and  of 
every  variety  of  texture. 

The  finest  porcelain-clay,  or  kaolin,  is  pure  white, 
soft,  and  destitute  of  grit,  and  results  from  the  decom- 
position of  clean  feldspar.  It  has  been  found  in  de- 
posits of  moderate  size  at  many  points  in  and  near 
Baltimore.  The  new  basin  at  Montebello  cuts  through 
a  large  bed  of  it,  and  it  occurs  in  greater  or  less  quan- 
tities in  all  the  large  masses  of  decaying  binary  gran- 
ites and  feldsites.  The  sedimentary,  water-washed 
white  clay  may  be  in  part  only  another  stage  of  this 
same  kaolin.  It  occurs  in  beds  underlying  the  drift 
and  sand,  east  and  south  of  the  city.  Large  beds  of 
it  have  been  cut  through  in  digging  the  Clifton  reser- 
voir, and  it  has  beeu  thrown  out  in  large  quantities 
from  the  new  tunnel  for  Harford  Run,  and  from  the 
beds  of  the  streets  on  Federal  Hill,  and  west  of  Cal- 
vert Street  near  the  Northern  Central  Railroad  depot. 

Another  kind  of  pale  clay,  whitish  and  drab,  is  used 
in  making  the  fine-pressed  Baltimore  bricks.  It  is 
generally  found  a  few  feet  beneath  the  surface  in 
separate  beds,  which  are  often  many  acres  in  extent, 
and  which  extend  beneath  the  surface  to  a  depth  of 
ten  feet,  or  even  more.  They  are  widely  distributed 
about  the  region  of  the  Patapsco  River,  along  a  belt 
about  two  miles  wide,  but  sending  off  tongues  into 
the  country  at  intervals  to  a  distance  of  nearly  five 
miles. 

The  tile,  pottery,  and  ordinary  brick  clays  of  Balti- 
more County  are  still  more  widely  distributed.  They 
occupy  nearly  all  the  intermediate  levels  over  the 
Jurassic  area,  from  tide-water  to  a  line  about  eight 
miles  north  of  Baltimore,  and  from  the  Relay  House 
on  the  Washington  road  to  within  one  mile  of  the 
Gunpowder  River  on  the  Philadelphia  road.  Many 
of  the  beds  of  this  clay  lie  directly  next  the  surface, 
and  seem  to  be  of  late  Tertiary  origin. 

Two  other  kinds  of  brick  clay  have  lately  been 
brought  into  use.  The  one  belongs  to  the  iron-ore 
regions  of  the  limestone  valleys,  and  the  other  to  the 
talcose  slate  region  of  the  northern  parts  of  the  county. 
Both  of  these  varieties  are  much  valued,  and  are 
being  extensively  used  in  the  construction  of  dwell- 


The  limits  necessarily  prescribed  for  the  present 
chapter  exclude  the  consideration  of  numerous  topics 
which  fitly  belong  to  the  geology  of  the  county.  Thus 
no  notice  has  been  taken  of  the  duration  of  the  time, 
of  the  thickness,  and  of  the  rate  of  deposit  of  the 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


different  formations  ;  of  the  different  faults  and  dykes, 
of  the  dislocations  of  the  hills,  and  of  the  general 
changes  of  level  which  have  taken  place  during  some 
of  the  periods ;  but  instead,  we  have  had  to  be  con- 
tented with  a  general  survey  of  the  features  which 
more  immediately  concern  the  practical  interests  of 
the  present  time. 


CHAPTER    III. 

ABORIGINES. 
The  Fierce  Susquehaunouglis — Habits  and  Appearance. 

When  Captain  John  Smith,  in  the  summer  of 
1608,  penetrated  the  territory  of  Baltimore  County  (as 
will  be  seen  in  the  next  chapter),  he  found  it  in- 
habited by  a  nation  of  Indians  who  lived  on  or  near 
the  river  which  has  since  borne  their  name.  The 
Susquehannoughs,  being  hunting  Indians,  changed 
their  abodes  as  game  grew  scarce,  and  so  scattered 
themselves  over  a  large  extent  of  country.  Their 
chief  settlement  was  about  twenty-one  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  but  in  the  spring 
and  summer  they  made  visits  to  the  salt  water  for  fish 
and  oysters.  They  could  muster  seven  hundred  fight- 
ing men,  and  exercised  dominion  over  a  considerable 
part  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Shore  of  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay,  being  the  lords  of  some  and  the  allies  of 
other  tribes  and  confederacies.' 

The  Susquehannoughs  were  one  of  the  fiercest  and 
most  warlike  nations  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  kept 
all  the  tribes  within  their  reach  in  a  state  of  almost 
continual  alarm.  Their  villages  were  palisaded  to 
resist  the  incursions  of  their  most  bitter  and  deter- 
mined enemies,  the  Iroquois,  or  Massaworaekes,  as 
they  called  them.  The  warlike  appearance,  grave 
and  haughty  carriage,  and  sonorous  speech  of  the 
Susquehannoughs  seem  to  have  strongly  impressed 
the  early  voyagers.  Smith  describes  them  as  very 
noble  specimens  of  humanity.  He  speaks  of  them 
as  a  race  of  giants.  "Such  greate  and  well  propor- 
tioned men  are  seldome  seene,  for  they  seemed  like 
giants  to  the  English,  yea,  and  unto  their  neighbours." 
He  speaks  of  them  as  in  other  respects  the  "strangest 
people  of  all  those  countries."  They  were  of  a  sim- 
ple and  confiding  temper,  and  could  scarcely  be  re- 
strained from  prostrating  themselves  in  adoration  of 
the  white  strangers.  Their  language  seemed  to  cor- 
respond with  their  proportions,  "  sounding  from  them 
as  a  voyce  in  a  vault."  They  were  clad  in  bear  and 
wolf-skins,  wearing  the  skin  as  the  Mexican  his 
poncho,  passing  the  head  through  a  slit  in  the  centre, 
andletting  the  garment  drape  naturally  around  from 
the  shoulders. 

1  Claiborne,  in  bis  petition  to  the  Englisli  Crown  in  1638,  alleges  that 
he  bought  the  Isle  of  Kent  from  the  "  kings"  of  the  country.  In  1G52 
the  Susquelmnnouglis,  in  a  treaty  with  tlie  comnjissioners  of  Maryland, 
ceded  tlie  territory,  including  tlie  sites  of  Chcstertown,  Centreville,  and 


*'  Some  have  cassocks  made  of  beare 
head  goes  through  the  skinne's  neck,  i 


*  head  and  skinnes,  that  a  man's 
nd  the  eares  of  the  beare  fastened 
to  his  sliouUIers,  the  nose  and  teeth  hanging  down  his  breast;  another 
beare's  face  aplit  behind  him,  and  at  the  end  of  the  nose  hung  a  pawe; 
the  halfe  sleeves  coming  to  the  elbowes  were  the  necks  of  the  beares,  and 
the  arms  thi-ougli  the  mouth  with  pawes  hanging  at  their  noses.  One 
had  the  iiead  of  a  wolfe  hanging  in  a  cliaino  for  a  Jewell,  his  tobacco- 
pipe  three  quarters  of  a  yard  long,  prettily  carved  with  a  bird,  a  deere, 
or  some  such  device  at  the  great  end,  sufficient  to  beat  out  one's  brains." 

Smith  has  given  us  a  spirited  sketch  of  one  of  these 
gigantic  warriors,  "  the  greatest  of  them,"  thus  at- 
tired: 

"  The  calf  of  whose  leg  was  three-quarters  of  a  yard  about,  and  all  the 
rest  of  hia  liuibes  so  answerable  to  that  proportion,  that  he  seemed  the 
goodliest  man  we  ever  beheld.  His  hayre  the  one  side  was  long,  the 
other  shave  close,  with  a  ridge  over  his  crowne  like  a  cock's  combe.  His 
arrows  were  live  quarters  long,  headed  with  the  splinters  of  a  white, 
chrystall-like  stone,  iu  form  of  a  heart,  an  inche  broad,  and  an  inche 
and  a  halfe  or  more  long.  These  he  wore  in  a  wolve's  skinne  at  his 
backe  for  his  quiver,  his  bow  in  the  one  hand  and  his  club  in  the  other, 
as  is  described." 

When  a  hostile  expedition  had  been  determined  on 
by  the  chief  and  leading  warriors  of  the  Susquehan- 
noughs in  council,  it  was  made  known  to  the  tribe, 
who  celebrated  the  occasion  by  a  solemn  dance,  in 
which  the  warriors,  decked  with  paint  and  feathers, 
chanted  their  past  or  prospective  exploits,  and  imi- 
tated in  expressive  pantomime  the  shooting,  toma- 
hawking, and  scalping  of  their  foes.  On  the  ap- 
pointed day  they  set  out,  in  one  or  more  parties, 
moving,  as  they  approached  their  destination,  with 
extreme  warine.ss  to  prevent  discovery,  marching 
often  by  night  in  single  file,  slipping  from  shadow 
to  shadow,  or  gliding  through  the  forest  so  stealthily 
that  hardly  a  twig  snapped  or  leaf  rustled  under  the 
tread  of  a  moccasined  foot,  until  at  a  given  signal 
they  burst  upon  the  village  with  terrific  war-whoops. 
Those  of  their  foes  who  survived  after  the  rage  of 
slaughter  was  glutted  they  made  prisoners  and  re- 
served for  death  by  the  most  cruel  tortures  their  in- 
genuity could  devise,  in  inventing  aud  enduring 
which  the  Iroquois — who  indeed  have  the  credit  of 
introducing  the  custom — seem  to  have  surpassed  all 
others.  Instances  are  recorded  of  the  tortures  of  dis- 
tinguished warriors  lasting  for  days,  a  sort  of  contest 
arising  between  the  power  of  cruelty  to  inflict  and 
that  of  fortitude  to  endure.  In  the  intervals  of  tor- 
ment the  victim  would  sometimes  smoke  his  pipe  and 
talk  on  indifferent  matters  with  his  tormentors,  while 
amid  his  suffering  he  sang  his  own  exploits  or  derided 
the  unskillfulness  of  his  torturers,  and  taught  them 
devices  for  inflicting  more  exquisite  pain.  Women 
were  sometimes  tortured,  but  usually  they  were  toma- 
hawked or  shot,  unless  the  captors  wanted  women,  in 
which  case  they  were  adopted  into  the  tribe.  The 
Susquehannoughs  made  frequent  incursions  on  the 
more  southern  Maryland  tribes  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  off  women.^ 

As  we  have  stated,  all  the  territory  now  comprised 
in  Baltimore,  Harford,  and  Cecil  Counties  was  the 

~  The  writer's  History  of  Maryland,  vol.  i.,  p.  84. 


ABORIGINES. 


favorite  hunting-ground  of  this  formidable  tribe ;  they, 
however,  by  no  means  confined  themselves  to  these 
narrow  limits,  but  scoured  all  the  coiintry  between 
the  Delaware  and  the  Potomac,  and  spread  terror 
and  dismay  through  the  distant  and  less  warlike 
tribes  of  Southern  Maryland. 

The  Susquehannoughs  seem  to  have  been  the  tribe 
known  to  the  French  by  the  name  of  Andast6s,  or 
GandastoguSs ;  to  the  Swedes  and  Dutch  by  that  of 
Minquas ;  and  to  the  Pennsylvanians  by  that  of  Con- 
estogues.  The  similarity  of  the  forms  Gandastogues 
and  Conestogues,  almost  identical  with  that  be- 
tween Gaudawague  and  Caughnawaga,  or  Conewago, 
is  very  striking.  However,  difference  in  name  would 
not  necessarily  disprove  the  identity  of  the  tribes 
mentioned.  The  same  tribe  was  often  known  by  dif- 
ferent names,  which  varied  according  to  locality  or 
other  circumstance.  It  had,  in  the  first  place,  its  own 
distinctive  name,  often,  indeed  almost  always,  sym- 
bolical ;  this  name  neighboring  nations  either  trans- 
lated into  their  own  language  or  dialect,  or  replaced 
it  with  a  new  appellation.  The  European  settlers 
either  adopted  these  names  as  they  received  them 
at  second-hand,  or  corrupted  the  original  in  their 
vain  efforts  to  imitate  the  linked  harshness  of  the 
long-drawn-out  gutturals  of  their  Indian  neighbors. 
The  name  Iroquois,  for  instance,  is  of  French  manu- 
facture ;  in  their  own  dialect  they  called  themselves 
"Hotinnonsionni,"  or  "  those  who  constitute  a  cabin," 
an  appellation  evidently  referring  to  the  close  con- 
federacy in  which  they  were  united.  But  each  of  the 
five  nations  which  formed  this  confederacy  had  also 
its  own  distinctive  name.  The  Mohawks  called  them- 
selves "  Agniegue,"  or  the  "  She-Bear."  By  the  Hurons 
they  were  called  "  Agniers."  The  Mohegans  on  the 
North  Eiver,  the  immediate  neighbors  of  the  Mo- 
hawks, called  all  the  tribes  of  the  Iroquois  confed- 
eracy "  Nadoway,"  or  "  Cruel,"  but  they  translated 
the  distinctive  Mohawk  appellation,  "Agniegue" 
into  "  Mahaquaas,"  which  bears  the  same  significa- 
tion in  their  language.  Sometimes  a  tribe  took  its 
name  from  its  geographical  position ;  thus  the  tribes 
on  the  Kennebec  were  called  by  the  Algonquins 
"  Abrakis,"  or  ''Men  of  the  East,"  and  at  the  present 
day  the  Algonquin  tribes  of  Wisconsin  give  this  name 
to  the  Oneidas,  who  had  removed  from  New  York. 
The  name  of  a  tribe  thus  depending  upon  so  many 
varying  circumstances,  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  how 
the  tribe  under  consideration  may  have  been  known 
by  all  the  different  names  that  we  have  indicated. 

An  investigation  of  the  historical  relations  and  ge- 
ographical position  of  the  Susquehannoughs  shows  so 
exact  a  correspondence  in  these  respects  between 
them,  the  Minquas,  the  Conestogues,  and  the  Andas- 
tes,  or  Gandastoques,  as  to  lead  irresistibly  to  the  con- 
clusion that  they  were  one  and  the  same  tribe.  The 
Dutch  settlers  of  New  York,  in  their  trading  expedi- 
tions down  the  Delaware,  found  the  dominant  tribe 
in  that  region  to  be  the  Minquas.     They  lay  west  of 


the  Delaware,  to  whicli  they  were  accustomed  to  make 
their  way  by  a  creek  known  to  the  Dutch  by  the  name 
of  Minqua's  Kill.  Their  language  was  that  of  the 
Mohawks  and  Senecas,  both  of  which  tribes  belonged 
to  the  Iroquois  stock,  as  did  also  the  Susquehan- 
noughs, though  not  members  of  their  confederacy; 
and  their  military  power  was  so  great  in  1633  that  De 
Vries  saw  them  send  out  a  war  party  of  six  hundred 
men.  Campanius,  the  Swedish  authority,  gives  us  a 
long  and  interesting  account  of  this  same  tribe : 

"Tho  Minquas,  or  MiiicUus.  lived  at  the  distance  of  twelve  (fifty-fonr 
English)  miles  from  New  Sweden,  where  they  daily  came  to  trade  with 
us.  The  way  to  their  land  was  very  bad,  being  stony,  full  of  sharp,  gray 
stones,  with  hills  and  morasses,  so  that  the  Swedes,  when  they  went  to 
them,  which  happened  generally  once  or  twice  a  year,  had  to  walk  in  the 
water  up  to  their  arm-pits.  Tliey  live  on  a  high  mountain,^  very  steep 
and  difficult  to  climb  ;  there  they  have  a  fort,  or  a  square  buildiitf;,  in 
which  they  reside.  They  have  guns  and  small  iron  cannons,  with  whicli 
they  shoot  and  defend  themselves,  and  take  with  them  when  tliey  go  to 
war.  They  are  strong  and  vigorous,  both  young  and  old ;  they  are  a  tall 
people,  and  not  frightful  in  their  appearance.  When  they  are  fighting 
they  do  not  attempt  to  fly,  but  all  stand  like  a  wall  as  long  as  there  is 
one  remaining.  They  made  the  other  Indians  subject  to  them,  so  that 
they  dare  not  stir,  much  less  make  war  upon  them;  but  their  numbers 
are  at  present  greatly  diminished  by  war  and  sickness." 

Turning  next  to  several  French  authorities,  we  find 
they  place  the  Andastes  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Swedes, 
and  describe  them  as  occupying  the  same  prominent 
position  among  the  neighboring  tribes  as  we  have 
seen  ascribed  to  the  Minquas  by  the  Dutch  writers, 
and  all  the  Jesuit  authorities  bear  testimony  to  the 
same  point.'^ 

The  Susquehannoughs,  or  Minquas,  or  Andastes,  or 
Conestogues,  or  Gandastogues,  as  they  were  sometimes 
called,  were  engaged  in  active  hostilities  against  the 
colonists  and  friendly  tribes  from  the  first  settlement 
of  the  colony.  The  policy  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Maryland  was  to  treat  the  Indians  with  justice,  mod- 
eration, and  kindness,  and  to  buy  the  land  from  them. 
The  settlement  of  St.  Mary's  was  bought  by  Leonard 
Calvert  for  a  quantity  of  axes,  hoes,  and  broadcloth, 
articles  of  real  value  to  the  Indians,  who,  indeed,  were 
the  more  ready  to  part  with  the  territory  from  the 
fact  that  they  were  suffering  from  the  continued  in- 
roads of  the  fierce  Susquehannoughs,  who  had  harassed 
them  so  cruelly  that  they  had  already  determined  to 
abandon  their  lands  and  seek  safer  homes  elsewhere.^ 
Some  were  allowed  to  remain  on  part  of  the  purchased 
territory,  and  their  wives  and  children  were  employed 
as  servants  in  the  settlers'  families ;  others  were  al- 


1  Vincent,  in  his  "  History  of  Delaware,"  says,  "  This  mountain  was 
probably  Iron  or  Chestnut  Hills,  near  Newark."  Henry  Johnston, 
in  his  valuable  "  Histoiical  Researches,"  published  in  the  Cecil  WJiig, 
under  the  nom-de-plume  of  "  Quilp,"  says,  "  It  was  probably  an  Indian 
name  applied  to  some  part  of  the  country  between  Iron  Hill  and  Grey's 
Hill,  now  called  Bed  Hill." 

2  Campanius,  in  Penn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  iii.  157;  "Relation  de  la  N. 
France,"  1659-60,  p.  28 ;  Relation,  1635  (Huron);  Relation,  1639-40,  p. 
134;  Relation,  1647^8,  p.  60;  Bressain,  Relation  AbriSgSe,  pp.62,  286; 
Lee,  Relation,  1619-50;  Relation,  1656-57,  ch.  iv.  v.;  Relation,  166U-61; 
Relation,  166'2,  ch.  iii.  iv. ;  Hazard's  Annals  of  Penn.,  p.  346 ;  Albany 
Doc.  Records,  xvii.,  142, 160.  (See  letter  of  John  Gilmary  Shea,  LL.D.,  in 
the  Hid.  Hist.  Soc.) 

■■>  Father  White's  Narrative,  pp.  36,  37. 


HISTOl^Y   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


lotted  reservations,  with  full  rights  of  hunting  and 
fishing  in  the  woods  and  streams.  They  very  cheer- 
fully submitted  to  the  dominion  of  the  whites  for  the 
sake  of  the  protection  against  the  Susquehannoughs 
which  their  ancestors  tried  to  purchase  from  Smith 
with  the  offer  of  perpetual  subjection.  The  friendly 
Indians  were  protected  against  their  enemies  and  se- 
cured in  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights,  and  many  of 
them — such  as  the  Yaocomicos,'  Potopacos,-  Piscata- 
ways,*  Patuxents,*  and  others — never,  or  scarcely, 
wavered  from  their  amicable  relations.  The  two 
strong  and  warlike  tribes  of  Maryland,  the  Nanti- 
cokes°  and  Susquehannoughs,  preserved  an  independ- 
ent existence,  and  at  the  time  of  the  first  settlement 
of  the  province  there  was  a  feud  between  them,  and 
the  former,  as  well  as  the  latter,  were  often  invaded 
by  the  Iroquois.  As  if  this  were  not  enough,  the 
Nanticokes  were  frequently  embroiled  with  the  whites, 
and  war  was  several  times  declared  against  them. 
Under  this  double  pressure  they  yielded  at  last,  and 
requested  to  be  put  on  the  same  footing  as  the  Piscata- 
waj's.  The  Iroquois,  however,  continued  to  harass 
them,  and  finally  brought  them  under  subjection. 
About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  by  ad- 
vice or  command  of  the  Six  Nations  (who  stipulated 
in  a  treaty  with  the  province  that  the  Nanticokes 
should  be  permitted  to  leave  Maryland  and  settle 
where  the  Six  Nations  should  appoint),  a  portion  of 
the  tribe  left  the  province,  carrying  with  them  the 
bones  of  their  ancestors,  and  removed  to  Otsiningo 
(now  Binghamton,  N.  Y.),  where  they  joined  some 
fragments  of  the  Shawnees  and  Mohickandus,  and 
made  a  league  under  the  name  of  the  Three  Nations. 
Others  seemed  to  have  settled  in  Wyoming,  Pa.,  and 
others  again,  if  the  theory  be  correct  which  identifies 
the  Conoys  or  Kanawhas  with  the  Nanticokes,  to  have 
removed  to  the  vicinity  of  the  rivers  which  now  bear 

1  The  Yaocomicos  lived  on  the  St.  Mary's,  and  welcomed  Leonard 
Calvert  and  his  little  colony  to  the  shores  of  Maryland. 

-  The  Potopacos  lived  at  their  town,  now  called  Port  Tobacco,  in 
Cliarles  County. 

s  Mr.  Davis,  in  his  "  Day  Star,"  says,  "  The  territory  of  the  Piscataways, 
whose  prominent  chief  bore  the  title  of  emperor,  was  bounded  in  one 
direction  by  the  country  of  the  Susquehannoughs;  in  another  by  the 
region  of  the  Patu.\ents.  It  also  embraced  a  part  of  the  country  border- 
ing upon  the  Patapsco  and  upon  the  Potomac,  including  Piscataway 
Creek,  and  probably  the  sites  both  of  Washington  and  of  Baltimore."  The 
confederates  of  the  Piscataways  were  the  Doags,  Mattawomans,  Chap- 
ticos,  and  the  Mattawas.  The  latter  tribe  inhabited  the  lands  near  Bal- 
timore. 

<  The  Patuxonts,  whose  principal  seat  was  upon  the  river  of  that 
name,  included  a  large  nnmhcr  of  smaller  tribes  remarkable  for  their 
friendship  towards  the  whites. 

^  The  Nanticokes  were  an  offslioot  of  the  Lenni  Lenape  or  Delawaros, 
which  nation  they  called  their  "grandfather."  The  origin  of  the  name 
Nanticoke  was  Nentego,  meaning  "  tide-water"  or  *'  seaside"  people. 
The  Lenni  Lenape,  or  Delaware  Indians,  living  between  the  shores  of 
the  Delaware  and  Chesapeake  Bays,  were  conquered  by  the  Susquehan- 
noughs or  Minqnas,  and  on  condition  of  being  permitted  to  occupy  their 
lands,  they  subjected  Ihemselves  to  a  kind  of  vassalage  that  excluded 
them  from  engaging  in  war,  and,  according  to  Indian  iiieas,  they  wore 
placed  on  a  footing  with  women.  Campanins  says  the  Minqtias  *'  made 
them  subjects  and  tributary  to  them,  so  tliat  they  dare  not  stir,  nmch 
less  go  to  wai-  against  them." 


their  name.  As  late  as  1852  a  remnant  of  the  tribe 
(about  one  hundred)  was  living  on  Grand  River, 
north  of  Lake  Erie,  in  Canada  West. 

The  interposition  of  the  colonists  in  behalf  of  the 
peaceable  and  friendly  tribes  of  Piscataways,  Patux- 
ents,  and  Yaocomicos  had  from  the  first  secured  the 
hostility  of  the  Susquehannoughs,  who  took  occasion, 
as  they  followed  the  war-path  against  their  savage 
enemies  of  the  south  or  the  back  settlers  of  Virginia, 
to  strike  a  blow  at  the  unprotected  Marylanders,  and 
at  times  they  organized  expeditions  with  the  express 
purpose  of  surprising  the  frontier  plantations,  mur- 
dering their  occupants  and  plundering  their  dwellings. 
Even  the  devoted  and  fearless  Jesuit  missionaries  be- 
1  gan  seriously  to  think  of  abandoning  their  station 
j  and  establishing  themselves  at  Potupaco  (Port  To- 
i  bacco),  which  was  less  exposed  to  the  ravages  of  this 
cruel  and  warlike  tribe.    As  early  as  1638  their  incur- 
i  sions  necessitated  the  passage  of  a  militia  law,  and 
j  although  a  military  expedition  was  sent  against  them 
in  the  following  year,  they  continued  their  outrages 
and  kept  the  planters  in  perpetual  uneasiness.     They 
had  lately  become  more  formidable  by  the  possession 
j  of  fire-arras,  for  which  reason  the  sale  of  arms  and 
ammunition  to  them  by  the  colonists  was  made  penal 
by  the  following  "  orders,"  proclaimed  on  the  23d  of 
June,  1642: 

"That  no  inhabitant  or  housekeeper  entertain  any  Indian  upon  any 
color  of  license,  nor  do  permit  to  any  Indian  any  gun,  powder,  or  shot. 
That  all  housekeepers  provide  fixed  guns  and  sufficient  powder  and  shot 
for  each  person  able  to  bear  arms.  No  man  to  discharge  three  guns 
within  the  space  of  one-quarter  of  an  hour,  nor  concur  to  the  discharging 
I  so  many  except  to  give  or  answer  alarm.  Upon  the  hearing  of  an  alarm 
every  housekeeper  to  answer  it,  and  continue  it  so  far  as  he  may.  No 
man  able  to  bear  arms  to  go  to  church,  or  chapel,  or  any  considerable 
distance  from  home  without  fixed  gun,  and  a  charge  at  least  of  powder 
and  shot." 

'  The  Swedes  and  Dutch,  however,  who  had  settled 
on  the  territory  of  Lord  Baltimore,  on  the  Delaware, 
had  no  scruples  in  .supplying  the  Indians  with  arms, 
and,  it  was  said,  even  taught  them  military  discipline. 
Claiborne,  too,  was  not  free  from  suspicion  of  stimu- 
lating the  discontent  of  his  old  neighbors  and  asso- 
ciates, who  grew  so  threatening  that  on  the  13th  of 
September,  1742,  the  Governor  publicly  proclaimed 
the  Susquehannoughs,  Wicomeses,  and  Nanticokes 
"  enemies  to  the  province,  and  as  such  to  be  reputed 

j  and  proceeded  against  by  all  persons."  A  commis- 
sion was  issued  to  Capt.  Cornwaleys  to  levy  men  for 
an  expedition,  and  he  soon  subdued  the  Nanticokes 
and  Wicomeses,  who,  in  1651,  put  themselves  under 
the  proprietary's  protection.  In  Plantagenet's  "New 
Albion"  we  have  the  following  account  of  Cornwaleys' 
expedition  against  the  Susquehannoughs  and  "  their 
forced  auxiliaries,"  numbering  two  hundred  and  fifty 
warriors: 

'*  Having  surprised  in  the  reeds  and  killed  throe  Englishmen,  with  the 
losseof  oneof  theire,  Capt.  Cornwaleys,  that  noble,  right  valiant,  and 
polite  soldier,  losing  but  one  man  more,  killed,  with  fifty-three  of  his' 
and  but  mw  and  tired  Marylanders,  twenty-nine  Indians,  as  they  con 
fessed,  though  compassed  round  with  two  hundred  and  fifty." 


ABOKIGINES. 


"  Yet  this  severe  chastisement  did  not,  it  seems, 
suffice,  for  on  July  18,  1643,  another  expedition  was 
sent  "against  the  Susquehannoughs  or  any  their 
aiders  and  confederates."  The  result  of  this  expedi- 
tion is  not  known,  but  we  find  among  the  records  of 
a  court  held  at  St.  Mary's  on  the  28th  of  June,  1652, 
"that  the  Susquehannough  Indians  have  for  a  long 
time  desired  and  much  pressed  for  the  conclusion  of 
a  peace  with  the  government  and  inhabitants  of  this 
province,"  and  the  court  being  advised  that  such  a 
course  would  "  tend  very  much  to  the  safety  and  ad- 
vantage of  the  inhabitants,"  ordered  Richard  Ben- 
nett, Edward  .Lloyd,  Capt.  William  Fuller,  Thomas 
Marsh,  and  Leonard  Strong,  or  any  three  or  more  of 
them,  "  at  such  time  and  place  as  they  shall  think 
convenient,  to  consult  and  treat  with  the  said  Susque- 
hannough Indians,"  and  if  possible  conclude  a  league 
aud  peace  with  them.  The  commissioners  named 
must  have  immediately,  or  within  a  day  or  two  after 
the  preceding  authority  was  given  to  them,  entered 
upon  the  execution  of  their  diplomatic  duties,  for  on 
the  5th  of  July  following  a  treaty  was  held  and  arti- 
cles agreed  upon  by  them  with  Sawahegeh,  Aurogh- 
taregh,  Scarhuhadigh,  Ruthchogah,  and  Nathheldi- 
aneh,  "  war  captains  aud  councilors  of  Susquehan- 
nough, commissioners  appointed  and  sent  for  that 
purpose  by  the  nation  and  state  of  Susquehannough." 
The  first  article  of  this  treaty  reads : 

"  First,  that  the  English  nation  shall  have,  Imld,  and  enjoy,  to  them 
their  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  all  the  land  lying  froza  Patnxent  Eiver 
nnto  Palmer's  Island,  on  the  western  side  of  the  hay  of  Chesapeake,  and 
from  Choptank  Kiver  to  the  Northeast  Branch,  which  lies  to  the  north- 
ward of  Elk  Kiver,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  said  hay,  with  all  the  islands, 
rivers,  creeks,  tish,  fowl,  deer,  elke,  and  whatsoever  else  to  the  same  he- 
longing,  excepting  the  isle  of  Kent  and  Palmer's  Island,  which  helong 
to  Capt.  Claihorne.  But,  nevertheless,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  aforesaid 
English  or  Indians  to  bnild  a  house  or  fort  for  trade,  or  any  such  like  use 
or  occasion,  at  any  time  upon  Palmer's  Island." 

The  limits  assigned  by  this  treaty  of  cession  from 
the  Susquehannoughs  to  the  southern  part  of  the 
western  shore  of  the  bay  is  probably  as  far  southward 
as  they  claimed.  The  extent  of  the  cession  on  the 
eastern  shore — to  wit,  from  the  Choptank  to  the  North- 
east River,  in  Cecil  County — seems  to  imply  that  the 
Susquehannoughs  had  by  this  time  subdued  all  the 
intermediate  tribes  on  the  eastern  shore  between  the 
Northeast  River  and  the  Choptank,  or  that  these 
tribes  between  the  Northeast  and  Choptank  had  in- 
corporated themselves  with  the  Susquehannoughs. 
It  will  be  seen  by  an  inspection  of  the  map  of  Mary- 
land that  a  small  portion  of  territory,  lying  between 
the  Northeast  River,  in  Cecil  County,  and  the  Susque- 
hanna River,  was  by  this  treaty  reserved  by  the  Sus- 
quehannoughs. At  this  time  the  Indians  were  quite 
numerous  around  the  head  of  the  bay,  and  within  the 
territory  not  ceded  to  the  English  the  Susquehan- 
noughs had  their  settlements,  or  fort,  from  which  an 
extensive  trade  was  carried  on  in  peltry  brought  down 
the  Susquehanna. 

On  Jan.  14, 1661,  Augustine  Herman  purchased  the 


land  for  his  settlement  upon  the  Bohemia  River,  for 
in  his  "  Journal"  he  says  be  "  bought  all  the  land 
there  (by  permission  of  the  Governor,  Philip  Calvert, 
and  Council)  of  the  Susquehannough  Indians,  then 
met  with  the  great  men  out  of  the  Susquehannough 
Fort  at  Spes-Utie  Isle,  upon  a  treaty  of  soldiers,  as 
the  old  record  will  testify,  and  thereupon  took  posses- 
sion, and  transported  his  people  from  Manhattan  [now 
New  York],  1661  (with  great  cost  and  charge),  to 
inhabit."  ■« 

Although  the  treaty  of  cession  of  a  great  portion  of 
the  province  by  the  Susquehannoughs  might  have 
been  supposed  to  assure  a  peaceable  and  quiet  posses- 
sion thereof,  yet  the  records  exhibit  for  some  time  after 
lamentable  accounts  of  the  murders,  house-burnings, 
and  robberies  committed  by  the  Indians  upon  the  in- 
habitants of  the  territory  now  embraced  in  the  limits 
of  Baltimore,  Harford,  Cecil,  and  Kent  Counties. 

Nathaniel  Utie,  who  had  received  a  license  May  7, 
1658,  to  trade  with  the  Indians,  lived  at  this  time  on 
Spesutie  Island,  and  became  the  owner  of  considera- 
ble land  on  the  Gunpowder  and  Sassafras  Rivers. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  adventurous  pioneers  at  the 
head-waters  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  on  account  of  the 
troubles  with  the  Indians  and  the  Dutch,  the  Provin- 
cial Council  frequently  met  at  his  house  for  the  pur- 
pose of  investigating  the  facts,  making  treaties  with 
the  Indians,  etc.  The  Governor  and  Council  met  at 
Spesutie  on  the  13th  of  May,  1661,  to  inquire  into 
certain  outrages  committed  by  the  Indians,  and 
ordered  all  persons  that  had  suffered  any  damage  by 
them  to  appear  on  the  15th.  This  summons  was  di- 
rected to  be  sent  from  house  to  house  as  far  as  the 
Patapsco  River.  From  the  proceedings  of  the  Council 
we  learn  that  John  Norden,  Stephen  Hart,  and  two 
others  were  killed  by  Indians  near  Iron  Hill  while 
on  their  passage  between  Delaware  Bay  and  the 
Chesapeake.  Robert  Gorsuch,  who  liv6d  on  the 
Gunpowder  River,  stated  that  the  Indians  came  to 
his  house  on  the  11th  of  April,  1661,  some  dressed  in 
blue  and  some  in  red  match  coats,  and  killed  his  wife 
and  plundered  his  house.  About  four  or  five  days 
after  they  returned  and  killed  five  cows,  a  steer,  and 
some  hogs.  John  Taylor  stated  that  about  Easter  eve 
nine  male  Indians  with  one  Indian  woman  came  to 
his  house,  but  upon  being  ordered  oft'  they  departed, 
but  returned  in  about  two  weeks  and  damaged  his 
goods  to  the  value  of  about  one  thousand  pounds  of 
tobacco.  They  then  went  to  the  plantation  of  Edward 
Fouster  and  John  Fouster,  two  bachelors,  and  plun- 
dered it.  Intelligence  having  been  received  of  the 
depredations,  William  Wigwell,  John  Fouster,  Ed- 
ward Swanson,  and  others  started  after  the  Indians, 
who,  however,  surprised  and  surrounded  them  in  the 
woods,  and  killed  John  Fouster  and  wounded  Wil- 
liam Wigwell.  The  rest  of  the  English  fought  the 
Indians  over  three  hours,  and  finally  made  their 
escape.  Thomas  Overton  and  William  Hallis  testified 
that  about  the  25th  of  April,  Thomas  Simpson  aud 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Richard  Hayes,  seeing  two  canoes  with  nine  Delaware 
Indians  coming  down  Bush  River  and  moving  towards 
their  plantation,  the  alarm  was  given  and  the  English 
took  to  their  boats,  when  a  fight  ensued,  during  which 
John  Spurne,  an  Englishman,  and  five  Indians  were 
killed. 

The  nestcouncil  met  at  Susquehanna  Point  (which 
is  supposed  to  be  just  below  Perryville),  on  July  1, 
1(>61.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Governor 
and  his  secretary  were  present  at  this  meeting,  where 
a  commission  was  read  from  Lord  Baltimore  to  Capt. 
James  Neals,  directing  him  to  levy  men  and  make  war 
upon  "  certain  enemies — pirates  and  robbers — that  had 
usurped  a  part  of  Delaware  Bay  lying  within  the  for- 
tieth degree  of  northerly  latitude."  He  was  author- 
ized to  make  war  upon  the  Dutch  and  their  aiders  and 
abettors  in  Delaware  Bay,  and  wherever  they  might 
be  found,  and  to  capture  and  destroy  them  upon  land 
and  sea;  in  which  work  all  his  lordship's  officers,  both 
civil  and  military,  were  to  assist.  The  Council  being 
Tincertain  whether  the  town  of  New  Amstel  was  in 
the  fortieth  degree  of  north  latitude,  decided  to  sus- 
pend operations  until  that  question  was  ascertained. 
In  the  mean  time,  with  a  view  of  securing  the  co-oper- 
ation of  the  Indians  in  case  of  a  war  with  the  Dutch, 
Governor  Calvert,  accompanied  by  his  secretary 
(Henry  Coursey)  and  John  Bateman,  one  of  his 
Council,  held  a  meeting  with  the  Passagonke  Indians, 
who  at  that  time  lived  on  the  Delaware  River  about 
the  present  site  of  Philadelphia.  This  meeting  took 
place  at  Appoquinimi  (now  called  AiJpoquinimink), 
on  Sept.  19,  1661.  After  both  sides  had  stated  their 
grievances,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  by  Pinna, 
king  of  Picthanomicta,  on  behalf  of  the  Passagonke 
Indians,  and  by  the  Governor  and  Council  of  Mary- 
land.i 

The  records  of  the  province  for  1662  show  that  the 
Indians  still  continued  to  give  trouble.  The  colonists 
were  at  peace  with  the  Susquehannoughs,  but  both  of 
these  were  at  war  with  the  Senecas,  who  were  devas- 
tating the  few  scattered  settlements  of  the  English 
along  the  western  tributaries  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay. 
In  the  spring  of  1662  they  penetrated  as  far  south  as 
the  head  of  South  River,  which  seems  to  have  alarmed 
the  Council,  for  they  ordered  all  the  powder  and  shot 
to  be  seized  for  the  use  of  the  colony,  and  that  scouts 
should  be  sent  to  the  head-waters  of  all  rivers  emp- 
tying into  the  head  of  the  bay,  with  orders  to  arrest 
or  kill  all  Indians  found  there.  The  troubles  with  the 
Senecas  grew  worse,  and  on  July  4,  1663,  the  Council 
was  informed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  County 
at  the  head  of  the  bay  that  the  Indians  had  recently 
murdered  two  of  the  settlers,  and  another  near  Pa- 
tapsco  River,  with  two  youths,  whom  it  was  believed 
they  had  either  killed  or  carried  off.  For  nearly 
twelve  years  a  fierce  war  was  kept  up  between  the 
Susquehannoughs  and  Senecas,  success  being  mostly 


rgo  JolinsoTi's  Ilisi 


1  ReBenrclies. 


on  the  side  of  the  former  tribe ;  but  a  more  formidable 
enemy  than  even  the  Senecas  had  by  this  time  invaded 
the  Susquehannoughs,  the  smallpox,  which  first  ap- 
peared among  them  in  1661,  and  whose  ravages  soon 
became  terrible.  In  1673  they  only  numbered  about 
three  hundred  warriors,  while  ten  years  before  they 
had  been  able  to  muster  seven  hundred ;  and  prob- 
ably the  mortality  was  even  greater  among  the  women 
and  children. 

When  the  Hurons  who  were  of  Iroquois  stock, 
were  finally  overthrown,  the  survivors  fled  for  refuge 
to  the  Andastes  or  Susquehannoughs,  from  whom  they 
had  before  received  promises  of  assistance.  The  pro- 
tection thus  afforded  seems  to  have  been  resented  by 
the  Iroquois  confederacy,  or  Five  Nations,  and  war 
being  declared  between  them  and  the  Andastes  in 
1662,  the  warriors  of  the  latter  tribe  carried  such  de- 
vastation into  the  land  of  the  Senecas  (one  of  the 
Five  Nations)  that  these  were  forced  to  seek  the  aid 
of  the  French.  The  Dutch  writers,  under  date  of 
1661-62,  relate  that  the  Minquas,  though  they  had 
suffered  severely  from  the  smallpox,  had  engaged  in 
a  war  with  the  Senecas,  and  that  "in  May,  1663,  an 
army  of  sixteen  hundred  Senecas  marched  against 
the  Minquas,  and  laid  siege  to  a  little  fort  defended 
by  a  hundred  men,  who,  armed  with  fire-arms  and 
even  cannon,  relying,  too,  on  speedy  aid  from  their 
countrymen  and  from  the  Marylanders,  with  whom 
they  had  recently  made  peace,^  defended  themselves 
vigorously,  and  at  last  compelled  the  Senecas  to  raise 
the  siege."^ 

The  war  between  the  Andastes  or  Susquehannoughs 
and  Iroquois  continued  for  many  years  with  almost  con- 
stant victory  for  the  former.  But  disease  accomplished 
what  the  Five  Nations  could  not,  and  the  reduced  tribe 
was  finally  defeated ;  the  Relation  of  1676-77  speak- 
ing of  the  Andastes  as  utterly  exterminated  after  a  re- 
sistance of  twenty  years.  That  JIaryland  took  part  in 
the  final  defeat  of  this  heroic  nation  is  evident  from 
the  language  of  the  Iroquois  deputies  at  the  treaty  of 
Lancaster  in  1744 :  "  We  do  not  remember,"  they  say, 
"  that  we  have  ever  been  employed  by  the  Great  King 
to  conquer  others ;  if  it  is  so,  it  is  beyond  our  memory. 
We  do  remember  we  were  employed  by  Maryland  to 
conquer  the  Conestogues,  and  that  the  second  time 

2  In  August,  1663,  the  Provincial  Council  of  Maryland  met  at  Gold- 
smith Hall  (supposed  to  have  been  on  Bush  River,  now  in  Harford 
County),  and  gave  orders  to  Samuel  Goldsmith  to  request  the  Susque- 
hannoughs to  come  down  and  make  a  treaty  with  them.  A  treaty  was 
finally  concluded  with  Wastahandow,  "chief  geneml  and  councilor"  of 
that  nation.  In  August  the  Governor,  attended  by  three  of  his  council- 
ors, also  made  a  treaty  with  three  kings  of  the  Delaware  Indians  at  New 

3  It  was,  as  wo  have  seen,  only  a  few  years  before  this  (1652)  that  the 
Susquehannoughs  had  made  their  famous  treaty  with  Maryland,  by 
which  they  ceded  the  territory  from  the  Patuxent  River  on  the  western 
side  of  the  bay  to  the  Choptank  River  on  the  eastern  side,  and  the  iden- 
tity of  these  Indians  with  the  Conestogues  seems  fully  established  by 
tile  fact  that  the  Iroquois,  in  1744,  referring  to  this  sale  by  the  Susque- 
hannoughs to  Maryland,  siiy,  *'  We  acknowledge  the  deeds  to  be  good  and 
valid,  and  that  the  Conestogue  or  Snsquehannough  Indians  had  a  right 
to  sell  those  lands  to  you,  f(U'  they  wore  then  theire." 


ABORIGINES. 


we  were  at  war  with  them  we  carried  them  off."  It 
is  a  matter  of  record  that  the  Maryland  war  here  re- 
ferred to^  which  was  begun  by  the  treachery  of  Wash- 
ington and  Trueman,  in  1675,  and  which  was  carried 
on  to  a  successful  termination  by  Bacon,  of  Virginia, 
was  against  the  Susqueliannouglis,  and  ended  in  their 
complete  overthrow.  The  remnant  of  the  tribe,  though 
carried  off  and  mingled'with  their  Iroquois  conquer- 
ors, must  have  maintained  a  separate  existence,  for 
we  find  that  Penn,  in  1701,  entered  into  a  regular 
treaty  with  Coiioodagtok,  king  of  the  Susquehan- 
noughs,  Minquas,  or  Conestoga  Indians  ;  but  it  would 
seem  that  on  this  occasion  a  representative  from  the 
Onondaga  tribe  was  present.  As  a  subject  tribe  we 
meet  with  them  for  many  years  in  the  negotiations  of 
the  league,  and  though  some  of  them  appear  to  have 
been  removed  to  Onoghguage,  a  little  band  remained 
at  Conestoga,  where,  joined  by  some  Nanticokes,  they 
formed  a  small  village.  In  1763,  we  are  told,  "  they 
were  still  at  their  old  castle,  numbering  only  twenty, 
inhabiting  a  cluster  of  squalid  cabins,  living  by  beg- 
gary and  the  sale  of  baskets,  brooms,  and  wooden 
ladles."  An  Indian  war  (Pontiac's)  then  desolated 
the  frontier,  and  the  Paxton  boys,  suspecting  these 
poor  wretches,  and  finding  in  the  Bible  sufiicient  com- 
mission to  destroy  the  heathen,  attacked  the  village 
and  killed  six  of  them,  the  only  occupants  at  the 
time.  The  fourteen  survivors  were  taken  to  Lancaster 
by  the  sheriff,  and  shut  up  in  the  jail-yard  for  protec- 
tion ;  but  they  could  not  escape  the  Paxton  boys,  who, 
while  the  townspeople  were  at  church,  burst  into  the 
jail  and  massacred  the  helpless  objects  of  their  fury. 
Thus  perished  at  the  hands  of  a  cowardly  mob  the 
last  remnant  of  that  once  powerful  and  noble  tril)e 
which  had  lorded  it  over  the  whole  of  Maryland,  and 
which  had  often  vanquished  the  fiercest  and  most  for- 
midable of  the  Indian  confederacies. 

French  and  Indian  War.— Although,  happily  for 
the  people  of  Baltimore  Town  and  Baltimore  County, 
they  were  not  in  the  track  of  any  of  the  great  Indian 
wars,  or  exposed  to  the  formidable  Indian  invasions 
from  which  many  other  parts  of  the  province  suffered, 
they  were  by  no  means  entirely  free  from  the  dangers 
and  alarms  of  the  troubled  period  in  which  they  lived, 
and  played  no  unimportant  part  in  many  of  the  stern 
dramas  of  that  early  time.  In  the  French  and  Indian 
war  which  ensued  after  the  treaty  of  Aix-)a-Chapelle 
in  1749,  between  England  and  France,  Maryland  be- 
came involved  mainly  in  self-defense,  and  though  she 
was  to  share  none  of  its  spoils,  her  people  were  des- 
tined to  suffer  from  many  of  the  dangers  and  hard- 
ships it  brought  in  its  train.  Even  before  Braddock's 
defeat  bands  of  Indians  were  making  forays  into 
Frederick  County,  burning  houses  and  slaughtering 
the  inhabitants,  but  after  his  disastrous  overthrow  on 
the  9th  of  July,  1755,  and  the  retreat  of  Col.  Dunbar 
with  the  remainder  of  the  British  army  to  Philadel- 
phia, the  whole  northern  and  western  frontier  of  the 
province  was  thrown  open  to  the  Indians.     Measures 


of  defense  were  almost  immediately  adopted,  but  even 
had  they  sufficed  for  the  complete  protection  of  the 
wide  territory  to  be  guarded,  they  would  scarcely  have 
allayed  the  terror  which  had  taken  possession  of  the 
frontier  settlers.  The  alarm  insjjired  by  Braddock's 
defeat  and  by  the  advance  of  the  French  and  Indians 
was  so  great  that  many  inhabitants  of  the  western  set- 
tlements fled  to  Baltimore,  and  preparations  were  even  ' 
made  by  the  people  of  that  town  to  place  the  women 
and  children  on  board  the  vessels  in  the  harbor  and 
send  them  to  Virginia.  At  an  earlier  period  the  in- 
hab^ants  of  Baltimore  had  erected  a  wooden  fence 
or  stockade  around  the  town,  of  which  some  tradi- 
tions are  still  preserved.  It  had  been  constructed  for 
the  defense  of  the  town  against  Indian  attacks,  and 
inclosed  the  whole  of  its  inland  border,  thus  indi- 
cating that  the  danger  apprehended  was  from  the 
land  side.  In  this  formidable  stockade,  which,  it  is 
to  be  noted,  was  not  pierced  for  cannon,  there  were 
two  great  gates  to  admit  the  friendly  traveler,  or  to 
be  shut  in  the  face  of  the  unfriendly  one.  The  first 
of  these  gates  was  at  the  west  end  of  Baltimore  Street, 
and  was  placed  somewhere  very  near  its  present  in- 
tersection with  McClellan's  Alley.  The  second  gate, 
for  carriages,  opened  into  the  upper  part  of  North  Gay 
Street,  not  far  probably  from  the  bridge  which  crosses 
Jones'  Falls.  Between  these  two  great  portals  a 
smaller  gate,  for  the  use  of  foot-passengers,  was  cut 
through  the  stockade  near  the  present  intersection  of 
Charles  and  Saratoga  Streets.  This  line  of  fortifi- 
cation never  had  its  virtue  put  to  trial,  and  seems 
to  have  remained  intact  for  only  a  few  years,  when, 
a  hard  winter  setting  in,  and  the  stockade  beiog 
made  of  wood  of  a  very  combustible  and  tempting 
character,  it  was  carried  away  piecemeal  for  "  kind- 
Doubtless  had  it  remained  until  the  period  now 
under  consideration,  the  inhabitants  of  Baltimore 
Town  would  have  felt  more  comfortable,  even  if  really 
no  more  secure.  The  general  terror,  however,  con- 
tinued to  increase,  and  in  September  following  the 
Monongahela  disaster  the  country  to  the  distance  of 
thirty  miles  east  of  Col.  Thomas  Cresap's  (who  lived 
about  five  miles  west  of  the  mouth  of  the  South 
Branch  of  the  Potomac)  was  completely  deserted. 
So  universal  was  the  alarm  that  Governor  Sharpe, 
in  one  of  his  letters  to  Calvert,  declared  that  "  one 
might  foretell  without  the  spirit  of  prophecy  that 
all  tfiat  part  of  Frederick  County  that  lies  beyond 

1  There  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society  an  orig- 
inal snbscription  paper  for  "  keeping  up,  repairing,  and  making  good 
the  fence  of  the  said  town  and  supporting  a  person  to  keep  it  in  good  or- 
der." The  subscribers  were  Robert  North,  William  Hammond,  Thomas 
Chase,  R.  Chase,  Darby  Lux,  William  Rogers,  and  William  Lyon,  who  each 
gave  £10.  Nicholas  Rogers,  Hannah  Hughes,  Brian  Philpot,  Jr.,  Dr. 
George  Buchanan,  Edward  Dogan,  and  Capt.  Charles  Ridgely  each  gave 
10  shillings;  Capt.  Darby  Lux,  Thomas  Harrison,  and  William  Rogers, 
£1 ;  John  Shephard,  John  Frasher,  James  Perkins,  Nich.  "Hartway, 
Chris.  Cytmire,  John  Eusor,  Jr.,  and  Joseph  England  each  5  shillings  ; 
William  Fergusons  shillings;  and  Abraham  Pamer  and  Henry  Johnson 
each  '2  shillings  and  6  pence. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE    CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Frederick  Town  will  be  abandoned  before  this  time 
twelvemonth  at  farthest."  In  the  fall  following  Brad- 
dock's  defeat  the  people  of  Baltimore  raised  a  large 
sum  of  money,  with  which  they  purchased  arms  and 
ammunition,  and  established  a  public  armory  in  the 
town,  the  martial  spirit  being  kept  up  by  the  con- 
tinual alarms  and  massacres  on  the  frontier.  Early 
in  November  it  was  reported  that  a  large  body  of 
French  and  Indians  were  advancing  upon  the  inte- 
rior settlements,  and  this  rumor  reaching  Frederick 
Town  on  Sunday,  November  2d,  the  inhabitants,  ex- 
pecting an  immediate  attack,  rang  the  bells  q|  an 
alarm,  and  posted  messengers  to  Baltimore  and  An- 
napolis for  help.  Several  companies  of  volunteers  at 
once  mustered  in  Baltimore  and  the  neighborhood, 
and  marched  without  delay.  Even  distant  Annapolis 
caught  the  infection  of  terror,  and  on  the  6th  of  No- 
vember the  citizens  began  to  fortify  the  town.  On 
the  same  day  a  report  reached  Baltimore  that  the 
French  and  Indians  were  within  thirty  miles  of  the 
town,  and  in  a  short  time  about  two  thousand  volun- 
teers had  assembled  for  its  defense.  The  report  proved 
to  be  false,  but  other  reports,  unhappily  better  founded, 
poured  in  announcing  slaughter  and  devastation  in 
the  western  part  of  the  province.  Baltimore  Town 
and  County,  however,  were  not  occupied  merely  with 
their  own  defense,  but  furnished  both  men  and  sup- 
plies for  the  protection  and  support  of  the  ravaged 
and  defenseless  frontiers.  The  winter  and  spring  of 
1756  found  the  western  section  of  the  province  still 
overrun  by  raiding-parties  of  Indians,  some  of  which 
approached  within  thirty  miles  of  Baltimore,  and 
though  many  of  them  were  killed,  terror  spread  from 
the  very  fact  of  their  approach.  On  the  25th  of 
April,  1756,  forty-one  persons, — six  men,  Ave  women, 
and  thirty  children, — with  a  small  portion  of  their 
cattle,  to  avoid  the  fury  of  the  enemy,  deserted  their 
cabins  and  clearings  near  Connecocheague  and  came 
to  Baltimore. 

At  length  England  and  France  abandoned  all  pre- 
tence of  peace,  and  war  was  formally  declared  on 
May  17,  1756.  This  open  authorization  of  hostilities 
by  the  two  great  powers  beyond  the  sea  seemed  to 
arouse  the  Indians  to  a  still  greater  degree  of  fury, 
and  Governor  Sharpe,  in  alarm,  writes  to  Lord  Balti- 
more, under  date  of  September  13th,  to  say  that  "the 
enemy  has  now  free  access  to  us  through  Pennsylvania, 
and  if  some  measures  are  not  speedily  taken  for  the 
defense  of  that  colony  neither  Fort  Frederick'  nor 
its  garrison  can  be  of  much  service.  Besides  the  gar- 
rison at  Fort  Frederick,  we  have  at  present  two  hun- 


1  A  fort  erected  by  Governor  Sharpe  near  the  present  town  of  Hancock, 
Washington  County.  It  cost  £2000,  and  bad  barracks  for  the  accom- 
odation of  two  hundred  men,  and  on  an  emergency  could  contain 
rice  tliat  numlicr.  It  had  bastions  and  curtains  faced  with  stone,  and 
1  each  bastion  was  mounted  a  six-pounder. 


dred  men  from  the  militia  of  Baltimore  and  Prince 
George's  Counties  distributed  on  this  side  that  fort 
and  about  Connegocheague  ;  yet  that  settlement  is,  I 
am  advised,  almost  broken  up,  and  several  hundred 
persons  have  lately  retreated  thence,  and  retired  to  the 
more  populous  parts  of  the  county,"  some  of  them, 
as  we  have  seen,  not  stopping  in  their  flight  until  they 
reached  Baltimore.  Besides  Ihe  aid  which  Baltimore 
Town  afforded  in  other  ways,  it  contributed  to  the 
general  defense  in  another  and  rather  peculiar  mode. 
The  Assembly  voted  a  large  appropriation  in  1756 
for  the  prosecution  of  hostilities  and  the  protection 
of  the  province,  and  as  one  of  the  means  of  raising 
the  desired  amount,  levied  a  tax  on  all  bachelors  of 
twenty-five  years  and  upwards.'- 

Many  of  these  gentlemen  paid  this  tax  for  the  next 
eight  years,  being  doubtless  too  patriotic  to  deprive 
the  province  of  this  source  of  revenue  during  the  con- 
tinuance of  hostilities,  which  terminated,  however,  as 
far  as  danger  to  Maryland  was  concerned,  with  the 
capture  of  Fort  Du  Quesne  in  the  latter  part  of  1758. 
In  spite  of  the  many  alarms  to  which  its  inhabitants 
had  been  subjected  by  the  war,  and  the  heavy  bur- 
dens which  it  involved,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  growth  of  Baltimore  had  been  promoted  by  the 
continuation  of  hostilities,  which  prevented  the  ex- 
tension of  settlements  by  the  great  influx  of  German 
"  Palatines"  and  other  immigrants  who  came  in  be- 
tween 1756  and  1763,  and  compelled  the  people  of  the 
frontier  to  take  refuge  in  the  large  towns. 

This  conclusion  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  Balti- 
more's commercial  importance  suddenly  increased  at 
this  period,  and  within  a  year  after  the  declaration  of 
peace  it  became  the  chief  mart  of  trade  in  the  prov- 
ince, a  position  it  has  ever  since  retained. 


-  Under  this  provision  the  following  persons  were  called  upon  to  pay 
their  quota  to  the  province:  Thomas  Harrison,  John  Moale,  Andrew 
Buchanan,  Daniel  Chamier,  Sr.,  James  Frauklin,  Jonathan  Plowman, 
John  Shule,  Dr.  John  Stevenson,  Edward  Parish,  William  Baxter, 
Thomas  Dick,  John  Mercer,  and  Mark  Alexander,  citizens  of  Baltimore 
Town ;  Jeremiah  Johnson,  Keese  Bowen,  William  Cole,  Thomas  Harvey, 
Richard  Rawlings,  Edward  Stevenson,  Hugh  Gray  worth,  Charles  How- 
ard, Beale  Owings,  Samuel  Owiugs,  Jr.,/olin  Donghaday,  Nathan  Crom- 
well, Richard  Hooker,  Thomas  Hooker,  Nathaniel  Stinchcomb,  Walter 
Bosley,  John  Fishpaw,  William  Barney,  Jr.,  Anthony  Gott,  Jr.,  Abel 
Brown,  Jr.,  Michael  Huffand,  Aquilla  Price,  Mordecai  Hammond,  Henry 
Stevenson,  of  Edward,  Samuel  Bond,  of  Peter,  William  Harvey,  Jr.,  John 
Gibbon,  Thomas  Johnson,  Thomas  Cockey  Deye,  Benjamin  Whipps, 
Samuel  Worthington,  and  Edward  Peritany,  of  St.  Thomas'  Parish,  Bal- 
timore County ;  and  William  Osbourne,  Garret  Garretson,  John  Peacock, 
James  Kemble,  Philip  Cover,  W.  Husband,  Jr.,  James  Lee,  Jr.,  Isaac 
Webster,  Samuel  Wallace,  J.  Billingsley,  Jr.,  Richard  Johns,  Joseph 
Hill,  J.  Lee  Webster,  J.  Worthington,  John  Love,  Thomas  Husband, 
Samuel  Wilson,  George  Clark,  David  Clark,  Josiah  Lyon,  William  Wood, 
Robert  Dunn,  John  Cooper,  John  Wilkinson,  Thomas  Cooper,  Stephen 
Cooper,  David  Tate,  David  Maxwell,  Joseph  Bromely,  M.  Webster,  Jr., 
James  Cresswell,  Joseph  Wilson,  Edward  Hanson,  F.  Billingsley,  Rich- 
ard Keen,  Robert  Brjarly,  of  Robert,  Robert  Darby,  Samnel  Perryman, 
James  Foster,  William  Hill,  William  McClure,  Moses  Hill,  Nathaniel 
Giles,  and  C.  Worthington,  Jr.,  of  St.  John's  Parish,  then  in  Baltimore 
but  now  partly  in  Harford  County. 


1^       POWHATAjS 


FAC-SIMILE   OF   THE   ORIGINAL    MAP   OF   CAPT.  JOHN    SMITH    OF    HIS    EXPLORATIONS   OF  THE   CHESAPEAKE    B 


ENGLISH   DISCOVERIES   AND   SETTLEMENTS. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


ENGLISH    DISCOVERIES   AND    SETTLEMENTS. 


History  has  not  preserved  for  us  the  exact  date  of 
the  first  settlements  in  Baltimore  County,  as  it  has 
done  in  the  case  of  the  ancient  town  of  St.  Mary's, 
but  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that,  although  this 
section  of  the  province  was  not  formally  erected  into 
a  county  until  about  1659,  the  white  man  had  effected 
a  lodgment  there  long  previous  to  this  time.  Indeed 
there  is  evidence  to  prove  that  even  before  the  settle- 
ment of  Jamestown,  Spanish  adventurers  had  pene- 
trated this  region,  for  we  learn  from  Capt.  Smith's 
narrative  that  while  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  Pow- 
hatan, he  discovered  that  some  of  the  subjects  of  the 
savage  chief  had  suffered  injuries  from  Spanish  ves- 
sels, and  framing  his  own  story  to  suit  the  prejudices 
of  his  hearers,  pretended  that  his  people  had  been 
overpowered  in  a  fight  with  the  Spaniards,  and  had 
sought  shelter  in  the  Chesapeake.  It  was  the  Chesa- 
peake, signifying  in  the  Indian  dialect  "  mother  of 
waters,"  that  first  received  the  weary  and  impatient 
voyagers  who  came  to  found  the  "  mother  of  States," 
and  it  was  but  little  more  than  a  year  afterwards,  on 
the  2d  of  June,  1608,  that  Capt.  Smith  undertook  the 
first  of  his  two  famous  explorations  of  the  Chesa- 
peake. In  these  two  expeditions  he  visited  every 
inlet  and  bay  on  both  sides  of  the  Chesapeake  from 
Cape  Charles  to  the  river  Susquehanna,  sailed  up 
the  Patapsco,  and  probably  entered  the  harbor  of  Bal- 
timore. He  brought  back  with  him  so  accurate  and 
ample  an  account,  and  so  faithful  a  plan  of  every  por- 
tion of  the  territory  explored  by  him,  that  all  subse- 
quent researches  have  only  expanded  and  illustrated 
his  original  report;  and  his  map  has  been  made  the 
ground-work  of  all  delineations,  with  no  other  diver- 
sity than  what  has  inevitably  arisen  from  the  varieties 
of  appropriation  and  the  progress  of  settlements. 
The  little  company  that  made  the  first  exploration 
under  Smith  sailed  in  an  open  barge  of  about  three 
tons  burthen,  and  consisted  of  "  Walter  Russell,  doc- 
tor ofphysicke,  Ralfe  Morton,  Thomas  Momford,  Wil- 
liam Cantrill,  Richard  Fetherstone,  James  Burne, 
Michell  Sicklemore,"  whom  Smith  describes  as  "Gen- 
tlemen," and  "Jonas  Profit,  Anas  Todkill,  Robert 
Small,  Jame  Watkins,  John  Powell,  James  Read, 
Richard  Keale,  Souldiers."  This  voyage  of  discovery 
occupied  nineteen  days,  a  very  brief  period  consider- 
ing the  large  number  of  points  at  which  the  expedi- 
tion stopped  to  make  observations  and  to  institute  in- 
quiries among  the  savages.  After  passing  the  "  straites 
of  Limbo,"  now  Hooper's  Straits,  at  the  southwestern 
extremity  of  what  is  now  Dorchester  County,  they 
crossed  the  bay  to  the  western  shore. 

"  So  broad  is  the  bay  here,"  says  Smith,  in  his  narrative,  "  we  could 
scarce  perceive  the  great  Iiigli  clifts  on  the  otiier  side  ;  liy  tliem  we  an- 
chored that  niglit  and  called  them  Riccard's  Cliftes.     30  leagues  we  sailed 


more  northwarde  not  finding  any  inhabitants,  leaving  all  the  eastern 
shore,  low  islandes,  but  overgrowne  with  wood,  as  all  the  coast  beyond 
them  so  far  as  we  could  see ;  the  westerne  shore  by  which  we  sayled  we 
found  all  along  well  watered,  but  very  mountainous  and  barren,  the  val- 
leys very  fertile,  but  extreme  thicke  of  small  wood  as  well  as  trees,  and 
much  frequented  with  wolves,  bears,  deere,  and  other  wild  beasts.  Wee 
passed  many  shallow  creekes,  but  the  first  we  found  navigable  for  a  ship 
we  called  Bolus  [the  Patapsco],  for  that  the  clay  in  many  places  under 
the  clifts  by  the  high  water  marUe  did  grow  up  in  red  and  white  knots 
as  gum  out  of  trees ;  and  in  some  places  so  participated  together  as 
though  they  were  all  of  one  nature,  excepting  the  color,  the  rest  of  the 
earth  on  both  sides  being  hard  and  sandy  gravel,  which  made  us  think 
it  hole-armainiack  and  t*'rra  sifjiUata." 

On  the  24th  of  July,  Smith  set  out  from  James- 
town on  his  second  exploration  of  the  Chesapeake. 
He  ascended  as  far  as  the  Susquehanna,  and  even 
sailed  some  distance  up  that  river,  for  he  relates  that 
they  lost  their  "  grapnell  among  the  rocks  of  Susque- 
sahanocks,"  somewhere  probably  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Port  Deposit. 

Doubtless  other  explorations  followed  those  of  Capt. 
Smith,  but  the  next  of  which  we  have  any  record  is 
that  of  a  trader  named  Spilman,  who  in  1621  was  sent 
from  Jamestown  to  trade  among  the  Indians  for  corn, 
and  whose  party  was  all  captured  and  killed  by  the 
Anacostans,  near  the  present  site  of  Washington  City. 
One  Capt.  Henry  Fleet,  who  was  with  Spilman,  was 
among  the  captured,  and  remained  in  captivity  for 
several  years.  After  his  release  he  returned  to  Eng- 
land, and  fitting  out  a  vessel  in  1627,  revisited  the  In- 
dian town  of  Towaccomoco  (afterwards  St.  Mary's 
City),  and  traded  largely  with  them  for  furs.  He 
made  many  voyages  of  this  cliaracter,  but  by  no 
means  confined  himself  to  this  locality,  his  journal 
showing  that  he  carried  on  a  brisk  trade  with  all  the 
Indian  towns  far  and  near  in  which  there  was  any 
hope  of  obtaining  the  valuable  beaver-skins  which 
constituted  the  principal  part  of  his  traflSc.  But  it 
would  seem  that  even  as  early  as  1632  he  found  a 
competitor  fully  as  enterprising  as  himself,  one  Charles 
Harman,  who  appears  to  have  been  as  familiar  with 
the  country  as  Fleet,  and  of  whom  the  latter  com- 
plains for  having  carried  off  "  1500  weight  of  beaver, 
and  cleared  fourteen  towns." 

It  was  in  October,  1629,  that  Sir  George  Calvert, 
first  Lord  Baltimore,  arrived  in  Virginia,  and,  im- 
pressed by  the  beauty  and  resources  of  the  country, 
determined  to  apply  for  a  grant  of  territory;  but  it  was 
not  until  the  20th  of  June,  1632,  that  his  charter  was 
finally  granted,  and  not  until  the  27th  of  March,  1634, 
that  the  infant  colony  arrived  at  St.  Mary's.  But  the 
province  had  at  least  one  flourishing  white  settlement 
when  the  "  Ark"  and  the  "  Dove"  reached  the  shores  of 
Maryland.  There  can  be  no  question,  of  course,  as  to 
the  prior  settlement  of  Kent  Island  by  Claiborne,  nor 
as  to  the  fact  of  his  having  astablished  a  trading-post 
on  Palmer's  (now  Watson's)  Island,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Susquejianna,  before  the  occupation  of  Maryland 
I  under  Lord  Baltimore's  grant.  Claiborne's  settlement 
on  Kent  Island  was  probably  made  as  early  as  1627, 
for,  although  his  license  to  trade  was  not  obtained 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


until  May  ]6,  1631,  he  had  received  authority  to  ex- 
plore the  Chesapeake  Bay  four  years  before  this  time, 
and  that  he  had  not  neglected  to  plant  a  settlement  on 
Kent  Island  very  soon  after  this  general  authorization 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  "  Isle  of  Kent"  had 
a  representative  (Capt.  Nicholas  Matian)  in  the  Vir- 
ginia House  of  Burgesses  in  the  year  1631-32. 
Kent  Island,  therefore,  it  would  seem,  must  have  had 
a  considerable  population  in  1631  to  entitle  it  to  rep-  , 
resentation  in  a  legislative  assembly.  But  there  is  j 
some  evidence  to  show  that  even  before  Claiborne 
established  his  trading-post  on  Palmer's  Island  in 
1627-28-29,  a  previous  colony  had  been  planted  there, 
and  that  all  the  members  of  this  adventurous  party 
had  been  murdered  by  the  Indians,  probably  the 
fierce  Susquehannoughs,  who  had  their  principal  seat 
in  this  vicinity.  Both  Smith's  voyages  were  made  as 
early  as  1608,  and  it  was  doubtless  his  glowing  descrip- 
tions which  fired  the  imaginations  of  other  colonists, 
and  led  to  the  settlements  on  Palmer's  and  Kent 
Island.  It  is  quite  evident  from  these  frequent  jour- 
neys into  what  afterwards  became  the  territory  of 
Maryland  that  the  attractions  and  advantages  of  this 
region  had  become  familiar  in  the  other  colonies,  and 
even  in  the  mother-country,  some  years  before  George 
Calvert  received  his  charter.  It  is  not  probable  that 
the  first  settlement  on  Palmer's  Island  was  a  solitary 
and  unsupported  venture,  or  that  the  large  territory 
formerly  embraced  within  the  limits  of  Baltimore 
County  was  peopled  entirely  by  emigrants  from  St. 
Mary's.  The  population  of  the  Virginia  colony  at 
Jamestown  had  increased  rapidly,  and  reports  of  the 
prosperity  of  the  country  reaching  the  Old  World, 
numbers  were  induced  to  emigrate  to  the  shores  of  the 
Chesapeake.  Whatever,  indeed,  may  have  been  the 
date  at  which  the  first  settlements  in  Baltimore 
County  were  made,  it  is  certain  that  we  were  indebted  ' 
at  an  early  period  for  much  of  the  population  of  this 
region  to  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia. 
Our  border  troubles  with  Pennsylvania  led  many  of 
the  inliabitants  of  the  adjacent  counties  of  that  State 
to  remove  to  Maryland,  and  the  dispute  with  the 
Dutch  over  the  title  to  Delaware  produced  an  almost 
wholesale  emigration  of  the  Swedes  into  our  midst. 
In  a  short  time  "fifty  persons,  including  several  fami- 
lies, removed  to  Maryland  and  Virginia."  Scarcely 
thirty  families  remained  in  New  Amstel,  "and  other  j 
places  day  by  day,"  says  Stuyvesant,  "  are  growing  I 
worse  and  worse."  The  natural  direction  of  this  emi- 
gration was  by  way  of  the  present  town  of  Elkton,  and 
from  thence  it  penetrated  into  the  heart  of  the  territory 
afterwards  erected  into  Baltimore  County.  The  first 
Baltimore  County  court,  as  will  be  seen  elsewhere,  ', 
was  held  in  what  is  now  called  Cecil  County,  and  the 
first  county-seat  was  at  Bush  River,  said  to  be  about  ' 
two  miles  below  the  present  town  of  Bush,  in  Harford 
County.  This  fact  indicates  that  the  upper  part  of  j 
the  county  was  at  first  the  most  thickly  settled,  and  j 
there  is  conclusive  evidence  to  show  that  it  long  main- 


tained this  numerical  superiority.  The  settlement  on 
the  Bush  River,  known  as  Old  Baltimore,  continued 
to  be  the  county-seat  for  many  years,  a  fact  which 
proves  that  point  to  have  been  for  a  long  period  the 
centre  of  pojmlation,  and  the  subsequent  removal  of 
the  court-house  to  Joppa,  instead  of  to  some  more 
southern  or  western  locality,  shows  that  even  after 
the  lapse  of  half  a  century  the  northern  and  eastern 
portions  of  the  county  were  still  by  far  the  most 
populous.  They  continued  to  be  so  for  many  years 
longer,  for  the  county-seat  was  not  removed  to  Balti- 
more until  1768,  and  Joppa,  during  more  than  fifty 
years,  was  not  only  the  chief  mart  of  the  county,  but 
the  point  which  seems  to  have  been  fixed  upon  by 
common  agreement,  or  perhaps  by  law,  as  the  most 
convenient  for  elections,  and  a  variety  of  purposes,  to 
a  majority  of  the  people  of  the  county.  It  was  not 
until  1768  that  the  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  Town  and 
the  surrounding  country  grew  strong  enough  to  dis- 
pute this  supremacy,  and  even  then  they  would  seem 
to  have  .succeeded  in  obtaining  the  removal  of  the 
county-seat  under  false  pretences  with  regard  to  their 
population,  for  we  find  that  on  the  28th  of  February, 
1770,  in  pursuance  of  an  act  of  Assembly,  an  election 
was  held  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  people  in  the 
lower  and  upper  districts  an  opportunity  to  determine 
where  lay  the  strength  of  the  county  and  the  greater 
number  of  votes,  and  that  the  upper  sections  elected 
their  representatives  by  a  considerable  majority.  The 
polls  were  held  in  Baltimore  Town  for  the  lower,  and 
Bush  River  fOr  the  upper  districts,  and  the  vote  polled 
was  as  follows: 


1181 
U6T 
1119 


Caudidates — Alwve. 

Thomas  Cuckey  Deye 1572     Samuel  Owings 

John  Paca 1354     John  Moale 

John  Matthews 1293      George  Eisteau 

Aquila  Hall 1220  1  Kobert  Alexander.. 


All  this  shows  how  slowly  the  stream  of  population 
moved  into  the  interior,  and  throws  additional  and 
interesting  light  upon  the  history  of  early  coloniza- 
tion in  this  State.  Settlements,  in  the  beginning, 
clung  closely  to  the  shores  of  the  bay  or  the  banks 
of  the  larger  rivers,  and  nearly  every  plantation  of 
consequence  was  placed  within -easy  distance  of  some 
water  highway,  the  only  sort  of  road  which  the  early 
colonists  found  already  prepared  for  them.  Thus 
from  the  first  the  "  backwoods"  was  the  wilderness, 
and  the  backwoods  was  simply  the  unsettled  region 
removed  from  navigable  water;  and  thus  it  happened 
that  both  shores  of  the  bay  and  its  estuaries  were  set- 
tled up  to  the  mouth  of  the  Susquehanna  before  the 
interior  of  even  Charles,  St.  Mary's,  Talbot,  and  Kent 
Counties  had  ceased  to  be  called  the  "  backwoods." 

The  tide  of  immigration  from  the  north  was  met  by 
an  upward  current  from  the  south,  and  accordingly 
we  find  among  the  early  settlers  of  this  region  emi- 
grants from  Delaw.are,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  York 
on  the  one  hand,  and  from  Virginia  on  the  other. 
Among  the  most  prominent  settlers  from  the  north 
may  lie  mentioned  Augustine  IForman,  wlio  founded 


ENGLISH   DISCOVERIES   AND   SETTLEMENTS. 


:i  small  colony  on  Bohemia  River,  witliin  the  then 
limits  of  Baltimore  County,  hut  now  included  within 
those  of  Cecil.  Our  first  introduction  to  Herman  is 
in  1659,  when  hewas  .sent  by  Governor  Stuyvesant,  of 
New  York,  on  an  embassy  to  ask,  "  in  a  friendly  and 
neighborly  way,  the  redelivery  and  restitution  of  such 
free  people  and  servants"  as  had  taken  refuge  in 
Maryland,  and  to  make  other  demands  with  reference 
to  the  border  troubles  then  existing.  Herman  was  a 
native  of  Prague,  Bohemia,  and  emigrated  to  the 
Dutch  settlement  at  Manhattan.  After  his  visit  to 
Maryland  as  one  of  the  Dutch  commissioners,  he  re- 
moved to  the  latter  province,  and  in  1663  took  up 
land  on  Elk  River,  Cecil  County,  where  "  Bohemia 
Manor"  and  "Port  Herman"  still  preserve  his  mem- 
ory. In  1664  he  and  his  family  were  naturalized  as 
citizens  of  Maryland  by  an  act  of  Assembly, — the  first 
act  of  the  kind  passed  in  the  colonies.  Herman  was 
the  great  man  of  the  region ;  he  had  his  deer-park, 
the  walls  of  which  were  still  standing  in  1859 ;  he  rode 
in  his  coach  driven  by  liveried  servants;  his  mansion 
commanded  a  fine  view  of  the  Bohemia  River  to  the 
Chesapeake  Bay.     It  is  said  he  died  in  1686. 

Nathaniel  Utie,  who  was  one  of  the  foremost  pio- 
neers of  civilization  at  the  head  of  the  Chesapeake, 
and  whose  name  is  preserved  in  that  of  Spesutie 
(Spes-Utie)  Island,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Susquehanna, 
upon  which  he  settled  probably  before  the  formation 
of  the  county,  filled  a  prominent  part  in  the  early 
history  both  of  Maryland  and  Virginia.  Becoming 
involved  in  political  troubles  in  the  latter  State,  he 
removed  to  Maryland,  and  in  May,  1658,  was  licensed 
to  trade  with  the  Indians  for  furs,  and  to  arrest  all 
persons  who  were  trading  in  the  upper  part  of  the  bay 
without  license.  On  the  12th  of  July  following  he 
was  commissioned  captain  of  all  the  forces  between 
the  coves  of  Patuxent  River  and  the  Seven  Moun- 
tains, and  was  appointed  to  command  as  his  own 
company  all  the  forces  from  the  head  of  Severn  River 
to  the  above  mountains.  In  1666  he  was  one  of  the 
commissioners  appointed  to  effect  an  agreement  be- 
tween Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Maryland  to 
suspend  the  planting  of  tobacco  for  a  year,  so  as  to 
enhance  its  value.  He  became  a  member  of  the 
Governor's  Council,  one  of  the  magistrates  of  the 
province,  and  was  one  of  the  first  representatives  of 
the  county  in  the  Assembly,  holding  a  seat  in  that 
body  in  1662,  1666,  and  1669.  He  took  an  important 
part  in  the  effort  to  dispossess  the  Dutch  on  the  Dela- 
ware, and  was  altogether  one  of  the  most  prominent 
figures  in  the  early  history  of  the  county.  George  Utie, 
probably  a  near  relative  of  Nathaniel,  represented 
Baltimore  County  in  the  Assembly  in  1661,  and  was 
commissioned  sheriff  in  1666.  The  former  importance 
of  Spesutie  Island  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact  that 
a  meeting  of  the  Council  was  held  there  in'1661. 

Baltimore  County  was  erected  into  a  county  about 
1659 ;  the  exact  date  is  involved  in  some  doubt.  Be- 
fore this  year,  however,  the  county  is  not  mentioned 


in  the  legislative  proceedings  as  having  any  represen- 
tatives. Its  original  limits  were  much  more  extensive 
than  they  are  at  present,  including  Harford  and 
Cecil  Counties,  and,  there  is  good  evidence  to  prove, 
stretching  as  far  south  on  tlie  eastern  shore  as  the 
Chester  River,  and  perhaps  embracing  the  whole  of 
the  county  of  Kent.  The  first  description  of  its 
bounds  is  found  in  the  proclamation  of  June  6,  1674, 
by  which  it  was  declared  that  the  southern  bounds  of 
Baltimore  County  shall  be  "the  south  side  of  Pa- 
tapsco  River,  and  from  the  highest  plantations  on  that 
side  of  the  river,  due  south  two  miles  into  the  woods." 
By  the  act  of  1698  a  boundary  line  was  adopted  be- 
tween Baltimore  and  Anne  Arundel  County,  which 
had  been  located  by  commissioners  appointed  under 
an  act  of  Assembly  passed  in  1696.  This  line,  which 
is  particularly  described  in  this  act  of  1698,  and  which 
began  upon  the  bay  about  one  mile  and  a  quarter  to 
the  south  of  Bodkin  Creek,  attached  to  Baftimore 
County  a  considerable  tract  of  country  lying  south  of 
the  Patapsco ;  but  in  1725  this  act  of  1698  was  re- 
pealed, and  the  present  boundary  by  the  Patapsco  was 
established.  The  western  boundaries  of  the  county 
were  undefined,  and  in  the  absence  of  the  act  or  order 
erecting  Baltimore  County,  we  are  unable  to  say  what 
were  the  original  western  limits  assigned  to  it.  At 
one  time  it  extended  to  the  head  of  the  Patuxent ; 
afterwards  the  head  of  the  Patapsco  became  its  west- 
ern boundary,  and  was  so  until  the  formation  of 
Frederick  County  in  1748.  On  the  north  Baltimore 
County  extended  to  the  extreme  limits  of  the  province. 
Its  eastern  limits  have  for  many  years  been  an  interest- 
ting  subject  of  dispute,  but  there  is  strong  evidence  to 
show,  as  we  have  said,  that  they  formerly  embraced 
Cecil  County,  and  extended  down  the  eastern  shore  to 
the  Chester  River,  probably  including  the  whole  of  the 
territory  forming  the  present  county  of  Kent.  In  the 
early  records  of  the  province  and  county  may  be  found 
scores  of  deeds  and  patents  for  lands  on  the  Elk,  the 
Bohemia,  and  the  Sassafras  Rivers,  which  are  de- 
scribed as  lying  in  Baltimore  County,  Capt.  Nathaniel 
Utie,  for  instance,  holding  lands  on  the  Sassafras, 
which  are  set  down  as  in  Baltimore  County.  There 
are  also  several  official  references,  in  proclamations 
and  elsewhere,  to  points  on  the  eastern  shore  north 
of  the  Chester  River  as  within  the  limits  of  Baltimore 
County.  The  act  of  1707,  ch.  8,  throws  further  light 
on  this  subject.  ■  It  provides  for  the  removal  of 
Thomas  Howell,  "  now  lying  under  execution  for 
debt,  in  the  custody  of  the  sheriff'  of  Cecil  County, 
into  the  custody  of  the  sheriif  of  Kent  County,"  and 
this  removal  was  made  necessary  "  by  the  late  division 
of  those  counties,  whereby  this  Howell  became  an  in- 
habitant of  Kent  County,"  showing  that  at  least  a  por- 
tion of  Kent  had  previously  been  embraced  within  the 
limits  of  Cecil,  which  itself,  as  has  been  shown,  had 
originally  been  included  within  Baltimore  County. 

Cecil  County,  named  after  Cecilius  Calvert,  second 
Lord  Baltimore,  was  erected  in  1674,  and  the  records 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


show  that  by  the  terms  of  the  proclamation  creating 
it  it  wiis  described  as  extending  "  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Susquehanna  River  down  the  eastern  side  of  the 
bay,  to  Swan  Point ;  thence  to  Hell  Point,  and  thence 
up  Chester  River  to  the  head  thereof."  This  proves 
conclusively  that  Cecil  County  originally  embraced 
the  county  of  Kent,  and  Cecil  itself,  oi  a  part  of  it, 
was  carved  out  of  Baltimore  County,  as  the  deeds  and 
patents  testify.  Deeds  to  lands  some  distance  south 
of  the  Sassafras  River,  and  described  as  lying  in  Bal- 
timore County,  have  been  discovered,  and  doubtless 
others  as  far  south  as  the  Chester  River  could  be 
found  by  a  complete  examination  of  the  old  records. 
Probably  when  Cecil  was  separated  from  Baltimore 
County  in  1674  the  division  was  made  with  reference  | 
to,  if  it  was  not  dictated  by,  the  geographical  situa- 
tions of  the  two  sections  and  their  natural  boundaries, 
the  Susquehanna  River  and  the  bay. 

Cecil  County,  as  we  have  stated,  was  created  in 
1674,  but  its  present  boundaries  were  defined  by  the 
act  of  1706,  ch.  3,  which  enacts  "  that  Cecil  County 
shall  contain  all  the  lands  on  the  north  side  of  Sassafras 
River  and  Kent  County,  and  shall  be  bounded  on  the 
east  and  north  by  the  bounds  of  the  province,  and  on 
the  west  by  Susquehanna  and  the  bay." 

Harford  County,  named  after  Henry  Harford,  the 
last  proprietary  of  Maryland,  and  the  illegitimate  son 
of  Frederick,  the  sixth  and  last  Lord  Baltimore,  was 
created  in  1773,  and  is  bounded  as  follows :  "  Begin- 
ning at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Falls  of  Gunpowder 
River,  and  running  thence  with  said  falls  to  the  foun- 
tain head ;  thence  north  to  the  Pennsylvania  line ; 
thence  with  that  line  to  the  Susquehanna  River ; 
thence  with  that  river  to  the  Chesapeake  Bay ;  thence 
with  the  bay,  including  Spesutie  and  Pool's  Islands, 
to  the  mouth  of  Gunpowder  River ;  and  thence  up 
said  river  to  the  beginning." 

Carroll  County,  named  after  Charles  Carroll  of 
Carrollton,  and  created  out  of  Baltimore  and  Freder- 
ick Counties,  was  created  in  1835,  with  the  following 
boundaries:  "Beginning  at  the  Pennsylvania  line  at 
Rock  Creek  ;  thence  to  the  Monocacy  River  ;  thence 
to  the  junction  of  the  Monocacy  and  Double  Pipe 
Creek ;  thence  with  the  course  of  Pipe  Creek  to  the 
point  of  junction  of  Little  Pipe  Creek  and  Big  Pipe 
Creek;  thence  with  Little  Pipe  Creek  to  its  junction  i 
with  Sam's  Creek  ;  thence  with  Sara's  Creek  to  War-  , 
field's  Mill ;  thence  with  the  Buffalo  road  to  Parr's 
Spring ;  thence  with  the  western  branch  of  the  Pa- 
tapsco  Falls  to  the  point  of  its  junction  with  the  north- 
ern branch  of  the  Patapsco  Falls;  thence  with  the 
northern  branch  of  said  fails  to  the  bridge  erected 
over  said  falls  on  the  turnpike  road  leading  from 
Ueisterstown  to  Westminster;  thence  in  a  straight 
course  to  the  Pennsylvania  line,  running  north  seven- 
teen degrees  east;  thence  to  the  Pennsylvania  line  to 
the  place  of  beginning.'" 


CHAPTER    V. 

ANCIENT    COUNTY-SEATS. 
Old  Baltimore— Foster's  Neck— Joppa— Ball imore  Town. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  while  our  records  have 
handed  down  to  us  the  name  of  the  person  at  whose 
house  the  County  Court  held  its  first  session,  as  well 
as  the  year  in  which  this  event  occurred,  we  find  no 
reference  to  the  establishment  of  a  regular  county- 
seat  until  1683,  or  about  twenty-two  years  afterwards. 

By  Chapter  V.  of  the  act  of  1683  a  port  of  entry 
was  established  "on  Bush  River,  on  the  town  land, 
near  the  court-house,"  and  it  is  at  this  point  that  his- 
tory first  introduces  us  to  the  original  capital  of  the 
county.  From  the  language  of  the  act  it  is  apparent 
that  this  town  on  the  Bush  River  was  already  the 
county-seat  when  it  was  made  a  port  of  entry,  but  how 
long  it  had  enjoyed  that  dignity  is  not  known.  It  is 
not  reasonable  to  suppose,  however,  that  justice  had 
been  without  a  fixed  and  local  habitation  since  the 
meeting  of  the  first  court  at  the  house  of  Capt.  Thomas 
Howell-  in  1661 ;  and  it  is  probable  that  Old  Balti- 
more had  been  the  county-seat  for  some  years  be- 
fore 1683.  As  early  as  1674  an  act  was  passed  "  for 
erecting  a  court-house  and  prison  in  each  county 
within  this  province,"  but,  even  without  express  pro- 
vision, the  necessity  for  the  establishment  of  a  county- 
seat  must  have  forced  itself  upon  the  public  attention 
soon  after  the  organization  of  the  county  government, 
and  in  selecting  a  place  for  this  purpose  the  general 
convenience  must  naturally  have  been  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal objects  in  view.  The  county  at  that  time  included 
within  its  limits  Harford,  Cecil,  and  at  least  a  part  of 
Kent,  and  an  examination  of  the  map  shows  that  Old 
Baltimore  occupied  a  convenient  position  with  refer- 
ence to  all  these  different  sections.  The  interior,  or 
backwoods,  was  then  but  thinly  settled,  most  of  the 
inhabitants  still  being  afraid  to  trust  themselves  far 
from  the  bay  or  the  borders  of  navigable  streams,  so 
that  the  town  on  Bush  River  was  not  only  reason- 
ably central,  as  far  as  the  large  proportion  of  the  popu- 
lation was  concerned,  but  was  easily  accessible  by 
water,  which  was  then  the  principal  and  favorite 
mode  of  travel. 

The  lapse  of  time  has  left  so  few  traces  of  Old 
Baltimore  that  the  identification  of  the  site  on  which 
it  stood  cannot  be  made  with  absolute  certainty. 
Recent  researches,  however,  have  thrown  so  much 
liiiht  iin  tlir  subject  that  we  can  now,  with  tolerable 
ecMiii'lriH-.  ,  |M.iiit  almost  to  the  exact  spot  where- the 
fiisi  1  (.uiiiy-Mut  was  located.  Old  Baltimore,  in  all 
probability,  was  situated  about  seven  miles  south  of 
Perrymansvilie,  two  miles  northeast  of  the  Philadel- 
phia and  Wilmington  Railroad  bridge  over  Bush 
River,  and  four  miles  above  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and 
was  an  isthmus  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide  be- 

i  Capt.  TlK.nms  Howell  at  this  time  lived  within  tlie  limits  of  what  is 


ANCIENT   COUNTY-SEATS. 


43 


tween  Bush  River  on  the  south  aud  Rumney  Creek 
on  the  north.  It  was  immediately  upon  Bush  River, 
and  commanded  a  noble  view  for  miles  up  the  river 
and  down  its  course  to  its  junction  with  the  Chesa- 
peake. 

Besides  the  concurrent  testimony  of  at  least  six 
ancient  maps  to  the  correctness  of  this  identifica- 
tion of  the  site  of  Old  Baltimore,  the  natural  objects 
in  the  vicinity  still  bear  witness  to  the  former  exist- 
ence of  a  town  in  this  locality.  Long  rows  of  large 
cedar-trees  strike  the  visitor  with  their  venerable  ap- 
pearance, and  their  regularity  and  isolation  indicate 
that  they  were  the  results  of  careful  culture  rather 
than  of  spontaneous  growth.  Nor  is  the  fact  without 
significance  that  while  the  land  between  Old  Balti- 
more and  Perrymansville  is  very  barren,  that  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  former  is  believed  to  be  about  the  most 
productive  in  Harford  County.  Besides  a  portion 
occupied  by  a  clover-field,  the  old  site  itself  is  covered 
with  alder-bushes  and  refuses  cultivation,  as  if,  having 
once  been  set  apart  for  the  higher  uses  of  civilization, 
it  disdained  to  revert  to  the  less  ambitious  purposes 
of  agriculture.  A  rude  fence  at  present  incloses  the 
whole  site,  and  on  entering  the  gate  the  visitor  sees 
two  log  houses,  such  as  are  used  by  servants  on  a  plan- 
tation, while  hard  by  is  an  old-fashioned  well  with  the 
horizontal  pole  for  raising  and  lowering  the  bucket 
so  common  in  former  days.  In  the  eastern  part  of 
the  field  are  the  remains  or  ruins  of  a  burial-ground 
in  a  grove  of  large  walnut-trees,  and  "  here  rest  the 
bones  of  William  Osborne,  who  built  the  first  house 
in  the  present  Harford  County  at  Old  Baltimore  on 
'Old  House  Point.'"  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
norch  of  the  field  is  the  residence  of  Mr.  Richardson, 
the  proprietor  of  the  site  of  the  ancient  town.  The 
road  from  the  north  to  the  south,  starting  from  a  ferry 
over  the  Susquehanna,  just  below  the  present  rail- 
road bridge  at  Havre  de  Grace,  crossed  Swan  Creek 
to  Old  Baltimore ;  and  here,  at  Old  House  Point,  there 
was  a  ferry  over  Bush  River,  and  this  was  the  great 
route  of  travel.  The  ferry  was  attended  by  Philip 
Philips,  who  afterwards  purchased  it,  and  providing 
"  entertainment  for  man  and  beast,"  contrived  through 
these  two  sources  of  revenue  to  make  a  comfortable 
fortune.  The  wharf  at  Old  House  Point  has  long 
since  decayed,  but  the  large  stones  which  formed  the 
abutments  can  still  be  plainly  seen  at  low  tide.  Three 
miles  from  Old  Baltimore,  as  stated  by  Freeborn  Gar- 
retson  (in  his  journal),  is  the  place  of  thefiret  church 
building  of  any  kind  in  Baltimore  County.  Here,  at 
Gravelly,  are  the  almost  obliterated  remains  of  the 
"log  church";  and  it  was  to  this  place,  about  fifteen 
years  after  the  decadence  of  Old  Baltimore,  that  the 
remains  of  the  dead  with  their  tombstones  were  prob- 
ably removed  from  the  burial-ground  that  has  been 
mentioned.  This  log  church  was  the  parent  of  St. 
George's  parish,  now  known  as  "Spesutie  Church," 
and  the  records  of  the  latter  contain  the  names  of 
many  of  the  descendants  of  the  "  Old  Baltimoreans." 


From  an  act  of  1696  it  appears  that  many  of  the 
court-houses  in  the  province  had  been  built  upon  land 
to  which  the  counties  had  no  legal  title,  and  the  com- 
missioners were  authorized  to  perfect  these  titles  by 
purchase.  The  court-house  at  Old  Baltimore  would 
seem  to  have  been  one  of  these,  for  under  date  of 
April  1,  1700,  we  find  a  deed  from  Michael  Judd,  the 
younger,  of  Baltimore  County,  and  Mary,  his  wife, 
conveying  to  "John  Hall,  gent,  and  others,  inhabit- 
ants and  freeholders  of  the  county,"  all  "that  piece 
or  parcel  of  land  wherein  the  court-house  of  the  said 
county  now  standeth." 

The  precise  date  at  which  Old  Baltimore  ceased  to 
be  the  county-seat  is  to  a  large  extent  a  matter  of 
conjecture.  An  impression  prevails  that  the  court- 
house was  removed  from  Old  Baltimore  to  Foster's 
Neck,  on  the  Gunpowder,  by  the  act  of  1706,  but  the 
act  in  question  contains  no  allusion  whatever  to  the 
location  of  the  court-house  at  that  point,  and  it  is 
not  until  we  come  to  the  act  of  1707  that  we  find 
a  provision  for  the  erection  of  a  new  county-seat. 
This  latter  act,  as  will  be  seen,  failed  to  secure  the 
sanction  of  the  queen,  and  it  was  not  until  1712  that 
its  provisions  were  confirmed ;  but  it  is  also  to  be 
noted  that  the  act  of  1706,  which  provided  for  the 
establishment  of  a  port  of  entry  at  Foster's  Neck,  was 
also  vetoed  by  the  queen,  and  was  never  re-enacted,  so 
far  as  the  records  show,  so  that,  even  had  it  directed 
the  location  of  the  county-seat  at  Foster's  Neck,  it 
would  have  been  without  force  or  effect.  It  seems 
probable,  therefore,  that  the  county-seat  remained  at 
Old  Baltimore  until  1712,  and  that  when  it  was  taken 
from  that  place  it  was  removed  to  Joppa,  and  not  to 
Foster's  Neck,  as  has  hitherto  been  generally  sup- 
posed. 

The  history  of  Joppa,  although  involved  in  less  ob- 
scurity than  that  of  Old  Baltimore,  is  clouded  at 
many  points  with  the  uncertainties  which  inevitably 
accumulate  around  a  town  which  belongs  so  entirely 
to  the  past.  Careful  research  has,  however,  rescued 
from  ancient  and  decaying  records  facts  enough  to 
give  us  an  idea  of  the  general  outline  of  its  history, 
and  to  enable  us  to  form  a  tolerably  correct  opinion 
of  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  earlier  Maryland 
towns.  Although  we  first  meet  with  "  the  town  of 
Joppa"  in  the  act  of  1712,  the  place  was  called  into 
being  five  years  before  by  the  act  of  1707,  which  itself 
was  a  sort  of  supplement  or  amendment  to  a  law  of 
1706.  This  last  legislative  mandate  proposed  to  create 
no  less  than  forty-two  new  towns  at  a  single  breath, 
and  among  them  provided  for  three  in  Baltimore 
County,  —  one  "at  Whetstone  Neck,  on  Patapsco 
River;"  one  upon  the  land  called  "Chilberry,  on 
Bush  River;"  and  "one  on  Foster's  Neck,  on  Gun- 
powder River."  How  many  of  these  paper  towns  fell 
still-born  from  the  womb  of  this  prolific  law  it  is  not 
necessary  to  consider.  Whether  that  at  Foster's  Neck 
ever  existed  except  in  the  legislative  intention  seems 
a  matter  of  dispute,  but  at  all  events  its  life  was  a 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


brief  one,  for  in  the  following  year  (1707)  the  Assem- 
bly directed  the  site  at  Foster's  Neck  "  to  be  deserted, 
and  in  lieu  thereof  fifty  acres  to  be  erected  into  a  town 
on  a  tract  of  land  on  the  same  river,  belonging  to 
Anne  Felks,  and  called  Taylor's  Choice,  and  the 
court-house  to  be  built  there."  All  acts  of  Assembly 
required  the  royal  assent,  but  as  it  was  not  supposed 
there  would  be  any  objection  to  the  change  of  site 
proposed  in  the  law  of  1707,  work  was  at  once  begun 
on  the  new  town,  streets  were  laid  out,  and  the  court- 
house was  in  course  of  construction,  when,  to  the  gen- 
eral surprise,  the  queen  dissented  both  to  the  act  of 
1706  as  well  as  to  that  of  1707.  For  the  next  five 
years  Joppa,  if  it  lived  at  all,  lived  only  as  a  sort  of 
illegitimate  town,  and  probably  consisted  simply  of 
the  buildings  in  process  of  construction  and  those 
already  built  when  the  queen's  veto  suspended  its 
legal  existence  and  checked  its  progress.  In  1712, 
however,  a  new  act  was  passed,  fixing  the  County 
Court  at  the  house  built  on  Taylor's  Choice,  "  in  the 
town  of  Joppa."  Joppa  had  still,  however,  to  pass 
through  a  further  period  of  probation,  for  it  had  no 
sooner  been  freed  from  its  former  disability  than  it 
was  discovered  that  it  was  built  not  exactly  upon  the 
sand,  but  upon  the  property  of  a  minor,  who  could 
not  give  a  clear  title.  In  this  unfortunate  state  Joppa 
languished  for  the  next  twelve  years,  when  it  was  at 
last  delivered  from  all  its  troubles  by  a  final  act  of 
the  Assembly.     This  act  of  1724  recites  that 

"the  iuhabitauts  of  Baltimore  County  have  made  to  appear  to  this 
Assembly  tliat  a  publiclc  court-house  and  prison  have  been  erected  at 
Joppa,  in  the  said  county,  at  their  expence,  and  that  the  riglit  of  the  land 
is  in  a  minor,  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  yeais,  who  (although  his 
father,  Col.  James  Maxwell,  hath  received  full  satisfaction  for  the  said 
land)  cannot  convoy  the  same,  and  that  the  said  inhabitants  have  like- 
wise set  forth  and  made  appear  that  the  business  of  that  county  is 
greatly  delayed  and  obstructed  by  the  want  of  some  convenient  places  of 
entertainment,  at  or  near  the  court-house,  the  officers  thereof  and 
suitors  thereto  being  obliged  to  go  a  great  distance  for  necessary  accom- 
modation, and  lying  under  several  other  inconveniences  that  the  erec- 
ting of  a  town  at  the  same  place  would  probably  remove." 

It  then  proceeds  to  enact  "  that  the  land  already 
allotted  for  the  building  of  a  court-house  and  prison 
shall  be  and  remain  to  the  use  of  the  said  county  for- 
ever, any  law,  usage,  defect,  or  other  thing  to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding."  Thomas  Tolley,  Capt.  John 
Taylor,  Daniel  Scott,  Lancelot  Todd,  and  John  Stokes, 
or  any  three  of  them,  were  authorized  and  empowered 
to  purchase  twenty  acres  of  land  at  Joppa,  and  to 
superintend  the  surveying  and  laying  out  of  the  same 
"into  forty  equal  lots,  erected  into  a  town,  and  so  as 
the  public  buildings  aforesaid  be  included  within  the 
twenty  acres  aforesaid,  and  that  the  same  lots  shall  be 
laid  out  so  as  not  to  affect  the  buildings  or  improve- 
ments of  Col.  James  Maxwell,  or  his  son,  already 
made  at  the  place  aforesaid."  The  commissioners 
were  directed  to  meet  at  an  early  day  to  carry  out  the 
instructions  of  the  act,  anil  mi  the  lioth  of  April,  1725, 
proceeded  to  bargain  willi  >'<■}.  .Mm\  well,  the  owner, 
for  the  land.  They  oilV-rcd  liijn  llir,,.  pounds  (£3)  an 
acre  for  his  land,  which  he  at  first  declined  to  ac- 


cept, but  afterwards,  when  a  warrant  was  about  to  be 
;  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  sheriff  requiring  him  to 

assess  and  condemn  the  i)roperty,  he  came  to  terras, 

and   the   purchase   was    concluded    without   further 

trouble. 

It  was  not  until  the  latter  part  of  .lune,  1726,  that 

the  survey  was  completed  and  the  town  laid  off.  The 
1  surveyor  of  the  county,  Col.  John  Dorscy,  received 

for  his  services  five  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco  from 

the  County  Court.  In  his  formal  certificate  Col.  Dorsey 

states  that  he  has 

]   "laid  out  for  the  said  town  twenty  acres  of  land,  being  part  of  a  tract 

,  of  land  called  Taylor's  Choice,  beginning  (for  thesaid  town)  at  a  bounded 
while  oak  standing  near  the  bank  of  the  said  river  and  near  the  mouth 
and  on  the  east  side  of  the  easternmost  branch  of  the  said  river,  and 
running  thence  south  eiglity-two  degrees  and  a  half,  east  forty  perches; 

'  thence  north  seven  and  a  half  degrees,  east  eighty-four  perches;  thence 
north  eighty-two  and  a  half  degrees,  west  forty  perches;  thence  south 
seven  and  a  half  degrees,  west  eigbty-four  perches  to  the  said  bounded 
tree  containing  and  laid  out  for  twenty-one  acres  of  land,  more  or  less. 

j   Twenty-one  acres  whereof  for  a  town  called  Joppa." 

j      Joppa  was  northwest  of  Foster's  Neck,  and  Foster's 

I  Creek  is  still  known,  and  is  the  southeastern  boundary 

of  Col.  John  Carroll  Walsh's  land,  Taylor's  Creek 

being  between  Col.  Walsh's  land  and  Joppa  farm. 

I  "  Taylor's  Choice"  was  granted  March  4, 1661,  to  John 

j  Taylor,  who  also  had  other  tracts  in  the  immediate 

neighborhood.     Taylor  was  one  of  the  commissioners 

i  of  Baltimore  County,  and  with  others  held  a  court, 

j  probably  the  first  held  in  the  county,  at  the  house  of 

Capt.  Thomas  Howell,  the  presiding  commissioner, 

on  the  20th  of  July,  1661.     In  1719,  Taylor's  Choice 

was  resurveyed  for  Col.  James  Maxwell,  who  was  then 

presiding  justice  or  judge  of  the  county,  a  position 

I  which  he  held  for  twenty  years.     The  judges  of  the 

r  courts  appear  to  have  been  alive  to  the  importance  of 

a  proper  location  for  the  seats  of  justice,  as  two  of 

them  would  seem  to  have  been  land-owners  at  or  near 

Joppa  when  the  town  was  laid  out.     Joppa,  as-we 

I  have  seen,  was  laid  out  into  forty  lots  of  half  an  acre 

I  each,  exclusive  of  the  one-acre  lot  set  aside  for  the 

!  use  of  St.  John's  parish  church,  and  was  divided  by 

[  Court  Street  and  Church  Street  running  east  and  west, 

j  and  Low  Street  and  High  Street  running  nearly  north 

and  south.     The  lots  were  offered  at  one  pound  seven 

I  shillings  each,  to  be  paid  to  Col.  James  Maxwell,  with 

a  fee  of  two  shillings  and  sixpence  to  the  clerk  for 

every  entry  made  by  him. 

By  the  terms  of  the  act  of  Assembly,  the  owner  of 

the  land  was  to  have  the  first  choice  in  the  selection 

,  of  lots,  and  accordingly  we  find  the  first  entry  made 

in  the  name  of  Col.  Maxwell,  the  form  of  the  entry 

;  being  as  follows: 

"(No.  23)  July  the  eighth,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  twenty- 
six,  comes  Col.  James  Maxwell  (the  owner  of  and  person  interested  in 
the  said  land)  and  makes  choice  of  the  lot  (No.  23)  which  ho  desires 
may  be  entered  in  his  came,  which  is  hereby  accordingly  done  at  tiie 
request  aforesaid  and  risque  of  the  same  James  Maxwell." 

On  the  same  day  (July  8th)  Asaell  Maxwell,  son  of 
Col.  James  Maxwell,  took  up  lot  No.  24;  Col.  John 
Dorsey,  in  the  name  and  for  the  use  of  his  son,  Green- 


ANCIENT   COUNTY-SEATS. 


45 


bury  Dorsey,  took  up  lot  No.  4;  John  Crockett  took 
up  lot  No.  3,  and  John  Stokes  lot  No.  5.  On  July 
20th  Daniel  Hughes  took  up  lot  No.  22;  Thomas 
White,  clerk  of  the  court,  lot  No.  1 ;  Eoger  Matthews 
lot  No.  2,  and  Capt.  Thomas  Sheredine  lot  No.  19. 
Lot  No.  21  was  taken  up  by  Aquila  Paca, 
sheriff  of  the  county,  on  the  25th  of  July, 
and  lot  No.  18  by  Jo'hn  Hall,  Jr. ;  No.  17  by 
John  Roberts,  July  27th  ;  lot  No.  26  on  July 
28th,  by  Joseph  Ward,  inn-holder;  lot  No. 
6  by  Eichard  Hewitt,  Aug.  4th ;  lot  No.  27 
by  Nicholas  Day,  Aug.  4th ;  lot  No.  20  by 
Thomas  Tolley,  on  the  same  date  ;  lot  No. 
16  on  Aug.  5th,  by  Aquila  Paca;  lot  No.  28 
on  Aug.  5th,  by  William  Hammond;  lot 
No.  40  by  Benjamin  Jones,  Sept.  25th;  lot 
No.  7  by  William  Lowe,  Oct.  8th ;  lots  Nos. 
8  and  9  by  Joseph  Calvert,  "  late  merchant 
of  Kent  County,"  Dec.  19th ;  lot  No.  39  by 
James  Lsham,  March  30, 1727 ;  lot  No.  13  by 
Joseph  Calvert,  June  10th  ;  lots  Nos.  34  and 
35  by  James  lsham,  Sept.  2d ;  lot  No.  15  by 
William  Lowe,  Sept.  12th;  lot  No.  10  by 
Joseph  Calvert,  March  12,  1727 ;  lot  No.  29 
by  Catharine  Hollingsworth,  widow,  Oct  9, 
1729;  lot  No.  30  by  same  for  her  son,  Val- 
entine Hollingsworth,  June  29,  1730;  lot 
No.  18  by  Samuel  Ward,  "  carpenter"  (being 
same  lot  at  first  taken  up  by  John  Hall, 
Jr.),  July  8,  1730;  lot  No.  30  by  Abraham 
Johns,  for  the  use  of  Stephen  Higgins,  of 
Anne  Arundel  County,  Dec.  3,  1730 ;  and 
lot  No.  31  on  the  same  day,  for  the  use  of 
Samuel  Maccubins.  Purchasers  of  these  lots 
were  required  to  build  within  twelve  months 
houses  that  should  cover  not  less  than  four 
hundred  square  feet,  and  the  act  rather 
quaintly  declared  that  "  none  of  these  houses 
shall  be  suffered  to  have  any  chimney,  un- 
less the  same  be  built  with  brick  or  stone." 
The  first  purchasers  of  several  of  the  lots 
having  neglected  to  build  houses  within 
the  required  time,  the  town  commissioners, 
Messrs.  Thomas  Tolley,  Daniel  Scott,  and 
John  Stokes,  in  accordance  with  the  provis- 
ions of  the  act,  adopted  an  order  on  June  27, 
1727,  directing  the  clerk  to  enter  these  lots 
afresh  should  there  be  any  new  applicants, 
and  this  was  done  in  several  instances. 
Greenbury  Dorsey  took  up  his  lot  No.  4  a 
second  time;  Jonathan  Hughes  succeeded 
David  Hughes  in  the  ownership  of  lot  No. 
22 ;  Nicholas  Day  took  up  lots  Nos.  26  and  ^  j,^, 
28,  previously  taken  up  by  Joseph  Ward 
and  William  Hammond;  lot  No.  18  was  resold  to 
Thomas  Sheredine;  lot  No.  16  to  William  Lowe; 
lot  No.  40  to  Jeremiah  Sutton,  on  April  23,  1729 ;  lot 
No.  30  to  John  Higginson,  Sept.  8,  1731 ;  and  lot  No. 
18,  which  had  been   sold   twice  before,  to  Hannah 


Ward,  of  Joppa,  on  Oct.  1,  1731.  It  would  seem  that 
the  lawyers  of  those  days  did  not  care  especially  for 
water  as  a  beverage,  for  it  was  not  until  the  8th  of 
August,  1728,  .some  two  years  after  Col.  Maxwell's  lot 
was  taken  up,  that  it  was  thought  necessary  to  have  a 


5s    f 


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^^   S 


II 


^        ^ 


^-       I- 


3 


j^-^ 


(7SJ 


■f7oJ 


PLAT   OF   JOPPA   IN   1725. 
Prison ;  B,  Court-House ;  C,  Old  Prison ;  D,  St.  John's  Parish  Church. 

public  well  in  the  vicinity  of  the  court-house,  at  which 
time  the  commissioners  of  Joppa  satisfied  any  tem- 
perance principles  that  may  have  existed  by  adopting 
a  general  order  to  the  effect  that  "  the  money  that  is  or 
shall  be  raised  for  the  use  of  the  said  town  be  applied 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


towards  digging  a  well  on  the  court-house  lands,  and 
it  is  further  resolved  that  either  of  the  commissioners 
aforesaid  may  covenant  with  any  person  who  shall  be 
inclinable  to  do  the  same  on  reasonable  terms."    Col. 
Dorsey's  plat  of  the  town  gives  its  length  as  eighty- 
four  perclies,  and  the  width  forty  perches,  exactly 
twenty-one  acres,  showing  forty  lots,  exclusive  of  the 
church  lot,  with  the   church,  court-house,  and  two 
prisons  conspicuously  delineated,  while  adjacent  to 
the  new  prison  is  a  small  lot  marked  "  Amen  Corner," 
which  was  sacred  to  the  whipping-post  and  the  pil- 
lory.    It  does  not  seem  probable  that  the  names  al- 
ready given  embraced  all  the  inhabitants  of  Joppa, 
as  in  the  act  of  1724  reference  is  made  to  "  the  build- 
ings or  improvements  of  Col.  James  Maxwell,  or  of 
his  son,  already'made  at  the  place  aforesaid,"  and  in 
the  proceedings  of  the  county  commissioners  in  1725 
the  surveyor  is   directed  to  respect  the  "dwelling- 
house  of  Mrs.  Elinor  Rumsey."   This  latter  is  believed 
to  be  the  sole  house  now  standing  on  the  site  of  Joppa, 
it  having  been  known  for  many  years  as  the  "  Rumsey  ' 
Mansion."    Benjamin  Rumsey,  a  member  of  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished  j 
men  of  the  State,  died  here  March  7,  1808.    Addi-  i 
tional  color  is  given  to  the  supposition  that  Joppa  had 
already  made  some  progress  before  the  act  of  1724  by 
the  fact  that  the  original  act  of  1707  locating  the 
town  set  apart  fifty  acres  for  that  purpose,  and  the 
law  of  1724  appropriated  only  twenty  acres.    Between  j 
1707  and   1724,— that  is,  in    1712, — another  act  was  i 
passed,  as  has  already  been  stated,  "  settling  Balti- 
more County  court-house   at   Joppa,"  and  it  seems  ' 
only  reasonable  to  suppose  that  other  buildings  had  I 
.sprung  up  upon  part  of  the  fifty  acres  at  first  desig- 
nated.    This  would  explain  the  limitation  to  twenty 
acres  in  the  act  of  1724,  it  being  then  unnecessary,  in 
this  view  of  the  case,  to  adhere  to  the  original  number. 
It  is  quite  evident  from  all  that  has  been  said  that 
the  erection  of  Joppa  into  a  town   and  its  develop- 
ment into  the  metropolis  of  the  county  was  the  ob- 
ject of  special  and  influential  effort.     The  pertinacity  j 
with  which  the  projectors  of  the  town  clung  to  the 
site   they    had    chosen,  in  spite  of  the  many  obsta- 
cles in  the  way  of  their  success,  and  the  special  in-  | 
ducements  oflTered  to  trade,  as  well  as  the  special  fa-  j 
cilities  provided  for  reaching  the  county-seat,  indicate 
either  the  presence  of  influential    sponsors    at   the 
cradle  of  Joppa,  or  the  firm  conviction  in  the  public 
mind  that  this  particular  site  possessed  peculiar  and 
unrivaled  advantages.     All  roads  led  to  Rome,  and 
so,  on  a  smaller  scale,  all  the  most  important  roads  of 
Baltimore  County  would  seem  to  have  led  to  Joppa ;  j 
'and   even   now   the   numerous   "  old    Joppa   roads" 
through    Harford  and   Baltimore  C<junties  serve   to 
remind  us  of  the  ancient  prominence  of  the  place, 
and  the  obvious  design  to  make  it  a  great  commercial  | 
centre.     But  it  was  in   the  act  of  1724  itself  that  we  i 
see  especially  the  signs  of  fostering  care.     The  la,st  j 
section  of  that  act  provided 


'*  That  there  shall  be  allowed  to  all  debtors  whatsoever,  owing  auy  to- 
bacco to  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever,  or  liowsoever,  such  debtor 
bringing  his  tobacco  to  the  town  aforesaid,  and  there  paying  the  same  to 
his  creditor  or  creditors,  or  his  or  their  receivers,  the  sum  of  ten  pounds 
of  tobacco  per  cent,  for  every  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco  so  brought  to 
the  place  aforesaid,  and  there  paid  as  aforesaid;  to  be  deducted  out  of 
such  debtor*s  said  debt,  or  allowed  of  in  bar  or  discount  of  any  action  to 
be  brought  against  any  debtor  or  debtors,  by  any  creditor  or  creditors,  in 
any  court  within  this  province." 

This  new  way  of  paying  old  debts,  it  is  almost  unne- 
cessary to  say,  speedily  became  very  popular,  and  in  a 
short  time  Joppa  became  a  great  tobacco  market,  which 
meant  a  great  deal  in  those  days,  when  tobacco  was 
king,  and  when  it  often  usurped  the  place  of  money 
in  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  colonies.  The 
mode  of  getting  this  great  staple  to  the  county  me- 
tropolis was  not  a  little  ingenious,  and  though  it  sa- 
vored somewhat  of  that  laziness  which  is  the  mother 
of  invention,  served  all  the  purposes  of  the  times. 
Each  hogshead  of  tobacco  was  made  to  render  active 
assistance  in  its  own  transportation  by  means  of  a 
gudgeon  or  pin  fastened  in  each  end,  to  which  hoop- 
pole  shafts  were  attached,  and  fastened  to  the  collar 
of  the  horse,  which  thus  rolled  his  load  to  town,  and 
from  this  circumstance  the  roads  so  used  were  called 
"  rolling  roads,"  a  name  which  many  of  them  still 
retain.  These  "  rolling  roads"  poured  vast  quanti- 
ties of  tobacco  into  Joppa,  and  with  tobacco  came  a 
very  considerable  commerce  not  only  with  the  West 
Indies,  but  with  Europe.  Though  her  population  was 
not  large,  it  was  doubtless  a  very  busy  one,  and  prob- 
ably one  of  no  inconsiderable  wealth.  Although  the 
removal  of  the  county-seat  to  Baltimore  in  1768  was 
the  death-warrant  of  Joppa,  the  commercial  glory  it 
had  gained  did  not  pass  from  it  all  at  once,  and  tra- 
dition says  that  so  late  as  the  American  Revolution 
a  vessel  of  war  was  built  there. 

Still  other  and  incidental  evidences  of  the  import- 
ance of  Joppa  have  survived  to  us.  The  Maryland 
Gazette  of  March  5,  1752,  informs  us  that  at  an  elec- 
tion held  there  for  representatives  in  the  Legislature 
"  more  people  were  present  than  ever  before  at  any 
election  in  that  county,  or  perhaps  any  in  the  prov- 
ince." Joppa,  moreover,  had  her  dealings  in  real  es- 
tate, and  at  the  present  day,  when  it  is  difficult  to 
discover  even  the  ruins  of  this  ancient  town,  it  sounds 
strangely  to  read  that  "  in  the  town  of  Joppa  there  is 
a  spacious  brick  dwelling-house,  kitchen  garden,  abd 
sundry  outhouses  (to  be  sold)  in  very  good  repair,"  or 
the  following  advertisement  in  the  Gazette  of  Oct.  23, 


"  May  McCulloch  Executrix  and  Anthony  Stewart  executor  of  David 
McCulloch,  deceased,  offer  for  sale  or  rent  the  following  property  in  the 
town  of  Joppa  lately  possessed  by  D.  McCulloch,  where  he  lived;  His 
dwelling-bouse,  built  of  brick,  two  stories  high,  consisting  of  three  rooms, 
two  closets  and  a  passage  on  the  first  floor ;  four  rooms  and  a  passage  on 
the  second  floor,  and  a  cellar  under  the  whole  house.  Adjoining  the 
dwelling-house  is  a  kitclien  built  of  brick  one  story  high.  There  is  also 
a  large  warehouse,  situated  on  the  water  side,  built  of  stone,  consisting 
of  three  floors,  calculated  to  receive  grain,  salt,  &c. ;  a  store-house  built 
of  wood,  consisting  of  a  store-room,  and  a  room  off  the  store,  proper  for 
a  counting  room;  a  small  house  not  far  distant  from  the  store,  built  of 
wood,  new,  projter  for  un  office  ur  a  couritiug-hoi 


THE   FOUNDING   OF   BALTIMOKE   CITY. 


47 


,  hen-house,  Ac,  and  a  garden  and  the  whole  lot  well  pailed 
in;  also  a  store-house  built  of  wood,  and  a  counting-house  with  a  fire- 
place, and  a  large  stable." 

Not  less  strangely  sounds  the  announcement  that 
"  on  Thursday,  the  11th  of  October  (1759),  will  be  run 
for  at  Joppa,  in  Baltimore  County,  a  purse  of  twenty 
pistoles,  by  any  horse,  mare,  or  gelding,"  and  on  "  the 
12th  and  13th  races  will  be  run"  for  purses  of  ten  I 
and  six  pounds  current  money  respectively.  "  Every  I 
horse,  etc.,  to  be  entered  with  Isaac  Kisteau  in  the  ' 
town  aforesaid  the  day  before  they  run,  and  the  own- 
ers to  pay  one  shilling  in  the  form  of  entrance 
money."  In  case  of  any  dispute,  it  was  announced 
that  "the  same  would  be  decided  by  Col.  William 
Young  and  James  Christie."  It  was  doubtless  on 
occasions  of  this  sort  that  "  the  Governor  and  a  num-  i 
ber  of  gentlemen  visited  the  town."  Joppa  had  also 
amusements  of  another  character.  Jan.  10,  1752, 
"  Martha  Bassett  and  Mary  Powell  were  hanged  at 
Joppa,  pursuant  to  sentence,  for  the  murder  of  Mrs.  | 
Clarke.  The  execution  of  John  Berry,  the  wicked 
contriver  of  this  scene  of  villany,  was  deferred  until 
yesterday  (January  loth),  when  he  was  to  be  exe- 
cuted near  the  place  where  the  murder  was  commit- 
ted, and  afterwards  hung  in  chains."  And  on  Nov. 
28,  1753,  "John  Barrett  was  executed  at  Joppa  for 
the  murder  of  his  wife  some  time  ago,  and  was  after- 
wards hung  in  chains  on  a  gibbet  as  high  as  Haman's 
Gallows  near  Baltimore  Town,  where  he  committed 
the  fact." 

Joppa,  too,  was  ablaze  with  the  patriotic  ardor  of 
the  Revolutionary  period,  as  the  following  extract 
from  the  Gazette  of  April  10,  1 776,  fully  indicates : 

"  We  learn  from  Joppa  that  a  special  messenger  came  to  that  town  on 
Sunday  last  with  the  agreeable  news  of  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. 
The  same  being  immediately  communicated  to  the  inhabitants,  the 
greatest  joy  appeared  imprinted  in  every  countenance;  the  day  could 
not  be  celebrated  in  such  a  cheerful  manner  as  the  occasion  required, 
but  the  evening  was  ushered  in  with  the  ringing  of  bells,  and  every  ] 
other  decent  signal  of  joy,  and  every  house  in  the  town  was  illumi- 
nated, and  the  houses  of  Mr.  Dorsey  and  Mr.  Tolley,  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river.  The  evening  concluded  with  the  greatest  decency  and  de- 
corum."! 

But  while  Joppa  was  thus  flourishing,  "  Baltimore 
Town"  had  not  been  standing  still,  and  soon  grew  i 
into  a  formidable  rival  to  her  elder  sister.    Finally,  in 
1768,  the  population  of  Baltimore  had  so  greatly  in-  \ 
creased  that,  from  a  sense  of  its  own  dignity,  perhaps,  I 
as  well  as  from  the  inconvenience  to  which  its  citizens  ! 
were  subjected  in  attending  court   at  Joppa,  Balti-  ' 
more  demanded  and   obtained  an  act  removing  the  ' 
county-seat   from   Joppa  and   locating  it  within  its 
own  borders.     From  this  time  may  be  dated  "  the  de- 
cline and  fall"  of  the  ancient  town  of  Joppa.     The 
removal  of  the  county-seat  to  Baltimore  was,  how-  | 
ever,  merely  the  evidence  of  a  decline  which  must 
already  have  begun,  and   not  its  sole  or  principal 
cause.     The   history  of  Joppa  is,  in  fact,  simply  a 

1  Bishop  Asbury.in  his  "Journal,"  says,  "On  Tuesday,  Dec.  2, 1773, 
at  Joppa,  there  were  many  people  from  the  country  and  some  from  the 


striking  illustration  of  the  principle  that  great  cities 
are  made  by  the  laws  of  trade  and  commerce,  and  not 
by  acts  of  Assembly.  Joppa  was,  to  use  the  phrase 
of  the  present  day,  a  flat  town,  but,  with  all  the  sup- 
port she  received,  it  was  found  impossible  to  bribe 
commerce  to  depart  from  its  inflexible  laws  for  any 
great  length  of  time,  or  to  found  a  great  business 
centre  by  any  system  of  subsidies,  no  matter  how  in- 
genious. No  vestige  of  Joppa's  former  greatness, 
scarcely  a  vestige  of  its  existence,  now  remains.  After 
the  removal  of  the  county  records  to  Baltimore,  which 
was  attended  with  considerable  turbulence,  the  old 
court-house  at  Joppa  was  sold,  and  soon  crumbled 
away  ;  the  town  wharves,  at  which  hundreds  of  the 
largest  merchantmen  had  laden,  were  gradually  de- 
serted for  those  of  her  more  prosperous  rival ;  and 
her  dwellings  disappeared  one  by  one,  until  at  the 
present  day  their  foundations  can  scarcely  be  traced, 
and  a  solitary  tenement  of  antique  style  and  venerable 
appearance  on  the  Harford  shore  of  the  Gunpowder 
River,  about  a  mile  northwest  of  the  railroad  bridge, 
alone  marks  the  spot  where  Joppa  once  stood. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    FOUNDING    OF    BALTIMORE    CITY. 

Jones'  Town— The  First  Settlers— Fell's  Point— City  Extensions— The 
Belt. 

It  may  be  said  of  cities,  as  of  men,  that  some  "are 
born  great,  some  achieve  greatness,  and  some  have 
greatness  thrust  upon  them."  Joppa,  as  we  have  seen, 
furnishes  an  illustration  of  an  eflbrt  to  thrust  muni- 
cipal greatness  upon  a  pet  location  which  was  unfit 
for  the  important  purposes  for  which  it  was  designed, 
and  which  was  unable  to  support  its  artificial  dignity. 
Baltimore's  growth,  on  the  other  hand,  is  to  a  large 
extent  an  equally  striking  example  of  the  arduous 
greatness  which  is  achieved  by  patient  effort  and 
gradual  triumph  over  natural  obstacles.  No  one, 
indeed,  who  reads  its  early  history  would  be  apt  to  say 
that  it  was  born  great,  or  that  it  had  much  cause  ap- 
parently to  thank  either  nature  for  any  special  favors, 
or  its  founders  for  any  signal  manifestations  of  wis- 
dom in  the  selection  of  the  particular  site  which  it 
occupies.  Certainly,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
they  builded  more  wisely  than  they  knew.  Surrounded 
by  rugged  hills,  hemmed  in  by  boisterous  water-courses, 
and  flanked  by  malarious  marshes,  there  seemed  little 
prospect  that  the  rough  hamlet  planted  on  this  appa- 
rently unpropitious  site  would  rise  to  the  dignity  of 
metropolitan  honors.  Nor  were  the  natural  diflScul- 
ties  of  the  situation  to  be  vanquished  in  a  day,  and 
while  the  diversity  of  surface  gives  great  beauty  and 
variety  to  the  present  city,  it  has  placed  in  its  way 
obstacles  with  which  few  other  American  cities  have 
had  to  contend.     The  founders  of  the  town  had  from 


48 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


the  very  beginning  to  do  battle  with  nature  for  the 
possession  of  the  site,  and  their  successors  are  even 
yet  forced  to  continue  the  struggle.     Marshes  have  ' 
had  to  be  drained,  hollows  filled  up,  hills  leveled, 
streams   diverted  and  bridged,  walled  in,  and  tun- 
neled ;  and  still  as  the  city  grows  difficulties  present 
themselves   requiring   no   little   engineering  skill  to 
master;   while  the   eccentricities   of  Jones'  Falls,  a 
pacific  brook  for  the  most  part,  but  subject  at  long 
intervals  to  freshets  which  convert  it  into  a  swollen  ; 
and  boiling  torrent,  laying  the  lower  part  of  the  city  j 
under  water,  still  perplex  the  city  authorities.     De- 
spite these  disadvantages,  however,  the  site  presented  I 
so  many  desirable  features  that  the  town  was  enabled 
to  hold  its  own.     The  hills  of  the  north  and  west,  with 
their  rapid  streams,  afforded  abundant  water-power 
for  milling ;   the  soil  was  more  fertile  than  in  the 
sandy  regions  to  the  south  and  east ;  the  harbor  was 
admirably  safe,  and  deep  enough  for  the  light-draft 
vessels  that  carried  on  our  first  commerce ;  the  climate  I 
was  less  rigorous  in  winter  than  that  of  the  regions  | 
nearer  the   mouth   of  the  Susquehanna,   and   more 
healthy  than  that  of  the  coast  settlements  lower  down  | 
the  bay.     Forests  of  fine  timber  surrounded  it ;  oak, 
chestnut,  and  other  deciduous  trees  to  the  north  and  i 
west,  and  yellow  or  pitch  pines  and  other  conifers  to  i 
the  south  and  east ;   building-stone  of  fine  quality, 
and  mines  of  rich  iron  ore  were  within  easy  hauling 
distance.     In  fact,  Baltimore  lies  at  the  junction  of  i 
two  botanical  and  two  geological  systems,  and  enjoys 
the  advantages  of  both. 

Of  these  advantages,  however,  not  all  were  known 
at  the  time  of  the  first  settlement,  and  the  original 
settlers  of  the  future  great  metropolis  of  the  State 
seem  to  have  been  most  impressed  with  those  of  the 
harbor,  as  we  find  that  within  the  first  three  days  after 
the  town  was  laid  out,  in  1730,  all  the  lots  toward  the  ! 
river  were  taken  up,  and  but  one  on  Long,  afterwards 
Market,  and  now  Baltimore,  Street.  Yet  but  a  single 
street — Calvert — actually  reached  navigable  water; 
for  the  alluvion  carried  down  by  the  falls  made  the 
northern  side  of  the  basin  a  mere  mud  shoal,  with 
islands  overflowed  at  high  tide  ;  while  between  the 
eastern  limits  of  the  town  and  the  Falls  was  a  large  i 
marsh,  reaching  down  to  the  water-line.  Charles  I 
Street  ended  at  Uhler's  Spring  Branch,  about  the 
corner  of  the  present  Lombard  Street ;  and  the  north 
end  of  Calvert  Street  was  terminated  by  a  precipice, 
about  where  the  Battle  Monument  now  stands. 

It  was  on   this  contracted  and  unpromising  spot 
that  the  rude  beginningsrf)f  the  'present  great  city  of 
Baltimore  were  made.    The  old  province  of  Maryland  ! 
rested  on  tobacco,  and  perhaps  Baltimore  owed  its 
existence  to  the  same  plant.     All  the  business  trans-  | 
actions  of  that  period  in   the   province   began  and  i 
ended  in  tobacco,  and  if  the  proprietary  government 
had  not  received  its  taxes  in  the  same  currency,  it  is  j 
possible  that  the  foundation  of  Baltimore  might  never 
have  been  laid.     The  government  needed  a  means  of 


support,  and  received  its  revenues  in  tobacco ;  and 
when  it  began  to  establish  its  tobacco  warehouses  for 
storing  this  bulky  weed,  every  planter  sought  to  get  a 
port  as  near  his  own  door  as  possible.  And  thus,  as 
the  Assembly  was  creating  these  ports  of  entry  with 
their  tobacco  warehouses  by  the  score,  the  settlers 
near  the  forks  of  the  Patapsco  began  to  petition  the 
Legislature  to  give  them  a  custom-house  or  town  of 
their  own,  and  fixed  upon  the  north  side  of  the  Middle 
Branch,  the  "Spring  Gardens"  property,  which  still 
retains  that  name,  as  a  likely  site  to  meet  their  views. 
But  John  Moale  was  the  owner  of  the  land,  and  be- 
lieving that  it  was  rich  in  iron  ore,  used  his  influence 
to  defeat  the  bill.  The  projectors  then  turned  their 
attention  to  the  North  Branch,  and  selected  the  farm 
which  was  known  as  "  Cole's  Harbor." 

The  whole  tract  of  land  embraced  under  this  name 
consisted  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  and  it  ap- 
pears from  the  records  that  Thomas  Cole  obtained  a 
warrant  for  three  hundred  acres  of  this  tract  on  the 
13th  of  January,  1668,  which  was  renewed  on  the 
8th  of  June  of  the  same  year.  Maj.  Samuel  Gold- 
smith claimed  in  it  five  rights  of  fifty  acres  each  for 
transporting  Robert  Parker,  Nicholas  Banks,  Thomas 
Pickerall,  Edward  Jackson,  and  Elizabeth  Hopkins, 
and  assigned  these  rights  to  John  Collet.  Collet  as- 
signed them  to  George  Yates  the  8th  of  February, 
1668,  with  the  exception  of  fifty  acres,  which  were 
laid  oft"  for  John  Bearing,  and  George  Yates  assigned 
these  two  hundred  acres  to  Thomas  Cole  on  the  8th 
of  June,  1668 ;  the  remaining  fifty  acres  of  the  tract 
coming  to  Cole  by  assignment  from  John  Blomfield, 
the  assignee  of  Roger  Sheekey,  "  for  his,  the  said 
Sheekey,  transporting  himself  into  Maryland  in  1649." 
Cole's  Harbor  was  resurvcyed  for  Thomas  Cole  Aug. 
28,  1668,  and  patented  to  him  Sept.  4,  1668,  "to  be 
held  in  free  and  common  socage,  by  fealty  only,  for 
all  manner  of  services,  yielding  and  paying  therefor 
yearly  unto  us,  our  heirs,  at  our  receipt  at  St.  Maries, 
at  the  two  most  usual  feasts  in  the  year,  viz. :  at  the 
Feast  of  the  Annunciation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  and  at  the  Feast  of  St.  Michael,  the  archangel, 
by  even  and  equal  portions,  the  rent  of  eleven  shil- 
lings sterling  in  silver  or  gold,  and  for  a  fine  upon 
every  alienation  of  the  said  land,  or  any  part  or  parcel 
thereof,  one  whole  year's  rent  in  silver  or  gold,  or  the 
full  value  thereof,  etc."  This  tract,  which  was  in  the 
shape  of  a  rhomboid,  extended  from  about  Harford 
Kun,  on  the  east,  westwardly  along  the  shore  of  the 
harbor  for  a  mile,  thence  northward  about  half  a  mile, 
and  was  divided  into  nearly  equal  parts  by  the  stream 
afterwards  known  as  Jones'  Falls. 

On  Feb.  17,  1698,  James  Todd  obtained  a  warrant 
for  Cole's  Harbor,  and  had  the  tract  resurveyed,  which 
then  proved  to  contain  but  five  hundred  and  ten  acres, 
and  had  it  patented  to  him  June  1,  1700,  under  the 
name  of  "Todd's  Range,"  at  a  rent  of  ten  shillings 
and  two  and  a  half  pence  per  year.  In  June,  1701, 
James  Todd  and  wife  conveyed  to  Charles  Carroll 


THE   FOUNDING   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY. 


"  all  the  residue  of  Todd's  Range,"  a  portion  having 
previously  been  sold  to  one  Hurst.  Thomas  Cole, 
however,  was  by  no  means  the  "  oldest  inhabitant," 
or  the  first  settler. 

As  early  as  the  15th  of  June,  1661,  Peter  Carroll 
surveyed  for  David  Jones  three  hundred  and  eighty 
acres  of  land  on  the  line  of  the  stream  now  known  a-s 
Jones'  Falls.  David  Jones  is  said  to  have  been  the 
first  actual  settler,  having  his  residence  on  the  north 


with  additions,  which  was  called  "  Ely  O'Carroll." 
It  was  patented  on  the  10th  of  February,  1696,  five 
hundred  acres  each  to  Daniel  and  Charles  Carroll,  at 
the  yearly  rent  of  two  pounds  per  annum  for  the 
entire  tract.  In  1711,  Charles  Carroll  sold  thirty- 
one  acres  of  his  tract  to  Jonathan  Hanson,  who  erec- 
ted a  mill  near  the  northwestern  intersection  of  the 
present  Bath  and  Holliday  Streets.  Among  others 
who  took  out  patents  to  lands  included  within  the 


MAP  OF  THE   ORIGINAL  TRACTS   OF   LAND   INCLUDED   WITHIN   THE   PRESENT   LIMITS   OF   BALTIMORE. 


side  of  his  Falls  on  Jones  Street,  which  by  the  inter- 
ference of  our  law-makers  has  been  changed  into 
Front  Street.  His  house  was  near  the  intersection 
of  French  Street,  not  far  from  what  was  known  as 
"  Finn's  Bridge."  Other  settlers  followed  from  time 
to  time.  On  the  13th  of  January,  1695,  Charles  Car- 
roll surveyed  one  thousand  acres  of  land  "  lying  in 
Baltimore  County  on  the  north  side  of  Patapsco  River 
in  the  woods  upon  Jones'  Falls,  and  on  the  west  side 
of  the  said  Falls,"  being  a  portion  of  Cole's  Harbor, 


limits  of  Baltimore,  were  Alexander  Mountenay, 
Charles  Gorsuch,  and  Jo^jn  Howard.  Mountenay* 
obtained  a  warrant  for  two  hundred  acres  of  land, 
afterwards  called  "Mountenay's  Neck,"  on  the  8th 
of  February,  1661,  but  did  not  receive  his  patent 
until  June  30, 1663.  The  patent  states  that  Lawrence 
Porter  assigned  two  hundred  acres  to  Mountenay,  at 
the  rent  of  four  shillings  sterling  per  annum,  but  we 
can  find  but  one  entry  where  L.  Porter  demands  one 
hundred  acres  for  transporting  himself  and  servant  in 


HISTORY    OP   BALTIMORE  CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


1661.     There  is  another  entry  in  the  land  records  I 
where  Margaret  Kinsey  assigns  fifty  acres,  Robert 
Ball  one  hundred  acres,  and  William  Likelif'ty  acres 
to  Alexander  Mountenay  in  1601,  which  is  no  doubt 
the  correct  entry.     Mountenay's  Neck,  which  was  on 
each  side  of  Harford  Run,  was  resurveyed  the  27th  of 
April,  1737,  for  William  Fell  as  escheat  land,  "  one 
hundred  acres  being  in  possession  of  Thomas  Sligh,"  j 
and  "  one  hundred  acres  being  in  possession  of  Thomas  j 
Sheredine."  i 

Charles  Gorsuch,  said  to  have  been  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  on  Feb.  24,  1661,  patented  fifty 
acres  of  land  afterwards  known  as  Whetstone  Point, 
lying  between  the  branches  of  the  Patapsco  River 
and  the  present  site  of  Fort  McHenry.  The  proprie- 
tary rent  paid  was  one  pound  per  annum.  Gorsuch, 
however,  vacated  this  land,  and  a  patent  for  it  at  a 
yearly  rent  of  two  shillings  was  granted  on  June  2, 
1702,  to  James  Carroll,  who  called  it  Whetstone.  It 
was  assigned  to  various  persons  until  March  29, 1723, 
when  it  was  resurveyed  as  "  Upton  Court,"  and  finally 
pa.ssed  into  the  hands  of  the  Principio  Furnace  Com- 
pany, whose  property,  as  will  be  seen,  was  confiscated 
during  the  Revolution.  By  the  act  of  1706,  ch.  14, 
"Whetstone  Point"  was  made  a  port  of  entry,  the 
first  within  the  present  limits  of  the  town  of  Balti- 
more, j 

On  the  20th  of  June,  1668,  John  Howard  patented  j 
"Timber  Neck,"  comprising  two  hundred  acres,  lying 
between  the  middle  and  north  branches  of  the  Pa- 
tapsco, and  being  that  part  of  the   city  now  occu- 
pied by  Howard,  Eulaw,  Paca,  and  other  streets  bor-  | 
deringon  the  middle  branch  of  the  Patapsco.  "Lunn's 
Lot,"  whicli  also  appears  to  have  belonged  to  Mr. 
Howard's  estate,  touched  Mr.   Moale's  land  on  the  i 
east,    and    extending    northward    to    Jones'    Falls,  I 
bounded  the  Cole's  Harbor  lands  on  both  east,  north,  [ 
and  south,  and  "  Chatsworth,"  "  Ridgely's  Delight,"  j 
and  "  Timber   Neck"  on  the  west.     Adjoining  and  ; 
above  Upton  Court  was  John  Moale's  "  Spring  Gar- 
den" property  called  "  David's  Fancy." 

The  discovery  of  the  iron  ore  deposits  on  the  shores  j 
of   the   Patapsco    must    have    tended    to   stimulate 
speculation  in  land  patents  in  the  vicinity  of  Balti-  j 
more,  and  of  course  attracted  population  and  made 
trade  necessary.     But  it  was  the  custom-house  that  I 
created  Baltimore,  or,  at  least,  precipitated  its  foun-  | 
dation.     Accordingly,  when  the  government  needed  ' 
a  warehouse  in  which  to  store  the  perishable  article 
from  which  it  received  its  revenue,  a  petition  was 
.signed  by  "the  leading  men  of  Baltimore  County," 
and  presented  in  the  Upper  House  of  Assembly  on 
the  14th  of  July,  1729,  "  praying  that  a  bill  may  be 
brought  in  for  the  building  of  a  Town,  on  the  North 
side   of  Patapsco   River,   upon    the    land    supposed  i 
to  belong   to  Messrs.  Charles  and  Daniel  Carroll." 
The  petition  was  accompanied  by  the  following  in- 
dorsement; "We  the  susbscribers,  proprietors  of  the 
land   mentioned   in  the  within   petition,  do  consent 


there  may  an  act  pass  as  prayed  in  the  usual  terms : 
Charles  Carroll,  Daniel  Carroll."  The  petition  having 
been  favorably  received,  such  a  bill  was  reported  and 
read,  and  went  through  the  Assembly  with  reasona- 
ble rapidity.  On  July  25th  it  was  read  a  second  , 
time  and  amended,  next  day  engrossed,  and  on  30th 
passed.  On  August  8th  the  bill  was  signed  by  Ben- 
edict Leonard  Calvert,  Esq.,  Governor,  on  behalf  of 
Charles  Calvert,  fifth  Lord  Baltimore,  proprietary  of 
the  province  of  Maryland  and  Avalon.  The  law  read, 
"  A  bill  entitled  an  act  for  erecting  a  town  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Patapsco,  in  Baltimore  County,  and  for  lay- 
ing out  into  lots  sixty  acres  of  land,  in  and  about  the 
place  whereon  John  Flemming  now  lives."  It  will  be 
noticed  that  the  petition  designates  lands  "  supposed 
to  belong  to  Charles  and  Daniel  Carroll,"  whereas 
the  act  designates  a  place  "  whereon  John  Flemming 
now  lives."  John  Flemming  was  a  tenant  of  the  Car- 
rolls.  His  house  stood  near  the  banks  of  Uhler's  Run, 
not  far  from  the  present  intersection  of  Charles  and 
Lombard  Streets.  The  change  in  the  phraseology  of 
the  bill  was  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  title  of 
the  Carrolls  was  at  this  time  in  dispute  and  in  litiga- 
tion. 

When  this  act  of  Assembly  for  laying  out  Balti- 
more Town  was  passed,  John  Flemming  was  probably 
the  sole  inhabitant  within  the  limits  of  the  proposed 
town.  Within  the  limits  of  Cole's  Harbor,  however, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Falls,  according  to  the  returns 
of  Richard  Gist's  survey  made  for  Edward  FeU,  there 
were  in  1726  three  dwelling-houses,  a  mill,  some  to- 
bacco-houses, and  an  orchard. 

The  act  for  founding  Baltimore  appointed  Maj. 
Thomas  Tolley,  William  Hamilton,  William  Buck- 
ner,  Dr.  George  Walker,  Richard  Gist,  Dr.  George 
Buchanan,  and  Col.  William  Hammond  commis- 
sioners of  the  town.  All  of  these  gentlemen  were 
men  of  consequence,  and  all  but  one  were  justices  of 
the  peace,  and  had  represented  the  county  frequently 
in  the  Legislature.  The  act  provided  that  they  should 
hold  their  positions  as  commissioners  for  life,  with 
power  to  fill  vacancies  in  their  board,  and  they  were 
authorized  and  directed  to  "purchase  (by  agreement 
or  valuation  of  a  jury)  sixty  acres  of  land,  on  the 
tract  whereon  John  Flemming  now  lives,  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  '  Cole's  Harbor,'  and  to  lay  out 
the  same  in  the  most  convenient  manner  into  sixty 
equal  lots."  But  little  is  known  of  John  Flemming 
beyond  the  fact  that  he  lived  on  the  original  site  of 
Baltimore.  But,  although  it  is  certain  that  he  did 
not  take  up  one  of  the  sixty  lots  into  which  the  town 
was  laid  off,  the  name  did  not  disappear.'  Of  the 
commissioners  much  more  is  known.     Mr.  Gist,  then 

1  The  first  directory  ever  published  iu  Baltimore,  that  of  1796,  con- 
tains the  name  of  John  Flemming,  carpenter,  who  lived  on  the  Bouth 
side  of  Queen's  Street,  Fell's  Point.  In  1804  there  was  a  John  Flemming, 
an  "accountant,"  who  lived  on  the  east  side  of  Harrison  Street,  near 
Raltiniore  Street.  Finally  in  1S12,  August  12th,  John  Flemming,  J.  P. 
for  Montgomery  County,  took  the  depositions  of  Alexander  Hanson  and 
his  associiites,  victims  of  the  anti  federalist  riots  in  Bultimoro. 


THE   FOUNDING  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY. 


ALTIMOIIE. 


deputy  surveyor  of  the  western  shore,  was  the  sou  of  i 
Christopher  Gist,  who  had  settled  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Patapsco  as  early  as  1682,  and  died  hefore  the 
river  became  the  bounds  of  the  county.    Dr.Buchanan, 
who  came  from  Scotland,  purchased  lands  and  prac- 
ticed medicine  in  the   county   from  the  year  1723. 
Col.  Hammond  was  from  all  accounts  the  son  of  John  1 
Hammond,  who  settled  upon  the  north  side  of  the  I 
Patapsco  as  early  as  1695.     Mr.  Hamilton  purchased  i 
lands  in  the  county,  as  appears  by  the  records,  in  1710. 
Dr.  Walker,  with  a  brother  James,  had  practiced  medi-  j 
cine  in  Anne  Arundel  County  some  years,  but  came 
to  reside  in  Baltimore  County  about  the  year  1715, 
and  was  the  proprietor  of  that  old  seat  and  tract  of  , 
land  on  the  west  side  of  the  town  called  "  Chats-  | 
worth."     Mr.  Buckner  had  not  apparently  been  long  j 
settled  in  the  county,  but  in  1726  became  purchaser 
of  several  tracts  of  land  in  Patapsco  Neck.     The  act 
under  which  the  town  was  laid  out  was  a  liberal  one.  ; 
It  provided  that  when  the  land  had  been  laid  out,  , 
.surveyed,  staked,  and  divided  into  convenient  streets  j 
and  lots,  and  the  lots  numbered,  the  owner  of  the  ! 
ground  was  to  have  first  choice  of  one  lot,  and  then 
the  rest  to  be  taken  up  at  will ;  none  to  take  more 
than  one  lot  in  the  first  four  months,  and  none  but 
citizens  of  the  county  to  take  up  any  lots  within  the 
first  six  months.     Lots  were  to  be  built  upon  within  | 
eighteen  months  after  entry,  the  buildings  to  cover 
not  less  than  four  hundred  square  feet  (that  is,  for  , 


instance,  a  house  20  by  20,  or  10  by  40),  and  all  lota 
not  taken  within  seven  years  to  revert  to  the  original 
owners  of  the  land. 

On  Monday,  the  1st  of  December,  1729,  Richard 
Gist,  William  Hamilton,  George  Buchanan,  and  Dr. 
George  Walker,  four  of  the  commissioners,  met  and 
agreed  with  Charles  Carroll — acting  for  himself  and 
his  brother  Daniel,  then  absent — for  the  purchase  of 
the  town  site.  The  price  agreed  upon  was  forty  shil- 
lings per  acre,  in  current  money  of  Maryland,  or  to- 
bacco at  the  rate  of  one  penny  a  pound  ;  not  quite 
six  hundred  dollars  in  money  of  the  present  day  for 
the  entire  town  tract.  The  articles  of  agreement  were 
duly  signed  by  Charles  Carroll  and  the  four  commis- 
sioners, and  on  Jan.  12,  1730,  a  second  meeting  was 
held,  at  which  Messrs.  William  Buchanan,  William 
Hammond,  Richard  Gist,  George  Buchanan,  and  Dr. 
George  Walker,  with  Philip  Jones,  the  county  sur- 
veyor, were  present.  The  commissioners  appointed 
Dr.  George  Walker,  one  of  their  number,  clerk,  and 
he  was  duly  sworn  in  before  Justice  Richard  Gist. 
Philip  Jones  laid  off  the  town,  commencing  at  a 
"  bounded  red-oak"  on  the  water  side  (at  the  corner 
of  the  lot  marked  37  in  the  town  plat),  a  spot  not  very 
far  from  the  present  northwest  corner  of  Light  and 
Pratt  Streets.  The  line  then  ran  northwesterly,  along 
or  near  Uhler's  Run  (now  called  Uhler's  Alley) 
towards  what  was  then  called  a  "  Great  Eastern  road" 
and  a  "  great  gully"  or  drain  at  or  near  the  present  in- 


52 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


tersectiou  of  Sharp  and  German  Streets ;  thence  across  The  town  lot  was  shaped  like  an  Indian  arrow-head, 

the  present  Baltimore  Street,  east  of  the  gully,  north-  its  point  towards  the  west,  the  sharpest  fluke  (No.  1» 

easterly  and  parallel  with  the  Great  Easterm  road,  j  on  the  map)  towards  the  north.     It  was  traversed  by 

afterwards  called  the  Church  road,' and  now  McClel-  '  three  streets:    Long  Street  (afterwards   Market  and 

lan's  Alley,  to  the  precipice  which  overhung  Jones'  now  Baltimore  Street),  running  east  and  west  one  hun- 

Falls  at  or  near  the  southeast  corner  of  Pleasant  and  dred  and  thirty-two  and  three-fourths  perches,  from 

Charles  Streets ;  then  with  the  bank  of  Jones'  Falls  I  about  McClellan's  Alley  to  the  swamp  which  edged 


(which  then  swept  along  the  bed  of  St.  Paul  and  Cal- 
vert Streets  at  the  foot  of  Pleasant  Street)  south- 
wardly and  eastwardly  various  courses  with  a  horse- 
shoe bend  to  the  low  grounds  which  lay  ten  perches 
west  of  Gay  Street,  about  the  intersection  of  the 
present  southwest  corner  of  Holliday  and  Lexington 


Holliday  Street,  and  four  perches  wide,  intersected  at 
right  angles  by  Calvert  Street,  then  not  named,  fifty- 
six  and  one-fourth  perches  from  the  hill  near  the  Falls 
(where  the  Battle  Monument  now  stands)  north,  to 
the  river  side  south,  also  four  perches  wide,  and  by 
Forest  Street,  now  Charles   Street,  eighty-nine  and 


Streets ;  thence  due  south  along  the  margin  of  those  .  one-fourth   perches   in  the   same   course,  and   three 


PLAT  OF   BALTIMORE   TOWN 


LND   JONES'   TOWN. 


low  grounds  to  the  river-bank  on  the  north  side  of 
the  harbor,  which  then  came  up  near  the  present  in- 
tersection of  Gay  and  Lombard  Streets ;  and  thence 
by  that  bank  various  courses,  nearly  as  Lombard 
Street  now  runs,  westwardly  and  southwardly  to  the 
first  mentioned  point.' 


1  From  the  fact  that  it  led  to  St.  Paul's  church. 

!  The  surveyor's  certificate  was  as  follows :  "  Baltimore  County  to  wit : 
Pursuant  to  the  directions  of  the  commissioners  appointed  by  the  act  of 
Assembly  to  lay  out  a  town  on  Patapsco  River,  called  Baltimore  Town, 
I,  Philip  Jones,  Jr.,  do  hereby  certify  that  I  have  laid  out  the  same,  be- 
ginning at  a  bounded  red  oak,  and  running  thence  east  five  perches  and 
one-half;  then  north  twenty-one  degrees  east  ten  perches;  then  north- 
east nineteen  perches ;  then  north  sixty-nine  degrees  east  twelve  perches ; 
then  south  seventy-two  and  a  half  degrees  east  twenty-two  perches; 
then  south  fifty-five  degrees  east  fourteen  perches;  then  south  thirty 
degrees  west  twenty-three  perches;  then  south  foi-ty-iuie  and  a  half  de- 


perches  wide.  There  were  also  nine  lanes  of  the 
width  of  one  perch  each  and  of  various  lengths,  since 
widened,  and  called  Second,  South,  Light,  Hanover, 
East,  Belvidere,  Lovely,  St.  Paul's,  and  German  Lanes. 
Thus  the  original  "  Baltimore  Town"  was  comprised 
within  the  westernmost  basin  of  the  Patapsco  near  the 
present  Exchange  Place  on  the  south,  the  chalk  hills 
of  Charles  and  Lexington  Streets  on  the  north,  thedeep 
drain  or  Uhler's  Alley  on  the  southwest,  the  present 
course  of  McClellan's  Alley  on  the  west,  and  on  the 
east  by  the  big  swamp,  which,  bordering  Jones'  Falls, 


grees  west  seventeen  perches ;  thence  by  a  direct  line  to  the  place  of 
beginning,  containing  60  acres  of  land,  more  or  less.  Surveyed  and  laid 
out  this  fouVteentli  day  of  January,  I7:i0,  per  me,  Philip  Jones,  surveyor 


THE   FOUNDING   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY. 


ran  up  by  its  western  flank  as  far  on  the  present  Hol- 
liday  Street  as  Lexington  or  Saratoga  Streets.  Jones' 
Falls,  the  absolute  easternmost  limit,  swept  round  in 
a  deep  horse-shoe  bend,  penetrating  as  far  as  the  cor- 
ner of  Calvert  and  Lexington  Streets,  and  thence 
going  northeastwardly  along  the  line  of  Calvert 
Street.  The  terminus  of  Calvert  Street  on  the  south 
marked  the  river  front,  the  basin  then  coming  up  to 
about  the  middle  of  Lombard  Street  as  it  was  after- 
wards called.  The  speculators  in  town  lots  evidently 
fancied  that  Calvert  Street  was  to  become  the"  main 
thoroughfare,  since  it  led  to  the  water.  The  county 
wharf  was  built  at  its  foot,  and  the  street  was  named 
after  the  Lord  Proprietary's  family.  The  lots,  con- 
taining about  one  acre  each,  and  numbered  from  one 
to  sixty,  commencing  on  the  north  side  of  Long  (Bal- 
timore) Street,  and  running  westward,  returned  east- 
ward on  the  south  side.  Lot  No.  1  was  a  square  acre 
northwest  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Holliday  Streets ; 
Nos.  2,.  3,  and  4  the  present  City  Hall  site,  and  so  on. 
No.  19  was  the  site  of  St.  Paul's  church ;  Nos.  7  and 
8  the  new  post-oflice  site ;  No.  10  where  the  new  Bal- 
timore and  Ohio  Railroad  building  stands,  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  Calvert  and  Baltimore  Streets; 
No.  59  where  the  Sun  newspaper  building  now  stands, 
but  including  much  more  ground  besides,  and  No.  51 
in  site  of  the  American  building. 

On  Jan.  14,  1730,  the  first  lots  were  taken  up,  and 
Charles  Carroll,  who,  as  the  owner  of  the  property, 
had  the  first  choice,  selected  lot  No.  42,  nearly  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  basin  and  Calvert  Street ; 
Philip  Jones,  the  surveyor,  was  given  second  choice, 
and  took  No.  37,  corner  of  Light  and  Pratt  Streets, 
and  including  the  site  of  the  present  Maltby  House ; 
James  Jackson  chose  lot  No.  38,  on  the  water  front, 
transferring  it  subsequently  to  Samuel  Peele;  Dr. 
George  Walker  took  No.  52,  adjoining  Mr.  Carroll's ; 
Richard  Gist  took  No.  48,  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
Calvert  Street  and  the  basin ;  Wm.  Hammond  took 
No.  45,  next  to  Mr.  Gist's  on  the  west;  Mordecai 
Price  No.  55  (afterwards  transferred  to  Capt.  Robert 
Gordon),  midway  between  South  and  Holliday  Streets, 
on  the  water  front;  and  Christopher  Gist  No.  56,  next 
to  that  of  Mr.  Price,  on  the  east.  All  these  gentlemen 
secured  their  title  to  these  lots  by  beginning  and  fin- 
ishing on  them  houses  that  covered  at  least  four  hun- 
dred square  feet  of  ground  within  less  than  eighteen 
months  after  taking  them  up.  On  January  15th  the 
following  lots  were  taken  up,  but  were  forfeited  for 
non-compliance  with  the  provisions  of  the  law :  No. 
44,  at  the  southern  end  of  Light  Lane  (now  Light 
Street),  by  Thomas  Sheredine;  No.  53,  on  South  Lane 
(South  Street),  stretching  on  the  west  side  to  the  water 
front,  by  Wm.  Buckner ;  and  No.  26,  at  the  western 
terminus  of  Long  (Baltimore)  Street,  on  the  north 
side,  by  James  Powell.  On  the  16th  Charles  Ridgely 
took  up  No.  54,  on  the  east  side  of  South  Lane,  and 
extending  to  the  water,  which  was  subsequently  trans- 
ferred to  John  Diggs,  who  built  upon  it,  and  on  the 


same  day  Luke  Trotten  took  up  No.  36,  at  the  south- 
ern end  of  Forest  (now  Charles)  Street,  on  the  west 
side,  which  was  afterwards  transferred  to  Philip  Jones, 
who  complied  with  the  law  and  built  his  house  within 
the  required  time.  On  the  14th  Capt.  Robert  North 
took  up  No.  10,  northwest  corner  of  Baltimore  and 
Calvert  Streets,  and  Richard  Hewitt  No.  35,  on  the 
west  side  of  South  Forest  Street,  both  of  which  were 
forfeited  for  non-compliance  with  the  building  pro- 
vision ;  and  on  the  same  day  No.  50,  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  Long  and  Calvert  Streets,  was  taken  up 
by  Lloyd  Harris,  who  built  as  required  by  the  law. 
On  the  20th  Thomas  Sheredine,  for  the  use  of  his  son, 
took  up  lot  No.  14,  northeast  corner  Long  Street  and 
St.  Paul's  Lane,  which  was  forfeited ;  on  January  21st 
Lloyd  Harris  took  up  for  John  Gorsuch  lot  No.  51, 
on  the  southwest  corner  of  Long  Street  and  South 
Lane,  a  portion  of  which  is  now  occupied  by  the 
ofiice  of  the  American,  Gorsuch  afterwards  conveying 
to  Harris,  who  built  upon  it.  April  18,  1730,  David 
Robinson  took  up  No.  47,  on  the  southwest  corner  of 
Long  and  Calvert  Streets,  now  occupied  partly  by  the 
banking-house  of  Alexander  Brown  &  Sons,  and  after- 
wards conveyed  to  Richard  Gist,  who  built  on  it; 
July  1st  John  Risteau  took  up  No.  15,  northwest 
corner  of  Long  Street  and  St.  Paul's  Lane,  and  built 
on  it ;  August  18th  Wm.  Hammond  took  up  No.  46, 
southeast  corner  Long  Street  and  Light  Lane,  who 
built  and  afterwards  took  another  lot ;  same  day  Mar- 
tin Parlett  No.  42,  southwest  corner  of  Long  Street 
and  Light  Lane,  which  he  afterwards  forfeited.  Feb. 
22,  1731,  the  vestry  of  St.  Paul's  parish  took  up  lot 
No.  19,  bounded  nearly  by  the  streets  now  known  as 
Saratoga,  Charles,  and  St.  Paul's,  on  a  part  of  which 
the  present  St.  Paul's  church  now  stands ;  April  30th 
Dr.  James  Walker  took  lot  No.  9,  northeast  corner  of 
Long  and  Calvert  Streets,  and  built  on  it;  July  16th 
George  Walker  took  up  No.  53,  which  had  been  origi- 
nally taken  up  by  Wm.  Buckner,  who  had  forfeited  it 
by  failing  to  build.  November  15th  John  Giles  took 
up  No.  39,  on  the  east  side  of  South  Forest  Street, 
which  he  forfeited ;  May  12, 1732,  Richard  Lewis  took 
up  No.  11,  on  the  west  side  of  Calvert  Street  at  its 
northern  extremity,  where  Barnum's  Hotel  now  stands; 
May  20th  Richard  Gist  took  up  No.  59,  southeast 
corner  Long  Street  and  South  Lane,  a  part  of  which 
is  now  occupied  by  the  iSun  iron  building ;  June  28th, 
1734,  Rev.  Joseph  Hooper  took  up  No.  32,  and  on  July 
3,  1734,  took  up  No.  44,  previously  taken  by  Capt. 
Thomas  Sheredine ;  August  8th  Thomas  Woodward 
took  up  No.  39,  and  paid  for  it  in  paper  currency  of 
Maryland  ;  September  16th  Rev.  Joseph  Hooper  took 
up  lots  Nos.  16  and  21,  north  of  Long  Street,  No.  16, 
fronting  on  St.  Paul's  Lane,  and  No.  21,  on  Forest 
(Charles)  Street;  March  4,  1735,  John  Smith,  cooper, 
of  Baltimore  County,  by  his  proxy,  Richard  Gist,  took 
up  No.  43,  on  Light  Street;  March  28th  Joshua  Hall, 
"  joyner,"  of  Baltimore  County,  took  up  No.  10,  which 
had  been  taken  by  Capt.  North,  but  no^  built  upon  ; 


54 


HISTORY   OP   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


November  21st  Rev.  Joseph  Hooper  took  up,  in  the 
name  and  for  the  use  of  Rev.  John  Humphreys,  lot 
No.  42,  originally  taken  up  by  Martin  Parlett;  Jan. 
19,  1736,  Rev.  Joseph  Hooper,  not  having  built  upon 
lot  No.  44,  asked  and  obtained  leave  to  re-enter  the 
same  to  his  use  ;  January  23d  Thomas  Woodward,  in 
the  name  of  Capt.  Francis  Kipps,  took  up  lot  No.  40, 
on  the  east  side  of  Forest  Street;  on  the  same  day 
Mr.  Woodward  took  up,  for  Gideon  Donaldson,  lot  No. 
41,  southeast  corner  of  Long  and  Forest  Streets ;  Jan. 
27,  1737,  Joshua  Hall  had  lot  No.  10  re-entered  in  his 
name ;  March  4,  1738,  Joshua  Hall  ordered  lot  No. 
14,  which  had  been  taken  up  by  Thomas  Sheredine  on 
Jan.  22,  1730,  in  the  name  of  his  son,  to  be  entered  in 
his  (Hall's)  name;  same  date  Wm.  Rogers  took  up 
lots  Nos.  42,  43,  and  44,  running  along  the  west  side 
of  Light  Lane  from  Baltimore  Street  to  the  basin, 
which  lots  had  been  forfeited  by  the  previous  owner. 
A  portion  of  this  land  is  still  owned  by  his  heirs. 

Thus  the  first  Baltimore  Town  was  laid  out  and 
disposed  of.  But  the  takers  were  not  immediately 
greedy,  though  in  a  few  years  the  whole  land  was  ab- 
sorbed, and  applications  were  made  for  the  lots  for- 
feited by  delinquents.  Still,  as  yet  there  was  nothing 
to  invite  extravagance  in  city  building  or  improve- 
ments by  extending  streets,  building  bridges,  leveling 
hills,  and  filling  marshes ;  all  of  which  tasks  have 
fallen  on  the  successors  of  the  first  enterprise. 

But  the  limits  of  the  town  were  soon  enlarged.  In  i 
172(5,  Edward  Fell  had  settled  east  of  Jones'  Falls,  i 
In  1730  his  brother,  William  Fell,  bought  the  tract  ! 
of  land  known  as  Copus'  Harbor,  built  a  house  on  • 
the  line  of  what  is  now  Lancaster  Street,  and  thus  j 
gave  a  name  to  Fell's  Point.  That  part  of  the  town, 
therefore,  so  long  the  jealous  rival  of  the  westerly 
town,  was  practically  founded  about  the  same  time 
with  it.  On  Aug.  8, 1732,  the  Assembly  passed  an  act  j 
for  the  erection  of  Jones'  Town  into  "  a  town  on  a  creek, 
divided  on  the  east  from  the  town  lately  laid  out  in 
Baltimore  County  called  Baltimore  Town,  on  the 
land  whereon  Edward  Fell  keeps  store."  This  was 
the  beginning  of  "  Old  Town,"  a  title  still  familiar  to 
our  ears.  It  was  so  called,  perhaps,  because  people 
first  began  to  settle  in  that  part  of  the  Cole's  Harbor 
property  lying  between  Hanson's  mill  and  Fell's 
store,  so  that,  in  point  of  houses  and  people,  "  Old 
Town"  is  older  than  Baltimore  Town.  Fell's  store 
was  on  Front  Street  near  French  Street.  Jonathan 
Hanson's  mill  was,  as  we  have  stated,  about  the  pres- 
ent intersection  of  Bath  and  Holliday  Streets.  He 
had  bought  the  property — thirty-one  acres — of  Charles 
Carroll,  in  1711.  It  was  part  of  the  original  tract  of 
Cole's  Harbor.  Mr.  Hanson  built  a  strong  dam 
across  the  Falls  at  this  point,  and  put  up  a  substantial 
mill.  The  backing  of  the  waters  by  this  dam  tended 
to  drain  what  was  afterwards  called  Steiger's  Meadow. 
Steiger  was  a  butcher,  who  lived  at  the  southwest 
corner  of  Ralliiunre  and  Charles  Streets;  and  in 
17r)<)  he  purclias,.,!  „f  Dr.  William  Tavlor  the  wooded 


marsh  in  the  bend  of  the  Falls,  and  then  on  the  east 
side  of  the  stream,  which  he  drained  and  cleared  for 
the  pasturage  of  his  cattle.  "Steiger's  Meadow," 
with  the  spongy  condition  of  "  Harrison's  Marsh"  be- 
low, and  the  continued  overflowing  of  Harford  Run, 
tended  to  make  both  Baltimore  and  Old  Town  very 
sickly  places,  where  the  melodies  of  frogs  and  mosqui- 
toes could  always  be  heard.  Mr.  Hanson  sold  out  his 
mill  property,  as  well  as  all  his  interest  in  twenty 
acres  of  land  lying  on  both  sides  of  Jones'  Falls,  in 
1741,  to  Edward  Fottrell,  an  Irish  gentleman,  who 
imported  the  materials  and  erected  the  first  brick 
house  with  freestone  corners,  and  the  first  two-story 
house  in  the  town  without  a  "  hip-roof."  It  stood 
near  the  northwest  corner  of  Calvert  and  Fayette 
Streets,  and  was  the  dwelling-house  of  Mr.  Fottrell. 
He  returned  to  Ireland  before  the  Revolution,  when 
his  property  was  confiscated  and  sold. 

Old  or  "Jones'  Town,"  as  it  was  designated  by  the 
act,  was  called  after  David  Jones,  who  is  said  to  have 
been  the  first  actual  settler,,  and  who  took  up  lands  on 
the  line  of  the  Falls  as  early  as  June  15,  1661.' 

The  act  creating  it  appointed  Maj.  Thomas  Shere- 
dine, Capt.  Robert  North,  and  Messrs.  Thomas  Todd, 
John  Cockey,  and  John  Boring,  commissioners,  with 
power  to  purchase  (by  agreement  with  the  owner,  or 
by  valuation  of  a  jury  in  case  of  the  owner's  refusal 
to  sell)  ten  acres  of  land  out  of  the  said  tract,  lying 
most  convenient  to  the  water,  and  to  lay  out  the  same 
into  twenty  lots,  to  be  numbered  from  one  to  twenty 
for  better  distinction  thereof  The  surveyor  was  di- 
rected to  return  a  plat  of  the  town  to  the  county 
clerk,  to  be  kept  by  him  among  the  county  records ; 
the  owner  of  the  land  to  have  his  first  choice  for  one 
lot,  after  which  the  remaining  lots  were  to  be  taken 
up  at  pleasure,  with  the  restriction,  however,  that 
none  but  inhabitants  of  the  county  were  to  take  up 
lots  within  the  first  six  months,  and  that  no  person 
was  to  purchase  more  than  one  lot  during  the  first 
four  months  after  the  laying  out  of  the  town.  The 
same  conditions  were  contained  in  this  act  as  in  that 
creating  Baltimore  Town  with  reference  to  the  erec- 

1  It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  the  ownership  of  the  bed  of 
Jones'  Falls  was  the  subject  of  litigation  as  recently  as  1817,  an  eject- 
ment suit  having  been  brought  to  determine  the  question  of  title  in  the 
case  of  LawBon*s  heirs  va.  Kennedy.  It  appears  from  the  record  that 
Charles  Carroll,  of  Annapolis,  became  seized  of  a  portion  of  the  original 
tract  of  Cole's  Harbor  lying  on  both  sides  of  the  Falls,  and  that  in 
1757  be  conveyed  to  a  certain  Wm.  Lyon  a  parcel  of  this  laud  lying  on 
the  west  side  of  the  stream,  and  by  the  terms  of  the  conveyance  running 
and  binding  upon  it,  and  that  soon  after  in  the  same  year  he  conveyed 
another  part  of  the  same  tract  to  a  certain  Alexander  Lawson,  lying  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Falls,  and  running  and  binding  upon  them  by  the 
terms  of  the  conveyance.  "That  portion  of  the  Falls,"  say  the  court, 
"  running  between  and  dividing  these  two  parcels  of  land,  it  is  admitted, 
was  navigable  for  small  boats  until  about  the  year  1786,  when  the  old 
bed  of  the  Falls  became  dry  in  consequence  of  the  water  being  drawn 
into  a  canal  cut  to  straighten  the  course.  The  plaintiffs  claim  under  a 
deed  to  Lawson,  and  assert  a  title  to  the  middle  of  the  old  bed  of  the 
Falls.  The  defendant  contends  that  the  title  to  the  land  thus  abandoned 
by  the  stream  is  still  in  the  State,  or  in  himself  in  virtne  of  a  grant  of 


of  ( 


mi  Lawson 


THE   FOUNDING   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY. 


tion  of  houses  within  eighteen  months,  and  the  for- 
feiture of  the  lots  in  case  of  non-compliance  with  the 
provision.  Any  lots  not  taken  up  within  seven  years 
were  to  revert  to  the  owner  of  the  land,  and  the  com- 
missioners were  directed  to  appoint  a  clerk  who  should 
be  sworn  to  make  true  and  impartial  entries  of  their 
proceedings,  the  entries  to  be  made  up  in  a  small 
bound  book  and  lodged  with  the  clerk  of  Baltimore 
County  Court  for  public  inspection.  The  town  was 
to  be  called  Jones'  Town,  and  possessors  of  lots  were 
to  pay  one  penny  current  money  per  annum  to  the 
Lord  Proprietary  and  his  heirs  forever.  Of  the  com- 
missioners, Maj.  Sheredine  had  taken  up  land  in  the 
county  as  early  as  1721,  and  in  1734  purchased  the 
Kingsbury  lands  at  the  head  of  Back  River,  where 
the  iron  furnace  was  afterwards  erected,  and  Gen. 
Smith  built  a  mill.  Capt.  North  had  taken  lot  No. 
10,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Calvert 
Streets,  in  Baltimore  Town,  and  upon  the  laying  out  of 
Jones'  Town  had  visited  the  Patapsco  and  carried 
freights  in  the  ship  "  Content,"  which  he  commanded, 
as  early  as  1723.' 

Thomas  Todd  was  the  son  and  heir  of  Capt.  Thomas 
Todd,  who  removed  from  Virginia  and  purchased  the 
land  at  North  Point  in  1664,  which  had  been  first 
taken  up  by  Wm.  Batten  and  Thos.  Thomas.  John 
Cockey  purchased  near  the  Patapsco  in  1728 ;  the 
year  following  his  brother  Thomas  settled  in  the 
limestone  valley  on  the  York  road,  and  their  name 
is  preserved  in  the  town  of  Cockeysville,  on  the  line 
of  the  Northern  Central  Railroad.  Mr.  Boring  was 
a  merchant,  whose  father  had  bought  several  tracts  of 
land  on  Patapsco  Neck  in  1679. 

On  Oct.  28,  1732,  four  of  the  commissioners,  Capt. 
Thomas  Sheredine,  Capt.  Robert  North,  Thomas 
Todd,  and  John  Cockey,  met,  and  after  appointing 
George  Walker  as  their  clerk,  issued  their  warrants 
to  the  sheriff  of  the  county  commanding  him  to  sum- 
mon a  jury  of  substantial  freeholders  to  assess  the 
value  of  the  ten  acres  to  be  apportioned  for  the  town, 
and  to  inquire  as  to  the  ownership  of  the  land.  On 
Nov.  4,  1732,  all  the  commissioners  met,  and  inquired 
of  William  Fell,  then  in  actual  occupancy  of  the 
land,  whether  he  would  sell  ten  acres  of  the  tract,  to 
which  he  answered  positively  that  he  neither  could 
nor  would  sell  any  of  it ;  whereupon,  a  jury  of  free- 
holders returned  by  the  sheriff,  proceeded  to  inquire  j 
as  to  the  ownership  of  the  land,  and  found  by  their 
verdict  the  orphans  of  Col.  Richard  Colgate,  deceased, 
to  be  the  owners,  and  judged  the  value  of  it  to  be 
three  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco  per  acre,  or  twelve 
pounds  thirteen  shilliugs  for  the  tract.  At  the  same 
time,  also,  Philip  Jones,  surveyor,  began  the  survey, 
and  laid  out  ten  acres  of  land  by  the  direction  of  the 
commissioners,  but  could  not  then  complete  the  sur- 
vey for  want  of  time.     On  Nov.  22,  1732,  three  of  the  i 

1  His  daughter  Helen,  on  May  25, 1758,  married  John  Moale.  Slie  was  j 
the  first  female  child  horn  in  Baltimore  Town,  and  lived  to  see  Balli- 
more  a  city  of  nearly  eighty  tliunsand  inhabitants*. 


commissioners  being  present,  ordered  the  surveyor  to 
complete  the  survey,  which  he  did  "  some  small  time 
afterwards." 

The  new  town  a.s  laid  off  had  nearly  the  shape  of  a 
parallelogram,  or  rather  of  a  rectangular  figure  of 
greater  length  than  breadth,  and  lay  "  convenient  to 
the  water,"  as  the  act  had  required.  It  boasted  three 
streets  corresponding  with  the  meanders  of  the  banks 
of  the  Falls.  The  first  on  the  bluff  overhanging  the 
falls  was  called  Front,  Short,  and  Jones  Streets,  and 
ran  from  a  great  gully  at  Pitt  (now  Fayette)  Street 
to  the  ford  at  the  intersection  of  the  old  road  where 
French  Street  commenced,  and  near  the  present  Bath 
Street  bridge,  which  crosses  the  Falls.  The  second 
street,  running  parallel  with  the  town  and  dividing  it 
in  the  centre,  was  called  High  Street;  and  the  third, 
binding  the  town  on  the  east,  was  called  Green,  now 
Exeter  Street.  The  only  cross  street  was  Bridge, 
now  Gay  Street,  at  the  southwest  corner  of  which  and 
Jones  Street  stood  Mr.  Fell's  store.  Before  tlie  erec- 
tion of  the  bridge  at  Gay  Street  the  communication 
between  the  two  towns  was,  of  course,  very  much  ob- 
structed by  the  wide  marsh  which  bounded  the 
stream,  and  which  ran  northwardly  as  far  as  the  pres- 
ent Eager  Street  bridge,  spreading  westward  from  the 
margin  of  the  Falls  to  the  present  HoUiday  Street. 
What  is  now  Harrison  Street,  from  its  head  at  Gay 
Street  to  the  Patapsco,  was  a  swamp, — the  resort  of 
sportsmen  for  snipe  and  woodcock, — and,  indeed,  the 
lower  part  of  it,  below  the  present  Maryland  Institute 
and  market,  did  not  disappear  until  the  present  cen- 
tury. The  communication,  therefore,  between  Balti- 
more Town  and  its  adjunct,  Jones'  Town,  was  incon- 
venient and  sometimes  dangerous,  and  eflected  only  by 
a  ford  which  then  existed  near  Hanson's  mill,  about 
the  site  of  the  present  Bath  Street  bridge.  Accord- 
ingly, a  bridge  was  soon  erected  by  the  respective  in- 
habitants of  the  towns,  at  the  point  where  Gay  Street 
bridge  now  stands,  and  the  street  was  for  a  long  time 
called  Bridge  Street,  so  that  the  townfolk  and  trav- 
elers, who,  if  they  did  not  choose,  in  the  unoccupied 
and  unbuilt  condition  of  the  land  at  that  early  day, 
to  flounder  through  the  swamp  and  swim  the  falls  if 
it  happened  to  be  high,  might  cross  the  open  lots  and 
pass  to  Jones'  Town  by  this  permanent  viaduct,  which 
doubtless  contributed  more  than  anything  else  to 
create  a  union  of  the  two  towns. 

Although  the  survey  of  Jones'  Town  was  completed 
shortly  after  the  22d  of  November,  1732,  there  seems  to 
have  been  some  delay  in  opening  the  lots  for  entry,  and 
it  was  not  until  July  20, 1733,  that  the  first  lot  was  taken 
up.  On  that  day  John  Gordon  took  up  lot  No.  1,  at  the 
head  of  Jones  Street,  which  ran  along  the  line  of  the 
Falls;  and  on  the  same  day  Edward  Fell  took  up 
No.  4,  William  Fell  No.  6,  and  Thomas  Boone  No.  5, 
all  of  which  were  in  Jones  or  Front  Street.  On 
August  13th  Capt.  Robert  North  took  up  No.  2 ; 
August  18th,  Capt.  John  Cromwell  No.  3;  August 
20th,  Capt.  John  Boring  Nos.  17  and  18  ;  September 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


2d,  John  Cockey  No.  7.  On  Feb.  19,  1735,  John  i 
Cockey  took  up  lot  No.  3,  vacated  by  Capt.  John 
Cromwell,  and  re-entered  lot  No.  7  in  his  name  ;  Feb- 
ruary 20th  William  Fell  took  lot  No.  4,  originally 
taken  by  his  brother,  Edward  Fell,  who  had  neglected 
to  build  ;  on  the  same  day  William  Fell  took  up  Nos. 

15,  16,  19,  and  20,  and  on  March  5th  Nos.  8  and  9. 
May  10th  Col.  John  Smith  took  up  No.  14,  and  No-  i 
vember    8th    Thomas   Matthews   No.  10 ;    Aug.   14, 
1736,  Capt.  John  Boring  had  lot  No.  17  re-entered  in  I 
his  name ;  September  21st  William  Fell  had  Nos.  15,  i 

16,  and  19  re-entered  in  his  name,  and  George  Walker, 
clerk,  took  up   No.  20,  formerly  taken   by  William 
Fell ;  December  27th  William  Fell  had  Nos.  S  and  9  | 
re-entered  in  his  name;  December  31st  Dr.  Buckler 
Partridge  took  up  No.  11 ;  July  2, 1737,  Dr.  Partridge 
had  lot  No.  10,  formerly  taken  up  by  Thomas  Mat- 
thews, and  situated  at  the  southern  extremity  of  Jones 
Street,  entered  in  his  name.     Aug.  3,  1737,  Thomas  j 
Taylor,  of  Baltimore  County,  took  up  No.  12,  near 
the  southern    end   of   Green,    now   Exeter,   Street;  j 
August  30th  George  Walker  took  up  the  next  lot  on 
Green  Street,  No.  13  ;  March  20,  1738,  William  Fell 
re-entered  No.  16 ;  June  6th  George  Walker  re-en- 
tered No.  20,  and  on  the  20th  sold  all  his  interest  in 
lot  No.  13  to  Redman  Dearing,  and  on  the  29th  his  ! 
interest  in  No.  20  to  Joshua  Hall.     On  July  18th  No. 

9  was  entered,  at  the  request  of  William  Fell,  in  the  i 
name  of  John  Boring,  while  on  the  same  day  Fell  re- 
entered No.  8  in  his  own  name  ;  May  29,  1739,  John 
Connell  took  up  No.  13,  previously  taken  by  George 
Walker  ;  April  7,  1740,  Capt.  Robert  North  took  up 
Nos.  8,  9,  and  16,  which   had  been  vacated  by  the 
former  owners,  and  on  April  8,  1740,  Mary  Hanson  [ 
took  up  Nos.  5  and  6,  and  the  same   day  Thomas  ! 
Sheredine,  John  Boring,  and  Robert  North,  commis- 
sioners of  the  town,  decided  to  close  out  the  remain-  ] 
der  of  the  lots  not  taken  up,  for  the  sum  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds  of  tobacco  for  each  lot.    Under 
this  resolution,  and  on  the  date  of  its  adoption,  Alex- 
ander  Lawson   took   up   lot   No.  12,  Capt.  Thomas 
Sheredine  lot  No.  11,  and  Edward  Fell  lot  No.  20. 
On  August  18th  William  Fell  re-entered  No.  4,  and 
on  Nov.  19,  1741,  Alexander  Lawson  re-entered  lots 
Nos.  11  and  12.     These  brief  extracts  from  the  origi- 
nal records  serve  to  show  how  slowly  these  two  settle- 
ments on  Cole's  Harbor  were  formed,  growing   for  ' 
years  only  house  by  house  and  lot  by  lot,  and  giving 
for  a  considerable  period  but  little  promise  or  prophecy 
of  the  greater  things  to  come. 

The  lots  in  Jones'  Town  were  all  sold  shortly  after 
1741,  but  a  good  many  lots  in  Baltimore  Town  were  I 
still  on  the  hands  of  the  commissioners.    On  the  28th 
of  September,  1745,  however,  on  the  joint  petition  of  : 
the  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  and  Jones'  Town,  it  was  i 
enacted  by  the  Assembly,  "  That  the  same  towns,  now 
called  Baltimore  and  Jones'  Towns,  be  incorporated 
into  one  entire  town,  and  for  the  future  called  and 
known  bj'  the  name  of  Baltimore  Town,  and  by  no 


other  name."  The  act  further  provided  that  the 
bridge  (there  being  but  one  at  that  time)  built  by  the 
inhabitants  on  the  "branch"  that  divided  the  two 
towns  at  Gay  Street  should  for  the  future  be  deemed 
a  public  bridge,  and  repaired  and  kept  at  the  charge 
of  Baltimore  County.  Capt.  Darby  Lux,  Maj.  Shere- 
dine, Capt.  Robert  North,  Dr.  George  Buchanan,  Col. 
William  Hammond,  Thomas  Harrison,  and  William 
Fell  were  appointed  commissioners,  and  authorized 
to  see  the  present  and  former  acts  relating  to  the  two 
towns  put  in  execution,  and  cause  them  to  be  carefully 
surveyed  by  their  outlines,  including  the  branch  over 
which  the  bridge  was  built.  The  commissioners  were 
also  directed  to  cause  all  lots  taken  up  and  improved 
to  be  regularly  surveyed,  substantially  and  fairly 
bounded,  and  numbered,  and  they  w^ere  likewise  au- 
thorized to  determine  all  disputes  about  the  bounds 
of  lots.  They  were  further  empowered  to  employ  a 
clerk,  and  "  to  levy,  assess,  and  take  by  way  of  dis- 
tress, if  needful,  and  from  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town,  by  even  and  equal  proportion,  the  sum  of  three 
pounds  yearly,  to  be  paid  to  their  clerk,"  and  were 
invested  with  all  the  legal  rights  and  claims  of  the 
former  commissioners  of  the  two  towTis.  One  section 
of  this  act  was  a  very  unfortunate  one,  and  has  caused 
Baltimore  a  great  deal  of  loss  by  narrowing  the 
water-front,  and  enabling  many  people  to  get  rich 
at  the  community's  cost.  This  was  the  tenth  section 
of  the  act,  which  provided  that  all  improvements, 
of  what  kind  soever,  either  wharf,  houses,  or  other 
buildings,  that  have  or  shall  be  made  out  of  the 
water,  or  where  it  usually  flows,  shall  (as  an  encour- 
agement to  such  improvers)  be  forever  deemed  the 
right,  title,  and  inheritance  of  such  improvers,  their 
heirs  and  assigns,  forever.  Under  this  section  a  great 
deal  of  property  has  been  taken.  The  basin  origin- 
ally extended  north  to  Water  Street  (now  Lombard), 
and  at  one  point  to  Mercer  Street ;  on  the  west  it  came 
half-way  to  Hanover  Street,  at  the  foot  of  Conway 
Street.  Between  the  mouth  of  Jones'  Falls  and 
Fell's  Point  was  a  great  bay  called  the  cove,  and 
the  water-lines  and  port  warden's  lines  at  Canton 
and  Locust  Point  and  Spring  Garden  were  all  origin- 
ally much  inside  of  their  present  limits.  The  in- 
cursions made  by  the  "  improvers"  in  some  cases 
have  been  formidable  indeed.  Not  less  than  four 
hundred  acres  of  solid  ground  were  thus  acquired 
on  the  different  fronts  of  the  basin  and  lower  harbor 
before  people  became  aware  of  what  was  being 
done.  When  it  was  too  late  to  be  remedied  it  was 
discovered  that  the  "  docks,"  left  by  commerce,  were 
a  hindrance,  a  nuisance,  and  a  serious  source  of  dis- 
ease. Those  in  the  upper  part  of  the  basin  were  filled 
up  when  Pratt  Street  was  extended  through,  but  the 
rest  of  the  stagnant  pools  are  still  permitted  to  re- 
main. 

Of  the  new  commissioners  of  Baltimore  Town,  Capt. 
Lux  commanded  a  ship  in  the  London  trade  as  early 
as  1733,  an<l  in  1743  purchased  lots  43  and  44,  on  the 


THE   FOUNDING  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY. 


57 


west  side  of  Light  Street,  where  he  resided  and  trans- 
acted much  business.  The  commissioners  appointed 
as  their  chief  clerk  William  Lux,  son  of  Darby  Lux, 
in  place  of  Dr.  Walker,  who  died  in  1743. 

The  communication  by  the  bridge,  which  brought 
the  Great  Eastern  road  from  the  ford  directly  through 
parts  of  the  town,  gave  value  to  the  intermediate 
grounds,  and  the  whole  land  and  marsh,  containing 
twenty-eight  acres  in  all,  was  purchased  of  Mr.  Car- 
roll in  1747  for  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds  ster- 
ling by  Mr.  Thomas  Harrison,  merchant,  who  ar- 
rived from  England  in  1742,  and  built  a  house  near 
the  northeast  corner  of  South  and  Lombard  Streets, 
buying  the  lots  nearest  the  water  on  each  side  of  South 
Street.  Eighteen  acres  of  this  tract,  known  as  Harri- 
son's Marsh,  lay  between  Baltimore  and  Jones' 
Towns,  and  being  in  the  limits  of  neither,  served 
to  separate  inconveniently  what  the  Assembly  had 
already  joined  together.  Mr.  Harrison,  who  was 
doubtless  of  a  thrifty  mind,  may  have  made  his  pur- 
chase from  Mr.  Carroll  with  a  view  to  its  annexation 
to  the  city,  and  with  an  eye  to  its  future  division  into 
town  lots,  but  whether  he  did  or  not,  a  petition  was 
presented  to  the  Assembly  in  1747  from  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Baltimore  asking  the  incorporation  of  these 
eighteen  acres  within  the  town  limits.  Accordingly, 
on  the  11th  of  July,  1747,  the  Assembly  passed  the 
desired  act,  providing,  as  in  previous  instances,  for 
the  laying  off  and  survey  of  lots,  etc.  This  addition, 
lying  principally  on  the  west  side  of  the  Falls,  covered 
the  territory  in  which  Frederick,  Harrison,  and  parts  of 
Gay,  Holliday,  Water,  and  Second  Streets  were  after- 
wards laid  off,  and  comprised  all  the  fast  land  between 
the  eastern  limits  of  Baltimore  Town  and  Jones'  Falls. 
The  act  contains  several  significant  indications  that 
the  town  had  commenced  to  .showsigns  of  growth  and 
progress.  The  commissioners  were  empowered  to 
open  and  widen  certain  streets  and  alleys  which  were 
too  narrow  for  the  public  use  and  convenience,  and 
were  authorized  to  hold  two  annual  fairs,  beginning 
on  the  first  Thursday  of  May  and  October,  and  lasting 
three  days,  during  the  continuance  of  which  every 
person  within  the  bounds  of  the  town  was  to  be  free 
from  arrest,  except  for  felony  or  breach  of  the  peace, 
and  all  persons  coming  to  or  returning  from  them 
were  to  have  the  like  privilege  for  one  day  before  the 
fair,  and  one  day  on  their  return  therefrom.  To  guard 
against  fires,  housekeepers  were  required  to  keep  lad- 
ders tall  enough  to  reach  the  tops  of  their  chimneys. 

On  March  19, 1749,  Thomas  Sheredine  and  Thomas 
Sleigh  bought  of  John  Hurst,  and  on  the  15th  of  No- 
vember, 1750,  of  Richard  Colgate's  sons,  John  and 
Thomas,  their  several  rights  to  the  residue  of  Cole's 
Harbor,  east  of  Exeter  Street,  and  between  Plowman 
and  French  Streets,  with  lots  on  each  side,  comprising 
eighteen  acres  of  land  ;  and  at  the  session  of  1750  the 
Assembly,  pursuant  to  the  petition  of  the  inhabitants, 
of  the  county,  empowered  the  commissioners  of  Bal- 
timore Town  to  cause  about  twenty-five  acres  of  laud. 


including  doubtless  the  recent  purchase  of  Sheredine 
and  Sleigh,  and  lying  "  on  the  nortli  aud  east  sides  of 
that  part  of  Baltimore  Town  formerly  called  Jones' 
Town,"  to  be  surveyed  and  laid  out  into  lots  and 
streets,  and  directed  that  it  should  then  be  considered 
a  part  of  the  town  "to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as 
fully  and  amply  as  if  included  originally  thereiu." 

But  although  the  town  was  thus  rapidly  growing 
in  territory,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  it  presented 
anything  like  the  appearance  of  a  city.  It  was  still 
but  a  small,  straggling  village,  with  houses  perched 
irregularly  here  and  there  upon  the  cliffs  and  hills,  or 
nestling  in  the  lowlands  at  the  sweet  will  and  pleasure 
of  each  individual  householder.  "  Eligible  lots"  were 
still  far  more  numerous  than  takers,  and  the  supply 
of  suitable  locations  for  residences  greatly  in  excess  of 
the  demand.  Fortunately,  a  patriotic  artist  of  those 
times  has  handed  down  to  us  a  picture  of  the  town  as 
it  appeared  in  1752,  which,  rude  as  is  its  execution, 
is  evidently  drawn  from  the  life,  and  makes  up  in  facts 
what  it  lacks  in  imagination.  This  drawing,  which 
hangs  upon  the  walls  of  the  Maryland  Historical  So- 
ciety, is  attributed  to  John  Moale,  the  son  of  that 
parliamentarian  who  was  so  successful  in  protecting 
his  iron-mines.  The  sketch  has  been  improved  by 
others,  who  have  filled  up  with  some  details  much  of 
the  space  left  bare  by  Mr.  Moale  in  his  original  and 
homely  draft.  The  principal  street,  as  portrayed  in 
our  view  of  Baltimore  one  hundred  and  thirty  years 
ago,  is  Calvert,  and  there  is  a  brick  building  laid 
down  which  is  ascertained  to  be  the  house  that  stood 
within  a  few  years  at  the  corner  of  Calvert  and  Mer- 
cer Streets,  and  was,  at  the  date  of  Moale's  drawing, 
Payne's  tavern.  There  was  a  rival  tavern  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Light  Streets,  kept 
by  William  Rogers,  who  took  up  lot  No.  42  on  the 
original  town  plat,  March  4,  1738.  In  the  basin  we 
see  the  brig  "  Philip  and  Charles,"  belonging  to  Mr. 
Rogers,  and  the  sloop  "  Baltimore,"  owned  by  Mr. 
Lux.  Most  of  the  houses  are  clustered  in  the  space 
bounded  by  Baltimore,  Calvert,  the  water-front  at 
I  Water  Street,  and  Charles  Street,  though  the  town 
i  straggles  out  both  eastwardly  and  westwardly,  and 
the  parish  church  of  St.  Paul's  stands  far  off  up  the 
hill,  at  the  head  of  what  are  now  called  Charles  and 
Lexington  Streets.  In  spite  of  the  many  acres  which 
t  had  been  added  to  it  by  generous  acts  of  Assembly, 
j  Mr.  Moale's  drawing  shows  us  that  it  only  contained 
I  at  this  time  twenty-five  houses,  one  church,  and  two 
taverns ;  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  four  of  them 
were  of  brick,  and  while  there  were  several  two  stories 
in  height,  the  town  boasted  but  one  brick  house  of  two 
stories  without  a  "  hip-roof."  Each  house  is  care- 
fully surrounded  by  its  own  rude  wooden  fence,  some 
frugal  citizen  is  cultivating  a  field  of  tobacco  upon 
land  close  to  the  water's  edge,  and  apparently  within 
the  "  municipal"  limits,  and  South,  St.  Paul's,  Light, 
and  Charles  Streets  wander  up  and  down  the  hills  in 
crooked,  irregular  lines,  looking  more  like  cow-paths 


58  HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


1,  2,  T»„  H. 
3,  Near  the 

5,  German  and  Sharp  Streets. 

6,  Baltimore  Street. 

7,  Tobacco  Inspection  House  on  Charles  Street. 

8,  On  Vulcan  Alley. 

9,  Kesidence  of  Capt.  Darby  Lux,  Bank  and  Light  Streets. 

10,  Near  corner  St.  Paul  and  Chatham  Streets. 

11,  St.  Paul's  Church,  the  first  built. 

12,  Mr.  Rogers',  northeast  corner  St.  Paul  and  Baltimore  Streets. 

13,  Kaminskey's  Tavern,  German  and  near  Light  Street. 

14,  Northwest  corner  Calvert  and  Bank  Streets. 

than  thoroughfares  for  human  trade  and  travel,  it 
being  quite  evident  that  in  laying  them  off  the  sur- 
veyor, honest  Philip  Jones,  has  proceeded  on  the 
principle  that  the  curved  line  is  the  line  of  beauty. 
The  wooden  wall  which  had  been  built  around  the 
town  some  two  years  before  to  protect  it  from  the  In- 
dians does  not  appear  in  Mr.  Moale's  drawing,  but 
doubtless  it  had  by  this  time  been  pretty  thoroughly 
consumed  by  the  more  needy  citizens.  Mr.  Moale's 
picture  of  Baltimore  Town  in  1752,  which  was  after- 
wards improved  by  Edward  J.  Coale  and  Daniel 
Bowly,  is  happily  supplemented  by  another  record  of 
the  same  year, — a  sort  of  primitive  directory,  which 
introduces  to  us  by  name  all  the  families  then  com- 
posing the  embryonic  city.  In  general  only  the  heads 
of  ftimilies  are  given  in  this  directory,  and  the  female 
portion  of  the  community  is  ignored  except  in  one  or 
two  special  instances.  The  names  as  given  are  as  fol- 
lows: "Capt.  Lucas,  William  Rogers,  Nicholas  Rog- 
ers, Dr.  William  Lyon,  Thomas  Harrison,  Alexander 
.  Lawson,  Bryan  Philpot,  Nicholas  Ruxton  Gay,  James 
Gary  (inn-keeper),  Parson  Chase,  Mr.  Paine,  Chois 
Carnin,  Dame  Hughes  (the  only  midwife  among  Eng- 


Fayette  and  Calvert  Streets. 

16,  Mr.  N.  Rogers',  near  corner  of  Calvert  and  Baltimore  Streets. 

17,  Mr.  Ward's, 

18,  Near  South  and  Second  Streets. 

19,  Corner  of  Lombard  and  South  Streets. 

20,  Southeast  corner  of  South  and  Baltimore  Streets. 

21,  HoUiday  Street,  near  Fayette. 

22,  Near  Gay  and  Front  Streets. 

23,  Sloop  "  Baltimore,"  the  second  vessel. 

24,  Calvert  Street  Wharf. 

25,  Brig  of  N.  Rogers,  the  first  Square-rigged  Vessel  of  the  Port. 

26,  Jones'  Falls. 

lish  folk),  Charles  Constable,  Mr.  Ferguson,  Mr.  Gold- 
smith, Mr.  John  Moore,  Mr.  Sheppard  (tailor),  Bill 
Adams  (barber), George Strebeck (only  wagoner,  drove 
a  single  team),  Jake  Keeports  (carpenter),  Conrad 
Smith,  Capt.  Dunlap,  Jack  Crosby  (carpenter).  Bob 
Lance  (cooper),  Philip  Littig  (whose  wife  was  ac- 
coucheuse among  the  German  population),  John 
Wood,  Hilt  Stanwitch  (laborer),  Nancy  Low,  Mr. 
Gwinn." 

The  town  had  at  this  time  about  two  hundred  in- 
habitants, allowing  ten  persons  to  a  family,  which  is 
probably  not  an  over-estimate  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
it  was  a  slave-holding  community.  The  natural 
features  of  the  site  have  already  been  adverted  to, 
and  it  was  many  years  before  they  were  greatly 
changed  from  the  wild  and  rugged  aspect  with  which 
they  met  the  founders  of  the  city.  At  the  time  of 
which  we  speak  (1752)  the  hills  still  raised  their 
undiminished  heads  in  every  part  of  the  infant  me- 
tropolis, the  streets  were  paved  only  by  their  native 
heath,  and  Jones'  Falls  in  unbridled  license,  spreading 
its  waters  over  much  adjacent  territory,  hemmed  in 
the    town    cm    the   east  with    tributary  marshes,  and 


THE   FOUNDING   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY. 


59 


rolling  in  its  sinuous  course  as  far  up  as  St.  Paul 
and  Saratoga  Streets,  dashed  its  spray  contemptuously 
into  the  very  face  of  the  insignificant  settlement. 

On  the  17th  of  November,  1753,  the  Assembly  again  , 
extended  the  limits  of  the  town  by  adding  to  it  thirty-  j 
two  acres  of  Cole's  Harbor,  which  Joshua  Hall  had 
purchased  of  Mr.   Carroll,  being  part  of  the  tract 
which  lay  between  the  town  and  the  lines  of  Lunn's  \ 
lot  at  the  south,  west  and  north  of  Baltimore  Town,  | 
commencing  on  the  basin  near  the  mouth  of  Uhler's 
Run,  and  including  the  grounds  between  the  original 
western  limits  of  the  town  and  Lunn's  lot,  and  run- 
ning to  the  Falls  side,  north  of  Church  Lane  (Mc- 
Clellan's  Alley)   and  City  Spring,  where  John  Fra- 
zier  rented  a  shipyard  and  resided. 

In  1755  the  population  of  the  town  was  consider- 
ably augmented  by  the  arrival  of  a  vessel  loaded  with 
French  Acadian  exiles,  who  had  been  driven  from 
Nova  Scotia.  These  wretched  exiles  were  received 
with  ready  and  generous  hospitality.  They  were  at 
first  lodged  in  private  houses,  and  a  number  were 
sheltered  in  the  unfinished  dwelling  of  Edward  Fot- 
trell.  In  a  short  time  these  peaceable,  frugal,  and 
industrious  exiles  were  able  to  construct  some  small 
but  comfortable  houses  upon  South  Charles  Street, 
near  Lombard,  giving  to  that  quarter  the  designation 
of  "  French  Town,"  which  it  long  retained.  The 
descendants  of  many  of  these  exiles  are  still  living 
among  us.  At  this  time  the  town  was  also  receiving 
accretions  from  other  quarters.  In  1759,  Jonathan 
Plowman,  an  English  merchant,  arrived  in  Baltimore, 
and  bought  several  acres  of  land  of  Mr.  Sleigh,  ad- 
joining the  last  addition  east  of  the  Falls,  and  built 
a  house  at  the  northeast  corner  of  York  (Baltimore) 
and  High  Streets,  and  in  1760  Mr.  Philpot  purchased 
of  Mr.  Sleigh  most  of  the  peninsula  between  the  Falls 
and  Harford  Run,  south  of  Baltimore  Street,  and 
built  a  house  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Baltimore 
Street  bridge,  which  caused  the  bridge  afterwards 
built  to  be  known  by  his  name.  In  1763,  Messrs. 
Plowman  and  Philpot  laid  out  some  of  their  ground 
between  the  Falls  and  Harford  Run  into  streets  run- 
ning northwest  to  southeast,  and  nearly  parallel  with 
the  former  stream,  with  other  streets  at  right  angles 
with  them ;  and  Mr.  Fell  about  the  same  time  laid 
ofl'  part  of  the  tracts  of  land  on  the  east  which  his 
father  had  purchased  of  Harris,  Carter,  and  others 
(buying  of  Sleigh  himself  part  of  Mountenay's  Neck, 
and  all  the  ground  two  years  before  resurveyed  and 
patented  by  the  name  of  Fell's  Prospect),  with  streets 
running  north,  south,  east,  and  west,  except  on  the  ex- 
treme point  itself,  where  he  was  governed  by  the  course 
of  the  river.  In  this  year  also  Messrs.  John  Brown, 
Benjamin  Griffith,  and  Samuel  Purviance  settled  in 
Baltimore.  The  former  was  from  New  Jersey,  and 
having  learned  his  trade  in  Wilmington,  erected  a 
pottery  on  the  east  side  of  Gay  Street.  Mr.  Purvi- 
ance, who  came  from  Donegal  by  way  of  Philadelphia, 
erected  a  distillery  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Lombard 


and  Commerce  Streets,  with  a  wharf.  Mr.  Griffith 
came  from  New  Castle,  and  having  purchased  Fell's 
lot  adjoining  Gay  Street  bridge,  rebuilt  it  by  contract, 
and  it  was  afterwards  called  by  his  name.  In  the 
following  year  William  Spear,  of  Lancaster,  took  the 
water-lot  near  Gay  Street,  and  wharfing  out  about  one 
thousand  feet  to  a  small  island,  erected  a  bakery  there. 
This  locality  is  still  known  by  the  name  of  Spear's 
Wharf. 

In  1765  the  Assembly  added  to  the  town  thirty-five 
acres  belonging  to  Cornelius  Howard,  including  a  part 
of  Lunn's  lot,  especially  the  South  Baltimore  portion. 
Lunn's  lot,  which  extended  from  Timber  Neck  and 
David's  Fancy  northward  until  it  joined  the  Belvi- 
dere  estate  of  the  Howards,  was  so  called  from  the 
original  patentee,  who  sold  the  property,  it  is  supposed, 
about  the  year  1668,  to  John  Eager,  Jr., — John  Eager 
Howard's  maternal  grandfather.  This  last  addition 
to  the  town  included  the  present  Conway  and  Barre 
Streets,  so  called  after  the  successful  opponents  of  the 
Stamp  Act  in  the  British  Parliament,  and  extended 
northwardly  between  the  west  side  of  Charles  and  the 
east  side  of  Liberty  to  Saratoga  Street.  In  November, 
1776,  Thomas  Harrison,  Alexander  Law.son,  and  Brian 
Philpot,  the  then  owners  of  the  marsh  adjoining  the 
town  on  the  east,  were  directed  by  an  act  of  Assembly 
"to  remove  the  said  nuisance  at  their  own  proper  ex- 
pense" by  "wharfing  in  all  such  marshy  ground  near 
the  water  with  a  good  and  sufficient  stone  wall,"  and 
by  "  covering  the  marsh  with  stones,  gravel,  and  dirt," 
after  the  completion  of  which  it  was  ordered  to  be 
laid  off  into  lots  and  added  to  the  town.  This  se- 
cured the  draining  of  all  the  marsh,  or  "  mash" 
market  section  of  the  town,  and  added  largely  to 
its  area.  Messrs.  John  Smith  and  Wm.  Buchanan 
had  before  this,  in  1759,  purchased  of  Mr.  Harrison 
the  lots  fronting  on  Gay  and  Water  (now  Lombard) 
Streets,  and  commenced  building  two  wharves,  each 
about  one  thousand  feet  long,  to  the  channel  of  the 
river,  which  wharves  still  bear  their  names. 

By  the  act  of  1773,  Fell's  and  Plowman's  additions 
were  made  to  Baltimore,  consisting  of  about  eighty 
acres  of  land,  lying  on  the  east  and  southeast  sides  of 
the  town,  and  embracing  what  has  long  been  known 
as  Fell's  Point.  Plowman's  addition  was  the  tract 
east  of  the  Falls  and  south  of  York  Street  (now  East 
Baltimore  Street),  and  Fell's  all  his  father's  purchases 
of  Mountenay's  Neck,  and  generally  the  land  from 
York  Street  down  to  the  "  cove."'  Mountenay's 
Neck,  as  we  have  seen,  was  resurveyed  for  Wm. 
Fell  as  escheat  land  on  April  27,  1737,  and  had 
passed  at  his  death  in  1746  to  his  son  Edward. 
Wm.  Fell's  brother,  Edward,  it  will  be  remembered, 
"kept  store"  on  the  site  of  Old  Town,  and  when 
he  died  in  1738  left  all  his  property  to  his  nephew 
and  namesake.  It  appears,  however,  that  previous  to 
his  purchase  of  Mountenay's  Neck,  Wm.  Fell  bought 
the  tract  of  land  called  "  Copus'  Harbor,"  and  built 
a  mansion  there  on  the  site  of  Lancaster  Street,  and 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


this  was  doubtless  the  beginning  of  the  settlement  at 
the  Point.     It  was  Wm.  Fell's  son,  Edward,  who  laid 
out  Fell's  Point  in  1763,  but  he  did  not  live  to  see 
the  Point  annexed  to  Baltimore,  as  he  died  in  1766, 
leaving  an   infant  son,   William,   whose  name   fre- 
(juently   occurs   in   the   later    history   of   the   town. 
Part  of  this  new  addition  to  the  town  was  on  high 
ground,  and  being  healthier  than  the  localities  clo.ser 
to  the  Falls,  had  early  become  a  popular  quarter  for 
the  wealthier  merchants  and  traders.     Some  of  the  ' 
old  mansions  in  that  quarter  still  hint  at  the  ease  and  { 
luxury  of  those  who  dwelt  in  them,  dilapidated  and 
forlorn  as  their  present  surroundings  are.     In  1765, 
shortly  after  the  Point  had  been  laid  off,  Capt.  Charles 
Ridgely  and  Mr.  Griffith  purchased  water-lots  of  Mr.  | 
'  Fell  west  of  the  public  wharf,  the  latter  building  a 
wharf  and  warehouse,  which  was  the  first  there;  and 
Benjamin  Nelson,  shipwright,  who  had  moved  from 
Charlestown,  Cecil   County,  established   a  shipyard 
in  Philpot  Street.    Three  years  later  Isaac  Griest,  also 
from  Cecil,  took  the  water-lot  east  of  the  public  wharf; 
the  ensuing  year  George  Patton,  who  came  from  Ire- 
land, erected  a  wharf  on  the  west  end  of  the  Point, 
and  three  years  after,  Jesse  Hollingsworth  another 
on  the  east,  the  remainder  of  the  water-lots  being 
chiefly  taken   and   improved  in   the  mean   time  by 
Messrs.  Purviance,  Wells,  Smith,  Mackie,  and  Van 
Bibber.     The  Point,  containing  all  the  artisans  and 
articles  requisite  for  building  and  fitting  vessels,  was  | 
already  the  rival  of  the  town  in  1765.     The  first  set-  [ 
tiers  were  at  a  great  loss  to  determine  in  which  part 
to  buy,  as  most  likely  to  improve,  and  those  who  had  1 
sufficient  money  and  enterprise  generally  took  lots  . 
both  in  the  town  and  at  the  Point.     That  the  rivalry 
between  the  towns  before  this  was  great  is  evident 
from  an  advertisement  that  appeared  in  the  Maryland 
Gazette  of  July  31,  1766,  in  which  Anne  Fell,  execu-  i 
trix  of  Edward  Fell,  calls  on  those  who  have  pur-  } 
chased  lots  of  ground  "  in  a  place  laid  out  for  a  town 
on  Fell's  Point,  Patapsco  River,  to  pay  their  several 
arrearages."     She  mentions  that  some  persons  have  i 
spread  a  report  that  the  title  to  the  lots  was  dispu-  ; 
table,  that   the  water  was   bad,  and   the  Point  not  i 
healthy,  in  order  to  intimidate  strangers  from  taking 
said  lots,  and  declares  that  she  can  prove  all  these 
reports  to   be   utterly  false  and   unfounded.     John 
Bond,  who  acted  for  Anne  Fell,  endeavored  to  dispel  - 
these  false  rumors,  which  are  said  to  have  been  put 
in  circulation  by  Baltimore  land-owners,  and  finally 
leased  or  sold  many  of  the  lots.    Several  years  before 
the  annexation  of  the  Point,  however,  a  correspondent 
of  the  Philadelphia  Chronicle,  in  March,  1767,  com- 
plains that,  owing  to  the  bad  and  crooked  roads  lead- 
ing from  the  west  side  of  the  Susquehanna  to  Phila- 
delphia and  the  extravagant  price  of  ferriage,  most  | 
of  the  trade  of  that  section  was  being  sent  to  and  j 
shipped  from  New  Castle,  Del.,  and  urges  the  Leg- 
islature   to   make   the   ferries   free,  and   repair  and  ; 
straighten  the  roads,  as  the  welfare  of  the  province  ' 


of  Pennsylvania  was  involved.  "  The  port  of  Balti- 
more," says  the  writer,  "  in  this  instance  our  rival,  is 
daily  increasing  its  shipping  and  the  number  of  its 
merchants,  and  in  consequence  its  trade  and  opulence. 
It  has  many  natural  advantages,  and  there  can  be 
little  doubt  but  that  it  will  soon  become  an  object  of 
the  Legislature's  peculiar  attention,  which  may  make 
it  a  great  mart  and  flourishing  port." 

Baltimore  was  indeed  growing,  and  twenty  years 
later  got  to  be  quite  a  place.  Its  mills  were  nu- 
merous and  busy ;  it  had  a  large  foreign  trade  with 
the  West  Indies  and  with  Europe ;  its  trade  with 
the  interior  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  was  im- 
jjortant ;  above  all,  it  had  received  large  accessions 
of  active,  enterprising  citizens,  —  thrifty  Germans 
from  Pennsylvania  or  from  Fatherland;  French  from 
Acadia  and  the  West  Indies ;  Scotch-Irish  from 
Derry ;  Irish  gentry  from  other  places.  It  was  men 
like  Stevenson,  Harrison,  Steiger,  Purviance,  Patter- 
son, Buchanan,  Philpot,  Plowman,  Yeiser,  the  Smiths, 
and  their  stamp,  no  less  than  the  natives  of  the 
county,  who  gave  Baltimore  its  impulse  of  growth. 
These  people  traded  with  the  world,  aud  their  busy 
craft,  when  the  war  of  1775  broke  out,  turned  priva- 
teers, and  enriched  them  and  the  town  with  the  spoils 
of  British  commerce.  In  1768  an  act  was  passed  "  for 
erecting  a  court-house  and  public  prison  for  Balti- 
more County,  in  the  town  of  Baltimore,  and  for 
making  sale  of  the  old  court-house  aud  prison."  This 
was  the  act  by  which  the  county-seat  was  removed 
from  Joppa,  and  from  this  period  we  can  date  the 
growing  importance  of  Baltimore.  Messrs.  J.  B.  Bord- 
ley,  John  Ridgely,  John  Moale,  Robert  Adair,  Robert 
Alexander,  William  Smith,  and  Andrew  Buchanan 
were  appointed  commissioners  to  build  the  prison  and 
court-house,  which  the  act  directed  should  be  con- 
structed on  the  upper  part  of  Calvert  Street,  next  to 
Jones'  Falls. 

While  Baltimore  was  thus  made  the  county-seat, 
yet  it  must  have  resembled  anything  else  than  a  city. 
The  hills  were  not  yet  cut  down,  the  streets  were 
not  paved,  the  houses  were  poor,  mean,  irregular. 
Robert  Gilmor,  in  his  reminiscences,  mentions  that 
he  caught  crabs  with  a  stick  while  walking  around 
the  water-front  from  Jones'  Falls  via  Lombard  Street 
to  Charles  and  Lee  Streets  (the  foot  of  the  latter  being 
called  "Deep  Point");  that  he  learned  to  swim  in 
Jones'  Falls  at  the  corner  of  Calvert  and  Lexing- 
ton Streets,  and  "  the  water  was  so  deep  that  once  a 
man  was  drowned  here ;"  boats  coming  up  to  the 
powder-house,  which  stood  at  the  foot  of  the  preci- 
pice on  which  the  court-house  was  erected,  near  the 
southeast  corner  of  Calvert  and  Lexington  Streets; 
and  that  in  the  Revolutionary  war  he  saw  a  mounted 
bugler  swamped  in  the  quagmire  in  front  of  the  pres- 
ent site  of  the  Sun  office.  Calvert  Street  then  ceased  at 
the  south  side  of  Fayette  Street;  there  was  no  Holli- 
day  Street  on  account  of  the  Falls  and  Steiger's. 
meadow  ;  there  was  good  shooting  of  snipe  and  wood- 


THE   FOUNDING  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY. 


cock  on  Harrison's  Marsh,  where  the  Centre  Market 
now  stands  ;  there  was  a  mill  where  the  gas-house 
now  is  on  Holliday  Street,  and  Englehart  Yeiser  had 
not  yet  cut  the  canal  through  Steiger's  meadow 
which  diverted  Jones'  Falls  from  its  old  horseshoe 
curve  to  its  present  bed.     When  the  old  court-house 


was  built  (on  the  site  of  the  Battle  Monument)  the 
bluff  at  St.  Paul,  Fayette,  and  Lexington  Streets  ex- 
tended to  North  Street,  then  descended  in  an  abrupt 
precipice  to  the  Falls,  and  the  court-house  stood  sheer 
and  toppling  upon  the  very  edge  and  comb  of  this 
bluff,  at  the  then  head  of  Calvert  Street,  until,  by  the 
ingenuity  of  Mr.  Leonard  Harbaugh  (afterwards  a 
town  commissioner),  it  was,  in  1784,  underpinned  and 
arched  and  the  street  opened.  At  that  time  the  arch 
under  the  court-house  was  supplied  with  stocks,  pil- 
lory, and  whipping-post,  and  Justice  straddled  over 
the  city's  centre  like  Gulliver  in  Liliput.  There  was 
little  attempt  at  grading  or  getting  a  definite  co-ordina- 
tion of  levels.  Mr.  Gilmor  says  the  court-house  stood 
on  a  hill  sixty  or  a  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
basin,  and  about  thirty  or  forty  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  present  pavements.  The  houses  and  style  of 
building  were  as  irregular  as  the  streets  and  wharves. 
A  portrait  of  the  town,  taken  about  the  time  of  Mr. 
Harbaugh's  prodigious  feat,  adds  spice  of  vivacity  to 
manifest  accuracy : 

"  It  was  a  treat,"  says  Hon.  John  P.  Kennedy, "  to  see  this  little  Balti- 
more Town  just  at  the  termination  of  the  war  of  independence,  BO  con- 
ceited, so  bustling  and  debonnaire,  growing  up  like  a  saucy,  chubby  hoy, 
with  his  dumpling  cheeks  and  short,  grinning  face,  fat  and  mischievous, 
and  bursting  incontinently  out  of  his  clothes  in  spite  of  all  the  allow- 
ance of  tucks  and  broad  selvages.  Market  Street  had  shot,  like  a  Nu- 
remberg snake  out  of  its  toy  box,  as  far  as  Congress  Hall  [Sharp  Street 
and  Baltimore],  with  its  line  of  low-browed,  hipped-roof  wooden  houses 
in  disorderly  array,  standing  forward  and  back,  after  the  manner  of  a 
regiment  of  militia  with  many  an  interval  between  the  files.  Some  of 
)  painted  blue  and  wiiite  and  some  yellow,  and  here 


and  there  sprang  up  a  more  magniticent  mansion  of  brick,  with  windows 
like  a  mutiplication  table  and  great  wastes  of  wall  between  the  stories, 
with  occasional  courtyards  before  them,  and  reverential  locust-trees, 
under  whose  shade  bevies  of  truant  school-boys,  ragged  little  negroes, 
and  grotesque  chimney-sweeps 'skyed  coppers'  and  disported  themselves 
at  marbles." 

The  evident  truth  of  these  details  about  the  houses 
of  the  town  is  confirmed  by  the  message  of  Mayor  John 
Montgomery  to  the  City  Council  in  January,  1826. 
He  shows  that  even  then,  of  10,416  houses  returned 
by  sweep-masters,  101  only  were  of  four  stories,  1608 
were  of  three  stories,  1524  being  of  one  story,  while 
7183,  seven-tenths  of  the  whole,  were  only  two  stories 
high.  In  James  Robinson's  "Baltimore  Directory  for 
1804,"  when  the  "  city"  was  eight  years  old,  Howard's 
Park,  trees  and  all,  began  at  Saratoga  Street,  the  west 
end  stopped  at  Green  Street,  and  the  separation  of 
Fell's  Point  from  Old  Town  was  complete.  The 
"co\e"  south  of  Aliceanna  Street  had  begun  to  be 
filled  up,  but  the  swamps  of  Harford  Run  were  two 
blocks  broad,  and  Wilkes  Street  (Eastern  Avenue)  was 
a  "causeway"  indeed.  The  "meadow"  was  still  un- 
filled, though  Yeiser's  Canal  had  been  cut,  and  there 
were  half  a  dozen  mills  on  the  line  of  the  Falls  from 
the  Gay  Street  bridge  to  Col.  Howard's  place  at  Bel- 
\  idere. 

At  the  November  session  of  1781  the  Assembly 
added  to  the  town  six  acres  and  one  hundred' and 
teh  square  perches  of  land  belonging  to  John  Moale, 
east  of  the  Falls ;  and  also  eleven  acres  and  fifty-six 
square  perches  belonging  to  Andrew  Steiger,  and 
known  as  Steiger's  Meadow,  which  had  been  drained 
by  the  enterprise  of  Englehardt  Yeiser,  and  the  re- 
I  mainder  of  Fell's  Prospect,  or  as  much  of  it  as  the 
commissioners  might  think  proper.  By  the  act  of 
1782,  ch.  2,  the  commissioners  were  directed  to  annex 
the  remainder  of  John  E.  Howard's  tract  of  land, 
called  Lunn's  lot,  or  so  much  as  they  might  think 
necessary,  and  by  a  later  act  of  the  same  year  part  of 
Howard's  Timber  Neck,  Parker's  Haven,  Kemp's  Ad- 
dition, and  Gist's  Inspection  was  also  added  on  the 
petition  of  the  owners,  Benj.  Rogers,  Charles  Ridgely 
(son  of  John),  Christopher  Hughes,  Henry  Brown, 
j  John  Mercer  Porter,  George  MeCandless,  Thos.  Rus- 
[  sell,  Robert  Moore,  David  Williamson,  Charles  Fred- 
erick Wiesenthall,  John  Wells,  Jonathan  Hudson, 
John  Sterrett,  Geo.  Prestman,  John  Gorden,  Thos. 
Dorsey,  John  Dorsey,  Samuel  Chase,  Wm.  Hammond, 
and  David  Rusk.  In  1796  the  town  was  incorporated, 
and  in  1799,  agreeably  to  the  powers  of  the  corpora- 
tion, an  addition  was  made  to  the  city  of  a  small  par- 
cel of  ground  situated  north  of  Saratoga  Street,  and 
the  bounds  of  Harford  Street  and  Canal  were  fixed, 
together  with  the  channel  of  the  basin.  The  addi- 
tion thus  made  was  described  in  the  ordinance  as  lying 
in  that  part  of  the  precincts  bounded  on  the  south  by 
Saratoga  Street,  on  the  west  by  an  alley  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet  from  Howard  Street,  on  the 
north  by  New  Street,  and  on  the  east  by  Lerew's 
Alley.     In   1816   the   Legislature   passed   an   act  to 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


I  i>l  Ml  \1  1  L^    <)1      li  M   I  IMOR 


annex  the  "  precincts,"  as  the  suburban  property  was 
called,  to  the  city  of  Baltimore,  against  the  consent 
of  about  nine-tenths  of  the  people  of  both  the  county 
and  city.  By  this  annexation  the  city  acquired  a 
population  of  sixteen  or  seventeen  thousand  souls. 
By  this  act  it  was  provided 

"that  the  precincts  of  Baltimore  City,  and  all  that  part  of  Baltimore 
County  which  is  included  in  the  following  metes  aud  bounds,  shall  be 
and  are  hereby  annexed  to  aud  made  part  of  the  ciy  of  Baltimore;  that 
is  to  say,  bounded  on  the  north  by  a  line  drawn  parallel  with  Bitltimore 
Street  in  said  <  ity,  through  a  point  one  mile  and  a  half  due  north  from 
the  centre  of  Baltimore  and  Calvert  Streets  in  said  city,  and  extending 
eastwardly  seven  hundred  perches  fr.im  tlie  said  point  to  a  public  road 
passing  from  the  Philadelphia  post-road,  by  the  dwellings  of  Amo<  Loney, 
Thomas  Worthington,  and  others,  and  westwardly  six  hundred  and  forty 
perches  from  the  same  point ;  on  the  east  by  a  line  binding  on  the  east 
Bide  of  said  road,  to  the  Philadelphia  post-road,  and  from  the  Philadelphia 
post-road,  by  a  straight  line,  to  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Lazaretto  lot, 
including  said  lot,  and  then  with  the  lines  of  said  lot  to  the  Patapsco 
River;  on  the  south  by  a  line  drawn  from  the  Patapsco  River,  at  the  ter- 
mination of  the  lastrmentioned  line,  to  the  most  uorthern  part  of  Whet- 
stone Point,  on  the  main  branch  of  the  Patapsco  River,  and  ninning 
with  and  bounding  on  thesaid  main  branch, excluding  the  land  ceded  to 
the  United  States  on  Whetstone  Point  for  the  use  of  a  fort,  to  the  place 
called  the  Kerry  Point,  being  the  junction  of  the  said  main  branch  with 
the  middle  branch  aforesaid,  and  thence  due  west  to  the  western  side  of 
the  midille  branch  aforesaid ;  and  on  the  west  by  a  line  running  from  the 
termination  of  the  last-mentioned  line  on  the  western  shore  of  the  mid- 
dle branch,  and  binding  on  the  said  shore,  to  the  north  of  Gwynn's  Falls, 
thence  up  aud  with  the  southwest  side  of  Gwynn's  Falls  to  a  point  oppo- 
site to  the  mouth  of  Gwynn's  Run,  thence  with  a  straight  course  to  the 
mouth  of  Gwynn's  Run,  aud  thence  with  a  straight  line  to  the  end  of  the 
aforementioned  six  hundred  and  forty  perch  lino." 

The  boundaries  established  by  this  act  constitute 
the  present  limits  of  the  city,  the  area  of  which  lias 
By  the 


been  extended  since  the  act  of 


act  of  1817  the  city  of  Baltimore  was  directed  to  be 
divided  into  twelve  wards,  as  nearly  equal  in  propor- 
tion as  possible,  and  John  Eager  Howard,  William 
Gibson,  William  Cooke,  William  McMechen,  Henry 
Thompson,  John  Hillen,  Joseph  Townsend,  Nathan- 
iel Williams,  John  McHenry,  James  Mosher,  and 
1  George  Winchester  were  appointed  commissioners 
with  authority  to  survey  and  lay  off  within  the 
limits  of  the  city  all  such  streets,  lanes,  and  alleys  as 
they  might  think  proper  and  convenient,  and  to  cause 
the  same  to  be  marked  with  such  durable  landmarks 
as  they  should  think  necessary.  The  commissioners 
were  further  empowered  to  assign 

"one  name  to  any  street  which  in  the  whole  or  in  parts  may  have 
acquired  different  names,  and  when  two  or  more  streets  may  be  known 
by  the  same  name,  to  alter  and  change  them  ;  and  the  names  so  given 
of  all  the  other  streets  shall  be  written  on  the  plots  thereof,  to  be  re- 
turned to  the  said  commissioners,  by  which  name  they  s 


The  commissioners  were,  moreover,  authorized  to  em- 
ploy a  surveyor  or  surveyors  to  ascertain  and  mark 
out  the  limits  of  the  city,  and  accordingly  employed 
Thomas  H.  Poppleton,  whose  map  of  Baltimore,  laid 
out  in  conformity  with  the  metes  and  bounds  already 
given,  is  still  the  recognized  and  only  authority  of  its 
kind  on  this  subject. 

On  March  9,  1850,  the  General  Assembly  passed  an 
act  to  provide  "  for  taking  the  sense  of  the  people  of 
Baltimore  County  on  the  propriety  of  separating  said 
county  from  the  city  of  Baltimore."     The  preamble  ' 
of  the  act  rei'ited  that  it  had  been  represented  that 


THE   FOUNDING  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY. 


the  "interest  and  convenience  of  the  people  of  Balti- 
more County  would  be  greatly  promoted,  and  the 
administration  of  justice  in  said  county  be  rendered 
more  speedy  and  efficient,  if  the  said  county  were 
separated  from  the  city  of  Baltimore,"  and  enacted 
that  an  election  should  be  held  on  the  second  Wednes- 
day in  the  following  May,  at  which  the  matter  should  i 
be  submitted  to  the  qualified  voters  of  the  several  ' 
election  districts.  By  the  provisions  of  the  act  three  j 
persons  were  to  be  elected  from  each  district,  who  ' 
were  to  meet  on  the  first  Monday  in  June  at  some  j 
central  place  in  the  county,  and  then  determine  and 
fix  upon  a  suitable  site  for  the  erection  of  the  public 
buildings ;  and  the  commissioners  were  directed,  in  ' 
making  their  decision,  which  was  to  be  final,  to  take 
into  consideration  the  "general  interest  of  the  people 
of  the  county,  and  the  facilities  of  access  and  depar- 
ture" from  the  site  so  selected.  The  commissioners  of 
Baltimore  County  were  authorized  to  sell,  exchange, 
or  dispose  of  all  or  any  part  or  parts  of  the  county's 
proportion  of  the  joint  property  of  the  county  and 
city,  except  the  court-house  and  record  oflice ;  and 
the  Mayor  and  City  Council  of  Baltimore  were  em- 
powered to  treat  with  and  purchase  the  county's  in- 
terest in  the  joint  property.  No  option  was  left  with 
regard  to  the  sale  of  the  court-house,  as  it  had  been 
expressly  provided  by  the  act  of  1834,  ch.  1.51,  that  if 
a  separation  should  take  place  at  any  time  between 
the  city  and  county  "  the  whole  estate  in  the  present 
court-house  shall  be  vested  in  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
upon  the  payment  to  Baltimore  County  of  one-half 
of  the  value  thereof" 

In  pursuance  of  this  act  an  election  was  held  at 
the  time  designated,  and  on  the  3d  of  June,  1850,  ths 
commissioners  chosen  from  the  several  districts  met 
in  Baltimore,  and  organized  by  the  selection  of  James 
L.  Kidgely  as  chairman,  and  William  E.  Cole  as  sec- 
retary. The  entire  day,  however,  was  consumed  in 
the  discussion  of  the  various  propositions  submitted, 
none  of  which  received  the  approval  of  a  majority  of 
the  convention,  which  finally  adjourned  until  the 
second  Monday  in  August,  with  the  understanding 
that  they  would  then  definitely  settle  the  matter 
without  further  postponement.  The  convention  ac- 
cordingly reassembled  on  the  12th  of  August,  but  the 
opponents  of  the  separation  act  were  found  to  be  too 
strong  for  its  friends,  and  finally  succeeded  in  "  kill- 
ing" it  by  effecting  an  adjournment  until  March, 
1852.  Eighteen  of  the  commissioners  were  in  favor 
of  locating  the  county-seat  somewhere,  and  eighteen 
were  opposed  to  locating  at  all ;  but  the  latter  voted 
solidly,  while  the  former  probably  could  not  agree 
among  themselves.  The  Baltimore  County  Advocate 
of  August  17th,  commenting  upon  the  unsatisfactory 
action  of  the  commissioners,  expressed  the  opinion 
that  the  great  body  of  the  people  of  the  county  were 
in  favor  of  separation,  adding,  "  when  another  bill  is 
formed  for  this  object,  let  it  be  left  to  the  vote  of  the 
people,  and  let  there  be  some  different  provision  for 


locating  the  public  buildings.  There  is  where  the 
difficulty  lies  now," 

In  the  mean  time  a  constitutional  convention  as- 
sembled at  Annapolis,  on  the  4th  of  November,  1850, 
and  adopted  a  new  constitution,  which  went  into 
effect  on  the  4th  of  July,  1851.  By  the  fourth  sec- 
tion of  the  fourth  article  of  the  new  constitution 
the  State  was  divided  into  four  judicial  districts, 
Alleghany,  Washington,  Frederick,  Carroll,  Balti- 
more, and  Harford  Counties  to  compose  the  first,  and 
Baltimore  City  the  third.  By  the  eighth  section  of 
the  same  article  the  State  was  also  divided  into  eight 
judicial  circuits,  Baltimore  City  making  the  fifth,  and 
Baltimore,  Harford,  and  Cecil  Counties  the  sixth. 
"The  Court  of  Common  Pleas,"  the  "  Superior  Court," 
and  "  Criminal  Court"  were  also  established  in  Bal- 
timore City.  The  judicial  functions  of  the  city  and 
county  being  now  completely  separated,  as  the  politi- 
cal relations  had  been  by  the  incorporation  of  the 
city  in  1796,  the  Legislature  at  its  next  session  in 
1852  passed  the  necessary  laws  for  carrying  out  the 
provisions  of  the  new  constitution.  On  the  27th  of 
February  it  passed  two  laws,  one  to  authorize  the 
officers  of  Baltimore  County  to  "  keep  their  respective 
offices  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Baltimore  until 
provision  shall  be  made  by  law  for  the  location  of  a 
county-seat  within  the  said  county,  and  the  erection 
of  a  court-house  and  all  other  appropriate  buildings 
for  the  convenient  administration  of  justice  in  said 
county,"  and  the  other  "  to  authorize  the  courts  for 
Baltimore  County  to  hold  their  sittings  within  the 
limits  of  the  city  of  Baltimore."  On  the  9th  of  March 
the  Legislature  also  passed  an  act  repealing  the  legis- 
lation of  1850,  which  had  placed  the  authority  to 

\  locate  the  county-seat  in  the  hands  of  commissioners, 

I  and  on  May  31st  it  passed  an  act  providing  for  the 
valuation  and  severance  of  the  ownership  of  property 

I  held  jointly  by  the  city  and  county,  and  directing  the 

I  appointment  of  three  discreet  persons  from  each  to 
make  the  necessary  assessment  and  division.      The 

I  commissioners  appointed  for  this  purpose  on  the  part 
of  the  city  were  Messrs.  Fielding  Lucas,  Jr.,  Chris- 
tian Keener,  and  Nathan  F.  Dushane ;  and  those  on 

I  the   part  of   the   county   were   Messrs.   Thomas   B. 

I  Cockey,  Joshua  Hutchins,  and  Joab  Bernard.     These 

!  gentlemen  qualified  for  the  performance  of  their 
duties  early  in  September,  and  were  already  far  ad- 
vanced in  their  work  when  the  Legislature,  on  May 
30,  1853,  passed  an  act  providing  for  the  location  of  a 
county-seat  for  Baltimore  County.  By  this  act  the 
judges  of  election  were  directed  to  open  polls  on  the 

'■  third  Wednesday  of  November  following,  "  at  which 
the  qualified  voters  of  the  said  county  may  vote  by 
written  or  printed  ballots,  designating  thereon  the  place 
for  locating  the  county-seat  of  justice."  It  was  pro- 
vided that  if  no  place  should  receive  a  majority  of  the 

i  whole  number  of  votes  cast  at  the  first  balloting,  a 
second  election  should  be  held,  at  which  the  voters 
should  be  confined  to  the  three  places  having  the 


64 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


higliest  number  of  votes  at  the  first  election ;  and  if  no 
one  of  the  three  places  voted  for  at  the  second  elec- 
tion should  have  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast,  then 
a  third  election  should  be  held,  at  which  the  voters 
should  be  confined  in  their  choice  to  the  two  places 
having  the  highest  number  of  votes  at  the  second 
election. 

Before  any  election  had  been  held  under  this  act,  a 
convention  of  delegates,  appointed  by  the  citizens  of 
Baltimore  County  for  the  purpose  of  recommending 
a  site  for  the  county  town,  met  at  the  court-house  in 
Baltimore.  A  committee,  previously  appointed,  re- 
ported that  after  visiting  a  number  of  places  and 
making  the  necessary  examinations  they  had  con- 
cluded to  recommend  with  some  qualification,  and  by 
a  vote  of  five  to  three,  the  place  known  as  the  Rem- 
ington estate,  situated  on  the  west  of  the  old  cattle- 
show  grounds  on  Charles  Street  Avenue,  and  between 
the  York  and  Falls  turnpikes.  After  several  hours 
spent  in  exciting  debate,  the  convention  proceeded  to 
ballot  for  the  place,  and  after  several  ballots  the  Alms- 
house property  at  Calverton  was  selected  by  a  vote  of 
fourteen  to  twelve  for  the  Remington  estate.  The 
matter  had  still,  however,  to  be  submitted  to  the  pop- 
ular tribunal,  and  when  the  election  was  held  on  the 
third  AVednesday  of  November  (18.53),  Clover  Hill 
received  784  votes;  the  Almshouse,  776 ;  Towsontown, 
582;  Cockeysville,  317;  Geographical  Centre,  266; 
Huntington,  221 ;  Remington,  158;  Spring  Hill,  104; 
and  Homestead,  70.  None  of  these  places  having 
received  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast,  a  second  elec- 
tion was  held  on  Wednesday,  Jan.  3,  1854,  in  which 
the  Almshouse,  Towsontown,  and  Clover  Hill  were 
the  places  voted  for.  At  this  election  Towsontown 
received  a  considerable  plurality,  and  the  contest  was 
narrowed  down  to  that  place  and  the  Almshouse. 
Finally,  on  the  13th  of  February,  the  question  was 
again  submitted  to  the  voters,  and  Towsontown  was 
selected  as  the  county-seat.  The  result  was  celebrated 
in  the  new  county-seat  with  much  enthusiasm  and 
with  a  grand  illumination,  the  old  frame  tavern  be- 
longing to  H.  B.  Chew,  on  the  top  of  Sater  Hill,  being 
set  on  fire  the  more  fittingly  to  honor  the  important 
occasion.  Efforts  have  since  been  made  from  time  to 
time  to  remove  the  county-seat  from  Towsontown,  but 
always  without  success. 

In  April,  1874,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  "to 
extend  the  limits  of  Baltimore  City  by  including  and 
annexing  a  part  or  portion  of  Baltimore  County  in 
and  to  the  said  city,  and  to  provide  for  taking  a  vote 
of  the  people  residing  in  said  part  or  portion  to  be  so 
annexed  for  or  against  such  annexation."  This  act 
proposed  to  extend  the  city  limits  two  miles  north- 
ward, and  one  mile  to  the  ea.st  and  west.  As  an  in- 
ducement to  the  people  of  this  district  (commonly 
known  as  the  "Belt")  to  vote  for  annexation,  it  was 
provided  that  all  property  situated  in  the  territory  to 
be  annexed  should  be  assessed  at  one-half  its  cost 
value  for  the  period  of  ten  years  after  the  jiassage  of 


the  act.  After  a  warm  and  exciting  canvass  the  ques- 
tion was  submitted  to  the  people  of  the  "Belt"  on 
the  5th  of  May,  and  annexation  was  defeated  by  a 
vote  of  1115  against  it  to  574  in  its  favor,  being  a 
majority  of  541  against  annexation.  The  following  is 
the  official  vote  by  precincts : 

For.  Against. 

Ist  Precinct,  l8t  District 116  81 

1st        "          3(1       "       "'2  173 

1st        "          9tli     " 12li  186 

2d          "          9tli     "       I'le  248 

let        "          12th   "        37  235 

3d          "          12th   "       14  111 


CHAPTER   VIL 

PENNSYLVA\I.\  BORDER  TROUBLES. 

The  dispute  with  regard  to  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  was  the  occasion 
not  only  of  much  bitter  feeling,  but  of  actual  col- 
lisions and  conflicts  between  those  living  near  or 
occupying  debatable  ground.' 

The  original  area  of  Baltimore  County  embraced  a 
portion  of  this  disputed  region,  and  in  the  troubles 
which  arose  from  the  antagonistic  claims  of  the  two 
provinces  many  of  its  principal  citizens  were  in- 
volved. As  early  as  December,  1732,  Lord  Bahimore, 
who  had  come  to  Maryland  to  settle  the  disputes, 
wrote  to  Governor  Patrick  Gordon  of  Pennsylvania, 
calling  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  "a  most  out- 
rageous riot  had  lately  been  committed  in  Maryland 
by  a  great  number  of  people  calling  themselves  Penn- 
sylvanians."  John  Lowe,  of  Baltimore  County,  his 
wife  and  family  were  the  victims  of  this  border  raid, 
which  seems  to  have  been  entirely  without  justifica- 
tion or  excuse,  as  far  a.s  Lowe,  at  least,  was  concerned. 
The  dwellers  on  the  Maryland  side  of  the  border,  as 
may  be  supposed,  were  not  slow  in  retaliating,  and  in 
May,  1734,  John  Hendricks  and  Joshua  Minshall, 
from  their  settlements  on  the  Susquehanna,  and  two 
others  from  the  borders  of  New  Castle  County,  were 
carried  off  by  the  Maryland  authorities  and  confined 
in  the  Annapolis  jail.  These  troubles,  however,  would 
seem  really  to  bave  begun  with  Penn's  first  settle- 
ment in  the  province,  for  we  learn  from  the  Pennsyl- 
vania records  that  at  a  council  held  at  Philadelphia 
in  1684  a  letter  from  one  Samuel  Lands  was  read, 
"  concerning  Col.  George  Tallbot's  goeing  with  three 
Musqueters  to  y*  houses  of  William  Ogle,  Jonas  Er- 
skin,and  AndreisTille,  and  tould  them  if  they  would 
not  forthwith  yield  Obedience  to  y°  Lord  Baltimore, 
and  Own  him  to  be  their  Propor,  and  pay  rent  to 
him,  he  would  Turne  them  out  of  their  houses  and 
take  their  Land  from  them."  And  from  the  same 
source  we  learn  that  in  1686  "y°  Marylanders  have 
lately  reinforced  their  fort  at  Christina,  and  would 

I  Sue  a  full  review  of  the  lumudar}-  troubles  in  the  writer's  "  History 


PENNSYLVANIA  BORDER  TROUBLES. 


not  suffer  John  White  to  cut  hay,  but  thrittend  those 
he  imployed  to  do  it  with  their  gunns  presented 
against  them,  and  that  what  hay  they  had  cut  y" 
Marylanders  sayd  they  would  throw  it  into  y"  river." 
Moreover,  it  appears  that  about,  this  same  time  one 
Maj.  English  "  came  into  y"  county  of  New  Castle 
with  about  fourty  armed  horsemen;  left  them  at  John 
Darby's  whilst  Maj.  English  and  a  Mary  Land  Capt. 
came  to  New  Castle,  where  John  White  meeting  him, 
made  complaint  to  him  of  the  abuses  don  him  by  y" 
Mary  Landers  at  y'  fort.  Maj.  English  tould  him 
that  if  thou  wilt  say  '  you  drunken  dogg,  Ned  Eng- 
lish, lett  me  cutt  hay,'  I  will  give  you  leave." 

Inroads  and  exasperations  of  this  character  con- 
tinued on  both  sides  for  a  long  period,  and  appear 
not  to  have  ceased  even  after  the  king  himself  had 
commanded  the  peace.  In  1717  we  hear  complaints 
of  "  certain  persons  from  Maryland  who  had  lately 
surveyed  out  lands  not  far  from  Conestoga,  and  near 
the  thickest  of  our  settlements,  to  the  great  disturb- 
ance of  the  inhabitants  there;"  and  in  1722  "the  se- 
cret and  underhand  practices  of  persons"  from  Mary- 
land are  referred  to  with  virtuous  indignation  in  the 
minutes  of  the  Pennsylvania  Councils, — "  these  secret 
and  underhand  practices"  consisting  apparently  in 
an  attempt  to  survey  and  take  up  lands  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Susquehanna.  In  this  same  year  Gover- 
nor Keith  sent  a  letter  to  the  Governor  of  Maryland, 
in  which  he  refers  to  a  report  that  "  two  magistrates 
of  Pennsylvania,  with  some  others,  had  been  taken 
prisoners  by  a  party  of  men  in  arms  from  Cecil 
County,  and  carried  before  the  justices  of  Kent 
County,  who  detained  them  in  custody  two  days,  and 
afterwards  dismissed  them  upon  a  verbal  promise  to 
appear  there  next  court." 

In  1735,  William  Rumsey,  a  surveyor  of  Maryland, 
was  apprehended  by  the  sheriff  of  New  Castle  County 
and  taken  before  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania, 
charged  with  committing  and  causing  others  to  com- 
mit great  abuse  and  violence  against  several  inhabit- 
ants of  Chester  and  Lancaster  Counties,  for  no  other 
reason  "  than  that  those  persons  asserted  the  juris- 
diction of  this  province  (Pennsylvania)  in  those  parts 
where  they  live."  In  1736,  Governor  Ogle  directed 
Thomas  White,  deputy  surveyor,  to  lay  out  two  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  in  the  disputed  territory  of  Balti- 
more County,  and  lying  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna, for  each  of  the  following  persons :  Henry 
Munday,  Edward  Leet,  Charl.  Higginbotham,  James 
Kaine,  John  Smith,  Hugh  Kaine,  James  Nickleson, 
Robert  Trotter,  Robert  Rowland,  William  Miles, 
William  Greenlee,  Stephen  White,  John  Cross,  John 
Kaine,  Sr.,  John  Kaine,  Edward  Ryly,  Patrick  Sav- 
age, Arthur  Browlee,  James  Love,  Anthony  Dixson, 
Benjamin  Dixson,  John  Morrow,  Thomas  King, 
Ralph  Higginbotham,  John  McNabb,  James  McGee, 
Barnibe  Clarke,  Thomas  Moore,  Richard  Ryan, 
George  Bond,  Thomas  Linass,  William  Linass,  John 
Linass,  John  Coats,  Robert  Jesson,  George  Moore, 


Robert  Moore,  Gibbons  Jennings,  Thomas  Scarlet, 
William  Carpenter,  Richard  Pope,  Thomas  Charlton, 
John  Charlton,  Sr.,  Edward  Charlton,  John  Charlton, 
Thomas  Charlton,  Jr.,  Arthur  Charlton,  Henry 
Charlton,  Jr.,  Richard  Sedgwick,  William  Betty, 
William  Betty,  Jr.,  William  Webb,  Thomas  Dawson, 
and  John  Dawson.  Henry  Munday  and  Edward 
Leet,  however,  were  arrested  by  the  Pennsylvania 
authorities,  and  this  design  to  occupy  the  debatable 
land  fell  through.  Among  those  who  suffered  in  these 
border  frays  was  Elisha  Gatchel,  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  and  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  the 
county  of  Chester,  who  was  carried  off  by  a  party  of 
Marylanders  under  Capt.  Charlton,  taken  across  the 
line,  and  made  to  give  bail  to  answer  the  charge  of 
speaking  disrespectfully  of  Lord  Baltimore.  The 
most  striking  incident  of  these  border  feuds  was  the 
attack  upon  Thomas  Cresap,  then  a  citizen  of  Baltimore 
County,  which  was  made  by  a  body  of  armed  men 
from  Pennsylvania,  who  set  fire  to  the  house  in  which 
he,  together  with  his  family  and  several  neighbors,  had 
taken  refuge,  and  attempted  to  murder  them  as  they 
made  their  escape  from  the  flames.  Cresap  had  formed, 
with  the  knowledge  of  Governor  Ogle,  an  association 
of  about  fifty  men  for  the  purpose  of  driving  out  the 
German  settlers  on  the  west  side  of  the  Susquehanna, 
and  in  the  prosecution  of  their  design  they  killed  one 
Knowles  Dant,  who  had  resisted  them.  Cresap  was 
then  attacked,  as  related,  made  prisoner,  and  carried 
to  Philadelphia,  where  the  streets  and  doors  were 
thronged  with  spectators  to  see  the  "Maryland 
monster,"  who  taunted  the  crowd  by  exclaiming,  half 
in  earnest,  half  in  derision,  "  Why,  this  is  the  finest 
city  in  the  province  of  Maryland!" 

!  Before  the  formation  of  Cresap's  association  the 
sherif}'  of  Baltimore  County,  with  the  sanction  of  the 
Maryland  authorities,  had  marched  with  three  hun- 
dred men  at  his  back  to  eject  the  German  settlers 
from  their  possessions,  but  was  persuaded  to  relinquish 

j  his  design  on  a  pledge  from  the  Germans  that  they 

I  would  consult  together  and  give  an  answer  to  Lord 
Baltimore's  requisition  to  acknowledge  his  authority. 
The  attack  upon  Cresap  added  fresh  fuel  to  the  bitter 
feeling  already  prevailing,  and  Governor  Ogle,  after 
in  vain  demanding  the  release  of  Cresap,  "  ordered 
reprisals,  and  four  German  settlers  were  seized  and 
carried  to  Baltimore,  and  a  band  of  the  associates, 
under  one  Higginbotham,  proceeded  forcibly  to  expel 
the  Germans.  Again  the  Council  ordered  out  the 
sheriff  of  Lancaster  and   the  power  of  his  county, 

j  with  directions  to  dispose  detachments  in  proper 
positions  to  protect  the  people.  When  the  sheriflT  en- 
tered the  field  the  invaders  retired,  but  returned  as 
soon  as  his  force  was  withdrawn.  Captures  were 
made  on  both  sides ;  the  German  settlers  were 
harassed  perpetually,  in  many  instances  driven  from 
their  farms,  and  in  others  deterred  from  every  attempt 
to  plant  or  improve."  In  October,  1737,  sixteen 
Marylanders,  under  the  leadership  of  Richard  Low- 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE    CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


der,  broke  into  the  jail  at  Lancaster  and  released 
Lowder's  brother  and  a  number  of  others  who  had 
been  apprehended  by  the  sheriff  of  Lancaster  County. 

This  fierce  border  warfare  at  length  attained  so 
alarming  a  character  that  the  Governor  and  both 
Houses  of  Assembly  of  Maryland  found  it  necessary 
to  make  a  true  representation  to  the  king  and  the 
proprietary  "  of  the  impious  treatment  which  this 
province  in  general,  and  more  particularly  your 
Majesty's  subjects  residing  on  the  northern  borders 
thereof,  have  of  late  suffered  from  the  Government 
and  inhabitants  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania." 

From  this  address  it  appears  that  the  German  set- 
tlers, of  whom  so  much  has  been  said,  had  in  the  first 
place  applied  to  the  authorities  of  Maryland  for  per- 
mission to  settle  on  the  land  in  dispute,  that  consider- 
able quantities  of  land  had  been  allotted  to  them  (in 
what  is  now  York  County,  Pennsylvania),  and  that 
for  a  time  they  had  paid  taxes  to  the  government  of 
Maryland,  and  in  every  other  way  acknowledged  its 
jurisdiction.  The  address  charged,  however,  that  they 
had  been  seduced  from  their  allegiance  by  emissaries 
from  Pennsylvania,  who  had  promised  them  lighter 
taxes  under  that  province,  and  that  they  had  accord- 
ingly refused  to  yield  any  further  obedience  to  Mary- 
land, under  the  pretence  that  their  lands  were  within 
the  limits  of  Pennsylvania.  It  was  to  reduce  these  peo- 
ple to  submission  and  to  maintain  the  proper  authority 
of  Maryland  that  Cresap's  association  was  formed, 
and  it  was  in  the  attempt  to  defend  her  territory  from 
encroachment  that  he  was  subjected  to  the  violence 
and  imprisonment  for  which  the  Governor  and  As- 
sembly now  sought  redress.  This  address  had  the 
effect  of  drawing  from  the  king  an  order  in  council, 
dated  Aug.  18,  1737,  in  which  the  Governors  of  Mary- 
land and  Pennsylvania  were  commanded,  on  pain  of 
His  Majesty's  highest  displeasure,  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
tumults,  riots,  and  outrageous  disorders  on  the  borders 
of  their  respective  provinces.  The  dangerous  situa- 
tion of  affairs  in  the  two  provinces  at  this  time  and 
the  desire  to  conciliate  the  crown  produced  a  ready 
compliance  with  this  order,  and  an  agreement  was 
made  in  1738  providing  for  the  running  of  a  pro- 
visional line  between  the  provinces  which  was  not  to 
interfere  with  the  actual  possessions  of  the  settlers, 
but  merely  to  suspend  all  grants  of  the  disputed  terri- 
tory as  defined  by  that  line  until  the  final  adjustment 
of  the  boundaries. 

Col.  Levin  Gale  and  Samuel  Chamberlaine,  on  the 
part  of  Maryland,  and  Richard  Peters  and  Lawrence 
Snowden,  on  the  part  of  Pennsylvania,  were  appointed 
commissioners  to  run  the  line,  and  began  operations 
in  the  spring  of  1739,  when  Col.  Gale  was  called  away 
by  sickness  in  his  family,  and  Mr.  Chamberlaine  de- 
clining to  proceed  in  the  absence  of  his  colleague,  the 
Pennsylvania  commissioners,  by  the  order  of  Governor 
Thomas,  continued  the  work  alone,  and  ran  the  line 
westward  of  the  Susquehanna  "  to  the  most  western 
of  the  Kittochtinny  hills." 


Though  this  provisional  line  put  a  stop  to  the  bor- 
der troubles,  the  boundary  question  remained  a  sub- 
ject of  contention  until  the  4th  of  July,  1760,  when 
it  was  finally  determined  by  an  agreement  between 
the  Penns  and  Lord  Baltimore.  In  1763  the  east-and- 
west  line  between  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  known 
as  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  from  the  names  of  the 
surveyors,  Charles  Mason  and  Jeremiah  Dixon,  was 
established.  Mason  and  Dixon,  whose  services  had 
been  secured  by  Lord  Baltimore  and  Thomas  and 
Richard  Penn  in  London,  arrived  in  Philadelphia  on 
the  loth  of  November,  1763,  and  having  settled  upon 
their  "  tangent-point,  they  proceeded  to  measure  on 
its  meridian  fifteen  miles  from  the  parallel  of  the 
most  northern  part  of  Philadelphia,  the  north  wall  of 
a  house  on  Cedar  Street,  occupied  by  Thomas  Plum- 
stead  and  Joseph  Huddle."  They  thus  determined 
what  was  to  be  the  northeastern  corner  of  Maryland, 
and  on  the  17th  of  June,  1765,  they  had  carried  the 
parallel  of  latitude  to  the  Susquehanna,  and  having 
run  their  lines  two  hundred  and  forty-four  miles  from 
the  Delaware  River,  and  within  thirty-six  miles  of  the 
whole  distance  to  be  run,  they  were  prevented  from 
completing  it  by  the  Indians.  Subsequently  the  line 
was  carried  out  to  its  destination  by  other  surveyors. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


CAUSES   OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 


The  Sons  of  Liberty — Oppositio 


'  the  Stamp  Act — The  Non-Importa- 


After  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  war  in 
I  1763,  the  British  government,  to  relieve  its  financial 
'  embarrassments,  and  to  punish  the  colonies  for  the 
1  reluctance  and  insubordination  they  had  shown  in 
meeting  its  demands,  resolved  to  tax  them.  Governor 
Sharpe,  of  Maryland,  in  his  devotion  to  the  crown 
and  the  proprietary,  had  at  a  very  early  period  urged 
upon  Cecilius  Calvert,  secretary  of  the  province,  in 
London,  the  necessity  of  Parliament  "raising  a  fund 
in  the  several  provinces  by  a  poll-tax,"  or  by  imports, 
"  or  by  a  stamp  duty."  Accordingly,  on  the  22d  of 
March,  1765,  the  Stamp  Act  was  passed,  by  which 
all  legal  documents  and  newspapers  were  ordered  to 
be  stamped,  and  agents  were  sent  to  the  colonies 
to  sell  the  stamps  to  the  people.  In  all  the  colonics 
strong  excitement  prevailed.  Public  assemblies  put 
forth  protestations  the  most  eloquent,  resolves  the 
most  determined,  in  opposition,  while  the  merchants 
of  the  larger  towns  and  cities,  whose  patriotism 
preferred  the  public  weal  to  private  emolument, 
entered  into  engagements  not  to  import  goods  from 
England  until  the  act  should  be  repealed ;  from 
one  end  of  the  continent  to  the  other  the  love  of  civil 
liberty  strengthened  the  nerve  and  animated  the 
hearts  of  the  colonists.     The  Assembly  of  Maryland 


CAUSES   OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 


was  not  in  session,  and  was  not  convened  until  Sep- 
tember, and  consequently  could  enter  no  immediate 
protest  against  the  Stamp  Act.  But  the  people  did  ' 
not  wait  for  the  action  of  the  Assembly.  Meetings 
were  held  in  nearly  all  the  counties,  at  which  resolu-  I 
tions  were  passed  denouncing  the  act  as  a  gross  viola- 
tion of  the  liberties  of  the  people,  and  promising 
to  resist  it  by  all  lawful  means.  Mr.  Zachariah 
Hood,  the  stamp-distributor  appointed  for  Mary- 
land, was  a  native  of  the  province,  and  this  fact 
served  to  increase  the  popular  indignation  and  in- 
tensify public  feeling.  He  arrived  at  Annapolis  late 
in  August,  1765,  but  before  he  received  the  stamps 
the  populace  assembled,  and  on  the  2d  of  September 
tore  down  the  house  in  which  he  was  preparing  to 
store  them.  In  Baltimore  and  elsewhere  he  was  hung 
in  effigy,  and  becoming  alarmed  for  his  safety  he  fled 
to  New  York,  where  a  few  weeks  later,  on  November 
28th,  the  Sons  of  Liberty  forced  him  to  resign  his 
obnoxious  office.  After  this  Hood  returned  to  An- 
napolis, and  carried  on  his  ordinary  business  without 
molestation.  He  was  afterwards  rewarded  by  the 
British  government  with  a  commissionership  at 
Turk's  Island,  and  died  at  St.  George's,  Bermuda, 
on  May  4,  1789.  In  return  for  the  discomfiture  of 
"the  first  and  last  stamp-distributor  of  Maryland," 
the  Sons  of  Liberty  of  Baltimore,  through  Thomas 
Chase,  William  Lux,  Daniel  Chamier,  Robert  Alex- 
ander, and  Robert  Adair,  sent  a  formal  letter  of 
thanks  to  the  patriots  of  New  York.  On  the  24th  of 
February,  1766,  a  large  number  of  the  most  promi- 
nent citizens  of  Baltimore  assembled  at  the  market- 
house,  and  organized  an  association  for  the  avowed 
purpose  of  removing  the  cause  of  the  partial  suspen- 
sion of  public  affairs  by  compelling  the  officers  at 
Annapolis  to  transact  business  without  stamped 
paper.  They  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment on  the  1st  of  March  ensuing,  and  at  the 
same  time  invited  the  Sons  of  Liberty  of  the  other 
counties  to  be  present  and  co-operate  with  them.  In 
the  mean  time  they  notified  the  public  officers  of  their 
coming,  and  advised  them  to  be  in  readiness  to  receive 
them.  One  of  these  very  polite  notifications  is  pre- 
served in  the  Council  records,  and  runs  thus  : 

"Sir,  the  Blmttiug  up  of  the  public  offices,  and  thereby  impeding 
justice,  being  of  the  greatest  consequence  to  the  community,  the  Sons  of 
Liberty  have  resolved  to  assemble  at  the  city  of  Annapolis  on  Friday,  the 
28th  inst.,  in  order  to  obtain  that  justice  which  has  been  so  long  with- 
held ;  and  of  this  you  are  to  take  notice,  and  be  at  home  to  receive  them. 

Hereof  fail  not  at  your .  Your  obedient  servants, 

"Sons  of  Liberty." 

At  the  appointed  time  the  Sons  of  Liberty  of  Balti- 
more and  Anne  Arundel  Counties  were  personally 
present,  and  those  of  Kent  by  deputy.  Upon  their 
organization,  application  by  petition  was  made  to  the 
chief  justice  of  the  Provincial  Court,  the  secretary  of 
the  province,  the  commissary -general,  and  the  judges 
of  the  land-office,  requiring  them,  on  pain  of  expul- 
sion, to  open  their  respective  offices  on  the  31st  of 
March.     The  answers  they  received  were  not  entirely 


satisfactory,  and  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  after  requesting 
the  attendance  of  the  other  organizations,  adjourned 
to  meet  at  Annapolis  on  the  day  assigned  for  the 
officers  to  proceed  with  their  business.  The  day 
arrived  and  the  Sons  of  Liberty  were  at  their  post. 
They  repaired  in  a  body  to  the  Provincial  Court  to  en- 
force their  petition.  It  was  at  first  peremptorily  re- 
fused, but  it  was  again  earnestly  insisted  upon  and 
demanded  "  by  the  Sons  of  Liberty  with  united  hearts 
and  voices,"  and  yielding  to  the  urgency  of  the  de- 
mand, after  receiving  a  written  indemnification,  the 
Provincial  Court  passed  the  following  order,  which 
was  at  once  acceded  to  by  the  public  officers,  con- 
formably to  the  petition,  and  the  detested  Stamp  Act 
was  in  Maryland  forever  null  and  void:  "  It  is  by  the 
court  here  ordered  that  the  clerk  of  this  court  from 
henceforth  issue  all  manner  of  process,  file  all  plead- 
ings, give  copies,  and  transact  all  business  whatsoever 
in  his  office  for  which  application  shall  be  made  to 
him  by  any  inhabitant  of  this  province  as  usual  wiih- 
otit  stamped  paper."  At  last  the  British  government 
gave  way,  and  to  the  great  joy  of  the  colonies  repealed 
the  Stamp  Act  on  March  18,  1766. 

In  1767  the  British  ministry  determined  to  try  an- 
other mode  of  taxing  the  colonies,  and  on  June  29, 
1767,  laid  a  duty  (to  take  efi'ect  after  November  20th) 
on  all  tea,  paints,  glass,  and  paper  imported  into  the 
colonies,  established  a  board  of  customs  at  Boston  to 
collect  the  revenues  throughout  America,  and  legal- 
ized writs  of  assistance. 

The  people  took  up  the  matter,  and  in  April,  1768, 
propositions  were  made  by  the  Sons  of  Liberty  in 
the  various  colonies  to  revive  the  non-importation 
associations,  and  letters  to  that  effect  were  addressed 
to  the  merchants  of  Baltimore  and  others.  In  accord- 
ance with  these  suggestions,  a  general  meeting  of 
Maryland  merchants  was  held  at  Annapolis,  June  20, 
1769,  "  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  on  the  most  effec- 
tual means  of  promoting  frugality  and  lessening  the 
future  importations  of  goods  from  Great  Britain." 
An  agreement  was  signed  by  all  the  associators,  in 
which  they  bound  themselves  neither  to  import,  buy, 
nor  sell  any  article  of  British  production,  except  such 
as  were  absolutely  necessary,  until  the  obnoxious  law 
should  be  repealed.  Owing  to  the  violations  of  the 
non-importation  agreement  by  Rhode  Island,  a  meet- 
ing of  the  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  was  held  on  the 
4th  of  June,  1770,  to  take  into  consideration  this  sub- 
ject as  well  as- the  violation  of  the  agreement  by  the 
sloops  "Industry"  and  "Speedwell,"  which  had  en- 
tered the  port  of  Baltimore  on  the  31st  of  May  with 
contraband  cargoes.  The  meeting  resolved  not  to 
trade  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  colony  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  the  vessels  were  ordered  to  depart  from 
the  province,  which  they  did  a  few  days  afterwards. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  1768,  Horatio  Sharpe  was  su- 
perseded by  Sir  Robert  Eden,  Bart.,  the  brother-in- 
law  of  the  proprietary,  as  Governor  of  Maryland.  He 
assumed  office  on  the  5th  of  June,  1769,  and  on  the  12th 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  April,  1770,  the  British  ministry  repealed  all  the 
duties  except  that  on  tea.  The  partial  repeal  of  this 
act  caused  the  merchants  of  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
and  Boston,  to  abandon  the  principles  of  the  non- 
importation association,  and  to  recede  from  the  agree- 
ment which  had  been  made.  The  abandonment  of 
these  pledges  by  the  New  York  merchants  was  at 
first  received  with  general  indignation,  and  the  New 
Yorkers  were  denounced  as  enemies  of  their  country ; 
but  the  final  defection  of  all  the  northern  cities  ren- 
dered the  effectual  maintenance  of  the  general  system 
impracticable,  and  the  merchants  of  Baltimore,  who 
were  the  first  to  adopt  the  non-importation  agreement 
in  the  province,  called  a  meeting  on  the  5th  of  Octo- 


on  the  25th  of  October  to  determine  the  matters  in 
question,  and  appointed  Jonathan  Hudson,  John 
McClure,  John  Merryman,  and  John  Boyd  as  the 
representatives  of  the  Baltimore  merchants.  At  the 
appointed  time  the  convention  met,  but  the  senti- 
ments of  a  large  majority  of  its  members  were  found 
to  be  decidedly  unfavorable  to  the  proposition  to 
recede  from  the  non-importation  resolves,  and  the 
action  of  a  portion  of  the  Baltimore  merchants  was 
denounced  as  "  indecent  and  inconsistent ;"  and  it 
was  resolved  "that  if  the  merchants  and  traders'of 
Baltimore  Town  shall  depart  from  the  non-importation 
agreement,  we  will  not  buy,  take  up,  or  receive  any 
goods  whatever  from  such  of  them  who  shall  by  any 


ber,  1770,  to  determine  upon  the  expediency  of  re- 
scinding the  association,  as  for  as  it  related  to  the 
articles  not  taxed.  No  merchants  on  the  continent 
adhered  more  strictly  to  their  engagement  than  the 
merchants  of  Baltimore,  so  long  as  they  thought  they 
could  by  any  means  bring  about  a  repeal  of  the  act 
of  Parliament  complained  of  But  after  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  and  Boston  had  repudiated  the  asso- 
ciation, they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  their  ad- 
herence, without  the  support  of  the  other  colonies, 
would  not  accomplish  their  designs,  and  they  there- 
fore wished  to  be  released  from  an  engagement 
which  bound  them  to  useless  self-sacrifice.  The 
meeting  proposed  a  general  convention  at  Annapolis 


means  break  the  association."  As  the  policy  of  non- 
importation was  useless  unless  all  concurred  in  it,  the 
Baltimore  merchants  may  have  braved  the  censures 
of  the  country  brethren  and  admitted  British  goods. 
Tea,  however,  which  was  still  taxed,  was  not  received. 
In  another  controver.sy  which  was  agitating  the  pub- 
lic mind  at  this  time  Baltimore  took  a  prominent  and 
conspicuous  part.  The  fees  of  the  public  officers 
were  regulated  by  an  act  of  Assembly  passed  in  1768, 
but  it  expired  by  limitation  in  October,  1770.  The 
Assembly  at  its  last  session  had  refused  to  renew  the 
law,  but  Governor.Eden,  on  the  26th  of  November,  at- 
tempted to  do  so  by  proclamation.  This  act  of  Gov- 
ernor EJoti's  was  regarded  as  a  measure  of  arbitrary 


THE   WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


69 


prerogative,  usurping  the  very  right  of  taxation  which 
the  colony  had  been  so  long  defending  against  the  ag- 
gressions of  Parliament.  It  aroused  a  strong  opposition, 
and  public  feeling  was  much  excited.  Public  meet- 
ings were  held,  and  the  proclamation  was  publicly 
hung  and  buried  in  Baltimore,  with  all  the  accom- 
paniments of  scorn  and  contempt  that  could  be  devised, 
and  the  representatives  of  the  county,  Messrs.  Charles 
Ridgely,  Thomas  Cockey  Deye,  Aquila  Hall,  and 
Walter  Tolly,  Jr.,  who  were  elected  in  May,  1773, 
were  instructed  "  to  testify  their  thanks  to  the  '  First 
Citizen'  (Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton)  for  his 
spirited,  eloquent,  and  patriotic  opposition  to  the 
proclamation"  in  the  controversy  with  '  Antilon' 
(Daniel  Dulany)  during  the  campaign." 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE    WAR    FOR   INDEPENDENCE. 

A  General  Congress  proposed — B.iUimore  Aroiieed— 'Notes  of  Preparation 
—The  Second  Burnt  Offering  to  Liberty— Congress  convenes  in  Balti- 
more— A  State  Government  organized. 

As  soon  as  it  was  announced  in  America  that  the 
Tea  Act  was  to  be  carried  into  effect  it  was  generally 
denounced  as  a  scheme  to  establish  the  right  of  Parlia- 
ment to  tax  the  colonies  and  to  give  the  East  India 
Company  (who  had  accumulated  a  large  quantity  of 
the  tea,  and  who  were  very  anxious  to  find  a  market 
for  it)  a  monopoly  of  their  trade.  This  scheme  aroused 
great  indignation  in  the  colonies,  and  the  people  of 
Boston  having  invoked  the  assistance  of  the  other 
colonies  in  a  general  effort  to  stop  all  importations 
from  Great  Britain,  Samuel  Adams  transmitted  their 
appeal  to  the  people  of  Baltimore,  addressed  to 
the  care  of  William  Lux,  and  immediately  on  its 
reception,  on  the  23d  of  May,  1774,  a  meeting  was 
called  at  the  court-house  for  the  25th,  which  duly 
assembled,  and  after  some  deliberation  appointed  a 
Committee  of  Correspondence,  composed  of  Robert 
Alexander,  Robert  Christie,  Sr.,  Isaac  Vaif  Bibber, 
Thomas  Harrison,  John  Boyd,  Samuel  Purviance,  Jr., 
Andrew  Buchanan,  William  Buchanan,  John  Moale, 
William  Smith,  William  Lux,  and  John  Smith.  In 
consequence  of  the  great  importance  of  the  subject, 
the  Committee  of  Correspondence  on  the  same  day 
forwarded  the  communications  which  they  had  re- 
ceived from  Boston  to  Annapolis  and  the  South,  and 
on  the  31st  of  May  a  second  meeting  of  the  people  of 
Baltimore  was  held,  at  which  resolutions  were  passed 
recommending  that  all  trade  with  Great  Britain  and 
the  West  Indies  should  cease.  As  the  trade  with  the 
West  Indies  was  at  that  time  the  most  profitable  car- 
ried on  by  Baltimore,  this  proposal  shows  how  ready 
her  citizens  were  to  sacrifice  their  private  interests 
for  the  general  good.  It  was  also  recommended  that 
delegates  from  all  the  counties  should  meet  at  An- 
napolis, and  that  all  the  colonies  should  send  repre- 


sentatives to  a  General  Congress,  to  devise  some  plan 
for  the  preservation  of  American  liberty.  The  Balti- 
more merchants  further  resolved  to  cut  off  all  dealings 
with  all  parties  who  would  not  come  into  the  non- 
importation plan,  and  in  pursuance  of  their  resolu- 
tions deputed  Capt.  Charles  Ridgely,  Charles  Ridgely, 
son  of  John,  Walter  Tolly,  Jr.,  Thomas  Cockey  Deye, 
William  Lux,  Robert  Alexander,  Samuel  Purviance, 
Jr.,  John  Moale,  Andrew  Buchanan,  and  George 
Risteau  to  attend  the  general  meeting  to  be  held 
at  Annapolis,  and  appointed  the  same  gentlemen, 
together  with  John  Smith,  Thomas  Harrison,  William 
Buchanan,  Benjamin  Nicholson,  Thomas  Sollers,  Wil- 
liam Smith,  James  Gittings,  Richard  Moale,  Jonathan 
Plowman,  and  William  Spear,  a  Committee  of  Cor- 
respondence. 

The  honor  of  first  suggesting  a  general  congress  of 
delegates  from  all  the  colonies  is  generally  conceded 
to  Virginia,  but  an  examination  of  the  facts  shows 
that  Baltimore  is  equally  entitled  to  the  claim.  On 
the  27th  of  May  the  members  of  the  Virginia  House 
of  Burgesses  met  by  agreement  at  Williamsburg, 
and  adopted  a  resolution  recommending  their  Com- 
mittee of  Correspondence  to  communicate  with  the 
several  corresponding  committees  of  the  other  colo- 
nies upon  the  "  expediency  of  appointing  deputies 
from  the  several  colonies  of  British  America  to  meet 
in  general  congress  annually  at  such  place  as  may 
be  thought  to  be  most  convenient."  Although  this 
resolution  was  adopted  on  the  27th  of  May,  the  letter 
communicating  it  to  the  other  colonies  was  not  dated 
until  the  31st;  and,  as  we  have  seen,  on  that  day  the 
people  of  Baltimore,  at  their  deferred  meeting,  adopted 
a  similar  resolution ;  and  in  announcing  it  to  the 
other  colonies,  in  a  letter  of  June  4th,  speak  as  if 
they  were  the  originators  of  this  movement.'  Thus 
it  will  be  perceived  that  if  there  is  any  merit  in  being 
among  the  first  to  suggest  a  great  and  leading  meas- 
ure, the  recommendation  of  the  people  of  Baltimore 
on  the  subject  of  a  general  congress  pre-eminently 
entitles  them  to  its  claim  ;  that  Congress  did  assemble, 
according  to  these  suggestions,  and  from  their  delib- 
erations resulted  the  declaration  that  the  colonies 
were  free  and  independent  States.  In  June  and  July 
the  people  of  Baltimore  subscribed  liberally  for  the 
relief  of  Boston  and  Charlestown,  Mass.,  and  for- 
warded several  vessels  loaded  with  provisions  as  a 
free  gift  to  the  suffering  poor. 

On  the  12th  of  November  a  meeting  of  the  free- 
holders and  other  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  County 
and  Baltimore  Town  was  held  at  the  court-house,  with 
Andrew  Buchanan  in  the  chair,  and  Robert  Alexan- 
der, clerk,  to  select  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  into  effect  the  non-intercourse  resolutions  of 
Congress,  and  the  following  persons  were  chosen : 

For  Baltimore  Town — Andrew  Buchanan,  Robert  Alexander,  William 
Lux,  John  Moale,  John  Merryman,  Richard  Moale,  Jeremiah  Townley 
Chaae,  Thomas  Harrison,  Archibald  Buchanan,  William  1 


'  See  the  writer's  "  History  of  Maryland,"  ii.,  p.  147.  Purviance,  p.  22. 


HISTORY  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


liam  Siuitli,  James  Calhoun,  Benjamin  Griffith,  Gerald  Hopkios,  William 
Spear,  John  Smith,  Barnet  Eichelberger,  George  Woolsey,  Hercules 
Courtenay,  Isaac  Griest,  Mark  Alexander,  Samuel  Pur\'iance,  Jr.,  Fran- 
cis Sauderaou,  John  Boyd,  George  tindenberger,  Philip  Rogers,  David 
McMaclien,  Mordecai  Gist,  John  Deaver,  and  Isaac  Vanbibher. 

Patapsco  Lower  Hundreds — Capt.  Charles  Ridgely  and  Thomas  Sellers. 
PaUipsco  Upper— Z:vc\ie.riah  McCnbbin,  Charles  Ridgely,  son  of  William, 
and  Thomas  Llu\  il.    linck  Uii'er  f';);'cr— Samuel  Wurtliington,  Benjamin 

NichoIsuii,'l'l 1^  I    '  Iv'  \  h.  \.  ,  .l-hii  I  111  -  I,,  h.iii.y  Lux,  and  William 

Randall.    I  /  '    M  i    i       '..ii.tson.   Middle  River 

Upper — Ni  '  ^1  ,      ,        \\     :   ,  m'^'ton.    Middle  Uiver 

Lower— \hiu^  I ..  i -.  >  i ,,.!,_  1,  .,  ,,.l  w  .,!;<  ,  i..!!.,  Si,  Soldier's  Delighl— 
George  Iliste.iu,  John  IIi)\vani,  Thomas  tJist,  Sr.,  Thomas  Worthington, 
Nathan  Cromwell,  and  Nicholas  Jones.  Middlesex — Thomas  Johnson  and 
Mayberry  Helnies.  Dediirare— John  Welsh,  Rezin  Hammond,  and  John 
Elder.  North — Jeremiah  Johnson  and  Elijah  Dorsey.  Pipe  Creek — Rich- 
ard Richards,  Fredelick  Dicker,  and  Mordecai  Hammond.  Gunpowder 
CJijier— Walter  Tolley,  Jr.,  James  Gittings, and  Thomas  Franklin.  Mine 
Pun — Dixon  Stansbury,  Jr.,  and  Josias  Slade. 

Although  the  proprietary  government  still  existed, 
in  name  at  least,  the  control  of  affairs  was  really  in 
the  hands  of  the  Provincial  Convention.  This  body 
called  upon  the  people  of  Maryland  to  lay  aside  all 
minor  disputes  and  "unite  in  defense  of  the  com- 
mon rights  and  liberties ;"  and  in  December,  1774,  it 
began  preparations  for  giving  armed  assistance  to 
Massachusetts  if  the  attempt  was  made  to  subdue  that 
colony  by  force.  All  males  from  fifteen  to  sixty  were 
to  be  enrolled  into  companies,  armed,  equipped,  and 
drilled,  ready  for  service.  Ten  thousand  pounds  were 
to  be  raised  by  a  levy  on  the  counties  to  furni.sh  the 
militia  with  arms  and  ammunition.  The  amount  of 
Baltimore's  subscription  was  fixed  at  nine  hundred 
and  thirty-three  pounds,  which  was  next  to  the  largest 
in  the  province,  that  of  Frederick  County  being  put 
at  thirteen  hundred  and  thirty-three  pounds.  The 
Baltimore  committee,  to  which  was  intrusted  the 
power  of  levying  this  amount,  were  solicitous  that 
their  brethren  of  limited  means  should  not  be  required 
to  contribute  any  i^ortion  of  the  levy,  and  in  their 
appeal  to  the  citizens  of  Baltimore  suggest  that  "care 
ought  to  be  taken  to  avoid  laying  any  part  of  the 
burthen  upon  the  people  of  narrow  circumstances, 
hoping  that  those  whom  Providence  has  blessed  with 
better  fortunes  will,  by  their  generosity,  supply  the 
necessity  of  calling  on  those  whose  fortunes  are  con- 
fined to  the  mere  necessaries  of  life."  The  sum  to  be 
raised  was  apportioned  among  the  various  districts  as 
follows : 


Gunpowder  Upper 79  17  6 

North  Hundred 51   17  6 

Middlesex 3:)     7  C 

Wyne  Run 5:i  00  0 

Back  River  Upiier., Hi  00  0 


Middle  Ri' 


61 


Delaware  Lower 

Middle  River  Upper.. 
Soldier's  Delight 


63  Oil  0 
87  12  6 


Patapsco  Lower .'iO    2  6 

Pipe  Creek 34    5  0 

Westminster 51  00  0 

Baltimoie  Town  West....  72    7  6 

Deptford 30    2  6 

Baltimore  Town  East 26  12  6 

930  00  0 


MOKDfcCAI    tIM. 


On  April  29, 1775,  the  Maryland  Convention  recom- 
mended that  six  hundred  pounds  be  raised  in  the 
counties  by  subscription,  and  fifty-six  pounds  was  the 
proportion  assigned  to  Baltimore  County. 

On  the  3d  of  December,  1774,  as  we  learn  from  a 
letter  of  Mordecai  Gist  himself,  the  first  military  com- 
pany in  the  province  was  organized  for  the  Revolu- 


tion. It  was  formed  in  Baltimore  Town,  under  the 
name  of  the  "  Baltimore  Independent  Cadets,"  and 
the  articles  of  organization  were  as  follows : 

"We,  the  Baltimore  Independent  Cadets,  being  impressed  with  the 
sense  of  the  unhappy  situatiou  of  our  suffering  brethren  in  Boston, 
through  the  alarming  conduct  of  General  Gage,  and  the  oppressive  un- 
constitutional acts  of  parliament 
to  deprive  us  of  liberty,  and  en- 
force slavery  upon  his  majesty's 
loyal  liege  subjects  of  America  in 

"For  the  better  security  of 
our  lives,  liberties  and  proper- 
stances,  we  think  it  highly  ad- 
visable and  necessary,  that  we 
form  oui-selves  into  a  body  i.r 
company  in  order  to  acquire  mili- 
tary discipline;  to  act  in  defense 
of  our  country  agreeable  to  the 
resolves  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress. And,  first,  as  dutiful  sub- 
jects to  King  George  the  third, 
our  Koyal  Sovereign,  we  ac- 
knowledge all  due  allegiance,  under  whose  banner  we  wish  to  support 
the  dignity  of  his  crown,  and  the  freedom  and  liberty  of  this  constitu- 

"  Secondly,  we  resolve,  after  a  company  of  sixty  men  have  voluntarily 
subscribed  their  names  to  this  paper,  that  public  notice  thereof  shall  be 
given  and  a  meeting  called  to  elect  officers  of  said  company,  under  whose 
command  we  desire  to  be  led  and  will  strictly  adhere  to,  by  all  the  sacred 
ties  of  honor,  and  the  love  and  justice  due  to  ourselves  and  country;  and 
in  case  of  any  emergency  we  will  be  ready  to  march  to  the  assistance  of 
our  sister  colonies,  at  the  discretion  and  direction  of  our  commanding 
officer  so  elected,  and  that  in  the  space  of  forty-eight  hours'  notice  from 
said  officer. 

"Thirdly  and  lastly,  we  firmly  resolve  to  procure  at  our  own  expense 
a  uniform  suit  of  clothes,  viz. :  Coat  turned  up  with  buff  and  trimmed  with 
yellow  metal  or  gold  buttons,  white  stockings,  and  black  cloth  half  boots ; 
likewise  a  good  gun  with  cartouch  pouch,  a  pair  of  pistols,  belt  and  cut- 
lass, with  four  pounds  of  powder  and  sixteen  pounds  of  lead,  which  shall 
be  ready  to  equip  ourselves  with  on  the  shortest  notice ;  and  if  default 
shall  be  found  in  either  of  us  contrary  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of 
this  engagement,  we  desire  and  submit  ourselves  to  trial  by  court-mar- 
tial whom  we  hereby  fully  authorize  and  impower  to  determine  punish- 
ments adequate  to  the  crimes  that  may  be  committed,  but  not  to  extend 
to  corporal  punishment.  Given  under  our  hands  this  third  day  of  Decem- 
ber, in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-four. 
A.  McLure,  James  Clarke,  Barnet  Eichelberger,  Richard  Gary,  Jr.,  Chris- 
topher Hughes,  W.  Beard,  Henry  Sheaff,  Matthew  Scott,  John  Spear, 
Mordecai  Gist,  John  McLure,  Samuel  Smith,  John  Smith,  Jr.,  J.  Ken- 
nedy, Hugh  Youug,  Wm.  Hammond,  Wm.  Stone,  Abraham  Risteau, 
Moses  Darley,  Robert  Buchanan,  George  Lux,  N.  Ruxton  Moore,  David 
Plunkett,  J.  Riddle,  Brian  Philpot,  Charies  McConnell,  Christopher 
Johnston,  Thomas  Jones,  Philip  Graybell,  Thomas  Russell,  David  Hop- 
kins, John  Lahavan,  A.  McKim,  Robert  McKim,  Alexander  Donaldson, 
Walter  Roe,  Wm.  Sterett,  G.  McCall,  Jonathan  Hudson,  Thomas  Lane- 
dale,  James  Govane,  Wm.  McCreery,  Thomas  Ewing,  Robert  Porttens, 
Christopher  Leon,  Caleb  Shields,  David  Evans,  Simon  Vashon,  David 
McMechen,  George  Peter  Keeports,  John  Weatherburn,  Matthew  Pat- 
tou,  H.  Watere,  Wm.  Yeaton,  John  Deitch,  James  Sowervell,  J.  Magoffin, 
George  Matthews,  Robert  Brown." 

This  company  was  organized  by  the  election  of 
Mordecai  Gist  captain.' 

1  Mordecai  Gist,  son  of  Capt.  Thomas  Gist  and  Susan  Cockey,  was  born 
in  Baltimore  Town  in  1743.  He  was  educated  at  St.  Paul's  parish  school, 
and  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution  was  a  merchant  doing  busi- 
ness on  Gay  Street.  His  ancestors  were  early  immigrants  to  Maryland, 
and  took  an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  province.  Cliristopher  Gist 
was  of  English  descent,  and  died  in  Baltimore  County  in  1691.  His  wife  • 
was  Edith  Cromwell,  who  died  in  1694.    They  had  one  child,  Richard, 

ol-s  in   1729  for  laying  oil   llalliniore  Town,   and  was  presiding  niagis- 


THE   WAR   FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


On  Jan.  16,  1775,  the  inhabitants  of  Baltimore 
Town  "  qualified  to  vote  for  representatives"  met  at 
the  court-house  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  delegates 
to  represent  the  county  in  the  "  provincial  meeting 
of  deputies"  to  be  held  at  Annapolis  on  April  24th, 
and  to  carry  out  the  resolutions  of  the  last  conven- 
tion. Capt.  Charles  Ridgely,  Thomas  Cockey  Deye, 
WalterTolley,  Jr.,  Chas.  Ridgely  (son  of  John), Rob- 
ert Alexander,  Saml.  Purviance,  Benj.  Nicholson, 
Darby  Lux,  Jeremiah  Townley  Chase,  George  Ris- 
teau,  Thomas  Harrison,  John  Moale,  Andrew  Bu- 
chanan, Wm.  Lux,  and  Saml.  Worthington  were 
chosen  delegates  to  the  convention,  and  the  following 
persons  were  added  to  the  Committee  of  Observation 
appointed  at  the  meeting  in  November : 

Patapsco  Lower  Hundred— Charles  Rogers,  John  Gorsuch,  "Wm.  McCub- 
bin,  and  Wm.  Willinmson.  Palapsco  Upper — Jas.  Croxall,  John  Elliott, 
and  Edward  Norwood.  Back  River  Upper — John  Cockey,  Edward  Tal- 
bot, Joshua  Stevenson,  Edward  Cockey,  Ezekiel  Towson.  Middle  River 
J^per—Benj.  Rogers,  Robt.  Cummiugs,  Benj.  Buck,  Joshua  Hall,  Gist 
Vaughau,  and  Benj.  Merryman.  Back  River  Lower — Moses  Galloway, 
George  Goldsmith  Presbury,  Abraham  Britton,  and  Nicholas  Britton. 
SoUier't  Delight— Thomas  Cradock,  Charles  Walker,  Saml.  Owings,  Jr., 
Christopher  Randall,  Jr.,  and  Benj.  Wells.  Middlesex— J ncoh  Myers, 
Richard  Cromwell,  and  Thos.  Rutter.    Delaware — Christopher  Owiugs, 

trate  in  173G.  In  1705  he  married  Zipporah  Murray.  Christopher  Gist, 
one  of  his  sons,  because  of  his  knowledge  of  the  country  on  the  Ohio 
and  his  skill  in  dealing  with  the  Indians,  was  chosen  to  accompany 
Washington  on  his  mission  in  1753,  and  it  was  from  his  journal  that  all 
subsequent  historians  derive  their  account  of  that  expedition.  Chris- 
topher Gist,  the  son  of  Richard,  married  Sarah  Howard,  the  second 
daughter  of  Joshua  and  Joanna  O'CarroU  Howard,  and  had  four  chil- 
dren,— Nancy,  who  died  unmarried,  and  Thomas,  Nathaniel,  and  Rich- 
ard. Christopher,  with  his  sons  Nathaniel  and  Richard,  was  with  Brad- 
dock  on  the  fatal  field  of  Monongahela,  and  for  his  services  received  a 
grant  of  twelve  thousand  acres  of  land  from  the  king  of  England.  It  is 
said  that  Thomas  was  taken  prisoner  at  Braddock's  defeat,  and  lived 
fifteen  or  sixteen  years  with  the  Indians  in  Canada.  Richard  married 
and  settled  in  South  Carolina,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  King's 
Mountain.  He  has  descendants  living  in  that  State.  Thomas,  after  his 
release  from  captivity,  lived  with  his  father  on  the  grant  in  Kentucky, 
and  became  a  man  of  note,  presiding  in  the  courts  till  his  death,  about 
1786.  Gen.  Nathaniel  Gist  married  Judith  Carey  Bell,  of  Buckingham 
County,  Va.,  a  grandniece  of  Archibald  Carey,  the  mover  of  the  Bill  of 
Bights  in  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses.  Nathaniel  was  a  colonel  in 
the  Virginia  line  during  the  Revolution,  and  died  early  in  the  present 
century  at  an  old  age.  He  left  two  sons,  Henry  Carey  and  Thomas 
Cecil  Gist.  His  eldest  daughter,  Sarah  Howard,  married  the  Hon.  Jesse 
Bledsoe,  a  United  States  Senator  from  Kentucky,  and  a  distinguished 
Jurist ;  his  grandson,  B.  Gratz  Brown,  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
Vice-President  in  1872.  The  second  daughter  of  Gen.  Gist,  Anne  (Nancy), 
married  Col.  Nathaniel  Hart,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Henry  Clay.  The  third 
daughter  married  Dr.  Boswell.of  Lexington,  Ky.  The  fourth  daughter, 
Eliza  Violetta  Howard  Gist,  married  Francis  P.  Blair,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  Hon.  Montgomery  Blair,  of  Maryland,  ex -Postmaster-General, 
and  Gen.  Francis  P.  Blair,  Jr.  The  fifth  daughter  married  Benj.  Gratz, 
of  Lexington,  Ky. 

Mordecai  Gist  was  a  member  of  the  Baltimore  non-importation  com- 
mittee in  1774,  and  besides  being  captain  of  the  "  Independent  Cadets," 
in  January,  1776,  was  made  major  of  Smallwood's  First  Maryland  Regi- 
ment, and  commanded  it  at  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  in  August,  1776, 
in  the  absence  of  its  colonel  and  lieutenant-colonel,  who  were  attend- 
ing a  court-martial  in  New  York.  In  1777  he  was  promoted  to  colonel, 
and  made  brigadier-general,  Jan.  9,  1779.  He  was  present  at  the  sur- 
render of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown,  and  after  the  war  settled  near  Charles- 
ton, S.  C.  He  married  three  times.  His  first  wife  was  a  Mrs.  Carman, 
of  Baltimore  County,  who  died  shortly  after  marriage.  His  second  wife 
was  Miss  Sterrett,  of  Baltimore,  who  died  in  giving  birth  to  a  son.  His 
third  wife  was  Mrs.  Cattell,  of  South  Carolina.  She  also  bore  him  a  son. 
One  of  the  boys  was  named  Independent,  the  other  States.  Gen.  Gist 
died  at  Charleston,  Aug.  2,  1792. 


Benj.  Lawrence,  and  Nicholas  Dorsey,  Jr.  North — Jno.  Hall  and  Stephen 
Gill,  Jr.  Pipe  Creek — John  Showers  and  Geo.  Everhart.  Gtinpowder  Up- 
j)€?-— Samuel  Young,  Jesse  Bassey,  Thomas  Gassaway  Howard,  James 
Bosley,  Wm.  Cromwell,  and  Zaccheus  Barrett  Onion.  Mine  Run— Ei- 
ward  Stansbury,  John  Stevenson,  Danl.  Shaw,  Wm.  Slade,  Jr.,  Jos.  Sut- 
ton, and  Jno.  Stewart.  Baltimore  ToMii— James  Sterett,  Charies  Ridgely, 
Wm.  Goodwin,  Dr.  Charles  Wiesenthal,  and  Thos.  Ewing. 


i       It  was,  moreover,  resolved  that  subscriptions  should 
I  be  opened  in  each  Hundred,  agreeably  to  the  resolu- 
I  tion  of  the  Provincial  Convention ;  and  after  assert- 
I  ing  that  forcible  resistance  to  every  illegal  attempt 
upon  their  liberty  and  property  was  not  repugnant  to 
the  oaths  of  allegiance,  the  meeting  significantly  au- 
I  thorized  William  Goodwin,  Richard  Moale,  William 
Buchanan,  and  William  Lux  to  purchase  three  thou- 
sand pounds  of  powder  and  twelve  thousand  pounds 
of  lead  for  the  use  of  Baltimore  County.     These  war- 
like preparations  denoted  something  more  than  the 
passive  resistance  of  a  non-importation  association. 
The  hearts  of  the  people  were  in  the  cause,  and  all 
over  the  province  men  were  arming  and  drilling  to  be 
ready  for  the  struggle.     When  the  convention  met  in 
April  its  proceedings  were  found  to  chime  in  with  the 
popular  feeling.     The  news  of  the  conflicts  at  Lexing- 
ton  and   Concord,    which   reached  Baltimore  at  10 
I  P.M.  on  the  27th  of  April,  1775,  served  .still  more  to 
influence  the  public  mind,  and  so  rapidly  did  the 
martial  ardor  spread  that  by  July  there  were  seven 
companies  under  arms  in  the  town. 

On  the  26th  of  July  the  Maryland  Convention 
adopted  the  Articles  of  Association  of  the  Freemen  of 
I  Maryland,  which  amounted  to  a  practical  declaration 
[  of  independence.  To  carry  out  their  purposes,  the 
convention  appointed  a  Council  of  Safety,  which  had 
charge  of  all  the  military  preparations  and  adminis- 
tered the  government ;  and  the  counties  elected  Com- 
mittees of  Observation,  which  saw  that  the  orders  of 
the  convention  were  enforced.  The  courts  of  justice 
still  performed  their  duties,  and  thus,  with  the  courts, 
the  convention,  and  the  committees,  all  the  ma- 
chinery of  a  regular  government  was  provided. 

The  convention  also  authorized  the  enrollment  of 
forty  companies  of  minute-men  in  the  province,  of 
sixty-eight  privates  each.  It  assigned  five  companies 
to  Baltimore  County,  which  were  to  compose  one  bat- 
talion. All  the  other  freemen  of  the  province  be- 
tween sixteen  and  fifty  years  of  age  were  to  be  en- 
rolled in  the  militia.  The  convention  also  directed 
the  freeholders  of  Baltimore  County  to  assemble  at  the 
court-house  on  the  23d  of  September  to  elect  a  Com- 
mittee of  Observation,  "  who  were  to  have  full  power 
and  authority  to  carry  into  execution  the  association 
and  resolves  of  the  Continental  Congress  and  Con- 
ventions of  this  province."  At  the  appointed  time 
the  following  persons  were  elected :  John  Moale,  Jer- 
emiah T.  Chase,  James  Calhoun,  Benjamin  Nichol- 
son, Andrew  Buchanan,  Thomas  Sollers,  John  Crad- 
ock, James  Gittings,  Robert  Alexander,  Samuel 
Purviance,  William  Wilkinson,  Charles  Ridgely  (son 
of  William),  Walter  Tolley,  Jr.,  Darby  Lux,  John 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Cockey,  William  Smith,  William  Buchanan,  William 
Lux,  Jobu  Boyd,  John  Smith,  Zachariah  McCubbin, 
Jr.,  Capt.  Charles  Ridgely,  Thomas  Harrison,  Benja- 
min Griffith,  William  Eandall,  Thomas  Gist,  Sr., 
Stephen  Cromwell,  Isaac  Griest,  Thomas  Cockey  Deye, 
Mordecai  Gist,  John  Stevenson,  Ezekiel  Towson,  Jer- 
emiah Johnston,  William  Aisquith,  John  Howard, 
George  Risteau,  and  Abraham  Britton.  The  follow- 
ing gentlemen  were  elected  at  the  same  time  delegates 
to  the  Provincial  Convention  to  serve  for  one  year: 
Robert  Alexander,  Benjamin  Nicholson,  John  Moale, 
Walter  Tolley,  Jr.,  Jeremiah  Townley  Chase. 

On  the  5th  of  May,  1775,  Peyton  Randolph,  Ed- 
mund Pendleton,  George  Washington,  Benjamin 
Harrison,  and  Richard  Henry  Lee,  delegates  from 
Virginia,  and  Richard  Caswell  and  Joseph  Hewes, 
delegates  from  North  Carolina,  arrived  in  Baltimore 
i  on  their  way  to  Philadelphia  to  attend  the  Continen- 
tal Congress.  They  were  met  a  short  distance  from 
the  town  by  three  companies  of  militia,  and  escorted 
to  the  Fountain  Inn,  which  formerly  stood  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  present  Light  and  German 
Streets,  where  the  companies  saluted  the  delegates 
with  a  triple  discharge  of  musketry.  On  the  follow- 
ing day  four  companies  of  the  town  militia  were 
drawn  up  on  the  common,  where  they  were  reviewed 
by  Col.  George  Washington,  accompanied  by  the 
other  delegates,  who  were  pleased  to  express  their 
satisfaction  in  the  appearance  and  behavior  of  the 
officers  and  men.  In  the  afternoon  the  delegates 
were  escorted  by  the  reverend  clergy  and  principal 
gentlemen  of  the  town,  preceded  by  Capt.  Gist's  in- 
dependent company,  and  '  the  officers  of  the  other 
companies,  to  the  new  court-house,  where  an  enter- 
tainment was  provided.  Among  other  toasts,  the 
delegates  were  pleased  to  give  the  following:  "May 
the  town  of  Baltimore  flourish,  and  the  noble  spirits 
of  the  inhabitants  continue  till  ministerial  tyranny  be 
at  an  end." 

In  July  the  ship  "  Totness,"  Capt.  Warren,  owned 
by  Mr.  Gildart,  of  Liverpool,  and  bound  to  Baltimore 
with  a  cargo  of  salt  and  other  articles,  ran  aground 
off  West  River.  While  lying  there  a  rumor  soon 
.spread  on  shore  that  she  contained  goods  that  were 
contrary  to  the  non-importation  association,  and  a 
number  of  the  associators  going  on  board  advised  the 
crew  to  remove  their  own  private  property,  after 
which,  on  the  18th,  they  set  her  on  fire  and  burnt  her 
to  the  water's  edge.  Mr.  Eddis,  in  one  of  his  letters 
written  at  this  time,  says,  "  this  is  the  second  burnt- 
offering  to  liberty  within  this  province ;"  the  burn- 
ing of  the  "  Peggy  Stewart"  at  Annapolis,  on  the  Iflth 
of  October,  1774,  being  the  first. 

In  the  mean  time  active  prejiarations  were  being 
made  for  the  coming  storm.  In  December,  1775,  the 
Maryland  Convention  again  assembled,  and  on  the 
18th  ordered  the  Committee  of  Observation  of  Fred- 
erick to  send  to  William  Lux,  at  Baltimore,  three 
thousand  pounds  of  powder.     On  the  27th,  Dr.  Charles 


F.  Weisenthal,  of  Baltimore  Town,  was    appointed 
supervisor  of  the   manufacture   of  saltpetre  in  that 
!  county,  and  on  December  28th  a  loan  of  one  thousand 
pounds  was  authorized  for  the  erection  of  a  powder- 
1  house  "  within  fourteen,  and  not  less  than  six,  miles 
j  from  Baltimore  Town."    On  the  1st  of  January,  1776, 
the  convention  resolved  to  raise  at  once  a  force  of  one 
thousand  four  hundred  and  forty-four  men,  eight  com- 
i  panies  of  which  were  to  be  formed  into  a  battalion, 
;  and  commanded  by  Col.  William  Smallwood,  Lieut.- 
I  Col.  Francis  Ware,  First  Maj.  Thos.  Price,  and  Second 
!  Maj.  Mordecai  Gist.     Major  Gist  was  from  Baltimore, 
and  at  this  time  commanded  the  "Independent  Ca- 
dets."    He  was  succeeded   in  the   command   of  his 
j  company  by  Samuel  Smith,  captain ;  James  Camp- 
j  bell,  first  lieutenant;  Joseph  Ford,  second  lieutenant; 
and  Brian  Philpot,  ensign.     The  convention  also  au- 
[  thorized  the  raising  of  an  independent  company  of 
artillery  at  Baltimore  Town,  with  the  following  offi- 
cers :    Capt.  Nathaniel  Smith,  First  Lieut.  William 
i  Woolsey,   Second   Lieut.   Alexander   Furnival,   and 
Third  Lieut.  George  P.  Keeports,  and  ordered  that 
three  companies  of  the  battalion  should  be  stationed 
there.     The  uniform  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  was 
hunting-shirts;  that  of  the  latter  to  be  blue  and  the 
,  former  of  other  colors.     At  the  same  time  the  prov- 
:  ince  was  divided  into  five  districts,  Anne  Arundel, 
Baltimore,  and  Harford  Counties  constituting  the  sec- 
ond, under  the  command  of  Gen.  Andrew  Buchanan, 
of  Baltimore  Town. 

While  thus  actively  preparing  for  the  contest  with 
the  British  armies,  Baltimore  merchants  were  fitting 
i  and  sending  out  those  formidable  cruisers  and  pri- 
vateers which  preyed  so  seriously  upon  British  com- 
merce, and  gave  so  important  an  impulse  to  the  com- 
mercial activity  of  the  town.  In  March,  1776,  Annapo- 
lis and  Baltimore  were  thrown  into  the  greatest  conster- 
nation by  tlie  approach  of  the  British  sloop  "  Otter," 
accompanied  by  two  tenders,  and  some  prizes  she  had 
taken  on  the  way.  Many  persons,  for  fear  of  a  bom- 
bardment, hastily  removed  their  effects  to  places  of 
safety.  On  hearing  of  this  alarm  the  committee  of 
York,  Pa.,  generously  offered  to  raise  a  rifle  company, 
and  send  it  to  Baltimore  at  an  hour's  warning  to  aid 
in  the  defense.  From  Harford  County  a  battalion 
under  Col.  N.  Ramsey  marched  to  the  defense  of  the 
town.  In  the  harbor  of  Baltimore  was  lying  the 
Maryland  ship  "  Defence,"  nearly  completed,  and 
her  commander,  Capt.  James  Nicholson,  made  haste 
to  get  her  ready  to  attack  the  enemy.  Capt.  Samuel 
Smith's  company  of  Col.  Smallwood's  battalion  offered 
to  serve  as  marines,  and  more  volunteers  presented 
themselves  than  the  ship  could  hold.  The  morning 
was  misty,  and  the  British  commander  was  taken  by 
surprise.  The  "  Otter"  and  tenders  made  their  escape, 
but  the  prizes  were  recaptured.  This  scare  hastened, 
the  completion  of  the  defenses  of  Baltimore  which 
had  been  ordered  by  the  Provincial  Convention.  This 
work  was  now  proceeded  with,  and  over  two  hundred 


THE   WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


and  fifty  colored  men  were  employed  in  erecting  a 
boom  between  Whetstone  Point  and  the  Lazaretto, 
and  building  batteries  and  mounting  guns  at  these 
points.     Contracts  were  made  with  Daniel  and  James  ; 
Hughes,  of  Antietam,  Washington  Co.,  Md.,  George  , 
Matthews,  of  Baltimore,  and  John  Yoast,  of  George- 
town, for  the  manufacture  of  cannon;   while  in  the  ; 
mean  time  a  number  were  borrowed  from  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety  of  Philadelphia.     A  chain  was  also  , 
stretched  across  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  supported  j 
by  twenty-one  sunken  schooners.     This  obstruction,  I 
however,  was  removed  soon  after.     Beacons  or  signal'  ! 
stations  were  also  established  on  the  shores  of  the  Pa- 
tapsco  and  the  Chesapeake  for  communicating  intel- 
ligence of  the  approach  of  the  enemy. 

About  this  time  a  correspondence  between  Gov- 
ernor Eden  and  Lord  George  Germaine  of  the  British 
ministry  was  intercepted,  showing  that  the  former 
was  co-operating  with  the  enemy,  and  Gen.  Charles 
Lee,  then  at  Williamsburg,  Va.,  considered  the  matter 
as  of  so  much  importance  that  he  forwarded  an  urgent 
request  to  Samuel  Purviance,  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety  at  Baltimore,  to  direct  the  immediate  j 
arrest  of  the  Governor.  The  convention  not  being  in  j 
session  at  the  time,  and  Mr.  Purviance  believing  that 
the  precaution  was  necessary  and  that  he  had  the 
power  to  make  the  arrest,  instructed  Capt.  S.  Smith, 
on  the  18th  of  April,  1776,  to  proceed  to  Annapolis, 
seize  the  person  and  papers  of  Governor  Eden,  and 
detain  him  until  the  will  of  Congress  was  known. 
Capt.  Smith  and  a  sufficient  guard  proceeded  to  An- 
napolis to  arrest  the  Governor,  but  the  Committee  of 
Safety  at  that  point  refused  to  allow  him  to  execute 
his  orders,  and  the  convention  which  assembled  in 
May  censured  Mr.  Purviance  in  the  severest  terms  for 
overstepping  his  authority,  although  Congress  had 
€xpressed  its  approval  of  his  course.  Governor  Eden, 
however,  was  ordered  to  leave  the  province,  which  he 
did  on  June  24,  1776,  on  board  one  of  the  British  ' 
ships.  ! 

The  adoption  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  , 
was  nowhere  received  with  livelier  demonstrations  of  I 
joy  than  in  Baltimore.     On  the  11th  of  July  it  was 
printed  in  the  Maryland   Gazette,  and  on  the  29th  it 
was  proclaimed  at  the  court-house  in  the  presence  of 
the  independent   companies   and   militia,  amid  the 
loudest  applause,  accompanied  with  salvos  of  artillery 
and  "universal  acclamations  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
free  United  States."     At  night  the  town  was  illumin-  ] 
ated,  and  an  effigy  of  the  British  king  paraded  through 
the  streets  and  burned  in  derision  of  his  forfeited 
authority. 

Before  the  adoption  of  the  declaration  by  Congress, 
the  Convention  of  Maryland,  on  the  25th  of  May, 
elected  the  following  field-officers  for  the  militia  of 
Baltimore  County: 

Gunpouider  Battalion. — Walter  Tolley,  Jr.,  culoliel,  Darby  Lux  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, James  Gittings  firet  major,  Thomas  Sollers  second,  ami 
Benjamin  Rogers  quartermaster.    Soldier^s  Delight  BnttaWm. — Thomas    ' 


Gist,  Sr.,  colonel,  Samuel  Owings  lieutenaut-colonel,  John  C.  Cradock 
first  mt^ior,  Isaac  Hammond  second,  and  .Joseph  Gist  quartermaster. 
Baltimore  Town  BaKaiion.— William  Buchanan  colonel,  John  Moale 
lieutenant-colonel,  Benjamin  Nicholson  fii-st  major,  Thomas  Jones 
second,  and  James  Calhoun  quartermaster.' 

The  convention  also  proceeded  at  once  to  secure 
the  independence  it  had  declared  on  the  3d  of  July 
by  strengthening  the  military  force  of  the  province 
and  placing  it  at  the  disposal  of  Congress.  It  pro- 
posed to  raise  three  thousand  four  hundred  and  five 
men — the  proportion  authorized  by  Congress — to  form 
a  flying  camp,  to  serve  until  Dec.  1, 1776,  under  Brig.- 
Gen.  Thomas  Johnson,  Jr.  The  force  was  to  be 
divided  into  four  battalions  of  nine  companies  each, 
of  which  four  were  to  be  furnished  by  Baltimore 
County,  officered  as  follows:  First  company,  Zach- 
ariah  Maccubbin,  captain  ;  Thomas  Yates,  first  lieu- 
tenant; John  Christie,  second  lieutenant;  and  Thos. 
Lingan,  ensign.  Second  company,  John  E.  How-  • 
ard,  captain;  Thomas  Lansdale,  first  lieutenant;  Wil- 
liam Riley,  second  lieutenant;  and  Robert  Morrow, 
ensign.  Third  company,  John  Stevenson,  captain ; 
Edward  Oldham,  first  lieutenant ;  James  Ogleby, 
second  lieutenant;  and  Joseph  Lewis,  ensign.  Fourth 
company,  James  Young,  captain ;  James  Bond,  first 
lieutenant;  John  Smith,  second  lieutenant;  and 
James  Tool,  ensign.  On  July  6,  1776,  by  another 
resolution  the  convention  ordered  four  companies  of 
Germans  to  be  raised,  two  in  Baltimore  County  and 
two  in  Frederick.  On  the  same  day,  in  obedience  to 
instructions  from  Congress,  tliey  ordered  Col.  Small- 
wood  to  march  with  his  regiment  to  Philadelphia  and 
place  himself  under  its  orders.  In  pursuance  of  these 
instructions,  Col.  Smallwood  on  the  lOtli  of  July  em- 
barked at  Annapolis  six  companies  of  his  regiment 
for  the  head  of  Elk  River,  and  on  the  same  day  Maj. 
Gist  embarked  three  companies  of  the  regiment  at 
Baltimore  Town  for  the  same  place,  from  whence 
they  marched  to  Philadelphia.  From  thence  they 
moved  to  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  where  they  were  at- 
tached to  the  brigade  of  Brig.-Gen.  Lord  Stirling.  In 
August  they  participated  in  the  battle  of  Long  Island, 
and  under  Gist  saved  the  American  army  from  de- 
struction after  a  loss  of  over  one-half  of  their  com- 
mand. The  American  prospect  now  looked  gloomy. 
Congress,  fearing  an  attack  upon  Philadelphia,  on  the 
12th  of  December  adjourned  to  meet  at  Baltimore  on 
the  20th.  On  Friday,  Dec.  -Jd.  177(1,  Congress  met  in  a 
.spacious  three-story  an<l  atiii  luiililiiii,'  which  stood  on 
the  southwest  corner  of  ^<ll:u■llc•  :in<l  lialtimore  Streets. 
The  house  was  built  by  Jacob  Fite,  and  was  then 
the  farthest  house  west  in  the  town,  and  one  of  the 
largest,  and  in  memory  of  the  event  with  which  it  was 


1  In  May,  1775,  there  were  eight  companies  of  militia  organized  in 
Baltimore  County,  and  commanded  respectively  by  Capts.  James  Gittings, 
John  Tully  Young,  Job  Garretson.  John  Mercer,  Josiaa  Bowen,  John 
Staudiford,  William  Cromwell,  and  James  Bosley.  In  December  of  the 
same  year  seven  other  companies  were  formed,  commanded  respectively 
by  Capts.  Andrew  Buchanan,  Benjamin  Nicholson,  James  Cox,  Zach. 
McCubbin,  Thomas  Rutter,  William  Cromwell,  and  James  Bosley. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


OEX.    WILLIAM    SMALLWOOD. 


associated  it  was  always  afterwards  called  "  Congress 
Hall."  The  first  proceeding  of  Congress  in  Baltimore 
was  the  reception  of  the  credentials  of  John  Houston, 
Lyman  Hall,  Button  Gwinnett,  George  Walton,  and 
Nathan  Brownson,  the  delegates  from  Georgia.  On  the 
23d,  Rev.  Patrick  Allison,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  Rev.  William  White,  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
were  elected  chaplains.  At  the  same  time  Robert 
Patton  was  appointed  door-keeper,  and  James  Long 
messenger.  Notwithstanding  that  there  was  a  spirit  of 
hostility  silently  working  among  the  members  against 
Gen.  Washington, 
in  consequence  of 
the  alarming  state 
of  affairs,  by  a  reso- 
tion  passed  De- 
nilier  27th  they 
vested  him  with 
itatorial  powers 
r  six  months,  au- 
-^        '    ■  ihorizing    him    to 

raise  and  officer 
sixteen  additional  battalions  of  infantry,  three  thous- 
and light  horse,  three  regiments  of  artillery,  and  a 
corps  of  engineers,  to  form  magazines,  to  displace  or 
appoint  any  officer  under  a  brigadier-general,  take 
necessary  supplies  by  force,  arrest  and  confine  dis- 
affected persons,  etc.     On  the  same  day  Mr.  Hillcgas, 


printer  of  the  bills  of  credit,  or  Continental  notes,  em- 
ployed, with  the  approval  of  Congress,  the  following 
superintendents  of  the  press  from  Baltimore : 

Thomas  Harrison,  William  Smith,  and  John  Merryman,  Jr.  William 
Spear  was  added  on  Feb.  26, 1777.  Tlie  following  persons  were  also  ap- 
pointed signers  of  money :  William  Aisquith,  John  Griffith,  Hercules 
Courtney,  John  Cockey,  James  Kelso,  Richard  Cromwell,  James  Cal- 
houn, George  Welsh,  Theodore  Bassell,  Thomas  Donellan,  John  Boyd, 
Benjamin  Levy,  Samuel  Hillegas,  and  William  Govett.  During  the 
session  of  Congress  in  Baltimore  the  following  persons  were  added  to  the 
signers  of  money:  Benjamin  Brannon,  William  Gibson,  John  Philpot, 
Kichard  Johns,  Robert  Dorsey.  Mark  Alexander,  John  Dorsey,  Edward 
Gaither,  William  Young,  George  Patterson,  Richard  Stringer,  Samuel 
Stringer  Coale,  Rinaldo  Johnson,  Saint  George  Peale,  Joseph  Gaither, 
Zachariah  Maccubbin,  Dennis  Griffith,  James  Franklin,  John  Barney, 
Hans  Creery,  Clement  Brook,  William  Hammond,  James  Walker,  Ho- 
ratio Johnson,  .Tohn  Taylor,  Aquita  Norris,  Darby  Lux,  and  Daniel  Car- 
roll.l 


1  The  prisoners  from  Philadelphia  and  North  Carolina  were  placed  under 
the  charge  of  Benjamin  Gritfith,  audcoufined  in  the  court-house  and  jail 
and  other  buildings.  On  Sunday  night,  December  29th,  a  number  of  the 
North  Carolina  prisoners  escaped  from  the  jail,  but  three  of  them,  Alex- 
ander and  Daniel  McCleod  and  Murdock  McCastle,  were  captured  at 
Broad  Creek,  in  Sussex  County,  Va.  During  the  winter  the  prisoners 
were  removed  to  Lancaster,  Pa.,  Dumfries  and  Leesburg,  Va.,  and 
Frederick  Town,  Md.  While  Congress  was  sitting  in  Baltimore,  Dr. 
Mackenzie  was  in  charge  of  the  sick  United  States  soldiers ;  Peter  Gal-  - 
loway  rode  e.\press  from  Annapolis,  Baltimore,  and  Frederick ;  Jonathan 
Hudson  was  appointed  paymaster  of  the  town ;  Saint  George  Peale  was 
elected  commissary  of  military  stores  in  Maryland,  and  Gerard  Hopkins, 
son  of  Richard,  was  quartermaster  in  Baltimore;  John  Gibson  was  au- 
ditor-general, and  the  Baltimore  Committee  of  Observation  were  ordered 
to  remove  all  the  powder  belonging  to  tlie  Continentals  from  the  ware- 
houses of  the  town  "  to  a  convenient  house  some  distance  therefrom,"  to 


THE  WAK  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


75 


On  Feb.  17,  1777,  Congress  resolved  to  adjourn  to 
Philadelphia  on  the  25th,  but  on  that  day  the  resolu- 
tion was  suspended.  On  the  27th,  however,  it  ad- 
journed, and  met  in  Philadelphia  on  the  4th  of  March. 

The  Proprietary  government  having  been  over- 
thrown, it  became  necessary  to  form  a  permanent 
government  for  the  State.  The  convention  having 
no  power  to  do  this,  ordered  an  election  for  delegates  to 
a  new  convention.  Baltimore  Town  not  yet  having  a 
voice  in  the  government  except  through  her  repre- 
sentatives from  the  county,  the  convention  directed 
that  two  representatives  be  chosen  from  that  town  and 
Annapolis  "temporarily,"  the  same  "to  be  modified 
or  taken  away  on  a  material  alteration  of  the  circum- 


more  Town  on  the  5th.  The  judges  chosen  by  the 
convention  for  Baltimore  County  were  Andrew  Bu- 
chanan, Thomas  Gist,  and  James  Gittings;  for  the 
town,  James  Calhoun,  John  Merryman,  and  William 
Aisquith.  Then  placing  the  government  in  the 
hands  of  the  Council  of  Safety,  the  convention  dis- 
solved on  the  6th  of  July.  On  August  14th  the  dele- 
gates elected  to  the  new  convention  to  form  a  consti- 
tution and  State  government  assembled  at  Annapolis 
and  elected  Matthew  Tilghman  president.  Baltimore 
County  was  represented  by  Charles  Ridgely,  Thomas 
Cockey  Deye,  John  Stevenson,  and  Peter  Sheppard; 
Baltimore  Town  by  John  Smith  and  Jeremiah  T. 
Chase.     Soon  after  the  convention  assembled  the  Dec- 


stances  of  those  places."  The  election  for  the  county 
was  to  take   place  on  Aug.  1,  1776,  and   for  Balti- 

be  placed  under  the  care  of  Capt.  Samuel  Smith  and  a  guard.  William 
Lux,  James  Calhoun,  and  David  Stewart  were  appointed  appraisers  of  a 
cargo  of  wool  brought  into  Baltimore  by  a  New  York  privateer.  At  the 
same  time  settlements  were  made  with  Capt.  Levin  Winder  for  convey- 
ing the  North  Carolina  prisoners  to  Baltimore;  to  George  Lindenberger 
for  conveying  Hessian  ofBcers  and  their  ser\'ants,  prisoners,  from  Balti- 
more to  Dumfries,  Va. ;  to  Capt.  William  Galbraith  for  hire  of  guard  for 
Carolina  prisonei-s;  to  Thomas  Rutter  and  men  for  guarding  prisoners 
to  Leesburg,  Va. ;  to  William  Lavely,  innkeeper,  for  entertaining  Hessi:in 
oflficers  and  servants  in  Baltimore;  to  Jacob  Myers  for  entertaining  Vir- 
ginia light  horse;  to  Henry  Sheafe  for  guarding  prisouers ;  to  John 
Griffith  for  entertaining  North  Carolina  prisoners;  to  Daniel  Grant  for 
entertaining  guard  over  the  treasury ;  to  George  Pressman  for  plastering 
court-house  by  order  i  f  Congress,  and  to  John  Griffith  for  supplies  fur- 
nished the  hospital. 


laration  of  Eights  and  Constitution  and  form  of  gov- 
ernment were  taken  up  and  freely  discussed  from  day 
to  day,  both  in  and  out  of  the  convention,  by  the 
members,  the  people,  and  the  press.  After  revision 
and  amendment,  on  the  3d  of  November  the  Bill  of 
Rights  was  adopted,  and  on  the  8th  the  constitution, 
having  been  discussed  paragraph  by  paragraph,  was 
also  agreed  to.  For  introducing  the  new  govern- 
ment the  constitution  directed  that  an  election  should 
be  held  for  electors  of  the  Senate  on  Nov.  25,  1776, 
and  that  the  electors  should  meet  at  Annapolis  on  the 
9th  of  December  following,  and  select  fifteen  persons 
for  the  first  Senate  of  Maryland.  On  the  18th  of 
December  an  election  was  to  be  held  for  members  of 


76 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


the  House  of  Delegates  and  sheriffs.  The  General 
Assembly  was  to  meet  at  Annapolis  on  Feb.  10,  1777, 
and  elect  a  Governor  and  Council  for  the  residue  of 
the  year.  After  appointing  Thomas  Gist,  Sr.,  Edward 
Cockey,  and  Henry  Stevenson,  Jr.,  judges  of  election 
for  Baltimore  County,  and  John  Merryman,  Jr., 
James  Calhoun,  and  Benjamin  GrifSn  for  Baltimore 
Town,  the  convention,  on  the  11th  of  November,  ad- 
journed. At  the  specified  time  the  elections  took 
place,  and  Thomas  Cockey  Deye,  Charles  Ridgely, 
John  Stevenson,  and  Peter  Sheppard  were  elected  to 
the  House  of  Delegates  from  Baltimore  County,  and 
Jeremiah  Townley  Chase  and  John  Smith  from  Balti- 
more Town.  On  the  5th  of  February  the  first  As- 
sembly of  Maryland  under  the  new  constitution  con- 
vened at  Annapolis,  and  organized  the  new  govern- 
ment on  the  13th  by  the  election  of  Thomas  Johnson 
as  the  first  Governor  of  the  State  of  Maryland.  He 
was  inaugurated  on  the  21st  of  March,  amid  great 
rejoicings  and  with  much  ceremony,  closing  with  a 
ball  and  other  festivities.  The  new  government  being 
now  complete,  the  Council  of  Safety,  on  the  22d  of 
March, surrendered  its  powers,  and  the  State  was  under 
a  regular  constitutional  republican  government. 


CHAPTER   X. 

PE.\CE    AND    INDEPENDENCE. 

The  Loyalists — Indepeudent  Company — Lafayette  in  Baltimore — Patri- 
otic Action  of  tbe  Mercliants  and  Ladies — Cessation  of  Hostilities — 
The  Maryland  Line. 

Baltimore,  in  spite  of  her  devotion  to  the  Revo- 
lutionary cause,  had  her  share  of  loyalists,  chief 
among  whom  was  Robert  Alexander,  who  had  been 
one  of  the  first  to  excite  the  people  to  resist  the  en- 
croachments of  the  British  crown.  He  was  one  of 
the  "Sons  of  Liberty"  in  17G5,  a  member  of  the  asso- 
ciation for  the  non-importation  of  European  goods  in 
1769,  and  his  "sub-oratory  in  June,  1774,  influenced 
Baltimore  County  to  adopt  the  resolves  of  Boston." 
He  represented  the  county  in  the  several  Provincial 
Conventions  from  June,  1774,  to  June,  1776,  and 
during  all  this  time  was  a  warm  supporter  of  the 
popular  cause.  He  served  on  nearly  all  the  impor- 
tant committees  in  the  conventions  and  in  Baltimore 
Town;  was  secretary  of  the  Baltimore  Committee  of 
Observation  in  1775,  and  a  Western  Shore  member  of 
the  Council  of  Safety.  He  was  one  of  the  "  Associ- 
ated Freemen  of  Maryland,"  and  on  the  9th  of  De- 
cember, 1775,  was  appointed  a  deputy  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  he  was 
re-elected  to  Congress,  but  his  name  does  not  appear 
among  its  proceedings  at  this  time,  and  shortly  after- 
wards he  fled  from  the  State,  and  became  a  prominent 
member  of  the  "  Associated  Loyalists  of  America." 
In  June,  1778,  he  wrote  to  the  Governor  to  be  allowed 
to  return  to  his  family  and  friends,  which  was  refused, 


and  in  1780  he  was  outlawed   for  treason,  and   his 
property  confiscated.     At  various  times  judgment  of 
outlawry  for  treason  was   rendered   in  the   General 
Court  at  Annapolis  against  about  a  hundred  leading 
:  Tories,  among  whom  were  Patrick  Kennedy,  Daniel 
\  Chamier,    William  Smith,    Edward    Carnes,   James 
I  Sommerville,  Richard  W.  Parkin,  John  Lynch,  Henry 
Stevenson,  John  Christie,  and  James  Hall,  of  Balti- 
1  more  County.     Daniel  Chamier  had  been  sheriff  of 
!  the  county;  Dr.  Henry  Steven.son  had  built  a  splen- 
i  did  mansion,  and  laid  out  superb  grounds  and  gar- 
'  dens  on  the  hills  near  the  Falls  in  the  rear  of  the 
I  jail ;    James   Sommerville    had   been    a   respectable 
merchant  of  the  town.     In  1780  the  General  Assem- 
;  bly  passed  an  act  "to  seize,  confiscate,  and  appropri- 
ate all  British  property  within  this  State."     Owing 
to   the  sales  of  many  valuable  pieces  of  property 
under    this   law,   the    town   was    greatly   improved. 
Among  the  valuable  property  confiscated  and  sold 
was  twenty  acres  of  meadow  land  along  the  line  of 
the  west  side  of  Jones'  Falls,  near  Fayette,  Lexington, 
and  Saratoga  Streets,  belonging  to  Edward  Fottrell. 
It  was  purchased  by  Benjamin  Grifiith,  Philip  Hall, 
and   Richard   Lemmon   for   £2590.     Eight  acres   of 
meadow   land   about  the   same   place   belonging   to 
■  James  Christie,  Jr.,  was  sold  to  Matthew  Ridley  for 
£1020.   The  wharf  and  warehouse  belonging  to  Eben- 
ezer  Mackie  was  sold  to  Gen.  Gist  and  R.  Long  for 
£3800.     An  undivided  half  of  the  wharf  and  ware- 
house of  James  Christie  was  sold   to  Capt.  Aquila 
Johns  for  £2560.     The  house  of  William  Russell  was 
sold  to  John  McAllister  for  £2850.     The  two  squares 
of  ground  fronting  on  the  east  side  of  Charles  Street, 
from  Baltimore  to  Lombard  Street,  with  a  depth  run- 
ning   about    midway   between    Charles    and    Light 
Streets,  were  divided  into  thirteen  lots  and  sold  on 
tbe  4th  of  April,  1781,  to  David  Poe,  Henry  Wilson, 
I  Capt.  John  Swan,  Luther  Martin,  Dr.  Fred.  Ridgely, 
John  Snyder,  Michael  Diffenderfer.     Lot  No.  11,  on 
the  town  plat  on  the  west  side  of  Calvert  Street  be- 
tween Fayette  and  Lexington  Streets,  was  divided 
into  six  lots  and  sold  to  John  McLure  and  Gen.  Gist 
for  £2120.     Lot  No.  38,  on  the  south  side  of  Pratt 
Street  between  Charles  and  Light,  was  divided  into 
three  parts  and  sold  to  Capt.  John  Dorsey  for  £1500. 
The  house  of  John  Weatherburn  was  sold  to  Capt. 
John  Swan  for  £2765.     During  1781  the  property  of 
the  "  Principio  Company"  on  Whetstone  Point,  con- 
taining four  hundred  acres,  was  sold  in  lots  to  James 
Hutchings,  Samuel  Chase,  Capt.  Samuel  Smith,  Mat- 
]  thew  Ridley,  Thorogood  Smith,  John  Browne,  David 
I  Poe,  Nathan  Griffith,  William  Patterson,  Alexander 
j  W.  Davey,  Thomas  Yates,  William  Whetcroft,  Capt. 
I  Robert  Henderson,  James  Toole,  Jeremiah  T.  Chase, 
{  Gen.  Gist,  Jonathan  Hudson,  Brittingham  Dickinson, 
Luther  Martin,  Charles  Ridgely,  Nathaniel  Ramsey, 
Robert  Long,   Samuel   Hughes,  A.  McAllister,  and 
John  H.  Stone.     The  State  also  confiscated  and  sold 
the  following  estates  of  tlie  Principio  Company  in 


PEACE   AND   INDEPENDENCE. 


77 


Baltimore  County :  "  Buck's  Range,"  containing  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  acres,  sold  to  Job  Garretson  ;  "  Car- 
nass  Scrutiny,"  three  hundred  and  sixty  acres,' to 
Mark  Alexander;  "  Bouring's  Landing,"  one  hun- 
dred acces,  to  Jeremiah  T.  Chase ;  "  James'  Park," 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres,  to  James  Hughes ; 
"  Inlan's  Oblong,"  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  to  J. 
T.  Chase;  and  "Inlan's  Choice,"  one  hundred  and  ' 
fifty  acres,  to  the  same  party. 

In  the  early  part  of  1777  the  loyalists  in  Somerset 
and  Worcester  became  so  troublesome  that   it  was  i 
found  necessary  in  February  to  dispatch  Gen.  Small-  [ 
wood,  with  Col.  Gist  and  the  Continental  regular  com-  j 
panics  of  Capts.  Deane  and  Goodman,  and  Capt.  Ste- 
rett's  independent  company  of  Baltimore  merchants, 
to  repress  them.    This  independent  company  of  mer- 
chants was  composed  of  the  representative  men  of 
Baltimore,  as  will   be  seen  by  the  following  names 
attached  to  its  muster  roll : 

John  Strieker,  James  A.  Buchanan,  Jas.  H.  McColloch,  Samuel  Ste- 
rett,  Kobert  Rankin,  James  Calhoun.  Jr.,  Wm.  Ferguson,  George  Wiley, 
George  N.  Blackiuston,  George  Sears,  Wm.  T.  Penchey,  Eoliert  Mickle, 
Archibald  Buchanan,  Thomas  Earle,  T.  H.  Bacher,  Isaac  Caraton,  Thos. 
Calwell,  Nicholas  G.  Ridgely,  John  Gordon,  Robert  Gilmor,  Jr.,  John 
Kennedy,  Moses  Moreau,  Wm.  Gilmor,  Andrew  Clopper,  Francis  Mc- 
Keuua,  Wm.  Smith,  Jr.,  Benj.  Williams,  Jos.  Rice,  John  McClelland, 
Jr.,  Solomon  Robinson,  Marcus  McFarlaud,  Wm.  Stenson,  Thos.  Mc- 
Eldery,  .Ia.s.  Sloan,  J.  F.  Kennedy,  Wm.  Slater,  Hugh  McCurdy,  Jos.  F. 
Percival,  Jos.  Young,  Jas.  Angele,  Archibald  Moncreitt,  John  Starck,  Jr., 
John  Anderson,  J.  Williams,  Jr.,  Josiah  Crosby,  John  Stump,  Jas.  Mc- 
Colloch, Reuben  Etting,  John  C.  Wederstrandt,  Edward  Johnson,  Lam- 
bert Smith,  Isaac  Graybell,  John  McFadon,  Thos.  Drysdale,  John  Mc- 
Kim,  Jr.,  L.  Croxull,  Thos.  Johnson,  John  Ross,  Thos.  Kelso,  J.  M. 
Campbell,  John  Rutter,  Thos.  Croxall,  L.  Everret,  John  Hillen,  Josias 
Clements,  Standish  BaiTy,  Lawson  Alexander,  Joshua  Kirby,  Joshua 
Merryman,  Isaac  Smith,  James  Cumniing,  J.  Russell,  Jas.  Purviancc, 
James  Nicolls,  John  Leggett,  Geo.  Byerly,  Thos.  Bodley,  J.  S.  Buchanan, 
Thos.  Bailey,  Jr.,  Alex.  Coulter,  Thos.  Parkin,  Jonathan  Askew,  Jos. 
Spear,  0.  H.  Williams,  Jr.,  Wm.  B.  Smith,  Wm.  Godwin,  Jr.,  Jos.  Swan, 
Henry  Payson,  Francis  Hollingsworth,  Jos.  Sterett,  Wm.  Cochrane, 
Robert  Moale,  J.  H.  Pui-viance,  J.  Winchester,  Robert  Wilkinson,  Thos. 
McKenna,  Geo.  Harkins,  Richard  Doughaday. 

The  uniform  of  this  company  was  as  follows:  "A 
cocked  hat  and  black  cockade ;  black  stock ;  a  long 
blue  coat  faced  with  scarlet  and  edged  with  white, 
with  white  buttons  and  white  lining ;  white  vest  and 
breeches ;  white  stockings,  and  half  boots.  The  hair 
to  be  dressed,  platted,  turned  up  behind,  and  secured 
with  a  comb."  The  commissioned  officers  were  armed 
with  "hangers  and  espontoons;"  the  non-commis- 
sioned oflicers  and  privates  were  armed  "with  muskets 
of  bore  sufiicient  for  balls  of  the  eighteenth  part  of  a 
pound,  a  good  bayonet  and  belt,  two  spare  flints,  a 
knapsack,  canteen,  and  a  pouch  with  a  bos  therein  to 
contain  not  less  than  twenty-four  cartridges,  each  to 
contain  a  proper  amount  of  powder  and  ball."  The 
non-commissioned  oflicers  to  wear  side-arms. 

On  the  20th  of  August,  1777,  the  British  fleet,  con- 
sisting of  upwards  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  sail, 
passed  Annapolis,  entered  the  Patapsco,  and  made  a 
feint  towards  Baltimore,  coming  to  anchor  on  the  21st 
of  August  ofi"  Bodkin  Point.  On  the  following  day  it 
weighed  anchor  and  proceeded  up  the  bay,  and  on  the 


25th  anchored  in  Elk  River,  six  miles  below  Elkton, 
Cecil  Co.  The  militia  of  the  State  was  at  once  called 
out,  and  a  force  of  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  men  were 
ordered  to  repair  to  Baltimore  and  Harford  towns  and 
await  the  directions  of  Washington.  On  the  27th  a 
large  body  of  the  enemy  entered  the  Gunpowder  River, 
and  after  landing  and  plundering  the  farms  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Swann  Creek  took  up  their  line  of 
march  for  Joppa.  The  eighth  battalion  of  Harford 
County  militia  soon  assembled  and  threw  up  a  small 
fort,  armed  with  four-pounders  ;  and  the  enemy  find- 
ing they  could  not  capture  the  place  without  some 
resistance  abandoned  the  undertaking.  Baltimore 
and  the  neighboring  counties  were  fortunately  soon 
relieved  of  the  presence  of  the  royal  army,  Philadel- 
phia and  not  Baltimore  being  Gen.  Howe's  objective 
point.  About  this  period  Baltimore  lost  several  of 
her  most  gallant  sons  in  the  army,  among  whom  may 
be  mentioned  Maj.  James  Cox,  who  fell  on  the  unfor- 
tunate field  of  Germantown,  "  while  nobly  defending 
his  country's  cause,"  being  shot  through  the  body 
within  twenty  paces  of  the  enemy's  breastworks. 
Not  many  months  afterwards  another  of  Baltimore's 
brave  representatives,  Col.  Nathaniel  Ramsey,  won 
the  highest  distinction  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth. 
At  the  most  important  crisis  of  the  day,  when  Lee's 
retreat  had  nearly  thrown  the  whole  American  army 
into  confusion,  Washington  asked  for  an  ofiicer  to 
check  the  advance  of  the  enemy.  Col.  Ramsey  at 
once  presented  himself,  and  the  commander-in-chief, 
taking  him  by  the  hand,  said,  "  If  you  can  stop  the 
British  ten  minutes,  till  I  form,  you  will  save  my 
army !"  Col.  Ramsey  answered,  "  I  will  stop  them 
or  fall !"  He  more  than  redeemed  his  promise,  and 
holding  the  enemy  in  check  for  half  an  hour,  did  not 
retreat  until  the  British  troops  and  his  own  were 
mingled  together ;  when,  borne  back  by  the  over- 
whelming weight  of  the  foe,  he  retired  slowly  in  the 
rear  of  his  troops,  sword  in  hand,  and,  disputing 
every  foot  of  the  ground,  fell  at  last,  pierced  with 
many  wounds,  in  the  sight  of  both  armies  upon  the 
spot  which  he  had  so  heroically  defended.  Happily 
history  can  add  that  he  recovered  from  his  wounds, 
and  lived  to  enjoy  the  liberties  which  he  had  so  nobly 
labored  to  secure. 

In  the  early  part  of  1778  Baltimore  County  was 
again  called  on  by  the  Legislature  for  a  quota  of 
two  hundred  and  eighty-one  troops,  and  about  the 
same  time  Count  Pulaski  established  his  headquarters 
in  the  town,  and  applied  himself  diligently  to  the 
task  of  raising  the  independent  corps  afterwards 
known  as  Pulaski's  Legion.  In  spite  of  the  contem- 
poraneous requisition  of  the  Legislature,  Pulaski's 
success  was  even  greater  than  he  had  anticipated,  and 
by  October  he  had  raised  a  force  of  three  hundred 
men.  They  were  organized  into  three  companies  of 
horse  and  three  of  infantry,  and  on  the  29th  of  July, 
1778,  he  gave  a  public  review  of  his  independent 
legion   to   the   citizens   and   military  authorities   of 


78 


HISTORY   OF   BATiTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


made  the  subject  of  a  poer 


Baltimore.  It  is  said  that  while  Pulaski  was  raising 
his  legion  in  Baltimore  he  visited  Lafayette,  who  was 
lying  wounded  in  the  care  of  the  Moravians  at  Beth- 
lehem, Pa.  His  presence,  according  to  the  tradition, 
made  a  deep  impression 
upon  the  minds  of  the 
inhabitants  of  that  place, 
and  when  it  was  known 
that  he  was  organizing 
an  independent  legion  in 
Baltimore,  the  Moravian 
sisters  of  Bethlehem  pre- 
pared a  banner  of  crimson 
silk,  with  designs  beauti- 
fully embroidered  by  their 
own  hands,  and  sent  it  to 
Pulaski  with  their  bless- 
ing. This  rather  problem- 
atical incident  has  been 
I  by  Mr.  Longfellow,  who 
has  attempted  to  render  the  scene  more  eflective  by 
the  introduction  of  "cowls,"  "altars,"  and  "  censers," 
things  that  would  have  been  mere  abominations  to 
the  simple  brethren  of  Bethlehem.  The  banner  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society. 
On  the  9th  of  May,  1779,  a  squadron  under  Sir 
George  Collier,  consisting  of  transports  and  galleys, 
with  twenty-five  hundred  men,  commanded  by  Gen. 
Matthews,  entered  the  Chesapeake-,  and  taking  pos- 
session of  Portsmouth  ravaged  and  plundered  the 
adjacent  country.  The  British  being  accustomed  to 
speak  of  Baltimore  with  some  bitterness  as  a  "  nest 
of  pirates,"  their  proximity  to  the  town  always  pro- 
duced more  or  less  alarm,  the  people  doubtless  fearing 
severe  reprisals  from  an  enemy  to  whose  commerce 
they  had  done  so  much  damage.  Their  presence  at 
Portsmouth  at  this  time  excited  the  apprehension  that 
they  might  meditate  an  attack  upon  Baltimore,  and  i 
immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  the  intelligence  that 
the  British  were  in  the  bay,  the  militia  of  the  several 
counties  were  ordered  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness 
to  march  to  the  defense  of  the  town  at  a  moment's 
notice,  while  the  public  stores,  merchandise,  records, 
and  other  valuable  property  were  sent  to  places  of 
safety.  The  merchants  of  Baltimore  organized  as  a 
corps  of  light  dragoons,  and  placed  themselves  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  Andrew  Buchanan;  and  Col. 
Samuel  Smith,  the  hero  of  "Fort  Mifflin,"  being  in 
town,  on  the  18th  of  May  tendered  his  services  to  the  j 
Governor,  which  were  accepted.  On  the  20th  all  the  } 
militia  of  the  State  were  ordered  to  Baltimore,  and 
the  town  placed  in  a  complete  state  of  defense.  The  i 
British,  however,  did  not  make  an  attack,  but  de-  j 
parted  for  New  York,  satisfied  with  their  marauding  i 
achievements  at  Portsmouth  and  Norfolk.  Gen. 
Greene  having  been  made  quartermaster-general  of  i 
the  army,  on  the  3d  of  September,  1779,  appointed 
Col.  Henry  HoUingsworth,  of  Cecil  County,  his  | 
deputy  for  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  and  on  '• 


the  7th  James  Calhoun,  of  Baltimore,  as  his  deputy 
for  the  Western  Shore.  These  officers,  together  with 
the  "  Continental  agents,"  were  licensed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Council  "  to  purchase  in  the  State  for  the 
army,  according  to  the  act  of  Assembly  for  the  more 
effectual  preventing,  forestalling,  and  engrossing,  and 
for  the  purpose  therein  mentioned."  On  September 
10th,  Robert  Buchanan  was  appointed  Continental 
agent  for  Baltimore,  and  on  the  17th  John  Greer  was 
appointed  assistant  deputy  quartermaster-general  for 
the  lower  part  of  Frederick  and  the  upper  part  of 
Baltimore  County,  and  David  Poe  to  the  same  office 
for  Baltimore. 

In  July.  1780,  in  response  to  an  appeal  from  Wash- 
ington for  troops,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  "  to 
encourage  the  raising  of  a  volunteer  troop  of  light- 
horse  in  Baltimore  Town,  and  each  county  of  the 
State."  By  this  act  any  number  of  militia,  not  over 
forty-five  and  not  under  fifteen  years  of  age  in  Bal- 
timore Town,  were  authorized  to  form  themselves 
into  troops  of  light  horse,  provided  each  man  fur- 
nished his  own  horse,  arms,  and  equipments.  From 
this  time  until  the  close  of  the  war  Baltimore  seems 
to  have  been  almost  continually  called  upon  for  sup- 
plies of  men,  money,  or  provisions.  But  local  patriot- 
ism met  these  demands  more  than  half  way ;  and,  to 
supply  the  almost  naked  and  famishing  soldiers,  vol- 
untary associations  were  formed  in  Baltimore  and 
other  parts  of  the  State,  and  contributions  of  every 
character  made  for  the  relief  of  the  suflering  armies. 
While  these  contributions  were  still  being  made, 
Gen.  Greene,  about  the  middle  of  November,  passed 
through  Baltimore  on  his  way  to  take  command  of 
the  southern  army ;  and  reported  that  it  was  in  "  so 
defenseless  a  state"  that  "  a  twenty  gun  ship  might 
lay  the  town  under  contribution ;"  and  in  this  de- 
fenseless place,  as  if  to  invite  the  enemy,  the  State 
had  collected  a  magazine  of  shot  and  shell. 

While  Baltimore  was  left  in  this  unprotected  con- 
dition, her  sons  were  doing  noble  service  in  every 
section  of  the  country  ;  and  Gen.  Greene,  on  his  arri- 
val in  the  South,  found  that  the  two  Maryland  regi- 
ments which  had  fought  so  gallantly  at  Camden 
comprised  fully  one-half  of  his  available  force.  On 
Feb.  22,  1781,  Lafayette,  under  instructions  from 
Washington,  set  out  for  Virginia  with  a  force  of 
twelve  hundred  men,  for  the  purpose  of  checking  the 
ravages  of  the  enemy  in  that  State ;  and  as  it  was  de- 
sired that  his  movement  should  be  made  as  rapidly 
as  possible,  Timothy  Pickering,  quartermaster-gen- 
eral, and  Charles  Stewart,  commissary-general,  ad- 
dressed a  communication  to  Samuel  Purviance,  of 
Baltimore,  asking  that  supplies  for  the  troops  might 
be  prepared  in  advance.  In  response  to  these  letters, 
Gen.  Gist,  David  Poe,  James  Calhoun,  and  Capt. 
Keeports,  of  Baltimore,  with  gentlemen  in  Annapolis  • 
and  elsewhere,  were  instructed  by  the  Governor  and 
Council  to  seize  all  the  salt  and  fresh  meats  in  their 
districts,  and  impress  all  the  wagons,  carriages,  teams. 


PEACE  AND   INDEPENDENCE. 


79 


drivers,  vessels,  etc.,  and  send  them  to  the  head  of  the 
Elk  for  the  purpose  of  transporting  the  troops,  can- 
non, stores,  and  baggage  to  Virginia.  On  his  arrival 
at  the  head  of  the  Elk,  Lafayette  received  a  letter 
from  Governor  Thomas  Sim  Lee,  dated  the  3d  of 
March,  in  which  he  wrote :  "  We  have  ordered  all 
the  vessels  at  Baltimore  and  in  this  port  to  be  im- 
pressed and  sent  to  the  head  of  the  Elk  to  transport 
the  detachment  under  your  command,  and  have  di- 
rected six  hundred  barrels  of  bread  to  be  forwarded 
in  them."  As  the  transports  were  slow  in  arriving, 
Lafayette,  at  the  suggestion  of  his  aid-de-camp,  Maj. 
James  McHenry,  who  was  a  citizen  of  Baltimore,  de- 
termined to  appeal  to  the  merchants  of  that  town,  | 
who  were  ever  ready  to  respond  to  the  demands  of 
patriotism,  and  at  all  times  freely  contributed  of  their  j 
substance  for  the  support  of  the  common  cause.  On 
the  6th  of  March,  Maj.  McHenry  wrote  to  the  mer- 
chants of  Baltimore  for  aid  to  transport  Lafayette 
and  his  army  to  the  South,  and  immediately  upon  the 
receipt  of  his  letter,  a  public 
meeting  was  called  by  the 
merchants,  at  which  Robert 
Purviance,  William  Patter- 
son, and  Matthew  Ridley 
were  appointed  a  committee 
to  co-operate  with  Maj.  Mc- 
Henry in  procuring  supplies 
of  money,  clothing,  etc.,  for 
the  troops.  At  the  same  time 
they  transmitted  a  letter  to 
Maj.  McHenry,  promising  to 
spare  no  exertions  to  expe- 
MAj.  JAMES  M'HENRY.  dltc  Lafaycttc's  enterprise. 
With  the  aid  thus  afforded, 
Lafayette  embarked  his  forces  at  the  head  of  the  Elk, 
and,  under  the  convoy  of  Commodore  James  Nichol- 
son in  the  privateer  "  Nesbit,"  of  Baltimore,  and  sev- 
eral smaller  privateers,  crossed  the  Chesapeake,  and 
arrived  safely  in  the  harbor  of  Annapolis  on  the  13th 
of  March.  Finding  that  the  French  fleet  had  not  yet 
arrived  in  the  Chesapeake,  he  re-embarked  his  forces 
and  returned  to  the  head  of  the  Elk,  where  he  arrived 
on  the  8th  of  April. 

On  the  26th  of  March,  while  Lafayette's  force  was 
at  Annapolis,  Gen.  Phillips  arrived  at  Portsmouth 
from  New  York  with  a  reinforcement  of  two  thousand 
British  troops.  He  was  instructed  to  relieve  Gen. 
Arnold  and  take  command ;  and  in  case  Gen.  Corn- 
wallis  should  be  successful  in  the  Carolinas,  he  was 
to  move  up  the  Chesapeake  with  a  large  force  to  Bal- 
timore, and  to  take  position  near  the  Susquehanna  on 
the  Eastern  Shore,  where  it  was  expected  a  large 
number  of  loyalists  would  join  him.  In  view  of  this 
threatened  attack,  the  State  concentrated  all  her 
energies  to  resist  the  invaders.  On  the  6th  of  April, 
the  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  assembled  in  town- 
meeting  at  the  court-house,  and  took  into  con.sidera- 
tiou  the  security  of  the  town.     A  committee  composed 


of  Isaac  Griest,  Robert  Henderson,  Thomas  Johnson, 
James  McHenry,  Nathaniel  Smith,  Nicholas  Rogers, 
and  William  Smith  were  appointed,  with  full  power 
to  devise  and  direct  any  plan  for  the  security  of  the 
town  that  the  circumstances  and  ability  of  Baltimore 
would  permit.  Governor  Lee  also  wrote  to  Lafayette 
on  the  8th  of  April,  requesting  him  to  detach  a  por- 
tion of  his  force  for  the  defense  of  the  town,  and  on 
the  13th  Lafayette  crossed  the  Susquehanna,  and  on 
the  following  day  arrived  in  Baltimore.  Immediately 
upon  his  arrival,  to  conciliate  his  troops  and  supply 
their  wants,  Lafayette  determined  again  to  apply  to 
the  merchants  of  Baltimore  for  assistance.  At  this 
time  the  credit  of  Congress  was  so  low  that  nothing 
could  be  obtained  on  its  promises,  and  the  army  was 
in  want  of  almo.st  everything  necessary  to  its  comfort. 
The  generous  spirit  of  Lafayette  triumphed  over  these 
difficulties.  Pledging  his  private  fortune  for  the  re- 
payment, he  borrowed  ten  thousand  dollars  from  the 
merchants  with  which  to  purchase  shoes,  linen, 
spirits,  and  other  articles  of  immediate  necessity  for 
his  detachment.  He  gave  his  simple  obligation,  and 
among  others  the  following  merchants  contributed 
the  amounts  set  opposite  their  names : 

.Tacob  Hart ?2T 

Richard  Carsou 2'. 

Nathaniel  Smith '.' 

Nicholas  Rogeiij 1<* 

Ridgely  &  Priiigle s- 

Stephen  Stewart '■'■1 

William  Neill -11 

Daniel  Bowley -■:: 

Hugh  Young 4.:. 


.1. '■illi'nm 

$272.62 

110  76U 

.  ■',',';  .V.iinVlT'.'.V.V.'. 
.lohnMcLure.'.. ..!'...! 

250.16VI 

124.76 

..     351.10 
....     468.13 

..     117.0314 

468.13 

468.13 

468.13 

Samuel  Hughes 

702.20U 

Russell  4  Gilman : 

On  the  24th  of  May  Congress  passed  a  resolution 
]  thanking  the  merchants  of  Baltimore  for  the  gener- 
ous assistance  rendered  Lafayette,  and  when  shortly 
I  afterwards  he  asked  permission  to  return  to  France, 
I  it  directed  the  "  superintendent  of  finance"  to  take 
means  for  discharging  his  obligation.     As  Lafayette 
gave  "the  march  the  air  of  a  frolic,"  a  ball  was  given 
I  in  his  honor  at  the  assembly-room,  by  the  most  prom- 
I  inent  citizens  of  the  town.     It  is  said  that  during 
the  evening  one  of  the  ladies,  observing  that  Lafay- 
ette appeared  sad,  inquired   the   cause.     "  I  cannot 
enjoy  the  gayety  of  the  scene,"  he  replied,  "  while  so 
many  of  the  poor  soldiers  are  in  want  of  clothes." 
"  We  will  supply  them,"  was  the  prompt  and  patriotic 
response.    The  next  morning  the  ball-room  was  turned 
into  a  clothing  manufactory.     Fathers  and  husbands 
furnished  the  materials;   daughters  and  wives  plied 
the  needle  at  their  grateful  task.     Lafayette  never 
forgot  the  timely  assistance  obtained  in  Baltimore, 
and  on  more  than  one  occasion  expressed  his  sense  of 
j  the  deep  obligation  to  the  m^fchants  and  citizens  of 
the  town.     Indeed,  but  for  this  assistance,  his  expe- 
dition must  have  come  to  a  final  halt  in  Baltimore, 
and  the  whole  enterprise  have  been  brought  to  a  lame 
and  impotent  conclusion.     About  the  1st  of  June  the 
retreat  of  Lafayette  towards  Maryland  again  excited 
'  apprehensions  of  invasion,  and  the  utmost  exertions 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


were   made   on  all  hands  to  meet  the  approaching 
danger.     Baltimore  was  placed  in  a  complete  state  of 
defense,  arms  and  ammunition  were  distributed  to  all 
the  male  inhabitants  capable  of  performing  military 
duty,  and  a  code  of  signals  was  adopted  for  assembling 
the  troops.     Such  was  the  alacrity  of  the  people  of 
the  State  that  two  new  regiments  were  formed  in  a 
few  days ;  a  fine  body  of  cavalry  was  also  speedily 
raised  and   mounted,  among  which  was   a   troop  of 
"  Baltimore  Light  Dragoons,"  composed  of  the  most 
substantial  merchants  of  the  town,  and  commanded 
by  Capt.  Nicholas  Kuxton  Moore,  who  joined  Lafay- 
ette on  the  6th  of  July ;  these  last  were  no  holiday  j 
soldiers,  for  they  marclied  with  the  remainder  of  the 
force  into  Virginia,  and  were  actively  engaged  in  the  j 
campaign  that  followed.    They  returned  to  Baltimore 
early  in  August,  the  movements  of  the  enemy  render-  i 
ing  their  longer  stay  unnecessary.     Previous  to  their  j 
departure  they  received  the  thanks  of  Gen.  Lafayette 
and   Governor   Nelson,  as  well  as  of  Gen.  Morgan 
(under  whose  immediate  command  they  were  placed),  j 
for  their  patriotic  and  spirited  behavior.     During  the  j 
latter  part  of  July  the  movements  of  Cornwallis  at 
Portsmouth   gave  rise  to  the  apprehension  that  an 
attack  was  to  be  made  upon  Baltimore,  and  active  | 
preparations  for  defense  were  at  once   set   on   foot,  i 
The  public  stores  were  ordered  to  be  removed  from 
the  town,  and  the  militia  of  the  State  were  directed 
to   rendezvous   in   Annapolis   and   Baltimore.     The 
spirit  which  animated  the  people  at  this  crisis  was 
intense.     The  militia  in  all  portions  of  the  State  im- 
mediately obeyed  the  summons,  and   in   forty-eight  i 
hours  a  force  of  two  thousand  eight  hundred  eifective  I 
men  assembled  in  Baltimore.  ; 

On  the  30th  of  August,  1781,  in  response  to  a  re-  I 
quest  from  Washington,  who  was  marching  south  to  j 
attack  Cornwallis,  the  Governor  and  Council  called 
upon  the  various  counties  for  supplies  of  clothing  I 
and  provisions  for  his  army,  directing  that  Baltimore 
County  should  furnish  four  hundred  head  of  cattle,  j 
and  empowering  David  Poe,  quartermaster  of  Balti- 
more, and  others  to  impress  all  vessels,  wagons,  and  i 
teams  capable  of  transporting   troops   and   military 
stores.     On  the  4th  of  September  the  French  cutter  ; 
"Serpent,"  of  eighteen  guns,  under  Capt.  Arne  de  la  j 
Laum,  arrived  in  Baltimore  with  dispatches  for  Gen. 
Washington,  announcing    the    safe    arrival    in    the 
Chesapeake  of  Admiral  de  Grasse  with  twenty-eight 
ships  of  the  line.     On  the  8th  Washington,  accom-  \ 
panied  by  Adjt.-Gen.  Hand  and  a  number  of  officers,  ; 
crossed  the  Susquehanna  and  pushed  forward  to  Bal- 
timore.   He  was  met  outside  of  the  town  by  a  large 
number  of  di.stinguished  citizens  on  horseback,  and 
Capt.  Nicholas  R.  Moore's   troop  of  light  dragoons,  i 
and  escorted  to  the  Fountain  Inn.     His  arrival  was 
honored  with  every  mark  of  respect  and  esteem,  and  [ 
in  the  evening  the  town  was  illuminated  and  a  ban- 
quet given  at  Lindsey's  cofl'ee-house.     A  committee  of 
citizens,  comi)()sed  of  William   Smith,  Samuel  Pur- 


viance,  Jr.,  John  Moale,  John  Dorsey,  and  James 
Calhoun,  presented  him  with  an  address  of  welcome, 
to  which  Washington  made  a  suitable  reply.  On  the 
11th  of  September  a  large  body  of  French  troops, 
under  the  command  of  Count  de  Rochambeau,  arrived 
in  Baltimore  on  their  way  to  Annapolis,  and  encamped 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Howard's  Park.  On  the  16th 
they  renewed  their  march,  and  were  followed  through 
Baltimore  during  the  week  by  an  immense  train  of 
wagons,  carts,  etc.,  loaded  with  baggage,  provisions, 
and  military  stores.  This  was  the  last  act  of  the 
great  military  drama,  as  far  as  Baltimore  was  con- 
cerned, for  on  Saturday,  the  20th  of  October,  the 
joyful  news  reached  Annapolis  that  Cornwallis  had 
surrendered.  On  the  Monday  following  Baltimore 
and  Annapolis  were  illuminated,  and  the  public  re- 
joicings which  Annapolis  commenced  soon  spread 
throughout  the  colonies.  On  the  23d  of  March, 
1788,  the  news  that  a  general  treaty  of  peace  had 
been  signed  reached  Philadelphia,  and  on  the  22d  of 
April,  Governor  Paca,  in  pursuance  of  the  recom- 
mendation of  Congress,  issued  his  proclamation  de- 
claring the  cessation  of  arms  by  sea  and  land,  and 
enjoining  obedience  to  the  treaty,  and  appointing 
Thursday,  the  24th  of  April,  as  a  day  of  public  re- 
joicing. On  the  21st  the  joyfixl  news  of  peace  and 
independence  was  celebrated  in  Baltimore  with  great 
enthusiasm ;  the  town  was  brilliantly  illuminated  at 
night,  and,  as  may  well  be  imagined,  many  patriotic 
toasts  were  drank. 

Count  de  Rochambeau  and  his  troops  arrived  in 
Baltimore,  on  their  return  from  Yorktown,  about  the 
close  of  July,  1782,  and  encamped  in  Howard's  Park, 
on  the  ground  where  the  Cathedral  now  stands.  On  the 
4th  of  August  the  French  troops  in  the  city,  num- 
bering about  five  thousand  men,  were  reviewed  by 
Governor  Lee,  Count  de  Rochambeau,  several  distin- 
guished strangers,  and  a  large  number  of  citizens. 
On  the  22d  of  August  the  greater  part  of  the  French 
forces  left  the  city,  marching  northward  in  five  divi- 
sions, accompanied  by  the  cavalry  and  infantry  of  the 
legion  of  the  Duke  de  Lauzun.  the  regiments  of  Bour- 
bonnois,  Deux-Ponts,  Saintonge,  and  Soissonnois.  On 
the  24th  Count  de  Rochambeau  departed  for  Phila- 
delphia ;  before  doing  so,  however,  he  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  citizens  of  Baltimore,  in  which  he  said, 
"  Your  willingness  to  receive  us  in  your  houses,  your 
attentive  politeness  to  us,  have  been  a  sufficient  return 
for  the  services  which  we  have  been  so  happy  as  to 
render  you."  After  the  departure  of  the  main  army 
there  remained  about  five  hundred  French  troops  in 
the  town,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  La  Valette ; 
these  troops  left  the  town  soon  afterwards  with  the 
good  wishes  of  all  classes,  and  Gen.  Valette  declared 
he  would  never  forget  the  happy  days  he  had  passed 
among  the  citizens  of  Baltimore,  and  begged  that  , 
they  would  "  believe  that  their  remembrance  would 
be  forever  dear  to  his  memory."  Gen.  Greene,  with 
his  secretary,  Maj.  Hayne,  arrived  in  Baltimore  on 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   BALTIMORE. 


the  night  of  the  25th  of  September,  1783,  on  his  route 
northward.  He  put  up  at  Grant's  Fountain  Inn,  and 
would  seem  to  have  been  pleased  with  his  experience 
in  Baltimore,  if  we  are  to  judge  from  the  following 
e.xtract  from  his  diary : 

"  Baltimore  is  a  most  thriving  place.  Trade  tiourishes,  and  the  spirit 
of  building  exceeds  belief.  Not  less  than  three  hundred  houses  are  put 
tip  in  a  year.  Ground-rents  are  a  little  short  of  what  they  are  in  Lon- 
don. The  inhabitants  are  all  men  of  business.  Here  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  two  of  my  old  officers,  Gen.  Williams  and  Col.  Howard.  The 
pleasure  of  meeting  is  easier  felt  than  described.  The  inhabitants  de- 
tained me  four  days  to  pay  me  the  compliments  of  an  address  and  a  pub- 
lic dinner.  The  affection  of  the  inhabitants  was  pleasing,  and  the  atten- 
tion of  the  people  flattering.  Hyrne  got  wounded  here  with  a  spear,  and 
though  it  penetrated  the  heart  he  still  survived." 

Now  that  the  war  was  over  the  remnants  of  the 
Maryland  regiments  began  to  return  to  their  native 
State  to  be  disbanded.  Many  of  these  veterans  bore 
honorable  scars,  still  more  returned  with  health 
broken  down  by  hardships  and  disease,  and  nearly  all 
were  penniless  and  in  rags.  The  Maryland  Line,  now 
numbering  about  five  hundred  men,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Brig.-Gen.  Gist,  embarked  at  Charleston,  S.C., 
on  transports,  and  arrived  at  Annapolis  late  in  July, 
1783.  A  portion  soon  after  marched  to  Baltimore,  ar- 
riving there  on  the  27th.  Before  their  departure  for 
home.  Gen.  Greene,  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Paca,  thus 
referred  to  the  Maryland  troops  in  the  Southern  army : 
"  I  should  be  wanting  in  gratitude  not  to  acknowl- 
edge their  singular  merit  and  the  importance  of  their 
services.  They  have  spilt  their  blood  freely  in  the 
service  of  their  country,  and  have  faced  every  danger 
and  difficulty  without  a  murmur  or  complaint." 

While  Congress  was  sitting  at  Annapolis,  on  the 
14th  of  January,  1784,  it  ratified  the  definite  treaty 
of  peace,  which  had  been  concluded  and  signed  at 
Paris  on  the  3d  of  September ;  and  on  the  20th  of 
.lanuary,  Governor  Paca  issued  his  proclamation  an- 
nouncing the  same  to  the  people  of  the  State.  The 
flag  of  the  United  States  was  now  acknowledged  over 
all  the  world,  and  the  new  Federal  Republic  had  won 
an  undisputed  place  among  the  nations.  To  bring 
about  this  glorious  result  no  town  in  any  of  the  States 
had  done  more  than  Baltimore  ;  in  proportion  to  size 
and  population,  none  had  done  so  much.'  During  the 
war  Maryland  furnished  to  the  Continental  army  over 
fifteen  thousand  regularly  enlisted  men  and  between 
four  and  five  thousand  militia,  besides  the  various  in- 
dependent companies  and  marine  and  naval  forces, 
and  the  recruits  furnished  various  organizations  from 
other  States.  From  the  spring  of  1780  to  the  close 
of  the  war  the  Maryland  Line  alone,  of  all  the  Ameri- 
can troops,  received  not  a  shilling  of  pay,  and  suffered 
from  insufficient  supplies  of  food  and  clothing;  yet, 
as  Gen.  Otho  H.  Williams  wrote  to  Governor  Lee, 
"  no  distresses,  no  dangers,  ever  shook  the  firmness  of 
their  spirits,  nor  induced  them  to  swerve  from  their 
duty."  And  whenever  firmness  and  heroic  courage 
were  needed,  whether  in  fierce  onset  or  stubborn  re- 
sistance, whether  defeat  was  to  be  turned  into  vic- 


tory, as  at  the  Cowpens,  or  an  army  to  be  saved  by 
devoted  self-sacrifice,  as  at  Long  Island,  the  com- 
manders knew  that  they  could  always  rely  on  the 
Maryland  Line. 


CHAPTER    XL 

THE    DEVELOPMENT    OF    BALTIMORE. 
The  NaUonal  Capital— Aggressions  of  Great  Britain— Patriotic  Resolves. 

Although  the  protracted  struggle  with  Great 
Britain  left  Baltimore,  in  common  with  the  rest  of 
the  State,  impoverished  and  exhausted,  the  war  had 
not  been  without  its  compensations,  and  by  the  op- 
portunities it  had  afforded  for  the  enterprise  of 
cruisers  and  privateers,  had  laid  the  foundation  of 
much  of  the  future  commercial  greatness  of  the 
town ;  and  accordingly  it  was  not  long  before  Bal- 
timore began  to  show  signs  of  growth  and  prosperity, 
and  to  attract  capital  and  enterprise  from  many  dif- 
ferent quarters.  These  evidences  of  future  great- 
ness did  not  pass  unobserved,  and  shortly  after  the 
war  many  Tories  and  loyalists  began  to  flock  back 
to  the  town  with  the  intention  of  sharing  its  im- 
proving fortunes.  The  citizens  of  Baltimore,  how- 
ever, had  no  idea  of  permitting  their  bitterest  foes 
in  the  struggle  for  independence  to  participate  in  the 
blessings  which  had  been  so  hardly  won,  and  accord- 
ingly, on  the  21st  of  June,  1783,  they  assembled  in 
town-meeting  at  the  court-house  and  adopted  a  series 
of  resolutions,  in  which  they  called  upon  their  repre- 
sentatives in  the  Legislature  to  procure  the  passage 
of  a  law  "  prohibiting  all  persons  whatsoever  from 
returning  to  and  residing  within  this  State  as  citizens 
who  have  withdrawn  themselves  from  the  United 
States  of  America  since  the  15th  of  April,  1775,  and 
have  joined  and  abetted  the  armies  or  councils  of  the 
King  of  Great  Britain." 

While  thus  sternly  setting  their  faces  against  the 
return  of  those  who  had  proved  traitors  to  their 
country  in  her  hour  of  trial,  they  gladly  embraced 
the  opportunity  of  showing  that  they  had  not  for- 
gotten the  friends  who  had  come  to  their  succor  in 
their  time  of  need,  and  when,  on  the  26th  of  August, 
1784,  Lafayette  paid  a  visit  to  Baltimore,  he  was  re- 
ceived with  the  most  distinguished  marks  of  love  and 
respect.  A  public  dinner  was  given  in  his  honor  by 
the  merchants,  and  he  was  presented  with  a  congratu- 
latory address  expressing  in  the  strongest  terms  the 
esteem  and  gratitude  of  the  community.  In  reply  to 
this  address,  he  said, — 

"  Tour  affectionate  welcome  makes  me  feel  doubly  happy  in  this  visit, 
and  I  heartily  enjoy  the  flourishing  situation  in  which  I  find  the  town 
of  Baltimore.  Amidst  the  trying  times  which  you  so  kindly  mention, 
permit  me  with  a  grateful  heart  to  remember,  not  only  your  personal 
exertions  as  a  volunteer  troop,  your  spirited  preparations  against  a 
threatening  attack,  but  also  a  former  period  when,  by  your  generous 
support,  an  important  part  of  the  army  under  my  command  was  for- 
warded— that  army  to  whose  perseverance  and  bravery,  not  to  any  merit 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  mine,  you  are  merely  indebted.  Attending  to  American  concerns, 
gentlemen,  it  is  to  me  a  piece  of  duty  as  well  as  a  gratificatioD  to  my 
feelings.  In  the  enfranchisement  of  your  ports  and  their  peculiar  situ- 
ation, it  was  pleading  to  France  to  think  a  new  convenience  is  thereby 
offered  to  a  commercial  intercourse,  which  every  recollection  must  render 
pleasing,  and  which,  from  its  own  nature  and  mutual  goodwill,  cannot 
fail  to  prove  highly  advantageous  and  extensive.  Your  friendly  wishes 
to  mo,  gentlemen,  are  sincerely  returned,  and  I  shall  ever  rejoice  in  every 
public  and  private  advantage  that  may  attend  the  citizens  of  Baltimore." 

Gen.  Washington  having  been  unanimously  chosen 
President  of  the  United  States,  arrived  in  Baltimore 
on  his  way  to  New  York  on  the  17th  of  April,  1789, 
accompanied  by  Charles  Thompson  and  Col.  Humph- 
ries. He  was  met  some  miles  from  tow'n  by  a  large 
body  of  citizens  on  horseback,  and  was  greeted  by  the 
ringing  of  bells  and  salvos  of  artillery.  A  committee 
composed  of  Jame.s  McHenry,  Nicholas  Rogers, 
Joshua  Barney,  Paul  Bentalou,  John  Bankson,  Isaac 
Griest,  E.  Smith,  O.  H.  Williams,  Thorogood  Smith, 
William  Clemm,  and  John  Swan  presented  him 
with  a  complimentary  address,  and  in  the  evening 
he  was  entertained  at  a  sumptuous  banquet  given  at 
the  Fountain  Inn,  at  which  the  leading  citizens  of 
the  town  were  present.  The  next  morning  he  was  in 
his  carriage  at  half-past  five  o'clock,  and  left  town 
surrounded  by  a  body  of  citizens  on  horseback,  and 
amid  the  discharge  of  cannon.  His  escort  accom- 
panied him  seven  miles,  when  "alighting  from  his 
carriage,  he  would  not  permit  them  to  proceed  any 
further,  but  took  leave,  after  thanking  them  in  an 
affectionate  and  obliging  manner  for  their  politeness." 
Mrs.  Washington  with  her  two  grandchildren,  Eleanor 
Parke  and  George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  arrived 
in  Baltimore  on  the  19th  of  May,  on  her  way  to  join 
her  husband.  She  was  met  at  Hammond's  Ferry  by 
several  of  the  citizens,  and  received  with  great  demon- 
strations of  affection  and  respect.  There  was  a  dis- 
play of  fireworks  in  her  honor,  and  she  was  serenaded 
(as  the  ancient  chronicles  inform  us)  "by  an  excellent 
band  of  music,  conducted  by  gentlemen  of  the  town. 
We  shall  only  add  that,  like  her  illustrious  husband, 
she  was  clothed  in  the  manufacture  of  our  country, 
in  which  her  native  goodness  and  patriotism' appeared 
to  the  greatest  advantage."  It  may  be  added  that 
at  this  period  Gen.  Washington  passed  through  Balti- 
more very  frequently  on  his  way  to  or  from  Phila- 
delphia, and  that  the  same  patriotic  demonstrations 
always  greeted  his  arrival  in  the  town. 

Congress  being  occupied  in  the  consideration  of  a 
suitable  location  for  the  national  capital,  Baltimore, 
among  other  places,  pressed  its  claim  for  the  honor, 
and  as  early  as  February,  1789,  the  merchants  and 
other  citizens  of  the  town  commenced  to  raise  a  pro- 
visional loan  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  the  necessary 
public  buildings,  as  an  inducement  for  the  selection 
of  Baltimore  as  the  permanent  seat  of  government. 
In  May,  1790,  when  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the 
United  States  Senate  "  to  determine  the  permanent 
seat  of  Congress  and  the  government  of  the  United 
States,"  it  would  seem  that  Baltimore  and  Conne- 


cocheague,  on  the  Potomac,  "  were  about  equally 
balanced  for  some  time  in  the  number  of  supporters. 
Mr.  J:  Smith  set  forth  the  advantages  of  Baltimore, 
and  the  fact  that  its  citizens  had  subscribed  forty 
thousand  dollars  for  public  buildings."  The  motion 
to  insert  Baltimore  instead  of  the  Potomac  was,  how- 
ever, negatived  by  a  vote  of  thirty-seven  to  twenty- 
three.  The  rapid  growth  of  the  "  town  of  Baltimore" 
and  its  increasing  commerce  "  excelled  at  this  time 
the  admiration  of  its  citizens."  The  clearances  from 
its  port  from  the  1st  of  January,  1788,  to  the  1st  of 
January,  1789,  amounted  to  six  hundred  and  fifteen 
vessels,  consisting  of  fifty-two  ships,  seven  snows,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  brigs,  two  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-six schooners,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-four 
sloops.  Of  these,  twenty-four  ships,  twenty-nine 
brigs,  and  twenty-eight  large  schooners  and  sloops 
belonged  to  the  port.  A  correspondent  in  the  Mary- 
land Gazette,  in  showing  the  advantages  of  Baltimore 
for  the  permanent  residence  of  Congress,  says  that  it 
has  "  as  secure  a  harbor  for  shipping  as  the  world  can 
afford ;  a  capacious  basin,  capable  of  being  made  to 
contain  one  thousand  ships,  without  any  risk  from 
winds,  injury  from  freshets,  or  ice  in  the  winter,  or 
worms  in  the  summer;"  and  "Jones'  Falls  might,  at 
small  expense,  be  conducted  through  every  part  of 
the  town  ;"  fuel,  coal,  and  lumber  they  had  "  for  cen- 
turies to  come."  Another  correspondent  proposes  to 
inclose  the  basin  on  the  east  by  a  wharf  with  a  draw- 
bridge running  from  West  Falls  Avenue  across  the 
basin  ;  on  the  west  by  Light  Street ;  on  the  north  by 
Camden  Street ;  and  on  the  south  by  Lee  Street, 
within  which  space  there  would  be,  "  along  the  town 
and  point,  water  sufficient  to  accommodate  all  the 
ships  belonging  to  the  United  States."  Another  cor- 
respondent, who  did  not  admire  the  appearance  of  the 
town,  said,  "  Should  Congress  ever  settle  in  Balti- 
more, what  would  foreign  ambassadors  think  of  their 
taste,  when  they  observed  but  few  tolerable  streets  in 
all  the  metropolis,  and  even  those  disgraced  by  such 
a  number  of  awkwardly-built,  low,  wooden  cabins, 
the  rest  of  the  town  being  divided  by  irregular,  nar- 
row lanes '?" 

On  the  9th  of  July,  1793,  fifty-three  vessels  with 
about  one  thousand  white  and  five  hundred  colored 
refugees  from  Cape  Francois,  who  had  fled  from 
the  horrors  of  the  St.  Domingo  insurrection,  arrived 
in  Baltimore,  and  were  received  with  that  practical 
sympathy  and  generosity  which  the  town  seems 
always  to  have  extended  to  the  unfortunate.  Many 
of  them  were  quartered  in  the  houses  of  the  citizens 
until  they  could  find  permanent  homes,  and  a  com- 
mittee composed  of  Robert  Gilmor,  George  Presst- 
man,  Philip  Rogers,  Samuel  Hollingsworth,  Jere- 
miah Yellott,  James  Carey,  James  McHenry,  Robert 
Smith,  Zebulon  Hollingsworth,  Thomas  McElderry, 
Stephen  Wilson,  John  O'Donnell,  Adam  Fonerden, 
Thomas  Coulson,  Col.  Daniel  Smith,  David  Plunkett, 
Samuel  Sterett,  Mr.  Voucher,  Mr.  Cazanave,  and  Paul 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   BALTIMORE. 


Bentalou  were  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions  for 
their  relief,  and  in  a  very  few  days  succeeded  in  rais- 
ing twelve  thousand  dollars  for  the  benefit  of  the  des- 
titute. Those  more  fortunate  who  brought  capital 
with  them  entered  into  trade,  in  which  a  number 
achieved  eminent  success ;  others  introduced  new  arts 
of  cultivation,  and  plants  both  ornamental  and  escu- 
lent, hitherto  unknown  in  the  neighborhood ;  and, 
with  succeeding  arrivals  from  the  southern  and  west- 
ern parts  of  the  island,  contributed  to  increase  the 
wealth  as  well  as  the  population  of  the  town. 

In  the  year  1794  some  of  the  western  counties  of 
Pennsylvania  lifted  the  arm  of  defiance  against  the 
government,  in  what  is  known  as  the  "  Whisky  In- 
surrection," and  Gen.  Samuel  Smith,  the  hero  of  Fort 
Mifflin  in  1777,  and  at  that  time  the  able  representa- 
tive of  Baltimore  in  Congress,  was  appointed  to  com- 
mand the  militia  of  Maryland.  A  requisition  was 
soon  made  for  Baltimore  troops  by  the  Governor,  in 
consequence  of  a  report  that  the  insurgents  had  as- 
sembled in  considerable  numbers  near  Cumberland, 
and  that  their  design  was  to  seize  the  arms  belonging 
to  the  State  deposited  in  an  arsenal  near  Frederick. 
The  order  came  on  Sunday  while  the  people  were  at 
their  several  places  of  worship,  and  Gen.  Samuel 
Smith,  who  was  in  the  First  Presbyterian  church, 
was  called  out  by  an  express.  When  the  service  was 
over  the  drums  were  beating  to  arms,  and  the  troops 
were  ordered  to  assemble  on  the  parade-ground  near 
Harford  Kun  ;  the  Governor's  letter  was  read,  and 
several  companies  volunteered  on  the  spot.  Those 
of  the  Fifth  Regiment  were  ordered  to  parade  at  the 
court-house  on  Monday  morning  at  nine  o'clock,  and 
to  furnish  themselves  with  knapsacks  and  blankets. 
They  paraded  according  to  order,  and  took  up  the 
line  of  march  under  the  command  of  Col.  Strieker, 
the  Twenty-seventh  Regiment  following  on  Tuesday 
morning.  Knapsacks  of  coarse  linen  were  made  on 
the  spur  of  the  occasion  (for  the  troops  were  not  then 
furnished  with  them),  and  marked  with  the  members' 
respective  names  in  ink.' 

1  ADiong  the  military  orgauizatioDS  raised  in  the  town  during  this 
period  were  Capt.  Macltenheimer's  company  of  "  First  Baltimore  Light 
Infantry;"  Capt.  Strieker's  "Independent  Company;"  Capt.  Coulson's 
"Mechanical  Company;"  the  Baltimore  "Sans  Culottes,"  Capt.  James  A. 
Buchanan;  a  rifle  company,  Capt.  Jesson ;  M^.  Lowry's  "First  Balti- 
more Battalion ;"  a  company  of  grenadiers,  Capt.  Hugh  Thompson ;  a 
company  of  light  infantry,  Capt.  William  Robb;  a  troop  of  horse,  Capt. 
John  Bowen ;  and  another  by  Capt.  Nicholas  Ruxtou  Moore.  It  may  be 
mentioned  in  this  connection,  although  somewhat  out  of  chronological 
order,  that  in  the  year  1798,  on  the  prospect  of  a  war  with  France,  a 
considerable  revival  took  place  among  the  volunteers ;  old  companies  were 
filled  up  and  new  ones  formed.  A  meeting  of  the  "Sans  Culottes"  was 
called,  the  name  changed  to  the  "  Baltimore  Independent  Blues,"  and  a 
number  of  new  members  added.  Capt.  Buchanan  having  been  promoted 
in  the  interim,  Lieut.  Reuben  Etting  was  chosen  captain,  Staudish 
Barry  lieutenant,  and  Swallen  Barry  ensign.  Shortly  after  a  band  was 
formed  in  the  company  which  made  it  very  popular,  and  it  continued  to 
increase  until  the  attack  on  the  "  Chesapeake"  in  1807,  when  another  re- 
vival took  place,  audit  became  necessary  to  form  it  into  two  companies. 
Additional  officers  were  elected,  and  the  company  provided  themselves 
with  painted  knapsacks,  numbered  and  lettered. 

On  his  retirement  to  piivate  life  in  1797,  Washington  again  passed 


The  subject  of  a  city  charter,  which  had  occupied 
the  minds  of  the  people  of  Baltimore  for  nearly  ten 
years,  was  taken  up  by  the  Legislature  in  1793,  and  an 
act  passed  on  the  2Sth  of  December  for  consideration ; 
but  the  inhabitants  of  the  Point,  the  mechanics,  car- 
penters, and  republican  societies  offered  such  strong 
opposition  that  it  was  abandoned,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  .31st  day  of  December,  1796,  that  Baltimore 
obtained  the  long-desired  act  of  incorporation. 

In  consequence  of  the  depredations  committed  by 
the  American  privateers  under  the  French  flag  against 
British  commerce  in  1794,  and  the  extraordinary  pre- 
tensions of  the  British  government,  fears  of  a  war 
were  entertained,  and  great  preparations  were  made 
in  Baltimore  to  meet  it.  In  1795  her  citizens  had 
vigorously  protested  against  Jay's  treaty  with  Eng- 
land, and  in  1798,  when  the  insults  and  aggressions 
of  the  French  Directory  seemed  to  threaten  imme- 
diate war,  her  merchants  had  called  a  meeting  at  the 
Exchange,  and  subscribed  over  forty  thousand  dollars 
on  the  spot  for  the  construction  and  equipment  of 
two  sloops  of  war,  to  be  offered  to  the  government." 

Not  content  with  these  manifestations  of  their 
spirit,  the  merchants  of  Baltimore  drew  up  a  me- 
morial to  Congress  urging  that  body  to  adopt  more 
decided  measures,  and  presenting  in  the  strongest 
light  the  wrongs  and  injuries  to  which  our  national 
rights  and  commercial  interests  had  been  subjected. 
In  spite,  however,  of  individual  and  national  protests 
the  acts  complained  of  continued,  and  no  redress  was 
obtained. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  1807,  the  frigate  "Chesa- 
peake," which  had  been  built  in  Baltimore,  was  fired 
upon  off  the  capes  by  part  of  a  British  squadron, 
and  some  of  her  crew  carried  off  under  the  pretense 
that  they  were  deserters.  This  outrage  created  the 
greatest  excitement,  and  meetings  were  held  in  all 
the  principal  cities  of  the  country,  at  which  the  gen- 
eral indignation  was  vehemently  expressed.  A  meet- 
ing was  held  in  Baltimore  on  the  29th  of  June,  with 
Gen.  Samuel  Smith  as  chairman,  and  John  Stephen 
as  secretary.  Resolutions  of  the  strongest  character 
were  adopted,  pledging  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  the 
citizens  of  Baltimore  to  the  support  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  Alexander  McKim,  Thomas  McElderry, 
James  H.  McCulloch,  James  Calhoun,  Samuel  Sterett, 
Robert  Gilmor,  Mark  Pringle,  and  John  Stephen 
were  appointed  a  Committee  of  Correspondence.  In 
the  midst  of  the  open  discontent  and  treasonable  ut- 

through  Baltimore,  where  he  was  met  by  a  crowd  of  citizens  on  horse 
and  on  foot,  who  thronged  the  road  to  greet  him,  and  by  a  detachment 
from  Capt.  HoUingsworth's  troops,  who  escorted  him  through  as  great  a 
concourse  of  people  as  Baltimore  had  ever  witnessed  up  to  that  time. 
On  alighting  at  the  Fountain  Inn  the  general  was  saluted  with  reiter- 
ated and  thundering  huzzas  from  the  spectators. 

2  The  committee  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions  for  this  purpose  was 
composed  of  Robert  Oliver,  David  Stewart,  George  Sears,  John  Strieker, 
and  James  Barry.  The  two  sloops,  which  were  afterwards  named  the 
*' Maryland"  and  the  "  Chesapeake,"  were  launched  the  following  year. 
The  merchants  also  fltted  out  three  armed  privateers  of  twenty  guns 


84 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


which  followed  the  embargo  act  of  1807,  and 
the   enforcing  law   of  a  year  later  in   the   Eastern 
States,  the  citizens  of  Baltimore,  on  the  30th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1808,  assembled  in  town-meeting  at  the  Centre 
Market-House  to  express  their   confidence  in  "the 
wisdom  and  integrity  of  the  statesmen  who  now  pre- 
side at  the   national   councils,"   and  to  show  their 
determination   to   support  the    government  and   to 
resist,  with  every  energy  we  possess,  all  attempts  to 
violate  the  majesty  of  the  law."     In  a  short  time  the  ! 
market   was   crowded  to  excess,  and  on   motion  of  j 
Tobias  E.  Stansbury,  Edward  Johnson,  mayor  of  the  I 
city,   was   called   to   the  chair,   and  Col.   James  A.  ! 
Buchanan  made  secretary.     Upon  the  organization  of  j 
the  meeting,  the  mayor  appointed  the  following  lead- 
ing merchants  of  the  city  a  committee  to  draft  a  set  { 
of  resolutions  expressive  of  the  views  of  the  citizens 
of  Baltimore  upon  the  momentous  questions  which 
were   then   agitating  the  country :   James  Calhoun,  j 
William  Patterson,  George  Warner,  Tliomas  McEl-  j 
derry,  Tobias   E.   Stansbury,  John  Donnell,  James 
Mosher,  James  Biays,  William  Wilson,  John  Hol- 
lins,  Thomas  Dickson,  George  Stiles,  Peter  Levering, 
Henry  Payson,  and  John  Strieker.     And  on  the  21st  '< 
of  May,  1812,  when  it  had  been  shown  that  embargo  j 
laws,  protests,  and  repeated   representations   to   the  i 
British  crown  were  all  alike  useless  in  protecting  the  i 
national  honor  from  outrage  and  contumely,  a  Demo-  | 
cratic  convention  of  delegates  from  all  the  wards  of  [ 
Baltimore  assembled  at  the  Fountain  Inn,  and  after 
selecting  Joseph  H.  Nicholson  as  president,  and  John 
Montgomery   secretary,   adopted   resolutions   calling 
for  war  against  England,  and  against  France  also,  if  ; 
the  latter  should  not  afford  redress  for  the  wrongs  in- 
flicted.    These  resolutions  were  ordered  to  be  signed  | 
by  the  members  of  the  general  committee  and  trans- 
mitted  by   the   chairman   to   the   President   of   the 
United  States.     The  resolutions  were  signed  by  the 
following  persons: 

Joseph  H.  NicllolSDn,  A.  R.  Levering,  David  Fulton,  Charles  Bohn, 
William  B.  Barney,  John  Montgomery,  Christopher  Hughes,  Jr.,  Ben- 
jamin Berry,  Nathan  Levering,  J.  W.  McCulloch,  William  Camp,  J.  S. 
Hollins,  Joseph  Jamison,  James  Hutton,  Peter  Diffenderfer,  S.  Briscoe, 
E.  G.  Woodyear,  Hezekiah  Piice,  George  Milleman,  Hezekiah  Sliles, 
James  Armstrong,  Joseph  Smith,  Daniel  Conn,  John  Kelso,  James  C. 
Dew,  J.  A.  Buchanan,  Lemuel  Taylor,  Luke  Tiernan,  Wm.  Wilson,  J.  L. 
Donaldson,  L.  Hollingsworlh,  James  Martin,  James  Wilson,  G.  J.  Brown, 
Kichard  Mackall,  Edwaid  Johnson,  George  Stiles,  James  Williams,  Wil- 
liam McDonald,  William  Pechin,  James  Biays,  David  Burke,  Thorndike 
Chase,  Timothy  Gardner,  Thomas  Sheppard,  George  Warner,  N.  F.  Wil- 
liams, J.  H.  McCulloch,  Theodoric  Bland,  Christian  Baum. 


CHAPTER    XIL 

THE  WAR  OF  1812. 


The  Invasion  of  Canada — The  Defenses  of  Baltimore — Battle  of  Bladens- 
burg— Battle  of  North  Point— The  Star-Spangled  Banner— Peace. 

On  June  18,  1812,  the  United  States  declared  war 
against  Great  Britain.  The  declaration  produced 
great  excitement.     Baltimore,  unlike  Boston,  which 


at  this  juncture  was  for  peace  at  any  price,  at  once 
girded  up  her  loins  and  prepared  for  the  conflict. 
Maryland,  through  her  Legislature,  immediately 
pledged  "  the  lives  and  fortunes"  of  her  citizens  to 
the  public  service,  and  made  an  appropriation  for 
raising  the  State's  quota  of  six  thousand  militia.  In 
Baltimore  the  enthusiasm  of  the  volunteers  was  such 
that  the  recruiting  officers  were  compelled  to  suspend 
enlistments  by  companies  and  regiments  and  give 
precedence  to  the  old  military  organizations.  The 
war  was  thought  just  and  necessary,  and  the  public 
enthusiasm  could  scarcely  allow  the  expression  of  any 
difference  of  opinion.  This  temper  was  illustrated 
only  too  forcibly  in  the  outburst  of  indignation 
against  the  editors  of  the  Federal  Republican,  which, 
while  without  justification  or  excuse,  was  an  extreme 
manifestation  of  the  intensity  and  depth  of  the  war 
spirit. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  government  deter- 
mined upon  the  invasion  of  Canada,  and  while  the 
regular  troops  were  forwarded  to  the  frontier,  a  por- 
tion of  the  Maryland  militia  was  called  into  service, 
at  the  expense  of  the  State,  to  garrison  the  forts  at 
Anuapolis  and  Baltimore.  In  Baltimore  the  fortifica- 
tions were  manned  by  the  city  militia,  and  Capt.  Col- 
lins' and  Lieut.  Sterett's  companies  of  Baltimore 
militia  were  sent  to  Annapolis  to  garrison  Fort  Madi- 
son. Within  six  weeks  after  the  declaration  of  war, 
Capt.  Nathan  Towsou,  of  Baltimore  County,  organ- 
ized a,  company  of  volunteer  artillery  in  the  city  and 
county,  and  marched  northward  to  join  the  Second 
Regiment  of  artillery,  commanded  by  Col.  Winfield 
Scott.  Another  artillery  company  was  formed  about 
the  same  time,  composed  of  merchants  of  Baltimore, 
and  commanded  by  Capt.  Joseph  H.  Nicholson,  chief 
justice  of  the  Baltimore  Court  and  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  with  John  Barney  and  Na- 
thaniel F.  Williams  as  lieutenants.  The  Fencibles 
tendered  their  services  to  the  general  government  as 
a  part  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  McHenry,  and  their 
offer  was  soon  after  accepted.  Several  other  volunteer 
companies  also  tendered  their  services  to  the  Presi- 
dent, but  owing  to  the  unfortunate  state  of  the  Federal 
finances  their  offer  was  not  accepted  until  the  State 
could  provide  for  their  comfort.  Nearly  a  regiment, 
however,  was  sent  forward  to  the  frontiers  of  Canada 
at  this  juncture  from  Baltimore,  under  the  command 
of  Col.  Wm.  H.  Winder, 

"  and  the  most  ample  funds,"  says  Niles^  Rcgvder,  "  are  provided  from  the 
liberal  purses  of  our  citizens  to  supply  them'  with  every  necessai^  to 
their  leaving  home.  About  fifteen  thousand  dollars  have  been  sub- 
scribed for  the  purpose,  and  any  reasonable  sum  may  be  obtained  in  ad- 
dition if  the  service  shall  require  it.  Several  gentlemen  subscribed  live 
hundred  dollars  each.'* 

On  the  5th  of  October  another  company  of  volun- 
teers, consisting  of  one  hundred  rank  and  file,  under 
the  command  of  Stephen  H.  Moore,  marched  from 
Baltimore  to  join  Col.  Winder. 

"  Perhaps  no  body  of  men,"  says  Mr.  Niles,  "  were  ever  better  calcu- 
lated and  provided  for  the  service  o.\pected  of  them.    They  were  fitted 


THE   WAR   OF   1812. 


out  in  the  most  substantial  manner,  by  the  munificent  patriotism  of  tlie 
people  of  Baltimore,  with  every  necessary  ;  and  were,  besides,  presented 
with  an  elegant  flag  by  the  patriotic  ladies  of  the  Seventh  Ward." 

While  the  people  of  Baltimore  were  thus  actively 
engaged  in  strengthening  the  hands  of  the  govern- 
ment, her  volunteer  soldiery  were  doing  gallant  and 
effective  service  in  the  north.  As  a  military  opera- 
tion, however,  the  invasion  of  Canada  in  1812  was  a 
failure,  relieved  somewhat  by  the  gallant  deeds  of 
Towson,  Elliott,  Covington,  Winder,  Moore,  and  other 
brave  Marylanders.  On  the  sea  we  were  more  suc- 
cessful, for  we  had  proved  by  the  close  of  the  year 
that  we  were  more  than  a  match  for  Britannia  in  both 
skill  and  courage.  To  the  Federal  navy  Baltimore 
contributed  largely,  and  within  four  months  after  the 
declaration  of  war  her  wealthy  merchants  had  sent  to 
sea  forty-two  privateers  and  letters-of-marque,  carry- 
ing about  three  hundred  and  thirty  guns,  and  from 
two  thousand  eight  hundred  to  three  thousand  men. 
These  "skimmers  of  the  seas"  were  the  great  thorns 
in  the  side  of  the  enemy,  and  harassed  and  annoyed 
them  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  and  even  at  the 
entrance  of  their  own  ports  in  old  England  itself. 
They  took  and  destroyed  millions  of  property,  and 
were,  beyond  all  doubt,  chief  instruments  in  bringing 
about  a  permanent  peace.  By  way  of  reprisal  for  the 
immense  damage  inflicted  upon  her  commerce,  Eng- 
land, in  March,  1813,  sent  out  a  squadron  of  ten  armed 
vessels,  under  Admiral  Cockburn,  and  declared  all  the 
coast,  except  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  and 
Rhode  Island,  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade.  The  ad- 
miral entered  the  Chesapeake  and  began  a  system  of 
devastation,  plundering  and  destroying  the  villages 
and  plantations  on  both  shores.  The  inhabitants  de- 
fended themselves  as  best  they  could,  and  applied  to 
the  Federal  government  for  help,  but  it  was  refused 
them,  although  Marylanders  were  fighting  in  the 
Canada  campaign,  and  favors  were  being  granted  to 
States  which  were  clamorous  for  peace  upon  almost 
any  terms.  The  local  authorities  of  Baltimore,  how- 
ever, were  not  idle,  and  on  the  11th  of  March,  1813, 
the  Governor  visited  Baltimore  and  directed  Gen. 
Samuel  Smith,  of  the  volunteer  militia,  to  "  take  the 
earliest  opportunity  of  making  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments of  the  militia  for  the  defense  cf  the  port  of 
Baltimore."  Maj.  Beall,  of  the  United  States  army, 
and  Capt.  Gordon,  of  the  navy,  were  directed  to  co- 
operate with  Gen.  Smith,  and  Mr.  James  W.  McCul- 
loch  was  appointed  acting  deputy  quartermaster-gen- 
eral. Col.  Wadsworth,  of  the  United  States  ordnance 
department,  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  defenses, 
and  under  his  direction  Fort  McHenry  was  much 
strengthened,  and  Fort  Covington  built.  The  guns 
of  the  abandoned  French  frigate  "  L'Eole"'  were 
borrowed  from  the  consul  and  mounted,  and  to  these 
Gen.  Smith  afterwards  attributed  the  preservation  of 


Fort  McHenry.  "  The  enemy  knew  they  were 
mounted,  and  knew  they  carried  balls  of  forty-two 
pounds  weight,  and  that  furnaces  had  been  prepared  to 
make  them  red  hot."  When  Gen.  Smith  assumed 
id  of  the  forces  in 


1  A  French  seventy-four, 
nearly  wrecked  off  the  co 
demned  and  sold. 


:h  came  to  Baltimore,  Jan.  22, 1806 ;  being 
she  was  stripped  of  her  guns,  and  con- 


and  around  Baltimore  he 
found  Fort  McHenry  in 
no  condition  for  a  con- 
flict; "one  of  the  plat- 
forms was  rotten ;  the 
water  battery  was  totally 
destroyed ;  the  ground 
between  the  fort  and  thi> 
water  was  in  its  natuml 
state,  affording  a  gooi 
cover  to  an  attacking  en- 
emy ;  some  of  the  car- 
riages within  the  fort  gen.  sAMrEL  smith. 
were   unfit   for   service; 

there  were  no  furnaces ;  and  in  fine,  the  fort  was  not 
in  condition  to  repel  a  serious  attack  from  a  formidable 
British  fleet."  By  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 
Col.  J.  G.  Swift,  of  the  United  States  Engineers,  was 
sent  to  Baltimore,  and  under  his  direction  an  extensive 
line  of  water  battery  was  erected  in  front  of  the  fort, 
mounted  with  thirty-two  heavy  cannon,  with  furnaces 
attached.  For  a  more  extended  defense  of  the  city,  "  in- 
cluding the  rear  of  Fort  McHenry,  the  cove,  the  point 
between  the  fort  and  flag-staft'  point,  and  the  point 
opposite  Fort  McHenry  on  the  northeast  side  of  the 
harbor,"  he  recommended  to  the  Secretary  of  War  "  to 
have  twelve  eighteen-pound  cannon  mounted  on  trav- 
eling field-carriages,  completely  appurtenanced,  at- 
taching to  them  two  pinnaces."  This  train  was  to  be 
"  disposed  so  as  to  run  four  of  the  pieces  with  a  furnace 
to  any  position  on  the  Fort  McHenry  side,  and  eight  of 
them  with  furnace  to  the  point  opposite  Fort  McHenry, 
to  be  used  as  the  position  of  the  enemy  may  require." 
He  further  suggested  that  "bridges  should  be  con- 
structed over  every  creek  or  river  in  the  route  from 
Baltimore  to  any  point  of  attack,  removable  at  will." 
Upon  taking  command  of  the  defenses  of  Baltimore, 
Gen.  Smith  made  an  address  to  the  troops,  in  which 
he  said, — 

"  That  the  militia  of  Baltimore  City  and  County  stood  high  in  the  esti- 
mate of  the  general  government  and  of  the  public  generally;  that  as 
regulai-s  could  not  be  well  spared  for  the  protection  of  the  diffeient  sea- 
ports, the  E.\ecutive  of  the  United  States  had  to  rely  on  the  militia  of 
such  places  for  their  immediate  defense;  that  in  placing  this  reliance  on 
the  patriotic  militia  of  this  city  he  would  not  be  deceived,  for  the  alacrity 
with  which  they  had  attended  to  the  first  calls  of  discipline  was  sufficient 
evidence  that  they  would  always  be  found  at  their  posts  in  time  of  need." 

On  the  16tli  of  April,  Cockburn's  fleet,  which  had 
been  slowly  moving  up  the  bay,  plundering  and  de- 
stroying as  it  went,  appeared  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Patapsco,  and  threatened  the  city,  which  had  already 
been  "pointed  out  for  military  execution  in  papers 
published  by  citizens  of  the  United  States,"  the  ani- 
mosities and  jealousies  of  other  cities  scarcely  suffer- 
ing them  to  conceal  their  joy  over  the  impending  ruin 


86 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  Baltimore.'  Before  this  time  the  enemy  had  not 
attempted  anything  of  great  importance  except  what 
was  incidental  to  a  mere  blockade.  But  now  they 
stopped  all  intercourse  with  the  city  by  water,  cutting 
ofl'  an  immensely  valuable  trade  and  stinting  her  citi- 
zens of  even  their  ordinary  supplies  of  provisions. 
To  crown  all,  says  Mr.  Niles,  "'internal  foes  of  the 
city  co-operating  with  the  enemy  alarm  those  accus- 
tomed to  deal  with  us  from  the  interior,  and  destroy 
the  whole  trade  and  curtail  the  supplies  for  the  sub- 
sistence of  the  people  of  this  populous  city."  The 
total  annihilation  of  trade,  which  threw  out  of  em- 
ployment all  classes  of  mechanics,  and  the  exorbitant 
price  of  most  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  compelled  a 
great  number  of  worthy  people  to  choose  between 
emigration  or  dependence  on  charity. 

While  thus  assailed  by  her  enemies  and  abandoned 
by  those  whom  she  had  considered  her  friends,  it  was 
a  fortunate  thing  for  Baltimore  that  perfect  good  feel- 
ing prevailed  between  the  Governor  and  the  city,  and 
that  all  classes  of  her  citizens  vied  with  each  other  in 
zeal  for  the  common  defense  and  in  fortitude  in  bear- 
ing privation  and  loss.  In  spite  of  the  great  distress 
occasioned  by  the  general  suspension  of  business,  the 
merchants  of  Baltimore  about  this  time  answered  the 
application  of  the  general  government  for  a  loan  by 
a  subscription  of  three  million  dollars,  while  on  the 
13th  of  April,  1813,  the  City  Council  appropriated 
twenty  thousand  dollars  for  the  defense  of  the  city, 
which  was  directed  to  be  expended  under  the  direction 
of  the  mayor,  and  Messrs.  James  Mosher,  Luke  Tier- 
nan,  Henry  Payson,  Dr.  John  Campbell  White,  James 
A.  Buchanan,  Samuel  Sterett,  and  Thorndike  Chase. 
This  sum  proving  insufficient,  a  meeting  of  the  citi- 
zens was  held  and  a  loan  not  exceeding  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars  was  advised,  the  committee  of  sup- 
ply being  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  John  E.  How- 
ard, George  AVarner,  J.  Kelso,  K.  Gilraor,  William 
Patterson,  and  Messrs.  Deshon  &  Burke.  Individual 
citizens  likewise  made  liberal  subscriptions,  the  com- 
mittee of  public  supplies  "  rendered  all  the  services 
that  could  have  been  obtained  by  the  earlier  appoint- 
ment of  a  quartermaster,"  and  Gen.  Armstrong  de- 
clared that  the  city  was  "making  itself  ready  com- 
paratively with  little  expense  to  the  United  States, 
and  would  no  doubt  be  prepared  to  meet  the  enemy." 

While  the  enemy's  squadron  was  lying  off  Balti- 
more, the  measures  for  defense  went  on  with  the 
greatest  activity.  The  militia,  under  the  command  of 
Gen.  Smith,  erected  a  water  battery,  mounted  with 
forty-two-pounders,  and  built  furnaces  for  heating 
shot,  in  accordance  with  the  suggestions  of  Col.  Swift. 
Look-out  or  signal  boats  were  established  far  down 
the  Patapsco,  and  cavalry,  infantry,  and  artillery  were 
stationed  along  the  shores  of  the  bay  with  a  "code  of 
signals."  Fort  McHenry  was  strengthened  by  the 
mounting  of  a  number  of  thirty-two-pounders.  Col. 


'  History  of  Maryland,' 


,  p.  37. 


Wad.sworth,  of  the  United  States  Engineers,  laid  off 
other  fortifications,  and  several  old  hulks  were  sta- 
tioned in  the  river  for  the  purpo.se  of  being  sunk  in 
the  channel  if  necessary.  A  small  work  for  six  guns 
was  also  thrown  up  by  the  brickmakers  without 
charge,  and  in  the  ensuing  year,  during  the  bombard- 
ment of  Fort  McHenry,  destroyed  one  of  the  enemy's 
barges  in  their  night  attack  and  compelled  them  to 
retreat.'-  The  day  the  enemy  appeared  off  the  Pa- 
tapsco Mr.  Niles  says  was  a  proud  one  for  Baltimore: 

"It  was  astonishing  to  perceive  tlie  animation  of  tbe  pi^nple  on  the 
firing  of  tlie  alarm  gun.  Only  one  spirit  prevailed.  There  was  no  fear 
but  the  fear  of  being  too  late  on  duty  ;  no  party  but  to  repel  the  enemy. 
This  generous  feeling  went  through  all  ranlis  of  society.  We  have  per- 
fect harmony  (if  such  a  thing  can  be),  and  the  din  of  arms  haa  not  dia- 
turbed  the  quiet  of  the  citizen.  The  place  is  profoundly  tranquil.  The 
marching  of  the  volunteers  occasions  no  bustle.  Ml  things  are  done  in 
decency  and  order.  On  the  evening  of  that  day  they  captured  two 
packets  from  Baltimore  bound  for  Queenstown.  The  packet  boat '  Pa- 
tapsco' was  captured  by  the  enemy's  small  boats  off  North  Point,  with 
the  mail,  a  large  number  of  passengers,  and  over  two  thousand  dollars  in 
specie.  The  passengers  were  detained  over  night  under  guard,  and  on 
the  following  day  were  put  on  board  an  old  boat,  with  scarcely  any  pro- 
visions and  no  water,  to  make  the  best  of  their  way  to  Queenstown  with 
a  permit  from  the  admiral." 

The  22d  of  April  still  found  the  British  squadron 

lying  inactive  within  a  few  miles  of  the  city,  contenting 

itself  with  predatory  excursions  and  rapid  raids  into 

the  adjacent  country,  in  which,  however,  they  got 

little  else  than  hard  knocks.     It  is  quite  evident  that 

the  military  authorities  expected  to  come  into  close 

quarters  with  the  enemy,  for  we  find  Gen.  Smith,  on 

the  27th  of  April,  writing  to  Edward  Johnson,  mayor 

of  the  city,  at  the  suggestion  of  Col.  Wadsworth,  to 

advise  that  the  fire-engines  and  fire  companies  be 

held  in  readiness  in  case  of  attack,  "so  that  in  such 

an  emergency   [which  doubtless  meant  the  firing  of 

the  city  by  the  anticipated  bombardment]  they  may 

be  employed  with  the  best  practical  effect."     These 

apprehensions  might  possibly  have  been  realized  but 

for  the  vigorous  preparations  for  defense  that  had 

been  made,  and  the  prudent  precautions  adopted  by 

Gen.  Smith  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  sounding  the 

river  and  examining  the  fort.     Under  the  pretext  of 

transmitting  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Admiral 

Cockburn  sent  a  flag  up  the  river,  which,  by  Gen. 

Smith's  instructions,  was  met  at  a  distance  of  four 

]  miles  by  his  aide-de-camp,  and  detained  by  Capt. 

1  Chaytor,  who  commanded  one  of  the  flotilla  barges  at 

'  that  point,  until  an  answer  could  be  returned.    While 

!  waiting  for  Gen.  Smith's  reply,  the  British  messenger 

'  asked  whether  the  guns  of  the  French  seventy-four 

had  been  mounted,  and  was  told  that  the  heaviest 

I  had  been  placed  in  position ;  and  this  information,  it 

1  was  afterwards  said  in  the  fleet,  prevented  an  attack 

being  made  at  that  time. '  Finding  Baltimore  too  well 

prepared  to  be  attacked  with  any  hope  of  success  by 

2  It  would  seem  that  Fort  McHenry  was  further  strengthened  by  the 
"first  marine  artillery  of  tlie  Union,"  described  as  "a  body  of  invaluable 
men,  masters  and  mates  of  vessels,"  to  whom  the  city  is  representetl  as 
"  indebted  for  the  transportation  and  mounting  of  twenty  great  guns  for 
a  new  battery  there." 


THE   WAR  OF  1812. 


the  force  then  under  his  command,  Admiral  Cockburn 
proceeded  to  revenge  himself  for  his  disappointment 
by  plundering  Sharp's,  Poole's,  Tilghman's,  and  Poplar 
Islands,  and  by  dispatching  expeditions  for  the  de- 
struction of  the  towns  and  villages  at  the  head  of  the 
bay.  This  savage  mode  of  warfare  not  unnaturally  j 
spread  terror  through  all  adjacent  parts  of  the  State,  { 
and  a  report  having  reached  Baltimore  on  the  5th  of 
May  that  the  British  were  once  more  advancing  to 
attack  the  city,  the  alarm  guns  were  fired,  and  the 
city  was  thrown  into  great  bustle  and  apparent  con- 
fusion. It  was  calculated  that  upwards  of  five  thousand 
men  were  under  arms  and  in  their  proper  places  an 
hour  after  the  alarm  was  given.  In  the  afternoon  it 
was  discovered  that  the  alarm  was  a  false  one,  and 
the  soldiers  were  dismissed.  An  attack  was  still  ex- 
pected, however,  for  many  women  and  children  were 
sent  away  to  places  of  safety,  and  work  was  actively 
continued  on  twenty  large  barges  and  several  gun- 
boats intended  for  the  special  defense  of  the  city. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  Admiral  Warren  entered  the 
Chesapeake  with  a  considerable  naval  reinforcement 
for  Cockburn  and  Beresford,  bearing  a  large  number 
of  land  troops  and  marines  under  the  command  of 
Sir  Sidney  Beckwith.  The  British  force  now  in  the 
Chesapeake  consisted  of  eight  ships  of  the  line,  twelve 
frigates,  and  a  considerable  number  of  small  vessels. 
Such  a  force  evidently  foreshadowed  an  attack  upon 
some  important  point.  By  the  capture  of  the  bay 
craft  they  were  supplied  with  numerous  tenders  pre- 
cisely adapted  to  the  navigation  of  our  waters.  With 
these  and  their  barges  they  made  repeated  expedi- 
tions, and  kept  the  country  in  a  state  of  constant 
alarm.  Baltimore,  believing  herself  to  be  the  chief 
object  of  this  expedition,  made  every  preparation  to 
receive  the  enemy.  Several  companies  of  militia  and 
volunteers  from  Prince  George's  and  the  other  counties 
of  the  State  were  ordered  to  the  defense  of  the  city, 
and  relieved  the  citizens  for  a  time  from  the  fatigues 
of  garrison  duty.  Brig. -Gen.  Miller  commanded  in  i 
June  a  stationary  force  of  two  thousand  men,  which, 
with  the  local  strength,  was  supposed  suflicient  for 
any  emergency.  To  repel  the  advances  which  the  I 
increased  power  of  the  enemy  now  authorized  him  to  ' 
attempt,  the  militia  throughout  the  State  were  more 
regularly  embodied,  and  the  Governor  called  the  at- 
tention of  the  more  distant  militia  ofiicers  to  their 
powers  and  duties  under  the  laws.  In  the  latter  part 
of  May,  Governor  Winder  convened  the  Legislature 
in  extra  session,  and  that  body,  while  deprecating  the 
singular  manner  in  which  Maryland's  application  for 
assistance  had  been  received  by  the  Federal  govern- 
ment, with  that  spirit  of  unselfish  patriotism  which 
distinguished  her  citizens  throughout  the  war,  ap- 
propriated the  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
for  the  defense  of  the  State.  A  further  application  i 
to  the  government  for  protection  against  invasion 
resulted  in  the  reply  that  "  so  far  as  expenditures  I 
have  arisen  or  shall  arise,  in  consequence  of  militia  ' 


calls  made  by  the  State,  without  the  participation  of 
the  United  States,  no  provision  is  found  to  exist  under 
the  present  laws."  While  the  Legislature  was  thus 
taking  measures  for  that  protection  which  the  general 
government  refused  to  afford,  a  respectable  memorial 
was  presented  to  it  from  the  citizens  of  Baltimore, 
setting  forth  the  undefended  state  of  the  city,  and  the 
fact  that  the  city  banks  had,  in  the  emergency,  made 
a  loan  for  the  purpose  of  strengthening  the  fortifica- 
tions and  arming  the  citizens ;  of  which  loan  they 
prayed  the  Legislature  to  assume  such  part  as  might 
not  be  refunded  by  the  Federal  government.  They 
further  asked  that,  as  the  Assembly  might  not  be  able 
to  con.sider  the  matter  at  once,  the  municipal  authori- 
ties might  be  authorized  to  levy  a  tax  on  the  citizens 
to  liquidate  the  debt  pending  the  ultimate  action  of 
the  Legislature.  Both  of  these  requests,  however, 
were  refused. 

On  the  8th  of  August  three  ships  of  the  line,  five 
frigates,  three  brigs,  two  schooners,  and  a  number  of 
small  vessels  moved  in  sight  of  Baltimore,  as  if  de- 
signing an  attack.  Promptly  the  forts  were  manned, 
and  seven  hundred  men  of  Col.  Jamison's  regiment 
of  the  Baltimore  County  brigade  were  ordered  "to 
defend  a  narrow  pass  of  high  land  seven  or  eight 
miles  from  the  city  towards  North  Point."  The 
cavalry  of  the  Baltimore  City  and  County  brigades 
of  militia,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.-Cols.  Biays 
and  Moore,  assembled  on  Hampstead  Hill,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  North  Point  to  make  themselves  better  ac- 
quainted with  the  ground  in  case  the  enemy  should 
attempt  to  land,  while  on  the  elevated  grounds  east  of 
the  city  (now  Patterson  Park)  about  forty  pieces  of 
artillery,  eighteen,  twelve,  six,  and  four-pounders, 
mounted  on  field-carriages,  were  collected,  and  the 
"marine  artillery  company,"  Capt.  George  Stiles, 
manned  their  "  marine  battery"  of  forty -two-pounders 
on  the  water  front  of  Fort  McHenry .'  Awed  probably 
by  these  formidable  preparations,  the  British  forces 
determined  to  turn  their  attention  to  weaker  points, 
and  accordingly  resumed  their  savage  warfare  on  the 
Eastern  Shore.  While  the  citizens  of  Maryland  were 
thus  energetically  engaged  in  the  protection  of  their 
own  firesides,  they  also  bore  an  ample  part  in  the 
dangers  and  honors  of  the  arduous  campaign  on  the 
frontiers  of  Canada;  and  though  sorely  pressed  at 
home,  over  a  thousand  volunteers  and  recruits  from 
the  city  and  State  were  sent  forward  to  the  main  army 
during  the  summer  of  1813.  Nothing  more  important 
than  skirmishes  took  place  in  this  quarter  until  April 
27, 1813,  when  the  town  of  York,  now  called  Toronto, 
was  captured.  Capt.  Stephen  H.  Moore's  company 
of  Baltimore  volunteers  had  the  honor  to  be  in  the 
advance,  and  nobly  sustained  the  character  of  their 
native  city  for  gallantry  and  steady  courage.     In  the 

1  Among  Baltimore's  defenders  at  this  time  was  Capt.  Brooker's  corps 
of  Richmond  and  Washington  volunteers,  and  according  to  the  captain, 
"  never  were  soldiers  more  hospitably  entertained"  than  were  these 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY    AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


midst  of  the  assault  the  magazine  of  one  of  the  bar- 
racks, containing  five  hundred  pounds  of  powder,  blew 
up,  killing  and  wounding  more  than  two  hundred  of 
the  victorious  column.  Two  of  Capt.  Moore's  com- 
pany were  killed  by  the  explosion,  five  men  severely 
wounded,  and  he  himself  received  injuries  necessita- 
ting the  amputation  of  his  leg.  The  "  Baltimore  Vol- 
unteers," however,  had  the  satisfaction,  when  the  town 
capitulated  that  afternoon,  of  placing  in  advance  of 
any  other,  the  flag  presented  to  them  by  the  ladies  of 
the  Seventh  Ward,  "  on  the  highest  pinnacle  of  the 
Government  House  in  the  capital  of  Upper  Canada." 
On  the  27th  of  May,  Fort  George  was  attacked  and 
taken,  and  in  this  action  also  Baltimore  and  Mary- 
land volunteers  were  in  the  front  of  the  battle.  In 
the  struggle  at  Burlington  Heights,  on  the  6th  of  June, 
they  also  took  a  prominent  part;  and  Gen.  Lewis,  in 
his  official  report  of  the  action,  says,  "  Hindman, 
Nicholas,  Biddle,  and  Towson  are  young  soldiers  who 
would  do  honor  to  any  service;"  and  to  the  troops 
under  their  command,  with  a  few  others,  he  ascribes 
the  salvation  of  the  army. 

The  overthrow  of  Napoleon  in  the  spring  of  1814 
left  Great  Britain  free  to  increase  her  forces  in  the 
United  States,  and  to  supply  what  had  hitherto  been 
wanting, — a  land  force  to  co-operate  with  the  squad- 
ron, which,  without  it,  could  do  nothing  of  import- 
ance. It  was  therefore  resolved  to  increase  Cock- 
burn's  fleet  in  the  Chesapeake,  and  to  send  over  a 
large  body  of  veteran  troops  who  had  served  under 
Wellington  in  Spain.  Stronger  preparations  for  de- 
fense were  also  made 
on  this  side.  Commo- 
dore Joshua  Barney  was 
placed  by  the  Navy  De- 
partment in  command  of 
a  flotilla,  or  small  fleet 
of  gunboats  and  barges, 
fitted  out  in  Baltimore  in 
the  summer  of  1813  to 
defend  the  shores  of  the 
;  and  though  not 
able  to  attack  Cockburn's 
ships,  he  did  great  ser- 
vice in  checking  and 
driving  off'  the  enemy's 
raiding-parties.  In  April,  1814,  his  little  fleet  was 
ready  for  active  service,  and  after  several  minor  en- 
gagements won  a  considerable  naval  victory  over  the 
enemy  on  the  10th  of  June  in  St.  Leonard's  Creek. 

It  was  known  that  a  serious  attack  was  intended 
upon  Baltimore  or  Washington,  and  Brig.-Gen.  Wil- 
liam n.  Winder,  lately  exchanged,  and  returned  from 
Canada,  where  he  had  been  kept  prisoner  since  his 
capture  at  Stony  Creek,  was  placed  in  command  of 
the  military  district  which  embraced  Maryland,  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  part  of  Virginia.  He  en- 
tered upon  his  duties  with  the  utmost  energy,  but 
soon  fiiund  tlial  tlu'  new  district  was  "without  maga- 


zines of  provisions  or  forage,  without  transport  tools 
or  implements,  without  a  commissariat  or  efficient 
quartermaster's  department,  without  a  general  staff", 
and  finally  without  troops."  He  urged  the  govern- 
ment to  call  out  four 
thousand  militia,  part  to 
be  stationed  near  Balti- 
I  more,  and  part  between 
South  River  and  Wash- 
ington, so  as  to  be  ablf 
to  support  each  other  in 
case  of  a  landing  of  the 
enemy.  The  govern- 
ment, however,  paid  im 
attention  to  his  request, 
and  all  the  force  he 
could  muster  was  about 
a  thousand  regulars  and  gp„    „.    ^   windkr. 

an  uncertain  number  of 

militia.    On  the  14th  of  August,  Admiral  Cochrane 
arrived  in  the  Chesapeake  with  a  fleet,  bringing  more 
than  three  thousand  veteran  troops  from  France,  under 
Gen.  Robert  Ross,  and  the  plan  of  attack  was  at  once 
arranged.    A  portion  of  the  force,  under  Capt.  Gordon, 
was  sent  up  the  Potomac  to  bombard  Fort  Washing- 
i  ton  and  open  the  way  to  the  capital ;  a  few  vessels, 
under  Sir  Peter  Parker,  were  dispatched  up  the  Ches- 
apeake, as  if  to  attack  Baltimore,  while  the  main 
!  body,  under  Admiral  Cochrane,  ascended  the  Patux- 
ent,  as  if  to  engage  Barney's  flotilla,  which  was  lying 
I  near  Nottingham,  but  really  with  the  design  of  attack- 
ing Washington  if  there  seemed  a  reasonable  prospect 
I-  of  taking  it.     On  August  19th  and  20th,  Cochrane 
landed  about  four  thousand  five  hundred  men  at  Bene- 
dict, on  the  west  bank  of  the  Patuxent,  who  at  once 
began  their  march  northward  under  the  command  of 
I  Gen.  Ross.     Cockburn's  flotilla  of  barges  went  up  the 
i  river  at  the  same  time,  and  after  compelling  Barney  to 
j  set  fire  to  his  boats  at  Mount  Pleasant,  joined  Ross  at 
Upper  Marlborough,  and  on  the  24th  of  August  the 
whole  force  marched  for  Bladensburg,  where  a  battle 
ensued  between  the  British  forces  under  Gen.  Ross 
i  and  the  Americans  under  Gen.  Winder.     The  Amer- 
I  leans  were  completely  routed,  and  the  British  entering 
I  Washington   burned   the   capitol   and   other   public 
buildings.     The  Baltimoreans  at  Bladensburg  were 
under  the  command  of  Gen.  Tobias  Stansbury,  of 
I  that  city,  and  consisted  of  two  regiments  of  militia, 
I  — the  Fifth  Regiment  of  Baltimore  volunteers,  under 
I  Lieut. -Col.  Sterett,  Maj.  William  Pinkney's  rifle  bat- 
i  talion,  and  two  companies  of  volunteer  artillery,  with 
!  six-pounders,  under  Capts.  Myers  and  Magruder,  also 
from  Baltimore.    Commodore  Barney,  with  his  sailors, 
j  had  charge  of  a  battery  of  heavy  guns,  and  were  sup- 
ported  by  United   States  marines.    The  Baltimore 
troops,  about  eight  hundred  in  all,  "  worn  down  with 
hunger  and  fatigue,"   reached    Bladensburg   on  the 
evening  of  the  2nd. 


After  I 


Wasli 


rton  it  became  evident 


THE    WAR   OF    1812. 


that  Baltimore  would  be  next  attacked.  A  feeling 
of  special  hostility  was  entertained  against  this  city 
on  account  of  the  mischief  done  by  its  privateers,  and 
the  high  spirit  and  courage  of  its  people.  An  emi- 
nent British  statesman  declared  that  Baltimore  was 
"  the  great  depository  of  the  hostile  spirit  of  the 
United  States  against  England,"  and  Admiral  Warren 
said,  "  Baltimore  is  a  doomed  town."  A  London  paper 
said,  "The  American  navy  must  be  annihilated,  their 
arsenals  and  dockyards  must  be  consumed,  and  the 
truculent  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  must  be  tamed 
with  the  weapons  which  shook  the  wooden  turrets  of 
Copenhagen."  Indeed,  Gen.  Ross  openly  boasted  that 
though  the  heavens  "  rained  militia,"  he  would  make 
his  winter-quarters  in  Baltimore.  Thus  forewarned, 
the  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  immediately  set  about 
making  further  preparations  for  defense.  Up  to  this 
time  half  a  million  of  dollars  had  been  expended  in 
the  defense  of  the  city,  under  the  direction  of  the 
mayor,  Edward  Johnson,  and  a  Committee  of  Safety 
composed  of  James  Mosher,  Luke  Tiernan,  Henry 
Payson,  Dr.  J.  C.  White,  James  A.  Buchanan,  Samuel 
Sterett,  and  Thorndike  Chase.  A  Committee  of  Vigi- 
lance and  Safety,  of  which  Mayor  Johnson  was  chair- 
man and  Theodorick  Bland  secretary,  co-operated 
unceasingly  with  the  military,  and  on  the  27th  of 
August,  three  days  after  the  battle  of  Bladensburg, 
issued  the  following  order : 

"  Whereas,  the  coniDiaudiug  officer  has  required  the  Hid  of  tlie  citizens 
in  the  erection  of  worlis  for  the  defense  of  the  city,  the  Committee  of 
Vigilance  and  Safety  having  full  confidence  iu  the  patriotism  of  tlieir 
feliow-citizens,  have  agreed  on  the  following  organization  for  the  pur- 
pose of  complying  with  the  request  of  the  major-general : 

"The  inhabitants  of  the  city  and  precincts  are  called  on  to  deposit  at 
the  court-house, in  the  Third  Ward;  Centre  Market,  in  the  Fifth  Ward; 
market-house,  Fell's  Point ;  riding-school,  in  the  Seventh  Ward ;  or  take 
with  them  to  the  place  required,  all  wheelbarrows,  pick-axes,  spades,  and 
shovels  that  they  can  procure. 

"That  the  city  and  precincts  be  divided  into  four  sections,  the  first 
section  to  consist  of  the  eastern  precincts  and  the  Eighth  Ward;  the 
second  to  comprise  the  Fifth,  Sixth,  and  Seventh  Wards ;  the  third  to 
comprise  the  Second,  Third,  and  Fourth  Wards  ;  and  the  fourth  to  com- 
prise the  First  Ward  and  western  precincts. 

"  That  the  exempts  from  military  duty  and  the  free  people  of  color  of 
the  First  District,  consistiug  of  the  eight  wards  and  eastern  precincts, 
assemble  to-morrow,  Sunday,  morning  at  six  o'clock  at  Hampstead  Hill, 
with  provisions  for  the  day,  and  that  Arthur  Mitchell,  Daniel  Conn, 
Henry  Pennington,  John  Chalmers,  William  Starr,  Thomas  Weary, 
Henry  Harwood,  and  Philip  Cornmiller  be  charged  with  their  superin- 
tendence during  the  day. 

"That  those  of  the  Second  District,  comprising  the  Fifth,  Sixth,  and 
Seventh  Wards,  assemble  at  Myer  Garden  on  Monday  morning  at  six 
o'clock,  under  the  superintendence  of  William  Parks,  Capt.  Watts,  Lud- 
wig  Herring,  William  Ross,  William  Carman,  Daniel  Howlaud,  Caleb 
Earnest,  and  James  Button. 

"  That  those  of  the  Third  District,  comprising  the  Second,  Third,  and 
Fourth  Wards,  assemble  at  Washington  Square  on  Tuesday  morning  at 
six  o'clock,  under  the  superintendence  of  Frederick  Leypold,  William 
McCleary,  John  McKim,  Jr.,  Henry  Schroeder,  Alexander  McDonald, 
Eli  Hewitt,  Peter  Gold,  and  Alexander  Kussell. 

"That  those  of  the  Fourth  District,  comprising  the  First  Ward  and 
western  precincts,  assemble  at  the  intersection  of  Eutaw  and  Market 
[Baltimore]  Streets  on  Wednesday  morniug  at  six  o'clock,  under  the 
superintendence  of  William  W.Taylor,  William  Jessops,  Edward  Harris, 
George  Decker,  William  Hawkins,  Isaac  Philips,  William  Jones,  and 
John  Hignet. 

"  The  owners  of  slaves  are  requested  to  send  them  to  work  on  the  days 
assigned  in  the  several  districts. 


"  Such  of  our  patriotic  fellow-citizens  of  the  county  or  elsewhere  as 
are  disposed  to  aid  iu  the  common  defense  are  invited  to  partake  in  the 
duties  now  required  on  such  of  the  days  as  may  be  most  convenient  to 

On  the  same'  day  the  committee  adopted  further 
resolutions  calling  upon  all  good  citizens  to  keep  a 
careful  watch  upon  all  suspected  persons,  and  to  con- 
tribute to  the  defense  of  the  city.'- 

A  committee  composed  of  Col.  John  E.  Howard, 
Richard  Frisby,  and  Robert  Stewart  was  appointed  to 
wait  on  Maj.-Gen.  Samuel  Smith  and  request  him  to 
assume  military  command  of  the  city  in  accordance 
with  the  expressed  desire  of  Brig.-Gen.  Strieker,  Maj. 
Armistead,  Capt.  Spence,  and  Commodore  Perry,  who 
was  then  in  Baltimore.  On  the  2d  of  September  the 
Committee  of  Vigilance  and  Safety,  in  view  of  the 
distress  occasioned  among  many  of  the  poorer  fam- 
ilies by  the  absence  of  husbands,  brothers,  and  fathers 
in  the  army,  adopted  the  following  resolution,  and 
appointed  a  Committee  of  Relief  to  solicit  subscrip- 
tions for  their  support.  In  order  more  etfectually  to 
carry  out  this  good  work,  committees  of  inspection 
were  appointed,  who  were  directed  to  ascertain  and 
relieve  the  meritorious  poor  in  their  respective  wards.* 

About  the  same  time  the  committee  called  upon 
the  "  good  people  of  this  and  the  neighboring  States 
to  bring  to  the  city  for  sale"  supplies  for  the  support 
of  the  troops,  assuring  all  who  should  "  visit  the  city 
for  this  laudable  purpose"  that  they  should  be  "  free 
from  the  danger  of  impressment  of  their  horses, 
wagons,  or  carts,  or  of  any  species  of  interruption  to 
themselves." 

To  these  various  appeals  all  classes  of  citizens  re- 
sponded with  generous  enthusiasm ;  their  ordinary 
avocations,  which  until  this  time  had  scarcely  been 
interrupted,  were  now  altogether  laid  aside,  and  every 


1  The  Committee  of  Vigilance  and  Safety  was  composed  of  the  follow- 
ing members:  Henry  Stouffer,  Solomon  Etting,  Elias  EUicott,  Samuel 
Hollingsworth,  Benjamin  Berry,  Henry  Payson,  William  Lorman,  James 
A.  Buchanan,  William  Wilson,  William  Patterson.  Adam  Fonerden, 
James  Wilson,  Joseph  Janiieson,  Cumberland  Dugan,  William  Camp, 
James  Armstrong,  James  Taylor,  Peter  Boud,  Robert  Stewart,  Fred. 
Schaeffer,  Richard  Stevens,  Hezekiah  Waters,  David  Burke,  George 
Woelper,  Hermanns  Alricks,  John  Kelso,  Richard  Frisby,  Col.  J.  E. 
Howard,  George  Warner,  and  Theodorick  Bland. 

-  The  patriotic  ardor  of  the  citizens  is  well  illustrated  by  the  reply  of 
John  Eager  Howard  to  a  suggestion  of  surrender :  "  I  have,"  said  be,  "  as 
much  property  at  stake  as  most  persons,  and  I  have  four  sons  in  the 
field.  But  sooner  would  I  see  my  sons  weltering  in  their  blood  and  my 
property  reduced  to  ashes  than  so  far  disgrace  the  countiy."  "Put  nie 
down  for  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the  defense  of  Baltimore,"  said  Isaac 
McKim  when  he  heard  Boss  was  coming. 

^  The  Committee  of  Relief  was  composed  of  James  Ellicott,  W.  W. 
Taylor,  Elisha  Tyson,  Richard  H.  Jones,  L.  Wethered,  Luke  Tiernan, 
William  Riley,  James  Mosher,  Joseph  Townsend,  Peter  Diflfonderfier, 
William  Brown,  Daniel  Difi^enderfl'er,  William  Trimble,  William  Mande, 
William  Procter,  and  John  Ogsden. 

■•The  ward  committees  were;  First  Ward — Isaac  Tyson,  Isaac  Mc- 
pherson, Christian  Keller,  John  Hignet.  Secmtd  ITard— Elisha  Tyson, 
Cornelius  Comegys,  Richard  H.  Jones,  and  Moses  Sheppard.  Third  Ward 
— L.  Wethered,  Luke  Tiernan,  Henry  Schroeder.  Fourth  Ward—Jamee 
Sloan,  William  Riley,  John  McClure.  Fifth  Ward— Baitzer  Shaefl'er, 
Daniel  Rowland,  Samuel  McKim.  Sixth  IFurd— William  Ross,  Jacob 
Miller,  William  Brown.  BeeenDi  ITard— William  Trimble,  William 
Paiks,  Samuel  Wilson,  Joshua  Mott.  Eighth  Wurd— James  H.  Clarke, 
Nathaniel  Knight,  John  Murphy. 


HISTORY  OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


one  who  could  wield  a  musket,  even  old  men  and  boys,  j 
were  found  in  the  ranks,  and  each  day  marched  to  ' 
the  sound  of  martial   music  to   their  occupation  of 
laboring  on  the  line  of  the  intrenchments  and  fortifi- 
cations. ( 

The  chief  fortifications  constructed  by  the  citizens  j 
were  two  long  lines  of  breastworks,  extending  from 
Harris'   Creek   northward   across   Loudenslager's   or 
Hampstead's  Hill  (now  the  site  of  Patterson  Park),  ' 
about  a  mile  in  length,  along   which  at  short  dis- 
tances semi-circular  batteries  were  thrown  up,  armed 
with   cannon   on   field-carriages.     Behind  these   on 
more  elevated  sites,  commanding  the  lower  line,  were 
several  additional  batteries,  one  of  which,  known  as 
Rogers'  Bastion,  may  still  be  seen,  well  preserved,  on 
the  harbor  side  of  Patterson  Park,  overlooking  Fort 
McHenry  and  the  surrounding  country.     There  were 
also  connecting  lines  of  breastworks  and  rifle-pits, 
running  parallel  with  the  northern  boundary  of  the  i 
city,  commanded  in  turn  by  inner  bastions  and  bat-  ! 
teries,  the  precise  location  of  which  is  not  known.         I 

Nor  was  the  water  approach  neglected.  A  four-gun 
battery  was  constructed  at  Lazaretto  Point,  Canton, 
and  between  this  point  and  Fort  McHenry,  across 
the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  a  number  of  vessels  were 
sunk.  Southwest  of  the  fort,  near  what  is  now  Wi- 
nans'  wharf,  guarding  the  middle  branch  of  the  Pa- 
tapsco  from  the  landing  of  troops  who  might  en-  j 
deavor  to  assail  Fort  McHenry  in  the  rear,  were  two 
redoubts,  five  hundred  yards  apart,  and  called  Fort 
Covington  and  the  City  Battery.' 

In  the  rear  of  these,  upon  the  high  ground  at  the  j 
foot  of  Light  Street,  on  the  present  site  of  Battery 
Square,  was  the  Circular  Battery  of  seven  guns.  A 
long  line  of  platforms  for  a  battery  were  erected  a 
few  yards  in  front  of  Fort  McHenry,  which  was 
called  the  Water  Battery,  and  upon  which  was  | 
mounted  a  number  of  forty-two-pounder  guns  bor- 
rowed from  the  French  consul. 

The  British  army,  after  several  days'  rest,  having 
replenished  their  store  of  fresh  provisions  by  plun-  , 
dering  the  people  on  the  shores  of  the  Patuxent,  at 
daybreak  on  the  6th  of  September  embarked   on 
board  of  their  fleet,  weighed  anchor,  and  stood  with  1 
a  fair  wind  for  the  Chesapeake.     After  sailing  down  j 
the  bay,  at  mid-day  on  the  7th  they  entered  the  Po- 
tomac, and  after  moving  up  that  stream  for  two  days, 
for  the  purpose  of  deceiving  the  Americans  and  to 
keep  them  in  suspense  as  to  the  next  point  of  attack, 
on  the  night  of  the  9th  the  whole  squadron  hastened 
back  to  the  Chesapeake  and  stood  for  the  mouth  of 
the  Patapsco. 

It  was  probably  this  and  the  other  delays  succeed- 


1  In  1854  a  joiut  resolution  was  introduced  in  tlie  City  Council  re- 
queBting  the  Seuatora  from  Maryland  in  Congress  to  procure  the  passage 
of  an  act  donating  tlie  old  battery,  known  as  Fort  Covington,  iu  the 
Seventeenth  Ward,  and  the  adjacent  ground,  belonging  to  the  United 
States  government,  to  the  city  of  Baltimore  for  the  purpose  of  converting 
it  into  a  public  square,  which  is  now  known  as  Biversiile  Park. 


ing  the  capture  of  Washington  which  saved  Balti- 
more from  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  On  the  evening 
of  the  24th  of  August,  Washington  was  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  British  army,  and  on  the  morning  after 
the  battle  the  enemy  was  again  at  Bladensburg,  on 
his  retreat  to  Benedict.  Had  Ross  made  directly  for 
Baltimore  at  this  time,  attacking  it  from  the  west 
side,  he  would  doubtless  have  effected  its  capture. 
But  the  time  between  the  24th  of  August  and  the 
12th  of  September  afforded  the  necessary  opportunity 
for  the  reorganization  of  the  army  that  had  been 
beaten  at  Bladensburg  and  the  concentration  of  fresh 
troops  at  Baltimore.  An  immediate  attack  from  the 
western  and  northern  sides  of  the  city  would,  more- 
over, not  only  have  prevented  the  formation  of  an 
effective  army  of  defense  at  Baltimore,  but  would 
have  rendered  the  formidable  batteries  at  Fort  Mc- 
Henry and  the  fortifications  and  intrenchments  on 
the  eastern  and  northern  sides  entirely  unavailable. 
As  it  was.  Gen.  Ross  waited  until  a  strong  army  had 
been  thrown  into  Baltimore,  and  then  advanced 
against  it  directly  in  the  teeth  of  the  numerous  bat- 
teries and  fortifications  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
city.  History  presents  but  few  instances  of  such  ac- 
commodating generalship. 

On  Sunday  evening,  September  11th,  about  seventy 
of  the  enemy's  vessels  were  anchored  off"  North  Point, 
about  twelve  miles  from  the  city  of  Baltimore  by 
water,  and  fourteen  by  land.  The  beautiful  moon- 
light night  was  chiefly  spent  by  the  fleet  in  preparing 
for  an  immediate  debarkation.  At  three  o'clock  on 
Monday  morning,  the  12th,  the  boats  of  every  ship 
were  lowered,  and  the  troops  landed  under  cover  of 
several  gun-brigs  anchored  within  a  cable's  length  of 
the  beach.  The  boats  went  in  divisions,  the  leading 
one  of  each  being  armed  with  a  carronade.  By  seven 
o'clock  they  had  landed  a  force  of  about  seven  thou- 
sand men,  composed  of  infantry,  artillery,  marines, 
and  sailors,  completely  equipped,  each  man  bearing 
eighty  rounds  of  ammunition,  a  spare  shirt  and 
blanket,  and  cooked  provisions  for  a  three  days' 
march.  The  most  perfect  system  characterized  every 
movement.  Not  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  the  result 
existed  in  the  minds  of  the  officers  who  planned  the 
campaign,  and  the  troops  looked  eagerly  forward  to 
the  promised  plunder. 

The  final  arrangements  having  been  made,  the 
Light  Brigade,  commanded  by  Maj.  Jones,  of  the 
Forty-first  Regiment,  led  the  advance ;  then  followed 
the  artillery,  consisting  of  six  field-pieces  and  two 
howitzers,  all  of  them  drawn  by  horses ;  next  came 
the  Second  Brigade,  then  the  sailors,  and,  last  of  all, 
the  Third  Brigade.  Flank  patrols  and  reconnoitering 
parties  were  likewise  sent  out.  Thus  it  was  that  the  in- 
vading army,  under  the  leadership  of  Gen.  Ross  and  a 
brilliant  array  of  stafl^-oflicers,  marched  towards  th'e 
"  doomed  town"  on  Monday  morning,  Sept.  12,  1814. 
At  the  same  time  the  frigate's  bomb-ketches  and 
small  vessels,  under  Admiral  Cockburn,  approached 


THE    WAR   OF    1812. 


and  ranged  themselves  in  a  formidable  line  to  bom-  j 
bard  the  fort  and  the  city. 

In  the  mean  time  the  citizens  were  not  idle,  though 
the  disasters  which  had  befallen  our  arms  in  previous 
encounters  gave  but  slight  ground  for  hope  of  success 
in  any  contest  with  veterans  fresh  from  victorious 
strife  with  the  legions  and  the  genius  of  Napoleon. 
The  unhappy  field  of  Bladensburg  was  fresh  in  their 
memory,  and  the  smouldering  ruins  of  Washington 
showed  the  fate  to  which  Baltimore  was  doomed  if 
the  invaders  were  successful.  "  The  prospect  to 
which  they  looked  forward  was  indeed  gloomy, — to 
the  sailor,  imprisonment  and  fetters;  to  the  soldier- 
citizen,  the  prison-ship ;  to  the  merchant,  confisca- 
tion and  ruin ;  to  the  house-owner,  the  torch  of  the 
incendiary;  and  to  the  chaste  matron  and  her  pjire 
and  beautiful  daughters,  the  foul  license  of  a  brutal 
soldiery.  But  the  storm  of  war  shook  not  their  firm 
hearts.  The  citizen-soldiery  of  Baltimore  on  that 
gloomy  Sunday  bade  a  tearful  adieu  to  their  wives 
and  children,  put  on  the  harness  of  battle,  and 
went  forth  to  meet  the  insolent  invader." 

The  city  now  became  an  active  military  camp. 
Those  who  could  afford  it 
sent  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren out  of  the  city.  The 
banks  suspended  specie  pay- 
ments, and  much  valuable 
property  was  removed  to  the 
interior  for  protection.  The 
batteries  and  intrenchments 
were  all  manned.  Commo- 
dore Rogers,  who  had  gen- 
eral charge  of  the  batteries 
with  about  twelve  hundred 
men-of-war's-men,  in  his  of- 
ficial report  gives  the  posi- 
tion of  his  respective  batteries  and  forces  as  follows: 

'*  In  the  general  distribution  of  the  forces  employed  in  the  defense  of 
Baltimore,  with  the'  concurrence  of  the  commanding  general,  I  stationed 
Lieut.  Gamble,  first  of  the  '  Guerriere,'  with  about  one  hundred  seamen, 
in  command  of  a  seven-gnn  battery,  on  the  line  between  the  roads  lead- 
tug  from  Pliiladelphia  and  Sparrow's  Point. 

"Sailing-Master  De  la  Zouch,  of  the  '  Erie,' and  Midshipman  Field, 
of  the  '  Guerriere,'  with  twenty  seamen,  in  command  of  a  two-gun  bat- 
tery, fronting  the  road  leading  from  Sparrow's  Point. 

"Sailing-Master  Uaniage,  of  the  *  Guerriere,'  with  twenty  seamen,  in 
command  of  a  iive-gnn  battery,  to  the  right  of  Sparrow's  Point  road. 

"And  Midshipman  Salter,  with  twelve  seamen,  in  command  of  a  one- 
gun  buttery,  a  little  to  the  right  of  Mr.  Kamage. 

"  Lieut.  Kuhn,  with  the  detachment  of  marines  belonging  to  the 
*  Guerriere,'  was  posted  in  the  entrenchment  between  the  batteries  occu- 
pied by  Lieut.  Gamble  and  Sailing-Master  Ramage. 

"  Lieut.  Newcomb,  third  of  the  '  Guerriere,'  with  eighty  seamen,  occti- 
pied  Fort  Covington,  on  the  Ferry  Branch,  a  little  below  Spring  Gardens. 

"  Sailing-Master  Webster,  of  the  flotilla,  with  fifty  seamen  of  that 
corps,  occupied  a  six-gun  battery  on  the  Ferry  Branch,  known  by  the 
name  of  Babcock. 

"  Lieut.  Frazier,  of  the  flotilla,  with  forty-five  seamen  of  the  same  corps, 
occupied  a  three-gun  battery  near  the  Lazaretto. 

"  And  Lieut.  Kutter,  the  senior  olBcer  of  the  flotilla,  in  command  of  all 
the  barges,  which  were  moored  at  the  entrance  of  the  passage  between   I 
the  Lazaretto  and  Kort  McHenrj-,  in  the  left  wing  of  the  Water  Battery,   I 
at  which  was  stationed  Sailing-Master  Hodman  and  fifty-four  seamen  of 
the  flotilla." 


Fort  McHenry  was  under  the  immediate  command 
of  Maj.  George  Armistead,  of  the  United  States 
artillery.  His  force  consisted  of  one  company  of 
United  States  artillery,  Capt.  Evans,  and  two  compa- 
nies of  Sea  Fencibles,  under  Capts.  Bunberry  and  Addi- 
son. Of  these  three  companies  thirty-five  men  were 
unfortunately  on  the  sick-list  and  unfit  for  duty.  Gen. 
Smith  also  furnished  him  with  Capt.  Joshua  H.  Nich- 
olson's (Judge)  volunteer  artillery  company  of  the 
"  Baltimore  Fencibles,"  and 
the  "  Washington  Artillery" 
under  Capt.  John  Berry,  and 
the  "  Baltimore  Independent 
Artillerists,"  Capt.  Charles 
Pennington,  all  of  Col.  David 
Harris'  regiment  of  the  Bal- 
timore artillery.  A  detach- 
ment of  Commodore  Bar- 
ney's flotilla,  under  Lieut. 
Rodman,  also  volunteered 
their  services.  In  addition. 
Gen.  Winder  furnished  Maj. 
Armistead  with  about  six  \n.i.  ukijuck  \hmistk.vi). 
hundred  infantry,  under  the 

command  of  Lieut.-Col.  Stewart  and  Maj.  Lane,  con- 
sisting of  detachments  from  the  Twelfth,  Fourteenth, 
Thirty-sixth,  and  Thirty-eighth  Regiments  of  the 
United  States  infantry, — the  total  force  in  the  fort 
amounting  to  about  one  thousand  efiectivc  men. 

Maj.  Armistead  arranged  his  force  in  the  following 
manner :  The  regular  artillerists,  under  Capt.  Evans, 
and  the  volunteers,  under  Capt.  Nicholson,  manned 
the  bastions  in  the  star  fort ;  Bunbury's,  Addison's, 
Rodman's,  Berry's,  and  lieutenant  commanding  Pen- 
nington's command  were  stationed  on  the  lower  works ; 
and  the  infantry  were  in  the  outer  ditch  to  meet  the 
enemy  in  case  they  effected  a  landing. 

The  Franklin  Artillery,  Capt.  Joseph  Myers ;  Bal- 
timore Union  Artillery,  Capt.  John  Montgomery; 
American  Artillerists,  Capt.  Richard  B.  Magruder; 
Eagle  Artillerists,  Capt.  George  J.  Brown ;  First  Bal- 
timore Volunteer  Artillery,  Capt.  Abraham  Pyke; 
Steiner's  Artillery,  of  Frederick,  Capt.  Henry  Steiner ; 
United  Maryland  Artillery,  Capt.  James  Piper;  and 
Columbian  Artillery,  Capt.  Samuel  Moale,  all  under 
the  general  command  of  Lieut.-Col.  David  Harris, 
took  positions  in  the  various  lines  and  batteries.  The 
trenches  were  occupied  by  some  seven  thousand 
militiamen  and  volunteer  infantry,  chiefly  composed 
of  our  own  citizens.  A  portion  of  these  were  the  First 
Rifle  Battalion  of  Maryland  militia,  commanded  by 
Maj.  Wm.  Pinkney,  in  which  were  the  Sharpshooters, 
Capt.  Edward  Aisquith ;  Union  Yagers,  Capt.  Dominic 
Bader ;  and  Fell's  Point  Riflemen,  Capt.  William  B. 
Dyer.  The  Fifth  Regiment  was  commanded  by  Lieut.- 
Col.  Joseph  Sterett,  and  contained  the  Baltimore 
Yagers,  Capt.  Philip  B.  Sadtler;  First  Baltimore 
Light  Infantry,  Capt.  John  Skrim  ;  Mechanical  Vol- 
unteers,   Capt.  Benjamin   C.   Howard;   Washington 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Blues,  Capt.  George  H.  Steuart;  independent  com- 
pany, Capt.  Samuel  Sterett;  Baltimore  United  Vol- 
unteers, Capt.  David  Warfield ;  Union  Volunteers, 
Capt.  Christian  Adreon ;  Baltimore  Patriots,  Capt. 
Robert  Lawson  ;  and  the  Independent  Blues,  Capt. 
Aaron  R.  Levering.  The  Sixth  Regiment  was  com- 
manded by  Lieut.-Col.  Wm.  McDonald,  and  comprised 
eleven  companies,  commanded  respectively  by  Capts. 
Thomas  Sheppard,  Gerrard  Wilson,  Peter  Gait,  Wm. 
Brown,  Thomas  L.  Lawrence,  Benjamin  Ringgold, 
Luke  Kierstead,  Samuel  McDonald,  Robert  Conway, 
Nicholas  Burke,  and  John  G.  Dixon.  The  Twenty- 
seventh  Regiment  was  commanded  by  Lieut.-Col. 
Kennedy  Long,  and  comprised  eight  companies,  com- 
manded by  Capts.  James  McConkey,  John  Kennedy, 
James  Dillon,  Benjamin  Edes,  John  McKane,  Peter 
Pinney,  George  Steever,  and  Daniel  Schwarzauer. 
The  Thirty-ninth  Regiment  was  commanded  by  Lieut.- 
Col.  Benjamin  Fowler,  and  contained  eight  compa- 
nies, commanded  by  Capts.  Archibald  Dobbin,  Thomas 
Warner,  Thomas  Watson,  John  D.  Miller,  Andrew  E. 
Warner,  Henry  Myers,  Joseph  K.  Stapleton,  and  Wm. 
Roney.  The  Fifty -first  Regiment  was  commanded  by 
Lieut.-Col.  Henry  Amey,  and  contained  eight  compa- 
nies, officered  by  Capts.  Jacob  Deems,  Wm.  Chalmers, 
John  H.  Rogers,  Michael  Haubert,  John  Stewart, 
James  Foster,  Michel  Peters,  and  Andrew  Smith. 
The  Fifth  Regiment  of  Maryland  Cavalry  was  com- 
manded by  Lieut.-Col.  James  Biays,  and  contained 
the  Independent  Light  Dragoons,  Capt.  Jehu  Boul- 
din ;  First  Baltimore  Hussars,  Capt.  James  Sterett ; 
Maryland  Chasseurs,  Capt.  James  Horton;  and  the 
Fell's  Point  Light  Dragoons,  Capt.  John  Hanna. 

The  York  Volunteers,  attached  to  the  Fifth  Regi- 
ment, were  commanded  by  Capt.  Michael  H.  Spang- 
ler;  the  Hanover  Volunteers,  attached  to  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Regiment,  by  Capt.  Frederick  Metzger;  the 
Hagerstown  Volunteers,  attached  to  the  same  regi- 
ment, by  Capt.  Thomas  Quantrill ;  and  the  Maryland 
Cavalry  by  Capt.  Jacob  Baer. 

The  Eleventh  Brigade,  Third  Division,  was  under 
the  command  of  Brig.-Gen.  Tobias  E.  Stansbury. 
The  First  Brigade  was  commanded  by  Brig.-Gen. 
Thomas  Forman,  and  the  Third  Brigade  by  Brig.-Gen. 
John  Strieker. 

The  command  of  the  whole  military  force  of  the 
city  devolved  upon  Maj.-Gen.  Samuel  Smith.  Gen. 
William  H.  Winder  arrived  in  Baltimore  on  Septem- 
ber 10th,  and  assumed  command  of  a  division. 

We  have  thus  mentioned  the  more  important  prep- 
arations made  for  the  reception  of  the  enemy,  desig- 
nated the  fortified  lines  of  defense,  and  given  the 
relative  positions  of  the  troops.  As  we  have  already 
stated,  intelligence  reached  the  city  of  the  arrival  of 
the  enemy's  fleet,  which  was  announced  to  the  people 
on  Sunday  afternoon,  Sept.  11,  1814,  by  the  fire  of 
three  cannon  from  the  court-house  green.  This  signal 
threw  the  city  into  the  most  intense  excitement.  The 
churches  were  at  once  dismissed;  the  congregations 


flocked  homeward ;  the  drums  beat  to  arms  ;  men  on 
horseback  rapidly  galloped  to  and  fro  through  the 
streets  rousing  the  people,  and  all  hastened  to  their 
mustering-places.  Each  man  was  supplied  with  one 
day's  provisions  and  thirty-six  rounds  of  ammunition. 

It  was  decided  to  send  out  a  reconnoitering-party 
to  "  feel  the  enemy."  The  question  being  raised  who 
should  compose  this  party,  it  was  speedily  settled  by 
the  gallantry  of  Gen.  Strieker,  who  claimed  it  as  a 
right,  as  the  brigade  which  he  had  the  honor  to  com- 
mand consisted  entirely  of  Baltimore  militia,  and 
should  be  foremost  in  defending  their  homes.  The 
order  was  accordingly  given,  and  about  three  o'clock 
his  brigade,  consisting  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  of  the 
Fifth  Regiment,  under  Lieut.-Col.  Sterett ;  six  hun- 
dred and  twenty  of  the  Sixth,  under  Lieut.-Col.  Mc- 
Donald; five  hundred  of  the  Twenty -seventh,  under 
Lieut.-Col.  Long;  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  of  the  Thirty- 
ninth,  under  Lieut.-Col. 
Fowler ;  seven  hundred  of 
the  Fifty-first,  under  Lieut.- 
Col.  Amey  ;  one  hundred 
and  fifty  riflemen,  under 
Capt.  Dyer;  one  hundred 
and  forty  cavalry,  under 
Lieut.-Col.  Biays,  and  the 
Union  Artillery  of  seventy- 
five  men,  with  six  four- 
pounders,  under  Capt. 
Montgomer}-,    making    an 

aggregate  of  three  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  effective  men,  marched  out  Baltimore  Street  upon 
the  Philadelphia  road.  The  troops  were  full  of  en- 
thusiasm, and  marched  forth  with  all  the  glitter  of  a 
dress  parade.  On  passing  tlie  outer  breastworks  and 
batteries,  moving  steadily  on  in  brisk  step  to  stirring 
music,  with  flags  fluttering  in  the  breeze,  they  were 
greeted  with  enthusiastic  cheers. 

The  route  of  march  was  the  old  Philadelphia 
road  to  Long  Log  Lane  (now  known  as  North  Point 
road),  and  thence  to  the  Methodist  meeting-house 
near  the  head  of  Bear  Creek,  seven  miles  from  the 
city.  Here  the  troops  bivouacked  for  the  night,  with 
the  exception  of  the  riflemen,  wiio  were  posted  along 
the  skirts  of  a  low  pine  wood,  near  a  blacksmith-shop, 
two  miles  in  advance ;  while  the  calvary  were  pushed 
still  ftirther  forward  and  stationed  at  the  end  of  Gor- 
such's  farm,  a  mile  and  a  half  beyond,  with  orders  to 
place  videttes  in  tlie  vicinity  of  the  enemy  to  main- 
tain a  careful  watch  and  patrol,  and  to  report  promptly 
to  headquarters  every  movement  of  the  enemy. 

At  seven  o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  September 
12th,  information  was  received  from  the  advanced 
scouts  that  the  enemy  were  debarking  troops  undei; 
cover  of  their  gunboats,  which  lay  off  the  blufi" 
of  North  Point,  within  the  mouth  of  the  Patapsco. 
Immediately  upon  receipt  of  this  intelligence  Gen. 
Strieker    sent   back    his    baggage    under    a    strong 


GEN.  JOHN   STRICKER. 


THE   WAR   OF   1812. 


guard,  and  moved  forward  three-fourths  of  a  mile 
with  the  Fifth  and  Twenty-seventh  Regiments  and 
his  battery.  With  these  he  formed  the  first  line  of 
battle,  as  follows :  the  Fifth  Regiment  he  posted  on 
the  edge  of  a  thick  oak  forest,  behind  a  rail-fence,  at 
right  angles  with  the  road,  on  which  the  left  flank 
rested,  while  the  right  extended  to  Bear  Creek.  The 
Twenty-seventh  Regiment  occupied  the  correspond- 
ing position  on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  on  which 
their  right  rested,  their  left  being  covered  by  a  branch 
of  Back  River  and  a  marsh.  They  were  also  on  the 
skirts  of  a  wood  and  behind  a  rail-fence.  The  artil- 
lery was  stationed  directly  at  the  head  of  the  lane 
between  the  two  regiments.  The  Thirty-ninth  Regi- 
ment was  placed  about  three  hundred  yards  in  the 
rear  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  and  the  Fifty-first  about 
the  same  distance  in  the  rear  of  the  Fifth,  forming  a 
parallel  to  the  front  line.  The  Sixth  Regiment  formed 
a  reserve,  and  was  stationed  in  front  of  a  rail-fence, 
about  half  a  mile  back  of  the  second  line  of  battle. 
Having  thus  formed  his  battle-lines,  Gen.  Strieker 
gave  orders  that  the  Fifth  and  Twenty-seventh  Regi- 
ments should  receive  the  enemy  on  their  approach, 
and,  if  necessary,  fall  back  through  the  Fifty-first 
and  Thirty-ninth  Regiments,  and  form  on  the  right 
of  the  Sixth.  The  riflemen  were  deployed  where 
they  had  been  stationed,  the  evening  before,  behind  a 
large  sedge-field,  with  a  thick  wood  of  pine  or  fir  in 
their  rear ;  and  as  the  cavalry,  still  in  front,  were  to 
inform  them  of  the  enemy's  approach,  they  were 
ordered  to  take  advantage  of  the  covering  of  the 
wood  and  to  annoy  his  advance.  Meanwhile,  the 
British  forces  were  moving  rapidly  up  the  main  road, 
and  horsemen  continually  coming  in  announced  their 
near  approach.  Just  at  this  time,  greatly  to  the  gen- 
eral's surprise,  he  discovered  that  the  entire  body  of 
riflemen  were  falling  back  to  the  main  position,  hav- 
ing listened  to  a  groundless  rumor  that  the  enemy 
were  landing  on  Back  River  to  cut  them  off.  This 
part  of  the  plan  having  been  frustrated,  the  rifle  corps 
was  placed  on  the  right  of  the  front  line,  by  this 
means  better  securing  that  flank.  After  marching 
for  an  hour  or  more  the  enemy,  feeling  perfectly  con- 
fident of  success,  halted  at  Gorsuch's  farm,  where  they 
spent  another  hour  in  resting  and  robbing  hen-roosts, 
etc. 

When  the  Americans  heard  of  these  proceedings  of 
the  enemy,  several  officers  volunteered  to  dislodge 
them.  Levering's  and  Howard's  companies,  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  in  number,  from  the  Fifth  Regi- 
ment, under  Maj.  Richard  K.  Heath,  Capt.  Aisquith's 
and  a  few  other  riflemen,  about  seventy  in  all,  one 
small  piece  of  artillery  with  ten  men,  under  Lieut. 
Stiles,  and  the  cavalry  were  pushed  forward  to  sur- 
prise the  enemy  and  provoke  a  general  engagement. 

With  the  force  mentioned  Maj.  Heath  pursued  his 

march  to  the  front,  under  the  belief  that  the  enemy 

were  two  miles  off.     After  proceeding  about  half  a  mile 

the  major  ordered  the  riflemen  to  deploy  as  skirmishers 

7 


upon  both  flanks  in  advance  to  guard  against  an  am- 
buscade. The  order  had  just  been  given,  and  the 
riflemen  were  on  the  point  of  diverging  to  the  right 
and  left,  while  the  column  moved  steadily  down  the 
road,  when,  as  the  head  of  it  ascended  a  small  emi- 
nence, there  appeared  at  the  distance  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  the  vanguard  of  the  enemy's 
forces  moving  up.  A  sharp  fire  was  immediately 
opened  upon  both  sides.  The  American  infantry  oc- 
cupied the  road,  while  the  rifiemen,  who  had  taken 
position  upon  the  flanks,  but  not  yet  left  the  column, 
availed  themselves  of  whatever  advantages  the  ground 
afforded  to  use  their  weapons  with  effect.  An  order 
was  given  to  move  the  piece  of  artillery  to  the  front, 
which  was  obeyed,  but  it  was  withdrawn  without 
being  used.  The  British  light  troops  deployed  rapidly 
in  open  order  to  the  right  and  left,  advancing  into 
the  thick  wood  which  skirted  the  American  right,  and 
hastening  to  gain  a  copse  of  wood  standing  in  a  field 
upon  the  American  left. 

At  this  time,  says  the  "  Subaltern  in  America"  in 
his  narrative,  the  skirmish  was  "  tolerably  hot  and 
extremely  animated."  "  The  Americans,"  he  con- 
tinues, 

"as  individuals  were  at  least  our  equals  in  the  sliill  with  which  they 
used  the  weapon,  yet  from  the  very  commencement  it  was  on  our  part 
a  continual  advance,  on  theirs  a  continual  retreat.  We  drove  them  from 
thicket  to  thicket,  and  tree  to  tree,  not  indeed  with  any  heavy  loss,  for 
they  were  no  less  expert  In  linding  shelter  than  in  taking  aim,  but  occa- 
sionally bringing  down  an  individual  as  he  was  running  from  one  cover 
to  another.    Our  own  loss  again  was  very  trifling. 

"  Two  men  killed  and  about  a  dozen  wounded  made  up  the  sum  of  our 
casualties,  and  it  may  witli  truth  be  asserted  that  everything  was  going 
on  as  the  general  himself  could  have  wished.  But  unhappily  he  was 
not  satisfied  of  this.  The  firing  struck  him  as  being  more  heavy  and 
more  continued  than  it  ought  to  be ;  he  was  apprehensive  that  he  had 
fallen  into  some  serious  ambuscade,  and  unwilling  to  trifle  with  the 
safety  even  of  a  few  companies,  he  rode  forward  for  the  purpose  of  satis- 
fying himself  that  they  were  safe.  How  bitterly  had  the  whole  expedi- 
tion cause  to  lament  that  step.  He  had  scarcely  entered  the  wood  when 
an  American  rifleman  singled  him  out;  he  fired,  and  the  ball,  true  to  its 
mark,  pierced  his  side.  When  the  general  received  his  death-wound  I 
chanced  to  be  standing  at  no  great  distance  from  him.  I  saw  that  he  was 
struck,  for  the  reins  dropped  instantly  from  his  hand,  and  he  leaned  for- 
ward upon  the  pommel  of  his  saddle,  and  though  I  would  not  suffer  my- 
self to  imagine  that  there  was  any  danger,  I  hastened  towards  him,  but 
I  arrived  too  late.  His  horse  making  a  movement  forward  he  lost  his 
seat,  and  but  for  the  intervention  of  his  aide-de-camp's  arm  must  have 
fallen  to  the  ground.  As  it  was,  we  could  only  lay  him  at  length  upon 
the  grass,  for  his  limbs  could  no  longer  perfoi-m  their  office, — it  was  but 
too  manifest  that  his  race  was  run.  .  .  .  His  aide-de-camp  (Capt.  McDou- 
gal)  having  seen  the  general  laid  by  the  roadside,  left  him  to  the  care 
of  Admiral  Cockburn  and  galloped  back  for  assistance." 

Rev.  Mr.  Gleig,  of  the  British  army,  in  his  narra- 
tive says, — 

"  We  were  drawing  near  the  scene  of  action  when  another  officer  came 
at  full  speed  towards  us,  with  horror  and  dismay  in  his  countenance,  and 
calling  aloud  for  a  surgeon.  Every  man  felt  within  himself  that  all 
was  not  right,  though  none  was  willing  to  believe  Ihe  whispers  of  his 
own  terror.  But  what  at  first  we  could  not  guess  at,  because  we  dreaded 
it  so  much,  was  soon  realized,  for  the  aide-de-camp  bad  scarcely  passed 
when  the  general's  horse,  without  a  rider,  and  with  the  saddle  and 
housings  stained  with  blood,  came  plunging  onwards;  nor  was  much 
time  given  for  fearful  surmise  as  to  the  extent  of  our  misfortune.  In  a 
few  minutes  we  reached  the  ground  where  the  skirmishing  had  taken 
place,  and  beheld  poor  Boss  laid  by  the  side  of  the  road,  under  a  canopy 
of  blankets,  and  apparently  in  the  agonies  of  death.  As  soon  as  the 
firing  began  he  had  ridden  to  the  front,  that  he  might  ascertain  from 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


wheuce  it  originnted,  and,  niiiigliug  with  the  fikirmi^hers,  was  shot  in 
the  side  by  a  ritleinan.  The  wound  vna  mortal ;  lie  fell  into  the  arms 
of  his  aide-de-camp,  and  lived  only  long  enough  to  name  his  wife,  and  to 
commend  his  family  to  the  protection  of  his  country.  Ho  wag  removed 
towards  the  fleet,  and  expired  before  his  bearers  could  reach  the  boats."  ^ 

On  the  death  of  Ross  the  command  of  the  invading 
army  devolved  upon  Col.  A.  Brooke,  of  the  Forty- 
fourth  Regiment,  and  under  his  direction  they  pressed 
vigorously  forward.  Maj.  Heath  found  his  situation 
becoming  e.xtreraely  perilous  as  a  iire  began  to  be 
opened  upon  each  flank,  as  well  as  in  his  front ;  he 
was  compelled  to  order  a  retreat.  Just  after  giving 
the  order  his  horse  had  one  of  his  hind  legs  broken 
by  a  ball,  and  the  major  dismounted. 

The  death  of  Gen.  Ross  no  doubt  changed  the  plan 
of  operations  on  the  British  side.  Had  he  lived  he 
■would  probably  have  pushed  directly  on  to  the  at- 
tack of  Gen.  Strieker's  front  line,  and  then  Gen. 
Strieker's  j^lan  would  have  been  followed  out ;  for, 
anticipating  such  an  attack,  he  had  ordered  his  two 
front  regiments  to  retire  by  files  from  the  right  of 
companies,  after  holding  their  ground  as  long  as  they 
could,  and  thus  passing  through  the  Thirty-ninth  and 
Fifty-first,  which  were  directed  to  open  and  afford  a 
passage,  the  skirmish  would  have  been  renewed  from 
time  to  time,  until  the  retiring  troops  reached  the 
strong  ground  where  the  Sixth  was  posted,  and  where 
another  struggle  would  have  been  made  by  the  united 
force  of  the  brigade.^  But  this  judicious  plan  of 
operation,  so  well  calculated  to  employ  his  force  to  the 
best  advantage,  and  to  obtain  the  double  object  of 
checking  the  enemy  and  fiirailiarizing  his  own  troops 
to  battle,  was  rendered  impracticable  by  the  cautious 
proceedings  of  Col.  Brooke.  That  officer  had  just 
learned  from  his  experience  with  the  Baltimore  rifle- 
men that  desultory  skirmishes  were  no  light  matters, 
and  he  therefore  proceeded  according  to  rule,  as  if  he 
were  opposed  to  a  disciplined  army.  Observing  the 
short  extent  of  Gen.  Strieker's  front,  he  halted  his 
attacking  columns  until  he  could  detach  the  Fourth 
Regiment  to  turn  the  left  flank  of  the  American  army. 
Gen.  Strieker,  with  a  promptness  and  decision  which 
reflect  the  highest  honor  upon  his  skill,  instantly 
changed  his  plan  to  meet  the  unexpected  and  cau- 
tious movement  of  his  adversary,  and  brought  up  his 
second  line  to  the  support  of  the  first.  The  Thirty- 
ninth  Regiment  was  stationed  on  the  left  of  the 
Twenty-seventh,  while  two  pieces  of  artillery  were 


'  A  story  obtained  partial  currency  at  the  time,  and  has  often  been  re- 
peated since,  that  Gen.  Ross  was  slain  by  two  boys  concealed  in  a  tree. 
The  story  is  wholly  without  foundation.  Daniel  Wells  and  Henry  Mc- 
Comas,  to  whose  memory  a  niouument  has  been  erected  at  Ashland 
Square,  Baltimore,  generally  enjoy  the  reputation  of  having  killed  Ri)ss. 
Both  were  privates  in  Capt.  Aisquith's  company  of  sharpshooters,  and 
were  sent  in  advance  with  the  other  troops  to  annoy  the  enemy.  They 
were  both  standing  in  the  front  rank  of  their  company,  and  the  moment 
after  they  fired  were  both  killed. 

2  The  intention  of  Gen.  Strieker  appeal's  to  have  been  a  succession  of 
skirmishes  rather  Uian  a  pitched  battle,  which  is  indicated  by  the  manner 
in  which  he  drew  up  his  troops  when  he  expected  an  attack ;  and 
this  probalily  accounts  for  his  not  taking  with  him  a  larger  detachment 
of  artillery. 


j  detached  to  the  left  of  the  Thirty-ninth.  The  Fifty- 
first  Regiment  formed  at  right  angles  with  the  line, 

I  resting  its  right  near  the  left  of  the  Thirty-ninth. 

j  This  order,  being  badly  executed,  created  for  a  mo- 
ment considerable  confusion,  which  was  rectified, 
however,  by  the  efforts  of  Brigade-Majs.  Frailey  and 
Calhoun,  who  corrected  the  error  of  Lieut.-Col. 
Amey  and  posted  the  Fifty-first  in  its  ordered 
position. 

In  the  mean  time,  according  to  our  narrator, 

"  the  British  soldiers  moved  forward  with  their  accustomed  fearlessness, 
and  the  Americans,  with  much  apparent  coolness,  stood  to  receive  them. 
Now,  however,  when  little  more  than  a  hundred  paces  divided  the  one 
lino  from  the  other,  both  parties  made  ready  to  bring  matters  more 
decidedly  to  a  personal  struggle.  The  Americans  were  the  flret  to  use 
their  small-arms.  Having  rent  the  air  with  a  shout,  they  fired  a  volley, 
begun  upon  the  right,  and  carried  away  regularly  to  the  extreme  left; 
and  then  loading  again,  kept  up  an  unintermitted  discharge,  which  soon 
in  a  great  degree  concealed  them  from  observation.  Nor  were  we  back- 
ward in  returning  the  salute.  A  hearty  British  cheer  gave  notice  of  our 
willingness  to  meet  them,  and  firing  and  running,  we  gradually  closed 
upon  them  with  the  design  of  bringing  the  bayonet  into  play.  .  .  Volley 
upon  volley  having  been  given,  we  were  now  advanced  within  less  than 
twenty  yards  of  the  American  line,  yet  such  was  the  denseness  of  the 
smoke  that  it  was  only  when  a  passing  breeze  swept  away  the  cloud  for 
a  moment  that  either  force  became  visible  to  the  other.  The  flashes  of 
the  enemy's  muskets  alone  served  as  an  object  to  aim  at,  as,  without 
doubt,  the  flashes  of  our'muskets  alone  guided  the  enemy." 

The  Fifty-first  Regiment,  which  had  been  intrusted 
with  the  protection  of  the  left  of  the  line,  after  firing 
a  volley  at  random,  broke  and  fled  in  wild  disorder, 
producing  a  like  effect  in  the  second  battalion  of  the 
Thirty-ninth  Regiment.  All  efforts  to  rally  the  fugi- 
tives proved  fruitless.  Col.  Brooke,  instantly  perceiv- 
ing his' advantage,  and  hoping  to  effect  a  general  rout, 
came  on  with  a  rapid  discharge  of  musketry,  which 
was  not  returned  until  they  had  approached  within 
a  short  distance,  when  our  artillery,  loaded  with 
"  grape  and  canister,  shot,  old  locks,  pieces  of  broken 
muskets,  and  everything  which  they  could  cram 
into  their  guns,"  opened  an  incessant  and  deadly 
fire,  while  from  right  to  left  along  our  entire  line 
one  volley  of  musketry  and  rifle-shots  followed 
another.  Our  troops,  weakened  by  the  desertion  of 
the  Fifty-first  and  companies  of  the  Thirty-ninth, 
numbered  hardly  more  than  one  thousand  four  hun- 
dred men.  Defeat  seemed  almost  inevitable,  but  there 
was  no  disposition  to  flinch  on  the  part  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  city  brigade,  who  were  determined  to  re- 
trieve the  honor  of  their  command. 

As  the  British  line  continued  to  advance  in  over- 
whelming numbers,  exchanging  fires  with  the  Amer- 
ican infantry  and  receiving  that  of  the  artillery,  which 
was  w'ell  served  throughout  the  whole  engagement, 
the  action  became  warmer  and  warmer,  until  Gen. 
Strieker,  having  accomplished  the  purpose  which  he 
had  in  view,  ordered  a  retreat  to  his  reserve,  and 
owing  to  the  fatigued  state  of  the  regiments  which- 
had  been  engaged,  and  the  probability  that  his  right 
flank  might  be  turned  by  a  quick  movement  of  the 
enemy,  he  finally  fell  back  to  a  position  near  the  city. 
Thus  ended  what  was  then  called  the  battle  of  Long 


THE   WAR   OF    1812. 


Log  Lane,  now  known  as  the  battle  of  North  Point, 
after  about  an  hour  and  a  half  of  hard  fighting. 

Gen.  Strieker  retired  with  his  brigade  in  good  order 
to  Worthington's  Mill,  and  as  the  enemy  did  not  pur- 
sue, he  again  fell  back  and  took  a  position  on  the  left 
of  the  line,  about  a  mile  in  advance  of  the  intrench- 
ments,  where  he  was  joined  by  Gen.  Winder,  who  | 
had  been  stationed  on  the  west  side  of  the  city,  but 
now  ordered,  with  the  Virginia  brigade,  under  the 
command  of  Gen.  Douglass,  and  Capt.  Bird's  United  , 
States  dragoons,  to  take  post  on  his  left.  The  con- 
duct of  the  city  brigade,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Fifty-first  and  the  second  battalion  of  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Regiments,  who  were  seized  with  the  panic  to 
which  raw  troops  are  so  subject,  deserved  the  highest 
praise.  Veterans  could  not  have  done  more.  Al- 
though the  American  line  retreated  from  a  foe  near  at 
hand  and  might  have  been  expected  to  incur  the  heavy 
loss  which  is  inflicted  upon  a  retiring  party,  yet  the 
aggregate  loss  of  the  British  was  greater  than  that  of 
the  Americans.  The  loss,  for  example,  stated  in  the 
official  reports  of  the  British  officers,  was  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety,  exclusive  of  the  naval  brigade  under 
Capt.  Crofton  ;  while  on  the  side  of  the  Americans  it 
was  only  two  hundred  and  thirteen,  among  whom 
were  some  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  Balti- 
more. This  may  perhaps  be  accounted  for  by  the 
slight  protection  a  portion  of  the  Americans  had  be- 
hind fences,  a  circumstance  of  which  the  officers  and 
men  availed  themselves  with  great  coolness,  and  the 
deliberate  aim  they  took,  thus  increasing  the  de- 
structiveness  of  their  fire.  John  Lowry  Donaldson, 
adjutant  of  the  Twenty-seventh  Regiment,  a  distin- 
guished lawyer,  and  Baltimore's  representative  in  the 
State  Legislature,  was  killed,  also  Gregorious  Andre, 
first  lieutenant  of  the  Union  Yagers,  First  Rifle  Bat- 
talion. Levi  Clagett,  third  lieutenant  in  Capt.  Nich- 
olson's artillery  company  of  Baltimore  Fencibles,  was 
killed  in  the  bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry,  and  in 
the  two  engagements  the  following  non-commissioned 
officers  and  privates  were  killed :  G.  Jenkins,  J.  Rich- 
ardson, W.  Alexander,  T.  V.  Beeston,  D.  Howard,  J. 
H.  Marriott  of  John,  J.  Armstrong,  M.  Desk,  J.  Craig, 
R.  Neale,  J.  Evans,  J.  Haubert,  D.  Davis,  H.  G. 
McComas,  J.  Burneston,  G.  Fallier,  J.  Jephson,  E. 
Marriott,  J.  Dunn,  P.  Byard,  B.  Reynolds,  J.  Gregg, 

A.  Randall,  J.  H.  Cox,  J.  Wolf,  D.  Wells,  R.  K.  Cook- 
sey,  J.  Wallack,  J.  C.  Byrd,  W.  Ways,  C.  Bell,  J. 
Clemm,  T.  Garrett,  J.  Merriken,  C.  Cox,  U.  Prosser,' 

B.  Bond.i 

That  raw  militia  should  have  met  in  open  fight 
and  parted  upon  equal  terms  with  the  choicest  troops 
of  the  British  army,  who  had  won  laurels  in  the  Pe- 


1  Tlie  following  Americans  were  captured  at  Baltimore  and  exchanged 
Oct.  13, 1814 :  Jas.  H.  McColloch,  Henry  Brice,  Geo.  Keput,  Jacob  Noyle, 
John  Robinson,  Jas.  N.  Marriott,  Chaa.  Goddard,  Walter  Muskett,  Bryan 
Allen,  Geo.  Rentzel,  Jacob  Hubbard,  Benj.  Fleewood,  Thos.  Bringham, 
Jno.  Pidgeou,  Luther  A.  Norris,  David  Davis,  Wni.  Collins,  Jno.  Lamb, 
Jas.  Davidson,  Wm.  Kean,  Jr.,  James  Gibson,  Richard  K.  Cook,  Robert 
Smith,  Jno.  Jephson,  Geo.  Bennett,  Conrad  Euler. 


ninsular  war,  would  have  been  no  slight  achievement. 
But  the  terms  were  by  no  means  equal.  The  Ameri- 
cans, it  is  true,  retreated ;  but,  as  we  have  shown,  this 
was  part  of  the  plan.  The  closest  calculation  cannot 
make  the  number  engaged  upon  the  American  side, 
after  the  withdrawal  of  the  regiment  upon  the  left, 
more  than  sixteen  hundred  ;  and  the  chimerical  idea 
of  effectually  checking  the  whole  British  army  did 
not  for  a  moment  present  itself  to  the  mind  of  Gen. 
Strieker.  He  came  out  to  skirmish  and  no  more.' 
His  object  was  to  let  the  British  general  see  that  the 
city  of  Baltimore  was  a  prize  not  to  be  had  T^ithout  a 
struggle;  and  the  severity  of  that  struggle  was  fore- 
shadowed by  the  determination  with  which  his  ad- 
vance was  contested. 

The  enemy  slept  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  at  an 
early  hour  on  Tuesday,  the  13th,  they  took  up  their 
line  of  march  for  Baltimore.  Our  British  narrator 
says, — 

"  On  our  march  to-day  the  Americans  had  at  last  adopted  an  expedient 
which,  if  carried  to  its  proper  length,  might  have  entirely  stopped  our 
progress.  In  most  of  the  woods  they  had  felled  trees  and  thrown  them 
across  the  road ;  but  as  these  abatis  were  without  defenders,  we  experi- 
enced no  other  inconvenience  than  what  arose  from  loss  of  time,  being 
obliged  to  halt  on  all  such  occasions  till  the  pioneers  had  removed  the 
obstacle.  So  great,  however,  was  even  this  hindrance  that  we  did  not 
come  in  sight  of  the  main  army  of  the  Americans  till  evening,  although 
the  distance  traveled  could  not  exceed  ten  miles. 

"  It  now  appeared  that  the  corps  which  we  had  beaten  yesterday  was 
only  a  detachment,  and  not  a  large  one,  from  the  force  collected  for  the  de- 
fense of  Baltimore,  and  that  the-account  given  by  the  volunteer  troopers 
was  in  every  respect  correct.  Upon  a  ridge  of  hills  which  concealed  the 
town  itself  from  observation  stood  the  grand  army,  consisting  of  twenty 
thousand  men  2  Not  trusting  to  his  superiority  in  numbers,  their  gen- 
eral had  there  intrenched  them  in  the  most  formidable  manner,  having 
covered  the  whole  face  of  the  heights  with  breastworks,  thrown  back 
his  left  so  as  to  rest  upon  a  strong  fort  erected  for  the  protection  of  the 
river,  and  constructed  a  chain  of  field  redoubts  which  covered  bis  right 
and  commanded  the  entire  ascent.  Along  the  side  of  the  hill  were  like- 
wise fleches  and  otlier  projecting  works,  from  which  a  cross-fire  might  be 
kept  up ;  and  there  were  mounted  throughout  this  commanding  position 
no  less  than  one  hundred  pieces  of  cannon. 

"  It  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that  the  sight  of  preparations  so  wai^ 
like  did  not  in  some  degree  damp  the  ardor  of  our  leaders ;  at  least  it 
would  have  been  madness  to  storm  such  works  without  pausing  to  con- 
sider how  it  might  best  be  attempted.  The  whole  of  the  country  within 
cannon-shot  was  cleared  from  wood  and  laid  out  in  grass  and  corn-fields, 
conseijuently  there  was  no  cover  to  shelter  an  attacking  army  from  any 
part  of  the  deadly  fire  which  would  be  immediately  poured  upon  it.  The 
most  prudent  plan,  therefore,  was  to  wait  till  dark,  and  then,  assisted  by 
the  frigates  and  bombs,  which  we  hoped  were  by  this  time  ready  to  co- 
operate, to  try  the  fortune  of  a  battle. 

"  Having  resolved  thus  to  act.  Col.  Brooke  halted  his  army,  and  having 
secured  it  against  surprise  by  a  well-connected  line  of  pickets,  the 
troops  were  permitted  to  light  iires  and  to  cook  the  provisions.  But 
though  the  rain  still  fell  in  torrents  no  shelter  could  be  obtained,  and 
j  as  even  their  blankets  were  no  longer  at  hand,  with  which  to  form 
gipsy-tents,  this  was  the  reverse  of  an  agreeable  bivouac  to  the  whole 

"  Darkness  had  now  come  on,  and  yet  no  intelligence  had  arrived  from 

I   the  shipping.    To  assail  this  position,  however,  without  the  aid  of  the 

I   fleet  was  deemed  impracticable  ;  at  least  our  chance  of  success  would  be 

greatly  diminished  without  their  co-operation.      As  the  left  of  the 

i   American  army  extended  to  a  fort  built  upon  the  very  brink  of  the 

j   river  [Lazaretto],  it  was  clear  that  could  the  ships  be  brought  to  bear 

upon  that  point,  and  the  fort  be  silenced  by  their  fire,  that  flank  of  the 

position  would  be  turned.    This  once  effected  there  would  be  no  difii- 

culty  in  pushing  a  column  within  their  works,  and  as  soldiers  intrenched 

always  placed  more  reliance  upon  the  strength  of  their  intrehchmenta 

-  Not  more  than  twelve  thousand. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


than  upon  their  own  pereonal  exertions,  the  very  sight  of  our  people  on 
a  level  with  them  would  in  all  pi-obability  decide  the  contest.  At  all 
events,  as  this  column  was  to  advance  under  cover  of  night,  it  might 
easily  push  forward  and  crown  the  hill  above  the  enemy  before  any  ef- 
fectual opposition  could  be  offered,  by  which  means  they  would  be  in- 
closed between  two  fires  and  lose  the  advantage  which  their  present 
elevated  situation  bestowed.  All,  however,  depended  upon  the  ability  of 
the  fleet  to  lend  their  a.'^istance,  for  without  silencing  the  fort  this  flank 
could  scarcely  be  assailed  with  any  cliauce  of  success,  and  therefore  the 
■whole  plan  of  operations  must  be  ol»atiged."i 

The  "  Subaltern"  says, — 

"To  the  fleet  the  fort  on  the  wat^r  was  accordingly  left,  which  by 
bombardment  would,  it  was  presumed,  reduce  it  to  ruins  in  a  few  hours ; 

the  sigual  fdr  a  general  movement  in  line.  As  hour  after  hour  stole  on 
we  turned  our  gaze  with  feverish  anxiety  towards  the  river.  All,  how- 
ever, continued  as  it  had  been  before.  No  flash  told  that  the  shipping 
had  taken  their  stations;  the  noise  of  firing  was  unheard,  and  the  most 
serious  apprehensions  began  to  he  entertained  that  the  plan  had,  for 
some  cause  or  another,  miscarried.  At  last,  when  midnight  was  close  at 
hand,  a  solitary  report,  accompanied  by  the  ascension  of  a  email  bright 
spark  into  the  sky,  gave  notice  that  the  bombardment  had  begun.  An- 
other and  another  followed  in  quick  succession,  and  now  every  man 
instinctively  sprung  from  the  earth  and  grasped  his  arms.  The  point  to 
be  passed  was,  we  well  knew,  in  our  immediate  front.  Our  ears  were  on 
the  stretch  for  the  musketry,  which  ought  soon  to  be  heard  in  the  oppo- 
site direction;  in  a  word,  we  stood  in  our  ranks  for  a  full  hour,  under 
the  influence  of  that  state  of  excitation  which,  while  it  lacks  the 
faculty  of  speech,  renders  the  senses,  both  of  sight  and  hearing,  acute 
to  an  almost  unnatural  degree. 

"Such  was  our  situation,  both  of  body  and  mind,  from  midnight,  when 
the  ships  began  to  open  fire,  up  to  the  hour  of  two.  That  all  things 
went  not  prosperously  was  manifest  enough. 

"At  last  Col.  Brooke,  having  waited  until  he  considered  it  imprudent 
to  wait  longer  without  knowing  the  disposition  of  the  fleet,  and  whether 
he  was  to  be  supported,  determined,  if  possible,  to  open  a  communi- 
cation with  the  fleet,  and  for  that  purpose  dispatched  an  officer  to  make 
an  eff'ort  to  reach  it.  After  many  adventures  he  arrived  on  the  river-bank 
just  in  time  to  meet  a  party  who  had  been  sent  by  Admiral  Cochrane  for 
the  same  purpose  to  Col.  Brooke.  By  tliem  lie  was  conveyed  to  the  Ad- 
miral, who  informed  him  '  that  no  effectual  support  could  be  given  to  the 
land  force,  for  such  was  tlie  shallowness  of  the  river  that  none  except 
the  very  lightest  craft  could  make  their  way  within  six  miles  of  the 
town,  and  even  tliese  were  stopped  by  vessels  sunk  in  the  channel  and 
other  artificial  bars,  barely  within  a  shell's  longest  range  of  the  fort.' 
With  this  unwelcome  news  he  was  accordingly  forced  to  return.  .  .  . 

"  Having  brought  his  report  to  headquarters,  a  council  of  war  was  in- 
stantly summoned  to  deliberate  upon  what  was  best  to  be  done.  'With- 
out the  help  of  the  fleet  it  was  evident  that,  adopt  what  plan  of  attack 
we  could,  our  loss  must  be  such  as  to  counterbalance  even  success  itself, 
while  success  under  existing  circumstances  was,  to  say  the  least  of  it, 
doubtful.  And  even  if  we  should  succeed,  what  would  be  gained  by  it? 
We  could  not  remove  anything  from  Baltimore  for  want  of  proper  con- 
veyances. Had  the  ships  been  able  to  reach  the  town,  then,  indeed,  the 
quantity  of  booty  might  have  repaid  the  survivors  for  their  toil  and  con- 
soled them  for  the  loss  of  comrades ;  but  as  the  case  now  stood,  we  should 
only  fight  to  give  us  an  opportunity  of  re-acting  the  scenes  of  Washing- 
ton. .  .  ,  About  three  hours  after  midnight  the  troops  were  accordingly 
formed  upon  the  road  and  began  their  retreat,  leaving  the  pickets  to 
deceive  the  enemy  and  to  follow  as  a  rear-guard."  2 

If  Gen.  Ross  had  lived  it  is  possible,  and  indeed 
probable,  that  he  might  have  attempted  to  force  the 
intrenchments  or  pass  around  them,  with  a  view  of 
approaching  the  city  upon  a  quarter  where  the  natu- 
ral advantages  of  the  ground  were  not  as  great.  But 
the  experienced  eye  of  Gen.  Smith  had  contemplated 
both  these  probabilities  and  provided  against  them. 
The  heavy  artillery,  which  was  planted  in  batteries, 
manned  by  brave  and  skillful  artillerymen,  and  the 
numerous  corps  of  infantry  which  lined  the  intrench- 

i  Gleig'8  Narrative,  p.  190.  2  ibid.,  p.  196. 


ments  would  have  rendered  the  first  a  fruitless  effort 
whether  made  by  day  or  night.  If  by  day,  the  de- 
struction of  the  assailing  force  would  have  been  almost 
certain ;  and  ample  means  were  provided  if  the  attack 
had  been  made  by  night  to  throw  upon  the  advancing 
column  such  a  blaze  of  light  that  the  aim  of  the  de- 
fenders would  have  been  unerring.  Xo  direct  attack 
could  have  succeeded.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  a  cir- 
cuitous route  had  been  taken,  the  advantages  of  a 
knowledge  of  the  country  and  of  numbers  would  have 
probably  turned  the  scale  in  favor  of  the  American 
troops,  a  part  of  whom  had  shown  on  the  day  before 
that  they,  could  meet  the  invaders  in  the  field  with  a 
gallantry  well  adapted  to  inspire  caution  in  an  enemy. 
It  seems,  however,  that  the  enemy  did  make  a  feint 
to  pass  around  .the  intrenchments,  for  Gen.  Smith,  in 
his  oflScial  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  Sept. 
19,  1814,  says,— 

"On  Tuesday  the  enemy  appeared  in  front  of  my  intrenchments,  at 
the  distance  of  two  miles,  on  the  Philadelphia  road,  from  whence  he  had 
a  full  view  of  our  position.  He  manceuvred  during  the  morning  to- 
wards our  left,  as  if  with  the  intention  of  making  a  circuitous  march 
and  coming  down  on  the  Harford  or  York  roads.  Gens.  Winder  and 
Strieker  were  ordered  to  adapt  their  movements  to  those  of  the  enemy, 
so  as  to  baffle  this  supposed  intention.  They  executed  this  order  with 
great  skill  and  judgment  by  taking  an  advantageous  position,  stretch- 
ing from  my  left  across  the  country,  when  the  enemy  was  likely  to  ap- 
proach the  quarter  he  seemed  to  threaten.  This  movement  induced  the 
enemy  to  concentrate  his  forces  (between  one  and  two  o'clock)  in  my 
front,  pushing  his  advance  to  within  a  mile  of  us,  driving  in  our  videttes 
and  showing  an  intention  of  attacking  us  that  evening.  I  immediately 
drew  Gens.  Winder  and  Strieker  nearer  to  the  left  of  my  intrenchments 
and  to  the  right  of  the  enemy,  with  the  intention  of  their  failing  on  his 
right  or  rear  should  he  attack  me  ;  or,  if  he  declined  it,  of  atUcking  him  in 
the  morning.  To  this  movement  and  to  the  strength  of  my  defenses,  which 
the  enemy  had  the  fairest  opportunity  of  observing,  I  am  induced  to 
attribute  his  retreat,  which  was  commenced  at  half-past  one  o'clock 
Wednesday  morning.  In  this  he  was  so  favored  by  the  extreme  dark- 
ness and  a  continued  rain  that  we  did  not  discover  it  until  daylight.  I 
consented  to  Gen.  Winder  pursuing  with  the  Virginia  brigade  and  the 
United  States  dragoons;  at  the  same  time  Maj.  Randall  was  dispatched 
with  his  light  corps  in  pursuit  on  the  enemy's  right,  whilst  the  whole  of 
the  militia  cavalry  was  put  in  motion  for  the  same  object.  All  the  troops 
were,  however,  so  completely  worn  out  with  continued  watching,  and 
with  being  under  arms  during  three  days  and  nights,  exposed  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  to  very  inclement  weather,  that  it  was  fouud 
impracticable  to  do  anything  more  than  pick  up  a  few  stragglers.  The 
enemy  commenced  his  embarkation  that  evening,  and  completed  it  the 
next  day  at  one  o'clock.  It  would  have  been  impossible,  even  had  our 
troops  been  in  a  condition  to  act  offensively,  to  cut  off  any  part  of  the 
enemy's  rear-guard  during  the  embarkation,  as  the  point  where  it  waa 
effected  was  defended  from  our  approach  by  a  line  of  defenses  extending 
from  Back  River  to  Humphrey's  Creek,  on  the  Patapsco,  thrown  up  by 
ourselves  previous  to  their  arrival."  3 

In  the  mean  time  the  enemy  detei*miued  to  lay  aside 
tjae  musket  for  the  mortar  and  bomb-shell,  and  moved 
his  fleet  of  sixteen  ships  (including  five  bomb-vessels) 
within  about  two  miles  and  a  half  of  Fort  McHenry. 
About  two  o'clock  on  Tuesday  morning,  September 
13th,  the  enemy  opened  fire  from  his  five  bomb-ves- 
sels at  the  distance  of  about  two  miles,  and  the  whole 
of  Tuesday  and  Tuesday  night  was  employed  in  air 
effort  to  subdue  the  passive  resistance  of  the  fort  by 
an  incessant  shower  of  shell,  which  the  garrison  was 
unable  to  return.     There  was  something  exceedingly 

3  NiUs'  Segiater,  vii..  p.  26. 


THE   WAR   OF   1812. 


97 


jMcturesque  and  beautiful  in  the  silence  of  that  fort.^ 
Having  no  means  of  reaching  the  enemy  at  that  dis- 
tance, which  he  took  care  to  keep,  the  fort's  brave  de- 
fenders were  compelled  to  endure  without  reply  an 
incessant  bombardment  for  twenty-four  hours,  and 
with  a  few  brief  exceptions,  when  the  incautious 
enemy  ventured  too  near,  and  the  sullen  silence  of 
the  garrison  was  broken  by  such  a  salute  from  their 
heavy  artillery  as  compelled  a  prompt  retreat,  the  in- 
dignant defiance  of  the  fort  was  manifested  only  by 
the  waving  of  its  flag  calmly  floating  in  the  breeze. 
The  language  addressed  to  the  eye  by  the  continued 
and  proud  waving  of  that  flag  can  never  be  forgotten 
by  those  who  saw  it.  It  told  everything  at  a  glance, 
and  the  feeling  which  it  excited  was  most  happily  ex- 
pressed by  Francis  Scott  Key  in  a  burst  of  genuine 
poetry  which  is  destined  to  live  as  long  as  the  history 
of  our  nation  shall  be  read  or  told. 

The  bomb  and  other  vessels  ranged  in  a  half-circle 
in  front  of  the  fort,  kept  up  a  furious  bombardment 
both  day  and  night,  and  fired  over  eighteen  hundred 
shells  with  multitudes  of  round-shot  and  rockets. 
Many  of  the  shells  weighed  two  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds,  and  the  incessant  roar  of  the  cannon  and  the 
deafening  and  continuous  scream  of  the  shells  and 
rockets  added  terrors  to  the  awful  spectacle  of  a  can- 
nonade by  night.  About  midnight,  screened  by  total 
darkness  only  broken  by  the  flashes  of  their  own  artil- 
lery, a  few  bomb-ketches  and  rocket-boats  with  a 
squadron  of  barges,  numbering  altogether  about 
eighty  and  manned  by  about  twelve  hundred  men, 
pushed  up  the  cove  beyond  Fort  McHenry  to  effect  a 
landing  and  attempt  an  escalade  in  the  rear.  They 
passed  the  fort  and  moved  for  the  shore  with  loud 
cheers.  Fort  Covington,  the  City  Battery,  Fort  Mc-  : 
Henry,  and  the  Circular  Battery  instantly  brought 
every  gun  to  bear  upon  the  barges,  and  a  terrible  fire 
was  opened.  The  concussion  was  tremendous ;  every 
house  in  the  city  was  shaken  to  its  foundation,  and 
the  aff'righted  population  believed  that  all  was  over. 

No  eye  was  closed  in   Baltimore  that  night,  and 
many  expected  that  the  morning  sun  would  rise  upon 
a  scene  of  havoc,  plunder,  and  conflagration.     And 
when  through  the  gray  mists  of  dawn  they  saw  the  i 
bright  Stars  and  Stripes  still  waving  over  the  ramparts  ' 
of  Fort  McHenry,  a  burst  of  gratitude  went  up  to  I 
heaven  for  the  deliverance. 

The  mortar-boats  and  barges  which  passed  Fort 
McHenry,  after  losing  many  men  and  suffering  con-  ; 
siderable  damage,  being  saved  from  destruction  by  the  i 
darkness,  retreated  to  their  distant  positions  out  of 
reach  of  shot,  whence  they  kept  up  the  ineffectual 
bombardment  until  six  o'clock  next  morning,  when 
they,  like  the  army,  drew  off,  both  worsted  and  con- 
vinced of  the  much  greater  probability  of  their  own 
capture  or  destruction  than  that  of  Baltimore. 


I      There  is  one  circumstance  in  the  narrative  of  the 
I  defense  of  Baltimore  upon  which  the  citizens  of  Mary- 
I  land  can  always  dwell  with  peculiar  pleasure,  and 
that  is  the  cheerfulness  and  promptness  with  which 
our  neighbors  from  the  interior  country  repaired  to 
our  assistance.     Three  companies  from  Pennsylvania 
— from  York,  Hanover,  and  Marietta— and  one  from 
Hagerstown  attached  themselves  to  Gen.  Strieker's 
I  brigade,  and  bore  an  honorable  share  in  the  fatigues 
I  and  dangers  of  the  day.     Large  bodies  of  troops  from 
I  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,^  as  well  'as  from  many 
parts  of  our  own  State,  hastened  to  our  relief  with  a 
brotherly  affection.    Two  brigades  of  Virginia  militia, 
amounting  to  twenty-five  hundred  men,  constituted  a 
part  of  Gen.  Winder's  immediate   command  which 
hovered  on  the  right  flank  of  the  British  army  during 
I  the  whole  of  its  stay  before  the  intrenchments.     On 
I  the  13th  this  force  was  increased  by  the  whole,  or 
nearly  the  whole,  of  Gen.  Strieker's  brigade,  so  that  if 
I  Col.  Brooke  had  attempted  a  circuitous  route  to  the 
city  he  would  have  had  in  his  front  a  body  of  six 
thousand  men,  whilst  an  equal  number  would  have 
marched  out  from   the   intrenchments  and  assailed 
j  him  in  fiank.     The  number  which  were  collected  en- 
abled Gen.  Smith  thus  to  place  his  troops  so  as  to 
menace  his  enemy  on  every  quarter,  and  assume  a 
position  which  proved  his  high  military  skill. 

Intelligence  of  the  defense  of  Baltimore  was  re- 
ceived throughout  the  country  with  every  demonstra- 
tion of  joy.  The  joy  of  the  Baltimoreans,  rescued, 
as  it  seemed  to  them,  from  the  very  jaws  of  destruc- 
tion, cannot  be  described.  Measures  were  taken  for 
a  perpetual  celebration  of  the  event;  rewards  were 
proposed  for  those  who  had  filled  distinguished  posi- 
tions in  the  defense;  and  a  beautiful  monument  in 
the  centre  of  the  city  perpetuates  the  names  and 
memory  of  those  who  fell  in  defense  of  their  homes. 
Around  it,  on  each  returning  anniversary  of  the  day, 
amid  dense  crowds  of  spectators,  the  pomp  of  mili- 
tary escort,  and  the  stirring  strains  of  martial  music, 
march,  under  a  tattered  flag,  a  handful  of  aged  men, 
their  number  lessening  every  year,  the  survivors  of 
that  eventful  12th  of  September,  the  honored  com- 
pany of  "  Old  Defenders."  May  it  yet  be  long  ere 
the  last  survivor  of  that  venerable  band  performs  his 
solitary  circuit! 

Notwithstanding  the  retirement  of  the  enemy  from 
Baltimore,  the  works  of  defense  were  pushed  forward 
to  completion,  as  the  "hated  Baltimore"  expected 
the  enemy  to  return  for  a  second  attack.  The  enemy, 
however,  re-embarked  on  board  of  the  fleet  on  the 
15th,  and  on  the  17th  of  September  they  got  under 
way  and  sailed  for  the  bay,  and  on  the  18th  arrived 
at  their  old  anchorage  in  the  Patuxent  River,  when 
they  renewed  their  expeditions  for  plundering  and 
robbing  the  inhabitants. 


Gen.  WillcmsoD,  an  old  and  experienced  officer  from  Maryland,  Baid,  2  Among  the  volunteers  from  Pennsylvania  for  the  defense  of  Balti- 

The  defense  of  Fort  McHenry  was  of  no  ordinary  character,  for  the      more  «ere  James  Buchanan  (afterwards  President  of  the  United  States) 

passive  resistance  of  danger  is  the  test  of  vaIor."-lf™,o.V»,i.,  p.  795.  and  Judge  Henry  Shippen  ™  =«ies, 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Owing  to  some  dissatisfaction  among  the  militia 
officers  in  and  around  Baltimore,  a  number  of  them 
resigned  in  October,  among  whom  were  Maj.-Gen. 
Samuel  Smith  and  Gen.  Strieker.  Gen.  Robert  Good- 
loe  Harper  was  appointed  in  the  place  of  Gen.  Smith, 
and  Lieut.-Col.  James  Sterett,  of  the  Fifth  Regiment, 
was  appointed  brigadier-general  of  the  Third  or  "  City 
Brigade,"  in  the  place  of  Gen.  Strieker,  notwithstand- 
ing Col.  William  McDonald,  of  the  Sixth  Regiment, 
was  the  senior  officer  of  the  brigade. 

On  the  18th  of  November  the  First  Cavalry  Regi- 
ment, and  the  Fifth,  Sixth,  Twenty-seventh,  Thirty- 
ninth,  and  Fifty-first  Regiments  of  infantry,  and  Maj. 
Pinkney's  rifle  battalion  were  "  honorably  discharged, 
with  the  thanks  of  the  major-general  commanding 
for  their  good  conduct,  orderly  behavior,  and  atten- 
tion to  discipline  during  their  service." 

At  the  opening  of  the  war  the  Federal  government, 
instead  of  providing  for  tlie  common  defense,  ex-  j 
hausted  the  public  treasury  in  support  of  its  futile 
scheme  of  an  invasion  of  Canada.  The  fruit  of  this 
ill-advised  policy  was  that  when  the  enemy  was  at  ! 
the  door  it  had  not  the  means  to  protect  the  Federal 
capital  from  pillage  and  conflagration.  At  this  gloomy 
time,  when  the  cabinet  at  Washington  seemed  para- 
lyzed by  dismay  and  could  give  no  help,  the  State  of  [ 
Maryland  appropriated  more  than  four  hundred  and  j 
fifty  thousand  dollars  from  her  own  treasury  to  help  j 
the  Federal  government,  while  the  city  of  Baltimore 
appropriated  one  million  dollars  more,  advanced  by 
her  own  citizens,  for  the  purposes  of  defense.  By 
the  judicious  expenditure  of  this  sum  Maryland  was 
placed  in  an  attitude  of  defense.  But  for  the  fact 
that  the  State  was  enabled  to  repel  the  enemy,  to  save 
her  chief  city  from  destruction,  and  escape  with  no 
worse  harm  than  the  plundering  and  burning  of  farm- 
houses along  the  coast,  she  was  indebted  only  to  the  ; 
stout  hearts  and  the  open  purses  of  her  sons ;  to  the  j 
Federal  government  she  owed  nothing.  It  was  by 
the  losses  sustained  during  the  war  and  the  failure  of 
the  government  to  reimburse  the  State  that  the  foun- 
dation of  our  present  State  debt  was  laid.  In  the  city 
of  Baltimore,  up  to  the  year  1815  the  current  rev- 
enues were  sufficient  to  pay  the  expenses,  and  there 
■was  no  permanent  city  debt.  But  during  the  war  the 
treasury  became  exhausted  by  advancing  money  for 
the  public  defense,  and  the  Committee  of  Safety  were 
compelled  to  take  loans  from  the  banks  and  private 
citizens,  which  were  assumed  by  the  city,  and  became 
the  nucleus  of  the  present  city  debt.  In  the  year 
1816  the  rate  of  city  tax  was  twelve  and  a  half  cents 
on  each  one  hundred  dollars,  or  one-eighth  of  one  jicr 
centum  on  the  amount  of  assessment. 

The  defeat  of  the  British  before  Baltimore  hastened 
the  conclusion  of  peace,  as  it  was  among  the  first  in  | 
that   brilliant  series   of  events   that  illustrated   the 
truth  that  a  united  nation  of  freemen  battling  for  the  I 
right  are  invincible. 

The  American  commissioners  who  were  in  Europe 


endeavoring  to  make  an  honorable  peace  with  Great 
Britain  met  in  Ghent  on  the  24th  of  December,  1814, 
when  a  treaty  was  signed.  BIr.  Christopher  Hughes, 
Jr.,  of  Baltimore,  who  was  then  our  charge  d'affaires 
at  Stockholm,  and  secretary  to  the  commissioners, 
arrived  in  Annapolis  on  the  13th  of  February,  in  the 
schooner  "  Transit,"  and  immediately  set  out  for 
Washington.  The  tidings  of  peace  which  Mr.  Hughes 
brought  to  the  United  States 
were  as  welcome  as  they  were 
unexpected.  Cannon  thun- 
dered, bells  rang,  bonfires 
and  illuminations  lighted  up 
the  towns  and  cities,  and 
marked  the  public  satisfac- 
tion. In  Annapolis  the  State 
House  and  other  buildings 
were  brilliantly  illuminated, 
and  Baltimore  followed  in 
the  same  spirit,  and,  in  ac- 
cordance with  a  proclama- 
tion of  the  mayor,  with  a  j,,,^,  ,  i,,,,,,.,  m. 
general  illumination  on  the 

evening  of  the  loth  of  February.  Upon  the  ratifica- 
tion of  this  treaty  of  peace,  on  the  10th  of  April,  1815, 
a  large  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Baltimore  took  place 
in  the  city,  at  which  Joseph  H.  Nicholson,  Nathaniel 
Williams,  William  Wilson,  John  McKim,  Jr.,  James 
Hutton,  Levi  Hollingsworth,  Wm.  McDonald,  George 
Stiles,  John  Owens,  Nathaniel  F.  Williams,  Jesse 
Eichelberger,  Wm.  Krebs,  and  Edward  G.  Woodyear 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  forward  to  President 
Madison  a  congratulatory  address  upon  the  successfiil 
termination  of  the  war,  and  an  expression  of  their  ad- 
miration for  the  "  enlightened  wisdom  and  patriotic 
firmness"  by  which  his  conduct  was  distinguished 
during  the  extraordinary  trials  to  which  the  country 
had  been  subjected.  In  his  reply  to  this  address  the 
President  said, — 

"  111  tile  varied  scenes  wbich  have  put  to  the  test  the  constancy  of  the 
nation  Baltimore  ranks  among  the  portion  most  distinguished  for  devo- 
tion Ui  the  public  cause.  It  has  the  satisfaction  to  reflect  tliat  it  boldly 
and  promptly  espoused  the  resort  to  arms  when  no  other  honorable  choice 
remained;  that  it  found  in  the  courage  of  its  citizens  a  rampart  against 
the  assaults  of  an  enterprising  force;  that  it  never  wavered  nor  tem- 
porized with  the  vicissitudes  of  the  contest :  and  that  it  had  an  ample 
share  in  the  exertions  which  have  brought  it  to  an  liunorable  conclusion." 


CHAPTER  XIIL 

PRIVATEERS    AND    ARMED    VESSELS. 
The  Revolutionary  War— The  War  of  1S12— The  War  in  South  America. 

It  is,  and  ought  to  be,  a  matter  of  pride  with  Bal- 
timoreans  that  the  first  cruisers  of  the  navy  of  "  The 
Thirteen  United  Colonies"  were  fitted  out,  manned, 
and  armed  in  Baltimore,  sailed  under  Maryland 
officers,  and  to  a  very  great  extent  owed  their  efficiency 


privIteers  and  armed  vessels. 


99 


to  the  energy  and  enterprise  of  her  ship-builders,  and 
to  the  patriotism  and  sacrifices  of  her  citizens.  The 
first  act  of  the  Continental  Congress  for  the  formation 
of  a  navy  was  promulgated  on  the  13th  of  October,  ^ 
1776,  and  in  the  same  month  the  Continental  Marine  i 
Committee  at  Baltimore  fitted  out  two  cruisers  to  make 
the  first  essay  of  the  American  navy. 

A  Bermudian  vessel  was  purchased,  armed  with  ten 
guns,   called   the   "  Hornet,"  and  placed  under  the 
command  of  Capt.  William  Stone,  with  Joshua  Bar- 
ney as  second  oflBcer,  or  master's  mate.     Mrs.  Barney,  j 
in  her  "  Memoir  of  Commodore  Barney,"  says, —  I 

"  A  crew  had  not  yet  been  shipped,  and  the  duty  of  recruiting  one  was 
assigned  to  Barney.  Fortunately  for  his  purpose,  just  at  this  moment  a 
new  American  flag,  sent  by  Commodore  Hopkins  for  the  service  of  the 
'Hornet.'  arrived  from  Philadelphia.  Nothing  could  have  been  more 
opportune  or  acceptable.  It  ivaa  the  first  Conlinentnl  jJag  that  had  been 
seen  in  the  State  of  Maryland,  and  next  morning  at  sunrise  Barney  had 
the  enviable  honor  of  unfurling  it  to  the  music  of  drums  and  lifes,  and 
hoisting  it  upon  a  staff  planted  with  his  own  hands  at  the  door  of  his 
rendezvous.  The  iieart-stirring  sounds  of  the  martial  instruments,  tlien 
a  novel  incident  in  Baltimore,  and  the  still  more  novel  sight  of  the  rehel 
colors  gracefully  waving  in  the  breeze,  attracted  crowds  of  all  ranks  and 
eyes  to  the  gay  scene  of  the  rendezvous,  and  before  the  setting  of  the 
same  day's  sun  the  young  recniitiug.officer  had  enlisted  a  full  crew  of 
jolly  rebels  for  the  '  Hornet.' " 

At  the  time  the  "  Hornet"  was  purchased  the 
schooner  "Wasp,"  mounting  eight  guns,  was  also 
fitted  out  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
Charles  Alexander.  These  two  vessels  left  Baltimore 
late  in  November,  and  were  the  first  regular  cruisers 
that  went  to  sea  under  the  new  government.  They  i 
joined  the  fleet  of  Commodore  Hopkins,  at  the  mouth  ( 
of  the  Delaware,  and  aided  in  the  descent  on  New 
Providence.  A  short  time  after  this  the  "  Wasp" 
captured  a  British  tender  in  the  Delaware,  and  Bar- 
ney, who  had  been  transferred  to  her  for  his  gallant 
conduct,  was  made  a  lieutenant  in  the  Continental 
navy. 

On  the  13th  of  December,  1775,  Congress  ordered 
the  fitting  out  of  thirteen  ships  for  the  Continental 
navy,  and  under  this  act  the  "  Virginia,"  a  frigate  of 
twenty-eight  guns,  was  built  at  Fell's  Point  by  Mr. 
Wells,  ship-builder.  It  was  finished  early  in  the  spring 
of  1776,  and  Capt.  James  Nicholson  was  assigned  to 
the  command.  Having  received  her  crew  and  equip- 
ments, the  "  Virginia"  made  an  attempt  to  get  to  sea, 
March  30,  1776,  but  ran  aground  between  the  capes, 
and  was  captured  by  the  British  frigate  "  Emerald," 
Capt.  Caldwell.  Capt.  Nicholson  escaped,  but  Lieut. 
Joshua  Barney,  with  his  brother  William,  who  was 
an  ofiicer  of  the  marines,  and  the  rest  of  the  crew  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Congress  instituted  an 
inquiry,  but  acquitted  Capt.  Nicholson  of  all  blame. 
He  subsequently  fought  two  of  the  most  remarkable 
naval  combats  of  the  war. 

Not  only  did  the  State  of  Maryland  and  town  of 
Baltimore  lend  their  aid  to  the  construction  and 
equipment  of  the  infant  navy  of  the  United  Colonies, 
but  there  was  also  a  Maryland  navy,  built,  equipped, 
manned,  and  maintained  by  Baltimore  Town  and  the 


State,  which  rendered  most  valuable  services  both  in 
defense  and  attack  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 
The  "  Defense,"  mounting  twenty-two  si.x-pounders 
and  swivels,  fitted  out  at  Baltimore,  under  Capt. 
James  Nicholson,  was  a  successful  cruiser,  and  cap- 
tured many  prizes.  The  brigs  "Friendship"  and 
"Amelia,"  the  sloop-of-war  "Hebe  Johnson,"  twenty- 
two  guns,  the  galleys  "Johnson,"  "Independence," 
"  Baltimore,"  "  Conqueror,"  "  Chester,"  "  Molly," 
and  others,  the  barges  "Revenge,"  "Terrible,"  "in- 
trepid," "Protector,"  "Experiment,"  "Venus,"  "De- 
fense," "Reformation,"  "Dolphin,"  and  "Fear- 
naught"  rendered  most  valuable  service  in  the  waters 
of  the  Chesapeake  and  elsewhere.  Among  the  gal- 
lant ofiicers  and  men  of  the  Maryland  navy  who  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  the  Revolutionary  contest 
were  Capts.  James  Nicholson,  James  Cooke,  Thomas 
Grason,  John  Belt,  John  Gordon,  Robert  Dashiell, 
John  Green,  James  Stewart  Davis,  Zedekiah  Walley, 
William  Corbin,  William  Middleton,  Levin  Spedden, 
Daniel  Brian,  William  Delisle  Frazier,  and  John 
Lynn.' 

1  Dec.  12, 1776,  the  Maryland  navy  numbered  twenty-five  vessels,  car- 
rying each  from  twenty  to  thirty  guns. 

September  13th,  Capt.  George  Cooke,  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
"  Defense,"  carrying  twenty-two  six-pounders  and  several  swivels,  went 
on  a  cruise  and  captured  five  brigs. 

The  British  vessel  "  The  Otter,"  March  7, 1776,  accompanied  by  several 
tenders,  passed  the  Severn  sailing  towards  Baltimore.  They  captured  a 
New  England  schooner  in  the  Patuxent,  and  two  or  three  small  vessels. 
Dispatches  sent  throughout  the  province  quickly  assembled  a  defensive 
force.  Capt.  Nicholson,  in  the  "  Defense,"  stood  out  from  Baltimore  with 
the  purpose  of  grappling  "The  Otter,"  but  she  moved  quickly  out  of  the 
Patapsco.  This  gallant  little  vessel  we  find  advertised  Nov.  U,  1778,  as 
follows  :  "  The  ship  *  Defense,'  sufficiently  armed  and  manned  to  keep  off 
small  privateers,  will  take  in  tobacco  in  Wye  River,  delivered  alongside, 
for  Nantz,  in  France,  the  freight  one-half  for  the  owner,  with  the  prefer- 
ence of  having  the  proceeds  back  in  woolens,  linens,  or  the  like  articles, 
on  half  the  usual  freight,  it  being  intended  to  mount  twelve  guns  and 
ship  a  sufficient  number  of  men  for  her  voyage  back."  In  July  the 
State  sold  the  State  boat  "Amelia."  In  June  a  large  number  of  bay 
craft  were  impressed  by  the  State  to  convey  to  the  Head  of  Elk  the  pro- 
visions bought  by  the  government  in  Virginia.  In  December  the  galleys 
"  Independence"  and  the  "  Baltimore"  were  dispatched,  under  a  resolu- 
tion of  the  General  Assembly,  on  an  expedition  southward.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  resolution  of  Congress  of  Sept.  2, 1778,  the  brig  "  Friend- 
ship," Capt.  Thomas  Parker,  another  ship,  "  Susannah,"  Capt.  Davis 
Hatch,  loaded  in  Maryland  with  flour  for  the  Eastern  States ;  also  sloop 
"Hannah,"  Capt.  Paul  Hussey,  schooner  "Swan,"  Capt.  Styles,  for 
Boston,  the  "  Chester"  and  the  "  Conqueror,"  with  the  "  Dolphin,"  with 
Commodore  Grason,  were  dispatched  on  a  cruise  of  two  months  around 
the  capes  for  the  protection  of  commerce.  The  schooner  "  Hazard,"  Capt. 
Perkins,  was  dispatched  with  flour  for  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  April,  1779, 
sloop  "James,"  Capt.  Shadrach  Ames,  with  flour  to  Virginia;  sloop 
"  Molly,"  Capt.  Peregrine  Dunk,  with  flour  to  Virginia,  and  several  vessels 
sent  to  the  French  fleet  with  supplies  and  vegetables.  Col.  Henry  Hol- 
lingsworth  was  authorized,  April,  1780,  to  press  vessels  necessary  for  the 
transportation  of  troops  from  the  Head  of  Elk  to  Virginia ;  Commodore 
Grason,  those  in  Annapolis.  The  vessels  were  under  the  command  of 
Commodore  Gnason,  with  Capt.  Joseph  Middleton,  Lieut.  James  Ewing, 
and  Lieut.  James  Skinner,  Nov.  17, 1780.  "  Some  of  the  enemy's  small 
armed  vessels  have  lately  visited  several  places  on  the  Eastern  Shore 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Patuxent,  where  they  have  committed  the  greatest 
outrages.  Not  content  with  plundeiing  the  inhabitants  of  their  ne- 
groes, cattle,  and  other  property,  they  have  savagely  laid  many  of 
their  habitations  in  ashes.  Rousby  Hall,  the  elegant  seat  of  Col.  William 
Fitzhugh,  and  a  handsome  dwelling-house.  Hie  property  of  John  Parran, 
Esq.,  both  situated  near  the  mouth  of  the  Patuxent,  are  entirely  con- 
sumed by  the  means  of  these  incendiaries." 


100 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COWNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  defense  of  tlie  State  and  "  its  trade"  were  not 
wholly  withdrawn  from  the  exertions  of  the  citizens, 
and  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  23d  of  March,  1776, 
authorizing  the  fitting  out  of  private  armed  vessels, 
offered  to  the  enterprise  and  patriotism  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Baltimore  an  opportunity  of  acquiring  wealth, 
while  defending  their  commerce  and  protecting  the 
people  from  the  depredations  of  the  common  enemy. 
Under  this  act  privateering  became  a  business  as  well 
of  fortune  as  of  patriotism.  Under  the  supervision  of 
men  of  the  highest  naval  character,  this  kind  of  vol- 
unteer warfare  was  kept  from  degenerating  into  piracy, 
its  too  common  consequence.  The  maritime  law  of 
nations  until  1856  gave  no  protection  to  the  property 
of  peaceful  traders  on  the  high  seas.  While  on  land 
the  articles  of  war  respected  private  property,  on  the 
sea  every  species  of  property  belonging  to  the  people 
of  a  belligerent  was  liable  to  lawful  capture  and  con- 
demnation.    The  people  of  Baltimore  availed  them- 


selves of  their  legal  privilege  to  a  greater  extent  than 
any  other  city  or  town  of  the  United  States.  The 
powerful  navy  of  Great  Britain  blockaded  the  Chesa- 
peake and  destroyed  the  commerce  of  Baltimore. 
Hundreds  of  vessels  were  idle,  confined  to  the  port, 
and  their  crews  unemployed.  In  this  condition  the 
best  citizens  of  Baltimore  became  volunteers  on  the 
sea,  as  well  as  volunteers  on  the  land,  and  from  the 
decks  of  their  private  armed  vessels  displayed  the 
same  valor  and  intrepidity  that  characterized  their 
behavior  in  the  ranks  of  the  army. 

Prior  to  the  acts  of  Congress,  the  Council  of  Safety 
issued  licenses  to  privateers,  but  upon  the  passage  of 
the  act  of  March  23,  1776,  a  Court  of  Admiralty  was 
established  by  the  Convention  of  Maryland,  with 
William  Hayward  as  judge. 

The  archives  of  Maryland  exhibit  the  following  list 
of  authorized  privateers  from  April  1, 1777,  to  March 
14,  1783 : 


Baltimore  Privateers  from  1777  to  1783. 


Schooner  Montgomery- 
Ship  Chase 

Brigantiue  Buckskin  H 

Schooner  Gist 

Sloop  Black  Jake 

Schooner   Beggar's    Pi 
mission 

Schooner  Swallow 

"  Pr.t..m:ir-  .. 

Sloop  Mai  - 
Schooner  \\  illi  ni  . 

Gen-'smullv. 
Sloop  General  Gates... 

Schooner  Swift 

Sloop  Peggy 

Brig  Delaware 

Sloop  Morris  and  \\';i  1 1 

Brig  Saratoga 

Sloop  Delight 

"       Molly 

Schooner  Willi.^  ;ii,  i  ^l; 

Brig  Bail  til 
"      La(.:iiiii|i.  '^  |i-ii. 

Sloop  Coui.i..nl 

Schooner  Be^jgar'fl  Beui 

Sloop  Fly 

Schooner  Savage 

Sloop  Eicharilson 

"       Eclipsn  

"      Wu,^liii"jt..ii 
Schooner  \\  i  ;    v  w  ,  in 

Sloop  DoIpiiMi   

BrigBurlin. 
Schooner  WM:  -I  .i:   ■ 
Sloop  I!utl.  I 


Adriaua 

Lady  Washington 
mer  Lively 


John  Burnell.. 


Edward  Brooke 
Henry  Geddes.. 
Robert  Polk 


hn\  and  Samuel  Pnrviance.. 


Thomas  Steele.. 


2.")  I 


6     6  ...   William  Hammond,  Thomas  Bussell,  Stalia  Hep- 

j  burn,  J.  &  J.  Wilson 

l.^l     i    4'  Hugh  Y.ninK 

:f»    1/    >*    l!"l.evt  T    Unon,  nfClinrles  County 

"'    Mil    >    \   l;    [■niviii,,,     I  ii\ ,  Howley,  and  others 


Kolierl  BnoboJi 

F.  Stiles 

Jonathan  Parsons.. 
Henry  Geddes 


,  Earlo, 


Charles  Wallace 

S.  &  R.  Purviauce.. 

Hugh  Young 

State  of  Maryland.. 

Vanbibber,  etc 

Daniel  Bowley 

Samuel  Hughes 


1  Hill.. 


i-liiiWinn 

Henry  Geddes 

Juhn  Wainwright. 

Joseph  Veasey 

Nathaniel  Cooper.. 
!  Joliii  Baldwin 


« 

z. 

1 

5C 

10  10 

4 

li 

7 

9 

\'l 

,..• 

Isaac  Vanbibber 

William  Patterson.. 
S.  &  R.  Pnrviance... 


John  Wainwright.. 

Joseph  Veasev 

I.  &  A.  Vanbibber.. 


Baltimore,  April  1, 1777. 

April  30, 1777. 

"  April  31,  1777. 

June  17, 1777. 

June  23, 1777. 


July  7, 1777. 
July  23, 1777. 
July  25,  1777. 
Aug.  5. 1777. 
Sept.  12,  1777. 
Dec.  10, 1777. 
Oct.  20, 1777. 


Oct.  20,  1777. 
Ann  Arundel,  Oct.  19, 1777. 
Baltimore,  Oct.  20, 1777. 


Talbot,  July  25, 1778. 
Baltimore,  July  30, 1778. 

Aug.  3,  1778. 

Aug.  10, 1778. 

Aug.  6,  1778. 

Aug.  18,  1778. 
"  Sept.  12,  1778. 

Sept.  14, 1778. 


Oct.  9, 1778. 

Oct.  14, 1778. 
Dorchester  Co.,  Oct.  16, 1778. 
Baltimore,  Oct.  10, 1778. 
Dorchester  Co.,  Oct.  26, 1778. 
Baltimore,  Nov.  7, 1778. 


Nov.  9, 1778. 


PRIVATEERS  AND  ARMED  VESSELS. 


Baltimore  Privateers  from  1777  to  1783.— Continued. 


I  Sloop  Ariii:i|-li-     . 

ShipBuikikin 

Brigantino  Siilly... 

Sloop  Little  Sam... 

Schooner  Jonies.... 

Speedwel 

Sloop  Swift 

"     Franklin 

"     Fly 

"     Despatch 

I        "     General  Gate-! 
1  Schooner  General  < 

Brig  ColuDibns 

Sloop  Porpns 

Brigantine  Snake. . 


Ship  Fancy 

Schooner  Camden.. 

'*        Dragon... 

Sloop  Despatch 


4i  Henry  Hooper.. 
...I  A.  &G.  Bucha 
...   Hugh  and  ■William  McBride.. 

2:  Hugh  Young  &  Co 

2  James  Williams  &  Co 

...|  S.  &  R.  Purriance  and  others 

4i  Arch.  Buchanan,  I).  Bowley.. 

i   David  Weems 

6'  David  Stuart 

6  Blair  McClanagan 

4  .lohn  McClure,  John  Sterett-. 

0   Daniel  Bowley 

Ill  William  Patterson 

...   -lohn  Johnson 

-    II.  ll.CniininKluiiii 


14    8  E.  &  J.  Crockett,  J.Sterett.'.', 
4  ...'  S.  S.  Magruder 


Dec.  16, 1778. 
Dec.  18, 1778. 
Dec.  19, 1778. 

Dec.  26, 1778. 

Jan.  8, 1779. 

Jan.  9, 1779. 

Jan.  11, 1779. 

Feb.  4, 1779. 

Feb. 12, 1779. 

Feb.  15,  1779. 

Feb.  6, 1779. 

March  11,1779. 
"  March  30,  1779. 

Annapolis,  March  30, 1779. 
Baltimore,  April  6, 1779. 


Annapolis,  April  23,  1779. 
Baltimore,  April  28,  1779. 

May  3,  1779. 

May  6, 1779. 

May  lU,  1779. 
"  May  1.5,  1779. 

May  19, 1779. 
Philadelphia,  May  31, 1779. 
Maryland,  1779. 
Baltimore.  June  14, 1779. 

June  15, 1779. 


BrigFMX l:.„i.un,n  h.,.!,:,): 

Schooner  Fly i:.,i..i,  I;  u,.i..|(.l 

Sloop  Isabella I.,  i  in   I' i[.[.. 

Schooner  Johnson I'lr.  i   ll.i,.|.i. 

Sloop  Bennington l:..l,ii  •  i  ,., 

Schooner  Lark A\'i]li;iiii  i '.iv\:iiii 

Little  Davy Thomas  Kell 

Brig  Maryland i  Benjamin  King 

Sloop  General  Lincoln :  John  Harrison 

Sloop  Hope George  GarBton 

Brigantine  Queen  of  France  Thomas  Saunders... 

Schooner  Betsey John  Nichols 

Brig  Lady  de  Miralles J..se]..h  Fariljault... 

"     Alexander .....  I  ii-rn,!- i 'i>ii\\;i\  ... 

Brigantine  Donia.\  II M  ill 

Talbot...  - 1     ,,i. 

Sloop  General  Way n.  \,  ,       

Brig  Hercules l.itn.  .  1  m  1.  .  

Schooner  Peggy 11.1'ntiian] 

Despatch Thomas  Walker.... 

Molly Joseph  Elliott 

Sloop  Lark  Cartlien Thomas  Waters 

Schooner  Cljaiici- D.  Durliani 

Brig  Black   !■ ■■  .l..hn   l:..-..i,     

BrigFox...,'  '    '  ''",,:.       i;, ',':"'"];. .^,,i.','u. 

Schooner  I.i  '.'n  il  r  m  I    II  n-  ■  \  . 

"        BUnvson l;,  lii.i.llnn  ;i 

FhairtH  ".','. .......    .'Tn-r|.h   h  .mIv  . 

"        Isabella LrMi,  Tii|.|.i/ 

"        Centurion Vi)li:ini  \\  "..i.-cn 

Brigantine  Virginia Joseph  Grei-nway... 

Schooner Morrice C.  Harrison 

Holker William  Coward.... 

Brig  Ranger Thomas  Johnson.... 

Schooner  Jennie  Fcndant..'  Thomas  Giljlions.... 

Sloop  Porpoise Willi. mi  \\  .  .iii- 

Brig  Willing  Lass '  Tli.m      W  ,r,  ,i, 

Schooner  Two  Sisters "W  ilh  i  n,   i   i, 

"        Laurens ■\\illi.iii  \\  i  : 

SloopJane M.  I'.d  i.  m^  n 

Schooner  Freemason I  William  Thonnis.... 

Brig  Duke C.  Warring 

"    Porgie J.Faribault 

Schooner  Dorchester James  Frazier 


i  4   William  Neill 

r,  2  John  McClure  &  Co 

I  4    Alexander  Murray 

.1  5;  John  Dorsey  &  Co'. 

.1  4  D.Stewart 

i|  2'  Hooe&  Harrison 

1 10  Stevenson,  Steward  &  > 

;  ...   James  Williams  &  Co.. 

'.  6|  John  Dorsey  4  Co 

i'  6   H.Nichols 

'    8    John  Dorsey  *  Co 


...   Archibald  Patterson... 
2  J.Moses  *  Co 


John  Dorsev  &  Co.. 


Matthew,  Ridley  *  Co 

Daniel  Bowley,  J.  McClure 

K.il.rii  M .,  Ml   riiila.;  S.  Steward, 


July  19, 1779. 
July  26, 1779. 
Aug.  11,  1779. 

Aug.  13,1779. 
Aug.  14, 1779. 
Aug.  18,  1779. 


30,  1779. 
Maryland  and  Virginia,  Oct.  18, 

1779. 
Maryland  and  Virginia,  Oct.  19, 

1779. 
Baltimore,  Oct.  25, 1779. 
Maryland,  Oct.  30, 1779. 
Baltimore,  Nov.  4, 1779. 
Nov.  18, 1779. 
Philadelphia,  Nov.  29, 1779. 
Talliot  County,  Dec.  3, 1779. 
Baltimore,  Dec.  11, 1779. 
Jan.  3, 1780. 
Feb.  28, 1780. 
Annapolis,  Feb.  29, 1780. 
Dorchester  Co.,  March  10, 1780. 
"     March  11, 1780. 
Philadelphia,  March  13,1780. 


March  18, 1780. 

April  6,  1780. 

April  18, 1780. 
Alexandria,  Va.,  April  11,  1780. 
Baltimore,  April  19, 1780. 


"  April  22,  1780. 

April  24, 1780. 
Worcester  Co.,  Md.,  May  3, 1780. 
Baltimore,  May  6, 1780. 

May  9, 1780. 
"  May  10,  1780. 


...j  C.  Crookshank. 

...]  S.Smith  &  Co 

2'  Robertson  Stevens.. 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Privateers  from  1777  to  1783.— Continued. 


PRIVATEEKS   AND   ARMED   VESSELS. 


Baltimore  Privateers  from  1777  to  1783.— Continued. 

Name  of  Vessei.         |            Caiitain. 

S 

•o 

i 

22 
17 

f 

-.iO 
20 
16 
24 
15 
20 

it 

•S   "3 

I 

1(1 ... 

Owners. 

Date  of  Commission  and  where 
Owned. 

Schooner  Squirrel 1  W.  Coward 

A  Buchanan 

Baltimore,  Aug.  27, 1782. 
;;          Aug.  28, 1782. 

i;          Sept".  6,  im' 

Sept.  26, 1782. 
Sept.  27, 1782. 

2          Oct  12,1782. 

Oct.  14,  1782. 
II          Oct.  25, 1782. 

Oct.  26,  1782. 

Dec.  2, 1782. 
Dec.  7, 1782. 
Dec.  11, 1782. 
Dec.  14, 1782. 
Dec.  28, 1782. 
Jan.  1, 1783. 
Jan._4, 1783. 

Jan.  23,1783. 
11          Feb.  10, 17S3. 

March  14, 1783. 

Return 1  Ed.  Peters 

A.ieel..|.e Ci,.,,.  r.r.rston 

Ship  Jullv  T,,,                        .     .'     H,,,,-  ,„ 

Brigai.t,,;.  -..•.  .M|,-,.„.         1     ,    ,.... 
SchSoi,..,  r;     :.-!                i 

BrigCerr.    '   '    '  " 1     '   ,      . 

Sclloon.-,  r.     ,,,,,!  ,,-,         ,      |^ 

Schoouli"r;i.'.,V.'.'.'... •     |i, >-/,,.,        ■       . 

II. IV, IK, 11.  \Mulv 

FreeniBn ;Wni.  Thomas 

Brigantine  Conquedor,  of 
Madrid J.  Latreyte 

T.^Jolinson,  D.  Resso,  and  D.  PattersonV.".'."'."'.'.;;;; 

II  1,1  > .  >l,-.-ienniorr&  zSeSoifeZ.V.7."!"!!;.";!."." 
1    11    M.,,,iiv,  of  New  Orleans 

W  11,    1  ,x  I'rimJ  DVBowieyrZ;Z"""!;"Z'"!!" 

1.  \V„,\hi„„tu„  ai,airfatel\\\V.V.'.".''.'.'.V.V.'.'.V.'.'.'.".'.'.'.'. 
C.  Crookshank 

S.  &  A.Cr.imio  and  R.  Smith  &  Co.,  of  Cape  Fran- 
1    1   ,       iii  M,    :,.  1    Ni,;ii'eU,'of'Kiiad6iphia'.!;'.!;'. 

S'      -,  1  1'    1  ,M, T.  Stansburj 

P.Briamant. 

W.Weems 

■ T.  Conway 

r.,,.;H,i,,K  II  ii,iK„ig .las.  Forbes 

Ship  G,i..lin,. J.  Angus 

Schooner  Jackett  i  Ed.  Piirkinson 

Brig  Duke  de  Crillon :  P.  Barrier 

Brigantine  Hibernia S.  Benezett 

Eagle R.  Ewart 

Schooner  Havana T.Chauning 

Greyhound H.  Willson 

10  ... 

i '.'.'. 

5  ... 

7... 
7... 

S.  steward  &  Son  and  Thos.  Yates 

Geo.  Salmon 

Pringle  &  Wilson,  of  Philadelphia 

Thos  Russell 

Thos.  Worthington 

The  above  is  a  list  of  two  hundred  and  forty-eight 
privateer-s  with  letters-of-marque  and  reprisals  which 
sailed  from  the  port  of  Baltimore  in  the  period  from 
April  1,  1777,  to  March  14,  1783.  They  carried  an 
aggregate  armament  of  eighteen  hundred  and  ten 
guns  and  six  hundred  and  forty  swivels  ;  the  number 
of  men  being  omitted  in  many  of  the  letters,  cannot 
be  given. 

These  privateers  were  the  nurse  of  the  infant  navy 
of  the  country,  and  many  of  our  most  distinguished 
naval  officers  began  their  careers  as  captains  or  officers 
of  Baltimore  cruisers.  We  need  only  refer  to  the 
names  of  John  Rogers,  Samuel  Rogers,  David  Porter, 
Alexander  Murray,  Joshua  Barney,  and  Joseph  El- 
liott as  an  evidence  of  the  character  of  the  men  who 
commanded  our  early  privateers. 

The  admiralty  notices  in  the  archives  show  how 
well  the  work  of  capture  was  carried  on.  We  select 
a  few  of  these : 

Jan.  2, 1777.—"  Enterprise"  vs.  brigantine  "  Clementina." 

"  Enterprise,"  Capt.  Campbell,  vs.  sloop  "  Fame." 
Jan.  21. — "  Montgomery,"  Commander  Wm.  Rogers,  vs.  schooner  "  Han- 

"  Montgomery,"   Commander   Wm.  Kogere,  vs.  brigantine 

"  Minerva." 
"  Lexington,"  U.  S.,  Commander  Wm.  Halloch,  rs.  brigan- 
tine '*  Mary  Ann." 
1778.—"  Mary  and  Elizabeth,"  Commander  John  Rian,  vs.  sloop  "  Little 
John." 
"Antelope,"  Capt.  F.  Folger,  and  "Felicity,"  Capt.  Cole,  rs. 

"  Jack-o'-the-Lantem." 
"  Recovery,"  Capt.  Chadwick,  vs.  a  barge,  the  schooner  "  William 

and  Polly, '  the  "  Betsey,"  a  whale-boat,  and  a  pettiaugre. 
"  Revenge,"  "  Terrible,"  and  "  Intrepid,"  Capts.  Thos.  Grason, 
Robert  Dashiell,  and  Levin  Speddiu,  rs.  two  schooners  and  a 


"  Kitty,"  Henry  Darnell,  vs.  sloop  "  Swift." 

Notice  of  payment  of  prize-money  to  "  Harlequin,"  for  captain  of 

ship  "  Lydia." 
"  Sturdy  Beggar,"  Capt.  John  McNeal,  vs.  brigantine  "  Provi- 
j  dence  and  Mary." 

Same  against  ship  "  Elizabeth." 

"  Revenge,"  Capt.  Gosland,  vs.  sloop  "  Maccaroni." 

These  and  many  other  notices  show  how  well  the 
work  of  making  the  goods  of  an  enemy  contribute 
to  the  support  of  the  war  was  carried  on  by  Baltimore 
privateers. 

The  cruises  of  these  privateer.s  were  filled  with 
romantic  adventure   and   hair-breadth   escapes,  and 

1  are  well  worthy  of  preservation.  The  Chesapeake 
Bay  was  infested  with  Tories,  refugees,  thieves,  and 

I  pirates,  whose  depredations  were  not  confined  to  ves- 
sels and  commerce,  but,  aided  by  the  numerous  rivers, 
bays,  and  indentations  of  the  coast,  they  roamed  at 

I  large,  plundering   defenseless    houses    and    robbing 

[  whenever  opportunity  offered.  To  break  up  the  nests 
of  these  pirates,  to  capture  and  punish  them,  and  to 
protect  the  land  as  well  as  defend  the  commerce,  all 
fell  within  the  duty  of  the  Maryland  navy  and  the 
Baltimore  privateers. 

The  enemy,  notwithstanding  his  great  superiority 
in  vessels  of  war,  resorted  also  to  privateers,  and 
numerous  actions  took  place  between  the  private 
armed  vessels  of  both  belligerents.  Off  the  mouth  of 
the  Rappahannock,  on  the  13th  June,  1779,  an  engage- 
ment took  place  between  a  fleet  of  Maryland  priva- 
teers, composed  of  the  "  Baltimore  Hero,"  commanded 
by  Capt.  Earle,  the  brigs  "  Lively,"  Capt.  Belt,  the 
"  Lady  Washington,"  Capt.  Greeliway,  and  four  pilot- 
boats,  with  two  of  the  enemy's  privateers,  each  mount- 


104 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ing  twelve  guns.  Capts.  Earle  and  Belt  immediately 
came  to  close  quarters  with  the  enemy,  and  a  severe 
contest  ensued.  The  capture  of  the  enemy's  vessels 
was  only  prevented  by  the  timely  arrival  of  a  fleet, 
which  rendered  the  contest  too  unequal,  forced  the 
Baltimore  fleet  to  retire,  but  not  until  it  had  retaken 
an  American  privateer  from  the  enemj'. 

The  "  Antelope,"  Capt.  Folger,  and  the  "  Felicity," 
Capt.  Cole,  recaptured  the  British  ship  "Resolution," 
laden  with  sugar  and  cotton  for  Amsterdam,  captured  I 
by  Earl  Cornwallis  off"  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  on  re-  I 
turning  from  Gaudaloupe  they  captured  the  British  j 
privateer  "  Jack-o'-Lantern,"'  carrying  six  guns  and 
one  hundred  and  thirty-six  men,  in  1781,  off"  the  Pa- 
tuxent  River.     Another  of  the  enemy's  privateers, 
mounting  three  guns  and  carrying  thirty  men,  was 
captured  at  sea  by  the  "  Antelope,"  Capt.  Garston. 

The  schooner  "  Flying  Fish,"  of  Baltimore,  bound 
to  Havana,  was  captured  by  the  privateer  brigantine 
"  Glory,"  of  St.  Augustine.  Her  owner  and  captain, 
M.  Delisle,  with  a  lad  of  eighteen  years,  was  left  on 
board  with  a  prize  crew  of  six  men.  The  captain 
having  tried  by  every  means  to  recapture  his  vessel  I 
without  loss  of  life,  on  the  7th  of  October,  1782,  was 
in  self-defense  obliged  to  kill  the  prize-master ;  and 
having  secured  the  crew  in  the  hold,  recovered  his 
vessel,  and  safely  brought  her  to  Savannah. 

The  action  which  the  "  Naval  History"'^  styles  "  the 
most  brilliant  that  ever  occurred  under  the  national  [ 
flag"  was  fought  by  the  "  Hyder  Ally,"  commanded  I 
by  Lieut.  Joshua  Barney,  carrying  sixteen  six-pound-  j 
ers  and  one  hundred  and  ten  men,  with  the  "  General 
Monk,"  mounting  twenty  nine-pounders  and  carrying 
one  hundred  and  thirty-six  men,  commanded  by  Capt. 
Rogers  of  the  British   navy.     To  rid  the  Delaware 
River  and  bay  of  refugee  barges  and  privateers,  Lieut,  j 
Barney  proceeded  from  Philadelphia,  convoying  at  ; 
the  same  time  a  fleet  of  merchant  vessels  to  sea ;  and 
while  in  this  service  a  British  fleet  hove  in  sight,  and 
the  "General  Monk"  bore  down  upon  the  "  Hyder 
Ally."      The  presence  of  overpowering  numbers  did 
not  deter  the  gallant  Barney  from  promptly  accept- 
ing the  challenge  of  the  "General  Monk ;"  and  seiz- 
ing a  raking  position  within  pistol-range,  he  fought 
his  ship  with  such  gallantry  as  not  only  to  capture 
her  adversary,  but  to  win  the  applause  of  his  country 
and  merit  the  high  compliment  of  the  historian  of 
his  country's  navy. 

Notwithstanding  the  success  that  attended  the  eflTorts 
of  Baltimore  privateers,  many  were  captured,  lost  at 
sea,  or  destroyed  to  prevent  their  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  The  material  damage  done  to 
the  enemy  by  privateering  has  been  estimated  at 
one  million  pounds,  but  the  benefit  derived  by  the 

1  This  "  JackK)'-Lanteru"  had  given  very  great  annoyance  to  com- 
merce. Previous  to  her  capture  by  the  "  A  ntelope"  she  had  captured  a  uew 
scliooner  from  Boston,  bound  to  Baltimore,  near  the  entrauce  of  tiie 
capes  and  sent  her  to  New  Yorlj,  and  later,  off  the  mouth  of  tlie  Potomac, 
a  schooner  from  Baltimore  to  Virginia. 

-  Cooper's  Naval  History,  i.,  p.  269. 


States,  their  citizens  and  their  cause,  must  be  meas- 
ured not  only  by  the  money  value,  but  by  the  material 
aid  and  assistance  derived  from  those  captures,  and  so 
urgently  needed  by  the  people. 

Again  during  the  war  (1793)  between  England 
and  France  many  Baltimore  privateers  sailed  under 
French  letters-of-marque  issued  by  citizen  Genet  to 
prey  upon  the  commerce  of  Great  Britain.  The  num- 
ber of  these  vessels  sailing  from  Baltimore  under  the 
French  flag  is  stated  to  have  been  from  forty  to  fifty, 
but  as  no  patriotic  motive  could  be  pleaded  for  their 
justification,  they  can  now  be  regarded  as  but  very 
little  better  than  legalized  pirates,  inspired  by  no 
higher  purpose  than  individual  gain  and  plunder. 

The  war  of  1812-15  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  called  for  the  utmost  exertion  of  our 
merchant  marine  to  supplement  the  great  disparity  in 
number  of  ships  and  weight  of  metal  between  the 
navies  of  the  belligerents.  Baltimore  quickly  re- 
sponded, and  the  part  taken  by  her  merchant  marine 
was  equally  as  meritorious  as  that  of  her  citizens  in 
the  army.  Her  swift-sailing  ships  were  to  be  seen  on 
every  sea,  and  the  commerce  of  Great  Britain  suffered 
from  their  attacks  in  all  quarters  of  the  globe.  It 
may  be  stated,  as  showing  the  immense  profits  of 
some  of  those  vessels,  that  the  "Rossie"  in  forty-five 
days  took  prizes  valued  at  one  million  two  hundred 
and  eighty-nine  thousand  dollars,  and  from  July  to 
November  of  her  next  cruise  captured  prizes  that 
yielded  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  "  Rolla"  captured  prizes  valued  at  two  million 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  the  "  Amelia" 
others  worth  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

War  was  declared  on  June  18,  1812,  and  on  Satur- 
day, July  11th,  Niks'  Register  says,  "  From  Balti- 
more there  will,  in  a  few  days,  be  at  sea  twelve  or 
fifteen  of  the  fastest  sailing  and  best  found  and 
appointed  vessels  in  the  world,  carrying  from  ten  to 
sixteen  guns  each,  and  from  eighty  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty  men."  On  the  following  day  "  seven 
privateers  sailed  from  Baltimore,"  and  "  within  four 
months  her  merchants  sent  to  sea  forty-two  armed 
vessels,  carrying  about  three  hundred  and  thirty  guns, 
and  from  two  thousand  eight  hundred  to  three  thousand 
men."  Had  the  brave  commanders  of  these  adven- 
turous cruisers  been  in  the  Federal  service  their  names 
would  have  been  placed  high  in  the  roll  of  honor,  but 
as  it  is  the  names  of  Barney,  Boyle,  Staflbrd,  Murphy, 
Wilson,  Wiscott,  Pratt,  Southcomb,  Veasy,  Levely, 
Grant,  Dawson,  Moon,  Richardson,  and  a  host  of 
others  have  been  almost  or  quite  forgotten ;  and 
neither  does  the  storied  marble  commemorate,  nor 
the  historic  page  record,  the  gallant  services  that,  by 
crippling  the  enemy's  navy,  contributed  so  much  to 
our  success. 

Among  the  most  notable  privateers  and  letters-of- 
marque  that  sailed  out  of  the  port  of  Baltimore  to 
harass  and  annoy  British  trade  and  commerce  we 
may  mention  the  following : 


PRIVATEERS   AND  ARMED   VESSELS. 


105 


The  "  Dash,"  July  10,  1812,  captured  in  Hampton 
Roads  the  British  schooner  "  Whiting." 

The  "Falcon,"  on  the  18th  of  July,  on  her  passage 
from  Boston  to  Bordeaux,  with  four  guns  and  sixteen 
men,  when  on  the  coast  of  France,  was  engaged  with 
the  British  cutter  "  Hero,"  with  five  guns  and  fifty 
men,  for  two  hours  and  a  half,  and  finally  beat  her 
off,  with  considerable  loss  on  both  sides,  after  re- 
pulsing the  enemy  three  times  in  his  attempt  to  board. 
On  the  next  day  the  "Falcon"  was  attacked  by  a 
British  privateer  of  six  guns  and  forty  men,  and 
although  considerably  injured  by  her  engagement 
with  the  cutter  the  day  previous,  she  bravely  returned 
the  privateer's  fire  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  when,  the 
captain  and  several  of  the  crew  of  the  "  Falcon"  being 
wounded,  she  was  carried  by  boarding  while  her  colors 
were  still  flying. 

The  privateer  "  Dolphin,"  Capt.  W.  S.  Stafford,  was 
one  of  the  most  active  cruisers  of  the  war.  On  the 
26th  of  July  she  captured  an  English  vessel  worth 
eighteen  thousand  dollars,  which  was  followed  in  Au- 
gust by  the  capture  of  the  British  schooner  "  Fanny," 
valued  at  the  same  sum  ;  and  in  the  same  month  she 
also  destroyed  several  droggers,  and  sent  the  schooner 
"  James"  into  port.  Soon  after  she  captured  three 
other  vessels.  The  ship  "John  Hamilton,"  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty  tons,  mounting  ten  guns  and  carrying 
thirty  men,  laden  with  seven  hundred  tons  of  ma- 
hogany, was  captured  by  her  after  a  short  action  and 
sent  into  Baltimore.  When  off  St.  Vincent,  on  the 
25th  of  January,  1813,  she  captured  the  "  Hebe,"  six- 
teen guns  and  forty  men,  after  a  very  severe  engage- 
ment, in  which  the  captain  of  the  enemy's  vessel  was 
wounded.  In  this  action  the  "Dolphin"  lost  four 
men,  but  was  rewarded  not  only  by  her  victory  over 
the  "  Hebe,"  but  by  the  capture  of  her  consort.  After 
this  series  of  brilliant  exploits,  the  "Dolphin"  passed 
through  the  blockading  squadron,  and  arrived  at  Bal- 
timore Feb.  13,  1813. 

On  the  3d  of  April,  1813,  the  British  seventy-four 
"St.  Domingo,"  three  frigates,  two  brigs,  one  schooner, 
and  two  pilot-boat  tenders  anchored  off  the  mouth  of 
the  Rappahannock  River  for  the  purpose  of  attack- 
ing the  "  Dolphin,"  two  letters-of-marque  bound  for 
France,  and  one  for -Savannah,  which  were  anchored 
in  the  mouth  of  the  river.  While  awaiting  an  oppor- 
tunity to  escape,  the  American  vessels  were  attacked 
by  seventeen  British  launches  and  tenders  containing 
about  forty  men  each.  Two  of  the  letters-of-marque 
were  taken  with  slight  resistance,  and  the  other  ran 
aground  near  the  shore.  The  "  Dolphin"  bore  the 
brunt  of  the  action,  and  the  whole  force  of  the  enemy 
was  soon  brought  to  bear  upon  her.  The  Register 
says,  "  It  was  indeed  a  desperate  fight  against  fear- 
ful odds.  The  contest  was  sustained  for  two  hours 
with  a  gallantry  peculiar  to  American  sailors.  The 
enemy  finally  succeeded  in  boarding,  but  the  fight 
was  not  done.  On  the  '  Dolphin's'  deck  the  battle 
lasted  fifteen  minutes,  when,  overwhelmed  by  num- 


bers, the  brave  Stafford  submitted,  the  enemy  some 
time  before  having  pulled  down  his  colors.  It  appears 
very  certain  that  the  British  had  fifty-nine  killed  and 
wounded  in  the  affray." 

The  "  Globe,"  Capt.  James  Murphy,  was  another 
very  successful  privateer.  The  ship  "Sir  Simon 
Clark,"  sixteen  guns  and  thirty-nine  men,  with  a 
cargo  of  sugar,  rum,  coffee,  etc.,  and  worth  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  was  captured  by  the 
"Globe"  and  sent  into  Norfolk;  she  also  brought 
into  Hampton  Roads  a  British  ship  of  twenty-two 
guns;  also  the  schooner  "Ann,"  four  guns,  laden 
with  logwood  and  mahogany ;  and  captured,  after  a 
brisk  engaecement,  the  letter-of-marque  ship  "  Boyd," 
mounting  ten  guns,  which  she  sent  into  Philadeljjhia. 
While  Capt.  Murphy  was  sailing  off  the  coast  of 
Portugal  he  had  a  desperate  engagement  with  an 
Algerine  sloop-of-war,  which  continued  for  three 
hours  and  a  half,  ending  in  the  repulse  of  the  Algerine 
vessel.  He  followed  this  with  the  capture  of  the  brig 
"Kingston,"  with  a  valuable  cargo  of  rum,  which  he 
sent  into  Ocracock,  N.  C. ;  with  that  of  the  ship 
"  Venus,"  fourteen  guns,  which  he  sent  into  Beaufort, 
S.  C. ;  with  the  destruction  of  the  schooner  "  Eliza- 
beth," from  Lisbon  to  London ;  and  the  capture  of 
the  ship  "  Pelham,"  and  several  other  valuable  ves- 
sels, which  were  also  sent  into  port.  On  the  3d  of 
November,  1813,  the  "Globe,"  then  under  the  com- 
mand of  Capt.  Richard  Moon,  had  a  desperate  en- 
gagement with  two  English  packets  at  half  pistol-shot 
distance.  The  largest  brig  mounted  eighteen  guns, 
and  the  other  sixteen  twelve-pounders.  The  former 
surrendered,  but  owing  to  the  disabled  condition  of 
the  "Globe"  managed  to  get  away.  The  loss  of  the 
"  Globe"  was  eight  killed  and  fifteen  wounded.  The 
force  of  the  "  Globe"  was  a  "Long  Tom"  amidships, 
and  eight  twelve-pound  carronades,  with  a  comple- 
ment of  ninety  men,  including  officers  and  marines. 
The  enemy,  it  was  supposed,  lost  twenty-seven  men 
killed  and  wounded,  besides  being  terribly  cut  up  in 
their  hulls,  sails,  and  rigging. 

The  brig  "  Bellona,"  laden  with  Madeira  wine  and 
fruit,  was  also  captured  by  the  "  Globe." 

On  the  30th  of  August,  1812,  Commodore  Barney 
arrived  at  Newport  in  his  schooner  "  Rossie,"  after  a 
short  but  successful  cruise  of  forty-five  days  along  the 
eastern  coast  of  the  United  States.  During  his  voyage 
he  captured  fifteen  vessels,  nine  of  which  he  burned 
or  sunk.  The  prizes  amounted  to  about  two  thousand 
nine  liundred  and  fourteen  tons,  manned  by  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six  men,  and  valued  at  one  million 
two  hundred  and  eighty-nine  thousand  dollars.  He 
remained  in  port  about  ten  days,  when  he  again  put 
to  sea,  and  shortly  afterwards  captured  the  British 
ship  "  Kitty,"  seized  the  brig  "  Nymph,"  captured 
and  burned  the  ship  "  Princess  Royal,"  the  brigs 
"  Fame"  and  "  Devonshire,"  and  the  schooner 
"Squid,"  and  captured  the  brig  "Brothers,"  which 
he  manned  with  sixty  prisoners  and  sent  to  St.  Johns 


106 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


to  be  exchanged  for  as  many  Americans.  On  Aug. 
3,  1813,  he  captured  and  sunk  the  brig  "  Henry"  and 
schooner  "  Race  Horse,"  burned  schooner  "  Halifax," 
manned  the  brig  "  William,"  and  gave  the  schooner 
"  Two  Brothers"  forty  prisoners,  and  sent  them  to  St. 
.Johns  on  parole.  August  9th  he  captured  the  ship 
"  Jenny,"  mounting  twelve  guns,  after  a  short  action, 
and  sent  her  into  port.  On  August  10th  the  "  Rossie" 
seized  the  "  Rebecca,"  from  London,  and  the  ship 
"  Euphrates,"  and  after  being  chased  by  a  number 
of  British  frigates  and  ships  of  war,  on  the  16th  of 
September  fell  in  with  the  British  packet-ship 
"  Princess  Amelia,"  when  a  desperate  action  com- 
menced at  close  quarters,  which  resulted  in  a  drawn 
battle  after  both  vessels  had  suffered  considerable  loss. 
On  October  8th  the  "  Rossie,"  in  company  with  the 
"Globe,"  captured  the  schooner  "Jubilee"  and  sent 
her  into  port,  and  in  the  same  month  the  "  Rossie" 
seized  the  ship  "  Merrimack;"  and  the  result  of  this 
cruise  was  the  capture  of  two  hundred  and  seven- 
teen prisoners  and  three  thousand  six  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  tons  of  shipping,  valued  at  over  one 
million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Four  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  British  fleet  in 
Lynn  Haven  Bay,  on  the  8th  of  February,  181.3,  the 
letter-of-marque  schooner  "Lottery,"  Capt.  John 
Southcomb,  of  Baltimore,  bound  for  France,  with  six 
guns  and  twenty-eight  men,  was  attacked  by  nine 
boats  containing  two  hundred  and  forty  men  from 
the  British  squadron.  Capt.  Southcomb  with  his 
brave  companions  gallantly  sustained  the  attack  for 
two  hours  and  thirty  minutes,  during  which  time 
it  was  supposed  that  more  Englishmen  were  killed 
and  wounded  than  the  whole  crew  of  the  schooner. 
The  captain  was  wounded  by  five  musket-balls,  one 
of  which  passed  through  his  body,  and  finding  that 
he  had  exhausted  all  his  ammunition,  and  that  the 
enemy  swarmed  on  his  deck,  he  deemed  further  re- 
sistance a  useless  waste  of  brave  men's  lives  and  sur- 
rendered. The  enemy  had  already  pulled  down  the 
colors  themselves.  Capt.  Southcomb  was  taken  on 
board  the  British  frigate  "  Belvidera,"  where  he  soon 
after  died,  and  Capt.  R.  Byron  kindly  sent  his  body 
with  a  letter  of  condolence,  in  which  his  conduct 
was  spoken  of  in  terms  befitting  a  gallant  enemy,  to 
his  friends  in  Norfolk,  where  he  was  buried  on  the 
16th  of  February  with  grand  military  and  naval 
honors.     He  was  in  the  twenty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

The  action  between  the  "  Nonesuch,"  Capt.  Levely, 
of  Baltimore,  and  a  British  ship  and  schooner  off 
Martinique,  on  the  28th  of  September,  1812,  also 
shows  how  well  the.se  volunteers  fought:  "When 
within  reach  of  the  ship,"  says  Capt.  Levely,  "  she 
gave  us  a  broadside.  We  bore  down  upon  her  and 
hoisted  American  colors,  and  returned  ten  broadsides, 
accompanied  each  time  with  a  heavy  volley  of  mus- 
ketry, the  .ship  and  schooner  keeping  up  a  heavy  fire 
upon  us  with  their  great  guns  and  musketry.  The 
engagement  lasted  three  hours  and  twenty  minutes. 


when  the  bolts  and  breachings  of  our  guns  fore  and 
aft  were  carried  away  on  both  sides.  We  could  then 
only  use  our  musketry,  or  we  should  certainly  have 
captured  them  both.  We  dismounted  several  of  the 
ship's  guns,  and  damaged  her  very  much  in  her  hull 
and  rigging.  From  the  confusion  which  appeared  on 
board,  we  judge  that  we  must  have  killed  and  wounded 
a  considerable  number  of  men  ;  she  bore  away  for 
Martinique;  we  being  much  crippled  in  our  sails  and 
rigging  could  not  pursue  her.  The  '  Nonesuch'  lost 
during  the  action  one  ofiicer  killed  (Mr.  Wilkinson) 
and  three  seamen  (Samuel  Christian,  Lewis  Riley, 
and  David  McCarthy),  and  six  seamen  wounded.  The 
British  lost  seven  killed  and  sixteen  wounded." 

The  "  Nonesuch"  captured  the  schooner  "  Perse- 
verance" and  the  brig  "  Francis,"  and  sent  them  into 
Charleston ;  she  also  captured  the  schooner  "  Fame," 
laden  with  dry  goods  and  oil,  and  sent  her  into  Sa- 
vannah. 

The  privateer  schooner  "Highflyer,"  of  Baltimore, 
on  the  27th  of  July,  1812,  captured  the  schooner 
"  Harriet,"  with  eight  thousand  dollars  in  specie,  and 
also  the  British  ship  "  Diana,"  one  of  the  Jamaica 
fleet,  richly  laden  with  rum,  sugar,  and  coffee.  The 
"  Highflyer,"  after  a  brisk  action  with  great  guns  and 
musketry,  captured  the  ship  "Jamaica,"  carrying 
seven  guns,  by  boarding,  the  ship  "  Mary  and  Ann" 
striking  her  colors  at  the  same  time.  Both  ships 
reached  the  United  States  safely,  loaded  with  sugar, 
rum,  coffee,  logwood,  etc.  On  her  second  cruise  the 
"  Highflyer"  captured  the  brig  "  Porgie,"  from  An- 
tigua, laden  with  rum  and  molasses  ;  also  the  brig 
"  Burchall,"  and  a  number  of  droggers  (coasting  ves- 
sels) plying  between  the  West  India  Islands.  The 
brig  "  Active,"  carrying  ten  guns  and  a  rich  cargo, 
was  sent  into  Charleston  by  the  same  privateer. 

The  privateer  "  Sarah  Ann,"  of  Baltimore,  in  Au- 
gust, 1812,  captured  the  ship  "Elizabeth,"  laden  with 
coffee  and  ginger,  and  carrying  ten  guns.  The  schooner 
"  Minorca"  was  captured  by  the  "  Wasp."  The 
schooner  "  Hussar,"  loaded  with  presents  for  Admiral 
Warren,  was  sent  into  Savannah  by  the  "  Liberty," 
of  Baltimore.  The  letter-of-marque  "  Baltimore" 
captured  the  brig  "Point  Shares,"  loaded  with  fish, 
and  the  "  Wasp"  captured  the  schooner  "  Dawson," 
with  a  cargo  of  rum  and  coffee.  The  "  Tom,"  of  Bal- 
timore, captured  the  British  mail  packet  "  Town- 
send,"  from  Falmouth,  England,  after  a  severe  en- 
gagement, and  the  ship  "  Betsey"  was  taken  by  the 
"Revenge,"  of  Baltimore.  The  "  Liberty"  also  cap- 
tured about  this  time  (1812)  a  prize  schooner  valued 
at  sixty  thousand  dollars.  The  "Rolla"  captured 
and  burnt  the  schooner  "  Swift,"  and  in  a  storm  Capt. 
Dewley  was  compelled  to  throw  overboard  all  his 
guns  excepting  one.  He,  however,  continued  his 
voyage,  and  near  Madeira,  from  the  12th  to  the  15th 
of  December,  the  "Rolla"  captured,  manned,  and 
sent  to  the  nearest  ports  the  following  valuable  ves- 
sels, which  were  part  of  the  Cork  fleet:  ship  "Mary," 


PRIVATEERS  AND  ARMED  VESSELS. 


107 


fourteen  guns,  of  Bristol,  laden  with  hardware,  etc. ; 
ship  "  Eliza,"  of  ten  guns,  laden  with  twenty  thou- 
sand bushels  of  wheat;  ship  "Bio  Nouva,"  eighteen 
guns,  laden  with  dry  goods ;  ship  "  Apollo,"  ten  guns,  ' 
richly  laden  with  king's  stores ;  brig  "  Boroso,"  six 
guns,  laden  witli  dry  goods,  and  a  schooner  given  up 
to  discharge  prisoners,  making  a  grand  total  of  seven 
vessels,  fifty-eight  guns,  one  hundred  and  fifty  pris-  { 
oners,  and  property  worth  between  two  and  three 
millions  of  dollars.  Brig  "  General  Prevost,"  from 
Halifax,  for  Demerara,  was  captured  by  the  "  Kolla" 
in  1813,  and  sent  into  New  Orleans. 

The  "  Comet,"  Capt.  Thomas  Boyle,  was  a  famous 
privateer  from  the  port  of  Baltimore.  Capt.  Boyle, 
although  not  born  in  Baltimore,  was  married  there 
on  the  6th  of  October,  1794,  and  died  at  sea,  Oct.  12, 
1825.  He  commanded  a  ship  when  only  sixteen 
years  old,  married  at  eighteen,  and  died  when  only 
forty-nine.  Mr.  Coggeshall  says,  "  He  possessed 
many  of  the  elements  of  a  great  man,  for  in  him  were 
blended  the  impetuous  bravery  of  a  Murat  with  the 
prudence  of  a  Wellington.  He  wisely  judged  when 
to  attack  the  enemy,  and  when  to  retreat  with  honor 
to  himself  and  to  the  flag  under  which  he  sailed. 
Had  he  been  commander  in  the  United  States  navy 
his  fame  and  deeds  would  have  been  lauded  through- 
out the  country ;  but  as  he  only  commanded  a  pri- 
vateer, who  speaks  of  him  ?" 

Soon  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  the  "  Comet" 
put  to  sea,  and  captured  the  ship  "  Hopewell,"  of  four- 
teen guns  and  twenty-five  men,  after  a  sharp  action, 
and  sent  her  into  Baltimore.  This  rich  prize  was 
valued  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
Soon  after  the  "  Comet"  captured  the  ship  "  John," 
fourteen  guns  and  thirty-five  men,  with  a  cargo  also 
valued  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and 
sent  her  into  Baltimore. 

On  the  14th  of  January,  1813,  Capt.  Boyle,  when 
oif  the  coast  of  Pernambuco,  discovered  four  sail 
standing  out  of  the  harbor.  They  proved  to  be  three 
English  vessels,  consisting  of  a  ship  of  fourteen  guns 
and  two  brigs  of  ten  guns,  under  convoy  of  a  Portu- 
guese brig,  national  vessel,  mounting  twenty  thirty- 
two's  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  men,  making  in 
all  a  force  of  fifty-four  guns.  After  a  desperate  con- 
flict the  "  Comet"  compelled  the  British  vessels  to 
surrender.  Soon  after  the  fight  and  capture  of  the 
three  British  vessels  the  gallant  Boyle  fell  in  with 
and  captured  the  Scotch  ship  "  Adelphi,"  belonging  i 
to  Aberdeen.  She  was  from  Liverpool,  bound  for  ! 
Bahia,  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-one  tons,  mounting 
eight  long  twelve-pounders,  laden  with  salt  and  dry  I 
goods.  The  "  Comet"  was  subsequently  chased  by 
the  famous  British  frigate  "  Surprise,"  which  she 
easily  outsailed,  and  continued  on  her  cruise  down 
among  the  West  India  Islands.  On  the  6th  of  Feb- 
ruary she  fell  in  with  two  brigs,  and  after  a  short  chase  ! 
captured  them.  One  proved  to  be  the  "  Alexis,"  of 
Greenock,  from  Demerara,  loaded  with  sugar,  rum,  ' 


cotton,  and  coft'ee,  mounting  ten  guns ;  the  other  was 
the  Dominica  packet,  of  Liverpool,  from  Demerara 
bound  for  St.  Thomas,  laden  with  rum,  sugar,  cotton, 
and  coffee,  mounting  ten  guns.  A  short  time  after 
Capt.  Boyle  was  chased  by  the  man-of-war  brig 
"Swaggerer,"  which  he  outsailed  with  ease,  and 
captured  the  schooner  "Jane,"  from  Demerara  for  St. 
Thomas,  loaded  with  rum,  sugar,  and  coflTee.  Soon 
aftpr  the  capture  of  these  prizes  Capt.  Boyle  returned 
home,  and  arrived  safe  in  Baltimore  on  the  17th  of 
March,  passing  through  the  British  blockading  squad- 
ron, bidding  defiance  to  their  vigilance  and  numbers. 

The  "  Comet"  remained  in  port  long  enough  to 
make  a  few  repairs,  and  to  water  and  provision,  when 
she  sailed  on  another  successful  cruise.  The  first 
prize  was  the  schooner  "  Messenger,"  laden  with  rum 
and  molasses,  which  was  sent  into  Wilmington,  N.  C, 
followed  in  a  few  days  by  the  "  Vigilant,"  a  tender  to 
the  admiral  of  the  Windward  Island  station.  Nine 
other  vessels  were  also  captured  and  sunk  by  the 
"  Comet"  on  this  cruise,  besides  four  valuable  prizes 
which  were  manned  and  sent  to  the  United  States. 
She  had  a  terrible  battle  with  the  ship  "  Hibernia,'" 
of  eight  hundred  tons,  twenty-two  guns,  and  a  large 
complement  of  men,  but  was  beaten  off".  The  fight 
lasted  about  eight  hours.  The  privateer  had  three 
men  killed  and  sixteen  wounded ;  the  ship  had  eight 
killed  and  thirteen  wounded.  The  "  Comet"  also 
captured  another  British  vessel,  which,  being  short  of 
provisions,  put  into  Porto  Rico  for  a  supply,  and  was 
given  up  to  the  English  claimant.  The  "  Comet"  in 
this  cruise  captured  nineteen  prizes. 

In  1814  the  "  Comet"  captured  fourteen  vessels  in 
the  West  Indies,  twelve  of  which  were  destroyed  and 
two  sent  into  North  Carolina. 

The  revenue  cutter  "  Surveyor,"  of  Baltimore, 
carrying  six  small  guns,  on  the  12th  of  J.une,  1813, 
while  anchored  in  York  River,  was  captured  by  the 
barges  of  the  British  frigate  "  Narcissus."  The  enemy 
were  discovered  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
distant  from  the  vessel,  and  Capt.  Samuel  Travis, 
finding  that  he  could  not  bring  his  guns  to  bear, 
furnished  each  of  his  men  with  two  muskets.  They 
held  their  fire  until  the  British  were  within  pistol- 
shot,  but  the  enemy  pushed  on,  and  finally  carried 
the  vessel  by  boarding,  with  a  loss  of  three  men 
killed  and  a  large  number  wounded.  Capt.  Travis 
and  his  crew  of  fifteen  men  and  boys  were  taken  on 
board  the  "Junior,"  and  on  the  following  day  the 
senior  oflicer  of  the  "  Narcissus"  returned  the  captain 
his  sword,  with  a  very  complimentary  letter.' 

The  "  Liberty,"  of  Baltimore,  destroyed  the  sloop 
"  Reasonable"  in  1812,  and  ransomed  the  schooner 
"  Maria."  The  schooner  "  Pearl"  was  sent  into  port, 
and  a  British  privateer,  which  the  "  Liberty"  had 
captured,  was  divested  of  her  armament,  and  then 
given  up  for  want  of  room  for  the  prisoners.     The 


"  Hietory  of  Maryland,"  vol. 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,   MARYLAND. 


"  Liberty"  also  captured  the  schooner  "  Dorcas,"  and  j 
after  relieving  her  of  her  cargo  of  dry  goods  released  ■ 
her.  I 

The   letter-of-marque   schooner   "  Ned,"   of  Balti-  ' 
more,  Capt.  Dawson,  arrived  at  New  York  on  April 
24,  1813,  after  a  very  successful  cruise.    After  a  close 
action  of  nearly  one  hour  she  captured  the  English 
letter-of-marque   brig   "Malvina,"   ten    guns.      The  i 
cai)tain  of  the  "Malvina"  was  killed.     The  "Ned"  | 
was   chased   several   times  off  the  coast   by  British 
men-of-war,  but  outsailed  all  of  them. 

The  "  Sparrow,"  of  Baltimore,  captured  in  1813  the 
schooner  "  Farmer,"  laden  with  cotton,  but  afterwards 
released  her.  Later  in  the  war  the  "  Sparrow"  loaded 
at  New  Orleans  with  a  cargo  of  sugar  and  lead  and 
sailed  for  New  York,  but  on  the  voyage  was  driven  j 
ashore  near  Long  Branch  and  bilged.  The  cargo  was  { 
saved  by  the  militia  of  the  place.  The  letter-of-  ' 
marque  schooner  "  Sabine,"  of  Baltimore,  among  ' 
other  prizes,  captured  and  burnt  a  fine  brig  loaded 
with  cotton.  The  "Siro"  captured  the  ship  "Loyal 
Sam,"  ten  guns,  with  twenty-three  thousand  five  hun- 
dred dollars  in  specie  and  a  large  quantity  of  indigo 
on  board,  which  arrived  safely  at  Portland,  Me.  In 
1814  the  "Siro,"  while  on  her  way  to  France,  was 
captured  and  sent  into  Plymouth,  England.  The 
letter-of-marque  "  Enterprise,"  of  Baltimore,  cap- 
tured in  1813  the  schooner  "  Louisa,"  twenty-six 
men,  two  hundred  and  two  tons,  one  gun,  and  laden 
with  rum  and  sugar.  The  letter-of-marque  "Pilot" 
captured  a  brig  laden  with  fish,  and  also  the  schooner 
"  Lily,"  which  was  relieved  of  part  of  her  cargo  and 
released.  She  also  captured  the  brig  "Mary  Ann," 
laden  with  rum  and  molasses,  which  was  ransomed 
for  four  thousand  dollars.  The  "Revenge"  in  1813 
sent  in  the  valuable  ship  "  Manly,"  four  guns,  laden 
with  wine,  oil,  etc.  A  brig  laden  with  sugar  and 
molasses,  captured  by  the  privateer  "  Caroline,"  was 
recaptured  by  the  British  off  Charleston;  she  also 
captured  the  brig  "Criterion,"  laden  with  rum,  and 
sent  her  into  Stonington,  Conn.  The  "Caroline" 
early  in  1814  captured  the  brig  "  Elizabeth,"  and  sent 
her  into  Charleston.  The  brig  "  Experience"  was  also 
captured  by  the  "Caroline,"  but  was  lost  on  the 
island  of  Cuba.  She  captured  three  other  vessels, 
which  were  manned  and  sent  into  port,  besides  two 
vessels  which  were  burnt.  In  1815  the  "  Caroline" 
captured  the  brig  "  Stephen,"  fourteen  guns  and 
thirty  men.  A  brig  laden  with  wool  was  captured 
and  burnt  by  the  letter-of-marque  "  Grampus,"  of 
Baltimore,  Capt.  Murphyj  on  her  passage  from 
France.  The  "  Grampus,"  while  cruising  among 
the  Canary  Islands,  captured  the  British  brig  "  Spec- 
ulation," but  afterwards  released  her.  Soon  after  a 
British  sloop-of-war  hove  in  sight  so  well  disguised 
as  a  merchantman  that  Capt.  Murphy  was  decoyed 
under  her  guns  before  he  discovered  his  mistake. 
When  within  half  pistol-range  the  enemy,  poured 
a  broadside   from   her  main-deck   batterv  into   the 


"  Grampus,"  and  killed  Capt.  Murphy  and  a  number 
of  his  crew.  The  "  Grampus"  suffered  greatly  in  her 
sails  and  rigging,  but  by  great  exertion  escaped,  and 
shortly  afterwards  captured  and  burned  the  brig 
"Ceres"  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay.  On  the  18th  of 
June,  1814,  the  "  Grampus"  and  "  Patapsco,"  of 
Baltimore,  and  the  schooner  "Dash,"  of  Boston, 
were  chased  by  the  "  La  Hogue,"  seventy-four,  in 
Boston  Bay,  but  all  escaped.  Later  in  the  year  the 
"  Grampus"  made  another  voyage,  and  captured  the 
British  transport-brig  "  Doris,"  which  was  sent  into 
Marblehead,  and  a  brig  loaded  with  rum  and  mo- 
lasses. She  also  sent  into  New  York  the  ketch 
"  Exjiedition,"  laden  with  wine  and  barilla.  The 
brig  "Catharine  and  William,"  captured  by  the 
"  Grampus,"  was  lost  near  Beaufort,  S.  C.  Capt. 
W.  S.  Stafford,  famous  for  his  defense  of  the  "  Dol- 
phin" in  the  Chesapeake  in  1812,  was  attacked  off 
Charleston  on  the  27th  of  November,  1813,  by  five 
boats  from  a  British  brig-of-war.  When  close  upon 
him  he  destroyed  one  of  the  boats  with  grape-shot, 
and  gave  the  rest  employment  in  saving  their  com- 
rades. The  "Lion,"  privateer  of  Baltimore,  arrived 
in  L'Orient,  France,  with  about  four  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  on  board,  after  having  destroyed  fifteen 
or  twenty  English  vessels  off  the  coasts  of  Spain  and 
Portugal ;  and  the  letter-of-marque  "  Patapsco"  sent 
in  a  schooner  laden-with  sugar,  coffee,  etc.  She  also 
captured  the  valuable  brig  "  Europa,"  ten  guns  and 
twenty-two  men,  with  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
tons  of  sweet  oil,  and  sent  her  into  port.  A  sloop  was 
captured  and  sunk  by  the  letter-of-marque  schooner 
"  Delisle,"  of  Baltimore,  which  also  destroyed  the 
ship  "  Bonita." 

The  letter-of-marque  "Tuckahoe,"  of  Baltimore, 
captured  the  schooner  "  Sea-Flower,"  and  also  burned 
the  schooner  "  Hazard."  She  also  captured  another 
prize,  and  sent  it  into  port.  She  narrowly  escaped 
capture  off  Long  Island  by  an  English  fleet,  but  by 
superior  sailing  arrived  safely  in  Boston  in  March, 
1814.  The  "  Kemp"  in  1814  captured  a  valuable 
schooner  loaded  with  dry  goods,  and  also  the  brig 
"  Louisa,"  laden  with  oil  and  fish,  which  was  sent 
into  Elizabeth  City,  Va.  The  "  Kemp"  also  captured 
and  burnt  the  brig  "Betsey  and  Mary."  The  same 
privateer  captured  the  ship  "Calypso,"  with  three 
thousand  dollars  in  specie  on  board,  and  the  brig 
"  New  Frederick." 

On  the  3d  of  December,  1815,  the  "Kemp,"  on  a 
cruise  to  the  West  Indies,  de.scried  a  small  fleet  of 
merchant  ships,  eight  in  number,  under  convoy  of  a 
frigate.  The  privateer  attacked  the  fleet,  and  carried 
off,  after  a  severe  contest,  four  of  the  largest  vessels ; 
one  of  the  brigs  and  her  cargo  was  estimated  to  be 
worth  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  "  Kemp" 
also  sent  in  another  brig  with  a  valuable  cargo.  The 
"  Kemp"  arrived  in  Baltimore  loaded  with  rich  goods, 
capturing  after  a  sharp  contest  lasting  forty  minutes 
a  British  brig  mounting  fourteen  guns,  and  carrying 


PRIVATEERS   AND  ARMED  VESSELS. 


forty  men.  The  privateer  "  York,"  of  Baltimore, 
when  off  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  on  the  18th  of 
April,  181.5,  had  a  severe  engagement  with  the  British 
transport-ship  "  Lord  Somers."  During  the  action, 
Capt.  Staples,  of  the  "  York,"  and  five  of  his  men 
were  killed  and  twelve  wounded.  In  this  disabled 
condition,  the  privateer  was  obliged  to  haul  off  and 
give  up  the  contest.  The  "  York"  soon  after  captured 
the  schooner  "  Diligence,"  sloop  "  Regulator,"  ship 
"Antonia,"  brigs  "Betsy,"  "Harvest,"  "William" 
(ten  guns,  fourteen  men),  "Rover,"  and  two  others, 
and  the  East  Indiaship  "  Coromandel,"  of  five  hundred 
tons,  all  of  which  had  valuable  cargoes.  After  a  suc- 
cessful cruise  along  the  coast  of  Brazil  and  the  West 
India  Islands,  the  "  York"  succeeded  in  making  her 
way  home.  Her  prizes  were  valued  at  about  one 
million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  privateer  "  Surprise"  was  an  exceedingly  for- 
tunate vessel.  Early  in  1814  she  captured  the  ship 
"  Hebe,"  and  sent  her  into  a  Southern  port.  The 
brig  "  Kutozoff,"  of  six  guns,  and  valued  at  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  was  carried  after  a  sharp  action  by 
boarding  and  sent  into  Frankfort,  Me.  The  "  Sur- 
prise" arrived  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  after  a  cruise  of  one 
hundred  and  three  days,  a  part  of  which  time  she  had 
spent  in  the  British  and  Irish  Channels.  During  her 
voyage  she  was  chased  sixteen  times,  and  made  in  all 
thirteen  prizes.  The  schooner  "  Fox,"  captured  off 
the  Irish  coast,  was  used  to  dispose  of  her  prisoners. 
Among  her  prizes  were  the  brigs  "James  and  David," 
the  "  Fidelity,"  and  the  "  Fortitude,"  which  with  a 
valuable  cargo  was  sent  into  Maine.  The  "  Surprise" 
arrived  at  Salem  late  in  1814,  after  a  fortunate  cruise 
of  one  month,  during  which  time  she  captured  twenty 
British  vessels,  some  of  which  were  very  valuable. 
On  her  next  cruise  the  "  Surprise"  captured  the 
transport-brig  "  Endeavor,"  which  was  destroyed  on 
Rockaway  Beach,  near  New  York,  by  the  English 
men-of-war.  The  brig  "  Argo"  was  also  captured  by 
the  "  Surprise,"  and  the  following,  which  were  burnt : 
brigs  "  Charlotte,"  "  Lively,"  "  William,"  "  Maid," 
"  Polly,"  ship  "  Milnes,"  and  schooners  "  Prince  Re- 
gent" and  "  Sally."  The  English  privateer  "  Lively," 
one  gun  and  seventeen  men,  was  brought  into  Salem 
by  the  same  vessel,  and  a  cargo  valued  at  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  was  taken  from  the  ship  "  Caledonia." 
Brigs  "Eagle,"  "Traveler,"  "Wellington"  (four  guns 
and  fifteen  men),  and  "Eliza"  were  used  as  cartels 
for  the  exchange  of  prisoners.  The  "  Surprise"  also 
captured  the  brig  "  Albion,"  schooner  "  Charlotte 
Ann,"  and  recaptured  the  boat  "  Ann."  During  her 
last  cruise,  which  only  occupied  one  month,  she  cap- 
tured twenty  British  merchantmen,  including  one 
small  privateer.  She  made  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven  prisonei-s,  released  one  hundred  and  sixty,  and 
brought  into  port  thirty-seven.  The  "  Surprise"  on 
her  next  cruise  sent  into  Boston  the  brig  "  Cossack," 
which  had  been  captured  by  the  "  Grand  Turk"  off 
Salem,  but  recaptured  by  the  "  Bulwark,"  seventy- 


four,  and  sunk  the  schooner  "  Mary."  On  the  24th 
of  December,  1814,  the  "Surprise"  was  at  Brest,  and 
[  fired  a  salute,  which  was  answered  by  the  French  ad- 
miral with  eleven  guns.  The  British  schooner  "  Lucy 
Ann"  was  captured  by  the  "Surprise,"  as  was  the 
!  brig  "Forth."  As  the  "Surprise"  left  the  port  of 
I  Brest  she  was  chased  for  several  hours  by  a  British 
j  sloop-of-war,  which  fired  fifty  guns  at  her  without 
effect.  On  the  28th  of  January,  1815,  the  "  Surprise" 
■  ca])tured,  after  a  short  engagement,  the  English  ship 
"  Star,"  mouuting  eight  twelve-pound  guns,  with 
twenty-six  men.  The  prize  was  sent  into  New  York, 
!  and  proved  to  be  an  exceedingly  rich  one,  being  val- 
ued at  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Its  cargo 
consisted  of  the  following  articles :  1180  bags  of 
sugar,  5021  bags  of  coffee,  45  tubs  of  camphor,  297 
bags  of  sago,  224  cwt.  of  sapan  wood,  22  bales  of 
nankeens,  83  cases  of  cinnamon,  and  45  cases  of  tor- 
toise-shell. The  "  Expedition,"  of  Baltimore,  in  1814 
captured  a  brig  from  Lisbon,  and  recaptured  the  val- 
uable schooner  "  Adeline,"  which  had  been  captured 
by  a  British  frigate.  The  private  armed  schooner 
"  Perry"  captured  a  schooner  loaded  with  rum  and 
sent  her  into  the  Delaware.  The  "  Perry"  was  only 
out  ninety  days,  during  which  time  she  captured 
twenty-two  British  vessels,  eighteen  of  which  she  de- 
stroyed and  sent  four  to  the  United  States.  She  sent 
the  schooner  "  Rambler,"  with  dry  goods,  into  Wil- 
mington, N.  C.  Brig  "  John"  and  brig  "  Nancy" 
were  captured  by  the  "  Perry,"  which  arrived  in  the 
Delaware  about  the  1st  of  February  with  a  full  cargo 
of  chosen  spoils.  She  was  chased  some  eight  or  ten 
times  by  brigs,  sloops-of-war,  frigates,  and  razees,  but 
laughed  at  them  all.  The  letter-of-marque  schooner 
"  Midas"  captured  and  burnt  the  .schooner  "  Francis" 
off  the  French  coast.  The  "  Midas"  also  captured 
I  the  British  brig  "  Astrea,"  ten  guns  and  twenty  men, 
i  and  sent  her  into  Savannah ;  the  English  privateer 
schooner  "Dash,"  with  a  crew  of  forty  men  and 
several  guns ;  three  coasting  vessels,  laden  with  seven 
hundred  bales  of  cotton,  and  the  ship  "Pizarro," 
brigs  "  Esperanza"  and  "  Elsinore,"  which  were  .sent 
I  into  port.  The  schooners  "  Eugene"  and  "  Stinger" 
I  were  destroyed.  The  "  Zebec  Ulter,"  of  Baltimore, 
I  sent  into  Charleston  the  brig  "  Robert ;"  also  captured 
the  brig  "  Swift,"  four  guns,  eighteen  men,  brig  "  Lord 
Nelson,"  and  schooner  "  Nancy,"  and  burned  two 
others.  A  schooner  was  given  up  to  paroled  pris- 
oners, and  the  privateer  schooner  "  Amnesty,"  one 
gun,  twenty-four  men,  was  burnt,  together  with  two 
other  small  vessels.  The  "  Zebec  Ulter"  captured  five 
or  six  other  vessels  which  were  released,  but  a  brig  of 
fourteen  guns  was  manned  and  sent  to  France,  and 
two  others  were  sent  to  the  United  States.  In  passing 
through  Long  Island  Sound  she  was  attacked  by  two 
British  boats,  one  of  which  she  captured,  but  the 
other  escaped.  The  commander  of  the  barge  was 
killed.  The  "  Zebec  Ulter"  afterwards  went  to  sea 
and  captured  the  ship  "  Anne,"  of  four  hundred  and 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


seventeen  tons,  and  sent  her  to  New  York.  She  also 
captured  the  brigs  "  Maria,"  "  Annabella,"  "  Mo- 
hawk," and  the  sloops  "  Twins,"  "  L'Esperance,"  and 
"  Constitution." 

The  "  Pike"  sent  in  the  schooner  "  Hope,"  ship 
"  Mermaid,"  and  burnt  the  British  brig  "  Pike."  She 
also  captured  a  schooner,  but  gave  her  up  to  the  pris- 
oners, and  burnt  the  schooner  "  Industrious  Bee." 
The  schooners  "  Venus,"  "  Lord  Nelson,"  and  brigs 
"  Jane"  and  "  Orient"  were  captured  by  the  "  Pike," 
together  with  several  other  vessels,  which  were  re- 
leased or  used  as  cartels.  The  "  Pike"  was  finally 
cliased  ashore  on  the  Southern  coast,  and  captured 
by  the  enemy's  boats.  A  part  of  her  crew  escaped,  but 
forty-three  were  taken  prisoners.  During  her  cruise 
she  paroled  two  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners.  The 
ship  "  Samuel  Cummings,"  four  hundred  tons,  cap- 
tured by  the  "  Pike,"  was  also  wrecked  on  the  Southern 
coast.  The  "  Lawrence,"  of  Baltimore,  sent  to  Port- 
land, Me.,  the  ship  "  Commerce,"  laden  with  supplies 
for  the  British  army ;  she  also  captured  the  brig 
"  Canada,"  ten  guns,  which  was  sent  into  Wilming- 
ton, N.  C.  The  cutters  "Eliza"  and  "Peggy,"  the 
"  Dart,"  the  ship  "  Christian,"  and  schooner  "  Ata- 
lanta"  were  captured  by  the  "  Lawrence,"  which  ar- 
rived in  New  York  on  the  25th  of  January,  1815. 
During  her  cruise  the  "  Lawrence"  took  thirteen  val- 
uable prizes,  and  manned  eight  of  them.  The  prizes 
aggregated  more  than  three  thousand  tons,  and  the 
prisoners  numbered  one  hundred  and  six.  Later  in  the 
year  the  "  Lawrence"  captured  and  sent  into  North 
Carolina  the  brig  "  Peter,"  and  also  captured  the 
brig  "  Athill,"  eight  guns,  which  was  sent  to  Brest, 
France.  The  brig  "  Eagle"  was  also  one  of  her 
prizes. 

The  "  Amelia,"  of  Baltimore,  in  1814  captured  the 
brig  "  Liddelle,"  and  made  a  cartel  of  her ;  the  brig 
"  Jessie,"  six  guns,  was  burnt,  and  schooner  "  Ann" 
was  sent  as  a  cartel  to  Halifax.  The  "  Amelia"  ar- 
rived at  New  York  after  a  cruise  of  eighty-five  days, 
during  which  time  she  had  taken  fourteen  hundred 
tons  of  shipping,  with  property  valued  at  one  million 
dollars,  and  eighty  prisoners.  On  her  next  cruise 
she  captured  the  following  vessels :  brigs  "  Colier," 
"  Harmony,"  "  Ann,"  "  Elizabeth,"  and  a  ship  of 
eight  guns,  besides  having  a  sharp  combat  with  the 
"  Neptune."  Among  the  last  vessels  captured  by  her 
was  the  brig  "  Polly."  The  "  Amelia"  arrived  safe  at 
Philadelphia  in  April,  1815,  with  a  full  cargo  of 
valuable  goods  taken  from  the  enemy.  During  her 
cruise  she  captured  ten  British  vessels ;  some  she  de- 
stroyed, and  others  she  ordered  into  port.  The 
"  Amelia"  carried  but  six  guns  and  seventy-five  men. 
The  captured  vessels  amounted  to  two  thousand  two 
hundred  and  seventy  tons,  one  hundred  and  twelve 
prisoners,  and  thirty-two  carriage-guns.  She  was 
frequently  chased  by  the  enemy,  and  once  for  fifty- 
three  hours,  but  was  fortunate  enough  to  evade  all 
her  pursuers. 


The  "  Mammoth,"  of  Baltimore,  was  another  very 
j  successful  privateer.     In  1814  she  sent  into  port  the 
;  brig  "  Camelion,"  from  the  West  Indies,  laden  with 
rum  and  molasses.     Off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland 
I  she  had  a  severe  action  with  an  English  transport-ship, 
laden  with  three  or  four  hundred  troops.     She  was 
compelled  to  haul  off  after  doing  considerable  damage 
to  the  enemy.     She   afterwards  captured  the  sloop 
"  Farmer,"  and  brigs  "  Britannia"  and  "  Ceres,"  and 
three  other  brigs  in  ballast.    In  1815  she  captured  the 
brigs  "  Uniza,"  "  Sarah,"  "  Sir  Home  Popham,"  and 
schooners    "  Two    Brothers,"     "  Eapid,"    and    ship 
"Champion."     The  " Ann  Eliza"  was  destroyed,  and 
j  the  bark  "  Mary,"   brigs  "  Alexander"  and  "  Char- 
i  lotte,"   and   ship   "  Mentor,"  with  valuable  cargoes, 
j  ordered  into  port.     The  schooners   "Thomas"  and 
1  "  Good  Intent"  and   brigs   "  Joseph"    and   "  Eliza" 
were  given  up.    The  "Mammoth"  in  all  made  twenty- 
one  prizes,  and  paroled  about  three  hundred  prisoners. 
She  arrived  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  full  of  rich  spoils 
from  the  enemy. 

The  "  Harrison"  sent  into  a  Southern  port  in  1814 
the  schooner  "  Octavia,"  and  soon  after  captured  the 
J  ship  "  Julia,"  brig  "  Mary  Ann,"  schooners  "  John 
Duncan"  and  "  Louisa."     After  removing  from  the 
prizes  goods  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  the  vessels  were  destroyed.     A  schooner  with 
a  large  amount  of  specie  on  board  was  captured  and 
j  sent  to  the  United  States.     The  "  Harrison"  arrived 
at  Wilmington,  N.  C.  in  1815,  with  a  full  cargo  of 
j  goods  taken  from  the  enemy,  with  the  loss  of  her  cap- 
tain in  an  engagement  with  a  British  sloop-of-war. 
!      In  September,  1814,  the  "Harpy,"  of  Baltimore, 
fell  in  with  the  British  packet  "  Princess  Elizabeth," 
and  after  a  warm  but  short  action  the  packet  surren- 
dered. She  had  three  men  killed  and  several  wounded. 
The  "Princess  Elizabeth"  was  armed  with  ten  guns 
and  thirty-eight  men.    She  had  on  board  as  passengers 
a  Turkish  ambassador  for  England  and  an  English 
officer,  aide  to  a  British  general,  and  a  second  lieuten- 
ant of  a  "  seventy-four."     The  privateer  divested  the 
I  packet  of  ten  thousand  dollars  in  specie,  five  pipes  of 
Madeira  wine,  and  her  armament,  and  ransomed  the 
vessel  for  two  thousand  dollars,  and  then  allowed  her 
to  proceed  on  her  course  to  England. 

After  a  very  successful  voyage  the  "  Harpy"  went 
to  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and  after  a  cruise  of  twenty 
I  days  returned  laden  with  the  choicest  spoils  of  the  foe 
and  sixty   prisoners.      She    captured   the   schooner 
j  "Britannia,"  and  burnt  her  and  the  brig  "Halifax," 
!  packet,  with  a  valuable   cargo ;   also  the  transport- 
j  ship  "Amazon,"  six  guns  and  eighteen  men,  an  ele- 
gant  vessel   with   a   cargo   of  provisions ;    also  the 
transport-ship  "  Budges,"  four  hundred  and  forty  tons, 
six  eighteen-pound  carronades,  and  a  large  cargo  of 
rum,  etc.     The  prizes  of  the  "  Harpy"  were  valued  at 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars.    She  immediately  put 
to  sea,  and  soon  captured  the  ship  "Jane,"  and  burnt 
the  brigs  "  William  Nelson,"  "  Louisa,"  and  schooner 


PRIVATEEKS   AND  ARMED   VESSELS. 


Ill 


"  Nine  Sisters."  She  also  captured  the  ships  "  Wil- 
liam and  Alfred"  and  the  "  Garland."  The  "  Harpy" 
arrived  at  Salem,  Mass.,  in  April,  1815,  with  a  valu- 
able cargo  of  rich  merchandise  of  every  description 
taken  from  her  prizes,  secured  on  the  coast  of  Eng- 
land, in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  along  the  coast  of 
Spain  and  Portugal.  She  had  among  other  articles 
over  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling  in  British 
treasury  notes  and  bills  of  exchange.  The  "  Harpy" 
was  a  beautiful  vessel  of  three  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  tons,  and  carried  fourteen  heavy  guns  and  about 
one  hundred  men. 

The  "  Fairy,"  of  Baltimore,  captured  and  burnt  the 
sloop  "  Active."  The  privateer  "  Leo"  captured  the 
brig  "Alexander"  and  several  other  vessels  at  sea, 
and  was  herself  captured  by  a  British  frigate  while  in 
distress  oS  the  coast  of  Spain.  Tlie  English  brig 
"  William,"  from  the  coast  of  Africa,  valued  at  sixty 
thousand  dollars,  was  sent  into  Newbern,  N.  C,  by  a 
Baltimore  privateer.  About  the  same  time  a  British 
schooner  was  captured  by  the  "  Resolution"  and  sent 
into  Charleston,  S.  C.  The  brig  "  Lord  Wellington" 
was  captured  by  the  letter-of-marque  "  Diamond," 
and  burnt. 

The  East  India  Company's  ship  "  Countess  of  Har- 
court,"  five  hundred  and  twenty  tons,  six  heavy  guns 
and  ninety  men,  outward  bound,  laden  with  dry 
goods,  brandy,  rum,  etc.,  separated  from  a  British 
fleet  in  a  gale,  was  captured  in  the  British  Channel 
by  the  "  Sabine,"  of  Baltimore,  and  sent  into  port. 
This  was  a  very  valuable  prize  to  her  captors.  The 
brig  "  Fire-Fly,"  laden  with  drugs  and  silks,  was 
brought  into  Wilmington,  N.  C,  by  the  "  Sabine." 
She  was  valued  at  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  "Sabine"  also  captured  the  cutter  "Flying 
Fish"  and  the  brig  "  Aaron,"  which  were  sent  into 
port.  The  British  packet  "Landraile,"  carrying 
several  guns  and  thirty-three  men,  was  captured,  after 
a  hard  fight,  in  the  British  Channel  by  the  "Syren," 
of  Baltimore.  Two  ves.sels  were  also  captured  by  the 
"Syren"  about  the  same  time  (1814),  one  of  which 
was  burnt  and  the  other  released.  The  "Syren" 
also  took  the  ship  "  Emulation"  and  another  off  the 
British  coast,  and  destroyed  them,  and  captured  the 
brig  "Sir  John  Sherbrook,"  of  twelve  guns.  On  re- 
turning from  her  cruise  in  1815  she  was  run  ashore 
by  the  pilot  near  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware,  where 
she  was  attacked  by  three  barges  from  a  razee  at 
anchor,  which  were  kept  at  bay  for  two  hours. 
Finally  the  privateer  was  set  on  fire,  and  the  crew 
escaped  on  shore. 

The  "Whig"  captured  the  cutter  "Jubilee,"  and 
made  a  cartel  of  her;  she  also  captured  and  burnt  the 
schooner  "Alexandria,"  brigs  "Irish  Minor,"  "  Prin- 
cess Mary,"  "  Eliza,"  and  ships  "  Esperance,"  "  Lon- 
don," and  "  Postethwell."  She  made  several  other 
prizes  on  this  cruise,  and  arrived  at  New  York  with 
a  valuable  cargo  and  twenty-three  prisoners.  She 
also  made  some  prizes  in  company  with  the  "  David 


Porter,"  of  Boston.  The  "  Whig"  also  captured  the 
sloop  "Enterprise,"  and  brigs  "Brunswick"  and 
"  Race  Horse,"  and  schooner  "  Britannia."  The  brig 
"  Mary  and  Eliza"  was  captured  by  the  "  Argo,"  of 
Baltimore,  and  burnt. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  brave  Captain 
Boyle  in  the  privateer  "Comet,"  of  Baltimore.  His 
next  cruise  was  in  the  privateer  "  Chasseur,"  or  the 
"Pride  of  Baltimore."  It  is  .said  of  this  "skimmer 
of  the  seas"  that  "  she  was  the  fleetest  of  all  vessels, 
and  the  story  of  her  cruises  is  a  tale  of  romance  of  the 
most  exciting  kind."     She  was  a  privateer  brig,  ele- 

I  gant  in  model,  and  carried  sixteen  guns  and  about 

j  one  hundred  officers  and  men.     With  this  formidable 

]  vessel,  Capt.  Boyle  captured  eighty  vessels,  of  which 
thirty-two  were  of  equal  force  with  the  "Chasseur," 
and  eighteen  superior.  Many  of  the  prizes  were  of 
great  value ;  three  of  them  alone  were  valued  at  four 

I  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Early  in  1814  the  "  Chasseur"  captured  the  schooner 
"  Miranda,"  sloop  "  Martha,"  and  several  other  ves- 
sels, which  were  destroyed.  One  of  them  had  on 
board  a  large  amount  of  specie.  The  "  Chasseur" 
also  captured  the  brig  "  Melpomene,"  six  guns,  and  a 
fine  London  packet-ship,  twelve  guns,  laden  with 
four  hundred  pipes  of  brandy  and  wine.  On  the 
same  cruise  she  captured  the  ship  "  Joanna,"  valued 
at  thirty   thousand   dollars,  and  also   several  other 

,  valuable  vessels,  including  the  ships  "  Mary  and 
Susan"  and  "  Adventure,"  and  the  schooner  "  Arrow." 

j      The  "  Chasseur,"  in  her  various  voyages,  was  some- 

j  times  in  the  West  Indies;  then  on  the  coasts  of  Spain, 

,  Portugal,  and  France ;  and  then  in  the  Irish  and 
British  Channels,  spreading  the  wildest  alarm  among 

I  England's   commercial   marine.     So   much   was   she 

I  feared  in  the  West  Indies  and  the  islands  of  the 
Carribean   Sea,  that  the  merciiants  there  implored 

j  Admiral  Dunham  to  send  them  "  at  least  a  heavy 
sloop-of-war"  to  protect  their  property.  The  admiral 
immediately  sent  them  the  frigate  "  Barrossa."     Dur- 

j  ing  her  last  cruise,  only  seventeen  days  previous  to 
her  arrival  in  port,  her  heroic  commander  captured, 
about  six  leagues  to  windward  of  Havana,  his  Bri- 
tannic majesty's  ship  "St.  Lawrence,"  mounting  fif- 
teen carriage  guns,  with  a  crew  of  seventy-five  men. 

j  This  action  lasted  but  fifteen  minutes,  when  the 
Englishman  surrendered  his  vessel,  having  been  com- 
pletely cut  to  pieces.  Fifteen  of  his  crew  were  killed, 
and  twenty-five  wounded.     The  "  Chasseur"  had  but 

I  five   men   killed   and   eight  wounded,  and  received 

j  little  or  no  damage  in  her  hull. 

I       At  this  period  it  was  the  general  custom  for  the 

'  British  admirals  on  our  coast  to  issue  what  the  Ameri- 
cans called  paper-blockades,  declaring  the  whole  coast 
of  North  America  in  a  strict  state  of  blockade.  Sev- 
eral of  these  blockade  proclamations  had  recently 

I  been  issued  by  Admiral  Sir  John  Borlaise  Warren 
and  Sir  Alexander  Cochrane.    As  a  burlesque  on  these 

I  proclamations,    Capt.    Boyle    while    sailing    in    the 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


British  Channel  issued  the  following  proclamation 
and  sent  it  by  a  cartel  to  London,  with  a  request  to 
have  it  posted  up  at  Lloyd's  Coffee-House : 

"  Bi/  Thnnms  Boijle,  Esq.,  Oommiiniler  of  Ihe  privateer  arvu-d  hrirf 

"Whereas,  It  has  become  customary  with  the  Admirals  of  Great 
Britain  commanding  small  forces  on  tlie  coast  of  tlie  United  States, 
particularly  Sir  John  Borlaise  Warren  and  Sir  Alexander  Cochrane,  to 
declare  all  the  cbast  of  the  United  States  in  a  state  of  strict  and  rigorous 
blockade,  without  possessing  the  power  to  justify  such  a  declaration,  or 
stationing  an  adequate  foice  to  maintain  said  blockade.  I  do  therefore, 
by  virtue  of  the  power  and  authority  in  me  vested  (possessing  sufHcient 
force),  declare  all  the  ports,  harbors,  bays,  creeks,  rivers,  inlets,  outlets, 
islands,  and  seacoast  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land in  a  state  of  strict  and  rigorous  blockade.  And  I  do  further  de- 
clare, that  I  consider  the  force  under  my  command  adequate  to  maintain 
strictly,  rigorously,  and  effectually  the  said  blockade.  And  I  do  hereby 
reijuire  the  respective  officers,  whether  captains,  commanders,  or  com- 
manding ofiicerB,  under  my  command,  employed  or  to  be  employed  on 
the  coaiits  of  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  to  pay  strict  attention 
to  the  e.xecution  of  this  my  proclamation.  And  I  do  hereby  caution  and 
forbid  the  ships  and  vessels  of  all  and  every  nation,  in  amity  and  peace 
with  the  United  States,  from  entering  or  attempting  to  enter,  or  from 
coming  or  attempting  to  come  out  of  any  of  the  said  ports,  bays,  creeks, 
rivers,  inlets,  outlets,  islands,  or  seacoasts,  under  any  pretense  whatso- 
ever. And  that  no  person  may  plead  ignorance  of  this  my  proclamation, 
I  have  ordered  the  same  to  be  made  public  in  England. 

"Given  under  my  hand,  on  board  the  'Chasseur,'  day  and  date  as 

'  Thomas  Bovle. 
"  (By  command  of  the  commanding  officer) 

"J.  J.  Staxuurt,  Secretary." 

On  the  8th  of  April,  1815,  Capt.  Boyle,  after  a  suc- 
cessful cruise,  arrived  at  Baltimore  in  the  "  Chasseur" 
with  a  full  cargo  of  spoils.  On  entering  the  port  the 
"  Chasseur"  saluted  Fort  McHenry  in  a  handsome 
manner,  and  upon  reaching  the  dock  her  brave  cap- 
tain and  crew  were  welcomed  by  all  classes  of  the 
community. 

During  the  three  years  of  the  war  Great  Britain 
lost  about  two  thousand  ships  and  vessels  of  every 
description,  including  men-of-war,  two-thirds  of 
which  number  were  captured  by  American  privateers 
and  private  armed  vessels.  And  although  Baltimore 
was  frequently  blockaded  by  the  British  fleets,  she 
took  the  lead  in  fitting  out  these  vessels,  and  was  more 
active  and  patriotic  in  annoying  the  enemy  than  any 
other  city  in  the  Union.' 


1  In  testimony  of  this  fact  Mr.  Coggeshall,  in  his  "  History  of  American 
Privateers,"  says,  "When  I  call  to  mind  the  spirit  and  acts  of  the  lialti- 
moreans  during  our  last  war  with  England,  I  am  inspired  witli  a  feeling 
of  esteem  and  veneration  for  them  as  a  brave  and  patriotic  people  that 
will  endure  with  me  to  the  end  of  my  existence.  During  the  whole 
struggle  against  an  inveterate  foe  they  did  all  they  could  to  aid  and 
strengthen  the  hands  of  the  general  government,  and  generally  took  the 
lead  in  fitting  out  efficient  privateers  and  letters-of-marque,  to  annoy 
and  distress  the  enemy,  and  even  to  '  beard  the  old  lion  in  his  den,"  for 
it  is  well  known  that  their  privateers  captured  many  English  vessels  at 
the  very  mouths  of  their  own  ports  in  the  British  Channel.  When  their 
own  beautiful  city  was  attacked  by  a  powerful  fleet  and  army,  how  nobly 
did  they  defend  themselves  against  the  hand  of  the  spoiler !  The  whole 
venom  of  the  modern  Goths  seemed  concentrated  against  the  Baltimo- 
reans,  for  no  other  reason  but  that  they  had  too  much  spirit  to  submit  to 
insult  and  tyrannical  oppression.  Many  of  the  eastern  people  made  a 
grand  mistake  in  counting  on  the  magnanimity  of  the  British  nation  to 
do  them  justice  by  mild  and  persuasive  arguments.  In  making  these 
remarks  in  praise  of  Baltimore,  I  do  not  mean  to  disparage  the  noble 


There  were  fifty-eight  privateers  sailing  from  Balti- 
more during  the  war  of  1812,  fifty-five  from  New 
York,  forty  from  Salem,  thirty-two  from  Boston,  four- 
teen from  Philadelphia,  and  from  all  the  States  com- 
bined only  two  hundred  and  fifty. 

Baltimore  furnished  many  privateers  to  the  States 
in  the  South  American  War  of  Independence.  To 
the  injured  party  the  privateer  is  a  "pirate."  In  the 
Revolutionary  war  the  English  government  regarded 
the  Chesapeake  Bay  as  a  "  nest  of  pirates,"  and  in 
1817  the  Spanish  minister  at  Washington  wrote  to  Mr. 
Monroe  that  "  it  is  notorious  that  .  .  .  whole  squad- 
rons of  pirates  have  been  fitted  out  from  Baltimore 
and  New  Orleans."  He  claimed  that  Capt.  James 
Barnes,  of  the  "  Swift,"  a  privateer  under  the  flag  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  had  violated  the  laws  of  nations,  the 
neutrality  of  their  government,  and  the  existing 
treaties  in  making  "  a  regular  entry  of  his  vessel  at 
the  custom-house  of  Baltimore,  declaring  his  cargo  to 
consist  of  bales  and  packages  containing  silks,  laces, 
and  other  valuable  articles,  all,  as  you  may  suppose, 
plundered  from  the  Spaniards  ;"  that  the  "  Orb,"  the 
"  Maria,"  the  "  Paz,"  and  the  "  Komp"  were  all 
"pirates,"  sailing  out  of  Baltimore  to  plunder  Span- 
ish commerce  and  capturing  millions  of  dollars  at  a 
time  ;  and  as  such  he  designated  "  the  corsair  '  Mon- 
gore,'  the  '  Portoris,'  the  '  Independencia  del  Sud'* 
(Commodore  James  Chaytor),  the  'Congress,'  the 
'Regent,'  the  'Republicano,'  the  '  Alexta,'  the 'Ca- 
lypso,' the  '  Clifton,'  the  '  Felix  Cubano,'  and  the 
'Young  Spartan,'"  all  of  Baltimore.  Commodore 
James  Chaytor,  Thomas  Taylor,  Joseph  Staftbrd, 
James  Barnes,  John  Chase,  Thomas  Boyle,  Francis 
Mason,  John  D.  Daniel,  Henry  Childs,  J.  W.  Stephen, 
Capt.  Huffington,  Capt.  Davey,  Capt.  Fish,  James 
Rogers,  Capt.  Revilla,  Joseph  Almeyda,  Capt.  Moore, 
and  Capt.  Watkins,  all  from  Baltimore,  commanded 
privateers  engaged  in  the  South  American  war. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

WAR   WITH    MEXICO. 
Baltimore  and  Washington  Battalion — Death  of  Ringgold  and  Watson. 

On  the  27th  of  February,  1845,  the  United  States 
Senate  pa.ssed  joint  resolutions  for  the  annexation  of 
the  republic  of  Texas  to  the  United  States  as  one  of 
the  States  of  the  Union  ;  the  next  day  they  were  con- 
curred in  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  on 
the  1st  of  March  they  were  approved  by  the  President. 
Mexico,  which  still  claimed  Texas  as  a  portion  of  her 

patriotism  of  many  other  cities  of  our  glorious  Union;  but  I  do  mean 
to  say  that  if  the  same  spirit  that  fired  the  hearts  and  souls  of  the  Balti- 
moreans  had  evinced  itself  throughout  our  entire  country,  it  would  have 
saved  every  American  heart  much  pain  and  mortification,  and  would,  in 
my  opinion,  liave  shortened  the  war." 

2  The  Spanish  ship  "Triton,"  captured  by  this  vessel,  was  valued  at 
one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 


WAR  WITH   MEXICO. 


territory,  treated  the  act  of  annexation  as  a  declara- 
tion of  war,  and  Congress  having  formally  recognized 
the  existence  of  hostilities,  on  the  13th  of  May,  1846, 
the  President  made  his  requisition  uiJon  the  Governor 
of  Maryland  for  two  regiments  of  infantry  as  the  quota 
of  the  State,  which  was  promptly  responded  to  by  a 
proclamation  of  the  Governor  calling  for  troops. 
Upon  the  receipt  of  the  Governor's  proclamation, 
the  City  Council  of  Baltimore  passed  a  resolution  re- 
questing the  mayor  to  convoke  the  people  in  town- 
meeting,  and  in  compliance  with  this  resolution 
Mayor  Davies  issued  his  proclamation,  and  on  the 
23d  of  May  the  citizens  assembled  in  Monument 
Square.  The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Jacob 
I.  Cohen,  Jr.,  who  nominated  Mayor  Davies  as 
chairman,  and  T.  Parkin  Scott  and  Thomas  Yates 
Walsh  as  secretaries,  with  some  of  the  most  promi- 
nent citizens  as  vice-presidents.  Col.  Davies,  in  a 
short  and  appropriate  address,  stated  the  object  of  the 
meeting,  after  which  Robert  M.  McLane  offered  a 
preamble  and  resolutions,  which  he  prefaced  by  a 
patriotic  speech.  After  the  adoption  of  the  resolu- 
tions, Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson  made  a  speech  of  great 
eloquence  and  patriotism,  and  was  Allowed  by  Gen. 
Samuel  Houston,  United  States  Senator  from  Texas 
and  the  hero  of  San  Jacinto,  who  was  received  with 
great  enthusiasm.  The  meeting  was  closed  by  an  ad- 
dress from  Hon.  William  L.  Yancey,  of  Alabama.  Dur- 
ing the  progress  of  the  meeting  news  from  Mexico  was 
received  and  read  by  Col.  Davies,  and  at  the  mention 
of  the  death  of  the  gallant  Maj.  Ringgold,  at  the 
battle  of  Palo  Alto,  every 
head  was  uncovered,  and 
many  a  manly  cheek  was 
suffused  with  tears. 

In  all  sections  of  the 
State  volunteers  were  or- 
ganizing, and  pressing  to 
be  placed  upon  active  duty, 
and  such  was  the  spirit  of 
the  Baltimoreans  that  they 
alone  could  have  filled  the 
full  quota  of  troops  re- 
quired from  Maryland  un- 
der the  President's  requisi- 
tion. This  noble-  emulation  was  so  great  that  re- 
cruiting soon  had  to  be  discontinued,  and  those  who 
were  mustered  into  the  service  were  held  as  a  reserve, 
and  not  as  a  portion  of  the  State's  quota  of  volun- 
teers. The  Baltimore  Clipper  of  May  20,  1846,  re- 
ferring to  this  generous  enthusiasm,  says, — 

"  The  company  under  Capt.  James  E.  Stewart  are  still  encamped  on 
Chase's  Hill,  busily  engaged  iu  drill  and  military  exercise,  and  steadily 
increasing  their  numbers.  The  rifle  company  formed  at  the  Exchange 
encamped  yesterday  morning  in  the  park  (Howard's).  The  Chesapeake 
Bifiemen,  tinder  Capt.  Steiner,  meet  every  evening  for  drill,  and  are  rap 
idly  tilling  up  their  ranks.  The  ship-masters  and  othei-s  on  the  Point,  as 
well  as  the  German  citizens,  are  forming  a  volunteer  company  to  be  ten- 
dered to  the  President  for  service  in  Mexico.  The  whole  number  of 
volunteers  in  the  several  corps  which  are  organized  is  between  four  hun- 


dred and  live  hundred  men,  and  a  better  set  of  soldiei-s,  when  they  have 
learned  the  arts  and  mysteries  of  war,  could  not  be  selected  from  our 
citizens." 

Fortunately,  however,  for  some  of  those  who  were 
eager  to  participate  in  the  defense  of  their  country,  it 
was  arranged  that  a  battalion  of  six  companies  should 
be  formed,  composed  of  four  companies  recruited  in 
Baltimore  and  two  from  Washington  City,  to  be 
designated  the  "  Battalion  of  Baltimore  and  Washing- 
ton Volunteers." 

The  four  companies  from  Baltimore  were  composed 
of  the  following  officers : 

Company  A. — Captain,  James  E.  Stewart;  Lieuten- 
ants, Benjamin  Ferguson  Owens  and  Samuel  Wilt ; 
Additional  Second  Lieutenant,  David  P.  Chapman. 

Company  B. — Captain,  James  S.  Piper.  Companies 
A  and  B  were  the  first  and  second  companies  of  Bal- 
timore volunteers,  and  were  known  as  the  "President's 
Guards." 

Company  E. — Captain,  John  R.  Kenly.  This 
company  was  known  by  the  name  of  "  Baltimore's 
Own." 

Company  F. — Captain,  James  Boyd.  This  company 
was  known  as  the  "  Chesapeake  Riflemen."  Capt. 
Steiner,  who  at  first  commanded  the  company,  was 
prevented  from  accompanying  it  by  severe  illness 
brought  on  by  his  incessant  exertions  in  its  organiza- 
tion. 

The  battalion  was  commanded  by  Lieut.-Col.  Wil- 
liam H.  Watson,  of  Baltimore. 

This  battalion,  which  was  second  to  none  in  the 
army  in  discipline  and  bravery,  embarked  on  the 
transport  steamer  "  Massachusetts"  on  the  13th  of 
June,  1846,  and  on  the  16th  got  under  way  for  the 
seat  of  war.  After  a  voyage  of  fourteen  days  the  ship 
arrived  off  the  island  of  Brazos,  Mexico,  and  on  the 
Ist  and  2d  of  July  the  troops  were  landed.  On  the 
9th  they  took  up  their  line  of  march  for  Mexico,  and 
on  the  24th,  after  suflering  greatly  from  the  extreme 
heat,  etc.,  reached  the  main  army  of  occupation,  and 
camped  opposite  the  Mexican  town  of  Burita.  It  is 
foreign  to  the  aim  of  this  work  to  follow  these  gallant 
soldiers  in  the  campaign  that  ensued,  and  it  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  their  brilliant  courage  and  stead- 
fast determination  in  every  scene  of  the  war  in  which 
they  took  part  drew  encomiums  from  the  most  dis- 
tinguished sources,  and  fully  sustained  the  honor  and 
reputation  of  their  native  city.  The  battalion  con- 
tinued in  service  until  the  30th  day  of  May,  1847, 
when,  their  term  of  service  having  expired,  they  were 
mustered  out  and  honorably  discharged.  A  large 
number  of  the  men,  however,  re-enlisted  under  Capt. 
Boyd,  Lieut.  Taneyhill,  and  others. 

Those  who  returned  to  Baltimore  were  welcomed 
home  with  distinguished  honors  and  hearty  congratu- 
lations, and  on  the  10th  of  July,  in  compliance  with 
the  request  of  the  battalion,  the  first  American  flag 
ever  planted  on  the  walls  of  Monterey  was  presented 
to  the  city  of  Baltimore  by  Capt.  James  E.  Stewart, 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


LIEDT.-COL.  1 


the  senior  officer,  on  behalf  of  the  command  which 
had  so  gallantly  borne  it.     The  mayor  received  it  in  1 
the  presence  of  a  large  audience  with  an   eloquent 
address,  which  was   appropriately   responded  to  by 
Capt.  John  R.  Kenly.     In  the  capture  of  the  city  of 
Monterey  the  commander  of  the  battalion,  Lieut.-Col. 
Wm.  H.  Watson,  of  Baltimore,  lost  his  life.     Shortly 
after  Capt.  Kenly's  return 
he  was  informed  by  Gov-  ; 
ernor  Pratt  that  the  Presi-  i 
dent  had  notified  him  that  a 
battalion  of  volunteers  was 
to  be  raised  in  the  District  j 
of  Columbia  and  the  State 
of  Maryland,  of  which  the  j 
President   was   to    appoint  | 
the  lieutenant-colonel,  and  j 
Governor  Pratt  the  major. 
Recruiting   was    going    on 
slowly  for  such  an  organiza- 
tion,  and   with   the  assist- 
ance of  Capt.  Kenly,  on  the  20th  of  July,  1847,  a  | 
sufficient  number  of  companies  were  enlisted  to  an-  ' 
thorize  the  appointment  of  major  by  the  Governor, 
and  on  that  day  Capt.  Kenly  was  commissioned  major  1 
of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  Maryland  Regiment  J 
of  volunteers.     He  immediately  entered  upon  the  dis-  j 
charge  of  his  duties,  and  also  soon  succeeded  in  raising 
a  sufficient  number  of  volunteers  to  form  an  artillery  : 
company,   which   was   commanded   by  Capt.    Lloyd 
Tilghman,  and  attached  to  the  battalion.' 

On  the  24th  of  July,  Maj.  Kenly  embarked  from  [ 
Fort  McHenry  on  the  transport-ship  "  Alexandria," 
with  the  three  Maryland  companies  under  his  com-  | 
mand,   and   in   one   month   dropped  anchor  off  the 
port  of  Vera  Cruz.    These  companies  were  commanded  I 
respectively   by   Capts.  Henrie,   Brown,  and   Barry,  i 
The   other   companies   of  the   battalion    were   com-  i 
manded  by  Wm.  H.  Degges,  Lawrence  Dolan,  Mar- 
cellus  K.  Taylor,  and  Francis  B.  Schaeffer.     Of  these  | 
Dolan,  Taylor,  and  Schaefier  had  been  lieutenants  in 
Watson's  battalion,  and  Isaac  H.  Morrow  and  John 
Harper   had   been   attached   to  the  same  command. 
Among  the  list  of  officers  of  companies  attached  to 
the  regiment  were  Capt.  James  Boyd,  Lieuts.  James 
Taneyhill,  and  Franklin  B.  Nimocks,  all  of  whom  had 
been  members  of  Watson's  battalion.    On  the  29th  of 
May,  1848,  peace  was  declared,  and  on  the  16th  of  June 
the  Baltimore  regiment  marched  from  Jalapa  for  home. 
From  this  brief  review  it  will  be  seen  that  Balti- 
more furnished  her  full  quota  of  soldiers  during  the 
contest  with  Mexico.     She  contributed  Col.  Watson's 
battalion   of  about  four   hundred  men  ;  next  about 
fifty  men  to  Capt.  Walker's  command ;  then  came  the 
enrollment   of   voltigeurs,   the    filling   up   of   Capt. 

:tmor»f«  iin/^nr  T.ianf     I 


rd's  company,  and  the  enlistments  under  Lieut. 


1  Capt.  Tilglimau'8  company  was  composed  of  upwards  of  ninety  men, 
and  were  a  remarkably  fine  body,  almost  all  of  its  members  being  under 
forty  years  of  age. 


Marriott;  and  finally  the  Watson  Guards,  Capt. 
Dolan,  the  Mechanical  Volunteers,  Lieut.  Brown,  and 
the  Twiggs  Riflemen,  Capt.  Taylor.  In  this  imperfect 
enumeration  the  large  number  of  those  who  enlisted 
in  the  regular  army  and  in  tHe  navy  have  not  been 
reckoned.  Altogether,  Baltimore  contributed  at  least 
a  regiment  and  a  half  to  the  army  of  the  United 
States,  and  every  member  of  the  commands  mentioned 
enlisted  without  an  official  call  from  the  executive, 
their  participation  in  the  war  being  in  every  sense  of 
the  term  a  voluntary  act.^ 


CHAPTER    XV. 

POLITICAL  PROGRESS. 

Legislative  Representation— Federal  Hill— Van  Buren  Electors— Politi- 
cal Conventions— Eeform  Constitution— Know-Notliing  Party— E»- 
form  Party. 

Under  the  charter  of  Jlaryland  the  legislative 
power  was  lodged  in  the  bands  of  the  proprietary, 
with  the  proviso  that  it  should  be  exercised  "by  and 
with  the  advice,  assent,  and  approbation  of  the  free- 
men, or  of  the  dielegates  or  deputies,"  the  right  being 
reserved  to  him  of  selecting  the  mode  in  which  they 
should  be  assembled.  The  warrants  for  convening 
the  Assemblies  issued  by  the  Governors  at  the  founda- 
tion of  the  province  determined  whether  they  should 
be  convened  in  person  or  by  deputies ;  or  if  by  depu- 
ties, the  number  of  deputies  to  which  each  county 
should  be  entitled  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
should  be  elected.  From  the  first  Assembly  of  the 
province  until  the  government  pas.sed  into  the  hands 
of  Cromwell's  commissioners  there  was  no  settled  or 
uniform  mode  of  convening  Assemblies.  At  that 
time  the  elective  franchise  was  not  highly  appreci- 
ated, and  there  are  several  instances  showing  that  the 
inconvenience  of  personal  attendance  and  the  obliga- 
tion to  defray  the  expense  of  delegates  occasionally 
caused  it  to  be  considered  a  grievance.  "  Until  1650 
the  delegates  were  elected  for  hundreds  or  settle- 
ments, and  the  warrant  for  each  Assembly  specified 
the  number  to  be  elected  for  each  hundred.  There 
was  no  regular  delegate  system  before  this  period,  and 

-  Among  the  Baltimoreans  and  Marylanders  who  achieved  the  high- 
est distinction  in  the  Mexican  war  were  Lieut.-Col.  William  H.  Watson, 
MaJ.  (now  Gen.)  John  R.  Kenly,  Maj.  Samuel  Ringgold,  Capt.  Randolph 
Ridgely,  Col.  Trueman  Cross,  Maj.  William  Lear  (born  in  Harford 
County,  and  mortatly  wounded  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  in  the  battle 
of  Monterey),  Passed  Midshipman  John  Ringgold  Hynson,  Capt.  Samuel 
H.  Walker,  Capt.  Oden  Bowie,  Lieut.  Raphael  Semmes,  Lieut.  Arnold 
Elzey,  Lieut.  John  Contec,  Lieut.-Col.  William  H.  Emory,  Brev.-Mig. 
James  Lowry  Donaldson,  Col.  Robert  C.  Buchanan,  Lieut.  Isaac  S. 
Sterett  (United  States  navy),  Lieut.  James  Madison  Frailey  (United 
States  navy),  Capt.  Henry  Little,  Capt.  James  E  Stewart,  Mi\j.  Daniel 
H.  McPhail,  Brev.-Maj.  John  Eager  Howard,  Brev.-Maj.  James  J. 
.\rcher,  Capt.  James  E.  Marriott,  Capt.  James  Piper,  Lieuts.  Alexander 
H.  Cross,  Robert  Swan,  Robert  H.  Archer,  William  U.  Fitzhugh,  Brig.- 
Gen.  Bonnet  Riley,  Capt.  Frankliu  Buclianun,  and  Surg.  Ninian  Pink- 
ney,  of  the  United  States  navy.  The  gallant  Watson  fell  in  the  attack 
npon  the  city  of  Monterey,  on  the  21st  of  September,  1846.  Maj.  Ring- 
gold was  mortally  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Palo  Alto. 


POLITICAL  PROGRESS. 


perhaps  this  arose  from  the  existence  of  the  right 
then  generally  conceded  to  the  freemen  of  appearing  I 
in  the  Assembly  in  person  or  by  proxy.  It  was  not 
until  1659,  when  the  Lower  House  was  made  to  consist 
only  of  delegates,  that  its  organization  became  regu- 
lar. At  the  session  of  1659  four  delegates  were  called 
from  each  county,  and  from  this  period  until  1681, 
with  one  exception,  the  summons  permitted  the  elec- 
tion of  two,  three,  or  four  delegates  in  each,  at  the 
option  of  the  people.  In  the  latter  year  the  number 
was  reduced  to  two  by  the  proprietary's  ordinance; 
but  in  1692,  after  the  establishment  of  the  royal  gov- 
ernment, the  constitution  of  the  Lower  House  was  reg- 
ulated by  law,  and  four  delegates  were  again  allotted 
to  each  county.  The  right  of  representation  thus  es- 
tablished upon  the  basis  of  equality  amongst  the 
counties  existed  without  alteration  until  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution."  Thus  it  appears  that  from  the  col- 
onization until  1650  the  right  of  representation  had 
no  regular  character.  Sometimes  the  Assemblies  had 
the  nature  of  the  "  Ecclesia'"  of  the  Athenians. 
They  were  assemblies  of  the  freemen  generally  rather 
than  of  representatives.  Every  freeman  had  a  right 
to  be  personally  present,  and  this  right  being  a  per- 
sonal privilege,  like  that  of  a  member  of  the  English 
House  of  Peers,  he  might  either  appear  in  person  or 
by  proxy.  When  the  Assemblies  were  so  constituted 
the  government  was  a  pure  democracy,  being  admin- 
istered by  the  people  in  person.  At  other  times  the 
freemen  were  permitted  to  appear  only  by  delegates 
or  deputies,  elected  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the 
warrants  of  election.  The  three  sessions  of  1640,  and 
those  of  July,  1641,  and  1642,  were  of  the  latter  char- 
acter; the  other  sessions  were  of  the  former,  which 
was  the  prevailing  character.  After  the  commotions 
of  the  civil  war  in  England  had  ceased,  and  the  gov- 
ernment was  restored  to  the  proprietary  by  Cromwell's 
commissioners,  viz.,  from  1669,  the  Assembly  con- 
sisted only  of  delegates,  and  from  that  period  the 
right  of  appointing  proxies  or  appearing  personally 
wholly  ceased.  Yet  it  was  not  until  1681  that  auy 
restrictions  appear  to  have  been  imposed  upon  the 
people  in  the  choice  of  delegates.  It  was  the  dispo- 
sition of  both  the  proprietary  and  the  people  to  ex- 
tend rather  than  to  abridge  the  right,  and  it  was  not 
until  it  was  esteemed  a  privilege  that  restrictions 
were  imposed.  By  the  proprietary's  ordinance  of  the 
6th  of  September,  1681,  the  same  qualifications  were 
required  for  delegates  as  for  voters,  and  these  qualifi- 
cations were  continued  as  to  both  until  the  Revolu- 
tion. This  ordinance  confined  the  privilege  of  being 
delegates  to  all  freemen  having  a  freehold  of  fifty 
acres,  or  residents  having  a  visible  personal  estate 
of  £40  within  the  county.  The  qualifications  were 
re-established    by   law   in   1692,-  and   continued  by 


iMcMahon. 

2  There  was  one  change,  however : 
mitted  to  hold  office  or  to  vote,  and  ' 
double  tax  on  their  lands. 


the  successive  acts  of  1704,  1708,  1715,  and  1716' 
until  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution,  and  they  were 
then  preserved  by  the  provisional  government.  When 
Maryland  joined  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
in  1776,  a  new  constitution  was  adopted,  by  which  it 
was  provided  that  the  House  of  Delegates  should  be 
chosen  in  the  following  manner :  "  All  freemen  above 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  having  a  freehold  of  fifty 
acres  of  land  in  the  county  in  which  they  offer  to 
vote  and  residing  therein,  and  all  freemen  having 
property  in  this  State  above  the  value  of  £.30  current 
money,  and  having  resided  in  the  county  in  which 
they  offer  to  vote  one  whole  year  next  preceding  the 
election,  shall  have  a  right  of  sufirage  in  the  election 
of  delegates  for  such  county."  These  provisions  were 
continued  without  alteration  until  1802,  when  the 
property  qualification  for  voters  was  entirely  abol- 
ished, and  the  elective  franchise  was  placed  under 
new  regulations  applicable  as  well  to  elections  in 
Baltimore  as  in  other  parts  of  the  State.  These  reg- 
ulations excluded  persons  of  color,  previously  enjoy- 
ing the  right  of  franchise  when  free  and  possessing 
the  necessary  property  qualifications,  and  conferred  the 
right  to  vote  exclusivehj  upon  "  free  white  persons,  citi- 
zens of  the  State,  above  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and 
having  a  residence  of  twelve  months  next  preceding 
the  election  in  the  city  or  county  in  which  they  offered 
to  vote."  Elections  by  viva  voce  vote  and  the  prop- 
erty qualifications  were  still  required  "  in  persons  to 
be  appointed  or  holding  offices  of  profit  or  trust;"  but 
in  November,  1809,  John  Hanson  Thomas,  of  Freder- 
ick County,  introduced  a  bill 
in  the  Assembly  by  w  hich  all 
such  clauses  of  the  con>»titu- 
tion  were  repealed,  and  m 
the  following  year  the  act 
was  confirmed.  Under  the 
constitution  of  1776  the  qual- 
ifications of  a  member  of  tli 
Houseof Delegates incluil.  I 
besides  the  other  requiMt 
of  a  voter,  the  possession  of 
an  estate  of  £500  The  time 
of  election  was  the  first  Mon- 
day of  October  in  each 
year ;  the  mode  was  viva  voce 
in  the  counties  were  the  sheriffs;*  in  An 

a  Owing  to  the  prevalence  of  the  smallpox,  the  General  Assembly, 
which  was  to  have  met  In  AnnapoUs  on  the  28th  of  March,  1757,  was 
adjourned,  by  order  of  the  Governor,  to  meet  in  Baltimore  on  Tuesday, 
the  oth  of  April.  But,  in  consequence  of  the  failure  of  the  members  to 
attend  in  time,  it  did  not  meet  until  Friday,  April  8th.  The  session 
was  opened  by  a  speech  from  Governor  Horatio  Sharpe,  who  gave  a  re- 
port of  the  conference  held  in  Philadelphia  with  the  Earl  of  Loudoun 
and  the  other  Governors,  and  laid  before  them  a  plan  for  the  better  de- 
fense of  His  Majesty's  colonies  in  America,  and  asked  the  Assembly  to 
assist  in  carrying  the  plan  into  execution,  and  to  furnish  supplies,  etc., 
which  was  complied  with  most  readily.  On  Monday,  May  9, 1757,  the 
Assembly,  after  passing  seventeen  very  important  laws,  adjourned  to 
meet  in  Annapolis  on  the  fourth  Tuesday  in  August,  1757. 

<  Tip  to  the  division  of  Baltimore  County  into  seven  election  districts 
by  the  act  of  1798,  ch.  115,  all  elections  were  held  by  the  sheriff  at  the 


the  judges  of  elections 
ipolis  the 


HISTOllY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


municipal  authorities ;  and  in  Baltimore,  at  first  its 
commissioners,  but  after  its  erection  into  a  city  tlie 
mayor  and  Second  Brancli  of  the  City  Council,  with 
whom  it  remained  until  1799.  Until  that  year  "  there 
had  been  but  one  place  for  holding  the  elections  in 
Baltimore,  as  well  as  in  the  counties,  but  a  new  system 
was  then  adopted  for  both.  The  eight  wards  into 
which  the  city  was  divided  for  the  election  of  the 
City  Council  were  made  election  districts  for  the 
delegate  elections,  and  the  judges  of  elections  for 
members  of  the  First  Branch  of  the  Council  then  be- 
came judges  for  the  latter  elections  also."^  Before 
1776  Baltimore  had  enjoyed  no  separate  representa- 
tion in  the  Assemblies ;  but  under  the  constitution  of 
that  year  it  was  allowed  two  representatives  in  the 
House  of  Delegates.  The  Senate  consisted  of  fifteen 
members,  taken  indiscriminately  from  any  part  of  the 
State,  with  the  sole  restriction  that  nine  of  them  were 
to  be  residents  of  the  ^v^est  and  six  of  the  east  side  of 
Chesapeake  Bay.  Their  term  of  office  was  five  years, 
and  they  were  chosen  by  an  electoral  college,  com- 
posed of  two  electors  from  each  of  the  counties,  and 
one  each  from  Annapolis  and  Baltimore.  The  elec- 
tors were  required  to  possess  the  qualifications  neces- 
sary for  delegates,  and  met  at  Annapolis  on  the  third 
Monday  in  September  after  their  election,  to  proceed 
to  the  election  of  a  Senate.  The  qualifications  of  a 
senator  were  that  he  should  be  above  the  age  of 
twenty-five,  should  have  resided  in  the  State  for  the 
three  years  next  preceding  his  election,  and  should 
have  real  or  personal  property  above  the  value  of 
£1000. 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  Revolution  political 
sentiment  in  the  State  was  divided  between  those  who 
favored  the  enlargement  of  the  powers  delegated  to 
the  Federal  Congress  and  those  who,  fearing  that 
such  an  enlargement  would  imperil  the  independence 
and  sovereignty  of  the  States,  insisted  that  these 
powers  should  lie  striitly  (■i.ntined  within  the  origi- 
nal limits.  After  tlir  n.lo|iiioii  of  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution in  1787,-  and  its  >iilis(ijurnt  ratification  by  the 


court-house  or  place  of  meetiug  of  the  county  court.  The  sheriff  caHed 
together  three  or  more  justices  of  tlie  court,  who  with  the  clerk  of  the 
County  Court,  were  required  to  sit  as  a  court,  and  during  their  sitting  the 
sheriff  was  to  '*  make  or  cause  to  he  made  public  proclamation,  tliereby 
giving  notice  to  all  freemen  ol  your  said  county  wlio  have  in  their  said 
county  a  freeholil  of  fifty  acres  of  land,  or  wlio  shall  be  residents  and 
have  a  visible  estate  of  forty  pounds  sterling  at  the  least,  thereby  re- 
quiring them  to  appear  at  your  couuty  court-house  at  a  certain  time, 
not  less  than  ten  days  from  such  proclamation  made  for  electing  and 
choosing  deputies  and  delegates  to  serve  for  your  said  county  in  a  Gen- 
eral Assembly;"  and  they  continued  to  vote  at  the  court-house  of  the 
county  down  to  1799  or  1800.  By  the  subsequent  act  of  1799,  ch.  60, 
commissionei-s  were  appointed  in  all  the  counties  of  the  State  to  lay  them 
ofl"  into  election  districts,  and  Richard  Johns,  Zachariah  McCubbin,  Jo- 
sias  Pennington,  Wni.  Gwynu,  Nicliolas  Merrymnn,  Francis  Snowden, 
Charles  Jessop,  George  Nace,  Jr.,  and  Beal  Owings,  of  Christopher,  were 
appointed  to  lay  off  and  liound  the  seven  districts  into  which  Baltimore 
County  was  divided,  and  to  fi.\  the  places  for  holding  elections  in  eacli 
district. 

1  McMahon,  p.  462. 

2  The  ratification  of  the  new  Federal  Constitution  in  July,  1788,  was  Uie 
occasiou  of  public  demonstiations  of  approval  in  all  portsof  tlie  countiy. 


States,  a  struggle  for  supremacy  at  once  began  be- 
gan between  these  two  parties,  which  was  nowhere 
more  earnestly  conducted  than  in  Baltimore.  The 
depth  and  intensity  of  public  feeling  was  manifested 
in  the  State  and  Federal  elections  of  the  day,  and  a 
degree  of  bitterness  developed  scarcely  exceeded  in 
the  political  agitations  of  any  subsequent  period,  On 
the  6th  of  October,  1788,  an  election  for  delegates  to 
the  General  Assembly  for  Baltimore  Town  com- 
menced and  was  continued  until  half-past  seven 
o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  10th,  when  by  consent 
of  the  parties  the  polls  were  closed.  The  Federal 
candidates  were  James  McHenry  and  John  Coulter, 
and  the  candidates  of  the  Anti-Federalists  were 
Samuel  Chase  and  David  McMechen.  The  vote  was 
as  follows:  James  McHenry,  636  ;  John  Coulter,  622; 
Samuel  Chase,  502;  and  David  McMechen,  494.  The 
following  contemporaneous  description  of  the  elec- 
tion shows  how  bitterly  the  fight  was  waged  : 

"On  the  first  day  Dr.  McHenry  and  Coulter's  party  paraded  through 
the  town  carrying  a  ship  and  a  pilot-boat,  with  drum  beating,  tifes  playing, 
and  colors  flying,  followed  by  a  large  body  of  respectable  characters,  mer- 
chants and  gentlemen,  and  a  very  large  number  of  persons  not  entitled  to 
vote,  and  the  whole  body  took  possession  of  the  polls  at  the  hour  ap- 
pointed for  taking  the  vote,  and  kept  possession  the  whole  day,  and  all 

ACCESS  TO  THE  HUSTINGS  DEPENDED  ON  THEIE  PLEAStlKE.     On  the  second 

day  of  the  election  the  friends  of  Mr.  Chase  and  Mr.  McMechen  (a  re- 
spectable number  of  citizens  and  all  voters  except  some  very  few)  took 
possession  of  the  hustings,  but  were  forced  from  their  station  by^f  iolence, 
and  many  of  tliem  were  beat  and  grossly  abused  by  persons  who  were 
NOT  voters,  encouraged  and  assisted  by  others.  From  the  whole  conduct 
of  McHenry  and  Coulter's  party  a  great  number  of  peaceable  citizens 
were  deterred  and  prevented  from  coming  to  the  hustings;  many  made 
the  attempt  in  vain.  Hand-bills  were  dispei-sed  every  evening  through 
the  town  threatening  to  publish  the  names  of  those  who  voted  for  Chase 
and  McMechen  as  enemies  to  the  new-  federal  government." 

In  compliance  with  a  resolution  of  Congress,  the 
General  Assembly  of  Maryland,  on  the  22d  of  De- 
cember,  1788,   passed   "an  act  directing  the  time, 


In  Baltimore  a  procession  was  foi-med  on  Philpot's  Hill,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Capts.  Moore  and  Plunket,  in  which  both  parties,  forgetting  their 
recent  feuds,  joined  in  fraternal  harmony.  The  mechanical  trades,  the 
liberal  professions,  all  united  in  the  procession,  and  respectively  dis- 
played their  appropriate  banners.  Commodore  Barney  performed  a  con- 
spicuous part  on  this  occasion.  He  had  a  small  boat,  fifteen  feet  in  length, 
completely  rigged  and  perfectly  equipped  as  a  ship,  which  was  called 
the  "  Federalist,"  which  being  mounted  upon  four  wheels  and  drawn  by 
the  same  number  of  horses,  took  its  place  in  the  procession  ;  he  com- 
manded the  ship,  and  was  honored  with  a  crew  of  captains,  who  at  his 
word  and  the  boatswain's  pipe  went  through  all  the  various  manoeuvres 
of  making  and  taking  in  sail,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  crowded  win- 
dows, dooi-s,  and  balconies  by  which  they  passed.  The  ship  was  imme- 
diately followed  by  all  the  captains,  mates,  and  seamen  at  that  time  in 
the  port  of  Baltimore.  It  was  paraded  through  all  the  principal  streets 
of  Fell's  Point  and  the  otlier  portions  of  the  city,  aud  finally  anchored 
on  the  lofly  bank  southwest  of  the  basin,  which  from  tliat  occurrence 
received,  and  has  ever  since  borne,  the  name  of  "  Federal  Hill."  On  this 
spot  a  dinner  had  been  provided,  at  which  four  thomand  persons  sat  down 
together,  and  made  the  welkin  ring  with  shouts  of  "huzza  for  the  con- 
stitution !"  This  idea  of  carrying  a  full- rigged  ship  in  procession  origi- 
nated entirely  with  Capt.  Barney.  The  evening  was  ushered  in  by  s 
bonfire  on  Federal  Hill  and  fireworks.  After  the  pageant  was  over  it 
was  resolved  to  present  the  ship  to  Gen.  Washington  in  the  name  of  the 
merchants  and  ship-masters  of  Baltimore.  It  was  launched  and  nari" 
gated  by  Commodore  Barney  down  the  Chesapeake  Bay  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Potomac,  aud  thence  up  the  river  to  Mount  Vernon.  Gen.  Washing- 
ton acknowledged  its  receipt  in  fitting  terms  in  a  letter  to  "  Wm.  Smith 
and  otliei-s,"  of  Baltimore. 


POLITICAL   PROGRESS. 


117 


places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  of  represen-  ; 
tatives  of  this  State  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  I 
States,  and  for  appointing  electors  on  the  part  of  the  j 
State  for  choosing  a  President  and  Vice-President  of  I 
the  United  States,  and  for  the  regulation  of  the  said 
elections."     By  this  law  the  State  was  divided  into 
six  districts,  which  were  numbered  from  one  to  six. 
The  first  district  was  composed  of  St.  Mary's,  Charles, 
and  Calvert  Counties ;  the  second  of  Kent,  Talbot, 
Cecil,  and  Queen  Ann's  Counties ;  the  third  of  Anne 
Arundel  (including  Annapolis)  and  Prince  CJeorge's 
Counties;  the  fourth  of  Baltimore  (including  Balti- 
more Town)   and  Harford   Counties;'    the  fifth   of 
Somerset,  Dorchester,  Worcester,  and  Caroline  Coun- 
ties ;  the  sixth  of  Frederick,  Washington,  and  Mont- 
gomery Counties. 

It  was  provided  that  the  first  election  should  be 
held  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  January,  but  after 
this  on  the  first  Monday  of  October  in  every  second 
year  thereafter.  The  electors  were  to  consist  of  eight 
persons,  five  to  be  residents  of  the  Western  Shore  and  I 
three  of  the  Eastern  Shore.  There  were  to  be  six  { 
representatives,  who  were  to  be  residents  of  the  dis- 
trict they  were  to  represent,  but  every  person  coming 
to  vote  for  such  representative  "shall  have  a  right  to 
vote  for  six  persons,"  thereby  giving  each  voter  the 
right  to  vote  for  the  general  ticket.  The  elections  to 
be  free  and  made  viva  voce.  The  mode  of  electing 
senators  to  represent  Maryland  in  the  United  States 
Senate  at  this  time  engaged  the  attention  of  the  pub- 
lic, and  after  considerable  discussion  the  State  Senate 
proposed  to  the  House  of  Delegates,  and  it  agreed, 
"  that  the  two  Senators  to  represent  this  State  should 
be  elected  by  a  Joint  ballot  of  both  houses ;  and  that 
no  person  should  be  elected  a  senator  from  this  State 
unless  by  a  majority  of  the  attending  members  of  both 
houses." 

Tuesday,  Dec.  9,  1788,  being  the  day  appointed  for 
the  election,  thirteen  members  of  the  Senate  and 
seventy  of  the  House  of  Delegates  attended  in  joint 
convention,  when  a  resolution  was  adopted  declaring 
"  that  one  senator  should  be  a  resident  of  the  Western 
and  the  other  of  the  Eastern  Shore."  Hon.  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton  and  Uriah  Forrest  were  put  in 
nomination  for  the  Western  Shore,  and  Hon.  John 
Henry  and  George  Gale  for  the  Eastern  Shore,  and 
upon  counting  the  ballots  Henry  received  41,  Gale 
41,  Forrest  41,  and  Carroll  40.  There  being  83  bal- 
lots cast  and  neither  of  the  candidates  receiving  a 
majority,  a  second  ballot  was  taken  with  the  follow- 
ing result :  Henry  42,  Gale  40,  Carroll  41,  and  Forrest 
41.  Mr.  Henry  receiving  a  majority,  was  declared 
elected  United  States  Senator,  after  which  the  Legis- 


1  After  the  cenaus  of  1800,  Maryland  was  emitted  to  nine  representa- 
tives in  Congress,  and  the  electoral  districts  were  again  altered  by  act  of 
Assembly.  Baltimore  City  and  County  became  the  fifth,  to  elect  two,  one 
to  be  a  resident  of  each  jointly  elected,  and  Gen.  Smith  and  Col.  Nich- 
olas A.Moore  were  elected:  but  the  former  being  appointed  United 
States  Senator,  Wm.  McCreery  was  chosen  in  his  place. 


lature  adjourned  until  the  next  day,  when  Mr.  Carroll 
was  elected  by  42  to  39.  The  first  constitutional  elec- 
tion for  representatives  to  Congress  and  electors  for 
President  and  Vice-President  took  place  in  January, 
1789,  and  resulted  in  the  triumph  of  the  Federal 
ticket.  The  aggregate  vote  of  Baltimore  Town  at 
this  election  was  about  1200  votes,  and  that  of  Balti- 
more County  about  1300.  Speaking  of  this  election, 
the  Maryland  Journal  of  Jan.  13,  1789,  says, — 

'*  Long  has  been  the  struggle  between  the  Federals  and  the  Anti-Federals 
in  this  town,  and  evei-y  artifice  and  exertion  have  been  used  by  the  latter 
to  unfetter  themselves  from  the  disgraceful,  just,  and  self-acquired  name 
of  Anti-Federal ;  they  disclaimed  the  title,  but  they  would  not  abandon 
the  detested  pi-inciples.  This  town  has  been  truly  distinguished,  and,  we 
hope,  known  and  honored  through  America  as  truly  Federal.  The  elec- 
tion for  representatives  to  Congress  and  electors  of  the  President  and 
Vice-President  was  finally  to  establish  the  political  character  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Baltimore,  and  therefore  both  parties  exerted  their  utmost  powers 
to  carry  the  characters  they  set  up.  A  very  respectable  committee  of 
this  place  addressed  the  Federals  and  called  on  them  to  support  the  Fed- 
eral ticliet,  in  which  William  Smith,  Esq.,  of  this  town,  a  genuine  Fed- 
eral, a  merchant  of  the  first  representation,  of  an  independent  fortune 
and  considerable  family  connections,  was  named  for  this  district,  against 
whom  the  Anti-Federals  appointed  Mr.  Samuel  Sterett,  a  young  gentle- 
man of  fair  character  and  respectable  connections.  The  contest  lasted 
four  days  (nlmost  the  whole  time  allowed  by  law),  and  the  Federals  were 
crowned  with  conquest,  Mr.  Smith  having  at  the  close  of  the  polls  a  ma- 
jority of  seven  votes.  Thus  our  beloved  Constitution  was  triumpliant 
over  its  base  enemies,  and  the  trump  of  Federalism  drowned  the  expiring 
cries  of  ttie  Anti-Federalist  in  this  town.  The  Federals  will  use  their 
victory  with  temper  and  moderation.  Now  all  our  factions,  all  our  wars 
shall  cease,  and  Federals  rule  our  happy  land  in  peace." 

A  correspondent  observes  that 

"  William  Smith  had  a  less  number  of  votes  in  this  town  than  the  other 
five  candidates  on  the  Federal  ticket,  and  that  Mr.  Sterett  had  the 
highest  number  on  the  Anti-Federal  ticket.  He  also  remarks  that  in 
Baltimore  County,  Mr.  Sterett  polled  almost  five  times  as  many  votes  as 
Mr.  Smith,  but  this  may  be  accounted  for  as  the  county  has  ever  been  Anti- 
Federal,  and  Sterett  is  connected  with  very  influential  characters  in  the 
county,  and  many  arts  were  practiced  to  render  Mr.  Smith  unpopular." 

Another  correspondent  observes 

"that  three  hundred  and  eighty  aliens  were  naturalized  last  October  in 
this  town,  during  the  then  election,  by  Judge  Hanson,  that  fifty  of  them 
offered  to  vote  for  William  Smith,  Esq.,  and  twenty-two  offered  to  vote 
for  Mr.  Samuel  Sterett ;  the  judges  refused  to  receive  their  votes,  declar- 
ing their  opinion,  that  a  foreigner  naturalized  according  to  act  of  Assem- 
bly for  naturalization  (passed  July  session,  1779)  was  not  entitled  to  vote 
unless  such  foreigner  had  resided  in  Baltimore  Town  a  year  after  such 
naturalization,  although  such  foreigner  had  lived  in  Baltimore  Town 
one  year  preceding  the  day  of  holding  the  electioti,  uud  was  otherwise 
qualified  to  vote." 

The  correspondent  adds 

"  that  the  judges  disregarded  fas  immaterial)  the  circumstance  that  such 
foreigner  came  to  this  State  with  intention  to  settle  therein,  and  would 
not  permit  him  to  swear  to  such  intention." 

In  October,  1789,  James  McHenry  and  Samuel  Ster- 
ett were  elected  without  opposition  to  the  General 
Assembly  from  Baltimore  Town,  and  at  the  same 
time  William  McCreery,  George  Keeports,  and  John 
Wetherburn  were  chosen  comptrollers.  The  four 
delegates  from  Baltimore  County  chosen  in  1789  were 
Charles  Ridgely,  Charles  Ridgely  (son  of  William), 
James  Gittings,  and  Richard  Owings. 

When  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  went 
into  operation,  Maryland,  as  has  been  said,  was  divided 
into  six  districts  for  the  election  of  representatives  in 
Congress,  and  one  member  assigned  to  each,  but  all 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


the  members  were  voted  for  by  general  ticket  through- 
out the  State.  At  this  election  in  1789,  when  there 
was  nothing  particularly  or  locally  interesting  to  Bal- 
timore, she  cast  a  comparatively  small  vote,  which  was 
divided  almost  equally  between  the  two  sets  of  can- 
didates. From  some  unknown  cause  Baltimore  after- 
wards became  dissatisfied  with  five  of  the  members 
then  elected,  and  at  the  next  election  it  was  deter- 
mined to  leave  them  out.  Accordingly  a  short  time 
before  the  election  of  1790  a  caucus  was  held,  and 
Philip  Key,  Joseph  Seney,  William  Pinkney,  Samuel 
Sterett,  William  Vans,  Murray  and  Upton  Sheredine 
were  nominated  as  candidates.  Upon  the  announce- 
ment of  this  ticket  the  counties  became  alarmed  at 
the  supposed  assumption  of  power  and  influence  on 
the  part  of  Baltimore,  and  immediately  called  a  con- 
vention of  deputies  in  Baltimore,  on  the  23d  of  Sep- 
tember, 1790,  who  were  authorized  to  nominate  can- 
didates. On  the  day  appointed  the  counties'  deputies 
assembled  and  nominated  as  their  candidates  Michael 
Jenifer  Stone,  Benjamin  Contee,  George  Gale,  and 
Daniel  Carroll,  four  of  the  old  members,  and  James 
Tilghman,  of  James,  and  Samuel  Sterett.^ 

When  the  election  came  oft'  Baltimore  cast  up- 
wards of  three  thousand  votes  for  her  own  ticket, 
while  six  votes  was  the  highest  number  which  any 
one  of  the  county  candidates  received.  In  the  coun- 
ties the  vote  was  very  much  divided  between  the  two 
tickets,  and  as  a  consequence  Baltimore  elected  her 
ticket  by  a  large  majority,  and  thereby  took  control 
of  the  politics  of  the  State.' 

The  counties  now  regarded  the  plan  of  electing 
members  of  Congress  by  general  ticket  as  "  destruc- 
tive of  their  influence  and  interests,"  and  at  the  next 
session  of  the  Legislature,  on  the  19th  of  December, 
1790,  the  law  was  changed,  so  that  the  elector  only 
voted  for  a  candidate  in  his  own  district,  it  being  en- 
acted "  that  every  person  entitled  and  offering  to  vote 
for  representatives  for  this  State  in  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  shall  have  a  right  to  vote  for  one 
person  being  a  resident  of  his  district  at  the  time  of 
his  election."  This  change  of  the  law  confined  the 
direct  influence  of  Baltimore  to  the  election  of  its  own 
ticket,  as  at  present,  and  the  counties  were  restored  to 
their  "  proper  station  and  dignity  and  independence." 
The  electors  of  President  and  Vice-President  were 
still  to  be  chosen  by  general  ticket,  but  five  of  them 
were  to  be  residents  of  the  Western  Shore  and  three 
of  the  Eastern  Shore.^ 


1  Gen.  Wm.  Smallwood  was  president  of  tlii 

-  Samuel  Sterett  received  llie  highest  nuniher  of  votes  cast  in  the 
State,  16,420. 

3  In  1791  the  electors  for  choosing  port-wardens  and  .special  comniis- 
'  sionere  met  at  the  court-house  Octoher  7th  and  elected  the  following 
port-wardens  :  Samuel  Smith,  James  Calhoun,  Jeremiah  Tellott,  John 
Strieker,  George  Salmon,  Peter  Hoffman,  Samuel  Owings,  Isaac  Griest, 
and  Thomas  Johnson ;  Special  Commissioners,  Paul  Bentalou,  John  Hil- 
len,  John  Mickle,  James  Wignell,  John  Coulter,  Joseph  Biays,  Jolin 
Brown  Potter.  This  election  was  certified  to  by  James  Clark,  James 
Carey,  James  Edwards,  William  Winchester,  Chas.  Garts,  George  Sal- 
mon, Philip  Rogers,  David  Plunkct,  and  Thomas  Johnson. 


The  congressional  election  of  1798  was  conducted 
with  considerable  bitterness  in  Baltimore,  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  following  extract  from  the  New  York 
Daily  Advertiser  of  October  in  that  year: 

"  The  election  in  Baltimore  for  members  of  Congress,  which  takes 
place  this  week,  is  very  warmly  contested.  Mr.  Winchester  and  Gen. 
Smith  are  the  rival  candidates.  For  some  weeks  the  papers  of  that  town 
have  been  almost  exclusively  devoted  to  the  canvassing  of  the  respective 
merits  and  pretensions  of  these  gentlemen.  Party  spirit  seldom  ran 
higher.  No  means  are  left  unemployed  by  either  side  to  secure  its  ob- 
jects. The  public  conduct  and  private  walk  of  the  two  candidates  have 
been  scrutinized  with  the  severest  and  keenest  eye.  Depositions  are 
brought  forward,  conversations  are  related,  and  the  most  secret  are  un- 
folded to  general  view.  Nor  have  their  exertions  and  zeal  rested  here.  To 
rouse  the  torpid  and  unite  and  animate  their  partisans  entertainments 
have  been  given,  inflammatoi-y  toasts  drunk,  and  processions  formed; 
some  bouses  have  been  threatened,  one  or  two  actually  assaulted,  and 
finally,  to  work  up  the  passions  of  the  multitude  to  the  highest  pitch, 
the  adherents  of  the  respective  champions  have  resolved  to  distinguish 
themselves  by  difereiit  badges  on  the  days  of  election.  How  all  this  will 
terminate  to-morrow's  mail  will  inform  us;  but  they  are  to  us  omens  of 
serious  and  fatal  disputes." 

To  which  the  Federal  Gazette  adds, — 

"  Unfortunately,  heated  as  the  minds  of  the  people  were  at  the  election, 
and  as  they  ever  will  be  in  large  cities  where  votes  are  taken  viva  voce 
and  at  hut  one  poll,  we  can  for  the  honor  of  Baltimore  say  but  one  house 
was  assaulted,  and  that  the  contest  terminated  more  peaceably  than 
could  reasonably  have  been  anticipated." 

The  elections  of  1808,  both  State  and  national,  were 
contested  with  great  vehemence,  and  although  the 
Federalists  gained  two  or  three  members  of  Congress, 
and  secured  a  majority  in  the  Lower  House  of  Assem- 
bly, the  Democrats  triumphed  in  Baltimore,  electing 
Edward  Johnson  mayor,  and  celebrated  their  victory 
with  great  enthusiasm  by  transporting  the  successful 
candidates  through  the  city  in  a  boat  mounted  on 
wheels  and  drawn  by  horses,  and  by  a  bonfire  on 
Gallows  Hill,  made  of  six  pipes  of  gin  imported  from 
Holland  "that  had  paid  tribute  to  England."  In 
the  elections  of  the  following  year  Baltimore  City  and 
County  were  still  botli  Democratic.  When  the  war 
of  1812  commenced  Baltimore  was  even  more  in- 
tensely Democratic  than  ever,  and  continued  so  all 
through  that  struggle.  Political  feeling  ran  higher, 
perhaps,  than  at  any  previous  period,  and  the  ill- 
advised  utterances  of  the  Federal  Republican  created 
an  excitement  which  culminated  in  scenes  of  mob 
violence  and  riot.  After  the  war  (in  1815)  consider- 
able discussion  arose  in  the  larger  counties  and  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore  over  tlte  fact  that  the  minority 
of  the  people  of  the  State  were  governing  the  major- 
ity. Under  the  existing  constitution  the  delegates 
were  the  representatives  of  the  counties  of  the  State 
and  not  of  the  people,  thereby  giving  one  man  as 
much  political  weight  in  some  of  these  counties  as 
ten  men  in  others.  Annapolis,  the  capital  of  the 
State,  and  the  city  of  Baltimore  elected  one  elector 
of  the  Senate, — the  counties  two  each.  Annapolis 
had  at  tliis  period  from  two  hundred  and  thirty  to 
two  hundred  and  sixty  voters,  while  Baltimore  had 
from  five  thousand  to  six  thousand,  but  each  under 
the  existing  constitution  were  equal.  Baltimore  City 
and  County  elected  six  members  of  the  eighty  which 


POLITICAL  PROGKESS. 


119 


at  this  time  composed  the  House  of  Delegates,  while 
Baltimore  City  and  County  paid  about  one-tliird  of 
all  the  revenues  of  the  State,  except  such  as  were 
derived  from  dividends  on  stocks,  had  very  nearly 
one-fourth  of  the  free  population,  and  therefore, 
under  a  just  distribution  of  the  governing  power, 
were  entitled  by  contribution  and  by  population 
to  twenty  of  the  eighty  members  in  the  House  of 
Delegates.  At  the  election  of  1816  seven  counties 
and  two  cities,  notwithstanding  they  had  a  majority 
of  nearly  nine  thousand  votes  cast  in  the  State,  were 
only  entitled  under  this  system  to  thirty-two  members, 
while  twelve  counties  which  were  in  the  minority 
sent  forty-eight  members.  This  question  was  dis- 
cussed with  great  animation  during  subsequent  cam- 
paigns ;  and  in  1816  the  political  writers  declared  the 
attack  of  the  "  Baltimore  Jacobins"  the  "most  daring 
upon  the  rights  of  the  people  that  ever  was  conceived 
in  a  country  professing  to  be  free  to  increase  repre- 
sentatives." The  election  in  September  of  that  year 
is  described  "  as  the  most  bitter  that  ever  transpired 
in  Maryland.  Not  only  had  the  Federal  party  to 
encounter  the  arts  and  zealous  operations  of  the 
Democrats  of  the  State,  but  the  general  government 
lent  the  aid  of  its  influence  in  the  election.  The  con- 
test was  opened  early  in  the  winter  by  transporting 
voters  from  places  where  they  could  be  spared,  where 
the  Federal  majority  was  usually  not  very  large. 
This  the  Federalists  soon  discovered  and  counter- 
acted. A  number  of  United  States  soldiers  were  or- 
dered from  Baltimore  to  man  the  condemned  works 
at  Annapolis,  but  with  the  greater  object  in  view  to 
endeavor  to  vote  through  the  expected  acquiescence 
of  the  corporation  officers.  This  scheme  failed  on  ac- 
count of  the  tardiness  of  their  motions,  as  they  did 
not  reach  the  city  more  than  six  months  before  the 
election.  Great  quantities  of  money,  and  false  and 
licentious  papers,  almost  outraging  shame  itself,  were 
poured  forth  everywhere  by  both  parties.  Truth  and 
probability  were  set  at  defiance  ;  the  most  virtuous 
private  characters  were  aspersed  and  criminated; 
nothing  was  left  unessayed,  however  nefarious,  which 
might  conduce  to  gain  success  for  either  party." '  i 

Early  in  the  session  of  1818  a  bill  was  introduced 
into  the  Legislature  to  alter  the  constitution  of  Mary- 
land so  as  to  give  Baltimore  two  additional  members  ! 
in  the  House  of  Delegates.  This  had  now  become  a  ' 
matter  of  serious  importance  to  the  city,  as  with  the 
limited  powers  of  the  local  authorities  and  the  in- 
creasing needs  of  a  large  and  growing  municipality,  ' 
it  was  found  almost  impossible  for  two  representatives 
to  attend  to  all  the  matters  required  of  them  in  the 
Legislature.     At  this  period,  too,  one-fourth  of  the 

1  At  the  State  election  held  in  October,  1818,  the  soldiers  stationed  at  | 
Tort  McHenry  and  the  sailors  and  marines  on  board  the  United  States  ' 
vessel  "  Nonesuch"  were  mustered,  furnished  with  ballots,  marched 
to  the  polls  and  voted.  The  soldiers  themselves  said  that  their  ballots  | 
were  dealt  out  to  them  by  a  sergeant  on  parade,  that  they  were  then  j 
m  polls  and  ordered  to  vote  the  tickets  with  which  they  ( 
1  famished. 


time  of  the  Legislature  was  taken  up  with  the  busi- 
ness of  Baltimore.  Yet  notwithstanding  the  equity 
of  the  claim,  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  the  fact 
that  the  city  now  numbered  over  sixty  thousand 
inhabitants, — a  greater  number  than  Calvert,  Alle- 
ghany, St.  Mary's,  Kent,  Charles,  Caroline,  Talbot, 
and  Montgomery  Counties  combined,  which  together 
sent  thirty-two  delegates  to  the  House, — with  strange 
jealousy  against  the  city  the  bill  was  rejected.  So 
by  this  unjust  distribution  of  representation  one  man 
in  Calvert  County,  which  only  contained  a  population 
of  four  thousand  and  sixty-eight,  had  the  political 
weight  of  twenty-eight  in  Baltimore.  At  the  legis- 
lative session  of  1819  a  bill  was  passed  by  the  House 
of  Delegates  to  alter  that  part  of  the  constitution 
relative  to  the  election  of  Governor  and  Council, 
and  providing  for  their  election  by  the  people.  The 
Federalists  bitterly  opposed  it  by  every  means  at  their 
command.  They  declared  it  would  be  throwing  the 
whole  political  power  of  the  State  into  the  hands  of 
Baltimore,  which,  with  her  population  of  sixty-two 
thousand,  could  nominate  and  elect  from  among  her 
own  citizens  at  any  time  she  pleased  any  person  as 
Governor.  They  also  endeavored  to  excite  a  prej- 
udice against  the  "  Baltimore  Jacobins"  by  declaring 
that  the  city  contained  one-third  foreigners, — 

"who  entertain  strong  prejudices  in  favor  of  the  governments  under 
which  they  were  born,  and  whose  main  object  in  taking  up  a  residence 
in  this  country  was  to  accumulate  riches,  which  the  disturbed  state  of 
Europe  for  many  years  past  rendered  it  impossible  for  them  to  do  there* 
The  true  contest  is  now  between  Baltimore'  and  the  counties,  between 
the  city  and  the  country  ;  and  the  question  which  every  voter,  when  he 
goes  to  tlie  polls,  ought  to  put  to  himself  is,  shall  I  vote  for  the  men 
who,  by  effecting  the  changes  which  they  have  proposed  and  design, 
will  place  the  great  agricultural  State  of  Maryland  at  the  feet  of  the 
merchants,  the  bank  speculators,  the  brokers,  the  lottery-office  keepers, 
the  foreigners,  and  the  mob  of  Baltimore  ?  or  shall  I  give  my  support  to 
those  who  will  maintain,  in  opposition  to  them,  the  honor,  the  dignity, 
and  independence  of  the  cultivators  of  the  soil?" 

The  bill  was  defeated  in  the  Senate.  In  January, 
1820,  Thomas  Kell,  a  delegate  from  Baltimore,  pro- 
posed a  bill  to  increase  the  representation  for  that 
city,  which  was  violently  opposed  by  the  county 
members  and  defeated.'^  Such  was  the  force  of  preju- 
dice in  Maryland  that  until  1826  no  Israelite  could 
hold  any  oflice,  civic  or  military,  in  the  State  govern- 
ment. The  subject  was  brought  before  the  Legisla- 
ture in  1818  and  at  each  succeeding  session  until 
1822,  when  a  bill  removing  these  disabilities  was 
passed,  but,  in  accordance  with  the  constitution  of  the 
State,  before  it  could  become  a  law  it  was  necessary 
that  it  should  be  confirmed  by  the  Legislature  of  182.3. 
The  mea.sure  was  very  unpopular  with  the  people, 
and  its  passage  created  an  extraordinary  influence  on 
their  minds,  so  much  so  that  in  the  election  of  mem- 
bers for  the  Legislature  of  1823,  out  of  forty  members  . 
that  voted  in  favor  of  the  bill  only  sixteen  were  re- 
turned to  the  next  Assembly. .  As  there  were  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  Hebrews  in  the  State,  represent- 


■  The  practic 


if  printing  a  daily  journal  of  proceedings  of  the  Legis- 
I  of  the  members  was  not  begun  until  January,  1823. 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ing  a  capital  of  about  half  a  million  dollars,  the  pre- 
judice of  the  people  soon  subsided,  the  measure  gained 
strength,  and  after  a  struggle  of  six  or  seven  years  pre- 
vailed. In  Baltimore  it  became  a  sine  qua  non  of  the 
election  of  the  delegate  to  avow  himself  in  favor  of  it. 
Finally,  on  the  last  day  of  the  session  of  1824  (Sat- 
urday, Feb.  26,  1825),  the  "Jew  Bill,"  as  it  was  then 
called,  or  bill  to  alter  the  constitution  so  as  to  relieve 
persons  from  political  disqualifications  on  account  of 
their  religious  opinions,  again  passed  the  Assembly, — 
in  the  House  of  Delegates  by  a  vote  of  twenty-six  to 
twenty-five,  only  fifty-one  out  of  eighty  members 
being  present.  It  was  ratified  by  the  Assembly  of 
1825  in  the  House  of  Delegates  by  a  vote  of  forty- 
five  to  thirty-two.  Thus  the  Hebrews  became  free- 
men in  Maryland,  and  at  the  election  for  members  of 
the  Baltimore  City  Council  in  October,  1826,  Messrs. 
Solomon  Etting  and  Joshua  I.  Cohen,  two  estimable 
gentlemen  of  the  Hebrew  faith,  were  chosen  by  the 
suffrages  of  a  large  part  of  the  citizens  of  their  sev- 
eral wards  to  represent  them  in  the  City  Council. 
They  were  the  first  Hebrews  ever  elected  by  the 
people  to  office  in  Maryland.'-  On  the  20th  of  March, 
1829,  an  ordinance  of  the  City  Council  was  approved 
by  the  mayor  providing  for  "  the  registering  of  all 
the  qualified  voters  of  the  city  of  Baltimore."  This, 
it  is  believed,  was  the  first  registry  law  ever  passed  in 
the  State,  but  it  had  only  a  brief  existence,  for  it  was 
repealed  by  an  ordinance  approved  Jan.  19, 1830.  As 
early  as  October,  1825,  Gen.  Jackson  was  nominated 
by  tlie  Legislature  of  Tennessee  as  a  candidate  for 
President  in  1828,  and  all  the  elections  held  in  Mary- 
land in  the  interval  turned  upon  the  Presidential 
question.  Both  the  "  Administration"  and  the  "  Anti- 
Administration"  parties  held  State  conventions  in 
Baltimore  in  1827,  and  organized  for  the  approaching 
struggle.  The  convention  of  the  "Friends  of  the 
Administration"  assembled  in  Baltimore  on  the  23d  of 
July,  1827.   The  delegates  for  Baltimore  County  were: 

Philip  Wilson,  Abraham  Cole,  Thomas  G.  Gist,  John  Harryman, 
Nicholas  Doreey,  Nicholas  E.  Merryman,  James  Hood,  John  Wise,  Wm. 
Jamison,  Dennis  Marsh,  Dr.  Elisha  J.  Hall,  John  B.  Pearce,  Charles 
Worthington,  John  Philpot,  Beuj.  Wilson,  Sr.,  Kichard  Fowler,  Daniel 
Hostetter,  Josiah  Green,  John  Murray,  Jr.,  John  Buck,  of  Benj.  Dr.  Thos. 
Johnston,  Henry  V.  Somerville,  Edw.  Buchanan,  James  W.  McCuUoch. 

For  the  city  of  Baltimore, — 

Luke  Tiernan,  Gen.  Wni.  McDonald,  Dr.  Nathaniel  Potter,  Solomon 
Etting,  Thorndick  Chase,  Peter  Gold,  John  McKim,  Jr.,  James  L.  Haw- 
kins, Charles  S.  Walsh,  Nathaniel  F.  Williams,  Robert  Miller,  William 
Stewart,  James  Harwood.  Wm.  Meeteer,  James  Conner,  Thomas  Kell.2 

As  the  time  for  another  Presidential  election  ap- 
proached the  Democratic  party  found  two  rival  or- 
ganizations in  the  field,  the  National  Republicans  or 
Whigs,   and    the    "  Anti-Masons."      The    National 

1  In  the  election  of  delegates  from  Baltimore  to  the  General  Assembly 
in  1825  the  "  Anti-Slavery  Society,"  recently  formed  in  Baltimore,  put 
forward  Daniel  Kiymond  as  their  candidate,  and  he  received  six  hun- 
dred aud  twenty-four  votes. 

''  The  delegates  to  the  Jackson  General  Convention,  appointed  May, 
1827,  by  Alex.  McKim,  in  pursuance  of  resolutionsof  a  recent  town-meet- 
ing, wore  Roger  1).  TaTie.v,  Ueai  Raiidiin,  Jacoli  G.  Itavii-B.  HuKh  McEldery, 
Joel  Vickers,  Matthew  li.Minetl,  Wni.  Kruhe,  and  Gc.HKe  \Vjiicli«8ter. 


Anti-Masonic  Convention,  composed  of  about  one 
hundred  and  twelve  delegates,  assembled  in  Balti- 
more at  the  Athenteum,  on  Monday,  the  26th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1831,  and  on  Wednesday,  the  28th,  nominated 
Wm.  Wirt,  of  Maryland,  for  the  Presidency,  and  Amos 
Ellmaker,  of  Pennsylvania,  for  the  Vice-Presidency. 
The  "  National  Republican"  party,  composed  princi- 
pally of  the  friends  of  Mr.  Adams  and  those  who  had 
become  dissatisfied  with  the  course  of  Gen.  Jackson, 
met  in  convention  in  Baltimore  on  December  12, 
1831,  with  about  one  hundred  and  forty  members  in 
attendance,  and  on  the  following  day  unanimously 
nominated  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  for  President, 
and  on  the  14th  John  Sergeant,  of  Pennsylvania,  for 
Vice-President.  Gen.  Jackson  had  been  designated 
by  his  friends  in  all  parts  of  the  Union  at  an  early 
period  after  the  commencement  of  his  administration 
as  a  candidate  for  re-election,  and  a  national  conven- 
tion was  necessary  only  to  nominate  a  candidate  for 
Vice-President.  The  convention  for  that  purpose 
assembled  in  Baltimore  on  the  21st  of  May,  1832, 
and  nominated  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New  York, 
for  the  Vice-Presidency.  Before  his  nomination, 
however,  the  convention  adopted  the  following  "  two- 
thirds  rule,"  which  has  ever  since  been  adhered  to  by 
all  Democratic  conventions  : 

"Itemlved,  That  each  State  be  entitled,  in  the  nomination  to  be  made  of 
a  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  to  a  number  of  votes  equal  to  the 
number  to  which  they  will  be  entitled  in  the  electoral  colleges,  under 
the  new  appointment,  in  voting  for  President  and  Vice-President,  and 
that  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  votes  in  the  convention  shall  be 
constitute  a  choice." 


The  convention  met  part  of  the  time  at  the  Athe- 
naeum, and  part  of  the  time  at  "  Warfield's  Church," 
in  St.  Paul  Street  near  Saratoga,  which  was  after- 
wards incorporated  with  N.  C.  Brooks'  Baltimore 
Female  College.  During  the  proceedings  of  the 
convention  a  panic  occurred,  and  one  or  two  men 
jumped  from  a  window  and  were  somewhat  injured. 

On  the  23d  of  April,  1834,  an  immense  meeting 
of  the  people  was  held  in  Monument  Square  to  give 
expression  to  public  sentiment  with  reference  to  the 
recent  protest  of  President  Jackson.  Gen.  William 
McDonald  presided,  with  many  of  the  most  promi- 
nent citizens  of  Baltimore  as  vice-presidents.  The 
meeting  was  addressed  by  John  P.  Kennedy,  Charles 
C.  Harper,  Joshua  Jones,  and  John  V.  L.  McMahon, 
and  the  following  resolution  was  adopted : 

"  Resolved,  That  such  citizens  of  Maryland  as  can  attend  and  who  are 
opposed  to  the  doctrines  promulgated  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  assemble  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  '  State  Whig  Society*  in 
support  of  said  constitution  and  laws,  and  to  this  end  be  it  further  re- 
solved, That  a  committee  of  sixty,  with  power  to  increase  their  number, 
be  appointed  by  the  chair  with  instruction  and  authority  to  prepare  an 
answer  to  said  protest  or  appeal,  and  such  resolutions  as  they  may  deem 
appropriate  to  be  submitted  to  that  meeting,  to  iix  aud  give  notice  of  the 
day  and  place  for  holding  the  same,  to  invite  the  attendance  of  distin- 
guished Whigs  from  all  parts  of  the  country  and  especially  from  Mary- 
land, to  invite  persons  to  deliver  addresses  on  that  occasion,  and  to  pre- 
pare fundamental  rules  for  the  government  of  a  State  Whig  Society ."3 

3  Mortin   Van  Buren  ' 


POLITICAL   PKOGRESS. 


Before  the  Presidential  election  of  1836  the  mani-  [ 
fest  injustice  of  a  minority  of  the  people  of  the  State  I 
governing  the  majority,  which  had  been  the  subject  I 
of  complaint  for  years,  again  violently  agitated  the  , 
people,  who  made  it  the  engrossing  topic  of  discus-  j 
sion  and  the  great  object  in  State  politics.  The  dis- 
cordant elements  in  the  most  populous  counties  and 
the  city  of  Baltimore,  of  both  political  parties,  1 
finally  united  and  proposed  that  a  convention  of  re- 
formers, without  distinction  of  party,  should  be  held  I 
in  Baltimore,  to  agree  upon  such  measures  as  would 
insure  success.  On  the  6th  of  June,  1836,  the  Reform 
convention,  composed  of  delegates  from  Cecil,  Har- 
ford, Baltimore,  Frederick,  Montgomery,  and  Wash- 
ington Counties  and  Baltimore  City,  assembled  and 
adopted  resolutions  recommending  the  people  of  the 
State  to  elect  at  the  next  October  election  delegates 
pledged  to  introduce  and  support  a  bill  providing  for 
taking  the  sense  of  the  people  on  the  question  of 
reforming  the  constitution  of  the  State  on  the  first 
Monday  in  May,  1837  ;  and  in  the  event  of  a  majority 
of  the  people  declaring  themselves  in  favor  of  such 
reform,  providing  in  the  same  bill  for  the  calling  of  a 
convention  for  that  object.  It  was  further  resolved 
that  the  members  of  the  convention  should  be  dis- 
tributed equally  among  the  several  congressional 
districts  with  the  exception  of  the  Fourth,  which 
being  a  double  congressional  district  was  to  have 
twice  the  number  of  representatives  of  any  other 
district.  It  was  also  agreed  that  if  the  Legislature 
should  refuse  to  pass  the  desired  bill,  the  president  of  j 
the  convention  should  reconvene  it  for  the  adoption 
of  such  ulterior  measures  as  might  then  be  deemed  j 
expedient.  The  people  seemed  disposed  to  fully  sus-  j 
tain  the  recommendations  of  the  convention,  for  the 
Assembly  of  1835  had  passed  laws  which  tended  to 
enlarge  the  representation  of  the  more  populous 
districts,  and  which  only  needed  the  confirmation  of 
the  ensuing  Legislature  to  become  a  law.  By  this 
act  two  additional  delegates  were  given  to  Baltimore 
City,  and  Carroll  County  was  erected  out  of  portions  ! 
of  Frederick  and  Baltimore  Counties,  thus  giving 
four  more  representatives  to  this  section  of  the  State, 
and  making  the  Reformers  more  urgent  in  their  de- 
mands. On  the  5th  of  September,  1836,  an  election 
for  the  purpose  of  choosing  electors  to  select  a  State 
Senate  was  held,  and  resulted  in  the  choice  of  twenty- 
one  Whig  and  nineteen  Democratic  or  Van  Buren 
electors.  When,  in  accordance  with  the  constitution, 
the  Van  Buren  electors  assembled  in  Annapolis  to 
choose  the  fifteen  members  of  the  State  Senate,  they 
were  advised  by  large  bodies  of  their  constituents  not 
to  go  into  an  election  unless  the  Whig  electors  promised 
that  at  least  eight  members  of  the  Senate  should  be 
selected  from  among  persons  known  to  be  favorable  to 
such  a  reform  in  the  State  constitution  as  would  insure 
to  all  citizens  living  under  it  equal  political  rights  and 
privileges.  To  this  the  Whig  electors  refused  to  ac- 
cede,  and  a  "  dead   lock"  was  thus  brought  about 


which  continued  until  the  19th  of  November,  when 
it  was  at  length  broken  and  a  Senate  elected.'  The 
Reform  convention  held  another  session  in  Baltimore 
on  the  16th  of  November,  and  adjourned  to  meet  in 
Annapolis  on  the  first  Monday  of  January,  1837. 
This  meeting  never  took  place,  for  the  Assembly  con- 
vened a  few  days  afterwards  and  immediately  entered 
upon  the  work  of  reform.  They  first  confirmed  the 
law,  passed  at  the  last  session  of  the  Assembly,  to  in- 
crease the  delegation  from  Baltimore  from  two  to 
four  members;  and  in  March,  1837,  coerced  by  the 
state  of  public  feeling  produced  and  manifested  by 
the  course  of  the  nineteen  electors,  the  Legislature 
passed  a  law  making  many  of  the  desired  changes  in 
the  constitution.  The  people  were  given  the  power 
of  electing  the  Governor;  the  Senate  was  entirely 
reorganized,  one  member  being  assigned  to  each 
county  and  the  city  of  Baltimore,  to  be  elected  im- 
mediately by  the  people.  The  constitution  of  the 
House  of  Delegates  was  materially  altered,  five 
members  being  assigned  to  Baltimore  City,  Frederick 
and  Baltimore  Counties  each,  and  it  was  provided 
that  after  1840  every  county  having  a  population  of 
over  thirty-five  thousand  souls  should  have  six  dele- 
gates, and  Baltimore  City  as  many  delegates  as  the 
most  populous  county.  The  first  Democratic  State 
convention  under  the  reformed  constitution  was  held 
in  Baltimore  on  the  31st  of  May,  1838,  and  resulted 
in  the  nomination  of  William  Grason,  whose  oppo- 
nent was  John  L.  Steele.  This  election  caused  great 
excitement  in  Baltimore,  where  the  opposing  parties 
became  involved  in  a  serious  affray  while  waiting  for 
the  returns  in  front  of  the  newspaper-oflices  in  Gay 
Street.  There  wtis,  as  usual,  much  cheering  and  ex- 
citement as  the  polls  of  the  different  wards  were 
successively  announced ;  but  about  eleven  o'clock  a 
fight  took  place,  in  which  stones,  brickbats,  and 
bludgeons  were  freely  used.  The  contest  was  kept 
up  with  occasional  intermissions  until  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  when  it  was  only  quelled  by  calling 
out  the  City  Guard. 

On  the  27th  of  March,  1838,  the  Legislature  passed 
an  act  for  the  registration  of  voters  in  Baltimore  City, 
which  was  submitted  to  the  people  for  approval  on 
the  2d  of  October,  and  was  ratified  by  an  actual  ma- 
jority of  only  fifty-two  votes.  The  vote  by  wards  was 
as  follows : 

Wards.  Registry.       No  Registry.     Whole  Number, 

First 531  392  990 

Secouii 394  412  863 

Thir.l 468  633  1,139 

Fmiitli 385  083  1,115 

I'ilth 702  393  1,163 

Sixth 558  482  1,077 

Sevocth 662  262  1,007 

Kighth 403  692  1,146 

Ninth 628  309  974 

Tenth 430  CIO  1,085 

Eleventh 649  589  1,282 

Twelfth 652  831  1,472 

6352  6300  13,316 

>  For  a  more  Uetailed  account  of  this  see  the  writer's  "  History  of  Mary- 
land," iii.,  p.  190. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  wliole  number  of  voters  in  the  city  at  that  time 
was  13,316,  and  as  the  ordinance  provided  that  those 
who  did  not  vote  at  all  should  be  recorded  in  its 
favor,  there  was  an  apparent  or  legal  majority  in  its 
favor  of  716.     It  was  provided  by  this  act  that  the 

"  registers  should  require  every  person  apidjing  to  be  registered,  and 
by  them  adjudged  entitled  to  be  registered  to  state,  in  addition  to  his 
name,  the  name  of  the  street,  lane,  or  alley  in  which  he  resided,  and 
wliether  he  was  a  householder  or  a  lodger,  and  if  a  lodger,  the  name  and 
residence  of  his  landlord  or  landlady  ;  and  in  case  there  were  no  number 
to  the  house,  to  designate  its  location  in  some  other  explicit  mode,  all 
which  particulars  were  to  be  plainly  entered  opposite  to  his  name  upon 
the  registration  boolts.  If  a  person  were  sick  or  absent  from  the  city, 
or  deprived  from  otlier  cause  of  registering  his  name,  any  citizen  of  good 
standing  could  apply  to  the  register  to  register  his  name  if  he  were  a 
qualified  voter.  The  person  so  applying  was  to  state  under  oath  or  afBr- 
mation  the  name  of  the  person  and  Iiis  place  of  residence  when  at  home 
in  tlie  city.  In  case  of  a  removal  before  the  election  from  the  ward  in 
which  a  person  was  registered,  he  was  entitled  to  vote  in  no  other  ward 
than  that  in  which  he  was  registered.  Naturalized  citizens  were  re- 
quired to  produce  their  papers  of  naturalization  as  the  only  evidence  of 
their  citizenship,  and  every  voter  was  required  to  have  his  name  regis- 
tered every  year."  i 

Public  sentiment,  however,  had  not  yet  been  edu- 
cated up  to  an  appreciation  of  the  advantages  of  regis- 
tration, and  this  law  shared  the  fate  of  its  predecessor 
and  was  repealed  on  the  15th  of  January,  1840.  The 
year  1840  was  one  of  intense  political  excitement  in  all 
sections  of  the  country,  and  Baltimore  did  not  fail  to 
share  in  the  general  ^^itation.  On  the  5th  of  May  the 
Democratic  National  Convention  met  in  this  city,  at 
the  Assembly  Rooms,  and  nominated  Martin  Van 
Buren  as  its  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and  on 
the  day  preceding  one  of  the  largest  political  gath- 
erings of  the  campaign  took  place  at  Canton.  Never 
before  was  seen  such  an  assemblage  of  people  in 
this  State  at  a  political  meeting.  .In  the  language 
of  John  V.  L.  McMahon,  the  president  of  the  day, 
"  Every  mountain  sent  its  rill,  every  valley  its 
stream,  and  lo!  the  avalanche  of  the  people  is  here." 
The  procession  was  one  of  the  longest  and  most 
interesting  ever  witnessed  in  this  country.  From 
daylight  until  the  hour  of  moving  Baltimore  Street 
from  one  extremity  to  the  other,  and  indeed  along 
the  whole  route,  presented  a  spectacle  beyond  descrip- 
tion, animated  and  exciting.  From  corner  to  corner 
the  streets  presented  one  living  mass  of  human  beings ; 
every  window  was  alive  with  fair,  smiling  faces ; 
from  the  top  to  the  bottom  every  house  was  crowded. 
At  a  few  minutes  after  ten  o'clock  the  procession  com- 
menced moving  from  the  upper  part  of  Baltimore 
Street,  led  by  several  barouches,  each  drawn  by  four 
white  horses,  the  foremost  containing  Gen.  S.  C. 
Leakin,  mayor  of  the  city,  Hon.  Daniel  Webster, 
and  other  distinguished  personages.  Then  followed 
the  delegations  from  the  different  States,  commencing 
with  the  Northern  States,  each  having  their  appropri- 
ate banners,  etc.  There  were  several  log  cabins,  dec- 
orated with  all  the  fixtures  belonging  to  the  mansions 
of  the  pioneers  of  the  West,  such  as  stags'  antlers, 
beaver-traps,  etc.      Hard  cider   flowed   freely,  and 

1  This  act  was  a  substitute  for  a  previous  act  passed  at  the  same  session. 


hunting-shirts  were  everywhere  visible.  Addresses 
were  delivered  by  Daniel  Webster,  Henry  Clay,  John 
Sergeant,  Wm.  C.  Preston,  John  J.  Crittenden,  Cor- 
wiu,  Ely,  Cushing,  Fillmore,  Halstead,  John  P.  Ken- 
nedy, Henry  A.  Wise,  and  other  distinguished  gen- 
tlemen. The  number  of  persons  present  was  estimated 
at  twenty  thousand.^  In  spite  of  the  great  enthusiasm 
for  the  Whig  candidate,  the  Democrats  succeeded  in 
securing  a  majority  of  thirty-one  votes  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore. 

The  Whig  National  Convention  assembled  in  Balti- 
more on  the  1st  of  May,  1844,  in  the  Universalist 
church  on  Calvert  Street,  and  nominated  Henry  Clay 
by  acclamation  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and 
Theodore  Frelinghuysen  for  Vice-President.  On  the 
2d  of  May  a  "  Young  Men's  National  Ratification 
Convention"  assembled  in  Baltimore  to  indorse  the 
nominees,  and  was  one  of  the  largest  and  most  im- 
posing gatherings  ever  convened  in  the  country.  The 
procession  down  Baltimore  Street  to  the  Canton  race- 
track (the  place  of  meeting)  was  of  the  finest  descrip- 
tion. Among  the  speakers  of  the  occasion  were  Daniel 
Webster,  Berrien,  Crittenden,  Clayton,  George  Evans, 
of  Maine,  Thomas  Ewing,  Morehead,  Metcalf,  Rey- 
nolds, Reverdy  Johnson,  and  T.  Yates  Walsh. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention  met  in  Balti- 
more on  the  27th  of  May,  1844,  and  nominated  James 
K.  Polk  for  the  Presidency,  and  G.  M.  Dallas  for  the 
Vice-Presidency.  On  the  27th  of  May  the  Tyler  Na- 
tional Convention  also  assembled  at  Baltimore,  at 
Calvert  Hall,  and  nominated  John  Tyler  as  their 
candidate  for  President. 

About  this  period  a  new  party  was  organized  which 
in  some  of  the  States  took  the  old  parties  by  surprise. 
The  first  announcement  made  by  the  Baltimore  Clipper 
on  the  5th  of  November,  1844,  that  it  intended  to  sup- 
port the  principles  of  the  "American  Republican"  or 
"  Native  American"  party  was  favorably  received  by 
a  large  number  of  citizens  of  Baltimore  and  the  adja- 
cent counties.  Meetings  were  held  on  the  26th  of 
February,  1845,  and  every  preparation  made  to  ex- 
tend the  party  organization  throughout  the  State.  A 
city  convention  was  held  on  the  5th  of  March,  and  on 
the  13th  they  issued  an  address  "  to  the  public,"  in 
which  they  declare  the  object  of  the  party  to  be  the 
correction  of  existing  abuses,  the  banishment  of  all 
foreign  influences,  the  prevention  of  frauds  at  elec- 
tions, and  to  make  American  feelings  and  interests 
pervade  the  nation.  On  the  29th  of  August,  1845,  the 
Native  American  party  put  out  the  following  ticket : 
for  the  Fourth  Congressional  District,  Capt.  Henry  A. 
Thompson  f  for  the  House  of  Delegates,  David  Taylor, 
Joseph  Breck,  John  C.  Holland,  David  Parr,  and 
Josiah  Balderston.  At  the  election  in  October  Dun- 
can, the  Native  American  candidate,  received  1147 

s  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Mr.  McMahon,  in  opening  the  meeting, 
uttered  the  celebrated  expression,  "  I  call  the  nation  to  order." 

3  He  declined  the  nomination,  and  John  McKim  Duncan  was  selected 
as  candidate  in  his  place. 


POLITICAL   PROGRESS. 


votes ;  Jolin  P.  Kennedy,  the  Whig  candidate,  4962 ; 
and  William  Fell  Giles,  Democrat,  5804.  In  the  city 
a  Temperance  ticket  was  run  for  the  House  of  Dele- 
gates, which  received  212  votes,  the  highest  number 
cast  for  any  one  of  its  candidates.  In  the  general  re- 
sult in  the  city  the  Democrats  elected  their  Congress- 
men, sheriff,  and  delegates.  At  the  first  Council  elec- 
tion held  under  the  new  divisions  of  twenty  wards, 
instead  of  twelve  as  theretofore,  the  Democrats  elected 
seventeen  out  of  the  twenty  members  composing  the 
First  Branch,  and  nine  out  of  the  ten  composing  the 
Second  Branch.  In  the  election  of  the  7th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1846,  at  which  the  question  of  biennial  sessions 
of  the  Legislature  was  to  be  decided,  the  Whigs 
carried  both  branches  of  the  Legislature  by  hand- 
some majorities.  In  Baltimore,  Charles  M.  Keyser, 
the  Whig  candidate  for  State  senator,  beat  Joshua 
Vansant,  the  Democratic  candidate,  by  a  majority  of 
one  vote'  in  a  total  poll  of  14,871.  Baltimore  gave  a 
majority  of  694  against  the  biennial  sessions  bill,  but 
it  was  carried  in  the  State  by  a  majority  of  46.55  votes. 
In  the  election  for  mayor  of  Baltimore,  Col.  Jacob  G. 
Davies,  the  Democratic  candidate,  was  chosen  by  a 
majority  of  106  votes  over  Aaron  E.  Levering,  the 
Whig  candidate.  At  the  gubernatorial  election  in 
1847,  Col.  Philip  Francis  Thomas,  the  Democratic 
candidate,  carried  Baltimore  by  1566  majority  over 
William  T.  Goldsborough,  the  Whig  candidate. 

The    brilliant    achievements   of   Gen.    Taylor    in 
Mexico  and  the  successful  issue  of  the  war  gave  him 
great  popularity,  and  a  strong  movement  was  soon 
1  made  to  place  him  in  nomination  as  a  candidate  for 

I  the  Presidency.     Although  he  was  said  to  be  a  Whig, 

he  had  in  all  his  correspondence  disclaimed  party  at- 
tachments  and   party  preferences,  and  had  scrupu- 
j  lously  refrained  from  any  declaration  of  his  political 

1  opinions.     A  "Taylor  State  Convention,"  composed 

i  of  prominent  and  influential  gentlemen  of  all  parties, 

'  assembled  in  Baltimore  on  the  26th  of  April,  1848, 

and    nominated   Gen.   Taylor    for    the    Presidency. 
I  This  "  no  party"  convention,  in  their  "  address  to  the 

I  people  of  Maryland  and  the  United  States,"  said  that 

*'  the  only  remarkable  thing  that  characterizes  this  movement  of  ours 

(  coneists,  we  may  presume,  in  this,  viz.:  that  we  have  met  together  incur 

I  representative  capacity,  as  citizens  in  the  exercises  of  the  rights  of  citi- 

J  zens,  without  regard  to  parly  di8tinctu>its ;  and  being  of  the  opinion  that 

\  Gen.  Taylor  is  the  only  man  who  can  unite  the  moderate  men  of  all  par- 

I  ties  and  thus  prepare  the  country  for  the  severe  ordeal  through  which 

our  institutions  may  have  to  pass  in  the  course  of  approaching  events, 

we  have  chosen,  without  waiting  for  the  permission  of  hasty  conventions, 

to  act  upon  that  conviction,  and  to  invite  our  countrymen  who  may  upon 

reflection  adopt  the  same  views,  to  act  in  conjunction  with  us." 

The  National  Convention  of  the  Democratic  party 
met  in  Baltimore  on  the  22d  of  May,  1848,  and  nomi- 

I  nated  Gen.  Lewis  Cass  for  the  Presidency,  and  Gen. 

I  William  0.  Butler  for  the  Vice-Presidency. 

]  A  revision  of  the  State  constitution  had  long  been 

agitated,  and  at  the  fall  elections  of  1849  in  a  num- 

1  This  was  the  legal  return,  hut  a  subsequent  recount  by  the  judges 
I  showed  a  majority  of  three  votes. 


ber  of  the  counties  the  Whigs  and  Democrats  united 
in  running  "  reform"  tickets  for  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature without  reference  to  political  distinctions,  and 
in  others  and  in  Baltimore  the  candidates  of  both 
parties  were  pledged  to  the  measure  of  "  constitu- 
tional reform."  In  Baltimore  all  the  Democratic 
candidates  for  the  House  of  Delegates  were  elected 
by  an  average  majority  of  2118.  In  the  election  for 
Governor  in  the  following  year  Enoch  Louis  Lowe, 
the  Democratic  candidate,  received  a  majority  in  Bal- 
timore of  2759,  while  John  H.  T.  Jerome,  the  Whig 
candidate  for  mayor,  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  777 
votes  over  J.  M.  Turner,  Democratic  candidate.'' 

The  efforts  for  reform  were  successful,  and  a  new 
constitution  was  framed  and  adopted  by  the  people 
on  the  4th  of  June,  1851.  By  the  provisions  of  this 
constitution  Baltimore  City  was  separated  from  the 
county,  and  the  representation  of  the  former  increased 
to  ten  delegates  and  of  the  latter  to  six  in  the  lower 
branch  of  the  Legislature.^ 

The  National  Democratic  Convention  for  the  nomi- 
nation of  candidates  for  President  and  Vice-President 
met  in  Baltimore,  at  the  Maryland  Institute,  on  the  1st 
of  June,  1852,  and  continued  in  session  for  several 
days.  Its  sessions  were  very  exciting,  and  the  two 
Houses  of  Congress  adjourned  to  enable  the  members 
of  that  body  to  be  in  attendance.  On  the  3d  the  con- 
vention began" to  ballot  for  President,  and  continued 
to  do  so  until  the  forty-ninth  ballot  was  reached, 
when  Gen.  Franklin  Pierce,  of  New  Hampshire,  was 
nominated,  W.  R.  King,  of  Alabama,  being  selected 
as  the  candidate  for  Vice-President.  On  the  16th  of 
June  the  Whig  National  Convention  assembled  in 
Baltimore,  at  the  Maryland  Institute,  and  on  the  21st 
nominated  Gen.  Winfield  Scott,  of  New  Jersey,  on 
the  fifty-third  ballot,  as  their  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dency, with  Wm.  A.  Graham,  of  North  Carolina,  as 
their  nominee  for  vice-president.  On  the  evening  of 
the  21st  one  of  the  largest  and  most  enthusiastic  meet- 
ings that  ever  collected  in  Monument  Square  assem- 
bled there  to  ratify  the  Whig  nominations.  It  was 
estimated  that  there  were  twenty  thousand  persons 
present.  The  election  took  place  on  the  5th  of  No- 
vember, 1852,  and  resulted  in  Baltimore  in  a  Water- 
loo defeat  for  the  Whigs  by  a  majority  of  4474  votes 
for  Pierce  out  of  23,619  polled.  The  Free  Soil  can- 
didate received  twenty-one  votes  in  the  city.  After 
the  defeat  of  the  Whig  Presidential  candidates  in 
Maryland  that  party  reorganized,  and  with  the  help 

-  Heretofore  it  had  been  the  practice  of  both  parties  to  "  coop"  their 
intemperate  voters  to  prevent  them  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  their 
adversaries  on  the  day  of  election.  But  at  the  fall  elections  of  1850  a 
difierent  practice  prevailed,  and  political  opponents  were  seized  and  con- 
fined until  the  polls  had  been  closed.  Nor  was  this  "  cooping"  practiced 
only  on  the  intemperate,  persons  of  respectability  were  also  caged  and 
kept  from  voting.  A  number  of  very  prominent  gentlemen  made  nar- 
row escapes  from  capture,  and  among  them  the  mayor  of  the  city,  who, 
it  is  said,  was  indebted  to  the  fieetness  of  his  horse  for  retaining  his  liberty 
on  the  day  of  election. 

3  At  the  municipal  election  in  1852,  John  Smith  Hollins,  Democrat, 
was  elected  over  Capt.  France  to  the  office  of  mayor  by  3684  majority. 


124 


HISTORY    OF    BALTIMORE    CITY    AND    COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  the  "  American  Party,"  '  which  was  now  assuming 
shape,  resumed  the  contest.     In  the  fall  elections  of 
1853  both  parties  made  desperate  efforts  to  carry  the  | 
day.    In  Baltimore  the  partisans  of  the  "  Maine  liquor 
law"  elected  their  ten  delegates  by  964  majority,  their  j 
platform  denouncing  the  manufacture,  sale,  and  con- 
sumption of  intoxicating  liquors,  and  their  delegates  , 
being  pledged  to  urge  the  prohibition  of  the  traffic  by  j 
legislative  enactment.     In  the  fall  of  1854  the  Amer- 
ican or  Know-Nothing  party  determined  to   nomi- 
nate a  straight-out  municipal  ticket  in  Baltimore,  and  | 
with  this  object  in  view  Samuel  Hinks  was  selected 
as  their  candidate  for  mayor.     The  Democrats  placed 
in  nomination  Wm.  G.  Thomas.     In  the  contest  con- 
siderable sectarian  feeling  was  displayed  against  the 
Roman  Catholics,  which  resulted  in  a  complete  tri- 
umph for  Mr.  Hinks  by  2744  majority,  and  the  elec- 
tion  of  fourteen  members  of  the  First  Branch  and  , 
eight  members   of  the   Second   Branch  of  the  City 
Council  by  the  American  party.     In  the  election  for 
members  of  the  City  Council  in  1855  the  Democrats 
carried  the  city  by  1029,  and  elected  a  majority  of  the 
members.     The  American  ticket,  however,  was  suc- 
cessful in  the  State,  giving  the  control  of  the  Legis- 
lature to  that  party. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  1856,  the  mayoralty  election 
occurred,  the  candidates  being  Thomas  Swann, 
Know-Nothing,  and  Robert  Clinton  Wright,  Demo- 
crat. The  violence  and  disorder  attending  it^  pre- 
vented a  free  expression  of  the  popular  will,  and  Mr. 
Swann  was  elected  by  1567  majority.  On  the  17th  of 
September,  in  the  same  year,  the  "Old-Line  Whigs" 
National  Convention  met  in  Baltimore,  at  the  Mary- 
land Institute,  and  indorsed  Millard  Fillmore  and 
Andrew  Jackson  Donelson,  the  Know-Nothing  can- 
didates for  President  and  Vice-President.  At  the 
Presidential  election  in  November,  1856,  Fillmore  re- 
ceived in  Baltimore  16,900  votes;  Buchanan,  9870; 
and  Fremont,  the  Republican  candidate,  214.'  At 
the  municipal  election  of  Oct.  19,  1857,  the  Know- 
Nothings  carried  all  the  wards  in  the  city  except  the 
Eighth  by  a  declared  majority  of  9066  votes,  polling 
in  all  11,896  votes,  and  the  Democrats  2830 ;  and  at 
the  gubernatorial  election  in  November  Thomas 
Holliday  Hicks,  the  Know-Nothing  candidate,  car- 
ried Baltimore  by  an  alleged  majority  of  9036.  About 
August,  1858,  an  independent  movement  was  insti- 

1  The  first  Know-Nothing  mass-meeting  was  held  in  Monument  Square 
on  Thursday  evening,  Aug.  18,  1853,  and  was  attended  by  nearly  five 
thousand  people. 

s  See  chapter  on  "  Mobs  and  Riots." 

■■>  The  first  Republican  meeting  held  in  Maryland  assembled  in  Balli. 
more  on  the  evening  of  Sept,  11,  1856.  The  meeting  was  organized,  on 
motion  of  William  Gunnison,  by  calling  F.  S.  Corkran  to  the  chair,  and 
the  appointment  of  William  E.  Cole,  Jr.,  as  secretary.  After  reading  an 
"address  to  the  Republicans  of  Maryland"  the  meeting  'adjourned. 
Upon  leaving  the  room  (Temperance  Temple)  Messrs.  Corkrau,  Gunni- 
son, and  several  others  were  rudely  assaulted  by  a  mob  of  several  hun- 
dred persons  that  had  gathered  on  the  street.  The  mob  then  repaired 
to  the  office  of  the  Wecker,  the  Gornjan  Republican  paper,  which  they 
assaulted  with  stones,  and  it  was  saved  from  being  sacked  only  by  the 
intervention  of  the  police. 


tuted,  though  not  such  as  was  expected,  and  an  inde- 
pendent candidate  was  nominated,  which  somewhat 
changed  the  aspect  of  affairs.*  Early  in  September 
this  independent  movement  published  their  "  plat- 
form," and  presented  as  their  standard-bearer  Col. 
A.  P.  Shutt,  a  gentleman  of  integrity,  who  had  been 
a  member  of  the  Whig  party,  but  since  the  rise  of  the 
Know-Nothing  organization  had  taken  no  part  in 
the  politics  of  the  day.  But  the  hopes  created  by  this 
movement  were  destined  to  disappointment,  and  Mr. 
Swann  was  re-elected  on  the  13th  of  October,  1858, 
by  a  pretended  majority  of  19,149.  The  election,  in 
fact,  was  so  evident  a  mockery  from  the  beginning 
that  about  noon  on  the  day  of  election  Col.  Shutt 
withdrew  his  name  as  a  candidate,  and  advised  his 
friends  not  to  attempt  to  exercise  their  rights  of  fran- 
chise. If  further  evidence  were  needed  to  show  the 
manner  in  which  the  election  was  carried,  the  figures 
would  be  sufficient  comment.  There  must  have  been 
illegal  voting,  and  a  great  deal  of  it,  to  have  enabled 
the  Eighth  Ward  to  give  3307  majority  for  Col.  Shutt, 
and  the  Fourth  Ward  to  give  2507  for  Mr.  Swann. 
The  mere  formal  record  of  votes  sufficiently  explains 
the  character  of  the  election.  Out  of  the  entire  poll 
of  28,866  votes  Col.  Shutt  is  reported  to  have  received 
but  4859,  and  of  these  3428  are  represented  to  have 
been  cast  in  a  single  ward,  leaving  1430  as  the  whole 
number  of  ballots  deposited  in  his  favor  throughout 
the  rest  of  the  city.  To  our  citizens  these  facts  and 
figures  were  quite  intelligible  enough  of  themselves, 
and  told  too  plainly  of  their  shame  and  humiliation. 
The  details  and  particulars  of  the  various  outrages 
that  were  committed  by  the  ruffians  who  held  undis- 
turbed possession  of  the  polls  were  in  every  mouth, 
and  were  repeated  and  discussed  by  every  fireside  and 
in  every  counting-room,  store,  and  tavern  in  the  city. 
They  were  retailed  from  house  to  house,  and  from 
man  to  man,  until  there  was  scarcely  an  individual  in 
the  community  who  had  not  heard  or  did  not  know 
of  some  neighbor,  friend,  or  acquaintance  who  on 
October  13th  was  driven  and  beaten  from  the  polls, 
or  was  threatened,  insulted,  and  intimidated  in  the 
vain  attempt  to  exercise  the  right  of  suffrage.  From 
the  opening  of  the  polls  in  the  morning  until  their 
closing  in  the  evening,  in  nineteen  wards  of  the  city, 
they  were  occupied  and  held  by  bands  of  armed 
bullies,  who,  as  the  returns  show,  permitted  scarcely 
any  to  vote  who  did  not  openly  show  and  as  openly 
vote  the  "  American"  ticket.  That  ticket,  moreover, 
was  so  marked  upon  the  back  with  a  blue  chequered  or 
striped  pattern  that,  however  folded,  it  could  be  rec- 
ognized without  difficulty  in  the  hands  of  the  voter. 
By  this  means  the  secrecy  of  the  ballot  was  effectually 
destroyed,  and  the  ruffians  who  guarded  every  avenue 
to  the  polls  were  enabled  to  tell  at  a  glance  whose  votes 
might  be  admitted  and  whose  should  be  excluded.  Not 

^  In  1858  a  vote  was  taken  on  the  question  of  calling  a  convention  to 
remodel  the  State  constitution,  which  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  effort 
for  that  purpose. 


POLITICAL   PROGRESS. 


content,  however,  with  excluding  legal  voters  opposed 
to  the  election  of  Mr.  iSwann,  an  immense  proportion — 
probably  not  less  than  from  two-thirds  to  three-fourths 
of  the  whole  number  polled — of  illegal  votes  were 
cast  in  his  favor ;  men,  and  even  boys,  voting,  not 
twice  or  thrice  merely,  but  ten  or  fifteen  times ;  not 
only  in  different  wards,  but  in  the  same  ward  ;  not  at 
diflerent  hours  of  the  day  merely,  but  half  a  dozen 
times  in  succession,  with  scarcely  an  attempt  at  con- 
cealment or  disguise.  Other  votes  were  polled  which 
were  purely  fictitious,  tickets  being  handed  to  the 
judges  and  received  by  them  which  were  falsely  rep- 
resented to  have  been  tendered  by  persons  in  omni- 
buses and  carriages  who  were  unable  to  get  out  and 
walk  to  the  window.  In  short,  every  trick  and  strat- 
agem which  fraud  could  invent  and  every  extremity 
to  which  violence  could  resort  were  successfully  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose  of  electing  the  "American" 
candidate.  These  outrages  upon  the  ballot-box  and 
upon  the  persons  of  voters  the  judges  were  unable 
and  the  police  unwilling  to  prevent.  The  former 
did  not  so  much  as  dare  to  question  an  illegal  vote, 
even  when,  as  was  frequently  the  case,  they  knew  it 
to  be  such.  The  latter  constantly  refused  to  inter- 
fere for  the  protection  of  anybody.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances and  in  such  a  crisis  a  large  number  of 
the  most  respectable  citizens  of  Baltimore  organized 
a  "  City  Reform  Association"  for  the  effective  redress 
of  grievances  which  were  the  common  burden  and 
disgrace  of  all  and  the  reproach  of  the  whole 
country.  On  the  1st  of  November,  1858,  the  Reform 
Association  held  a  meeting,  and  adopted  an  address 
describing  the  purposes  of  the  new  organization  and 
earnestly  inviting  the  co-operation  of  their  fellow- 
citizens,  which  was  signed  by  Samuel  W.  Smith, 
president;  Wm.  H.  D.  C.  Wright,  Hugh  A.  Cooper, 
Dr.  A.  C.  Robinson,  Geo.  Wm.  Brown,  vice-presi- 
dents ;  Henry  M.  Warfield,  recording  secretary ; 
James  H.  Barney,  corresponding  secretary ;  and 
Lambert  Gittings,  treasurer. 

Notwithstanding'  the  favorable  auspices  under 
which  the  Reform  Association  was  organized,  nothing 
was  done  in  the  fall  of  1858  or  in  the  spring  of  1859 
to  restore  peace  and  good  order.  As  the  fall  elections 
of  1859  approached,  however,  a  large  number  of  the 
citizens  of  Baltimore  determined  to  make  one  supreme 
effort  to  crush  out  ruffianism  and  restore  the  reign  of 
law.  They  therefore  issued  an  invitation  to  their 
"  fellow-citizens,  irrespective  of  party,"  to  assemble 
in  "  town-meeting  at  Monument  Square  on  Monday 
afternoon,  the  5th  day  of  September,  at  four  o'clock, 
to  deliberate  with  us  and  devise  some  means  of  res- 
cuing our  city  from  its  present  deplorable  condition." 
Appended  to  this  call  were  the  names  of  over  two 
thousand  of  the  best  and  most  prominent  citizens  of 
Baltimore.  In  consequence  of  inclement  weather  the 
"town-meeting"  was  postponed  to  Thursday  after- 
noon, the  8th  of  September,  at  which  time  about  ten 
thousand  persons   assembled  in  Monument  Square. 


At  the  appointed  hour  Charles  D.  Hinks,  on  behalf 
of  the  Committee  of  Arrangements,  presented  the 
name  of  William  Woodward  for  president  of  the 
meeting,  and  three  gentlemen  from  each  ward  as 
vice-presidents.  Patriotic  and  eloquent  addresses 
were  delivered  by  George  W.  Brown,  James  Hodges, 
and  George  M.  Gill,  and  resolutions  were  adopted 
urging  combined  effort  on  the  part  of  all  respectable 
citizens,  and  requiring  the  president  and  vice-presi- 
dents of  the  meeting  to  appoint  "a  committee  of 
twenty  men,  consisting  of  one  from  each  ward,"  who, 
with  the  president  of  the  meeting,  should  constitute 
a  "  Central  Committee,"  which  was  "  authorized  and 
directed  to  nominate,  at  as  early  a  day  as  may  be  ex- 
pedient and  practicable,  candidates,  without  regard  to 
party,  to  be  selected  from  the  best,  most  reliable,  and 
most  competent  men  in  the  community."  In  pur- 
suance of  these  resolutions  the  following  twenty-one 
conservative  citizens  were  appointed  as  a  "  Reform 
Central  Committee" : 

William  Woodward,  President. 
Wards.                                                 I    Wards. 
First William  Dean.    Eleventh Dr.  J.  H.  Thomas. 

Second Thomas  J.  Cochran.  I  Twelfth Charles  J.  Baker. 

Third Eilwiird  W'.  Robinson.     Thirteenth Dr.  A.  C.  Eobinson. 

Fdiirtli  l:..l'.Mi   ]:,tirMv  — II      t f.  .  I  III Michael  Warner. 

Filili  ,1,111,1     Mi;.., I  ,1,,       I  II     I  I'l  ,i,iiiies  Hooper,  Jr. 

Si\tli  |i!    I     il    I'.i  ,i,i:  ,',.      -,,■  I  \lr\iinder  Russell. 

Sew l;.,  ,1,11  ,  I    11.1.  1       -,  .,  I.,,  ,  I.;;  w  illiam  Swindell. 

Ei^htli J.KiLc- J',  I  lii'iM.i-      I  i;^lii<  I  iilh      Edward  Moon. 

Ninth Louis  Chiller,  ,  Ninotcenlh Joseph  H.  Kieman. 

Tenth George  William  Brown.  !  Twentieth Allen  A.  Chapman. 

Mayor  Swanu  declined  to  co-operate  with  the  com- 
mittee in  the  effort  to  procure  honest  judges,  and 
while  in  the  election  for  members  of  the  City  Council 
in  October,  1859,  the  Reformers  carried  the  Eighth, 
Tenth,  Eleventh,  Twelfth,  Fourteenth, and  Nineteenth 
Wards,  the  most  indisputable  evidence  was  afibrded  of 
inefficiency  and  bad  faith  on  the  part  of  the  municipal 
authorities.  With  the  election  of  the  2d  of  Novem- 
ber, for  comptroller,  members  of  Congress,  and  the 
Legislature,  came  one  of  the  most  momentous  issues 
that  had  ever  been  presented  to  the  citizens  of  Balti- 
more. Without  entering  into  a  detailed  description 
of  the  events  of  the  day,'  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that 
life  was,  as  usual,  sacrificed  in  the  ineflectual  struggles 
of  individual  gallantry.  By  two  o'clock  the  Re- 
formers abandoned  the  polls  in  all  the  wards  except 
the  Eighth,  perfectly  satisfied  that  a  fair  election  was 
impossible.'^ 

1  See  chapter  on  "  Mobs  and  Riots." 

2  As  an  illustration  of  the  methods  by  which  the  American  party  car- 
ried elections  the  wonderful  and  rapid  increase  in  the  voting  population 
of  the  Fourth  Ward  may  be  mentioned.  In  1848,  in  the  exciting  Presi- 
dential election  between  Taylor  and  Cass,  the  total  vote  of  this  ward  was 
1193.  In  the  election  of  18S0  it  was  1007.  In  the  Presidential  contest 
between  Scott  and  Pierce  in  1852  it  was  1133.  Up  to  that  time  the  vote 
of  the  Fourth  Ward  had  never  reached  1200,  about  the  outside  number 
of  legal  voters  which  its  whole  white  population  of  6611,  returned  in  the 
census  of  1850,  would  authorize  us  to  expect.  In  1856,  which  was  the 
commencement  of  Mr.  Swann's  political  career,  this  ward  gave  him  909 
votes,  and  his  opponent,  Mr.  Wright,  288.  The  judges  who  presided  at 
that  election  were  of  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Hinks,  and  were  never 
charged  with  rejecting  American  votes  on  that  occasion.  The  vote, 
therefore,  of  1856,  under  circumstances  as  well  calculated  to  bring  it  out 
as  ever  existed  before  or  since,  was  altogether  1197,  or  only  four  more 


126 


HISTOllY   OF  BALTIMOKE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Notwithstanding  these  first  failures,  tlie  Reform 
party  did  not  abandon  its  efforts,  and  on  the  17th  of 
Novemher  a  Reform  convention  was  held,  which  was 
organizeil,  on  motion  of  S.  Teackle  Wallis,  by  calling 
C4eorge  M.  Gill  to  the  chair.  A  more  efficient  organi- 
zation was  etiected,  and  aCommittee  on  Contested  Elec- 
tions was  api)ointed  to  present  the  evidences  of  fraud 
to  the  Legislature,  and  another  on  legislation,  to  pre- 
Ijare  and  digest  all  legislation  necessary  to  cure  the 
evils  the  city  was  then  laboring  under.  This  latter 
committee  consisted  of  William  Henry  Norris,  chair- 
man ;  P.  Francis  Thomas,  I.  Nevitt  Steele,  S.  Teackle 
Wallis,  and  Neilson  Poe.  The  following  gentlemen 
were  also  associated  by  invitation  in  the  task,  and  by 
day  and  by  night  for  a  period  of  six  weeks  gave  their 
time,  talents,  and  patriotism  to  their  duties :  John  V. 
L.  McMahon,  John  Nelson,  George  M.  Gill,  J.  Mason 
Campbell,  George  W.  Brown,  C.  Jervis  Spencer,  and 
C.  J.  M.  Gwinn.  On  one  occasion  Reverdy  Johnson 
was  present,  and  would  have  continued  to  lend  his 
talents  to  the  work  had  he  remained  in  the  city.  The 
fruit  of  their  labors  were  the  "  Reform  Bills," — the 
police  law,  the  election  law,  and  the  jury  law, — which 
were  presented  to  the  Legislature  and  promptly  passed 
by  that  body.  On  the  last  day  of  the  session  the 
Legislature  also  declared  null  and  void  the  pretended 
election  of  the  2d  of  November,  18r)9.  The  expul- 
sion of  Charles  L.  Krafft,  Thomas  Booze,  Robert  L. 
Seth,  George  R.  Berry,  F.  C.  Crowley,  R.  A.  McAllis- 
ter, Thomas  M.  Smith,  Robert  Turner,  and  Marcus 
Denison,  the  members  of  the  House  from  Baltimore, 
on  the  last  day  of  the  session  was  regarded  as  even 
more  ignominious  than  if  it  had  taken  place  at  an 
earlier  period.'  Realizing  the  nature  and  extent  of 
the  change  which  had  been  effected  by  the  new  police 
bill  of  1860,  it  was  determined  to  take  advantage  of  j 
the  protection  which  it  afforded  for  the  free  expression  j 
of  public  sentiment,  and  accordingly,  on  the  18th  of 
August,  1860,  a  large  meeting  of  "  Independent  Re- 
formers" was  held  in  the  saloon  of  the  Law  Building 
to  provide  for  the  nomination  of  candidates  for  mayor 
and  City  Council.  On  motion  of  George  M.  Gill,  Dr. 
Alexander  C.  Robinson  was  chosen  president,  Hugh 
A.  Cooper  and  Lawrence  P.  Bayne  vice-presidents, 
with  James  P.  Thomas  and  Henry  M.  Fitzhugh  as 


secretaries.  The  officers  of  the  meeting  were  directed 
to  appoint  a  central  committee  to  consist  of  one  from 
each  ward,  to  whom  the  duty  of  bringing  forward  in- 
dependent reform  candidates  was  confided.  In  ac- 
cordance with  these  instructions  the  central  committee 
was  formed,  and  on  the  29th  of  August  it  nominated 
George  William  Brown  as 
the  Reform  candidate  for 
mayor,  and  subsequently 
Reform  candidates  for  the 
City  Council.  Samuel 
Hindes  was  nominated  as 
the  Know-Nothing  candi- 
date for  mayor.  The  elec- 
tion took  place  on  the  10th 
of  October,  1860,  and  a 
Reform  mayor  and  a  City 
Council  composed  entirely 
of  Reformers  were  lifted 
into  power  by  triumphant  m.x-  ...  «.  hi;..w.v. 

and  genuine   majorities  in 

the  midst  of  enthusiasm  so  great  and  so  general  as  to 
show  how  terrible  had  been  the  oppression  from  which 
the  people  were  now  delivered.  The  vote  in  the  im- 
portant city  elections  from  1854  to  1860  (inclusive) 
were  as  follows : 


Know. 
Nothing. 

B4 13,840 

60 13,902 

S57 17,849 

58 24,008 

359 18,211 

360 9,684 

Democrat 
11,096 
12,335 
8,213 
4,859 
5;334 

Reform. 

Majorities. 
2,744  Know-Nothing. 

i;5c7    ;;        ;; 

i7,6'25 

12,877       " 
7,941  Reform. 

In  the  election  for  members  of  the  City  Council  in 
1858  the  Democrats  were  allowed  to  poll  in  the  Twen- 
tieth Ward  one  vote ;  in  the  Twelfth,  two ;  Nine- 
teenth, three  ;  Seventeenth,  ten  ;  Fourteenth,  eight ; 
First,  twenty-four;  Second,  thirty-two ;  Fourth,  thirty- 
five;  Seventh,  thirty-seven;  Sixteenth,  ninety-one; 
Eighteenth,  ninety-four;  and  the  Eighth,  ten  hundred 
and  thirteen  ;  and  only  two  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  thirty  votes  in  the  entire  city. 


than  the  same  ward  had  cast  in  the  election  between  Cass  and  Taylor  in 
1848.  Under  the  fostering  care  of  the  "  municipal  governnieut"  but  a 
single  year  elapsed  before  a  vast  cliange  was  effected.  In  1857,  at  the 
Governor's  election,  the  judges  apiwinted  by  the  mayor  for  the  Fourtli 
Ward  recorded  and  returned  a  vote  of  1879  polls,— 682  more  tlian  it  had 
cast  only  the  year  before.  In  1858  sucii  were  the  improvements  and 
facilities  afforded  by  the  "  municipal  government"  and  the  judges  and 
police  that  this  ward  got  in  a  total  vote  of  2589,  of  which  Col.  Shutt  re- 
ceived but  41,  showing  another  advance  in  another  single  year  of  710 
votes.  It  thus  appeal's  that  under  the  mayors  in  the  eight  years  pre- 
ceding Mr.  Swanu's  flret  cleclion  the  vote  of  the  Fourth  Ward  increased 
but  the  insignificant  number  which  a  man  may  count  on  the  fingers  of 
one  hand,  while  under  two  years  of  Mr.  Swann's  administration  there 
were  added  to  it  the  handsome  accession  of  1392  votes,  making  a  sum 
total  considerably  larger  tlian  double  the  number  at  the  start. 
1  Mr.  W.  A.  Wisong,  who  was  elected  on  the  .American  ticitct,  refused 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE    CIVIL    WAR.2 
Prominent  IjOcal  Events  from  18G0  to  1866. 

I860.— On  the  20th  of  April  the  Republican  State 
Convention  assembled  at  Rechabite  Hall,  in  Balti- 
more, and  organized  by  the  election  of  Montgomery 


=  In  the  limited  space  at  our  command  it  is  impossible  to  treat  that 
portion  of  the  history  of  Baltimore  embraced  between  the  dates  given 
above  except  in  the  briefest  possible  manner.  During  the  period  in 
question  almost  every  day  bristled  with  "  events,"  and  every  week  gave 
birth  to  numberless  incidents  of  local  or  general  interest.  The  magni- 
tude of  the  subject  and  the  multiplicity  of  the  details  required  in  a  con- 
nected narrative  of  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  stirring  epochs  in 
the  history  of  the  city  demand  a  far  more  extended  and  elaborate  treat- 


THE   CIVIL   WAK. 


Blair  as  chairman.  The  convention  was  broken  up 
by  mob  violence,  but  reassembled  at  a  private  house, 
and  selected  the  following  delegates  to  the  Chicago 
convention  which  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln  for 
President :  at  large,  Francis  P.  Blair,  Sr.,  of  Mont- 


las  convention,  together  with  the  delegates  from 
Louisiana  and  Alabama,  who  had  been  refused  ad- 
mission, met  at  the  Maryland  Institute.  The  follow- 
ing States  were  represented  by  partial  or  full  delega- 
tions :  New  York,  Vermont,  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 


gomery  County,  and  Hon.  William  L.  Marshall,  Judge  j  Maryland,  Georgia,  Calfornia,  Oregon,  Florida,  Ala- 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Baltimore;  First  ;  bama,  Louisiana,  Missouri,  Texas,  Mississippi,  Mas- 
District,  James  Bryan,  delegate,  D.  W.  Orem,  alter-  j  sachusetts,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Arkansas,  Dela- 
nate;  Second  District,  James  Jeflries,  delegate,  W.  j  ware,  and  Pennsylvania.  Hon.  Caleb  Cushing  was 
P.  Ewing,  alternate ;  Third  District,  Francis  S.  Cork-  i  chosen  president,  and  after  a  harmonious  session  of  a 
ran,  delegate,  James  V.  Wagner,  alternate ;  Fourth  j  few  hours  John  C.  Breckenridge,  of  Kentucky,  was 
District,  William  E.  Coale,  delegate,  Jonathan  Shu-  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  and  Joseph  Lane,  of 
macker,  alternate ;    Fifth  District,  Charles  Lee  Ar-  Oregon,  for  the  Vice-Presidency. 


mour,  delegate,  E.  J.  Anan,  alternate  ;  Sixth  District, 
Montgomerj'  Blair,  delegate,  Frederick  Iddins,  alter- 


-On  the  26th  of  November  several  palmetto  flags 
vere  unfurled  in  Baltimore,  one  of  tliem  from  the 


nate.  They  also  adopted  resolutions  recommending  j  steeple  of  the  old  Liberty  engine-house,  on  Liberty 
the  delegates  in  the  National  Convention  to  cast  their  ,  Street  near  Fayette,  by  a  number  of  persons  belonging 
votes  as  a  unit,  and  instructing  them  to  advocate  the  j  to  a  branch  of  an  association  of  Southern  volunteers, 
passageof  a  resolution,  as  a  part  of  the  platform  of  the  |  —On  the  19th  of  December,  Hon.  A.  H.  Handy, 
Eepublican  party,  favoring  the  Jeftersonian  plan  of  i  commissioner  from  Mississippi  to  solicit  the  co-opera- 
colonizing  the  free  negroes  in  some  neighboring  coun-  tion  of  Maryland  in  the  Southern  movement,  arrived 
try  where,  under  the  protection  of  the  United  States,  i  in  Baltimore.  The  same  evening  he  addressed  the 
they  might  establish  a  free  and  independent  govern-  citizens  at  the  Maryland  Institute,  explaining  the 
ment.  policy  of  the  slave-holding  States.      On  the  22d  a 

—On  May  9th  the  Constitutional  Union  Conven-     large  meeting  of  citizens  was  held  at  the  Universalist 
tion,  composed  of  Old-Line  Whigs,  former  members  |  church,   northeast   corner  of   Calvert   and   Pleasant 
of  the  Know-Nothing  party,  etc.,  convened  at  the  old 
First  Presbyterian  church,  at  the  northwest  corner  of 
Fayette  and  North  Streets.     Twenty-two  States  were 


represented  in  this  convention,  California,  Florida, 
Iowa,  Louisiana,  Michigan,  New  Hampshire,  Rhode 
Island,  Oregon,  South  Carolina,  and  Wisconsin  not 
being  represented.  The  platform  was  "The  Union, the 
Constitution,  and  the  enforcement  of  the  laws."  On 
the  second  day  of  the  session  John  Bell,  of  Tennes- 
see, was  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  and  Edward 
Everett,  of  Massachusetts,  for  Vice-President.  The 
convention  was  called  to  order  by  J.  J.  Crittenden,  of 
Kentucky,  and  Governor  Hunt,  of  New  York,  was 
selected  as  permanent  chairman. 

— On  the  18th  of  June  the  National  Democratic  Con- 
vention reassembled  at  the  Front  Street  Theatre,  and 
after  a  stormy  session  Virginia,  on  the  22d,  with 
twenty-five  of  her  thirty  delegates,  withdrew  from  the 
convention ;  North  Carolina,  California,  and  Oregon 
followed  Virginia;  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  retired 
for  consultation ;  Georgia  refused  to  re-enter  the  con- 


Streets,  calling  for  the  assembling  of  the  Legislature 
to  define  the  position  of  Maryland  in  the  national 
crisis. 

1861.— With  the  opening  of  1861  Henry  Winter 
Davis,  a  member  of  the  National  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives from  Baltimore,  issued  an  address  in  favor 
of  the  Union.  Five  thousand  citizens  of  Baltimore 
signed  a  letter  addressed  to  Governor  Hicks  approv- 
ing his  course  in  refusing  to  convene  the  Legislature. 
The  list  was  headed  by  Hon.  John  P.  Kennedy. 
During  the  month  of  January,  however,  several 
prominent  citizens  publicly  expressed  their  views  in 
favor  of  co-operation  with  the  South,  among  whom 
were  Judge  John  C.  Legrand,  who  addressed  a  letter 
to  Eeverdy  Johnson  on  the  subject  in  answer  to  a 
Union  speech  made  by  the  latter. 

— James  Carroll,  former  Democratic  candidate  for 
Governor,  announced  his  desire  that  Maryland  should 
go  with  the  seceding  States.  Coleman  Yellott  de- 
clared for  a  convention,  and  later  in  the  month  John 
B.  Brooke,  president  of  the  Senate,  and  E.  G.  Kil- 


i-ention ;   Missouri  and  Maryland  prepared  to  carry  j  bourn,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  urged  the 

out  a  moiety  of  their  delegations.     On  the  23d,  Caleb  Governor  to  convene  the  Legislature  in  response  to 

Cushing,  the  president  of  the  convention,  and  a  ma-  ]  public  meetings. 

jority  of  the  Massachusetts  delegation  also  withdrew.  :  —On  January  10th  a  "  Conference  Convention," 
On  the  second  ballot  Stephen  A.  Douglas  received  I  representing  all  parts  of  the  State  and  all  shades  of 
18-ti  votes  out  of  194^  cast,  and  was  declared  the  opinion,  met  at  the  Law  Buildings  "  for  the  purpose 
choice  of  the  convention.  On  the  same  day  the  of  conferring  relative  to  the  threatening  condition  of 
Democratic  delegates  who  had  abandoned  the  Doug-  public  affairs."  Col.  John  Sellman,  of  Anne  Arundel, 
~ I  was  chosen  permanent  president,  and  David  M.  Ferine, 

ment  than  can  be  given  within  our  present  limits,  and  we  have  there-  |  ^f  Baltimore  County,  and  Wm.  F.  Goldsborough,  of 
fore  been  forced  reluctantly  to  content  ourselves  with  simply  a  chrono-  \    ~r~.        ■,       .       r^         ^  •  •  i      *-         rru  *.• 

logical  presentation  of  the  most  prominent  events  in  Baltimore  between   !    Dorchester  County,  Vice-pres.dents.      The  convention 

the  commencement  and  the  conclusion  of  the  Civil  War.  continued  in  session  several  days.     Resolutions  were 


HISTORY   OP   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


reported  by  S.  Teackle  Wallis  and  adopted  expressing 
devotion  to  the  Union,  concurrence  in  the  wisdom 
and  propriety  of  the  "  Crittenden  Compromise,"  and  re- 
questing the  Governor  to  issue  his  proclamation  call- 
ing on  the  people  to  vote  on  the  last  Monday  of  Jan- 
uary for  or  against  the  calling  of  a  convention,  and 
asking  that,  in  case  of  their  favoring  the  call,  he  would 
issue  his  proclamation  inviting  the  people  to  elect 
delegates  to  such  convention  on  the  second  Monday 
of  February.  Among  the  delegates  in  this  Conference 
Convention  were  David  M.  Ferine,  Col.  John  S.  Git- 
tings,  Jos.  Pope,  Pleasant  Hunter,  Thomas  Cockey, 
Robert  Taylor,  Fd.  D.  Lyon,  John  Q.  Hewlett,  Richard 
Grason, Richard  J.Gittings,  JohnRidgely,of  H.,  John 
Philpot,  Joseph  Walker,  and  Benjamin  Payne,  of 
Baltimore  County;  and  John  P.  Kennedy,  S.  Teackle 
Wallis,  Henry  M.  Warfield,  Adam  Denmead,  Dr.  A. 
C.  Robinson,  Wm.  McKim,  Geo.  A.  Eaton,  John  W. 
Garrett,  Dr.  J.  H.  Thomas,  Wm.  Devries,  Johns  Hop- 
kins, Peter  Morrell,  and  N.  T.  Dushane,  of  Baltimore 
City. 

On  the  evening  of  January  10th   an   immense 

Union  meeting  was  held  at  the  Maryland  Institute, 
indorsing  Governor  Hicks  and  condemning  South 
Carolina.  The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Wm. 
McKim,  and  Archibald  Stirling,  Sr.,  was  chosen  to 
preside.  Among  the  vice-presidents  were  John  P. 
Kennedy,  Thomas  Swann,  John  B.  Morris,  and  Co- 
lumbus O'Donnell.  Addresses  were  made  by  Wm. 
H.  Collins,  Augustus  W.  Bradford,  Reverdy  Jolmson, 
B.  Deford,  Wm.  E.  Hooper,  Joseph  Gushing,  Jr.,  and 
J.  A.  Pearre.  This  memorable  ma.ss-meeting  had  been 
arranged  at  a  preliminary  meeting  held  at  the  Law 
Buildings  on  the  29th  of  December,  1860,  and  was 
called  by  a  committee  consisting  of  Messrs.  Wm.  H. 
Collins,  Wm.  McKim,  Benjamin  Deford,  Wm.  E. 
Hooper,  and  Joseph  Cushing,  Jr. 

—On  the  r2th  of  January  three  companies  of 
United  States  light  artillery  from  Fort  Leavenworth 
arrived  in  Baltimore  and  occupied  Fort  McHenry. 

—On  January  16th  Marshal  Kane  wrote  to  the 
mayor  of  Washington  denying  the  rumor  that  armed 
associations  were  being  formed  in  Baltimore  for  the 
purpose  of  making  "  unlawful  demonstrations  at  the 
seat  of  government  on  the  4th  of  March." 

—January  30th,  two  companies  of  United  States 
artillery  from  Fort  Hamilton,  New  York,  arrived  in 
Baltimore  on  their  way  to  Washington. 

—On  the  1st  of  February  the  citizens  of  Baltimore 
who  were  "in  favor  of  restoring  the  Constitutional 
Union  of  the  States,  and  who  desire  the  position  of 
Maryland  in  the  existing  crisis  to  be  ascertained  by  a 
convention  of  the  people,"  assembled  in  town-meet- 
ing at  the  Maryland  Institute.  The  assemblage,  which 
was  an  immense  one,  was  called  together  by  anxiety 
with  regard  to  the  position  of  Maryland,  and  indig- 
uaticm  at  the  course  of  Governor  Hicks.  The  meet- 
ing was  called  to  order  by  Joshua  Vansaut,  and  Dr. 
A.  C.  Robinson  was  selected  as  president.     The  as- 


semblage was  addressed  by  the  chairman,  Dr.  Robin- 
son, Wm.  Henry  Norris,  R.  M.  McLane,  S.  Teackle 
Wallis,  ex-Governor  Lowe,  and  Mr.  Kilgour.  The 
meeting  invited  the  people  of  the  State  to  send  dele- 
gates to  a  convention  to  meet  in  Baltimore  on  the  18th 
of  February.  In  pursuance  of  this  call  the  State  Con- 
ference Convention  assembled  in  Baltimore,  in  the 
Universalist  church  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Calvert 
and  Saratoga  Streets,  on  the  day  appointed.  All  the 
counties  in  the  State  were  represented  by  gentlemen 
reflecting  all  shades  of  political  opinion.  It  was  or- 
ganized by  the  selection  of  Judge  Ezekiel  F.  Cham- 
bers, of  Kent  County,  as  president,  and  Col.  John  C. 
Groome,  of  Cecil,  David  M.  Ferine,  of  Baltimore 
County,  Henry  G.  S.  Key,  of  St.  Mary's,  J.  F.  Dash- 
iel,  of  Somerset,  and  Andrew  Rench,  of  Washington 
County,  as  vice-presidents.  After  a  session  of  two  days 
the  convention  unanimously  adopted  an  address  "To 
the  people  of  Maryland,"  and  a  set  of  resolutions,  and 
then  adjourned  to  meet  in  Baltimore  on  the  12th  of 
March  following. 

—During  the  night  of  Friday,  February  22d,  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  President-elect  of  the  United  States, 
passed  through  Baltimore  on  his  way  to  the  capital, 
having  come  from  Harrisburg,  Fa.,  by  a  circuitous 
route  through  Pliiladelphia.  On  Saturday,  the,23d,  the 
President's  family  arrived  in  Baltimore.  The  train 
was  supposed  to  contain  the  President  also,  and  was 
received  by  an  immense  crowd  with  groans  and  hoot- 
ings,  but  no  personal  violence  was  oftered  to  any  one. 
Nearly  the  entire  police  force  of  the  city,  under  com- 
mand of  Marshal  Kane,  were  on  duty  at  the  station. 
Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family  were  escorted  to  the  resi- 
dence of  John  S.  Gittings,  in  Mount  Vernon  Place. 
After  a  few  hours'  rest  she  left  for  Washington  on  the 
same  day.  It  is  evident,  from  all  the  facts  in  the 
case,  that  Mr.  Lincoln  altered  his  arrangements  at 
the  suggestion  of  Marshal  Kane,  "  to  avoid,"  as  the 
Baltimore  America))  of  Feb.  25,  1861,  stated,  "  the  at- 
tention of  his  political  friends  here,  whose  unpopu- 
larity with  the  great  mass  of  the  people  is  so  notori- 
ous." On  the  24th'  Marshal  Kane  published  an 
emphatic  denial  of  the  existence  in  Baltimore  of  a 
conspiracy  to  assassinate  or  offer  violence  to  the  Pres- 
ident, and  on  the  28th  the  Police  Board  formally 
stigmatized  the  rumors  as  "  utterly  destitute  of  any 
reasonable  foundation."' 
—On  the  12tli  of  March  the  State  Conference  Con- 
■  vention  reassembled  in  Baltimore,  and  on  the  second 
day  adjourned  to  await  the  action  of  Virginia,  after 
appointing  Messrs.  Walter  Mitchell,  E.  F.  Chambers, 
Wm.  Henry  Norris,  E.  L.  Lowe,  Isaac  D.  Jones,  and 
J.  Hanson  Thomas  to  visit  the  Virginia  convention, 
then  in  session,  and  urge  that  body  to  recommend  a 
border  State  convention. 

— On  the  21st  of  March  a  company  of  about  one 
hundred  men,  under  command  of  Robert  E.  Haslett, 

'  See  full  particulars  in  the  writer's  "  History  of  Maryland,"  iii.,  p.  387. 


THE   CIVIL   WAK. 


left  Baltimore  by  tne  Norfolk  boat  en  route  for  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  to  enlist  in  the  army  of  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy. The  company  was  organized  by  Mr.  Has- 
lett  and  Thomas  J.  Goodrich,  and  was  composed  of 
unmarried  men  over  nineteen  years  of  age.  On  the 
28th  the  Norfolk  boat  carried  a  number  of  other  vol- 
unteers for  the  Southern  army. 

— At  a  late  hour  on  Friday,  April  12th,  a  dispatch 
was  received  from  Charleston,  S.  C,  announcing  that 
the  attack  upon  Fort  Sumter  had  begun.  This  an- 
nouncement was  followed  by  the  most  intense  excite- 
ment, which  continued  until  the  end  of  the  month.^ 

— On  Saturday,  the  13th,  the  newspaper  offices  and 
the  streets  in  the  vicinity  were  crowded  with  thousands 
of  people  throughout  the  entire  day.  As  the  crowd 
increased  the  excitement  became  more  inten.se,  but 
no  difficulty  took  place  until  about  eleven  o'clock, 
when  a  young  man  made  his  appearance  in  the 
neighborhood  of  South  Street,  wearing  upon  his  hat 
a  Southern  cockade.  He  was  saluted  with  hisses  and 
groans  by  the  Union  men,  who  raised  shouts  of  "Take 
it  off !"  "  Hurrah  for  the  Union  !"  etc.  About  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  it  was  announced  that  Fort 
Sumter  was  on  fire,  and  the  Union  men  assembled 
about  the  news-offices  in  great  numbers,  and  made 
loud  threats  against  any  one  sympathizing  with  the 
South.  In  spite  of  these  threats,  however,  the  South- 
ern sympathizers  gathered  in  force,  and  for  some  time 
serious  difficulties  were  apprehended.  Through  the 
exertions  of  the  police  quiet  was  partially  restored, 
but  about  four  o'clock  the  excitement  was  revived  by 
the  appearance  of  another  cockade  upon  Baltimore 
Street.  A  portion  of  the  crowd  made  a  rush  for  the 
party  wearing  it,  who  proved  to  be  a  gentleman  from 
North  Carolina  who  was  stopping  at  Barnum's  Hotel, 
and  cries  of  "Go  in,  Union  men!"  "Eally,  minute- 
men  !"  and  other  riotous  shouts  were  heard.  The 
crowd  pressed  rapidly  around  the  stranger,  and  al- 
though he  was  immediately  surrounded  by  a  number 
of  sympathizing  friends,  he  was  forced  up  Baltimore 
Street  until  opposite  the  clothing  establishment  of 
Messrs.  Noah  Walker  &  Co.,  when  a  decided  stand 
was  made,  and  with  the  assistance  of  Sergt.  McComas 
of  the  police  department  the  gentleman  was  enabled 
to  return  to  the  hotel.  On  Sunday,  the  14th,  the  first 
Confederate  flag  displayed  in  the  harbor  was  hoisted 
on  the  bark  "Fanny  Crenshaw,"  lying  at  Chase's 
wharf,  at  the  foot  of  Thames  and  Caroline  Streets. 
While  all  hands  were  away  except  a  boy  a  party  of 
men  went  on  board  and  made  him  lower  the  flag, 
which,  however,  was  run  up  again  by  the  captain  on 
his  return,  and  kept  flying  the  rest  of  that  day  and  the 

1  As  an  illustration  of  the  position  occupied  by  Maryland  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  contest,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  April,  1861,  the  United 
States  and  Confederate  States  governments  were  both  recruiting  in  Balti- 
more at  oue  and  the  same  time,  the  Federal  authorities  having  a  recruit- 
ing agency  on  Camden  Street  near  Charles,  and  the  Confederates  one  in 
Marsh  Market  space.  On  the  21st  of  January,  1861,  the  schooner  "  Na- 
hant"  was  entered  at  the  custom-house,  presenting  her  clearance  and 
manifest  fi'om  the  authorities  of  the  "  Republic  of  South  Carolina." 


whole  of  the  next.  On  the  15th  another  small  party 
of  volunteers  left  Baltimore  in  the  "  Louisiana"  for 
Charleston  via  Norfolk.  On  the  same  date  John 
Thompson  Mason,  collector  of  the  port;  Levi  K. 
Bowen,  naval  officer ;  Dr.  Findley,  surveyor  of  the 
port ;  Gen.  John  W.  Watkins,  United  States  marshal 
for  the  district  of  Maryland,  and  others  resigned,  and 
the  following  Federal  appointments  for  Baltimore  were 
made  by  the  new  administration :  Henry  W.  Hofl'- 
man,  of  Alleghany  County,  collector;  Francis  S.  Cork- 
ran,  of  Baltimore  County,  naval  officer;  French  S. 
Evans,  deputy  naval  officer ;  William  H.  Purnell,  of 
Worcester  County,  postmaster ;  William  P.  Ewing, 
of  Cecil,  naval  agent;  William  L.  Marshall,  judge  of 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Baltimore  City,  sur- 
veyor ;  Frederick  Schley,  of  Frederick  County,  ap- 
praiser at  large ;  John  F.  Meredith  and  Charles  P. 
Montague,  appraisers ;  Washington  Bonifant,  of  Mont- 
gomery County,  marshal;  and  Arthur  W.  Machen, 
of  Baltimore  County,  district  attorney.  On  the  17th 
Mayor  Brown,  by  proclamation,  made  an  earnest  ap- 
peal for  peace  and  order,  but  with  little  effect. 

— The  18th  was  a  day  of  great  excitement.  At 
noon  a  small  party  of  young  men  sympathizing  with 
the  South,  and  in  honor  of  the  secession  of  Virginia 
on  the  day  before,  hoisted  a  Confederate  flag  near  the 
the  Marine  Observatory  upon  Federal  Hill,  and  began 
a  salute  of  one  hundred  guns,  but  on  the  third  round 
they  were  driven  off,  the  cannon  seized,  and,  with  the 
powder,  thrown  into  the  basin,  while  the  gun-carriage 
was  broken  up  and  the  flag  torn  into  shreds.  Later 
in  the  day  another  Confederate  flag  was  hoisted  in  the 
northern  section  of  the  city  and  saluted  with  one  hun- 
dred guns.  About  two  o'clock  of  the  same  day  a  force 
of  about  six  hundred  United  States  troops  and  Penn- 
sylvania volunteers  arrived  in  the  city.  They  were 
greeted  with  hisses  and  groans  from  the  people  on 
their  march  through  the  streets,  and  there  would  un- 
doubtedly have  been  a  serious  collision  but  for  the 
efficient  police  arrangements.  Numerous  outbreaks 
occurred  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  newspaper-offices 
during  the  day,  and  in  the  evening  a  meeting  of  the 
States'  Rights  Convention  was  held  in  Taylor's  build- 
ing, on  Fayette  Street  near  Calvert,  and  where,  it  is 
]  alleged,  very  strong  ground  was  taken  against  the 
passage  of  any  more  troops  through  Baltimore,  and 
armed  resistance  threatened.  A  meeting  was  held  at 
the  same  building  in  the  morning  by  the  "  National 
I  Volunteer  Association,"  Hon.  T.  Parkin  Scott  pre- 
'  siding,  at  which  strong  Southern  speeches  were  made. 
Proclamations  were  issued  by  the  Governor  and  mayor 
with  a  view  of  allaying  the  excitement,  and  a  dispatch 
was  sent  to  Governor  Curtin,  of  Pennsylvania,  stating 
that  the  feeling  was  intense  in  Baltimore,  and  that  no 
more  troops  could  pass  through  the  city.  Such  was 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  Baltimore  when  the  memor- 
able 19th  of  April  arrived  ;  with  it  came  the  news  of 
the  destruction  of  the  Harper's  Ferry  arsenal  and  the 
approach  of  additional  forces  from   the  North,  pro- 


130 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ceeding  to  the  defense  of  Washington.  The  occur- 
rences of  that  day  are  given  in  detail  elsewhere  under 
the  head  of  "Mobs  and  Riots."  On  the  afternoon  of 
the  riot  Messrs.  H.  Lennox  Bond,  John  C.  Brune,  and 
George  W.  Dobbin  were  sent  to  request  the  President 
not  to  permit  the  passage  of  any  more  troops  through 
Baltimore,  and  at  four  o'clock  a  public  meeting  was 
held  in  Monument  Square,  which  was  addressed  by 
Dr.  Alexander  C.  Eobinscm,  Mayor  Brown,  William 
P.  Preston,  S.  Teackle  Wallis,  John  Wetbered,  Charles 
Marshall,  Robert  M.  McLane,  Marcus  Duvall,  George 
M.  Gill,  and  Governor  Hicks.  In  the  evening  it 
was  reported  that  more  Northern  troops  were  on  their 
way  to  the  city,  and  after  a  consultation  between  Mar- 
shal Kane,  the  mayor.  Governor  Hicks,  and  ex-Gov- 
ernor Lowe,  it  was  determined  to  burn  the  railroad 
bridges  of  the  Northern  Central  and  Philadelphia, 
Wilmington  and  Baltimore  roads  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  city.  The  necessary  order  was  accordingly  given, 
and  about  half-past  two  o'clock  Saturday  morning, 
the  20th,  two  parties  left  the  city,  one,  consisting  of  a 
squad  of  police,  accompanied  by  one  company  of  the 
City  Guard  under  command  of  Capt.  J.  G.  Johannes, 
and  a  number  of  armed  citizens  who  volunteered  their 
services,  for  the  Northern  Central  Railroad ;  the  other, 
with  a  posse  of  police-officers  and  one  company  of 
tlie  Baltimore  City  Guard  under  Col.  Kane,  for  the 
Philadelphia  road.  The  first  party  destroyed  the 
bridge  at  Melvale,  about  five  miles  from  the  city,  but 
the  citizens  not  feeling  satisfied  with  this  proceeded 
farther  and  destroyed  the  bridge  at  the  Relay  House 
and  the  one  near  Cockeysville.  The  second  party 
burnt  the  bridges  over  the  Bush  and  Gunpowder 
Elvers  and  Harris'  Creek.  The  telegraph-poles  and 
wires  were  also  cut  and  destroyed  in  several  places  on 
both  roads.  On  Saturday,  the  20th  of  April,  another 
committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Anthony  Kennedy 
and  J.  Morrison  Harris,  was  sent  to  Washington  to 
secure  more  satisfactory  guarantees  from  the  President 
with  reference  to  the  passage  of  troops  through  the 
city,  and  active  preparations  for  defense  were  con- 
tinued. On  Sunday  morning  Mayor  Brown  and  Gov- 
ernor Hicks  were  summoned  to  Washington  to  con- 
sult the  President  with  reference  to  the  situation,  and 
the  Governor  being  absent,  the  mayor  set  out  for  that 
city  at  an  early  liour  accompanied  by  Messrs.  George 
W.  Dobbin,  John  C.  Brune,  and  S.  Teackle  Wallis. 
While  the  mayor  was  absent  a  man  on  liorseback 
dashed  up  to  the  marshal's  office  bringing  intelligence 
that  five  thousand  Northern  troops  were  at  Cockeys- 
ville, fifteen  miles  distant,  and  were  marching  direct 
for  the  city.  The  startling  announcement  was  very 
soon  spread  abroad  by  the  newspaper-offices,  and  in  a 
few  moments  the  whole  city  was  on  fire  with  excite- 
ment. The  church  bells  were  ringing  for  morning 
service  when  the  quick  roil  of  the  drums  at  the  vari- 
ous armories  was  suddenly  heard  calling  the  forces  to 
arms,  and  its  effect  was  instantaneous.  Men  rushed 
from  the  churclies  to  the  armories;  women  hurried 


shrieking  through   the   streets,   supposing  that  the 
enemy  was  already  in  the  city.     Some  of  the  churches 
were  deserted,  in  others  the  services  were  cut  short, 
and  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes  after  the  first  alarm 
the  streets  were  filled  with  people  flying  to  arms  to 
I  meet  the  "  invaders."     The  old  "  Town  Clock"  bell 
soon  rang  an  alarm,  and  by  eleven  o'clock  Holliday 
Street,  from  Baltimore  Street  to  the  old  City  Hall, 
and  several  adjacent  streets  were  packed  with  a  dense 
mass   of  citizens   and  soldiers.     They  were   rapidly 
enrolled  in  companies  of  forty,  and  electing  their 
captains,  were  marched  to  the  headquarters  assigned 
them  to  await  further  orders.     Hundreds  of  persons 
made  their  appearance  at  the  marshal's  office  armed 
i  with  small  bird  and  heavy  duck  guns,  bowie-knives, 
j  pistols,  and  every  description  of  weapon.     After  some 
five  hours  spent  in  hasty  preparations  the  forces  were 
all  collected,  under  command  of  Col.  Isaac  R.  Trimble, 
■  and  ready  for  a  move ;  and  at  two  o'clock  several  can- 
non were  taken  as  far  as  Eager  Street,  near  Green- 
mount  Avenue,  where  they  awaited  the  arrival  of  the 
remainder  of  the  forces  stationed  on  Holliday  Street. 
About  five  o'clock  the  mayor  sent  a  telegram  to  John 
I  W.  Garrett,  saying  "  we  have  again  seen  the  Presi- 
I  dent.  Gen.  Scott,  Secretary  of  War,  and  other  mem- 
j  bers  of  the  cabinet,  and  the  troops  are  ordered  to 
j  return  forthwith  to  Harrisburg.     A  messenger  goes 
'  with  us  from  Gen.  Scott.     We  return  immediately." 
Upon  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence  the  militia  and 
volunteers  jiromptly  dispersed,  and  quiet  was  restored. 
On  Monday  the  volunteers  and  militia  again  assem- 
bled, and  were  thoroughly  organized  for  immediate 
action  whenever  their  services  should  be  required. 
— On  the  24th  of  April  a  special  election  was  held 
I  in  Baltimore  for  the  selection  of  delegates  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  which  had  been  summoned  by  the  Gov- 
ernor to  meet  in  extra  session  at  Frederick,  Annapolis 
being  in  the  hands  of  the  Federal  troops.     But  one 
ticket  was  presented,  and  9244  votes  were   cast  for 
i  Messrs.  John  C.  Brune,  Ross  Winans,  Henry  M.  War- 
I  field,  J.   Hanson  Thomas,  T.  P.-vrkin   Scott,  H.  M. 
I  Morfitt,  S.  Teackle  Wallis,  Charles  H.  Pitts,  William 
I  G.  Harrison,  and  Lawrence  Sangston,  the  "States' 
I  Rights"  candidates. 

— On  the  26th  of  April  the  propeller  "Express"' 
landed  troops  and  munitions  of  war  at  Forts  Carroll 
and  McHenry.  On  the  same  day  an  order  was  issued 
by  the  Board  of  Police  Commissioners  forbidding  the 
display  of  flags,  and  some  seventeen  persons  on  Fed- 
eral Hill  were  arrested  who  refused  to  lower  the  United 
States  flag.  On  the  29th  there  was  a  grand  parade 
I  of  the  First  Light  Division  of  the  munici])al  forces, 
consisting  of  the  First  and  Second  Brigades,  under 
command  of  Maj.-Gen.  Steuart. 

—On  the  1st  of  May,  Henry  W.  Hoffman  entered 
upon  his  duties  as  collector,  and  the  United  States 
flag  was  hoisted  upon  the  custom-house.  About  two 
o'clock  a  young  man  cut  the  lialyards  with  his  pocket- 
knife.    He  was  immediatelv  arrested,  and  would  have 


THE    CIVIL  WAR. 


131 


been  hung  by  the  uiob  but  for  the  protection  of  the 
police.  On  the  .same  day  the  order  of  the  Police 
Board  forbidding  the  removal  of  provisions  from  the 
city,  which  had  been  in  force  during  the  latter  part 
of  April,  was  rescinded. 

— On  the  4th  of  May,  Maj.  Morris,  commander  of 
Fort  McHenry,  refused  to  obey  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  issued  by  Judge  Wm.  F.  Giles,  of  the  United 
States  District  Court,  for  the  purpose  of  releasing 
from  the  United  States  service  an  enlisted  soldier 
named  John  George  Mullen,  who  had  petitioned  for 
release  on  the  ground  of  minority.  On  the  same 
date  an  immense  meeting  was  held  in  Baltimore  to 
protest  against  Coleman  Yellott's  bill  to  appoint  a 
Board  of  Public  Safety.  The  powers  proposed  to  be 
given  to  the  board  were  very  great,  and  included  the 
expenditure  of  an  appropriation  of  two  millions  of 
dollars  for  the  defense  of  the 
State  and  the"  entire  control 
of  the  military,  including  the 
removal  and  appointment  of 
commissioned  officers.  It  was 
strongly  pressed  in  the  Legis- 
lature, but  finally  failed  to  pass. 
The  proposed  measure  created 
intense  opposition  among  Union 
men,  as  well  as  among  some 
Southern  sympathizers,  being 
regarded  as  a  mere  substitute 
for  an  ordinance  of  secession. 

—On  the  5th  of  May  a  Fed- 
eral force  under  Gen.  Butler 
took  possession  of  the  Relay 
House,  at  thg  junction  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Eailroad 
and  the  Washington  branch, 
about  six  miles  from  Baltimore.' 

— On  the  9th  of  May  a  large 
body  of  troops  that  had  been 
transported  from  Perryville  by 

steamboat    landed    at    Locust  ^ ^ 

Point,  and  being  transferred  to  —Cl 

the  cars,  were  immediately  car- 
ried to  Washington.    There  was 

no  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  people  or  the  au- 
thorities of  Maryland  to  interfere  with  the  troops. 
The  mayor  and  a  large  police  force  were  present. 


and  a  large  crowd  of  spectators  on  the  city  side,  who 
appeared  to  have  been  attracted  by  curiosity  rather 
than  a  purpose  to  obstruct  the  passage  of  the  troops. 
On  the  13th  the  order  prohibiting  the  display  of  flags 
was  rescinded,  and  on  the  night  of  the  13th  Maj.- 
Gen.  Butler  entered  Baltimore  with  a  large  portion 
of  his  command  and  took  possession  of  Federal  Hill, 
no  one  offering  the  slightest  resistance.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day  he  issued  a  "  proclamation,"  which  was 
generally  observed.  The  troops  at  Federal  Hill,  after 
a  few  days'  stay,  returned  to  the  Eelay  House  ;  but  the 
position  was  held  by  some  of  the  new  regiments,  and 
from  that  time  a  considerable  force  was  kept  in  Bal- 
timore until  the  end  of  the  war.  In  his  proclamation 
Gen.  Butler  forbade  the  transportation  of  supplies  to 
the  South,  and  all  assemblages  of  military  organiza- 
tions.    He  forbade  also  the  display  of  any 


1  While  stationed  there  one  of  the  soldiers  who  had  partaken  of  too 
much  pie  and  beer  was  taken  sick,  and  this  important  fact  Gen.  Bntler 
thought  momentous  enough  to  mention  in  a  special  order  (May  8th), 
in  which  he  alleged  that  he  "  had  found  well  authenticated  evidence" 
that  the  man  had  "been  poisoned  by  means  of  strychnine  administered 
in  the  food  brought  into  the  camp."  He  then  continued,  in  characteristic 
style:  "Are  our  few  insane  enemies  among  the  loyal  men  of  Maryland 
prepared  to  wage  war  upon  us  in  this  manner?  Do  they  know  the  ter- 
rible lesson  of  warfare  they  are  teaching  us?  Can  it  he  that  they  re- 
alize the  fact  that  we  can  put  an  agent,  with  a  word,  into  every  house- 
hold, armed  with  this  terrible  weapon  ?"  Though  most  strongly  posted 
and  forniidably  armed,  the  forces  at  Camp  Relay  were  apprehensive  of 
an  attack  by  the  "  roughs"  of  Baltimore,  and  judged  it  pnident  to  apply 
to  the  mayor  for  the  protection  of  the  police. 


FOET  FEDERAL  HILL  IN  1861. 

flags  or  banners,  and  directed  all  State  military  offi- 
cers to  report  to  him.  On  the  14th,  "  for  his  hazard- 
ous occupation  of  Baltimore  without  the  knowledge" 
and  approbation  of  Gen.  Scott,  Gen.  Butler  was  re- 
called to  Washington,  and  Gen.  Cadwallader  ap- 
pointed in  his  stead.  As  soon  as  he  was  withdrawn 
the  post  on  Federal  Hill  was  amply  garrisoned,  and 
strong  fortifications,  mounting  upwards  of  fifty  heavy 
guns,  and  commanding  the  greater  portion  of  Balti- 
more and  Fort  McHenry,  were  thrown  up  by  the 
Fifth  New  York  Zouave  Regiment,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Col.  Brewerton,  of  the  United  States  Engineer 
Corps.  This  fort  inclosed  the  entire  crown  of  the 
hill.  The  angles  of  the  bastions  were  so  arranged 
that  the  guns  mounted  on  them  could  rake  by  an  en- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


filading  fire  all  the  .streets  by  which  the  hill  could  be 
approached.  When  completed  the  work  was  a  very 
strong  one,  its  huge  cannon  in  close  proximity  to 
South  Baltimore,  and  effectually  overlooking  the  city 
across  the  basin  and  the  shipping  below.  A  number  l 
of  other  fort.s  were  afterwards  constructed,  that  of 
Fort  Marshall  being  the  chief,  a  very  strong  work  to 
the  east  of  Patterson  Park,  and  Fort  Worthington, 
northeast  of  the  Maryland  Hospital.  These  were 
fully  mounted  and  garrisoned.  Besides  these  regular 
works,  a  number  of  others  were  at  different  times 
erected,  and  completely  defended  the  city.  These 
were  numbered,  beginning  at  the  head  of  Baltimore 
Street,  on  the  estate  of  Gen.  George  H.  Steuart, 
whose  property  at  that  point  was  confiscated,  and  his 
mansion  and  extensive  grounds  devoted  to  the  use  of 
a  hospital,  known  as  the  Jervis  Hospital.  Adjoining, 
on  a  ridge  overlooking  a  wide  extent  of  country,  an 
extensive  fortification  was  reared,  the  lines  of  which 
may  still  be  traced.  This  was  Fort  No.  1,  and  these 
earthworks,  regularly  numbered,  encircled  Baltimore. 
Many  of  them  were  never  used  at  all,  and  a  number 
of  the  smaller  ones,  within  what  has  now  become  an  I 
inhabited  part  of  the  city,  have  since  disappeared. 
Fort  No.  4  stood  at  the  intersection  of  Gilmor  Street  ' 
and  the  Liberty  road,  and  No.  5  is  now  distinguished 
as  the  little  eminence  just  within  the  Madison  Ave- 
nue gate  of  Druid  Hill  Park.  These  two  forts  were 
garrisoned  after  the  raid  of  1864.  No  guns  were  ever 
mounted  in  No.  5,  although  several  pieces  of  heavy 
ordnance  were  sent  out,  the  company  of  the  Veteran 
Eeserve  Corps  occupying  it  only  a  few  weeks.  Fort 
No.  7  was  the  extensive  work  near  Mount  Royal  res- 
ervoir, and  was  garrisoned  for  a  few  days  also  in 
July,  1864,  by  the  Union  Club  Company.  Two  heavy 
pieces  of  cannon  were  sent  out  there,  but  not  mounted, 
and  shot  and  shell  provided.  In  addition  to  these 
strong  lines  of  defense,  there  were  numerous  great 
hospitals  in  different  sections  of  the  city,  as  well  as 
camps  and  barracks. 

— May  14th  proved  an  eventful  day  for  Baltimore.  ' 
An  immense  Union  meeting  was  held  in  East  Bal- 
timore, James  T.  Randolph  presiding,  and  the  prin-  j 
cipal  addresses  were  delivered  by  John  L.  Thomas, 
Jr.,   John   T.   Wilmot,   and    Dr.   Stafford,"  of  Caro- 
line County.     A   schooner  loaded  with  pikes  from 
Winans'  shop  and  Mini^rifles  were  seized.     Bishop 
Whittingham  issued  a  circular  to  the  clergy  of  his  , 
diocese  forbidding  the  omission  of  the  prayer  for  the  ; 
President  in  the  regular  church  service.    On  the  same  t 
day  the  Legislature  adjourned,  and  Ross  Winans,  a  ! 
delegate  from  Baltimore,  was  arrested  at  the  Relay 
House  and  confined  in  Fort  McHenry.     He  was  re- 
leased on  the  16th  without- an  examination.     On  the 
day  after  his  arrest  he  was  nominated  for  Congress, 
but  his  name  was  subsequently  withdrawn.     On  the 
14th,  Col.  Hare,  with  twenty-eight  of  the  New  York 
volunteers,  marched  to  the  warehouse  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  Gav  and  Second  Streets,  where  a  large  num- 


ber of  muskets  and  munitions  of  war  were  stored,  and 
removed  them  to  Fort  McHenry.  Over  sixty  wagon- 
loads  of  arms  were  thus  secured,  consisting  of  about 
two  thousand  nine  hundred  muskets,  of  which  about 
two  thousand  were  of  the  old  flint-lock  pattern,  and 
three  thousand  five  hundred  pikes  manufactured  in 
Baltimore  for  the  authorities.  They  were  all  the 
property  of  the  city. 

— On  the  21st  another  large  seizure  of  arms  belong- 
ing to  the  city,  and  stored  at  the  McKim  House,  was 
made  by  order  of  the  military  authorities.  On  the 
25th  of  May,  John  Merryman,  of  Baltimore  County, 
was  arrested  at  his  residence  and  removed  to  Fort 
McHenry,  charged  with  treason.  On  the  following 
day  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  issued  by  Chief  Jus- 
tice Taney,  directed  to  Gen.  Greorge  Cadwallader,  re- 
turnable Monday,  May  27th.  Upon  that  day  Col. 
Lee,  aide-de-camp  of  Gen.  Cadwallader,  appeared  in 
court  and  read  a  letter  from  his  commanding  officer 
declining  to  obey  the  writ.  The  chief  justice  then 
issued  an  attachment  against  Gen.  Cadwallader,  but 
the  deputy  marshal  was  refused  admission  to  Fort 
McHenry,  and  was  not  allowed  to  serve  the  writ. 

— During  the  month  of  June,  and  until  towards  the 
end  of  it,  there  was  .some  lull  in  the  intense  excite- 
ment in  Baltimore.  On  the  4th,  Henry  Winter  Da- 
vis presented  to  Col.  Morehead's  regiment,  encamped 
at  Patterson  Park,  an  American  flag  which  was  pur- 
chased by  subscription  by  the  ladies  of  East  Balti- 
more.   On  the  5th  a  demand  was  served  upon  Messrs. 

D.  J.  Foley  &  Bro.  by  United  States  Marshal  Boni- 
fant,  under  instructions  from  Mr.  Cameron,  Secretary 
of  War,  calling  for  the  immediate  delivery  of  all  the 
powder  of  the  Hazard  Powder  Company,  of  Enfield, 
Conn.,  which  was  stored  in  the  powder-house  of  the 
company  at  lower  Canton.  About  sixty  thousand 
pounds,  or  three  thousand  five  hundred  kegs,  valued  at 
sixteen  thousand  dollars,  were  surrendered  to  the  mar- 
shal. Messrs.  A.  L.  Webb  &  Co.,  Baltimore  agents  of 
Dupont's  powder-mills,  in  Wilmington,  Del.,  were 
served  with  a  similar  notice,  and  a  small  amount  in 
their  charge  turned  over  to  the  United  States.  The  rifle 
manufactory  of  Messrs.  Merrill  &  Thomas,  engaged 
in  manufacturing  a  breech-loading  rifle  in  the  Sun 
iron  building,  was  seized  by  the  United  States  mar- 
shal, who  also  took  possession  of  a  number  of  finished 
arms  from  their  warehouse.  No.  239  Baltimore  Street. 
About  fifty  men  were  employed  in  the  manufacture 
of  the  arms.  On  the  7th  a  search  for  powder  and 
arms  was  made  among  the  tombs  in  Greenmount 
Cemetery  by  a  detailed  party  of  Federal  soldiers, 
nothing,  however,  being  discovered.  The  cemetery 
had  been  strictly  searched  once  before.  The  same  day 
Governor  Hicks  issued  a  proclamation  ordering  all 
tlie  State  arms  and  equipments  to  be  delivered  to  Col. 

E.  R.  Petherbridge,  the  agent  appointed  to  receive 
them,  the  proclamation  being  "  to  warn  and  enjoin 
upon  all  citizens  of  Baltimore,  the  loyal  as  well  as  the 
disloyal,  having  in   their  hands  and  jwssession  any 


THE    CIVIL    WAR. 


arras  and  accoutrements  belonging  to  the  State,  to 
surrender  and  deliver  up  the  same." 

— On  the  8th  the  Southern  ladies  of  Baltimore  pre- 
sented to  the  Maryland  Guard  in  Richmond  a  Con- 
federate flag,  which  was  carried  through  the  lines  by- 
Mrs.  Augustus  McLaughlin. 

— On  the  10th  of  June,  Maj.-Gen.  Nathaniel  P. 
Banks,  of  Massachusetts,  was  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Department  of  Annapolis,  with  head- 
quarters at  Baltimore,  relieving  Gen.  Gadwallader. 

— On  the  13th  of  June  the  election  for  the  special 
session  of  Congress  called  by  President  Lincoln  to 
meet  on  the  4th  of  July  took  place,  and  Henry  May, 
the  Independent  and  Conservative  L^nion  candidate, 
was  elected  over  Henry  Winter  Davis  by  a  majority 
of  2045. 

— At  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  of 
June,  Marshal  Kane  was  arrested  by  a  body  of  mili- 
tary and  taken  to  Fort  McHenry,  where  he  was 
confined.  On  the  same  day  Gen.  Banks  issued  a 
proclamation  infoi-ming  the  citizens  that  by  virtue  of 
authority  vested  in  him,  and  in  obedience  to  orders 
as  commanding  general  of  the  military  department, 
he  had  arrested  and  detained  in  custody  Col.  George 
P.  Kane,  marshal  of  police.  Disclaiming  all  purpose, 
and  announcing  that  his  instructions  did  not  authorize 
him  "to  interfere  in  any  manner  with  the  legitimate 
government  of  the  people  of  Baltimore  or  Maryland," 
Gen.  Banks  went  on  to  charge  the  existence  in  his 
department  of  combinations  of  war  organized  for 
resistance  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  pro- 
viding hidden  deposits  of  arms  and  ammunition, 
encouraging  contraband  traffic  with  the  enemies  of 
the  country,  and  stealthily  waitiug  opportunity  to 
combine  their  means  and  forces  with  those  in  re- 
bellion against  the  authority  of  the  government. 
Of  these  combinations  he  charged  that  Col.  Kane 
was  "believed"  to  be  cognizant,  and  that  he  was 
"  both  witness  and  protector  to  the  transactions  and 
parties  engaged  therein,"  and  consequently  could  not 
be  regarded  by  the  government  as  "  otherwise  than 
at  the  head  of  an  armed  force  hostile  to  its  authority, 
and  acting  in  concert  with  its  avowed  enemies." 
The  proclamation  then  announced  that  "  for  this 
reason"  Gen.  Banks,  "superseding"  Col.  Kane's  "offi- 
cial authority,  and  that  of  the  Commissioners  of 
Police,"  had  arrested  and  detained  the  marshal ;  and 
"  in  further  pursuance  of  my  instructions,"  he  added, 
"  I  have  appointed  for  the  time  being  Col.  John  R. 
Kenly,  of  the  First  Regiment  of  Maryland  volun- 
teers, provost-marshal,  with  the  aid  and  assistance 
of  the  subordinate  officers  of  the  police  department." 
On  the  same  morning  Col.  Kenly  proceeded  to  the 
office  of  the  Board  of  Police,  read  to  them  the  procla- 
mation, and,  in  obedience  to  the  orders  of  Gen.  Banks, 
notified  them  that  their  official  authority  was  "  super- 
seded." The  president  of  the  board  protested  against 
the  proceedings,  and  asked  time  for  reflection.  Col. 
Kenly  replied  that  his  orders  were  to  enter  imme- 


diately upon  the  discharge  of  the  duties  assigned 
him,  and  that  he  should  proceed  at  once  to  the  Cen- 
tral Police  Station,  and  demand  there  the  surrender  of 
the  police  authority  exercised  by  Deputy  Marshal 
Gitford.  He  then  proceeded  thither,  followed  very 
soon  after  by  President  Howard  and  Mayor  Brown, 
who,  after  the  demand  had  been  made  upon  the 
deputy  marshal,  directed  that  officer  to  offer  no  oppo- 
sition to  the  demand,  but  to  acquiesce  in  it  for  the 
time,  until  the  board  had  an  opportunity  to  draw  up 
and  utter  a  formal  protest  against  the  alleged  "usur- 
pations." In  compliance  with  this  request,  the  deputy 
marshal  and  the  police  captains,  who  had  been  sum- 
moned, expressed  their  readiness  to  receive  the  orders 
of  Provost-Marshal  Kenly,  who  forthwith  entered 
on  his  duties.  Col.  Kenly  then  issued  an  order  "  to 
the  officers  and  men  of  the  police  force  of  Baltimore," 
notifying  them  of  his  assuming  command,  and  direct- 
ing them  to  continue  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties 
subject  to  his  orders  and  under  the  existing  regula- 
tions. Matters  being  thus  arranged,  the  Board  of 
Police  Commissioners,  unable  to  resist  the  military 
power  of  the  government,  protested  (the  mayor 
uniting)  in  a  dignified  and  becoming  manner,  as  offi- 
cers of  the  State  of  Maryland,  against  the  "arbitrary 
subversion  of  its  laws  and  government,"  and  refused 
to  recognize  the  right  of  the  officers  and  men  of  their 
police  force  to  receive  orders  or  directions  from  any 
authority  but  their  own.  Having  thus  asserted  in 
the  only  mode  left  to  them  the  supremacy  of  the  laws 
of  Maryland  within  their  legitimate  sphere,  the  board 
refrained  from  all  interference  with  the  proceedings 
of  the  provost-marshal,  who  at  once  commenced  the 
appointment  of  individuals  at  his  discretion  to  as- 
sume the  places  and  perform  the  functions  of  the  old 
force,  which  was  discharged.  After  "  superseding" 
the  subordinates  of  the  Police  Board,  Gen.  Banks 
proceeded  further,  and  removed  the  officers  in  charge 
of  the  police  and  fire-alarm  telegraph,  and  substituted 
appointees  of  his  own  in  their  stead. 

Gen.  John  R.  Kenly,  who  was  thus  appointed  to 
the  position  of  provost-marshal,  was  an  officer  dis- 
tinguished for  gallantry  displayed  on  the  fields  of 
battle  in  two  wars.  He  was  born  in  the  city  of  Bal- 
timore in  1822.  His  father,  Edward  Kenly,  emigrated 
to  this  country  from  England  and  settled  in  Harford 
County ;  his  mother  was  a  Reese,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  Society  of  Friends.  Gen.  Kenly  received  the  educa- 
tion obtainable  at  the  private  schools,  and  entered  his 
father's  counting-house,  where  he  remained  until  his 
father  retired  from  business.  Studying  law  with  John 
S.  McCuUoch  and  James  M.  Buchanan,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1845.  The  Mexican  war  inter- 
rupted his  practice,  and  under  the  spur  of  the  patriotic 
ardor  of  those  days  he  raised  a  company  of  volunteers, 
and  June  2,  1846,  joined  the  battalion  of  Lieut.-Col. 
Wm.  H.  Watson  for  twelve  months'  service.  In  the 
"  Eagle  Artillery"  of  Baltimore  he  had  previously 
cultivated  the  ardor  for  military  service,  and  risen  to 


134 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


the  rank  of  lieutenant.  Sailing  from  Alexandria, 
Va.,  the  battalion  landed  at  Brazos  Santiago,  on  the 
Rio  Grande,  July  2, 1846,  and  marched  with  the  army 
of  Gen.  Taylor  from  Bravo  del  IS'orte  to  Monterey. 
In  the  battles  that  preceded  the  fall  of  Monterey, 
Capt.  Kenly  participated,  and  when  Watson  fell,  ral- 
lied and  reformed  the  battalion,  and  kept  it  in  action 
until  the  battle  ended.  For  this  action  he  was  spe- 
cially mentioned  by  Capt.  James  E.  Stewart.  Bri- 
gaded with  Gen.  Quitman's  Tennesseeans  and  Geor- 
gians, Capt.  Kenly  marched  to  Victoria,  from  whence 


Bridge.  The  command  was  stationed  at  Jalapa  until 
the  treaty  of  peace,  and  returned  to  Baltimore  July 
22,  1848,  and  was  honorably  discharged  at  Fort  Mc- 
Henry.  The  General  Assembly  voted  Maj.  Kenly  the 
thanks  of  the  State  for  distinguished  gallantry  dis- 
played on  the  field  during  the  war  with  Mexico. 

Resuming  the  practice  of  law,  Maj.  Kenly  was  in 
1850  nominated  by  the  Whig  party  for  Congress,  and 
had  been  nominated  by  the  same  party  for  the  Legis- 
lature, but  was  each  time  defeated.  He  continued 
the  practice  of  the  law  without  interruption  until 


^^^je^t-t^.^ 


they  drove  the  enemy,  and  occupied  the  city.  With 
the  division  of  Gen.  Twiggs,  the  battalion  marched  to 
Tampico,  where,  the  term  of  service  having  expired, 
the  command  was  mustered  out  of  service.  Capt. 
Kenly  immediately  returned  to  Baltimore,  but  re- 
ceiving a  commission  as  major  in  a  regiment  raised 
in  Maryland  and  the  District  of  Columbia,  he  sailed 
from  Baltimore  within  a  month  after  his  arrival,  and 
with  the  battalion  arrived  at  Vera  Cruz ;  from  thence, . 
with  Col.  Hughes  in  command,  Maj.  Kenly  marched 
towards  the  capital  of  Mexico,  participating  in  the 
affairs  at  the  San  Juan,  YA  Paso,  and  the  Natural 


1861,  when  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war  again 
called  him  to  the  field.  His  sympathies  and  convic- 
tions being  with  the  Union,  his  services  were  offered 
to  and  accepted  by  the  Federal  Government.  His 
experience  in  the  field,  obtained  in  the  Mexican  war, 
made  him  a  central  figure  in  military  matters  in 
Maryland.  He  was  appointed  colonel  by  President 
Lincoln,  June  11,  1861,  having  previously  been  pro- 
vost-marshal of  Baltimore.  Col.  Kenly  was  severely 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Front  Royal,  where,  after 
a  desperate  struggle,  he  was  taken  prisoner.  Ex- 
changed on  the  ir)th  of  August,  he  was  instrumental 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


135 


in  obtaining  the  exchange  of  his  command  on  the 
17th  of  September.  Promoted  to'  brigadier-general, 
he  was  commissioned  by  President  Lincoln,  Aug.  22, 
1862,  for  "gallant  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Front 
Royal,"  where  by  delaying  the  Confederates  lie  pre- 
vented the  capture  of  the  army  under  Gen.  Banks,  and 
assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Maryland  Brigade, 
which  he  had  organized.  He  was  placed  in  command 
of  all  troops  in  Baltimore,  outside  of  the  forts,  when 
Gen.  Lee  advanced  into  Maryland.  Hastening  to  join 
McClellan  after  the  battle  of  Antietam,  he  rendered 
efficient  services  at  Hagerstown  and  Harper's  Ferry, 
where  he  commanded.  The  Maryland  Brigade  was 
assigned  to  the  division  of  Gen.  French  in  1863,  and 
then  joined  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  under  Gen. 
Meade  as  it  was  marching  to  Gettysburg.  He  ren- 
dered most  valuable  service,  in  the  recapture  of  the 
Maryland  Heights  at  Harper's  Ferry.  He  was  as- 
signed to  the  command  of  the  Third  Division,  First 
Army  Corps,  on  July  12th,  and  was  with  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  until  March  25,  1864,  when  by  reason  of 
the  consolidation  of  the  five  army  corps  into  three  he 
was  assigned  to  the  command  of  a  military  district 
in  the  Middle  Department,  and  severed  his  connec- 
tion with  the  Maryland  Brigade.  The  occasion  was 
availed  of  by  one  hundred  and  five  commissioned 
officers  of  the  brigade  to  express  their  regret  at 
the  separation,  and  to  convey  to  him  the  expression 
of  their  friendship,  regard,  and  respect.  Subse- 
quently Gen.  Kenly  commanded  at  various  times  the 
Third  Separate  Brigade,  Eighth  Army  Corps,  a  bri-  ! 
gade  in  the  Sixth  and  Nineteenth  Army  Corps  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley  ;  also  the  First  Separate  Brigade, 
Eighth  Array  Corps.  Brevetted  major-general  of  vol- 
unteers "  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  during 
the  war,"  March  13,  1865,  he  was  honorably  mus- 
tered out  of  service  Aug.  24,  1865.  The  General  As-  • 
sembly  of  Maryland  expressed  "  the  gratitude  of  the 
people  of  Maryland  as  eminently  due  to  Col.  John  R. 
Kenly,  of  the  First  Maryland  Regiment,  for  his  early, 
prompt,  and  distinguished  services  in  the  cause  of  his  ; 
country,"  and  the  corporate  authorities  of  Baltimore  I 
presented  him  a  sword,  through  Mayor  Chapman, 
"for  his  distinguished  services  in  defense  of  the 
Union  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion." 

Gen.  Kenly  in  1872  wrote  and  published  an  inter- 
esting history  of  the  war  with  Mexico  in  1846-47, 
under  the  title  of  "Memoirs  of  a  Maryland  Volun- 
teer." Since  the  close  of  the  late  civil  war  Col. 
Kenly  has  devoted  his  attention  to  literature  and  to 
the  practice  of  the  law,  where  he  has  attained  a  very 
high  position  among  the  leading  lawyers. 

— On  Friday  evening,  June  28th,  the  "St.  Nich- 
olas," a  steamer  running  between  Baltimore  and  va- 
rious landings  on  the  Potomac  River,  left  the  city  at 
her  usual  time,  having  on  board  about  fifty  passen- 
gers. Nothing  in  their  appearance  indicated  that  ' 
anything  unusual  was  about  to  happen,  and  all  passed 
off"  very  quietly  until  after  the  boat  had  touched  Point 


Lookout,  about  ten  o'clock  p.m.  Here  several  of  the 
passengers  landed,  and  a  gentleman  came  on  board, 
who  afterwards  proved  to  be  Capt.  Hollins,  late  of 
the  United  States  naval  service.  He  took  his  station 
on  the  deck  in  the  rear  of  the  ladies'  saloon.  Among 
the  passengers  who  embarked  at  Baltimore  was  a  very 
respectable-looking  "  French  lady,"  heavily  veiled, 
who  had  appeared  much  concerned  about  the  arrival 
of  the  boat  at  Washington,  but  on  reaching  the  Point 
she  retired  to  her  state-room,  reappearing  shortly  after 
the  boat  had  resumed  its  course  as  a  stalwart  man  in 
a  zouave  uniform,  who,  climbing  over  the  railing  of 
the  deck,  whispered  to  Capt.  Hollins,  when  both 
rushed  below,  and  in  a  moment  or  two  more  the  boat 
stopped.  A  party  of  some  twenty-five  men  who  had 
gone  on  board  at  Baltimore,  disguised  as  mechanics, 
etc.,  now  proved  to  be  fully  in  the  secret,  and  under 
the  directions  of  Capt.  Hollins  and  the  "  French 
lady,"  who  was  Col.  Zarvona  Thomas,  of  the  Confed- 
erate army,  but  formerly  of  St.  Mary's  County,  over- 
powered the  officers  and  crew  of  the  boat.  She  then 
headed  for  the  Virginia  shore,  Capt.  Kirwin,  the  com- 
mander of  the  boat,  being  informed  by  Thomas  that 
she  was  now  to  be  engaged  in  a  privateering  expedi- 
tion. At  Cone  Point,  on  the  Virginia  shore,  most  of 
the  passengers  were  landed,  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  officers  and  men  of  Virginia  and  Tennes- 
see troops  were  taken  on  board,  Capt.  Kirwin  and 
fourteen  of  his  crew  being  held  as  prisoners.  The 
steamer  was  then  run  down  as  faT  as  the  mouth  of 
the  Rappahannock  River,  where  three'  large  brigs 
lying  off  the  shore  were  hailed.  These  vessels  were 
at  once  boarded  and  taken  as  prizes,  laden  with  ice, 
coal,  and  coffee,  into  Fredericksburg,  where  the 
steamer,  with  her  captain  and  crew,  were  delivered 
into  the  hands  of  the  Virginians,  who  shortly  after 
released  them.  About  ten  days  after  this  bold  exploit 
the  "  French  lady"  was  captured  on  her  return  to 
Baltimore  and  shut  up  in  Fort  McHenry.  Marshal 
Kenly  had  despatched  Lieut.  Carmichael  and  John 
Horner  to  Fair  Haven  to  arrest  Neal  Green,  a  barber 
doing  business  on  Pratt  Street  near  Frederick,  charged 
with  being  a  participant  in  the  assault  on  the  Sixth 
Massachusetts  Regiment  on  the  19th  of  April,  and 
with  other  offenses.  They  arrested  Green  on  July 
8th,  and  were  returning  with  him  and  his  wife  on 
the  steamer  "  Mary  Washington,"  and  on  conversing 
with  some  of  the  passengers,  Lieut.  Carmichael 
learned  that  Capt.  Kirwin,  with  the  engineer  and 
another  officer  of  the  captured  "St.  Nicholas,"  were 
on  board  the  "Mary  Washington,"  returning  to  Bal- 
timore, as  was  also  Col.  Thomas,  who  had  seized  him, 
with  seven  or  eight  others  of  the  captors.  As  soon 
as  these  facts  were  ascertained,  and  each  one  of  the 
party  recognized  beyond  doubt,  Lieut.  Carmichael 
directed  Capt.  M.  L.  Weems,  the  commander  of  the 
"  Mary  Washington,"  to  proceed,  on  reaching  Balti- 
more Harbor,  to  land  the  passengers  at  Fort  McHenry, 
the  direction  being  given  while  the  steamer  was  off" 


136 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Annapolis.  Soon  afterwards  Carraichael  and  Horner,  j 
who  were  in  the  ladies'  cabin,  were  approached  by 
Thomas;  who  demanded  to  know  by  what  authority 
the  steamer  had  been  ordered  to  land  at  Fort  Mc- 
Henry.  Carmichael  informed  him  through  authority 
vested  in  him  by  Provost-Marshal  Kenly.  On  hear- 
ing this  Thomas  drew  a  pistol  and  called  his  men 
around  him,  while  Carmichael  and  Horner,  provided  [ 
with  revolvers,  displayed  them,  and  the  other  passen- 
gers supporting  them,  matters  thus  stood  until  the 
steamer  stopped  at  Fort  McHenry,  when  Carmichael 
at  once  informed  Gen.  Banks  of  his  capture.  The 
general  instnutly  unlcrccl  out  a  company  of  infantry, 
who  marcliril  u<  tiir  -ir:niier  and  secured  all  the  ac- 
cused exceptiii'^;  'I'hoiuas,  who  could  not  be  found  for 
an  hour  and  a  half.  At  length  he  was  discovered  se- 
creted in  a  bureau  drawer  in  the  ladies'  cabin.  He 
and  the  other  prisoners  were  then  marched  into  the 
fort  and  placed  in  confinement,  while  the  witnesses, 
some  tenor  twelve  in  number,  were  also  detained  over 
night. 

— A  new  sensation  was  created  on  the  1st  of  July 
by  the  arrest  of  the  Police  Commissioners.  They  were 
arrested  between  three  and  five  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, by  Col.  Morehead's  Philadelphia  regiment,  which 
first  proceeded  to  the  residence  of  John  W.  Davis,  and 
afterwards  to  those  of  Charles  D.  Hinks,  Charles  How- 
ard, and  William  H.  Gatchell.  All  four  of  the  com- 
missioners were  conveyed  to  Fort  McHenry,  and  with 
the  exception  of  Mr.  Hinks,  who  was  released  on  ac- 
count of  delicate  health,  were  afterwards  confined  for 
more  than  a  year  in  Fort  Warren,  Boston  Harbor. 
William  McKewen,  the  clerk  of  the  Police  Board,  was 
also  arrested,  but  was  released  in  a  few  hours,  there 
being  no  charge  against  him.  A  military  force  was 
marched  into  the  city  at  an  early  hour  and  posted  in 
ditierent  quarters,  and  pieces  of  artillery  planted  in 
several  of  the  streets.  Meanwhile,  Mayor  Brown, 
being  the  only  member  of  the  Police  Board  who  had 
not  been  deprived  of  liberty,  in  order  to  relieve  his 
fellow-citizens  from  the  embarrassments  and  perils  of 
the  situation,  offered  to  undertake  the  management  of 
the  police.  Gen.  Banks,  however,  did  not  accept  the 
ofter,  and  after  some  delay,  on  July  10th,  announced 
by  proclamation  that  he  had  appointed  George  R. 
Dodge,  of  Baltimore,  marshal  of  police,  vice  Col.  John 
R.  Kenly,  who  had  requested  to  be  relieved.  On  the 
same  day  the  troops  were  withdrawn  from  the  central 
part  of  the  city  and  marched  back  to  their  encamp- 
ments on  the  outskirts. 

— On  the  4th  of  July  the  Sixth  Regiment  of  Mas- 
sachusetts militia.  Col.  E.  T.  Jones  commanding,  and 
stationed  at  the  Relay  House,  were  presented  with 
an  elegant  silk  flag  by  the  Union  citizens  of  Balti- 

— July  8th  the  steamers  "George  Weems"  and 
"  Mary  Washington"  were  seized  by  Gen.  Banks  under 
orders  from  the  War  Department,  it  being  feared  that 
they  might  share  the  fate  of  the  "  St.  Nicholas."     On 


the  18th,  in  Congress,  the  committee  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  to  whom  had  been  referred  a  resolution 
to  inquire  whether  or  not  the  Hon.  Henry  May,  rep- 
resentative from  Baltimore,  was  in  criminal  inter- 
course with  those  in  armed  resistance  to  the  govern- 
ment, submitted  a  report  that  there  was  no  evidence 
of  Mr.  May's  guilt.  The  report  also  exculpated  the 
President  and  Gen.  Scott  from  all  suspicion  of  a  cor- 
respondence with  the  Confederates  through  Mr.  May's 
agency.  Upon  the  adoption  of  this  report  Mr.  May 
addressed  the  House  upon  the  subject  of  the  inquiry, 
warmly  denouncing  it  as  an  unparalleled  outrage  upon 
his  constituents,  and  then  proceeded  with  some  severe 
remarks  upon  the  administration,  when  he  was  called 
to  order  by  Mr.  Stevens,  of  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  May 
then  declined  to  proceed  with  his  remarks  at  that  time. 
He  presented  the  memorial  of  the  Police  Commis- 
sioners of  Baltimore.  Ex-Governor  Francis  Thomas, 
of  Maryland,  replied  to  Mr.  May,  and  maintained  that 
the  recent  election  demonstrated  the  fact  that  the  vast 
majority  of  the  people  of  Maryland  entirely  approved 
the  military  measures  of  the  administration.  On  the 
29th  of  July  the  "Joseph  Whitney,"  steamboat, 
touched  at  tlie  wharf  of  Fort  McHenry  at  six  p.m., 
and  received  on  board  the  Police  Commissioners  and 
Richard  H.  Alvey,  Samuel  H.  Lyon,  John  W.  Ku- 
sick,  James  E.  Murphy,  Charles  M.  Wagelin,  Dr. 
Edward  Johnston,  and  T.  C.  Fitzpatrick.  These  gen- 
tlemen were  transferred  to  Fort  Lafayette,  in  New 
York  Harbor,  where  they  remained  for  some  time, 
and  from  whence  they  were  taken,  with  the  arrested 
members  of  the  Maryland  Legislature,  to  Fort  Warren, 
in  Boston  Harbor.  The  prisoners  removed  from  Fort 
McHenry  arrived  at  Fort  Lafayette  on  July  31st.  On 
the  6th  of  August  Judge  Garrison,  of  Kings  County 
Court,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  issued  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
for  the  production  of  the  bodies  of  the  Baltimore  Po- 
lice Commissioners.  Col.  Burke,  commanding  Fort 
Lafayette,  in  answer  to  the  writ,  replied  that  he  deeply 
regretted  his  inability  to  comply  with  it,  "  pending 
the  exciting  political  troubles."  Some  discussion 
arose  between  the  judge  and  the  petitioners'  counsel 
regarding  Col.  Burke's  refusal,  and  he  was  ordered 
himself  to  appear  and  show  cause  why  he  should  not 
be  held  for  contempt.  Nothing,  however,  came  of 
this  effort.  In  the  Maryland  Legislature,  on  the  5th 
of  August,  Mr.  Wallis,  from  the  Committee  on  Fed- 
eral Relations,  submitted  a  long  report  upon  the  mem- 
orial of  the  Police  Commissioners,  accompanied  by 
a  series  of  resolutions  strongly  protesting  against 
their  detention,  which  were  adopted  by  a  very  large 
vote. 

—On  the9th  of  August,  Messrs.  John  C.  Breckenridge 
and  C.  L.  Vallandigham  being  at  the  Eutaw  House, 
their  friends  attempted  to  serenade  them,  but  on  the 
appearance  of  Mr.  Breckenridge  on  the  portico  of  the 
hotel,  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  it  soon  became 
evident  that  his  presence  was  obnoxious  to  a  large 
portion  of  the  crowd  gathered  below.     He  attcm]ited 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


137 


to  address  those  assembled,  but  was  continually  inter- 
rupted and  at  length  retired.  Mr.  Vallandigham  did 
not  appear. 

— On  the  14th,  Bishop  Whittinghani  issued  an 
earnest  pastoral  letter  to  the  clergy  and  laity  of  his 
diocese  regarding  the  approaching  fast-day  appointed 
by  President  Lincoln.  On  the  15th  the  Union  State 
Convention  nominated  Augustus  W.  Bradford  for 
Governor,  and  S.  S.  Maffit  for  comptroller,  and  a 
series  of  very  strong  resolutions  in  favor  of  the  Union 
and  condemnatory  of  secession  in  any  form  were 
adopted  as  the  platform  for  the  campaign.  At  the 
same  time  the  "  Report  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  the 
Legislature  of  Maryland  on  Federal  Relations  in  re- 
gard to  the  suppression  of  the  Board  of  Police  and  j 
the  imprisonment  of  its  membei"s"  was  published  in 
full. 

— On  the  21st  of  August  a  number  of  Confederate  I 
prisoners  of  war  reached  the  city  from  Western  Vir- 
ginia, having  been  captured  at  the  battles  of  Philippi  1 
and  Cheat  Mountain.     On  their  arrival  in  the  city  | 
they  were  taken  to  the  Central  Police  Station,  from 
whence  they  were  conveyed    to    the    custom-house  ' 
building,  but  soon  afterwards  were  allowed  to  proceed 
to  the  Gilmor  House,  where  they  were  quartered  for 
the  night.     They  were  on  their  parole,  and  were  sent 
otf  the  next  day  to  Old  Point  Comfort,  where  they 
were  to  be  discharged.    They  received  a  great  deal  of 
attention  from  Confederate  sympathizers,  and  were 
the  recipients  of  many  presents. 

— On  September  5th  the  military  authorities  pro- 
mulgated an  order  forbidding  the  display  and  sale  of 
all  secession  badges,  flags,  pictures,  songs,  photographs, 
music,  neckties,  infants'  socks,  etc.  On  the  6th,  Mayor 
Brown  was  ordered  by  Gen.  Dix  to  discontinue  the 
payment  of  the  old  police  force.  On  the  5th  the  City 
Gubernatorial  Peace  Convention  a.ssembled  at  tlie  hall 
corner  of  Calvert  and  Saratoga  Streets  to  select  dele- 
gates to  represent  the  city  in  the  State  Peace  Conven- 
tion to  nominate  candidates  for  Governor  and  comp- 
troller. Dr.  Jolin  F.  Monmonier  was  called  to  the 
chair,  and  John  P.  Poe  and  T.  S.  Hutchins  were  ap- 
pointed secretaries.  Fifty  persons  were  put  in  nomi- 
nation for  delegates,  and  after  considerable  balloting 
I.  Nevitt  Steele,  George  W.  Herring,  Joshua  Van- 
saut,  Neilson  Poe,  Robert  Gilmor,  Jr.,  Cliarles  H. 
Meyers,  John  Milroy,  William  H.  Jillard,  James 
Hodges,  Wendell  Bollman,  and  Hugh  Giflbrd  were 
elected.  A  convention  was  held  also  on  the  same  day 
at  Towsontown  for  Baltimore  County,  resulting  in  the 
election  of  Prof  N.  R.  Smith,  Corville  Stansbury, 
James  H.  Stone,  John  Bosley,  William  F.  W.  Brune, 
Jr.,  Peter  Fowble,  and  Charles  A.  Buchanan  as  dele- 
gates to  the  State  Peace  Convention.  On  September 
7th  the  police  arrested  at  the  Battle  Monument  House 
at  North  Point  twenty  young  men  who  were  en- 
deavoring to  make  their  way  South.  They  were  con- 
fined in  Fort  McHenry,  and  in  a  few  days  were  trans- 
ferred to  Fort  Lafayette.    N.  Williams,  coach-maker, 


was  arrested  about  five  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning, 
just  as  he  was  about  leaving  his  shop  with  his  little 
daughter  in  a  wagon  drawn  by  two  horses.  The  wagon 
was  provided  with  a  false  bottom,  which  on  examina- 
tion was  found  to  contain  eighteen  large  navy  re- 
volvers, and  a  package  of  over  one  hundred  letters  to 
Baltimoreans  in  the  South.  Mr.  Williams  was  sent 
to  Fort  McHenry.  On  the  evening  of  September  9th 
a  hearse  containing  a  coffin  was  driven  across  Light 
Street  bridge,  and  either  from  the  irreverent  manner 
of  the  driver  or  some  other  cause  of  suspicion  the 
funeral  party  was  challenged  by  a  sentinel,  and  the 
coffin  on  examination  was  found  to  contain  a  quantity 
of  guns,  pistols,  percussion-caps,  and  other  contra- 
band articles,  which,  with  the  coffin,  hearse,  and 
horses,  were  duly  confiscated. 

— On  the  10th  of  September  the  Maryland  State 
Peace  Convention  assembled  at  the  Law  Buildings,  at 
the  corner  of  St.  Paul  and  Lexington  Streets,  and 
nominated  candidates  for  Governor  and  comptroller. 
On  the  11th  of  September,  Col.  Kane  was  transferred 
from  Fort  McHenry  to  Fort  Lafayette,  and  afterwards 
to  Fort  Warren. 

— On  the  12th  and  13th  of  September,  in  accord- 
ance with  an  order  of  Maj.-Gen.  Dix,  commanding 
in  Baltimore,  the  military  police  arrested  George 
William  Brown,  mayor  of  Baltimore ;  Ross  Winans, 
Severn  Teackle  Wallis,  Henry  M.  Warfield,  Dr. 
\  J.  Hanson  Thomas,  T.  Parkin  Scott,  Henry  M. 
Morfitt,  Charles  H.  Pitts,  William  G.  Harrison,  and 
Lawrence  ttangston,  members  of  the  House  of  Dele- 
gates from  Baltimore  City ;  Henry  May,  member  of 
1  Congress  from  the  Fourth  Congressional  District; 
I  Robert  Denison  and  Leonard  G.  Quinlan,  members 
j  of  the  House  of  Delegates  from  Baltimore  County ; 
Dr.  A.  A.  Lynch,  State  senator ;  Francis  Key  How- 
j  ard,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Baltimore  Exchaiuje  ; 
and  Thomas  W.  Hall,  editor  of  The  South.  The 
I  prisoners  were  temporarily  confined  in  Fort  Mc- 
Henry, and  afterwards  in  Fort  Warren,  Boston 
Harbor.  William  W.  Glenn,  another  of  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  Exchange  newspaper,  was  arrested  on 
i  the  1-tth.  Among  those  whose  arrests  were  ordered 
were  John  C.  Brune,  a  prominent  merchant  and 
member  of  the  Legislature,  and  Dr.  Alexander  C. 
Robinson,  both  of  whom,  however,  made  their  es- 
cape. It  was  about  this  period  that  James  M.  Haig, 
of  Baltimore,  and  F.  Wyatt  and  William  Gilchrist, 
of  Philadelphia,  were  arrested  for  sending  munitions 
of  war  southward.  A  search  for  arms  on  the  16th  of 
September  resulted  in  finding  about  two  hundred 
muskets  concealed  under  the  floors  of  Messrs.  Egerton 
&  Keys'  auction  bazaar,  on  North  and  Saratoga 
Streets,  formerly  known  as  the  Old  Mud  Theatre. 
The  armory  of  the  Independent  Grays,  on  High 
Street,  was  also  entered,  and  about  sixty  muskets 
and  some  accoutrements  seized.  The  next  day  the 
Maryland  Club  House,  on  the  corner  of  Cathedral 
and  Franklin  Streets,  was  searched  for  arms,  none 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


being  found;  and  on  the  18th,  John  H.  Weaver's 
coffin  warehouses  were  thoroughly  examined,  and  the 
coffins  and  burial-cases  closely  inspected,  without 
the  discovery  of  any  weapons.  Christ  Church  was 
also  ex,amined,  but  to  no  purpose.  On  the  28th  the 
Purnell  Legion,  Maryland  Union  Volunteers,  were 
presented,  at  the  Washington  Monument,  with  a  flag 
from  the  ladies  of  Oldtown.  On  the  30th  of  Sep- 
tember the  Sixth  Michigan  Regiment,  encamped  on 
the  McKim  estate,  were  presented  with  a  flag  by  a 
number  of  Union  ladies  of  the  Eighth  Ward.  The 
City  Council  adjourned  sine  die  on  the  evening  of 
September  30th,  the  president  of  the  First  Branch, 
J.  C.  Blackburn,  continuing  to  act  as  mayor  in  place 
of  George  William  Brown  until  the  next  election, 
which  was  held  on  the  9th  of  October.  i 

— On  the  3d  of  October  the  United  States  gunboat 
"Pinola"  was  launched  from  the  shipyard  of  Abra- 
hams &  Ashcroft,  being  the  first  government  vessel 
built  in  Baltimore  since  the  opening  of  the  war.     On  I 
the  9th  of  October  an  election  for  members  of  the  ! 
First   Branch    of  the   City  Council    was   held ;    the 
candidates  of  the  Union  party  had  no  opposition,  [ 
the  whole  vote  polled  being   9.587.     On  the  6th  of 
November    the    election   for   Governor,  comptroller, 
members  of  the  Legislature,  judges  of  the   courts, 
clerks,  sherifl",  commissioner  of  public  works,  and  city  I 
surveyor  occurred.     The  Union  candidate  for  Gov- 
ernor, Augustus  W.  Bradford,  was  elected,  17,922  votes  I 
having  been  cast  for  him  in  Baltimore,  against  3347 
votes  cast  for  the  Democratic  candidate.     Two  even- 
ings before  the  election  a  very  large  L^nion  meeting 
was  held  in  Monument  Square,  at  which  William  H. 
Collins  presided.    Addresses  were  made  by  Augustus 
W.   Bradford,   R.    W.    Thompson,  of  Indiana,   and 
others. 

Augustus  Williamson  Bradford  was  born  at  Belair,  ! 
Harford  Co.,  Md.,  Jan.  9,  1806,  and  died  on  the  1st  [ 
of  March,  1881.     He  was  educated  at  the  Harford 
County  Academy,  and  at  St.  Mary's  College,   Bal- 
timore, and  after  being  admitted  to  the  bar  prac- 
ticed law  in  his  native  town.     In  1838  he  removed  to  ; 
Baltimore,  and  while  still  adhering  to  his  profession,  i 
he  also  threw  himself  into  political  life  as  an  earnest  I 
advocate  of  Whig  principles,  and  a  warm  admirer  of  | 
Henry  Clay.     In  1844  he  was  an  elector  on  the  Clay 
ticket,   and   distinguished   himself  by   his   speeches 
during  the  canvass.     But  the  defeat  of  Clay  was  so 
severely  felt  by  him  that  he  retired  from  political  life, 
and  for  sixteen  years  neither   made  an  address  nor 
attended  a  meeting.     In  the  mean  time,  however,  he  i 
held,  from  1845  to  1851,  by  appointment  of  Governor  j 
Pratt,  the  position  of  clerk  of  the  Baltimore  County  j 
Court,  and  when  he  was  legislated  out  of  office  by  the 
adoption  of  the  constitution  of  the  latter  year.  Judges 
Frick,  Purviance,   and  Legrand  joined   in   a   letter 
highly  complimentary  to  him  upon  the  discharge  of  j 
his  official  duties.     Under  appointment  from  Governor  j' 
Hicks,  Mr.  Bradford  was  one  of  the  rej>reseiitatives  of  ' 


Maryland  at  the  Peace  Conference  which  met  at 
Washington  in  January,  1861,  in  whose  deliberations 
he  made  himself  conspicuous  as  an  unconditional 
Unionist.  It  followed  that  upon  the  organization  of 
the  Union  party  in  Maryland  in  the  summer  of  1861, 
he  was  made  the  candidate  for  Governor,  and  was 
elected  by  a  majority  of  thirty-one  thousand  votes. 
In  history  he  will  always  be  known  as  the  "  war  Gov- 
ernor of  Maryland."  During  his  four  years'  tenure 
of  the  office  he  was  untiring  in  the  organization  of 
regiments  for  the  Federal  army,  in  recruiting  for 
their  shattered  ranks,  in  looking  after  the  comfort 
and  welfare  of  the  men  in  the  field,  and  caring  for 
the  families  that  they  left  at  home.  On  several 
occasions  he  visited  the  Maryland  Brigade  in  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  once  to  present  it  with  a  stand 
of  colors.  His  zeal  made  him  obnoxious  to  the  friends 
of  the  Confederacy,  and  in  1864,  when  a  raid  was 
made  into  the  State  by  the  Confederate  forces,  they 
burned  his  residence  in  Baltimore  County,  and  left 
a  note  saying  that  the  act  was  committed  by  order 
of  Gen.  Bradley  T.  Johnson,  in  retaliation  for  the 
burning  of  the  house  of  Governor  Letcher,  of  Vir- 
ginia, which  was  done  by  order  of  Gen.  Hunter,  of  the 
Federal  army.  Thus  a  severe  loss  was  inflicted  upon 
Governor  Bradford,  but  it  did  not  shake  his  fidelity 
to  the  Union  cause.  He  had  been  long  convinced 
that  slavery  was  not  only  morally  wrong,  but  that  it 
was  also  the  worst  possible  system  of  labor,  and  on 
both  grounds  he  advocated  its  abolition.  But  he  pro- 
posed to  undertake  the  task  in  a  legal  and  constitu- 
tional manner,  and  therefore  certain  hasty  people  ac- 
cused him  of  indifterence,  and  desired  to  rush  head- 
long into  the  work  of  abolishment.  He  reftised  to  be 
carried  along  by  their  impetuosity,  and  his  calm, 
cool  judgment  prevailing,  the  Legislature  which  met 
in  January,  1864,  adopted  his  suggestions  for  the  call 
for  a  constitutional  convention.  This  convention 
met  in  the  succeeding  summer,  and  adopted  the  Free 
State  Constitution,  doing  away  with  slavery,  which  in 
time  was  ratified  by  the  vote  of  the  people  and  of  the 
Maryland  soldiers  in  the  field.  The  new  constitution 
went  into  effect  on  Nov.  1,  1864,  amid  the  rejoicings 
of  the  Union  party  and  the  hearty  applause  of  the 
success  of  the  Governor's  labors.  He  presided  over 
the  meeting  of  the  loyal  Governors  which  was  held 
at  Altoona,  Pa.,  in  September,  1862,  and  from  which 
the  national  government  derived  nuuh  valuable 
counsel  and  encouragement. 

Governor  Bradford  was  rather  favorably  disposed 
towards  the  reconstruction  policy  of  President  John- 
son, and  in  1867  the  latter  appointed  him  surveyor  of 
the  port  of  Baltimore,  which  position  he  held  until 
President  Grant  came  into  office.  The  Governor  had 
supported  the  Republican  party  in  the  elections  of 
1868  and  thereafter,  and  in  1874  President  Grant  ten- 
dered him  the  position  of  appraiser-general  in  the 
Baltimore  Custom-House,  which  he  refused  to  accept 
because  the  office  seemed  to  him  one  that  required 


> 

f'"^ 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


139 


the  services  of  an  experienced  and  judicious  mercliant, 
and  his  own  pursuits  had  been  so  entirely  outside 
such  a  sphere  that  he  had  neither  mercantile  educa- 
tion nor  experience,  so  that  to  accept  the  oifiee  would 
make  him  entirely  dependent  upon  deputies  and  assist- 
ants, which  would  be  utterly  repugnant  to  his  notions 
of  official  qualification  or  responsibility.  It  has  been 
truthfully  said  of  Governor  Bradford  that  he  was 
never  an  office-seeker,  and  that  his  administration  of 
all  the  official  trusts  confided  to  him  was  character- 
ized by  stern  integrity  and  true  sagacity.  As  the  war 
Governor  of  Maryland,  he  occupied  an  exceedingly 
difficult  and  delicate  position,  having  to  hold  the 
State  steady  in  the  Union  ranks,  and  at  the  same  time 
combat  a  multitude  of  secret  or  open  influences  that 
were  bitterly  ho.stile  to  him.  That  he  bore  himself 
so  nobly  and  successfully  in  this  trying  ordeal  is  the 
strongest  proof  of  his  statesmanship.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1835  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Kell,  daughter  of  the 
late  Judge  Kell,  one  of  the  associate  justices  of  the 
Sixth  Judicial  District  when  it  was  composed  of  Har- 
ford and  Baltimore  Counties.  There  are  seven  living 
children,  whose  names  are  Augustus  W.,  Emeline  K., 
Jane  B.,  Lizzie,  Charles  H.,  Thomas  Kell,  and  Samuel 
Webster. 

— On  the  12th  of  November  a  committee  of  prom- 
inent Union  citizens  of  Baltimore,  consisting  of  Enoch 
Pratt,  Galloway  Cheston,  Thomas  M.  Smith,  Thomas 
AVhitridge,  Archibald  Sterling,  Wm.  J.  Albert,  Wm. 
C.  Hooper,  Wm.  McKim,  Henry  D.  Harvey,  Wm. 
C.  Robinson,  P.  G.  Saurwein,  Chas.  E.  Woodyear, 
and  Wm.  Callow,  sought  an  interview  with  President 
Lincoln  on  the  subject  of  employing  Baltimore  me- 
chanics on  work  for  the  government.  On  the  20th 
of  November,  Miller's  Hotel,  corner  of  German  and 
Paca  Streets,  was  searched  by  the  police  for  arms,  and 
several  persons  connected  with  the  house  were  arrested. 
A  boarder  named  T.  Webster  and  his  wife  were  seized, 
but  the  former  managed  to  make  his  escape  while  on 
his  way  to  Fort  McHenry. 

—On  the  10th  of  December,  Lieut.  David  E.  Whit- 
son,  of  Company  I,  Second  Maryland  Regiment,  was 
shot  and  instantly  killed  by  a  private  of  the  company 
named  Joseph  Koons,  who  was  executed  at  Fort 
McHenry  on  March  7,  1862.  On  the  12th  the  Mary- 
land Senate,  by  a  vote  of  twelve  to  five,  declared  va- 
cant the  seat  of  Coleman  Yellott,  of  Baltimore,  and 
ordered  a  new  election  to  be  held  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

1862.---On  Monday  night,  February  17th,  Col. 
Samuel  S.  Mills  and  Thomas  S.  Piggott,  one  a  pro- 
prietor and  the  other  principal  editor  of  The  South 
newspaper,  were  arrested  and  confined  in  Fort  Mc- 
Henry, and  a  few  days  afterwards  John  Mills,  the 
publisher  of  the  paper,  was  also  arrested. 

— On  the  12th,  Bishop  Whittingham  transmitted  to 
all  the  clergy  of  his  parish  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving 
for  the  recent  Federal  victories,  to  be  used  on  all  oc- 
casions of  public  worship  within  eight  days  follow- 
ing the  Sunday  after  its  receipt.     During  this  month 


notice  of  disloyal  teachers  in  the  public  schools  hav- 
ing been  brought  before  the  School  Commissioners,  a 
select  committee  consisting  of  George  N.  Eaton,  presi- 
dent, Thomas  W.  Griffin,  J.  Asbury  Morgan,  Edward 
G.  Waters,  and  John  F.  Plummer  were  instructed  to 
j  examine  into  and  report  upon  the  matter.     They  did 
I  so  and  reported  at  some  length,  showing  that  there 
was  very  little  ground  for  the  charge,  and  asking  to 
be  discharged  from  further  consideration  of  the  sub- 
ject.    On  May  0th  the  friends  of  Governor  Hicks  as- 
[  sembled  at  the  Maryland   Institute,  and   under   the 
I  auspices  of  the  Union  Musical  Association   held   a 
I  concert  in  honor  of  the  ex-Governor,  and  presented 
I  him  with  a  large  and  handsome  national  flag.     The 
presentation  address  was  made  by  Rev.  J.  McKendree 
Riley,  to  which  Governor  Hicks  made  a  suitable  reply. 
—On  the  25th  of  May  great  excitement  was  created 
;  in  the  city  by  the  news  of  Gen.  Banks'  retreat  and  the 
j  capture  of  Col.  Kenly,  of  the  First  Maryland  Regi- 
]  ment.      A  dense  throng  of  people  filled  Baltimore 
j  Street  from  Calvert  to  Holliday  Streets,  and  a  num- 
ber  of  Southern   sympathizers   were  set   upon   and 
badly  beaten.     The  excitement  continued  for  several 
days,  the  mob  attacking  and  beating  persons  obnox- 
ious to  them  whenever  they  made  their  appearance 
[  on  the  street.     On  the  26th  the  Police  Board  issued  a 
I  proclamation  declaring  their  determination  to  keep  the 
peace  at  all  hazards,  and  ordering  all  bar-rooms  and 
restaurants  to  be  closed.     The  various   newspaper- 
offices  were  visited  by  the  rioters  and  made  to  display 
the  national  colors.     On  the  31st  of  May  a  riot  oc- 
curred among  the  inmates  of  Campbell's  slave  jail, 
on  Pratt  Street  near  Howard,  which  was  only  sup- 
pressed by  the  assistance  of  tlie  police. 

—On  June  1st,  Gen.  John  A.  Dix  was  transferred 
to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  was  succeeded  by  Gen.  John 
E.  Wool,  who  arrived  in  Baltimore  on  the  8th.  On 
the  27th  of  June  a  young  man  and  woman  were 
arrested  for  waving  a  window  curtain  to  some  Con- 
federate prisoners.  On  the  28th  of  June,  Judge 
James  L.  Bartol,  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  was  ar- 
rested at  Camden  Station,  while  on  his  way  to  his 
home  in  Baltimore  County,  and  confined  at  Fort 
McHenry.  He  was  released  after  a  few  days'  im- 
prisonment. At  a  late  hour  on  the  night  of  the  29th 
of  June  a  report  reached  the  city  that  the  Confeder- 
ates were  advancing,  and  the  alarm-bells  were  imme- 
diately sounded  to  call  the  Union  Leagues  and  loyal 
citizens  together.  The  streets  were  soon  thronged 
with  armed  men,  and  the  work  of  barricading  the 
approaches  to  the  city  was  pushed  with  great  vigor. 
At  the  request  of  Gen.  Schenck,  Commodore  Dornin 
placed  in  position  two  gunboats  at  the  foot  of  Broad- 
way, and  one  at  the  Long  Bridge  over  the  Ferry  Bar 
road.  On  the  day  following  Gen.  Schenck  declared 
martial  law  in  Baltimore  and  the  Western  Shore 
Counties  of  Maryland. 

—On  the  17th  of  July,  Governor  Bradford  appointed 
a  committee  of  fifty  citizens  of  Baltimore,  with  John  P. 


140 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Kennedy  at  their  head,  to  assist  in  raising  troops. 
The  committee  met  on  tlie  21st  and  asked  the  aid  of 
the  City  Council.  As  this  body  had  adjourned,  act- 
ing Mayor  John  Lee  Chapman  called  an  extra  ses- 
-sion,  which  met  on  the  22d.  The  First  Branch  unani- 
mously passed  an  ordinance  appropriating  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars  for  bounties  to  volunteers 
in  the  State  regiments,  but  on  the  23d  it  was  rejected 
by  the  Second  Branch.  When  this  rejection  was 
known,  an  angry  crowd  gathered,  and  began  to  de- 
nounce and  threaten  those  members  who  had  refused 
to  vote  for  the  measure,  and  on  the  adjournment  sev- 
eral councilmen  were  assaulted  with  cries  of  "  Hang 
the  traitors!"  and  severely  maltreated.' 

— On  the  25th,  at  the  suggestion  of  Gen.  Wool,  thfe 
following  members  of  the  Second  Branch  who  had 
voted  against  the  bounty  ordinance  resigned  their 
positions  in  the  City  Council :  Charles  J.  Baker, 
president,  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  Wards;  De- 
catur H.  Miller,  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Wards  ;  Wil- 
liam Dean,  First  and  Second  Wards ;  Jesse  Mar- 
den,  Third  and  .  Fourth  ;  Asa  Higgins,  Nineteenth 
and  Twentieth ;  William  Swindell,  Seventeenth  and 
Eighteenth  ;  Joseph  Eobb,  Fifteenth  and  Sixteenth ; 
Francis  W.  Alricks,  Ninth  and  Tenth ;  and  John  W. 
Wilson,  Seventh  and  Eighth  Wards.  The  appro- 
priation of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  was 
passed  by  both  branches  of  the  Council  early  in 
August,  and  on  the  7th  one  of  thirty  thousand  dol- 
lars was  also  made  towards  uniforming  and  otherwise 
equipping  the  First  Light  Division  of  Maryland 
Volunteers.  Another  ordinance  passed  about  the 
same  time,  required  all  city  officials,  school-teachers, 
and  employes,  no  matter  in  what  capacity,  to  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance. 

— On  the  28th  of  July  a  large  war-meeting  was 
held  in  Monument  Square,  at  which  Governor  Brad- 
ford presided.  A  resolution  was  adopted  requesting 
the  President  to  "instruct  the  general  in  command  of 
this  military  department  to  require  all  male  citizens 
above  the  age  of  eighteen  to  come  forward  and  take 
an  oath  to  maintain  the  national  sovereignty  para- 
mount to  that  of  all  State,  county,  or  corporate  pow- 
ers," and  to  "  discourage,  discountenance,  and  forever 
oppose  secession,  rebellion,  and  the  disintegration  of 
the  Federal  Union."  Those  who  should  refuse  to 
take  the  oath  which  it  was  thus  proposed  to  tender 
them  were  to  be  "  sent  through  our  lines  into  the  so- 
called  Southern  Confederacy."  A  few  days  after- 
wards the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Council  adopted  a 
resolution  requesting  Gen.  Wool  to  "administer  such 
an  oath  to  all  the  citizens  of  the  city  of  Baltimore  at 
the  earliest  possible  period."  Gen.  Wool  rejected 
this  advice,  "  for  the  reason,"  as  he  said,  that  it  would 
at  a  critical  moment  "  send  twenty  thousand  men  to 
swell  the  army  of  Jefferson  Davis."    Early  in  August 


Gen.  Wool  issued  an  order  requiring  all  persons  leav- 
ing the  city  by  the  Potomac,  Patuxent,  or  West  Eiver 
boats  to  obtain  permits  from  headquarters,  and  to  take 
the  oath,  and  policemen  were  stationed  on  the  docks 
to  see  that  the  orders  regarding  passes  were  complied 
with. 

— On  the  night  of  August  14th,  William  H.  Car- 
penter, one  of  the  editors  of  the  Maryland  News  Sheet, 
was  arrested  and  sent  to  Fort  McHenry,  and  the  paper 
suppressed.  Thomas  D.  Sultzer,  assistant  editor,  was 
also  arrested.  Early  in  August  an  order  was  issued 
requiring  all  persons  leaving  the  city  to  obtain  per- 
mits. 

— On  the  1st  of  September,  William  A.  Van  Nos- 
trand,  city  marshal  of  Baltimore,  was  appointed  civil 
provost-marshal  for  the  Middle  Department,  which 
included  Baltimore.  During  August  an  ordinance 
was  passed  by  the  City  Council  requiring  all  teachers 
in  the  public  schools  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance.  On 
failing  to  do  so  by  the  20th  of  the  month,  they  were 
to  be  dismissed. 

— The  3d  and  6th  of  September  were  days  of  great  ex- 
citement in  Baltimore,  occasioned  by  the  Confederate 
invasion  of  Maryland.  In  view  of  the  excitement,  it 
was  deemed  advisable  to  appoint  four  hundred  special 
policemen  to  preserve  order.  Several  breaches  of  the 
peace  occurred,  and  a  number  of  Southern  sympa- 
thizers were  violently  assaulted.  On  the  8th,  Gov- 
ernor Bradford  called  upon  the  citizens  of  Baltimore 
to  organize  and  complete  the  formation  of  the  First 
Light  Division  of  Maryland  Volunteer  Militia.  To 
this  appeal  a  large  number  of  citizens  responded.  In 
compliance  with  the  Governor's  recommendation. 
Mayor  Chapman  on  the  9th  requested  the  citizens 
of  Baltimore  "to  assemble  in  their  usual  places  of 
meeting  in  the  several  wards  every  night  this  week, 
and  form  themselves  into  military  companies  for  the 
defense  of  the  city."  At  the  same  time  Hugh  L. 
Bond,  A.  Sterling,  Jr.,  John  T.  Graham,  W.  H.  Pur- 
nell,  Theodore  Hooper,  P.  G.  Sauerwein,  Tkomas  H. 
Gardner,  Dennis  Carter,  E.  K.  Petherbridge,  T.  T. 
Martin,  E.  S.  Hutchinson,  John  H.  Lloyd,  A.  C.  Hall, 
and  Henry  Stockbridge  published  a  request  to  all 
those  who  "  desire  to  join  an  independent  military 
organization  for  the  defense  of  the  city,  to  be  called 
the  Maryland  Line,  to  call  and  register  their  names 
and  residences  at  the  post-office."  Gen.  Wool,  in 
command  of  the  military  department,  looked  to  the 
defenses  of  the  city  and  planned  additional  works. 
The  forts,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Morris,  were  in 
complete  readiness,  as  well  as  a  fleet  of  heavy  mor- 
tar vessels  in  the  harbor,  prepared  to  lay  the  city  in 
ashes  in  case  an  outbreak  occurred  or  the  Confeder- 
ates effected  a  lodgment  within  its  borders.  In  either 
of  these  events  the  destruction  of  Baltimore  was  cer- 
tain. Gen.  Kenly,  having  recovered  from  his  wound 
received  at  Front  Royal,  was  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  infantry  of  the  city. 

— On  the  night  of  Friday,  September  12tli,  a  squad 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


141 


of  Baltimore  police  and  military  captured  Capt.  Harry  ! 
Gilmor  and  Lieut.  Grafton  D.  Carlisle  at  the  house  i 
of  Dr.  Luke  T.  Williamson,  about  seven  miles  from  | 
the  city  on  the  Reisterstown  road.  [ 

— On  the  8th  of  October  the  mayoralty  election  was 
held,  the  opposing  candidates  being  John  Lee  Chap- 
man, the  "regular  Union,"  and  Frederick  Fickey, 
Jr.,  the  "  Union"  candidate.  The  contest  resulted  in 
the  success  of  the  entire  "  regular  Union"  ticket  for 
mayor  and  City  Council,  with  the  exception  of  the  ; 
councilman  from  the  Eleventh  Ward.  Mr.  Chap- 
man received  9077  votes,  and  Mr.  Fickey  12.3L  The  : 
long-anticipated  draft  to  fill  the  quota  of  troops  re-  j 
quired  from  Baltimore,  as  well  as  from  a  number  of 
the  counties  in  the  Stifte,  commenced  on  October 
loth.  The  rendezvous  was  fixed  in  Baltimore  at  the 
inclosure  of  the  former  cattle  show  grounds,  on 
Charles  Street  Avenue,  the  name  of  the  locality  being 
changed  to  "  Camp  Bradford."  In  many  instances 
very  high  prices  were  paid  for  substitutes,  the  rate  of 
prices  ranging  from  three  hundred  to  nine  hundred 
dollars.  On  the  17th  of  the  month,  Gen.  Morris, 
commanding  Fort  McHenry,  issued  a  peremptory 
order  forbidding  any  carriage  to  enter  the  gate  of  the 
fort,  bringing  supplies  to  Confederate  prisoners  who 
were  confined  there,  and  directing  that  all  such  sup- 
plies should  be  marked  "  Provost-Marshal's  Ofiice" 
and  left  with  the  guards  at  the  outer  gate.  A  singu- 
lar petition  about  this  time  was  circulated  for  the  re- 
moval of  Gen.  Wool,  on  the  ground  of  "  total  lack  of 
judgment  and  discretion  in  the  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  his  important  office."  A  copy  of  the  peti- 
tion was  brought  to  Gen.  Wool,  who  indignantly  de- 
nied its  charges,  and  hearing  that  the  framers  of  the 
petition  held  secret  meetings  at  Temperance  Temple, 
the  building  was  visited  on  Tuesday  evening,  October 
28th,  by  Maj.  William  P.  Jones,  who  arrested  Thomas 
H.  Gardiner,  clerk  of  the  Criminal  Court;  Thomas 
Sewell,  Jr.  ;  Thomas  R.  Rich,  one  of  Governor  Brad- 
ford's aides ;  and  Alexander  D.  Evans.  They  were  all 
removed  to  the  police  station,  and  the  next  day  sent 
to  Fort  Delaware,  but  were  released  two  days  after- 
wards. 

— On  the  26th  of  November,  Col.  J.  Dimmick,  com- 
mander of  Fort  Warren,  was  ordered  to  release  all 
the  Maryland  State  prisoners,  and  on  the  next  day 
the  following  citizens  of  Baltimore  were  set  at  liberty  : 
Severn  Teackle  Wallis,  Henry  M.  Warfield,  William 
G.  Harrison,  T.  Parkin  Scott,  ex-members  of  the 
Maryland  Legislature ;  George  William  Brown,  ex- 
mayorof  Baltimore ;  Charles  Howard  and  William  H. 
Gatchell,  of  the  Baltimore  Police  Commissioners; 
George  P.  Kane,  ex-marshal  of  Baltimore  police ; 
Frank  Key  Howard,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Balti- 
more Exchange ;  Thomas  W.  Hall,  Jr.,  editor  of  the 
Baltimore  South;  and  Robert  Hull,  merchant  of  Bal- 
timore. The  Baltimore  "State  prisoners"  arrived 
home  on  the  2Sth  and  29th  of  November.  Several  of 
these  gentlemen  brought  suit  against  the  government 
10 


and  military  authorities  for  false  imprisonment.  On 
the  18th  of  December,  Gen.  Wool  was  notified  by 
telegraph  that  he  would  probably  be  relieved  in  com- 
mand at  Baltimore,  and  Gen.  Robert  E.  Schenck,  of 
Ohio,  put  in  his  place.  The  order  was  presented  by 
Gen.  Schenck  on  the  19th,  and  went  into  eflfect  on  the 
22d,  when  Gen.  Wool  relinquished  command. 

1863.— On  the  21st  of  January,  Maj.  William  S. 
Fish  was  appointed  military  provost-marshal.  On 
February  10th,  Maj.  Fish  ordered  a  Methodist  con- 
gregation worshiping  at  the  New  Assembly  Rooms 
to  keep  "  constantly  displayed  in  a  conspicuous  posi- 
tion at  the  head  of  the  hall  a  large-sized  American 
flag."  On  the  14th  the  congregation  gave  notice  that 
it  would  hold  no  further  religious  meetings  at  the 
New  Assembly  Rooms.  Maj.  Fish,  however,  sent  a 
note  to  the  trustees  ordering  them  to  display  the 
flag  wherever  they  might  worship. 

— By  invitation  of  the  mayor  and  City  Council,  Gen. 
B.  F.  Butler  visited  Baltimore  in  the  latter  part  of 
February,  being  met  at  the  Camden  Street  depot  by 
the  mayor,  John  Lee  Chapman,  members  of  the  City 
Council,  and  of  the  Union  League  Club,  who  es- 
corted him  to  the  Eutaw  House.  He  was  tendered 
a  reception  at  the  Maryland  Institute  at  night,  whi^re 
he  made  an  address  in  advocacy  of  the  Union.  During 
the  day,  while  visiting  Fort  Federal  Hill,  Capt.  Max 
Woodhull,  an  officer  of  the  navy  and  commander  of 
a  United  States  gunboat,  was  instantly  killed  by  the 
premature  discharge  of  a  cannon  during  the  firing  of 
a  salute.  He  was  directly  in  front  of  the  gun,  and 
only  a  few  feet  from  it,  and  was  literally  blown  to 
atoms.  About  this  time  Gen.  William  W.  Morris,  com- 
manding at  Fort  McHenry,  issued  an  order  forbidding 
any  further  supplies  of  food  and  clothing  to  be  left  at 
the  fort  for  Confederate  prisoners,  as  the  United 
States  government  had  ample  facilities  for  supplying 
both. 

— On  March  2d,  Col.  George  P.  Kane  was  arrested  on 
the  charge  of  being  concerned  in  the  formation  of  a 
company  of  seventy  or  eighty  men  to  operate  against 
the  authority  of  the  United  States,  but  no  evidence 
being  brought  to  sustain  the  charge,  he  was  released. 
March  7th  Maj.  Fish  issued  the  following  order: 

"  Publishei-s  of  music,  Baltimore  City:  Gentlemen, — The  publication 
or  sale  of  secession  music  is  considered  by  the  commanding  general  and 
the  department  at  Washington  an  evil,  incendiary,  and  not  for  the  public 
good.  You  are  therefore  hereby  ordered  to  discontinue  such  sales  until 
further  orders :  also  to  send  to  this  office  any  such  music  you  may  have 
on  hand  at  present." 

— On  the  11th  all  the  music-dealers  were  summoned 
by  Maj.  Fish  to  appear  at  his  office,  where  the  sur- 
I  render  of  all  copper-plates  of  the  prohibited  music 
!  was  required.     The  music-dealers  were  also  required 
to  take  an  oath  pledging  them  to  good  behavior  for 
}  the  future.     On  the  same  day  Fish  issued  the  follow- 
ing order : 

]       "  Detective  Poutier  is  hereby  ordered  to  proceed  to  any  photographist 

'   or  dealer  in  pictures  in  this  city  and  seize  all  pictures  of  rebel  generals 

and  statesmen  which  they  are  publicly  exposing  for  sale,  as  they  have 


HISTORY   OP   BALT.IMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


beeu  repeatedly  requeBted  uot  to  display  such  pictures  for  sale,  and 
furthermore  ordered  by  Marshal  Van  Nostrand  not  to  sell  such  pictures ; 
and  the  sale  of  such  pictures  is  hereby  forbidden  hereafter,  unless  by 
special  permission  of  the  military  authorities." 

— On  March  13th  a  fire  occurred  at  Fort  McHenry 
which  totally  destroyed  a  building  used  as  quarters 
for  some  of  the  officers.  The  large  number  of  soldiers 
in  the  city  and  the  facility  with  which  they  obtained 
liquor  led,  about  this  period,  to  the  passage  of  an 
order  by  Gen.  Schenck  forbidding  the  sale  of  strong 
drink  to  soldiers  under  penalty  of  imprisonment  and 
the  closing  of  the  shops  of  proprietors  so  ofiending. 

— On  March  20th  a  Union  mass-meeting  was  held 
at  the  Maryland  Institute,  which  was  addressed  by 
Andrew  Johnson,  Horace  Maynard,  Salmon  P.  Chase, 
and  others.  On  the  28th  an  order  was  issued  direct- 
ing the  closing  of  all  saloons  and  drinking-places  in 
Baltimore  City  and  County  for  the  next  forty-eight 
hours. 

— A  large  number  of  Confederate  prisoners — five  or 
six  thousand — passed  through  Baltimore  early  in 
April,  being  sent  from  Camp  Chase  and  other  Western 
stations  to  the  James  River  to  be  exchanged.  Some 
of  the  prisoners  who  had  the  smallpox  were  quar- 
tered in  Locust  Point,  where  they  were  attended  by 
Confederate  as  well  as  Federal  surgeons.  On  one 
occasion  a  number  of  prisoners  were  quartered  at 
Barnum's  Hotel,  but  when  they  were  discovered  to 
be  in  communication  with  citizens  they  were  all 
ordered  into  confinement  at  Fort  McHenry.  No  one 
was  allowed  to  display  any  sympathy  for  prisoners 
passing  through  the  city.  Jesse  Hunt,  president  of 
the  Eutaw  Savings-Bank  and  former  mayor  of  the 
city,  was  arrested  for  raising  his  hat  in  recognition  of 
a  party  of  Confederate  prisoners.  A  great  deal  of  ex- 
citement was  occasioned  about  this  time  by  the  ban- 
ishment of  a  number  of  ladies,  who  were  sent  South 
because  of  their  alleged  activity  in  behalf  of  the  Con- 
federate cause.  On  the  16th  of  April  the  City  Coun- 
cil passed  a  resolution  asking  the  mayor  to  issue  a 
proclamation  requesting  the  masters  of  shipping  and 
all  loyal  citizens  to  display  the  national  flagon  April 
20th,  that  day  having  been  set  apart  for  a  celebration 
by  the  National  Union  League  of  Baltimore  ;  also 
that  the  flag  should  be  displayed  from  the  public 
buildings,  and  that  the  public  schools  'should  be 
closed  on  that  day.  On  the  20th  a  large  Union  mass- 
meeting  was  held  at  the  Maryland  Institute,  at  which 
Governor  Bradford  pr&sided.  Among  the  speakers 
were  G.  W.  Bradford,  Montgomery  Blair,  Gen. 
Schenck,  ex-Governor  Hicks,  David  Paul  Brown,  of 
Philadelphia,  and  Governor  Conner,  of  Delaware.  A 
series  of  resolutions  were  adopted  advocating  the 
abolition  of  slavery.  Large  numbers  of  prisoners 
continued  to  be  sent  through  Baltimore,  and  on  the 
21st  of  the  month  a  squad  of  thirty-seven  arrived  , 
from  Harper's  Ferry,  nineteen  of  whom  took  the  oath 
of  allegiance  and  were  sent  to  West  Virginia.  An 
additional  number  of  ladies  were  arrested  and  sent 


'  South  by  order  of  Gen.  Schenck,  all  of  them,  it  was 
charged,  being  active  partisans.  A  stampede  of  slaves 
took  place  about  the  same  time  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Warren  factory,  on  the  York  road,  in- 
duced  by  intelligence  of  President  Lincoln's  procla- 
mation. After  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville  a  number 
of  women  were  arrested  as  Confederate  spies,  one  of 
whom  was  regularly  enlisted  as  an  orderly  sergeant 

i  in  Jenkins'  cavalry.  Another  lady  was  arrested  for 
treason,  her  mother  having  already  been  sent  through 
the  lines,  and  the  daughter  was  seized  in  consequence 

I  of  a  letter  which  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 

j  police.  About  this  same  period  a  number  of  arrests 
were  made  of  persons  belonging  to  an  association 
called  the  "  Wooden  Horse,"  and  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  Confederate  deserters  were  brought  into 
Baltimore  and  took  the  oath  of  allegiance. 

— On  the  1st  of  May  the  provost-marshal's  quarters 
were  removed  from  Taylor's  building  on  Fayette 
Street  to  the  Gilmor  House  on  Monument  Square 
(afterwards  known  as  St.  Clair's  Hotel,  now  as  Guy's 
Monument  House),  at  the  corner  of  Court-house 
Lane. 

— On  the  12th  of  May,  Gen.  Schenck  removed  his 
headquarters  irom  Holliday  Street  to  the  Johnson 
building,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Calvert  and  Fay- 
ette Streets,  a  jtart  of  which  was  also  occupied  by  the 
medical  department. 

— On  the  25th  of  May  the  City  Council  passed  a 
resolution  approving  the  action  of  Gen.  Burnside  in 
causing  the  arrest  of  C.  L.  Vallandigham,  of  Ohio, 
and  ordered  copies  of  the  resolutions  to  be  sent  to 
President  Lincoln  and  Gen.  Burnside.  On  June 
5th  the  Union  convention  to  nominate  a  candidate 
for  the  Third  Congressional  District  assembled  at 
Temperance  Temple,  North  Gay  Street,  with  Michael 
Warner  president,  and  Dr.  James  Armitage  and 
John  M.  Stevenson  as  vice-presidents,  and  John  M. 
Denison,  secretary.  Hon.  Henry  Winter  Davis  was 
nominated,  Mr.  Swann's  name  being  also  mentioned. 
On  the  15th  of  June,  in  consequence  of  the  invasion 
of  the  State  by  the  Confederates,  President  Lincoln 
issued  a  proclamation  calling  for  one  hundred  thou- 
sand men  ;  and  in  accordance  with  this  proclamation 
Governor  Bradford,  on  the  16th,  issued  an  appeal  to 
the  people  of  Maryland  to  furnish  the  ten  thousand 
men  allotted  to  her  by  voluntary  enlistment. 

On  the  same  day  the  City  Council  was  convened  in 
extra  session  and  passed  an  ordinance  appropriating 
four  hundred  thousand  dollars  as  a  bounty  fund,  and 
providing  for  the  payment  of  one  hundred  dollars  to 
each  person  who  should  enlist  before  the  26th  of  June. 
Among  the  various  organizations  which  offered  their 
services  under  the  call  were  the  Independent  Grays, 
the  Washington  Light  Infantry,  the  Baltimore  Union 
City  Guards  of  East  Baltimore,  and  the  battalion  of 
Baltimore  City  Guards.  The  situation  seemed  so  ur- 
gent that  Governor  Bradford  on  the  17th  decided  to 
arm  and  equip  all  volunteers  as  they  were  received  in 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


companies,  without  waiting  for  regimental  organiza- 
tions. Saturday  and  Sunday,  June  20th  and  21st, 
were  two  days  of  great  excitement  in  and  around  Bal- 
timore. Business  was  suspended,  and  there  were  ru- 
mors and  counter-rumors,  varying  with  every  hour. 
Gen.  Schenck  was  active  in  using  every  means  at  his 
command  to  place  the  city  in  a  state  of  defense.  He 
appealed  to  the  "  Loyal  Leagues,"  and  over  six  thou- 
sand men  responded  to  his  call.  Each  of  the  leagues 
formed  companies,  which  elected  their  officers,  and 
with  three  days'  rations  were  sent  to  occupy  the  de- 
fenses of  the  city.  On  Saturday,  the  20th,  the  City 
Council  decided  that  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  of 
the  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  appropriated  for 
bounties  should  be  devoted  to  the  construction  of  forti- 
fications around  the  city.  On  the  morning  of  that  day 
about  one  thousand  colored  men  were  seized  by  the 
police  in  different  sections  of  the  city  and  marched 
out  in  squads  of  forty  each  to  work  on  the  defenses. 
At  night  another  force  was  impressed  to  relieve  those 
who  had  been  at  work  throughout  the  day,  and  some 
white  persons  were  also  compelled  t"  a''=i»t  in  the 
work.  The  long  trains  of  wagons 
and  drays  through  the  streets, 
carrying  hogsheads,  barrels,  and 
other  materials  required  for  the 
barricades  were  rather  a  novel 
sight  for  Sunday,  and  brou  ht 
to  the  mind  the  scenes  present  1 
on  Sunday,  the  21st  of  A])iil 
1861.  The  work  of  erectin^  I  h 
barricades  progressed  rapi  ll\ 
and  on  Sunday,  June  21st  lli 
entire  circuit  of  defenses  wis 
completed  and  ready  foi  mill 
tary  occupation  at  any  m  i 
ment  that  the  scouts  and  [  i  I 
ets  should  announce  the  q 
proach  of  the  Confederates  1  Ik 
line  of  jntrenchments  and  foi 
tifications  on  all  the  approaclas 
to  the  city  attracted  thousand'?  ot 
visitors.  The  barricades  whith 
were  erected  in  many  parts  closed 
the  streets  to  carriages,  and  it 
was  supposed  would  be  effect- 
ual against  cavalry,  although 
some  of  them  were  so  low  that  a 
horse  could  have  cleared  them 

with  ease.  They  were  generally  constructed  at  the 
corners  of  streets  by  gathering  one  or  two  carts  at 
each  end  on  the  sidewalk,  and  then  by  digging  up 
stones  on  the  roadway  sufficient  earth  was  thrown 
up  to  form  an  embankment,  leaving  a  narrow  pas- 
sage on  each  side  for  foot  passengers.  If  an  attempt 
had  been  made  to  take  the  city,  the  houses  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  lines  of  barricades  were  to  be  occu- 
pied by  riflemen.  In  addition  to  Fort  McHenry, 
Fort  Federal  Hill  and  Fort  Marshall,  upon  higher 


ground  than  Fort  McHenry,  mounted  each  with  fifty 
to  sixty  guns  of  forty-two  and  thirty-two-pounders  and 
eight-inch  columbiads,  with  a  few  rifled  pieces,  could 
have  destroyed  Baltimore  in  a  short  time,  this  being 
the  line  of  defense  determined  on  if  its  capture  could 
not  be  otherwise  prevented.  On  the  night  of  June 
29th  the  Confederate  cavalry  under  Stuart  approached 
within  eight  miles  of  Baltimore,  and  flying  parties  of 
Federals  driven  in  by  them  soon  spread  alarm  and 
confusion  through  the  city.  The  impression  prevailed 
that  the  Confederates  were  advancing  in  force,  and  at 
half-past  eleven  o'clock  that  night  (29th)  a  general 
alarm  was  sounded,  and  the  various  Union  Leagues 
and  many  other  citizens  assembled  at  headquarters, 
received  arms,  and  marched  to  the  barricades.  In  a 
few  hours  several  thousand  men  were  thus  collected 
and  placed  under  the  command  of  Brig.-Gen.  E.  B. 
Tyler.  Gen.  Schenck  and  staff  and  the  regular  mil- 
itary forces  of  the  city  took  up  their  position  on  the 
north  of  the  city.  The  excitement  continued  all  night, 
gradually  lessening  as  it  was  found  the  Confederates 


did  not  arrive.     Earl 


■Wth 


ot  June,  Gen.  Schenck  proclaimed  martial  law  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore  and  the  counties  of  the  Western  Shore 
of  Maryland.  Orders  were  also  issued  forbidding  the 
sale  of  arms  or  ammunition  without  a  permit,  pro- 
hibiting persons  from  leaving  the  city  without  passes 
from  the  provost-marshal,  and  requiring  all  stores, 
shops,  manufacturers,  drinking-saloons,  and  ether 
places  of  business,  "other  than  apothecary-shops  and 
printing-offices  of  daily  journals,"  to  be  closed  at  five 
o'clock  P.M.,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  patriotic  citi- 


144 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


zens  an  opportunity  to  drill  and  make  themselves  ex- 
pert in  the  use  of  arms. 

The  city  was  now  turned  into  a  camp,  and  the  tread 
of  armed  men  and  the  word  of  command  could  be 
heard  in  every  direction.  At  Gen.  Schenck's  request, 
the  naval  authorities  took  part  in  the  measures  for 
defense,  and  Commodore  Dornin,  the  senior  naval 
officer  on  duty  in  Baltimore,  placed  several  gunboats 
in  position  to  aid  in  repulsing  any  Confederate  attacks. 
The  United  States  gunboat  "  Eutaw,"  one  thousand 
tons,  carrying  eight  guns  (two  pivot  and  six  broad- 
side), throwing  an  eleven-inch  projectile  weighing 
three  hundred  and  thirty  pounds,  was  stationed  in  the 
harbor  near  Thames  Street.  The  gunboat  "  Daylight," 
carrying  eight  guns  like  those  of  the  "  Eutaw,"  lay  at 
the  foot  of  Broadway.  The  "  Maratanza"  lay  farther 
up  the  harbor,  in  range  of  one  of  the  principal  streets, 
to  bear  upon  the  city  and  its  approaches.  She  also 
carried  eight  guns.  The  United  States  gunboat 
"  Seymour"  was  stationed  near  the  Long  Bridge  at 
Ferry  Bar,  at  the  foot  of  Spring  Gardens,  command- 
ing that  part  of  the  harbor  and  overlooking  the  Bal- 
timore and  Ohio  Railroad  and  the  western  section  of 
the  city.  On  the  1st  of  July,  Gen.  Schenck  issued  a 
proclamation  forbidding  the  citizens  of  BalfSmore  and 
the  county  to  keep  arms  in  their  possession  un- 
less enrolled  in  volunteer  companies  for  the  defense 
of  their  houses.  The  execution  of  the  order  was  in- 
trusted to  Gen.  E.  B.  Tyler,  and  on  the  morning  of 
July  2d,  Col.  Augustus  Sprague's  Fifty-first  Massa- 
chusetts Regiment  was  placed  at  Gen.  Tyler's  dis- 
posal. In  squads  of  three  or  four  they  acted  in  con- 
cert with  the  police  in  diligently  searching  the  dwell- 
ings of  persons  supposed  to  be  disloyal  for  arms. 
Furniture-wagons  accompanied  the  squads,  and  as 
soon  as  arms  of  any  description  were  discovered  they 
were  seized  and  placed  in  the  wagons.  Among  the 
various  arms  seized  were  muskets,  carbines,  rifles, 
revolvers  of  all  kinds,  pistols,  swords,  sabres,  bayonets, 
bird  and  ducking-guns.  Some  of  the  latter  were 
very  valuable,  and  many  of  the  articles  were  old 
family  relics.  In  some  instances  citizens  refused  to 
surrender  their  cherished  weapons  or  permit  their 
dwellings  to  be  searched,  when  they  were  arrested 
and  held  in  prison  for  a  hearing. 

— The  news  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  produced 
great  excitement  in  Baltimore ;  the  streets  and  news- 
paper-oflices  were  constantly  thronged  by  crowds  of 
people  eagerly  seeking  the  latest  intelligence.  On 
the  3d  of  July,  Gen.  Schenck  issued  an  order  "  re- 
questing and  recommending  that  every  house  and  j 
place  of  business  of  every  loyal  citizen  of  Baltimore 
shall  have  displayed  upon  it  to-morrow,  the  4th,  from 
ten  o'clock  a.m.  to  six  p.m.,  the  American  flag."  In 
consequence  of  this  order  nearly  every  one  complied 
with  the  request,  and  tho.se  who  failed  to  comply  were 
marked,  and  afterwards  paid  the  penalty.  The  de- 
mand for  and  the  exhibition  of  colors  were  quite  un- 
precedented.    Very  soon,  too,  the  terrible  results  of 


I  the  battle  became  apparent  from  the  large  number  of 
wounded  officers  and  men,  both  of  the  Union  and 
Confederate  armies,  who  began  to  arrive  in  the  city. 
Measures   of  relief  for  the   wounded   were   at   once 
adopted,  and  committees  appointed  to  solicit  and  for- 
ward supplies.     The  City  Council  also  appropriated 
about  six  thousand  dollars,  and  with  the  amount  con- 
tributed by  the  citizens,  there  was  raised  in  Baltimore 
fifty  thousand  dollars  in  cash  besides  miscellaneous 
j  articles.    A  large  number  of  the  surgeons  of  Baltimore 
j  were  dispatched  to  the  battle-field  at  Gettysburg,  and 
the  Sanitary  and  Christian  Commissions  went  to  the 
same  place  with  large  quantities  of  medical  stores, 
clothing,  delicacies,  etc.    Many  ladies  and  gentlemen 
I  of  Baltimore  also  went  in  search  of  friends  and  relations 
j  wounded  in  the  battle,  or  to  act  as  nurses  in  the  hos- 
j  pitals,  and  a  number  of  Sisters  of  Charity  started  on 
j  the  same  noble  mission.     The  Adams  Express  Com- 
pany, through  Samuel  Shoemaker,  its  efficient  super- 
intendent, established  a  hospital  corps,  and  sent  J.  Q. 
A.  Herring,  Mr.  Shoemaker's  able  assistant,  with  a 
large  quantity  of  ice  and  other  stores  for  the  relief  of 
the  sick  and  wounded.     There  were  a  great  many 
Confederate  wounded  brought  to  Baltimore,  and  Gen. 
Schenck  on  the  10th  of  July  issued  an  order  forbid- 
ding private  persons  to  receive  or  entertain  wounded 
Southern  officers  and  soldiers. 

— On  the  20th  of  July  a  flag  presentation  took  place 

at  Fort  No.  1  (Davis).     The  colored  laborers  who  had 

j  been  at  work  upon  the  city  fortifications  purchased  a 

large  national  flag,  which  was  presented  in  their  behalf 

to  the  military  authorities  by  Col.  Birney,  who  made 

a  speech  on  the  occasion.     Col.  Don  Piatt  received 

the  flag  for  Gen.  Schenck  and  responded,  a  salute  of 

thirty-six  guns  closing  the  ceremony. 

— On  the  27th  of  July,  Col.  Birney, who  was  recruiting 

j  a  regiment  of  colored  troops,  proceeded  to  Campbell's 

j  slave  jail,  on  Pratt  Street  near  Howard,  where,  by 

virtue  of  an  order  from  Gen.  Schenck,  he  liberated 

the  colored  prisoners  confined  there  and  enlist«d  the 

males  in  his  regiment.     He  also  visited  the  jails  of 

Donovan,  Wilson,  Hines,  and  Fairbanks. 

—On  the  31st  of  July  the  body  of  Capt.  William  D. 
Brown,  of  the  Chesapeake  Artillery  (Confederate), 
who  had  been  killed  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  was 
interred  at  Greenmount  Cemetery.  As  the  relatives 
and  friends  were  returning  from  the  lot  a  detachment 
of  soldiers  appeared,  by  orders  from  headquarters, 
and  arrested  all  the  male  attendants  except  the  officia- 
ting ministers.  Revs.  Dr.  Slicer,  Sargent,  and  Owens. 
They  were  conducted  to  the  headquarters  of  Brig.- 
Gen.  Tyler,  at  the  Gilmor  House,  and  after  a  short 
detention  were  released.  The  charge  against  them 
was  that  the  corpse  was  dressed  in  a  new  Confederate 
uniform.  It  appeared,  hpwever,  that  Mr.  Weaver,  the 
undertaker,  had  only  put  on  a  small  piece  of  gray 
cloth  where  the  original  uniform  was  ragged. 

— On  the  10th  of  .\ugust  the  City  Council  passed  a 
series  of  resolutions  eulogistic  of  Gen.  Schenck,  and 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


thanking  him  for  recognizing  only  two  parties,  the 
loyal  and  the  disloyal ;  also  for  his  energy  and  ser- 
vices in  placing  Baltimore  in  a  state  of  defense  during 
the  late  invasion,  and  also  for  his  declared  purpose  of 
inflicting  damages  for  all  property  wantonly  destroyed 
helonging  to  Union  men.  Gen.  Morris,  commanding 
at  Fort  McHenry,  about  this  time  issued  an  order 
authorizing  the  seizure  of  horses  for  military  pur- 
poses within  the  limits  of  the  city.  Horses  seized  in 
accordance  with  the  order  which  were  found  on 
examination  to  be  unfit  for  military  purposes  were  to 
be  returned  to  their  owners.  In  other  cases  when  used 
no  compensation  was  to  be  made  to  disloyal  persons. 

— On  the  22d  of  August  the  provost-marshal's  office 
was  removed  to  Donovan's  slave  jail,  which  stood  on 
the  southwest  corner  of  Camden  and  Eutaw  Streets. 
Gen.  Tyler's  headquarters  were  removed  to  the  build- 
ing on  Holliday  Street  which  had  formerly  been  oc- 
cupied by  Gen.  Schenck. 

—On  the  .31st  of  August  the  revenue  steam  cutter 
the  "  Wamazanda,"  built  in  Baltimore,  was  launched 
from  the  shipyard  of  John  T.  Fardy  &  Co.,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  basin  near  Federal  Hill.  On  the 
23d  the  revenue  cutter  "  Kewanee"  was  launched 
from  the  shipyard  of  John  A.  Robb  &  Co.,  Fell's 
Point.  In  the  evening  a  banquet  in  honor  of  the 
event  was  given  at  Guy's  Monument  House,  which 
was  participated  in  by  many  of  the  military  and  civic 
dignitaries  of  the  city.  It  was  at  this  period  that  Hon. 
Hugh  L.  Bond,  judge  of  the  City  Criminal  Court, 
addressed  his  famous  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War 
advocating  the  enlistment  in  the  Unicm  armies  of  all 
classes  of  persons  of  African  descent,  whether  free  or 
slave.  On  Thursday,  September  10th,  the  Baltimore 
County  Unconditional  Union  Convention  assembled 
at  Temperance  Temple,  and  passed  strong  resolutions 
approving  the  policy  of  the  government. 

— On  the  11th  of  September,  Gen.  Schenck  issued  an 
order  for  the  suppression  of  the  Baltimore  Republican 
and  the  arr&st  of  the  editors,  and  in  accordance  with 
the  order  the  office  was  visited  by  the  military  about 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  further  publication 
of  the  paper  stopped.  Beale  H.  Richardson,  editor 
and  proprietor  of  the  paper,  and  his  son,  Francis  A. 
Richardson,  and  Stephen  J.  Joyce,  associate  editors, 
were  taken  into  custody  and  conducted  to  the  office 
of  Col.  Fish,  where  an  order  was  shortly  received 
from  Gen.  Schenck  directing  that  they  should  be  sent 
South  by  way  of  Harper's  Ferry,  with  orders  not  to 
return  under  penalty  of  being  treated  as  spies.  The 
ground  of  arrest  was  alleged  to  be  the  publication  of 
a  piece  of  poetry  entitled  "  The  Southern  Cross," 
which  has  been  attributed  to  Mrs.  Ellen  Key  Blunt. 

— On  the  26th  the  City  Council  presented  Gen. 
Schenck  with  complimentary  resolutions  indorsing 
his  administration.  The  presentation  sjieech  was 
made  by  John  G.  Wilmot,  of  the  Second  Branch  of 
the  City  Council,  and  was  responded  to  by  Gen. 
Schenck. 


—On  the  28th  the  United  States  transport-steamer 
"  City  of  Albany"  took  fire  at  her  wharf  and  was 
seriously  damaged. 

— On  the  28th  of  September  a  mass-meeting  of  the 
Unconditional  Union  party  in  favor  of  emancipation 
was  held  in  Monument  Square,  Mayor  Chapman  pre- 
siding ;  among  the  speakers  were  Henry  Winter 
Davis  and  Hon.  S.  P.  Chase. 

—On  the  29th  of  September  the  Baltimore  Daily 
Gazette  was  also  suppressed,  and  Messrs.  E.  F.  Carter 
and  W.  H.  Neilson,  editors  and  proprietors,  were  ar- 
rested. On  the  same  day  Messrs.  Michael  J.  Kelly  and 
John  B.  Piet  were  arrested  by  government  detectives 
upon  the  charge  of  selling  a  work  entitled  "  Fourteen 
Months  in  the  Bastiles  of  America,"  written  by  Frank 
Key  Howard,  of  the  Baltimore  bar. 

—On  the  26th  of  October  occurred  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  imposing  military  parades  of  the  troops 
stationed  in  and  around  the  city  that  had  been  wit- 
nessed in  Baltimore  for  many  months  previous. 

—On  the  3d  of  November,  Gen.  Schenck  published  in 
Baltimore  an  order,  dated  the  27  th  of  October,  requiring 
all  voters  at  the  approaching  election  whose  loyalty 
might  be  challenged  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  government.  On  the  2d  of  November,  Governor 
Bradford  issued  a  proclamation  instructing  the  judges 
to  obey  the  election  laws  of  the  State,  and  promising 
them  protection  in  so  doing.  On  the  same  day  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  addressed  a  letter  to  Governor  Bradford 
slightly  modifying  Gen.  Schenck's  order,  but  not  re- 
voking the  clause  requiring  voters  to  prove  their  loy- 
alty by  oath.  Governor  Bradford's  proclamation  was 
sent  to  the  Baltimore  newspaper-offices  for  publication 
in  their  Tuesday  morning's  editions,  but  before  they 
appeared  a  written  order  was  received  from  Gen. 
Schenck  peremptorily  forbidding  its  publication  until 
further  orders  from  him.  The  proclamation  of  the 
Governor,  however,  appeared  in  the  columns  of  the 
Baltimore  newspapers  on  the  morning  of  the  election, 
Wednesday,  November  4th,  with  the  sanction  of  Gen. 
Schenck,  accompanied  by  a  reply  virtually  repeating 
the  instructions  of  his  first  order.  In  Baltimore  there 
were  four  tickets  in  the  field,— the  Independent  Union, 
Regular  Union,  Conditional  Union,  and  Uncondi- 
tional Union.  The  candidates  for  Congress  on  the 
Unconditional  tickets  were:  First  District,  John  A.  J. 
Creswell;  Second  District,  Edwin  H.  Webster; 
Third  District,  Henry  Winter  Davis  ;  Fourth  District, 
ex-Governor  Frank  Thomas ;  Fifth  District,  Col.  John 
C.  Holland.  The  candidates  on  the  Conditional 
Union  ticket  were  :  First  District,  John  W.  Crisfield ; 
Fifth  District,  Charles  B.  Calvert  and  Benjamin  G. 
Harris.  The  five  Unconditional  Union  candidates 
were  all  pledged  to  vote  for  the  Radical  administration 
candidate  for  Speaker.  In  the  election  for  State  offi- 
cers, the  question  of  emancipation  or  slavery  was  to 
be  tested.  Those  who  were  for  the  speedy  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  State  voted  for  H.  Goldsborough  for 
comptroller  of  the  treasury ;  and  those  who  wished 


146 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


to  retain  slavery  in  the  State  voted  for  Samuel  S. 
Maffitt  for  that  office.  In  Baltimore  tlie  entire  Regular 
Unconditional  Union  ticket  was  elected,  Goldsborough 
receiving  10,942  votes,  and  Maffitt  368. 

— On  the  10th  of  November,  Col.  Fish  issued  an 
order  forbidding  the  further  publication  of  the  Even- 
ing Transcript,  a  paper  started  but  a  few  weeks  be-  ; 
fore  under  the  proprietorship  of  William  H.  Neilson, 
formerly  of  the  Gazette. 

— On  the  18th  of  November,  President  Lincoln,  who 
was  on  his  way  to  participate  in  the  dedication  of  the 
National  Cemetery  at  Gettysburg,  passed  through 
Baltimore,  and  was  received  by  the  military  and  civic 
authorities  with  distinguished  honors.  On  the  23d  ' 
of  November  the  draft  commenced  under  the  Presi- 
dent's call  for  additional  troops,  and  was  completed 
on  the  same  day  in  the  First  and  Eighth  Wards,  and 
on  the  next  day  the  Second  and  other  wards  were 
proceeded  with,  and  so  on  in  rotation  until  all  of  ' 
tliem  were  completed.  On  the  30th  of  November, 
ex-Governor  Thomas  G.  Pratt  and  Col.  Nicholson 
were  sent  South  with  the  injunction  not  to  return 
during  the  war  under  penalty  of  being  treated  as 
spies.  Their  offense  consisted  in  the  refusal  to  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance.  Ex-Governor  Pratt  was  soon 
released  by  order  of  the  President,  and  returned  on 
the  10th  of  January  to  Baltimore.  In  the  latter 
l)art  of  November  Gen.  Schenck  tendered  his  resig- 
n.ation  as  major-general  of  volunteers,  to  take  effect 
on  the  5tli  of  December.  On  the  latter  date  Col. 
Fish  also  resigned  the  position  of  provost-marshal,  I 
and  Brig.-Gen.  Henry  H.  Lockwood  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  department.  On  the  same  day  Capt. 
French  was  appointed  provost-marshal  in  the  place  ' 
of  Col.  Fish.  On  the  7th,  Gen.  Lockwood  reap- 
pointed Col.  Fish  to  the  position,  Capt.  French 
resuming  his  duties  as  assistant  provost-marshal. 

1864.— On  the  15th  of  January,  Col.  Fish  tendered 
his  resignation,  and  was  assigned  to  the  command  of 
a  brigade  of  cavalry.     On  the  evening  of  the  24th  he 
was  arrested  by  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War  on  the  ' 
charge  of  oiBcial  corruption  and  fraud  while  acting  | 
as  provost-marshal  of  Baltimore.     He  was  afterwards 
tried  by  court-martial,  found  guilty  on  nearly  all  the 
charges  preferred  against  him,  cashiered,  and  sent  to 
the  Albany  penitentiary.     On  the  28th  of  January, 
Messrs.  Stephen  Joyce  and  Francis  Richardson  were 
rearrested  at  Nassau  and  brought  to  Baltimore,  where  j 
they  arrived  on  the  29th.     They  were  released  for  a  i 
few  days  on  parole,  but  on  February  2d  were  rear-  • 
rested,  and  on  the  following  day  were  sent  to  Fort 
Delaware. 

— On  the  11th  of  February  the  express  passenger-  > 
train  which  left  Camden  Station,  Baltimore,  for  , 
Wheeling  and  intermediate  points  was  captured  by  j 
Confederate  raiders  near  Kearneysville  depot,  about  • 
eight  miles  from  Harper's  Ferry,  and  the  passengers  ' 
relieved  of  their  money,  watches,  etc. 

—On  the  12th  of  March,  Maj.-Gen.  Lewis  Wallace  ' 


was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Middle  Depart- 
ment. He  relieved  Gen.  Lockwood,  and  assumed 
command  on  the  22d. 

— On  the  18th  of  March  an  attempt  was  made  to 
break  out  of  the  provost-marshal's  prison,  but  the 
effort  resulted  unsuccessfully.  On  the  30th,  Rev.  Dr. 
Bullock,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  was  arrested  on 
the  charge  of  harboring  a  Confederate  officer,  but  was 
soon  released.  On  the  1st  of  April  a  large  meeting 
of  the  friends  of  constitutional  reform  was  held  at 
the  Maryland  Institute.  William  J.  Albert  presided, 
with  John  Lee  Chapman  and  others  as  vice-presi- 
dents. Among  the  speakers  were  Henry  Winter 
Davis,  ex-Governor  George  S.  Boutwell,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  Gen.  Wallace. 

— On  the  6th  of  April  the  question  of  calling  a  State 
Constitutional  Convention  was  submitted  to  the 
people,  and  resulted  in  the  success  of  the  new  con- 
stitution party.  In  Baltimore  the  vote  was  9102  in 
favor  of  the  convention,  and  87  against  it.  In  Balti- 
more County  the  vote  was  2046  in  its  favor,  and  811 
in  opposition  to  it.  Lists  of  questions  were  submitted 
to  persons  whose  disloyalty  was  suspected,  and  they 
were  compelled  to  answer  under  oath  detailed  inter- 
rogatories touching  their  fidelity  to  the  government. 

— On  the  8th  of  April  the  city  gave  a  banquet  to 
the  First  and  Ninth  Maryland  Regiments,  exchanged 
and  returned  from  Southern  prisons.  The  Second 
Maryland  reached  home  on  the  13th  of  April,  and  met 
with  an  enthusiastic  reception.  On  the  18th  the  great 
Maryland  State  Fair  for  the  benefit  of  the  United 
States  Sanitary  Commission  commenced  and  con- 
tinued for  several  weeks.  On  April  26th,  Gen.  Wal- 
lace issued  an  order  authorizing  the  confiscation  of 
the  property  of  all  persons  who  had  left  the  State  and 
gone  South. 

— On  the  night  of  the  loth  of  May,  Eugene  Lamar 
and  William  B.  Compton,  of  the  Confederate  army, 
sentenced  to  be  hung  as  spies ;  George  E.  Sherer,  sen- 
tenced to  fifteen  years'  imprisonment  and  hard  labor 
for  various  offenses  against  the  United  States ;  L.  W. 
Dorsey,  awaiting  trial  on  charge  of  treason ;  James 
Gibbens,  of  the  Confederate  army,  captured  near  City 
Point  by  Gen.  Butler's  forces,  effected  their  escape 
from  Fort  McHenry. 

— On  the  23d  of  May  a  man  named  Andrew  or  Isa- 
dore  Laypole,  who  had  been  court-martialed  and  con- 
demned as  a  Confederate  spy,  was  hung  inside  of  Fort 
McHenry.  He  made  a  short  speech  from  the  gallows, 
denying  that  he  was  a  felon,  then  prayed  fervently, 
and  died  bravely. 

—On  the  20th  of  May,  by  order  of  the  Secretary  of 
War,  the  offices  of  the  Independent  Line  of  Telegraph 
were  closed  and  the  operators  arrested.  They  were 
released  the  same  day  on  parole  by  Col.  Woolley,  pro- 
vost-marshal. This  action  was  caused  by  a  spurious 
dispatch  purporting  to  be  a  proclamation  from  the 
President  calling  for  four  hundred  thousand  additional 
men. 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


147 


— On  May  21st,  Col.  Woolley's  detectives  captured 
off  Sandy  Point  two  men  bringing  a  large  quantity  of 
mail-matter  from  the  South,  a  large  number  of  the 
letters  being  addressed  to  persons  in  Baltimore. 

— On  the  7th  of  June  the  Union  National  Conven- 
tion assembled  at  the  Front  Street  Theatre  for  the  pur- 
pose of  nominating  candidates  for  the  Presidency  and 
Vice-Presidency.  Ex-Governor  Morgan,  of  New  York, 
chairman  of  the  National  Executive  Committee,  called 
the  convention  to  order  and  nominated  as  temporary 
president  of  the  convention  Robert  J.  Breckenridge, 
of  Kentucky.  Speeches  were  made  by  Senator  Mor-  ; 
gan  and  Dr.  Breckenridge,  and  at  the  evening  session 
Hon.  William  Dennison,  of  Ohio,  was  chosen  perma- 
nent president.  On  the  8th  the  vote  was  taken,  and 
although  the  Missouri  delegation  were  instructed  to 
cast  their  vote  first  in  favor  of  Gen.  Grant,  the  vote 
for  President  Lincoln  was  made  unanimous,  every  , 
other  State  voting  for  him  on  the  first  ballot.  The  en- 
tire number  of  votes  cast  was  541.  Forthe  Vice-Presi-  ' 
dency,  on  the  first  ballot  200  votes  were  cast  for  An- 
drew Johnson,  145  for  Hannibal  Hamlin,  113  for 
Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  28  for  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler, 
21  for  Rousseau,  6  for  Schuyler  Colfax,  2  for  Attorney- 
General  Holt,  1  for  Governor  Todd,  and  1  for  Preston  i 
King.  Before  the  ballot  was  announced  several  of 
the  States  changed  their  votes  to  Johnson,  so  that  the 
final  result  was :  Johnson  494,  Dickinson  17,  and 
Hamlin  9. 

^On  Saturday,  July  9th,  an  unofiicial  dispatch  an- 
nouncing the  defeat  of  Gen.  Wallace  at  the  Mon- 
ocacy  was  received  in  the  city,  and  created  great  ex-  i 
citement.  Between  five  and  six  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  10th  a  general  alarm  was  sounded 
throughout  the  city,  calling  the  people  to  arms, 
which  was  promptly  responded  to.  People  rushed 
from  their  houses  with  guns  in  their  hands,  and 
squads  were  soon  marching  through  the  streets  to 
the  various  headquarters.  A  proclamation  was  is- 
sued by  Governor  Bradford  and  Mayor  Chapman, 
declaring  that  the  danger  was  "  imminent,"  and 
earnestly  calling  upon  the  citizens  to  come  forward 
for  the  defense  of  the  city  without  delay.  Gen.  John 
R.  Kenly,  with  headquarters  at  Fort  No.  1,  at  the 
head  of  Baltimore  Street,  was  placed  in  command  of 
the  defenses  west  of  Jones'  Falls,  and  Gen.  Lock- 
wood  of  those  east  of  it.  The  Union  Club  called  a 
meeting  of  its  members,  a  company  was  formed,  and 
they  marched  out  under  Capt.  George  A.  Pope  and 
took  possession  of  Fort  No.  7,  overlooking  the 
Northern  Central  Railroad,  a  short  distance  beyond  I 
the  Mount  Royal  reservoir.  There  they  remained 
during  the  week.  In  the  neighborhood  of  the 
custom-hoase.  Exchange  Place,  and  the  docks  south 
of  them  a  curious  scene  was  presented.  Many  ware- 
houses in  that  part  of  the  city  were  used  for  govern- 
ment stores,  and  crowds  of  laborers  were  busily 
engaged  in  emptying  them  of  everything  likely  to  be 
seized   by   the   enemy.     Long   lines  of   drays  were 


rapidly  loaded  and  sent  off  to  places  of  safety,  mostly 
to  vessels  which  lay  at  the  docks  with  steam  up,  ready 
to  start  down  the  river  at  a  moment's  notice.  All 
the  valuables  in  the  treasury  department  at  the 
custom-house  had  been  sent  off  the  preceding  night, 
and  the  contents  of  the  post-ofiice  and  pay  depart- 
ment of  the  army  and  navy  in  the  Exchange  Build- 
ing were  also  hurriedly  removed.  Some  of  the  army 
paymasters  were  absent  on  duty,  but  under  the 
supervision  of  Maj.  B.  W.  Brice,  afterwards  paymaster- 
general,  their  effects  were  all  packed  up  and  sent  on 
board  the  steamer  "  Balloon."  From  an  early  hour 
in  the  morning  until  late  in  the  night  the  spacious 
inclosures  of  the  Camden  Street  Railway  Station  were 
crowded  with  anxious  citizens.  The  olEcers  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  were  in  their  offices  all 
night  Saturday  and  during  Sunday^  with  engines  fired 
up  and  trains  ready,  awaiting  the  emergencies  of  the 
occasion.  As  the  morning  advanced  it  was  announced 
that  a  special  train  would  be  dispatched  for  Elli- 
cott's  Mills,  where  Gen.  Wallace  had  arrived  with 
the  wounded.  About  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning 
a  special  train  arrived  with  three  hundred  and  eleven 
wounded  and  sick  from  his  command.  They  were 
taken  in  charge  by  Medical  Director  Dr.  Josiah  Simp- 
son, United  States  army,  and  removed  to  the  hospitals 
in  Patterson  Park.  During  the  morning  an  additional 
number  arrived  in  ambulances  by  the  Frederick  turn- 
pike, together  with  many  stragglers.  At  noon  an- 
other special  train  with  wounded  arrived,  and  shortly 
after  seven  o'clock  a  special  train  of  thirty  cars,  drawn 
by  two  locomotives,  moved  into  Camden  Station  from 
Ellicott's  Mills,  crowded  with  the  remnants  of  Gen. 
Wallace's  command.  Upon  the  arrival  of  this  train 
it  was  surrounded  by  thousands  of  anxious  spectators. 
Alexander's  Battery  and  the  Federal  cavalry  marched 
into  Baltimore  by  the  turnpike,  nearly  exhausted. 
Sigel's  and  Mulligan's  wagon-trains,  accompanied 
by  their  guards,  also  passed  through  the  city,  and 
proceeded  to  the  East  End,  where  they  encamped. 
During  the  10th  and  several  subsequent  days  the 
Confederates  under  Maj.  Harry  Gilmor  were  scour- 
ing the  country  without  resistance,  sometimes  ven- 
turing so  near  the  city  that  they  could  be  seen  from 
it.  On  the  morning  of  the  11th  a  squad  of  Confed- 
erate cavalry  burned  the  house  of  Governor  Bradford, 
about  four  miles  from  the  city,  in  retaliation  for  the 
burning  of  Governor  Letcher's  house  by  Gen.  Hunter 
in  Virginia.  During  the  night  of  the  11th,  Maj. 
Gilmor's  command  passed  through  Towsontown, 
where  they  remained  a  few  hours,  refreshing  them- 
selves at  Ady's  Hotel,  and  on  departing  presented 
Mr.  Ady  with  a  fine  horse  in  return  for  his  hospi- 
tality. During  the  raid  Gen.  Johnston's  command  fell 
in  with  Painter's  celebrated  traveling  ice-cream  sa- 
loon, and  as  they  were  out  of  rations,  vanilla,  lemon, 
and  other  ices  were  issued  to  the  whole  command, 
every  man  of  which  ate  until  he  could  eat  no  more. 
'  On  the  morning  of  the  11th  a  party  of  Confederates 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   GIT?   AND  COUxNTY,  MARYLAND. 


visited  the  house  of  Ishmael  Day,  an  old  man  of  about 
sixty-five  years,  in  Baltimore  County,  and  demanded 
that  he  should  haul  down  an  American  flag  which 
he  had  erected  over  his  gateway.  He  replied,  "Gen- 
tlemen, burn  my  house  to  the  ground,  but  I  will  shoot 
any  man  that  touches  that  flag."  Upon  this  reply, 
Wm.  Fields,  one  of  the  party,  and  a  native  of  Balti- 
more, ajiproached  to  take  down  the  flag,  when  the 
old  man  fired  upon  him  with  a  bird-gun  loaded  with 
duck-shot,  inflicting  wounds  from  which  he  died  in 
Baltimore  on  the  15th.  Day  managed  to  make  his 
escape,  but  his  house  was  burned. 

— At  a  late  hour  on  Monday  night,  July  11th,  Maj.- 
Gen.  Edward  O.  C.  Ord  was  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Eighth  Army  Corps  and  the  Middle  De- 
partment, and  entered  on  his  duties  at  once.  He  re- 
tained Gen.  Kenly  in  command  of  the  defenses,  which 
were  being  strengthened  and  manned  so  as  to  com- 
mand every  approach  to  the  city.  Additional  earth- 
works and  barricades  were  also  thrown  up  in  every 
direction.  Gen.  Lockwood  was  in  command  of  the 
outposts.  The  colored  men  in  the  city  were  organized 
into  companies,  selected  white  oflBcers,  and  after 
being  supplied  with  arms,  were  marched  to  the  forti- 
fications. The  City  Council  on  the  same  day  appro- 
priated one  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  erection 
of  defenses,  and  unanimously  adopted  a  resolution 
requesting  the  mayor  to  confer  with  the  commander 
of  the  department  with  reference  to  the  expediency 
of  closing  all  places  of  business  and  the  arming  of 
all  the  citizens.  Mayor  Chapman  had  an  interview 
with  Gen.  Ord  the  same  evening,  and,  in  accordance 
with  their  views,  Governor  Bradford  on  the  12th 
issued  a  proclamation,  through  Gen.  John  S.  Berry, 
calling  upon  the  whole  enrolled  militia  of  the  city  to 
prepare  for  immediate  service.  In  response  to  this 
call  the  citizens  assembled  in  their  respective  wards 
on  Wednesday  afternoon,  July  13th,  and  were  en- 
rolled for  service.  Those  who  refused  or  neglected  to 
obey  the  call  were  sought  out  and  forced  to  do  duty 
on  the  fortifications  and  barricades.  About  ten  thou- 
sand men  reported  under  the  Governor's  proclama- 
tion, but  on  the  15th  were  released  from  assembling, 
although  they  were  ordered  to  hold  themselves  in 
readiness  in  case  of  another  alarm.  For  a  few  days 
Baltimore  was  entirely  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the 
country,  except  by  water.  Provisions  and  fuel  doubled 
in  price,  and  there  was  some  suffering  among  the  poor 
in  consequence.  The  telegraph-wires  were  cut,  rail- 
road-bridges burned,  and  travel  almost  entirely  inter- 
rupted. The  mails  for  Philadelphia  and  the  North 
generally  were  sent  by  steamers  for  a  day  or  two,  and 
passengers  from  Philadelphia  came  to  Havre-de-Grace 
by  rail,  and  thence  by  steamboat  to  Baltimore.  A 
few  days  afterwards  train.s  ran  as  far  as  the  Gun- 
])owder  Eiver,  where  the  passengers  and  baggage 
were  conveyed  across  on  flatboats,  and  thence  by  rail 
to  Baltimore.  Gen.  Ord  directed  that  passes  to  leave 
the  city  should   not  be  issued   to  any  except  those 


living  outside  of  it  who  could  prove  their  loyalty. 
These  restrictions  were  abolished  on  the  14th,  and  on 
the  same  date  the  barricades  were  removed.  By  the 
20th  the  embargo  which  had  been  laid  upon  nearly 
every  species  of  business  was  removed  by  order  of  the 
authorities,  and  business  returned  to  its  usual  chan- 
nels. Nearly  all  the  railroads  were  again  in  running 
order  by  the  24th,  the  greatest  damage,  as  usual,  hav- 
ing fallen  upon  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad. 
Gen.  Ord  remained  in  command  of  the  forces  of  the 
Middle  Department  until  the  excitement  subsided, 
when  Gen.  Wallace  resumed  his  command.  Not  long 
after  these  events,  Arthur  Christie  and  wife,  British 
subjects,  were  arrested  for  removing  a  national  flag 
from  the  room  of  a  Federal  ofiicer  who  boarded  in  the 
same  house  with  them.  The  matter  was  referred  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  who  ordered  Christie  and  his 
wife  to  leave  the  department  and  the  State  within 
twenty-four  hours,  and  not  to  return  during  the  war. 
— On  the  4th  of  August  a  meeting  was  held  in  Light 
Street  Methodist  church  for  the  purpose  of  raising 
funds  for  the  relief  of  the  people  of  Chambersburg} 
Pa.,  which  had  been  burned  on  the  30th  of  July  by 
the  Confederates.  The  same  day  was  observed  as  a 
day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  in  accordance  with  the 
President's  proclamation.  On  the  23d  of  August, 
Gen.  Wallace  ordered  Gen.  Lockwood,  commanding 
the  third  separate  brigade, 

"to  dftai!  a  competent  officer  from  )iis  command  to  proceed  to  the 
late  reeideuce  of  Isbmael  Day,  Baltimore  Co.,  Md.,  and  make  au  esti- 
mate oi  tlie  damage  sustained  by  him  in  the  destruction  of  his  property 
by  the  rebels  during  the  late  raid,  anil  assess  upou  and  collect  from  the 
disloyal  and  disaflected  persons  residing  within  a  radius  of  five  miles  of 
Mr.  Day's  farm  a  sum  equal  to  the  amount  of  the  damages  sustained  by 
him,  and  to  pay  the  same  when  collected  to  Mv.  Day.  The  levy  will  be 
made  upon  the  individuals  according  to  their  taxation  list." 

—On  the  24th  of  August  a  serious  riot  occurred  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Union  Relief  Rooms  be- 
tween a  section  of  the  provost-guard,  consisting  of 
Company  A,  and  the  Twenty-third  Regiment  of  Penn- 
sylvania Veteran  Volunteers.  An  attempt  was  made 
by  the  provost-guard  to  arrest  some  of  the  members 
of  the  regiment  who  were  intoxicated,  when  the  re- 
mainder endeavored  to  rescue  their  comrades,  and  the 
riot  ensued,  which  was  only  quelled  by  the  personal 
interference  of  Col.  Woolley. 

— On  the  29th  of  August,  William  H.  Rogers,  alleged 
spy,  blockade-runner,  and  Confederate  mail-carrier, 
John  B.  H.  Embert,  Braxton  Lyon,  and  Samuel  B. 
Home,  alleged  spies,  soldiers,  and  blockade-runners, 
were  sentenced  to  be  hung  at  Fort  McHenry,  but  the 
sentence  was  not  carried  into  execution. 

— On  the  2d  of  September,  Capt.  William  Henry 
Wiegel  was  made  first  assistant  provost-marshal. 
The  7th  was  observed  in  Baltimore  and  elsewhere  as 
a  day  of  rejoicing  for  the  receiit  Federal  victories. 

— On  the  13th,  Gen.  Wallace  issued  an  order  com- 
manding the  closing  of  all  stores  on  South  Eutaw 
Street  between  Camden  and  Lee  Streets,  on  Conway 
Street  between  Eutaw  and  Paca,  and  on  Little  Paca 


THE    CIVIL    WAR. 


149 


Street  above  Conway.  The  proprietors  were  also  or- 
dered to  remove  their  goods  within  three  days.  These 
shops  consisted  of  clothing,  cigar,  jewelry,  hat,  cap, 
boot,  variety,  and  fancy  stores,  confectioneries,  and 
restaurants.  The  order  closing  them  was  issued  in 
consequence  of  alleged  abuses  practiced  by  the  pro- 
prietors upon  soldiers,  especially  the  substitutes  who 
were  quartered  at  the  Union  Relief  and  Soldiers'  | 
Rest  Rooms  on  Eutaw  Street  near  Conway  while  on 
their  way  to  join  the  army. 

— On  September  19th,  Gen.  Wallace  issued  an  order 
regulating  the  sales  of  gunpowder,  and  prohibiting 
sales  in  considerable  quantities  without  permission 
from  the  military  authorities. 

— On  September  21st,  George  W.  McDonald,  alias 
M.  M.  Dunning,  of  the  Third  Maryland  Cavalry,  was 
executed  according  to  the  military  code  at  Fort  Mc- 
Henry  for  desertion  and  attempt  to  kill. 

— On  the  30th  of  September  the  Evening  Post  was 
suppressed  for  the  publication  of  articles  offensive  to 
loyal  citizens. 

•  — On  October  10th  a  large  Union  mass-meeting  was 
held  in  Monument  Square,  which  was  addressed  by 
Gen.  John  R.  Kenly,  Henry  Wilson,  of  Massachu- 
setts. Hon.  Thomas  Swann,  R.  Stockett  Matthews, 
and  Dr.  Christopher  C.  Cox. 

— On  the  12th  of  October  the  election  of  mayor  and  | 
City  Council  was  held  in  Baltimore,  and  the  new 
constitution  was  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the  whole 
State.  By  its  provisions  Baltimore  was  divided  into 
three  legislative  districts,  with  a  right  to  three  sena- 
tors instead  of  one,  and  eighteen  delegates  instead  of 
twelve.  Before  casting  their  ballots  at  this  election,  all 
suspected  voters,  besides  being  required  to  take  the  i 
test  oath,. were  also  called  upon  to  answer  a  number  ! 
of  searching  interrogatories  touching  their  loyalty. 
The  declared  total  vote  on  the  constitution  in  Balti- 
more was  11,832,  of  which  9779  was  "  for,"  and  2053 
"against."  The  total  mayoralty  vote  was  14,618,  of 
which  John  Lee  Chapman,  the  "Regular  Union"  can- 
didate, received  11,334,  and  Archibald  Stirling,  Jr., 
"  Independent  Union,"  3783.  The  vote  in  Baltimore 
County  was  2001  in  favor  of,  and  1869  against  the 
constitution. 

— On  the  17th  of  October  the  mercantile  community 
was  greatly  agitated  by  the  wholesale  arrest  of  several 
business  firms  and  their  employes.     A  communica- 
tion was  received  from  the  War  Department  by  Col. 
Woolley,  provost-marshal,  directing  him  to  arrest  the 
following  persons,  which  was  accordingly  done :  Ham- 
ilton Eiister  &  Co.,  dry -goods  dealers ;  Wiesenfield  &  j 
Co.,  clothiers;  Jordan   &   Rose,   dry-goods   dealers; 
Isaac     P.    Coale    &    Bro.,    commission    merchants ;  ' 
Charles  E.  Waters  &  Co.,  hardware  merchants  ;  A.  ! 
&   L.  Friedenrich,  gentlemen's  furnishing   articles ; 
Simon  Frank  &  Co.,  jobbers  ;  at  the  store  of  Hamil- 
ton   Easter   &   Co. :  Hamilton   Easter,  J.  H.  Easter, 
John  Easter,  Jr.,  James  H.  Wheedon,  James  Conway, 
William    P.   Carroll,   Benjamin    Harrison,    Charles 


Turner,  James  Fisher,  William  Haskinson,  Thomas 
D.  Fullerton,  Isaac  Heldic,  Benjamin  Perry,  W.  H. 
Webb,  James  M.  Gwinn,  Donal  Paily,  Charles  S. 
Custer,  Charles  Calhoun,  Edward  Power,  William  H. 
Spencer,  Robert  Simons,  John  E.  Burbag,  John  E. 
Kitsen,  William  Kitsen,  Samuel  Kitsen,  George  B. 
Baker,  George  R.  Rhoades,  James  Carroll,  Joshua  R. 
Dryden,  William  Johnson,  George  R.  Cross,  M. 
Leaky,  W .  H.  Arnold,  Henry  A.  Hubbard,  James  R. 
Clarke,  S.  Parsons,  John  A.  Field,  William  Fuller- 
ton,  William  McConkey,  Thomas  Mullooley,  Cahas 
Mitchell,  Charles  F.  Easter,  and  Benjamin  Robinson  ; 
at  the  house  of  Jordan  &  Rose:  B.  Stern,  Solomon 
Rose,  W.  P.  Rose,  Isaac  Rose,  and  Solomon  Herman  ; 
at  the  house  of  Isaac  P.  Coale  &  Bro. :  John  Guele, 
Washington  Sanderson,  John  McMuUen,  'J.  L.  Bes- 
sick,  Thomas  Coale,  and  W.  H.  Jones ;  at  the  house 
of  Charles  E.  Waters  &  Co. :  Robert  Murray,  E.  L. 
Jones,  and  Charles  E.  Waters  ;  at  the  house  of  Wies- 
enfield &  Co. :  M.  Wiesenfield,  E.  G.  Lichy,  Jr.,  Louis 
Newman,  John  Zoller,  Wakeman  Nelson,  S.  L.  Lichy, 
Benjamin  Hergesheimer,  G.  H.  Pitcher,  Valentine 
Benzen,  Bennet  Helling,  Charles  France,  Thomas 
Gor.such,  and  Joseph  Bumgardner;  on  Centre  Mar- 
ket Space  and  Baltimore:  Goody  R.  Wiesenfield, 
Michael  Wiesenfield,  Michael  Wiesenfield,  Jr.,  Fer- 
dinand Lazarus,  Philip  Danaburg,  Nathan  Stern- 
heimer,  Abraham  Fisher,  and  John  Barrett;  at  the 
house  of  Friedenrich  &  Co. :  Leon  Friedenrich  and 
Abraham  Friedenrich ;  at  the  house  of  Simon  Frank 
&  Co. :  Simon  Frank,  Alexander  Frank,  Abraham 
Adler,  John  Robinson,  Segus  Mauniberg.  The  stores 
were  immediately  closed,  guards  stationed  at  the  doors, 

I  and  the  prisoners  sent  to  Washington  in  a  special 

!  train. 

— On  the  18th  of  October  the  LTnconditional  Union 
State  Convention  assembled  in  Temperance  Temple, 
with  Gen.  John  S.  Berry  as  president.  Hon.  John  L. 
Thomas,  Jr.,  nominated  Hon.  Thomas  Swann  for 
Governor,  who  was  declared  the  unanimous  choice  of 
the  convention.  Dr.  Christopher  C.  Cox  was  nomi- 
nated for  Lieutenant-Governor,  Hon.  Alexander 
Randall  for  attorney-general,  Hon.  Robert  J.  Jump 
for  comptroller,  and  Hon.  Daniel  Wiesel  ibr  judge  of 
the  Court  of  Appeals.  On  October  20th  one  hundred 
guns  were  fired  from  Fort  Federal  Hill  in  honor  of 
Sheridan's  victory  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  On  the 
22d,  M.  J.  Terry,  agent  of  New  York  soldiers  in  the 
field,  was  arrested  at  his  oflSce,  No.  85  Fayette  Street, 
on  the  charge  of  conspiracy  to  defraud  voters  at  the 
Presidential  election  by  substituting  on  the  soldiers' 
ballots  the  name  of  Gen.  George  B.  McClellan  instead 

'  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

I      —On  the  24th  of  October,  Thomas  S.  Alexander,  of 

j  the  Baltimore  bar,  on  behalf  of  Samuel  G.  Miles,  a 
slave-owner,  applied  to  the  Superior  Court  of  this 
city  for  a  writ  of  mandamus  to  compel  Governor  Brad- 
ford to  reject  the  soldiers'  vote  which  was  cast  outside 
of  the  State  on  the  ground  of  illegality.     The  applica- 


150 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


tion  was  refused  pro  forma  by  Judge  Martin,  and  an 
appeal  was  taken  the  same  day  to  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals, which  affirmed  the  decision  on  the  29th,  Judge 
Bartol  dissenting.  On  the  27th  of  October  the  Demo- 
cratic State  Convention  assembled  in  Baltimore. 

— On  November  1st  the  Evening  Loyalist  was  sup- 
pressed by  order  of  Gen.  Wallace.  On  the  same  day, 
by  order  of  Gen.  Wallace,  three  salutes  were  fired  in 
honor  of  the  new  constitution,  the  first  of  thirty-five 
guns  at  daylight,  the  second  of  one  hundred  guns  at 
noon,  and  the  third  of  thirteen  at  sunset.  On  the  3d  of 
the  month  a  man  was  arrested  at  Camden  Station 
having  in  his  possession  a  large  Confederate  mail  and 
a  fine  sword  intended  for  Col.  Harry  Gilmor.  The 
letter  accompanying  the  gift  led  to  the  arrest  of  a 
lady  of  high  social  position  in  Baltimore.  She  was 
committed  to  jail,  tried  before  a  military  commis.sion, 
found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  be  imprisoned  for  five 
years  and  to  pay  a  fine  of  five  thousand  dollars.  She 
was  sent  to  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  under  charge  of  Capt. 
W.  H.  Wiegel,  but  was  soon  afterwards  released. 

— On  the  8th  of  November  the  election  for  President 
and  Vice-President  took  place.  The  vote  for  the 
Lincoln  electors  in  Baltimore  was  14,984,  and  for  the 
McClellan  electors  2953.  The  vote  in  Baltimore 
County  for  the  Lincoln  ticket  was  2576,  and  for 
McClellan  2662.  On  the  9th  of  November,  Gen. 
Wallace  issued  an  order  providing  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Freedmen's  Bureau  in  the  Middle  Depart- 
ment with  the  oflice  at  Baltimore,  with  Maj.  William 
INL  Este,  A.D.C.,  in  charge.  "  As  it  will  be  im- 
possible," said  Gen.  Wallace  in  this  order,  "to  carry 
it  out  without  having  a  place  in  which  the  sick,  help- 
less, and  needy  can  be  temporarily  rested  and  pro- 
vided for,  Maj.  Este  is  directed  to  take  possession 
of  the  building  known  formerly  as  the  Maryland 
Club  House,  but  now  named  '  Freedman's  Rest,'  to 
select  some  excellent  lady  to  take  charge  of  the  same 
as  matron,  and  to  suitably  prepare  and  furnish  as 
many  rooms  as  may  be  required  for  the  purpose  pro- 
posed." Donations  were  also  requested,  and  "  lest 
the  moneys  derived  from  donations  and  from  fines 
collected  should  prove  insuflicient  to  support  the 
institution,"  the  order  continued,  "Maj.  Este  will 
]n-oceed  to  make  a  list  of  all  the  avowed  rebel  sym- 
|)athizei-s  resident  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  with  a 
view  to  levying  such  contributions  upon  them  in  aid 
of  the  '  Freedman's  Rest'  as  may  be  from  time  to  time 
required."  That  portion  of  the  order  selecting  the 
Maryland  Club  House  as  the  "  Freedman's  Rest" 
was  afterwards  revoked. 

—On  December  6th,  Messrs.  R.  Q.  Taylor  &  Co., 
hatters,  were  arrested  and  had  their  store  closed  for  a 
few  days  for  displaying  over  their  door  an  umbrella 
of  the  obnoxious  red  and  white.  They  were  released 
on  explaining  that  such  umbrellas  had  been  the  sign 
in  Baltimore  from  time  immemorial. 

— On  December  14th  the  large  iron  gunboat  "Mon- 
ocacy,"  built  for  the  government  by  Messrs.  A.  W. 


Denmead  &  Son,  was  launched  from  their  shipyard 
at  Canton.     The  "Monocacy"  was  the  second  vessel 
}  of  her  class  built  in  the  country,  and  the  largest  war- 
ship built  or  repaired  in  Baltimore  during  the  war. 
1865. — On  the  3d  of  April  the  news  of  the  evacua- 
'  tion  of  Petersburg  and  the  capture  of  Richmond  was 
received  in  Baltimore  and  produced  the  wildest  ex- 
citement.     So  va.st   a  concourse  soon   crowded   the 
j  streets  in  the  vicinity  of  the  newspaper-offices  that 
j  serious  disturbances  were  apprehended,  and  a  strong 
I  force  of  police  and  military  were  detailed  for  duty  in 
the  central  portions  of  the  city.     At  three  o'clock  in 
\  the  afternoon,  in  accordance  with  an  order  issued  by 
Mayor  Chapman,  flags  were  unfurled  from  the  engine- 
houses  and  the  bells  rung.    At  night  the  Union  citizens 
illuminated  their  dwellings  and  places  of  business,  and 
it  was  not  until  midnight  that  the  exuberant  feeling 
began  to  subside.     A  large  stand  was  erected  in  front 
of  the  American  office,  where  the  thousands  were  ad- 
]  dressed  by  several  popular  speakers. 
I      — On  the  4th  a  .salute  of  one  hundred  guns  was  fired 
j  from  Fort  Federal  Hill  by  order  of  Gen.  Morris.    On 
the  6th  of  April,  in  pursuance  of  an  order  of  the 
i  mayor   and  City  Councils,  the  city  was  draped   in 
I  flags,  the  bells  were  rung,  and  cannon  roared  their 
I  congratulations  at  the  recent  Federal  triumph.  Houses 
I  streamed  with  bunting  and  battle-flags,  pennants  and 
revenue  colors  were  suspended  in  all  directions,  and 
the  city  was  dressed  in  red,  white,  and  blue.     Balti- 
more Street  was  decorated  from  Broadway  to  Carey 
Street,  and  the  display  of  bunting  was   richer   and 
more  profuse  than  ever  seen  in  any  similar  demon- 
stration in  this  city  before.     The  streets  were  filled 
with  thousands  of  people,  and  at  night  the  entire 
city  was  brilliantly  illuminated,  especially  the  news- 
paper-offices, which  were  the  centres  of  attraction. 
'  Monday,  the  10th,  was  also  a  day  of  intense  excite- 
\  ment  in  Baltimore,  owing  to  the  intelligence  of  Lee's 
surrender.     As  soon  as  the  news  was  received  in  Bal- 
timore of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  the 
police  commissioners  were  convened  in  order  to  act 
in  harmony  with  the  military  authorities  in  preserv- 
ing peace  and  order.     The  most  stringent  orders  were 
issued  to  the  police  force,  who  were  on  duty  both  day 
and  night  at  every  prominent  point.     The  drinking- 
!  houses  were  all  closed,  and  Gen.  Morris,  commander 
of  the  Middle  Department,  issued  a  proclamation  sus- 
pending all  travel  to  or  from  the  city,  either  by  railroad, 
steamboat,  or  turnpike,  with  a  view  of  apprehending 
the  murderers  of  the  President  in  case  they  should  be  in 
the  city  or  on  their  way  to  it.    Gen.  Morris  also  issued 
orders  to  the  commanding  officers  of  the  troops  around 
Baltimore  to  be  ready  for  service  at  a  moment's  notice, 
and  two  pieces  of  ordnance  were  placed  in  Holliday 
;  Street  near  Fayette.     A  section  of  a  battery  was  also 
stationed  near  the  quarters  of  the  provost-marshal. 
j  On  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  April,  Mayor  Chap- 
!  man  issued  an  order  convening  the  City  Council,  and 
'  requested  all  the  shipping  in  the  harbor,  all  public 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


151 


buildings  and  private  residences,  to  display  the  United 
States  flag  at  half-mast,  and  also  that  the  various 
bells  of  the  city  be  tolled  between  the  hours  of  eleven 
and  twelve  A.M.,  and  between  the  hours  of  five  and 
six  P.M.  These  requests  were  promptly  complied 
with,  and  before  night  the  whole  city  was  draped  in 
mourning.  The  courts  adjourned,  and  in  the  evening 
the  places  of  amusement  were  ordered  to  be  closed. 
The  City  Council  appropriated  ten  thousand  dollars 
for  the  apprehension  of  the  murderer  or  murderers, 
and  soon  all  the  roads  swarmed  with  pickets  ordered 
to  arrest  all  suspicious  persons.  Commodore  Dornin 
had  charge  of  the  harbor  and  an  armed  tug,  to  pre- 
vent any  vessel  from  leaving  the  port.  The  Right 
Rev.  William  R.  Whittingham,  the  Episcopal  bishop 
of  Maryland,  is.sued  an  address  to  the  clergy  of  his 
diocese,  and  Archbishop  Spaulding  also  issued  one 
to  the  Catholic  clergy. 

— Gen.  Wallace  arrived  in  Baltimore  on  the  15th 
from  Philadelphia,  and  on  the  19th  resumed  com- 
mand of  the  department,  which  had  been  so  satisfac- 
torily administered  by  Brevet  Brig.-Gen.  W.  W.  Mor- 
ris, United  States  army,  who  again  took  command  of 
Fort  McHenry  and  the  other  forts  about  Baltimore. 
Immediately  after  Gen.  Wallace  resumed  command 
he  issued  the  following  order  respecting  the  uniform 
worn  by  the  pupils  of  the  Catonsville  Military  Insti- 
tute : 

"  Ueaikjuartf.bs  Middle  Division,  Eighth  Army  Corps, 
"  Baltimore,  April  19, 1865. 
"  General  Orders  No.  86. 

"  The  gray  uniform  worn  by  certain  young  meu,  snid  to  be  students, 
has  become  bo  offensive  to  loyal  soldiers  and  citizens  that  it  is  prohibited 
in  this  department. 

"This  order  will   take  effect  from  and  after  the  2oth  of  the  present 


,  "  George  H.  Hooker,  Aasl.-Adjl.  General." 

— About  half-past  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
21st  the  remains  of  President  Lincoln  reached  this 
city,  and  accompanied  by  a  large  military  and  civic 
procession,  were  taken   to   the  rotunda  of  the   Ex-  | 
change,  where  the  coffin  was  opened,  and  at  least  ten  i 
thousand  persons  viewed  the  remains  during  the  two  j 
hours  alloted.  t 

— On  the  24th  of  April  the  City  Council  passed  a  | 
resolution  protesting  "  against  the  policy  of  allowing 
ex-Confederates  to  return  and  remain  in  the  city,  and 
requesting  the  military  authorities  not  to  tolerate  this 
the  worst  of  dangerous  evils."     On  the  25th,  Gen. 
Wallace,  in  accordance  with  the  opinion  of  Attorney-  i 
General  Speed,  issued  an  order  prohibiting  "  prison-  ' 
ers  of  war  (rebels)  paroled  to  return  to  their  homes 
to  await   exchange"  from  remaining  in  the  Middle 
Department,  and  commanding  their  arrest  if  found 
within  its  limits. 

— It  was  also  proposed  in  the  City  Council  to  re-  , 
quest  the  mayorto  call  a  town-meeting  of  the  loyal  citi- 
zens, "  that  an  expression  of  the  loyal  public  of  Balti- 
more may  be  had  in  relation  to  the  presence  in  our 


midst  of  returned  rebels,  who,  with  an  unblushing 
effrontery,  presume  to  take  their  places  again  as  mem- 
bers of  our  loyal  community."  In  accordance  with 
the  orders  of  the  commanding  general,  and  out  of  re- 
spect for  the  dominant  authority  of  the  City  Council, 
a  large  number  of  ex-Confederates  were  arrested  for 
"  coming  into  this  department  without  authority,"  and 
upon  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  were  sent  North, 
where  they  were  tolerated.  A  great  many,  fearing 
criminal  prosecution  for  acts  committed  while  in  the 
Confederate  service  or  for  participation  in  the  troubles 
of  Baltimore  in  April,  1861,  fled  from  the  city. 

— On  the  19th,  Gen.  Wallace  also  sent  a  circular  to 
all  the  clergymen  in  Baltimore,  requesting  them  to 
"  avoid  everything  in  the  least  calculated  to  offend 
the  sensibilities"  of  "  men  and  women  who  esteem 
their  loyalty  only  a  little  less  sacred  than  their  re- 
ligion." The  excited  state  of  feeling  growing  out  of 
the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  and  the  return 
of  paroled  Confederate  prisoners  led  to  the  passage 
of  a  resolution  by  the  City  Council  requesting  the 
military  authorities  to  close  the  Methodist  church  on 
Franklin  and  Pine  Streets,  the  church  of  the  same 
denomination  on  Madison  and  Preston  Streets,  and 
to  discontinue  the  meetings  of  the  congregations  wor- 
shiping at  Red  Men's  Hall,  on  Paca  Street,  and  at 
Winans'  Chapel,  all  of  which  were  charged  with 
being  composed  of  Southern  sympathizers. 

—On  the  24th,  Gen.  Wallace  addressed  a  communi- 
cation to  the  City  Council,  through  Col.  Woolley,  pro- 
vost-marshal, stating  that  the  oath  of  allegiance  had 
been  taken  by  Rev.  Drs.  Bullock  and  Lefevre  and 
Mr.  Hamner  and  Capt.  Trippe,  and  that  he  trusted 
that  the  action  of  the  gentlemen  named  would  prove 
entirely  satisfactory. 

— On  the  29th,  Gen.  Wallace  addressed  a  letter  to 
Mayor  Chapman,  in  which  he  said, — 

"Both  branches  of  the  City  Council,  as  appears  by  their  resolution 
received  to-day,  formally  request  me  as  commander  of  this  department 
•to  remove  from  their  midst'  the  Eev.  J.  J.  Bullock,  Eev.  J.  E.  Ham- 
ner, Rev.  J.  Lefevre,  and  all  such  dangerous  persons  as  are  *  inimical  to 
our  government.'  The  First  Branch  is  at  the  same  time  pleased  to  inform 
me  that,  for  reasons  stated,  it  is  not  satisfied  with  the  oath  of  allegi- 
ance which  those  reverend  gentlemen  have  solemnly  taken  and  sub- 
' scribed;  on  the  contrary,  it  asks  of  me  'to  require  of  them  additional 
guarantees.'  ...  I  feel  sure,  however,  that  I  will  not  suffer  in  the 
opinion  of  these  authorities  if  for  once  I  differ  with  the  Council  and 
respectfully  decline  to  accept  their  reasons  as  sufficient  to  justify  the 
measures  they  have  advised." 

— On  the  29th  of  April  restrictions  on  travel  by 
steamer  or  sailing-vessel  to  the  Western  Shore  of 
Maryland  were  withdrawn,  and  on  the  4th  of  May 
all  restrictions  on  trade  were  removed. 

—On  the  2d  of  May,  Gen.  Wallace  prohibited  the 
sale  of  "  portraits  of  any  rebel  officer  or  soldier,  or  of 
J.  Wilkes  Booth,  the  murderer  of  President  Lincoln." 

—On  the  18th  of  July,  Gen.  Winfield  S.  Hancock 
assumed  command  of  the  Middle  Department  with 
headquarters  in  Baltimore,  with  Lieut.-Col.  Adam  E. 
King  as  adjutant-general.  On  the  2d  of  August,  Gen. 
Hancock  issued  an  order  requiring  paroled  prisoners 


HISTORY    OP   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  the  late  Southern  armies  who  had  not  been  par- 
doned by  the  President  of  the  United  States  upon 
arriving  within  the  limits  of  the  department  to  re- 
port their  presence  and  residence  immediately  to  the 
nearest  provost-marshal  and  register  their  names, 
and  announcing  that  paroled  prisoners  non-residents 
of  the  department  would  not  be  allowed  to  enter  it 
without  the  sanction  of  the  department  commander 
or  higher  authority. 

1866.— On  the  12th  of  January  another  military 
order  was  issued,  in  which   it  was  announced  that 
"the  provost-marshal's  department  will  cease  to  exist 
in  this  command  on  the  31st  of  January.     Brevet 
Brig.-Gen.  John  Woolley,  United  States  Volunteers, 
provost-marshal,  will   take   measures    to    close    the  ! 
books  and  records  pertaining  to  his  ofBce  upon  that  [ 
date,  and  turn  them  over  to  the  adjutant-general  of  j 
the  department.     Having   completed   this   duty,  he  | 
will  report  by  letter  to  the  adjutant  of  the  army  for 
instructions.     When  it  becomes  necessary,  the  duties 
heretofore  performed  by  the  provost-marshal  will  de- 
volve upon  Brevet  Maj.-Gen.  G.  W.  Getty,  command- 
ing the  district  of  Baltimore."     In  accordance  with 
this  order,  all  the  books,  papers,  and  records  of  the 
office  of  the  provost-marshal-general  of  the  Middle 
Department  of  the  Eighth  Army  Corps  were  turned 
over  on  the  .31st  by  Brig.-Gen.  Woolley  to  Adam  E. 
King,   brevet   colonel   and   adjutant-general   of   the  j 
Middle   Military   Department.     The   closing  of  the  j 
provost-marshal's  department  in  Baltimore  closed  the 
reign  of  the  military  commanders  in  Maryland,  and 
with  the  proclamation  of  President  Johnson,  on  the  , 
2d  of  April,  formally  announcing  the  conclusion  of 
the  war,  the  city  resumed  in  a  great  measure  the 
aspects  and  habitudes  of  peace.'  \ 

Army  Hospitals. — During  the  first  two  years  of 
the  war  a  large  number  of  suitable  buildings  in  Bal-  ' 
tiniore  were  used  for  hospital  purposes,  by  order  of 
the  Secretary  of  War,  pending  the  construction  of  reg- 
ular hospitals.     On  the  25th  of  May,  1862,  the  medi- 
cal director  of  the  department  took  possession  of  the  i 
family  mansion  of  Gen.  George  H.  Steuart,  on  the  ; 
north  side  of  West  Baltimore  Street,  near  the  city  J 
limits,  and  converted  it  into  an  army  hospital.     This 
building,  in  connection  with  the  adjoining  barracks,  , 
which  were  also  reconstructed  for  hospital  purposes, 
was  capable  of  accommodating  a  large  number  of  in-  ' 
valid  soldiers,  and  was  called  Jarvis  Hospital,  after 
Surgeon  Nathan  S.  Jarvis,  of  the  United  States  army, 
who  was  Medical  Director  of  the  Dejjartment  of  Mary- 
land and  stationed  at  Baltimore,  where  he  died  May 
15,   1862.      Brigade  Surgeon  J.  Russell  was  put  in 
charge  of  it.     The  Maryland  Institute  was  also  fitted 
up  in  1862  as  a  hospital.     In  the  same  year  a  large 

1  Among  tJiose  arrested  at  various  times  during  tlie  war  were  Rev. 
Thomais  H.  Pritchard,  of  Franklin  Square  Baptist  Church,  wlio  was  sent 
South  on  the  Kitli  nf  Anpust,  isfi:),  and  Jtev.  .lolin  H.  Dnshiell.  who  was 
arrested  on  the  I5lh  „f  K,-l.nian,  ISKl,  hul   «,,s  i  eh.iuse.1  slioillv  after- 


block  of  warehouses  on  Union  Dock,  capable  of  ac- 
commodating eighteen  hundred  patients,  was  con- 
verted into  hospitals,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  the  old  Universalist  church  building  at  the 
corner  of  Calvert  and  Pleasant  Streets  was  employed 
for  the  same  purpose. 

Among  other  buildings  used  as  ho.spitals  were  the 
Continental  Hotel,  on  Holliday  Street,  the  Gilmor 
House,  now  Guy's,  on  Calvert  Street,  the  McKim 
mansion,  in  the  northern  section  of  the  city,  and 
Douglas  Institute,  then  known  as  Newton  University 
Hospital. 

Large  hospital  barracks  were  also  erected  in  Patter- 
son Park,  with  a  capacity  for  1200  patients.  In  1865 
a  very  large  hospital  was  completed  on  grounds  near 
the  western  terminus  of  Lafayette  Avenue,  in  the 
western  suburbs  of  the  city,  which  was  called  the 
Hicks  Hospital.  The  buildings  were  eighteen  in 
number  and  two  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  could 
accommodate  eleven  hundred  patients.  The  hospital 
was  under  the  medical  sujierintendence  of  Dr.  Thomas 
Sinn,  United  St:ite:<  volunteers. 

Union  Relief  Association.— In  1861,  soon  after 
the  troops  commenced  moving  through  Baltimore  to 
Washington,  to  be  thence  distributed  to  the  various 
commands.  Union  citizens  were  accustomed  to  meet 
them  at  the  depot  and  supply  them  with  water  and 
food.  Naturally  thrown  together  in  this  kindly  work, 
it  was  concluded  to  call  a  public  meeting  and  organ- 
ize a  relief  association.  The  meeting  was  held  at 
Temperance  Temple,  on  the  28th  of  June,  1861.  S. 
Morris  Cockran  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  James  A. 
Courtney  was  made  secretary.  John  T.  Graham  ex- 
plained the  objects  of  the  meeting,  and  proposed  a 
permanent  organization,  under  the  name  of  "  The 
Union  Relief  Association  of  Baltimore."  The  asso- 
ciation was  immediately  formed,  and  the  following 
gentlemen  were  nominated  and  elected  officers  :  Presi- 
dent, A.  Sterling  ;  First  Vice-President,  Wm.  Robin- 
son ;  Second  Vice-President,  Wm.  S.  Rayner;  Treas- 
urer, Marcus  Denison  ;  Secretary,  John  T.  Graham. 

An  executive  committee,  composed  of  one  gentle- 
man from  each  ward,  was  elected,  a  collecting  com- 
mittee for  the  several  wards  appointed,  and  a  com- 
mittee of  eleven  was  chosen  "  to  attend  to  the  wants 
of  such  regiments  as  might  pass  through  the  city  be- 
fore the  next  meeting."  This  committee  consisted  of 
John  T.  Graham,  James  M.  Wood,  H.  Eisenbrand, 
E.  Crocker,  J.  A.  Courtney,  Aaron  Fenton,  Wm. 
Robin.son,  Geo.  K.  Quail,  A.  M.  Carter,  J.  C.  Turner, 
and  Joseph  H.  Audoun. 

A  building  was  soon  obtained  at  No.  75  Sharp 
Street,  where  the  executive  committee  held  its  meet- 
ings, and  where  food  for  the  soldiers  was  prepared. 
Relief  was  also  extended  to  the  families  of  Union 
soldiers  of  Maryland.  Donations  were  received,  and 
the  sick  and  exhausted  from  passing  regiments  were 
taken  in  and  cared  for. 

The   work   was  .■n.itiimcd  at   tliis   localitv   for  two 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


months,  when  more  extensive  accommodations  were 
found  necessary,  and  the  buildings  Nos.  119  and  121 
Camden  Street  were  rented  and  the  premises  on 
Sharp  Street  abandoned.     On  the  2d  of  September, 

1861,  the  executive  committee  for  the  first  time  met 
in  the  new  rooms,  and  on  motion  of  Mr.  Jarboe  com- 
mittees were  appointed  "  on  passports,"  "  purveying," 
"on  supplies,"  "on  water,"  "on  families  of  Maryland 
regiments,"  and  "  on  the  hospital."  The  latter  com- 
mittee was  made  necessary  by  the  department  for  the 
sick,  set  apart  in  the  new  building,  where  at  one  time 
about  fifty  patients  were  accommodated,  but  the 
national  hospitals  soon  superseded  this  necessity. 
The  Union  ladies  becoming  interested  in  the  matter, 
organized  a  Female  Union  Eelief  Association,  which 
proved  a  valuable  coadjutor  in  the  work  of  relief  in  the 
camp  and  hospital.  As  the  winter  approached  it  be- 
came necessary  to  feed  the  troops  under  shelter,  and  for 
that  purpose  the  extensive  warehouse  No.  120  South 
Eutaw  Street  was  rented  and  fitted  up  for  the  uses  of 
the  association.  The  report  of  the  purveyors'  com- 
mittee, composed  of  J.  W.  Butler,  Joseph  H.  Audoun, 
and  J.  J.  Chapman,  shows  that  from  the  8th  of  Sep- 
tember to  the  31st  of  December,  18(51,  the  number  of 
soldiers  fed  was   83,152 ;    from   the  1st  of  January, 

1862,  to  the  26th  of  June,  1862,  the  number  fed  was 
50,423.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  work  done  by  the  as- 
sociation, it  may  be  stated  that  from  Jan.  1,  1862,  to 
June  26th  of  that  year  the  committee  distributed 
46,687  pounds  of  ham,  4777  pounds  of  corned  beef, 
64,200  pounds  of  bread,  357  pounds  of  butter,  7342 
pounds  of  cheese,  and  a  large  quantity  of  coflFee, 
sugar,  and  other  edibles. 

The  committee  on  Maryland  regiments,  composed 
of  Messrs.  S.  F.  Streeter,  S.  E.  Turner,  John  A.  Needles, 
Dr.  James  Armitage,  H.  C.  Murray,  J.  J.  Chapman, 
and  Emanuel  Crocker,  distributed  food  to  5401  heads 
of  families,  representing  at  least  21,604  persons.  The 
sanitary  committee  was  composed  of  Dr.  James  Armi- 
tage, J.  C.  Pancoast,  Richard  King,  E.  S.  Webb,  and 
William  CoUison.  The  auditors  were  Messrs.  Wil- 
liam Robinson  and  J.  B.  Rose.  In  1862  the  report 
of  the  treasurer,  Marcus  Denison,  shows  that  the  re- 
ceipts of  the  year  were  $15,024.15,  and  the  expen- 
ditures $15,036.34.  Besides  the  active  members,  who 
jiaid  a  subscription  of  a  dollar  a  year,  there  were  a 
miiuber  of  honorary  members,  who  paid  not  less  than 
five  dollars  annually. 

The  Christian  Commission.— At  the  suggestion  of 
Goldsborough  S.  Grifiith,  tlie  "Baltimore  Christian 
Association"  was  organized  May  4,  1861,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ministering  to  the  physical  and  spiritual  wants 
of  the  soldiers  who  might  be  engaged  in  the  approach- 
ing conflict.  Among  those  who  took  an  active  part 
in  this  preliminary  arrangement  were  William  F. 
Cary,  Rev.  Thomas  Coggins,  William  A.  Wisong, 
John  N.  Brown,  S.  S.  Stevens,  Andrew  Mercer,  Lewis 
Henck,  James  Balloch,  Dr.  Henry  S.  Hunt,  Richard 
Malliliun,  Henry  Bayley,  Francis  P.  Stevens,  John 


j  T.  Kelso,  J.  Henck,  William  B.  Canfield,  J.  B.  Still- 
I  son,  James  Morfit,  Lewis  Raymo,  George  J.  Zimmer- 
i  man,  William  H.  Mitlan,  Solon  Beale,  Jacob  Yeisley, 
George  W.  Sumwalt,  Rev.  Isaac  P.  Cook,  George  A. 
j  Leakin,  S.  Gitteau,  Andrew  B.  Cross,  and  Thomas 
I  Myers.     The   Baltimore   Association    preceded    any 
i  other  similar  organization  ;  others  followed  it  quickly 
j  in  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  elsewhere,  and  on 
the  14th  of  November,   1861,  a   convention   of  the 
various  organizations  met  in  New  York  and  formed 
the  "  United  States  Christian  Commission."  Mr.  Grif- 
fith was  appointed  chairman  of  the  Maryland  Com- 
,  mittee  of  the  United  States  Christian   Commission, 
!  and  selected  as  his  associates  Rev.  George  P.  Hays 
and  Rev.  J.  N.  McJilton.     Upon  the  establishment 
of  a  branch  of  the  United  States  Christian  Commis- 
sion in  Baltimore,  the  "  Christian  Association"  of  the 
I  city  at  once  became  an  auxiliary  of  that  branch,  but 
maintained   its   own   organization    during   the   war. 
j  These  gentlemen  continued  to  serve  throughout  the 
!  war,  with  Mr.  Grifiith  as  chairman,  and  Dr.  McJilton 
as  secretary.    In  1864,  Mr.  Hays  was  chosen  treasurer, 
and  Rev.  G.  R.  Bent,  who  had  for  some  time  been  in 
the  service  of  the  association,  was  made  general  agent, 
to  have  immediate  oversight  of  affairs  in  the  office. 
In  the  same  year  a  Board  of  Directors,  consisting  of 
seventy  well-known  citizens,  was  also  elected,  and  em- 
braced many  of  the  names  already  mentioned,  so  as 
to  represent  the  different  religious  denominations  and 
the  difterent  sections  of  the  home-field.     The  district 
assigned  the  Maryland  committee  was  very  extensive, 
embracing  the  military  camps  and  hospitals  in  Mary- 
land, a  part  of  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  and  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia.     The  numerous  hospitals  in  Balti- 
more were  systematically  visited  and  well  cared  for. 
Having  for  the  most  part  faithful  chaplains,  the  ladies 
of  the  city  formed  themselves  into  relief  associations, 
one  for  each  hospital,  and  thus  gave  themselves,  with 
the  co-operation  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  Baltimore 
Christian    Association,    to    supply   every    necessity. 
Through  these  several  agencies,  and  under  their  own 
personal  supervision,  the  committee  of  the  Christian 
Commission  carried  on  their  work.   Few  points  made 
memorable  by  the  great  war  surpass  in  sad  and  tender 
interest  Camp  Parole  and  its  neighboring  hospitals 
and  barracks  at  Annapolis.     Here  came  the  thousands 
exchanged  or  waiting  to  be  exchanged  from  the  prisons 
at   Richmond,  Andersonville,   Salisbury,   Savannah, 
and  elsewhere  in  the  South.     It  was  the  privilege  of 
I  the  Christian  Commission,  mainly  through  the  Balti- 
more Association,  to  assist  in  bestowing  such  relief 
and  comfort  as  were  possible.     When  it  could  be  done, 
delegates  and  stores  were  placed  upon  the  transports 
on  their  way  to  the  points  designated  for  the  exchange 
of  prisoners,  so  that  aid  might  be  given  at  the'earliest 
moment.     The  work  done  at  Annapolis  was  among 
the  best  and  most  fruitful  of  any  performed  by  the  Com- 
mission.    Not  only  did  kind  nursing,  with  such  sup- 
plies of  food  and  clothing  as  were  necessary,  contribute 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


much  to  the  restoration  of  the  men,  saving  indeed  many 
lives,  but  the  religious  training  was  not  less  appre-  | 
ciated  than  the  material  comforts.     The  Commission  I 
also  did  good  service  at  the  Confederate  prison-camp  i 
at  Point  Lookout,  at  the  junction  of  the  Potomac  with 
the  Chesapeake  Bay,  in  St.  Mary's  County. 

The  office  of  the  Maryland  committee  was  in  the  [ 
upper  rooms  of  the  warehouse,  owned  by  the  chairman, 
at   No.   77   West  Baltimore   Street,   near   HoUiday. 
This  large  store-room  being  insufficient  for  the  storage 
and  shipment  of  supplies,  in  1863  the  upper  floors  of 
Apollo  Hall,  on  the  opposite  side  of  Baltimore  Street,  , 
were  secured  as  an  additional  depot.     On  the  2d  of 
September,   1864,   the   following  gentlemen,   among  | 
others,  were  added  to  the  committee :  Rev.  T.  Stork,  ; 
Rev.  Isaac  P.  Cook,  Charles  W.  Ridgely,  of  Balti-  j 
more ;  Rev.  R.  C.  Galbraith,  of  Govanstown,  Balti- 
more  Co. ;    Rev.  G.  R.    Bent.     Delegates   were   ap- 
pointed from  time  to  time  to  visit  the  hospitals  and 
camps,  to  relieve  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  to  dis-  | 
tribute    the    holy   Scriptures,    religious    tracts,   and  j 
other  proper  publications.     In  this  work  no  discrimi-  i 
nation    was   permitted  or  practiced,  and  relief  was 
impartially  extended  to  soldiers  of  both  armies  alike. 
The   whole    amount   distributed   by   the   committee 
during  the  war  is  estimated  at  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand   dollars.      The   balance   remaining   at   the 
close  of  the  war  was  donated  to  the  Soldiers'  Home, 
the  Union  Orphan  Asylum,  and  other  charities. 

Many  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  Baltimore 
were  connected  with  the  beneficent  operations  of  the 
Commission,  and  to  few  did  it  appeal  in  vain  for  aid. 
Of  the  many  prominently  interested  in  its  benevolent 
work  none  showed  more  thorough  earnestness  in  the 
cause  than  Mr.  Goldsborough  S.  Griffith,  who  indeed 
was  the  founder  of  this  practical  and  far-reaching 
charity.  Mr.  Griffith  was  born  in  Harford  County, 
Md.,  Nov.  4,  1814,  and  was  the  son  of  a  volunteer 
in  the  war  of  1812,  who  lost  his  health  in  conse- 
quence of  the  exposures  of  camp-life,  and  died  when 
his  son  was  but  a  few  months  old.  The  family  prop- 
erty, once  considerable,  was  wasted  by  bad  manage- 
ment, and  they  removed  to  Baltimore.  When  but  a 
little  more  than  twelve  years  of  age  he  entered  into 
the  employ  of  the  tobacco-manufacturing  house  of  A. 
&  J.  Bonn,  who  were  so  greatly  pleased  with  his 
fidelity  and  energy  that  they  oftered  him  large  in- 
ducements to  remain  with  them  until  he  should  be 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  when  they  promised  to  estab- 
lish him  in  business.  While,  however,  expressing  his 
gratitude  to  these  gentlemen,  Mr.  Griffith  was  com- 
pelled to  decline  their  kindness,  as  he  had  other 
views  for  the  future.  With  Archibald  Golder  he 
learned  paper-hanging,  at  which  he  became  remark- 
ably expert;  and  after  refusing  to  go  into  partnership 
with  Robert  Golder  in  Philadelphia,  he  and  a  partner 
opened  a  paper-hanging  and  upholstering  business 
in  Baltimore.  He  wa.s  only  twenty-two  years  old, 
and  he  and  his  partucr  had  but  five  hundred  dollars 


each,  but  they  possessed  commercial  qualifications 
that  were  better  than  money,  and  soon  built  up  a 
large  and  remunerative  trade.  Mr.  Griffith  bought 
out  his  partner  at  the  expiration  of  two  years,  and 
in  18.54  sold  the  establishment  to  his  half-brothers, 
Michael  &  Bros.  Eight  years  previously  he  had 
opened  a  carpet-house,  to  which  he  now  gave  his 
whole  business  attention,  and  at  the  head  of  which 
he  still  remains.  The  firm  is  now  G.  S.  (Jriffith  tt 
Co.,  the  other  partners  being  his  nephews,  G.  S.  Grif- 
fith, Jr.,  and  Thomas  Riffle.  While  deservedly  suc- 
cessful in  commercial  life,  Mr.  Griffith's  fame  more 
largely  depends  upon  his  intimate  connection  with 
philanthropic  and  charitable  effort  and  the  spread  of 
the  gospel.  He  is  an  elder  of  the  First  Reformed 
Church,  and  for  twenty-seven  years  has  been  a  dele- 
gate to  the  meetings  of  Synod  and  of  the  Maryland 
Classis.  He  is  also  connected  with  the  Publication 
Board  of  the  Reformed  Church,  and  was  a  trustee  of 
Franklin  and  Marshall  College,  at  Lancaster,  Pa., 
while  the  late  ex-President  Buchanan  was  the  chief 
officer  of  the  board.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Synod  of  the  Poto- 
mac, and  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the 
General  Synod.  In  1856  he  was  an  American  dele- 
gate to  the  Evangelical  Alliance  at  Lubeck,  Germany, 
and  in  1857  to  the  Alliance  at  Berlin,  on  which  latter 
occasion  the  members  were  received  by  the  King  of 
Prussia.  For  years  he  has  been  prominent  in  Sunday- 
school  work,  and  is  president  of  the  Maryland  Sun- 
day-School Union,  besides  being  a  member  of  the 
Sunday-School  Board  of  the  Synod  of  the  Potomac. 
He  has  been  a  sincere  Christian  since  the  age  of  four- 
teen years,  when  he  attended  St.  Peter's  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  and  was  afterwards  confirmed  by 
Bishop  Stone.  In  1854  he  connected  himself  with 
the  Reformed  Church,  and  for  a  long  time  has  been 
treasurer  of  the  General  Board  of  the  Orphans'  Home, 
which  is  under  the  control  of  the  General  Synod. 
The  Maryland  Sunday-School  Union,  which  has  had 
perpetual  immunities  and  privileges  conferred  upon 
it  by  act  of  Assembly,  is  a  great  engine  of  evangel- 
ization. During  Mr.  Griffith's  presidency  it  has  or- 
ganized or  reorganized  about  thirteen  hundred  Sun- 
day-schools in  Maryland.  Among  other  official  po- 
sitions which  he  holds  or  has  held  are  those  of  com- 
missioner on  the  part  of  the  city  to  visit  the  Indus- 
trial School  for  Girls,  trustee  of  the  Union  Protestant 
Infirmary,  member  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the 
Boys'  Home  Society,  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the 
Maryland  Tract  Society,  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of 
the  House" of  Reformation  and  Instruction  for  Colored 
Boys,  and  visitor  to  the  city  jail,  besides  which  he 
has  long  been  identified  with  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  and  temperance  movements.  He 
was  one  of  the  original  projectors  of  the  Children's 
Aid  Society,  the  Society  for  the  Protection  of  Chil- 
dren from  Cruelty  and  Immorality,  and  the  Maryland 
Prisoners'  Aid  Association,  in  each  of  which  he  holds 


v#?  f^^^ 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


an  important  official  position.  He  has  represented 
Maryland  at  the  InterDational  Penitentiary  Con- 
vention in  London  in  July,  1872,  at  the  Inter- 
national Prison  Congress  in  Stockholm  in  August, 
1878,  and  at  the  International  Sunday-School  Con- 
vention in  London  in  1881.  He  is  also  correspond- 
ing member  for  the  United  States  of  the  National 
Prison  Society  of  France,  and  one  of  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  tlie  National  Prison  Association  of  New 
York,  and  has  attended  all  the  National  Prison  Con- 
gresses held  in  this  country,  being  always  elected 
one  of  the  vice-presidents.  Mr.  Griffith  was  active 
in  the  establishment  of  the  House  of  Correction,  and 
is  one  of  the  Board  of  Managers.  In  private  and 
public  charity  he  has  given  away  between  sixty 
and  seventy  thousand  dollars.  A  history  of  his  as- 
siduous labors  in  behalf  of  benevolence  and  Chris- 
tianity would  fill  volumes,  and  wherever  known  his 
name  is  highly  honored  for  his  life-devotion  to  good 
works.  He  was  married  May  30,  1839,  to  Elizabeth 
Diirst,  whose  parents  were  natives  of  Switzerland,  her 
father  being  a  merchant  of  Cologne,  from  whence  he 
fled  in  the  days  of  Napoleonic  tyranny,  and  coming 
to  America,  fought  for  his  adopted  country  at  North 
Point  in  1814,  two  years  before  he  could  become  one 
of  its  naturalized  citizens. 

Maryland  Union  Commission.— The  Maryland 
Union  Commission  was  also  formed  at  the  suggestion 
of  Mr.  Griffith,  and  after  two  preliminary  meetings 
on  the  5th  and  18th  of  April,  1865,  it  was  fully  or- 
ganized by  the  election  of  G.  S.  Griffith,  president ; 
Rev.  C.  Dickson,  D.D.,  John  C.  Bridges,  Hon.  John 
M.  Frazier,  vice-presidents ;  John  N.  Brown,  treas- 
urer ;  William  A.  Wisong,  corresponding  secretary ; 
Rev.  E.  R.  Eschback,  recording  secretary ;  and  Rev. 
O.  M.  McDowell,  financial  agent.  Among  the  mana- 
gers were  William  F.  Gary,  J.  Henry  Giese,  John  L. 
Reid,  Henry  W.  Drakely,  William  Bridges,  Jesse 
Tyson,  E.  M.  Janney,  Samuel  M.  Shoemaker,  and  A. 
M.  Carter.  The  purpose  of  the  society  was  "  to  co- 
operate with  the  people  of  the  South  in  rendering  as- 
sistance to  those  who  were  in  want  and  had  been 
impoverished  by  the  ravages  of  war,  and  to  save 
by  timely  generosity  the  tliousands  of  refugees  whom 
the  tides  of  war  had  cast  upon  our  hands."  The  Com- 
mission was  at  first  auxiliary  to  that  of  New  York, 
but  subsequently  became  a  distinct  and  independent 
organization.  The  aggregate  collections  made  during 
the  twelve  months  of  its  existence  amounted  to  $12,- 
402.63  ;  the  donations  in  goods,  supplies,  clothing,  etc., 
were  estimated  at  an  equal  amount,  making  nearly 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  distributed  by  the  asso- 
ciation. The  pressing  necessity  that  called  it  into 
existence  having  disappeared,  the  Commission  was 
dissolved  in  May,  1866. 

Baltimore  Agricultural  Aid  Society.— This  so- 
ciety was  formed  in  1865  by  a  number  of  the  citizens 
of  Baltimore  irrespective  of  party  to  supply  a  portion 
of  the  Southern  States,  and  more  particularly  Vir- 


ginia, with  stock,  farming-tools,  and  seed.     For  this 
purpose  over  eighty  thousand  dollars  were  subscribed 
and  judiciously  distributed  by  local  agents  who  un- 
;  derstood  the  wants  of  their  immediate  neighborhoods. 
The  officers  of  this  noble  charity  who  came  volun- 
tarily to  the  assistance  of  the  people  of  the  South  "in 
I  their  sorest  need,  without  wounding  their  pride  or  in- 
'  suiting  their  poverty,"  were  James  Hooper,  Jr.,  presi- 
dent; Charles  J.  Baker,  vice-president;  Daniel  Miller, 
treasurer;   Lawrence  Sangston,  corresponding  secre- 
i  tary ;  Directors,  James  Carey,  Wra.  H.  Baldwin,  Wm. 
;  Chesnut,  G.  Washington  Ward,  Charles  Webb,  Myer 
j  Stein,  Wm.  Devries,  Germon  H.  Hunt,  Benjamin  F. 
Cator,  Charles  M.  Dougherty,  Israel  M.  Parr,  Wm. 
Crichton  ;  Executive  Committee,  James  Hooper,  Jr., 
Charles  J.  Baker,  Charles  Webb,  James  Carey,  B.  F. 
Cator. 
Southern  Relief  Association.— In  the  spring  of 
I  1866  the  ladies  of  Maryland  organized  the  "Southern 
Relief  Association,"  with  Mrs.  B.  C.  Howard  as  presi- 
j  dent ;  Mrs.  J.  Hanson  Thomas,  Mrs.  Charles  Howard, 
I  Mrs.   J.  S.   Gittings,  Mrs.  W.  Prescott  Smith,  and 
Mrs.  J.  J.  Bankard,  vice-presidents ;    Mrs.    Peyton 
Harrison,  treasurer ;    Miss  Dora  Hoffman,  assistant 
I  treasurer ;  Miss  Frick,  secretary ;  Mrs.  Samuel  Hoff- 
man, Mrs.  Charles  Baker,  Mrs.  Samuel  W.  Smith, 
I  Mrs.  Thomas  Murdoch,  Mrs.  Robert  H.  Carr,  Mrs. 
I  Joshua  Vansant,  Mrs.  John  F.  Hunter,  Mrs.  Rich- 
ard Norris,  Mrs.  Louisa  Cannon,  Mrs.  F.  W.  Elder, 
!  Miss  Harper,  Miss  Louisa  Hoffman,  Mrs.  D.  Preston 
'  Parr,  Mrs.  T.  Parkin  Scott,  Mrs.  Lurman,  Mrs.  J.  H. 
,  B.  Latrobe,  Mrs.   A.   DuBois   Egerton,    Mrs.   Allan 
Dorsey,  Mrs.  James  F.  Purvis,  Mrs.  James  M.  An- 
j  derson,  and  Mrs.  James  Hodges,  executive  commit- 
I  tee ;  Auxiliary  Managers,  Lawrence  Sangston,  chair- 
I  man  ;  Charles  E.  Waters,  secretary ;  John  L.  Weeks, 
I  William  L.  Montague,  Thomas  J.  Magruder,  Israel 
I  M.  Parr,  Lewis  Turner,  Sr.,  P.  De  Murguindo,  C.  W. 
I  C.  McCoy,  George  W.  Herring,  William  H.  Baldwin, 
Eben  Faxon,  D.  Preston  Parr,  D.  J.  Foley,  Charles 
M.  Dougherty,  James  M.  Anderson,  Charles  J.  Baker, 
A.  DuBois  Egerton,  William  H.  Perkins,  J.  J.  Bank- 
ard, Ezra  Whitman,  Thomas  Norris,  Frederick  Raine, 
W.  Holtzman,  Joshu^  Vansant,  Robert  R.  Kirkland, 
I  Francis  B.  Loney,  William  Crichton,  Samuel  G.  Miles, 
Leonard  Passano,  James  H.  Barney,  Charles  E.  Weth- 
ered,  Benjamin  F.  Cator,  Charles  Webb,  William  Dev- 
i  ries,  James  Hodges,  Henry  W.  Slicer,  B.  B.  Swayne, 
Francis  Whitson,  Augustus  J.  Albert,  W.  W.  Glenn, 
I  James  Fryer,  Clifford  C.  Anderson,  Lewis  A.  Turner, 
Charles  H.  Rifllemeyer,  and  Herman  H.  Graue. 

To  facilitate  the  objects  of  the  association  it  was 
determined  to  hold  a  fair,  which  was  opened  on  the 
'■  2d  of  April,  1866,  in  the  Maryland  Institute.  It  was 
continued  until  the  13th  of  the  month,  and  at  its 
!  close  the  net  receipts  were  found  to  be  $164,569.97, 
'  which  was  distributed  through  committees  to  the 
j  various  Southern  States.  The  committee  for  Virginia 
'  was  composed  of  Mrs.  J.  Harmon  Brown,  Mrs.  A.  D. 


156 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND    COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Egerton,  Mrs.  J.  S.  Gittings,  who  through  almoners 
in  that  State  distributed  to  the  deserving  citizens 
$27,000.  The  committee  for  North  Carolina,  com- 
posed of  Mrs.  J.  J.  Bankard,  Mrs.  Joshua  Vansant, 
Mrs.  Charles  J.  Baker,  Mrs.  J.  Harman  Brown,  Miss 
Lizzie  Wright,  and  Mrs.  A.  D.  Egerton,  distributed 
the  sum  of  $16,500  in  that  State.  The  committee  for 
South  Carolina,  composed  of  Mrs.  Louisa  Cannon, 
Mrs.  Robert  H.  Carr,  Miss  Louisa  Hoffman,  Mrs. 
James  M.  Anderson,  Mrs.  Dr.  Wilson  Carr,  Mrs.  Mc- 
Sherry,  Miss  Henrietta  Hoffman,  distributed  the  sum 
of  $19,750.  The  committee  for  Maryland  for  Southern 
refugees  and  special  cases,  composed  of  Mrs.  J.  J. 
Bankard,  Mrs.  Joshua  Vansant,  Mrs.  Charles  J. 
Baker,  Mrs.  J.  Harman  Brown,  Miss  Lizzie  Wright, 
and  Mrs.  A.  D.  Egerton,  the  sum  of  $10,000.  The 
committee  for  Georgia,  composed  of  Mrs.  B.  C.  How- 
ard, Mrs.  R.  Norris,  Miss  Harper,  and  Mrs.  Read, 
the  sum  of  $17,875.  The  committee  of  Florida,  com- 
posed of  Mrs.  B.  C.  Howard,  Mrs.  R.  Norris,  Jr., 
Miss  Harper,  and  Mrs.  Read,  the  sum  of  $5500.  The 
committee  for  Alabama,  composed  of  Mrs.  Samuel 
Hoffman,  Mrs.  Charles  Howard,  and  Mrs.  Frick, 
$16,250.  The  committee  for  Louisiana,  composed  of 
Mrs.  Charles  Howard,  Mrs.  Samuel  Hoffman,  Mrs.  W. 
Prescott  Smith,  Mrs.  F.  W.  Elder,  and  Miss  Friik, 
$7500.  The  committee  for  Arkansas,  composed  of 
Miss  Harper,  Miss  Spencer,  and  Mrs.  Peyton  Har- 
rison, $5000.  The  committee  for  Mississippi,  com- 
posed of  Mrs.  Peyton  Harrison,  Mrs.  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe, 
and  Mrs.  Dora  Hoffman,  $20,625.  The  committee  for 
Tennessee,  composed  of  Mrs.  Allan  Dorsey,  Mrs.  Von 
Kapff,  Mrs.  Thomas  Murdoch,  $12,500.  In  1867  the 
Legislature  also  appropriated  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  "  for  the  relief  of  the  destitute  people  in  the 
States  wasted  by  civil  war,"  and  appointed  commis- 
.sioners  for  its  distribution.  To  this  sum  was  added 
over  twenty-one  thousand  dollars  in  money  and  goods, 
contributed  by  private  individuals.  As  in  many  places 
the  people  were  suffering  for  the  want  of  food,  the 
commissioners  shipped  large  stores  of  provisions  to 
various  points  in  North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia, 
and  Alabama,  to  be  distributed  by  agents  appointed 
by  the  Governors  of  those  States.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  of  the  United  States,  Hon.  G.  Welles,  placed  at  , 
their  disposal  the  United  States  .store-ship  "  Relief," 
by  which  a  full  cargo  of  corn  and  bacon  was  shipped 
to  Mobile,  Ala. 

The  total  amount  distributed  by  the  commissioners 
in  supplies  and  money  reached  $106,623.65.  In  addi- 
ti<m  to  all  this,  there  were  a  large  number  of  contri- 
butions, of  which  not  even  an  approximate  estimate 
can  be  formed,  made  by  individuals  privately  and  sent 
through  private  channels.  Nearly  all' hearts  were 
touched  and  purses  op^ed,  and  it  has  been  estimated 
that  the  relief  thus  afforded  fell  but  little  short  of  that 
which  was  publicly  given.  All  the  railroads  of  Balti- 
more and  the  bay  steamers  carried  the  contributions 
free  of  charge  ;   no  commission  was  charged  for  ])ur- 


chase  or  storage,  and  liberal  deductions  were  made  by 
the  merchants  fidiii  wliom  the  supplies  were  obtained. 
The  Ladies'  Depository.— The  Ladies'  Depository, 
No.  56  North  (Jharles  Street,  Baltimore,  was  formed 
in  1867,  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  in  organized  effort 
those  who  were  endeavoring  to  obtain  needle  and 
fancy  work  for  the  destitute  ladies  in  the  South,  im- 
poverished by  the  war.  The  first  officers  and  mana- 
gers were:  President,  Mrs.  Peyton  Harrison;  Vice- 
President,  Mrs.  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe ;  Treasurer,  Mrs.  W. 
W.  Spence ;  Recording  Secretary,  Mrs.  James  A. 
Stewart;  Corresponding  Secretary,  Miss  Frick;  Man- 
agers, Mrs.  Charles  J.  Baker,  Mrs.  J.  J.  Bankard, 
Mrs.  J.  Harman  Brown,  Mrs.  John  Duer,  Mrs.  A.  D. 
Egerton,  Miss  Frick,  Miss  Fothergill,  Mrs.  John  S. 
Gittings,  Miss  G.  R.  Goldsborough,  Miss  Harper, 
Mrs.  Peyton  Harrison,  Miss  Dora  Hoffman,  "Mrs. 
Charles  Howard,  Mrs.  John  F.  Hunter,  Mrs.  John  H. 
B.  Latrobe,  Mrs.  William  H.  Merrick,  Mrs.  F.  Mur- 
doch, Mrs.  Read,  Mre.  T.  Parkin  Scott,  Mrs.  Bayard 
Smith,  Mrs.  James  A.  Stewart,  Mrs.  B.  R.  Spaulding. 

Alphabetical  List  of  Commissioned  Officers  from 
Baltimore  City  and  Baltimore  County  in  the 
Volunteer  Force  of  the  United  States  Army 
during  the  war  of  1861  65.' 

Appointed  from  Baltimore  City. 
A. 
Abererombie,  William  H.,  capt.  0th  Infantry. 
Addison,  Joseph  T.,  1st  lieut.  4tb  Infantry. 
Adreon,  Christopher  C.,lst  lieut.  and  Q.  M.8th  Infantrj-. 
Adreon,  Harrison,  major  4th  Infantry.    (Brevetted  lieut.-col.  for  gallant 

and  meritorious  services  at  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  Ya.) 
Adreon,  Wm.  T.,  1st  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  4th  Infantry. 
Aivey,  John  B.,capt.  10th  Infantry. 
Alexander,  F.  W.,  capt.  Baltimore  Battery,  and  capt.  and  C.  S.  U.  S.  Vols. 

(Brevetted  major  for  gallantry  in  theiield.aud  lieut.-col.  for  faithful 

services  in  the  Subsistence  Department.) 
Alexander,  H.  Eugene,  capt.  Baltimore  Battery.     (Brevetted   major  for 

gallant  and  meritorious  services  during  the  war.) 
Alexander,  R.  G.,  1st  lieut.  .')d  Cavalry. 
Algie,  Wm.  G.,  2d  lieut.  1st  Cavalry. 

AUard,  Thomas  B.,  lieut.-col.  Dix  Light  Infantry,  ami  col.  2d  Infantry. 
Allen,  Edwin  F.,  2d  lieut.  11th  Infantry. 
Allen,  Joseph  H.,  capt.  3d  Infantry. 
Allen,  Sidney  S.,  2d  lieut.  Battery  D,  Light  Artillery. 
Allen,  Wm.  H.,  1st  lieut.  Dix  Light  Infantry,  and  1st  lieut.  4t)i  Infan- 
try. 
Allenbaugh,  Charles  T.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Anderson,  Henry  P.,  1st  lieut.  3d  Cavalry. 
Andrews,  Wm.  E.,  capt.  8th  Infantry. 
Appel,  Henry,  Ist  lieut.  Isl  Cavalry. 
Arniacost,  James  T.,  Ist  liei 

gallant  and  meritorious 

and  Five  Forks,  Va.) 
Armacost,*  Lewis,  2d  lieut.  Ist  Infantry. 
Armor,  George  F.,  let  lieut.  and  tj.  M.  2d  Infantry. 
Artaud.  Theodore,  surgeon  C.  S.  Vols. 
Atkinhead,*  John,  capt.  3d  Infantry. 
Atkinson,  Wm.  L.,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry,  and  capt.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cav- 

Audoun,  Joseph  H.,  capt.  Eagle  Artillei-y. 
Axer,  John,  capt.  1st  Cavalry. 


1  Only  the  highest  rank  attained  by  Stole  commission  or  Presidential 
appointment  in  any  particular  regiment  or  corps  is  given.  Those  who 
died  ill  the  service  are  indicated  by  an  asterisk. 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


157 


Babb,  John  D.,  1st  lieut.  6th  Infantry. 
Baer,  Edward  R.,  surgeon  1st  Infantry. 
Baer,  James  S.,  capt.  1st  Infantry. 
Bakeman,*  Edward  W.,  2d  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 
Baker,  John  J.,  Ist  lieut.  iBt  Infantry. 
Ball,  John,  1st  lieut.  and  adjt.  7th  Infantry. 
Balloch,  James,  hospital  cliaplain  U.  S.  Vols. 

Bamberger,  Wm.  W.,  col.  5th  Infantry. 

Bankard,  Charles  H.,  1st  lieut.  1st  Cavalrj-. 

Bankard,  Josiah,  capt.  4th  Infantry,  ami  capt.  and  A.  A.  G.  U.  S.  Vols. 

Barber,  John  G.,  2d  lieut.  4th  Infantry. 

Barnes,  Koljert  C,  capt.  and  A.  Q.  M.  U.  S.  Vols. 

Barrett,  Gregory,  Jr.,  lieut.-col.  4th  Infantry.    (Brevetted  colonel.) 

Bartholoniee,  Theodore  M.,  capt.  12th  Infantry. 

Barto,  Charles  H.,  2d  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 

Beacham,  T.  Stanly,  2d  lieut.  7th  Infantry. 

Bery,  Adolph,  major  3d  Cavalry. 

Betts,  Charles  M.,  Ist  lieut.  12tli  Infantry. 

Beyer,  Louis,  capt.  4th  Infantry,  and  capt.  3d  Infantry. 

Biays,  .Frank  S.,  capt.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 

Biays,  Wm,  J.,  2d  lieut.  8th  Infantry. 

Bigelow,  Waldo  0.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 

Binau,  John,  Ist  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 

Binder,  Louis,  2d  lieut.  4th  Infantry  (German  Rifles). 

Binyon,  Thomas,  Ist  lieut.  Battery  A,  Light  Artillery. 

Binyon,  Thomas  W.,  1st  lieut.  Eagle  Artillery. 

Bishop,  John  L.,  capt.  4th  Infantry,  and  lieut.-col.  12th  Infantry. 

Bitter,  Christian,  capt.  6th  Infantry. 

Blumenberg,  Leopold,  major  5th  Infantry. 

Boettger,  Conrad,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 

Bolton,  John  H.,  assistant  surgeon  7th  Infantry. 

Boone,  Charles  H.,  1st  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 

Booth,  George  W.,  1st  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 

Borck,  Edward,  Jr.,  assistant  surgeon  10th  Infantry,  and  assistant  sur- 
geon 3d  Cavalry. 

Bowen,  Charles  H.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 

Bowen,  Charges  J.,  hospital  chaplain  U.  S.  Vols. 

Bowerman,  Richard  N.,  col,  4th  Infantry.  (Brevetted  brig.-gen.  for  gal- 
lantry and  good  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  Va.) 

Bowie,  Wallace  A.,  2ri  lieut.  Sth  Infantry. 

Boyd,  Isaac  L  ,  Ist  lieut.  Dix  Light  Infantry,  and  capt.  4th  Infantry. 

Boyle,  Wm.  H.,  capt.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 

Brady,  James  W.,  capt.  9th  Infantry. 

Bradshaw,  John  J.,  2d  lieut.  Ist  Infantry,  and  major  6th  Infantry.  (Bre- 
vetted major  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  before  Petersburg, 
Va.) 

Bragg,  Wm.  F.,  capt.  2d  Infantry,  capt.  2d  Cavalry,  and  capt.  1st  (P.  H.  B.) 

Brandaw,  Jacob,  2d  lieut.  4th  Infantry  (German  Rifles). 
Brasbeare,  Wm.  G.,  2d  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 
Brian,  John  H.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Brian,  Marion  A.,  2d  lieut.  Baltimore  Battery. 

Brickman,  Arthur  O.,  chaplain  1st  Cavalry,  and  chaplain  3d  Infantry. 
Bride,*  James,  capt.  Sth  lufantry. 
Bridges,  Stephen  L.,  Ist  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Briscoe,  Alexander  M.,  let  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 
Broadfoot,  Joseph  0.,  Ist  lieut.  Sth  Infantry. 
Bromwell,  John  A.,  2d  lieut.  10th  Infantry. 
Brooks,  Albert  J.,  Ist  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 
Brooks,  Henry  P.,  major  4th  lufantry. 
Brown,  Charles  J.,  lieut.-col.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Brown,  George  W.,  2d  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry, 
Brown,  John  W,,  Ist  lieut.  4th  Infautry. 
Brown,  Wm.  H.,  Ist  lieut.  3d  Cavalry. 
Brown,  Wm.  R.,  1st  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  Sth  Infantry. 
Bruce,  John  M.,  capt.  Junior  Artillery,  and  capt.  Bat.  D,  Light  ArtilleiT-. 
Bruetling,  George  W.,  2d  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 
Brunner,  Andrew  B.,  major  2d  Infantry. 
Buckley,  David  Z.,  1st  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 
Bull,  John  W.,  chaplain  Sth  Infantry. 
Bull,*  Randolph,  1st  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 
Burk,  Henry,  2d  lieut.  1st  Cavalry. 
Burnham,  Wm.  H.,  2d  lieut.  7th  Infantry. 

Burrows,  Frederick  H.,  1st   lieut.,  and  adjt.  3d  Infantry,  1st  lieut.  Ist 
(K.  S.)  Infantry  and  11th  Infantry. 
11 


Calder,  Wm.,  2d  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 

Callahan,  Martin,  2d  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry,  and  capt.  9th  Inf. 
Camper,  Charles,  capt.  Ist  Infantry. 
Cantel,  John  B.,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry  (German  Rifles). 
Car),  Louis  A.,  capt.  4th  Infantry. 
Carroll,  Charies,  1st  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 
Carroll,  John,  capt.  Sth  Infantry. 

Carter,  John  C,  assist,  aurg.  4th  Infantry,  and  assist,  sarg.  TT.  S.  Vofe, 
Carter,  Joseph  F.,  2d  lieut.  9tli  Infantry,  and  capt.  3d  Infantry.    (Bre- 
vetted major  for  gallantry  at  Fort  Stedman,  Va.) 
Cassard,  George  C,  2d  lieut.  10th  Infantry. 
Cassard,  Louis  R.,capt.  Sth  Infantry.    (Brevetted  major  for  gallant  and 

meritorious  services  at  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  Va.) 
Caulfield,  Thomas  W.,  capt.  3d  Cavalry. 
Chandley,  John  H.,  2d  lieut.  Sth  Infantry. 
Chaney,  LouiSv  1st  lieut.  Sth  Infantry. 
Chaney,  William,  1st  lieut.  Sth  Infantry. 
Chaney,  William  H.,  Ist  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 
Chase,  John  H.,  1st  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 
Chenoweth,  Ferdinand,  Ist  lieut.  4th  Infantry. 
Childs,  Jesse  D.,  capt.  1st  Infantry.  (Brevetted  major  for  gallant  services 

at  the  battle  of  Dabney's  Mill,  Va.) 
Christopher,  Z.  W.,  1st  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 
Church,  Royal  W.,  major  Sth  Infantry. 
Claridge,  Joseph  S.,  assistant  surgeon  3d  Cavalry . 
Clavy,  James  L.,  2d  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 
Clemm,*  John  R.,  2d  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 
Coale,  John  H.,  capt.  and  C.  S.  U.  S.  Vols. 
Coale,  Wni.  E  ,  capt.  and  C.  S.  U.  S.  Vols. 

Cochrane,  John  S.,  2d  lieut.  1st  Cavalry,  and  capt.  3d  U.  S.  Vols. 
Coggins,  Harry,  capt.  6th  Infantry. 
Colgate,  Charles  E.,  2d  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 
Colouey,*  Josiah  B.,  major  1st  Infantry. 

Conoway,  Wm.  E.,  capt.  2d  lufantry,  capt.  9th  Infantry,  capt.  11th  In- 
fantry, capt.  1st  (E.  S.)  Infantry. 
Conradt,  George  M.,  capt.  3d  Infantry. 
Cook,  James  H.,  1st  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  Sth  Infantry. 
Cooke,  Wm.  H.,  1st  lieut.  Sth  Infantry. 
Cooper,  John  W..  Ist  lieut.  PurnelL  Legion  Infantry, 
Cost,  John  L.,  2d  lieut.  llth  Infantry. 
Coulson,  John  B.,2d  lieut.  Ist  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Counselman,  Thomas  H.  B,,  2d  lieut.  Ist  Cavalry. 
Courtney,  James  A.,  capt.  llth  Infantry. 
Cox,  Christopher  C,  surgeon  U.  S.  Vols. 
Cram,  Omer  P.,  major  2d  Infantry.    (Brevetted  major  for  gallant  and 

meritorious  conduct  in  the  assault  before  Petersburg,  Va.) 
Crawford,  Wm.  J.,  Ist  lieut.  4th  lufauti^. 
Creager,*  Francis  M.,  capt.  Ist  Cavalry. 

Crocker,*  Charles  W.,  capt.  Dix  Light  Infantry,  and  capt.  3d  Infautry. 
Crouch,  David,  capt.  4th  Infanti-y. 
Culbertson,  Cyrus  D,,  1st  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  4tli  Infantry  (German  Rifles), 

and  1st  lieut,  and  Q.  M.  3d  lufantry. 
Cullimore,  Wm.  H.,  2d  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 
Cummins,  Jonathan  P.,  capt.  9th  Infantry. 

Currey,  James  H.,  assistant  surgeon  3d  Infantry,  and  surgeon  U.  S.  Vols. 
Cushing,  Richard  C,  Ist  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  llth  Infantry. 


Battery  B,  Light 


I    Daneker,  John  F.,  2d  lieut.  Battery  A,  and  2d  1 
I  Artillery. 

Daneker,  Wm.  H.,  2d  lieut.  9th  Infantry. 

Daniel,  J.  Townsend,  major  10th  Infantry,  and  major  lut  (P.  H.  B.) 

j    Danskin,  Washington  A.,  1st  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 
!   Davis,  John  W.,  2d  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 

Davis,  Thomas  II.,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry. 

Davis,  Wm.  H.,  capt.  4th  Infantry. 

DeCIiariier,  Charles  L.,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry  (German  Rifles). 

Deems,  James  M.,  lieut.-col.  1st  Cavalry.    (Brevetted  col.  and  brig.-gen. 
!  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  during  the  war.) 

Dietz,  Charles,  1st  lieut,  1st  Infantry. 

Denison,  Andrew  W.,  col.  Sth  Infantry.    (Brevetted  brig.-gen.  for  merit- 
orious conduct  in  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness  and  Spoltsylvania, 
Va.,  and  maj.-gen.  for  gallant  conduct  in  the  battle  of  White  Oak 
I  Road,  Va.) 


HISTORY    OP   BALTIMORE    CITY   AND    COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Despeaux,*  Joseph  P.,  2d  lieut.  Ist  Cavalry. 

Deveney,  John,  1st  lieut.  4tli  Infantry. 

DeVere,  William  T.,  capt.  3d  Cavalry. 

Dexter,  Charles  H.,  2d  lieut.  Eagle  Artillery. 

Dittnian,  John  H.,  2d  lieut.  1st  Cavalry. 

Diver,  William,  capt.  11th  Infantry. 

Dobson,  George  H.,  capt.  :id  Infantry. 

Dodge,  Augustus  W.,  assistant  surgeon  4th  Infantry. 

Dodson,  John  W.,  2d  lieut.  4th  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry,  and  capt.  3d  (P.  H.  B.) 

Infantry. 
Donoghue,  William  J.,  capt.  3d  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 

Dorsey,  Algernon  S.,  capt.  let  Cavalry. 

Dove,  Milton  C,  2d  lieut.  2d  Infantry,  and  capt.  1st  Cavalry. 

Downs,  Charles  G.,  2d  lieut.  Di.t  Light  Infantry,  and  capt.  3d  Infantry. 

Dudrow,  Charles  E.,  2d  lieut.  1st  Infantry,  and  Ist  lieut.  2d  Cavalry. 

Dulaney,  Bladen  T.  F.,  capt.  1st  Infantry,  and  Ist  lieut.  2d  Cavalry. 

Duncan,  Charles  V.,  Ist  lieut.  Ist  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 

Duncan,  David,  2d  lieut.  Junior  Artillery. 

Dunlap,  Albert,  assistant  surgeon  3d  Infantry. 

Durand,  Charles,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry  (German  Eiflee),  and  2d  lieut. 
3d  Infantry. 

Dushane,*  Nathan  T.,  col.  Ist  Infantry. 

Dutton,  Norris  B.,  1st  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 


Edgar,  Charles  W.,  2d  lieut.  Dix  Light  Infantry. 

Ehlers,  John  D.,  capt.  10th  Infantry. 

Ellers,  John  T.,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry. 

Elliott,  Joseph,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry. 

England,  John  H.,  2d  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 

Erich,  Henry  C,  capt.  1st  Cavalry. 

Evans,  Charles  H.,  1st  lieut.  Baltimore  Battery. 

Evans,  George  W.,  capt.  Ist  (E.  S.)  Infantry. 

Evans,  Thomas  H.,  capt.  Dix  Light  Infantry. 

Evans,  Thomas  J.,  1st  lieut.  12tb  Infantry,  and  capt.  1st  (P.  H.  B.) 

Evans,  Thomas  E.,  capt.  Ist  Infantry. 


Faithful,  William  T.,  capt.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 

Fay,  James,*  Ist  lieut.  8th  Infantry. 

Fayman,  James  D.,  1st  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 

Feilen,  Augustus,  2d  lieut.  8th  Infantry. 

Fensley,  William,  let  lieut.  9th  Infantry. 

Ferguson,  Archibald  D..  capt.  11th  Infantry. 

Fiechtner,  Charles  G.,  Ist  lieut.  6th  Infantry. 

Fleckenstein,  Louis,  Ist  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 

Fletcher,  Richard,  2d  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 

Ford,  John  T.,  Ist  lieut.  11th  Infantry. 

Foster,  Edward  F.,  Ist  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 

Toy.  John  H.,  capt.  Dix  Light  Infantry. 

Frisby,  Tliomas,  capt.  5lh  Infantry. 

Furlong,  McKendree  C  ,  2d  lieut.  8th  Infantry. 


Gallagher,  Francis,  capt.  Ist  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 

Gallagher,  John  H.,  1st  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 

Galloway,  Thomas,  capt.  Ist  Cavalry. 

Gamble,  George,  2d  lieut.  8th  Infantry. 

Ganster,  Nicholas,  capt.  5th  Infantry. 

Gather,  Uriah,  capt.  .'ith  Infantry,  and  2d  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 

Gareis,  John  A.,  1st  lieut.  and  adjt.  1st  Cavalry. 

Gardner,  Richard  F.,  1st  lieut.  and  (J.  M.  3d  Infantry,  and  capt.  8th  In- 

Gardner,  T.  H.,  additional  paymaster  U.  S.  Vols.    (Brevetted  lieut'Col.) 

Garmhausen,  Frederick  C,  capt.  8th  Infantry. 

Garrison,  Thomas  J.,  1st  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  1st  Infantry. 

Gault,  J.  Emory,  Ist  lieut.  2d  Infantry,  and  2d  lieut.  V.  R.  C. 

George,  Wm.  E.,  capt.  let  Infantry,  and  major  11th  Infantry. 

Gehring,  Charles  J.,  2d  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B  )  Cavalry. 

Gibson,  Wm.,  capt.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 

Gillette,  James,  1st  lieut.  and  adjt.  4th  Infantry  (German  Rifles)  and  3d 

Infantry,  and  capt.  and  C.  S.  U.  S.  Vols. 
GilUngham,  Christopher  R.,  capt.  1st  Infantry. 
GUlingham,  Edward  E.,  capt.  Ist  Infantry. 
GilUngham,  Henry  R.,  capt.  1st  Infantry. 
Gilman,  Judson,  surgeon  .5th  Infantry. 


Gleesiin,*  ,Iohn  P.,  capt.  5th  Infantry. 

Gl.-.  ^   II     I  In  r,.,,-  ,1  ,  J, I  lieut.  5lh  Infantry. 

01. -I     I  III.        I  HI    I   Jil  Infantry. 

Gnii,   |;        I     .    I      !   t  li,.iit.  3d  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 

G'.M  h.  I  111,].  (  I,  ,1  li  -  K.,  assistant  surgeon  5th  Infantry. 

Gursuch,»  Robert  Jl.,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry. 

Graham,  George  R.,  1st  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 

Graham,  Henry  G.,  major  oth  Infantry. 

Graham,  John  T.,  Ist  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 

Gray,  G.  Earring,  chaplain  9th  Infantry. 

Greaser,  Bernard  N.,  1st  lieut.  8th  Infantry. 

Grenewald,  Leonard  H.,  capt.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 

Grover,  Burr  11.,  1st  lieut.  Ist  Cavalry. 


Haanel,  Eugene,  1st  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 

Hack,  George  W.,  capt.  2d  Cavalry. 

Hack,  Henry  C,  2d  lieut.  1st  Infantry,  and  2d  lieut.  1st  Cavalry. 

Hadel,  Wm.,  2d  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 

Hall,  John  T.,  surgeon  Purnell  Legion  Infantry,  and  2d  lieut.  Baltimore 

Battery. 
Hall,  Theodoric  B.,  1st  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Hamilton,  John  W.,  capt.  loth  Infantry,  and  capt.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Hammitt,  Thomas  P.,  Ist  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 
Hardesty,  Frank  H.,  capt.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Harryman,  John  G.,  1st  lieut.  loth  Infantry. 
Haslup,  Lloyd  J.,  Ist  lieut.  9th  Infantry. 
Haugh,  Henry,  capt.  Ist  Infantry. 
Hawkins,  Henry  J.,  capt.  6th  Infantry. 
Heath,*  Levi  T.,  1st  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 

Heath,  Stephen  P.,  capt.  8lh  Infantry,  and  lieut.-col.  5th  Infantry. 
Heck,  Frederick  W.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Henderaon,  John  W.,  2d  lieut.  12th  Infantry. 
Henkel,  Adol]ih,  1st  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 
Henry,  Thomas,  caj.t.  Ist  Infantry. 
Hera,  Edwin  B.,  chaplain  4th  Infantry. 
Herold,  John  B.,  capt.  9th  Infantry. 
Hickman,  John  T.,  2d  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 
Hickman,  William  H.,  2d  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 
Hilferty,  Felix,  2d  lieut.  1st  Cavalry. 

Hilleary,  William  T.,  2d  lieut.  1st  Infantry,  and  capt.  3d  Infantry. 
Hillebrand,  Charles  F.,  capt.  Ist  Cavalry. 
Hipsley,  William  H.,  1st  lieut.  3d  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Hitchcock,  Robert  S.,  chaplain  2d  Infantry. 
Hodge,  William  E.,  2d  lieut.  oth  Infantry. 
Hodges,*  Joseph  C,  capt.  3d  Cavalry. 
Hoff,  Augustus  W.,  1st  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 
Hoffman,  William  J.,  capt.  2d  Cavalry. 
Hoffman,  William  W.,  1st  lieut.  2d  Cavalry. 
HotTman,  Geoige,  capt.  4th  Infantry  (German  Rifles). 
Hogarth,  William  H.,  capt.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 
HoUoway,  George  N.,  capt.  10th  Infantry. 
Holton,*  Charles  A.,  lieut.-col.  5th  Infantry. 
Hopf,  George,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Horn,  John  W.,  capt.  5th  Infantry,  and  col.  6th  Infantry.    (Brevetted 

brig.-gen.  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  in  the  campaign  before 

Richmond  and  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  Va.) 
Hosmer,  James  R.,  2d  lieut.  8th  Inf.,  and  capt.  and  A.  Q.  M.  U.  S.  Vols. 
Houle,  Louis,  2d  lieut.  11th  Infantry. 
Howard,*  Henry,  Jr.,  lieut.-col.  2d  Infantry. 
Hubbell,*  Josiah  S.,ast  lieut.  and  adjt.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 
Hughes,  Joseph  R.,  capt.  and  C.  S.  U.  S.  Vols. 
Hughlett,  Robert  E.,  2d  lieut.  let  Infantry. 
Hullett,  David  F.,  capt.  8th  Infantry. 
Humes,  Thomas,  Jr.,  1st  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Huneke,  Peter  J.,  1st  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 
Husband,  Albert  S.,  Ist  lieut.  4th  Infantry. 
Huxford,  David  C,  2d  lieut.  Ist  Infantry. 
Hyde,  Edward  I.,  capt.  4th  Infantry. 


Inloes,  Henry  A.,  Jr.,  assistant  surgeon  3d  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Irelan,  Charles  Davis,  capt.  5th  Infantry,  and  capt.  8th  Infantry. 
Irving,  William  H.,  major  5th  Infantry. 
Isaacs,  John  W.,  Isl  lieut.  4th  Infantry.  (Brevetted  capt.  for  gallant  and 

meritorious  services  at  the  battles  of  White  Oak  Road  and  Five 

Forks,  Va.) 


THE   CIVIL    WAR. 


lieut.-col.  8th 


Jacobi,  CharleB  G.  L.,  2d  licut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantrj-. 
James,  George  W.,  Ist  lieiit.  10th  Infautry. 
Jeffers,  Franklin,  2d  lieut.  3d  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Jenkins,  Charles  H.,  2d  lient.  U.  S.  Colored  Infantrj'. 
Jenkins,  John  H.,  2d  lieut.  Eagle  Artillery. 
Jenks,  William  B.  C,  2d  lieut.  10th  Infantry,  and  2d  lieu 
Johannes,  Henry  C,  1st  lieut.  lltli  Infantry. 
Johannes,  John  G.,  lieut.-col.  Purnell  Legion  Infantrj 

Infantry,  and  col.  11th  Infantry. 
Johnson,  Bowie  F.,  1st  lieut.  8th  Infantry. 
Johnson,  Charles,  2d  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalr)-. 
Johnson,  Elijah  H.,  2d  lieut.  2d  Cavalry,  and  1st  lioul 

Cavalry. 
Johnson,  George  W  ,  1st  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  8th  Infantry. 
Johnson,  Louis  E.,  additional  paymaster  U.  S.  Vols. 
Jones,  Carleton  S.,  1st  lieut.  3d  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Jones,  Charles,  1st  lieut.  10th  Infantry. 
Jones,  Stephen  W.,  capt.  9th  Infantry. 
Jones,  William  H.,  capt.  2d  (E.  S.)  Infantry,  and  capt.  Ist 


Karns,  Roliert,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Eaupp,  Charles  L.,  Ist  lieut.  11th  Infantry. 
Keeno,  Joseph  R.,  capt.  11th  Infantry. 

Keener,  David,  capt  loth  Infantry,  and  1st  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 
Kelso,  William,  2d  lieut.  Ist  Infantry. 
Kemp,  Thomas  E.,  Ist  lieut.  and  adjt.  4th  Infantry. 
Kenly,  John  E.,  col.  lat  Infantry,  and  biig.-Ren.  U.  S.  Vols.    (Brevetted 
maj.-gen.  U.  S.  Vols,  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  during  the 

Kenly,  William  L.,  1st  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  Ist  Infantry,  and  capt.  and  C.  S. 
U.  S.  Vols.     (Brevetted  major  for  efficient  and  meritorious  services.) 
Kennard,  Louis  E.,  1st  lieut.  8th  Infantry. 
Keunard,  Thomas  A.,  1st  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 
Keuhn,  Adolph,  2d  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 
Killmeyer,  Max,  capt.  11th  Infantry. 
King,  Robert  G.,  maj.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 
Kirkwood,  Edwin  C,  2d  lieut.  5th  Infanti-y. 
Kirzinsky,  Henry,  2d  lieut.  4th  Infantry  (German  Rilies). 
Knobelock,  Simon,  capt.  Ist  Infantry. 
Knoppel,  John,  1st  lieut.  Ist  Infantry. 

Kogelshatz,  Adolph,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry  (German  Rifles). 
Kraft,  John  W.,  capt.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 
Kramer,  John  W.,  chaplain  1st  Infantry. 
Kramer,  Samuel,  chaplain  and  major  3d  Infantry. 
Krebbs,  W.  H.  H.,  capt.  and  A.  A.  D.  C.  U.  S.  Vols. 
Krein,  John,  capt.  3d  Infantry. 
Kugler,  George  W.,  capt.  Ist  Infantry. 
Kulin,  John  J.\  2d  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 
Knnitz,  Henry,  Ist  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 


Landstreet,  William  T.,  col.  11th  Infantry. 

Larrabee,  William  F.,  capt.  8th  Infantry. 

Leakin,  G.  A.,  hospital  chaplain  U.  S.  Vols. 

Leary,  Augustus  M.,  1st  lieut.  Dix  Light  Infantry,  and  1st  lieut.  3d  In- 

Leary,  Peter,  Jr.,  Ist  lieut.  Baltimore  Battery. 

Lee,  Charles  C,  asst.  surg.  1st  Cavalry. 

Lee,  Jesse  W.,  Jr.,  1st  lieut.  and  a^jt.  Dix  Light  Infantry,  and  capt.  3d 

Infantry. 
Lefobore,  Edmund  C,  2d  lieut.  6th  Infantry. 
Leonard,  William  H.,  Ist  lieut.  and  adjt.  8th  Infantry.    (Brevetted  capt. 

for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  at  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  Va.) 
Lewis.  John  W.,  1st  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 
Lieb,  Thomas,  let  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 
Lilly,  Charles  L.,  2d  lieut.  11th  Infantry. 
Lilly,  Solomon  H.,  2d  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 
Lindenstruth,  Aug.  W.,  2d  lieut.  3d  Cavalry. 
Loades,  James  D.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Lockwood,  Ellison  J.,  1st  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 
Long,  John  M.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Lonyi,  Albert,  capt.  4th  Infantry  (German  Rifles). 
Lovejoy,  Perley  B.,  capt.  9th  Infantry. 
Lowe,  Charles  E.,  1st  lieut.  11th  Infantry. 
Lutz,  Charles  A.,  1st  lieut.  9th  Infantry. 


Lynch,  Joshua,  capt.  Dix  Light  Infantry. 
Lynch,  Luke,  2d  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 
Lyon,  Lemuel  Z.,  capt.  1st  Infantry. 


Mace,  Oscar  A.,  2d  lieut.  4th  Infantry. 

Mahon,  Jo.seph,  chaplain  1st  Infantry. 

Mansfield,  James  T.,  capt.  1st  Infantry. 

Marsh,  Snlome,  lieut.-col.  5th  Infautry. 

Marshall,  William  H.,  capt.  5th  Infautry. 

Marshall,  W.  L.,  major  and  A.  A.  G.  U.  S.  Vols. 

Martin,*  James  A.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 

Mathews,  Wilber  F.,  capt.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 

Maughlin,  Hugh  A.,  asst.  surg.  6th  Infantry. 

Mayer,  Brantz,  additional  paymaster  U.  S.  Vols.    (Brevetted  lieut.-col. 

for  faithful  and  mei'itorious  services.) 
McAllester,  H.  Clay,  capt.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 
McComas,  John  W.,  1st  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 
McConuell,  John  C,  capt.  1st  Infantry,  and  col.  3d  Infantry. 
McCoy,  Henry  B.,  1st  lieut.  4tli  {P.  H.  B.)  Infantry,  and  capt.  3d  (P.  H. 

B.)  Infautry. 
McDonald,  James  H.,  1st  lieut.  1st  Cavalry. 
McDonald,  Thos.,  1st  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  4th  Infantry. 

Mcllvain,  John,  asst.  surg.  Ist  (P.  H  B.)  Cavalry. 

McLaughlin,  William,  2d  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 

McLean,  Thos.  B.,  2d  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 

McNelly,  William  J.,  Ist  lieut.  Dix  Light  Infantry,  and  capt.  3d  Infantry. 

McPhaie,  D.  H.,  additional  paymaster  U.  S.  Vols. 

Meads,  Robert  B.,  2d  lieut.  Dix  Light  Infantry,  and  capt.  4th  Infantry. 

Memmert,  Frederick,  capt.  5th  Infantry. 

Merritt,  Joseph  B.,  capt.  1st  Cavalry. 

Mettee,  Joseph  S,,  1st  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 

Metz,  Ferdinand,  2d  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 

Meyer,  Ilarman  F.,  2d  lieut.  9th  Infantiy. 

Miller,  Jacob  W.,  Ist  lieut.  Junior  Artillery. 

Miller,  John  W.,  2d  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 

Milless,  L.  0.,  1st  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 

Mills,*  Thos.  A.,  Ist  lieut.  4th  InfaTitry. 

Minifle,  J.  Woodtin,  2d  lieut.  3d  Cavalry. 

Mitchell,  George  T.,  Ist  lieut.  2d  (E.  S.)  Infantry. 

Mitchell,  William,  capt.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 

Moffett,  Edwin  W.,  capt.  8th  Infantry. 

Mohr,  John,  2d  lieut.  10th  Infifiitry. 

Molthe,*  Magnus,  Ist  lieut.  5tli  Infantry, 

Moody,  Convers,  2d  lieut.  11th  Infantry. 

Moouey,  Robert  S.,  major  l.st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 

Moore,  George  W.,  1st  lieut.  9tli  Infantry. 

Moore,  William  S.,  1st  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 

Morgan,  Wilbur  P.,  surg.  9th  Infantry. 

Morong,  Edwin  P.,  surg.  2d  Infantry,  and  surg.  U.  S.  Vols. 

Morris,  Robert  A.,  1st  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 

Morrison,  Elisha  S.,  1st  lieut.  1st  Cavalry. 

Morrison,  John  W.,  1st  lieut.  Ist  Cavalry. 

Morton,  Albert,  capt.  3d  Infantry. 

Moser,  Andreas,  2d  lieut.  lOtli  Infantry. 

Murray,  Alexander,  capt.  8th  Infantry.  (Brevetted  major  for  gallant  and 
uieritoriuns  services  at  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  Va.) 

Myers,  Emanuel,  2d  lieut.  lltli  Infantry. 


Neilson,  Charles  F.  JI.,  surg.  Gth  Infantry. 
Nicholson,  Edward  E.,  2d  lieut.  4th  Infantry. 
Noel,  William  A.,  capt.  5th  Infiintry. 
Norman,  William  B.,  1st  lieut.  8th  Infantry. 
Norris,  Jacob,  Ist  lieut.  and  adjt.  llth  Infantry. 
Norris,  William  H.,  Surg.  5th  Infantry. 
Norwood,  Randolph,  capt.  1st  Cavalry. 


Onderdonk,  D.  W.,  surg.  10th  Infantry,  and  surg.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 

O'Neill,*  Charles  Z.,  1st  lient.  2d  Infantry,  and  capt.  4th  Infantry. 

O'Neill,  Heniy  E.,  2d  lieut.  5th  Infautry. 

Orem,  J.  Bailey,  Ist  lieut.  1st  Infantry,  and  capt.  4th  Infantry. 

Osswald,  Ernest,  capt.  10th  Infantry. 

Ott,  George  L.,  1st  lieut.  10th  Infantry. 

Owens,  Benjamin  B.,  1st  lieut.  llth  Infantry. 

Owings,  Henry  W.,  asst.  surg.  4th  Infantry,  and  surg.  2d  (E.  S.)  Infantry. 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Palmer,  Jolin  M.,  2d  lieut.  10th  Infantry. 

Pannetti,  John  M.  P.,  asst.  surg.  4th  Infantry  (German  Rifles). 

Patterson,  William  R.,  capt.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 

Paul,  W.  Edward,  2d  lieut.  10th  Infantry,  and  capt.  llth  Infantry. 

Pearson,  William  H.,  let  lieut.  1st  (E.  S  )  Infantry. 

Pellicot,  Julius,  Ist  lieut. 4th  Infantry  (German  Rifles),  and  1st  lieut.  lOth 
Infantry. 

Peters,  Christian  G.,  2d  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 

Petherbridge,  Edward  R.,  major  Purnell  Legion  Artillei-y. 

Phelps,  Charles  E.,  col.  7tli  Infantry.  (Brevetted  brig.-gen.  for  gallant 
and  meritorious  services.!) 

Pierce,*  H.  Lindsley,  asst.  surg.  5th  Infantry. 

Pierce,  William  H.j 2d  lieut.  1  Ith  Infantry. 

Pittman,  Joseph  K.,  2d  lieut.  3d  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 

Placide,  Paul  D.,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry. 

Plowman,  George  H.,  capt.  3d  Infautry.  (Awarded  a  Medal  of  Honor 
for  recapturing  from  the  enemy  the  colors  of  a  Pennsylvania  regi- 
ment at  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  17, 1864.) 

Poisal,  Francis  A.,  2d  lieut.  2d  Cavalry. 

Polk,  Ernest,  1st  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 

Porter,  Nathaniel  D.,  1st  lieut.  9tli  Infantry. 

Prenier,  Henry  L.  E.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 

Prentiss,*  Clifton  K.,  lieut.-col.  6th  Infantry.  (Brevetted  lieut.-col.  and 
col.  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  before  Petersburg,  Va.) 

Prince,  William  H.,  Ist  lieut.  2d  Infantry,  1st  lieut.  9th  Infantry,  and 
1st  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  3d  Infantry. 

Pringey,*  Frederick,  1st  lieut.  3d  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 

Pryor,  Richard  W.,  1st  lieut.  Juuior  Artillery. 


Radcliffe,  Samuel  J.,  surgeon  U.  S.  Vols. 

Ray,  Richard  M.,  2d  lieut.  Junior  Artillery,  and  1st  lieut.  Battery  D. 

Baybold,  Thomas  J.,  capt.  3d  Infantry. 

Raymond,  John  D.,  2d  lieut.  3d  Cavalry. 

Reddehase,  Charles,  capt.  10th  Infantry. 

Reed,  John,  2d  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 

Eeed,  Scth  G.,  lieut.-col.  Ist  Infantry. 

Reese,  Aquilla  A.,  Isl  lieut.  3d  Infautry. 

Reese,  John,  1st  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 

Reese,  William  D..  capt  3d  Infantry. 

Regester,*  R.  Wilson,  1st  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 

Reinicker,*  Charles  H.  C,  capt.  3d  Infantry. 

Roinicker,  John  F.,  Ist  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 

Revere,*  William  H.,  Jr.,  col.  IDth  Infantry',  and  col.  107th  U.  S.  C.  T. 

(Brevetted  brig.-gen.  for  meritorious  services.) 
Richardson,  Charles  II.,  Ist  lieut.  and  adjt.  9th  Infantry. 
Richardson,  John  B.,  1st  lieut.  10th  Infantry. 
Richardson,  Joshua  N.,  lat  lieut.  llth  Infantry. 
Riddle,  Beal  D.,  capt.  8th  Infantry. 
Eigby,  James  H.,  capt.  Battery  A,  Light  Artillery. 
Rimby,*  Jacob,  Ist  lieut.  4th  Infautry. 

Eippard,  William  H.,  assistant  surgeon  Purnell  Legion  Infautry. 
Rizer,  Eugene  J.,  capt.  8th  Infantry,  and  2d  lieut.  llth  Infantry. 
EobertB,  Henry  C,  1st  lieut.  Ist  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Eoby,  George  W.,  capt.  and  C.  S.  U.  S.  Vols. 
Rofl;  James,  capt.  Dix  Light  Infantry,  and  capt.  3d  Infantry. 
Rogers,  William  F.,  capt.  loth  Infantry. 
Ross,  William  E.  W.,  lieut.-col.  10th  Infantry,  and  lieut..col.  31st  U.  S. 

C.  T.    (Brevetted  brig.-gen.  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services.) 
Rothrock,  Joseph  M.,  1st  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 
Euelberg,  Charles,  capt.  3d  Infantry. 
Rule,  Henry,  2d  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 

Rutherford,  Alexander,  Ist  lieut.  10th  Infantry,  and  1st  lieut.  llth  Inf. 
Ruths,  George,  2d  lieut.  4th  Infantry  (German  Itifles),  and  capt.  4th  In- 

S. 
Sachs,  John,  lat  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 
Santmyer,  Charles  A.,  2d  lieut.  1st  (P.  II.  B.)  Cavalry. 
Santmyer,  John  M.,  major  2d  Infantry. 

Sarbaugh,*  Jacob,  capt.  4th  (P.  H.  B.)  Inlautry,  and  capt.  3d  (P.  H.  B.) 
Infantry. 

,  Charles,  1st  lieut.  3d  Infanti-y. 


Rifles), 


1  Rifles), 


:  1st  lieut. 


1  Gen.  G.  K.  Warren's  recommendation  for  this  brevet  reads,  "for  gal- 
lant conduct  in  battle  May  8, 18()4,  at  Spottsylvania,  Va." 


Saville,  Thomas,  capt  1st  Infantry. 

Schad,  Charles  M.,  capt.  4th  Infantry  (German  Rifles),  capt.  3d  Infantry, 

and  capt.  10th  Infantry. 
Schalitzky,  Anthony,  2d  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 
Scherzer,  Louis,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry  (Ger 

3d  Infantry. 
Schlennig,  Fritz,  1st  lieut.  8th  Infantry. 
Schley,  William  Louis,  col.  5th  lufantry. 
Schmidt,  Michael,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry  (Ge 

3d  Infantry. 
Schultz,  Bolster,  let  lieut.  6th  Infantry. 
Schwab,  John  C,  1st  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 
Schwartz,  John  A.,  1st  lieut.  6th  Infantry. 
Sehrt,  John  C,  capt.  5th  Infantry. 
Seibold,  Lewis  P.,  2d  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infautry. 
Sewell,  Thomas,  Jr.,  lieut.-col.  llth  Infantry. 
Seymour,  George,  Ist  lieut.  and  adjt.  5th  Infantry. 
Shamburg,  Francis,  capt.  1st  Cavalry. 
Shane,  John  H.,  2d  lieut.  1st  (E.  S.)  Infantry. 
Sherwood,  James  H.,  capt.  3d  Infautry. 
Shriver,  Daniel  C,  1st  lieut.  4th  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry,  and  1st  lieut.  3d 

(P.  H.  B.)  lufantry. 
Sieforth,  John,  2d  lieut.  1st  Cavalry. 
Simon,  Edmund,  Ist  lieut.  and  adjt.  10th  Infantry. 
Simon,  Frederick  W.,  capt.  8th  lufantry.    (Brevetted  major  for  gallant 

and  meritorious  services  at  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  Va.) 
Simpson,  Benjamin  L.,  lieut.-col.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry,  and  col.  9th 

Infantry. 
Simpson,  T.  W.,  hospital  chaplain  U.  S.  Vols. 
Sivel,  Henry,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Smiley,  John,  1st  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Cavalry. 
Smith,  Abram  G.,  Ist  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  loth  Infantry. 
Smith,  Andrew  C,  2d  lieut.  6th  Infantry. 
Smith,  Demarest  J.,  capt.  6th  Infantry. 

Smith,  George,  capt.  1st  Infantry,  and  2d  lieut.  Battery  D,  Light  Ar- 
tillery. 
Smith,  Henry  C,  2d  lieut.  10th  Infantry,  and  Ist  lieut.  7th  Infantry. 
Smith,*  Isaac  H.,  2d  lieut.  Ist  Cavalry. 
Smith,  Socrates  A.,  2d  lieut.  2d  (E.  S.)  Infantry. 
Smith,  William  M.,  1st  lieut.  3d  Infautry. 
Smyser,  William  H.,  Ist  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Snyder,  William  L.,  2d  lieut.  9th  Infantry,  and  1st  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 
Sellers,  George  L.,  Ist  lieut.  9th  lufantry. 
Spangler,  James  I>.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Spoouer,  John  A.,  hospital  chaplain  U.  S.  Vols. 
Stanton,  David  L.,  col.  let  lufantry.    (Brevetted  brig.-gen.  for  gallant 

conduct  at  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  Va.) 
Starkweather,  Norris  G.,  1st  lieut.  Ist  Infantry,  and  Ist  lieut.  0th  In- 

Stein,  Edward,  1st  lieut.  5th  Infautry. 

Steiner,  David  C,  1st  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  6th  Cavalry. 

Stephens,  James  M.,  1st  lieut.  and  adjt.  6th  Infantry. 

Sterling,  Thomas  J.,  let  lieut.  8th  Infantry. 

Stewart,  William  H.,  additional  paymaster  U.  S.  Vols. 

Stevens,  Nicholas  B.,  2d  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 

Stevenson,  John  M.,  surgeon  3d  Infantry,  and  surgeon  3d  Cavalry. 

Stewart,  Henry  C,  aseistant  surgeon  3d  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 

Stewart,  Thomas  H.,  2d  lieut.  5th  lufantry. 

Stinchcomb,  John  D.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 

Stoue,  Llewellyn  P.,  1st  lieut.  loth  Infantry. 

Stuart,  George,  1st  lieut.  Ist  Cavalry. 

Sudsburg,  Joseph   M.,  capt.  2d  lufantry,  capt.  4th    Infantry  (German 

Kifles),  aud  col.  3d  Infantry. 
Sullivan,  John,  1st  lieut.  loth  Infantry. 
Sullivan,  John  H.,  2d  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infautry. 
Sulci-,  Johu  H.,  1st  lieut.  4th  lufantry. 
Suter,  Martin,  capt.  4th  Infantry,  capt.  Ist  (E.  S.)  Infautry,  and  mi^or 

llth  Infantry. 
Sweeney,  John,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Swcetiug,  Edward  T.,  1st  lieut.  and  y.  M.  Di.\  Light  Infantry. 


Talbott,  Charles  A.,  let  lieut.  Battery  D,  Light  Artillery. 
Talbott,  Nicholas  B.,  2d  lieut.  5th  Infantry, 
Tall,  Brufl'  Vi'.,  capt.  5th  Infantry. 

Tarr,  Froilerick  C,  capt.  1st  Infantry,  capt.  and  A.  A.  G.  V.  S.  Vols.,  aud 
uuy'or  and  additional  paymaster  U.  S.  Vols. 


THE   CIVIL   WAK. 


Taylor,  Edgar  G.,  2d  lieiit.  Battery  A,  and  Ist  lieut.  Eagle  Artillery. 

Taylor,  Wm.,  capt.  Ist  Infantry. 

Taylor,  Wm.  H,,  1st  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 

Taylor,*  Wm.  H.,  1st  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 

Thomas,  Arthur  G.,  hospital  chaplain  U.  S.  Vols. 

Thomas,  Wm.,  1st  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 

Thomas,  Wm.  J.,  Ist  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 

ti,  George  W.,  1st  lieut.  1st  Infantry,  and  1st  lieut.  11th  Infantry. 
ihn  A.,  Jr.,  Ist  lieut.  2d  Infantry,  and  1st  lieut.  and  adjt.4th 
Infantry. 

luel  S.,  2d  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 
Thompson,  Solomon  S.,  capt.  5th  Infantry. 
Torney,  John  H.,  2d  lieut.  10th  Infantry. 
Tower,  Lawrence,  capt.  7th  Infantry. 
Trobler,  Henry,  1st  lieut.  11th  Infantry. 
Tucker,  James  H.,  2d  lieut.  11th  Infantry. 
Tucker,  John  A.,  capt.  4th  Infantry . 
Turner,  John,  1st  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  9tli  Infantry. 

U. 
Uber,  Cailton  A.,  Ist  lieut.  Dix  Light  Infantry. 
Uliler,  John  R.,  surgeon  5th  Infantry. 
Undutch,  Nicholas,  Ist  lieut.  9th  Infantry. 


Valois,  Gustavus,  capt.  3d  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 

Vaughen,  Wm.  P.,  capt.  11th  Infantry. 

Vinton,  Boliert  S.,  hospital  chaplain  U.  S.  Vols. 

Von  Borries,  Otto,  1st  lieut.  1st  Cavalry. 

Von  Hagen,  Sigismund,  2d  lieut.  4th  Infantry. 

Von  Koerber,  Vincent  E.,  major  1st  Cavalry.    (Brevetted  lieut.-col 

faithful  and  meritorious  services  during  the  war.) 
Von  Marsdorf,  Herman,  2d  lieut.  Ist  Cavalry. 

Von  Schilling,  Louis,  1st  lieut.  1st  Cavalry  and  2d  lieut.  3d  Cavalry. 
Von  Wessely,  Joseph,  2d  lieut.  1st  Cavalry. 


Wain,  George  H.,  2d  lieut.  Ist  (P.  II.  B.)  Infantry. 

Waite,  Wm.  W.,  1st  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 

Walker,  Joseph  E.,  capt.  Ist  Infantry.    (Brevetted  captain  for  gallant 

and  meritorious  services  at  the  battles  of  White  Oak  Uoad  and  Five 

Forks,  Va.) 
Walmsley,  John  S..  lat  lieut.  25th  0.  S.  C.  T. 
Walsh,  Patrick,  2d  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 
Waltemeyer,  Charles,  1st  lieut.  Ist  Infantry. 
Waltemeyer,  Francis  G.  F.,  capt.  Ist  Infantry. 
Walter,  John  H.,  2d  lieut.  3d  Infantry. 
Walters,*  Wm.  H.,  1st  lieut.  5th  Infantry. 
Warfleld,*  L.  A.,  capt.  and  C.  S.  U.  S.  Vols. 
Warner,  John  Edward,  surgeon  1st  Cavalry. 
Watkins,  Wm.  H.,  capt.  Purnell  Legion  lufnntry. 
Watkins,  Wm.  M.,  2d  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Watson,  Hugh,  capt.  1st  Infantry. 

Watson,  Hubert,  2d  lieut.  Di.\  Light  Infantry,  and  capt.  4th  Infantry. 
Way,  Walter  R.,  surgeon  Ist  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry,  and  assistant  surgeon 

U.  S.  Vols. 
Webb,  Francis  I.  D.,  capt.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry,  and  capt.  11th  In- 

Webster,  Thomas  W.,  capt.  10th  Infantry. 

Weiser,  Lewis,  2d  lieut.  1st  Cavalry. 

Welsh,  Charles  A.,  capt.  4th  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry,  and  capt.  3d  (P.  H.  B.) 

Infantry. 
Wetschky,  Charles,  lieut.-col.  1st  Cavalry. 

Wheeler,  Henry  W.,  2d  lieut.  10th  Infantrj',  and  capt.  7th  Infantry. 
Wheeler,  Wm.  T.,  2d  lieut.  9th  Infantry. 

White,  Alpbonso  A.,  surgeon  3d  Infantry,  and  surgeon  8th  Infantry. 
Whitson,  David  E.,  Jr.,  2d  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 
Wiegel,  Wm.  H.,  major  and  A.  A.  G.  U.  S.  Vols.     (Brevetted  lieut.-col. 

and  col.  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  during  the  war.) 

Williams,  Anthony  C,  capt.  4th  Infantry.    (Brevetted  major  for  gallant 

ices  during  the  war.) 


Williams,  Stillman,  1st  lieut.  and  Q.  M.  3d  Cavalry. 
Williamson,*  Alex.  S.,  capt.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 
Wills,  Richard  C,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Wilson,  Charles  A.,  2d  lieut.llth  Infantry. 
Wilson,  Edward,  2d  lieut.  9th  Infantry. 
Wollman,  Edward,  1st  lieut.  loth  Infantry. 
Wood,  George  J.  P.,  capt.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 
Wood,  Nicholas  L.,  Jr.,  2d  lieut.  9th  Infantry. 
Wnodhull,  Aaron,  Ist  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Cavalry. 
Woods,  Hudson,  capt.  6th  Infantry. 
Woods,  Wm.  M.,  capt.  and  A.  Q.  M.  U.  S.  Vols. 
Wright,*  Charles  W.,  capt.  1st  Infantry. 


Yates,  Wm.  H.,  1st  lieut.  and  adjt.  2d  Infantry. 
Teates,  Henry  P.  P.,  assistant  surgeon  Dix  Light  Infantry. 
Young,  John  C,  Ist  lieut.  8th  Infantry. 

Younger,  Hiram  B.,  1st  lieut.  2d  Cavalry,  and  1st  lieut.  1st  (P.  H.  B.) 
Cavalry. 

Z. 
Zimmerman,  Benjamin  F.,  major  1st  Infantry. 
Zimmerman,  George  A.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 

Appointed  from   Baltimore  County. 
Cadden,  Charles  W.,  assistant  surgeon  Pnrnell  Legion,  and  surgeon  4th 

Infantry. 
Cole,  William  P.,  Ist  lieut.  8th  Infantry,  and  Q.  M.  Ilth  Infantry. 
Cooper,  Alfred  S.,  1st  lieut.  9th  Infantry. 
Conner,  Charles  A.,  Ist  lieut.  7th  Infantry. 
Dougherty,  Benjamin  F.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Dumphy,  Richard  G.,  2d  lieut.  7th  Infantry. 
Ensor,  J.  Fulton,  assistant  surgeon  1st  Cavalry,  and  surgeon  79th  U.  S. 

C.  T. 
Fibbs.  John  M.,  1st  lieut.  1st  Cavalry. 
Goudy,*  Stephen,  2d  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 
Haverstick,  Levi  M.,capt.  12th  Infantry. 
Holland,  John  C,  lieut.-col.  5th  Infantry. 
Jordan,  Hansou  P.,  2d  lieut.  9th  Infantry. 
Kemp,  J.  McK.,  assistant  surgeon  Ist  (E.  S.)  Infantry,  and  surgeon  11th 

Infantry. 
Matthews,  Benjamin  F.,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 
Matthews,  Thomas  L.,  1st  lieut.  and  adjt.  2d  Infantry. 
McComas,  J.  Marche,  capt.  9th  Infantry. 
McCrone,  Alexander  F.,  1st  lieut.  Patapsco  Guards. 
McNeal,  Joseph  W.,  2d  lieut.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 
Millender,  John  H.,  1st  lieut.  4th  Infantry. 
Morrison,  William  D.,  capt.  7th  Infantry. 
Pennington,  Henry,  1st  lieut.  2d  Infantry,  and  Ist  lieut.  and  adjt.  2d  U. 

S.  Vols. 
Reynolds,*  Alfred  D.,  1st  lieut.  Ist  Infantry. 
Reynolds,  Jesse  A.,  1st  lieut.  11th  Infantry. 
Reynolds,  Robert  W  ,  capt.  1st  Infantry. 
Shealey,  George  W.,  capt.  8th  Infantry.    (Brevetted  capt.  for  gallant  and 

meritorious  services  at  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  Va.) 
Shriver,  George  W.,  capt.  8th  Infantry,  and  capt.  12th  Infantry. 
Smith,  Robert  S.,  capt.  1st  Infantry. 

Smyser,  Henry  C,  1st  lieut.  2d  (E.  S.)  Infantry,  and  capt.  11th  Infanti?. 
Sommer,  John,  col.  2d  Infantry,  and  capt.  2d  Cavalry. 
StifBer,  John  N.,  1st  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 
Stonebraker,  Jos.  H.,  capt.  1st  Infantry. 
Stonebraker,  Washington,  capt.  Purnell  Legion  Infantry. 
Taylor,  Benjamin  F.,  col.  2d  Infantry.    (Brevetted  col.  for  conspicuous 

gallantry  in  the  assault  before  Petorsbuig,  Va.) 
Whittle,  Charles  N.,  1st  lieut.  2d  Infantry. 
Whittle,  Samuel  N.,  1st  lieut.  7th  Infantry. 
Wilhelm,  Henry,  capt.  4th  Infantry. 
Wilson,  Isaac,  1st  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 
Wilson,  James  H.,  major  2d  Infantry. 
Wilson,*  John  W.,  col.  1st  Infantry. 
Wilson,*  Malcolm,  capt.  2d  Infantry. 

Wilson,*  Robert  A.,  capt.  1st  Cavalry,  and  2d  lieut.  1st  Infantry. 
Yellott,  Charies  M.,  Ist  lieut.  let  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 
Yellott,  John  I.,  major  1st  (P.  H.  B.)  Infantry. 


HISTORY  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


PROGIIESS    AFTER    THE    CTVIL    WAR. 


The  constitution  of  1864,  as  has  been  seen,  virtually 
disfranchised  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  citizens  of  the 
State.  When  the  military  regime  came  to  an  end 
and  civil  authority  was  once  more  fully  established,  a 
bitter  struggle  for  political  supremacy  at  once  com- 
menced. 

The  Legislature,  which  was  largely  Republican, 
passed  "an  act  relating  to  the  registration  of  the 
voters  of  the  State,"  which  was  the  first  general  and 
permanent  registration  law  in  Maryland.  By  this  act 
the  Governor  was  to  appoint  from  the  citizens  "  most 
known  for  loyalty,  firmness,  and  uprightness  three 
persons  for  each  ward  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and 
for  each  election  district  in  the  several  counties  of 
the  State,"  who  were  to  be  styled  officers  of  registra- 
tion. They  were  to  "  register  all  free  white  male  per- 
sons claiming  and  entitled  to  the  elective  franchise 
resident  in  or  temporarily  absent  from  the  several 
wards  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  the  several  elec- 
tion districts  of  the  counties."  Three  persons  were 
also  appointed  to  register  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of 
the  State  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  stationed 
at  convenient  and  accessible  points,  who  were  absent 
from  their  regular  places  of  voting  on  account  of  the 
nature  of  their  service,  and  qualified  voters  at  the 
various  camps,  hospitals,  etc.  To  all  persons  regis- 
tered they  were  to  administer  the  oath  of  allegiance 
prescribed  by  the  constitution  of  1864,  and  also  a  fur- 
ther oath  that  they  would  answer  truly  all  questions 
propounded  touching  their  right  to  vote.  They  were 
empowered  to  exclude  from  the  lists  the  name  of  any 
person  who  had  done  any  of  the  acts  enumerated  in 
the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  sections  of  the  constitution, 
notwithstanding  the  applicant  had  taken  the  oath  of 
allegiance  prescribed  in  section  four  of  the  first  ar- 
ticle. In  pursuance  of  this  law,  the  Governor  ap- 
pointed registers,  who  held  a  convention  in  Balti- 
more on  the  2d  of  August,  1865,  and  adopted  regula- 
tions for  the  guidance  and  government  of  registers 
throughout  the  State.  A  series  of  questions  were  for- 
mulated, to  be  propounded  to  the  applicant  for  regis- 
tration, which  effectually  excluded  from  the  privileges 
of  the  elective  franchise  not  only  those  who  had 
shown  but  even  those  who  had  felt  the  slightest 
sympathy  for  the  Southern  cause.  The  registration, 
when  completed,  showed  that  in  Baltimore,  out  of  a 
voting  population  of  forty  thousand,  only  ten  thou- 
sand pensons  were  considered  qualified  to  take  part  in 
the  political  government  of  the  city.  The  total  num- 
ber of  persons  registered  throughout  the  State  was 
only  about  thirty-five  thousand  in  a  voting  popula- 
tion of  ninety-five  thousand. 

The  first  election   under  the  registration  law  oc- 


curred on  the  7th  of  November,  1865,  when  the  peo- 
ple of  the  city  were  called  upon  to  vote  for  a  member 
of  Congress,  State  senator,  two  members  of  the  House 
of  Delegates,  sheriff,  clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court,  and 
city  surveyor.  The  total  vote  polled  in  the  city  was 
a  little  over  five  thousand,  and  resulted  in  the  success 
of  the  Republican  ticket.  The  candidates  for  Con- 
gress were  John  L.  Thomas,  Republican,  and  William 
Kimmel,  Independent. 

Early  in  January,  1866,  at  the  instance  of  a  num- 
ber of  gentlemen  from  the  counties,  a  meeting  was 
formally  called  and  held  in  Baltimore  for  the  purpo.se 
of  ascertaining  whether  the  people  of  the  city  were 
willing  to  co-operate  in  calling  a  State  convention  of 
those  who  were  opposed  to  the  registration  law.  At 
this  meeting  resolutions  were  adopted  calling  upon 
the  people  of  the  different  counties  of  the  State  and 
of  Baltimore  who  were  opposed  to  the  registration 
law  to  hold  primary  meetings,  and  through  them  to 
appoint  delegates  to  meet  in  convention  in  Baltimore 
on  the  24th  of  January,  1866. 

The  convention  met  at  Temperance  Temple,  Balti- 
more, on  the  day  appointed.  Baltimore  City  was  rep- 
resented by  George  M.  Gill,  William  Dean,  Capt.  W. 
Wilson,  James  C.  Wheedon,  Ezra  Whitman,  John  L. 
Smith,  William  H.  Neilson,  John  Bolgiaho,  Marcus 
Wolf,  Thomas  G.  Pratt,  Robert  B.  Morrison,  William 
Crichton,  George  H.  Brice,  Edward  J.  Chaisty,  Wil- 
liam J.  Reiman,  Levi  Taylor,  James  R.  Brewer,  E. 
Wyatt  Blanchard,  George  P.  Thomas,  George  W. 
Herring,  and  P.  D.  Sutton;  and  Baltimore  County  by 
Hon.  John  Wethered,  Hon.  Samuel  Brady,  E.  S. 
Myers,  Charles  Buchanan,  R.  J.  Worthington,  John 
S.  Gittings,  William  M.  I.saacs,  D.  Cameron,  Jere- 
miah Yellott,  Walter  J.  Ford,  John  S.  Bidderson, 
John  Glenn,  Victor  Holmes,  and  James  C.  Magraw. 
Hon.  Montgomery  Blair,  of  Montgomery  County,  was 
chosen  president,  with  Col.  James  Wallace,  of  Dor- 
chester County,  Hon.  John  Wethered,  of  Baltimore 
County,  George  M.  Gill,  of  Baltimore  City,  J.  Oden 
Bowie,  of  Prince  George's,  and  George  Schley,  of 
Washington  County,  as  vice-presidents ;  and  Milton 
Y.  Kidd,  of  Cecil  County,  William  H.  Neilson,  of 
Baltimore  City,  and  Thomas  E.  Williams,  of  Prince 
George's  County,  as  secretaries.  The  convention 
adopted  an  address  "  to  the  people  of  Maryland,"  in 
which  were  set  forth  the  grievances  which  had  called 
the  body  together,  and  appealed  to  the  Legislature  to 
correct  the  evils  complained  of.  Aftej'a  two  days'  ses- 
sion, before  adjourning,  committees  were  appointed  to 
proceed  to  Annapolis  and  present  the  resolutions  of  the 
convention  to  the  General  Assembly  then  in  session, 
and  to  procure  signatures  throughout  the  Stale  to  a 
memorial  praying  a  repeal  or  modification  of  the  con- 
stitution. The  committee  appointed  to  appear  before 
the  Legislature  were  accorded  a  respectfiil  hearing, 
and  in  due  time  petitions  signed  by  over  twenty 
thousand  citizens  were  presented  to  the  General  As- 
sembly, but  that  l)0(ly,  on  the  8th  of  February,  1866, 


PROGRESS   AFTER   THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


163 


resolved  "that  neither  the  temper  or  conduct  of  the 
peojjle  of  this  State  who  have  been  hostile  to  the  gov- 
ernment, nor  the  condition  of  our  national  affairs, 
nor  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  of  the  State 
warrant  any  interference  with  the  registry  law,  and 
that  it  ought  to  be  vigorously  enforced."  j 

On  the  6th  of  June  the  ultra  wing  of  the  Uncondi- 
tional Union  party  in  Maryland  assembled  in  con-  ' 
vention  in  Baltimore,  and  adopted  a  platform  declar-  : 
ing  that  "the  registered  loyal  voters  of  Maryland  ] 
will  listen  to  no  proposition  to  repeal  or  modify  the  | 
registry  law,"  and  cordially  indorsing  the  reconstruc-  | 
tion  policy  of  Congress.     This  convention  again  met 
ij  Baltimore  on  the  15th  of  August,  and  after  adopt- 
ing similar  resolutions,  and  appointing  delegates  to  1 
the  Southern   Loyalists'  Convention,  to  be   held   at 
Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia,  on  the  3d  of  Sep-  j 
tember,  nominated  Col.  Robert  Bruce,  of  Alleghany 
County,  as  their  candidate  for  State  comptroller.' 

The  Conservative  wing  of  the  Unconditional  Union 
party  in  Maryland  assembled  in  convention  in  Balti- 
more on  the  25th  of  July,  1866,  and  nominated  for 
comptroller  Col.  William  J.  Leonard,  of  Worcester  I 
County.  After  the  adoption  of  a  long  series  of  reso-  | 
lutions  and  the  appointment  of  delegates  to  the  Phil- 
adelphia National  Convention  it  adjourned.  In  the 
meanwhile  a  new  set  of  officers  of  registriition  were 
appointed  who  gave  a  more  liberal  construction  to  the 
law  than  their  predecessors. 

On  the  10th  of  October  following  the  municipal 
election  was  held,  and  resulted  in  the  success  of  .lohn  i 
L.  Chapman,  the  ultra  Republican  candidate.     The 
total  number  of  votes  cast  was  7993,  of  which  5392 
were  given  to  Chapman,  and  2601  to  Daniel  Harvey, 
the  Conservative  candidate.     As  the  act  of  1862,  ch.  : 
131,  provided  that  for  official  mi.sconduct  any  of  the  | 
police  commissioners  might  be  removed  by  a  concur-  [ 
rent  vote  of  the  two  houses  of  the  General  Assembly, 
or  by  the  Governor  during  the  recess  thereof,  those 
who  felt  aggrieved  at  the  results  of  the  recent  election 
determined  to  make  an  effort  to  have  the  police  com- 
missioners removed  for  their  alleged  partisan  conduct. 
A  meeting  of  citizens  was  accordingly  held   on  the 
16th  of  October,  when   committees  were  appointed 
"to  gather  information  touching  the  official  miscon- 
duct of  the  police  commissioners  and  appointees,"  and 
to  prepare  memorial  lists  to  the  Governor  asking  for 
their  removal,   and  that   the  election  should  be  set 
aside. 

In  a  few  days  a  memorial  signed  by  over  four  thou- 
sand citizens  was  presented  to  Governor  Swann,  ac- 
companied by  numerous  affidavits,  praying  for  the 
removal  of  the  commissioners.  In  their  petition  the 
memorialists  represented  that  the  commissioners,  "dis- 
regarding alike  the  appeals  of  their  fellow-citizens 

'  On  the  26th  June,  186B,  a  mass-meeting  was  held  in  Monument 
Sijuare  for  the  purpose  of  indorsing  the  policy  of  President  Johnson 
and  giving  encouragement  to  Governor  Swann  in  his  support  of  the 
President's  policy  and  his  opposition  to  colored  suffrage. 


and  their  own  explicit  oaths,  ajjpointed  the  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  judges  almost  without  exception  from 
the  political  party  of  which  they  themselves  are 
members." 

They  moreover  charged  that  "  the  Board  of  Police, 
in  violation  of  law  and  the  liberty  of  the  citizens, 
gave  orders  to  the  police  justices  not  to  hear  any  case, 
or  take  bail,  or  in  manner  release  any  person  ar- 
rested or  committed  on  the  day  of  election,  but  in  all 
cases  to  keep  them  confined  until  after  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening  of  that  day."  On  the  18th  of  October, 
Governor  Swann  notified  Messrs.  Nicholas  L.  Wood 
and  Samuel  Hindes,  the  police  commissioners,  that 
he  would  take  up  their  case  on  the  22d,  at  the  execu- 
tive chamber  at  Annapolis,  and  inclosed  copies  of  the 
memorial  and  affidavits  for  their  inspection.  The 
police  commissioners  denied  the  power  of  the  Gover- 
nor to  try  them  for  "  official  misconduct,"  or  to  find 
them  guilty  thereof.  Governor  Swann,  however,  pro- 
ceeded to  try  their  cases,  and  on  the  1st  of  November 
announced  his  intention  to  remove  Messrs.  Hindes 
and  Wood  on  several  grounds  which  he  distinctly 
specified.  Pending  the  decision  of  Governor  Swann, 
the  State  was  threatened  with  invasion  by  armed  par- 
tisans from  other  States,  and  military  organizations 
were  formed  in  Baltimore  for  the  open  and  avowed 
purpose  of  resisting  the  authority  of  the  laws.  On 
the  24th  of  October,  Gen.  Grant  wrote  to  President 
Johnson,  declaring  that  there  was  no  occasion  to  send 
troops  to  Baltimore,  and  on  the  25th  President  John- 
son asked  for  the  number  of  troops  at  convenient  sta- 
tions near  Baltimore,  to  which  Gen.  Grant  replied  on 
the  27th,  giving  the  desired  information.  On  the  1st 
of  November,  President  Johnson  announced  to  Secre- 
tary Stanton  that,  "  in  view  of  the  prevalence  in  vari- 
ous portions  of  the  country  of  a  revolutionary  and 
turbulent  disposition  which  might  at  any  moment 
assume  insurrectionary  proportions  and  lead  to  serious 
disorders,  and  of  the  duty  of  the  government  to  be  at 
all  times  prepared  to  act  with  decision  and  effect,  this 
force  is  not  deemed  adequate  to  the  protection  and 
security  of  the  seat  of  government.  I  therefore  re- 
quest that  you  will  at  once  take  such  measures  as  will 
insure  its  safety,  and  thus  discourage  any  attempt  for 
its  possession  by  insurgent  or  other  illegal  combina- 
tions." 

When  Governor  Swann  made  his  decision  remov- 
ing the  police  commissioners.  President  Johnson, 
on  the  2d  of  November,  gave  Secretary  Stanton  the 
following  order: 

"ExECDTivE  Mansion,  Washington,  D.  C,  Nov.  2, 18(i6. 

"Sir, — There  is  ground  to  apprehend  danger  of  an  insurrection  in 
Baltimore  against  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  State  of  Maryland, 
on  or  about  the  day  of  the  election  soon  to  be  held  in  that  city,  and  that 
in  such  contingency  the  aid  of  the  United  States  might  be  invoked  under 
the  acts  of  Congress  which  pertain  to  that  subject.  While  I  am  averse 
to  any  military  demonstration  that  would  have  a  tendency  to  interfere 
with  the  free  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise  in  Baltimore,  or  be  con- 
strued into  any  interference  in  local  questions,  I  feel  great  solicitude 
that  should  an  insurrection  take  place  the  government  should  be  pre- 
pared to  meet  and  promptly  put  it  down.     I  accordingly  desire  you  to 


HISTORY   OP   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 




call  Gen.  Grant's  attention   to  the  subject,  leaving  to  his  own  discretion   | 
and  judgment  the  measures  of  preparation  and  precaution  that  should 
be  adopted.  Very  respectfully  yours, 

"  Andrew  Johnson.       ! 
"  Hon.  EnwiN  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  Wur."  \ 

On  the  same  day  Gen.  Grant  sent  an  order  to  Gen. 
Canby,  inclo.sing  the  orders  from  the  President,  and  i 
directing  him  to  hold  troops  in  readiness  for  the  an-  ] 
ticipated  difficulties  in  Baltimore.     Gen.  Canby  came  I 
immediately  to  Baltimore,  and  was  followed  in  a  few 
days  by  Gen.  Grant,  who  reported  on  the  5th  that 
"collision   this   morning   looked   almost   inevitable.  | 
Wiser  counsels  now  seem  to  prevail,  and  I  think  there 
is  strong  hope  that  no  riot  will  occur.     Propositions 
looking  to  the  harmonizing  of  parties  are  now  pend-  j 
ing."     Messrs.  Wood  and  Hindes,  the  police  commis- 
sioners, having  been  removed  by  Governor  Swann,  | 
Messrs.  William  Thomas  Valiant  and  James  Young  | 
were  appointed  on  the  same  day  to  fill  the  vacant  ' 
offices.      The  superseded   board,  however,  procured  | 
the  arrest  of  the  new  appointees  and  the  sheriff,  Wil-  j 
liam  Thomson,  who  was  assisting  Messrs.  Valiant  and  I 
Young,  and  had  them  all  lodged  in  jail.     They  were 
arrested  on  a  warrant  issued  by  Judge  Bond,  of  the 
Criminal  Court,  and  were  charged  with  inciting  a 
riot.    Judge  Bond  required  them  not  only  to  give  bail 
to  keep  the  peace,  but  to  bind  themselves  not  to  at- 
tempt to  execute  the  duties  of  their  office,  and  to  this 
demand  they  refused  to  submit,  and  were  therefore 
committed  to  jail.     This  proceeding  caused  the  most 
intense  excitement  in  the  city,  but  there  was  no  seri- 
ous disturbance  of  the  peace.     Several  regiments  of 
troops  organized  and  were  quartered  at  Fort  McHenry, 
and  Gens.  Grant  and  Canby  were  besieged  by  the 
several   factions  at   their  headquarters   in   the  city. 
Messrs.  Hindes  and  Wood  mustered  in  about  three 
thousand  five  liundred  regular  and  special  police,  and 
guarded  the  station-houses,  their  office,  and  prominent 
places  in  the  city.     As  soon  as  the  new  police  com- 
missioners and  sheriff  were  committed  to  jail,  their 
counsel  waited  upon  Hon.  James  L.  Bartol,  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  who  was  at  his  home 
in  the  city,  and  procured  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus, 
which  was  made  returnable  on  Monday,  November 
5th,  at  9  A.M.,  before  the  judge  of  the  Superior  Court. 
The  writ  was  directed  to  the  warden  of  the  Baltimore  { 
City  jail,  commanding  him  to  produce -the  bodies  of 
William  Thomas  Valiant,  James  Young,  and  William 
Thomson,  and  have  them  before  the  judge  at  the  time  | 
named.     At  the  time  appointed  it  was  stated  to  the  j 
judges  that  the  writs  had  been  served,  but  it  was  un- 
derstood that  they  would  not  be  obeyed.     The  court 
adjourned  until  November  8th,  and  in  the  mean  time 
the  police  commissioners  were  kept  confined.      Du- 
ring their  confinement,  on  the  6th  of  November,  the 
election  took  place,  and  resulted  in  the  triumph  of 
the  Conservative  party.     In  the  city  a  total  vote  of 
16,006  wiia  polled  for  State  comptroller,  of  which  the 
Conservatives  cast  8513,  and  the  stalwart  Republicans 
7493. 


Messrs.  Valiant  and  Young,  the  new  police  com- 
missioners, were  brought  before  Judge  Bartol  on  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  on  November  8th,  and  on  the 
13th  the  judge  rendered  his  decision  releasing  the 
commissioners,  who  immediately  took  possession  of  the 
office  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  their  duties. 
The  marshal  of  police  during  the  day  surrendered  the 
force  under  his  charge  to  their  orders,  and  on  the  15th 
Messrs.  Hindes  and  Wood  surrendered  their  books, 
and  turned  over  the  station-houses  and  other  property 
to  the  new  commissioners,  thus  settling  one  of  the 
most  exciting  difficulties  that  ever  occurred  in  Balti- 
more. 

On  the  assembling  of  the  Legislature  on  the  2d  of 
January,  1867,  a  bill  was  introduced  providing  for  a 
new  election  for  mayor  and  City  Council  of  Baltimore, 
but  before  it  was  signed  by  the  Governor  it  was  re- 
considered, and  failed  to  become  a  law. 

The  success  of  the  Conservatives  was  followed  by 
appeals  to  Congress  on  the  part  of  their  opponents, 
and  by  charges  that  the  State  had  been  revolution- 
ized, and  that  the  safety  of  loyal  men,  and  especially 
of  the  colored  population,  was  endangered.  These 
charges  first  took  definite  and  official  form  in  a  notice 
of  contest  by  Joseph  J.  Stewart,  Republican  candi- 
date for  the  Fortieth  Congress  from  Baltimore,  de- 
feated by  Charles  E.  Phelps,  Conservative,  and  then 
a  member  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress.  Mr.  Stewart 
charged  "  that  Thomas  Swann,  Governor  of  the  State 
of  Maryland,  conspiring  with  officers  of  his  own  ap- 
pointment to  defeat  the  law  and  revolutionize  the 
State,  did  resort  to  measures  revolutionary  in  their 
character,  as  against  the  loyal  body  politic  of  Mary- 
land." After  considerable  testimony  had  been  taken 
on  both  sides,  Mr.  Stewart  abandoned  the  contest  in 
a  published  letter  to  Mr.  Phelps,  dated  April  12, 
1867,  admitting  that  the  evidence  had  failed  to  pre- 
sent matter  of  serious  controversy,  and  ottering  to 
indemnify  his  opponent  for  the  costs. 

The  Republican  State  Convention,  which  assembled 
in  Baltimore  on  the  28th  of  March,  adopted  resolu- 
tions which  were  presented  to  Congress,  calling  upon 
that  body  "  to  protect  the  loyal  majority  of  the  people 
of  Maryland,  both  white  and  colored,  in  defeating  the 
scheme  of  the  revolutionists  in  the  Legislature,"  and 
declaring  that  "  we  will  oppose  any  new  constitution 
set  up  in  subversion  of  the  existing  constitution  under 
the  convention  bill  which  does  not  express  the  will 
of  the  majority  of  the  people  without  regard  to  color; 
and  we  will,  with  the  aid  of  the  loyal  representatives 
of  the  nation,  and  by  all  means  in  our  power,  resist 
and  destroy  any  such  constitution  as  revolutionary 
usurpation."  The  Baltimore  City  Council  also  asked 
Congress  to  "  assist  the  people  of  Maryland  to  form  a 
State  government,  republican  in  form,  and  in  unison 
with  the  spirit  of  the  age."  A  petition  for  an  injunc- 
tion to  prevent  the  election  authorized  by  the  Legis- 
lature on  the  20th  of  March,  1867,  to  decide  whether 
or  not  a  constitutional  convention  should  be  called. 


PROGRESS   AFTER   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


was  filed  in  the  Superior  Court  of  Baltimore  on  the 
30th  of  March.  After  an  extensive  argument  on  both 
sides  Judge  Martin,  on  the  2d  of  April,  rejected  the 
application. 

The  election  was  held  on  the  13th  of  April,  and 
the  whole  number  of  votes  cast  in  the  State  was 
58,718,  of  which  34,534  were  for  a  convention,  and 
24,136  against  it.  In  Baltimore  the  whole  vote  polled 
was  20,136,  of  which  11,013  were  in  favor  of  the  con- 
vention, and  9123  in  opposition  to  it.  After  a  session 
of  over  three  months  the  convention  completed  its 
work,  and  adjourned  on  the  17th  of  August,  1867. 
The  election  for  the  adoption  or  rejection  of  the  new 
constitution  was  held  on  the  18th  of  September. 
The  whole  number  of  votes  cast  in  the  State  in  favor 
of  its  adoption  was  47,152,  and  the  whole  number 
cast  in  opposition  to  it  was  23,036,  a  majority  of  24,- 
116  in  its  favor.  The  total  vote  in  Baltimore  was 
21,747,  of  which  16,120  were  cast  for  its  adoption, 
and  5627  against  it,  a  majority  in  its  favor  of  10,493. 
The  first  election  under  the  new  constitution  was  held 
in  Baltimore  on  Oct.  23,  1867,  for  judge  of  the  Court 
of  Appeals,  chief  and  four  associate  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Bench  of  Baltimore,  and  mayor  and  City 
Council.  The  vote  for  mayor  was :  R.  T.  Banks,  Dem- 
ocratic-Conservative, 18,420 ;  A.  W.  Denison,  Repub- 
lican, 4896.  At  the  State  election  on  November  6th 
the  candidates  for  Governor  were  Oden  Bowie,  Demo- 
cratic-Conservative, and  Judge  H.  Lennox  Bond,  Re- 
publican. The  total  vote  of  the  State  was  85,744,  of 
which  Bowie  received  63,694,  and  Bond  22,050.  In 
Baltimore  Bowie  received  19,912  votes,  and  Bond 
4846.  In  the  Presidential  election  of  Nov.  3,  1868, 
the  vote  of  Baltimore  City  was  21,553  for  Seymour, 
and  9102  for  Grant;  the  vote  of  Baltimore  County 
was  4377  for  Seymour,  and  2335  for  Grant.  In  the 
election  for  members  of  the  City  Council  on  the  27th 
of  October,  1869,  the  whole  number  of  votes  cast  was 
about  18,900,  of  which  about  12,000  were  cast  for  the 
Democratic  candidates,  6120  for  the  Republican,  and 
750  for  the  Workingmen's  candidates.  The  Demo- 
cratic majority  over  the  Republicans  was  about  6880, 
and  about  5130  over  both  Republican  and  Working- 
men's  candidates.  The  whole  number  of  registered 
votes  in  the  city  at  that  time  was  44,211. 

In  March,  1870,  the  Legislature  passed  a  law  in- 
corporating Towsontown,  the  county-seat  of  Baltimore 
County,  and  on  April  4th  an  election  was  held  for  five 
commissioners  to  serve  one  year.  This  was  the  first 
election  in  the  State  under  the  Fifteenth  Amendment 
to  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  was  the  first  occasion 
on  which  colored  men  had  been  allowed  to  vote  in 
Maryland  since  1802.  They  were  duly  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  the  new  privilege,  and  cast  a 
full  vote  for  the  Republican  ticket,  which  was  elected 
by  a  large  majority.  The  election  of  Nov.  2,  1870, 
passed  off"  quietly  in  Baltimore  considering  the  excite- 
ment of  the  campaign  and  the  introduction  of  a  new 
political  element.    All  the  colored  voters  appeared  at 


the  polling-places  at  an  early  hour,  and  the  day  seemed 
to  be  almost  a  holiday  with  them.  United  States 
deputy  marshals  were  present  at  the  polls  in  accord- 
ance with  the  provisions  of  the  Enforcement  Act,  but 
there  was  no  necessity  for  their  services.     The  total 

;  vote  in  the  State  was  134,525,  of  which  76,796  were 
cast  for  the  Democratic  and  57,729  for  the  Republican 
candidate,  leaving  a  Democratic  majority  of  19,067. 
The  vote  in  Baltimore  for  the  Democratic  candidate 
was  23,996,  and  for  the  Republican  candidate  15,249 ; 
in  Baltimore  County  the  vote  was  5384  for  the  Demo- 
cratic and  3101  for  the  Republican  candidate.  At 
the  municipal  election  in  Baltimore  on  the  25th  of 

i  October,  1871,  for  mayor  and  City  Council,  the  entire 

'  vote  cast  on  the  mayoralty  ticket  was  29,159,  of 
which  Joshua  Vansant,  the  Democratic  candidate, 
received  18,157  votes,  and  Charles  Dunlap,  the  Na- 
tional Reformers'  candidate,  11,062,  a  majority  of 
7095  for  Vansant.  In  the  State  election  for  Gover- 
nor, comptroller,  attorney-general,  and  members  of 
the  Legislature,  held  on  the  7th  of  November,  the 
Democrats  were  again  successful.   On  the  State  ticket 

.  the  Democratic  candidates  were  William  Pinkney 
Whyte,  of  Baltimore  City,  for  Governor ;  A.  K.  Syes- 
ter,  of  Washington  County,  for  attorney-general; 
Levin  R.  Woolford,  of  Worcester  County,  for  comp- 
troller. The  Republican  candidates  were  Jacob  Tome, 
of  Cecil  County,  for  Governor;  Alexander  Randall,  of 
Anne  Arundel  County,  for  attorney-general;  and 
Lawrence  J.  Brengle,  of  Frederick,  for  comptroller. 
The  total  vote  of  the  State  was  132,728,  against  134,- 
525  at  the  congressional  election  in  1870.  The  total 
number  of  votes  cast  for  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  Governor  was  73,908,  and  for  the  Republican  can- 
didate .58,820;  Democratic  majority,  15,088. 

On  the  9th  of  July,  1872,  the  National  Democratic 
Convention  met  in  Baltimore,  at  Ford's  Opera- House. 
Every  State  in  the  Union  and  nearly  every  Territory 
was  fully  represented.  The  spacious  parquette  and 
orchestra  circle  were  filled  with  the  delegates,  ranged 
according  to  States  in  regular  order.  The  stage  was 
occupied  by  the  officers  of  the  convention  and  repre- 
sentatives of  the  press,  and  from  this  point  the  coup- 
d'reil  was  most  striking.  The  house,  brilliant  with 
banners  and  flags,  with  the  escutcheons  of  thirty-seven 
States  pendent  from  the  balconies,  and  with  guidons 
designating  the  places  of  the  respective  delegations, 
was  crowded  from  stage  to  dome  with  eager  spectators, 
while  the  blended  daylight  and  gaslight  shed  a  soft 
and  mellow  lustre  over  the  animated  scene.  James 
R.  Doolittle,  of  Wisconsin,  was  chosen  permanent 
president,  with  a  long  list  of  vice-presidents  and  sec- 
retaries. On  the  10th  the  convention  completed  its 
work  by  adopting  the  platform  of  principles  put  forth 
by  the  Cincinnati  Convention  of  Liberal  Republicans, 
and  by  indorsing  the  candidates  for  the  Presidency — 
Horace  Greeley,  of  New  York,  and  B.  Gratz  Brown, 
of  Missouri — nominated  by  the  same  body.  The 
whole  number  of  votes  cast  was  732,  of  which  Greeley 


166 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


received  086;  Jeremiah  S.  Black,  of  Pennsylvania,  21 ; 
James  A.  Bayard,  of  Delaware,  15 ;  William  Groes- 
beck,  of  Ohio,  2 ;  and  blank,  8.  All  the  delegations 
except  Delaware  afterwards  changed  their  votes  to 
Greeley.  The  vote  for  Vice-President  was  :  B.  Gratz 
Brown,  713 ;  John  W.  Stevenson,  of  Kentucky,  6;  and 
blank,  3.  Mr.  Brown's  nomination  was  then  made 
unanimous. 

The  Democrats  opposed  to  the  Greeley  movement, 
or  "  New  Departure,"  as  it  was  called,  held  a  conven- 
tion of  about  sixty  delegates  at  the  Maryland  Insti- 
tute on  the  9th  of  July  to  nominate  "  straight-out" 
Democratic  candidates.  They  however  confined 
their  action  to  issuing  an  address  and  recommending 
a  convention  to  be  held  at  Louisville  on  September  3d. 
The  choice  of  this  party  for  President  was  Charles 
O'Connor,  of  New  York,  with  John  Q.  Adams,  of 
Massachusetts,  as  Vice-President.  Mr.  O'Connor, 
however,  declined  the  nomination.  In  Maryland  the 
election  was  for  members  of  Congress  as  well  as  for 
President.  The  Greeley  or  "  New  Departure"  ticket 
was  carried  by  a  small  majority,  as  compared  with 
that  cast  in  1871.  The  vote  in  Baltimore  was  24,694 
for  Greeley  and  19,522  for  Grant,  and  in  Baltimore 
County  was  4173  for  Greeley  and  3774  for  Grant.  In 
the  Second  Congressional  District,  Archer,  Democrat, 
received  10,591  votes,  and  Hancock,  Republican, 
10,303 ;  in  the  Third  District,  O'Brien,  Democrat,  re- 
ceived 9675,  and  Turner,  Independent,  8346 ;  in  the 
Fourth,  Swanu,  Democrat,  received  12,148,  and  Gris- 
wold,  Independent  Democrat,  10,886.  In  the  munic- 
ipal election  in  Baltimore  on  Oct.  22,  1873,  Joshua 
Vansant,  Democrat,  was  re-elected  mayor,  receiving 
22,751  votes,  to  12,667  cast  for  David  Carson,  the  Re- 
form candidate. 

The  municipal  election  for  mayor  on  the  27th  of 
October,  1875,  was  a  very  spirited  contest,  and  resulted 
in  the  choice  of  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe,  Democrat,  over 
Henry  M.  AVarfield,  the  candidate  of  the  Reform  party. 
The  total  vote  cast  was  53,808,  of  which  Latrobe  re- 
ceived 28,238,  and  Warfield  25,571.  The  general  elec- 
tion on  November  2d,  for  Governor,  attorney-general, 
comptroller  of  the  treasury,  and  members  of  the 
Legislature,  was  one  of  the  most  animated  political 
contests  ever  known  in  Maryland.  The  Democratic 
candidates  were  John  Lee  Carroll  for  Governor, 
Charles  J.  M.  Gwinn  for  attorney-general,  and  Levin 
Woolford  for  comptroller.  The  opposition  Reform 
candidates  were  J.  Morrison  Harris,  of  Baltimore 
County,  for  Governor;  S.  Teackle  Wallis,  of  Balti- 
more City,  for  attorney-general;  and  Col.  Edward 
Wilkins  for  comptroller.  The  total  vote  cast  in  the 
State  was  157,984,  of  which  Carroll  received  85,454, 
and  Harris  72,530.  In  the  counties  Harris  was  suc- 
cessful, but  his  majority  in  the  State  was  overcome  by 
the  vote  in  Baltimore  City,  which  stood  36,958  for 
Carroll  and  21,863  for  Harris,  the  total  vote  of  the 
city  being  58,821.  Great  frauds  were  alleged,  and  the 
election  was  contested  before  the  I/Cgislature  of  1876, 


which  decided  that  the  Democratic  candidates  were 
duly  elected. 

At  the  congressional  election  of  1876,  Roberts, 
Democrat,  in  the  Second  District,  received  15,033  votes, 
and  Harris,  Reformer,  11,965;  in  the  Third,  Kimmel, 
Democrat,  received  14,251,  and  Goldsborough,  Repub- 
lican, 8562;  in  the  Fourth,  Swann,  Democrat,  15,259, 
and  Butler,  Reform,  12,738. 

At  the  municipal  election  on  the  24th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1877,  the  Democratic  nominee  was  George  P. 
Kane,  the  Workingmen's  candidate  Joseph  Thomp- 
son, and  the  Reformers'  Henry  M.  Warfield.  The 
election  passed  oif  very  quietly,  and  resulted  in  the 
success  of  George  P.  Kane  and  all  the  regular 
Democratic  nominees  for  both  branches  of  the  City 
Council  by  large  majorities.  Kane  carried  all  the 
wards  in  the  city  except  the  Thirteenth  and  Twen- 
tieth, in  which  Thompson  had  small  majorities.  The 
total  vote  of  the  city  was  51,091,  of  which  Kane  re- 
ceived 33,188,  Thompson  17,367,  and  Warfield  536. 
Mayor  Kane  died  on  June  23, 1878,  and  a  new  election 
was  ordered  to  fill  the  vacancy,  which  resulted  in  the 
selection,  on  July  11th,  of  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe,  Dem- 
ocrat, by  a  majority  of  13,214  over  R.  Henry  Smith, 
candidate  of  the  Greenback  and  Workingmen's  par- 
ties. The  total  vote  was  16,002,  of  which  Latrobe  re- 
ceived 14,608,  and  Smith  1394.  In  the  congressional 
elections  of  1878,  Talbot,  Democrat,  in  the  Second 
District,  received  9818,  Milligan,  Independent,  3594, 
and  McCombs,  Greenback,  1271 ;  in  the  Third  District 
Kimmel,  Democrat,  received  11,676  votes,  Thompson, 
Labor-Greenback,  4908 ;  in  the  Fourth  District  Mc- 
Lane,  Democrat,  11,064,  Holland,  Rei)tiblican,  6671, 
Quigley,  Labor-Greenback,  627,  and  Gittings,  Inde- 
pendent Democrat,  398. 

In  the  political  campaign  of  1879  the  contest  was 
narrowed  down  to  a  struggle  between  Democrats  and 
Republicans.  The  municipal  election  for  mayor  and 
City  Council  on  the  22d  of  October  resulted  in  the 
re-election  of  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe  by  a  majority  of 
5899  votes,  and  the  election  of  eighteen  Democratic 
and  two  Republican  members  of  the  First  Branch  of 
the  City  Council,  and  nine  Democratic  and  one  Re- 
publican member  of  the  Second  Branch.  Mr.  La- 
trobe received  25,729  votes,  and  William  J.  Hooper, 
the  Republican  nominee  for  the  mayoralty,  19,830, 
and  Mathiot,  the  Greenback  candidate,  95.  The 
Democratic  majority  was  smaller  than  it  had  been 
since  1866  in  a  straight-out  political  contest  be- 
tween Democrats  and  Republicans,  the  opposition  in 
1875  having  been  formed  by  a  fusion  of  Reformers, 
Democrats,  and  Republicans. 

In  the  election  for  Governor  on  the  4th  of  No- 
vember, 1879,  William  T.  Hamilton,  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  Governor,  received  90,771  votes,  and 
James  A.  Garey,  the  Republican  candidate,  68,609. 
In  Baltimore  the  vote  for  Hamilton  was  29,184,  and 
for  Garey  17,915  ;  in  Baltimore  County  Hamilton  re- 
ceived 6852  votes,  and  Garey  4144. 


MUNICIPAL   GOVERNMENT   OF    BALTIMORE. 


167 


CHAPTER   XVIIL 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT    OF    lULTIMORE. 


Although  Baltimore  Town  was  subject  until  its 
incorporation  to  the  civil  authorities  of  Baltimore 
County,  within  whose  jurisdiction  it  was  situated,  it 
necessarily  possessed  from  the  first  certain  separate 
officers  of  its  own  invested  with  the  requisite  power 
for  the  management  and  direction  of  its  affairs.  The 
first  local  ofiicers  were  the  seven  commissioners  ap- 
pointed to  lay  oft"  the  town,  but  the  authority  with 
which  they  were  clothed  by  the  original  act  of  Aug. 
8,  1729,  does  not  seem  to  have  extended  beyond 
the  necessary  powers  connected  with  the  laying  out 
of  the  town,  the  sale  and  resale  of  lots,  and  the  gen- 
eral superintendence  of  the  work  of  building  up  the 
new  settlement.  By  the  act  of  Sept.  28,  1745,  by 
which  Baltimore  and  Jones'  Town  were  "  incorpo- 
rated into  one  entire  town,"  seven  new  commissioners 
were  appointed  with  enlarged  powers.  In  addition 
to  the  duty  of  "  seeing  the  present  and  former  acts 
relating  to  the  towns  before  mentioned  put  in  execu- 
tion," the  commissioners  were  required 

**  to  cauBe  them  to  be  carefully  surveyed  by  their  outlines,  therein 
including  the  branch  over  which  the  bridge  is  built,"  and  "from  time  to 
time  (for  preventing  disputes)  to  cause  all  the  lots"  to  be  surveyed, 
bounded,  and  numbered.  They  were  further  authorized  to*'  till  vacan- 
cies occurring  in  their  number  by  death  or  otherwise,  and  to  settle  dis- 
putes about  the  bounds  of  lots,  meeting  at  least  once  a  year  for  this 
purpose,  and  to  cause  other  sufficient  boundaries  to  be  fixed  in  the  room 
of  any  missing  or  decayed."  They  were  also  invested  with  authority 
"to  levy,asse88,  and  take  by  way  of  distress  if  needful, from  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  town,  by  even  and  equal  proportion,  the  sum  of  £^i  yearly, 
to  be  paid  to  their  clerk,  and  to  demand  and  receive  any  money  due  the 


first 


■  the  towns.' 


From  time  to  time  the  originally  limited  powers 
of  the  commissioners  were  enlarged  by  successive 
acts  of  Assembly,  until  they  came  to  exercise  a  gen- 
eral supervision  over  all  the  affairs  of  the  town. 
Thus  in  1763  we  find  them  leasing  a  lot  from  Thomas 
Harrison  for  a  market-house,  which  they  and  their 
successors  were  to  hold  as  if  "a  legal  body  corpo- 
rate," and  a  few  years  later  they  were  clothed  with 
authority  to  appoint  inspectors  of  various  commercial 
commodities,  and  to  act  as  judges  of  elections.  The 
commissioners  for  many  years  continued  to  be  the 
sole  administrators  of  purely  local  affairs,  and  it  was 
not  until  after  the  Revolution  that  the  town  began  to 
feel  itself  too  large  for  such  nursery  government,  and 
to  cherish  the  ambition  of  becoming  a  city. 

Accordingly,  on  the  2d  of  April,  1782,  "  notice  is 
hereby  given  to  all  whom  it  may  concern  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Baltimore  intend  petitioning  the  en- 
suing General  Assembly  to  incorporate  said  town." 
Although  this  application  was  not  successful,  the 
Legislature  could  no  longer  altogether  overlook  the 
importance  and  growth  of  the  town,  and  in  the  same 
year  its  claim  to  a  more  complete  system  of  local  gov- 


ernment was  recognized  by  the  passage  of  an  act  en- 
titled "  An  Act  for  the  more  effectual  paving  the 
streets  of  Baltimore  Town,  in  Baltimore  County,  and 
for  other  purposes."  By  this  act  Messrs.  William 
Spear,  James  Sterett,  Englehard  Yeiser,  George  Lin- 
denburger,  Jesse  Hollingsworth,  Thomas  Elliot,  and 
Peter  Hoff"man  were  appointed  "special  commission- 
ers" with  "  full  power  to  direct  and  superintend  the 
leveling,  pitching,  paving,  and  repairing  the  streets, 
and  the  building  and  repairing  the  bridges  within 
said  town,  and  to  devise  and  do  all  and  everything 
necessary  to  promote  this  end  which  they  may  judge 
for  the  benefit  or  advantage  of  the  said  town  and  its  in- 
habitants." It  was  further  provided  that  the  licensed 
auctioneer  of  the  town  shall  pay  to  the  special  com- 
missioners "  all  moneys  in  his  hands  which  have 
arisen,  or  which  may  hereafter  arise,  upon  all  sales  by 
auction,  in  the  manner  and  agreeable  to  an  act  to 
regulate  auctions  in  Baltimore  Town,  in  Baltimore 
County."  The  town  commissioners  were  also  re- 
quired to  "  pay  said  special  commissioners  all  the 
moneys  paid  to  them,  or  in  their  hands  by  virtue  of 
their  powers,  for  repairing  the  streets  of  said  town ;" 
and  the  special  commissioners  were  authorized  "  to 
borrow  to  the  amount  of  five  thousand  pounds  current 
money  from  the  inhabitants  of  said  town,  pledging 
for  the  discharge  thereof  the  whole  or  any  part  of  the 
above  appropriation."  These  sources  of  revenue 
proving  insufficient  for  the  purpose  of  "paving, 
cleaning,  and  keeping  in  repair  the  streets,  lanes,  and 
alleys,  and  for  mending  and  keeping  in  repair  the 
bridges  within  the  said  town,"  a  tax  was  subse- 
quently directed  to  be  levied  on  carriages,  chairs,  sul- 
keys,  drays,  wagons  and  carts,  and  riding-horses, — 

"an  additional  tax  upon  billiard  tables,  fifteen  pounds  per  year;  a  tax 
upon  rhe  play-house,  fifty  pounds  per  year;  an  additional  tax  of  thirty 
shillings  on  every  chimney  catching  fire;  on  persons  convicted  in  the 
county  court  of  selling  liquors  without  a  license,  an  additional  fine  of 
30  shillings;  an  additional  tax  of  five  pounds  annually  on  tavern 
licenses,  and  a  tax  not  exceeding  2  shillings  &  G  pence  on  every  £100 
of  assessed  property  within  said  town." 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  special  commissioners  re- 
lated, however,  not  only  to  the  paving  and  repairing 
of  streets  and  the  mending  and  building  of  bridges, 
but  to  all  matters  connected  with  the  sanitary  condi- 
tion of  the  public  thoroughfares.   They  were  empow- 
ered to  appoint  a  clerk  to  keep   their  entries   and 
accounts,  and  collectors  of  the  taxes  mentioned,  who 
were  to  turn  over  the  same  to  their  treasurer,  who 
was  required  to  give  good  and  suflScient  bond,  and  to 
make  a  yearly  settlement  with   the   commissioners, 
who  were  directed  to  cause  this  report  to  be  published 
in  the  Baltimore  newspapers  "  for  the  satisfaction  and 
information  of  the  citizens  thereof."     These  special 
j  commissioners  were  to  be  elected  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  October  in  every  fifth  year  by  nine  electors 
j  "  qualified  to  be  delegates  to  the  General  Assembly," 
I  who  were  to  be  chosen  by  the  "  inhabitants  of  the 
i  town  of  Baltimore  qualified  to  vote  for  delegates  or 
having    real    property  in    said    town    above    thirty 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


pounds."  It  was  further  enacted  that  the  special 
commissioners  should  he  a  body  corporate,  "  by  the 
name  of  special  commissioners  for  Baltimore  Town, 
with  all  the  privileges  of  a  corporate  body,  and  to 
have  one  common  seal  and  perpetual  succession." 
And  to  prevent  the  abuse  of  the  somewhat  extensive 
powers  conferred  upon  them,  it  was  provided  that 
"  the  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  Town  qualified  to  vote 
for  delegates  .shall  elect  annually  by  ballot  at  the 
election  for  delegates  three  persons,  inhabitants  of 
said  town,  skillful  in  accounts,  and  men  of  integrity 
and  capacity,  who  shall  be  called  comptrollers  of 
accounts,  who  are  to  examine  and  certify  that  they 
have  examined  and  approve  or  disapprove  the  annual 
accounts  of  the  commissioners  directed  to  be  pub- 
lished in  the  newspapers,  which  approbation  or  dis- 
approbation shall  also  be  published  with  the  account." 
The  comptrollers  were  to  be  allowed  twenty  shillings 
each  for  their  trouble,  and  were  directed  to  ascertain 
the  pay  to  which  the  special  commissioners  should  be 
entitled,  the  sum  agreed  upon  by  the  comptrollers  to 
be  paid  by  the  treasurer,  the  settlement  to  be  annual, 
and  the  compensation  confined  to  the  acting  special 
commissioners.  Still  another  legislative  concession 
to  the  town  was  made  by  the  act  of  1783,  by  which 
Samuel  Smith,  Daniel  Bowley,  John  Sterett,  Samuel 
Purviance,  Thomas  Bussell,  Richard  Ridgely,  Robert 
Henderson,  Thomas  Elliott,  and  William  Patterson 
were  appointed  wardens  for  the  i)ort  of  Baltimore. 
The  preamble  of  the  act  recognized  the  fact  that  it 
was  "  important  to  the  State  that  proper  persons 
should  be  appointed  to  preserve  the  navigation  of  the 
bason  and  harbour  of  Baltimore  Town,  in  Baltimore 
County,"  and  prescribed  in  detail  the  duties  of  the 
port-wardens,  nine  in  number,  who  were  to  be  chosen 
on  the  first  Monday  in  October  in  every  fifth  year  by 
the  electors  of  special  commissioners.  To  enable 
them  more  efiectually  to  discharge  their  duty  of  pro- 
tecting and  preserving  the  "  navigation  of  the  bason 
and  harbour,"  they  were  authorized  by  a  subsequent 
act  to  "  assess,  levy,  and  collect  on  every  vessel 
arriving  at  the  said  port  of  Baltimore,  of  fifty  tun  or 
more,  a  sum  of  money  not  exceeding  two  cents  per 
tun,  to  be  appropriated  and  applied  by  the  said  Board 
of  Wardens  to  carry  into  effect  the  rules  and  regula- 
tions which  they  may  from  time  to  time  make  respect- 
ing the  harbor  and  port  of  Baltimore."  In  1784  the 
town  commissioners  were  authorized  by  the  General 
Assembly  to  establish  a  night-watch  and  to  contract 
for  the  erection  of  lamps,  the  commissioners  being 
required  to  "  set  down  in  writing  at  what  stands  it  is 
fit  for  the  said  watchmen  to  be  placed,  how  often  they 
shall  go  the  rounds,  and  also  appoint  the  rounds 
each  watchmen  is  to  go."  With  special  commission- 
ers, paved  streets,  port-wardens,  night-watchmen,  and 
lamps  recurred  the  ambition  for  municipal  dignity, 
and  on  the  rith  of  November,  1784,  a  notice  appeared 
in  the  columns  of  the  Maryland  Journal  requesting 
the  citizens  "  to  meet  at  tin-  murkct-lumse  on  Tuesdav, 


the  9th  inst.,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  to  con- 
sult whether  it  may  not  be  expedient  to  apply  imme- 
diately to  the  Legislature  of  this  State  to  incorporate 
said  town.  As  it  is  a  matter  of  great  consequence  to 
the  inhabitants,  it  is  hoped  the  meeting  will  be  very 
general;  and  as  '  Civis'  (a  writer  in  the  Maryland 
Gazette)  seems  to  be  apprehensive  something  unfair  is 
intended,  it  is  expected  the  meeting  will  be  honored 
with  his  company  in  particular."  Failing  in  this 
eflbrt,  an  attempt  was  made  in  1786  to  remove  the 
State  capital  from  Annapolis  to  Baltimore,  but  on  the 
17th  of  January  in  that  year  the  House  of  Delegates, 
by  a  vote  of  twenty  ayes  to  thirty-two  nays,  refused 
leave  to  introduce  a  bill  to  that  etfect. 

On  the  8th  of  the  following  March  an  act  was  passed 
by  the  General  Assemby  "  to  ascertain  the  value  of  the 
land  in  the  several  counties  of  this  State,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  laying  the  public  assessment,"  in  which  the 
title  of  Baltimore  to  separate  and  distinct  considera- 
tion was  again  recognized.  By  this  act  it  was  pro- 
vided that 

"  Baltimore  Town  and  its  precincts  in  Baltimore  Coiinty  Bball  be  con- 
sidereil  and  taken  as  separate  and  distinct  from  the  said  county,  and 
shall  not  be  taken  into  the  valuation  of  proper!}'  in  the  said  county,  and 
an  annual  assessment  for  supplies  shall  hereafter  be  imposed  upon  the 
said  town  district,  and  separate  from  the  said  county,  upon  the  value  of 
the  amount  of  all  the  lots  and  parcels  of  ground,  houses,  ground-rents 
and  improvements,  lands  and  real  property  in  the  said  town,  and  the 
value  of  personal  property  in  the  said  town,  ascertained  as  hereafter 
sliall  be  directed  by  law ;  and  the  limits  and  bounds  of  Baltimore  Town 
aforesaid  and  its  precincts,  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  hereby  are  ascer- 
tained aud  established  as  follows,  to  wit:  Beginning  at  the  end  of  the 
east-southeast  seventy  perches  line  of  a  tract  of  land  called  Parker's 
Haven,  and  running  thence  with  a  straight  line  to  the  end  of  the  third 
line  of  Carter's  Delight,  thence  with  a  straight  line  to  the  beginning  of 
Darly  Hall,  then  with  the  t«-o  flret  lines  of  Darly  Hall  the  whole  length 
of  the  said  lines,  then  with  a  straight  line  to  the  end  of  the  east-north- 
east 278  perches  line  of  Hap  Hazard,  then  with  a  straight  line  to  the 
beginning  of  Hap  Hazard,  then  west-southwest  twenty  perches,  then' 
south  unto  the  land  called  Georgia,  then  bounding  on  the  lines  of  Georgia 
Reverse  unto  the  place  where  they  first  cross  a  small  run  that  passes 
through  a  meadow  in  the  land  late  of  Charles  Carroll,  Esq.,  barrister, 
and  falls  into  the  head  of  a  cove  in  the  land  late  of  Richard  Perkins, 
then  running  down  the  said  run  into  the  head  of  the  said  cove,  then 
with  the  said  cove  and  bounding  thereon,  aud  on  the  waters  of  the  mid- 
dle branch  to  the  Ferry  Point,  on  Patapsco  River,  thence  with  the  waters 
of  the  said  river,  and  of  the  northwest  branch  of  the  said  river,  to  the 
mouth  of  Harris'  Creek,  and  thence  with  the  waters  of  the  said  creek 
to  the  placeof  beginning,  and  alUands,  houses,  aud  improvements  within 
the  said  limits  and  wards  shall  be  considered  aud  taken,  and  hereby  are 
declared  to  be  Baltimore  Town  and  its  precincts.  And  be  it  enacted  that 
the  property  within  Baltimore  Town  and  its  precincts  shall  be  valued 
and  returned  distinct  from  Baltimore  County,  and  that  commissioners 
of  the  tax  shall  be  appointed  for  said  town  and  its  precincts  separate 
from  said  county." 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  act,  as  far  as  purposes  of 
assessment  were  concerned,  separated  Baltimore  Town 
from  Baltimore  County,  and  gave  it  to  that  extent  a 
distinct  and  independent  existence  some  eleven  years 
before  it  was  formally  made  a  city.'     The   special 

I  The  special  commissioners  in  1788  were  Robert  Walsh,  David  Stodder, 
John  Hammond,  Michael  Diffenderffer,  Leonard  Harbaugh,  George 
Franciscus,  and  Joshua  Barney.  On  Aug.  7, 1789,  they  gave  notice  that 
they  had  appointed  ".lohn  Leakin  to  collect  the  taxes  and  fines  which 
are  now  due  or  may  become  due  for  the  present  year."  On  the  11th  of 
Septeniliei  in  Ihe  same  year  He/.ekiah  Watei's,  clerk,  gave  notice  that 
tlie  cumiMissioueis  of  tlip  tax   fur  Baltimore  Town  and  precincts  "  will 


MUNICIPAL   GOVERNMENT   OF   BALTIMORE. 


commissioners,  as  has  already  been  said,  were  required 
to  make  an  annual  statement  of  their  expenditures, 
and  the  following  report  for  1789  affords  a  tolerably 
fair  insight  into  the  manner  in  which  such  things 
were  done  in  those  days : 


•  Balli, 


I  with  the  Sperial  Con 


ing  ill 
By  halVi 


Ditto  on  l.illinr 
Ditto  on  hoi-ses 
Ditto  on  chimneys  being 


collectoi-spen.-uiit 
By  ditto  for  paviiiK  ■ 
By  ditto  l)y  Messrs 


1  from  Thoa.  Tates,  Esq.. 


Meanwhile  the  effort  to  secure  the  incorporation  of 
the  town  was  not  abandoned,  and  in  1791  the  question 
was  again  agitated.'^ 

From  a  communication  dated  the  17th  of  Novem- 
ber in  that  year  we  learn  something  of  the  causes 
which  had  operated  against  the  success  of  previous 
applications  to  the  General  Assembly  : 

"  It  is  well  known,"  says  the  writer,  "  how  much  the  citizens  were  agi- 
tated a  few  years  since  by  an  attempt  to  obtain  a  corporation;  that  the 
town  was  divided  into  a  number  of  wards  or  districts;  that  gentlemen 
of  character  were  appointed  by  each  to  meet,  and  if  possible  to  agree 
upon  a  plan  of  incorporation  which  would  meet  with  general  approba- 
'  tion.  After  a  considerable  time  spent  in  the  endeavor  tlie  scheme  was 
abandoned  as  impracticable.  It  is  probable  parties  prevailed  at  that  time 
which  do  not,  I  hope,  exist  at  present;  and,  as  it  frequently  happens  in 
the  concerns  of  life,  the  ambition  of  some,  the  indifference  o(  others, 
and  tlie  sinister  views  of  a  few  frustrated  a  measure  which  in  all  prob- 
ability would  have  redounded  to  the  benefit  of  the  whole." 

The  persistent  agitation  of  the  subject  at  length 
bore  fruit,  and  on  the  28th  of  December,  1793,  an  act 
was  passed  by  the  General  Assembly  "  to  erect  Balti- 
more Town,  in  Baltimore  County,  into  a  city,  and  to 
incorporate  the  inhabitants  thereof."  The  incorpo- 
ration, however,  was  only  conditional,  the  act  pro- 
viding that  it  should  "  commence  and  be  in  force  on 
the  1st  of  January,  1795,  if  the  same  should  be  con- 
firmed by  the  General  Assembly  at  their  session  in 


meet  at  De  Witt's  coffee-house  on  Monday,  21st  instant,  to  hear  the  ap- 
peals of  such  persons  as  are  aggiieved  by  transfer  of  property."  In 
1791  the  special  commissioners  were  Eobert  Walsh,  Michael  Diffenderffer, 
John  Hammond,  John  Mickle,  Patrick  Bennett,  and  George  Franciscus. 

'  lu  October,  1791,  James  Carey,  James  Clarke,  James  Edwards,  Wm. 
Winchester,  Charles  Gaits,  George  Salmon,  Philip  Bogers,  David  Plunket, 
and  Thomas  Johnson  were  chosen  electors  of  special  commissioners,  and 
Stephen  Wilson,  Alexander  McKim,  and  Samuel  Hollingsworth  were 
elected  comptrollers  of  accounts. 

-  A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  called  on  the  16th  of  November, 
1791,  in  the  Baltimore  Daily  lieposilory,  to  determine  the  propriety  of 
applying  to  the  General  Assembly  for  incorporation. 


November,  1794;"  but  the  terms  of  the  act  were  not 
satisfactory  to  many  classes  of  the  townsfolk,  and  the 
confirmatory  legislation  was  not  secured.'' 

The  objections  entertained  are  stated  at  length  in 
the  following  card  in  the  Maryland  Journal  of  Sept. 
12,1794: 

"The  committees  appointed  by  the  iuliabitaiits  of  'Deptford  Hun- 
dred' [Fell's  Poiut],  by  the  precincts,  and  by  the  mechanical,  Republican, 
and  carpenters'  societies  of  Baltimore  Town,  to  whom  it  was  referred,  to 
report  ou  the  law  proposed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Maryland  at 
their  last  session  fur  erecting  Baltimore  Town  into  a  city,  and  for  in- 
corporating the  inhabitants  thereof,  beg  leave,  agreeably  to  the  instruc- 
tions given  them,  to  represent  the  aforesaid  proposed  law  as  in  their 
opinion  defective  and  dangerous  in  the  following  respects: 

"1st.  In  making  the  body  corporate  to  consist  only  of  the  free  white 
inhabitants  of  said  town,  whereby  free  negroes  and  people  of  color  are 
excluded  from  any  direct  share  in  the  making  and  administration  of 
those  laws  by  which  themselves  are  to  be  governed,  contrary  to  reason 
and  good  policy,  to  the  spirit  of  equal  liberty  and  our  free  constitution. 

"2d.  In  constituting  a  council  of  electors  for  the  election  of  the 
Fii-st  Branch  of  the  Common  Council  and  of  the  mayor,  because  the  people 
ought  to  have  the  right  of  judging  of  the  qualifications  of  its  own  rep- 
resentatives, and  because  in  a  situation  so  limited  as  Baltimore  every 
voter  may  be  well  acquainted  with  the  character  and  merits  of  the  sev- 
eral candidates. 

"  3d.  In  making  the  Common  Council  to  he  composed  of  two  branches, 
becau-^e  where  unity  of  interests  prevail  (as  itt  the  town  of  Baltimore) 
unity  of  sentiment  in  legislatoi-s  is  to  be  expected,  and  because  the 
First  Branch  of  the  Common  Council,  from  the  sniallness  of  their  num- 
bers and  duration  of  their  office,  are  perpetually  open  to  the  influence 
of  the  mayor. 

"4th.  In  so  regulating  the  choice  of  the  several  officers  of  the  cor- 
poration that  the  precincts  are  left  without  representation,  whereby  the 
people  of  the  precincts  whose  property  is  to  be  taxed  and  whose  persons 
are  to  be  affected  by  the  decrees  of  the  Common  Council  are  most  un- 
JHstly  and  unconstitutionally  deprived  of  their  right  of  euflfrage. 

"5th.  In  requiring  the  age  tif  twenty-five  years  as  a  qualification  in 
members  of  the  Second  Branch  of  the  Common  Council,  because  merit 
is  not  the  exclusive  attribute  of  any  age,  and  because  youth  who  have 
talents  are  hereby  discouraged  in  their  pursuit  of  legislative  knowledge, 
whereby  society  must  suffer. 

"6th.  In  requiring  that  an  elector  of  the  Fii-st  Branch  of  the  Com- 
mon Council  and  of  the  mayor  shall  be  worth  one  thousand  dollars  iu 
real  or  personal  property,  because  wealth  ought  not  to  be  made  a  quali- 
fication to  office,  and  because  no  restraint  whatever  ought  to  be  im- 
posed on  the  will  of  the  people  ill  the  choice  of  the  man  (whether  rich 
or  poor)  whom  they  believe  best  qualified  to  serve  them. 

"  7th.  In  requiring  no  certain  time  of  residence  in  the  mayor  of  the 
city  previous  to  his  election  as  such,  whereby  a  chief  officer — whose 
duties,  as  prescribed  by  the  corporation  at-t,  are  most  intricate  and  im- 
portant, in  whom  is  necessary  an  exact  knowledge  of  the  laws  and  the 
wants  of  said  city,  a  long  residence  therein  and  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  local  circumstances  thereof— is  liable  to  be  obtruded  upon  the 
town  just  coming  from  the  extreme  parta  of  New  Hampshire  or  Georgia, 
and  after  the  residence  of  a  day  or  an  hour. 

"8th.  In  rendering  the  elected  independent  of  the  electors  for  too  long 
a  time,  whereby  inattentive  and  unfaithful  riervantsmay  be  continued  in 
office,  to  the  great  injury  of  the  people  and  contrary  to  their  express  de- 
sire and  approbation. 

"9th.  In  making  the  elections  of  olectora  and  members  of  the  Second 
Branch  of  the  Common  Council  to  be  held  viva  voce,  because  this  method 
very  much  impedes  the  freedom  of  elections  and  lays  the  poor  and  mid- 
dling class  of  people  too  open  to  influence  from  the  rich  and  the  great, 
whom  fear  or  interest  may  prompt  them  not  to  offend  by  giving  a  vote 
which  they  do  not  approve. 

"10th.  In  inflicting  a  severer  punishment  upon  the  inadvertent  oflfeu- 
der  who  shall  vote  or  attempt  to  vote  in  a  ward  of  which  he  is  not  a 
resident,  or  on  the  mere  citizen  who  shall  he  convicted  of  obstructing  an 
election  in  any  illegal  manner,  than  upon  the  recorder,  aldermau,  or  any 

a  One  of  the  principal  grounds  upon  which  the  incorporation  of  the 
'city  was  urged  was  its  rapid  increase  in  wealth  and  population.  The 
total  value  of  the  State's  exports  for  the  five  years  preceding  the  incor- 
poration of  the  town  was  $20,026,126,  of  which  Baltimore's  share  was 
813,444,796. 


HISTORY  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


officer  of  the  corporation  who  fihnll  be  fuuud  guilty  of  tlie  like  offense 
are  odious  and  u  iijust  distinctions,  evidently  calculated  to  screen  the  latter 
from  the  deserved  punishment  of  their  crimes. 

"11th.  In  giving  power  to  two-thirds  of  each  branch  of  the  Common 
Council  to  expel  a  member  without  prohibiting  them  from  expelling 
twice  for  the  same  offense,  whereby  the  right  of  the  people  to  choose 
their  own  roprosentatireA  is  violated,  because  what  m.iy  be  considered  as 
an  offense  in  a  representative  by  the  Common  Council  may  by  his  con- 
stituents be  considered  his  greatest  merit,  and  thus  the  people  m:ty  be 
deprived  of  the  men  uf  their  choice  because  two-thirds  of  the  Common 
Council  may  think  him,  from  his  superior  abilities  or  integrity,  dangerous 
to  their  views  of  aggrandizement  and  amltition. 

*'  12th.  In  not  granting  power  to  the  Common  Council  to  provide  for 
the  good  order  and  police  of  the  precinct,  whereas  they  have  power  to 
impose  upon  the  precinct's  indirect  taxes,  a  clause,  whether  from  design 
or  oversight,  most  partial  and  unjust,  whereby  the  precincts  are  made  to 
bear  the  burden  without  sharing  the  benefits  of  the  corporation. 

*'l3th.  In  granting  power  to  the  Common  Council  to  fix  the  rates  of 
wharfage,  a  power  which  may  be  productive  of  a  most  pernicious  inter- 
ference with  the  rights  of  private  property,  whose  real  value  or  casual 
profits  should  be  regulated  by  the  control  of  times  and  circumstances 

"14th.  In  granting  power  to  the  Common  Council  to  fix  the  rates  and 
taxes  of  several  classes  of  citizens,  because  the  value  and  reward  of  in- 
dustry should  be  left  to  its  own  operation,  and  because  no  jirivileges 
should  be  withheld  from  any  one  part  of  the  couimunity  which  all  the 
other  parts  of  it  enjoy. 

"I5th.  In  granting  power  to  the  Common  Council  to  prescribe  the 
mode  of  trial  in  all  prosecutions  for  fines,  penalties,  and  forfeitures  in 
consequence  of  the  corporation  act,  subject  to  the  future  regulations  of 
the  General  Assembly,  a  jwwer  by  which  the  inestimable  trial  by  jury, 
the  greatest  security  of  the  lives,  liberty,  and  property  of  the  people, 
and  which  the  Declaration  of  Rights  positively  secures  to  us,  is  liable  to 
be  taken  away  from  us  by  an  act  of  Assembly. 

"  I6th.  In  nut  granting  power  to  the  Common  Council  to  restrain  all 
theatrical  and  other  public  amusements,  a  power  which  ought  to  be 
lodged  in  the  Common  Council,  from  the  abuse  that  all  public  amuse- 
ments are  likely  to  run  into  from  the  temptation  to  idleness,  extrava- 
gance, aud  immoiality. 

"17th.  In  not  providing  that  the  commissions  of  the  recorder  and 
aldermen  may  be  revoked  or  annulled  upon  the  address  of  the  General 
Assembly,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  membera  of  each  house  concur  in 
such  address,  because  the  chancellor  and  all  other  judges  of  the  State 
are  made  removable  in  this  manner,  and  because  if  judges  be  made  re- 
movable only  on  conviction  of  misbehavior  in  office,  such  may  some- 
times be  able  to  screen  themselves  under  the  subtleties  of  the  law  from 
thejust  punishment  of  their  guilt,  aud  then  a  wicked  man  be  continued 
in  office  to   the  utter  perversion  of  jubtice  aud  the  oppression  of  the 

**  I8th.  In  subjecting  the  money,  arising  from  licenses  given  to  tavern- 
keepers,  ordinaries,  aud  retailers  to  tlie  future  regutatiousof  the  General 
Assembly,  because  these  mouejs  ought  to  be  left  entirely  to  the  use  and 
order  of  the  city,  and  because  to  subject  them  to  the  disposition  of  the 
General  Assembly  is  putting  it  in  tlie  power  of  that  body  to  withhold 
from  the  city  one  mean,  which  both  morality  and  necessity  approve,  of 
fiuppoitiugan  establishment  which  immeiliately  or  at  some  future  day 
may  become  very  expensive. 

"19th.  In  granting  to  the  city  civil  court  concurrent  powers  and  juris- 
diction with  the  county  court  in  all  civil  matters,  things,  and  causes 
where  the  defendant  re^des  within  the  city  or  precincts,  which  operates 
as  a  great  grievance  on  the  iuhabitants  of  the  precincts,  who  are  thus 
liable  to  be  sued  in  Balliuiore  County  aud  City  civil  courts,  and  to  be 
summoned  on  juries  in  both. 

**2Uth.  In  declaring  that  the  present  clerk  of  Baltimore  County  shall 
be  clerk  of  the  said  courts  until  bis  death  or  removal,  because  all  courts 
ought  of  rigiit  to  have  the  appointment  of  its  own  servants,  iis  being 
best  qualified  to  judge  of  their  merits;  that  such  jmwer  is  agreeable  to 
reason,  founded  in  usage,  and  recognized  by  our  constitution;  that  all 
the  courts  of  the  State  enjoy  it,  and  the  courts  of  the  city  of  Baltimore 
ought  not  to  be  deprived  of  it. 

"2l8t.  In  declaring  that  the  fees  of  said  clerk  and  other  officers  of 
said  court  shall  be  the  simie  as  the  fees  established  for  the  liiio  officers 
iu  the  county  courts,  because,  aa  the  coriwralion  will  be  the  best  judges 
of  the  services  rendered  by  such  officers,  they  of  course  will  be  the  best 
judges  of  the  rewanl  that  is  due  them. 

"22d.  In  limiting  the  duties  aud  services  of  the  mayor  to  the  city 
le  inhubitants  of  the  precincts,  who  are  thus 


depiived  of  the  benefits  resulting  from  the  establishment 
for  the  support  of  which,  nevertheless,  they  are  obliged  to  ai 
'23d.  In  granting  power  to  the  recorder  and  aldermen 
any  person  suspected  of  being  a  vagrant  or  common  prostitute  to  hard 
labor  08  a  criminal  for  the  space  of  one  year,  because  it  is  making  law 
to  consist  too  much  in  the  discretion  of  a  single  man,  a  power  ever  dan- 
gerous to  liberty,  because  ever  liable  to  abuse  from  the  dictates  of 
malice,  interest,  or  caprice,  and  because  the  unfortunate  stranger  who 
cannot  procure  a  security,  though  be  may  be  innocent,  is  deprived  of  the 
trial  by  jury,  aud  liable  to  have  punishment  inflicted  on  him  in  common 
with  the  vilest  criminal  or  most  abandoned  prostitute,  and  because  it 
violates  a  most  humane  principle  of  law,  which  says  that  *  His  better  that 
ten  guilty  persons  should  escape  punishment  than  that  one  innocent 
person  should  suffer,' 

"24th.  In  declaring  that  no  rehgious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a 
qualification  in  any  voter,  or  to  any  office  or  appointment,  because  it 
unnecessarily  changes  that  part  of  our  present  constitution  which  re- 
quires 'a  declaration  of  a  belief  iu  the  Christian  religion  on  admission 
to  any  office  of  profit  or  trust."  ^ 

At  length,  on  the  31st  of  December,  1796,  after 
years  of  agitation  and  repeated  failures,  the  cherished 
object  was  accomplished,  and  the  Legislature  passed 
an  act  "  to  erect  Baltimore  Town,  in  Baltimore 
County,  into  a  city,  and  to  incorporate  the  inhabit- 
ants thereof."  By  the  second  section  it  was  provided 
that 

"Baltimore  Town,  iu  Baltimore  County,  shall  be  aud  is  hereby  erected 

thereof  constituted  a  body  politic  and  corporate  by  the  name  of  the 
mayor  and  City  Council  of  Baltimore,  aud  as  such  shall  have  perpetual 
succession,  and  by  their  corporate  name  may  sue  and  be  sued,  implead 
and  be  impleaded,  grant  and  receive,  and  do  all  other  acts  as  natural 
persons,  and  may  purchase  and  bold  real,  personal,  and  unmixed  prop- 
erty, or  dispose  of  the  same  for  the  benefit  of  the  said  city,  and  may 
have  and  use  a  city  seal,  which  may  be  brnkeu  or  altered  at  pleasure ; 
that  the  city  of  Baltimore  shall  be  divided  into  eight  wards,  each  ward 
to  contain,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  an  equal  number  of  inhabitants;  the 
first  division  shall  be  made  by  seven  respectable  citizens,  or  a  m^ority 
of  tiiem,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor  and  Council ;  and  the  corpor- 
ation of  the  said  city  thereafter  from  time  to  time  shall  cause  a  correct 
division  of  the  said  city  to  be  made  into  eight  wards,  according  to  the 
actual  number  of  inhabitants,  which  divisions  shall  be  reported  as  often 
as  the  increase  or  decrease  of  inhabitants  in  any  ward  or  wards  shall 
render  it  necessary  in  order  to  a  just  represeutation,  and  when  the  in- 
habitants shall  increjise  to  forty  thousand  it  shall  then  be  divided  into 
fifteen  wards,  and  for  any  additional  increase 
ward  only  shall  be  added  for  every  twenty  thousand,  in  or 
as  nearly  as  may  an  equal  number  of  voters  in  each  ward 

By  the  third  section  it  was  enacted  that 

"the  Council  of  the  city  of  Baltimore  shall  consist  of 

one  whereof  shall  be   denominated   the   First  Branch,  and  the  other 

the  Second  Branch ;  the  Fii-st  Branch  shall  consist  of  two  members, 

of  the  most  wise,  sensible,  and  discreet  of  the  people  from  each  ward, 

who  shall  be  citizens  of  the  United  States,  above  twenty-one  years  of 

age,  residents  of  the  said  town  three  years  preceding  their  appointment, 

and  assessed  ou  the  books  of  the  assessor    to    the    amount    of  one 

thousand  dollars;  and  the  voters  for  the  First  Branch  of  the  said 

City  Council  shall  have  the  same  qualifications  as  \ 

to  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State,  and  the  said  election 


1  The  comptrollers  in  1796  were  John  Merryman,  James  Carey,  Alex- 
ander McKim;  the  special  commissioners  in  1795  were  Johu  Mickle, 
James  Wignell,  John  Hillen,  John  Brown,  Joseph  Townsend,  Joseph 
Biays,  and  John  Coulter,  and  Samuel  Vincent  clerk.  The  special  com- 
missioners elected  in  October,  1796,  were  William  Trimble,  John  Lee, 
Robert  Stewart,  Gabriel  Gill,  Baltzer  Schaeffer,  Jacob  Myers,  and  Caleb 
Hewitt:  tlie  poit-wiudens  were  Janii-d  Calbouu,  Thomas  Coal  e,  James 
lii.n  -,  w  iiii  nil  i:i|.  ii.n  ,r,,  v,  J,,!,,,  ii,,ihns,  William  Winchester,  John 
>  I  i  1         iiiian.    The  electors  were  Job 

Mi  I       ,     [  I  I  ;  [,  John  Mackenheimer,  Thomas 

!^I'  Ml.  (;,  \\  iMi  ,hi   Will,,    \•^^  \,\    r  .  ,  William  Jessop,  and  Thomas 

l>i\UU. 


MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT   OF   BALTIMORE. 


By  the  fourth  section  it  was  provided  that  the 

**  first  election  for  members  of  the  Fii-st  Branch  of  the  City  Council  shall 
be  held  oa  tlie  third  Monday  in  February,  1797,  and  on  the  third  Monday 
in  February  in  each  and  every  year  thereafter,  at  such  places  in  each 
ward  as  the  judges  of  the  election  in  the  first  instance,  and  afterwards 
as  the  corporation  by  ordinance, shall  direct;  the  election  shall  be  held 
by  wards,  and  no  person  shall  be  entitled  to  vole  for  any  but  the  mem- 
bers of  the  ward  of  which  he  is  a  resident;  three  respectable  citizens, 
resident  in  each  ward,  or  a  majority  of  them,  in  the  first  instance  to  be 
appointed  by  the  commissioners  of  Baltimore  Town,  and  afterwards  by 
the  mayor  of  said  city,  shall  be  judges  of  the  elections  in  their  respec- 
tive  wards,   and   they   sliall   have   power   to   appoint    their   respective 

By  the  sixth  section  it  was  enacted  that 

"  the  Second  Branch  shall  consist  of  eight  members,  who  shall  be  chosen 
from  the  several  wards,  and  no  person  shall  be  eligible  as  a  member  of 
the  Second  Branch  who  is  not  of  the  full  age  of  twenty-five  years,  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  a  resident  of  the  said  town  four  years 
previous  to  liis  election,  and  assessed  on  the  books  of  the  assessor  to  the 
amount  of  two  thousand  dollars;  and  the  members  of  the  Second  Branch 
shall  continue  in  office  for  the  term  of  two  years  next  succeeding  the  time 
of  their  election."  - 

The  seventh  section  directed  that 

'  the  mayor  of  the  said  city  and  the  membeis  of  tlie  Second  Branch  of  the 
City  Council  shall  be  elected  in  the  following  manner,  to  wit :  That  each 
ward,  at  the  time  and  place  of  electing  the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil, shall  elect,  viva  voce,  one  person  qualified  to  be  a  member  of  the  Firet 
Branch  as  elector  of  the  mayor,  and  of  the  membere  of  the  Second  Branch 
of  the  City  Council  on  the  third  Monday  in  January  next,  and  on  the 
same  day  every  second  year  thereafter,  who  shall,  on  the  third  Monday  of 
February,  1797,  and  on  the  same  day  every  second  year  thereafter,  meet 
at  the  court-house  or  some  other  convenient  place  in  the  said  city  and 
elect  by  ballot  a  m»yor  and  eight  members  of  the  Second  Branch,  to 
serve  for  two  years  thereafter ;  no  person  shall  be  eligible  for  mayor  who 
is  not  of  known  integrity,  experience,  and  sound  judgment,  twenty-five 
years  of  age,  ten  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  five  yeare  a 
resident  of  Baltimore  Town  or  City  next  preceding  the  election;  and  in 
case  two  or  more  pereous  shall  have  an  equal  number  of  votes  for  mayor 
or  members  of  tlie  Second  Branch,  the  electors  shall  determine  by  lot 
wliich  of  the  pereons  so  having  au  equal  number  of  votes  shall  be  ap- 
pointed to  tlie  office  of  mayor  or  Second  Branch  of  the  City  Council,  as 
the  case  may  require ;  the  said  electors  of  the  mayor  and  of  tJie  members 
of  the  Second  Branch,  before  they  proceed  to  elect,  shall  swear  oraffirm, 
as  the  case  may  be,  that  they  will  elect,  without  favor,  partiality,  or 
prejudice,  sucli  person  for  mayor,  and  such  persons  as  members  of  the 
Second  Branch  of  the  City  Council,  as  they  in  their  judgment  and  con- 
science believe  best  qualified  for  the  said  ofiices,  and  having  the  other 
qualifications  required  by  this  act;  that  the  said  electors  shall  be  judges 
of  the  elections,  returns,  and  qualifications  of  their  members,  but  no 
person  shall  be  elector  of  the  mayor  and  members  of  the  First  Branch 
of  the  City  Cuuucil  at  the  same  time;  any  vacancy  happening  in  the 
electors  of  the  mayor  shall  be  filled  up  from  the  ward  where  such  vacancy 
happened  without  delay,  in  such  manner  as  shall  hereafter  be  directed 
by  ordinance,  and  any  vacancy  of  the  mayoralty  happening,  the  same 
shall  be  filled  up  without  delay  by  the  electore  of  the  mayor  for  the  time 
being  for  the  remainder  of  the  term  ;  and  all  vacancies  happening  in  the 
said  Second  Branch  shall  be  filled  up  by  the  electors  aforesaid."  ^ 

By  the  eighth  section  it  was  enacted  that  the  City 
Council 


1  By  the  act  of  1797,  ch.  54,  elections 
Branch  of  the  City  Council  were  directed  t 
day  in  October  in  every  year. 

2  Property  qualifications  were  required  until  1809  "in  persons  to  be 
appointed  tu  or  holding  offices  of  profit  or  trust,"  but  in  that  year  they 
were  abolished  by  act  of  Assembly. 

a  By  act  of  1797,  ch.  54,  the  elections  for  electors  of  the  mayor  and  the 
members  of  the  Second  Branch  of  the  City  Council  were  directed  to  be 
held  on  the  firet  Monday  in  October,  1798,  and  in  every  second  year 
thereafter,  and  the  electoi-s  of  the  mayor,  etc.,  were  directed  to  meet  on 
the  first  Monday  in  November,  179S,  and  in  every  second  year  thereafter, 
for  the  purpose  of  electing  a  mayor  and  members  of  the  Second  Branch 
of  the  City  Council. 


"shall  hold  their  firsts 
other  place  within  said  city,  on  the  second  Monday  in  February,  1797,  and 
they  shall  meet  on  the  second  Monday  of  February  in  every  year  there- 
after, but  the  mayor  may  summon  them  to  convene  whenever  and  as  often 
as  it  may  appear  to  him  that  the  public  good  may  require  their  delibera- 
tions ;  that  three-fourths  of  the  City  Conncil  shall  be  a  quorum  to  do  busi- 
ness, but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day  ;  they  may  com- 
pel the  attendance  of  absent  members  in  such  manner  and  under  such 
penalties  as  they  may  by  ordinance  provide  ;  they  shall  appoint  their 
respective  presidents,  who  shall  preside  at  all  their  sessions  and  shall  vote 
on  all  questions ;  they  shall  settle  their  rules  of  proceedings,  appoint  their 
own  officers,  regulate  their  respective  fees,  and  remove  them  at  pleasure ; 
they  shall  judge  of  the  elections,  returns,  and  qualifications  of  their  own 
members,  and  may,  with  the  concurrence  of  thiee-fourths  of  the  whole, 
expel  any  member  for  disorderly  behavior  or  malconduct  in  office,  but 
not  a  second  time  for  the  same  cause  ;  they  shall  keep  a  journal  of  their 
proceedings,  and  enter  the  yeas  and  nays  on  any  question,  resolve,  or 
ordinance,  at  the  request  of  any  member,  and  their  deliberations  shall 
be  public;  they  shall  ascertain  by  ordinance  the  compensation  of  their 
services,  which  shall  not  be  increased  during  their  continuance  in  office. 
The  Second  Branch  of  the  City  Council  shall  nominate  two  citizens  to 
each  office  which  may  arise  under  this  act  and  the  ordinances  of  said 
corporation,  and  the  mayor  shall  appoint  and  commission  one  of  said 
nomination  to  fill  the  respective  offices  during  pleasure;  and  the  said 
mayor  shall  appoint  proper  persons  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  during  the 
recess  of  the  session,  to  hold  such  appointment  until  the  ensuing  session ; 
the  City  Council  shall  settle  the  salary  of  the  firet  mayor  at  their  first 
session  of  the  second  year,  and  the  Siilary  of  the  succeeding  mayors  shall 
be  settled  previously  to  their  appointment;  all  ordinances  or  acts  passed 
by  the  City  Council  shall  be  sent  to  the  mayor  for  his  approbation,  and 
when  approved  by  him  shall  become  a  law,  and  shall  then  be  obligatory 
upon  the  several  courts  and  justices  of  the  peace  of  Baltimore  County, 
sheriff"  and  constables  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  all 
other  pei-sous  within  the  limits  of  the  said  city,  to  every  intent  and  pur- 
pose as  the  acts  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Maryland,  provided  the 
said  laws  or  ordinances  shall  not  contain  anything  repugnant  to  the 
constitution  or  laws  of  this  State  or  the  United  States ;  but  if  the  said 
mayor  shall  not  approvo  of  such  ordinances  or  acts,  he  shall  return  the 
same  within  five  days,  with  his  reasons  in  writing  therefor,  and  if  three- 
fourths  of  both  branches  of  the  City  Council,  on  reconsideration  thereof, 
approve  of  the  ordinance  or  law,  it  shall  then  be  an  ordinance  or  law  to 
all  intents  and  purposes;  and  if  any  ordinance  or  law  shall  not  be  re- 
turned by  the  mayor  within  five  days  after  it  shall  have  been  presented 
to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  approved  it, 
unless  the  City  Council  by  their  adjournment  prevent  its  return."  By 
the  ninth  section  the  corporation  was  empowered  to  enact  aud  pass  all 
laws  and  oidinances  necessary  to  preserve  tlie  health  of  the  city  ;  prevent 
and  remove  nuisances;  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  contagious  dis- 
eases within  the  city  and  within  three  miles  of  the  same ;  to  establish 
night-watches  and  patrols  and  to  erect  lamps ;  to  provide  for  a  general 
survey  of  the  city  and  precincts;  to  ascertain,  when  necessary,  the 
boundaries  and  location  of  streets,  lots,  lanes,  and  alleys  thereof;  to 
establish  new  streets,  lanes,  and  alleys,  with  the  consent  of  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  ground,  and  to  alter  and  to  straighten  streets,  lanes,  and  alleys, 
with  the  cousent  of  the  proprietors  of  the  lots  or  houses  adjoining  such 
streets,  lanes,  and  alleys;  to  provide  for  the  preservation  of  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  basin  and  Patapsco  River  within  the  limits  of  ilie  city  of 
Baltimore  and  four  miles  thereof;  for  cleaning  and  deepening  the  basin 
and  docks,  aud  for  regulating  the  station,  anchoring  and  mooring  of 
vessels ;  but  no  tax,  direct  or  indirect,  shall  be  laid  on  that  part  of  Balti- 
more called  Deptford  Hundred  (Fell's  Point)  for  the  preservation  of  the 
navigation  of  the  basin,  or  for  cleaning  or  deepening  the  basin  or  docks 
therein;  to  provide  for  licensing  and  regulating  auctions  and  pawn- 
brokers within  the  city  and  precincts  thereof;  to  restrain  or  prohibit 
gaming,  and  to  providefor  licensing,  regulating,  or  restraining  theatrical 
or  other  public  amusements  within  the  city  or  precincts;  to  erect  and 
repair  bridges;  to  pave  and  keep  in  repair  all  necessary  drains  and 
sewers,  and  to  pass  all  regulations  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the 
same;  to  establish  and  regulate  inspections  within  the  city,  subject  to 
the  future  acts  of  the  General  Assembly  ;  to  regulate  and  fix  the  assize 
of  bread;  to  provide  for  thesafe-keeping and  preservation  of  thestandard 
of  weights  aud  measures  fixed  by  Congress,  and  for  the  regulating 
thereby  all  weights  and  measures  used  within  the  city  or  precincts ;  to 
regulate  party  walls  and  partition  fences ;  to  erect  and  regulate  markets ; 
to  provide  for  licensing  and  regulating  (with  the  consent  of  the  Mary- 
land Fire  Insurance  Company)  the  sweeping  of  chimneys  and  fixing  the 
rates  thereof  within  the  city  or  precincts,  aud  for  regulating  the  sweep- 


HISTORY   OP   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ing  of  any  cliimney  by  the  neglect  of  which  the  safety  of  the  city  may 
be  endangered,  and  to  ascertain  the  width  of  those  to  be  built  in  the 
city;  to  establish  and  regulate  lire  wards  and  fire  companies;  to  regu- 
late and  establish  the  size  of  bricks  that  are  to  be  used  in  the  houses  to 
be  built  in  the  city;  to  erect  and  regulate  pumps  iu  the  streets,  lanes, 
and  alleys;  to  impose  and  appropriate  fines, penalties, and  forfeitures  for 
the  breach  of  their  by-laws  or  ordinances;  to  lay  and  collect  taxes  not 
exceeding  two  dollars  in  the  hundred  pounds  in  any  one  year,  except  as 
before  is  excepted ;  to  enact  by-laws  for  the  prevention  and  extinguish- 
ment of  fires;  and  to  pass  all  ordinances  necessary  to  give  effect  and 
operation  to  all  the  powers  vested  in  the  corporation  of  the  city  of  Balti- 
more, provided  that  the  by-laws  or  ordinances  of  the  said  corporation 
shall  be  in  no  wise  obligatory  upon  the  persons  of  non-residents  of  the 
said  town,  being  citizens  of  tliis  State,  unless  in  cases  of  intentional  vio- 
lation of  by-laws  or  ordinances  previously  promulgated ;  all  the  fines, 
penalties,  and  foi-feitures  imposed  by  the  ordinances  of  the  corporation 
of  Baltimore,  if  not  exceeding  twenty  dollars,  shall  be  recovered  before 
a  single  magistrate,  as  small  debts  are  by  law  recoverable,  and  if  such 
fines,  penalties. and  forfeitures  do  exceed  the  sum  of  twenty  dollars,  then 
to  be  recovered  by  action  of  debt  in  Baltimore  County  court,  in  the  name 
of  the  corpoi-atiou  and  for  the  use  of  the  city  of  Baltimore."' 

Section  10  enacted 

"  that  the  powere  and  authority  vested  in  the  town  coumiissioners, 
special  commissionere,  and  port-wardens,  heretofore  appointed  by  law 
for  Baltimore  Town,  except  the  authority  of  the  town  commissioners 
to  hold  elections  agreeably  to  the  constitution  and  f..rni  of  government, 
shall  cease  and  determine  as  soon  as  this  act  eliall  ho  in  force  and  opera- 
tion ;•-  and  the  corporation  of  the  city  of  Bnltimoi  e  are  hereby  declared 
to  possess  and  may  provide  for  the  exercise  of  all  powers  and  authorities 
now  vested  in  the  said  town  commissioners,  special  commissioners,  and 
port-wardens,  except  the  holding  of  elections  for  delegates  iu  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly ;  but  no  rights  acquired  under  the  acts  of  the  aforesaid 
board  shall  be  annulled,  impaired,  avoided,  or  restrained  by  any  act  of 
the  said  corporation;  and  immediately  upon  the  operation  of  this  act, 
and  organization  of  tlie  corporation  contemplated  thereby,  the  records, 
papers,  proceedings,  moneys,  accounts,  and  all  other  matters  and  things 
appertaining  to  the  said  commissioners  of  Baltimore,  special  commis. 
sioners,  and  port-wardens,  sliall  be  lodged  and  deposited  with  such 
per-soD  or  persons  as  shall  be  appointed  by  the  mayor  and  corporation  of 
the  city  to  receive  the  same,  and  all  acts  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State 
of  Maryland  now  in  force  shall  continue  and  remain  in  force,  but  the 
powers  and  authorities  thereby  delegated  to  the  commissiouei-s  of  Balti. 
more  Town,  special  commissioners,  and  port-wardens,  or  any  other  tri- 
bunal or  persons,  touching  the  police  of  Baltimore  Town  or  any  of  its 
internal  concerns,  shall  be  and  they  are  hereby  transferred  and  vested 
in  the  corporatiou  hereby  constituted,  and  the  said  corporation  are  hereby 
empowered  to  act  under  such  laws  in  the  same  manner  and  as  fully  as  if 
the  said  corporatiou  had  been  particularly  named  in  such  laws;  the 
mayor  shall,  in  virtue  of  his  office,  have  and  exercise  all  the  jurisdiction 
and  powers  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  except  as  to  the  recovery  of  small 
debts,  and  may  call  upon  any  officer  of  the  city  intrusted  with  the  receipt 
and  expenditui-e  of  public  money  for  a  statement  of  his  accounts  as  often 
as  he  or  the  corporation  may  conceive  it  necessary ;  he  shall  see  that  the 
ordinances  are  duly  and  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  report  annually 
to  the  corporatiou  during  the  first  five  days  of  their  session  a  general 
state  of  the  city,  with  an  accurate  account  of  the  money  received  and 
expended,  to  be  published  for  the  information  of  the  citizens." 

It  was  further  enacted  by  Section  11  that  all  the 
powere  granted  to  the  said  corporation  should  ex- 
tend 

"to  Deep  Point,  and  to  all  wharves  and  other  grounds  heretofore  made 
and  extended  into  the  basin  of  Baltimore  Town,  or  which  shall  hereafter 
be  made  or  extended  into  the  same,  which  shall  bo  considered  and  taken 


1  Several  additional  powers  were  given  by  the  act  of  1797,  ch.  54 ;  and 
by  the  act  of  1797,  ch.  75,  the  mayor,  with  any  two  justices  of  the  peace, 
was  authorized  to  arrest  and  imprison  "any  French  slave"  who  should 
be  dangerous  to  the  city,  and  send  such  slave  to  the  West  Indies. 

2  This  part  of  the  constitution  was  altered  by  1797,  ch.  57  (confirmed 
by  1798,  ch.  2),  which  appointed  other  judges.  By  1798,  ch.  3,  judges  were 
appointed  for  elections  of  representatives  in  Congress,  and  of  electoi-s  of 
the  President  and  Vice-President.  By  1790,  ch.  50,  sec.  10,  the  judges 
of  the  elections  for  the  First  Brani:h  of  the  City  Council  were  to  be  judges 


of  the 


imdssioners  had  1 


as  part  of  the  said  city."  By  the  last  section  it  was  provided  that  the  act 
should  continue  in  force  until  "  the  first  day  of  September,  1798,  and  the 
end  of  the  next  session  of  Assembly  which  shall  happen  thereafter,"  and 
by  the  act  of  1797,  ch.  54,  the  charter  was  made  perpetual. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  act  of  incorporation 
was  to  a  certain  extent  an  experiment,  and  was  only 
confirmed  after  it  had  been  .subjected  to  practical  trial. 
The  citizens  of  the  Point  do  not  appear  to  have  been 
over  well  pleased  with  the  incorporation  of  the  town, 
and  it  required  all  the  influence  of  Messrs.  McMechin, 
McHenry,  Robert  Smith,  and  Winchester,  Baltimore's 
representatives  in  the  General  Assembly,  to  reconcile 
them  to  the  charter;  and  in  order  to  conciliate  them 
the  provision  was  introduced  exempting  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Deptford  Hundred  from  any  tax  for  deepen- 
ing the  upper  harbor  or  basin.  On  the  oth  of  Janu- 
ary, 1797,  Messrs.  John  Strieker,  Philip  Rogers, 
Emanuel  Kent,  Alexander  McKim,  James  Calhoun, 
and  James  Stodder  were  appointed  special  commis- 
sioners by  the  Governor  and  Council  to  divide  Balti- 
more into  eight  wards,  in  accordance  with  the  act, 
and  on  the  9th  they  announced  that  they  had  made 
and  "do  declare  the  following  divi.^iinii  of  the  said 
city :" 

"  The  First  Ward  to  comprise  all  that  |iart  of  the  city  of  Baltimore 
to  the  westward  of  Hanover  Street  and  McClellan's  Alley,  including  the 
west  side  of  said  street  and  alley,  and  all  the  west  side  of  Charles  Street 
north  of  the  place  where  said  alley  intersects  it.  Second  Ward:  the 
east  side  of  Hanover  Street  and  McClellan's  Alley  to  the  west  side  of 
Light  Street  and  St.  Paul's  Lane,  inclnsive.  The  Third  Ward:  theeaat 
side  of  Light  Street  and  St.  Paul's  Lane  to  the  west  side  of  Calvert  Stleet, 
inclusive.  The  Fourth  Ward :  the  east  side  of  Calvert  Street  to  the  west 
side  of  South  Street  and  North  Lane,  inclusive.  The  Fifth  Ward;  the 
east  side  of  South  Street  and  North  Lane  to  the  west  side  of  Gay  Street, 
inclusive.  The  Sixth  Ward  :  the  east  side  of  Gay  Street  to  Jones'  Falls, 
inclusive.  The  Seventh  Ward :  the  east  side  of  Jones'  Falls  and  the 
north  side  of  Wilkes  Street,  inclusive.  The  Eighth  Ward :  all  that  part 
of  Fell's  Point  to  the  southward  of  Wilkes  Street,  including  the  south 
side  of  said  street."  On  the  14th  of  January  the  special  commissioners 
appointed  the  following  persons  judges  "  to  hold  an  election  for  the 
choice  of  the  members  of  the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Council,  and 
also  for  the  choice  of  electoi-s  of  the  mayor  of  the  city,  and  of  the 
members  of  the  Second  Branch  of  the  City  Council";  First  Ward,  Ellas 
Ellicott,  John  P.  Pleasants,  and  George  Decker;  Second  Ward,  Lyde 
Goodwin,  Samuel  Owings,  and  Christian  Keener;  Third  Ward,  Zebulon 
Hollingsworth,  John  Swan,  and  John  Merryman;  Fourth  Ward,  George 
Salmon.  Henry  Nicolls,  and  Samuel  Hollingsworth;  Fifth  Ward,  Thoro- 
good  Smith,  Archibald  Campbell,  and  Gerard  Hopkins:  Sixth  Ward, 
George  Presbury,  Richard  Carson,  Jr.,  and  Engelhard  Teiser;  Seventh 
Ward,  Richard  Caton,  Christian  Myers,  and  David  Brown  ;  Eighth  Ward, 
Job  Smith,  Joseph  Biays,  and  Hezekiah  Waters. 

By  the  fourth  section  of  the  act  of  incorporation  it 
was  provided  "  that  the  first  election  for  members  of 
the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Council  should  be  held 
on  the  third  Monday  in  February,  1797,"  and  by  the 
seventh  section  it  was  enacted  "  that  each  ward,  at  the 
time  and  place  of  electing  the  First  Branch  of  the 
City  Council,  should  elect,  viva  voce,  one  person 
qualified  to  be  a  member  of  the  First  Branch  as  elector 
of  the  mayor,  and  of  the  members  of  the  Second  Branch 
of  the  City  Council  on  the  third  Monday  in  Jamtary 
next,"  who  were  directed  to  meet  at  the  court-house 
OH  the  third  Monday  in  February  and  "  elect  by  ballot 
a  mayor  and  eight  members  of  the  Second  Branch." 

Tlie  time  of  holding  the  election  for  members  ot 


MUNICIPAL   GOVERNMENT   OF   BALTIMORE. 


173 


the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Council  being  fixed  for 
the  third  Monday  in  February,  and  tlie  time  for 
choosing  electors  of  the  mayor  and  Second  Branch 
being  fixed  for  the  third  Monday  in  January,  some 
difficulty  was  experienced  in  following  the  directions 
of  the  seventh  section  and  choosing  the  electors  of 
mayor  and  the  Second  Branch  at  the  time  of  electing 
members  of  the  First  Branch.  In  order  to  reconcile 
these  conflicting  instructions  and  to  follow  the  law  as 
closely  as  possible,  it  was  determined  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem by  holding  two  elections,  the  first  of  which  occurred 
on  the  16th  of  January,  1797,  and  the  second  on  the 
20th  of  February  following.  There  appears  to  have 
been  no  opposition  ticket  in  the  field,  and  the  election 
of  January  16th  resulted  in  the  selection  of  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen  as  members  of  the  First  Branch 
and  electors  of  the  mayor  and  members  of  the  Second 
Branch : 


,  James  Carey,  Ephn 


First  Ward.— Cou 
George  Reinecker. 

.  Second  Ward. — Dr.  George  Buchanan,  Samuel  Owings.    Elector,  Wil- 
liam Gibson. 

Third  Ward. — Zebulon  Hoilingsworth,  James  McCannon.  Elector, 
Jesse  Hoilingsworth. 

Fourth  Wurrf.— Hercules  Courtenay,  William  Wilson.  Elector,  Jere- 
miah Yellott. 

Fifth  Ward. — Thomas  Hoilingsworth,  Adam  Fonerdeu.  Elector,  Philip 
Rogers. 

Sixth  Wart!.— Jamos  A.  Buchanan,  Peter  Frick.  Elector,  Englehard 
Teiser. 

Sermth    Ward. — Joseph     Edwards,     David     Brown.       Elector,    John 

EiglUh  Ward.— Joseph  Biays,  William  Trimble.  Elector,  John  Coulter. 

On  the  20th  of  February  the  electors  chosen  on 
the  16th  of  January  met,  and  elected  James  Calhoun 
mayor;  and  Wm.  Goodwin,  Nicholas  Rogers,  John 
Merryman,  Henry  NicoUs,  Robt.  Gilmor,  David 
Stewart,  Edward  Johnson,  Jr.,  and  Job  Smith  as 
members  of  the  Second  Branch  of  the  City  Council ; 
and  on  the  same  day,  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure, 
the  citizens  of  the  several  ward.s  again  assembled  at 
the  various  polling-places  and  voted  for  members  of 
the  First  Branch,  with  the  following  result : 

First  Ward,  James  Carey  and  Bphraim  Robinson;  Second  Ward,  Dr. 
George  Buchanan  and  Samuel  Owiugs ;  Third  Ward,  Zebulon  Hoilings- 
worth and  James  McCannon ;  Fourth  Ward,  Hercules  Courtenay  aud 
David  McMecheu ;  Fifth  Ward,  Thomas  Hoilingsworth  aud  Adam 
Fonerden  ;  Sixth  Ward,  James  A.  Buchanan  and  Peter  Frick;  Seventh 
Ward,  James  Edwards  and  Frederick  Schaetfer  ;  Eighth  Ward,  Joseph 
Biays  and  William  Trimble. 

The  corporation  having  been  thus  formally  organ- 
ized, the  mayor  called  the  City  Council  together  at 
the  court-house  on  the  27th  of  February,  "  to  delib- 
erate on  such  matters,  and  to  enact  such  laws  and  or- 
dinances, agreeably  to  said  act  of  incorporation,  as 
may  appear  to  them  right  and  proper."  The  City 
Council  assembled  at  the  appointed  time,^  and  or- 
ganized by  the  election  of  Hercules  Courtenay  as 
president  of  the   First  Branch,  and  John  Merryman 

1  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  mayor  and  City  Council  was  to  address  a 
letter  to  Gen.  Washington  expressing  their  regret  at  his  retirement  from 
public  life,  to  which  he  responded  in  appropriate  terms. 


as  president  of  the  Second  Branch.  Thomas  Kell 
was  clerk  of  the  First  Branch,  and  Thomas  Roberts, 
messenger ;  L.  H.  Moale,  clerk  of  the  Second  Branch, 
and  Benjamin  Mason,  messenger.  The  first  ordinance, 
which  was  approved  on  the  6th  of  March,  1797,  pro- 
vided "  that  the  several  clerks  of  the  markets,  the 
weighers,  wood-corders,  harbor-master,  inspector  of 
flour  and  of  salted  provisions,  be  and  are  hereby  con- 
tinued in  the  exercise  of  the  powers  heretofore  granted 
to  them  by  the  commissioners  of  Baltimore  Town  and 
the  port-wardens  until  the  corporation  shall  provide 
for  the  same."  -  On  the  17th  of  March  an  ordinance 
was  passed  authorizing  Richard  H.  Moale  to  receive 
the  records,  papers,  proceedings,  and  accounts  of  the 
commissioners  of  Baltimore  Town,  special  commis- 
sioners and  port-wardens,  and  to  keep  them  until  the 
corporation  should  make  further  provision  with  re- 
gard to  them.  By  the  same  ordinance  William  Gib- 
son was  appointed  to  receive  all  the  moneys  in  the 
hands  of  the  commissioners  of  Baltimore  Town,  spe- 
cial commissioners  and  port-wardens,  and  to  give 
bond  and  security  for  the  faithful  performance  of  his 
duty.  By  ordinance  approved  March  20th  a  corpo- 
rate seal  was  adopted.'  On  the  27th  of  March  an  or- 
dinance was  approved  by  the  mayor  establishing  a 
register  and  treasury  department,  and  on  the  10th  of 
April  an  ordinance  appointing  city  commissioners 
received  the  executive  sanction.  Municipal  honors, 
however,  were  soon  discovered  to  be  costly  affairs, 
and  it  was  found  necessary  to  provide  funds  to  defray 
the  current  expenses  of  the  new-born  city.  In  order 
to  do  this  without  the  imposition  of  additional  taxa- 
tion, under  which  the  "  citizens"  would  probably 
j  have  grown  restive,  the  mayor  on  the  24th  of  April 
I  approved  an  ordinance  "to  prepare  a  scheme  of  lot- 
:  tery  to  raise  a  sum  of  money  for  the  use  of  the  city  of 
Baltimore."  Four  thousand  tickets  were  to  be  issued 
at  five  dollars  each,  and  $40,920  were  to  be  distributed 
in  prizes,  leaving  $9080  to  be  raised  for  the  benefit  of 
I  the  city.  William  McCreery,  Dr.  George  Buchanan, 
and  Richard  Carson,  Jr.,  were  appointed  commission- 
ers under  the  ordinance  "to  carry  the  scheme  into 
I  effect,"  *  and  were  directed,  after  deducting  a  "  com- 
j  mission  of  five  per  centum  on  the  amount  of  all  tickets 
!  by  them  sold  as  a  compensation  for  their  trouble,  and 
to  discharge  the  expenses  of  the  lottery,  to  pay  the 


2  The  wood-corders  in  1797  were  John  Gutho,  First  District;  Charles 
Merriken,  Second  District ;  Samuel  James,  Third ;  and  Peter  Weary, 
Fourth  District.  Lanvaie  Bari-y  was  clerk  of  the  Hanover  Market; 
James  Long,  clerk  of  the  Centre  Market ;  and  John  Weir,  clerk  of  Point 
Market. 

3  It  was  subsequently  enacted  that  "the  seal  heretofore  provided  and 
used,  the  impression  on  which  is  a  representation  of  the  Battle  Monu- 
ment, is  hereby  established  and  declared  to  have  been  and  now  to  be  the 
seal  of  the  Mayor  and  City  Council  of  Baltimore."  The  first  seal  was 
oval,  and  of  the  same  size  as  that  now  in  use.  A  female  figure  represent- 
ing the  Goddess  of  Liberty  formed  the  centre ;  in  her  right  hand  she  held 
a  balance,  the  symbol  of  justice,  and  in  her  left  a  spear  surmounted  by  a 
cap,  the  emblem  of  liberty ;  at  her  feet  lay  a  figure  representing  tyranny. 
The  central  figure  was  surmounted  by  the  historic  thu-tcen  stars  and  the 
words  "City  of  Baltimore,  1797." 

*  A  similar  ordinance  was  passed  in  March  of  the  following  year. 


174 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


and  all  otlier 


balance  to  the  treasurer  of  the  city."  On  the  29th 
of  April,  1797,  an  ordinance  was  approved  establish- 
ing "the  salary  and  compensation  of  the  ofiicers  of 
the  city  of  Baltimore,"  which,  after  recognizing  the 
fact  that  "  those  who  dedicate  their  time,  abilities,  and 
labor  to  the  public  ought  to  receive  a  reasonable  com- 
pensation for  their  services,"  provided  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  following  salaries  to  the  various  munici- 
pal officials : 

"To  the  register  of  the  city,  inclutling  stati 
pauses,  twelve  hundred  dollars;  to  the  treasur 
half  per  centum  for  receiving,  and  one-half  per  centum  for  paying,  all 
public  moneys ;  to  the  city  commissioners,  each  four  hundred  dollars  ;  to 
the  harbor-master,  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars;  to  the  superintendent 
of  the  machine  for  cleaning  the  basin,  six  hundred  and  fifty-six  dollars 
and  sixty-seven  cents;  to  the  clerk  of  the  Centre  Market,  one  hundred 
and  sixty  dollars;  tcj  tbi-  clirk  of  the  Hanover  Market,  eighty  dollars; 
totbeclerk.i  ili  I  im  M  u  l..t.  one  hundred  dollars ;  to  the  clerks  of 
the  First  :i II  I  ~            I  .. I  the  City  Council,  Ave  dollars  per  diem 

for  each  flii\  <: --  In  the  messengersof  the  First  and  Second 

Branches  ot  111    '  :ii  ■  1  m.' dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  diem  for  each 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1798,  the  Legislature  passed 
an  act  providing  for  a  general  assessment  of  real 
and  personal  property  throughout  the  State,  and  five 
"sensible,  discreet,  and  experienced"  persons,  to  be 
known  as  commissioners  of  the  tax,  were  appointed  in 
each  county  and  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  to  carry 
out  its  provisions.  The  commissioners  for  the  city  of 
Baltimore  were  William  Goodwin,  Sr.,  Thomas  El- 
liott, Nicholas  Rogers,  George  Salmon,  and  Peter 
Sharpe;  those  for  Baltimore  County  were  Charles 
Carman,  William  McKubbin,  Zachariah  McKubbin, 
William  Gwinn,  and  Francis  Snowden.'  The  com- 
missioners were  directed  to  value  all  the  property 
lying  in  the  precincts  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  "  in 
the  same  manner  and  by  the  same  rules  as  the  prop- 
erty in  said  county,"  and  to  make  the  return  of  such 
valuation  to  the  commissioners  of  the  county,  and  not 
of  the  city.  Under  this  assessment  the  value  of  the 
property  of  the  city  subject  to  taxation  was  returned 
as  £699,519  9s.  2rf.^ 

In  1802  an  ordinance  was  passed  (approved  March 
29th)  "  for  the  more  equal  division  of  the  city  of 
Baltimore  into  wards,"  by  which  the  wards  were  es- 
tablished as  follows : 

it  pat  t  of  the  city  westward  of 


1  During  the  first  year  the  mayor  received  two  thousand  two  hundred 
dollars,  and  during  the  second  year  two  thousand  four  hundred  dollars. 
Subsequently  his  salary  was  fixed  at  two  thousand  dollars  per  annum. 
In  1871  it  was  increased  to  five  tliunsand  dollars.  The  members  of  the  City 
Council  originally  received  no  couipeusation,  the  office  being  considered 
an  honorary  one,  but  they  were  subsequently  paid  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  a  day  for  every  day  of  actual  service,  which  was  afterwards  raised 
to  five  dollars  per  day.  In  lu'l  the  compensation  was  increased  to  one 
thousand  doIlalH  \n-r  iiiniinn. 

2  The  tax  ,1-  -     -I  -  l"i    I '..1 11  IN 1  11  \ ,  ,1]  [iNiiii-il  liV  tlie  commissioners, 


s.racu 


precincts,  con- 


of  18,011  persons  during  the  previous  ton  years.     I)y  the  census  of  1810, 
Baltimore  and  its  precincts  contained  46,355  inhabitants,  of  whiijh  4672 


"  The  Second  Ward  to  comprise  all  that  part  of  the  city  from  the  limits 
aforesaid  eastward  to  Charles  Street  till  it  intersects  Pratt  Street,  thence 
down  Pratt  Street  to  the  basin,  thence  with  the  meanders  of  the  basin 
southwardly  and  westwardly  with  the  limits  of  the  city  to  Sharp  Street. 

"  The  Third  Ward  to  comprise  all  that  part  of  the  city  from  the  limits 
last  aforesaid  as  follows:  to  commence  at  the  intersection  of  Charles 
Street  and  Pratt  Street,  and  thence  down  Pratt  Street  to  the  basin,  thence 
with  the  meanders  of  the  basin  to  Calvert  Street,  thence  with  Calvert 
Street  to  Lovely  Lane,  thence  with  Lovely  Lane  to  South  Street,  thence 
with  South  Street  to  Baltimore  Street,  thence  across  Baltimore  Street  to 
North  Lane,  thence  with  North  Lane  to  the  limits  of  the  city,  and  thence 
with  the  limits  of  the  city  to  Charles  Street. 

"  The  Tourth  Ward  to  comprise  all  that  part  of  the  city  from  the  limits 
last  aforesaid,  beginning  at  Calvert  Street  dock,  thence  with  the  mean- 
ders of  the  basin  to  Smith's  dock,  thence  across  Pratt  Street  to  Spear's 
Alley,  thence  with  Spear's  Alley  to  Water  Street,  thence  along  Water 
Street  westward  to  Exchange  Alley,  thence  with  Exchange  Alley  to 
Second  Street,  thence  across  Second  Street  to  Tiipolet's  Alley,  thence 
with  Tripolet's  Alley  to  Baltimore  Street,  thence  with  Baltimore  Street 
to  Gay  Street,  thence  with  Gay  Street  to  Jones'  Falls,  and  thence  with 
Jones'  Falls  and  the  limits  of  the  city  to  North  Lane. 

"  The  Fifth  Ward  to  comprise  all  that  part  of  the  city  from  the  limits 
last  aforesaid,  beginning  at  Smith's  dock,  and  running  thence  with  the 
niean.leis  uf  llie   ImsIii   t.i   JlcEldery's  dock,  thence  with  McEldery's 

il.i.  1.  nil  I  II nil.    Mil  1.1  I  Sinice  to  Baltimore  street,  thence  crossing 

l;,ii  ,  ii,  ii.-.t,  thence  with  Harrison  Street  to  Gay 

■  In,  MMli  \run  1    .    ill!  11-  all  that  part  of  the  city  from  the  limits 

last  afuiesaid,  liciiiiiniuK  m  McEldery's  dock,  and  running  thence  with 
the  meanders  of  the  basin  to  Jones'  Falls,  thence  with  Jones'  Falls  to 
Philpot's  bridge,  thence  crossing  Jones'  Falls  and  running  along  Balti- 
more Street  extended  and  York  Street  to  Harford  Street,  and  thence 
crossing  Harford  Street  and  continuing  along  Dulaney  Street  eastward 
to  the  limits  of  the  city,  and  thence  with  the  limits  of  the  city  to  Jones' 
Falls,  thence  with  the  said  Falls  to  Gay  Street. 
"  The  Seventh  Ward  to  comprise  all  that  part  of  the  city  from  the 
I   limits  last  aforesaid,  beginning  at  Philpot's  bridge,  and  running  thence 
I   with  the  Falls  to  the  basiu,  thence  with  the  meanders  of  the  basin  to 
Alliceana  Street,  thence  with  Alliceana  Street  to  the  limits  of  the  city, 
and  thence  with  the  limits  of  the  city  to  Dulaney  Street. 

"  The  Eighth  Ward  to  comprise  all  the  rest  of  the  city  to  the  south  of 
Alliceana  Street  to  the  limits  thereof.''* 

The  first  meeting  of  the  City  Council,  as  has  been 
said,  was  held  at  the  court-house,  but  it  was  soon 
found  necessary  to  seek  accommodations  elsewhere. 
Rooms  were  accordingly  rented  from  James  Long, 
clerk  of  the  Centre  Market,  whose  house  was  situated 
at  No.  1  Front  Street,  in  convenient  proximity  to  his 
place  of  business.'' 

It  is  probable  that  the  first  and  second  sessions  were 
held  at  the  court-house,  and  that  Mr.  Long's  house 
was  first  occupied  in  1799,  for  under  that  date  we  are 
informed  that  "the  corporation  of  Baltimore  com- 
menced their  third  session  at  the  house  of  Mr.  James 
Long."  Here  the  City  Council  continued  to  meet 
until  May,  1801,  when  an  ordinance  was  passed  al- 
lowing "  James  Long,  for  the  occupation  of  his  house 
by  the  City  Council  to  the  1st  of  May,  1801,  the  sum 
of  two  hundred  dollars." 

This  would  seem  to  have  been  intended  as  a  final 
settlement  with  Long,  as  by  ordinance  passed  in  the 
previous  March  (approved  March  7th)  the  City  Coun- 
cil had  appointed  Zebulon  Hollingsworth,  Nicholas 

<  In  181'2  Baltimore  and  its  precincts  (the  suburbs)  contained  nearly 
fifty  thousand  people.  There  were  five  daily  papers  published  in  the  city, 
not  one  belonging  to  a  n.itive,  and  only  one  edited  by  a  Marylandor. 

!•  The  residence  of  the  mayor,  Mr.  Calhoun,  was  at  the  corner  of  Bal- 
timore and  South  Lane  (now  South  Street),  where  it  is  likely  he  dis- 
cliarged  the  greater  pai-t  of  his  official  duties. 


MUNICIPAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  BALTIMORE; 


175 


Hogers,  Eichard  l^awson,  Elias  EUi«®Wt,  and  James  ■ 
McCannen  <»B»Biissioners  to  purchase  a  lot  of  ground  ! 
and  erect  a  tasty  hall,  and  had  empowered  them  "  to 
procure  farthwith  a  suitabJe  homse  tfor  the  accommo- 
dation of  ih&  City  Council,  and  frar  the  office  of  the 
mayor  and  iregister,  until  the  said  city  hall  shall  be  | 
.completed."     By  a  subseqment  ordinance,  passed  on 
the  -Ith  of  March,  1802,  the  .commissioners  were  di-  i 
rected  to  suspend  proceedings  with  reference  to  the  i 
.erection  «f  the  city  hall,  and  on  the  17th  of  March, 
1806,  itlie  (Ordinance  authorizing  its  erection  was  ab- 
solutely repealed.     It  appears,  however,  from  a  proc- 
lamation of  Mayor  Calhoun  on  the  24th  of  September, 
1801,  that  rooms  had  been  secured  at  the  buildings  I 
belonging  to  the  Majyland  Insurance  Company  on 
.South  .Street,  where  tlie  Cooaucil  was  called  to  con-  | 
vene,  and  where  it  is  probable  it  continued  to  meet  | 
for  a  matuber  of  years.      In  1812  a  building  at  the 
.cojner  of  HoUiday  Street  and  Orange  Alley,  with 
some  a(^acent  lots,  was  purcliased  for  municipal  pur- 
poses, hut  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  used  by  the 
idity  Council.     On  the  4th  of  December,  1817,  resolu- 
tions were  passed  by  the  City  Council  authorizing 
the  mayor,  the  presidents  of  the  two  branches  of  the 
City  Council,  and   Messrs.  John   Hollins,  John   C. 
White,  Jajjues  Mosher,  and  James  AVilson  to  purchase 
for  the  aeeoramodation  of  the  City  Council  and  the 
•officers  of  the  city  the  lot  and  buildings  fronting  upon 
East  Fayette  and  Holliday  Streets,  belonging  to  the 
proprietors  of  the  Baltimore  Dancing  Assembly,  pay- 
able in  stock  to  be  issued  for  that  purpose,  bearing 
six  per  cent,  interest,  provided  the  purchase  could  be 
effected  on  reasonable  terms.    The  purchase,  however, 
was  not  effected,  and  on  the  11th  of  February,  1820, 
a  resolution  was  passed  by  the  City  Council  directing 
the  mayor  and  the  presidents  of  the  two  branches  to 
"have  the  house  on  Holliday  Street  owned  by  the 
city  examined,  and  if  in  their  opinion  it  can  be  made 
to  afford  convenient  accommodations  for  the  mayor's  , 
office,  the  sessions  of  the  Council,  and  other  requisite  ' 
offices,"  that  they  should  "  communicate  the  same  to  ' 
the  City  Council,  together  with  an  estimate  of  the  [ 
probable  expense  of  the  necessary  alterations  for  the  • 
above  purposes;"  and  if  "found  impracticable,"  that  ! 
they  should  "ascertain  whether  any  other  suitable 
house  can  be  obtained,  and  on  what  terms."     The  1 
house  on  Holliday  Street  was  probably  found  to  be 
unsuitable  for  the  purpose,  and  on  the  9th  of  the  fol- 
lowing March  (1820)  a  resolution  was  passed  request- 
ing the  mayor  "  to  ascertain  during  the  present  year 
from   the   Baltimore    Exchange   Company   the   best 
terms  on  which  they  will  agree  to  furnish  suitable 
accommodations  for  the  city  authorities  in  their  build-  ; 
ings;    also  the  best   terms  on  which  the  Maryland 
Insurance  Company  will   dispose   of  their  property 
situated  on  South  Street,  and  further,  the  expense  of 
erecting  suitable  accommodations  on  the  city  lot  situ- 
ated on  Holliday  Street,  and  report  the  same  to  the 
City  Council  at  their  next  session."     The  municipal 


departments  were  probably  ftt  this  time  occupying 
rooms  in  the  building  of  the  Maryland  Insurance 
Company.  On  the  29th  of  March,  1821,  the  mayor 
by  resolution  was  authorized  "  to  rent  the  whole  of 
the  premises  they  now  in  part  occupy,  belonging:  to 
the  Maryland  Insurance  Company,  at  the  annual  rent 
of  six  hundred  dollars."  On  the  20th  of  November 
in  the  same  year  a  resolution  was  adopted  diirectnng 
the  city  commissioners  "to  produce  to  *he  Council 
earJy  in  January  next  a  plan  of  a  building  suitable 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  different  branches  of 
the  city  government,  together  with  an  estimate  of  the 
cast  of  erecting  the  same  on  the  lot  owned  by  the 
eity  on  Holliday  Street  in  a  plain  and  substantial 


On  the  2(Jth  of  March,  1823,  a  resolution  was  ap- 
proved authorizing  the  mayor 

"rto  lease  from  th«  Baltimore  Exchange  Company  for  the  term  of  five 
years  the  whole  range  of  rooms  on  the  second  Door  of  tlie  west  side  of 
theExcliange  for  the  accommodHtion  of  the  First  and  Second  Branches  of 
the  City  Council,  two  rooms  in  the  said  Exchange  on  the  first  floor,  on 
the  entrance  from  Gay  Street,  for  the  mayor  anil  register,  and  as  many 
rooms  in  the  basement  story  as  will  be  necessary  for  the  other  oflicers 
of  the  corporation,  together  with  suitable  accommodations  for  necessa- 
liei,  not  to  exceed  eight  hundred  dollars  annually  for  the  whole." 

By  the  resolution  of  May  5th  following  the  mayor 
was  "  authorized  to  make  any  arrangement  with  the 
president  and  directors  of  the  Exchange  Company 
that  he  may  deem  advisable  for  the  better  accommo- 
dation of  the  Council  and  the  officers  of  the  corpora- 
tion," provided  the  expense  did  not  exceed  eight 
hundred  dollars  per  annum ;  and  by  subsequent  reso- 
lutions of  September  23d  and  October  31st  of  the  same 
year  authority  was  given  to  have  the  rooms  in  the 
Exchange  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  City 
Council  and  various  departments.  On  the  24th  of 
January,  1824,  "the  exchange  made  by  the  mayor 
and  the  presidents  of  the  First  and  Second  Branches 
of  the  City  Council  with  the  directors  of  the  Exchange 
Building,  whereby  the  Council  have  obtained  posses- 
sion of  the  range  of  rooms  on  the  east  side  in  the 
place  of  those  on  the  west  side,  on  the  second  floor  of 
said  building,"  was  approved  and  confirmed  by  a  reso- 
lution of  the  City  Council.  On  the  15th  of  February, 
1828,  the  mayor  was  "authorized  and  directed  to  con- 
tract with  the  Exchange  Company,  for  the  term  of 
two  years  from  the  month  of  October  next,  for  the 
rooms  now  occupied  by  the  corporation  in  the  Ex- 
change Building,  viz.,  the  rooms  occupied  by  the 
mayor,  the  register,  and  the  collector,  all  on  the  first 
floor;  the  rooms  occupied  by  the  First  and  Second 
Branches  of  the  City  Council,  and  the  rooms  occu- 
pied by  the  city  commissioners  and  Board  of  Health, 
all  on  the  second  floor,  with  the  vaults  in  the  base- 
ment attached  thereto,  at  an  annual  rent  not  exceed- 
ing one  thousand  dollars."  A  few  months  before  the 
expiration  of  the  lease,  on  the  24th  of  January,  1830, 
the  following  report  and  resolution  were  presented  in 
the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Council : 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


"The  joint  committee  to  whom  was  referred  tlie  expedienoy  of  renew- 
ing the  contract  with  the  Exclmnge  Company  for  tiie  rooma  at  present 
occupied  by  the  corporation,  wliich  will  expire  on  the  let  of  October, 
report  that  they  have  had  the  subject  under  consideration,  and  are 
unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  inexpedient  to  contiact  with  the 
Exchange  Company  on  the  terms  which  they  offer  the  corporation.  Your 
committee  would  briefly  state  the  terms  offered  at  which  they  would 
renew  the  contract  for  the  two  years  next  ensuing,  viz.:  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollars  per  annum,  which  is  an  advance  of  fifty  per  cent,  on  the 
present  annual  rent.  Your  committee  are  satisfied  that  it  is  not  tlie  in- 
terest of  the  corporation  to  assume  this  charge,  when  they  can  be  much 
more  conveniently  and  comfortably  accommodated  by  the  offer  of  the 
property  on  lloUiday  Street,  late  Peale's  Museum,  and  they  respectfully 
suggest  the  propriety  of  authorizing  the  purchase  thereof,  and  thereby 
saving  to  the  city  an  annual  income  of  nine  hundred  and  eighty-four 
dollars,  as  will  more  fully  appear  l»y  the  following  estimate:  the  lot  is 
fifty-one  feet  on  the  street,  by  a  depth  of  upwards  of  one  hundred  feet, 
on  which  the  building  proposed  to  be  purchased  stands,  subject  to  an 
annual  rent  to  John  McKim,  Jr.,  and  James  and  Charles  Wilson  of  three 
hundred  and  si.x  dollars,  with  the  privilege  of  purchasing  out  at  six  per 
cent,  the  right  of  property  from  the  lessee,  as  per  note  of  Reuben 

Peale $1G0U.00 

To  which  add  for  altering  and  repairing,  as  per  commissioner's  state- 
ment accompanying  this  report $110(J.OO 

The  necessary  papering,  painting,  and  furnishing 1300.00 

Interest  on  expenditure  at  five  per  cent.,  including  ground-rent,  will 

be 9506.00 

Which  at  one  view  will  show  the  saving  as  stated  in  a  part  of  this 

"Your  committee  unanimously  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  fol- 
lowing resolution: 

"Resolved,  By  the  mayor  and  City  Council  of  Baltimore,  that  the 
mayor  be  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  to  purchase  from  Reubens  Peale 
the  property  on  Holliday  Street  on  which  is  erected  the  building  known 
as  the  Baltimore  Museum;  and  that  he  is  authorized  to  draw  on  the 
register  of  the  city  for  the  sum  of  $1600.00,  the  consideration  money, 
on  receiving  from  said  Peale  a  good  and  sufficient  title  to  the  same. 

"  Wm.  H.  HiXSON,  1 

"  Jos  K.  Stapleton       >      Commillee 
"Wm.Meeteee,       '     J    Pi">  Branch. 

"JOHS  EtESE,  ■) 

„  ^.      itEANY  '       Committee 

"  Baltzer  Schaefeer    i  ^^^'^^^'^  Branch. 

Peale,  however,  had  become  involved,  and  was  not 
able  to  give  a  good  title,  and  on  the  30th  of  May  fol- 
lowing another  reso- 
lution was  passed  on 
the  subject,  by  which 
the  mayor  and  the 
""  presidents  of  the  two 

,-^j^  -         branches  were  invest- 

' . .    II        ed  with  authority  "  to 
?»-     ImT^^-    I'll    i'  ]iurchase  the  property, 

11 ,|^,r!-^«i  f^    '  late  Peale's  Museum, 

"^  in  Holliday  Street,  by 

such  mode  as  they  may 

deem  expedient,  and 

for  sucli  sum  iis  tiiry  may  think  reasonable."     The 

purchase  was  consummated  on  the  28th  of  June. 

It  was  soon  perceived  that  the  new  quarters  were 
but  poorly  suited  to  the  purposes  for  which  they  had 
been  selected,  and  with  the  passage  of  every  year 
they  became  still  less  capable  of  accommodating  the 
constantly  enlarging  departments  of  the  city  govern- 
ment. The  question  of  providing  a  permanent  city 
hall  was  di8cu.ssed  from  time  to  time,  and  was  seri- 
ously considered  at  the  Council  session  of  184G,  when 


several  plans  were  suggested,  o'ne  of  which  contem- 
plated the  purchase  of-  the  Exchange  buildings  for 
corporation  purposes.  In  1852  the  subject  was  again 
agitated,  and  a  committee  of  the  City  Council  was 
appointed  to  select  a  site  for  a  new  city  hall,  and  re- 
ported on  the  6th  of  April  in  favor  of  the  square  of 
ground  bounded  by  North,  Fayette,  Holliday,  and 
Lexington  Streets.  On  the  19th  of  January,  1853,  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  recommend  a  suitable 
site  for  a  city  hall,  which  on  the  19th  of  May  pre- 
sented a  report  pointing  out  in  strong  terms  the  ne- 
cessity for  a  new  building,  and  resolutions  calling  for 
the  appointment  of  a  commission  "  to  locate  and  pur- 
chase a  site  and  procure  plans  for  a  city  hall."  On 
the  10th  of  March,  1854,  an  act  was  passed  by  the 
Legislature  authorizing  the  mayor  and  City  Council 
of  Baltimore  to  purchase  a  site  for  a  city  hall,  and 
empowering  them  to  issue  certificates  of  city  stock  to 
the  amount  of  four  hundred  thousand  dollars,  bear- 
ing five  per  cent,  interest.  An  ordinance  was  accor- 
dingly introduced  and  passed  on  the  3d  of  May  by 
the  City  Council  authorizing  the  commissioners  of 
finance  to  "lease  from  Messrs.  George  Brown  and 
John  White  all  that  square  of  ground  bounded  on 
the  north  by  Lexington  Street  or  Orange  Alley,  south 
by  Fayette  Street,  east  by  Holliday  Street,  and  west 
by  North  Street."  No  practical  steps  were  taken, 
however,  for  some  years ;  and  in  the  meanwhile,  on 
the  2d  of  April,  1857,  a  resolution  was  passed  ordering 
the  removal  of  the  ofiices  of  the  mayor  and  all  the 
departments  except  the  City  Council  chambers  to" 
buildings  on  Holliday  Street,  previously  the  private 
residences  of  Messrs.  George  Brown  and  Hugh  Gel- 
ston ;  and  the  removal  was  effected  during  the  latter 
part  of  June.  The  mayor's  office  was  located  on  the 
first  floor  of  the  Brown  mansion,  and  occupied  the 
southern  side,  while  the  city  register  and  comptroller 
occupied  the  rooms  on  the  north  side  of  the  hall.  The 
office  of  the  city  collector  was  in  the  front  room  of  the 
Gelston  mansion,  and  that  of  the  Appeal  Tax  Court 
immediately  in  the  rear.  The  health  officer  occupied 
the  two  front  rooms  on  the  second  floor,  and  the  city 
auditor  those  in  the  rear.  Several  of  the  rooms  were 
occupied  by  the  archives  of  the  city,  which  were 
removed  on  the  26th  of  June. 

In  his  annual  message  of  Jan.  16,  1860,  Mayor 
Swann  recalled  the  attention  of  the  City  Council  to 
the  subject  of  erecting  a  city  hall,  and  on  the  29th 
of  March  a  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  Council 
requesting  the  joint  standing  committee  on  city  prop- 
erty "  to  prepare  and  report  an  ordinance  to  the  Coun- 
cil, investing  the  funds  of  the  McDonogh  bequest  in 
the  securities  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  applying 
the  same  to  the  building  of  a  new  city  hall,  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  municipal  government  and  all 
the  various  departments  thereof."  In  pursuance  of 
this  resolution  an  ordinance  was  passed  by  the  City 
Council,  and  received  the  approval  of  Mayor  Swann 
on  the  23d  of  July,  1860,  wliich  provided  for  the  ap- 


MUNICIPAL   GOVERNMENT   OF   BALTIMORE. 


177 


pointment  by  the  mayor  of  four  commissioners,  with 
himself  as  chairman,  who  should  adopt  a  plan  for  the 
building  and  advertise  for  proposals  for  its  construc- 
tion. It  was  provided  that  it  should  be  erected  upon 
the  site  selected,  under  the  ordinance  of  1854 ;  that  the 
building  should  be  fire-proof  and  faced  with  marble; 
and  that  to  defray  the  expense  of  construction  the 
trustees  of  the  McDonogh  Educational  Fund  should 
lend  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  the  fund  to  the 
building  commission,  for  which  the  city  was  to  pay 
six  per  cent,  interest.  A  plan  designed  by  Wm.  T. 
Marshall  was  adopted,  and  on  the  16th  of  October 
Messrs.  Edwin  A.  Abbott,  Edward  S.  Lambdin,  Evan 
T.  Ellicott,  and  C.  Sydney  Norris,  the  "Board  of 
Commissioners  of  the  New  City  Hall,"  were  directed 
by  ordinance  to  have  the  buildings  on  the  lot  selected 
for  the  city  hall  removed,  and  to  procure  suitable 
temporary  accommodations  for  the  city  officials  occu- 
pying the  buildings  in  question.  In  his  annua!  mes- 
sage to  the  City  Council,  on  the  7th  of  January,  1861, 
the  mayor  recommended  that  the  erection  of  the  city 
hall  should  be  postponed,  as  the  lowest  estimates  made 
exceeded  the  amount  of  the  appropriation,  and  on 
the  18th  of  the  ensuing  April  the  ordinance  providing 
for  the  erection  of  a  new  city  hall  was  repealed. 
Further  resolutions  looking  to  the  erection  of  a  city 
hall  were  adopted  in  1863,  and  in  1864  committees 
were  again  appointed  and  plans  submitted.  In  his 
message  of  the  3d  of  January,  1865,  Mayor  Chapman 
referred  to  "the  urgent  necessity  for  the  building 
of  a  city  hall,"  and  in  response  to  his  suggestions,  on 
the  9th  of  June,  1865,  Valentine  Foreman  submitted 
an  ordinance  in  the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil "to  provide  for  the  building  of  a  new  city  hall," 
which,  after  passing  both  branches,  received  the  ap- 
proval of  the  mayor  on  the  25th  of  the  following 
September.  This  ordinance  provided  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  board  of  four  commissioners,  with  the  mayor 
as  president,  to  serve  without  pay  as  the  building 
committee  to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  city 
hall ;  and  to  meet  the  expense  of  its  construction  the 
commissioners  of  finance  were  authorized  and  directed 
to  issue  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  city  bonds, 
or  so  much  thereof  as  might  be  necessary,  bearing 
interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent.  On  the  29th  of 
January,  1866,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  author- 
izing the  issue  of  city  bonds  to  an  amount  not  ex- 
ceeding six  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  erection 
of  the  building,  and  on  the  24th  of  April  in  the  same 
year  a  resolution  of  the  City  Council  was  approved 
by  the  mayor  authorizing  the  commissioners  of  finance 
to  purchase  the  property  of  Messrs.  Thomas  R.  Wil- 
son and  Henry  R.  Wilson  for  the  sum  at  which  it 
was  ofiered  to  the  city  in  1860.  On  the  30th  of  May 
following  an  ordinance  was  approved  by  the  mayor 
authorizing  the  commissioners  of  finance  to  redeem 
the  ground-rents  on  the  lots,  and  in  pursuance  of 
this  authority  the  commissioners  purchased  from  the 
Messrs.  Wilson  the  property  bounding  on  Holliday 


and  North  Streets  and  Orange  Alley  (Lexington 
Street)  for  the  sum  of  forty  thousand  six  hundred 
dollars ;  they  also  purchased  the  ground-rents  on  the 
lots  which  had  been  leased  from  George  Brown  and 
John  White  under  the  ordinance  approved  March 
11,  1854,  paying  Mr.  Brown  .$49,000  and  Mr.  White 
$92,126,  making  the  total  amount  paid  for  the  site 
$177,726.  An  ordinance  was  also  passed  providing 
for  the  closing  of  Orange  Alley,  and  the  opening  of 
Lexington  Street  between  Holliday  and  North,  by 
which  the  site  was  enlarged  to  an  oblong  square  two 
hundred  and  thirty-four  by  one  hundred  and  fifty-one 
feet. 

By  the  terms  of  the  act  of  Assembly  of  the  29th 
of  January,  1866,  work  was  not  to  be  commenced  upon 
the  city  hall  until  the  expiration  of  a  year  from  its 
passage,  so  that  operations  could  not  be  begun  before 
the  last  of  January,  1867.  In  the  spring  of  that  year 
Mayor  Chapman  appointed  Messrs.  Thomas  B.  Burch, 
John  W.  Kirkland,  Thomas  C.  Basshor,  and  James 
Smith  as  the  building  committee  required  under  the 
ordinance,  and  on  the  25th  of  May  they  organized,  and 
appointed  George  A.  Frederick  architect,  and  John 
B.  Haswell  superintendent.  The  removal  of  the  old 
material  on  the  site  was  soon  efiected,  and  the  cellar 
partly  excavated  and  some  of  the  foundation-walls 
laid  during  the  latter  part  of  the  year.  The  work 
was  commenced  on  the  Fayette  Street  side  of  the 
building,  and  the  corner-stone  was  laid  with  appro- 
priate ceremonies  on  the  18th  of  October,  1867.' 

On  the  7th  of  November,  1867,  the  mayor,  Hon. 
Robt.  T.  Banks,  sent  a  special  communication  to  the 
City  Council  suggesting  the  appointment  of  a  joint 
committee  to  inquire  into  the  validity  of  the  con- 
tracts awarded  by  the  building  committee,  and  on 
the  11th   another  suggesting  that  the  city  had  no 
authority  to  issue  its  bonds  to  raise  funds  for  the 
erection  of  the  city  hall,  because  the  ninth  section 
of  the  act  authorizing  their  issue  had  not  been  con- 
firmed and  ratified  by  the  General  Assembly  as  the 
eleventh  section  required.     A  resolution  was  imme- 
diately adopted  by  the  City  Council  suspending  pay- 
i  ments  under  the  contracts  and  directing  the  law-ofii- 
cers  of  the  city  to  take  steps  to  bring  the  question  to 
a  prompt  judicial  decision.     Legal  proceedings  were 
accordingly   commenced   in   the   Superior   Court  of 
Baltimore  on  the  12th  of  December,  1867,  and  the 
question  having  been  decided  in  favor  of  the  build- 
i  ing  committee  by  that  tribunal,  the  case  was  taken  to 
I  the  Court  of  Appeals,  which,  on  the  12th  of  June, 
1868,    reversed  the   ruling  of   Judge    Dobbin,    and 
decided  that  the  ordinance  of  the  25th  of  September, 
j  1865,  providing  for  the  building  of  a  new  city  hall, 
I  was  inoperative  until   its   ninth   section   should  be 


laid  at  the  Boutheast  coi 

On  the  18th  of  February,  1S69,  a  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  then 

!   building  committee  directing  the  removal  of  the  stone  to  the  northeast 

1   corner  of  the  building,  upon  the  ground  that  the  original  point  was  un- 


usual in  public 


andt 


ordingly  carried  0 


178 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


confirmed  and  ratified  by  the  General  Assembly.' 
Before  the  decision  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  had 
been  rendered  application  had  been  made  to  the 
General  Assembly  for  new  powers,  and  on  the  30th 
of  March,  1868,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature 
authorizing  the  mayor  and  City  Council  of  Baltimore 
to  issue  the  bonds  of  the  city  to  an  amount  not  ex- 
ceeding one  million  dollars,  the  proceeds  to  be  used 
in  the  construction  of  the  proposed  edifice,  the  issue 
of  the  bonds  to  be  provided  for  by  ordinance  of  the 
mayor  and  City  Council,  to  be  ratified  by  the  voters 
of  the  city. 

This  ordinance  was  passed  and  approved  by  the 
mayor  on  the  24th  of  .Tune,  1868,  was  duly  submitted 
to  the  legal  voters  of  the  city  on  the  8th  of  July  en- 
suing, and  w-as  ratified  by  a  vote  of  2057  in  its  favor 
to  753  against  it.  An  amicable  adjustment  of  the 
contracts  given  out  by  the  former  building  committee 
was  effected,  and  on  the  5th  of  August,  1868,  an  ordi- 
nance was  passed  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a 
new  building  commission  to  consist  of  six  persons, 
with  the  mayor  as  chairman.  The  committee  ap- 
pointed consisted  of  Messrs.  George  A.  Coleman, 
John  Ellicott,  George  W.  Stinchcomb,  Thomas  J. 
Griffiths,  George  A.  Davis,  and  Ogden  A.  Kirkland, 
and  organized  on  the  3d  of  October,  1868.  John  J. 
Purcell  was  appointed  superintendent,  and  Wm.  Rob- 
ertson secretary,  of  the  committee.  The  new  com- 
mission at  once  proceeded  to  advertise  for  proposals 
for  the  construction  of  the  building,  and  most  of  the 
marble  and  brick  work  of  the  basement  was  executed 
under  its  supervision.  On  the  4th  of  November,  1869, 
an  ordinance  was  passed  reducing  the  building  com- 
mittee from  six  to  five,  and  providing  for  their  elec- 
tion by  a  joint  convention  of  the  City  Council,  and 
under  its  provisions  Joshua  Vansant,  John  W.  Colley, 
Jchabod  Jean,  Samuel  H.  Adams,  and  J.  Hall  Pleas- 
ants were  appointed  as  a  new  building  committee, 
and  organized  on  the  6th  of  November  by  the  elec- 
tion of  Joshua  Vansant  as  president,  and  Walter  E. 
Smith  as  secretary.  At  its  session  in  1870  the  Legis- 
lature passed  an  act  authorizing  the  City  Council  to 
issue  additional  city  stock  to  the  extent  of  one  mil- 
lion dollars  to  meet  the  expenses  of  construction,  and 
on  the  11th  of  April  in  the  same  year  an  ordinance 
was  adopted  by  the  City  Council  providing  for  this 
new  loan,  which  was  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the 
city,  and  was  ratified  by  them  on  the  21st  of  April. 
On  the  8th  of  February,  1872,  an  ordinance  was 
adopted  by  the  City  Council  providing  for  an  addi- 
tional issue  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  city 
stock,  which  was  confirmed  by  act  of  Assembly  and 
ratified  by  the  voters  of  the  city  on  the  7th  of  Marcli, 
1872,  by  a  vote  of  6042  in  its  "favor  and  879  against 
it.     On  the  31st  of  March,  1875,  the  City  Council 

>  After  the  reraoval  of  the  buildings  on  the  site  of  the  citv  liall,  the 

municipal  departmeuts  sought  ciuarters  at  various  points  in  the  vicinity,  I 

the  mayor  at  one  time  having  his  oftice  in  the  Johnson  building,  at  the  , 

northwcBt  corner  of  Fayette  and  Calvert  Streets.  ' 


hoisted  the  United  States  flag  above  the  new  city 
hall  and  occupied  their  chambers  there  for  the  first 
time,  and  on  the  9th  of  April  the  other  departments 
also  began  to  move  into  their  new  quarters.^  Special 
preparations  were  made  for  the  dedication  of  the  edi- 
fice, and  Messrs.  H.  D.  Loney,  George  A.  Kirk,  and 
Charles  Streeper,  on  the  part  of  the  Second  Branch, 
Wm.  E.  Stewart,  Columbus  W.  Lewis,  and  Matthew 
W.  Donavin,  on  the  part  of  the  First  Branch,  of  the 
City  Council  were  appointed  as  a  special  committee 
to  make  all  the  necessary  arrangements.  The  25th 
of  October,  1875,  was  selected  by  the  committee  as 
the  day  for  the  ceremonies  of  the  occasion,  and  the 
new  city  hall  was  formally  dedicated  on  that  date  in 
the  presence  of  a  vast  assemblage  of  citizens.  The 
ceremonies  included  an  imposing  procession,  embrac- 
ing the  military,  religious,  and  other  organizations  of 
Baltimore,  and  addresses  by  Joshua  Vansant,  chair- 
man of  the  building  committee,  and  Hon.  John  H. 
B.  Latrobe. 

The  aggregate  cost  of  the  city  hall,  including  the 
cost  of  furnishing  and  fitting  it  up,  was  $2,375,400.41. 
The  whole  amount  of  the  several  appropriations  made 
for  its  erection  was  12,500,000,  thus  making  the  cost 
$124,599.59  less  than  the  estimate.  The  superficial 
area  of  the  block  on  which  the  city  hall  is  situated 
is  51,000  square  feet,  and  the  area  occupied  by  the 
building  30,552  square  feet.  It  fronts  on  HoUi- 
day  and  North  Streets  238  feet,  and  on  Fayette  and 
Lexington  Streets  149  feet.  The  linear  circumference 
is  8421  feet.  The  height  of  the  dome  from  the  bed 
of  Holliday  Street  is  227  feet,  and  from  the  top  of  the 
roof  132  feet.  The  height  of  the  building  to  the  top 
of  the  cornice  at  the  main  entrance  on  Holliday 
Street  is  96  feet.  It  contains  102  rooms,  and  accom- 
modates all  the  departments  of  the  city  government. 
The  exterior  foundation  walls  to  within  18  inches  of 
the  ground  are  built  of  Falls  Road  limestone,  a  spe- 
cies of  gneiss  of  the  utmost  durability,  and  are  five 
feet  six  inches  thick.  All  the  interior  walls  are  built 
of  brick,  and  vary  from  two  feet  six  inches  to  seven  feet 
in  thickness,  the  latter  being  those  of  the  dome  and 
tower.  All  the  brick  used  throughout  were  dark  red 
or  arch,  and  all  the  walls  are  built  in  Cumberland 
cement  mortar.  Above  ground,  all  the  exterior  walls 
are  faced  with  Baltimore  County  marble,  a  species  of 
white  magnesia  limestone  of  very  compact  and  fine 
grain,  extreme  hardness  and  durability,  and  capable 
of  a  very  superior  finish.  Most  of  the  stone  was 
obtained  from  the  extensive  quarries  of  John  B.  Con- 
oily,  near  Cockeysville,  about  seventeen  miles  from 
Baltimore,  on  the  Northern  Central  Railroad.  The 
greater  part  of  the  blocks  used  in  the  construction 


-  The  large  bell  cast  by  Messrs.  Joshua  Kegister  &  Sons  for  the  city 
hall  was  placed  in  position  on  the  12th  of  October,  1874.  It  weighs 
six  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty  pounds,  and  the  hammer  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds;  it  is  five  feet  eleven  inoliee  in  diameter, 
four  feet  eleven  inches  in  height,  and  is  affixed  to  a  yoke  weighing  seven 
hundred  pounds.  It  is  popularly  known  as  •'  Big  Sam,"  and  was  named 
after  one  of  the  junior  members  of  the  firm  by  which  it  was  cast. 


THE   CITY   GOVERNMENT  AND  OFFICERS. 


were  of  large  dimensions,  and  some  in  superficial  area 
were  probably  the  largest  ever  taken  from  any  marble 
quarry.  The  columns  of  the  portico  are  monoliths  ; 
the  slabs  forming  the  ceiling  and  the  floor  of  the  bal- 
cony over  the  portico  are  eleven  feet  ten  inches  wide 
and  fourteen  feet  long.  The  style  of  the  architecture 
is  the  "  Renaissance."  The  general  plan  or  division 
of  the  mass  consists  of  a  centre  structure  four  stories 
high  and  two  connected  lateral  wings  three  stories 
high,  the  centre  finishing  with  pediments,  the  others 
with  Mansard  roofs.  The  different  fronts  are  well 
broken  and  relieved,  and  while  the  general  character 
of  the  work  is  strong  and  well  defined, — devoid  of 
extravagant  carving,  which  serves  to  accumulate 
dust  and  dirt, — it  is  in  strict  unison  of  design,  and 
the  tout  ensemble  is  rich  in  admirable  proportion  and 
taste.' 

The  architect  was  Geo.  A.  Frederick,  and  the  su- 
perintendent John  J.  Purcell.^ 

The  old  city  hall  on  Holiday  Street  is  now  used  as 
a  colored  public  school. 


1  We  are  mainly  indebted  for  the  above  description  to  the  official  history 
of  the  city  hall  compiled  Ijy  Allen  E.  Forrester. 

2  The  southeast  corner  of  the  present  site  of  the  city  hall  was  for- 
merly occupied  by  the  residence  of  Tr.  White.  Next  to  Dr.  White's  house 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE   CITY    GOVERNMENT   AND    OFFICERS. 

Financial  Condition  of  the  City— Population— The  Mayora  and  City 
Councilmen— Members  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Delegates — Regis- 
ters-Taxable Basis  from  the  Earliest  Period,  etc. 

By  the  act  of  1817,  ch.  148,  the  city  was  divided 
into  twelve  wards,  and  finally  into  twenty  wards  by 
the  acts  of  1844,  ch.  282,  1845,  ch.  238,  and  1847,  ch. 
175.  The  present  boundaries  of  the  twenty  wards  of 
Baltimore  were  established  by  the  City  Council  in 
1860,  under  ordinance  No.  79,  passed  September  18th 
of  that  year,  and  are  briefly  as  follows :  First — Wolfe 
and  Monument  Streets,  city  limits  and  harbor  line. 
Second — Wolfe  and   Bank   Streets,   Central  Avenue, 

on  the  north  was  a  back  building;  next  to  that  the  residences  of  Alex- 
ander and  George  Brown,  and  next  to  them  the  dwelling  of  James  Wil- 
son, which  was  torn  down  when  Lexington  Street  was  opened  from  Hol- 
liday  Street  to  North.  The  southwest  corner  of  the  lot  was  occupied  by 
a  three-story  structure  owned  by  the  Messrs.  White,  and  here  the  post- 
offlce  was  for  a  time  located.  North  of  this  were  the  stables  of  the 
buildings  on  Holliday  Street,  and  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  lot 
stood  the  city  watch-house,  a  shabby  two-story  affair,  in  the  second  story 
of  which  the  Apprentices'  Library  was  accommodated,  "where  lectures 
were  delivered  to  the  boys  on  history  and  geography  by  a  very  young 
student  of  law,  and  on  mathematics  by  a  prominent  member  of  the 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Eastern  Avenue,  Jones'  Falls,  and  harbor  line.  T}iird 
— Wolfe  and  Baltimore  Streets,  Central  Avenue  and 
Bank  Street.  Fourth — Central  Avenjie,  Fayette  Street, 
.Tones'  Falls,  and  Eastern  Avenue.  Fifth — Central 
Avenue,  Monument  and  Hillen  Streets,  Jones'  Falls, 
and  Fayette  Street.  Sixth— 'WoMe  and  Monument 
Streets,  Central  Avenue  and  Baltimore  Street.  Seventh 
— -Eastern  city  limits.  North  and  Harford  Avenues, 
Ensor  and  Monument  Streets.  Eighth — Hillen  and 
Ensor  Streets,  Harford  and  North  Avenues,  and  Jones' 
Falls.  A7«^A— Jones'  Falls,  Franklin  Street,  Charles 
Street,  Pratt  Street,  and  harbor  line.  Tenth — Charles, 
Franklin,  Paca,  and  Pratt  Streets.  E/evrnth— Jones' 
Falls,  Biddle  Street,  Druid  Hill  Avenue,  Paca  and 
Franklin  Streets.  Twelfth— 3 ones'  Falls,  North  and 
Druid  Hill  Avenues,  and  Biddle  Street.  Thirteenth— 
Paca,  Franklin,  Poppleton,  and  Lexington  Streets. 
Fourteenth — Paca,  Lexington,  Poppleton,  and  Pratt 
Streets.  Fifteenth— Fintt,  Howard,  and  Henrietta 
Streets,  and  harbor  line.  Sixteenth— PrsLtt,  Poppleton, 
Cross,  Hamburg,  and  Howard  Streets.  Seventeenth — 
All  that  part  of  South  Baltimore  south  and  east  of 
Henrietta,  Hanover,  and  Clement  Streets.  Eighteenth 
— All  that  part  of  South  Baltimore  south  and  west  of 
Baltimore,  Poppleton,  Cross,  Hamburg,  Howard,  Hen-  [ 
rietta,  and  Clement  Streets.  Nineteenth — Baltimore, 
Poppleton,  Franklin,  and  Fremont  Streets,  North 
Avenue,  and  city  limits.  Twentieth — Paca  Street, 
Druid  Hill  Avenue,  North  Avenue,  Pennsylvania 
Avenue,  Fremont  and  Franklin  Streets.  The  several 
precincts  of  the  wards  were  designated  by  the  Board 
of  Police  Commissioners  under  the  act  of  1876,  ch. 
247.  The  city  was  divided  into  three  legislative  dis- 
tricts under  Section  2  of  Article  III.  of  the  consti- 
tution of  1864,  the  First  District  consisting  of  the 
First,  Second,  Third,  Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth,  and  Sev- 
enth Wards;  the  Second  of  the  Eighth,  Ninth, 
Tenth,  Eleventh,  Twelfth,  Nineteenth,  and  Twen- 
tieth Wards;  and  the  Third  of  the  Thirteenth, 
Fourteenth,  Fifteenth,  Sixteenth,  Seventeenth,  and 
Eighteenth  Wards.  Each  of  these  districts  is  en- 
titled to  one  senator  and  three  delegates  in  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  giving  Baltimore  a  total  of  twenty- 
one  votes  in  the  two  branches  of  the  Legislature.  In 
another  place  attention  has  already  been  called  to  the 
unfairness  with  which  Baltimore  was  treated  in  the 
matter  of  representation  under  the  constitution  of 
1776,  and  to  the  many  efforts  to  secure  her  citizens 
political  equality  with  those  of  the  counties.  Al- 
though at  the  present  day  the  injustice  is  not  so 
glaring  as  it  was  a  century  ago,  it  requires  but  the 
briefest  examination  to  prove  that  the  representation 
accorded  the  city  is  still  based  on  anything  but  prin- 
ciples of  fairness  and  equality. 

According  to  the  census  of  1880  Maryland  contains 
934,627  inhabitants,  and  Baltimore  332,190,  or  largely 
over  a  third  of  the  whole  population  of  the  State.  In 
a  total  representation  of  one  hundred  and  eight  sen- 
ators  and   delegates   in    the  General   Assembly   this 


would  entitle  the  city  to  nearly  twice  the  number  of 
representatives  which  it  has  at  present.  Calvert 
County,  with  a  population  of  10,538,  has  three  repre- 
sentatives in  the  General  Assembly  (one  senator  and 
two  delegates),  or  just  one-seventh  the  number  al- 
lowed Baltimore  with  a  population  of  over  330,000. 
In  other  words,  Baltimore,  which  has  a  population 
more  than  thirty-one  times  larger  than  Calvert,  has  a 
representation  only  seven  times  as  great. 

With  this  marked  disproportion  between  her  popu- 
lation and  her  representation,  the  day  when  all  men 
shall  be  politically  equal  in  Maryland  cannot  yet  be 
said  to  have  arrived.  Forming  over  a  third  of  the 
population  of  the  State,  and  paying  nearly  sixty  per 
cent,  of  the  annual  revenues  of  the  Commonwealth, 
the  metropolis  of  Maryland  would  seem  to  be  entitled 
to  claim  a  much  larger  representation  than  it  actu- 
ally enjoys  in  the  General  Assembly.  The  city  gov- 
ernment is  vested  in  a  mayor  elected  biennially,  with 
a  salary  of  five  thousand  dollars,  and  a  City  Council 
of  two  branches, — the  First  and  Second.  The  First 
Branch  consists  of  one  member  from  each  of  the 
twenty  wards  into  which  the  city  is  divided,  elected 
annually,  while  the  Second  Branch  consists  of  ten 
members,  eacli  member  representing  two  wards, 
elected  biennially.  The  members  of  both  branches 
receive  each  one  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  The 
mayor  has  a  veto  power  that  requires  a  vote  of  three- 
fourths  of  each  branch  to  overcome. 

The  present  mayor  of  Baltimore  is  Hon.  Ferdinand 
C.  Latrobe,  whose  term  expires  in  November,  1881. 
He  has  been  three  times  elected  to  the  chief  magis- 
tracy of  the  city,  and  his  administrations  have  been 
singularly  popular  and  practical.  He  comes  of  a 
family  highly  distinguished  in  Maryland  history. 
The  son  of  that  eminent  lawyer  and  scholar,  John 
H.  B.  Latrobe,  and  nephew  of  the  famous  engineer, 
B.  H.  Latrobe,  who  carried  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  over  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  he  was  born 
in  Baltimore,  Oct.  14,  1833,  and  was  educated  at  the 
College  of  St.  James,  Washington  Co.,  Md.  He 
studied  law  with  his  father,  and  after  being  admitted 
to  the  bar,  in  1858  he  became  assistant  counsel  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  and  has  par- 
ticipated in  most  of  the  important  suits  to  which  the 
corporation  has  been  a  party  in  the  Maryland  Court 
of  Appeals.  His  early  manifested  inclination  for 
public  life  was  gratified  by  an  election  to  the  House 
of  Delegates  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1868,  where 
he  was  acting  chairman  during  the  entire  session  of 
the  Ways  and  Means  Committee.  He  was  thoroughly 
j  a  working  member,  and  the  author  of  various  impor- 
j  tant  measures,  among  which  was  the  military  law. 
Governor  Thomas  Swann  appointed  him  judge-ad- 
I  vocate-general,  and  he  and  Adjutant-General  John  S. 
Berry  were  mainly  instrumental  in  organizing  eleven 
fine  regiments  of  militia.  He  was  re-elected  to  the 
General  Assembly,  and  was  elected  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Delegates,  where  he  made  an  honorable 


/^^:^>^^!/^ 


THE   CITY   GOVEKNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 


record  as  presiding  officer.  He  took  the  stump  for 
Greeley  and  Brown  in  1872,  and  the  next  year  was  a 
candidate  for  the  Democratic  nomination  for  mayor 
of  Baltimore,  but  was  defeated  by  Hon.  Joshua  Van- 
sant.  In  187.5  he  was  again  a  candidate,  received 
the  nomination,  and  was  elected  in  October  of  that 
year.  His  administration  was  characterized  by  a 
number  of  reforms  in  the  municipal  government,  es- 
pecially the  abolishment  of  the  extravagant  port- 
wardens'  department  and  the  city  yard,  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  the  Harbor  Board,  consisting  of  seven 
gentlemen,  who  serve  without  pay  and  have  charge 
of  all  matters  appertaining  to  the  harbor.  In  con- 
nection with  the  officials  of  the  national  government, 
they  have  secured  a  depth  of  twenty-five  feet  in  the 
channels,  so  that  the  largest  class  of  steamships  can 
now  enter  the  port.  The  improvement  of  Jones' 
Falls,  the  opening  of  many  new  streets  and  avenues, 
the  replacement  of  the  cobble-stones  by  Belgian- 
block  pavements,  the  institution  of  an  admirable  sys- 
tem of  fire-alarm  telegraph,  a  reduction  of  the  annual 
municipal  expenses  four  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
and  of  the  tax  rate  to  $1.37  on  the  $100  of  assessed 
property,  the  refunding  of  five  millions  of  six  per 
cent,  debt  at  five  per  cent.,  and  the  exemption  of  the 
plant  and  machinery  of  manufacturers  from  city  tax- 
ation, are  all  achievements  connected  witli  Mayor 
Latrobe's  administration.  In  1877  he  was  a  candi- 
date for  renomination,  and  was  defeated  by  the  late 
Col.  George  P.  Kane,  but  upon  Col.  Kane's  death  in 
1878,  Mr.  Latrobe  was  elected  to  fill  out  the  unexpired 
term,  and  was  renominated  and  re-elected  in  1879. 
In  1881  he  withdrew  from  the  contest  for  the  renomi- 
nation, which  was  conferred  upon  Hon.  William 
Pinkney  Whyte.  It  is  confidently  anticipated,  how- 
ever, that  because  of  his  great  public  popularity  and 
services  he  will  not  long  be  permitted  to  remain  in 
private  life.  His  talents  are  of  a  character  too  use- 
ful to  the  public  to  be  confined  to  the  limited  sphere 
of  individual  station,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  Balti- 
more has  never  had  an  executive  who  has  left  a  better 
official  record,  or  who  has  earned  a  better  right  to  the 
public  gratitude  and  recollection.  The  wise  and  con- 
servative policy  which  he  inaugurated,  and  the  prac- 
tical benefits  and  reforms  which  have  been  accom- 
plished under  his  administrations,  will  make  them- 
selves felt  for  many  years  to  come,  and  will  doubtless 
lead  the  way  by  their  example  to  the  still  further  im- 
provement of  the  public  service.  Mr.  Latrobe  is  a 
pleasing  orator,  a  well-read  lawyer,  and  a  financier  of 
uncommon  ability.  For  a  long  term  of  years  he  was 
counsel  for  the  late  Thomas  Winans  and  for  Winans 
&  Co.,  and  when  Mr.  Winans  died  he  was  chosen  at- 
torney for  the  executors  of  that  immense  estate.  He 
was  married  in  1860  to  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Thomas 
Swann,  who  died  in  1865,  leaving  one  son,  and  in  1880 
he  was  married  to  the  widow  of  Thomas  Swann,  Jr. 

While  the  mayor  and  City  Council  have  all  the 
usual  authority  of  municipal  corporations   to   raise 


money  by  taxation,  a  provision  of  the  constitution 
of  the  State  declares  that  "no  debt  (except  as  herein- 
after excepted)  shall  be  created  by  the  mayor  and 
City  Council  of  Baltimore,  nor  shall  the  credit  of  the 
mayor  and  City  Council  of  Baltimore  be  given  or 
loaned  to  or  in  aid  of  any  individual,  association,  or 
corporation,  nor  shall  the  mayor  and  City  Council  of 
Baltimore  have  the  power  to  involve  the  city  of  Bal- 
timore in  the  construction  of  works  of  internal  im- 
provement, nor  in  granting  any  aid  thereto,  which 
shall  involve  the  faith  and  credit  of  the  city,  nor 
make  any  appropriation  therefor,  unless  such  debt  or 
credit  be  authorized  by  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  Maryland  and  by  an  ordinance  of  the  mayor  and 
City  Council  of  Baltimore,  submitted  to  the  legal 
voters  of  the  city  of  Baltimore  at  such  time  and  place 
as  may  be  fixed  by  said  ordinance,  and  approved  by 
a  majority  of  the  votes  at  such  time  and  place ;  but 
the  mayor  and  City  Council  may  temporarily  borrow 
any  amount  of  money  to  meet  any  deficiency  in  the 
city  treasury,  or  to  provide  for  any  emergency  arising 
from  the  necessity  of  maintaining  the  police  or  pre- 
serving the  safety  and  sanitary  condition  of  the  city, 
and  may  make  due  and  proper  arrangements  and 
agreements  for  the  removal  and  extension,  in  whole  or 
in  part,  of  any  and  all  debts  and  obligations  created 
according  to  law  before  the  adoption  of  this  constitu- 
tion." 

Except  where  otherwise  provided  by  ordinance  or 
by  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  the  mayor  appoints 
all  subordinate  officers,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Council  in  con- 
vention. 

In  this  connection  there  is  an  Appeal  Tax  Court, 
consisting  of  three  judges,  who  receive  a  salary  each 
of  eighteen  hundred  dollars,  with  a  clerk  at  a  salary 
of  sixteen  hundred  dollars,  an  assessor,  and  other  offi- 
cers provided  for  by  law.  They  are  authorized  to  assess 
the  property  of  all  persons  failing  to  make  their  own 
returns,  and  are  authorized  to  make  alterations,  ad- 
ditions, or  deductions  in  assessments,  as  they  may 
deem  proper.  A  part  of  the  duty  of  the  Appeal  Tax 
Court  is  to  grant  permits  for  the  erection  of  buildings 
within  the  city  limits  without  charge. 

There  is  a  register,  who  is  elected  biennially  by  the 

two   branches  of  the   Council   in   convention.     The 

I  duties  of  the  register  are  numerous.    Generally  stated, 

1  he  has  charge  of  the  moneys  and  securities  of  the 

corporation  and  its  accounting  officer.    He  gives  bond 

in  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  has  a  salary 

of  three  thousand  dollars.     No  money  can  be  paid, 

however,  except  through  a  warrant  of  the  comptroller. 

I      The   comptroller   is   appointed   biennially   by  the 

i  mayor.     He   performs  the   duties   indicated  by   his 

i  title,  gives  bond  in  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars, 

and  has  a  salary  of  three  thousand   dollars.     The 

I  comptroller,  although  appointed  by  the  mayor,  can 

only  be  removed   by  the  joint   action  of  the   City 

Council. 


182 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  law  officers  of  the  city  government  are  a  coun- 
selor, at  a  salary  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dol- 
lars, a  solicitor,  whose  salary  is  four  thousand  dollars, 
and  an  examiner  of  titles,  with  a  salary  of  three  thou- 
sand dollars. 

There  is  a  city  librarian  at  a  salary  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollars,  with  an  assistant  at  a  salary  of  nine 
hundred  dollars.  In  addition  to  his  other  duties,  the 
librarian  procures  all  the  stationery  and  printed 
matter  required  by  the  heads  of  the  several  depart- 
ments. 

The  sanitary  department  of  the  city  government  is 
carried  on  by  a  Board  of  Health,  consisting  of  a  health 
commissioner,  with  a  salary  of  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred dollars,  and  an  assistant,  with  a  salary  of  fifteen 
hundred  dollars.  There  is  also  a  Marine  Hospital 
physician,  subordinate  to  the  Board  of  Health,  with  a 
salary  of  three  thousand  dollars,  whose  duties  apper- 
tain to  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  port. 

The  disbursements  of  the  Health  Department  for 
twelve  months  ending  Dec.  31,  1880,  were : 

street  and  Garbage  account,  including  contract  for  the  re- 
moval of  garbage $192,000.00 

General  Health  account,  including  post-mortems l:i,089.50 

Salary  account 17,700.00 

Nuisance  and  Sewer  account 7,722.23 

Marine  Hospital  account 14,994.69 

Total  disbursements  for  twelve  months 824.5,606.42 

The  duty  of  attending  to  the  streets  of  the  city  de- 
volves upon  a  "  city  commissioner,"  with  a  salary  of 
three  thousand  dollars,  and  three  assistants,  with  a 
salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  each. 

There  is  also  a  city  surveyor,  elected  biennially  by 
the  qualified  voters  of  the  city.  The  compensation 
is  fixed  by  a  table  of  rates,  according  to  the  services 
performed  by  him. 

Besides  the  "city  commissioner,"  there  is  a  board 
of  three  persons,  called  "  the  commissioners  for  open- 
ing streets  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,"  which  deter- 
mines matters  connected  with  the  laying  out,  open- 
ing, grading,  widening,  or  closing  up  of  streets,  lanes, 
and  alleys.  They  hold  their  offices  for  three  years, — 
one  going  out  of  office  every  year, — and  have  each  a 
salary  of  twelve  hundred  dollars. 

There  are  an  inspector  of  public  buildings,  five  in- 
spectors of  streets,  two  inspectors  of  sewers,  and  two 
inspectors  of  public  cemeteries,  who  perform  the 
duties  indicated  by  their  respective  titles. 

This  enumeration  of  the  officers  of  the  city  govern- 
ment does  not  include  all  of  its  employes,  but  it  will 
suffice  to  give  a  correct  idea  of  the  system  provided 
for  the  conduct  of  its  aflTairs.^ 

The  following  tables  exhibit  the  financial  condition 
of  the  city : 

Dec.  31,  1880,  the  funded  and  guaranteed  debt  was 
$36,092,298.06,  and  the  productive  as-sets  $30,223,- 
899.36 ;  the  net  debt  is  therefore  $5,868,398.70.     The 

1  Fur  these  imrlicul.us  «e  are  in.k-l  ted  tu  Ihu  ren„,  t  of  Ilun.  John  H. 


amount  of  funded  and  guaranteed  debt  the  interest 
on  which  is  provided  for  by  taxation  is  $13,162,653.48.^ 
The  details  of  the  debt,  as  given  in  the  register's 
report  of  Jan.  5,  1881,  are  as  follows : 

Statement  of  Funded  Debt,  Dec.  31, 1880. 


Public  Park.. 

Exempt 

Water 


Funding 0 

15 

Water i6 

Harford       Run 
Improvement.  4 

City  Hall 6 

One  Million 6 

Valley  Railroad.  6 

Five  Million 6 

Consolidated 6 

Park    Improve- 

city  Haii!!;;!";;  e 


When  Payable. 


!  after  the  year  I860'  $86,900.00 

"       1885  943,161..54 

"      July  1,  18901  7,306,546.22 

"      Sept.  1,  1890l  .566,666.25 

"      Sept.  1,  18931  410,353.87 

"      July  1,  1894  263,000.00 

1894  3,737,000.00 

1900  800,000.00 

1916|  1,000,000.00 

1916|  5,000,000.00 


Jan. 


,  1920 1 


40,000.00 


City  Hall 

Water 

Overdue  Stock. 


July  1,  1884 

Jan.  1,1886 

1,000,000.00 
1,000,000.00 

Jan  1   1890 

2,211,068.05 

1000  000  00 

739,600.00 

1,000,000.00 

500,000.00 

6,346.33 

732  00 

March  7, 1902 

Total  Funded  Debt 

$34,600,298.06 

Indorsemeut  W.  Md.  B.  R.  Co.,  1st  mtge...  $200,000.00 

2d      "     ...  30O,O0tl,00 

3d      "     ...  .S75,000.0<) 

Uuion  R.  K.  Co.,  1st  mtge...  117,000.00 

Total  Funded  and  Guaranteed  Debt... 
From  tvliich  deduct — 

Water  Loans  of  1894  and  1916,  the  interest 
on  which  is  paid  by  revenue  from  water 
rents $9,000,000,(10 

Park  Loans,  interest  paid  by  City  Passen- 
ger Railway  Companies 555,566.2.5 

Cash  in  bank  in  reserve  for  the  redemption 
of  Water  Stock  of  1875 0,346.33 

And  the  following  productive  and  interest- 
bearing  assets: 

Mortgage  on  Baltimore  and  Ohio  R.  R.  Co.    $6,(.«X),000.rHl 

Union  K.  R.  Co 117,000.00 

"  West  Md.  B.  B.  Co.  (First)...         200,000.00 

32,500  shares  of  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road Company  Stock,  at  $180 5,850,000.00 

Value  of  Sinking  Funds 7,859,757.78 

550  shares  Baltimore  and  Reisterstown 
Turnpike  Company  Stock,  valued  at 2,200.00 

625  shares  Baltimore  and  Yorktown  Turn- 
pike Company  stock,  valued  at 3,125.00 

120  shares  Baltimore  and  Havre-de-Grace 
Turnpike  Company  Stock,  valued  at 3,000.00 

137  shares  Baltimore  and  Frederick  Turn- 
pike Company  Stock,  valued  at 206.00 

Market-houses,     producing     a 
yearly  rental  of. $46,0(JO.0O 

Improved  wharf  property,  pro- 
ducing a  yearly  rental  of 45,000.00 

other  real  estate,  producing  a 
yearly  rental  of. 7,601.88 

$97,601.88 
Capitalized  at  6  per  cent 1,626,698.00 


9,561,912.58 


$5,868,398.70 


2  It  is  an  apparent  anomaly  that  interest  should  be  required  to  be  paid 
ipou  this  amount,  when,  as  is  shown  above,  the  actual  debt  of  the  city 
8  only  $6,868,398.70 ;  hut  it  must  be  recollecteil  that  of  the  thirteen  mil- 
ions,  over  seven  jjiillioiis  is  held  in  the  sinking  fund,  upon  whiih  in- 
I'rest  is  paid  by  the  city  to  itself 


-^^^^ 


THE   CITY   GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 


The  followiiuj  are  the  iinproductive  assets  of 

ihecity: 
Second  Mortgage  on  Western   Maryland 

Bailroad  Coniimny S3OO,000.0U 

Interest  thereon  to  J;in.  1,  ISSl 21b,000.00 

Tliird   Mortgage  'ni    Wi-imi     >l;nvhiii(l 

Railroad  Compaijv  .  875,aX).l» 

Fourth   Mortpa^e  i>ii    \^  ^l      \  mimI 

Railroiul  r,im]iain  1,000,000.00 

InteresltlMi..  n,     I,  i -M 610,000.00 

lO.OOOsliii!  \  l^iiilroad  Oom- 

Ijanv.it    ^  .  iai*100 1,000,000.00 

40006iiui..  >^  MnylandKail- 

road  Cmtiii.hii  -i      i  ,  i  n  -.'.ii 200,000.00 

7600  shares  iif  the  Baltimore  and  Susque- 
hanna Tide-water  Canal  Company,  par 
S60 380,000.00 

714  shares  of  the  Baltimore  and  Hall 
Springs  Kailway  Company  Stock,  par 
S20 14,280.00 

Besida  other  properti/,  mch  as 
Court-houses,  Record  Office,  City  Hall, 
Jail,  Police  Stations,  Fire-Engiue  Houses 
and  Apparatus,  School-houses,  Alms- 
house, Ice  Boats,  City  Yard.  Marine 
Hospital  Grounds,   Public  Park^,   etc., 

valued  at 10,000,000.00 

S15,030,2S0.00 

From  the  total  Fnnded  and  Guaranteed 

Debt $36,092,298.06 

Deduct  the  following: 
Overdue  Water  Stock,  no  interest  allowed.  86,346.:!3 

Overdue  Stock,  no  interest  allowed 732.00 

And  the  following,  the  interest  being  pro- 
vided for: 
By  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  B.  R.  Co.  on  ..      5,000,000.00 
"      dividend  on  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  Stock,  being    the   in- 
terest on 4,875,000.1X1 

"      West.  Md.  R.  R.  Co.,  1st  mortgage 

on 200,000.00 

"      Citv  Passenger  Railway  Companies 

o"[i 566,666.25 

"      Water  Board,  from  rents,  on 9,000,000.00 

Union  Railway  CoTupany  on 117,000.00 

terest  on  the  One  Million  Loan...      1,000,000.00 
"       Western  Maryland  Railroad  Loan.       1,000,000.00 
And  the  Western  Maryland  Railroad  Com- 
pany Bonds  guaranteed  by  the  city 1,176,000.00 

22,929,614.58 

Leaving  the  amount  on  which  interest  is  

paid  by  taxation  at $1.'!,162,653.48 

viz. :      ?2,768,661.54  interest  (a  6  per  ceut. 
40,000.00  "         4 

10,353,991.94  "         6 

S13,1C2,653.48 
OmdiiUm  of  the  Sinkina  Futidt  Dec.  31, 1880. 

General  Sinking  Fund $7,491,618.33 

Public  Park  Sinking  Fund „ 357,753.79 

Hillen  Station  Sinking  Fund 10,485.66 

$7,859,757.78 

The  public  debt  of  the  city,  its  investments  and 
finances  generally,  are  in  charge  of  a  board  consist- 
ing of  the  mayor  and  two  citizens,  who  are  elected  by 
the  Councils  in  convention  annually,  and  styled  "the 
Commissioners  of  Finance."  There  is  no  salary 
attached  to  the  ofiice. 

According  to  the  census  returns  of  1880  the  amount 
of  the  outstanding  bonded  debt  of  Baltimore  City  is 
$20,184,975,  issued  for  the  following  purposes  : 

Funded  floating  debt $3,422,800 

Improvement  of  harbors,  rivers,  wharves,  canals,  and  water- 
power 952.064 

Parks  and  public  places 103,965 

Public  buildings 2,704,619 

Railroad  and  other  aid 3,349,100 

Sewers 1,249,900 

War  expenses _ 1,237,927 

Waterworks 7,164,600 

Total 820,184,976 

Drawing  the  following  rates  of  interest: 

Six  prr  cent $11,467,966 

Five  per  cent 8.717,019 


The  years  of 
are  as  follows  : 

Year  of 
Issue. 

1860 

lS6i 

1864 

186.5 

issue  and  m 

84,028,883 
1237:927 
103,966 
460,000 

aturity  of  this  bonded  debt 

Year  of                               Amount 
''l^t $680,800 

601,819 

349,100 

1894 

:::::;::  2:172:000 

1869 

1870 

300,000 
664,200 
935,400 

1900 

Subsequent  to 
1900 

2,849,500 

6,237,800 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 

1877 

794,900 
349,100 
486,600 
2,172.000 
4,992,600 
758  600 

$20,184,975 

To  offset  this  debt  the  city  has  productive  assets 
amounting  to  $19,330,509,  including  32,500  shares  of 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  and  various  turnpike  stock,  real 
estate,  wharf  property,  and  market-houses,  producing 
a  rental  equal  to  $1,626,698,  and  the  water  rents,  which 
equal  a  capital  of  $9,000,000.  This  leaves  an  un- 
covered bonded  debt  of  only  $854,466. 

The  collector  of  State  and  city  taxes  is  appointed 
annually  to  collect  all  taxes  of  every  description  levied 
or  assgssed  by  the  mayor  and  City  Council,  or  by  the 
General  Assembly  of  Maryland.  He  gives  bond  in 
the  sum  of  seventy-five  thousand  dollars,  and  has  a 
salary  of  two  thousand  dollars,  in  addition  to  which 
he  is  allowed  one  per  cent,  of  the  State  taxes  collected 
by  him.  He  appoints  a  deputy  at  a  salary  of  eighteen 
hundred  dollars,  cashier,  and  other  officers  required 
for  the  performance  of  his  duties,  as  prescribed  by 
the  ordinance  concerning  the  collection  of  taxes. 
The  office  of  collector  is  at  present  filled  by  Charles 
Webb,  who  is  a  native  of  Baltimore,  where  he  was 
born  on  the  21st  of  April,  1820.  His  father  was  of 
English  birth,  and  although  he  did  not  settle  in  Bal- 
more  until  1810,  he  was  found  among  the  defenders 
of  the  city  at  the  battle  of  North  Point  four  years 
afterwards.  The  popular  esteem  and  confidence  in 
which  he  was  held  was  so  great  that,  although  he  was 
a  stanch  Whig,  he  represented  the  Fourth  Ward, 
which  was  Democratic,  in  the  City  Council. 

Mr.  Webb's  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Clar- 
issa Legg,  was  born  in  Baltimore  County,  and  died 
very  recently  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  her  age. 
She  was  a  woman  of  great  force  of  character,  and 
greatly  beloved  on  account  of  a  life  devoted  to  piety 
and  charity.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  for  nearly  seventy  years. 

His  early  political  affiliations  were  with  the  Old- 
Line  Whig  party,  but  when  that  party  allied  itself 
with  the  Know-Nothing  organization,  Mr.  Webb's 
ideas  of  the  nature  and  destiny  of  this  government 
were  too  broad  to  allow  him  to  continue  his  connec- 
tion with  it,  and  he  became  its  active  opponent  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Democratic  party.  He  believed  that  the 
State  ought  not  to  have  any  connection  with  religious 
sects,  that  both  ought  to  be  free  from  such  entangling 


184 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


and   perplexing   alliances,  and,  moreover,  that  this 
country  needed  engrafted  upon  it  a  hardy  foreign  em-  I 
igration,  and  should  be  the  asylum  for  the  oppressed  ! 
of  every  nation.  \ 

Mr.  Webb  took  an  active  part,  therefore,  in  the  re-  , 
torm  movement  of  1859  which  resulted  in  the  elec- 
tion of  George  William  Brown  mayor  of  the  city  of 
Baltimore,  and  was  one  of  the  celebrated  committee 
of  twenty,  representing  the  Seventh  Ward,  who  had 
charge  of  and  managed  that  campaign  to  the  success- 
ful result  of  re-establishing  order  and  law  in  Baltimore,  j 

Mr.  Webb  had  alwa\-s  declined  political  office  until 
the  position  of  city  collector  was  tendered  him  by 
Mayor  Kane  in  1878.  He  discharged  the  duties  of 
the  onerous  and  responsible  position  with  such  fidelity 
and  ability  that  upon  the  accession  of  Mr.  Latrobe  to 
the  mayoralty  upon  the  death  of  Mayor  Kane  he  | 
was  at  once  reappointed  by  the  new  executive,  and 
has  been  continued  in  office  up  to  the  present  time,  [ 
not  only  with  the  entire  approbation  but  at  the  actual 
desire  of  the  whole  community,  as  expressed  in  the 
public  journals  of  every  shade  of  opinion,  and  in  the 
private  utterances  of  all  classes  of  citizens.  These 
flattering  evidences  of  general  esteem  and  confidence 
have  been  fully  merited  by  the  zeal  and  efficiency 
with  which  the  duties  of  his  official  station  have  been 
discharged.  In  these  days  of  official  corruption  and 
dishonesty  it  is  rare  that  the  places  of  public  trust 
are  occupied  by  men  of  such  high  and  unbending 
integrity  as  Mr.  Webb,  and  it  is  rarer  still  to  find 
united  in  one  man  the  loftiest  probity  with  the  utmost 
diligence  in  the  public  service.  In  both  these  respects 
Mr.  Webb's  administration  of  his  office  has  been  of 
the  most  distinguished  character,  and  he  has  "  won 
golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of  people."  The  en- 
ergy with  which  he  has  followed  up  and  brought  into 
the  treasury  the  delinquent  revenues  of  the  city  has  | 
been  as  marvelous  as  it  has  been  gratifying,  and  it  | 
is  no  reflection  upon  previous  officials  to  say  that  no 
former  city  collector  has  ever  been  so  successful  in  the 
collection  of  taxes.  Mr.  Webb's  efficiency  in  this  po- 
sition has  been  largely  due  to  his  long  business  experi- 
ence and  to  the  careful  and  systematic  habits  secured 
by  early  training.  His  career  commenced  when  he  was  [ 
little  more  than  a  boy,  when  he  entered  his  father's  i 
factory  in  Ensor  Street.  When  he  became  of  age  a  : 
new  firm  was  formed  consisting  of  his  father,  Charles 
Webb,  his  brother  James,  and  himself,  under  the  style 
of  Charles  Webb  &  Sons. 

At   the   death  of  Mr.  Webb's   father  in  1849  the  , 
business  was  continued  by  the  sons  at  the  same  place  ' 
until  1852,  when  they  became  associated  with  James  | 
Armstrong  and  Samuel   Cairns.     Although   in   full 
partnership,  the  business  was  conducted  at  the  factory 
on  Ensor  Street  under  the  firm-name  of  Charles  & 
James  Webb  &  Co.,  and  another  factory  was  con- 
ducted on  Concord  Street  by  Messrs.  Armstrong  & 
Cairns  under  the  firm-name  of  James  Armstrong  & 
Co.     The  business  was  conducted  in  this  wav  until 


1855,  when  Samuel  Cairns  withdrew  and  Thomas 
Armstrong,  a  nephew  of  James  Armstrong,  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  firm.  In  1858,  James  Armstrong  with- 
drew, leaving  the  factories  under  the  charge  of  the 
three  remaining  partners,  which  partnership  was  dis- 
solved in  1865,  but  re-formed  and  continued  until  the 
present  time  under  the  firm-name  of  James  Arm- 
strong &  Co.,  James  Webb  conducting  the  Ensor 
Street  factory,  and  Charles  Webb  and  Thomas  Arm- 
strong conducting  that  on  Concord  Street. 

Mr.  Webb  has  always  been  a  liberal  subscriber  and 
active  participant  in  all  public  enterprises  involving 
the  advancement  and  improvement  of  his  native  city, 
and  has  held  several  positions  of  important  trust, 
among  them  that  of  director  in  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad,  to  which  he  was  elected  by  the  reform 
Council  of  1860.  In  1845  he  became  a  member  of  St. 
John's  Lodge  of  Freemasons,  and  shortly  after  his 
admission  he  was  elected  to  one  of  the  chairs.  He 
continued  to  ascend  in  regular  order  until  he  reached 
the  highest  office  which  the  lodge  could  confer  upon 
him.  In  1853  he  was  chosen  Grand  Master  by  the. 
Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland,  and  held  the  position 
until  1858,  when  he  declined  a  re-election.  His  ad- 
vance in  Masonry  was  more  rapid  than  that  of  any 
man  of  his  time.  When  the  office  of  Grand  Master 
was  conferred  upon  him  he  was  the  youngest  man 
who  had  ever  filled  the  position,  and  the  older  heads 
who  feared  he  was  too  young  for  its  responsible  duties 
were  agreeably  surprised  to  find  that  he  presided  with 
firmness  and  dignity,  and  at  the  knowledge  of  Ma- 
sonic jurisprudence  evinced  by  his  decisions.  There 
has  been  no  time  when  the  assemblages  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  were  more  harmonious  or  the  landmarks  ad- 
hered to  more  rigidly  than  during  his  administration. 

Mr.  Webb's  public  career  has  been  adorned  by 
the  unfailing  courtesy  and  consideration  which  have 
marked  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  while  in  his  pri- 
vate life  he  has  won  hosts  of  friends  by  his  kindly 
and  genial  qualities.  His  personal  attachments  are 
strong  and  enduring,  and  with  him  loyalty  to  friend- 
ship is  only  second  to  duty  to  the  public.  His  chari- 
ties, though  unostentatious,  have  been  neither  few  nor 
insignificant,  and  genuine  distress  and  deserving 
poverty  always  find  in  him  a  cheerful  and  bountiful 
giver. 

Modest,  unassuming,  and  unostentatious,  his  life  has 
been  too  retired  to  be  well  known  socially  to  a  large 
number  of  persons,  but,  honest  and  genuine  himself, 
his  friends  without  an  exception  are  composed  of 
the  same  class  of  men,  and  by  them  he  is  regarded 
with  sincere  aflfection.  His  energy  has  been  trained 
to  the  systematic  detail  of  business  that  accomplishes 
a  great  deal  in  a  short  time  but  nevertheless  accurately 
and  completely.  Mr.  Webb  is,  however,  sufficiently 
known  by  the  public  to  be  implicitly  trusted  in  any 
capacity  in  which  he  serves.  His  quick  intelligence 
and  thorough  knowledge  of  public  men  and  affairs, 
and  his  intuitive  judgment  with  regard  to  character, 


THE    CITY   GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 


afford  him  superior  advantages  as  an  administrative 
officer.  His  conduct  of  the  office  of  collector  of 
taxes  has  received  the  strong  approval  and  indorse- 
ment of  his  superior  and  cotemporaries  in  office  and 
the  hearty  approbation  of  business  men,  not  only  of 
his  own  party  but  of  his  political  opponents.  The 
general  judgment  on  Mr.  Webb,  as  one  of  the  most 
important  officers  of  the  municipal  government,  is 
that  "  He  is  the  right  man  in  the  right  place." 
■  Mr.  Webb  was  married  on  the  8th  of  October,  1844, 
to  Hester  Cox,  daughter  of  Isaac  Cox,  of  Baltimore. 
They  have  five  children  living,  three  daughters  and 
two  sons. 

The  following  table  gives  the  amount  of  taxes  col- 
lected on  account  of  the  city  for  the  last  three  fiscal 
years : 

Amount  collected  for  year  ending  Dec.  31, 1878 $4,099,144.00 

Amount  collected  for  year  ending  Dec.  31,  1879 3,93.'),905.78 

Amount  collected  for  year  ending  Dec.  31, 1880 3,91.'),070.56 

The  estimated  requirements  for  1880,  as  shown  by  the  reg- 
ister's report,  are 5,376,832.73 

And  the  receipts 2,882,833.00 

Leaving  the  amount  to  he  levied  for $2,493,999.73 

The  basis  for  the  levy  of  1881  is  $250,000,000,  and 
the  rate  of  taxation  $1.37  on  the  hundred  dollars. 
Adding  the  State  tax,  185  cents,  the  total  taxation 
for  the  year  is  $1.55|  cents  on  the  hundred  dollars. 
The  rate  for  1880  (not  including  the  State  tax  of  18f 
cents)  was  $1.37;  for  1879,  $1.50;  for  1878  (fourteen 
months),  $1.90;  and  for  1877,  $1.75. 

The  expenses  of  the  city  government  for  the  year  ending 

Oct.  31,  1876,  were .' 94,921,261.61 

For  the  year  ending  Oct  M,  1876 4,871,866.55 

' Dec.  31,  1877— fourteen  months 5,800,286.86 

"    Dec.  31,  187S 4,668,022.59 

Dec.  31,  1879 3,817,742.86 

Dec.  31,  1S80 3,947,799.27 

In  1878  the  collections  were  60^''j[  of  the  levy ;  in 

1879  they  were  65j%\ ;  and  in  1880  they  were  70iVij- 

The  taxable  basis  of  1880  was  composed  as  follows : 

Eeal  property $183,051,396 

Personal  property 68,929,242 

$241,980,638 

These  tables  show  a  financial  condition  of  excep- 
tional soundness  and  health  at  a  period  when  almost 
every  other  large  city  in  the  country  is  weighed  down 
by  an  immense  burden  of  indebtedness.  The  careful 
and  conservative  policy  which  has  been  pursued  in 
the  management  of  the  municipal  finances,  more 
particularly  under  Mayor  Latrobe's  administration, 
has  saved  Baltimore  from  what  has  become  one  of 
the  great  dangers  of  the  period,  and  the  result  is  that 
she  could  at  any  day,  if  the  emergency  should  arise, 
clear  away  the  whole  of  her  indebtedness  without  the 
apprehension  of  any  serious  strain  or  the  necessity  of 
following  the  fashion  of  some  other  cities  by  going 
into  voluntary  bankruptcy.  An  examination  of  the 
financial  statements  of  other  cities  shows  "  that  there 
is  not  one  of  them  with  so  small  an  indebtedness  over 
and  above  its  available  or  interest-bearing  securities 
as  is  shown  by  the  balance-sheet  of  the  city  of  Balti- 
more," as  there  is  undoubtedly  none  whose  credit  and 


financial  character  stand  higher  in  the  business  world. 
At  this  date  (Sept.  16,  1881)  Baltimore  City  stock  is 
quoted  at  the  Baltimore  Stock  Board  as  follows: 

Birf— City  68,1890 118 

"         "     68,1000 127K 

"     68,1916 126i| 


The  population  of  Baltimore  by  the  census  of  1880 
is  returned  as  332,190.  Of  the  total  population,  157,- 
361  are  males,  174,829  are  females,  276,176  are  natives, 
56,014  are  foreign,  278,487  are  white,  and  53,689  are 
colored.  The  excess  of  females  is  about  5  per  cent. ; 
the  proportion  of  colored  inhabitants  to  total  popula- 
tion is  16.86  per  cent.  In  1870  the  foreign-born  pop- 
ulation of  Baltimore  was  56,484,  and  its  ratio  to  total 
population  was  21  per  cent.  There  has  thus  been  a 
decline  of  470  in  the  actual  number  of  our  foreign- 
born  population.  The  colored  population,  on  the/ 
other  hand,  has  increased  from  39,559  in  1870  to  53,- 
689,  a  total  of  14,130,  or  nearly  36  per  cent.,  its  ratio 
to  total  population  advancing  from  14.8  per  cent,  in 
1870  to  16  per  cent,  in  1880.  As  the  total  population 
of  the  city  has  increased  only  24.28  per  cent.,  the 
colored  population  has  grown  nearly  50  per  cent,  more 
rapidly  than  the  city's  general  growth.  This,  how- 
ever, is  due  to  the  large  influx  of  colored  people  from 
the  counties  rather  than  to  any  larger  proportion  of 
births. 

The  following  table  shows  the  population  of  Balti- 
more at  different  periods  from  its  foundation  in  1730 
until  the  present  time : 


Years. 

17.30 

17.62 

1774 

1776 

1782...., 


Population.      Years. 


1800.. 


6,755 
8,000 
13,503 
26,114 
35,683 


The  population  of  Baltimore  City  by  wards,  accord- 
ing to  the  census  of  1880,  is  as  follows : 


First I  27,190 

Second 14,097 

Third I  12,985 

Fourth I     9,621 

Fifth '  12,966, 

Sixth '  15,402, 

Seventh '  27,218 

Eighth 14,250 


For. 

White.  1 

Col.i 

6,381 

26,196 

5,077 

13,421  j 

676 

2,SIIK 

11,317 

1,668 

.<,819; 

~'t.;i 

702 
3,432 
3,090 
2,352 
1,606 
1,224 
1,968 
4,169 
3,247 
2,478 
2,475 
4:i23 
3,671 

390 
4,207 

6,824 

"weutieth 20,.525       9,3;J4    11,191     18,4 

Total 332,190  ;157,361jl74,829'  276,176      56,014 '278,487 


I  Including,  in  Baltimore  City,  4  Chinese,  1  Japanese,  and  9  Indii 
in  3d  Ward)  1  Chinese;  in  5th  Ward,  7  Indians;  10th  Ward,  3  Chin 
12th  Ward,  1  Japanese;  14th  Ward,  1  Indian;  19th  Ward,  1  Indian. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


In  his  "  History  of  the  Sesqui-Centennial  Celebra- 
tion," Mr.  Edward  Spencer  says,  "  Taking  the  average 
of  the  decennial  increase  in  the  city's  population  since 
the  first  census  in  1790,  we  find  that  its  rate  of  growth 
from  the  date  of  its  incorporation  has  been  about  4^ 
per  cent,  per  annum,  or  44.7  per  cent,  for  the  decen- 
nial period.  From  1840  to  1850  the  increase  was  67 
per  cent. ;  from  1790  to  1800  it  was  97  per  cent. ;  from 
1810  to  1820  it  was  73  per  cent.  Between  1870  and 
1880  the  increase  was  (nominally)  only  24  per  cent., 
but  really  much  more,  for  we  have  been  populating 
Baltimore  County,  and  sending  our  workers  to  live  at 
way  stations  on  every  railroad  that  runs  into  the  city. 
With  its  true  limits  recognized,  Baltimore,  if  it  should 
maintain  its  average  rate  of  increase,  will  in  1890  | 
have  550,0011  inhabitants,  and  in  1900  its  population 
will  reach  SOd.OOK.  These  are  not  guess-work  figures,  j 
but  accurate  jirojections  of  the  well-known  rules  for  ! 
estimating  the  growth  of  population.  Nothing  but  j 
pesulence  or  bitter  and  prolonged  disaster  can  retard 
this  rate  of  growth."  ; 

The  growth  of  property  lias  been  still  more  rapid. 
"  While  population,"  says  the  same  writer,  "  between 
1730  and  1880  has  expanded  7600  times,  property  has 
expanded  95,000  times  by  the  most  moderate  esti- 
mates. In  1774,  Baltimore  paid  about  $26,000  in  poll- 
taxes  to  the  proprietary  government,  making,  with 
feudal  rents  and  fees,  a  taxation  of  at  least  $30,000. 
Assuming  that  this  taxation  was  equal  (and  the  esti- 
mate is  a  moderate  one)  to  two  per  cent,  upon  actual 
values,  the  property  of  the  town  at  that  date  would 
be  $1,500,000.  In  1785  the  assessment  for  town  and 
county  was  on  the  basis  of  £1,700,000,  equal  to  about 
$4,500,000.  The  city's  share  in  this  was  about  $1,- 
000,000,  representing  an  actual  value  in  real  and  per- 
sonal property  of  $4,000,000,  the  assessments  being 
about  one-fourth  of  real  values.  In  1798  the  basis  of 
assessment  of  the  newly  incorporated  city  was  put  at 
$2,240,000.  The  revenue  that  year  was  $32,865;  the 
previous  year  only  $14,412.  In  1798,  in  other  words, 
taxes  were  higher  than  now,  being,  on  assessed  values, 
$1.50  per  $100.  In  1808  the  basis  of  assessment,  re- 
duced to  dollars,  was  $2,522,870  (obviously  very  low), 
and  the  revenue  $53,731,  over  $2  on  the  $100,  or  2  per 
cent.  In  1813  the  assessment  basis  was  $3,325,848, 
revenue  $90,000.  In  1829  the  assessment  basis  was 
$3,424,240,  and  taxes  $314,288,  equal  to  ten  per  cent, 
on  assessed  values,  which,  however,  were  less  than 
one-fifth  of  the  actual  values.  Taking  these  at  about 
$17,000,000,  we  can  understand  that  in  1839  the  values 
were  put  at  $55,793,370  ;  in  1850  at  $74,847,546  ;  and  { 
1860  at  $138,505,765.  The  present  rate  of  growth  of  i 
property  is  very  rapid.  The  census  valuations  of  I 
Baltimore  property  are  not  yet  absolutely  and  exactly 
attainable,  but  it  is  easy  to  approximate  them.  In 
1870  these  valuations  were  obtained,  for  Baltimore, 
by  the  addition  of  70  per  cent,  to  assessed  valuations. 
The  value  of  assessed  property,  real  and  personal,  is 
given  at  $244,043,181.     The  value  of  unassessed  and 


exempt  property  is  given  at  $150,000,000.  The  value 
of  Baltimoreans'  property  nominally  in  Baltimore 
County  and  there  taxed  is  $30,000,000,  to  which  must 
be  added  $10,000,000  unassessed.  These  figures  give 
the  following  results  in  round  numbers  : 

Baltimore  assessment,  1880 $244,000,000 

Add  70  per  cent,  for  real  value 170.800,000 

Baltimore's  sharp  in  Baltimore  County 30,000,000 

Add  100  per  cent,  for  real  value.    (This  is  the 

county  clerk's  estimate) 30,000,OIX] 

Baltimore  property  unassessed 160,000.000 


Baltin 


1 1880.. 


$634,800,0 


"  This  is  only  $9,000,000  less  than  the  true  census 
valuation  of  all  the  property  in  Maryland  in  1870 ;  it 
is  $223,000,000  more  than  the  true  valuation  of  Balti- 
more City  and  County  in  1870.  It  shows  that  the  in- 
crease of  property  has  been  60  per  cent,  since  1870,  a 
rate  which  is  two  and  one-half  times  more  rapid  than 
the  apparent  rate  of  increase  of  population.  Actually 
this  growth  has  been  in  still  greater  proportion,  since 
valuations  in  1870  were  upon  an  inflated  currency 
basis,  before  the  decline  in  prices,  and  they  are  here 
computed  in  lianl  money." 

Values  and  Assessments  of  Baltimore  Town  and 
City  of  Property  from  the  Earliest  Period  to  the 
Present  Time. 

1729.— Villus  of  tlif  original  town  site,  being  60  acres  lying 
bftn  .•in  Sliar ,.  Slr.-.-t  and  McClellan's  Alley,  Jones' 

F;il1^,  ^  It  it   j.i  ^iii    r,  till  J  the  basin,  purchased  in 


-TliL-  t,i  .  ,  .    I  .         1'    ■  1-  1T2  pounds  of  tobacco  per 

J,,,;,',    .;   ...;   „  1,,.  1   1  i:   town  and  county  on  7410 

pti-oi,..     i. !,,,...,  I, J, 4,520  pounds,  commutable 

at  12  tiliilliiigs  iiTul  t;  pence  per  hundred  pounds.... 

Population  about  5000. 

-For  town  and  county  of  Baltimore 


-For  Baltimore  City  (incorporated  1796) 

Revenue  of  the  city  from  all  sources  in  1797,  $14,412 
the  same  in  1798,  $32,805. 
-For  Baltimore  aty 

Revenue  of  city  from  all  sources  in  1808,  $63,781. 

The  a.<-;c.s..<cil  Viihie  of  tlie  same  property  in  the  sam 


£1,703,622 
1,424,602 
699,519 


$3,127,626 
960,798 


1824.— Baltimore  City  assessment,  including  precincts 

1826.—        "  "  "  "  "        

The  revenue  of  the  city  in  this  year  from  all  sources 
was  $200,282. 
1828.— Baltimore  City  assessment,  including  precincts 

Revenue  from  all  sources,  $194,274. 
1829. — Baltimore  City  assessment  at  about  one-fifth  current 

(Up  to  1800  the  rule  adopted  for  assessment  of  values 
for  ta.xatiou  was  at  the  rate  of  about  one-foui  th 
current  value;  afterwards,  for  vearo  about  one 
fifth  current  value.)  The  leienue  of  the  cit\  lu 
this  year  from  all  sources  Mas  ■«.il4,2'<8 

Assessment  for  Baltimoie  Cit\ 


56,79i,370 
08,890,773 
77,847,546 
79,878,372 
83,576,254 
96,764,142 
101,165,204 
104,915,238 
106,627  885 
108,021,616 
110,606,079 
1  )'>,499,873 
1  i8,506,766 
138,199,960 
134,532,804 

135.091  aw 

139,417,797 
143.340,022 
144,928,217 
147,078,105 
206,144,348 
203,739,804 


THE    CITY   GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 


Wtimore  City $207,181,550 

1876.—  " 203,148,761 

1877.—  "              "           "            "     256,105,341 

1878.—  "        .     "           "            "     249,266,695 

1879.—  "             "           "            "     244,04.3.181 

1880—  "              "           "            "     241,980,683 

1881.—  "  "  "  "     

Baltimore  City  Government  in  1881. 

Mayor,  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe;  Register,  John  A.  Eobb;  Comptroller, 
Josliua  Vansant;  City  Counselor,  James  L.  McLane;  City  Solicitor, 
Thomas  W.  Hall;  Examiner  of  Titles,  John  Gill,  Jr.;  Finance  Commis- 
sioners, Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe,  James  Sloan,  Jr.,  Robert  T.  Baldwin; 
City  Collector,  Charles  Webb ;  Deputy  Collector,  J.  T.  M.  Barnes  ;  Judges 
Appeal  Tax  Court,  Columbus  W.  Lewis,  James  E.  Carr,  A.  B.  Patterson ; 
City  Commissioner,  John  H.  Tegmeyer;  City  Librarian,  Samuel  D. 
Smith;  Superintendent  City  Hall,  James  Donnelly;  Inspector  Public 
Buildings,  Robert  S.  Bentley  ;  Commissioners  for  Opening  Streets,  John 
B.  Williams,  James  S.  Morrow,  Henry  R.  Curley;  Health  Commissioner, 
Dr.  James  A.  Steuart;  Assistant,  Dr.  James  F.  McShane;  A.  Robert 
Carter,  Secretary;  Physician  at  Marine  Hospital,  Dr.  James  McHenry 
Howard.  Vaccine  Pliysicians:  First  and  Second  Wards,  Dr.  James  M. 
Sullivan;  Third  and  Fourth  Wards,  Dr.  S.  H.  Martin ;  Fifth  and  Sixth 
Wards,  Dr.  E.  C.  Jordan  ;  Seventh  and  Eighth  Wards,  Dr.  E.  Hall  But- 
ledge  ;  Ninth  and  Tenth  Wards,  Dr.  J.  V.  Coonan  ;  EleTeuth  and  Twelfth 
Wards,  Dr.  I.  K.  Page;  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  Wards,  Dr.  Henry 
Darling;  Fifteenth  and  Sixteenth  Wards,  Dr.  J.  D.  Blake;  Seventeenth 
and  Eigliteenth  Wards,  Dr.  R.  B.  Fishburno ;  Nineteenth  and  Twentieth 
Wards,  Dr.  A.  H.  Saxton.i 

Mayors  of  Baltimore  City  from  1797  to  1881. 

17U7. — James  Calhoun,  resigned  ;  died  Aug.  30,  1819. 

18W.— Thorogood  Smith,  elected  May  10th  to  fill  the  vacancy  occa- 
sioned by  the  resignation  of  James  Calhoun  ;  re-elected  Nov.  5, 1804. 

1808.— Edward  Johnson. 

1816.— George  Stiles,  resigned  Feb.  9, 1819. 

1819.— Edward  Johnson,  elected  Feb.  10,  1819,  to  fill  the  unexpired  term 
of  G.  Stiles,  resigned. 

1820. — John  Montgomery. 

1823. — Edward  Johnson. 

1825. — John  Montgomery. 

1823. — Edward  Johnson. 

1825.— John  Montgomery. 

1826. — Jacob  Small,  resigned. 

1830.— Wm.  Stewart. 

1832.— Jesse  Hunt. 

1836.— Samuel  Smith,  in  place  of  Jesse  Huut,  resigned  ;  re-elected  1836. 

1838.— Sheppard  C.  Leakin. 

1840 — Samuel  Brady,  resigned. 

1842.— Solomon  Hillen,  Jr. 

1843.— .lames  0.  Law. 

1844.— Jacob  G.  Davies. 

1848.— Elijah  Stausbury. 

1850.— John  Hanson  Thomas  Jerome. 

1862.— J.  Smith  HolliDS. 

1664— Samuel  Hinks. 

1856.— Thomas  Swanu. 

I860.— George  Wm.  Brown,  arrested  and  imprisoned  by  Federal  authori- 
ties, Sept.  12,  1861. 

1861. — John  Lee  Chapman,  mayor  ex  officio,  to  fill  vacancy  occasioned  by 
the  arrest  of  Mayor  Brown  ;  elected  in  1862. 

1867.— Robert  T.  Banks,  four  years'  term. 

1871,— Joshna  Vansant. 

1876.— Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe. 

1877.— George  P.  Kaue,  died  June  23, 1878, 

1878.— F.  C.  Latrobe,  elected  July  11th  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of 
Mayor  Kane  ;  re-elected  in  1S7'J,  and  still  in  office. 

Members   of  First   Branch    City   Council   from 
1797  to  1881. 

1797,— 1st  Ward,  James  Carey,  Ephraim  Robinson  ;  2d,  Samuel  Owings, 
Dr.  George  Buchanan  ;  3d,  Zebulon  Hollingsworth,  James  McCan- 
non ;  4th,  Hercules  Courtenay  (president),  David  McMechen ;  5th, 
Thomas  Hollingsworth,  Adam  Fonerden  ;  6th,  James  . 


'  The  names  of  other  officers  i 
departments  or  institutions. 


•  be  found  under  their  respective 


Peter  Frick  ;  7th,  James  Edwards,  Frederick  Schaetfer  ;  8th,  Joseph 
Biays,  Win.  Trimble.  (Thomas  Kell,  clerk;  Thomas  Roberts,  mes- 
senger.) 
1798.— 1st  Ward,  James  Carey,  Ephraim  Robinson ;  2d,  George  Prest- 
mau,  George  Buchanan;  3d,  Robert  Smith,  Peter  Hoffman;  4th, 
Hercules  Courtenay  (resigned,  succeeded  by  John  Hillen),  David 
McMechen;  6th,  Thomas  Hollingsworth,  Adam  Fonerdon;  6th, 
Baltzer  Schaetfer,  Peter  Frick  ;  6th,  James  Edwards  (resigned,  suc- 
ceeded by  Jonathan  Rutter),  Robert  Stewart;  8th,  James  Beeman, 
Joseph  Biays. 
1799.— 1st  Ward,  Ephraim  Robinson  (died,  and  succeeded  by  Henry 
Stouffer),  Wm.  Jessop;  2d,  George  Prestman,  David  Poe;  3d,  Zebu- 
lon Hollingsworth,  Robert  Smith;  4th,  John  Hillen,  David  Mc- 
Mechen; 5th,  Adam  Fonerden,  Thomas  Hollingsworth;  6th,  Peter 
Frick,  Baltzer  Schaeffer ;  7th,  Jonathan  Rutter,  Robert  Stewart ;  8th, 
Joseph  Biays,  John  Coulter. 
1800.— 1st  Ward,  Henry  Stouffer,  George  Reinecker ;  2d,Saniuel  Owings, 
George  Prestman  ;  3d,  Zebulon  Hollingsworth,  Robert  Smith  ;  4th, 
John  Hillen,  Joshua  Lemnion  ;  5th,  Adam  Fonerden,  Thos,  Hol- 
lingsworth;  6tb,  Baltzer  Schaetfer,  Peter  Frick;  7th,  Robert  Stew- 
art, James  Edwards  ;  8th,  John  Coulter,  Joseph  Biays. 
1801.— 1st  Ward,  Caleb  Hewitt,  Richardson  Stewart;  2d,  John  Strieker, 
George  Prestman ;  3d,  Zebulon  Hollingsworth,  Robert  Smith ;  4th, 
John  Hillen,  James  Sloan;  6th,  Thomas  Hollingsworth,  Adam 
Fonerden ;  6th,  Peter  Frick,  Baltzer  Schaeffer ;  7th,  Robert  Stewart, 
Jacob  Miller;  8th,  Joshua  Inloes,  Josiah  Brown.  (Thomas  Kell, 
clerk  ;  Thos.  Roberts,  messenger.) 
1302.— 1st  Ward,  Wm.  Jessop,  George  F.  Warfleld ;  2d,  George  Prestman ; 

.3d,  Job  Smith,  Luke  Tiernan  ;  4th, ;  6th,  Baltzer  Schaeffer; 

6th,  Jacob  Miller,  Peter  Frick  ;  7th, ;  Sth,  Joshua  Inloes. 

1803.— Ist  Ward,  Wm.  Jessop,  George  F.  Warfleld ;  2d,  Emanuel  Kent, 
Walter  Simpson  ;  3d,  Luke  Tiernan,  Job  Smith;  4th,  William  Haw- 
kins, Christopiier  Raborg;  6th,  Baltzer  Schaeffer,  John  Shrim;  nth, 
John  Mackenheimer,  Jacob  Miller ;  7th,  AichibaldShaw,  Wm.  Mun- 
dell ;  8th,  Joshua  Inloes,  Thomas  Tenant. 

1804.— 1st  Ward,  Wm.  Jessop,  Henry  Stouffer;  2d, ;  3d,  James  A. 

Buchanan,  Wm.  Lorman  ;  4th,  George  P.  Keeports,  Christopher  Ra- 
borg; Sth,  Baltzer  Schaeffer,  John  Shrim;  6th,  Jacob  Miller,  John 
Mackenheimer;  7th,  Robeit  Stewart,  Wm.  Mundell;  8th,  Thomas 
Tenant. 
1806.— 1st  Ward,  Henry  Stouffer,  Wm.  Jessop  ;  2d,  Jacob  Small,  James 
Carey  ;  3d,  Wm.  Lorman,  James  A.  Buchanan  ;  4th,  Thomas  Hillen, 
Thomas  Kell ;  6th,  Baltzer  Schaeffer,  John  Shrim  ;  6th,  Jacob  Mil- 
ler, John  Mackenheimer;  7th,  Frederick  Schaeffer,  Philip  Moore; 
Sth,  Thomas  Tenant,  Isaac  Sutton. 
1806.— 1st  Ward,  George  Decker,  Henry  Stouffer;  2d,  Walter  Simpson, 
Jacob  Small;  3d,  James  A.  Buchanan,  Wm.  Lorman  ;  4th,  Thomas 
Kell,  George  P.  Keeports  ;  Sth,  Baltzer  Schaeffer,  John  Shrim ;  6th, 
Aquila  Miles,  John  Miller;  7th,  Ludwig  Herring,  Frederick  Schaef- 
fer ;  8th,  Thomas  Tenant,  Jos.  Allender. 
1807. — 1st  Ward,  Henry  Stouffer,  George  Decker ;  2d,  Jacob  Small,  James 
Carey  ;  3d,  James  A.  Buchanan,  Wm.  Lorman  ;  4th,  Thomas  Kell, 
Kichard  Benson;  5th,  John  Shrim,  Baltzer  Schaeffer;  6th,  Jacob 
Miller,  John  Mackenheimer;  7th,  Frederick  Schaeffer,  Joshna 
Ennis  ;  8th,  Thomas  Tenant,  Joseph  Allender. 
1808,— 1st  Ward,  George  Decker,  W.  Cook,  Sr.;  2d,  Jas.  Carey,  Jacob 
Small ;  3d,  Wm.  Lorman,  Jas.  A.  Buchanan  ;  4th,  Thomas  Kell,  R. 
Benson  ;   5th,  Baltzer  Schaeffer,  J.  Shrim ;   6lh,  J.  Miller,  John 

Mackenheimer;  7th,  Fredeiick  Schaeffer,  Joshua  Ennis;  Sth, . 

1809.— 1st  Ward,  Thomas  Mummey,  Samuel  Frey ;  2d,  James  Carey, 
Jacob  Small ;  3d,  James  A.  Buchanan,  William  Lorman ;  4th,  Thomas 
Kell,  Abner  Neal ;  Sth,  Peter  Diffenderffer,  William  Caulp;  6th, 
James  Wilson,  William  Ross;  7th,  Joshna  Ennis,  William  Steuart; 
Sth,  John  Snyder,  Thomas  Sheppard. 
1810. — The  same  councilmen  served  with  the  exception  of  Jacob  Small, 
of  the  2d  Ward,  who  resigned,  and  Eli  Hewitt  was  elected  to  fill  the 
vacancy. 
1811.— 1st  Ward,  Samuel  Frey,  Peter  Forney;  2d,  James  Carny,  Benja- 
min Berry  ;  3d,  William  Lorman,  James  Mosher  ;  4th,  Thomas  Kell, 
Abuer  Neal;  Sth,  Jos.  Jamison,  Peter  Diffenderffer;  6th,  William 
Ross,  James  Wilson  ;  7th,  William  Steuart,  Nathaniel  Hynson  ;  Sth, 
Thomas  Sheppard,  John  Snyder. 
1812.- 1st  Ward,  Aaron  Levering,  David  Fulton ;  2d,  James  Carey,  Ben- 
jamin Berry ;  3d,  James  Mosher,  Luke  Tiernau ;  4th,  Thomas  Kell, 
Adam  Fonerden  ;  Sth,  Peter  Diffenderffer,  Jos.  Jamison  ;  6th,  James 
Wilson,  William  Boss;  7Uj,  William  Steuart,  Nathaniel  Hynson; 
8th,  John  Snyder,  Thomas  Sheppard.    (Stephen  Moore,  clerk.) 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


1813.— let  Ward,  Aaron  Levering,  David  Fulton ;  2d,  James  Carey,  Ben- 
jamin Berry;  3d,  Luke  Tiernan,  James  Mosher ;  4th,  Adam  Foner- 
den,  Thomas  Kell ;  5th,  Joseph  Jamison,  William  Warner;  6th,  Wil-  | 
liara  Ross,  James  Wilson ;  7th,  William  Steuart,  Richard  Stevens ; 
8th,  David  Burke,  Thomas  Sheppard. 

1814.— Ist  Ward,  David  Fulton,  Samuel  Fry  ;  2d,  James  Carey,  Benjamin   i 
Berry ;  3d,  James  Mosher,  Thomas  C.  Jenkins ;  4th,  Robert  Dun- 
woody,  Jacob  Myere;  5th,  Joseph  Jamison,  William  Warner;  6th, 
William  Ross,  James  Wilson  ;  7th,  William  B.  Dyer,  Christian  Slem-   | 
mer  ;  8th,  Thomas  Sheppard,  David  Burke. 

1815.— Ist  Ward,  Talbot  Jones,  Samuel  Fry;  2d,  James  Carey,  Benjamin   i 
Berry  ;  3d,  Thomas  C.  Jenkins,  James  Mosher;  4th,  William  Patter-  ! 
son,  James  Wilson;  5th,  Joseph  Jamison,  William  Warner;  6th, 
William  Boss,  James  Wilson,  of  Wm. ;  7th,  William  B.  Dyer,  Chris-   j 
tian  Slemmer;  8th,  Thomas  Sheppard,  George  Woelper.  | 

1816.— 1st  Ward,  John  Berry,  John  Reese;  2d,  Alexander  Russell,  Rich- 
ard B.  Magruder;  3d,  John  Brevett,  James  Mosher;  4th,  William 
Patterson,  James  Wilson,  of  Wm. ;  5th,  William  Urner,  Joseph 
Jamison  ;  6th,  William  Ross,  James  Wilson,  of  John  ;  7th,  William 

B.  Dyer,  Christian  Slemmer;  8th,  George  Woelper,  Thomas  Shep-  j 

1817. — Ist  Ward,  John  Berry,  John  Reese ;  2d,  Peter  Levering,  Alexander 
Russell ;  3d,  James  Mosher,  James  W.  McCuUogh  ;  4th,  William  Pat- 
terson, Jnmes  Wilson,  of  Wm.;  5th,  Joseph  Jamison,  William  H. 
Winstandley  ;  6th,  Edward  G.  Woodyear,  William  Ross ;  7th,  John  S. 
Young,  Thomas  Lawrence:  8th,  Thomas  Sheppard;  Baptist  Mezick. 

1818. — 1st  Ward.  John  Berry,  John  Reese;  2d,  Alexander  Russell,  Rich- 
ard B.   Magruder;   3d,  James  Mosher,  Nathaniel  Williams;  4th, 
Joseph  Owens,  James  Wilson  ;  5th,  Joseph  Jamison,  John  Francis-  t 
cus;    6th,  John  Mackeulieimer,   William    Mceteer;    7th,  William   I 
Steuart,  James  Williams;  8th,  Thomas  Sheppard,  Baptist  Mezick; 
9th,  Arthur  Mitchell,  Robert  Taylor;  10th,  Isaac  Phillips,  Samuel   [ 

R.  Smith;    11th,  Lewis    Pascault,  John  H.  Rogers;    12th, .   j 

(Thomas  Bailey,  clerk  ;  Hugh  D.  Evans,  assistant  clerkj 

1819.- 1st  Ward,  Isaac  Atkinson,  James  H.  Clark;  2d,  Peter  Gault,  I 
Thomas  Sheppard;  3d,  Daniel  Conn,  William  Steuart;  4th,  William 
Stausbury,  Lambert  Thomas;  5th,  John  Franciscus,  Joseph  Jamison; 
6tli,  James  Wilson,  Joseph  Owens  (resigned);  7th,  James  Mosher, 
Nathaniel  Williams;  8th,  Peter  Gould,  William  W.  Webster;  9lh, 
Alexander  Russell,  Jesse  Eichelberger;  loth,  John  Reese,  Thomas 
Mummey;  11th,  Peter  Forney,  Henry  Brice;  12th,  Upton  Bruce, 
John  Brevett.  (Thomas  Bailey,  clerk;  Hugh  D.  Evans,  assistant 
clerk.) 

1820.— Ist  Ward,  Isaac  Atkinson,  James  H.  Clarke  ;  2d,  William  Baart- 
scheer,  Frederick  Schaeffer;  3d,  William  Steuart,  Thomas  Kell; 
4th,  Lambert  Thomas,  William  Stansbury ;  5th,  Joseph  Jamison, 
John  Franciscus ;  6th,  Frederick  Leypold,  James  Wilson;  7th, 
James  Mosher,  Thomas  L.  Emory;  8tb,  John  Cator,  Peter  Gold; 
9th,  Alexander  Russell,  Peter  Levering;  10th,  John  Reese,  Thomas 
Mummey;  llth,  H.  P.  Low,  Heury  Hook;  12th,  John  Brevett, 
Alexander  Yearly. 

1821.— 1st  Ward,  Isaac  Atkinson,  James  Clark  ;  2d,  Frederick  Schaeffer, 
Joseph  Biays;  3d,  William  Steuart,  Daniel  Conn;  4th,  Lambert 
Thomas,  Edward  Woodyear ;  5th,  Joseph  Jamison,  John  Franciscus ; 
6th,  Frederick  Leypold,  John  B.  Morris;  7th,  Benjamin  C.  Howard, 
Richard  Carioll;  8th,  John  Cator,  Joseph  Turner;  9th,  Alexander 
Rnssell,  Philip  Uhler;  10th,  John  Reese,  Thomas  Mummey;  llth, 
Henderson  P.  Low,  Henry  Hook  ;  12th,  Alexander  Yearly,  Beal  Ran- 
dall.   (Thomas  Bailey,  clerk  ;  Hugh  D.  Evans,  assistant  clerk.) 

1822.— let  Ward,  Isaac  Atkinson,  James  Clark;  2d,  Frederick  Schaeffer, 
Joseph  Biays,  Jr. ;  3d,  William  Steuart,  John  Mackenheimer;  4th, 
Lambert  Thomas,  Standish  Barry;  6th,  Joseph  .Jamison  (president), 
Benjamin  C.  Ross;  6th,  John  B.  Morris,  Jacob  M.vers;  7tb.  Benjamin 

C.  Howard,  Dr.  John  Owen ;  8th,  Joseph  Turner,  Benjamin  Rawlings ; 
9th,  Alexander  Russell,  Columbus  O'Donnell;  10th,  John  Reese,  An- 
drew Ellicott;  llth,  Henderson  P.  Low,  Henry  Hook;  12th,  Beal 
Randall,  Rezin  Wight.  (Thomas  Bailey,  clerk  ;  Hugh  D.  Evans,  as- 
sistant clerk.) 

1823.— Ist  Ward,  Isaac  Atkinson,  James  Clarke  ;  2d,  Frederick  Schaeffer, 
William  Hubbard;  3d,  William  Steuart.  John  Mackenheimer;  4th, 
Standish  Barry,  James  Clark  ;  5th,  Benjamin  C.  Ross,  John  Francis- 
cus; 0th,  John  B.  Morris  (president),  John  White;  7th,  Benjamin  C. 
Howard,  Ebenezer  L.  Finley ;  8th,  Joseph  Turner,  Benjamin  Rawlins ; 
9th,  Alexander  Russell,  Elisha  Tyson,  Jr.;  10th,  John  Reese,  John 
Glenn;  llth,  Henderaon  P.  Low,  Henry  Brice;  12th,  Kezin  Wight, 
William  Krebs.  (Thomas  Phenix,  clerk  ;  Hugh  D.  Evans, 
clerk.) 


1824.— Ist  Ward,  James  H.  Clarke,  Ebenezer  L.  Finley :  2d,  William  Hub- 
bard, Frederick  Schaeffer  ;  3d,  Hezckiah  Niles,  Jonathan  ; 

4th,  Edward  G.  Woodyear,  James  Clark ;  6th,  James  B.  Bosley,  Ben- 
jamin C.Ross;  6th,  John  B.  Morris,  John  White;  7lh,  Benjamin 
C.  Howard,  George  Winchester;  8th,  Samuel  Moore,  Joseph  Turner, 
Jr. ;  9th,  Elisha  Tyson,  Alexander  Russell ;  10th,  John  Reese, George 
Williamson;  llth,  John  Lynch,  Joseph  Gushing;  12th,  William 
Krebs,  Kezin  Wight.    (Thomas  Phenix,  clerk ;  Hugh  D.  Evans,  as- 

1825.— Ist  Ward,  James  H.  Clerk,  John  H.  Browning;  2d,  Frederick 
Schaeffer,  William  Hubbard;  3d,  Hezckiah  Niles,  Charles  Diffen- 
derffer;  4th,  Michael  Klinefelter,  Elijah  Stansbury;  5th,  James  B. 
Bosley,  Benjamin  C.  Ross;  6th,  John  B.  Morris,  John  White;  7th, 
Ebenezer  L.  Finley,  Upton  S.  Heath;  8th,  Benjamin  Rawlings, 
Samuel  Moore;  9th,  Alexander  Russell,  Noah  Ridgely  ;  10th,  John 
Reese,  James  Curley ;  llth,  Joseph  Gushing,  John  Lynch;  12th, 
William  Krebs,  Rezin  Wight.  (Thomas  Phenix,  clerk ;  Hugh  D. 
Evans,  assistant  clerk.) 

1826.— 1st  Ward,  William  Inloes,  Isaac  Atkinson  ;  2d,  William  Hubbard, 
Frederick  Schaeffer;  3d,  Hugh  McEldery,  Charles  Diffenderffer ;  4th, 
Elijah  Stansbury,  Lambert  Thomas ;  5th,  James  B.  Bosley,  Benjamin 

C.  Ross ;  6lh,  John  B.  Morris,  John  Dukehart ;  7th,  Joseph  K.  Staple- 
ton,  John  I.  Donaldson;  8th,  Nathan  Grafton,  Samuel  Moore;  9th, 
Elisha  Tyson,  Alexander  Russell ;  loth,  John  Reese,  James  Curley  ; 
llth,  Joseph  Gushing,  Henry  Brice ;  12th,  Rezin  Wight,  William 
Krebs.    (Thomas  Phenix,  clerk  ;  H.  D.  Evans,  assistant  clerk.) 

1827.— 1st  Ward,  Thomas  C.  Morris,  Daniel  Perrigo ;  2d,  William  Hub- 
bard, William  Gatchell ;  3d,  Hugh  McEldery,  Charles  Diffenderffer ; 
4th,  Elijah  Stansbury,  James  Clark  ;  5th,  Benjamin  C.  Ross,  James 
B.  Bosley  ;  6th,  Benjamin  C.  Howard,  J.  1.  Cohen,  Jr.;  7th,  Dabney 
S.  Carr,  Johu  I.  Donaldson ;  8th,  Daniel  Schartzour,  Nathan  Graf- 
ton ;  9th,  Alexander  Russell,  Noah  Ridgely ;  10th,  James  Curley, 
John  Reese;  llth,  Joseph  Gushing,  Solomon  Etting ;  12th,  George 
Keyser,  George  Williamson.  (Thomas  Phenix,  clerk  ;  H.  D.  Evans, 
assistant  clerk.) 

1828.— Ist  Ward,  Thomas  C.  Morris,  Daniel  Perrigo ;  2d,  William  Hub- 
bard, Thomas  Curtain;  3d,  Hugh  McElderry,  Charles  Diffenderffer; 
4th,  Elijah  Stansbury,  James  Clark  ;  5th,  F.  E.  B.  Hintze,  William 
Meeteer  ;  6th,  J.  I.  Coher,  Jr.,  Edward  Jenkins  ;  7lh,  John  I.  Don- 
aldson, Joseph  K.  Stapleton;  8th,  Samuel  Moore,  Daniel  Schwarz- 
auer;  9th,  Alexander  Russell,  Noah  Ridgely;  10th,  James  Curley, 
John  Reese;  llth,  Thomas  T.Meredith,  McClintock  Young;  12th, 
George  Keyser,  George  W.  Williamson.   (Thomas  Phenix,  clerk  ;  H. 

D.  Evans,  assistant  clerk.) 

1829.— 1st  Ward,  James  M.  Mitchell,  John  Mallory  ;  2d.  Wm.  Hubbard, 
Thos.  Curtain  ;  3d,  Hugh  McElderry,  Chas.  Diffenderffer;  4th,  Elyah 
Stansbury,  Lambert  Thomas ;  6th,  Wm.  Meeteer,  Benj.  C.  Ross ;  6th, 
Jacob  I.  Cohen,  John  B.  Morris;  7th,  Joseph  K.  Stapleton,  John  I. 
Donaldson;  8th,  Samuel  Moore,  Daniel  Schwarzauer;  9th,  Noab 
Ridgely,  Alex.  Russell ;  10th,  Robert  Neilson,  Dennis  McHenry,  J,r., 
in  place  of  James  Curley,  resigned  ;  llth,  Thomas  T.  Meredith,  Mc- 
Clintock Young;  12th,  George  Keyser,  Joseph  Branson.  (Thomas 
Phenix,  clerk  ;  H.  D.  Evans,  assistant  clerk.) 

1830.— 1st  Ward,  John  Mallory,  John  H.  Browning;  2d,  John  E.  Stans- 
bury, James  Fields ;  3d,W.  H.  Hanson,  Thos.  P.  Alricks;  4th.  Elijah 
Stausbury,  Jr.,  Lambert  Thomas;  5th,  Wm.  Meeteer,  Benj.  C.  Rose; 
6th,  Jacob  I.  Cohen,  Frederick  J.  Dugan ;  7th,  Jos.  K.  Stapleton, 
John  I.  Donaldson;  8tli,  Samuel  Bloore,  Daniel  Schwarzauer;  9th, 
Richard  Bevan,  Sr.,  Patrick  Macauley  ;  loth,  Michael  S.  Baer,  Mark 
Grafton;  llth,  McClintock  Young,  James  Carroll,  Jr.;  12th,  Beal 
Randall,  Nathan  Grafton.  (Thos.  Phenix,  clerk  ;  H.  D.  Evans,  as- 
sistant clerk  ;  Thos.  Williams,  door-keeper.) 

1831.— Ist  Ward,  Robert  Millholland,  Peter  Fenley ;  2d,  William  Hub- 
bard, John  E.  Stausbury ;  3d,  W.  H.  Hansen,  Charles  Diffenderffer; 
4th,  Lambert  Thomas,  Elijah  Stansbury,  Jr. ;  6th,  Benjamin  C.  Ross, 
Wm.  Meeteer ;  6th,  John  B.  Morris,  J.  I.  Cohen,  Jr. ;  7th,  Isaac  Munroe, 
Stewart  Brown;  8th.  Zachariah  Woollen,  John  J.  Danaker;  9th, 
Noah  Ridgely,  Alexander  Russell;  10th,  Frederick  Seyln,  M.  D.  B. 
Bear ;  llth,  McClintock  Young,  James  Carroll,  Jr. ;  12th,  Valentine 
Dushane,  George  W.  Williamsou, 

1832.— 1st  Ward,  Henry  R.  Laudermau,  John  H.  Browning;  2d,  John  E. 
Stansbury,  Wm.  Hubbard;  3,1,  Wm.  II.  Haiisnn,  Tlionius  P.  Alricks; 
4th,  Benedict  J.  Danders,  Kin  ,1,  m  i  n  i n  :  >  ,  J  i  .  ili,  11.  i.iy  Meyei-8, 
Wm.  Koney  ;  Gth,  John  II    "^1  ^l  '    IniJ.Dou- 


THE   CITY   GOVERNMENT  AND  OFFICEKS. 


Blair,  Valentine  Dushane.  (Thomas  Plienix,  clerk  ;  Henry  W,  Gray, 
assistant  clerk  ;  A.  Cook,  door-keeper.) 

1833.— 1st  Ward,  Henry  K.  Lauderman,  Wni.  Inloes;  2d,  John  E.  Stans- 
bury,  Janies  A.  Thomas;  3d,  Isaac  F.  Lightner,  Thomas  P.  Alricks; 
4th,  John  J.  Gross,  Benjamin  Greble ;  5th,  Wm.  H.  Hanson,  Job 
Smith,  Jr.;  fith,  Henry  Meyers,  Benjamin  C.  Uoss ;  7th,  John  J. 
Donaldson,  Philip  Laurenson;  8th, George  Gardner,  Samnel  House; 
0th,  Noah  Ridgely,  Wm.  Gwyuu  Jones ;  10th,  J.  Zimmerman,  Archi- 
bald George;  11th,  Anthony  Miltenbergfr,  Corbin  Amoss;  12tli, 
James  Blair,  Charles  Peregoy.  (Stephen  H.  Moore,  clerk;  Edward 
Fisher,  assistant  clerk ;  A,  Cook,  door-keeper.) 

1831.— Ist  Ward,  Carey  Southcomb,  H.  R.  Lauderman;  2d,  James  H. 
Thomas,  James  Fields  ;  3d,  Samuel  Brady,  John  CuUum ;  4th,  George 
Stever,  Charles  Webb ;  5th,  Job  Smith,  Jr.,  Samuel  Child ;  6th,  Ben- 
jamin C.  Ross,  Henry  Meyers;  7th,  Philip  Laurenson,  John  Scott; 
8th,  Samuel  Ready,  George  Gardner  ;  9th,  Noah  Ridgely,  Thomas  S. 
Sheppard;  10th,  John  Coulson,  Bernard  Caskery;  11th,  Abraham 
G.  Coale,  Henry  Beamer;  12th,  James  Blair,  Walter  Ball.  (Stephen 
H.  Moore,  clerk;  Henry  W.  Gray,  assistant  clerk;  A.  Cook,  door- 

1835.— 1st  Ward,  Robert  E.  Millholland,  Peter  Fenley;  2d,  Thomas  P. 
Stran,  John  E.  Stansbury ;  3d,  Samuel  Boyd,  Benedict  I.  Sanders ; 
4th,  Joh  11 B.  Seidenstricker,  William  Chalmers ;  5th,  John  M.  Steuart, 
Samuel  Childs;  6th,  Benjamin  C.  Ross,  Henry  Meyers;  7th,  John 
Tensfleld,  John  Scott;  8th,  George  Gardner,  Daniel  Fosbenner;  Dth, 
Joshua  Dryden,  Alex  H.  Tyson  ;  luth,  James  L.  Ridgely,  Archibald 
George;  llth,  Anthony  Miltenberger,  James  Lee;  12th,  Waller 
Ball,  James  Peregoy.  (Stephen  H.  Moore,  clerk  ;  Henry  W.  Gray, 
assistant  clerk  ;  Jacob  Glosson,  door-keeper.) 

1836.— 1st  Ward,  J.  F.  Monmonier,  Peter  Fenley  ;  2d,  John  E.  Stansbury, 
James  H.  Thomas ;  3d,  John  L.  Yates,  Samnel  D.  Legrand  (in  place 
of  Benedict  I.  Sanders,  resigned);  4th,  Samuel  Harker,  John  B. 
Seidenstricker;  5th,  Samuel  Barnes,  Augustus  Mathiott;  6th,  Henry 
Meyers,  Wm.  H.  Cole;  7th,  John  Tensfield,  John  fecott;  8th,  George 
Gardner,  Daniel  Fosbenner;  0th,  Joshua  Di^den,  Alexander  Rus- 
sell, Jr.;  10th,  James  L.  Ridgely,  Bernard  Caskery;  llth,  John 
King,  Wm.  J.  Cole ;  12th,  Walter  Ball,  Henry  McKiiinell.  (Stephen 
H.  Moore,  clork  ;  Henry  W.  Gray,  assistant  clerk  ;  Jacob  Glosson, 

1837.— 1st  Ward,  Joshua  Atkinson,  John  F.  Monmonier ;  2d,  Wm.  U. 
Watson,  Daniel  Metzger  (in  place  of  Thos.  P.  Stran,  deceased)  ;  3d, 
Samuel  D.  Legrand,  Henry  Powell ;  4th,  John  B.  Seidenstricker, 
Samuel  Harker;  5th,  Augustus  Mathiott,  Richard  J.  Cross;  6th, 
Charles  Maguire,  Wm.  H.  Cole ;  7th,  Samuel  J.  Donaldson,  John 
Tensfield;  8th,  George  Gardner,  Julias  Williard;  9th,  Joshua  Dry- 
den, Alexander  Smith ;  10th,  John  Creagh,  Wm.  Barnett;  llth, 
Abraham  G.  Cole,  Chauncey  Brooks;  12th,  Thos.  Parken  Scott, 
John  W.  Watkins.  (Stephen  H.  Moore,  clerk;  Henry  W.  Gray,  as- 
sistant clerk  ;  Jacob  Glosson,  door-keeper.) 

1838.— 1st  Ward,  John  W.  Randolph,  Joshua  Atkinson  ;  2d,  John  E. 
Stansbury,  Daniel  Metzger ;  3d,  Samuel  D.  Legrand,  Thos.  P.  Al- 
ricks;  4th,  John  B.  Seidenstricker,  Robert  Howard  (in  place  of 
Samuel  Harker,  resigned) ;  5th,  Richard  J.  Cross.  Augu-stus  Ma- 
thiott ;  6th,  John  S.  Gittings,  Wm.  H.  Cole ;  "th,  Wm.  H.  Gatchell, 
John  Tensfield ;  8tli,  Thomas  Meyer,  Daniel  Schwartzauer  (in  place 
of  Samuel  Stump,  Jr.,  not  eligibl  e) ;  9th,  Joshua  Dryden,  Alexander 
Smith;  loth,  David  H.  McDonald,  John  Creagh  ;  llth,  Abraham  G. 
Cole,  Chauncey  Brooks;  12th,  Joseph  Brown,  Joshua  Watkins. 
(Stephen  H.  Moore,  clerk  ;  Henry  W.  Gi'ay,  assistant  clerk  ;  Jacob 
Glosson,  door-keeper.) 

1839.— 1st  Ward,  John  W.  Randolph,  Joshua  Atkinson ;  2d,  Daniel  Metz- 
ger, George  Kuotts;  3d,  Henry  Powell,  Addi  Piudell;  4th,  John  B. 
Seidenstricker,  Thomas  Sollers;  6th,  Augustus  Mathiott,  Richard  J. 
Cross  (in  place  of  Benjamin  Buck,  resigned) ;  6th,  Godfrey  Meyer, 
John  L.Yates;  7th,  Philip  Wallis,  William  Pinkney;  8lh,  Alexan- 
der Russell,  Thomas  Meyer;  9th,  Joshua  Dryden  (president),  Dan- 
iel P.  Barnard;  10th,  Henry  Suyder,  David  H.  McDonald;  llth, 
Francis  Burns,  Charles  M.  Keyser;  12th,  John  Wesley  Watkins, 
.Joseph  Brown.  (Stephen  H.  Moore,  clerk;  Wm.  Hope,  assistant 
clerk  ;  Jacob  Glosson,  door-keeper.) 

1840.— 1st  Ward,  Henry  R.  Lauderman,  John  F.  Monmonier;  2d,  John 
E.  Stansbury,  James  Hooper;  3d,  Addi  Pindle,  Henry  Powell ;  4th, 
Samuel  Brady  (president),  A.  I,  W.  Jackson ;  6th,  Thomas  T.  Walsh, 
William  H.  Hanson  ;  6tli,  John  L.  Yeates,  Godfrey  Meyer  ;  7th, 
Francis  I.  Dallam,  William  Pinkney  ;  8th,  Joseph  S.  Donovan,  Sam- 
uel Lucas;  9th,  Joshua  Dryden,  John  T.  Brown;  10th,  Henry 
Snyder,  Daniel  Bender;  llth,  Francis  Burns,  Charles  M.  Keyser; 
13 


12th,  John  W.  Watkins,  Joseph  Brown.  (Stephen  H.  Moore,  clerk ; 
Joseph  Neilson,  Jr.,  assistant  clerk;  Jacob  Glosson,  dnor-keeper.) 

1841.— 1st  Ward,  Peter  Fenly,  Jacob  Myers,  Jr. ;  2d,  Joseph  Ramsay, 
James  Fields;  3d,  Peregrine  Gorsnch,  Elijah  Hntton ;  4th,  A.  R. 
Blakeny,  Lewis  Holter;  6th,  Edward  De  Loughrey,  William  H. 
Hanson ;  6th,  Richard  Bradshaw,  William  Cole,  Jr. ;  7th,  Francis  J. 
Dallam,  William  Pinkney ;  Sth,  John  S.  Brown,  Joseph  Donovan ; 
9th,  Joshua  Dryden,  John  T.  Brown  ;  10th,  Henry  Snyder  (president), 
Daniel  Bender;  llth,  Francis  Burns,  Charles  M.  Keyser;  12th,  Wil- 
liam A.  Hack,  James  Peregoy.  (Stephen  H.  Moore,  clerk ;  Henry 
W.  Gray,  clerk  pro  tern. ;  Joseph  Neilson,  Jr.,  assistant  clerk;  Jacob 
Glosson,  door-keeper.)  ' 

1842. — 1st  Ward,  Henry  R.  Lauderman,  Joseph  A.  Ramsay;  2d,  Joseph 
Ramsay,  William  R.Rochester;  3d,  William  D.  Roberts,  Peregrine 
Gorsnch;  4th,  John  F.  Hass,  Charles  A.  Pendergast ,  5lh,  ElUah 
Hntton,  James  0.  McCormick  ;  6th,  Abel  R.  Blakeney,  Henry  Stay- 
lor;  7th,  William  H.  Cole,  Jr.,  Richard  Brndshaw  ;  Sth,  A.  C.  Lud- 
low, Samuel  H.  Tagart;  9th,  Levi  Taylor,  Daniel  Schwarzauer ;  10th, 
Samuel  Morris,  James  Dunn;  llth,  Charles  Towson,  A.  H.  Green- 
field; 12th,  J  Stinchcomb,  James  Peregoy;  13th,  Valentine  Dushane, 
William  A.  Hack;  14th,  Henry  Snyder  (president),  Jacob  C.  Zim- 
merman. (Henry  W.  Gray,  clerk ;  Philip  Mnth,  Jr.,  assistant  clerk; 
Jacob  Glosson,  door-keeper.) 

1843.— 1st  Ward,  Joseph  A.Ramsay,  Peter  Wells;  2d,  Joseph  Ramsay, 
William  R.  Rochester;  3d,  William  D.  Roberts,  Benjamin  Clark; 
4th,  T.  Yates  Walsh,  John  R.  Diggs;  5th,  James  Lucas,  James  Spil- 
man  ;  6th,  Henry  Staylor,  Nathaniel  Lightner;  7th,  Henry  Myers, 
Michael  Caughey;  Sth,  Edward  D.  Kemp,  Robert  Purviance ;  9th, 
John  S.  Brown,  William  A.  Fisher;  10th,  A.  R.  Levering,  Joel 
Wright;  llth,  John  W.  Ringrose,  William  Spears;  12th,  Reuben 
Aler,  Joshua  Stinchcomb;  13th,  John  W.  Watkins,  William  A. 
Hack  ;  llth,  Henry  Snyder  (president),  Jacob  Zimmerman.  (Henry 
W.  Gray,  clerk;  CM.  Cole,  assistant  clerk;  Jacob  Glosson,  door- 

1844.— 1st  Ward,  .Tames  Grieves,  John  Hughes;  2d,  James  Fields,  David 
Hudson;  3d,  James  Whiteford,  William  D.  Roberts;  4th,  Thomas 
Yates  Walsh  (president),  Joseph  Breck;  olh,  George  Brown,  Jehu 
Gorsnch ;  6th,  N.  R.  Kennedy,  Joshua  Turner;  7th,  John  H.  Ken- 
nedy, Charles  Farqnaharson ;  8th,  Edward  D.  Kemp,  Robert  Purvi- 
ance; 9th,  William  A.  Fisher,  John  S.  Brown;  10th,  William  S. 
Browning,  Joel  Wright ;  llth,  Francis  Foreman,  Charles  G.  Ridgely ; 
12th,  Alexander  Russell,  Jr.,  Horatio  Miller;  13th,  John  C.  Black- 
burn, Isaac  Mules;  llth,  Henry  Snyder,  George  A.  Heuisler.  (Wil- 
liam Hope,  clerk  ;  John  H.  Westwood,  assistant  clerk  ;  William  Ed- 
'  wards  resigned  door-keeper,  Henry  Most  appointed.) 

1845.— 1st  Ward,  Hugh  A.  Cooper,  John  W.  Croney;  2d,  David  W.  Hud- 
son, James  Fields;  3d,  John  H.  Hall,  Thomas  Hynes;  4th,  T.  Yates 
Walsh,  Joseph  Breck  ;  5th,  Samuel  Harker,  Dr.  W.  T.  Leonard,  Sr. ;  • 
6th,  Joshua  J.  Turner,  Henry  Staylor,  Sr.;  7th,  John  H.  Kennedy, 
George  Reilly;  Sth,  F.  J.  Dallam,  B.  Purviance;  9th,  John  S.  Brown, 
William  J.  Page;  10th,  William  S.  Browning,  George  C  Addison; 
llth,  C.  G.  Ridgely,  John  Green;  12th,  Alexander  Russell,  Cyrus 
Gault;  13th,  George  Suter,  Richard  Marley ;  llth,  William  Barret, 
Henry  Snyder.2  (George  P.  Woodward,  clerk;  Peregrine  Gorsnch, 
assistant  clerk;  John  Lingenfelter,  door-keeper.) 

1846.— 1st  Ward,  William  Colton;  2d,  John  Button;  3d,  John  O'Leary; 
4th,  T.  Yates  Walsh;  6th,  Col.  N.  Hickman;  6th,  Addi  Pindell,  re- 
signed, and  William  Bishop,  Jr.,  elected;  7th,  Joseph  Neilson,  Jr.; 
Sth,  Joseph  J.Turner;  9th,  Charles  Soran ;  10th,  Dr.  S.  Collins;  llth, 
Jacob  I.  Cohen,  Jr. ;  12th,  John  W.  Watkins;  13th,  Dr.  S.  Buchan- 
nan;  14th,  George  A.  Davis;  16th,  Thomas  Hooper;  16th,  William 
M.  Starr;  lYth,  John  S.  Brown;  ISth,  Felix  McCurley ;  19th,  Wil- 
liam A.  Hock  ;  20th,  Michael  Gross.  (George  P.  Woodward,  clerk  ; 
Joseph  Barling,  assistant  clerk  ;  John  Lingenfelter,  door-keeper.) 

1847.— Ist  Ward,  William  Colton  ;  2d,  Richard  C.  Wells;  3d,  J.  J.  Abra- 
hams; 4th,  J.  C.  Cockey;  5th,  Joshua  Creamer;  Cth,  George  W. 
Eager;  7th,  Lindsay  H.  Rennolds;  Sth,  J.  F.  Connolly;  9th,  Charles 
Soran:  10th,  S.  Collins;  llth,  Jacob  I.  Cohen,  Jr.;  12th,  Jesse  T. 
Peters;  13th,  W.  Spurrier;  llth,  George  A.  Davis;  16th,  Joseph 
Simms;  16th,  Edward  Spedden;  17th,  Isaiah  Gardner;  18th,  Abner 
Key:  19th,  William  A.  Hack;  20th,  Michael  Gross.  (George  P. 
Woodward,  clerk;  Joseph  Barling,  assistant  clerk;  John  Lingen- 
felter, door-keeper.) 

1848 —1st  Ward,  Wm.  Colton;  2d,  Hugh  A.  Cooper;  3d,  D.  U.  Hudson; 
4th,  Wm.  H.  Steuart;  5th,  James  Lucas ;  6th,  Wm.  Bishop,  Jr.;  7th, 


1  Resigned  May  2, 1846. 


2  Resigned  Feb.  26, 1845. 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Benjamin  German  ;  8th,  John  F.  Connolly ;  9lh,  Charles  Soran ;  loth, 
Charles  Farquhamon ;  lltli,  J.  I.  Cohen,  Jr. ;  12th,  George  T.  Marye ; 
13th,  Frederick  Pinkney;  14th,  George  A.  Davis;  16th,  Levi  Tay- 
lor; 16th,  Dennis  Kerry;  17th,  Samuel  Winter;  18th,  Levi  Hoge; 
19th,  Wm.  A.  Hack;  20th,  N.  T.  Dushane.  (George  P.  Woodward, 
clerk ;  Joseph  Barling,  assistant  clerk ,  John  Lingeufelter,  door- 
keeper.) 
1849.— 1st  \V;ir.l,  K.lw.ird  llornsy  ;  2.1,  J.  E.  Stansbury  ;  3d,  R.  C.  Wells  ; 
4th,  W,  II    -i.u.Ni,     II,,'     l:  (.,<.,,,,  i.ili.i:   >[    F.-nn;, II  ,  Till. I'.r,,. 


16th,  Ji.liii  Disin-y,  .Si-.;  Htli,  llii.rles  A.  Lcl.mi.;  l.Stli,  J.  J.  Grin- 
dall:  19th,  J.  S.  Shipley;  20th,  Nat.  T.  Dushane.  (Wni.  A.Stewart, 
clerk;  Joseph  Barling,  assistant  clerk.) 
1850.— Ist  Ward,  Edwanl  Horney ;  2d,  H.  A.  Cooper;  3d,  Isaac  Glass; 
■  4th,  J.  S.  Suter;  5th,  C.  B.  Green;  6th,  James  Gilmore;  7th,  G.  A. 
Lovering;  8th,  T.  Dobler;  9th,  0.  Woodward;  10th,  G.  Shaffner; 
11th,  J.  I.  Cohen,  Jr.  (president) ;  12th,  L.  G.  Quinlin ;  13th,  Mark 
Grafton ;  14th,  G.  A.  Davis  ;  16th,  Wm.  Carpenter;  16th,  John  Dis- 
ney ;  17th,C.  A.  Leloup;  18th,  Levi  Hoge  ;  19th.  J.S.Shipley  ;  20th, 
N.  T.  Dushane.  (Wm.  A.  Stewart,  clerk  ;  Joseph  Barling,  ussistaut 
clerk  ;  John  Kitts,  door-keeper.) 
1851.— 1st  Ward,  Edward  Homey;  2d,  David  Blanford;  3d,  Joseph 
Weathers;  4th,  James  F.  Suter;  6th,  James  H.  Cook  ;  6th,  Abel  E. 
Blakeney;  7th,  Wm.  E.  Beale;  8th,  John  F.  Connolly;  9th,  E.  G. 
Shipley;  10th,  William  B.  Purguson;  11th,  Dr.  J.  Hanson  Thomas; 
12th,  George  J.  Zimmerman  ;  13th,  John  E.  Kelso ;  14th,  Henry  P. 
Brooks;  loth,  George  D.  Tewksb'ury;  16th,  John  F.  Davis;  17tli, 
John  S.  Brown  (president) ;  18th,  Eiaza  Dill ;  19th,  George  Good- 
shell;  20th,  Joseph  Wilson.  (Wm.  A.  Stewart,  clerk;  Martin  F. 
Conway,  assistant  clerk  ;  John  Kitts,  doorkeeper.) 
1852.— 1st  Ward,  Edward  Homey  ;  2d,  David  Blauford;  3d,  William  H. 
Shelley  ;  4th,  M.  W.  Mearis;  5tli,  John  Dukehart ;  6th,  William  H. 
Young  ;  7th,  Wm.  E.  Beale ;  Stii,  E.  S.  Bowie  ;  9th,  W.  W.  Wilson ; 
10th,  C.  Z  Lucas;  Uth,  Dr.  J.  H.  Thomas;  12th,  John  T.  Morris; 
13th,  Thomas  Whelan,  Jr.;  14th,  H.  P.  Brooks;  16th,  George  D. 
Tewksbury  ;  16th,  John  F.  Davis ;  17th,  John  S.  Brown  ;  18th,  Charles 
G.Griffith;  19th,  Isaac  Mules;  20th,  N.  T.  Dusliane.  (J.  F.  Pere- 
goy,  clerk ;  Martin  F.  Conway,  assistant  clerk ;  John  Kitts,  door- 
.  keeper.) 
1853.— 1st  Ward,  William  Colton;  2d,  John  W.  Croney  ;  3d,  William  H. 
Shelley;  4th,  Malcolm  W.  Mears;  6th,  Hugh  Bolton;  6th,  John 
Bolgiano;  7th,  William  E.  Beale;  8th,  William  H.  Turner;  9th, 
George  Reilly;  10th,  Andrew  S.  Ridgely;  11th,  James  H.  Luckett; 
12th,  John  0.  Blackburn;  13th,  John  A.  Eoche;  14th,  George  P. 
Thomas;  16th,  John  F.  McJilton;  16th,  Samuel  H.  Grafton;  17th, 
John  S.  Brown  (president) ;  IStli,  Luther  Wilson  ;  19th,  D.  Eayhice; 
2Uth,  Eugene  Cummisky.  (Joseph  W.  Peregoy,  clerk;  Martin  F. 
Conway,  assistant  clerk  ;  John  Kitts,  door-keeper.) 
1864.— 1st  Ward,  John  France ;  2d,  Dr.  H.  S.  Hunt;  3d,  Joseph  Weathers ; 
4th,  William  Peters  ;  6th,  F.  H.  B.  Boyd  ;  6th,  Alexander  J.  Bouldin  ; 
7th,  Samuel  G.  Spicer:  8th,  William  Grooms;  9th,  Dr.  F.  E.  B. 
Hintze  ;  luth,  Bobert  M.  Magraw  ;  11th,  E.  Law  Rogers ;  12tb,  John 
R.'Cox;  13th,  John  A.  Roche;  Uth,  John  J.  Barry;  16th,  Joseph 
Simms;  16th,  E.  Yates  Reese;  17th,  John  S.  Brown;  18th,  Daniel 
Lepson  ;  19th,  Charles  C.  Norwood ;  20th,  B.  F.  Zimmerman.  (Jo- 
seph M.  Peregoy,  clerk ;  Martin  F.  Conway,  assistant  clerk;  John 
Kitts,  door-keeper.) 
1855.— Ist  Ward,  John  France ;  2d,  James  Mullen,  of  0.;  3d,  Joseph  H. 
Boyd;  4th,  James  S.  Suter;  5th,  F.  H.  B  Boyd;  6th,  R.  K.  Craw- 
ford; 7th,  Samuel  G.  Spicer  (president);  8th,  J.  J.  Barker;  9th, 
James  H.  Cox  ;  10th,  Charles  L.  Kraft;  11th,  John  S.  Wright;  12th, 
John  A.  Thompson  ;  131h,  George  K.  Quail ;  14th,  Jacob  Oounselman ; 
15th,  E.  W.  Rpgester ;  ICth,  Orlando  G.  White ;  17th,  William  Pyle  ; 
18th,  Daniel  Lepson;  19th,  William  M.  Woods;  20th,  William  I. 
Nicholls.  (Columbus  Huzza,  clerk  ;  M.  H.  Pollock,  assistant  clerk  ; 
Andrew  Salisbury,  door-kefper.j 
1856.— 1st  Ward,  .bilH I  limi  :l  .hnn.-a  Mullen,  of  O.;  3d,  Jacob  F. 
Grove;  4th,  Will.  M    i  i  'li.  F.  H.  B.  Boyd;  6th,  Samuel 

Kirk;  7th,  I.iH.  II       l-    ^^  -ili,  John  B.  Tidy ;  9th,  John  K. 

Carroll;  10th,  .\ii  ii  »  -  lli  '■-_■  1,\  ;  lllh,  Charles  J.  Pennington; 
12th,  George  P.  'llHinuis;  bllli,  Augustus  M.  Price;  Uth,  John  F. 
McJilton;  15th,  Joseph  Simms  ;  16th,  Sanmel  Duer;  17th,  William 
Delanty;  18th,  Joshua  H.  Hynes;  19th,  Samuel  J.  Garrison;  20th, 
Thomas  Sewell,  Jr. 
1867.— 1st  Ward,  Frederick  S.  Turner;  2d,  M.  A.  Daiger;  3d,  Philip  II. 


Muller;  4th,  Frederick  Pinkney;  5th,  F.  H.  B.  Boyd;  6tli,  Jacob 
Green;  7th,  Henry  Forrest;  8th,  .lohn  B.  Tidy;  9th,  John  K.  Car- 
roll; 10th,  Benjamin  F.  Nails;  11th,  Frank  Key  Howard;  12th, 
John  T.  Ford;  13th,  T.  Oswald  Wilson;  14th,  John  F.  McJilton 
(president) ;  16th,  Heniy  Handy  ;  16th,  F.  C.  Crowley ;  17th,  J.  Henry 
Travers ;  IStli,  Joshua  H.  Hynes ;  19th,  Daniel  Harvey ;  20th,  Thomas 
Sewell,  Jr.  (John  Bunting,  clerk  ;  John  K.  Wright,  assistant  clerk  ; 
A.  J.  Bandel,  door-keeper.) 

1858.— 1st  Ward,  Caleb  B.  Hynes;  2d,  Leonard  J.  Bandel;  3d,  William 
i.  Maddox;  4th,  Silas  Beacham;  5th,  John  Dukehart;  6th,  C.  A. 
Talbot:  7th,  William  E.' Beale  ;  8th,  John  J.  Staylor;  9th,  George 
A.  Cuningham  ;  10th,  A.  J.  Hampson;  11th,  Jehu  Hamilton  ;  12th, 
John  T.  Ford  (president) ;  13th,  Sanmel  R.  Duunock  ;  14th,  Joshua 
Drydeu;  15th,  James  H.  Wood;  16th,  John  W.  Glanville;  17th, 
William  Addison ;  18th,  Amos  McComas;  19th,  Daniel  Harvey :  20th, 
Charles  H.  Clark.  (Richard  E.  Battee,  clerk ;  Thomas  D.  Sultzer, 
assistant  clerk  ;  \.  J.  Bandel,  door-keeper.) 

1869.— 1st  Ward,  Caleb  B.  Hynes;  2d,  John  W.  Randolph;  3d,  Gustavus 
A.  Henderson ;  4th,  Silas  Beacham  ;  6th,  Alford  Mace  ;  6th,  Charles 
A.  Talbott;  7th,  William  E.  Beale;  8th,  William  H.  Jenkins;  9th, 
George  A.  Cunningham;  10th,  Samuel  T.  Houstou;  11th,  John 
Hamilton;  12th,  John  T.  Ford  (president);  13th,  James  Clark; 
14th,  L.  P.  D.  Newman;  loth,  James  H.  Wood;  16tli,  John  W. 
Glanville;  17th,  William  Addison;  18th,  George  W.  Bain;  19th, 
Thomas  H.  Mules ;  20th,  William  L.  Montague.  (Richard  R.  Bat- 
tee,  clerk  ;  Thomas  D.  Sultzer,  assistant  clerk ;  A.  J.  Bandell,  door- 

1860.— 1st  w. II. I,  I. Ill, 11. .11  I   111.-     J.l.  - M    Kvaus;  3d,  George  R. 

Calli:-:  ..i      I    .    .1     I       \.'         -.1  I.  .■:  Uth,  C.  A.Talbot; 

7tli,S:,:,        ..    -.  i       ,  I  Koberts ;  9th,  Henry 

Poll.'.  1,  l.iih,  .\i.  \  ml.  r  r.  hi.  Mil.  I  ..  jli  Uiitigher;  12th,  John 
C.  Blackburn;  Ultli,  Augustus  M.  Price;  Uth,  Richard  Price;  15th, 
Joseph  Simms ;  16th,  Edward  Spedden ;  17th,  Steptoe  B.  Taylor :  18th, 
George  W.  Barri ;  19th,  William  Linton ;  20lh,  C.  Sidney  Norris. 
(Thomas  D.  Sultzer,  clerk ;  John  N.  Wright,  assistant  clerk ;  A.J. 
Bandell,  door-keeper.) 

1861.— Ist  Ward,  Jacob  Yeisley  ;  2d,  George  W.  Wolf;  3d,  Jacob  Myers ; 
4th,  Col.  Owen  Bouldiu;  oth,  David  E.  Thomas,  Sr.;  6th,  George  S. 
Bandel;  7th,  John  Bolgiano;  8th,  John  J.  Staylor,  of  H.;  9th, 
Thomas  J.  Brown ;  10th,  John  Spear  Nicholas ;  11th,  E.  Wyatt 
Blanchard;  12th,  Charles  E.  Phelps;  13th,  John  C.  Blackburn 
(president);  Uth,  Heiirv  W.  Driikely;  l.=.tli,  Suloinun  Allen;  16th, 


H.  Cl,i,..  ,  1711.    .11  ..    \    I     Iv.    II     Mil    .1 Hay;  19th, 

John  H.  Tegni...N.  I  II  i        ,     -.     l.rit,  clerk; 

William  J.  O'Bi  II  i     .         .  ill:  ;..  ,  |.er.) 

1862.— 1st  Ward,  Willi, nil  I  w  iI.lhm^  ,  j.l.  11.  .  In  \  n.li  -  «  !Schwartzj 
3d,  Edward  S.  Lunideu;  4lh,  John  L.  Cliapnian  linting  as  mayor); 
5th,  James  Young;  6th,  .lohn  Evans:  7th,  William  S.  Crowley  (presi- 
dent pro  ton.);  8th,  Andrew  J.Burke;  9th,  John  Dukehart;  10th, 
David  H.  Hoopes;  Uth,  Sebastian  F.  Slreeter  ;  12th,  C.  Sidney  Nor- 
ris; 13th,  Peter  G.  Sauerweiu;  14th,  Samuel  Duer;  15th,  William 
Sullivan  ;  16th,  John  Barron ;  17th,  Philip  Kirkwood  ;  18th,  Thomas 
W.  Cromer;  19th,  J.  M.  Kimberiy  ;  20th,  Thomas  H.  Mules.  (Andrew 
J.  Bandel,  clerk ;  George  W.  Brooks,  reading  clerk ;  James  Maddux, 

1S63.— 1st  Ward,  Stephen  Whalen;  2d,  Frederick  C.  Meyer;  3d,  Edward 
S.  Lamdin  ;  4th,  William  McClymont :  6th,  James  Young  (president) : 
6th,  Joseph  J.  Robinson;  7th,  Noah  Gill;  8th,  Andrew  J.  Burke; 
9th,  John  Dukehart;  10th,  David  H.  Hoopes;  Uth,  Sebastian  F. 
Streeter:  12th,  John  T.  Bishop;  13th,  Oliver  Dennis;  Uth,  John  F. 
Towner:  l.iib,  Tli,iuias  H.  Evans;  16th,  Oliver  M.  Disney;  17th, 
Pbili|.  1, 1. 1  „,.,  I  I  -11. ,  T I  lomiis  W.Cromer;  19th,Robert  M.  Proud  ; 
2mli,    I  M     Ml.-    ^Andrew  J.  Bandel,  clerk;  George  W. 

Bri'.'l.         .   n.  .lames  Maddux,  sergeant-at-arms.) 

1864.— Isi  \\  .    .     I     , Mull ;  2d,  Frederick  C.  Meyer;  3d,  Edward 

S.  l-.iii.  1..  II  Wil  1,1111  McClymont;  6th,  James  Young  (presi- 
d<Miii  .  :  I  I  I,  .1  K.i.uison;  7th,  Dr.  Geo.  W.  Waysou  ;  8th,  J. 
C.  Ki.ili  .  ili.i  hii  iMikeliart;  10th,  George  Keyser;  Uth,  Sebas- 
tian F.  .stieetur;  12lli,  John  T.  Bishop;  13th,  Wilson  O.  Horner; 
14th,  Dr.  C.  C  Keyser  ;  15th,  Edward  H.  Price;  16th,  Oliver  M.  Dis- 
ney; 17th,  Charles  H.  Boweu ;  18th,  John  M.Jones;  19th,  Robert 
M.  Proud;  2uth,  A.  I).  Keigns..ii.  i  Andrew  J.  Bandel,  clerk;  George 
W.  Brooks,  rei.iliii.  .1  :k     ,i  .-    M  ..liln.\,  sergeant-at-amis.) 

1865.— 1st  Ward,  II   i  I  J  1,  Joseph  Buppcrt ;  3d,  Edward 

S.  Lamdin;  4lli,   \    -    -,  i  i.  .lames  Young  (president);  Oth, 

John  Evans;   7ili,   1' \\    Wi.ison;  Sth.  J.  C.  Craft;  9th,  0. 

Hcrriug;  loth,  U.  i;.  Gorsuch;   Uth,  Samuel  T.  Hatch  ;  12th,  W.  I. 


THE    CITY   GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 


Nicholls ;  l:Uli,  John  R.  Cox  ;  14tli,  Dr.  C.  C.  Kejser ;  IStli,  Edward 
H.Price;  16th,  R.  C.  Green ;  17th,  Jas.  T.  Caulk;  18th,  John  M. 
Jones;  19th,  Samuel  A.  Ewalt ;  20th,  Valentine  Foreman.  (George 
W.  Brooks,  clerk ;  James  L.  Parr,  reading  clerk ;  James  Maddux, 
sergeant-at-arms.) 

1866— 1st  Ward,  Joshua  Lynch  ;  2d,  Eichard  F.  Henneborry ;  3d,  Thos. 
C.  McGuire  ;  4th,  A.  S.  Stewart ;  5th,  James  Young  (president) ;  6th, 
Thomas  Bruscup;  7th,  Salome  Marsh  ;  8th,  J.  C.  Kraft ;  9th,  0.  Her- 
ring; 10th,  U.  G.  Gorsuch;  11th,  Henry  S.  Lankford;  12th,  W.I. 
Nicholls;  13th,  Samuel  Wiley;  14th,  Dr.  C.  C.  Keyser;  15th,  Ed- 
ward H.  Price ;  16th,  R.  C.  Green  ;  17th,  James  I..  Caulk ;  18th,  John 
M.  Jones  ;  19th,  Samuel  A.  Ewalt ;  20th,  Valentine  Foreman,  (George 
W.  Brooks,  clerk ;  James  L,  Parr,  reading  clerk ;  James  Maddux, 
sergeant-at.arms.) 

1867 —Ist  Waid,  Thomas  B.  Burch ;  2d,  J.  B.  Herold;  3d,  Jas.  T.  Ran- 
dolph ;  4th,  A.  S.  Stewart;  5th,  Nicholas  Brewer;  6th,  Jos.  J.  Rob- 
inson ;  7tli,  Jos.  D.  Brooks,  M.D. ;  8th,  Samuel  S.  Green  ;  9th,  Benj. 
F.Falls;  10th,  E.  R.  Horner;  11th,  S.J.  K.  Handy;  12th,  W.I. 
Nicholls  ;  13th,  A.  J.  Bartholow ;  14th,  Aaron  Fenton ;  16th,  Wilson 
Proctor ;  16th,  John  Smith  ;  17tli,  James  T.  Caulk ;  18th,  John  M. 
Jones  (president) ;  19th,  Samuel  A.  Ewalt;  20th, J.  Baukerd.  (George 
W.  Brooks,  clerk;  James  L.  Parr,  reading  clerk  ;  James  Maddux, 
sergeant-at-arms.) 

1868.— 1st  Wanl,  Frederick  Wehr;  2d,  Chris.  Hergesheimer ;  .3d,  John 
Wickersham;  4th,  William  H.  Vickery ;  6th,  James  Lucas;  6th, 
Isaac  George  ;  7th,  S.  S.  Mills ;  Sth,  Thomas  Coburn  ;  9th,  Frederick 
liaiue;  10th,  George  H.  Pagels;  11th,  Samuel  H.  Tagart;  12th, 
Samuel  Meakin  ;  13th,  John  Purcell ;  Uth,  Henry  Duvall  (presi- 
dent); l.ith,  J. Godfrey  Spies;  16th,  William Merriken;  17th,  Daniel 
Piquelt;  18th,  Felix  McCurley;  19th,  W.  H.Emerick;  20th,  Heze- 
kiah  Crout.  (James  Hyde,  clerk ;  Nicholas  Watkius,  assistant 
clerk.) 

1869.— 1st  Ward,  George  W.  Bishop;  2d,  Chris.  Hergesheimer;  3d,  John 
Wickersham;  4th,  William  H.  Vickery;  Sth,  N.  Rufus  Gill;  6th, 
Joseph  B.  Escaville;  7th,  S.  S.  Mills;  Rth,  Thomas  Coburn;  9th,  W. 
W.  Arthur;  lOtli,  George  11.  Pagels;  Uth,  C.  0.  O'Donnell;  12th, 
Bernard  Carter;  llltli,  .Josepli  W.  Eggleston;  14tb,  Henry  DuTall 
(presideuti;  l:.th,  .John  Ferry;  li.tli,  William  Merriken;  17th,  Geo. 
A.  Feig;  18th.  Joseph  G.  Johnson;  lOtli,  Thomas  G.  Scharf;  20th, 
Hezekiali  Crout.     (James  Hyde,  clerk  ;  S.  J.  Joice,  assistant  clerk.) 

1870.— Ist  Ward,  George  W.  Bishop  (president);  2d,  Henry  Weitzell;  3d, 
John  Wickersham;  4th,  A.  C.  Trippe;  Sth,  N.  Rufus  Gill;  6th,  Wil- 
liam Shaflield;  7tb,  S.  S.  Mills;  8th,  Thomas  P.  Kernan  ;  9th,  Owen 
Ward:  10th,  J.  D.  Stewart;  Uth,  John  Downey;  12th,  Bernard  Car- 
ter; 13th,  John  Feast;  14th,  James  O.Randall;  16th,  John  Ferry; 
16th,  William  Merriken;  17th,  George  A.  Feig;  18th,  Joseph  G. 
Johnson;  19th,  Thomas  G.  Scharf;  20th,  M.  A.  Mullin.  (James 
Hyde,  chief  clerk ;  A.  V.  MilhoUand,  assistant  cleik.) 

1871.— Ist  Ward,  George  W.  Bishop  (president);  2il,  Henry  Weitzell;  3d, 
J.  R.  Hudgius;  4th,  A.  C.  Trippe;  Sth,  John  M.Bruce;  6th,  A.  E.  I 
Smyik:  7th,  S.  Sands  Mills;  Sth,  Thomas  Kernan:  9th, Owen  Ward; 
10th,  John  W.  Torsch;  Uth,  G.  M.  Bond;  l:;tli,  Benjamin  Price; 
13th,  J.  F.  Sonimerlock  ;  14tli,  James  C.  Randall  ;  l,jth,  G.  R.  Berry ;  I 
16th,  J.  A.  Freeberger;  17tb,  Lewis  Ehlers;  IStli,  Josepli  G.John- 
son ;  19th,  W.  W.  OrndortT;  20th,  H.  Crout.  (Dr.  W.  H.  Cole,  clerk ; 
A.  V.  MilhoUand,  assistant  clerk.) 

1872.— Ist  Ward,  William  A.  Masaiott;  2d,  Henry  Weitzell;  3il,  Hugh 
Gifford;  4th,  John  K.  Carroll;  Sth,  E.  G.  Hipsley;  6th,  E.  F.  Na- 
niuth;  7th,  George  W.  King;  Sth,  James  Boyle;  9th,  George  W. 
Hardesty;  loth,  Henry  Seini ;  Uth,  William  Conn;  12th,  Charies 
Towson;  13th,  A.  H.Greenfield ;  14th,  George  W.  Porter  (president); 
15th,  James  Hughes;  16th,  Jacob  Schenkle;  17th,  William  Bone; 
18th,  John  Milroy ;  19th,  William  W.  Orndorff ;  20th,  John  T.  Gettier. 
(A.  V.  Milhollaud,  clerk ;  Robert  F.  Ross,  assistant  clerk;  Richard 
Lilly,  sergeant-at-arms.) 

1873.— 1st  Ward,  Charies  Streeper;  2d,  E.  Hergesheimer;  3d,  Hugh  Gif- 
ford ;  4th,  John  K.  Carroll;  Sth,  Stanley  Hynson ;  6th,  George  R. 
Callis;  7th,  George  W.  King;  Sth,  James  Boyle;  9th,  George  W. 
Hardesty;  10th,  Henry  Seinu;  11th,  William  Conn;  12th,  Charles 
Towsou;  1.3th,  A.  H.  Greenfield;  Uth,  John  H.Bell;  15th,  James 
Hughes;  16th,  William  McClellan ;  17th,  Lewis  Ehlers;  18th,  Dr. 
James  G.  Linthicnm;  19th,  William  W.  Orndorlf;  20th,  George  W. 
Fisher.  (A.  V.  MilhoUand,  clerk;  J.  Frank  Brady,  assistant  clerk; 
Richard  Lilly,  sergeant-at-arms ;  Edward  L.  Clark,  page.) 

1874.— Ist  Ward,  James  T.Kirby;  2d,  E.  Hergesheimer ;  3d,  James  Logan, 
Jr.;  4th,  C.  W.  Lewis;  Sth,  Stanley  Hynson  ;  6th,  John  L.  Baker; 
7th,  James  Bond;   Sth,  M.  J.  Owens;  9th,  Telfair  Marriott;  10th, 


Warlield  T.  Browning;  11th,  William  Conn  ;  12tli,  Joseph  S.  Heuis- 
ler  ;  13th,  Otis  Keilholtz  (president) ;  14th,  George  W.  Porter;  ISth, 
Thomas  H.  Kice;  16th,  Jacob  H.  Freeburger;  17th,  John  T.  Lang- 
ville ;  18th,  Dr.  James  G.  Linthicum  ;  19th,  John  T.  Ford  ;  20th,  Dr. 
Charies  W.  Chancellor.  (A.  V.  MilhoUand,  clerk ;  J.  Frank  Brady, 
assistant  clerk;  James  Stanton,  sergeant-at-arms;  Daniel  Barr, 
page.) 

1875.— 1st  Ward,  Andrew  F.  Shroeder;  2d,  Henry  Cashmyer;  3d,  E.  W. 
Bennett ;  4th,  C.  W.  Lewis ;  Sth,  Joseph  Sapp ;  6th,  John  L.  Baker ; 
7th,  Thomas  A.  Onion ;  Sth,  Thomas  P.  Kernan  ;  9th,  William  E. 

Stewart;  10th, ;  11th,  H.  R.  Dulany;  12th,  Joseph  S. 

Heuisler;  13th,  Otis  Keilholtz  (president) ;  14th,  Joseph  C.  Randall; 
l.lth,  M.  W.  Douavau;  16th,  Joseph  McCawIey;  17th,  John  Fitz- 
patrick  ;  18th,  John  S.  Bullock ;  19th,  W.  W.  Orndoff ;  20th,  Dr. 
Charies  W.  Cliancellor.  (A.  V.  MilhoUand,  clerk  ;  J.  Frank  Brady, 
assistant  clerk;  Allen  E.  Forrester,  general  committee  clerk  ;  James 
Staunton,  sergeant-at-arms;  Daniel  Barr,  page.) 

1876.— 1st  Ward,  A.  F.  Shroeder;  2d,  James  Cloke;  3d,  E.  W.  Bennett, 
Sr. ;  4th,  Thomas  Kelly  ;  Sth,  J.  George  Gehring ;  6th,  D.  G.  McCul-  ■ 
loch  ;  7th,  W.  G.  Bay ;  Sth,  Thomas  P.  Kernan  ;  9th,  J.  Frank  Lewis ; 
10th,  Henry  Seim  (president);  11th,  Charles  G.Kerr;  12th,  Henry 
D.Loney;  13tb,  Charies  Dunlap  ;  14th,  John  S.  Hogg;  ISth,  M.  W. 
Donavan;  16th,  C.  Schumacher;  17th,  William  H.Collins;  18th,  J. 
F.  Cook ;  19th,  William  J.  Hooper;  20th,  William  S.  Young.  (A.  V. 
MilhoUand,  clerk;  W.E.Hoffman,  reading  clerk;  Allen  E.  For- 
rester, committee  clerk  ;  George  T.  Fowler,  sergeant-at-arms ;  Spencer 
J.  Bunting,  door-keeper ;  George  W.  Rice,  page.) 

1877.— Ist  Ward,  Richard  Wells;  2d,  James  Cloke;  3d,  James  Logan; 
4th,  Thomas  Kelly ;  Sth,  N.  Rufus  Gill  (president) ;  6th,  John  B. 
Wentz;  7th,  Samuel  Kerk;  Sth,  Thomas  P.  Kernan;  9th,  J.  Frank 
Lewis;  10th,  Henry  Seim;  11th,  H.  Rozier  Dulany;  12th,  Charies 
Towson;  13th,  Otis  Keilholtz;  Uth,  John  Gephart,  Jr.;  loth,  M.  W. 
Donavin;  16th,  C.  Schumacher;  17th,  William  H.  Collins;  18th, 
James  F.  Newbold;  19th,  G.  Ober;  20tli,  Dr.  C.  W.  Chancellor.  (A. 
V.  MilhoUand,  clerk;  Jacob  F.  Cook,  reading  clerk;  Allen  E.  For- 
rester, committee  clerk  ;  William  H.  Hamilton,  sergeant-at-arms ; 
John  H.  Krager,  door-keeper  ;  Master  John  Mitchell,  page.) 

1878.— 1st  Ward,  George  M.  D.  Wood ;  2d,  Henry  Cashmyer ;  3d,  James 
Logan,  Jr.;  4th,  Eugene  Kernan;  6th,  Johu  McCart;  6th,  D.  M. 
Reese;  7th,  Samuel  Kirk;  Sth,  Robert  Johnson;  9th,  J.  Frank 
Lewis;  10th,  Michael  Connolly;  11th,  Dr.  J.  P.  Thorne ;  12th,  D. 
Giraud  Wright ;  13th,  Otis  Keilholtz  (president);  14th,  Alvin  Robert- 
son ;  16th,  M.E.  Mooney;  10th,  Robert  A.  Ponlton;  17th,  William 
H.  Collins;  18th,  James  F.  Newbold;  19th,  A.  H.  Greenfield;  20th, 
N.  A.  Hamsburg.  (A.  V.  MilhoUand,  clerk:  Jacob  F.  Cook,  reading 
clerk;  W.Bolton  Fitzgerald,  committee  clerk;  William  S.Hamil- 
ton, sergeant-at-arms;  Joseph  H.  Krager,  door-keeper;  M.  Farre], 
page.) 

1879.— 1st  Ward,  George  M.  D.  Wood;  2d,  Henry  Cashmyer;  3d,  James 
L.igari;  4tb,  Eugene  Kernan;  Sth,  John  McWilliams;   6th,  D.  M. 

r,r.        Tiii.  I II.  Ives;  Sth,  John  Meers;  9th,  John  J.  Mahon  ; 

liii!      il:  .         1  Ith,  John  Stewart;  12th,  D.  G.  Wright;  13th, 

Mil     I  M     A.  Robertson;  ISth,  M.  E.  Mooney;  16tli,  R. 

.\,  !■  nil  I.  i:ili,  \\illiam  H.Collins;  ISth,  James  F.  Deale;  luth, 
A.  II.  Greenfield;  2(ith,  G.  H.  Williams.    (A.  V.  MilhoUand,  chief 

1880.— 1st  Ward,  Dr.  J.  D.  Fiske  ;  2d,  Thomas  H.  Hamilton;  3d,  Samuel 
E.  Atkinson;  4th,  William  J.  Kelly;  Sth,  J.St.  L.  Perry;  6th,  Joshua 
Horner,  Jr.;  7th,  John  M.  Gelz;  Sth,  John  Meers;  9th,  John  J. 
Mahon;  loth,  H.  G.  Flcdderman;  11th,  John  Stewart  (president); 
12th,  D.  Giraud  Wright;  13th,  James  B.  Weaver;  14th,  John  S. 
Hogg;  15th,  M.  E.  Mooney;  16th,  Jacob  Schonkel;  17th,  Henry 
Sanders;  18th,  James  Broumel ;  19th,  M.  A.  Miller;  20th,  J.  A.  Dob- 
son.  (A.  V.  MilhoUand,  clerk ;  W.  B.  Fitzgerald,  reading  clerk ; 
Henry  A.  Schultz,  committee  clerk  ;  George  W.  Green,  sergeant-at- 
arms;  Joseph  Krager,  door-keeper;  C.  E.  Thompson,  page.) 

1881.- Ist  Ward,  Nicliolas  Tegges;  2d,  T.  H:  Hamilton;  3d,  S.  E.  Atkin- 
son ;  4th,  William  J.  Kelly ;  Sth,  Charies  S.  Moran,  Jr. ;  6th,  George 
W.  Snyder;  7th,  John  M.  Getz;  Sth,  Robert  Johnston ;  9th,  John  J. 
Mahon;  10th,  H.  G.  Fledderman;  11th,  Skipwith  Wilmer;  12th,  I. 
Parker  Veazey  (president) ;  13th,  John  J.  Kahler ;  14th,  Alvin  Rob- 
ertson; 15th,  M.  E.  Mooney;  16th,  Jacob  Schenkel ;  17th,  Charles 
Dittmar;  18th,  James  Broumel;  19th,  M.  Alexander  Miller;  20th, 
John  M.  Dulany.  (A.  V.  MilhoUand,  chief  clerk  ;  W.  B.  Fitzgerald, 
reading  clerk;  Henry  A.  Schultz,  committee  clerk;  George  W. 
Green,  sergeant-at-arms ;  Joseph  Krager,  door-keeper ;  John  F.  Cof- 
fay,  page.) 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Members  of  the  Second  Branch  City  Council 
from  1797  to  1881. 

1797.— l3t  Ward,  William  Goodwin,  Sr.;  2d,  Nicholas  Rogere;  3d,  John 
Merrj-man;  4th,  Henry  Nicols;  .Ith,  Robeit  Gilmor;  6th,  David 
Stewart  (succeeded  in  1798  by  Richard  Lawson) :  7th,  Kdward  John- 
son, Jr.;  8th,  Job  Smith.  (R.  U.  Moale,  clerk ;  Benjamin  Mason, 
messenger.) 

17D9.— l8t  Ward,  William  Goodwin,  Sr. ;  2d,  Nicholas  Rogers ;  3d,  John 
Merrymau;  4th,  William  McCrecry  ;  5th,  Robert  Gilmor;  6th.  Wil- 
liam C.  Goldsmith ;  7th,  Edward  Johnson  ;  8th,  Job  Smith. 

1801.— 1st  Ward,  Henry  Stouffer ;  2d,  Nicholas  Rogers  ;  3d,  John  Merry- 
man  ;  4th,  William  McCreery  ;  6th,  Robert  Gilmor;  6th,  William  C. 
Goldsmith;  7th,  Edward  Johnson;  8th,  Job  Smith.  (K.  H.  Moale, 
clerk  ;  Thomas  Cooper,  messenger.) 

1S03.— 1st  Ward,  William  Cooke;  2d,  Henry  Payson  ;  3d,  George  Prcsst- 
nian;  4tli,  Robert  Gilmor;  6tli,  Cumberland  Dugan ;  6th,  Andrew 
Buchauau  ;  7th.  Philip  Mooie;  8th,  Thorndike  Chase. 

1806.— 1st  Ward,  Jacob  File;  2d,  Henry  Payson;  3d,  James  Calhoun;    1 
4th,  Robert  Gilmor;  .itli,  J.icob  Myers;  6th,  Micliae!  DlfTenderffer; 
7tb,  I\I:nk  l')i;.-I>  ,   M ] J,  ^\il]iam  Jackson. 

1807. — lst^^.l:      '■  I     ^^  I   !!■  Id;  2d, Henry  Payson;  3d,  James  Cal- 

houn; lili    i:  th,  John  Purviance;  6th,  Michael  Dif- 

fenderl1<i  .  Tii.    M.v.t.  rmuk';  8th,  Joseph  Biays. 

1809.— 1st  Ward,  Hi-iiry  Stouffer;  2d,  Henry  Payson;  3d,  James  Cal- 
houn; 4th,  Robert  Gilmor  ( he  resigned  and  Thomas  Dickson  elected) ; 
.■ith,  Cumberland  Dugan;  6th,  Jacob  Miller;  7th,  William  McDon- 
ald ;  8tli,  James  Biays. 

1810.— 1st  Ward,  Charles  Bohn;  2d,  Henry  Payson  ;  3d,  James  Calhoun; 
4th,  John  C.  White ;  5tb,  Cnmberland  Dugan  (in  1811,  Elias  Barnaby 
elected);  6th,  Jacob  Miller;  7th,  William  McDonald;  8th,  James 

1813.— 1st  Ward,  Charles  Bohn ;  2d,  Henry  Payson ;  3d,  James  Calhoun, 
Sr.  (in  1816,  John  Hollins  was  elected);  4th,  John  C.  White;  6th, 
John  Finley  (iu  1815,  Cumberland  Dugan  was  elected) ;  6th,  Jacob   i 
Miller;  7tb,  Ludwig  Henning  ;  8th,  James  Biays. 
1S17.— 1st  Ward,  Peter  Forney;  2d,  Henry  Payson;  3d,  John  Hollins; 
4th,  John  C.  White  ;  5th,  William  Warner  ;  6th,  Jacob  Miller ;  7th, 
William  Bromwell,  Jr. ;  8th,  James  Biays. 
1818.—lst  Ward,  Peter  Forney;  2d,  Henry  Payson;  3d,  John  Hollins; 
4th,  John  C.  White;  5th,  William  Wainer;  6th,  Jacob  Miller;  7th, 
William   Bromwell,  Jr.;  8th,  James  Biays;  9th,  Abraham   White, 

Jr.;  10th,  Amos  A.  Williams;  llth,  David  Williamson ;  12th, . 

1819.— Ist  Ward,  David  Burke;  2d,  Philip  Moore;  3d,  Isaac  McKim; 
4th,  Jacob  Miller;  5th,  WiUiam  Warner;  0th,  Amos  A.Williams; 
7th,  John  Holiins;  8th,  Samuel  Moore;  9th,  Henry  Payson:  10th, 
Benjamin  Ellicott;  llth,  Adam  Welsh  (in  1820  he  resigned,  when 
Henry  Stouffer  was  elected) ;  12th,  George  Warner.  (Thomas  Rogers, 
clerk.) 
1821.— 1st  Ward,  David  Burke ;  2d,  Philip  Moore ;  3d,  Isaac  McKim  ;  4tli, 
John  H.  Barney ;  5th,  William  Meeteer ;  6th,  Amos  A.Williams; 
7th,  James  Mosher;  8th,  Samuel  Moore ;  9th,  Thomas  Sheppard; 
10th,  Benjamin  Ellicott ;  llth,  John  Stouffer;  12th,  George  Warner. 
(Thomas  Rogers,  clerk.) 
1822.— 1st  Ward.  David  Burke  ;  2d,  Philip  Moore  (president) ;  3d,  George 
Douglas;  4th,  John  A.  Barney;  5th,  William  Meeteer;  6th,  Amos  A. 
Williams;  7th,  James  Mosher ;  Stli,  Sanmel  Moore;  9th,  Thomas  S. 
Sheppard ;  loth,  Benjamin  Ellicott ;  llth,  John  Stouffer ;  12th,  George 
Warner.  (Robert  Wilson,  Jr.,  cleik.) 
1823.— Ist  Ward,  David  Burke;  2d,  Philip  Moore  (president);  3d,  Daniel 
Bosley  ;  4th,  John  H.  Barney;  5tli,  William  Meeteer;  6th,  William 
Pattereon;  7th,  James  Mosher;  8th,  Peter  Gold;  9th,  Jacob  Small 
(in  1824,  Robert  Miller  represented  this  ward) ;  loth,  Benjamin  El- 
licott: llth,  Henry  Stouffer;  12th,  Beale  Randall.  (Robert  Wilson, 
Jr.,  clerk.) 
1825.— 1st  Ward,  David  Burke;  2d,  Philip  Moore;  3d,  Daniel  Bosley; 
4th,  Cosmo  G.  Stevenson  (iu  1826,  Philip  P.  Eckle  was  the  represen- 
tative); 5th,  William  Meeteer  (in  1826,  Baltzer  Schaeffer  was  the  rep- 
resentative);  0th,  James  lieatty  ;  7th,  Jiiiiies  Mosber;8th,  Peter 
i„,l,l  .  iMh.  K..|m.||  .Mill, I,  lull,,  l;.  I, M, nil,  1. ill, -,,11;  nth,  Henry 
M,,iill,,!  ,   Iji!,,  W  ill!,, Ml  r    \'  'I'  I,        ■!   w  il,<,.>u,  Jr.,  Clerk.) 

I-JT.     1,1  w, ,1,1,  li.i. ,,;  Hull.,  .       .  i'    ,    1    >i      ■  i,  Iiiiniel  Bosley  (in 

!,-,;;,>,  Wilii.uii  l:i.-;iii>  \v.i»  Uii'  1,  iju..uiii.iiu, , ,  iLli,  Tliomas  Kelso; 
6tli,  Baltzer  Schauller  ;  0th,  I'liilip  Laurensou  ;  7th,  James  Mosher; 
8th,  Peter  Gold;  9th,  Dr.  Patrick  Macauloy  ;  10th,  Francis  H.  Dav- 
idge ;  llth,  Henry  Stouffer ;  12th,  William  Krehs.  (Robert  Wilson, 
Jr.,  clerk.) 


1829.— iBt  Ward,  Wm.  Inloes;  2d,  Philip  Moore;  3d,  William  Beany  ; 
4th,  Thomas  Kelso:  6th,  Baltzer  Schaeffer;  6th,  Philip  Laurenson  ; 
7th,  Fielding  Lucas,  Jr. ;  8th,  Wm.  J.  Wight ;  9th,  Joseph  W.  Patter- 
son ;  10th,  John  Reese ;  llth,  Henry  Stouffer;  12th,  Samuel  McClel- 
lan.    (T.  H.  Belt,  clerk.) 

1831.— 1st  Ward,  Wm.  Inloes;  2d,  Philip  Mooio  ;  3d,  William  Eeaney; 
4th,  Joshua  Mott;  5th,  Baltzer  Schaeffer;  5th,  Philip  Laurenson 
(in  1832,  James  Beatty  represented  the  ward) ;  7th,  Fielding  Lucas, 
Jr.;  8lh,  Samuel  Moore;  9th,  Richard  Bevan ;  10th,  Mark  Crafton; 
llth,  Henry  Stouffer;  12th,  Thomas  Sewell.  (T.  H.  Belt,  clerk; 
H.  Rudolph,  door-keeper.) 

1833.— 1st  Ward,  Philip  Moore  (he  died,  and  was  succeeded  in  1834  by 
Wm.  Inloes);  2d,  Wm.  Hubbard;  3d,  Michael  Klinefelter;  4th, 
Lambert  Thomas;  5th,  Wm.  Beany;  6th,  Baltzer  Schaeffer;  7th, 
Fielding  Lucas,  Jr. ;  8th,  Samuel  Moore;  9th,  Francis  H.  Davidge; 
10th,  Jacob  Smith  ;  llth,  James  Carroll ;  12th,  Samuel  McClellan. 
(T.  H.  Belt,  clerk  ;  H.  Rudolph,  door-keeper.) 

1835.— Ist  Ward,  James  Frazier;  2d.  William  Hubbard  (died  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  James  Fields  in  1830) ;  3d,  Michael  Klinefelter ;  4th,  David 
Stewart;  5th,  William  Reauy;  6th,  Baltzer  Schaeffer ;  7th.  Fielding 
Lucas,  Jr. ;  8th,  Samuel  Ready  ;  9th,  Thos.  S.  Sheppard ;  loth,  Jacob 
Smith  ;  llth,  James  Carroll ;  12th,  Samuel  McClellan.  (T.  H.  Belt, 
clerk  ;  H.  Rudolph,  door-keeper.) 

1837.— 1st  Ward,  Henry  L.  Lauderman ;  2d,  James  Grieves ;  3d,  Michael 
Klinefelter;  4th,  David  Stewart;  5th,  William  Beany;  7th,  Balt- 
zer Schaeffer;  7th,  Fielding  Lucas,  Jr.;  8th,  Samuel  Moore;  9th, 
Thomas  E.Bond;  loth,  Samuel  Mass;  llth,  James  Carroll;  12th, 
Walter  Ball.    (A.  H.  Pennington,  clerk  ;  H.  Rudolph,  door-keeper.) 

1839.— 1st  Ward,  James  Frazier;  2d,  James  Grieves;  3d,  Samuel  Boyd  ; 
4th,  Robert  Howard;  6th,  William  Reany;  6th,  Benjamin  C.  Ross; 
7th,  Fielding  Lucas,  Jr.  (president);  8th,  William  J.  Wight;  9th, 
Samuel  Harden ;  10th,  William  Barnett;  llth,  Samuel  Jones,  Jr. ; 
12tli,  Joseph  Hook,  Jr.    (T.  H.  Belt,  clerk  ;  H.  Rudolph,  door-keeper.) 

1841.— Ist  Ward,  James  Frazier;  2d,  John  E.  Stansbury;  3d,  Samuel 
Boyd;  4th,  Robert  Howard  (president);  6th,  William  Beany;  Otb, 
John  S.  Gittings:  7th,  Fielding  Lucas,  Jr.;  8th,  William  J.  Wight; 
9th,  George  W.  Krebs  (nice  Samuel  Harden,  deceased) ;  10th,  William 
Barnett;  llth,  Samuel  Jones,  Jr.;  12th,  Joseph  Hook,  Jr.  (A.  H. 
Pennington,  clerk  ;  H.  Rudolph,  door-keeper.) 

1842.— Ist  Ward,  James  Frazier;  2d,  John  E.  Stansbury;  3d,  Samuel 
Boyd;  4th,  Robert  Howard  (president);  6th,  William  Beany;  6th, 
John  S.  Gittings;  7th,  Fielding  Lucas,  Jr. ;  8th,  WiUiam  J.  Wight; 
9th,  George  W.  Krebs ;  10th,  William  Barnett ;  llth,  Samuel  Jones, 
Jr.;  12th,  Joseph  Hook,  Jr.;  13th,  William  Wilson;  14th,  Daniel 
Bender.    (A.  H.  Pennington,  clerk  ;  H.  Rudolph,  door-keeper.) 

1843  —1st  Ward,  Henry  Lauderman  ;  2d,  John  E.  Stansbury ;  3d,  Sanmel 
Boyd  ;  4th,  John  Keene  ;  5th,  Hugh  Bolton  ;  0th,  Robert  Howaid  ; 
7th,  John  S.  Gittings;  8th,  George  M.  Gill;  9th,  William  J.  Wight; 
10th,  John  L.  Reese ;  llth,  Philip  Laurenson ;  t2th,  James  Peregoy ; 
13th,  David  Taylor ;  14th,  Daniel  Bender.  (A.  H.  Pennington,  clerk ; 
Elijah  R.  Sinners,  door-keeper.) 

1845.— 1st  Ward,  Henry  R.  Louderman;  2d,  John  E.  Stansbury;  3d, 
Samuel  Boyd,  Sr.;  4th,  Sanmel  Barnes;  5th,  Hugh  Bolton;  6th, 
Robert  Howard ;  7th,  Michael  Caughey ;  8th,  Dr.  S.  Collins ;  9th,  Wil- 
liam J.  Wight;  10th,  John  L.Reese;  llth,  Francis  Foreman;  12th, 
Dr.  James  Esender;  13th,  William  Baker;  14th,  B.  H.  Richardson. 
(.\.  H.  Pennington,  clerk  ;  Elijah  R.  Sinners,  Sr.,  door-keeper.) 

1846. — 1st  and  2d  Wards,  Henry  Louderman;  3d  and  4th,  Dr.  John 
Keene;  5th  and  6th,  Hugh  Bolton;  7th  and  8th,  Robert  Howard ; 
ath  and  10th,  Col.  Henry  Meyers ;  llth  and  12th,  B.  H.  Richardson  ; 
13th  and  14th,  John  Green,  Jr.;  15lh  and  16th,  Isaac  M.  Denson ; 
17th  and  18th,  Elias  Ware;  19th  and  20th,  William  Baker.  (A.  H. 
Pennington,  clerk;  Elijah  R.  Sinners,  door-keeper.) 

1847.— 1st  and  2d  Wards,  Elijah  Stansbury ;  3d  and  4th,  T.  Yates  Walsh ; 
5th  and  6tli,  Hugh  Bolton  ;  7th  and  Slli,  Wm.  Lineberger;  9th  and 
10th,  J.  C.  Miude;  llth  aud  12th,  David  Taylor;  13th  and  14th,  John 
Green,  Ji-. ;  15th  and  16th,  J.  L.  Reese ;  17th  and  18th,  W.  J.  Page ; 
19th  aud  20th,  John  McPherson.  (Jesse  Reid,  clerk ;  Elijah  R.  Sin- 
ners, door-keeper.) 

1840.— 1st  and  2d  Wards,  J.  T,  Farlow;  3d  and  4th,  F.  L.  Shaffer;  5th 
and  0th,  J.  J.  Steuart;  7th  and  8th,  J.  W.  Wilson;  9th  and  lOtli,  A. 
E.Warner:  llth  and  12th,  D.  Taylor;  13th  and  14th,  J.  R.  Kelso; 
15th  and  16th,  J.  Dukehart;  17tli  aud  18th,  E.  Ware,  Jr.;  19th  and 
20th,  W.  A.  Hack  (president).    (John  A.  Thompson,  clerk.) 

1851.— Ist  and  2d  Wards,  H.  A.  Cooper;  3d  and  4th,  K.  L.  Shaffer;  5th 
and  6th,  Hugh  Bolton  (president);  7th  and  8th, George  A.  Levering; 
9th  aud  loth,  J.  V.  Niude;  llth  and  12th,  J.  I.  Cohen,  Jr.;  13th  aud 


THE   CITY   GOVERNMENT  AND   OFFICERS. 


14th,  George  A.  Davis ;  15th  and  16th,  Wm.  B.  Morris ;  17th  and 
18th,  William  J.  Page :  19th  and  20th,  Charles  S.  Towson.  (Thomas 
H,  Moore,  clerk  ;  El^ah  R.  Sinners,  Jr.,  door-keeper.") 

1853.— 1st  and  2d  Wards,  John  T.  Farlow  ;  3d  and  4th,  James  S.  Suter ; 
5th  and  6th,  J.  W.  Richardson  ;  7th  and  8th,  John  B.  Seidenstricker 
(president) ;  9th  and  10th,  Moor  N.  Falls;  11th  and  12th,  Jabez  M. 
Gill;  13th  and  14th,  Henry  Webster;  15th  and  16th,  B.  Albert 
Vickers;  17th  and  18th,  Charles  G.  Griffith;  19th  and  20th,  John 
Stewart.    (J.  SI.  Griffith,  clerk  ;  Elijah  R.  Sinners,  door-keeper.) 

1855.— 1st  and  2d  Wards,  William  Houlton;  3d  and  4th,  William  S. 
Shoemaker;  5th  and  6th,  William  S.  Crowley;  "tli  and  8th,  William 
E  Beale;  9th  and  10th,  F.  E.  B.  Hintze;  11th  and  12th,  William  0. 
Welsh  ;  13th  and  14th,  James  Armitage  (president) ;  15th  and  16th, 
William  E.  Bartlelt,  Jr. ;  17th  and  18th,  Edward  C.  Thomas;  19th 
and  20th,  John  Hilbert  (i  ice  B.  F.  Zimmerman,  resigned).  (Allen  E. 
Forrester,  clerk  ;  William  Cole,  door-keeper.) 

1857.— 1st  and  2d  Wards,  Edward  Hnrney;  3d  and  4th,  George  W.  Her- 
ring; 5th  and  6th,  Samuel  Kirk;  7th  and  8th,  John  B.  Seiden- 
stricker (president);  9th  and  10th,  Dr.  F.  E.  B.  Hintze;  11th  and 
12th,  Alexander  B.  Gordon;  13tli  and  14th,  John  K.  Kelso;  loth 
and  16th,  Joseph  Simms;  17th  and  18tli,  Lemuel  Bierbowor;  19th 
and  20th,  Robert  Sullivan.  (Allen  E.  Forrester,  clerk  ;  John  Kitts, 
door-keeper.) 

1859.— Ist  and  2d  Wards,  William  A.  Van  Nostrand ;  3d  and  4th,  William 
H.  Cathcart;  5th  and  6lh,  James  H.  Cook;  7th  and  8th,  William 
Colton  ;  9th  and  10th,  William  McPhail  (president);  11th  and  12Ih, 
David  Taylor;  13th  and  14th,  Evan  T.  Ellicott;  loth  and  16th,  John 
Mnsselman ;  17th  and  18tli,  Amos  McConias ;  19th  and  20lh,  Thomas 
Sewell.    (Isaac  Coriell,  clerk;  John  Bunting,  diwr-keeper.) 

1861.— 1st  and  2d  Wards,  William  Dean  ;  3d  and  4th,  Jesse  Marden ;  5th 
and  6th,  James  B.  George,  Sr.;  7th  and  8th,  John  W.  Wilson;  9th 
and  10th,  Francis  W.  Alricks;  11th  and  12th,  Decatur  H.  Miller; 
13tb  and  14th,  Charies  J.  Baker  (president);  loth  and  16th,  Joseph 
Bobb;  17th  and  18th,  William  Swindell ;  19tli  and  20th,  Asa  Big- 
gins.   (Allen  E.  Forrester,  clerk  ;  John  Kitts,  door-keeper.) 

1863.— 1st  and  2d  Wards,  Dr.  Andrew  Schwartz;  3d  and  4th,  John  G. 
Wilmot ;  5th  and  6tb,  George  I.  Kennard ;  7tb  and  8th,  William 
Brooks ;  9lh  and  10th,  James  H.  Markland ;  lltli  and  12lh.  C.  Sidney 
Norris  (succeeded  in  1864  by  H.  D.  Evans) ;  13th  and  14lh,  Samuel 
Duer  (president);  15th  and  16th,  John  Barron;  nth  and  18th,  Wil- 
liam Moody;  19lh  and  20th,  Valentine  Foreman.  (Sauiuel  H. 
Cochran,  clerk  (succeeded  by  William  S.  Crowley  in  1864);  George 
W.  Cunningham,  sergeant-at-arms.) 

1865.— 1st  and  2d  Wanls,  Thomas  B.  Burch;  3d  and  4th,  William  UcC]y- 
mont;  5th  and  6th,  Joseph  J.  Robinson  ;  7th  and  Sth,  A.  J.  Burke; 
9th  and  10th,  B.  F.  Nails;  11th  and  12th,  J.  Fails  Moore;  13th 
and  14th,  David  Ireland;  15th  and  16th,  William  T.  Valiant;  17th 
and  18th,  S.  B.  Taylor:  19th  and  20th,  Daniel  Harvey.  (William  S. 
Crowley,  clerk;  John  Baughman.  sergeant-a^a^ms.) 

18«.— Island  2d  Wards,  Nicholas  Miller;  3d  and  4th,  Thomas  C.  Mc- 
Guire  ;  Sth  aud  6th,  C.  W.  Burgess;  7th  and  Sth,  W.  P.  Kimball ; 
9th  aud  10th,  James  L.  McPhail ;  11th  and  12th,  H.  J.  Bayley  ;  13th 
and  14th,  Henry  Davall ;  loth  and  16th,  B.  C.  Green ;  17th  and  18th, 
Samuel  Duer;  19th  and  20th,  William  K.  Mitchell.  (William  S. 
Crowley,  clerk ;  John  N.  Wright,  assistant  clerk  ;  George  G.  Holtz, 
Jr.,  sergeant-at-arms.) 

1868- 1st  and  2d  Wards,  William  Stevens;  3d  and 4th,  Andrew  J.  Sauls- 
bury  ;  5th  and  6th,  William  J.  King ;  7th  and  Sth,  James  Webb  , 
(president);  9th  and  lOtb,  Thomas  Brown;  lltti  and  12th,  Samuel 
W.  Smith  (succeeded  in  1869  by  James  M.  Andereon) ;  13th  and  14th, 
George  M.  Bokee;  15th  and  16th,  Thomas  White;  17th  and  18th, 
Lewis  Ehlere;  19th  and  20th,  William  H.  Owens.  (William  J. 
O'Brien,  clerk.) 

1S70.— 1st  and  2d  Wards,  Daniel  Constantine ;  3d  and  4th,  William  H. 
Vickery;  5th  and  6th,  Joseph  B.  Esca^-il!e  (president;  succeeded  in 
1871  by  J.  J.  Gross) ;  7th  and  Sth,  A.  W.  Duke ;  9th  and  10th,  Harry 
McCoy ;  11th  and  12th,  Charles  G.  Kerr ;  13th  and  14th,  Henry  Du- 
vall  (in  1871  was  chosen  president  of  the  branch) ;  loth  and  16th, 
Frederick  Cook;  17th  and  18th,  John  Milroy;  19th  and  20th,  Jesse 
R.  Ogle.  (George  T.  Beall,  Jr.,  chief  clerk;  Joseph  J.  Grindall,  as- 
sistant clerk.) 

1872.— 1st  and  2d  Wards,  Henry  Cashmyer;  3d  and  4th,  John  Wicker- 
sham;  5th  and  6th,  N.  Bufus  Gill  (president);  7th  and  Sth,  S.  S. 
Mills;  9lh  and  10th,  Owen  Ward  (succeeded  in  1873  by  James  A. 
Cavates);  11th  and  12th,  Charles  G.  Kerr;  13th  and  14th,  John  F. 
Somerlock ;  15th  and  16th,  Thomas  Whyte ;  17th  and  18th,  John  H. 
Marshall ;  19th  and  20th,  John  T.  Ford.    (James  Hyde,  clerk ;  Wil- 


liam J.  Brady,  assistantclerk  and  sergeant-at-arms;  Henry  D.  Berry, 
page.) 

1874.— 1st  and  2d  Wards,  Charles  Streeper ;  3d  and  4th,  John  K.  Carroll ; 
5th  and  6th,  Henry  M.  Staylor  (succeeded  in  1875  by  Wm.  H.  Bol- 
ton); 7th  and  Sth,  George  Rinehart;  9th  and  10th,  Henry  Seim ; 
11th  and  12th,  Henry  D.  Loney  ;  13th  and  14th,  John  S.  Hogg ;  15th 
and  16th,  William  J.  Murray;  17th  and  18th,  Charles  A.  Wheeler; 
19th  and  20th,  George  A.  Kirk.  (J.  J.  Grindall,  chief  clerk;  E.  J. 
Edwards,  assistant  clerk ;  Joseph  W.  Wallace,  sergeant-at-arms ; 
Henry  D.  Berry,  page.) 

1876  -Ist  and  2d  Wards.  Henry  Cashmyer;  3d  and  4th,  John  G.  Dille- 
hunt;  5th  and  6th,  0.  A.  Danaker;  7th  and  Sth,  James  Bond ;  9th 
and  10th,  Eugene  Biggins;  lltli  and  12th,  P.  P.Pendleton  (presi- 
dent) ;  13th  and  14th,  J.  F.  Sommeriock ;  15th  and  16th,  Wm.  J. 
Baker  (succeeded  in  1877  bv  Jacob  H.  Freburger);  17th  and  18th, 
Jacob  Groh;  19th  and  20th,  J.  J.  M.  Sellman.  (James  Hyde,  chief 
clerk  :  E.  J.  Edwards,  assistant  clerk  ;  Geo.  T.  Beall,  Jr.,  committee 
clerk;  Robert  W.  Hays,  sergeant-at-arms;  John  J.  Mahon,  door- 
keeper ;  James  Kelly,  page.) 

1878.- 1st  and  2d  Wards,  A.  F.  Schrocder;  3d  and  4th,  Dr.  Thomas 
Kelly  ;  oth  and  6th,  Samuel  J.  Barman  ;  7tli  and  Sth,  Prof.  Wm.  P. 
Tonry;  9th  and  10th,  H.  G.  Fledderman;  11th  and  12th,  Francis  P- 
Stevens;  13th  and  14tli,  John  S.  Hogg;  IStli  and  16th,  Dr.  M.  W. 
Donavin  ;  17th  and  ISlh,  John  S.  Bullock ;  19th  and  20th,  Dr.  C.  W. 
Chancellor  (president).  (James  Hyde,  chief  clerk  ;  E.  J.  Edwards, 
assistant  clerk;  M.  J.  Whelan,  committee  clerk;  Jas.  T.  Dorsey, 
sergeant-at-arms ;  Jos.  Kelly,  door-keeper  ;  Jas.  Stanton,  page.) 

1880.- l6t  and  2d  Wards,  Wm.  Stevens ;  M  and  4th,  Samuel  A.  Clagett ; 
Sth  and  6th,  John  McWilliams;  7lh  and  Sth,  James  H.  Ives  (suc- 
ceeded in  1881  by  Dr.  D.  0.  Weland);  9th  and  10th,  J.  Frank  Lewis; 
11th  and  12th,  Dr.  J.  Pembroke  Thorn ;  13th  and  14th,  J.  C.  Toner ; 
1.5th  aud  16th,  R.  A.  Poulton;  17th  and  ISth,  J.  F.  Weyler;  19th  and 
20th,  A.  H.  Greenfield  (president).  (James  Hyde,  chief  clerk  (suc- 
ceeded in  1881  by  Jesse  N.  Boweu) ;  James  T.  Doisey,  assistant 
clerk  ;  M.  J.  Whelan,  committee  clerk  (succeeded  in  1881  by  James 
Halle) ;  M.  Farrell,  sergeant-at-arnis ;  James  Kelly,  door-keeper ;  B. 
D.  Berry,  page  j 

City  Registers  from  1797  to  1881. 

1797-1801,  Richard  H.  Moale;  1804-8,  Edward  J.  Coale  ;  1808-24,  .Inhn 
Bargrove;  1824-36,  Emanuel  Kent;  18.36-46,  Jesse  Hunt;  1846-57, 
John  J.  Graves;  1857-66,  John  A.  Thompson;  1866-C8,  John  F. 
Plummer;  1868-70,  John  H.  Barnes;  1870-81,  John  A.  Bolilj. 

State  Senators  from  Baltimore  City  from  1776 
to  1881. 

1776,  Charies  Carroll,  barrister;  1779,  Andrew  Buchanan  was  elected 
July  21st,  but  declined;  1780,  Richard  Bidgely  was  elected  Decem- 
ber 19th,  in  place  of  Thomas  Stone,  resigned,  but  he  did  not  accept ; 
1781,  John  Smith,  James  McHenry  (he  resigned,  and  Daniel  Bowley 
was  elected  Jan.  7,  1786),  Charles  Carroll,  barrister  (he  died,  and 
Samuel  Hughes,  of  Washington  County,  was  elected  May  9,  1783) ; 
1786,  John  Smith,  Richard  Ridgely;  1788,  James  Carroll  was  elected 
November  12th,  in  place  of  Thomas  Johnson,  who  did  not  accept  the 
position ;  1789,  Daniel  Bowley  was  elected  November  20th,  in  place 
of  William  Harrison,  deceased;  1791,  John  Eager  Howard,  James 
McHenry,  Samuel  Chase  (he  declined,  and  Daniel  Bowley  was  elected 
November  15th ;  he  resigned,  and  Robert  Smith  was  elected  on  Nov, 
26, 1793) ;  1796,  John  Eager  Howard,  Charles  Bidgely,  of  Bampton  ; 
1811-14,  William  McCreery;  lSlo-18,  Nathaniel  Williams;  1821-24, 
Isaac  McKim;  1831-34,  Charles  F.  Mayer;  1836,  John  V.  L.  Mc- 
Mahon:  1838,  David  Stewart;  1840,  Benjamin  C.  Howard:  1841^5, 
William  Frick;  1846-50,  Charles  M.  Kcyser;  1851-54,  Nathaniel 
Williams;  1855-59,  Samuel  Owings  Hoffman;  1860-61,  Coleman 
Tellott  (he  removed  South,  where  he  died,  and  Marcus  Denison  was 
elected  in  his  place);  1862,  Marcus  Denison;  1863-64,  Archibald 
Stirling,  Jr.;  186.5r66,  Ist  Leg.  Diet,  Robert  Turner  ;  2d  Leg.  Diet., 
Joseph  C.  Whitney  ;  3d  Leg.  Dist.,  George  C.  Maund ;  1867, 1st  Leg. 
Dist,  William  Kimmell ;  2d  Leg.  Dist.,  Thomas  Mnles ;  3d  Leg.  Dist., 
D.  Stirling ;  1868,  Ist  Leg.  Dist.,  William  Kimmell ;  2d  Leg.  Dist., 
Henry  Snyder;  3d  Leg.  Dist,  I.  M.  Denson  ;  1870,  Ist  Leg.  Dist.,  Wil- 
liam Kimmell ;  2d  Leg.  Dist.,  Henrj-  Snyder ;  3d  Leg.  Dist.,  Isaac  M. 
Denson  ;  1872, 1st  Leg.  Dist.,  John  R.  Blake ;  2d  Leg.  Dist ,  Henry 
Snyder;  3d  Leg.  Diet.,  Isaac  M.  Denson ;  1874, 1st  Leg.  Dist.,  John  H. 
Blake ;  2d  Leg.  Dist.,  F.  Putnam  Stevens ;  3d  Leg.  Diet.,  Isaac  M.  Den- 
son ;  1876,  let  Leg.  Dist.,  John.  H.  Cooper;  2d  Leg.  Dist ,  F.  Putnam 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Stevens ;  3d  Leg.  Dist.,  Eugene  T.  Joyce ;  1878, 1st  Leg.  Bist ,  John  H. 
Cooper ;  '.id  Leg.  Dist.,  Eobert  M.  McLane ;  3d  Leg.  Dist.,  Eugene  T. 
Joyce;  1880, 1st  Leg.  Dist.,  Jolm  H.  Cooper;  2d  Leg.  Dist.,  William 
A.  Fisher ;  3d  Leg.  Dist.,  William  H.  Beans. 

Members  of  the  House  of  Delegates  from  Balti- 
more City  from  1776  to  1880. 

Meclien,  Mark  Ate.xander;  1781,  David  M  '^]  I,,  i,  H  m  \  Wilson; 
1782,  David  McMechen,  William  Fell;  1>     -       i  -.tt, Da- 

vid McMechen  ;  17S6,  David  McMechen,  .1  -      !  I  h  ;  1TS7, 

David  McMeclien,  Samuel  Chase;  1788,  J.njii-  ^l  11.  i,n  J  l,ri  Coul- 
ter; 1789,  James  McHenry,  Samuel  Sterrett ;  I7'.in-'J1,  David  Mc- 
Mechen, Samuel  Smith ;  1792-93,  David  McMechen,  John  O'Donnell ; 
1794,  Alexander  Mc Kim,  James  Winchester;  1795,  James  Winches- 
ter, David  McMechen ;  1796,  David  McMechen,  Robert  Smith ;  1797,  j 
Bobert  Smith,  Adam  Fonerden ;  1798,  Archibald  Buchanan,  William 
Wilson;  1799,  Archibald  Buchanan,  George  Johonnot;  1800,  Bobert 
Smith,  James  H.  McCuUoch  ;  1801,  John  Scott,  Thomas  Dixon ;  1802,  I 
James  Purviance,  Thomas  Dixon  ;  1803,  Thomas  Dixon,  Cumberland 
Dugan;  1804-5,  John  Stephen,  Andrew  Ellicott;  1806,  Edward  Ais- 
quith,  Bobert  Steuart;  1807,  Thomas  B.  Dorsey,  Eobert  Steuart; 
1808,  Robert  Steuart,  Theodorick  Bland  ;  ISiiS,  William  G.  D.  Worth- 
ington,  Theodorick  Bland;  Ifl"  I  I  :  i,  1,  r.  I  ml,  .lames  Martin  ; 
1811,  William  Pechin,  James  I.  h  l^lJ-13,  James  L. 

Donaldson,  William  B.  Barney     ,    m    w  ,,    I,    Hiruey,  Thomas 

Kell ;  1815,  Christopher  HuKhe.-,. I  W  i  :l  >:  -  ~i  .>  aj  t ;  1816,  William 
Stewart,  Thomas  Kell;  1817,  TIlhiim  Kell,  E.lwaid  G.  Woodyear; 
1818,  Thomas  Kell,  Henry  M.  Breckeuridge ;  1819,  John  Montgom-  ' 
ery,  Henry  M.  Breckeuridge;  1820-21,  John  P  Kennedy,  John  Bar- 
ney; 1822,  Thomas  Kennedy,  Bobert  Pun-iance;  1823,  William 
Stewart,  William  G.  D.  Worthington  ;  1824-25,  Benjamin  C.  Howard, 
John  S.  Tyson ;  1S2G,  John  S.  Tyson,  John  Strieker;  1827-29,  George 
H.  Steuart,  John  V.  L.  McMahon ;  1S30,  Jesse  Hunt,  John  Spear 
Nicholas;  1831,  Jesse  Hunt,  Pliilii- T  m  i  n-  i.  .  I -:'.;,  Louis  W.  Jen- 
kins,  Charles  Carroll  Harper;  1-        i  .   i    i.       '  liarles  Peregoy ; 

1834,  Joshua  Jones,  .Tnseph  Cu-li;    -  i:    .1- H.  Bichardson, 

ComeliusMcLean,  Jr.;  1837,  Wil:  ,  ,  I  ■.  -  l  inouHilleu,  Jr., 
Francis  Gallagher,  Henry  Me  K  1 1 1  ,  ,  ; 
L.  Ridgley,  Cornelius  L.L.  I,.,,!  I'  - 
liam  F.  Giles,  John  C.  Legraiei.  i 
Strieker,  Francis  Gallagher ;  l,'^4(^,  1  [  a  n  i-  ^  .[li.i.li.  i ,  .lohn  J.Graves, 
Benjamin  C.  Presstman,  J.  B.  Seiaenstiieker.  Juhu  C.  Legrand ;  1841, 
Francis  Gallagher,  John  C.  Legrand,  John  J.  Graves,  Benjamin  C. 
Presstman,  William  H.  Starr;  1842,  David  C.  Springer,  John  J. 
Graves,  Francis  Gallagher,  William  M.  Starr,  Carroll  Speuce;  1843, 
James  Curley,  Aaron  R,  Levering,  William  H.  Watson,  John  L. 
Carey,  Elyah  Stansbury ;  1844,  Elijah  Stansburj-,  Nathaniel  Williams, 
David  C.  Springer,  Francis  Gallagher;  1845,  Elijah  Stansbury,  Fran- 
cis M.  Baughman,  Joshua  Vausant,  Nathaniel  Cox,  Bobert  McLane ; 
1846,  Francis  M.  Baughman,  EUas  Ware,  John  P.  Kennedy,  Abraham 

B.  Patterson,  Nathaniel  Cox  ;  1847,  Elias  Ware,  Jr.,  Nathaniel  Cox, 
William  Pinkney  Whyte,  Mendes  I.  Cohen,  Francis  Gallagher  ;  1848, 
F.  M.  Baughman,  Elias  Ware,  Jr.,  John  P.  Kennedy,  A.  B.  Patter- 
son, Nathaniel  Cox  ;  1849,  John  Marshall,  C.  J.  M.  Gwinn,  Charles  S. 
Spence,  OHver  F.  Hack,  Sidnor  S.  Donaldson ;  1850,  John  Marehall, 

C.  J.  M.  Gwinn,  Charles  S.  Spence,  Oliver  F.  Hack,  Sidnor  S.  Don- 
aldson ;  1851,  William  George  Baker,  John  Morris,  Elias  Ware,  A.  D. 
Miller,  Bolivar  D.  Danels,  John  W.  Davis,  William  A.  Stewart,  Cov- 
ington  D.  Barnitz,  Martin  J.  Kerney,  Jos.  Weathers;  1852,  William 
George  Baker,  John  W.  Davis,  John  Morris,  William  A.  Stewart, 
Elias  Ware,  Covington  D.  Barnilz,  A.  D.  Miller,  Martin  J.  Kerney, 
Bolivar  D.  Danels,  Joseph  Weathers ;  1853,  William  George  Baker, 
John  W.  Davis,  John  Morris,  William  A.  Stewart,  Elias  Ware,  Cov- 
ington D.  Barnitz,  A.  D.  Miller,  Mai-tin  J.  Kerney,  Bolivar  D.  Dan- 
els, Joseph  Weathers;  1854,  J.  B.  George,  Sr.,  Sterling  Thomas,  J. 
M.  Lester,  S.  M.  Cochran,  J.  A.  Ramsay,  John  H.  Barnes,  John  S. 
Tough,  N.  T.  Dushane,  Bichard  H.  Diggs,  David  Irelan ;  1855,  An- 
thony Kennedy,  William  H.  Travers,  James  B.  Partridge,  Jacob  W. 
Hugg,  William  T.  Valiant,  Job  Smith,  Edwin  A.  Abbott,  Jehu  B. 
Askew,  Elisha  Harrington,  James  M.  Lester;  1856,  Anthony  Ken- 
nedy, William  H.  Travers,  James  R.  Partridge,  Job  Smith,  Edwin 
A.  Abbott,  William  T.  Valiant,  James  M.  Lester,  Jacob  W.  Hugg, 
Jehu  B.  Askew,  Elisha  Harrington  ;  1857,  William  Alexander,  Baltus 
H.  Kennard,  Frederick  C.  Crowley,  Archibald  Stirling,  Jr.,  Henry 
Forrest,  Dr.  John  S.  Lynch,  Elisha  Harrington,  John  H.  T.  McPher- 
son,  George  O.Smith,  Edmund  Law  Rogers;  18.18,  Archibald  .Stiriing, 


II.  Pitts,  James 
II ins;  1839,  Wil- 
lalin  B.  Seiden- 


Jr.,  Edmund  Law  Bogers,  John  H.  T.  McPherson,  Baltus  H.  Ken- 
nard,  Frederick  C.  Crowley,  John  S.  Lynch,  George  M.  Smith,  Elisha 
Harrington,  Henry  Forrest,  William  Alexander;  1860,  Charles  L. 
Kraft,  Thomas  Booze,  Robert  L.  Seth,  Williim  A.  Wisong,  George 
R.  Beiry,  F.  C.  Crowley,  Bobert  A.  McAlIisUr,  Thomas  M.  Smith, 
Bobert  Turner,  Marcus  Denison;  1861  (special  session,  elected  in 
April),  John  C.  BiTine,  Henry  M.  Warfield,  Charies  H.  Pitts,  Wil- 
liam G.  Harrison,  John  Hanson  Thomas,  Severn  Teackle  Wallis,  T. 
Parkin  Scott,  Ross  Winans,  Henry  M.  Morlit,  Lawrence  Sangston; 
elected  in  November,  William  Price,  Michael  Warner,  Edmund 
Wolf,  James  Stockdale,  Capt.  N.  Christopher,  Dr.  William  S.  Reese, 
Capt.  J.  W.  Hugg,  Stephen  B.  Taylor,  Thomas  S.  Alexander,  E. 
Stockett  Matthews;  1864,  John  Barron,  William  Silverwood,  Philip 
S.  Chappell,  George  G.  Stephens,  James  F.  Lee,  H.  C.  Murray, 
Michael  Dundon,  Thomas  H.  Mules,  Henry  Stockbridge,  Mar- 
riott Boswell;  1865,  J.  H.  Cnok,  James  F.  Lee,  T.  B.  Hambleton, 
H.  J.  C.  Tarr,  F.  T.  Darling,  I.  M.  Frazier,  Jos.  Harris,  Samuel  J. 
Sopcr,  Thomas  J.  Tull,  Thomas  H.  Mules,  J.  F.  Pilkington,  J.  P. 
Cummings,  M.  Showacre,  H.  B.  Hazcn,  S.  C.  Garrison,  H.  C.  Jones; 
1865,  (First  District)  Caleb  B.  Hynes,  Cliristopher  Bartell,  James 
H.  Cook,  James  F.  Lee,  Thomas  B.  Hamilton,  H.  T.  C.  Tarr,  (Sec- 
ond District)  F.  T.  Dariing,  John  M.  Frazier,  Joseph  Harris,  Samuel 
J.  Soper,  T.  I.  Tull,  Thomas  H.  Mules,  (Third  District)  J.  E.  Pilking- 
ton, J.  P.  Cummings,  M.  S.  Showacre,  H.  G.  Hazen,  S.  C.  Garrison, 
H.  C.  Jones;  1806,  Caleb  Hines,  C.  Bartell,  J.  H.  Cook,  James  F.  Lee, 
T.  B.  Hamilton,  J.  N.  Foster,  F.  T.  Darling,  John  M.  Frazier,  Jos. 
HaiTis,  Samuel  J.  Soper,  Thomas  J.  Tull,  Thomas  H.  Mules,  J.  F. 
Pilkington,  J.  P.  Cummings,  John  Barron,  H.  B.  Hazen,  S.  C.  Garri- 
son, H.  C.  Jones;  1867,  Frederick  S.  Turner,  George  A.  Coleman, 
William  H.  Neilson,  John  L.  Smith,  Edward  F.  Flaherty,  John  Rob- 
inson, John  G.  Hooper,  Stephen  G.  Israel,  A.  Leo  Knott,  Henry  S. 
Langford,  F.  P.  Stevens,  Frederick  A.  Kraft,  Marriott  Boswell,  John 
D.  Thompson,  Edwin  E.  Davis,  Jacob  Waltemeyer,  George  Feig, 
William  Tell  Bixler;  1868,  James  B.  Sauner,  John  B.  Wentz,  Jr., 
John  A.  Robb,  Thomas  W.  Moi-se,  John  R.  Blake,  William  A.  Stew- 
art, Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe,  James  Pentland,  H.  Tillard  Smith,  G. 
Morris  Bond,  George  Colton,  Michael  A.  Mullin,  Dr.  Edward  J. 
Chaisty,  James  W.  McElroy,  Bernard  L.  Harig,  William  T.  Mark- 
laud,  John  H.  Marshall,  John  N.  Conway;  1870,  James  B.  Sanner, 
Thomas  H.  Hamilton,  John  H.  Cooper,  Thomas  W.  Morse,  John 
R.  Blake,  Jamar  Webb,  Greenbury  Wilson,  John  F.  Wiley,  F. 
C.  Latrobe,  James  L.  McLane,  George  Colton,  George  A.  Kirk,  Wil- 
liam E,  Collins,  John  F.  Ehlen,  Israel  Gardner,  William  T.  Markland, 
Jolm  H.  Marshall.  F.  S.  Hoblitzell ;  1872,  Thomas  McCosker,  Thomas 
H.  Hamilton,  John  H.  Cooper,  Charles  E.  Hamilton,  Lewis  A.  Jamart, 
Jr.,  Nelson  Foster,  John  Staylor,  Jr.,  William  E.  Stewart,  John  M. 
Travers,  Charles  L.  Clarke,  George  Colton,  George  A.  Kirk,  Dr.  E.  J. 
Chaisty,  James  McColgan,  B.  L.  Harig,  William  T.  Markland,  George 
A.  Feig,  Elias  Griswold  ;  1874,  Thomas  McCosker,  Thomas  H.  Ham- 
ilton, John  J.  McWilliams,  J.  Nelson  Foster,  John  Staylor,  Jr.,  Wil- 
liam E.  Stewart,  Charies  J.  McAleese,  John  Gill,  Jr.,  Henry  B.  Hart, 
Henry  E.  Loane.  Aquilla  H.  Greenfield,  James  McColgan,  Bernard 
L.  Harig,  Eugene  T.  Joyce,  Jacob  Groh,  John  J.  Fenton,  John  H. 
Cooper,  Charles  E.  Hamilton;  1876,  H.  Welles  Rusk,  August  Berke- 
meier,  C.  W.  Lewis,  J.  J.  McWilliams,  F.  S.  Hobliizell,  John  T.  Mc- 
Glone,  Thomas  Coburn,  William  E.  Stewart,  Charles  J.  McAleese, 
John  Gill,  Jr.,  Henry  B.  Hart,  Henry  E.  Loane,  Edward  J.  Chaisty, 
Marcus  Hess,  Bernard  L.  Harig,  Edward  W.  Albaugh,  Henry  San- 
ders, John  J.  Fenton ;  1878,  Thomas  McCosker,  August  Berkemeier, 
Alfred  P.  Burt,  Robert  W.  Hays,  Fetter  S.  Hoblitzell,  Thomas  P.  Ker- 
nan,  Eugene  Higgins,  Sands  S.  Mills  (died  before  he  took  his  seat), 
Isador  Bayner,  J.  Thomas  Scharf,  William  Campbell  Hamilton, 
John  G.  Mitchell,  John  S.  Campbell,  Bernard  L.  Harig,  John  L. 
Matthews,  Henry  Sandei^,  Asa  H.  Smith  ;  1880,  Thomas  McCosker, 
Henry  Cashmyer,  Cliai  li.  I:  MnKii.ti.  I^iigene  A,  Early,  Jesse  N. 
Bowen,  Levin  H.  Jba  i;      ant,  Daniel  Murray,  Martin 

Emericb,  James  A.    1      >1  I       ml*  G    Hays,  W.  Campbell 

Hamilton,  Edward  ('  M.l,    ,  J    ,  i    -   ■  ampbell,  Dr.  M.  W.  Dona- 

vin,  E.  W.  Albaugh,  A.  .\.  r.,:.e,  aiei  William  A.  Boyd. 

Members  of  Constitutional  Conventions  from  Bal- 
timore City  and  County. 

FIBST  STATE   CONSTITUTION  IN   1776. 
Ooiiiify.— Charles    Bidgely,    Thomas    Cockey    Deye,  Jolm 


I  Chase. 


THE    CITY   GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 


RATIFICATION  OP  U.  S.  CONSTITUTION  (STATE  CONVENTION 
OF  1788). 

Baltimore  Cmnti).— Charles  Eidgely,  Charles  Ridgely,  of  Wui.,  Edward 
Cockey,  Nathan  Cromwell. 

Baliimore  Town. — James  McHenry,  Juhn  Coulter. 

STATE   CONSTITUTIONAL   CONVENTION   OF   1851. 

BuUimore  Coimty.— Benjamin  C.  Howard,  James  M.  Buchanan,  Ephram 
Bell,  Thomas  J.  Welsh,  H.  G.  Chandler,  James  L.  Eidgely. 

BalUmore  CUy. —ChaHes  J.  M.  Gwinn,  David  Stewart,  Robert  J.  Brent, 
George  W.  Sherwood,  Benjamin  C.  Presstman,  Ellas  Ware,  Jr. 

STATE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  1864. 

Biiltiinwe  County. — John  S.  Berry,  James  L.  Ridgely,  Wra.  H.  Hoff- 
man, Edwin  L.  Parker,  David  King,  Wm.  H.  Mace,  Silas  Larsh. 

Baltimore  City. — Samuel  T.  Hatch,  Joseph  H.  Andoun,  Henry  Stock- 
bridge,  Wm.  Brooks,  John  Barron,  Joseph  M.Cusbing,  John  L.  Thomas, 
Jr.,BaltusH.Kennard,  Edwin  A.  Abbott,  Archibald  Sterling,  Jr.,  Wm. 
Daniel. 

STATE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  1867. 

Baltimore  Couniy. — Charles  A.  Buchanan,  John  Wethered,  Ephraim 
Bell,  Anthony  Kennedy,  Samuel  W.  Starr,  Charles  H.  Nocolai,  Robert 
0.  Barry. 

Baltimore  City,  Isl  Legislative  District.— Uvisny  H.  Reynolds,  Ezra 
Whitman,  John  H.  Barnes,  Isaac  S.  George,  Joshua  Vansant,  Edward  F. 
Flaherty,  James  A.  Henderson. 

Baltimore  City,  2d  Legislative  District.— George  M.  Gill,  George  Wm. 
Brown,  Bernard  Carter,  Albert  Ritchie,  Henry  F.  Carey,  George  W. 
Dobbin,  J.  Hall  Pleasants. 

Baltimore  City,  3ti  Legislative  District. — James  R.  Brewer,  John  Ferry, 
J.  Montgomery  Peters,  John  Franck,  Joseph  P.  Merrynmn,  Ir^aac  M.  Den- 
son,  Walters.  Wilkinson. 

Electors  of  President  and  Vice-President  from 
Baltimore  City  and  County. 

Robert  Smith,  1789 :  John  E.  Howard,  Wm.  Smith,  1793 ;  Nicholas  B. 
Moore,  1801 ;  Tobias  E.  Stansbury,  1805  ;  Tobias  E.  Stansbury,  1809; 
Tobias  E.  Stansbury,  1813  ;  George  Warner,  1817  ■,  A.  McKim,  1821 ; 
George  Winchester,  1825  ;  Benjamin  i;.  Howard,  1829  :  Wm.  Frick, 
U.  S.  Heath,  1833 ;  George  Howard,  David  Hoffman,  1837  ;  David 
Hoffman,  George  Howard,  John  P.  Kennedy,  1811 :  Thomas  S. 
Alexander,  A.  W.  Bradford,  1845;  R.  M.  McLane,  Carroll  Spence, 
C.  J.  M.  Gwinn,  1853  ;  Thomas  Swann,  C.  L.  L.  Leary,  1857;  Joshua 
Vansant,  T.  Parkin  Scott,  18G1 ;  Wm.  J.  Albert,  R.  Stockett  Mat- 
thews, Wm.  S.  Reese,  1865 ;  George  M.  Gill,  H.  Clay  Dallam,  J. 
Thomson  Mason,  1869;  Augustus  W.  Bradford,  Frederick  Raine, 
John  M.  Carter,  James  A.  Buchanan,  1873  ;  Frederick  Raine,  Rich- 
ard J.  Gittings,  Wm.  Sheppard  Bryan,  Charles  G.  Kerr,  1877  ;  Wm. 
H.  Welsh,  P.  H.  Walker,  I.  Nevett  Steele,  John  R.  McNulty,  1881. 

United  States  Senators  from  Baltimore  City  and 
County. 

John  Eager  Howard,  Nov.  30, 1796 ;  Samuel  Smith,  March  4, 1803 ;  Robert 
G.  Harper,  Jan.  29, 1816;  Alexander  Coutee  Hanson,  Dec.  20, 1816  ; 
Wm.  Pinknoy,  Dec.  21, 1819  ;  Samuel  Smith,  Dec.  15, 1822  ;  Reverdy 
Johnson,  March  4, 1845 ;  David  Stewart,  Dec.  8,  1849,  appointed  to 
fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Hon.  Reverdy 
Johnson,  who  resigned  to  accept  the  position  of  attorney-general  of 
the  United  States;  Anthony  Kennedy,  March  4,  1857;  Reverdy 
Johnson,  March  4,  1863;  Wm.  Pinkney  Whytc,  July  14, 1868,  to 
fill  the  une.xpired  term  of  Reverdy  Johnson,  who  was  appointed 
minister  to  England ;  Wm.  Pinkney  Whyte,  Jan.  27, 1874.  Hon. 
Thomas  Swann  was  elected  on  Jan.  25, 1867,  but  he  declined  to 
accept  March  1, 1867.  He  was  the  first  and  only  one  that  has  ever 
been  chosen  from  the  Western  Shore  to  represent  the  Eastern  Shore 
according  to  the  custom. 

Barons  of  Baltimore,  and  Lords  Proprietary  of 
Maryland. 

George  Calvert,  First  Lord  Baltimore. 
Lmds  Proprietary.  — 1&2,  Cecilous  Calvert,  Second  Lord  Baltimore; 
1675,  Charles  Calvert,  Third  Lord  Baltimore ;  1715,  Benedict  Leon- 
ard Calvert,  Fourth  Lord  Baltimore ;  1715,  Charles  Calvert,  Fifth 
Lord  Baltimore ;  1751,  Frederick  Calvert,  Sixth  and  last  Lord  Balti- 
more ;  1771-76,  Sir  Henry  Harford,  last  Proprietary. 


Governors  of  Maryland. 

Proprietary  Governors.— 10.^3,  Leonard  Calvert ;  1647,  Thomas  Green  j 
1649,  William  Stone;  1G54,  Bennett  and  Matthews,  commissioners 
under  Parliament;  1058,  Josiah  Fendall;  1661,  Philip  Calvert;  1662, 
Charles  Calvert ;  1667,  Charles,  Lord  Baltimore ;  1678,  Thomas  Not- 
ley  ;  1681,  Charles,  Lord  Baltimore ;  1685,  William  Joseph,  Presi- 
dent of  Deputies;  1689,  Convention  of  Protestant  Associations. 

Roya!  OoDernors.— 1691,  Sir  Lionel  Copley;  1693,  Sir  Edmond  Andros; 
1694,  Francis  Nicholson ;  1699,  Nathaniel  Blakistone  ;  1703,  Thomas 
Tench  (president) ;  1704,  John  Seymour ;  1709,  Edward  Lloyd  (presi- 
dent) ;  1714,  John  Hart. 

Proprietary  Governors.— lUS,  John  Hart;  1720,  Charles  Calvert;  1727, 
Benedict  Leonard  Calvert;  1732,  Sanmel  Ogle ;  1733,  Charles,  Lord 
Baltimore ;  1735,  Samuel  Ogle ;  1742,  Thomas  Bladen  ;  1747,  Samuel 
Ogle;  1752,  Benjamin  Tasker  (president);  1753,  Horatio  Sharpe; 
1769  to  1774,  Robert  Eden. 

The  Revolulion.—mi-16,  Convention  and  Council  of  Safety. 

State  Governors  (elected  annually  by  the  Legislature,  with  an  Executive 
Council).— 1777,  Thomas  Johnson;  1779,  Thomas  Sinn  Lee;  1782, 
William  Paca;  1786,  William  Smallwood;  1788,  John  Eager  Howard; 
1791,  George  Plater ;  1792,  Thomas  Sinn  Lee  ;  1794,  John  H.  Stone ; 
1797,  John  Henry;  1798,  Benjamin  Ogle;  1801,  John  Francis  Mer- 
cer; 1803,  Robert  Bowie  ;  180('..  Robert  Wiiglit;  l.-iim,  Edward  Lloyd; 
1811,  Robert  Bowie ;  ISVl.  I.^mm  h  hmI.  i  ,  I  I  ,  (  hulrs  Kidgely,  of 
Hampton;  1818,  Charle>i:.  I  i  .  '  i.  l  '  -  .  .  -|.iigg ;  1822, 
Samuel  Stevens,  Jr. ;  1N.'>,  I       i   ■  I.    i'     !  ivii 

Thomas  King  Carroll ;  is.i'  lnm.i  M.iiin  I-  l,' 
(acting) ;  1832,  George  Houaid  ;  l.'<:i :,  .lames  Thomas 
W.  Veasey. 

Elected  under  the  amended  constitution  of  1838,  for  thri 

liam  Grason,  of  Queen  Anne's  County,  1838;  Francis  Thomas,  of 
Frederick  County,  1841 ;  Thomas  G.  Pratt,  of  Prince  George's 
County,  1844;  Philip  F.  Thomas,  of  Talbot  County,  1847;  Enoch 
Louis  Lowe,  of  Frederick  County,  1850. 

Elected  under  the  constitution  of  1851,  for  four  years.— Thomas  Watkins 
Ligou,  of  Howard  County,  1853 ;  Thomas  Holliday  Hicks,  of  Dor- 
chester County,  1867  ;  Augustus  W.  Bradford,  of  Baltimore  County, 
1861. 

Elected  under  the  constitution  of  1864,  for  four  years.— Thomas  Swann,  of 
Baltimore  City,  1865 ;  Lieut.-Gov.  C.  C.  Cox,  of  Baltimore  City,  1865. 

Elected  under  the  constitution  of  1867,  for  four  years.— Oden  Bowie,  of 
Prince  George's  County,  1867;  William  Pinkney  Wliyte,  of  Balti- 
more City.  1872.  Elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  on  the  20th  of 
January,  1874,  and  on  the  27th  resigned  the  oflice  of  Governor,  to 
take  effect  on  the  4th  of  March  following.  James  Black  Groome,  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Delegates  from  Cecil  County,  resigned  his 
seat  Feb.  4, 1874,  and  on  the  same  day  was  elected  Governor  to  fill 
the  unexpired  term  of  Senator  Whyte.  John  Lee  Carroll,  of  Howard 
County,  1875;  William  T.  Hamilton,  of  Washington  County,  1879. 

Consuls  at  Baltimore. 

Great  Britain.— Denis  Donohue,  consul;   T.  W.  Lawfonl,  vice-consul. 

Olfice,  over  Exchange  Beading-rooms. 
IVduce.- Leon  Glandut,  42  Second  Street. 
Spain.- A.de  la  Corte,  42  Second  Street. 
German  Empire.— G.  A.  von  Lingen,  6  S.  Gay  Street. 
Ii)mia.—C.  Nitze,  7  South  Street. 
Jtalj.— E.  de  Mezolla,  33  S.  Gay  Street. 
Ketherlands.—auRS  Vocke,  100  S.  Charies  Street. 
Stceden  and  Norway.— J.  S.  Brancker,  31  ( 


il,,itin;1829. 
It  ue  Howard 
1835,  Thomas 

9  years.— Wil- 


Stewart,  southwest  corner 


rman  Street. 
Gay  Street. 

I7rti(/riaj^.— Prudencio  de  Murguiondo,  over  1  Wood  Street. 

Argentine  Republic  and  Venezuela. — C. 
of  Gay  and  Lombard  Streets. 

Brazil.— SuWy  de  Souza,  consul,  57  Second  Street ;  Charles  Marshall,  vice- 
consul,  25  S.  Gay  Street. 

Portugal  and  Belgium.— Bobert  Lehr,  over  29  S.  Charles  Street. 

Nicaragua. — Basil  Wagner,  25  S.  Gay  Street. 

C/iiJi.- Washington  Booth,  6  S.  Gay  Street. 

Peru.— David  W.  Gray,  6  S.  Gay  Street. 

Austria. — J.  D.  Kremelberg,  31  German  Street,  near  Light. 

Agents  for  the  Underu-riters  at  Bremen.— F.  W.  Brune  &  Sons,  112  Spear's 
Wharf. 

Agents  for  the  British,  French,  German,  Belgian,  Scandinavian,  Dutch,  Phil- 
adelphia, and  New  York  Underwriters.— Ja.mea  Carey  Coale,  56  Ex- 
change Place. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Baltimore  City  Elevations  Above  Tide. 

EasI  of  Jones' Falh. 
Streets.                                                                  Feet. 
Aliceanna  and  Washington 2  8 

Aliceanuaiiiiil  Essex 

Bank  and  Bond 

17^ 

Bank  and  Exeter 

Chester  and  H;iiri|.-lr,,il 

Cambridge  an.i  liiii  l.-                            

Eden  and  John 

?;'^ 

Eden  and  Canton  Avenue 

Fayette  and  Gist 

Fayette  and  Broadway 

Fayette  and  Front    

99-S 

}]S 

GayandBiddle 

Harford  Avenueand  Torest 

Harfnni   \ -,,,,!>  ,,„,l  (.1,,,,                

Harf..!..     \         .      ,        ,::       1             ,    ,1           

Jeftel..    :                  V        ,        :                                          

LonikiMi  .11, .i  ih 'I'l ""''.','" '■■■^'i;;/; 

Lombard  and  i;i>t 

es.8 

lii's 

Madison  and  Bureu Z:::::Z 

Nortb  A..  1  i-.    ,    .i  \    ,,i,   l:,iad 

Oliver    r       .,                                 

Pattfi- ■                  ,     ,11, 

PatUX,,,!   „:,   ,,.    I    

Point    l.:in,.,,.,l    \,,l.    b,„„l 

17S.C 

i:.5.9 

!.'.'"'.'.'.■'.'.'.     320 
98.3 

Regesterand  Hampstead 

Regester  and  Orleans 

102.3 

Shakespeare  and  Broadway 

6.5 

Washington  and  Aliceanna 

Washington  and  Monument 

Wea  0/ Jones'  Falb. 
Streets. 

Feet 

Baltimore  and  Centre  Market 

Baltimore  ;ii,.l  I.iKlit 

Baltiiie.i.   ,,h,l  1  Mi.,u         

36,4 

Baltini..!.     .•    '  1  ■. 

Baltii,..  1         ,  l;   p.    ,                        

Balti,,,    1                                                   

Baltim ,n„l  r..,-,„,    

112.7 

Calvert  and  I'ratt 

Calvert  and  Saratoga 

Calvert  and  Eager 

73.4 

Deck,..   .     :  .                       

Dolphin   .        1  .     1                       

Druiil  II,  ,   -•       1,      i„i   i|,  Mechcn 

160.4 

Favette  and  C^rey 

,„, 

60 

Gilmor  and  Ramsey 

Gilmor  and  Cooke 

85.4 

178.3 

John  and  McMechen 

Ill" 

Lexington  and  Fulton 

Madisonand  Nortl 

Madison  and  Tow  nsend 

McMechen  and  Division 

28.1 

15.^0 

171.8 

North  and  Saratoga 

North  and  Centre 

19  7 

Orctiardand  Madison 

197  9 

Pratt  and  Centre  Market 

Pratt  and  Small  wood 

Presstman  and  Strieker 

4.0               ! 

11)8.0 

Zl 

Republican  and  Mosher 

Second  and  Gay 

;;;:;:;:::  'S       ' 

streets.  Feet. 

Saratogaand  Calhoun 18.2 

Saratoga  and  Scliroeder 9g.i 

Washington  Monument 98.3 

Woodyear  and  Presstman 205  0 


CHAPTER  XX. 


CITY   DEPARTMENTS. 


Police^Iails— Executions— Penitentiary— Markets  —  Jones'    Falls  and 
Biidges— Floods— Water  Companies— New  Water-Works, 

Police  Department. — The  original  commissioners 
appointed  by  tlie  act  of  the  Legislature,  Aug.  8, 1729, 
to  lay  off  Baltimore,  had  for  many  years  police  con- 
trol of  the  town.  The  town,  however,  seems  to  have 
taken  care  of  itself  until  1775,  when  it  became 
necessary  to  establish  a  night-watch.  With  that 
object  a  public  meeting  was  held  and  a  plan  for  a 
regular  night-watch  adopted.  Under  this  organiza- 
tion each  male  inhabitant  capable  of  duty  signed  an 
agreement  by  which  he  bound  himself  to  conform  to 
the  police  regulations  adopted  by  the  general  meeting 
of  the  citizens  and  sanctioned  by  the  commissioners, 
and  to  attend  personally  when  summoned  to  serve  as 
a  watchman  or  provide  a  suitable  substitute,  accept- 
able to  the  committee.  This  committee,  composed 
of  Robert  Buchanan,  Robert  Alexander,  and  David 
McMechen,  forshadovved  some  of  the  functions  of  the 
present  Board  of  Police  Commissioners.  The  town  was 
divided  into  districts,  with  a  company  organized  on  a 
military  basis  in  each  district,  each  with  a  captain 
of  the  watch.  The  following  were  the  officers :  Cap- 
tains: First  District,  James  Calhoun  ;  Second,  George 
Woolsey  ;  Third,  Benjamin  Griffith ;  Fourth,  Barnet 
Eichelberger ;  Fifth,  George  Lindenberger ;  Sixth, 
William  Goodwin,  for  Baltimore  Town ;  Isaac  Van- 
bibber,  with  two  assistants  or  lieutenants,  for  Fell's 
Point.  Each  captain  had  under  his  command  a 
squad  of  sixteen  men,  each  inhabitant  being  enrolled 
in  a  squad  and  taking  his  turn  in  allotted  order.  The 
streets  were  patrolled  by  this  watch  from  10  p.m.  until 
daybreak,  the  watchman  calling  aloud  the  time  of 
night  each  quarter  of  an  hour.' 

No  legal  obligation  or  penalty  controlling  this  or-' 
ganization,  it  became  in  a  short  time  inefficient  and  re- 
miss in  the  discharge  of  duty,  and  in  order  to  provide 
greater  security  for  persons  and  property  the  Legisla- 
ture in  1784  passed  an  act  by  which  the  town  com- 
missioners were  vested  with  power  to  organize  and 
control  a  police  or  regular  night-watch.  Under  this 
act  the  commissioners  were  authorized  to  employ  as 
many  watchmen  and  constables  as  they  might  deem 
necessary,  and  were  also  empowered  to  levy  a  tax  for 
the  payment  of  the  wages  and  salaries  of  men  and 

1  The  Sun,  in  1843,  advised  against  the  policy  of  calling  out  the  time  by 
the  watch,  on  the  ground  that  it  notified  thieves  of  the  locality  of  the 
watchmen,  and  gave  them  an  opportunity  of  tixing  their  time  and  lo- 
cation of  operations.     The  custom  was  finallv  abatnloned. 


CITY   DEPARTiMENTS. 


197 


officers  so  employed.  Our  townsmen,  however,  were 
so  exemplary  in  their  demeanor,  both  in  daylight  and 
darkness,  that  but  three  constables  were  required 
for  hours  of  business,  and  fourteen  watchmen  for  the 
night.  In  1792  the  sum  levied  proved  to  be  inad- 
equate to  support  the  necessarily  increased  force, 
and  a  house  tax  was  demanded  and  levied  to  sup- 
ply the  deficiency ;  but  this  character  of  tax  did  not 
meet  with  the  approval  of  the  inhabitants  and  it  was 
repealed,  and  provision  made  for  a  general  tax  in 
its  stead,  or  rather  an  additional  tax  was  levied,  from 
which  apjjropriations  were  made  for  the  payment 
of  peace  officers.  In  1793  the  town  commissioners 
were  by  act  of  the  Legislature  deprived  of  their 
authority  in  this  respect,  and  the  Court  of  Oyer  and 
Terminer,  which  then  administered  the  criminal  law 
for  Baltimore  County,  was  authorized  to  appoint  any 
number  of  such  officers,  and  to  assess  the  expense  of 
their  employment  on  the  county.  During  the  time 
that  the  police  and  constables  were  under  the  control 
of  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  assistant  justices 
were  employed  to  attend  the  station-houses  and  dis- 
pose of  the  peace  cases.  The  following  extract  from 
the  comptroller's  report  of  Dec.  15,  1796,  shows  the 
amount  paid  to  the  assistant  justices  and  constables 
for  their  attendance  in  weekly  rotation  at  the  station- 
houses,  and  for  superintending  the  conduct  of  the 
■  night-watch : 

"Paid  to  assistant  justices  £182  10«. ;  allowance  to  twenty-two  consta- 
bles for  their  attendance  on  the  court,  taking  up  vagrants  and  disordeily 
persons,  and  serving  criminal  processes,  £198  10s.  3d. ;  wages  paid  five 
captains  and  forty-four  privates  for  the  Baltimore  night-watch  from  Oct. 
1, 1796,  including  fire-wood,  candles,  and  house  rent  for  the  Fell's  Point 
watch,  £1905  Os.  M." 

This  account  also  shows  that  as  an  additional  pre- 
caution against  thieves  night-lamps  were  placed  at 
convenient  intervals  throughout  the  town.  "  Cash 
paid  to  Jacob  Lewis  Ballenger  for  erecting  and 
lighting  three  hundred  and  five  lamps,  £1.597  10s." 
When  the  old  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  was  abol- 
ished, the  power  of  appointing  constables  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Baltimore  City  Court,  which  was  estab- 
lished in  1816.  The  city  in  the  mean  time  was 
incorporated,  and  the  powers  of  the  town  commis- 
sioners were  transferred  to  the  new  corporation, 
which  was  in  the  act  specially  authorized  to  establish 
night-watches  and  patrols.  From  1796,  therefore, 
until  1812  Baltimore  was  guarded  by  the  night  patrol 
and  constables  appointed  by  the  corporate  authori- 
ties. 

In  1801  a  town-meeting  was  held  with  the  object  of 
perfecting  means  to  prevent  the  frequent  thefts,  rob- 
beries, disturbances,  and  fires  that  had  become  so 
common,  the  town  having  been  for  some  time  infested 
with  a  number  of  dishonest  and  disorderly  characters. 
At  this  meeting  a  committee  of  three  persons  from 
each  ward  was  appointed  to  report  a  plan  of  organi- 
zation of  the  night-watch  to  an  adjourned  meeting 
at  Bryden's  Inn  on  the  30th  of  April,  1801.   The  com- 


mittee consisted  of.  First  Ward,  William  Jessop,  C.  H. 
Gist,  and  Walker  Simpson ;  Second  Ward,  John 
Strieker,  Henry  Schroeder,  and  Luke  Tiernan ;  Third 
Ward,  Jesse  Hollingsworth,  Peter  Hoffman,  and  John 
Swann  ;  Fourth  Ward,  William  McCreery,  William 
Wilson,  and  Alexander  McKim  ;  Fifth  Ward,  Thomas 
Hollingsworth,  Robert  Gilmor,  and  William  Woods; 
Sixth  Ward,  Peter  Frick,  Baltzer  Schaeffer,  and  Mi- 
chael Diffenderffer;  Seventh  Ward,  Edward  Johnson, 
Thos.  McElderry,  and  John  Mackenheimer ;  Eighth 
Ward,  Thomas  Tenant,  John  Snyder,  and  Henry 
Waters.  The  patrol  was  increased  and  rendered  more 
efficient  by  the  measures  adopted  at  this  meeting,  and 
for  a  time  disorder  was  suppressed  by  the  vigilance  of 
the  watchmen. 

In  1810  it  again  became  necessary  for  the  citizens 
to  reorganize  the  watch,  although  at  this  time  the 
corporate  authorities  of  the  city  were  clothed  with 
all  necessary  powers  in  the  premises.  Ward-meet- 
ings were  held  in  all  the  wards  of  the  city,  and  repre- 
sentatives were  appointed  to  a  general  meeting.  At 
this  meeting  a  plan  was  proposed  and  adopted  and  ac- 
cepted by  the  authorities.  A  sub-committee  was  also 
appointed,  which  had  general  control  of  the  organiza- 
tion. The  chairman  of  this  committee  was  Elisha 
Tyson,  and  the  secretary  John  E.  Carey.  Mr.  Carey 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  was  succeeded  by  J. 
Lewis  Wampler.  Under  this  organization  there  were 
thirty  captains,  each  being  responsible  for  a  territory 
distinctly  marked  out.  Each  captain  had  under  him 
a  squad  of  eight  men,  making  in  all  a  force  of  two 
hundred  and  forty  men.  For  more  than  twenty-five 
years  this  system  was  in  operation  in  Baltimore,  but 
it  was  again  changed  in  1836  and  1837,  and  in  1838 
Baltimore  had  for  day  service  especially  a  high  con- 
stable, one  regular  policeman  for  each  of  the  twelve 
wards,  and  two  extra  policemen  for  each  ward,  who 
might  be  called  into  service  as  occasion  required. 
This  system  of  day  police  was  accommodated  to  each 
increase  in  the  number  of  wards  in  the  city  until  it 
reached  the  number  of  twenty  wards.  This  system 
proved  inefficient,  and  the  mayor  and  City  Council,  in 
pursuance  of  the  authority  vested  in  them  by  the  act 
of  1853,  ch.  46,  proceeded  to  organize  a  police  force 
under  an  ordinance  which  passed  both  branches  of 
the  City  Council  and  received  the  approval  of  the 
mayor,  Hon.  Thomas  Swann,  in  January,  1857. 

This  ordinance  completely  changed  the  old  police 
system,  and  by  its  provisions  the  night-watch  and 
day  police  were  incorporated  in  one  department.  A 
regular  uniform  was  provided  for  the  force,  which 
consisted  of  one  chief  of  police,  one  deputy,  and 
eight  captains,  eight  lieutenants,  twenty-four  ser- 
geants, and  three  hundred  and  ninety-three  men. 
This  was  exclusive  of  four  superintendents,  forty-two 
lamplighters,  and  five  detective  officers. 
I  The  following  table  will  show  the  number  of  men 
i  on  the  force  and  the  character  of  their  duties  at  that 
time : 


HISTORY   OP   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


No.  of  Districts.  Ileserve.  Day  Beat.s.  Night  Beats, 

First,  Eastern 9  22  -14 

Second,  Middle 11  38  7li 

Third,  Western 6  23  4C 

Fourth,  Southern 9  22  44 

Total Z:<  10.-.  2111 


It  will  be  observed  by  this  table  that  the  number  of 
men  on  duty  at  night  was  two  hundred  and  ten,  twice 
as  many  as  were  on  duty  in  the  daytime,  and  fifteen 
more  than  were  employed  under  the  old  system.  In 
order  to  give  more  efficiency  to  the  night  service  the 
chief  of  police  enlarged  the  beats  in  the  suburbs  of 
the  city ;  this  was  with  a  view  of  concentrating  more 
readily  an  effective  force  whenever  a  sudden  call 
might  be  made  for  it ;  the  same  disposition  was  made 
with  the  men  detailed  for  service  during  the  day. 
The  headquarters  of  the  department  were  in  the 
building  then  occupied  by  the  Water  Commission,  on 
North  Street,  near  Fayette.  The  chief  of  police  at 
that  time,  B.  W.  Herring,  had  two  rooms  in  that 
building.  The  following  letter  was  sent  to  all  the 
police  captains : 


'BaI' 


,  Man 


,  18,17, 


"  GAprAiN  or  ToLlCE.  Sir.— TIjc  system  will  comuience  this  morning 
with  the  designated  force  of  your  district  in  the  following  order :  one- 
tliird  for  day  and  two-thirds  for  night  service.  The  day  men  to  go  on 
duty  ate  A.M., and  remain  on  until  8  p.m.,  at  which  time  the  night  men 
will  relievo  the  day  men,  and  remain  on  until  relieved  by  the  day  men, 
at  6  o'clock  A.M.  It  is  uuderetood  that  the  men  are  in  no  case  to  leave 
their  beats  unless  compelled  to  do  so  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty.  In 
going  to  their  meals  only  a  portion  will  leave  at  a  time,  the  balance 
remaining  until  their  return,  which  must  not  exceed  one  hour.  Two 
sergeants  for  day  and  four  for  night  duty  in  each  district  will  patrol 
their  districts  and  see  that  their  men  are  at  their  posts.  The  captains, 
lieutenants,  and  turnkeys  will  relieve  at  six  o'clock,  morning  and  even- 
ing. The  reserve  force  will  be  taken  from  the  divisions  as  provided  for 
in  the  card  previously  circulated.  In  case  of  absence  from  roll-call,  a 
substitute  will  immediately  take  the  place  of  the  absentee,  morning  or 
night.  The  above  regulations  must  be  strictly  complied  with  until  fur- 
ther orders." 

This  .system  proved  more  efficient  than  any  former 
one,  until  the  organization  of  the  American,  or  Know- 
Nothing  party.  At  first  when  the  rowdy  clubs  com- 
menced a  course  of  open  violence  the  police  made 
every  effort  to  maintain  order,  but  the  force  was 
gradually  filled  with  recruits  from  the  Know-Noth- 
ing organizations,  and  became  the  willing  tool  of 
violence  and  riot. 

Gradually  the  official  arm  of  municipal  authority 
became  not  only  the  supporter,  but  the  promoter  and 
the  executor  of  disorder  and  bloodshed.  The  very 
men  who  were  sworn  to  protect  and  defend  the  execu- 
tion of  the  laws  that  guaranteed  the  right  of  the  citi- 
zen became  the  chief  instruments  of  an  authority  ele- 
vated to  position  by  defiance  of  right,  law,  and  order. 
The  city  during  this  time  may  be  said  to  have  been  given 
up  to  a  mob,  and  that  a  mob  of  the  most  dangerous 
character, — a  mob  clothed  with  the  robes  of  office 
and  the  baton  of  official  power.  Security  for  life  and 
property  became  a  mockery.  At  every  election  the 
red  hand  of  riot  triumphed  over  every  right  of  the 
citizen,  until  more  than  half  of  the  voters  of  the  city 


were  deprived  of  the  right  of  franchise,  because  it 
could  be  exercised  only  at  the  risk  of  life. 

A  committee  of  the  members  of  the  Reform  party 
who  had  personally  witnessed  the  condition  of  affairs 
in  Baltimore  for  four  or  five  years  previous,  in  1859 
drafted  a  number  of  bills,  known  as  the  "  reform  bills," 
among  which  were  the  police  bill,  the  election  law, 
and  the  jury  law,  which  were  presented  to  the  Legis- 
lature. In  order  to  wrest  from  the  city  officials  the 
power  of  controlling  the  police  department  in  their 
own  political  interests,  the  police  bill  provided  for  the 
organization  of  a  Board  of  Police  Commissioners,  com- 
posed of  discreet  persons,  who  should  have  been  resi- 
dents of  the  city  of  Baltimore  for  three  consecutive 
years  next  preceding  the  day  of  their  election,  and 
who  should  be  elected  by  a  joint  session  of  the  two 
houses  of  the  General  Assembly  ;  one  elected  for  two 
years,  one  for  four  years,  and  one  for  six  years.  The 
bill  empowered  the  Board  of  Police  Commissioners  to 
organize  a  police  force  for  the  city  of  Baltimore,  arm, 
equip,  and  control  the  same,  and  make  them  responsi- 
ble for  the  entire  system.  Under  this  bill  the  General 
Assembly,  in  1860,  elected  Messrs.  Charles  Howard, 
William  H.  Gatchell,  Charles  D.  Hinks,  and  John 
W.  Davis  as  the  first  Board  of  Police  Commissioners. 
The  passage  of  the  bill  excited  the  most  violent  oppo- 
sition from  the  city  authorities,  and  it  was  contended 
that  the  act  was  unconstitutional.     On  the  passage  of 

j  the  bills  the  mayor  dispatched  a  message  to  the  Council 
asking  leave  to  test  their  legality,  and  volunteered  his 
own  opinion  that  they  were  "  without  the  authority  of 
law,  and  cannot  be  recognized  by  the  courts."  The 
commissioners  of  police  on  the  6th  of  February  ap- 
peared in  the  clerk's  office  at  the  Superior  Court  and 

I  subscribed  to  the  oath  of  office,  and  on  the  9th  made 
a  formal  demand  through  their  counsel,  Messrs.  Rev- 
erdy  Johnson,  S.  Teackle  Wallis,  J.  Mason  Campbell, 
and  AV^illiam  H.  Norris,  upon  the  mayor  and  City 
Council  for  the  delivery  of  the  station-houses,  police 
equipments,  etc.  On  the  10th,  Mayor  Swann  notified 
them  of  his  refusal  to  comply  with  the  demand.  Ap- 
plication was  immediately  made  to  the  Superior 
Court,  Judge  Martin,  for  a  mandamus  to  compel 
compliance  by  these  authorities.  On  the  13th  of 
March  Judge  Martin  delivered  his  opinion,  that  the 
act  constituting  the  Board  of  Police  Commissioners 
was  constitutional.  The  mayor  and  City  Council  ap- 
pealed, and  the  decision  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  was 
rendered  in  favor  of  the  police  commi-ssioners  on  the 
17th  of  April.     This  decision  gave  the  greatest  satis- 

I  faction  to  the  great  body  of  the  people,  and  a  sensa- 

t  tion  of  relief,  inexpressible  and  without  precedent  in 
this  community,  was  experienced.  The  board  imme- 
diately organized  a  new  police  force,  which  entered 
upon  their  duties  May  1,  1860.  A  new  uniform  was 
adopted,  and  the  new  force  was  known  as  the  Metro- 
politan Police. 

After  raising  the  force  to  the  highest  point  of  effi- 
ciency. Col.  Kane,  who  had  accepted  the  position  of 


CITY   DEPARTMENTS. 


marslial  at  great  personal  sacrifice,  tendered  his  resig- 
nation, but  the  protests  of  the  citizens  were  so  general 
that  he  was  induced  on  the  16th  of  November  to  with- 
draw his  resignation  and  continue  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  the  office.  This  police  force  continued  to 
protect  the  city  until  the  military  authorities  took 
possession  of  it  in  1861.  On  the  morning  of  the  27th 
of  June  a  detacliment  of  military  proceeded  to  the 
residence  of  Col.  George  P.  Kane,  arrested  him,  and 
carried  him  to  Fort  McHenry.  On  the  same  day,  by 
order  of  Gen.  Banks,  Col.  John  R.  Kenly  suspended 
the  board  of  police  and  assumed  command  of  the 
police  force  of  the  city.  On  July  10th,  Gen.  Banks 
appointed  George  R.  Dodge  marshal  of  police  in 
place  of  Col.  Kenly.  He  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
the  office  the  same  day,  with  James  McPhail  as  deputy 
marshal.  They  occupied  the  marshal's  office,  station- 
houses,  and  other  property  of  the  city  provided  for 
the  regular  police,  and  the  troops  which  had  been 
quartered  in  the  heart  of  the  city  were  withdrawn  and 
marched  back  to  their  several  camps.  On  the  1st  day 
of  July  the  police  commissioners  were  also  arrested. 
These  arrests  were  made  between  three  and  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  by  Col.  Morehead's  Philadel- 
phia regiment,  which  first  proceeded  to  the  house  of 
John  W.  Davis,  arrested  him,  and  .sent  him  under 
guard  to  the  fort.  They  next  visited  the  residences 
and  arrested  Charles  D.  Hinks,  Charles  Howard,  and 
William  H.  Gatchell.  All  four  of  the  commissioners 
were  conveyed  to  Fort  McHenry,  and  were  afterwards 
imprisoned  for  more  than  a  year  in  Fort  Warren, 
Boston  Harbor.  William  McKewen,  clerk  of  the 
board,  was  also  arrested,  but  afterwards  discharged  by 
Marshal  Kenly,  there  being  no  charge  against  him. 
Gen.  Banks  appointed  the  following  Board  of  Police 
Commissioners  to  assist  in  the  management  of  the 
police  affiiirs  in  the  city:  Columbus  O'Dounell,  Ar- 
chibald Sterling,  Jr.,  Thomas  Kelso,  John  R.  Kelso, 
John  W.  Randolph,  Peter  Sauerwein,  John  B.  Sei- 
denstricker,  Joseph  Roberts,  and  Michael  Warner. 
Between  the  hours  of  eleven  o'clock  Thursday  night 
and  eleven  o'clock  Friday  morning  a  number  of  mili- 
tary arrests  were  made,  among  them  the  mayor  of  the 
city,  George  William  Brown,  at  that  time  ex  officio  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Police  Commissioners,  who  was 
committed  to  Fort  McHenry.  It  was  intended  to  send 
him  with  others  arrested  to  the  Dry  Tortugas,  but 
fortunately  there  were  no  vessels  in  the  port  suitable 
at  that  time  for  the  service.  William  McKewen,  for- 
mer clerk  of  the  board,  was  rearrested  on  the  15th  of 
October.  Thus  passed  away  the  last  vestige  of  civil 
authority  in  the  police  department  under  its  new  and 
splendid  organization. 

On  the  21st  of  July  a  bill  was  introduced  into  Con- 
gress appropriating  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  for 
the  payment  "  of  the  police  organization  of  Baltimore 
employed  by  the  United  States,"  and  passed  under 
the  pressure  of  the  previous  question,  Hon.  Henry  May 
having  in  vain  attempted  to  obtain  the  floor  to  discuss 


it,  and  having  been  sharply  reprimanded  for  a  breach 
of  the  rules  of  the  House  in  protesting  against  it  as 
"  a  bill  to  provide  for  the  wages  of  oppression."  In 
the  Senate  it  was  adopted  with  equal  precipitancy 
against  the  remonstrance  of  both  senators  of  Mary- 
land. The  Congressional  appropriation  not  being 
sufficient,  the  City  Council,  at  its  session  of  1862-63, 
made  an  appropriation  of  twenty-two  thousand  dol- 
lars to  supply  the  deficiency.  In  1862  the  military 
authorities  signified  their  willingness  to  turn  over  the 
police  department  to  the  civil  authority  of  the  State, 
as  the  Legislature,  which  had  the  power  to  appoint 
commissioners  of  police,  were  at  that  time  in  full 
sympathy  with  the  Federal  government.  In  1862, 
therefore,  the  Legislature,  under  a  new  police  law 
passed  by  that  body,  which  repealed  the  act  of  1860, 
appointed  Messrs.  Samuel  Hirides  and  Nicholas  L. 
Wood,  in  connection  with  the  mayor,  as  the  board  of 
police  commissioners  of  Baltimore,  who  were  sworn 
into  office  on  the  7th  of  March,  1862,  and  entered 
upon  the  discharge  of  their  duties  on  the  10th.  A 
large  majority  of  the  force  selected  were  the  same 
appointed  by  the  provost-marshal.  The  new  force 
entered  upon  its  duties  on  the  3d  of  April,  1862. 
Messrs.  Hindes  and  Wood  continued  to  exercise  the 
functions  of  police  commissioners  until  1866,  when 
charges  of  official  misconduct  were  preferred  against 
them,  and  after  an  examination  by  the  Governor  they 
were  removed,  and  William  T.  Valiant  and  James 
Young  appointed  in  their  places.  Messrs.  Hindes 
and  Wood  refused  to  deliver  to  the  new  commission- 
ers the  machinery  and  agencies  of  the  police  estab- 
lishment, and  this  with  such  an  array  of  force  as  to 
repel  the  new  appointees  and  prevent  them  from 
taking  possession  under  the  authority  of  the  State. 
The  new  commissioners,  however,  established  their 
headquarters  at  another  point,  and  proceeded  to  insti- 
tute measures  for  the  exercise  of  their  official  func- 
tions. The  power  of  the  judge  of  the  Criminal  Court 
was  then  invoked  against  them,  on  the  ground  that 
they  were  unlawfully  conspiring  to  obtain  possession 
of  the  offices  and  property  of  the  police  department. 
They  were  arrested  on  a  warrant  issued  by  the  judge 
of  the  Criminal  Court,  and  refusing  to  give  bail  were 
incarcerated  in  the  city  jail.  The  sherifl"  of  Baltimore 
was  also  subjected  to  the  same  treatment,  on  the 
charge  that  he  was  engaged  in  aiding  and  abetting 
an  unlawful  assemblage  and  riot,  because  of  his  un- 
dertaking to  exercise  his  prerogative  in  summoning 
the  posse  comitafus.  Writs  of  habeas  corpus  were  ob- 
tained from  Judge  Bartol,  and  the  prisoners  released 
and  placed  in  possession  of  the  office,  equipments, 
arms,  and  station-houses  of  the  department.  Col. 
John  T.  Farlow  was  appointed  marshal  of  police,  and 
Capt.  John  T.  Gray,  who  was  captain  of  the  central 
police  force  under  the  metropolitan  police  bill,  was 
made  deputy  marshal.  Col.  Farlow  was  succeeded  as 
marshal  by  Thomas  H.  Carmichael,  who  was  removed 
in  1867  by  the  board  of  commissioners,  who  appointed 


200 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


in  his  place  William  A.  Van  Nostrand,  who  was  fol- 
lowed by  Col.  Farlow.  The  police  force  for  1860  not 
having  been  paid,  a  resolution  was  introduced  in  the 
Council  in  1867  to  appropriate  one  hundred  and 
twelve  thousand  dollars  in  payment  of  this  obliga- 
tion, and  one  thousand  dollars  to  Mayor  Chapman 
for  his  services  upon  the  board,  which  was  defeated, 
whereupon  K.  C.  Barry  and  S.  Teackle  Wallis,  as 
counsel  of  the  police,  made  formal  demand  of  the 
city  register  for  the  payment  of  the  amount.  This 
demand  was  refused,  and  suits  were  docketed  to  the 
number  of  three  hundred  and  eighty-nine  before 
Judge  Scott,  of  the  City  Court,  for  the  recovery  of 
the  claims.  The  costs  in  the  cases,  with  fees  of  attor- 
neys, etc.,  amounted  to  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  The 
suits  were  finally  compromised  and  the  claims  paid. 
In  1870,  John  T.  Gray,  who  had  for  some  years 
served  as  deputy  marshal,  was  appointed  by  the  board 
marshal  of  police  in  place  of  Col.  John  T.  Farlow, 
who  had  been  marshal  for  three  years,  and  who  va- 
cated the  ofiice  to  fill  the  position  of  police  magis- 
trate at  the  Eastern  station-house.  Jacob  Frey  was 
appointed  deputy  marshal.  These  gentlemen  have 
discharged  the  duties  of  their  respective  positions 
for  eleven  years  in  a  most  efficient  and  satisfac- 
tory manner.  The  police  force  of  Baltimore  has  ar- 
rived at  a  state  of  efficiency  unequaled  perhaps  by 
that  of  any  other  city  in  the  United  States.  Its  offi- 
cers and  men  discharge  their  duty  quietly  but  firmly, 
and  the  safety  of  the  citizen  at  all  hours  of  the  night 
and  day  is  assured  by  the  vigilance  and  activity  of  a 
body  of  men  that  never  flinch  from  duty  or  quail  in 
the  hour  of  danger. 

The  Boards  of  Police  Commissioners  from  1860  to 
1881  have  been  as  follows : 

I860  (organized  February  6th).— Charles  Howard,  president;  William 
H.  Gatchell,  treasurer;  Charles  D  Hinks,  John  W.  Davis;  ex  off.,  George 
William  Brown,  mayor  (Nov.  9,  1860);  William  F.  McKewen,  clerk; 
George  P.  Kane,  marshal ;  Thomas  Gifford,  deputy  marshal. 

1862. — From  the  arrest  of  the  foregoing  commissioners  hy  the  United 
States  governmeiit  until  the  10th  of  March,  1862,  the  police  force  was 
under  the  control  of  officers  appointed  by  the  Federal  government, — 
Gen.  John  R.  Kenly,  succeeded  by  George  R.  Dodge,  provost-marshal. 
The  Police  Board  qualified  March  6,1862,  and  organized  March  10; 
on  the  29th,  the  government  force  of  police  was  turned  over  to  the 
Police  Board,  and  on  the  1st  of  April  the  government  force  was  paid  off 
and  disbanded. 

1862.— Nicholas  L.  Wood,  president ;  Samuel  Hindes ;  ex  off.,  John  Lee 
Chapman;  William  S.  Browning,  clerk  ;  W.  A.  Van  Nostrand,  marshal; 
■William  B.  Lyons,  deputy  marshal. 

1863. — Nochanges  in  the  board.  Under  the  police  law,  John  A.  Thomp- 
son, city  register,  was  constituted  treasurer  of  the  board. 

1864.— Samuel  Hindes,  president;  Nicholas  L.  Wood,  ex  off.,  John  Lee 
Chapman,  mayor.  March  4, 1864,  Thomas  H.  Carmichael  was  appointed 
marshal,  rice  William  A.  Vau  Nostrand,  removed.  John  S.  Manly  was 
appointed  deputy  marshal,  vice  William  B.  Lyons,  removed.  George  W. 
Taylor  was  appointed  secretary  to  the  board,  vice  Browning.  March  19, 
1864,  John  A.  Thompson,  city  register,  declined  to  serve  any  longer  as 
treasurer,  and  requisitions  for  money  were  made  through  the  city  comp- 
troller. 

1865. — No  changes  in  the  board  or  chief  officers. 

1866. — November  Ist,  Governor  Swann  removed  Messrs.  Wood  and 
Hindes  from  office.    November   2d    he  appointed  and  com 
Messrs.  James  Young  nnd  WilHiim  Thoimis  Valiant  comn 
November  :id,  Mi-ssrs.  Young  nnd  Valiant  were  comniitted  to  ! 
City  jail,  by  order  of  Jud«i'  liund,  of  the  Criminal  I'ourt.    Nover 


Judge  Bartol,  of  Court  of  Appeals,  released  Messrs.  Young  and  Valiant, 
and  on  November  1.5th,  Messrs.  Hindes  and  Wood  yielded  possession  of  the 
office  and  property  of  the  hoard,  and  the  marshal  of  police  (Carmichael) 
reported  for  duty  with  the  entire  force  to  Messrs.  Young  and  Valiant. 
November  13th,  board  organized  permanently  with  James  Young,  presi- 
dent; William  T.  Valiant;  ex  off.,  3o\m  Lee  Chapman,  mayor;  George 
W.  Taylor,  secretary ;  Thomas  H.  Carmichael]  marshal ;  John  S.  Manly, 
deputy  marshal. 

1867.— March  15th,  board  organized.  Commissionere- Lefevre  Jarrett, 
president;  James  E.  Carr,  treasurer;  William  H.  B.  Fusselbaugh  ;  Clerk, 
George  W.Taylor,  (August)  Thomas  E.Martin;  Marshal,  John  T.  Far- 
low  ;  Deputy  Marshal,  John  T.  Gray. 
1868. — No  changes. 
1869. — No  changes. 

187U. — Lefevre  Jarrett,  president,  died  iu  February,  1870,  and  the  Leg- 
islature elected  John  W.  Davis  to  fill  his  unexpired  tenii,  and  Thomas 
W.  Morse  was  elected  for  the  full  term  of  four  years  from  March  15, 
1871.  August  1,  Marriott  Boswell  wa«  elected  clerk  to  the  board,  rice 
Thomas  E.  Martin,  deceased.  Commissioners — John  W.  Davis,  president ; 
James  E.  Carr,  treasurer;  William  H.  B.  Fusselbaugh  ;  Marshal,  John 
T.  Gray;  Deputy  Marshal,  Jacob  Frey,  appointed  April  21,  1870. 

1871. — March  ]5lh, board  organized.  William  H.  B.  Fusselbaugh, presi- 
dent ;  James  B.  Carr,  treasurer;  Thomas  W.  Morse.    The  oflicers  of  the 
board  unchanged. 
1872. — No  changes. 
1873. — No  changes. 

1874. — The  Legislature  changed  the  terms  of  service  of  the  commis- 
sioners. William  H.  B.  Fusselbaugh  was  elected  for  the  term  of  six 
years,  Harry  Gilraor  for  the  term  of  four  years,  and  John  Milroy  for  the 
term  of  two  years,  from  March  15, 1875.  For  1874  there  were  no  changes 
in  the  commissioners. 

1875. — Commissioners — William  H.  B.  Fusselbaugh,  president;  John 
Milroy,  treasurer;  Harry  Gilmor.  The  officers  of  the  board  unchanged. 
1876. — The  Legislature  elected  James  R.  Herbert  commissioner  in  place 
of  John  Milroy,  for  six  years  from  March  15, 1877,  Harry  Gilmor  bo- 
coming  treasurer  of  the  board,  and  Mr.  Fusselbaugh  remaining  presi- 
dent. 

1878. — John  Milroy  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  for  six  years  in 
place  of  Harry  Gilmor.  The  latter  resigned  April  10th,  and  John  Mil- 
roy was  appointed  by  the  Governor,  April  12th,  to  fill  the  unexpired 
term.  Commissioners — William  H.  B.  Fusselbaugh,  president ;  James 
B.  Herbert,  treasurer ;  John  Milroy.  Officers  unchanged. 
1879.— No  changes. 

1880.— George  Colton  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  commissioner  for 
six  years  in  place  of  WilliKm  H.  B.  Fusselbaugh,  from  March  15, 1881. 

1881.— Commissioners— George  Colton,  president;  James  Herbert, 
treasurer;  John  Milroy;  Secretary,  George  Savage,  rice  Marriott  Bos- 
well, removed  August,  1881  ;  Marshal,  John  T.  Gray  ;  Deputy  Marshal, 
Jacob  Frey. 

Baltimore  Jails. — Until  1768  Joppa  was  the  county- 
seat  of  Baltimore  County,  and  the  jail  as  well  as  the 
court-house  was  situated  there ;  but  in  that  year  Balti- 
more was  made  the  county-seat,  and  a  "  public  prison" 
j  was  ordered  by  the  General  Assembly  to  be  erected  in 
the  town.  While  this  jail  was  in  process  of  construc- 
[  tion  prisoners  were  confined  in  a  log  building  on  the 
]  east  side  of  South  Frederick  Street,  near  Myers'  tan- 
yard,  not  far  from  the  residence  of  Daniel  Chamier, 
the  sheriff",  who  lived  in  a  brick  house  in  the  rear  of 
it.  When  the  regular  jail  was  completed  is  not  known, 
but  the  site  selected  for  it  was  on  the  hill  in  the  rear 
of  the  court-house,  near  the  present  location  of  the 
record  office.  In  November,  1797,  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  passed  "an  act  entitled  an  act  for  building  a 
new  goal  in  Baltimore  County,"  by  which  act  Sam- 
uel Owings,  James  Carroll,  John  Merrymau,  James 
Carey,  and  Nicholas  Rogers  were  appointed  commis- 
sioners, vested  with  powers  to  receive  by  purchase  or 
donation  any  portion  or  portions  of  ground  within 
the  citv  of  iJaltiiiiore  or  its  precincts  which  to  them 


CITY   DEPAKTMENTS. 


should  appear  suitable  for  a  jail  building,  and  also  ! 
authority  to  erect  a  jail  upon  the  same.     Under  this  1 
act  the  commissioners,  in  1799,  obtained  from  William  ' 
Wilson,  John  Brown,  and  Nicholas  R.  Moore  a  part  ' 
of  the  ground,  six  acres  and  a  half  in  all,  upon  which  \ 
the  jail  now  stands.     This  jail  was  finished  and  occu- 
pied in  1802,  E.  C.  Long,  architect.     It  was  built  in  i 
quadrangular  form,  inclosing  a  square   court.     The 
lower  story  and  the  principal  part  of  the  other  stories  ! 
were  vaulted,  as  a  safeguard  against  fire  as  well  as 
additional  security  against  escapes.     The  apartments 
were  generally  twenty  feet  square  and  well  ventilated,  j 

The  first  executions  in  the  jail-yard  occurred  on 
Friday,  April  22,  1808.  On  the  night  of  the  14th  of  | 
March,  1808,  a  number  of  prisoners  broke  jail  and 
made  their  escape,  after  a  severe  encounter  with  the 
turnkey,  Mr.  Green,  and  others,  who  were  desperately 
wounded,  and  a  watchman  named  Worker,  who  died  | 
of  his  wounds.  William  Robinson,  William  Morris, 
Daniel  Dougherty,  and  Caleb  Dougherty,  four  of  the 
prisoners,  were  tried,  convicted,  and  executed  for  the 
murder  of  the  watchman  in  less  than  a  month  after  the 
commission  of  the  crime.  This  jail,  in  1812,  was  the  j 
scene  of  great  brutality  sul!ered  by  the  gentlemen  who 
were  taken  there  to  protect  them  from  the  mob.  The 
result  of  the  capture  of  the  jail  by  the  mob  was  the 
building  of  the  stone  wall  eleven  feet  high  around  it. 
In  1850  the  necessity  for  a  larger  jail  became  apparent, 
and  the  Committee  on  Police  and  Jails,  Sept.  14, 1850, 
reported  to  the  Council  in  favor  of  building  a  new 
jail  on  the  site  of  the  old  one.  Both  branches  of  the 
City  Council  accordingly  passed  an  ordinance  on  the  I 
20th  of  May,  1851,  appropriating  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars for  the  erection  of  a  new  jail  or  addition  to  the 
old  one.  A  dispute  arose  in  the  Council  in  regard  to 
the  location,  and  for  some  time  the  project  was  held  t 
in  abeyance,  and  it  was  not  until  February,  1856,  that 
the  Council  adopted  a  resolution  appointing  the  joint 
Committee  of  the  Police  and  Jail  with  the  mayor  and 
city  commissioners  a  committee  to  select  a  place  and 
secure  specifications  for  the  new  jail.  The  original 
jail  grounds  on  Madison  Street  and  Jones'  Falls  were 
selected  for  the  site,  and  in  April  the  city  commis- 
sioner, J.  P.  Shanon,  entered  into  a  contract  with 
Messrs.  H.  R.  &  J.  Reynolds  to  build  the  jail  accord- 
ing to  specifications  for  $117,000.  The  contractors 
completed  the  greater  part  of  the  work,  when  a  difii- 
culty  arose  upon  the  subject  of  the  plans,  and  the 
city  entered  into  an  arbitration,  Nathan  T.  Dushane 
representing  the  city,  and  J.  B.  Emory  the  contrac- 
tors, Lawrence  Sangston  being  umpire.  The  arbitra- 
tors decided  that  the  city  was  indebted  to  the  contrac- 
tors in  the  sum  of  $102,415,  which  by  a  resolution  of 
the  City  Council  was  paid  to  them.  A  contract  was 
then  entered  into  with  Messrs.  John  W.  Maxwell  & 
Co.  to  complete  the  jail  according  to  the  Dixon  plans 
for  $169,000  by  the  5th  of  July,  1858.  The  new  jail 
was  completed  and  accepted  by  the  commissioners 
Dec.  28,  1859,  and  the  prisoners  moved  into  it  Jan.  2, 


1860.  The  city  commissioners'  reports  for  1858-61, 
together  with  the  award  made  by  the  arbitrators  to 
H.  E.  &  J.  Reynolds,  show  the  cost  to  have  amounted 
to  $307,286.15,  not  including  the  price  paid  for  the 
ground,  $35,000.  The  report  of  the  warden  for  1881 
estimates  the  value  of  the  jail  property  under  the 
charge  of  the  Board  of  Visitors  at  $362,835.70.  The 
ground  upon  which  the  jail  is  built  contains  six  acres 
and  a  half,  surrounded  by  a  substantial  stone  wall 
eleven  feet  high.  The  plan  of  the  jail  embraces  a 
jail  within  a  jail.  The  main  hall  through  the  centre 
of  the  jail,  opening  east  and  west,  is  fifty-nine  feet 
eight  inches  in  length,  and  fifty-eight  feet  six  inches 
wide ;  the  entrance  is  by  a  flight  of  iron  steps  from 
the  yard  on  the  west ;  immediately  on  the  right  and 
left  of  the  hall  are  eight  rooms  twenty  by  twenty  feet 
and  fifteen  feet  high.  There  is  an  interior  building 
running  right  and  left  from  the  main  hall,  each  build- 
ing a  hundred  and  sixty  feet  long,  with  rows  of  cells 
opening  out  on  an  iron  portico ;  there  are  five  rows 
on  each  side  of  the  two  wings,  or  five  stories,  with  iron 
portico  in  front ;  in  all  three  hundred  cells  eight  by 
eleven  feet  and  nine  feet  high.  Above  this  main  hall 
is  the  chapel  of  the  jail,  fifty-seven  by  sixty  feel  and 
twenty-two  feet  high.  On  each  side  of  the  interior 
buildings  is  a  space  of  thirteen  feet  wide  extending 
from  the  cells  to  the  outer  wall  of  the  main  building. 
The  basement  of  this  space  is  now  used  as  a  dining- 
room,  the  old  custom  of  feeding  persons  in  their  cells 
having  been  abandoned.  The  main  hall  is  divided 
from  the  cells  by  an  open  iron  railing  built  very  sub- 
stantially. At  the  extreme  end  and  in  the  rear  of  each 
of  these  wings  bathing-tubs  are  placed,  and  by  the 
peculiar  construction  ventilation  from  the  roof  of  the 
building  through  each  cell  is  obtained.  The  cells  are 
furnished  with  an  iron  cot,  a  table,  chair,  wash-basin, 
etc.  The  whole  establishment  is  subjected  daily  to 
flooding  and  washing  from  hose  arranged  for  that 
purpose.  The  entire  building  is  of  stone,  brick,  and 
iron,  and  is  fire-proof.  The  exit  from  the  main  hall 
opposite  the  entrance  is  by  a  similar  flight  of  iron 
steps  into  the  back  yard  of  the  jail,  where  are  located 
the  kitchen,  a  brick  building,  forty  by  thirty  feet; 
the  weaving-shop,  one  hundred  feet  long ;  the  engine- 
and  boiler-room,  the  tin  and  blacksmith-shop,  and 
the  laundry  ;  the  bake-house  is  in  the  main  building. 
In  the  centre  of  the  main  hall  is  a  fountain  throwing 
up  refreshing  columns  of  water,  and  near  the  entrance 
of  the  hall  is  a  small  oflice,  built  for  the  deputy  war- 
dens. The  yard  in  front  of  the  jail  on  the  west  is  laid 
j  ofl'  into  grass  and  flower-plats.  At  the  gate  on  Madi- 
I  son  Street  a  handsome  cottage,  like  a  porter's  lodge, 
has  been  erected,  with  a  large  room  on  each  side  of 
the  passage  or  entrance-way,  one  for  a  clerk  and  the 
other  for  a  deputy  warden  assigned  to  the  duty  of 
,  keeping  the  gate.  The  residence  of  the  warden  is 
built  like  the  jail,  of  block  stone,  in  cottage  style, 
fronting  on  Madison  Street,  and  divided  from  the  jail 
■  by  the  stone  wall  surrounding  the  latter. 


20-2 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  present  officers  of  the  jail  are  as  follows : 
Board  of  Visitors,  Otis  Keilholtz,  president ;  Adolph 
Nachman,  secretary  ;  H.  E.  Reinhard,  Jacob  France, 
St.,  and  Thomas  G.  Hayes ;  Warden,  J.  F.  Morrison ; 
Physician,  Dr.  D.  P.  Hoffman ;  Clerk,  William  H. 
Turner  ;  Matron,  Carrie  H.  Dall  ;  Deputy  Wardens, 
Charles  Carroll,  Henry  Cruse,  William  H.  Cross, 
Edward  C.  Bowers,  John  Rielly,  William  H.  Miller, 
William  H.  Tibballs,  John  F.  Carter,  Thomas  J. 
Murray,  William  Howard,  Joseph  J.  Peters,  Law- 
rence Mayberry,  Andrew  J.  Morris,  Thomas  M.  Ken- 
ney,  James  J.  Flannery,  Peter  B.  Kestler,  and  James 
B.  Sanner ;  Baker,  Charles  W.  Muhley  ;  Gardener, 
Louden  Feast.  The  following  are  the  names  of  the 
successive  wardens  of  the  jail  since  1827  :  Dixon 
Stansbury,  David  W.  Hudson,  William  H.  Counsel- 
man,  Daniel  E.  Meyers,  William  A.  Wysong,  Thomas 
P.  O.  Sellers,  A.  P.  Shutt,  Thomas  C.  James,  Charles 
M.  Henry,  James  H.  Irvin,  and  J.  Frank  Morrison. 

Executions.  — 1752,  January  10th,  John  Berry, 
Martha  Bassett,  and  Mary  Powell  were  executed  for 
the  murder  of  Mrs.  Clark  Berry,  the  former  having 
been  hanged  in  chains. 

1788,  Donnelly  and  Mooney  were  executed  for  the 
highway  robbery  of  Mrs.  D.  Shadwell. 

1808,  April  22d,  Daniel  Dougherty,  William  Robin- 
son, William  Morris,  and  Caleb  Dougherty  were  ex- 
€cuted  for  jail-delivery  and  murder. 

1817,  December  9th,  Jean  Lamarde,  condemned  to 
■death  for  the  murder  of  Andrew  Clemments,  hanged 
himself  in  his  cell. 

1818,  Hare  and  Alexander  were  executed  for  the 
robbery  of  the  Eastern  mail.  They  were  hung  in  the 
jail-yard,  the  platform  and  trap  being  used  for  the 
first  time  in  Baltimore  in  place  of  the  cart  hitherto 
employed. 

1820,  April  13th,  John  F.  Ferguson  and  Israel 
Denny  were  executed  for  piracy ;  five  others,  who 
were  condemned  at  the  same  time,  having  received 
executive  clemency.  In  the  same  year  Perry  Hut- 
ton  and  Morris  B.  Hull  were  executed  for  mail  rob- 
bery. 

1844,  January  12th,  Adam  Horn  was  executed  for 
the  murder  of  his  wife,  Maliuda  Horn.  The  murder 
was  attended  with  circumstances  of  unusual  atrocity, 
jind  created  great  excitement  at  the  time. 

1845,  June  27th,  Henry  McCurry  was  executed  for 
the  murder  of  Paul  Roux. 

1847,  February  26th,  Joseph  Alexander  (colored) 
•was  executed  for  the  murder  of  Washington  Sheppard. 

1849,  July  21st,  Conrad  Vinter  was  executed  for 
the  murder  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cooper,  near  Parkton, 
Baltimore  Co. 

1853,  August  5th,  Thomas  Connor  was  executed  for 
the  murder  of  Capt.  William  Hutchinson.  When 
the  drop  fell  the  rope  broke  and  Connor  fell  to  the 
ground.  He  was  taken  back  to  the  scaffold  and 
hanged,  the  shocking  spectacle  being  witnessed  by 
fully  twenty  thousand  peojjle. 


1859,  April  8th,  Henry  Gambrill,  Marion  Cropps, 
Peter  Corrie,  and  John  Stephens,  alias  Cyphus  (col- 

j  ored),  were  executed  for  the  murder  of  Benjamin  Ben- 
ton, Robert  M.  Rigdon,  and  William  King  (colored). 

I  The  popular  excitement  on  this  occasion  was  intense, 

'  and  the  above  executions  were  regarded  by  all  good 

I  citizens  as  a  vindication  of  the  law,  which  had  been 
to  some  extent  undermined  by  ruffianism  and  vio- 
lence. 

1862,  March  7th,  Private  Joseph  H.  Kuhns,  of  the 
Second  Maryland  Regiment,  was  hanged  at  Fort  Mc- 
Henry  for  the  jnurder  of  Lieut.  David  E.  Whitson. 

1864,  May  23d,  Andrew  or  Isadore  Laypole  was 
executed  at  Fort  McHenry  as  a  Confederate  spy  and 
guerilla.     He  died  bravely. 

1864,  September  27th,  George  McDonald,  alias  M. 
M.  Dunning,  of  the  Third  Maryland  Cavalry,  shot  at 
Fort  McHenry  for  desertion  and  other  crimes. 

1873,  August  1st,  Thomas  R.  Hollahan  and  Joshua 
Nicholson  were  executed  for  the  murder  of  Mrs.  John 
Lampley.  An  unusual  notoriety  was  given  to  the 
case  by  the  attempt  of  HoUohan  to  assassinate  Dep- 
uty Marshal  Frey  in  open  court  at  Annapolis  during 
the  trial  of  the  cause. 

The  Maryland  Penitentiary.— The  ]\Iaryland 
Penitentiary  was  opened  ibr  the  reception  of  crimi- 

I  nals  in  1811.  Prior  to  its  establishment  the  offenses 
now  punishable  by  confinement  therein  were  pun- 
ished by  confinement  in  the  jails,  alms-houses,  or  work- 

I  houses,  and  the  criminals  were  made  to  labor  upon  the 
public  roads.  In  a  report  made  in  1884  it  is  stated 
that  "Before  the  establishment  of  any  regular  system 
in  this  country  convicts  were  employed  in  Maryland, 
as  in  other  of  the  States,  in  making  and  repairing 
roads,  cleansing  streets,  etc."  A  penitentiary  was  es- 
tablished in  Philadelphia  in  1794  and  placed  under 

!  regulations  excluding  all  the  hardships  of  the  pr'c- 

j  vious  mode. 

At  the  November  session  of  the  General  Assembly 
in  1804,  a  resolution  was  adopted  by  which  John 
Eager  Howard,  Thomas  Dixon,  Josias  Pennington, 
Thomas  McElderry,  Robert  C.  Long,  Levi  Hollings- 
worth,  Daniel  Conn,  Samuel  Sterett,  and  George 
Warner  were  appointed  commissioners  to  provide  for 
the  erection  of  a  penitentiary  for  the  reception  of 
criminals,  with  authority  to  agree  upon  a  site  for  the 
building,  and  to  propose  a  plan  to  the  Governor,  and 

'  when  approved  to  contract  for  and  superintend  the 
erection  of  the  same.  The  proceeds  of  the  fines,  for- 
feitures, and  licenses  collected  in  Baltimore,  not  ap- 
propriated to  the  use  of  the  city,  were  assigned  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  construction ;  but  owing  to  the 
defective  provisions  of  the  resolution  they  could  not 
be  obtained,  and  the  Legislature  was  forced  to  make 
regular  appropriations  for  the  erection  of  the  institu- 
tion. 

The  commissioners  under  this  act  proceeded  to 
purchase  ground  and  erect  buildings  on  Madison 
Street  near  the  York  road,  Mr.  Conn  being  the  archi- 


CITY   DEPARTMENTS. 


203 


tect  and  builder.  The  deed  made  to  the  commission- 
ers by  Daniel  Bowley  conveys  all 

"that  piece,  parcel,  or  lot  of  ground  situate  and  lying  in  BaUimore 
County,  being  part  of  Todd's  range,  Eogers'  Inspection,  and  Salisbury 
plains.  Beginning,  for  the  outlines  of  the  whole  three  parcels,  at  a  stone 
Sitarked  No.  3  of  the  prison  lot,  and  running  thence  north  one  and  a  half 
degrees,  west  three-tenths  of  a  perch  to  Henry  Stevenson's  part  of  Sal- 
isbury plains;  thence  binding  on  said  part  north  eighty-nine  degrees, 
<a3t  five  perches  and  eight-tenths  of  a  perch ;  thence  south  twelve  de- 
crees, east  seveuty-four  and  a  half  feet  to  the  south  side  of  Truxten 
Street ;  thence  bounding  on  said  street  north  seventy-eight  degrees,  east 
one  hundi-ed  and  ninety  feet  to  the  west  side  of  Nelson  Street ;  thence 
Ijounded  on  the  west  side  of  the  last  mentioned  street  south  twelve  de- 
grees, east  thirty-four  perches  and  three  feet  to  a  stone  standing  where 
the  west  line  of  said  street  and  the  southwest  line  of  Forest  Street  inter- 
sects ;  thence  running  north  forty-one  and  a  half  degrees,  west  three  and 
■one-half  perches  to  a  post ;  thence  south  thirty  and  a  half  degrees,  west 
three  and  a  quarter  perches  to  the  beginning  of  that  part  of  Cole's  Har- 
•bor  or  Todd's  Range,  conveyed  by  Thos.  SUgh  to  James  Moore,  also  the 
beginning  of  said  tract,  conveyed  by  Thos.  Sligh  to  Vitus  Hardway  and 
John  Sligh.  and  running  and  bounding  on  that  part  north  forty-one  and 
three-quarter  degrees  west  twelve  perches,  north  seventy-three  degrees, 
west  thirteen  perches  to  the  two  hundred  and  four  perches  line  of  that 
part  of  said  tract  conveyed  by  James  Todd  and  wife  to  John  Hurst; 
thence  bounding  on  said  line  north  forty-eight  degrees,  west  two  perches 
and  two-tenths  of  a  perch  to  the  prison  lot ;  thence  bounding  on  said  lot 
north  eighty-eight  degrees,  east  one  perch  and  four-tenths  of  a  perch  to  a 
atone  marked  No.  2  of  the  prison  lot ;  and  thence  by  a  straight  line  to 
the  beginning  stone,  containing  three  acres,  one-fourth  of  an  acre,  and 
eleven  square  perches  uf  land,  more  or  less," 


for  which  the  commissioners  paid  the  sum  of  four 
thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars,  cur- 
rent money. 

The  act  passed  in  1808,  ch.  138,  sec.  25,  declares 
that  the  penitentiary  now  in  course  of  erection 
shall  be,  when  completed,  "  appropriated  for  the  re- 
ception of  criminals  that  have  been  or  may  hereafter 
be  condemned  under  the  laws  of  the  State,  for  such 
terms,  upon  such  conditions,  and  under  such  regula- 
tions as  are  herein  or  may  hereafter  be  enacted  or  de- 
clared." In  pursuance  of  this  act  the  Governor  of 
the  State  issued  a  proclamation  on  the  13th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1811,  setting  forth  that  the  inspectors  had  re- 
l^orted  the  building  completed  and  all  the  requisites 
of  the  act  complied  with,  and  that  the  house  was  ready 
for  the  reception  of  criminals.  The  records  of  the 
penitentiary  show  that  the  first  criminal  received  in 
1811  was  a  colored  man,  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
convicted  of  murder  in  Prince  George's  County, 
who.se  sentence  had  been  commuted  to  imprisonment 
at  hard  labor  for  life.  He  was  sentenced  in  1803,  and 
died  in  the  penitentiary  in  1855.  He  was  a  prisoner 
fifty-two  years,  forty-four  years  of  which  were  spent 
in  the  penitentiary,  the  longest  period,  it  is  said,  for 
which  any  convict  was  ever  imprisoned  in  this  coun- 
try. An  act  of  the  Legislature  of  1809,  ch.  26,  di- 
rected that  all  prisoners  convicted  of  any  crime  pun- 
ishable by  confinement  in  the  penitentiary  should  be 
placed  and  kept  in  the  solitary  cells  thereof,  and  kept 
on  low  and  coarse  diet  for  such  a  time  as  the  discre- 
tion of  the  court  might  direct,  and  this  law  was  not 
repealed  until  1838. 

Section  37  of  the  act  of  1809  authorized  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Council  to  appoint  a  keeper  of  the  peniten- 


tiary, who  should,  in  addition  to  the  salary  allowed 
him  by  the  Legislature,  have  five  per  centum  on  the 
sale  of  all  articles  manufactured  by  the  prisoners  in 
the  institution,  with  the  power  to  appoint  his  deputies 
and  assistants.  The  38th  .section  of  the  same  act  pro- 
vided for  the  appointment  in  the  month  of  December, 
annually,  by  the  Governor  and  Council,  of  twelve  in- 
spectors of  the  penitentiary.  The  keeper  was  required 
to  provide  a  sufficient  quantity  of  stock  and  materials, 
working  tools  and  implements,  for  the  employment  of 
the  convicts,  and  to  contract  for  the  clotiiing,  diet,  and 
other  necessaries  for  the  maintenance  and  support  of 
the  convicts.  He  was  also  directed  to  make  sale  of 
such  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise  as  should  be  man- 
ufactured by  the  convicts. 

Upon  the  completion  of  the  penitentiary  and  the 
commencement  of  its  operations,  those  who  were  then 
undergoing  public  punishment  were  allowed  to  elect 
whether  they  would  go  into  the  penitentiary  or  serve 
out  their  sentences  as  originally  prescribed. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  inspectors,  composed  of 
Samuel  Steritt,  William  Hawkins,  David  Fulton, 
Elisha  Tyson,  Isaac  Burniston,  and  Theodoric  Bland, 
was  held  Dec.  31,  1811.  John  McKim  was  present, 
but  had  not  concluded  to  act,  and  the  inspectors  not 
having  a  quorum  adjourned  until  Jan.  3,  1812. 

On  that  day  they  reassembled,  and  elected  Joseph 
H.  Nicholson  chairman  of  the  board,  and  Theodoric 
Bland  secretary,  and  Dr.  Kichard  Hall  physician  to 
the  penitentiary  for  the  ensuing  year. 

On  the  5th  of  March,  1817,  the  west  wing  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  and  a  loan  of  forty  thousand  dollars 
was  authorized  to  rebuild  it.  • 

The  western  dormitory  was  erected  in  1809,  and  re- 
modeled in  1845.  That  portion  of  the  second  story 
which  had  been  previously  used  as  a  female  hospital 
was  enlarged  by  taking  into  it  two  of  the  adjoining 
I  cells,  and  the  room  fitted  up  for  a  workshop  for  the 
women.  The  hospital  was  removed  to  the  cells  adjoin- 
!  ing  the  rooms  appropriated  for  the  matron,  and  steps 
constructed  so  as  to  secure  separate  entrances  to  the 
I  yard  from  the  workshops  and  hospital.  The  male 
hospital  was  entirely  remodeled.  This  apartment  was 
'situated  in  the  third  story  of  the  west  wing.  It  was 
enlarged,  making  a  room  fifty-seven  feet  six  inches 
j  by  thirty-five  feet.  In  1870  a  brick  building  five 
stories  high,  twenty-two  by  eighty-six  feet,  for  female 
inmates,  was  erected,  and  a  small  b'at  comfortable 
building  as  a  residence  for  the  matrons.  The  entire 
interior  was  also  remodeled,  and  two  stories  added  to 
the  dormitory,  in  which  the  chapel  and  refectory  are 
located.  In  1871  a  new  shop  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
fifteen  hundred  dollars.  The  report  to  the  Legisla- 
ture for.  1838  states  that  the  funds  of  the  penitenti- 
ary for  its  ordinary  support  have  derived  no  direct  aid 
from  the  treasury  since  the  year  1827  to  the  present 
day.  Four  loans,  which  were  chiefly  predicated  upon 
the  credit  of  the  State,  have  been  negotiated  for  the 
'  penitentiary,  viz. : 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  flret  iu  1822,  redeemable  in  thirty  years,  for $27,947.30 

The  second  in  1828,  redeemable  in  thirty  years,  for 30,000.00 

The  third  in  1835,  redeemable  in  twenty  years,  for 20,000.00 

The  fourth  in  1837,  redeemable  in  twenty  years,  for 20,000.00 

Amounting  to 497,947.30 

But  DO  part  of  eitlier  of  these  loans  have  been  ap- 
plied to  the  ordinary  support  of  the  penitentiary ;  on 
the  contrary,  the  productive  labor  of  the  institution 
has  contributed  large  sums  to  the  erection  of  the 
buildings  and  other  improvements.  The  whole  of  the 
loan  of  1822  was  required  to  relieve  the  institution 
from  debts  which  had  embarrassed  its  operations  for 
some  years.  All  of  the  other  loans,  amounting  to 
seventy  thousand  dollars,  were  either  directly  applied 
or  an  equal  amount  taken  out  of  its  ordinary  means 
and  applied  to  building  and  similar  purposes.  In 
1850  its  liabilities  amounted  to  $27,823.91,  and  its 
resources  amounted  to  $7091.58,  leaving  a  deficiency 
above  the  actual  resources  of  $20,732.33. 

The  total  amount  of  interest  paid  by  the  penitenti- 
ary in  discounts  on  business  notes  from  1839  to  1851, 
a  period  of  thirteen  years,  was  $27,454.52,  an  annua! 
average  of  $2111.88. 

The  following  table  shows  tlie  earnings  of  the  peni- 
tentiary over  expenses,  and  expenses  over  earnings, 
from  1816  to  1852,  inclusive  : 


Earnings. 


1816  So,9oC.10  

1817        '•       

1818  3,009.42  |       

1819  322.43  

1820  i       .  266.00  

1821  I       ^654  44  

1822  !        7,888.06  

1823  I        1,123.16  ,       

1.S24  1,047.30             

isiri  IJ.UT.JI           

1831  ;      '2i338.06  '.'.'. 

1832         S981.22 

1833  I  881.04             


Tear. 

1837 
1838 
1839 

1840 

1843 

I  Ml 

I'lT 
IMS 
184'.l 
1860 
18.^1 
1852 

Earnings 
Explnses. 

810,622.21 

483.66 
9,536.84 

■■■■•■■;■;;;•; 

:::::;:•:;:::: 

E.xpenses 
Earnings. 


26,046  00 
3,722.36 
3,239.26 


From  this  period  of  the  history  of  the  penitentiary 
the  industries  of  the  institution  become  an  important 
element  of  its  success.  These  industries  have  been 
of  a  varied  character.  Cotton  and  woolen  goods  were 
first  manufactured,  and  were  followed  by  the  manu- 
facture of  combs  and  brushes,  boots  and  shoes,  hats, 
spikes  and  nails,  marble-sawing,  carpet-weaving, 
basket-making,  coopering,  cabinet-making,  broom- 
making,  and  the  manufacture  of  tin  cans,  cedar- 
ware,  harness,  and  cigars,  etc.  The  manufacturing 
department  at  this  time  consists  of  a  .  shoe-factory, 
stove  and  hollow  ware  works,  and  marble-works,  the 
labor  in  which  is  hired  to  contractors  by  the  prison 
authorities. 

The  manufacture  of  cotton  goods  was  quite  profit- 
able until  about  1832,  when,  by  the  introduction  of 
rheiip  cotton  prints  and  other  causes,  it  became  and 


continued  to  be  unremunerative.  An  attempt  was 
made,  at  a  considerable  outlay  for  looms,  etc.,  to 
manufacture  silk  goods,  but  the  experiment  proved 
unsuccessful.  About  the  same  time  the  manufacture 
of  plantation  stuffs,  made  of  cotton  and  wool,  was 
attempted,  and  for  a  time  was  successful,  but  finally 
proved  unprofitable  and  was  abandoned. 

In  1850  the  directors  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  penitentiary  could  not  manufacture  successfully 
on  its  own  account,  and  began  to  consider  the  adop- 
tion of  the  contract  system,  and  as  an  experiment 
fifty  of  the  convicts  were  hired  to  contractors.  In 
1855  a  committee  was  appointed  to  examine  the  labor 
system  of  the  penitentiaries  in  the  Eastern  States, 
and  reported  the  contract  system  as  generally  pre- 
vailing in  the  penal  institutions  of  that  section.  The 
report  of  this  committee  and  the  success  of  the  ex- 
periments already  made  encouraged  the  adoption  of 
the  contract  system,  and  by  18(50  it  had  been  fully 
established. 

From  1859  to  1861  the  industries  of  the  penitenti- 
ary were  very  successful,  but  the  civil  war  disturbed 
its  operations,  and  the  income  was  reduced  from 
$35,000  per  year  to  .$7800  per  year,  causing  a  defi- 
ciency in  one  year  of  $27,200.  Since  1872  the  insti- 
tution has  been  self-supporting,  and  has  had  a  surplus 
each  year  after  defraying  the  entire  expenses,  salaries 
included. 

From  1873  until  the  present  time  (1881)  several 
appropriations  have  been  made  by  the  Legislature  to 
the  penitentiary  for  specific  purposes.  The  surplus 
remaining  each  year  has  been  as  follows : 


1875.. 


$3,079.98  1877.. 

.    5,648.32  1878.. 

49.94  1879.. 

1,417.96  I    1880. 

425.37 


In  the  report  of  1874  the  directors  say, — 

'  It  is  very  gratifying  to  be  able  to  state  that  the  necessity  fur  m.aking 
1  the  State  treasury  for  means  to  support  the  prison  now 
DO  longer  exist,  the  management  of  the  labor  being  so  controlled  as  to 
yield  a  revenue  sufficient  for  the  self-support  of  the  prison,  which  is  iu 
happy  contrast  with  former  years,  when  large  sums  were  annually  drawn 
from  the  State." 

In  1876  no  part  of  the  annual  appropriation  by  the 
Legislature  was  drawn  from  the  treasury,  and  the  year 
closed  with  a  balance  to  the  credit  of  the  institution, 
from  the  earnings  of  the  prisoners,  of  $425.37.  This 
result  was  achieved  at  a  time  of  general  depression  of 
trade. 

In  1877  the  sum  of  $3840.61  was  paid  out  of  the 
earnings  of  the  prison  for  permanent  repairs  and  im- 
provements, leaving  a  surplus  to  be  paid  into  the  State 
treasury  of  $998.05. 

The  year  1879  was  the  most  prosperous  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  institution.  After  paying  the  entire  ex- 
penses, including  salaries,  and  applying  $6953.43  to 
general  repairs,  a  surplus  of  $13,001.85  was  turned 
into  the  State  treasury. 

In  1878  the  penitentiary  contained  nine  hundred 
and  eighty-four  prisoners,  the  largest  number  ever 


CITY   DEPAKTMENTS. 


confined  at  one  time  in  the  prison  since  its  foundation. 
The  decrease  during  the  present  year  (1881 )  has  almost 
reached  the  opposite  point,  the  number  of  inmates 
having  declined  to  five  hundred  and  sixty-six.  The 
causes  of  the  decrease  are  attributed  to  the  renewed 
demand  for  labor  resulting  from  the  improved  business 
condition  of  the  country,  and  the  consequent  removal 
of  some  of  the  temptations  to  crime  oflFered  by  idle- 
ness, and  to  the  establishment  of  the  house  of  cor- 
rection, which  receives  many  of  the  criminals  formerly 
sent  to  the  penitentiary. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  presidents  of  the  board 
of  directors  and  the  time  served  by  each : 

Joseph  II.  Nicholson,  Dec.  31,  1811,  to  Jan.  9,  1813;  Eoger  Shaffer,  Jan. 
9,  1813,  to  Jan.  9, 1815;  Et.  Rev.  James  Kemp,  Jan.  9, 1816,  to  Jan. 
14, 1817;  Thomas  Ellicott,  Jan.  li,  1817,  to  Feb.  8, 1819;  William  H. 
WarJ,  Feb.  8,  1819,  to  Feb.  2,  1820 ;  Col.  Jamea  Mosher,  Feb.  2, 1820, 
to  Feb.  24, 1821 ;  Gen.  Tobias  E.  Stansbury,  Feb.  24, 1821,  to  Feb.  19, 
1825 ;  Gen.  William  McDonald,  Feb.  19, 1825,  to  Feb.  16, 1830 ;  Gen. 
Tobias  E.  Stansbury,  Feb.  10,  1830,  to  Feb.  10, 1831;  Gen.  William 
McDonald,  Feb.  10, 1831,  to  Feb.  11, 1839  ;  Jacob  G.  Davies,  Feb.  11, 
1839,  to  June  16,  1842;  Robert  Howard,  June  16, 1842,  to  Feb.  20, 
1845;  Capt.  James  Frazier,  Feb.  20, 1845,  to  March  21, 1846;  Joshua 
Jones,  March  21, 1846,  to  April  29, 1847  ;  J.  N.  Brown,  April  29, 1847, 
to  March  16, 1848 ;  Thomas  E.  Hambleton,  March  16, 1848,  to  March 
15,  1849;  William  A.  Boyd,  president  jiro  (m.,  March  15, 1849,  to 
March  21, 1849;  Lemuel  Gosuell,  March  29, 1849, to  March  28,1850; 
William  A.  Boyd,  March  28, 1850,  to  March  27, 1851 ;  Fielding  Lucas, 
Marcli  27, 1851,  to  May  7, 1853,  date  of  his  death  ;  William  Devriea, 
June  16, 1853,  to  May  18, 1854 ;  Beale  H.  Richardson,  May  18, 1854, 
to  May  3, 1868;  William  J.  Bryson,  May  3,  1858,  to  May  5,  1862; 
John  Hurst,  May  5,  1862,  to  May  4,  1888  ;  Joshua  Vansant,  May  4, 
1868,  to  Sept.  16,  1869;  James  S.  Waters,  Sept.  16, 1869,  to  May  6, 
1872;  John  F.  Hunter,  May  6,  1872,  to  the  present  time. 

The  present  Board  of  Directors  is  composed  of  John 
F.  Hunter,  George  R.  Berry,  Hugh  Sisson,  Edward 
Higgins,  Henry  Seim,  and  John  T.  Ford. 

The  following  are  the  wardens  of  the  Maryland 
Penitentiary  and  their  terms  of  service  from  the 
foundation  of  the  institution  : 

Edward  Markland,  Dec.  31, 1811,  to  April  16,1812;  Natlianiel  Hynson, 
April  IS,  1812,  to  Feb.  23, 1814  ;  Benjamin  Williams,  Feb.  23, 1814, 
to  March  14,  1821;  Nathaniel  Hynson,  March  14,  1821,  to  Feb.  9, 
1826  ;  Joseph  Owens,  Feb.  9, 1825,  to  March,  1839  ;  William  Houlton, 
March,  1839,  to  March  19,  1842  :  A.  J.  W.  Jackson,  Marcli  19. 1842, 
to  Feb.  17, 1845 ;  William  Johnson,  Feb.  17, 1848,  to  March  16, 1848 ; 
Isaac  M.  Benson,  Marcli  16, 1848,  to  June  19, 1851 ;  William  H.Jen- 
kins, June  19, 1851,  to  March  15, 1852 ;  0.  P.  MeiTy  weather,  March 
15,  1852,  to  June,  1858;  A.  D.  Evans,  June,  1858,  to  May  15,  1862; 
Blark  C.  \V.  Thompson,  May  15, 1862,  to  May  16, 1867 ;  John  W.  Horn, 
May  16,  1867,  to  May  15,  1872;  Thomas  S.  Wilkinson,  May  li,  1872, 
to  the  present  time. 

Market-houses.— As  early  as  1751  an  effort  was 
made  by  the  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  Town  to  raise 
the  necessary  funds  to  build  a  market-house,  but  from 
various  causes  the  project  was  not  entirely  carried  out 
until  ten  or  twelve  years  afterwards.  The  following 
copy  of  the  original  subscription,  now  in  possession 
of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society,  shows  how  anx- 
ious the  first  settlers  were  to  improve  the  town,  and 
especially  to  establish  a  place  of  barter  and  sale  : 

**  Whereas,  Several  Acts  of  As.sembly  have  been  made  for  the  enlarge- 
ment and  Encouragement  of  Baltimore  Town,  and  forasmuch  as  the  said 
Town  Increases  aa  well  in  Inhabitants  as  good  Buildings  and  Trade,  and 
the  Situation  thereof  renders  it  convenient  for  Navigation  and  Trade,  aa 
well  with  the  Inhabitants  of  Baltimore  and  Ann  Arundel  Countys,  as 
14 


the  Back  Settlements  of  this  Province  and  Pennsylvania.  But  no  Pro- 
vision hath  yet  been  made  by  Law  or  otherwise  for  Purchasing  a  Lott  or 
Lotts,  whereon  to  Build  a  Market  House,  Town  House,  and  other  Neces- 
sary Buildings  for  the  Benefit  of  said  Town,  and  conveniency  of  such 
Persons  as  bring  their  Butcher's  meat,  and  other  commodities  to  sell  at 
Market  in  the  said  Town. 

*'  Wherefore,  for  the  further  Encouragement  and  Improvement  of  Bal- 
timore Town,  We  whose  Names  are  hereunto  subscribed  do  hereby  Promis 
and  Oblige  ourselves,  our  Executors  and  Administrators,  to  Pay  to  the 
Commissioners  of  Baltimore  Town  or  their  order,  the  Several  Sum  or 
Sums  of  money  to  each  of  our  names  alfi.ied,  to  be  applied  to  the  Pur- 
chasing a  Lott  or  Lotts  in  said  Town,  and  building  thereon  a  Market 
House  and  Town  Hall  in  such  manner  as  the  Commissioners  of  said  Town 
shall  direct  and  appoint;  Provided  the  said  Lott  or  Lotts  shall  be  Pur- 
chased and  the  Building  begun  within  Two  Years  from  the  date  hereof. 

"Witness  our  Hands  and  Seals  this  Twenty-third  Day  of  April,  1761. 


■'T.  Sheredine,  ten  pounds  [seal] 

W.  Hammond,  five  pounds  [seal]., 

Thomas  Harrison,]  r,T 

T.  riumford,  n^^"' 


Brian  Philpot,  Jr.,  ten 
Win.  Rogers,  cash  [aful 
Wil.Lvoii,  live  poiiiKls 


This  subscription,  however,  was  not  sufficient,  and 
the  market-house  was  not  completed  until  1763,  and 
then  only  by  the  aid  of  a  lottery,  which  in  that  day 
was  frequently  invoked  to  aid  in  public  improve- 
ments. 

The  following  scheme  was  advertised  in  the  Mary- 
land Oazette  in  that  year  : 

"Baltimore  Town,  July  16"',  1763. 
"The  following  scheme  of  Lottery  is  humbly  proposed  to  the  Public 
for  Raising  the  sum  of  510  Pounds  Current  Money,  to  he  applied  to- 
wards Completing  the  Market  House  in  Baltimore  Town,  in  Baltimore 
County,  Buying  two  Fire  Engines,  and  a  Parcel  of  Leather  Bucketts,  for 
the  Use  of  the  said  Town,  Enlarging  the  present  Public  Wharf,  jind 
Building  a  New  One." 

The  scheme  contained, — 


3000  tickets  at  20s.  each ftiOOO 

The  managers  were  Messrs.  John  Ridgely,  Brian 
j  Philpot,  John  Smith,  John  Moale,  Jonathan  Plow- 
man, Barnabas  Hughes,  James  Sterett,  William  Lux, 
Andrew  Buchanan,  William  Alsquith,  Benjamin 
Rogers,  Nicholas  Jones,  Mark  Alexander,  John 
Hartz,  and  Melchior  Keener,  all  of  Baltimore  Town. 
The  market  was  erected  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
Baltimore  and  Gay  Streets,  on  ground  leased  from 
Thomas  Harrison  at  £8  per  annum  by  Messrs.  Wil- 
liam Lyon,  Nicholas  R.  Gay,  John  Moale,  and  Archi- 
bald Buchanan,  a  majority  of  the  town  commissioners. 
It  was  constructed  with  a  large  room  in  the  second 
story,  which  was  used  for  public  assemblies,  dances, 
j  traveling  shows,  etc. 

In  1773  an  act  was  passed  to  "regulate"  this  market, 
by  which  it  was  provided  that  the 

"said  building  shall  be  the  III  II I    t        i  ll        ii  I  town  audlroni  and 

after  the  end  of  this  present -^  i^\    d  i\v  in  ever\  week, 

to  wit,  Wednesday  and  Satin  I 
said  market-house;  and  all  M  i    i 
either  by  land  or  water,  upon  thi-,-'  >r 


i>  inaiket  d  lys  at  the 
11^  uhdt&oevei,  brought 
dajbof  the  week  to  the 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


said  town  for  sale  (except  fish  and  oystera  brought  by  water,  all  kinds  of 
grain,  flonr,  bread,  butter  in  firkins  or  other  vessels  exceeding  twenty 
pounds  net,  cheese,  pork  by  the  hog,  beef  or  pork  in  the  barrels  or  larger 
casks,  live  cattle,  sheep,  or  hogs),  shall  be  carried  to  the  market-house  of 
the  said  town,  there  to  be  sold  at  market  hours,  to  wit,  from  any  time  in 
the  morning  to  twelve  at  noon." 

Up  to  1784  the  old  and  single  market-house  at  the 
corner  of  Gay  and  Baltimore  Streets  had  sufficed  for 
Baltimore,  hut  ahout  this  period  the  inhabitants  of  Old 
Town  and  Fell's  Point,  those  on  Howard's  Hill,  and 
those  in  the  centre  of  the  settlements,  began  to  dispute 
about  the  site  for  enlarged  accommodations  for  the 
traffic  in  provisions.  It  was  soon  seen  that  one  market 
would  no  longer  satisfy  the  three  widely-separated 
classes  of  population,  and  it  was  therefore  wisely  re- 
solved that  each  should  be  accommodated.  In  early 
times  it  had  been  intended  to  get  rid  of  "  the  marsh" 
on  Mr.  Harrison's  property  at  the  junction  of  Harri- 
son and  Baltimore  Streets,  by  thoroughly  excavating 
it  so  as  to  form  a  dock  connecting  with  the  Basin,  and 
extending  the  whole  distance  thence  to  our  principal 
street.  This  scheme  was  now  abandoned,  and  the  exec- 
utors of  Mr.  Harrison  offering  to  appropriate  the  space 
in  Harrison  Street,  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood 
subscribed  money  to  erect  a  market-house  on  the  site 
of  our  present  Maryland  Institute.  It  was  accordingly 
resolved  to  build  one  market-house  in  Hanover  Street, 
one  at  Fell's  Point,  and  the  chief  and  largest  of  the 
three  on  Harrison  Street  upon  the  bed  of  the  old 
swamp.  Application  was  therefore  made  to  the  Legis- 
lature for  the  necessary  authority,  and  at  the  Novem- 
ber session  of  1784  an  act  was  passed  "  for  establish- 
ing new  markets  and  building  market-houses  in  Bal- 
timore Town,  and  for  the  regulation  of  said  markets." 
By  this  act  Samuel  Smith,  William  Patterson,  John 
McLure,  David  Harris,  Thomas  Yates,  James  Jaffray, 
Englehard  Yeiser,  Abraham  Vanbibber,  and  Thomas 
Elliott  were  invested  with  authority  to  build  a  market- 
house  "  on  a  parcel  of  ground  situate  in  the  said  town 
opposite  Harrison  Street,  beginning  in  Baltimore 
Street,  and  running  thence  south,  parallel  with  Gay 
Street,  of  the  width  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  to 
Water  Street,  with  the  privilege  of  extending  the 
same  to  the  channel."  It  was  further  provided  that 
the  market-house  should  be  completed  "  on  or  before 
the  first  day  of  March,  1787." 

Hanover  Market. — The  second  section  of  the 
act  gave  similar  authority  to  Col.  John  Eager  How- 
ard, Wm.  Hammond,  Jonathan  Hudson,  Wm.  Good- 
win, Dr.  Lyle  Goodwin,  and  Leonard  Harbaugh  to 
build  a  market-house 

"  on  a  space  or  parcel  of  ground  to  the  westward  of  the  Basin,  situate  in 
a  square  extending  and  bounding  on  Hanover  Street  one  hundred  and 
fifty-six  feet,  and  on  Camden  Street  one  hundred  and  ninety-eight  feet." 

This  market  also  was  to  be  completed  by  the  first 
of  March,  1787.  The  act  also  authorized  the  com- 
missioners of  Baltimore  Town,  after  the  completion 
of  the  Marsh  or  Centre  Market,  to  lay  off  the  grounds 
of  the  old  market-house  on  Gay  and  Baltimore  Streets 
into  convenient  lots  and  sell  the  same,  with  the  houses 


thereon,  appropriating  three-fourths  of  the  proceeds 
to  the  construction  of  the  Marsh  Market  and  the  com- 
pletion of  the  public  wharves  adjoining  it,  and  one- 
fourth  to  the  completion  of  the  Hanover  Market- 
house. 

In  1790  the  commissioners  appointed  to  build  the 
Hanover  Market  represented  to  the  General  Assembly 
that  the  funds  at  their  command  had  been  insufficient 
to  defray  the  expenses  connected  with  its  erection, 
"  whereby  they  had  incurred  a  large  debt  for  which 
they  were  personally  responsible,"  and  prayed  that 
they  might  be  empowered  to  sell  part  of  the  market- 
house  and  the  ground  adjoining  for  the  purpose  of 
discharging  the  obligation.  In  answer  to  their  pe- 
tition an  act  was  passed  on  the  14th  of  December  in 
that  year  authorizing  them 

"  to  sell  in  fee  simple  for  life,  years,  or  otherwise,  such  parts  of  the  said 
market-house  and  the  ground  thereto  adjoining  as  will  be  sufficient  to 
discharge  all  debts  w^iich  may  have  been  incurred  in  purchasing  ground 
for  the  said  market-house  and  erecting  the  same  thereon." 

Fell's  Point  Market. — Although  the  Fell's  Point 
Market-house  was  not  legalized  until  the  following 
year,  it  appears  to  have  been  completed  before  either 
the  Centre  or  Hanover  Market,  as  in  a  supplemental  act 
"  for  the  regulation  ofthe  markets  in  Baltimore  Town," 
passed  on  the  6th  of  March,  1786,  it  is  recited  that 
"  the  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  Baltimore  Town 
called  Fell's  Point  have  built  a  market-house  on  a 
piece  of  ground  given  them  by  Edward  Fell,  de- 
ceased." By  this  act  all  the  regulations  and  provis- 
ions relating  to  the  other  markets  were  extended  to 
this,  and  the  commissioners  were  directed  to  appoint 
a  clerk  for  the  Fell's  Point  Market,  and  to  make  such 
further  rules  for  the  "good  government  of  the  several 
market-houses  in  the  said  town"  as  they  should  deem 
necessary. 

The  Lexington  Market.— In  1782,  Col.  Howard 
laid  off  the  Lexington 
Market  on  Howard's 
Hill,  on  his  own  land, 
but  it  was  many  years 
before  a  market-house 
was  erected.  Efforts  were 
made  in  1799  by  the  in- 
habitants of  the  western 
section  of  the  city  to  have 
Hanover  Market  re- 
moved to  the  present  site 
of  Lexington  Market. 
The  committee  appointed 
to  consider   the  petition  an-  joh.v  e.  iioward. 

of  Samuel  Chase  to  have 

Hanover  Market  removed  recommended  its  removal 
farther  west,  but  reported  that  they  were  unable  to 
fix  upon  a  suitable  locality,  and  for  the  latter  pur- 
pose they  recommended  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee, consisting  of  Henry  Stouffer,  Adam  Fonerden, 
Ephraim  Robinson,  George  Presstman,  and  John 
Hillen,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  this  committee 


CITY   DEPAKTMENTS. 


took  any  definite  action.  Tlie  citizens  of  wliat  was 
known  as  Western  Precinct,  liowever,  continued  tlieir 
efforts  to  liave  a  market-house  built  upon  tiie  lot  laid 
off  by  Col.  Howard,  and  finally,  in  1803,  Wm.  Cook, 
EbenezerFinley,  Christopher  Johnson,  Adam  Welch, 
and  Wm.  Jessop  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
memorialize  the  Legislature  for  the  establishment  of 
the  Lexington  Market.  Funds  were  soon  raised, 
and  the  building  proceeded  rapidly  to  completion. 
The  market-house  then  erected  extended  only  from 
Eutaw  to  Paca  Streets  on  Lexington  Street.  In  180<3 
the  commissioners  for  the  AVestern  Precinct  (or  Lex- 
ington) Market  were  Daniel  Lammot,  Ebenezer  Fin- 
ley,  Chris.  Johnson,  Lewis  Pascault,  Luke  Tiernan, 
and  John  Kennedy. 

On  Feb.  13,  1826,  a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens 
of  the  Twelfth  Ward  was  held  at  Cugle's  Tavern,  at 
which  Jacob  Deems  presided,  and  Daniel  Kraber 
acted  as  secretary,  for  the  purpose  of  petitioning 
the  mayor  and  City  Council  to  make  an  appropria- 
tion to  repair  the  Lexington  Market  west  of  Paca 
Street,  and  also  to  purchase  a  lot  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  a  market-house  for  the  sale  of  fish.  The 
committee  was  composed  of  George  Warner,  J.  H. 
B.  Latrobe,  A.  Welch,  Daniel  Kraber,  James  Blair, 
John  Schriver,  John  W.  Berry,  Joseph  Hook,  Jr., 
Thomas  Finley,  and  William  Hollins.  In  accordance 
with  the  memorial  presented  by  the  committee  a 
resolution  passed  the  City  Council  appropriating  the 
sura  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  to  be  used 
to  repair  Lexington  Market  west  of  Paca,  in  the  same 
way  as  the  market-house  on  the  east  side,  and  "to 
erect  a  new  house  for  the  sale  of  fresh  and  dried  fish, 
of  the  same  height  and  breadth  as  the  present  house 
on  the  space  of  ground  on  Lexington  Street  west  of 
the  present  fish-market,  so  as  to  leave  not  less  than 
thirty  feet  between  the  said  present  fish-market  and 
the  new  house  contemplated  to  be  erected,  and  to  ex- 
tend towards  the  hay-scales  fifty  feet."  In  1855  that 
part  of  the  market  between  Paca  and  Green  Streets 
was  reconstructed,  and  on  the  3d  of  January,  1856, 
the  building  was  completed  and  ready  for  use.  After 
the  close  of  tlie  late  civil  war  the  greater  portion  of 
the  Lexington  Market  was  rebuilt. 

Federal  Hill  Market-hou.se  and  Cross 
Street  Market.— "  Federal  Hill  Market-house," 
on  the  corner  of  Cross  and  Henrietta  Streets,  was 
built  in  1845,  and  opened  in  January,  1846.  It  was 
one  hundred  feet  long  by  sixty  feet  wide,  and  con- 
tained twelve  butchers'  stalls,  four  fish  stalls,  and 
twenty  huckster  or  eave  stalls.  It  was  built  under 
the  supervision  of  Francis  A.  Gibbons,  the  contractor, 
and  the  carpenter's  work  was  done  by  Charles  Haw- 
kins. In  1873  a  new  market-house,  called  the  "  Cross 
Street  Market-house,"  was  erected  upon  the  space 
between  the  old  Federal  Hill  Market-house  and  the 
Cross  Street  Market  wall.  The  new  house  was  built 
by  John  S.  Hogg,  contractor,  for  thirty-one  thousand 
dollars.     The  plan  was  furnished  by  Frank  E.  Davis, 


architect.  The  building  is  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
eight  feet  long,  sixty  feet  wide,  and  thirty-five  feet 
high.  It  extends  from  Light  to  Charles,  between 
Cross  and  West  Streets. 

The  Belair  Market. — The  first  Belair  Market- 
house  was  built  on  Forest  Street,  and  extended  from 
Hillen  to  Orleans  Streets.  The  house  was  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty-eight  feet  in  length  and  sixty-five 
feet  wide,  and  each  butcher's  stall  was  supplied  with 
gas  and  all  other  conveniences  necessary.  It  was  sup- 
ported by  iron  columns  and  had  a  slate  roof.  Messrs. 
Beale  and  Kamsay  were  the  contractors  and  carpen- 
ters. An  additional  market-house  was  built  in  1870, 
and  was  nearly  ready  for  occupancy,  when,  on  the  1st 
of  January,  1871,  a  wind-storm  lifted  off  the  roof, 
which  rested  upon  iron  pillars  on  granite  sockets,  de- 
pending entirely  upon  vertical  pressure  for  support. 
The  roof  was  not  materially  damaged.  In  addition 
to  the  ten  thousand  dollars  originally  appropriated, 
the  City  Council  appropriated  three  thousand  eight 
j  hundred  dollars  to  reset  the  roof  more  securely  ;  the 
contract  was  awarded  to  Charles  Dunn.  The  iron 
I  pillars  of  the  structure  now  rest  upon  and  are  secured 
by  large  flagstones,  and  the  pillars  are  braced  by 
heavy  iron  stays. 

Richmond  Market. — A  new   market-house  was 
built  in  1853  on  the  site  of  the  old  Richmond  Market, 
j  Under  the  authority  of  the  city  the  commissioners  for 
the  opening  of  streets,  Messrs.  Mittenberger,  Lightner, 
and  Harrison,  purchased  the  squares  of  ground  located 
in  a  southeastern  direction  from  the  Richmond  Mar- 
ket-house, including   all  that  tract  of  ground   run- 
!  ning  from  Richmond  to  Cathedral  Streets,  and  from 
Howard  to  Tyson  Streets,  upon  which  the  market- 
house  was  erected.     On  Dec.  10,  1874,  a  new  house 
[  was  added  by  building  an  extension  on  the  lot  north 
of  the   market-house,   under  the   Fifth   Regiment's 
j  Armory.     On  this  occasion  the  butchers  obtained  the 
services  of  the  Fifth  Regiment's  band,  Capt.  Itzell, 
and  opened  the  market  with  music  and  jollity. 
1      Cattle  Market. — The  increase  in  the  sale  of  live- 
stock made  it  necessary  for  the  accommodation  of 
I  dealers  for  the  State  to  procure  a  larger  area  upon 
I  which  to  locate  the  cattle  market  and  scales.     The 
Legislature,  therefore,  at  the  session  of  1851-52,  made 
ah  appropriation,  and  appointed  commissioners  to  sell 
the  lot  then  used  and  procure  more  extensive  and 
eligible  grounds  for  the  purpose.     The  grounds  upon 
I  which   the  scales   had  been   previously  located  and 
cattle  sold,  on  the  north  side  of  Pratt  Street,  with  a 
front  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  feet,  and  two  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  feet  and  six  inches  on  the  north 
side  of  Pulaski   Street,  three   hundred  and  fifty  on 
the  southernmost  side  of  Frederick  Avenue,  and  three 
hundred  and  thirty-six  feet  on  the  west  side  of  Pay- 
son   Street,  were   sold   at  public   auction  to  W.  C. 
Conine  for  $5300  by  authority  of  the  commissioners, 
who  on  the  27th  of  September,  1852,  purchased  the 
more  eligible  lot  on  the  Calverton   road,  near  the 


208 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


western  limits  of  tlie  city.  The  ground  was  surveyed 
by  Owen  Bouldin,  and  the  new  market  was  opened 
for  business  on  the  1st  of  January,  1853. 

The  Ca^'ton  Market-house. — The  Canton 
Market-house  was  erected  under  ordinance  of  July 
14,  1859,  on  O'Donnel  near  Potomac  Street.  On  the  | 
14th  of  July,  1876,  the  southern  half  of  the  market 
fell,  the  roof  having  been  badly  damaged  by  fire  on 
the  29th  of  February  previous. 

Broadway  Market-house  was  erected  under 
ordinances  Nos.  30,  April  7,  1864,  and  79,  June  9, 
1864,  on  the  vacant  space  of  ground  on  Broadway 
between  Canton  Avenue  and  Aliceanna  Street.  No. 
30  authorized  the  comptroller  to  rent  the  public  hall 
in  the  upper  story,  and  to  sell  in  perpetuity  all  the 
permanent  and  movable  stalls  in  the  same.  It  was 
further  provided  that  the  said  market-house  should 
in  all  respects  be  under  the  control  of  the  mayor  and 
City  Council. 

HoLLiN.s  Street  Market  was  erected  under  the 
provisions  of  resolutions  No.  63,  April  16,  1835,  No. 
2,  1839,  No.  60,  Aug.  27,  1863,  No.  5,  February,  1864. 
No.  36,  April  11, 1864,  provided  for  the  erection  of  an 
additional  market-house  at  the  HoUins  Street  Market. 
The  first  and  last-named  ordinances  authorized  the 
comptroller  to  rent  the  public  hall  in  the  upper  story, 
and  to  sell  in  perpetuity  all  the  permanent  and 
movable  stalls  in  the  market-house.  No.  80,  June  9, 
1864,  provided  ibr  the  erection  of  an  extra  story 
and  gallery  to  the  above,  and  by  resolution  No.  203, 
June  29,  1877,  the  market  building  was  extended 
from  its  west  gable  end  to  the  east  gable  end  of  Hol- 
lins'  Market  Hall  building. 

Lafayette  Market-house.— On  the  22d  of  De- 
cember, 1869,  a  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  Second 
Branch  of  the  City  Council,  and  subsequently  by  the 
First  Branch,  providing  for  the  purchase  of  a  lot  of 
ground,  known  as  the  "Sewell  Lot,"  bounded  by 
Pennsylvania  Avenue,  Cook,  and  Fremont  Streets, 
as  a  site  for  a  new  market-house  in  the  northwestern 
section  of  the  city.  In  accordance  with  this  resolu- 
tion the  lot  was  purchased  of  Mr.  Sewell  for  thirty 
thousand  dollars,  and  the  city  having  contracted  with 
John  S.  Hogg,  he  proceeded  to  build  the  house,  and 
had  nearly  completed  it  when  the  entire  roof  was 
lifted  off"  by  a  wind-storm  on  the  1st  of  January, 
1871.  The  roof  rested  upon  iron  pillars  and  granite 
sockets,  depending  solely  upon  vertical  pressure  to 
keep  it  in  place.  The  loss  amounted  to  nineteen 
thousand  dollars.  The  City  Council  then  appropri- 
ated nine  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to 
rebuild  the  market-house,  with  four  thousand  dollars 
additional  to  stay  the  pillars  with  iron.  Mr.  Hogg 
again  contracted  with  the  city  to  rebuild  the  house, 
which  was  conii)leted  about  the  1st  of  December  and 
opened  for  the  accommodation  of  the  public. 

Jones'  Falls. — Jones'  Falls,  a  small,  but  at  times, 
"  taken  at  the  flood,"  an  angry  and  boisterous  stream, 
rises  northwest  of  Baltimore,  and  enters  the  city  at 


the  intersection  of  North  Avenue  and  Oak  Streets, 
flowing  southeast  until  it  intersects  West  Hoffnian 
Street,  thence  south  and  slightly  west  until  it  inter- 
sects West  Biddle  Street,  thence  south  to  Hillen  Street, 
thence  slightly  southeast  until  it  debouches  into  the 
Basin  at  the  City  Dock.  The  stream  was  named 
"Jones'  Falls"  after  David  Jones,  who  is  said  to 
have  been  the  first  actual  settler  upon  the  borders 
of  the  stream,  and  who  resided  on  the  northeast 
side  of  the  Falls,  on  Jones,  now  Front  Street. 
When  Baltimore  was  first  laid  out  Jones'  Falls 
formed  the  absolute  easternmost  and  northernmost 
boundary  of  the  town.  It  then  swept  around  in  a 
deep  horseshoe  bend  until  it  reached  a  point  a  little 
south  of  Lexington  and  Calvert  Streets,  where  it 
turned  its  course  and  ran  northeast  to  about  the 
present  location  of  the  Gay  Street  bridge,  and  there 
once  more  changing  its  direction,  flowed  south  into 
the  Basin.  Shoals  of  porpoises  were  often  seen  in  the 
stream  as  high  up  as  Bath  Street,  and  a  man  was 
drowned  while  bathing  in  it  at  the  corner  of  Lexing- 
ton and  Calvert  Streets.  At  that  time  it  was  navi- 
gable to  sea-going  vessels  as  high  up  as  the  City 
Spring.  The  early  settlements  of  Jones,  Cole,  Gor- 
such,  and  others  formed  a  nucleus  that  in  time  be- 
came known  as  "Old  Town,"  and  made  it  necessary 
for  the  convenience  of  the  citizens  of  both  sides  of  the 
stream  to  bridge  it.  By  the  united  eftbrts  of  both  a 
wooden  bridge  was  built  over  the  Falls  where  it  is 
now  spanned  by  the  Gay  Street  bridge.  In  1759,  An- 
drew Steiger,  a  butcher,  purchased  of  Dr.  Wm.  Taylor 
the  marsh  in  the  bed  of  the  Falls,  drained  it,  and 
cleared  it  for  the  pasturage  of  his  cattle.  In  1773 
Gay  Street  bridge  was  rebuilt  of  wood,  and  a  new 
bridge  erected  at  Baltimore  Street  of  stone,  which  gave 
way  when  finished,  and  was  then  rebuilt  of  wood. 
In  1789,  Englehard  Yeiser  and  others,  who  owned 

1  the  ground,  cut  a  new  channel  for  the  stream  from 
the  lower  mill  at  Bath  Street  across  the  meadow  to 
Gay  Street  bridge,  the  bounds  of  which  were  fixed  by 
an  ordinance  of  the  City  Council  in  1803,  and  the 
old  course  of  the  Falls  by  the  court-house  at  the 
corner  of  Lexington  and  Calvert  Streets  gradually 
filled  up.  In  1799,  on  the  petition  of  the  proprietors, 
Pratt  Street  from  Franklin  Lane  was  directed  to  be 
opened  to  the  Falls,  and  a  bridge  was  erected  to  con- 
nect the  eastern  and  western  divisions  of  the  street. 
In  1807  an  act  was  passed  to  open  Centre  Street  east- 

I  wardly  from  Howard  Street  to  the  Falls,  and  the 
Centre  Street  bridge  was  erected.    In  1808  an  appro- 

[  priation  of  ten  thousand  dollars  was  made  by  the 
mayor  and  City  Council  to  build  a  stone  bridge  over 
Jones'  Falls  at  Baltimore  Street.  The  materials  of 
the  first  .stone  bridge,  which  fell  as  soon  as  completed, 
remaining  in  the  bed  of  the  Falls,  it  was  found  im- 
practicable to  sink  a  cofler-dam,  which  rendered  it 
necessary  to  pile   the    foundation,   abutments,  and 

I  piers.  This  bridge  of  two  arches,  built  of  common 
quarry  stone  from  Jones'  Falls,  furnished  with  side- 


CITY   DEPARTMENTS. 


209 


walks  and  iron  railings,  was  forty  feet  wide  and  eighty- 
feet  long,  and  cost  twenty-two  thousand  dollars. 

In  1811  the  City  Council  determined  to  proceed  in 
the  work  of  erecting  substantial  bridges,  and  authority 
was  given  to  the  mayor  and  city  commissioners  to 
borrow  from  the  banks  twenty-six  thousand  dollars 
for  building  bridges  at  Pratt  and  Gay  Streets.  The 
Pratt  Street  bridge  was  undertaken  by  Lewis  Hart 
for  twenty  thousand  dollars.  This  bridge  was  eighty- 
four  feet  long  and  fifty  feet  wide,  and  had  three 
arches.  The  Gay  Street  bridge,  erected  a  year  after 
by  John  Kennedy,  was  sixty  feet  long  and  fifty  feet 
wide,  with  two  arches,  and  cost  sixteen  thousand  dol- 
lars.   In  1813  the  City  Council  resolved 

"  That  iu  consideration  of  the  fact  that  tlie  deepening  and  walling  up 
of  Jones'  Falls  from  the  mouth  thereof  to  Centre  Street,-  and  making  the 
same  navigable,  is  deemed  highly  essential  to  the  preservation  of  the 
health  of  Baltimore,  and  as  leading  to  improve  the  navigation  of  said 
city,  the  mayor  be  requested  by  both  branches  of  the  Council  to  sanction 
any  applications  of  persons  interested  therein  to  the  Legislature  of 
Maryland,  at  its  next  session,  for  authority  to  open  a  lottery  or  lotteries 
for  the  purposes  aforesaid,  the  said  application  to  be  iu  conformity  with 
that  of  Samuel  Chase  and  others  to  the  session  of  the  Legislature  pre- 

A  resolution  was  also  passed  in  March  requesting 
the  mayor 

"  to  advertise  that  a  premium  of  five  hundred  dollars  would  be  paid  to 
the  person  who  should  submit  a  plan  for  the  improvement  of  Jones' 
Falls,  provided  the  plan  was  adopted  by  the  corporation,  and  also  to  ad- 
vertise in  the  papers  of  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
and  Washington  that  the  corporation  of  Baltimore  is  liesii'ous  to  receive 
proposals,  with  plans  and  estimates  of  the  expense,  for  the  improvement 
of  Jones'  Falls,  by  making  a  canal  navigable  for  flats  and  scows,  or  by 
seeming  the  watere  within  their  bed  so  that  it  shall  not  overflow." 

In  1821  an  ordinance  was  passed  appropriating 
eight  hundred  dollars  for  building  a  mud-machine 
for  the  purpose  of  cleaning  the  Falls,  and  another 
appropriating  two  thousand  dollars  for  deepening 
•Tones'  Falls  from  Pratt  Street  to  Gay  Street  bridge. 

The  city  by  this  time  had  crowded  its  habitations 
along  the  banks  of  Jones'  Falls,  and  the  floods  began 
to  be  a  terror  and  a  nuisance  to  that  section.  Engi- 
neering skill  was  employed  to  remedy  the  evil ;  many 
plans  were  suggested,  among  them  one  by  Robert 
Mills,  and  submitted  to  both  branches  of  the  City 
Council  by  a  committee  composed  of  John  Hollins, 
John  Campbell  White,  and  James  Biays,  of  the 
Second  Branch,  and  John  Reese,  James  Wilson,  John 
S.  Young,  William  Ross,  and  B.  Mesick,  of  the  First 
Branch.  This  plan  proposed,  as  a  hygienic  measure, 
the  removal  of  all  nuisances  situated  on  its  banks; 
secondly,  the  paving  of  a  street  on  each  side  of  the 
Falls ;  and,  thirdly,  the  deepening  of  the  Falls,  so  as 
to  make  the  stream  navigable  as  far  up  as  Madison 
Street.  On  the  10th  of  March,  1819,  the  new  and 
elegant  bridge  on  Belvidere  Street  gave  way.  While 
some  workmen  were  repairing  it,  it  broke  and  fell 
into  the  stream,  but  was  afterwards  more  substan- 
tially rebuilt,  and  .successfully  withstood  all  subse- 
quent floods.  It  was  torn  down  in  1880.  It  was  also 
suggested  by  a  distinguished  engineer  at  this  time 
(1819)    that   it  would   be   practicable  to   divert   the 


course   of   Jones'    Falls   into   Herring   Run,  which 
passed  east  of  the  city,  and  thence  into  the  Patapsco. 
The  flood  of  1837  swept  away  all  the  bridges  across 
Jones'  Falls  erected  by  the  city,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Belvidere  bridge,  when  it  was  suggested  by 
another  engineer  to  substitute  for  the  wood  and  stone 
bridges  destroyed  cast-iron  bridges,  as  the  material 
i  would  ofter  greater  resistance  and  would  not  present 
so  broad  a  surface ;  and  this  plan  was  adopted  in  the 
reconstruction  of  the  bridges.     The  bridges  were  not 
immediately  built,  but  when  constructed  they  were 
j  made  of  iron,  were   higher   above    the   water,   and 
,  spanned  the  stream  with  a  single  arch.     The  Fayette 
]  Street  bridge  was  finished  in  December,  1848.     The 
!  Eastern  Avenue  bridge  was  completed  in  1850,     The 
I  draw-bridge  at  the  City  Dock  in  1852.    The  one  at  the 
intersection  of  Hillen   Street   the  same  year.     The 
:  iron  suspension-bridge  at  Eager  Street  in  1854.     The 
bridge.s  over  Baltimore  and  Pratt  Streets  were  fin- 
ished in  1855.     The  strength  of  these  bridges  and  the 
wisdom  of  their  erection  was  demonstrated  by  their 
resistance  to  the  flood  of  1 858.     At  this  flood,  there 
being  no  obstruction  to  clog  the  stream  and  back  the 
water,  everything  passed  ofi"  freely,  doing  much  less 
damage  than  previous  floods. 

In  1868  another  freshet  in  Jones'  Falls  seemed  to 

have  swept  everything  before  it  by  the  fury  of  its 

torrent,  and   it  was   at   first  supposed   that   all   the 

bridges  over  the  Falls  had  been  destroyed!;  but  for- 

1  tunately  it  was  not  the  case,  though  the  few  that  were 

1  left  standing  were  nearly  all  greatly  damaged.     The 

stone  bridge  at  Eager  Street  stood  firm,  and  did  not 

seem   to   be   injured  in   the   slightest   degree.     The 

Charles  Street  bridge  was  swept  entirely  away,  the 

abutments  having  yielded  to  the  force  of  the  torrent. 

It  was  soon  dashed  to  pieces,  and  came  down  with  a 

mass  of  d6bris  against  Monument  Street  bridge.    The 

pressure  of  the  debris  and  the  obstruction  to  the  flood 

I  at  this  point  soon  caused  the  water  to  rise  and  flow 

over  the  bed  of  that  structure,  and  in  a  few  moments 

after  it  floated  from  its  abutments  and  was  dashed 

into   fragments.      The    Madison   and   Centre   Street 

bridges,  the  Hillen  Street  and  Swann  Street  bridges, 

:  soon  after  gave  way,  and  were  swept  down  the  current, 

j  the  abutments  and  approaches  to  these  fine  structures 

i  being  entirely  destroyed.     The  Belvidere  bridge  was 

I  not  injured,  it  having  withstood  all  the  floods  for 

j  fifty  years  past.     The  iron  bridge  at  Fayette  Street 

I  was  also  swept  off'.     This  bridge  was  of  massive  cast 

iron,  and  probably  had  enough  iron  in  it  to  construct 

half  a  dozen  bridges.     The  abutments  gave  way,  and 

the   iron   superstructure   crumbled   into  a  thousand 

fragments ;  even  the  abutments  were  pushed  out  of 

their  base.     The  only  other  bridge  totally  destroyed 

was  the  foot-bridge  over  Plowman  and  Swann  Streets, 

which  was  swept  off  and  destroyed.     The  three  prin- 

i  cipal  bridges  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  those   over 

i  Gay  Street,  Baltimore  Street,  and  Pratt  Street,  were 

all  badly  damaged^  and  were  in  a  condition  only  for 


210 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMOKE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


foot-passengers  to  cross.  This  flood  occurred  in  July. 
Another  rain-storm  visited  Baltimore  on  Saturday 
night,  October  2d,  in  the  same  year.  Centre  Market 
bridge  was  carried  away,  and  Pratt  Street  bridge  and 
the  draw-bridge  were  considerably  injured  by  the  | 
dredging  machines,  which  were  wrecked  against  them. 
The  first  flood  of  this  year  had  been  so  destructive 
of  public  and  private  property  that  it  stimulated 
action  on  the  part  of  the  City  Council  to  provide 
some  means  of  preventing  the  recurrence  of  the  ca- 
lamity. The  Council  appointed  a  joint  committee  of 
the  two  branches  to  confer  with  the  best  engineering 
talent  to  ascertain  and  report  to  the  Council  the 
feasibility  of  diverting  Jones'  Falls  from  its  channel 
through  the  centre  of  the  city.  The  committee  held 
a  meeting  on  the  30th  of  July,  and  appointed  a  com- 
mission of  engineers,  composed  of  Messrs.  B.  H.  La- 
trobe,  John  H.  Tegmeyer,  and  Gen.  Isaac  E.  Trimble, 
to  examine  the  stream  and  prepare  a  report.  This 
commission  submitted  two  plans  to  the  Council, — one 
contemplated  the  diversion  of  the  stream  out  of  the 
city  limits,  and  the  other,  widening  and  straightening 
it  within  the  city.  This  commission  was  dissolved, 
and  a  number  of  plans  were  submitted  by  Robert 
Mills,  and,  upon  invitation  of  the  Council,  one  by 
Henry  Tyson,  which  latter  plan  was  adopted,  and 
consisted  in  the  widening,  straightening,  and  walling 
of  the  channel,  the  construction  of  sewers,  and  the 
opening  of  avenues,  together  with  the  development 
of  wharf  front  on  the  stream.  While  Mr.  Tyson's 
plan  was  similar  to  that  of  the  commissioners,  Messrs. 
Latrobe,  Tegmeyer,  and  Trimble,  and  that  of  Mr. 
Mills,  in  detail  it  was  more  complete,  and  seemed  to 
threaten  less  damage  to  existing  property.  Mr.  Ty- 
son's plan  was  submitted  April  8,  1869.  It  involved 
very  great  outlay,  as 

"  the  whole  wiilth  of  the  contemplated  channel  was  to  be  excavated  so 
as  to  afford  six  feet  water  at  low  tide  to  such  a  point  in  the  vicinity  of 
Monument  Street  as  it  may  be  deemed  advisable  to  extend  the  flow  of 
the  tide  and  use  it  as  a  dock ;  above  this  to  be  paved  with  rubble  ma- 
sonry, with  a  depression  in  the  centre  sufficient  to  carry  off  the  ordinary 
flow  of  the  stream,"  and  to  "  erect  bridges  of  a  single  span,  provided 
with  suitable  road  and  foot-ways,  presenting  no  obstruction  to  the  free 
flow  of  the  water  at  Charles,  Madison,  Monument,  Centre,  Hillen,  Gay, 
Fayette,  Baltimore,  Lombard,  and  Pratt  Streets,  Canton  Avenue,  and  at 
the  mouth  of  the  channel,  and  an  additional  arch  of  masonry  to  Eager 
Street  bridge," 

which  arch  was  afterwards  a  prolific  source  of  dispute 
between  the  commissioners. 

By  an  ordinance  approved  Jan.  31,  1870,  Messrs. 
Henry  Tyson,  Isaac  R.  Trimble,  and  George  P.  Kane 
were  appointed  "  the  Board  of  Commissioners  for  the 
Improvement  of  Jones'  Falls."  This  ordinance 
adopted  the  plan  submitted  by  Mr.  Tyson,  declaring, 
however,  that  the  Board  of  Commissioners  should  not 
take  action  on  any  provision  of  the  ordinance  until 
after  the  passage  by  the  General  Assembly  of  an  act 
authorizing  the  mayor  and  City  Council  to  exercise 
the  powers  for  which  provision  was  made  in  the  ordi- 
nance. The  ordinance  was  confirmed  by  an  act  passed 
by  the  Legislature  of  1870,  ch.  lir),  and  further  au- 


thority was  granted  by  the  Legislature  of  1870,  ch.  113, 
to  the  mayor  and  City  Council,  to  issue  bonds  for  the 
improvement  of  Jones'  Falls,  to  an  amount  not  ex- 
ceeding two  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
subject  to  ratification  by  a  vote  of  the  people. 

The  ordinance  was  submitted  to  the  decision  of  the 
voters  of  Baltimore  at  an  election  held  April  7,  1870, 
as  to  whether  or  not  the  city  should  issue  not  exceed- 
ing two  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  for  the 
improvement  of  Jones'  Falls  on  the  Tyson  plan, 
which  resulted  in  the  ratification  of  the  measure. 
The  board  of  commissioners  appointed  Benjamin  F. 
Latrobe  chief  engineer  of  the  work.' 

Unfortunately,  the  commissioners  appointed  under 
the  ordinance  for  the  improvement  of  Jones'  Falls  did 
not  agree  upon  the  details  of  the  plan,  Messrs.  Trim- 
ble and  Kane  differing  from  Mr.  Tyson.  This  con- 
flict of  opinion  seemed  to  impede  the  work,  and  har- 
assing discussions  arose  that  finally  induced  the 
Council  to  pass  a  supplementary  ordinance,  approved 
October,  1870,  by  which  sections  13  and  15  of  the 
original  ordinance  were  repealed,  which  very  mate- 
rially changed  the  Tyson  plan  in  several  of  its  main 
features.  A  new  commission  was  appointed  by  the 
Council  March  29,  1871,  under  the  supplemental  or- 
dinance, composed  of  Messrs.  A.  J.  Saulsbury,  James 
L.  McLane,  John  F.  Hunter,  William  H.  Tillard, 
and  George  Colton.  Finally,  June  7,  1871,  the  two 
branches  agreed  upon  a  new  commission,  composed  of 
Messrs.  Frank  Frick,  William  A.  Dean,  H.  Clay  Dal- 
lam, P.  P.  Pendleton,  Francis  B.  Loney,  and  George 
W.  Benson.  Mr.  Frick  declined  the  appointment, 
but  the  board  organized,  his  declension  not  aff'ecting 
its  authority,  and  selected  Maj.  W.  P.  Craighill,  of 
the  United  States  corps  of  engineers,  and  Strick- 
land Kneass,  engineer  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  as. 
engineers  of  the  board.  This  commission,  on  the  19th 
of  February,  1871,  made  a  report  on  the  various  plans 
and  submitted  an  additional  plan,  the  cost  of  which 
they  estimated  at  two  million  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars. 

In  February,  1872,  a  report  was  made  to  the  Coun- 
cil by  their  joint  committee,  recommending  a  plan, 
substantially  that  of  Messrs.  Craighill  and  Kneass, 
to  widen,  deepen,  and  straighten  the  channel  between 
Eager  Street  and  the  Basin ;  the  avenues  and  other 
costly  features  of  Mr.  Tyson's  plan  were  omitted,  and 
a  sewer  on  the  west  side  of  the  Falls  only  was  pro- 
posed. Appended  to  the  report  was  an  ordinance 
constituting  a  commission  of  three  to  carry  on  the 
work.  This  ordinance  passed  the  City  Council,  and 
was  approved  April  24,  1872,  and  under  it  a  commis- 
sion was  appointed,  consisting  of  Henry  Snyder,  Sam- 
uel H.  Adams,. and  Robert  S.  Beatley.  The  salary  oi 
each  commissioner  was  fixed  at  two  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars  per  annum,  with  power  to  employ  a 


,  built  by  Wendell  : 


CITY  DEPARTMENTS. 


211 


clerk  at  twelve  hundred  dollars,  and  an  engineer  at 
five  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  In  April,  1873, 
Henry  Snyder  resigned,  and  W.  H.  Gatchell  was  ap- 
pointed to  fill  the  vacancy.  The  commission  began 
its  labors  in  June,  1872.  C.  P.  Manning  was  selected 
as  their  engineer,  and  the  work  was  begun  anew.  All 
the  plats  and  condemnations  were  placed  in  the  ofiice 
of  the  city  register,  August,  1873,  so  that  the  work 
occupied  but  little  over  a  year. 

The  ordinance  gave  large  discretionary  powers  to 
the  commissioners,  the  Council  having  wisely  con- 
cluded that  a  few  intelligent  men  would  more  easily 
arrive  at  just  conclusions  upon  the  work  than  a  large 
number  not  familiar  with  all  its  details.  The  ordi- 
nance provided  that  in  order  to  have  suitable  drain- 
age for  the  city  on  the  west  side  of  the  Falls, — then 
drained  by  sewers  emptying  into  the  Falls,  and  which 
cannot  be  drained  into  the  new  channel, — to  have  con- 
structed a  sewer  along  Holliday  to  Saratoga,  along 
Saratoga  to  Frederick  Street,  in  connection  with  the 
sewers  on  Centre  and  Saratoga  Streets,  and  to  con- 
tinue the  same  to  the  Basin,  and  also  to  construct 
such  other  sewers  both  on  the  east  and  west  side  of 
the  Falls  as  in  their  judgment,  under  the  advice  of 
their  engineer,  may  be  necessary  or  advisable  to  secure 
a  i^roper  drainage  of  the  water-shed  surrounding  the 
new  channel.  This  plan  contemplated  the  erection 
of  bridges  over  the  Falls  at  Madison,  Monument, 
Centre,  Hillen,  Gay,  Fayette,  Baltimore,  Lombard, 
and  Pratt  Streets,  and  at  Eastern  and  Canton  Ave- 
nues, and  a  new  draw-bridge  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Falls.  Until  May  1,  1872,  the  expenses  from  the 
commencement,  in  1870,  amounted  to  $34,888..57. 
The  work  was  continued  under  the  new  commission 
until  1873,  when  it  became  evident  that  the  original 
ajipropriation  of  $2,500,000  would  be  exhausted  and 
fall  short  $1,500,000.  The  City  Council  applied  to 
the  Legislature  for  authority  to  submit  to  the  people 
for  their  ratification  or  rejection  an  ordinance  pro- 
viding for  the  issue  of  $1,500,000  in  city  bonds  for 
the  completion  of  the  improvements  of  the  Falls. 
The  Legislature  granted  the  authority  at  the  session 
of  1874,  and  the  ordinance  was  submitted  to  the 
voters  of  Baltimore  at  a  special  election  held  for  that 
purpose  April  21  of  the  same  year,  and  it  was  rejected 
by  a  vote  of  over  5500  majority. 

Two  additional  appropriations  have,  however,  been 
made  since  then  for  the  completion  of  the  work, — 
one  of  city  six  per  cent,  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $800,- 
000,  and  another  of  city  five  per  cent,  bonds  to  the 
amount  of  $739,600,  both  payable  April  9,  1900, 
which  amounts,  or  so  much  thereof  as  were  needed, 
have  been  from  year  to  year  disbursed  for  the  pur- 
poses for  which  they  were  appropriated.  The  work 
is  not  yet  finished.  When  completed  it  is  hoped  that 
the  trouble  occasioned  by  Jones'  Falls  for  a  century 
will  be  permanently  obviated.  During  the  past  year 
the  sustaining  walls  on  the  west  side  of  the  Falls  and 
on  the  south  side  of  the  City  Dock,  together  with  the 


piers,  abutments,  and  iron  superstructure  of  the  new 
draw-bridge,  have  been  completed.  The  new  and 
splendid  bridges  over  the  Falls  at  Calvert,  St.  Paul, 
and  North  Streets,  for  beauty,  strength,  excellence  of 
construction,  and  cheapness  of  cost,  will  compare 
favorably  with  any  similar  public  works  in  the 
country,  and  were  designed  by  Charles  H.  Latrobe, 
civil  engineer.  The  dimensions  and  cost  of  these 
bridges  are  as  follows  : 

North  Street  bridge.  Length,  346  feet  6  inches ; 
width,  60  feet;  divided  into  two  spans  of  178  feet  3 
inches  wide,  each.     Not  yet  completed. 

Calvert  Street  bridge.  Length,  571  feet  3  inches ; 
width,  60  feet ;  divided  into  two  arched  spans  114.4 
and  146  feet  respectively,  and  two  viaducts,  resting 
on  iron  columns,  195.11  and  115  feet  long,  each.  The 
cost  was  $219,140.02. 

St.  Paul  Street  bridge.  Length,  693  feet ;  width, 
60  feet ;  divided  into  two  arched  spans  of  108  feet 
and  276.6  each,  with  a  viaduct  of  308.6,  supported  on 
iron  columns.     Not  yet  completed. 

The  piers  and  abutments  of  these  bridges  are  of 
the  best  style  and  quality  of  granite  masonry.  The 
superstructures  are  of  iron,  and  the  floors  of  Calvert 
and  St.  Paul  Street  bridges  of  asphalt,  laid  upon  iron 
plates.  In  addition  to  crossing  the  Falls,  they  pass 
entirely  over  the  grounds  and  tracks  of  the  Northern 
Central  Railway. 

Floods  and  Storms. — The  early  records  of  Balti- 
more contain  accounts  of  many  destructive  floods  and 
storms ;  the  topography  of  the  country  drained  by 
the  streams  that  make  the  Patapsco  River  is  of  that 
character  that  sheds  the  great  body  of  rain-fall  im- 
mediately from  high  and  steep  hills  into  the  valleys  of 
the  streams,  and  precipitates  the  flow  of  waters  along 
the  course  of  Jones'  Falls,  Gwynn's  Falls,  and  other 
small  streams  that  pass  through  or  near  the  city. 

1750. — May  15.  A  "  terrific  hurricane"  is  reported 
as  sweeping  over  the  town,  turning  "  bottom  upwards" 
a  sloop  of  Col.  Travers',  and  prostrating  five  houses 
on  North  Point. 

1751. — January  21.  Baltimore  and  Anne  Arundel 
visited  by  a  storm  of  wind  and  rain,  blowing  down 
houses  and  killing  stock. 

July  30.  Many  mills  and  bridges  washed  away, 
and  the  rain  "  heavier  than  ever  known."  The  bridge 
near  site  of  present  Gay  Street  bridge  "  was  removed 
about  a  foot." 

1767. — The  March  rains  greatly  damaged  all  crops, 
and  many  tenants  would  have  left  the  province  but 
for  the  kindness  of  the  landlords  remitting  or  reducing 
rents. 

1769. — July  30.  A  severe  hail-storm,  "  or  rather 
cakes  of  ice,  flat  and  oblong,  many  of  them  four  or 
five  inches  in  circumference,  did  much  damage  in  and 
around  Baltimore  Town.  Many  houses  were  struck  by 
lightning,  and  several  persons  killed."  In  September 
a  violent  storm  of  wind  and  rain  extended  over  the 
province  generally,  destroying  upwards  of  one  huu- 


2U 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


dred  tobacco-houses,  breaking  down  the  corn,  and 
even  driving  the  rain  through  the  walls  of  a  house 
"  fourteen  inches  thick,"  and  causing  damage  amount- 
ing to  ■'  many  thousand  pounds  sterling." 

1780. — October  5.  A  severe  rain,  lasting  for  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  accompanied  with  thunder  and  light- 
ning, swelled  Jones'  Falls  beyond  its  banks,  and  ex- 
tended its  waters  over  the  adjacent  lands.  Herds  and 
flocks,  mills  and  bridges  were  swept  away.  The  new 
German  Reformed  church,  at  corner  of  Baltimore  and 
Front  Streets,  then  on  the  banks  of  the  Falls,  was 
nearly  destroyed,  the  water  undermining  the  founda- 
tion and  causing  the  walls  to  fall.  On  the  west  side 
of  the  marsh,  between  the  upper  and  middle  bridges, 
a  large  brick  house  was  destroyed.  At  the  corner  of 
Gay  Street  bridge  a  handsome  two-story  building  was 
taken  up  and  carried  across  the  street  and  into  the 
Falls,  where  it  was  crushed  and  floated  away.  John 
Boyce,  a  lawyer,  Edward  Ryan,  a  butcher,  and  Alex- 
ander Grant,  a  cooper,  were  drowned.  The  damage 
by  this  flood  was  estimated  at  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  This  flood  is  recorded  as  the  beginning  of  i 
the  troublesome  career  of  Jones'  Falls. 

1788.— July  23.  A  tidal  wave  inundated  the 
wharves,  stores,  and  low  grounds  near  the  Basin  and 
Fell's  Point,  destroying  immense  quantities  of  sugar, 
rice,  salt,  and  dry-goods.  James  Mackintosh  lost  his 
life  on  the  wharf.  At  Norfolk,  Va.,  forty  vessels  were 
driven  on  shore. 

1803.— July  24.  Mrs.  Higgins  and  child,  Sarah 
Kean,  twelve  years  of  age,  Mrs.  Lull,  Charles  Clark, 
William  Harnian,  David  McCloskey,  and  Catharine 
Dwyer  drowned  from  a  sail-boat  capsizing  in  a  heavy 
wind. 

1808. — September  20.  The  shipping  in  the  harbor 
was  very  much  damaged  by  a  gale  of  wind.  The 
packet-boat  from  the  Eastern  Shore  was  upset,  and 
five  persons  lost.  Many  fine  vessels  were  driven  high 
and  dry  on  shore  on  the  south  side  of  the  Basin.  Op- 
posite Fort  McHenry  three  schooners  were  upset,  and 
seven  men  saved  by  the  efforts  of  the  soldiers  at  the 
fort. 

1817. — August  8.  A  violent  flood  swept  away  the 
bridge  at  Centre  Street,  and  deposited  it  in  a  garden 
below.  The  bridge  at  Baltimore  Street  was  swept 
away  unbroken,  and  lodged  against  the  bridge  below. 
The  waters  of  the  Falls  passed  with  great  violence 
down  Fish  (now  Saratoga)  Street  to  Harrison  and 
Frederick.  Market  (now  Baltimore)  Street  bridge 
stood  the  force  of  the  waters.  Nearly  all  the  bridges 
over  the  Falls  were  carried  away. 

1835.— June  29.  Thomas  Marshall,  son  of  Chief 
Justice  John  Marshall,  was  killed  by  the  falling  of 
the  chimney  of  the  burned  court-house.  Mr.  Mar- 
shall was  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia,  and  walking 
with  a  friend,  was  overtaken  by  the  rain  and  stepped 
under  the  temporary  shed,  where  he  was  caught,  and 
so  injured  that  lie  died  at  the  residence  of  Dr.  Alex- 
ander. 


1837. — July  14.  The  most  destructive  flood  in 
Jones'  Falls  of  which  there  is  any  record  up  to  the 
above  date.  After  a  rapid  and  continued  fall  of  rain 
the  Falls  rose  so  suddenly  and  spread  beyond  its  banks 
with  so  much  rapidity  and  volume  that  many  persons 
aroused  from  sleep  found  themselves  surrounded  by 
the  rapid  flowing  waters,  and  several  were  drowned  or 
crushed  to  death  amid  the  falling  buildings.  All  the 
bridges  along  the  stream  were  torn  from  their  piers 
and  abutments,  and  crashing  against  those  below  them, 
wrecked  every  bridge  over  the  stream.  The  dam  at 
Belvidere  bridge,  which  supplied  the  reservoir  of  the 
water  company,  was  destroyed ;  the  mill  and  adjoining 
tenements  on  Madison  Street  submerged  ;  the  coach- 
factory  of  Stockton  &  Stokes  and  the  tannery  of  Geo. 
Appold  inundated  ;  the  distillery  of  Messrs.  J.  C. 
White  &  Son,  on  Centre  Street,  swept  away  by  the 
rushing  waters,  and  thirty  horses  and  fifty  cows 
drowned ;  the  water  here  rose  twenty  feet  above  its 
bed,  to  the  second  stories  of  the  houses;  the  "Meadow" 
was  inundated;  the  Universalist  church  at  Pleasant 
and  Calvert  Streets  overflowed ;  the  city  spring  was 
under  water,  and  the  gas-house  submerged  in  water 
six  feet  deep ;  the  African  Protestant  church,  corner 
North  and  Saratoga  Streets,  was  overflowed  five  feet 
above  the  floor;  the  City  Hall,  the  Presbyterian 
church,  corner  Holliday  and  Saratoga  Streets,  over- 
flowed, the  latter  as  deep  as  the  top  of  the  pulpit 
desk ;  the  soap-factories  of  Francis  Hyde  &  Son  and 
of  T.  N.  Smith  and  Co.  were  very  much  dainaged ; 
Harrison  and  Frederick  Streets  were  inundated ;  all 
the  stores  on  Market  Space  were  overflowed  and  their 
cellars  filled.  Several  persons  were  lost,  among  whom 
were  the  following:  Christopher  Wiest,  wife  and 
three  children,  Saratoga  Street ; ■  Dougherty,  cor- 
ner Concord  and  Water  Streets ;  Catharine  Donelly, 
Pratt  Street;  James  Doyle,  Long  Wharf;  Jacob 
Oakley,  Falls'  road ;  as  well  as  several  others  whose 
names  could  not  be  ascertained. 

1838. — May  23.  A  violent  wind-storm  prevailed, 
which  unroofed  many  warehouses,  blew  down  Hol- 
lins  Street  Market,  and  did  very  much  damage. 

1842. — August  24.  After  a  very  heavy  rain  the 
wind  shifted  and  blew  the  rising  tide  with  such  vio- 
lence and  volume  as  to  overflow  the  wharves  on  Pratt 
Street,  from  Light  Street  to  Marsh  Market. 

1843. — April  24.  A  shower  of  "  sulphur,"  or  some- 
thing very  much  like  it,  fell  during  a  heavy  rain. 

1847. — October  7.  A  heavy  rain-storm  swelled  the 
waters  of  Jones'  Falls  beyond  their  banks  until  the 
water  was  at  one  time  three  feet  deep  on  Holliday  and 
Saratoga  Streets,  compelling  access  to  the  Central 
Police  Station  by  boats  ;  White's  distillery  was  over- 
flowed, the  temporary  railroad  across  the  Falls  at 
Monument  Street  carried  away  ;  the  iron-foundry  of 
W.  Denmead  undermined  and  very  greatly  damaged ; 
Centre  Market  Space  was  overflowed  and  the  stores 
flooded ;  Harrison  Street  from  Gay  to  Baltimore  was 
impassable.   Great  damage  was  done  along  all  streams ; 


CITY   DEPARTMENTS. 


railroad  communication  was  interrupted  by  bridges 
and  culverts  being  washed  away. 

18.52.— July  1.3.  The  overflow  of  Harford  Run, 
occasioned  by  heavy  rains,  did  very  great  damage  in 
the  northeastern  section  of  the  city ;  the  bridge  at 
Broadway  and  Gay,  as  well  as  the  Bond  Street  bridge, 
were  washed  away,  and  coming  in  contact  with  a 
cluster  of  one  hundred  new  houses  along  the  line  and 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Dallas  and  Gay 
Streets,  six  of  the  buildings  were  crushed  and  de- 
stroyed. 

1856. — August  13.  A  tornado  visited  the  city,  in- 
flicting damage  of  not  less  than  $100,000.  Four  build- 
ings being  constructed  by  Michael  Roach,  at  the 
corner  of  Madison  and  Calvert  Streets,  were  totally 
destroyed,  the  roofs  of  many  houses  were  torn  ofi",  and 
telegraph-poles  and  trees  blown  down. 

1858. — June  12.  A  flood  of  almost  equal  extent 
and  damage  as  that  of  1837  occurred.  Harrison  Street, 
Saratoga  Street,  and  the  east  side  of  Centre  Market 
Space  were  inundated.  Charles  Street  bridge  was  car- 
ried away.  Sarah  Hopkins  and  Cornelia  Brown,  ser- 
vants of  Mrs.  Frederick  Dogan,  and  Frances  Jones  at 
Woodberry  Factory,  were  drowned.  Very  great  dam- 
age was  done  all  along  the  streams  in  the  vicinity. 

1860. — May  11.  Jones'  Falls  overflowed  its  banks 
and  extended  its  waters  over  a  wide  area,  reaching 
Harrison  Street,  Centre  Market  Space,  Holliday 
Street  from  Old  City  Hall  to  Bath  Street,  and  Sara- 
toga and  Bath  Streets  up  to  Davis  Street,  and  Lom- 
bard, Second,  and  Pratt  to  Frederick,  and  Gay  from 
Frederick  Street  to  the  bridge,  the  depth  of  the  water 
varying  from  three  to  six  feet. 

1868.— July  24.  The  water-spout  that  this  day 
visited  all  the  region  round  about  Baltimore  was  pro- 
ductive of  more  disastrous  consequences  than  ever 
followed  a  flood  in  this  State.  While  all  the  streams 
were  greatly  swollen  and  overflowed  their  banks, 
it  was  along  the  valleys  of  Jones'  Falls  and  the  Pa- 
tapsco  River  that  the  immense  damage  was  done. 
The  down-pouring  rain  was  accompanied  with  an 
easterly  wind,  and  thus  both  flood  and  tide  united. 
The  waters  of  the  Basin  and  river  dammed  up  the 
outflow  of  the  Falls,  which  was  thus  forced  to  dis- 
charge its  storm-wave  over  the  adjacent  land  on  either 
bank.  The  great  flood  of  1837  was  exceeded  in  the 
volume  of  water  which  poured  in  torrents  down  the 
streets.  The  rise  of  water  began  at  the  outlet  of  the 
Falls,  and  the  overflow  was  first  at  the  east  side  of 
Centre  Market  Space  and  Swann  and  Hawk  Streets  ; 
in  less  than  an  hour  afterwards  Harrison,*  Holliday, 
Frederick,  and  Saratoga  Streets  were  inundated,  and 
the  cellars  of  two  thousand  houses  in  that  locality 
were  filled  with  water,  and  the  first  floors  invaded. 
Soon  the  ceilings  of  rooms  never  touched  by  any  pre- 
vious flood  were  reached.  A  Gay  Street  car,  over- 
taken by  the  flood,  was  abandoned  by  driver  and 
conductor,  and  was  carried  along  by  the  current,  en- 
dangering the  lives  of  four  persons,  two  of  whom,  E. 


J.  Emery,  of  the  American,  and  A.  Meriche,  were  res- 
cued at  the  corner  of  Harrison  and  Fayette  Streets  by 
being  drawn  up  an  awning-post.  The  two  other  pas- 
sengers, whose  names  are  unknown,  were  lost.  In 
front  of  Laroque's  drug-store,  corner  of  Harrison  and 
Baltimore  Streets,  the  water  rose  to  the  top  of  the 
lamp-post.  Chrighton's  distillery  was  entirely  de- 
stroyed. With  the  exception  of  the  Eager  Street 
bridge,  every  bridge  across  the  Falls  in  the  city  was 
either  destroyed  or  so  badly  damaged  as  to  be  useless 
except  for  foot  passage.  In  consequence  of  appre- 
hended destitution  among  the  numerous  families  thus 
made  homeless,  the  mayor  and  City  Council  appro- 
priated fifty  thousand  dollars  to  be  distributed  in  re- 
lief to  the  suflering  thousands,  and  private  charity 
added  a  further  sum  of  twenty-nine  thousand  dollars. 
The  amount  of  suflering  caused  by  this  flood  may  be 
partially  estimated  when  it  is  stated  that  one  thou- 
sand and  thirty-four  families,  composed  of  eight 
thousand  and  eighty-three  persons,  were  relieved,  in 
sums  varying  from  ten  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars. 

1876. — February  1.  A  polar  hurricane  visited  the 
city,  unroofing  more  than  three  hundred  houses. 

Baltimore  Water-works.— In  the  early  years  ot 
its  history  Baltimore  abounded  in  many  natural 
springs  of  pure  and  excellent  water,  which  for  a  long 
period  were  the  only  sources  of  supply,  and  which 
contributed  largely  to  the  health,  convenience,  and 
beauty  of  the  town.  As  time  passed  on,  however, 
and  the  community  began  to  increase,  many  of  these 
springs  disappeared'  or  became  contaminated,  and  it 


1  The  chief  of  these  was  the  the  City  Spring,  which  in  the  early  days 
of  the  city  furnished  a  sweet  and  abundant  store  of  water  of  a  pleasant 
temperature  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  It  was  composed  of  several 
springs  collected  together,  which  flowed  from  beneath  the  brow  of  the 
precipice  that  overhung  Jones'  Falls  when  that  stream  retained  its 
original  course,  passing  over  what  is  now  Calvert  Street,  between  Lex- 
ington and  Pleasant  Streets.  In  the  early  history  of  tlie  town  vessels  of 
considerable  burden,  intended  for  sea,  weie  built  and  launched  on  tide- 
water at  the  place  now  occupied  by  the  City  Spring,  and  near  the 
original  bed  of  the  Falls,  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Lexington  and  Cal- 
vert Streets,  was  a  small  wharf,  to  which  boats  from  the  shipping  came 
for  powder  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  In  1810,  when  Calvert  Street 
was  graded,  the  lot  now  occupied  by  the  City  Spring,  then  called  the 
Northern  Fountain,  was  purchased  by  the  city,  and  under  the  direction, 
of  Peter  Hoffman  and  Jesse  Hollingsworth  the  grounds  were  laid  out 
and  buildings  erected  from  the  designs  of  John  Davis,  architect,  at  a  cost 
of  twenty-seven  thousand  dollars  for  the  entire  property.  They  erected 
for  the  keeper  a  granite  house  of  Gothic  design,  having  in  frout  a  large 
niche  for  the  Armistead  Monument,  which  was  removed  by  the  city  with 
the  keeper's  lodge  in  1864.  At  the  time  of  the  laying  out  of  the  City 
Spring  lot,  and  for  a  long  time  afterwards,  Calvert  and  other  adjacent 
streets  contained  the  residences  of  the  iliie  of  Baltimore,  and  the  spiing 
being  kept  in  fine  order,  it  was  considered  one  of  the  ornaments  of  the 
town,  and  was  a  favorite  resort  of  the  gallants  and  damsels  of  ye  olden 
times.  The  temple-shaped  dome  which  covers  the  spring  is  the  same  in 
design  as  that  originally  erected,  but  the  fountain  is  now  supplied  with 
hydrant  water,  the  old  spring  having  become  unfit  for  use.  The  Eastern 
and  Western  Fountains,  which  also  aided  to  supply  the  city  with  water, 
were  laid  out  in  1819,  at  about  the  same  cost  each  as  the  Calvert  City 
Springs,  by  John  Mitliman,  architect.  The  Eastern  Fountain  still  exists, 
forming  a  large  square  on  the  corner  of  Eden  and  Pratt  Streets.  The 
Western  Fountain  was  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Charles  and  Camden 
Streets,  and  the  improvements  were  similar  in  character  to  those  of  the 
Calvert  Street  spring.     At  one  time  the  water  from  tliis  spring  flowed 


214 


HISTOEY   OF   BALTIMOKE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


was  found  necessary  to  supplement  those  that  re- 
mained by  means  of  pumps  and  wells. 

The  first  attempt  to  establish  a  regular  water  com- 
pany, however,  was  not  made  until  1787,  and  seems 
to  have  met  with  so  little  favor  that  it  was  almost 
immediately  abandoned.  In  1792  the  effort  was  re- 
newe4,  and  on  the  2.3d  of  December,  in  that  year,  an 
act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  authorizing  the 
Maryland  Insurance  Company,  under  the  name  of  the 
"  Baltimore  Water  Company,"  "to  supply  the  town 
with  water  by  pipes  from  a  sufficient  reservoir  or 
source."  Nothing  appears  to  have  been  done  under 
the  act,  and  this  second  attempt,  like  the  first,  seems 
to  have  failed  from  lack  of  public  patronage.  Even 
after  the  incorporation  of  the  city  in  1796,  the  citi- 
zens appear  to  have  been  so  insensible  to  the  require- 
ments of  their  new-born  dignity  that  they  still  con- 
sidered existing  sources  of  supply  all-sufficient  for 
their  needs.  The  City  Council  at  its  first  session 
recognized  the  fact  that  "  a  due  supply  of  water  is  a 
convenience  and  of  the  utmost  importance  in  times 
of  fire  to  the  inhabitants;"  but  the  ordinance,  which 
was  passed  on  the  2(5th  of  April,  1797,  in  pursuance  of 
this  declaration,  was  simply  for  the  appropriation  of 
one  thousand  dollars  "to  erect  and  regulate  pumps 
in  the  streets,  lanes,  and  alleys"  of  Baltimore.  Two 
years  later,  however,  the  subject  was  again  discussed, 
and  Messrs.  Robert  Smith,  Zebulon  HoUingsworth, 
T.  HoUingsworth,  Edward  Johnson,  and  W.  Mac- 
Creery  were  appointed  "to  view  the  springs  and 
streams  in  the  neighborhood  of  Baltimore,  and  to 
report  on  the  practicability  of  conveying  the  same 
into  the  city."  Their  report  was  made  on  the  13th  of 
February,  1799,  and  was  as  follows  : 

"  A  full  and  complete  supply  for  the  three  great  purposes  of  domestic  con- 
sumption, cleaning  the  city,  and  extinguishing  fires  caunot  be  obtained 
but  by  introducing  iuto  the  city  the  waters  of  either  Gwinn's  Falls, 
Jones'  Falls,  or  Herring  Bun.  From  either  of  tbeje  sources  there  would 
be  more  water  under  our  control  than  could  be  reasonably  used  in  the 
city.  The  redundancy  might  be  conveyed  with  great  advantage  to  the 
heads  of  the  ditferent  docks  to  purify  the  watei-s  therein,  and  for  the 
essels  of  every  kind.i 


from  the  bank,  at  the  very  edge  of  the  Basin,  and  Clopper,  the  original 
owner,  supplied  vessels  with  water  from  it.  Upon  the  extension  of 
Light  Street  and  wharf,  the  water  which  was  not  used  at  the  spring  was 
conducted  in  pipes  to  the  wharf  at  Light  Street.  The  spring,  however, 
was  destroyed  many  years  ago,  and  its  site  is  now  entirely  occupied  by 
buildings.  Centre  Fountain  was  situated  in  front  of  the  Marsh  or  Centie 
Market,  and  is  still  remembered  by  our  older  citizens.  It  was  a  small, 
square  monument  of  white  marble,  with  an  ornamental  heading,  and 
threw  its  two  jets  of  water  from  dolphins'  mouths  into  stone  basins  ou 
either  side.  The  spring  originated  from  several  small  threads  of  water, 
ou  the  southeast  side  of  the  hill  then  known  as  "  Howard's  Park,"  near 
St.  Paul  and  Centre  Streets.  It  was  purchased  by  the  Water  Company, 
and  used  to  supply  "  Waterloo  Row,"  on  Calvert  Street,  near  the  city 
mill ;  and  finally  the  city  purchased  it,  and  by  means  of  iron  pipes  con- 
veyed the  water  to  the  fountain  at  Marsh  Market.  It  retained  nntil  a 
very  late  period  the  best  reputation  of  all  the  fountains  for  its  purity, 
but  it,  too,  passed  away  when  the  present  Maryland  Institute  took  the 
place  of  the  old  market-house.  Tlie  site  of  Perkins'  Spring,  on  George 
Street  and  Myrtle  Avenue,  was  for  many  years  only  a  waste  lot,  but  in 
the  last  few  yeara  it  has  been  transformed  iuto  a  beautiful  park,  small 
in  extent,  but  one  of  the  most  elegant  and  attractive  in  the  city. 

'  It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  the  plan  of"  Hushing  the  Basin"  is  not 
a  new  idea. 


"  Your  committee  are  enabled  to  state  that  the  water-table  of  the 
dwelling-house  of  William  Cooke  is  seventy-six  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  water  of  the  Basin  ;  that  the  water  of  Gwinn's  Falls,  in  the  head-race 
of  Ellicott's  Mill,  at  the  distance  of  two  miles  from  the  city,  is  ninety- 
six  feet  above  the  same  level ;  that  the  water  of  Jones'  Falls,  in  the  head- 
race of  the  mill  of  Thomas  &  Samuel  HoUingsworth,  at  the  distance  of 
two  miles  from  the  city,  is  eighty  feet  above  the  same  level,  and  that  the 
water  of  Herring  Run,  at  the  distance  of  three  and  a  half  miles  from  the 
city,  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  same  level. 

"  From  the  elevation  of  these  three  great  bodies  of  water,  it  is  appa- 
rent that  either  of  them  can  be  conveyed  into  the  city  and  distributed 
to  all  the  different  parts  thereof,  and  if  necessary  may  be  introduced  into 
the  upper  departments  of  most  of  the  houses.  These  waters,  from  their 
great  height  and  abundance,  may  be  applied  not  only  to  the  cleansing  of 
all  the  streets  and  alleys,  to  the  furnishing  of  baths  in  the  different  apart- 
ments, and  for  all  other  domestic  purposes,  but  may  be  used  in  the  most 
efficacious  manner  in  extinguishing  fires.without  the  aid  of  buckets,  and 
in  some  instances  without  the  aid  of  an  engine.  For  by  a  proper  appli- 
cation of  the  hose  the  water  may  be  conveyed  not  only  to  the  engine 
without  the  aid  of  buckets,  but  to  the  different  parts  of  the  house,  by 
means  of  the  hose  only,  without  the  assistance  of  the  engine,  as  the 
water  will  ever  rise  in  the  hose  to  its  level  in  the  canal  whence  it  is  first 
introduced  into  the  pipes. 

"If,  therefore,  the  water  of  Gwinn's  Falls  should  be  used,  it  would 
rise  in  the  hose  or  in  the  pipes  about  ninety-six  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  water  in  the  Basin;  if  Jones'  Falls,  about  eighty  feet;  if  Herring 
Run,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 

"  your  committee  entertain  the  pei-suaaion  that  all  their  fellow-citizena 
are  duly  sensible  not  only  of  the  propriety  of  this  important  work,  but 
of  the  urgent  necessity  of  its  being  accomplished  without  delay." 

Impressed  by  the  views  of  the  committee,  the  City 
Council  passed  an  ordinance  authorizing  a  lottery  to 
raise  a  sum  of  money  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
proposed  undertaking,  and  appointed  Joseph  Biays, 
Christopher  John.son,  and  William  Clemm  managers 
of  the  lottery.  On  the  same  day  an  ordinance  was 
approved  appointing  the  mayor  and  William  Patter- 
son, Archibald  Campbell,  George  Salmon,  William 
Cooke,  William  Smith,  John  Eager  Howard,  and  John 
O'Donnell  commissioners  to  convey  into  the  city  by 
pipes  the  waters  of  either  Gwynn's  Falls,  Jones'  Falls, 
or  Herring  Run,  and  to  borrow  money  for  the  pur- 
pose. Surveys,  plans,  and  specifications  were  made, 
but  owing  to  the  pestilence  of  1800  nothing  was  done 
until  December  19th  of  that  year,  when  an  act  was 
passed  by  the  Legislature  "  to  enable  the  mayor  and 
City  Council  of  Baltimore  to  introduce  water  into  the 
said  city."  Although  this  act  gave  to  the  corporation 
full  and  ample  powers  to  effect  this  important  object, 
yet  it  seems  to  have  been  beyond  the  pecuniary  means 
of  the  city  to  accomplish  it.  Notwithstanding  the 
journals  of  the  city  warmly  urged  the  usefulness  and 
necessity  of  such  a  measure  during  the  years  1801 
and  1802,  nothing  was  done  until  the  meeting  of  the 
Council  in  February,  1803,  when  mayor  James  Cal- 
houn in  his  annual  message  again  called  the  attention 
of  that  body  to  the  subject.  In  pursuance  of  his 
recommendations  an  ordinance  was  passed  on  March 
24th  appointing  William  Cooke,  James  McHenry, 
Thomas  McElderry,  John  O'Donnell,  Robert  Stewart, 
Thomas  Tenant,  James  A.  Buchanan,  William  Jessop, 
John  E.  Howard,  Walter  Simpson,  Christopher  John- 
son, and  William  Patterson  commissioners,  and  cloth- 
ing them  with  ample  power  and  autliority  for  the  pur- 
pose.    In  the  execution  of  the  trust  confided  to  them 


CITY   DEPARTMENTS. 


215 


the  commissioners  collected  the  numerous  springs 
which  formed  the  source  of  Carroll's  Run,  aud  were 
proceeding  to  conduct  it  into  the  city  by  pipes,  when 
they  were  stopped  by  an  injunction  issued  at  the  in- 
stance of  some  of  the  property-holders  through  whose 
land  the  water  lines  were  intended  to  pass.  The  mat- 
ter was  again  revived  in  the  mayor's  annual  message 
to  the  City  Council  in  February,  1804,  in  which  he 
referred  to  the  subject  as  follows : 

*'  I  do  not  recollect  any  subjects  of  mnch  importance  not  already  de- 
cided ou  e.\cept  that  of  introducing  a  permanent  and  copious  supply  of 
water  into  the  city,  which  is  certainly  an  object  of  much  magnitude, 
and  very  interesting  to  the  citizens,  but  every  attempt  heretofore  hiis 
failed  of  success.  Whether  it  will  be  possible  for  the  Council  to  adopt 
any  measure  that  will  answer  the  purpose  is  for  them  to  decide." 

This  portion  of  the  mayor's  message  was  referred  to 
a  special  committee,  which  reported  on  the  27th  of 
the  same  month  a  resolution  authorizing  him  to  re- 
ceive proposals  until  June  1st  for  "introducing  a 
copious  and  permanent  supply  of  water  into  the  city, 
or  into  any  part  thereof,  by  any  individual  or  com- 
pany," and  advertisements  were  accordingly  published 
in  the  newspapers  of  the  city  to  that  effect.  The  city 
having  thus  practically  confessed  its  inability  to  ac- 
complish the  object,  and  thrown  it  upon  the  enterprise 
of  public-spirited  citizens,  a  meeting  was  called  at 
Bryden's  Fountain  Inn,  on  the  20th  of  April,  1804, 
to  devise  means  of  carrying  out  the  design.  It  was 
largely  attended  by  the  best  citizens  of  Baltimore,  and 
Gen.  Samuel  Smith  being  called  to  the  chair,  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted : 

"That  a  conimitttee  of  seven  be  appointed  on  the  part  of  this  meeting 
to  prepare  and  report  the  plan  and  constitution  of  a  company  for  the 
purpose  of  introducing  a  copious  supply  of  water  into  the  city,  together 
with  the  amount  of  capital  stock  which  the  said  company  ought  to  pos- 
sess, the  number  of  shares,  the  mode  and  terms  of  subscription,  aud  the 
times  of  payment. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  said  committee  consist  of  the  following  persons, 
viz.,  Gen.  Smith,  Alexander  McKim,  Elias  Ellicott,  Robert  Goodloe  Har- 
per, Thomas  McElderry,  William  Cooke,  aud  Col.  John  B.  Howard. 

"  Resolved,  That  this  meeting  be  adjourned  till  Tuesday,  May  1st,  7 
P.M.,  at  this  place,  and  said  committee  be  requested  to  make  their  report 
at  that  time." 

In  the  mean  time,  John  O'Donnell,  Thomas  McEl- 
derry, Joseph  Stirling,  William  Buchanan,  Cumber- 
land Dugan,  the  proprietors  or  tenants  of  houses 
fronting  on  Market  Space,  and  of  the  McElderry, 
Dugan,  and  O'Donnell  wharves,  applied  to  the  City 
Council  for  permission  to  introduce  "at  their  own 
expense,  and  with  the  aid  of  voluntary  subscriptions, 
for  the  convenience  and  health  of  the  citizens  occu- 
pying those  parts  of  the  city,  a  stream  of  pure  spring 
water  from  sources  arising  near  the  Harford  road,  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  city,  all  the  right  to  said  water  when 
introduced  to  attach  to  the  mayor  and  City  Council." 
An  ordinance  was  passed  on  March  8,  1804,  granting 
their  prayer,  and  appropriating  a  lot  of  ground  in 
Market  Space,  near  the  south  end  of  the  Centre 
Market,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  thereon  a  reser- 
voir for  the  storage  of  the  water  to  be  introduced.' 


^  March  3, 1808,  an  ordinance  was  passed  by  the  City  Counci 
iiig  the  introduction  of  water  at  Fell's  Point  by  Joseph  and  Ja 


The  committee  appointed  at  Bryden's  hotel  reported 
on  May  1st  articles  of  association  of  the  proposed 
Baltimore  Water  Company,  which  were  discussed, 
amended,  and  adopted,  and  William  Cooke,  Alexander 
McKim,  R.  G.  Harper,  George  Grundy,  and  T.  McEl- 
derry were  appointed  commissioners  to  open  books 
and  receive  subscriptions  to  the  stock.  Books  were 
accordingly  opened  on  the  4th  of  May,  only  three 
days  afterwards.  To  diffuse  the  stock  among  the 
citizens  as  much  as  possible,  no  one,  according  to  the 
original  terms  of  subscription,  could  subscribe  on  the 
first  two  days  for  more  than  four  shares,  nor  could 
any  one  subscribe  by  proxy.  In  spite,  however,  of 
the  importance  and  popularity  of  the  enterprise,  great 
difficulty  was  experienced  in  procuring  the  necessary 
subscriptions,  the  activity  in  business  and  the  small 
amount  of  capital  at  that  time  possessed  by  the 
citizens  proving  serious  obstacles  to  its  success.  The 
books  were  kept  open  from  the  4th  until  the  20th  of 
May,  the  commissioners  in  the  mean  time  personally 
calling  upon  the  citizens  to  induce  them  to  subscribe, 
if  only  for  one  share.  At  length  the  insurance  com- 
panies and  other  corporations  came  forward  and 
subscribed  liberally,  and  thus  all  the  stock  was  taken. 
On  the  24th  of  May,  1804,  the  company  organized 
with  the  following  board  of  directors:  John  McKim, 
Sr.,  James  A.  Buchanan,  Jonathan  Ellicott,  Solomon 
Etting,  John  Donnell,  William  Cooke,  and  James 
Mosher.  The  directors  secured  the  services  of  Jona- 
than Ellicott,  a  civil  engineer  of  distinction,  and  a 
member  of  the  board,  and  proceeded  to  make  the 
necessary  surveys  and  estimates.  After  careful  in- 
vestigation, aided  by  "  the  perfect  knowledge  Mr. 
Ellicott  possessed  of  the  force  of  the  several  streams 
that  could  be  used  for  that  purpose,  a  decided  prefer- 
ence was  given  to  Jones'  Falls,  as  it  had  long  been 
well  known  in  dry  seasons  to  be  the  most  permanent 
stream  in  this  part  of  the  country."  Proposals  were 
made  to  purchase  all  the  water-rights  on  the  stream 
as  high  up  as  "  Whitehall  Mill,"  then  below  Wood- 
berry,  with  the  design  of  conducting  the  stream  "to  the 
elevated  ground  near  the  old  poor-house,  there  to  form 
a  large  resorvoir  for  the  supply  of  the  city,  and  to  use 
the  surplus  water  for  milling  purposes,  by  erecting 
a  range  of  mills  on  Centre  Street."  Owing  princi- 
pally to  the  scarcity  of  money,  which  was  more 
profitably  employed  in  active  business,  this  scheme 
was  abandoned,  and  in  the  fall  of  1804  the  company 
purchased  from  Messrs.  John  Eager  Howard,  Josias 
Pennington,  and  James  Ogleby  several  parcels  of 
land  embracing  the  water-privileges  of  that  part  of 
Jones'  Falls  immediately  above  and  below  what  is 
now  John  Street  bridge.  They  also  purchased  a  lot 
at  the  southwest  corner  of  Calvert  and  Centre  Streets, 
and  constructed  a  storage  reservoir,  which  was  filled 
with  water  from  Jones'  Falls,  conveyed  through  an 
open  canal  starting  from  the  dam  near  the  present 
site  of  John  Street  bridge  and  running  between  Cal- 
vert and  North  Streets.   Subsequently,  for  the  supply 


216 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  the  more  elevated  portions  of  the  town,  another 
reservoir  was  constructed  on  Howard's  Hill,  near  the 
southwest  corner  of  Franklin  and  Cathedral  Streets. 
The  water  was  pumped  into  this  reservoir  by  a  water- 
wheel,  which  was  in  a  building  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  Calvert  and  Centre  Streets.  At  this  point  the 
office  of  the  company  was  also  situated,  and  adjoining 
were  the  "  City  Mills,"  which  were  run  by  the  waste 
water  from  the  Centre  Street  reservoir.  It  was  dis- 
charged by  means  of  an  open  canal  through  the 
grounds  now  occupied  by  the  Calvert  Street  Railway 
Station,  and  thence  into  Jones'  Falls  near  Bath 
Street.'  Under  the  direction  of  John  Davis,  an  en- 
gineer of  Philadelphia,  the  company  proceeded  to 
complete  the  works,  and,  it  is  said,  contracted  in 
June,  1805,  with  Samuel  Hughes,  of  Harford  County, 
for  a  supply  of  cast-iron  pipes  ranging  from  two  and  a 
half  to  six  inches,  at  from  sixty-five  dollars  to  eighty 
dollars  per  ton.  Most  of  the  pipes  at  first  employed, 
however,  were  of  wood,  either  locust  or  spruce  pine,  and 
were  from  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  in  diameter,  with  a 
bore  of  about  four  inches.-  In  the  fall  of  1806  the  com- 
pany was  in  a  condition  to  ftirnish  water  to  the  city,  and 
on  the  29th  of  October,  John  McKim,  the  president, 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  mayor  to  ascertain  what 
quantity  the  city  would  require  for  water-plugs,  etc. 
In  consequence  of  the  receipt  of  this  letter  the  City 
Council  was  convened,  and  a  joint  committee,  com- 
posed of  James  Calhoun,  Thorndike  Chase,  Wm.  Lor- 
man,  Henry  Payson,  George  P.  Keeports,  and  George 
Decker,  on  the  13th  of  November,  made  a  report 
upon  the  subject,  which  resulted  in  the  purchase  by 
the  city  of  all  the  fire-plugs  erected  by  the  water 
company,  with  the  proviso  that  the  city  should  in- 
sert new  ones  in  the  future  at  its  own  expense,  and 
that  the  company  should  furnish  the  water  without 
charge.'  It  would  seem,  however,  that  unexpected 
delays  must  have  occurred,  as  previous  to  May,  1807, 
the  company  furnished  no  water  to  the  city,  except  a 
small  amount,  which  was  supplied  by  natural  flow 
directly  from  Col.  Howard's  spring  ;  but  in  this  month 
the  pumps,  which  had  been  erected  at  the  intersection 
of  Centre  and  Calvert  Streets,  were  put  in  successful 
operation,  and  thenceforward  water  was  obtained 
from  Jones'  Falls  and  furnished  to  the  city  almost 
exclusively  through  this  process  of  artificial  elevation 
into  reservoirs  of  various  heights,  ranging  from  sixty- 

1  On  the  lath  of  Jauuaiy,  1805,  an  act  of  incorporation  was  obtained 
from  the  Legislature,  but,  it  is  stated,  was  not  accepted  on  account  of 
objectionable  restrictions;  a  supplement  to  this  act  was  passed  on  the 
26th  of  January,  1806,  but  neither  does  this  appear  to  have  been  alto- 
gether satisfactory. 

-  On  the  14th  of  February,  1806,  an  ordinance  was  passed  authorizing 
the  company  "  to  open  streets,  lanes,  and  alleys  for  the  purpose  of  lay- 
ing down  water-pipes." 

3  It  is  stated  that  in  December,  1805,  a  conference  was  held  between 
the  directors  of  the  company  and  a  committee  of  the  Council  in  regard  to 
the  purchase  of  the  company's  stock  by  the  city,  but  nothing  definite 


lie  iitlicere  of  tlie  conipiiuy  in  I80r.  were  John  M 
Kim,  president ;  iiiid  J.ilnvs  A.  Buch.inan,  Solomon  Ettiug,  Wm.  Cook 
James  Moslier,  John  1) lell.  and  Jonathan  Bllicott,  directors. 


five  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  feet  above  tide- 
water. On  the  24th  of  December,  1808,  "  the  presi- 
dent and  directors  of  the  Baltimore  Water  Com- 
pany," consisting  of  Wm.  Cooke,  John  McKim, 
James  A.  Buchanan,  John  Donnell,  Solomon  Etting, 
James  Mosher,  Jonathan  Ellicott,  and  John  Hollins, 
were  incorporated,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $250,000, 
divided  into  5000  shares  of  five  dollars  each. 

In  1811  the  receipts  of  the  company  were  about 
$9000  per  year  from  water-rents.  With  a  view  of  ex- 
tending the  supply  of  water  to  the  utmost  extremities 
of  the  city,  the  company,  in  May,  1829,  began  to  take 
up  the  old  wooden  main  pipes  which  led  from  the 
reservoirs,  and  substituted  larger  iron  pipes  "  made 
at  the  furnaces  of  the  young  Messrs.  Ellicott's,  on 
the  Patapsco."  At  this  time  the  company  had  over 
thirteen  miles  of  pipe  laid  in  the  city,  consisting  of 
30,530  feet  of  iron  pipe  and  42,230  feet  of  wooden 
pipe.  At  the  January  session  of  the  City  Council  in 
1829  a  joint  committee  was  appointed  "  to  inquire 
during  the  recess  into  the  best  mode  of  furnishing 
every  part  of  the  city  in  the  most  ample  manner  with 
a  never- failing  supply  of  pure,  fresh,  and  wholesome 
water,  which  will  render  the  preservation  of  pumps 
and  wells  unnecessary."  On  the  15th  of  January, 
1830,  the  committee,  composed  of  P.  Laurenson, 
Fielding  Lucas,  Jr.,  John  Reese,  Samuel  Moore,  Jas. 
K.  Stapleton,  Wm.  Hubbard,  and  George  Keyser, 
made  their  report  to  the  Council.  Aided  by  Capt. 
Louis  Brantz,  vi'ho  tendered  his  services  free  of  charge, 
they  examined  all  the  streams  near  the  city  from 
which  the  desired  supply  was  to  be  drawn,  and  sent 
Messrs.  Laurenson,  Lucas,  and  Moore  as  a  sub-com- 
mittee to  Philadelphia  to  examine  the  Fairmount 
Water-works,  and  to  obtain  all  information  relative 
to  their  cost,  mode  of  construction,  etc.  Upon  the 
return  of  the  delegation  from  Philadelphia  the  com- 
mittee successively  visited  Gwynn's  and  Jones'  Falls 
and  the  Patapsco  River.  On  the  former  it  was  dis- 
covered that  the  canal  or  race  which  conveyed  the 
water  of  the  Falls  to  the  Calverton  Mills  was  about 
one  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet  above  tide,  and  that 
it  could  be  continued  north  of  the  Frederick  turn- 
pike road,  near  the  residence  of  Jas.  Carroll,  on  the 
line  of  Baltimore  Street,  extended  to  the  city  limits, 
where  reservoirs  could  be  erected.  The  race  on  Jones' 
Falls,  at  Tyson's  mill,  about  three  miles  from  the 
city,  was  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  tide, 
and  the  committee  reported  that  "the  extension  of 
I  it  would  be  attended  with  a  great  deal  of  expense 
and  labor  from  the  rocky,  undulating  nature  of  the 
ground,"  etc.  As  these  two  streams  presented  the 
j  same  advantages  from  their  natural  elevation,  the 
I  committee  endeavored  to  ascertain  if  the  mill  prop- 
I  erty  could  be  purchased.  It  was  found  that  on 
i  Gwynn's  Falls  there  were  ten  miles  between  the  Cal- 
verton mill-race  and  tide-water,  and  ten  on  Jones' 
Falls  between  Tyson's  mill-race  and  the  city.  On 
the  former  .stream   all  Hk'    |iroprietors  consented  to 


CITY   DEPARTMENTS. 


217 


sell  their  property ;   but  on  the   latter,  while  some 
consented,   others  peremptorily  refused.      Upon  the 
Patapsco  they  found  there  was  but  one — the  Hockley 
works — which  they  would  be  compelled  to  purchase 
in  case  that  stream  was  selected,  and  that  it  would  ' 
cost  about  five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  to 
introduce  the  water  from  it  upon  the  plan  of  the 
Fairmount  Water-works   in  Philadelphia.     After  a 
careful  examination  of  the  whole  subject  the  com-  j 
niittee  therefore  unhesitatingly  recommended  Gwynn's 
Falls  to  the  City  Council  "as  the  most  abundant  and 
most  economical  source  whence  the  city  of  Baltimore  | 
could  be  supplied  with  a  never-failing  supply  of  pure 
and  wholesome  water."    Their  preference  for  Gwynn's 
Falls  was  based, — 

"  Ist.  On  accouut  of  the  superior  elevation  of  its  stream  above  tide  at 
a  shorter  distance  from  the  city. 

"  2d.  Because  the  Calverton  race  can  be  extended  at  its  present  eleva- 
tion into  the  city  at  a  point  the  most  convenient  of  all  others,  in  our 
opinion,  for  the  construction  of  reservoirs  comparatively  with  little  labor 
and  expense,  the  nature  of  the  ground  being  highly  favorable  for  that 
purpose ;  whereas  the  race  of  Mr.  Tyson's  mill,  on  Jones'  Falls,  could  be 
carried  little  further  at  much  greater  labor  and  expense. 

'*  3d.  Because  the  necessary  water-rights  on  Gwynn's  can  be  purchased 
for  less  than  half  the  sum  which  would  be  required  for  those  ou  Jones' 
Falls  if  the  latter  could  be  obtained,  which  it  appears  they  cannot  be." 

In  conclusion,  they  say  that  Capt.  Brantz  had  gauged 
the  Calverton  mill-race  several  times  during  the  sum- 
mer, and  the  smallest  quantity  of  water  he  ever  found 
it  to  produce  was  upwards  of  10,000,000  gallons  in 
twenty-four  hours,  and  that  the  city  would  have  in  it 
"a  supply  of  water  abundantly  sufficient,  in  the  pres- 
ent state  of  the  race,  for  the  population  of  half  a  mil- 
lion of  souls,  which  may,  when  necessary,  be  nearly 
doubled  by  making  the  dam  tight  and  by  substitut- 
ing a  brick  tunnel  of  six  feet  diameter  for  the  present 
open  and  imperfect  race."  They  therefore  recom- 
mended the  city  to  purchase  all  the  mills  below  the 
Calverton  mill-race,  the  five  Calverton  mills,  the  three 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Ellicott's  Mills,  on  the 
Frederick  turnpike  road,  and  the  two  mills  of  James 
Carroll,  owned  respectively  by  Messrs.  Jessop,  Worth- 
ington,  James  Cheston,  George  Ellicott,  Jacob  C. 
Davis,  Thomas  Ellicott,  and  James  Carroll,  and  to 
pay  for  the  same  in  five  per  cent,  city  stock.  Upon 
the  submission  of  this  report,  Thomas  Parker,  presi- 
dent of  the  Baltimore  Water  Company,  on  Jan.  18, 
1830,  on  behalf  of  his  company,  memorialized  the 
mayor  and  City  Council,  offering  to  sell  their  works 
and  fixtures,  exclusive  of  their  real  estate,  to  the  city 
for  $350,000.  The  proposition,  however,  was  not  ac- 
cepted, nor  does  any  further  action  appear  to  have 
been  taken  at  that  time  upon  the  committee's  report. 
In  1833,  upon  application  of  the  City  Council,  the 
company  offered  to  sell  their  works,  which  had  been 
enlarged  by  the  purchase  of  Salisbury  Mill  and  the 
construction  of  a  new  pump-house  and  reservoir,  for 
$500,000.  The  number  of  water-supplies  at  that  time 
was  2164,  and  the  annual  income  therefrom  $21,300. 
In  1835,  in  response  to  another  overture  of  the  Coun- 
cil, the  'company   offered   to   sell   their   interest   for 


$.550,000,  but  the  municipal  authorities  declining  to 
pay  the  price  the  offer  was  withdrawn.     The  annual 
receipts  of  the  company  at  this  time  were  $25,500, 
and   there  were   about   eighteen  miles  of  pipe  laid 
down  in  the  streets  of  the  city,  one-fourth  of  which 
were  of  the  old  defective  pattern  of  cast  iron,  one- 
fourth  of  wood,  and  the  remainder  of  iron  of  the  im- 
proved pattern  of  the  present  day.     In  1845  the  con- 
struction of  a  new  reservoir  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Falls,  near  the  Lanvale  Cotton-factory,  a  short  dis- 
tance above  Belvidere  bridge,  was  begun,  which  was 
completed  in  the  latter  part  of  1846.     It  was  eighteen 
feet  deep,  with  a  capacity  of  about  15,000,000  gallons 
of  water,  and  covered  nearly  seven  acres  of  ground. 
It  was  intended  to  supersede  the  reservoir  on  Calvert 
Street,  and  to  supply  the  city  east  of  the  Falls.     The 
water  was  drawn  by  natural  flow   through  pipes  of 
twenty  inches  in  diameter  from  the  head-race  of  the 
mill,  which  the  company  purchased  from  Maj.  Brad- 
ford.    The  work  was  constructed  under  the  general 
supervision  of  Capt.  Chiftelle,  chief  engineer;    the 
excavation  and  embankment  were  made  by  Messrs. 
Mullen  and  Lester,  the  brick-work  by  Mr.  Downing, 
and  the  stone-paving  by  Messrs.  Benzinger,  Eschback 
&  Co.     The  pressure  from  this  new  reservoir  was  so 
great  that  in  the  following  year  many  of  the  wooden 
pipes  still  remaining  in  use  burst,  and  it  was  found 
'  necessary  to  replace  them  with  iron  ones,  which  was 
done  in  Harrison  Street,  from  Gay  to  Baltimore,  in 
April,    1847.      Notwithstanding  the  construction   of 
this  new  reservoir,  the  supply  of  water  was  soon  found 
insufficient  for  the  needs  of  the  city,  and  in  1848  the 
statement  is  made  that  "  it  is  a  generally  admitted 
I  fact  that  Baltimore   is   most  inadequately  supplied 
with  water,"  and  that  "  the  time  has  arrived  for  a 
movement  to  be  made  towards  diverting  the  water  of 
I  Gwynn's  Falls,  the  Gunpowder,  or  some  other  of  the 
]  falling   streams   of   the    vicinity,  for    this   purpose. 
Whilst  the  city  is  extending  and  the  demand  increas- 
!  ing,  the  water  of  Jones'  Falls  is  yearly  diminishing, 
and  likewise  becoming   less    pure   and  wholesome." 
From  1835  to  1852  the  use  of  pumps  and  springs,  from 
which  many  citizens  had  previously  obtained  their 
I  water,  became  much  less  general,  and  the  demand  for 
I  water  from  the  company's  works  increased  rapidly, 
i  the  income   from  water-rents  in   1852  being  eighty 
I  thousand  dollars.     In  the  same  year  the  City  Coun- 
cil made  a  fifth  application  for  the  purchase  of  the 
1  water-works,  and  the  company  oflered  to  sell  them 
I  for  $1,250,000.    During  the  same  year,  with  a  view  to 
!  the  iinal  settlement  of  what  had  come  to  be  known 
I  as  the  "  water  question,"  Messrs.  Vansant,  Winans, 
Keighler,  King,  Randolph,  and  Turner  were  appointed 
commissioners  by  the  City  Council  "to  examine  and 
report  upon  the  practicability  and  propriety  of  intro- 
]  ducing  a  larger  and  better  supply  of  pure  water  into 
[  the  city."     Capt.  Thomas  P.  Chiffelle  was  appointed 
'  by  the  commissioners  to  gauge  the  flow  of  water  in  the 
'  Patapsco  and  Great  Gunpowder  Rivers  and  Gwynn's 


218 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Falls,  and  to  make  examination  of  the  elevations  and 
depressions  of  the  laud  between  these  streams  and 
the  city,  and  also  to  take  the  altitudes  of  those  water- 
courses at  favorable  points  above  tide-water.  On  the 
27th  of  May,  18.53,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  au- 
thorizing the  mayor  and  City  Council  to  introduce  a 
permanent  supply  of  water  into  the  city,  and  em- 
powering them  to  purchase  all  necessary  lands  and 
water-rights,  as  well  as  the  interest  and  property  of 
the  water  company.  For  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  ! 
cost  of  the  undertaking  the  municipal  authorities 
were  further  authorized  to  issue  certificates  of  debt, 
to  be  denominated  "  Baltimore  Water  Stock,"  to  an 
amount  not  exceeding  two  millions  of  dollars. 

On  the  1st  of  September,  1853,  the  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  resolution  of  the  City  Council,  ap- 
proved May  11,  1852,  made  their  report,  which  was 
referred  to  a  joint  special  committee  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil. The  committee  reported  in  favor  of  referring  the 
whole  subject  to  the  people  for  decision,  and  accord- 
ingly a  resolution  was  passed  on  the  5th  of  October  ' 
submitting  the  question  of  the  establishment  of  water- 
works by  the  city  to  the  popular  vote.  The  vote  was 
taken  at  the  municipal  election  on  the  12th  of  Octo-  i 
her,  1853,  when  9727  votes  were  cast  in  favor  of  the  ] 
undertaking  and  304  against  it.  In  pursuance  of  this  ' 
decided  expression  of  the  popular  will  an  ordinance 
was  passed,  approved  July  29,  1854,  to  carry  out  the 
provisions  of  the  act  of  1853.  Negotiations  for  the 
purchase  of  the  old  water-works  were  then  resumed, 
and  finally  concluded  in  August,  1854,  by  their  trans- 
fer to  the  city  for  $1,350,000.  This  transfer  included 
several  large  mills  and  much  valuable  real  estate. 
At  this  time  the  water-works  consisted  of  two  small 
pools  of  water  in  the  valley  of  Jones'  Falls,  which 
were  formed  by  the  original  dams  of  the  Mount 
Royal  and  Rock  Mills,  and  from  which  the  whole 
supply  for  the  city  was  conducted  in  large  iron  mains  i 
to  a  receiving  reservoir  on  the  east  side  of  the  Falls 
a  short  distance  below  the  Charles  Street  bridge. 
From  this  reservoir  water  was  distributed  to  those 
points  of  the  city  lying  below  a  level  of  sixty  feet 
above  mean  tide  by  direct  gravitation.  For  the 
higher  portions  of  the  city  the  water  was  raised  by  i 
machinery  into  a  second  reservoir  at  the  intersection 
of  Charles  and  Chase  Streets,  from  which  it  was  dis-  ' 
tributed  to  all  other  elevations  not  exceeding  one 
hundred  and  thirty-six  feet  above  tide.  There  were 
about  fifty  miles  of  distributing  pipes,  and  the  joint 
capacity  of  the  two  reservoirs  was  twenty-five  millions 
of  gallons,  while  that  of  the  two  mill-pools  was  about 
ten  million  gallons.  The  residents  of  the  upper  and 
higher  parts  of  the  city  were  not  reached,  however, 
by  the  water-service  of  the  company,  but  were  still 
forced  to  depend  upon  pumps  and  wells.  The  presi- 
dent of  the  water  company,  at  the  date  of  the  transfer 
in  1854,  was  Columbus  O'Donnell.  Under  an  ordi- 
nance approved  Dec.  29,  1854,  a  board  of  three  water 
commissioners  was  established  to  take  charge  of  the 


Water  Department,  which  was  organized  in  the  fol- 
lowing year,  and  consisted  of  George  Neilson,  president 
of  the  commissioners ;  Levin  P.  Clark,  first  assistant 
commissioner ;  Edward  Spedden,  second  assistant 
commissioner;  Wesley  Stevenson,  secretary  and  treas- 
urer; J.  Green  Boggs,  book-keeper;  Eli  D.  Howard 
and  Berry  Tanner,  collectoi-s.  The  cost  of  the  intro- 
duction of  water  from  the  Gunpowder  was  estimated 
by  Mr.  Sickels,  civil  engineer,  at  $2,135,000.  While 
the  surveys  and  estimates  were  being  made,  however, 
many  portions  of  the  city  were  suffering  for  want  of  a 
proper  supply  of  water ;  and  it  was  accordingly  de- 
termined by  the  municipal  authorities  to  sink  a  num- 
ber of  artesian  wells  in  those  localities  where  they 
were  most  needed.  The  first  of  these  wells  sunk  by 
the  corporation  was  on  Block  Street  near  the  chemical 
works,  and  was  constructed  in  April,  1855.  Many 
of  the  wells  and  pumps,  the  use  of  which  has  re- 
cently been  interdicted,  were  constructed  in  the  east- 
ern and  southeastern  sections  of  the  city  at  this  period. 
In  1856  an  ordinance  was  passed  authorizing  the  issue 
of  fifty  thousand  dollars  additional  water  stock  to  en- 
large and  improve  the  water-works.  In  1857,  under 
an  ordinance  approved  April  14th,  the  water  board 
was  reorganized  by  the  appointment  of  six  commis- 
sioners, James  S.  Suter,  water  engineer,  and  Wesley 
Stevenson,  water  registrar.  The  City  Council  also 
passed  a  further  ordinance,  approved  July  11,  1857, 
to  provide  for  an  increased  supply  of  water  from 
Jones'  Falls,  upon  the  plan  reported  by  James  Slade, 
consulting  engineer,  and  authorizing  the  board  to 
purchase  land  and  water  rights  and  enter  upon  the 
con.struction  of  new  works.  By  the  act  of  1858  the 
city  was  empowered  to  issue  additional  water  stock  to 
the  amount  of  $1,000,000;  a  subsequent  ordinance, 
however,  required  all  plans  for  the  extension  of  the 
work  to  be  submitted  to  the  City  Council  for  its  ap- 
proval. After  the  consideration  of  many  surveys, 
plans,  and  estimates,  the  choice  of  the  City  Council 
rested  between  the  Gunpowder  River  and  Jones' 
Falls,  and  the  latter  was  at  last  selected.  The  city 
had  purchased  in  1856  the  water  rights  from  Rock 
Mills,  above  Woodberry,  for  $150,598 ;  and  in  1857  it 
purchased  the  water  rights  to  the  head  of  the  lake 
(originally  known  as  Swann  Lake,  now  known  as 
Lake  Roland),  with  the  land  required  for  the  lake, 
dam,  and  conduit,  for  $289,539.  During  the  summer 
and  autumn  of  1857  Mr.  AVampler,  under  the  general 
directions  of  Mr.  Slade  (who  acted  as  consulting  en- 
gineer), made  all  the  surveys  required  in  the  process 
of  final  location  of  the  lake  and  conduit  line,  and  de- 
fined the  boundaries  of  the  property  acquired  by  con- 
demnation or  purchase. 

These  arrangements  having  been  concluded,  the 
construction  of  the  new  works  was  begun  in  1858, 
under  the  supervision  of  Charles  P.  Manning,  by  the 
erection  of  a  dam  across  Jones'  Falls,  at  a  narrow 
pass  near  the  Northern  Central  Railroad  Station, 
eight  miles  from   the  city,  and  the  excavation  of  a 


CITY  DEPARTMENTS. 


natural  basin  above  it.     The  dam  and  lake  were  both 
so  far  completed  as  to  be  available  for  use  in  1860, 
and  entirely  completed  in  1861,  and  the  conduit  ex- 
tending from  the  gate  chamber  of  the  dam  to  Hamp- 
den reservoir  was   finished   by  the  1st  of  January, 
1860,  twenty  months  from  the  time  of  its  commence- 
ment.    The    contractors  of   the   lake    were    Messrs.  I 
Crowley,   Hoblitzell   &   Co. ;    of   the   dam,   Messrs. 
Hoblitzell,  Crowley  &  Co.     Among  the  contractors  \ 
of  the  conduit  line   were   F.  C.  Crowley,  John   W.  | 
Maxwell  &   Co.,  and  Joseph   H.   Hoblitzell   &  Co.  j 
The  cost  of  the  lake  was   $112,752.55 ;  of  the  dam,  j 
$152,190.65.     In  constructing  the  conduit  it  was  ne-  ' 
cessary  to  excavate  three  tunnels  at  different  points, 
one  of  1000  feet  in  length,  one  of  1225  feet,  and  a 
third  of  2950  feet.     Six  millions  of  bricks  were  used 
in  its  construction,  and  the  whole  cost  of  the  (con- 
duit) line,  tunnels,  and  open  cuts   was   $536,.339.35. 
Hampden   reservoir,  which   is   east  of    Druid   Hill 
Park,  near  Jones'  Falls,  was  constructed  in  connec- 
tion with  the  new  water  system,  and  was  commenced 
in  the  autumn  of  1858,  and  completed  in  the  spring 
of    1861.     The   contractors   were    Messrs.   John   W. 
Maxwell  &  Co.,  and  its  cost  was  $206,643.53.     Mount 
Koyal  reservoir,  located  on  what  was  formerly  part 
of  the  Mount  Royal  Mill  property,  west  of  the  North- 
ern Central  Eailroad  track,  and  a  short  distance  north 
of  Boundary  Avenue,  was  commenced  in  December, 
1859,  and  was  finished  in  May,  1862.     Its  cost  was 
$112,352.72,  and  with  the  pipe-line   from  Hampden 
reservoir  to  the   northern   limits  of  the  city,  com- 
pleted  the   new   system  of  water-works  introduced 
under  the  auspices  of  the  city  at  that  period.     The 
cost  of  the  pipe-line  was  $142,700.14;    it  was  com- 
menced in  the  month  of  August,  1860,  and  was  com- 
pleted in  February,  1861.     The  manufacture  of  the 
pipes  and  the  excavation  of  the  trench  were  executed 
by  contractors,  the  former  by  Messrs.  Poole  &  Hunt  \ 
and  the  latter  by  Messrs.  John  W.  Maxwell  &  Co. 
The  process  of  delivering  and  laying  the  pipes  was 
performed  by  mechanics  and  laborers  employed  by  j 
the  day.     The  graduation  and  the  larger  proportion 
of  the  masonry  in  and  around  the  Mount  Royal  res- 
ervoir were  executed  by  Messrs.  Burke  &  Green.   The 
masonry  of  the  pipe  vault  and  screen  was  built  by 
mechanics  and  day  laborers,  but  the  iron  house  which 
■covers   the   well   was    erected   by   Messrs.  Hayward 
&  Bartlett,  and  the  gate-keeper's  cottage  by  Messrs. 
Binyon  &  Andoun.     The  aggregate  cost  of  these  new 
works,  including  the  sum  of  $.50,000  for  engineering 
expenses,  was  $1,313,009.35.     The  actual   cost  of  all  [ 
the  city  water-works  up  to  Jan.  1,  1863,  was  as  fol-  1 
lows :  for  real  estate,  water  rights,  etc.,  $1,069,661,52;  j 
for  construction  of  the  new  works,  $1,313,009.35  ;  for 
distributing   mains    in    the   city,   $1,066,000;    total,  ! 
$3,526,000.     The  estimated  revenue  from  water-rents  | 
for  the  year  1863  was  $225,000,  besides  income  from 
other  sources.     At  that  time  there  were  38,881  build- 
ings in  the  city,  of  which  19,640  used  the  water.    The  ' 


expenses  for  the  year,  including  the  interest  upon  the 
water  stock,  were  estimated  at  $228,000.  The  prop- 
erty purchased  from  the  old  company,  and  not  re- 
quired by  the  city,  was  sold  for  $50,000.  The  Water 
Board  consisted  at  this  date  of  John  Lee  Chapman, 
president,  ex  officio,-  John  W.  Randolph,  Evan  T. 
Ellicott,  F.  Littig  Schaeffer,  John  B.  Seidenstricker, 
and  George  Merryman ;  James  S.  Suter,  water  engi- 
neer; John  W.  Randolph,  Jr.,  clerk;  Samuel  Hinks, 
water  registrar;  Samuel  J.  Maccubbin  and  Charles  E. 
Nedles,  clerks;  Eli  D.  Howard  and  John  W.  Blake, 
collectors.' 

Although  the  new  works  were  not  entirely  com- 
pleted until  May,  1862,  a  part  of  the  western  section 
of  the  city  was  supplied  from  the  new  source  as  early 
as  the  22d  of  February,  1861.  It  was  discovered, 
however,  soon  after  the  completion  of  these  works, 
that  they  would  be  insufficient  for  the  needs  of  the 
city,  and  in  1863  the  City  Council  passed  an  ordinance, 
approved  August  27th,  authorizing  a  loan  of  $300,000, 
to  be  expended  for  the  purchase  of  land  and  the  con- 
struction of  another  reservoir.  The  site  of  Druid 
Lake,  called  at  one  time  Lake  Chapman,'  was  then  a 
deep  ravine,  and  was  selected  on  account  of  the 
adaptation  of  the  location  to  the  purpose,  and  the 
great  addition  which  a  lake  of  the  size  and  character 
designed  would  make  to  the  beauty  of  the  park. 
Work  on  this  new  reservoir  was  commenced  in  March, 
1864,  and  was  so  far  completed  as  to  admit  of  the 
introduction  of  water  in  the  latter  part  of  1865.  In 
the  fall  of  1866  the  water  was  drawn  off  and  the  pipes 
through  the  base  of  the  dam  examined,  when  four  of 
them  were  found  to  be  broken,  and  a  similar  exami- 
nation in  the  following  year  revealed  the  fact  that, 
the  remainder  had  also  been  broken  by  the  weight  of 
the  immense  earth  embankment.''  An  entire  change 
was  necessitated,  and  new  pipes  were  laid  through  the 
rock  formation  of  one  of  the  sides  at  large  cost,  in 
order  to  insure  future  safety.  This  change  also,  of 
necessity,  reduced  the  capacity  of  the  lake  (which 
had  been  originally  designed  to  hold  1,000,000,000 
gallons),  as  it  had  to  be  partially  filled  up  in  order  to 
obtain  safe  connection  with  the  influent  and  affluent 
pipes,  and  made  its  total  cost  $1,000,000,  instead  of 
$300,000  appropriated  in  the  beginning.  The  im- 
provement in  the  water  service  after  it  came  under 
the  control  of  the  city  may  be  estimated  from  the 
following  comparative  statement  of  income  receipts 
under  the  two  managements.     The  income  of  the  old 


1  In  August,  1861,  an  attempt  was  made  to  supply  Tort  McHenry  with 
water  by  means  of  an  artesian  well,  but  after  boring  to  the  depth  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  the  work  was  stopped  by  a  thick  layer  of 
oyster  shells.  For  eighty  feet  of  this  distance  a  very  impervious  clay 
was  encountered  studded  with  bowlders  and  nodules  of  iron  ore,  liuie- 

2  In  1867  the  Water  Board  "  restored  to  Lake  Chapman  its  appropriate 
name  of  Druid  Lake." 

3  The  timely  discovery  of  the  condition  of  the  pipes  undoubtedly  pre- 
vented very  serious  consequences,  as  the  leakage  would  soon  have  under- 
mined the  dam  and  let  loose  upon  the  city  and  neighboring  villages  a 
dangerous  and  disastrous  flood. 


220 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


water  company  in  1835  was  $25,500 ;  in  1852  it  was 
$80,000.  The  income  of  the  city  Water  Department 
in  1862  was  $207,808 ;  in  1866,  $272,522 ;  in  1868, 
$.362,408.  The  working  expenses  for  1868  were 
$47,838.93,  which  included  $10,000  expended  in  re- 
pairs necessitated  by  floods.  After  the  completion  of 
the  new  works  it  was  supposed  that  the  storage  sup- 
ply was  sufticient,  but  it  proved  utterly  inadequate  in 
1869,  when  the  city  was  threatened  with  a  water 
famine,  and  in  1870  the  same'  trouble  was  experi- 
enced. In  1871  the  authorities  determined  upon  the 
construction  of  another  depository,  now  known  as 
the  High  Service  reservoir,  which  was  begun  in  that 
year.  It  was  designed  particularly  to  supply  the 
higher  sections  of  the  city,  and  is  located  in  Druid 
Hill  Park  ;  it  was  not  completed  until  June,  1874. 
The  inadequacy  of  the  water-supply  during  the  sum- 
mers of  1869,  '70,  '71,  and  '72  compelled  the  adoption 
of  immediate  measures  for  the  relief  of  the  commu- 
nity, and  on  the  23d  of  December,  1872,  the  City 
Council  passed  an  ordinance  directing  the  award  of  a 
contract  for  the  introduction  of  a  temporary  supply 
to  the  lowest  bidder.  The  contract  was  awarded  to 
Van  Stamp  &  Suter,  and  two  Worthington  pumps 
were  erected  at  Meredith's  Ford,  on  the  Gunpowder, 
for  the  purpose  of  replenishing  Lake  Roland  in  time 
of  need.  Each  of  these  pumps  has  a  capacity  of 
5,000,000  gallons,  and  forces  the  water  from  the  Gun- 
powder through  a  thirty-six-inch  pipe  for  three  and  a 
half  miles,  discharging  it  into  a  basin  on  Roland  Run, 
two  miles  from  the  lake.  This  temporary  supply  has 
been  in  use  since  July,  1874,  and  has  rendered  service 
of  the  most  important  character. 

On  the  3d  of  November,  1874,  the  ordinance  pro- 
viding for  the  introduction  of  a  permanent  supply  of 
water  from  the  Gunpowder  River  was  submitted  to 
the  people,  and  was  ratified  by  a  vote  of  13,131  in  its 
favor  to  6202  against  it.  As  early  as  January,  186(i, 
Mayor  Chapman  recommended  to  the  City  Council  j 
the  inirchase  of  the  water  rights  of  the  Great  Gun-  1 
powder  River  for  the  purpose  of  securing  an  addi- 
tional supply  of  water  to  meet  the  future  wants  of  the 
city.  The  City  Council  adopted  the  suggestion  and 
authorized  the  issue  of  the  necessary  water  stock,  and 
the  purchase  was  accordingly  made.  It  included  the 
water  rights  of  the  whole  stream  from  tide-water  to 
Meredith's  bridge,  a  distance  of  twenty-one  miles, 
with  sixteen  hundred  acres  of  laud,  the  bed  of  the 
lake  on  the  Great  Gunpowder,  with  a  margin  of  one 
hundred  feet,  and  also  the  Hollingsworth  Copper- 
works,  Joppa  Mills,  and  Patterson  Xail-factory,  the 
price  paid  for  the  whole  being  $2()O,000. 

After  the  passage  of  the  ordinance  of  1874,  steps 
were  immediately  taken  to  carry  its  provisions  into 
effect,  and  the  necessary  preliminaries  having  been 
arranged,  ground  was  broken  for  the  permanent  water- 
supply  on  the  3d  of  December,  1875,  by  Robert  K. 
Martin,  the  able  civil  engineer,  who  on  the  18th  of 
April,  185S,  had  broken  ground  for  the  first  water- 


works constructed  by  the  city,  and  who  was  during 
all  this  time  in  the  employ  of  the  Water  Board.  Af- 
ter nearly  seven  years  of  continuous  labor,  the  works 
connected  with  the  permanent  supply  were  completed 
in  October,  1881,  at  a  cost  of  more  than  $4,500,000, 
making  a  total  of  $10,000,000  expended  in  supplying 
the  city  with  water.  On  July  1st,  Mayor  Latrobe 
oflicially  turned  in  the  water  from  the  dam  at  Loch 
Raven,  on  the  Gunpowder  River,  into  the  great  tun- 
nel which  connects  the  dam  with  Lake  Montebello. 
The  Gunpowder  River,  from  which  the  new  supply  is 
drawn,  is  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  above  tide. 
To  find  its  own  level  the  water  must  rise  sixty-five 
feet  above  the  base  of  the  Washington  Monument,  and 
seven-eighths  of  the  city  can  be  supplied  by  natural 
flow.  The  works  connected  with  the  supply  consist 
of  a  dam  across  the  Gunpowder  at  Raven's  Rock, 
about  eight  miles  from  the  city,  a  receiving  lake  at  the 
same  point  called  Loch  Raven,  a  tunnel  piercing  the 
rocky  bank  of  the  stream  and  connecting  Loch  Raven 
with  a  distributing  reservoir  called  Lake  Montebello, 
about  two  miles  from  the  city,  on  the  line  of  the  Har- 
ford road,  and  a  second  conduit  connecting  Lake  Mon- 
tebello with  another  distributing  reservoir,  called  Lake 
Clifton,  situated  on  a  part  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  es- 
tate. The  Gunpowder  dam  is  constructed  of  solid 
stone  masonry,  is  five  hundred  feet  wide,  thirty-one 
feet  high,  and  sixty-five  feet  thick  at  the  base.  Loch 
Raven,  which  extends  from  Meredith's  Ford  bridge  to 
the  dam  at  Raven's  Rock,  is  one  hundred  and  seventy 
feet  above  tide,  five  miles  long,  one  thousand  feet  wide, 
twenty  feet  deep  at  the  dam,  and  four  feet  deep  at  the 
bridge,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  roadway  thirty  feet 
wide  and  nine  miles  in  extent.  Over  the  streams  run- 
ning into  the  lake,  and  on  the  line  of  the  carriage- 
drive,  nine  stone  bridges  have  been  constructed,  three 
being  on  the  east,  and  six  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake. 
Seven  of  these  bridges  are  built  of  white  marble  found 
in  the  vicinity,  and  two  of  white  and  bluestone  com- 
bined. Their  spans  are  twenty  and  thirty  feet,  accord- 
ing to  the  width  of  the  stream  crossed,  and  each  is  of 
different  design.  The  construction  of  these  bridges 
was  necessary  for  the  passage  of  the  carriage-drive  on 
each  side  ;  their  openings  are  sufficient  for  all  freshets 
that  may  occur;  there  is  six  feet  head-room  from  the 
surface  of  the  water  to  the  intrados  of  the  arches  in 
all  cases,  and  boats  can  readily  pass  from  the  main 
portion  of  the  lake  under  the  arches  and  out  into  the 
estuaries  on  the  sides.  The  tunnel  connecting  this 
lake  with  Lake  Montebello  is  seven  miles  in  length, 
and  is  a  circular  bore  with  an  internal  diameter  of 
twelve  feet  and  a  dip  of  one  foot  to  the  mile.'  For 
five  miles  and  a  half  its  course  is  through  hard  rock, 
which  required  no  arching,  and  where  the  drifts  had 
to  be  pushed  by  hand-drilling  and  dynamite  blasting. 
The  remaining  mile  and  a  half  is  of  brick-work,  con- 
structed with  the  greatest  care  and  the  utmost  atten- 

1  It  was  coiiiincuced  in  December,  1S76,  and  cunipleted  N'oveniber,  1S80. 


CITY   DEPAKTMENTS. 


221 


tiou  to  solidity  and  endurance.  Its  direction  is  north- 
east, and  the  greatest  depth  of  the  drift  is  at  Satyr 
Ridge,  where  it  is  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet 
underground.  It  is  an  air-line  from  the  dam  to  Lake 
Montebello,  except  just  before  reaching  this  latter 
point,  where  a  curve  with  a  radius  of  seven  hundred 
and  seventeen  feet  was  used  to  give  the  proper  direc- 
tion on  entering  the  gate-house.  The  waste-weir  in 
the  gate-house  at  the  dam  is  on  a  level  with  the  intra- 
dos  of  the  arch  of  the  conduit  at  that  point,  and  the 
waste-weir  in  the  gate-house  at  Lake  Montebello  being 
on  a  level  with  that  on  the  dam,  there  will  be  conse- 
quently seven  feet  of  water  over  the  conduit  at  the 
lower  end  when  the  upper  portion  is  full.  In  the  con- 
struction of  the  tunnel  fifteen  shafts  were  sunk  from 
the  surface  to  the  grade-line.  From  the  bottom  of 
these  shafts  working- parties  advanced  north  and  south 
to  meet  each  other.  With  the  opening  at  each  end  of 
the  tunnel  and  the  two  at  each  shaft,  there  were  thirty- 
two  points  from  which  the  tunnel  was  worked.  The 
shafts  varied  from  sixty-five  to  three  hundred  feet  in 
depth.  They  were  located  about  two  thousand  feet 
apart,  except  at  each  end  of  the  tunnel,  where  the 
shafts  were  shallower,  the  distance  between  them  was 
greater.  The  longest  drive  between  shafts  was  three 
thousand  one  hundred  feet,  at  the  south  or  Montebello 
end.  Six  miles  of  the  tunnel  was  through  blue  gneiss, 
most  of  it  very  hard,  and  not  disintegrating  or  soften- 
ing from  the  action  of  the  air.  This  six  miles  lay 
north  from  Lake  Montebello  in  an  unbroken  chain. 
The  first  mile  south  from  the  dam  was  through  lime- 
stone, all  of  which,  except  four  or  five  hundred  feet, 
required  arching.  The  total  cost  of  the  tunnel  from 
the  dam  to  Lake  Montebello  was  $1,779,610.24.  Mon- 
tebello Lake  is  one  hundred  and  sixty-three  feet  above 
tide,  with  a  water-surface  of  sixty  acres,  a  depth  of 
thirty  feet,  and  a  drive  eighty  feet  wide  and  a  mile  and 
a  half  long.  The  supply  of  water  for  the  city,  after  it 
leaves  the  gate-house  at  Lake  Montebello,  is  conveyed 
in  a  conduit,  built  partly  in  tunnel  and  partly  in  open 
cut,  a  distance  of  five  thousand  three  hundred  and 
ninety-one  feet,  to  the  gate-house  at  Lake  Clifton. 
Clifton  Lake  has  the  same  level  and  similar  dimen- 
sions, and  from  this  point  six  distributing  mains,  each 
forty  inches  in  diameter,  bring  the  water  to  the  dis- 
tributing mains  in  the  city.'  The  Jones'  Falls  system, 
as  already  shown,  consists  of  Lake  Roland,  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  feet  above  tide,  one  and  a  half 
miles  long,  with  an  average  width  of  one-eighth  of  a 
mile,  and  a  water-surface  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
acres ;  a  conduit  four  miles  long,  of  brick-work,  semi- 
circular at  bottom,  semi-ellipse  at  the  top,  long  axis 
six  feet  two  inches,  short  axis  five  feet,  with  a  dip 
of  two  feet  to  the  mile;  Hampden  reservoir,  two  hun- 
dred and  seventeen  feet  above  tide,  semicircular  in 
form,  and  eight  acres  water-surface ;  Druid  Lake,  in 

1  A  pliin  substantially  the  same  as  that  which  has  been  adopted  in  the 
new  water-supply  was  recommended  by  T.  E.  Sickels  and  Alfred  Duvall, 
civil  engineei-s,  in  1854. 


Druid  Hill  Park,  two  hundred  and  seventeen  feet 
above  tide,  depth  twenty  to  sixty-five  feet,  with  fifty- 
three  acres  of  water-surface,  surrounded  by  a  drive  of 
one  and  a  half  miles,  sixty  feet  wide ;  High  Service 
reservoir,  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  tide, 
supplied  by  two  pumps,  with  a  daily  capacity  of  seven 
million  of  gallons,  with  a  water-surface  of  four  acres  f 
Mount  Royal  reservoir,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
above  tide,  circular  in  form,  with  a  water-surface  of 
five  acres.  These  two  systems  (of  Jones'  Falls  and 
Gunpowder  River)  are  capable  of  furnishing  daily  a 
supply  of  165,000,000  gallons  of  water,  which  is  the 
capacity  of  the  streams  by  which  the  works  are  fed. 
To  this  must  be  added  the  sum  total  of  the  reservoirs 
and  aqueducts  as  given  below. 

Jones'  /f(/&.— Lake  Roland,  400,000,000;  conduit 
(daily),  3,500,000;  Hampden  reservoir,  46,000,000; 
Druid  Lake,  429,000,000;  High  Service  reservoir, 
27,000,000  ;  Mount  Royal  reservoir,  30,000,000.  To- 
tal, 935,500,000. 

Gunpowder  Hiver. —hoch  Raven,  1,500,000,000; 
conduit  (daily),  30,000,000;  Montebello  Lake,  500,- 
000,000 ;  Clifton  Lake,  265,000,000 ;  total,  2,170,000,- 
000 ;  grand  total,  3,105,500,000. 

The  cost  of  the  works  of  the  Gunpowder  supply  to 
Dec.  31,  1880,  had  been  $4,704,260.83.  The  total  cost 
of  both  systems  of  works  has  been  about  $10,000,000. 

The  net  revenue  of  the  Water  Department  for  1880, 
after  deducting  the  sum  of  $28,453.15  allowed  in  dis- 
.  counts,  amounted  to  $606,879.06,  as  against  $552,877.27 
for  the  jjrevious  year,  sliowing  an  increase  of  net  rev- 
enue for  1880  of  $54,001.79.  The  working  expenses 
of  the  department  for  1880  were  $87,419.31. 

There  are  277  miles  of  water-pipe  in  the  city.  The 
number  of  water-meters  in  service  are  524,  of  which 
72  were  placed  in  1880,  and  54  in  1879.  The  registered 
consumption  of  water  by  meters  for  1880  was  629,- 
680,175  gallons,  against  496,032,105  gallons  in  1879. ' 
The  number  of  water-takers  in  1880  was  50,000,  the 
revenue  from  which  in  1880  amounted  to  $72,483.52, 
against  $64,230.86  in  1879,  an  increase  of  $8,252.66, 
notwithstanding  the  reduction  in  price  made  by  the 
board  from  fifteen  to  twelve  cents  per  thousand  gal- 
lons for  the  last  half  of  the  year.  For  1881  the  charge 
for  water  served  through  meters  has  been  still  further 
reduced,  to  eight  cents  per  thousand  gallons.  It  is 
difiicult  to  ascertain  accurately  the  city's  daily  con- 
sumption of  water,  as  the  supply  is  served  from  two 
of  the  three  elevations  by  gravity.  The  gravity  sup- 
ply can  only  be  ascertained  by  shutting  off"  the  supply 
from  the  reservoirs  and  measuring  shrinkage.  Close 
observation  at  Lake  Roland,  however,  as  to  opening 
of  gates,  has  furnished  data  with  respect  to  water 
consumption  which  may  be  regarded  as  substantially 
reliable.  When  the  conduit  is  being  regularly  sup- 
plied, with  no  visible  waste  along  the  line,  it  is  esti- 
mated that  every  inch  of  opening  on  the  gates  repre- 

-  This  reservoir  distributes  to  a  tenth  of  the  city,  Druid  Lake  and 
Hampden  reservoir  supplying  the  rest  of  the  high  service. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


sents  a  consumption  of  5,000,000  gallons  of  water 
every  twenty-four  hours.  In  previous  warm  seasons 
the  heavy  draw  seldom  exceeded  three  and  a  half 
inches  of  gates,  which  represented  17,500,000  gallons, 
but  during  the  summer  of  1880  the  gates  for  days  re- 
quired five  inches  opening  in  order  to  supply  the  con- 
duit, representing  a  consumption  of  nearly  25,000,000 
gallons. 

The  completion  of  the  Gunpowder  Permanent  Water- 
supply  gives  Baltimore  a  system  of  water-works  un- 
equaled  in  the  United  States,  affording  a  supply 
of  water  nearly  double  that  of  the  great  city  of  New 
York,  which  has  a  supply  of  only  100,000,000  gallons 
daily,  wherein  Baltimore  has  a  supply  of  150,000,000 
gallons.  The  capacity  of  the  Philadelphia  water- 
works is  50,000,000  gallons.  The  successful  completion 
of  the  permanent  water-works  is  largely  due  to  the  en- 
gineering skill  of  Robert  K.  Martin,  under  whose 
supervision  they  were  constructed. 

The  members  of  the  Water  Board  from  1858  h.ave 
been  as  follows : 

1858-60.— Hon.  Thomas  Swaiin,  chairman;  Columbus  O'Donnell,  Atlam 
Denmead,  F.  Littig  Scliaeffer,  Thomas  E.  Hanibleton,  John  Duke- 
hart,  Jolin  W.  Randolph.  Charles  P.  Manuiug,  chief  eugiueer  of 
new  works;  James  S.  Suter,  water  engineer;  W.  Stevenson,  water 
registrar.  Engineer  Cot-pskew  Works,  Jones^  Fulls Suj^phj  :  Charles  P. 
Manning,  chief  engineer;  \V.  Eugene  Webster,  principal  assistant 
engineer.  Frank  F.  Jones,  resident  eugiueer:  H.  Scott  Tburetou, 
assistaut  engineer,  in  charge  of  Lake  Roland  and  dam.  Robert 
Hooper,  Jr.,  resident  engineer ;  Henry  M.  Graves,  assistant  engi- 
neer, in  charge  of  conduit  line  from  dam  to  waste-weir  and  pipe-line. 
Robert  K.  Martin,  resident  engineer;  William  L.  Kenly,  assistant  en- 
gineer, in  charge  of  remainder  of  conduit  line  and  Hampden  and 
Mourjt  Royal  reservoirs. 

1861. — Hon.  George  W.  Browu,  chairman;  John  W.  Randolph, secretary ; 
Adam  Denmead,  Thomas  E.  Hambleton,  Nicholas  Poplein,  George 
V.  Porter,  Isaac  S.  George.  Charles  P.  Manning,  chief  engineer  of 
new  works;  James  S.  Suter,  water  engineer;  W.  Stevenson,  water 
registrar. 

1862.— Hon.  John  Lee  Chapman,  chairman  ;  John  W.  Randolph,  secre- 
tary; Hvan  T.  Ellicott,  F.  Littig  Scliaeffer,  John  B.  Seidenstricker, 
Geitrge  Merryuian.  Ctiarles  P.  Manning,  chief  engineer  of  new 
works;  James  S.  Suter,  water  engineer;  Samuel  Hinks,  water  regis- 

1863-65.— Hon.  John  Lee  Chapman,  chairman ;  John  W.  Randolph, 
Evan  T.  Ellicott,  F.  Littig  Schaetfer,  John  B.  Seidenstricker,  Geiard 
T.  Hopkins,  Francis  T.  King.  James  S.  Suter,  water  eugiueer; 
Robert  K.  Martin,  civil  engineer;  George  Merryman,  water  regis- 

1866-67.— Hon.  John  Leo  Chapman,  chairman;  John  W.  Randolph, 
John  R.  Kelso,  F.  Littig  Schaeffer,  John  B.  Seidenstricker,  Gerard 
T.  Hopkins,  Francis  T.  King.  James  S.  Suter,  water  engineer; 
Robert  K.  Mai-lin,  civil  engineer;  George  Merryman,  water  regis- 
trar. 

1868.— Hon.  Robert  T.  Banks,  chairman  ;  James  L.  McLane,  George  U. 
Porter,  Charles  D.  Sliugluff,  John  A.  Griffith,  John  F.  Hunter,  Wen- 
del  Bollman.  James  Curran,  water  engineer;  Robert  K.  Martin, 
civil  engineer:  William  L.  Sharetts,  water  regifttrar. 

1860-71.— Hon.  Robert  T.  Banks,  chairmau;  James  L.  McLane,  George 
U.  Porter,  Charles  D.  Sliugluff,  John  A.  Griffith,  John  F.  Hunter, 
George  P.  Thomas.  James  Curran,  water  engineer ;  Robert  K.  Mar- 
tin, civil  euBiiieor;  William  L.  Sharetts,  water  registrar. 

1872-7;'>.— Ilun.  .Jusliua  Vansaut,  chairman  ;  James  L.  McLane,  John  A. 
GrillUli,  John   F.  Hunter,  George  P.  Tlumnis,  Joiin  R.  Seemuller, 

Martin,  civil  engineer;  William  L.  Sharetts,  water  registrar. 
1874-75.— Hon.  Josliua  Vansaut,  chaii  man ;  James  L.  McLane,  John  F. 
Hunter,  George  P.  Thomas,  John  R.  Seemuller,  Fielder  Slingluff, 
Thomas  Bond.    James  Curran,  water  engineer;  Robert  K.  Martin, 
civil  engineer;  William  L.  Sharetts,  water  registrar. 


1876-77.— Hon.  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe,  chairman ;  John  R.  Seemuller, 
«    John  F.  Hunter,  George  P.  Thomas,  Thomas  Bond,  George  U.  Porter, 

Thounis  W.  Hall,  Jr.    James  Currau,  water  engineer ;  Robert  K. 

Martin,  chief  engineer  Gunpowder  Permanent  Supply  ;  William  L. 

Sharetts,  water  registrar. 
1878.— Hon.  George  P.  Kane,  chairman ;   George  U.  Porter,  John  F. 

Hunter,  Geoige  P.  Thomas,  Thomas  Bond,  William  A.  Fisher,  N. 

Rufus  Gill.   James  Curran,  water  engineer ;  Robert  K.  Martiu,  chief 

engineerGunpowder  Permanent  Supply ;  William  L.  Sharetts,  water 

1879.— Hon.  Ferdinand  C.  Lntrobe,  chairman  ;  George  U.  Porter,  John 
F.  Hunter,  George  P.  Thomas,  Thomas  Bond,  William  A.  Fisher,  N. 
Rufus  Gill.  James  Currau,  water  engineer;  Robert  K.  Martin,  chief 
engineer  Gunpowder  Permauent  Supply ;  William  L.  Sharetts,  water 
registrar. 

1880.— Hon.  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe,  chairman ;  George  U.  Porter,  John 
F.  Hunter,  George  P.  Thomas,  Thomas  Bond,  William  A.  Fisher,  N. 
Rufus  Gill.  James  Curran,  water  engineer;  Robert  K.  Martin,  chief 
engineer  Gunpowder  Permanent  Supply ;  Samuel  Kirk,  water 
registrar. 

The  engineer  corps  of  the  Gunpowder  Permanent 
Supply  from  1876  to  1880  has  been  as  follows : 

Robert  K.  Martin,  chief  engineer;  William  L.  Kenly,  principal  assistant 
engineer;  Charles  P.  JIauning,  consulting  engineer;  R.  B.  Hook, 
resident  eugiueer,  H.  B.  McLane,  as=iistant  engineer,  in  charge  of 
First  Residency ;  William  R.  Warfield,  resident  engineer,  W.  W. 
Kenly,  assishiut  engineer,  George  L.  Cummins,  assistant  engineer, 
in  charge  of  Second  Residency;  G.  0.  Swann,  resident  engineer, 
John  Ridgi-ly.  iissistant  engineer,  in  cburgo  ..f  Third  Residency; 
Charles  'I'    ,M niu.i.    pKiii  r,._M,,,,,l,. ( >.  MacTavish,  as- 


losident  engineer, 
fSi.\lh  Residency; 
1880,  William  A. 


Charles  A.  Houk,  resident  engineer  to 

Chapman,  assistant  engineer,  and  resident  engineer  from  April 

1880,  in  charge  of  Seventh  Uesideucy;  Matt 

man  ;  A.  H.  Tinges,  resident  engineer.  Will 

eugiueer,  iu  charge  of  Eighth  Residency. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

E1)UC.\TI0.N. 


The  First  Schools— Public  Schools  and  Colleges— St.  Mary's  Seminary- 
Johns  Hopkins  University— St.  Cathaiine's  Normal  School— Oliver 
Hibernian  Flee  School— Floating  School— Baltimore  Female  College, 


While  the  early  settlers  of  JIaryland  doubtless 
entertained  no  little  reverence  for  education,  all  the 
evidence  goes  to  show  that  the  majority  of  them  were 
more  interested  in  horse-racing  and  cock-fighting  than 
in  books.  Some  of  the  first  colonists,  indeed,  were 
men  of  high  culture,  but  the  generality  of  the  people 
had  to  subdue  and  replenish  the  land,  and  were  forced 
to  pay  more  attention  to  clearing  the  wilderness  and 
fighting  the  savages  than  to  mental  improvement. 
People  who  wanted  an  education  and  had  the  means 
went  to  England  to  get  it,  but  the  greater  part  of  the 
young  Marylanders  were  more  like  Harry  Warring- 
ton than  his  brother  George.  Fox-hunting  in  the 
morning  and  cards  or  dancing  at  night  left  them  little 
time  for  books.  The  earliest  effort  to  establish  a  public 
educational  institution  in  Maryland  was  made  in  the 
year  1671,  only  thirty-seven  years  after  the  first  settle- 


EDUCATION. 


ment  at  St.  Mary's,  and  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the 
Assembly  on  the  13th  of  April  in  that  year  for  found- 
ing and  erecting  a  school  or  college  within  the  prov- 
ince of  Maryland  for  the  education  of  youth  in  learn- 
ing and  virtue.  It  failed,  however,  to  become  a  law, 
and  it  was  not  until  1694  that  the  first  provision  was 
made  for  a  free  school  in  the  province,  which  resulted 
in  the  establishment  two  years  later  of  King  Wil- 
liam's Free  School  at  Annapolis.  On  the  24th  of 
June,  1714,  Governor  Hart,  who  was  one  of  the 
original  founders  of  public  education  in  Maryland, 
sent  the  following  query  to  the  clergy  of  the  province : 
"  Are  there  any  schoolmasters  within  your  respective 
parishes  that  came  from  England,  and  do  teach  with- 
out the  Lord  Bishop  of  London's  license,  or  that  came 
from  other  parts  and  teach  without  a  license  from  the 
Governor?"  The  general  answer  was,  "The  case  of 
schools  is  very  bad ;  good  schoolmasters  are  very  much 
wanting;  what  we  have  are  very  insufficient;  and  of 
their  being  qualified  by  the  Bishop  of  London's  or 
Governor's  license,  it  has  been  utterly  neglected." 
Several  notable  schools,  among  which  were  St.  John's 
at  Annapolis,  and  Washington  College  at  Chester- 
towu,  were  set  up  in  the  province  at  different  dates, 
but  the  first  general  free  school  act  was  that  of  1723, 
chapter  XIX.,  which  provided  a  per  capita  tobacco 
tax  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  county  and 
parish  schools.  By  this  act  seven  persons  were  ap- 
pointed in  each  county  trustees  to  establish  in  the 
centre  of  the  county  one  school  for  the  boarding  of 
children.  The  trustees  for  Baltimore  County  were 
Rev.  William  Tibbs,  Col.  John  Dorsey,  William 
Hamilton,  John  Stokes,  John  Israel,  Thomas  Tolley, 
and  Thomas  Sheredine.  These  schools  were,  per- 
haps, the  nucleus  out  of  which  our  excellent  county 
-academies  grew ;  but  at  that  time  they  did  not  work 
well  nor  make  rapid  progress,  except  in  the  unfre- 
quent  cases  when  the  clergyman  of  the  parish  was  a 
man  of  piety  and  learning  and  able  to  take  charge  of 
the  school  him.self.  The  schoolmasters  were  generally 
a  low  and  dissolute  set,  more  than  half  of  them  being 
redemptioners  and  servants.  They  had  Latin  and 
Greek  enough,  perhaps,  but  were  of  the  "  hedge 
priest"  class,  drunken  in  habits.severe  and  capricious 
in  discipline,  and  teaching  in  a  rude,  irregular  way.' 
The  school  fund  was  derived  from  a  tobacco  tax, 
and  from  a  tax  of  twenty  shillings  per  poll  laid  upon 
each  Irish  Catholic  servant  and  each  negro  slave  im- 
ported into  the  colony.  There  was  also  a  three  pence 
per  hogshead  tax  on  exported  tobacco,  of  which  one- 


.  T2,  17G0,  .Ii. 


hiilteia,  i\ 


es  a  parcel  of 

Mr.  Ciiiinoli'a 
...v,  w,  iting  ia 


half  went  to  schools.  The  earliest  school  fund,  how- 
ever, was  provided  by  the  act  of  1695,  entitled  an  act 
for  the  "  encouragement  of  learning,"  by  which  all 
persons  residing  in  the  province  were  forbidden  to 
export  any  furs  or  skins  therein  mentioned  except  on 
the  payment  of  certain  specified  duties,  to  be  appro- 
priated to  the  maintenance  of  free  schools.  As  the 
fur  trade  was  a  large  and  profitable  one  at  this  period, 
the  revenue  derived  from  it  constituted  the  school 
fund  for  nearly  thirty  years.  By  this  act  every  ex- 
ported bear-skin  paid  9rf.  sterling ;  beaver,  4rf. ;  otter, 
3d. ;  wild-cats,  foxes,  minks,  fishers,  wolves'  skins, 
IJrf. ;  musk-rat,  4rf.  per  dozen;  raccoons,  3  farthings 
per  skin  ;  elk-skins,  12rf.  per  skin ;  deer-skins,  4d.  per 
skin ;  young  bear-skins,  2d.  per  skin.  All  non-resi- 
dent exporters  of  these  furs  were  to  pay  double.  On 
the  29th  of  May,  1724,  the  Bishop  of  London  ad- 
dressed the  following  query  to  the  Episcopal  clergy- 
men of  Maryland :  "  Have  you  in  your  parish  any 
public  school  for  the  instruction  of  youth?  If  you 
have,  is  it  endowed,  and  who  is  the  master?"  The 
replies  show  that  while  there  were  a  number  of  pri- 
vate schools  in  the  province,  there  were  scarcely  above 
half  a  dozen  public  schools  throughout  its  entire 
limits,  and  most  of  these  were  small  and  insignificant. 
Among  the  rest,  Mr.  Tibbs,  rector  of  St.  Paul's  Parish, 
Baltimore  County,  replied,  "  I  have  no  public  school 
in  my  parish  for  the  instruction  of  youth."  Boys  of 
wealth,  however,  frequently  had  their  private  tutors, 
or  were  sent  to  the  mother-country  for  their  educa- 
tion, and  in  some  sections  the  clergymen  founded 
good  schools.  In  1745,  Kev.  Thomas  Cradock  be- 
came rector  of  St.  Thomas'  Parish,  in  Baltimore 
County,  and  in  1747  began  a  school  at  his  own  resi- 
dence. From  his  advertisement  in  the  Maryland 
Gazette  at  this  time,  we  learn  that  he  took  young  men 
into  his  family  and  taught  them  the  Latin  and  Greek 
languages,  and  furnished  them  with  board,  at  fifty- 
three  dollars  per  annum.  This  seminary  became  a 
famous  seat  of  learning,  for  it  was  here  that  some  of 
the  oldest  and  most  distinguished  men  of  the  prov- 
ince were  educated,  among  whom  were  the  Lees  and 
Barnes,  of  Charles  County,  the  Spriggs  and  Bowies, 
of  Prince  George's,  and  the  Dulanys,  of  Anne  Arun- 
del. The  school  received  many  of  its  pupils  from 
the  lower  countie.s,  and  was  maintained  during  the 
whole  of  Mr.  Cradock's  life.  Mr.  Cradock  died  in 
1770.  He  was  a  graduate  of  one  of  the  English  uni- 
versities, and  a  brother  of  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin. 
He  was  a  fine  poet  and  scholar,  had  a  large  minis- 
terial influence,  and  was  no  mean  author.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  schoolmasters  of  the  day  were,  as  has 
been  said,  of  a  much  less  distinguished  character, 
and  were  often  more  noted  for  their  personal  irregu- 
larities than  for  their  learning  or  virtue.  According 
to  the  returns  of  the  number  of  Schoolmaslers  in  the 
province,  made  to  the  Governor  in  1754,  we  find 
among  them  "  Enoch  Magruder's  convict  servant," 
"Jeremiah  Berry's  indented  servant,"  "John  Hag- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


gerty's  indented  servant,"  "  Thomas  Harrison,  a  con- 
vict," and  "  Daniel  Wallahorn's  convict  servant." 
Parents,  even  in  tliose  rude  days,  were  naturally 
averse  to  intrusting  the  education  of  their  children 
to  this  kind  of  teachers,  and  douhtless  entertained  a 
well-grounded  apprehension  that  in  such  schools  the 
young  idea  might  be  taught  to  shoot  in  directions 
decidedly  the  reverse  of  classical.  With  this  expla- 
nation it  is  easy  to  under.?tand  the  numerous  adver- 
tisements of  this  period  calling  for  teachers  of  "  good 
sober  character,"  who  seem  to  have  been  as  greatly 
needed  in  Baltimore  Town  as  in  other  sections  of  the 
province.  On  the  27th  of  February,  1752,  C.  Crox- 
all,  of  Baltimore,  advertises  in  the  Maryland  Gazette 
for  "  a  person  of  a  good  sober  character,  who  under- 
stands teaching  English,  writing,  and  arithmetic,  and 
will  undertake  a  school,"  and  on  the  12th  of  March 
following,  the  same  advertisement  is  repeated  by  the 
■'inhabitants  of  Baltimore  Town."  James  Gardner 
kept  a  school  at  this  period  at  the  corner  of  South 
and  Water  (Lombard)  Streets,  but  from  these  adver- 
tisements it  would  seem  that  he  was  not  sufficient  for 
the  literary  needs  of  the  little  town.  Ten  years  later, 
in  February,  1762,  John  Archer  announces  that  he 
will  open  "  a  grammar  school"  in  Baltimore  Town  ; 
and  a  few  weeks  later  Thomas  Lyttleton,  who  "  had 
been  employed  for  a  considerable  time  in  the  educa- 
tion of  youth  in  and  about  London,"  advertises  that 
he  "teaches  writing,  arithmetic  (both  vulgar  and 
decimal),  merchants'  accounts,  geometry,  etc.,  in  a  j 
house  adjoining  Mr.  Roberts'  store,  where  the  pro- 
vincial office  (land  office)  used  to  be  kept  in  the 
winter  season.  Young  ladies  are  taught  the  Italian 
hand."  The  "  Italian  hand"  seemed  to  have  proved 
a  success,  for  in  the  following  year  he  repeats  his  ad- 
vertisement, and  concludes  with  the  somewhat  incon- 
gruous announcement  that  he  has  for  sale  "  choice  ; 
West  India  rum  by  the  hogshead,  loaf-sugar,  coffee,  ' 
chocolate,  Madeira  wine,  and  cedar  desks."  A  free 
school  would  seem  to  have  been  established  about  ! 
this  period  in  Baltimore,  for  in  October,  1766,  Wil- 
liam Young,  who  lived  near  Joppa,  advertised  that  a 
"  master"  was  wanted  at  "  Baltimore  Free  School," 
"  capable  of  teaching  the  English  language,  writing, 
surveying,  and  arithmetic.  Such  a  person,  if  a  sober 
man,  will  meet  with  good  encouragement  from  the 
visitors  of  said  school." '  In  1785  the  great  lexi-  i 
I'ographer,  Noah  Webster,  visited  Mount  Vernon,  and 
was  so  much  pleased  with  what  he  saw  of  Baltimore  ; 
in  his  passage  through  the  town,  that  on  his  return 
he  determined  to  take  up  his  residence  here  for  a  { 
l)rief  perioc*  at  least,  and  on  the  25th  day  of  May,  in  ! 
that  year,  adveitised  in  the  Maryland  Journalt\\a.t  he 
would  open  a  school  in  Baltimore 

"  fur  the  iDstructioD  of  young  gentlemen  and  ladies  iti  reading,  spealting, 
and  writing  the  Englisli  language  with  propriety  and  correctness.    He   [ 
will  also  teach  vocal  music  in  as  great  perfection  as  it  is  tanght  in   i 


America."  "  It  is  a  very  common  and  very  just  complaint,"  he  says, 
"  that  nothing  is  neglected  so  much  as  the  study  of  our  own  native  lan- 
guage. From  what  cause  the  neglect  proceeds  it  is  needless  to  examine, 
as  the  fact  is  equally  lamented  and  acknowledged.  He  expects,  as  an 
indispensable  condition,  that  the  school  should  be  patronized  by  families 
of  reputation,  and  he  himself  will  be  responsible  for  the  success  of  the 
undertaking.  For  particulars,  inquire  of  the  subscriber  at  his  lodgings 
at  Mrs.  Sanderson's,  opposite  South  Street."  2 

Whether  this  school  was  ever  opened  or  not  does 
not  appear,  but  in  the  following  autumn  it  was  an- 
nounced that  "on  the  evening  of  October  19th,  at 
Dr.  Allison's  church  (First  Presbyterian),  Mr.  Web- 
ster will  begin  to  read  a  short  course  of  lectures  on 
the  English  language,"  the  heads  of  which  are  as 
follows : 

"I. — Introduction,  general  history  of  the  English  language;  cause 
and  effects  of  its  copiousness, — its  irregularity  in  orthography  and  con* 
struction.  Defects  of  the  alphabet.  Remarks  on  school  books  and  the 
practice  of  using  the  Bible  in  schools. 

*'  II. — General  rules  respecting  the  pronunciation  of  words  ;  deviations 
from  the  rules  of  propriety  and  from  the  practice  of  the  best  speakere. 

"  III.— Errors  in  pronouncing  and  printing  certain  classes  of  words; 
corruptions  of  the  language ;  effects  of  these  upon  its  simplicity  and 
harmony  ;  folly  of  imitating  fashionable  improprieties. 

"IV. — Errors  in  the  use  of  words;  mistakes  and  defects  of  English 
grammars;  remarks  on  English  verse,  with  rules  for  reading  poetry. 

" v.— General  remarks  on  education;  defects  in  the  mode  of  in. 
structing  youth  in  the  several  branches  of  science;  effects  of  education 
on  individuals,  society,  and  morals." 

Tickets  for  the  whole  course  were  7s.  6rf.,  for  a 
single  lecture  one  quarter-dollar.  It  was  also  an- 
nounced at  the  same  time  that  "  on  the  stated  even- 
ings for  singing,  the  audience  will  be  entertained  with 
the  whole  performance  in  vocal  music."  Stimulated 
in  all  probability  by  these  lectures,  a  public  meeting 
was  held  on  the  27th  of  March  in  the  following  year 
(1786),  at  which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Carroll  presided,  to 
consider  the  establishment  of  an  academy  in  Balti- 
more. The  great  importance  and  necessity  of  such  an 
institution  was  so  manifest  that  it  was  unanimously 
agreed  that  a  committee  representing  the  diffisrent 
Christian  denominations  of  the  town  should  be  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  a  plan,  to  be  reported  at  a  subse- 
quent meeting  at  Mrs.  Ball's  Coffee-House.  A  plan 
wa-s  accordingly  prepared  and  adopted,  and  in  June 
thirteen  trustees  elected  for  management  of  the  insti- 
tution; and  in  the  same  month  Daniel  Bowley,  John 
Kernan,  Wra.  Patterson,  Engelhard  Yeiser,  Peter 
Hoffman,  Michael  Diffenderffer,  Jesse  Hollingsworth, 
Richard  Lemmon,  and  Andrew  EUicott  were  ap- 
pointed to  solicit  subscriptions  for  its  support.  The 
academy  was  situated  on  Charles  Street,  and  was  con- 
ducted in  the  beginning  by  Edward  Langworthy,  who 
taught  the  classics,  and  Andrew  Ellicott,  of  Joseph, 
surveyor  of  the  United  States,  who  presided  over  the 
department  of  mathematics,  natural  philosophy,  etc. 
In  spite  of  the  encouraging  auspices  under  which  the 
enterprise  was  begun,  it  does  not  appear  to  have  re- 
ceived any  marked  degree  of  public  patronage,  and 
was  not  continued  very  long.  The  zeal  for  education, 
however,  would  seem  to  have  been  only  quickened  by 


EDUCATION. 


225 


this  failure,  and  in  1789  the  town  seems  to  have  been 
literally  overrun  with  teachers.  Among  those  who 
offered  their  services  to  the  public  in  this  capacity  in 
that  year  were  Stephen  Merrill,  Mr.  Sweeny,  John 
Deaver,  Wm.  Graham,  Mr.  Hogan,  Augustus  Konig 
(professor  of  German),  Joseph  Paillottel  (professor 
of  French),  and  Mark  Morris.  The  following  is  a 
fair  sample   of  the   school   announcement   of  those 


"  Stephen  Merrill,  from  Boston,  teaches  school  at  the  house  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  Kesley's  School-house,  on  Howard's  Hill.  Having 
every  convenience  for  u  school,  and  an  accomplished  assistant,  he  begs 
leave  to  inform  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  that  he  teaches  beginners 
at  12s.  6d.  per  quarter.  Writing  and  arithmetic  15  shillings.  He  will 
teach  book-keeping,  surveying,  etc.,  on  the  most  reasonable  terms.  He 
forbears  to  bestow  any  encomiums  on  his  abilities  or  character,  only 
wishing  those  that  have  a  desire  to  inquire  of  those  who  have  been  his 
employers  for  these  four  months  past;  and  if  indefatigable  industry  will 
be  a  recommendation,  he  flatters  himself  he  will  gain  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  public." 

In  1796  anew  "Baltimore  Academy"  was  estab- 
lished, and  on  the  25th  of  February  the  trustees  an- 
nounced that  it  would  be  opened  on  the  2d  of  May 
following  in  the  "elegant  building  lately  purchased 
from  Mr.  Grant  for  that  purpose."  This  school  was 
divided  into  two  departments,  one  for  males  and  one 
for  females ;  the  principal  of  the  male  department  was 
James  Priestly,  of  Georgetown,  and  the  principal  of 
the  female  department  was  Levi  Noyer.  The  studies 
iu  the  male  department  were  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic,  English  grammar,  geography,  with  the  use 
of  the  globes,  rhetoric,  logic,  history,  and  the  learned 
languages,  natural  and  moral  philosophy,  geometry, 
trigonometry,  navigation,  surveying,  astronomy,  and 
a  general  system  of  the  mathematics."  The  studies 
in  the  female  department  were  reading,  writing,  arith- 
metic, English  grammar,  geography  with  the  use  of 
the  globes,  rhetoric,  logic,  natural  and  moral  phi- 
losophy, and  a  general  sysliem  of  history.  The  man- 
agers or  trustees  of  the  school  were  Philip  Rogers, 
Adam  Fonerden,  James  McCannon,  Henry  Willis, 
John  Hagerty,  William  Bruff,  and  Nelson  Reed. 
The  academy  building  was  situated  in  Light  Street, 
near  the  Light  Street  Methodist  church,  and  was  de- 
stroyed in  the  fire  of  Dec.  4,  1796.  An  effort  was 
made  to  rebuild  it  in  the  following  year,  but  with 
what  success  is  uncertain.  Mr.  Priestly  afterwards 
kept  a  school  in  St.  Paul's  Lane,  which  may  have 
been  a  continuation  of  the  same  institution.  In  1803, 
in  conjunction  with  Bishop  Carroll,  Mr.  Priestly  ob- 
tained a  charter  for  the  "Baltimore  College,"  for 
which  a  building  was  erected  on  Mulberry  Street  by 
the  aid  of  a  lottery .• 

As  has  been  shown  already,  free  schools  had  been 
authorized  in  each  of  the  twelve  counties  of  the  State 
by  the  act  of  1723,  and  the  funds  provided  by  pre- 
vious acts  for  the  support  of  county  scholars  were  dis- 
tributed among  them.     But  though   interest  in  the 


I  June,  1797,  Joseph  Townsend,  18  Baltimore  Street, 

;her  "fur  tlie  Baltimore  African  Academy  now  ready  to  begin 


subjectof  public  education  was  manifested  in  repeated 
acts  of  legislation,  the  free  schools  that  had  been  es- 
tablished in  the  several  counties  did  not  [flourish. 
There  were  funds,  but  there  could  not  be  found  outside 
of  the  clergy  capable  teachers,  and  a  system  which 
was  productive  of  expense,  but  of  little  practical 
benefit,  soon  came  into  disrepute.  Little,  however, 
was  done  to  remedy  the  defects  of  the  system  until 
1812,  when  a  fund  arising  from  the  incorporation  of 
several  banks  and  turnpikes  was  appropriated  to  the 
establishment  of  free  schools  throughout  the  State. 
This  is  a  noted  event  in  the  history  of  Maryland 
education,  as  it  is  the  first  permanent  provision  made 
for  the  support  of  free  schools  in  the  State. 

In  1816  an  act  was  passed  appointing  nine  school 
commissioners  in  each  county,  who  were  to  distribute 
the  funds  arising  from  the  act  of  1812,  and  for  other 
purposes.  It  was  not,  however,  until  1826  that  the 
present  public  school  system  was  established.  On  the 
28th  of  February  in  that  year  an  act  was  passed  for 
the  establishment  of  primary  schools  throughout  the 
State,  and  on  the  same  day  the  mayor  and  City  Council 
of  Baltimore  were  authorized  by  a  further  act  to  es- 
tablish public  schools  in  Baltimore.'^ 

On  the  27th  of  January,  1827,  an  ordinance  was 
adopted  by  the  City  Council  approving  and  accepting 
the  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  on  the  8th  of 
March,  1828,  another  ordinance  was  adopted  creating 
a  board  of  commissioners  of  public  schools,  and  in- 
vesting them  with  the  power  to  establish  schools. 
By  its  provisions  six  commissioners  were  elected  by 
the  two  branches  of  the  City  Council  annually  in  the 
month  of  January,  who  should  constitute  a  board,  of 
which  the  mayor  was  the  president  ex  officio.  They 
were  directed  to  divide  the  city  into  six  school  dis- 
tricts, and  to  establish  one  school  in  each  district  on 
the  monitorial  plan,  each  school  to  be  divided  into 
two  departments,  one  for  males  and  the  other  for 
females,  and  every  child  should  pay  one  dollar  per 
quarter,  unless  excepted  therefrom  by  the  commis- 
sioners. The  following  well-known  citizens  consti- 
tuted the  first  Board  of  Commissioners,  all  of  whom 
are  now  deceased :  Jacob  Small,  John  B.  Morris, 
Fielding  Lucas,  Jr.,  Joseph  Cushing,  John  Reese, 
and  William  Hubbard. 

From  various  causes  nothing  was  done  towards 
opening  the  schools  until  July  21,  1829,  when  the 
board  determined  to  establish  four  schools,  two  in  the 
eastern  and  two  in  the  western  section  of  the  city. 
On  the  21st  of  September,  1829,  the  first  public  school 
in  Baltimore  City  was  opened  in  the  basement  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  then  on  the  east  side  of  Eutaw 
Street,  between  Saratoga  and  Mulberry  Streets,  and 
was  placed  under  the  charge  of  William  H.  Coffin, 
who  was  the  first  public  school-teacher  in  Baltimore. 
On   the   28th   September  two   other  schools  were 


■  The  primary  school  bill  of  1825  was  framed  by  i 

sed  of  Messrs.  Teackle,  Brooks,  McCullongh,  Goldsborough,  Duvall, 

inals,  and  S.  K.  Smith. 


226 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


opened,  under  the  charge  of  Thompson  Randolph  and 
Harriet  D.  Randolph,  on  Bond  Street,  near  Canton 
Avenue.  The  fourth  school  was  not  opened  until  the 
next  year,  because  a  suitable  room  could  not  be  ob- 
tained for  the  purpose  in  the  western  section  of  the 
city  ;  but  the  otiiers  were  soon  filled,  and  numerous 
applications  for  .admission  were  declined  for  want  of 
room. 

The  first  pupil  enrolled  in  the  public  schools  was 
Andrew  Reese,  a  son  of  one  of  the  commissioners, 
who  thus  evidenced  his  appreciation  of  the  work  in 
which  he  was  engaged. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  1830,  an  ordinance  was  adopted 
reducing  into  one  the  several  ordinances  relating  to 
public  schools,  and  by  which  the  powers  and  duties 
of  commissioners  were  increased.  During  that  year 
a  tax  of  twelve  and  a  half  cents  on  every  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  assessable  property  was  levied  for  the 
support  of  the  schools,  which  gave  some  assurance  to 
the  commissioners  that  their  work  was  appreciated 
and  that  their  future  efforts  would  be  sustained. 

The  schools  were  conducted  on  the  monitorial  plan 
until  18.39,  and  were  designated  simply  public  schools, 
there  being  no  distinct  separation  between  the  primary 
and  grammar  schools.  The  schools  for  boys  were 
taught  entirely  by  male  teachers  until  nearly  twenty 
years  after  their  establishment,  at  which  time  female 
assistants  were  introduced  with  great  success.  Since 
then  female  teachers  have  been  appointed  in  every 
department  of  the  schools,  and  they  now  constitute 
seven-eighths  of  the  whole  number,  there  being  eight 
hundred  and  twenty  teachers,  of  whom  seven  hundred 
and  four  are  female. 

The  number  of  pupils  during  the  first  year  was  two 
hundred  and  sixty-nine,  with  three  teachers,  which 
increased  until  1835,  when  it  was  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-seven,  with  eight  teachers.  During  the  next 
three  years  the  number  declined  to  six  hundred  and 
seventy-five,  and  there  seemed  to  exist  the  necessity 
for  some  additional  stimulus  for  the  public  mind, 
which  was  furnished  in  1839,  when  a  reaction  occurred, 
and  the  number  of  pupils  commenced  to  increase 
rapidly,  so  that  during  the  next  ten  years  the  number 
increased  to  six  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty- 
three,  under  the  charge  of  one  hundred  and  seven 
teachers. 

Evening  schools  were  opened  for  the  first  time  for 
the  benefit  of  those  who  could  not  attend  during  the 
day,  and  the  experiment  proved  to  be  a  great  success. 
In  March,  after  mature  deliberation  and  much  discus- 
sion, a  resolution  was  adopted  allowing  the  use  of  the 
Bible  in  all  the  schools  as  a  reading  book,  the  teachers 
being  instructed  in  all  cases  to  allow  the  Douay  edi- 
tion to  be  used  by  those  children  whose  parents  prefer 
the  same  to  the  common  translation. 

By  a  resolution  adopted  by  the  City  Council  March 
7, 1839,  the  commissioners  were  requested  to  establish 
a  male  high  school,  in  which  the  higher  branches  of 
English   and   classical    literature   should   be  taught. 


This  was  doubtless  in  response  to  the  demand  of  in- 
telligent public  sentiment,  and  it  has  had  a  most  im- 
portant influence  upon  the  schools,  and  was  the  stim- 
ulus that  was  needed  to  promote  their  greater  success. 

Tlie  Male  Central  High  School  was  opened  on  the 
20th  October,  1839,  in  a  rented  building  on  Courtland 
Street,  under  the  charge  of  Dr.  Nathan  C.  Brooks  as 
principal,  with  forty-six  pupils.  Dr.  Brooks  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1849  by  Rev.  Francis  Waters,  who  was  fol- 
lowed in  1853  by  John  A.  Getty.  The  latter  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1854  by  George  Morrison,  and  he  in  1857 
by  Thomas  D.  Baird.  Upon  the  death  of  Dr.  Baird 
in  1873  the  present  incumbent,  William  Elliott,  Jr., 
who  had  been  connected  with  the  school  since  1851, 
was  elected  principal. 

By  ordinance  dated  Oct.  9,  1866,  the  name  was 
cliauged  to  that  of  Baltimore  City  College,  and  the 
board  was  authorized  to  confer  diplomas  on  its  gradu- 
ates. At  first  the  admissions  to  this  school  were  con- 
fined entirely  to  those  who  had  been  pupils  of  the 
grammar  schools  and  had  passed  a  prescribed  satis- 
factory examination,  but  it  was  afterwards  changed 
so  as  to  admit  any  applicant  who  passed  the  required 
examination,  and  had  a  good  moral  character. 

This  school  was  removed  in  1840  to  rooms  over  the 
present  office  of  the  Firemen's  In.surance  Company,  at 
the  corner  of  South  and  Second  Streets,  but  the  accom- 
modations were  insufficient  for  the  number  of  pupils, 
and  in  1841  it  was  again  removed,  to  a  building  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  Lombard  and  Hanover  Streets; 
but  the  location  was  unsatisfactory  and  not  adapted 
to  the  wants  of  the  institution,  so  that  in  1842  it  was 
again  removed,  to  the  old  building  on  Courtland 
Street  first  occupied  by  it. 

The  board  then  made  an  earnest  effort  to  obtain  a 
more  suitable  building,  and  applied  to  the  City  Coun- 
cil for  permission  to  purchase  or  lease  one  more  cen- 
trally located  and  with  better  accommodations. 

After  an  examination  of  several  sites  it  recom- 
mended the  selection  of  the  property  at  the  corner  of 
Holliday  and  Fayette  Streets,  then  known  as  the 
"Assembly  Rooms  and  Theatre  Tavern,"  and  by  an 
ordinance  of  the  City  Council,  adopted  March  11, 
1844,  the  board  was  authorized  to  purchase  the  above 
property  for  the  sum  of  $23,000,  subject  to  ground- 
rent  of  $261  on  the  former  and  $90  on  the  latter 
building,  making  $351  in  all,  and  the  deed  was  exe- 
cuted that  year.  -The  old  tavern  was  removed,  and 
its  site  was  used  as  a  yard  for  the  school,  which  was 
then  transferred  to  its  new  apartments,  where  it  re- 
mained until  the  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1873,  and  the  school  was  again  removed  to  Court- 
land  Street,  in  the  building  formerly  occupied  by 
Baltimore  Female  College.  It  remained  there  until 
February,  1875,  when  the  new  building  on  Howard 
Street  was  completed,  and  the  institution  was  then 
removed  there,  where  it  is  now  located,  with  five 
hundred  and  twenty-six  pupils. 

In  the  Rules  of  Order  of  the  Board  of  School  Com- 


EDUCATION. 


missioners  it  is  provided  that  there  shall  be  an  ex- 
amination of  candidates  for  admission  to  the  Balti- 
more City  College  annually  in  the  month  of  July, 
conducted  by  the  faculty,  under  the  direction  of  the 
committee,  and  the  result  submitted  to  the  board. 
To  this  examination  are  eligible  boys  not  less  than 
fourteen  years  of  age,  who  have  spent  in  public 
grammar  schools  the  two  full  quarters  next  preceding 
the  time  of  the  examination,  if  they  possess  good 
moral  character  and  have  paid  their  fees  in  full. 
Also,  on  the  same  conditions,  boys  are  eligible  who, 
being  not  less  than  twelve  years  of  age,  have  passed 
two  full  scholastic  years  next  preceding  in  the  public 
grammar  schools.  These  candidates  will  be  admitted 
to  the  college  upon  passing,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
committee,  an  examination  in  spelling,  English  gram- 
mar, geography,  arithmetic,  and  algebra  through 
simple  equations  involving  three  unknown  quanti- 
ties. Boys  of  not  less  than  fourteen  years  of  age,  who 
are  not  pupils  of  the  grammar  schools,  are  eligible  for 
examination  for  admission,  and  the  committee  are 
authorized  to  direct  their  examination  at  such  times 
as  it  may  deem  proper;  the  requirements  and  stand- 
ard being,  however,  the  same  as  those  required  of 
grammar-school  pupils.  The  regular  time  of  this  ex- 
amination is  annually,  on  the  first  Monday  in  Sep- 
tember. 

The  .first  annual  commencement  of  the  Male  Cen- 
tral High  School  took  place  on  the  27th  ot  Novem- 
ber, 1851,  with  eight  graduates,  and  the  honorary  ad- 
dress was  delivered  by  Hon.  S.  Teackle  Wallis. 

In  1843  vocal  music  was  introduced  into  the  schools, 
at  the  request  of  many  parents  and  patrons,  and  in 
1846  drawing  was  made  a  branch  of  study  in  the  High 
School. 

The  year  1844  was  an  important  period  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  female  schools.  The  board,  appreciating 
the  beneficial  results  of  the  Male  High  School  for  boys, 
had  earnestly  recommended  the  organization  of  two 
Female  High'  Schools,  and  the  City  Council  having 
approved  the  recommendation  and  given  authority 
to  the  commissioners,  they  established  two  schools 
during  the  year, — the  Eastern  Female  High  School 
in  the  building  at  the  corner  of  Front  and  Fayette 
Streets,  and  the  Western  Female  High  School  in  a 
rented  building  on  North  Paca  Street.  In  1852  the 
former  was  removed  to  the  new  building  on  Aisquith 
Street,  which  was  again  rebuilt  and  enlarged  in  1869; 
and  in  1846  the  latter  was  removed  to  the  southwest 
corner  of  Fayette  and  Green  Streets,  where  it  re- 
mained until  September,  1858,  when  it  was  removed 
to  the  new  building  on  Fayette  Street  now  occupied 
by  the  school.  The  first  annual  commencement  of 
these  schools  took  place  on  Oct.  25  and  28,  1853,  with 
graduates,  and  honorary  addresses  were  delivered  by 
Hon.  Robert  M.  McLane  and  Dr.  Stuart  Robinson. 

In  1847  and  1848  female  teachers  were  appointed 
in  some  of  the  male  schools  with  marked  success,  and 
the  result  settled  the  future  policy  of  the  system  with 


reference  to  the  employment  of  females  in  these 
schools,  from  which  they  had  previously  been  ex- 
cluded. In  the  latter  year  a  change  was  made  in  the 
character  of  the  schools,  by  engrafting  upon  the 
system  the  grade  of  primary  schools.  Previous  to 
this  time  there  had  not  been  any  distinct  grades  es- 
tablished, but  the  necessity  seemed  to  be  so  apparent 
that  it  was  determined  to  organize  separate  schools 
for  the  younger  children,  in  which  they  should  be 
taught  the  primary  and  elementary  branches,  and 
prepared  for  the  schools  of  higher  grade,  which  were 
thereafter  to  be  designated  grammar  schools.  This 
was  the  basis  of  our  present  symmetrically  graded 
system  of  primary,  grammar,  and  high  schools,  which 
has  not  been  changed  except  in  the  amount  of  studies 
in  some  of  the  classes. 

In  September,  1851,  the  Eastern  and  Western  Nor- 
mal Classes  were  organized,  the  former  in  the  Eastern 
Female  High  School,  under  the  charge  of  Emily  E. 
Jones,  and  the  latter  in  the  Western  Female  High 
School,  under  Eliza  Adams,  two  of  the  most  efiicient 
female  teachers.  These  classes  were  discontinued  in 
1858,  and  a  Central  Normal  Class  was  organized,  to 
which  male  pupils  were  also  admitted,  and  placed 
under  the  charge  of  a  male  principal,  with  male  and 
female  assistants,  which  still  continues,  and  is  ac- 
complishing good  results. 

Previous  to  1867  no  provision  had  been  made  by 
the  city  for  the  education  of  colored  children.  The 
only  instruction  received  by  them  was  at  private 
schools,  or  at  the  free  schools  which  had  been  organ- 
ized by  the  Association  for  the  Improvement  of  Col- 
ored People,  which  had  been  sustained  by  private 
contributions.  On  the  10th  of  July  of  that  year  an 
ordinance  was  adopted  directing  the  Board  of  School 
Commissioners  to  establish  separate  schools  for  the 
colored  children,  under  the  same  rules  as  governed 
the  white  public  schools.  This  was  in  response  to  the 
request  of  the  above-mentioned  association,  which 
had  petitioned  the  city  to  take  charge  of  its  schools, 
and  provide  for  their  support.  The  board  pro- 
ceeded to  organize  these  schools,  and  in  September 
they  commenced  with  about  one  thousand  pupils. 
It  asked  the  City  Council  for  ten  thousand  dollars, 
but  no  appropriation  was  made,  and  the  board  was 
without  the  necessary  means  for  their  support.  The 
city  registrar  declined  to  pay  the  salaries  and  other 
expenses,  and  the  only  income  was  from  the  use  of 
books,  which  the  board  authorized  the  teachers  to 
apply  to  the  payment  of  their  salaries.  This  con- 
dition continued  until  November,  1867,  when  a  new 
Board  of  Commissioners  was  elected,  which  urged  the 
appropriation  for  the  support  of  the  schools.  There 
existed  a  legal  doubt  as  to  whether  the  city  had  the 
power  to  appropriate  money  for  these  schools,  and 
accordingly  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  at  January 
session,  1868,  authorizing  the  city  to  establish  sepa- 
rate schools  for  the  education  of  colored  children, 
and  to  levy  and  appropriate  money  for  their  support. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


On  May  5,  1868,  the  City  Council  passed  an  ordi- 
nance autliorizing  the  new  board  to  reorganize.these 
schools,  and  appropriated  three  thousand  six  hundred 
dollars  to  pay  all  arrears  for  salaries  and  other  ex-  i 
penses,  and  also  the  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars 
for  their  support  for  the  year  1868,  in  addition  to  such 
taxes  as  might  be  paid  by  the  colored  people  for  edu-  j 
cational  purposes.  On  June  28,  1868,  the  board 
organized  ten  separate  schools  for  colored  children, 
under  the  charge  of  white  teachers,  since  which  time 
the  number  of  schools  and  pupils  has  increased.  The 
grade  of  the  schools  was  at  first  primary,  but  after- 
wards it  was  extended  so  as  to  include  grammar 
school  studies,  which  meets  the  demand  of  this  class 
of  pupils. 

In  1873  a  resolution  was  adopted  in  the  City  Coun- 
cil requesting  the  board  to  inquire  into  the  expediency 
of  introducing  the  study  of  the  German  language 
into  the  public  schools,  and  in  response  to  that  in- 
quiry, as  well  as  to  the  urgent  requests  of  many  citi-  i 
zens,  the  present  system  of  English-German  schools 
was  introduced.  Previous  to  that  time  the  language 
had  been  taught  in  the  City  College,  but  it  was  thus 
limited  to  those  who  entered  that  school ;  a  large 
number  of  pupils  never  received  any  such  instruc- 
tion. It  was  deemed  inexpedient  to  introduce  the 
language  into  all  the  primary  and  grammar  schools, 
or  to  make  it  obligatory  on  all  pupils,  and  hence  it 
was  thought  best  to  establish  separate  schools,  in  dif- 
ferent sections  of  the  city,  in  which  parallel  courses 
of  English  and  German  should  be  taught,  and  leave 
it  optional  with  children  to  attend. 

The  original  number  of  commissioners  was  six, 
which  was  increased  to  eight  in  1834,  to  nine  in  1836, 
to  twelve  in  1838,  to  thirteen  in  1840,  to  fourteen  in 
1842,  and  to  twenty  in  1846,  being  one  to  each  ward. 

The  ordinance  establishing  schools  in  the  city  lim- 
ited the  admission  to  children  under  twelve  years  of 
age,  which  was  afterwards  extended  to  fourteen  years,  1 
and  the  pupils,  therefore,  for  a  long  period  were  be-  j 
tween  the  ages  of  four  and  fourteen,  boys  between 
four  and  seven  being  admitted  to  the  girls'  schools, 
and  over  that  age  to  the  male  schools.  Subsequently 
the  rule  was  changed  to  conform  to  the  general  laws 
of  the  State,  by  which  the  school  age  is  now  between 
six  and  twenty-one  years. 

The  first  public  school-house  was  erected  in  the 
year  1830,  on  Aisquith  Street  near  Fayette  Street,  in 
the  eastern  .section  of  the  city,  and  the  next  was  in 
1882,  at  the  corner  of  Green  and  Fayette  Streets. 
The  former  has  been  sold  by  the  city,  and  a  more 
commodious  building  erected  for  the  school ;  the  lat- 
ter, which  has  been  rebuilt,  is  occupied  by  Male 
Grammar  and  Primary  School  No.  1.  Since  1832  a 
large  amount  hiis  been  invested  in  the  erection  of  new 
buildings  for  the  use  of  schools,  the  number  now 
owned  by  the  city  being  fifty-nine,  containing  about 
seven  hundred  class-rooms.  Many  of  these  houses, 
however,  are  improperly  designed  and  constructed, 


with  insufficient  room,  light,  and  ventilation,  and 
without  the  necessary  space  in  the  yards  to  permit 
proper  exercise  during  recess. 

The  whole  number  of  schools  under  the  supervision 
of  the  board  during  the  past  year  was  125,  contain- 
ing 36,337  enrolled  pupils,  classified  as  follows: 

One  Ballimore  City  College 560 

Two  Female  High  Schoole 846 

Thirty-eight  Grammar  Schools 10,660 

Fifty-nine  Primary  Schools 15,652 

Five  Public  (formerly  English-German)  Schools 3,440 

Fourteen  Colored  Day  Schools 4,139 

Four  Colored  Evening  Schools 781 

One  White  Evening  School 184 

One  Normal  School 75 

These  schools  have  been  conducted  by  822  teach- 
ers, with  an  average  daily  attendance  of  29,961,  and 
the  whole  number  of  different  pupils  during  the  year 
was  48,066. 

Numt>erof  white  pupils 31,417 

colored  pupils 4,920 

pay  pupils 12,496 

free  pupils 23,841 

male  teacliers 104 

female  teachers 718 

The  cost  per  pupil,  estimated  on  the  number  en- 
rolled, was  $16.98,  and  on  average  attendance  was 
$20.60,  for  the  current  expenses  of  the  schools ;  and 
was  $18.27  on  enrollment,  and  $22.16  on  average  at- 
tendance, for  the  current  expenses,  and  also  the 
amount  expended  by  the  inspector  of  buildings  for 
the  erection  and  repairs  of  buildings.  The  average 
annual  salary  of  the  teachers  was  $584,  and  of  the 
teachers  and  officers  of  the  board  $590,  thus  showing 
that  the  annual  cost  per  capita  of  the  pupils  and  the 
salaries  of  the  teachers  and  officers  are  much  less  than 
in  other  large  cities. 

White  Schools. 

Salaries  of  officers  and  teachers $457,943.30 

Eenis  of  lioiiees  and  fcround-rents 26,512.44 

Ilouks  ami  htatiniieiv 30,460.05 

SchooMiii,  ,  .;                                                              ,'.'.'■'.'        6.'618;46 
Fuel..,.  11,140.19 

Pnntii.g.  iiiii-.ln:,  .lud  luci-itiitjii 6',233!96 

$55.i,114.28 
Amount  paid  by  inspector  of  buildings  for 

new  houses  and  repairs: 
New  house — Male  Grammar  and  Primary 

School  No.  1— balance  duo 814.815.75 

New  house,  Grammar  School  No.  7 7,023.20 

Repair  of  old  houses 24,997.16 


T.itiil  expenses  of  white  schools 

S601,950.36 

Colored  Schools. 

$52,266.43 
3,249.75 
2,876.12 

Itepairs  of  buildings  and  furniture 

Supplies  and  iucidentals 

270^07 

Current  expenses  of  white  and  colored  schools 
Amount  paid  by  inspector  of  buildings  for 

white 

Total  cost  for  the  year  1880 

$663,988.74 

EDUCATION. 


The  estimated  expenses  for  1881  are  $647,845,  of 
which  $583,845  is  for  white,  and  $64,000  for  colored 
schools. 

Summary  Statement. 
Showing  the  yumber  of  Schools^  Teachers,  Pay  Pupils,  Free  Pupils,  on  ItoU 
Nov.   20,   1880,   Average,   Altmdance,    Percentage    of   AUenilance,    and 
Number  of  Different  Pupils  in  School  During  the  Year. 


Table  showing  the  number  of  pupils  and  teachers-  in  the  public  school  on  the 
last  day  of  each  fiscal  year,  from  the  year  1829,  when  the  firsl  public  school 
was  opened,  to  the  year  1S80,  inclusive. 


Baltimore  City  Cull,-.. 
East.  Female  His;h  >.  1 
West.  Female  Hi;;li  S 
Male  Grammar  .Srlii  i>  il . 
Female  Griimmui   S>  h 

Publics.! 1- 

Malel'iin.ii.  ^.  I- 


1  'liiii 

2  li-fo^M' 


Colo 


lie  T, 


Otiiee  Schools. 

Saturday  Normal  Class... 
Evening  School  (White). 
Evening  Schools  (Col.)... 


Day  .Schc 
Total... 


11979912,454  22,843  35,297  29,417  83.34 


5 1       751       75l       49,63 

3 !      184,      184|        8139 

15         42:      739       781       424  54.3 


;  12,496  23,841  36,337,29,961   82.45|  52,299 


Deduct  number  of  pupils  promoted  to  High  School 
and  City  College 

Deduct  number  of  pupils  promoted  to  Grammar 
Schools ; 


Actual  number  of  different  pupils  iu  school  i 


48,060 


berof  Hi;;!,  -■  I   l',,|  il-      

in   1m.  ,  -  .  ,  i  Siiturday  Normal 

Total  number  of  pupils  on  roll,  Nov.  20,  1880..  30,3)7 

Geadfs  of  Schools  Compaked— 1879  and  1880. 


1,040 


Schools. 

Number  in  1880. 
Number  in  1879. 

1 

i 

.2 

1 

1,400|    1,520' 

in.eon'  io,.'5ii)'  l^n 

S,44"     :t,!"'i      41 
36,337,36,505    321 

"  Grammar  Schools 

"  Public             "       

"  Primary         "       

"  Colored          "                            

168 

. 

pils. 

Date. 

Teachers 

4U2 

1856 

253 

246 

12,946 
11759 

040 
544 
859 
867 
814 

270 

12,263 

1859 

271 

12,419 

1861 

317 

319 

13,962 
14;382 

1126 
1834 

ISO5!!!""" 
1866 

358 

.";.'.".".'"      411 

16,086 
16,523 
17967 
18,896 

2471 

1868 

565 

558 

20,591 
23159 

3300 

.      571 

24,673 

26:3.57 

6017 
6439 
6699 
6763 
70U3 

624 

1874 

1875 

1870 

661 

706 

........'.      764 

29,108 
31,366 
31,404 

9081 
9447 
9717 

1878 

820 

36;505 

822 

36,337 

School  Buildings.— There  are  sixty-four  buildings 
now  occupied  by  the  schools,  of  which  fifty-nine  are 
owned  by  the  city,  and  their  value  estimated  at  about 
$1,100,000,  and  the  other  five  are  rented,  one  of  which 
has  good  accommodations,  and  the  other  four  are  un- 
suited  for  school  use.  Of  those  owned  by  the  city, 
three  are  occupied  by  the  City  College  and  female 
high  schools,  fourteen  by  grammar  schools,  twenty- 
five  by  primary  schools,  six  by  grammar  and  pri- 
mary schools  jointly,  four  by  public  schools,  one  by 
colored  grammar  school,  and  six  by  colored  primary 
schools. 

Faculty  of  Baltimore  Cifi/  Co/fege.— William  Elliott, 
Jr.,  A.M.,  Ph.D.,  Principal,  Professor  of  Higher 
Mathematics ;  James  R.  Webster,  Professor  of  Writing 
and  Book-keeping ;  A.  L.  Milles,  B.  A.,  Professor  of  the 
French  Language  and  Adjunct  Professor  of  Latin; 
Charles  F.  Eaddatz,  Professor  of  the  German  Lan- 
guage ;  Chapman  Maupin,  M.  A.,  Professorof  Latin  and 
Greek;  Powhatan  Clarke,  M.D.,  Professor  of  Natural 
Sfcience ;  Charles  C.  Wight,  Professor  of  History  and 
English  Literature  ;  Richard  W.  Preece,  Professor  of 
Drawing;  F.  A.  Soper,  A.M.,  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics and  Astronomy  ;  Alexander  Hamilton,  Adjunct 
Professor  of  English  and  Mathematics ;  Stephen  F. 
Norris,  Heningham  Gordon,  A.B.,  A.  Z.  Hartman, 
A.M.,  Tutors. 

Faculty  of  the  Eastern  Female  High  School.— W.  F. 
Wardenburg,  Astronomy,  Mental  Philosophy,  Alge- 
bra, Arithmetic ;  Elizabeth  A.  Baer,  Rhetoric,  Elocu- 
tion, Composition  ;  Phebe  J.  Tompkins,  Arithmetic, 
Composition ;  Sarah  L.  Bassford,  History,  Composi- 
tion ;  Mary  C.  Geddes,  Algebra,  Geometry,  Composi- 
tion ;  Laura  V.  DeValin,  Physiology,  English  Litera- 
ture, Composition ;  Louisa  Browning,  Grammar, 
Composition,  Literature,  Rhetoric,  Algebra;  Eliza  E. 
Nicolai,  History,  Natural  Philosophy,  Composition, 
Algebra;  Laura  M.  MuUin,  Drawing;  Armande  Du- 
breuil,  French;  W.  A.  Tarbutton,  Vocal  Music. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Table  containing  the  Location  of  Public  School  Buildings,  Size  of  Lots,  Size  of  Buildings,  Cost  of  Buildings, 
and  Date  of  Erection. 


et,  opposite  Centre 120  X  200 

1  Mullikin  Streets 102  X210 

"            "       I  Rear  building. 

et,  nearPaca '  98  X  144 

Kav.ltB  aii.l  Uiceiie  Streets I  97  X  102 

I  I',, 1,11,  ,,i,,i  r;r,-cne Streets '  VT^xlTO 

'   '■      ' 'I  HiinkStrcets |  100  X  HI 

■    I  i'"ayette 80X167 


74  X150       j    44X 


N,.rll,  »i,k-  llillSt.ect,  neai  Slunp 

North  side  Hollins  Street,  near  Fulton.... 

Corner  Cliesapealse  and  Hudson  Streets.. 

i  East  side  Holliday  Street,  near  Le.vingl,. 

EastsideSaratogaStn-.l,  II,  ,1  ^i    I m 

Nortll  side  East  Street,  1,    ,1' 

S.  E.  corner  Howard  ill i, I  ^i    ,,  ,     - 

Sontli  side  Eastern  .\m,i, I,  ,.,    ,     l       ,, 

Nortll  side  Barre  Strei't,  n,  mi  I  ni  ,„ 

North  side  Waesche  Street,  near  Ficuiio 


33  X  60 
.■iO  X 120 
HB  X  113 
50  X  72 
4.SX  68 
60  X    80 


174  Hamburg  Street 

St.  Stephen's  Church 

Chesapeake  Street,  near  Hudson.. 
Biddle  Street,  near  Pennsylvania 


Total  ground-rents. 

Total  value  of  buildings,  actual  and  estimated... 
Total  amount  of  rents 


1,()!14.7.5 
244.44 
918(10 
6110.00 
600.00 
800.01) 
360.00 
700.00 


600.00 
25.00 

120.00 
93.75 


lots  leased  for  Grammar  No.  8  and  Primary  No.  30  aggregate  289  feet  front,  but  only  160  of  it  are  used  1 


60,000 
17,350 
29,520 
10,0110 


lO.IHIO  • 
1(),(HI0  I 
18,791 
14,831 
6,(KX)  I 
3,000 
5,1  KXI  I 


15000  1874 

18.000  i  1809 

12,000  j  1869 

0,000  I8.-14 

15.618  1  1874 

8,000  i  1853 
10,000 

2,000 
14,809 


Faculty  of  the  Western  Female  High  School. — An- 
drew S.  Kerr,  Principal,  Mental  Philosophy,  Astron- 
omy, Algebra,  Arithmetic;  Pamela  A.  Hartman, 
KnglLsh  Literature,  Rhetoric,  History,  Composition; 
Sara  S.  Rice,  Rhetoric,  Grammar,  Elocution,  Compo- 
sition ;    Jane    S.   Williams,   Algebra,   Composition ; 


Emma  Cowman,  Physiology,  Rhetoric,  History, 
Grammar;  Henrietta  C.  Adams,  History,  Literature 
Grammar,  Compo.sition ;  Louisa  C.  Saumenig,  Geom 
etry,  Algebra,  History,  Physiology ;  Isabella  Hamp- 
son.  Natural  Philosophy,  Arithmetic,  Elocution 
Composition;  Anna  P.  Tudor,  Arithmetic;  Laura  D 


EDUCATION. 


Brian,   Grammar,    History,   Algebra,    Composition; 
Eliza  J.  Davis,  Drawing;  Victor  Rigueur,  French; 
William  A.  Tarbutton,  Music. 
The  Board  of  School  Commissioners  is  composed  of 


Ward. 

1.  Francis  J.  Ruth 

2.  George  11.  Biuleke.. 


5.  wniii.m  M 

6.  John  B.  Wi 

7.  Kobert  H 

8.  Janiea  Bo.v 


John  T.  Morris 188a 


17.  H.  B.  Roenicr 

18.  John  N.  Conway.. 

19.  Joseph  H.  Gale 

20.  James  W.  Denny.. 


The  officers  of  the  board  are :  President,  John  T. 
Morris ;  Secretary,  Henry  M.  Cowles;  Superintendent, 
Henry  E.  Shepherd;  Assistant  Superintendent, 
Henry  A.  Wise. 

State  Normal  School.— The  State  Normal  School, 
which  is  designed  for  the  training  of  teachers  for  the 
public  schools,  was  established  under  an  act  of  As- 
sembly of  1865,  and  was  organized  in  January,  1866. 
It  is  supported  by  an  annual  appropriation  of  $10,500. 
The  school  was  fir.st  located  in  the  Red  Men's  Hall, 
on  Paca  Street,  and  in  1872  was  removed  to  the 
building  formerly  occupied  by  the  Union  Club  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  Charles  and  Franklin  Streets.  A 
liberal  appropriation  was  made  not  long  afterwards  by 
the  Legislature,  and  the  present  splendid  structure  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  Lafayette  and  CarroUton  Av- 
enues was  erected.  The  building  is  one  hundred  and 
twenty  by  one  hundred  and  five  feet,  built  of  brick 
and  Ohio  sandstone  trimmings,  with  a  lofty  spire 
and  conspicuous  slate  roof.  The  tower  at  the  corner 
of  the  two  fronts  is  twenty  feet  square  at  the  base, 
and  is  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  high.  The 
ventilation  of  the  building  is  the  most  complete  of  all 
the  educational  institutions  of  the  city.  In  the  base- 
ment are  the  gymnasium,  dressing-rooms,  the  large 
class-rooms,  etc.  The  principal  story  contains  the 
parlor,  library,  offices,  reception-rooms,  and  class- 
rooms ;  the  second  floor,  the  assembly-room,  seating 
six  hundred  persons  ;  and  the  third  the  lecture-room, 
laboratory,  etc.  Each  county  in  the  State  is  entitled 
to  two  students  for  each  of  its  representatives  in  the 
General  Assembly.  The  law  requires  the  appointees 
to  be  not  less  than  sixteen  years  of  age  for  young 
women,  and  not  less  than  seventeen  years  of  age  for 
young  men.  A  limited  number  of  other  pupils  are 
taken  on  payment  of  tuition.  The  Normal  School  is 
in  charge  of  Prof  M.  A.  Newell,  Principal ;  Miss  S. 
B.  Kidwell,  Principal  Girls'  Model  School ;  Miss  Rosa 
Stoll,  Principal  of  Kindergarten,  and  the  following 
members  of  the  State  Board  of  Education  as  ex  officio 
trustees:  Gov.  Wm.  T.  Hamilton,  President;  M.  A. 
Newell,  Secretary  and  State  Superintendent;  P.  A. 
Witmer,  Dr.  John  P.  R.  Gilliss,  Wm.  H.  Harlan,  Dr. 
J.  T.  Williams. 

The  Johns  Hopkins  University  was  founded  by 
the  bequest  of  the  Baltimore  merchant  whose  name 


it  bears,  and  who  also  endowed  a  hospital,  and  gave 
generous  gifts  to  the  Maryland  Institute,  the  Johns 
Hopkins  Colored  Orphan 
Asylum,  the  Manual  Labor 
School,  the  Home  for  the 
Friendless,  and  the  Balti- 
more Orphan  Asylum. 

A  few  words  in  regard  to 
his  life  may  fitly  precede  an 
account  of  the  university 
which  was  created  by  his 
bounty. 

Johns  Hopkins,  son  of 
Samuel  and  Hannah  (Tan- 
ney)  Hopkins,  was  born  in 
Anne     Arundel     Co.,     Md.  johns  hopkins. 

(where   his   father's    family 

had  long  resided),  on  the  19th  of  May.  1795,  and  died  in 
Baltimore  on  the  2Ith  of  December,  1873,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-eight  years.  The  family  were  English  Quak- 
ers of  respectability  and  substance.  He  worked  upon 
his  father's  farm  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  and 
then  came  to  Baltimore  and  entered  the  counting-room 
of  his  uncle,  Gerard  T.  Hopkins,  a  wholesale  grocer. 
For  twenty-five  years  he  was  devoted  to  mercantile 
pursuits,  first  in  the  firm  of  Hopkins  &  Moore,  and 
afterwards  in  that  of  Hopkins  &  Brothers,  his  busi- 
ness relations  being  chiefly  with  the  Valley  of  Vir- 
ginia and  the  adjacent  States. 

In  1847  he  became  a  director  in  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad,  and  from  that  time  until  his  death 
he  was  actively  engaged  in  the  promotion  of  its  inter- 
ests. Twice,  in  emergencies,  he  pledged  his  private 
resources  for  the  support  of  the  company.  In  middle 
life  he  became  president  of  the  Merchants'  Bank 
of  Baltimore ;  was  also  a  director  in  seven  other 
banks,  and  was  a  manager  of  many  other  financial 
a.ssociations.  He  made  large  investments  in  real  es- 
tate, and  constructed  many  warehouses.  During  the 
latter  part  of  his  life  his  residence  was  in  Saratoga 
Street  near  Charles  in  winter,  and  in  summer  at  a 
beautiful  estate  named  "  Clifton,"  in  the  northeastern 
suburbs  of  Baltimore.     He  was  never  married. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  devoted  much 
thought  to  the  disposition  of  his  property.  There  is 
reason  to  believe  that  his  philanthropic  impulses 
were  quickened  by  the  example  and  words  of  George 
Peabody,  and  by  the  counsel  and  suggestions  of  the 
friends  by  whom  he  was  .surrounded.  His  will  was 
signed  July  9,  1870,  and'at  that  time  he  had  matured 
the  principal  features  of  his  bequest,  though  codicils 
modifying  the  details  were  subsequently  added. 

Three  years  earlier,  on  the  24th  of  August,  1867, 

at  the  instance  of  Johns  Hopkins,  twelve  citizens  of 

j  Maryland   had    formed   a   corporation,   entitled   the 

j  "Johns   Hopkins    University  for   the  Promotion  of 

j  Education  in  the  State  of  Maryland."  '     The  trustees 

I  by  a  special  act  of  the  Leg- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


in  this  corporation  were  Francis  T.  King,  Lewis  N. 
Hopkins,  Thomas  M.  Smith,  William  Hopkins,  John 
Fonerden,  Jolin  W.  Garrett,  Francis  White,  Charles 
J.  M.  Gwynn,  Galloway  Cheston,  George  W.  Dobbin, 
Reverdy  Johnson,  Jr.,  and  George  W.  Brown.  Sub- 
sequently, in  the  places  of  Messrs.  Fonerden,  Smith, 
and  Johnson,  Dr.  James  Carey  Thomas,  C.  Morton 
Stewart,  and  Joseph  P.  Elliott  became  trustees.  Nine 
of  the  original  body  were  also  trustees  of  the  Johns 
Hopkins  Hospital.  The  original  officers  of  the  board 
were  Galloway  Cheston,  president ; '  Francis  White, 
treasurer ;  and  William  Hopkins,  secretary ;  and  [ 
they  were  first  chosen  on  the  13th  of  June,  1870. 
After  the  death  of  Mr.  Hopkins  in  1873  it  appeared  | 
that  his  gift  to  the  university  included  his  estate  of  j 
three  hundred  and  thirty  acres  at  Clifton,  fifteen 
thousand  shares  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  1 
stock  and  other  securities,  the  entire  endowment 
being  estimated  at  more  than  three  million  of  dollars.  ! 
On  the  6th  of  February,  1874,  the  board  entered  j 
upon  the  administration  of  the  trust.  Several  of  the 
members  visited  successful  colleges  and  universities  : 
in  the  North,  South,  and  West ;  correspondence  was 
instituted  with  able  advisers  in  educational  matters,  j 
and  a  number  of  eminent  college  officers  were  in- 
vited to  come  to  Baltimore  and  give  their  counsel. 
A  president  of  the  university^  was  elected  in  1874, 
and  entered  upon  his  office  in  May,  1876.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  year  he  devoted  to  a  study  of  univer- 
sities at  home  and  abroad,  and  on  the  22d  of  Febru- 
ary, 1876,  the  plans  adopted  were  publicly  announced 
before  a  large  assembly  in  the  Academy  of  Music. 
Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Randolph,  of  Em- 
manuel Church  ;  instrumental  music  was  performed 
by  the  Peabody  Orchestra,  directed  by  Professor 
Asger  Hamerick.  The  chairman  of  the  executive 
committee,  Reverdy  Johnson,  Jr.,  introduced  Presi- 
dent Eliot,  of  Harvard  College,  who  delivered  a  con- 
gratulatory address,  which  was  followed  by  the  inau- 
gural address  of  President  Oilman.  The  Governor  of 
the  State,  the  mayor  of  the  city,  the  principal  civil 
and  educational  authorities,  the  clergy,  and  a  large 
number  of  officers  of  other  colleges  were  present. 
On  the  27th  of  May  a  special  address  was  made  before 
the  youth  of  Baltimore,  explaining  the  opportunities 
of  instruction  about  to  be  offered  them,  and  on  the 
12th  of  September,  1876,  by  invitation  of  the  trustees, 
an  introductory  address  was  delivered  in  the  Academy 
of  Music  by  Professor  Huxley,  of  London.  He  dis- 
cussed the  relations  of  universities  to  the  study  of 
medicine,  a  subject  on  whicli  his  views  were  particu-  ! 
larly  acceptable,  not  only  because  of  his  ability  as  a 
teacher,  but  also  because  of  the  co-operation  in  pro- 
moting medical  knowledge  which  is  anticipated  , 
between  the  two  foundations  of  Johns  Hopkins, — the 
university  and  the  hospital.     On  the  3d  of  October 


following  the  classes  which  had  been  forming  for 
some  days  were  first  assembled  for  instruction  in  the 
buildings  at  the  corner  of  Ross  and  Howard  Streets, 
which  had  been  purchased  at  a  cost  of  seventy-five 
thousand  dollars  and  enlarged  for  their  new  uses. 

Large  outlays  have  been  made  by  the  university 
for  the  purchase  of  apparatus  and  books ;  laboratories 
have  been  opened  and  equipped  for  the  study  of 
chemistry,  physics,  and  biology  ;  instruction  has  been 
given  in  these  subjects,  in  the  highest  branches  of 
mathematics,  in  ancient  and  modern  languages  and 
literature,  and  in  history,  political  economy,  logic, 
and  the  history  of  philosophy.  The  trustees,  how- 
ever, have  regarded  their  work  hitherto  as  prelimin- 
ary and  tentative.  They  hope  at  an  early  day,  in  the 
light  of  the  information  and  experience  already  ac- 
quired, to  enlarge  the  academic  staff  and  increase  the 
fecilities  here  afforded  for  the  work  of  a  university. 
No  steps  have  been  taken  as  yet  for  the  organization 
of  any  other  faculty  than  the  philosophical. 

In  addition  to  the  strictly  academic  exercise,  lec- 
tures have  been  given  in  one  of  the  halls  of  the  uni- 
versity during  a  considerable  part  of  every  year,  at 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  to  which  ladies  and 
gentlemen  not  connected  with  the  university,  as  well 
as  the  students,  have  been  admitted.  Not  infre- 
quently more  than  two  hundred  persons  are  present 
at  these  lectures,  which  are  sometimes  given  by  the 
resident  professors  and  sometimes  by  gentlemen  in- 
vited to  come  from  other  institutions.  Several  Satur- 
day classes  have  also  been  maintained  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  teachers  in  special  studies, — physiology,  Latin, 
zoology,  English,  and  mathematics. 

The  university  has  liberally  encouraged  investiga- 
tion and  research,  and  has  contributed  to  the  expense 
of  printing  periodicals  devoted  to  mathematics  and 
physics,  chemistry,  philology,  and  physiology.  It 
has  maintained  twenty  fellowships,  the  incumbents  of 
which  give  all  their  time  to  advanced  studies.  It  has 
established  a  marine  station  or  sea-side  laboratory  for 
the  advancement  of  zoological  researches.  It  has 
supi>orted  a  mechanic's  shop  for  the  manufacture  and 
repair  of  apparatus.  It  has  kept  its  reading-room 
supplied  with  the  latest  scientific  and  literary  journals 
of  every  land.  Moreover,  it  has  left  the  principal 
teachers  comparatively  free  for  the  prosecution  of  in- 
quiry and  for  the  publication  of  results.  Societies,  in 
which  both  officers  and  students  take  part,  give  fre- 
quent opportunities  for  the  presentation  of  elaborate 
papers. 

The  number  of  students  formally  enrolled  as  such 
have  been  in  1876,  89;  in  1877,  104;  in  1878,  123;  in 
1879,  159;  in  1880,  170.  Besides  these  many  unen- 
rolled  students  have  received  instruction.  Of  the 
whole  number  of  students  received  prior  to  the  close 
of  1879-80,  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  had  taken  an 
academic  degree  before  joining  this  university. 

As  an  indication  of  the  wide  influence  which  the 
Ibuiidation  alroadv  exerts,  it  niav  be  added  that  the 


EDUCATION. 


students  assembled  in  the  autumn  of  1880  came  from  I 
twenty-nine  different  States  and  countries.     Thegrad-  ! 
uate  students  who  have  here  been  received  represent 
at  least  seventy  different  institutions.  I 

The  various  publications  of  the  university  show  | 
that  a  distinction  is  made  between  university  work 
and  collegiate  work,  and  that  both  are  promotive  of 
the  trust  of  Johns  Hopkins.  Four  scientific  journals 
are  published  under  the  auspices  of  the  University, — 
The  American  Journal  of  Mathematics,  The  American 
Chemical  Journal,  The  American  Journal  of  Pkilology, 
and  Studies  from  the  Biographical  Laboratory.  The 
academic  staff  from  1876  to  1880  has  included  the  per- 
sons whose  names  are  now  given: 

President — Daniel  C.  Gilman,  appointed  Dec.  30, 1874.  Pro/essoy^f — Basil 
L.  Gildersleevc,  Greek,  1870 ;  J.  J.  Sylvester,  Mathematics,  1876;  Ira 
Kemsen,  Oliemistry,  187C;  Henry  A.  Rowland,  Physics,  1876;  H. 
Newell  Martin,  Biulogy,  187n;    niiarles   D.  Morris,  Classics,  1S7B. 

Asmcialea—jLibu  M.  Cniss,  Oi k,  ynT:;   Pliilip   R.  Uhlor,  Natural 

History,  187B;  .\ustin  Scmt  11;  ■  -  l-":;  A.  Marshall  Elliott, 
Romance  Philology,  1871.;  I  I  ,,  i  I  1 1  .v,  Sheniitic,  1876-79; 
Herman  C.  G.  Brandt,  Germ, HI.  I-...  ViiLiun  K.  Brooks,  Biology, 
1870;  Harmon  N.  Morse,  Olienustry,  ln7ij ;  Robert  Ridgway,  Natural 
History,  1876-77;  William  E.  Story,  Mathematics,  1876;  Arthur  W. 
Tyler,  Librarian,  1870-78 ;  Charles  S.  Hastings,  Pliysics,  1876  ;  Chae. 
R.  Lanman,  Sanscnt,  1877-80;  Herbert  B.  Adams,  History,  1878; 
Albert  S.  Cook,  English,  1879;  Minton  Warren,  Latin,  1879;  Wil- 
liam Hand  Browne,  tibrarian,  1879;  Henry  Sewall,  Biology,  1880. 
Le^turera — Simon  Newcomb,  Astronomy,  1876;  Leonance  llabillon, 
French,  1876 ;  John  S.  Billings,  Medical  History,  etc.,  1877 ;  Francis  J. 
Child,  Early  English,  etc.,  1877-78;  Thomas  M.  Cooley,  Law,  1877- 
79 ;  .Julius  E.  Hilgard,  Geodetic  Surveys,  1877 ;  James  Russell  Lowell, 
Romance  Literature,  1877  ;  John  W.  Mallet,  Technological  Chemis- 
try, 1877-78;  Francis  A.  Walker,  Political  Economy,  1877-78;  Wil- 
liam D.  Whitney,  Comparative  Philology,  1877 ;  William  F.  Allen, 
History,  1878 ;  William  James,  Psychology,  1878  ;  George  S.  Morris, 
Philosophy,  1878;  J.  Lewis  Diman,  History,  1879;  H.  Von  Hoist, 
History,  1879;  William  G.  Fallow,  Botany,  1879 ;  J.  Willard  Gibbs, 
Theoretical  Mechanics,  1879;  Sidney  Lanier,  English  Literature, 
1S79-80;  Charles  S.  Peirce,  Logic,  1879 ;  John  Trowbridge,  Physics, 
188U;  J.  Lewis  Diman,  History,  1881 ;  A.  Graham  Bell,  Phonology; 
18S1.  AasiManls—lUnry  Sewall,  Biology,  1876-78;  Samuel  F.  Clarke, 
Biology,  1879;  Fabian  FiaMkliii,  Mathematics,  1879;  Lyman  B.Hall, 
t'heniistry,  1879-sll;  Cliristian  Sihler,  Biology,  1879-80;  Henry  C. 
AdaUiS,  Political  Economy,  1879  ;  Thomas  Craig,  Mathematics,  1879 ; 
Willi.imT.  Sedgwick,  Biology,  1880;  Edwin  H.  Hall,  Physics,  1880; 
George  H.  Stockbridge,  Latin  and  German,  1880 ;  Philippe  B,  Marcou, 
French,  1880. 

In  place  of  a  midsummer  anniversary,  the  22d  of 
February  is  annually  observed  as  "  Commemoration 
Day."  Degrees  are  conferred  at  that  time,  and  also  at 
the  end  of  the  academic  year. 

Baltimore  Female  College.— The  Baltimore  Fe- 
male College,  intended  for  the  liberal  education  of 
young  women,  was  instituted  in  1848,  chartered  in 
1849  as  a  college  proper,  with  authority  to  confer  de- 
grees, and  liberally  endowed  by  the  State  in  1860. 
The  college  was  first  located  on  St.  Paul  Street, 
but  in  1874  was  transferred  to  the  new  buildings  at 
Park  Place.  It  was  originally  under  the  control  of 
the  Methodists,  but  by  the  act  of  the  Legislature  of 
1868,  making  all  persons  eligible  as  trustees,  the  col- 
lege became  undenominational.  N.  C.  Brooks,  LL.D., 
is  its  i)resident. 

Male  Free  School  and  Colvin  Institute  for 
Girls. — The  Male  Free  School  was  organized  Jan.  1, 


1802,  under  the  direction  of  the  trustees  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  of  Baltimore.  It  was  at  first 
situated  in  the  school-room  of  the  Light  Street  Meth- 
odist church,  and  at  the  close  of  the  first  year  had  fifty- 
eight  scholars.  Its  first  oflicers  were  George  Roberts, 
president;  John  Hagerty,  treasurer;  and  I. Burneston, 
secretary.  On  the  20th  of  December,  1808,  the  insti- 
tution was  incorporated,  with  Owen  Dorsey,  John 
Brevitt,  Abner  Neal,  William  Hawkins,  Thomas  E. 
Bond,  Moses  Hand,  William  Browne,  George  Roberts, 
and  Joseph  Jamison  as  incorporators,  under  the  name 
and  style  of  the  "  Trustees  of  the  Male  Free  School  of 
Baltimore."  In  January,  1813,  the  school  was  removed 
from  Light  Street  church  to  its  present  location,  No. 
39i  Courtland  Street.  Mr.  Roberts  died  in  1828,  and 
was  succeeded  as  president  by  William  Wilkins,  who 
retained  the  position  until  his  death  in  1833.  Thomas 
Kelso  was  chosen  as  Mr.  Wilkins'  successor,  and  re- 
mained president  until  his  death  in  1878,  and  was 
followed  by  the  present  incumbent,  John  B.  Seiden- 
stricker.  The  object  of  the  school  is  to  educate  poor 
children  without  regard  to  creed.  Miss  Rachel  Col- 
vin, of  Baltimore,  l)y  her  last  will  and  testament  be- 
queathed ten  thousand  dollars  to  enable  the  trustees  of 
the  Male  Free  School  to  afford  gratuitous  education 
to  girls. 

Among  the  prominent  private  schools  that  formerly 
existed  in  Baltimore  were  the  Literary  and  Commer- 
cial Seminary,  second  door  from  the  northwest  corner 
of  North  and  Lexington  Streets,  William  Nind,  prin- 
cipal, in  1806;  J.  Magee's  Academy,  No.  18  Bank 
Street,  and  in  1822  at  No.  2.'5  South  Calvert  Street; 
the  Classical  and  English  Seminary  in  St.  Paul's 
Lane,  in  1822,  Hugh  Maguire,  formerly  professor  of 
languages  in  St.  John's  College,-  principal ;  Dr. 
Barry's  School,  No.  32  Courtland  Street;  Rev.  Fran- 
cis Waters'  Classical  Seminary,  opened  in  1829  in  the 
building  formerly  occupied  by  Dr.  Barry ;  Dr.  S.  A. 
Roszel's  School,  conducted  in  the  same  place ;  and 
Mr.  Larned's  University  School,  at  No.  11  Lexington 
Street,  in  1847. 

Oliver  Hibernian  Free  School.— John  Oliver,  a 
native  of  Ireland,  but  subsequently  a  successful  mer- 
chant and  citizen  of  Baltimore,  by  his  will  dated 
May  19,  1823,  made  the  following  bequest,  upon 
which  the  present  charity  is  founded : 

"  To  the  Hibernian  Society  of  Mainland  I  leave  and  bequeath  the 
sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  to  he  put  in  the  hands  of  the  president 
and  directors  of  said  society  for  the  time  being,  or  a  majority  of  them, 
and  to  be  hy  them  invested  in  any  manner  which  they  think  proper  for 
the  purpose  of  establishing  a  Free  School  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  under 
their  direction  for  the  education  of  poor  children  of  botii  sexes,  one  at 
least  of  whose  parents  must  be  Irish,  and  residing  in  or  about  Baltimore; 
and  should  it  ever  happen  that  said  school  should  not  have  a  sufficient 
number  of  scholars  of  Irish  parents,  as  aforesaid,  it  is  my  wish  that  it 
should  be  filled  with  poor  children  born  in  the  city  or  precincts ;  but  with 
this  proviso,  that  room  must  be  made  always  when  required  for  children 
of  Irish  parents,  and  no  distinction  is  ever  to  be  made  in  the  school  as  to 
the  religious  tenets  of  those  who  may  apply  f 


At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Oliver  Hibernian 
Free  School,  held  on  the  17th  of  March,  1830,  the 


234 


HISTOllY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


following  officers  were  elected  for  the  ensuing  year: 
Luke  Tiernan,  president ;  John  Kelso  and  Samuel 
Moore,  vice-presidents;  Rev.  Dr.  John  Glendy,  chap- 
lain ;  Samuel  Donaldson,  counselor;  Dr.  George  S. 
Gibson  and  Bernard  M.  Byron,  physicians ;  Stewart 
Brown,  treasurer;  B.  IT.  Campbell,  .secretary.  The 
managers  were  Thomas  Kelso,  Samuel  Harden,  Hugh 
Boyle,  Thomas  B.  Adair,  Robert  Armstrong,  Matthew 
Bennett,  and  Charles  Tiernan.  It  is  the  custom  to 
make  on  March  16th  of  every  year  an  examination 
into  the  proficiency  of  the  pupils,  to  ascertain  the 
progress  made  during  the  year,  the  eve  of  St.  Patrick 
being  selected  for  this  purpose  as  peculiarly  appro- 
priate to  the  character  of  the  institution.  The  present 
location  is  on  the  east  side  of  North  Street,  between 
Lexington  and  Saratoga  Streets. 

Floating  School. — The  idea  of  a  floating  school, 
which  had  been  suggested  before,  was  revived  in 
Baltimore  at  the  time  of  the  acquisition  of  California, 
by  the  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  sufficient  supply  of 
capable  seamen  to  meet  the  increase  in  our  mercan- 
tile marine,  and  to  Capt.  Robert  Leslie  much  of  the 
credit  of  the  scheme  was  due.  In  185.3  the  subject  was 
taken  up  by  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  afterwards  by 
the  Board  of  School  Commissioners,  and  finally,  on 
the  Sth  of  May,  1855,  an  ordinance  was  passed  by 
the  City  Council  authorizing  the  commissioners  of 
public  schools  to  organize  and  put  in  operation  a 
public  school  of  such  grade  as  might  be  deemed  ad- 
visable on  board  of  any  ship  or  vessel  that  might  be 
supplied  by  the  Board  of  Trade  for  the  purpose. 
Accordingly,  the  United  States  ship  "Ontario"  was 
purchased  and  fitted  up,  and  on  the  14th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1857,  the  school  was  opened  with  eight  pupils. 
The  joint  committee  in  charge  of  the  school  when  it 
was  organized  was  as  follows:  Messrs.  Edwin  A.  Ab- 
bott, John  F.  Plummer,  Thomas  J.  Pitt,  William  B. 
Griffin,  and  Dr.  R.  H.  Brown,  on  the  part  of  the 
public  school  commissioners ;  and  on  the  part  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  Messrs.  E.  S.  Courtney  and  Law- 
rence Thomsen.  The  number  of  pupils  increased  to 
forty-nine  by  the  last  of  December,  and  up  to  1860 
the  school  continued  to  grow  in  public  favor  and  in 
practical  usefulness.  Its  design  was  not  only  to  sup- 
ply the  growing  demand  for  trained  men  in  our  mer- 
cantile marine,  but  to  elevate  the  character  and  pro- 
fession of  the  sailor.  Instruction  was  therefore  given 
not  only  in  nautical  matters,  but  in  studies  bearing 
upon  the  future  profession  of  the  scholar.  The  war, 
however,  interfered  with  its  successful  operation,  and 
it  was  abandoned. 

St.  Mary's  Seminary.— St.  Mary's  is  the  oldest 
Catholic  theological  seminary  in  the  United  States. 
Its  foundation  was  due,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the 
wise  forethought  of  Rev.  Mr.  Emory,  Superior-gen- 
eral of  the  Society  of  St.  Sulpice,  at  the  period  of 
the  French  revolution.  When  he  perceived  that  the 
National  Assembly, in  1790,  threatened  tlie  destruction 
of  all  religious  institutions  in  France,  he  thought  of 


seeking  a  new  field  of  usefulness  for  his  society  in 
this  country.  Having  learned,  the  same  year,  that 
the  Rt.  Rev.  John  Carroll,  Bishop-elect  of  Baltimore, 
had  gone  to  London  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the 
episcopal  consecration,  he  sent  the  Rev.  Francis 
Charles  Nagot,  his  assistant,  to  England,  to  confer 
with  him  in  relation  to  the  employment  of  Sulpicians 
for  the  direction  of  an  ecclesiastical  seminary.  The 
proposition  was  gladly  accepted,  and  the  following 
year  the  Rev.  Mr.  Nagot,  with  three  other  French 
Sulpicians — Rev.  Messrs.  Levadoun,  Tessier,  Gamier 
— and  five  seminarians,  sailed  from  France  for  Balti- 
more. On  his  arrival  in  Baltimore,  July  10,  1791, 
Rev.  Mr.  Nagot  at  once  "bought  an  inn  with  four 
acres  of  ground  for  the  sum  of  850  pounds  Maryland 
currency,"  and  without  delay,  on  July  21st,  opened 
St  Mary's  Seminary  for  theological  students,  with 
himself  as  superior.  Father  Levadoun  procurator, 
and  Fathers  Tessier  and  Garnier  assistants.  In 
1792,  Revs.  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget,  John  B.  David, 
Sulpicians,  and  Stephen  V.  Badin,  an  advanced 
seminarian,  arrived  and  took  their  places  in  the  col- 
lege. The  subsequent  May,  1793,  Father  Badin  re- 
ceived holy  orders  from  Bishop  Carroll,  at  old  St. 
Peter's,  his  ordination  being  the  first  within  the  limits 
of  Baltimore.  He  is  the  Protn  Sacerdos  of  the  United 
States,  and  among  the  galaxy  of  great  names  that 
brighten  church  records,  none  shine  more  radiant 
than  that  of  Badin,  the  Kentucky  missionary.  On 
June  24th,  Rev.  Ambrose  Marechal,  with  two  more 
destined  for  the  Boston  mission,  reached  Ualtimore, 
where  Father  Marechal,  who  had  been  ordained 
priest  the  day  before  his  departure  from  France,  cele- 
brated his  first  mass  at  old  St.  Peter's.  Soon  after- 
wards came  the  Rev.  William  Valentine  Du  Bourg, 
the  Rev.  M.  Dillet,  the  Rev.  Peter  Babade,  Rev.  John 
Dubois,  Rev.  Simon  Gabriel  Brute,  and  others,  several 
of  whom  figure  notably  in  church  history.  Though 
all  were  French  priests,  two  of  them  did  not  become 
Sulpicians  till  after  their  entrance  into  St.  Mary's; 
as,  for  instance.  Father  Dubois,  founder  of  Mount 
St.  Mary's  College,  at  Emmittsburg,  Md.  In  1795 
the  Prince  Demetrius  Augustine  Gallitzin,  sou  of  a 
Russian  nobleman,  and  a  convert  from  the  Greek 
faith,  was  ordained  priest  here. 

The  almost  exclusive  object  of  the  Sulpician  Soci- 
ety is  to  train  clerical  candidates  in  the  higher 
branches  of  ecclesiastical  knowledge,  and  in  the 
virtues  of  their  sacred  calling.  But  the  number  of 
young  men  who  sought  admission  into  the  seminary 
was  for  many  years  too  small  to  absorb  all  the  time  of 
the  faculty.  They  therefore  turned  their  attention 
to  other  objects;  and,  in  connection  with  the  semi- 
nary, was  commenced,  in  1799,  another  institution 
for  the  education  of  youth,  which  became  the  cele- 
brated seat  of  learning,  St.  Mary's  College,  which,  by 
act  of  Jan.  5,  1805,  w:is  raised  to  the  rank  of  a  uni- 
versity. The  chief  promoter  of  this  new  establish- 
ment, the  Rev.   William  Du  Bourg,  erected  on  the 


EDUCATION. 


seminary  grounds  spacious  buildings  well  adapted  to 
collegiate  purposes,  and  the  increasing  patronage  of 
the  public  soon  gave  evidence  that  his  views  and  ef- 
forts were  duly  appreciated.  In  the  purchase  of  the 
site  and  the  erection  of  the  necessary  buildings  the 
president  incurred  a  heavy  debt,  and  to  enable  him 
to  pay  it  off  the  Legislature,  on  Jan.  25, 1806,  granted 
the  aid  of  a  lottery  to  raise  thirty  thousand  dollars. 
The  managers  of  the  lottery  were  Revs.  William  Du 
Bourg,  John  Tessier,  and  Messrs.  Luke  Tiernan, 
Robert  Walsh,  Sr.,  William  Lorman,  Alexander  Mc- 
Kim,  Henry  Wilson,  Samuel  Sterett,  James  McHenry, 
Samuel  Hollingsworth,  Lewis  Du  Bourg,  and  Philip 
Laurenson.  From  this  period  St.  Mary's  College 
rapidly  rose  to  a  first  rank  among  educationiil  estab- 
lishments, and  even  at  this  date  many  distinguished 
men,  both  Catholic  and  Protestant,  in  this  country, 
the  West  Indies,  Mexico,  and  South  America,  are 
proud  to  point  to  it  as  their  Alma  Mater. 

In  1806,  Rev.  Mr.  Dillet  began  the  Abbottstown 
Preparatory  College,  two  miles  from  Abbottstown,  Pa., 
near  the  foot  of  a  ridge  called  Pidgeon  Hills,  and  in 
1808,  Rev.  John  Dubois  commenced  Mount  St.  Mary's 
College  at  Emmittsburg.  Besides  these  enterprises, 
and  the  direction  of  St.  Mary's  Seminary  and  College 
in  Baltimore,  the  Sulpicians,  from  the  time  of  their 
arrival,  also  performed  ministerial  or  parochial  duties 
for  the  benefit  at  first  of  the  many  French  inhabitants 
of  the  town,  and  afterwards  of  the  Catholics  at  large; 
and,  in  aid  of  this  branch  of  their  work,  they  built 
and  dedicated,  June  15,  1808,  St.  Mary's  chapel, 
which  was  for  a  long  time  "  the  most  elegant  edifice 
■of  the  kind  in  America."  In  1808,  through  the  mu- 
nificence of  Samuel  Cooper,  a  student  at  the  seminary, 
and  the  piety  of  Mrs.  Eliza  Ann  Seton,  of  New  York, 
St.  Joseph's  Convent,  or  Mother-House  of  the  Amer- 
ican Sisters  of  Charity,  was  founded  at  Emmittsburg. 
The  community  was  formally  established  by  Mrs. 
Seton  in  this  city  Juhe  2,  1809,  when  she  and  four 
other  ladies  appeared  at  service  in  St.  Mary's  chapel 
«lad  as  "  Sisters  of  Charity."  Mr.  Cooper  donated 
eight  thousand  dollars  to  the  society,  which  enabled 
her  to  build  St.  Joseph's  at  Emmittsburg,  or  rather, 
to  commence  building  it,  for  since  then  vast  im- 
provements have  been  made.  Both  parties  were 
•converts  to  the  Catholic  Church,  Mrs.  Seton  having 
been  closely  related  to  the  late  Archbishop  Bayley, 
who,  like  herself,  was  once  a  member  of  a  different 
church.  These  memorable  events,  with  the  consecra- 
tion of  Benedict  Flaget,  Bishop  of  Kentucky,  on 
Nov.  4,  1808,  occurred  during  Father  Nagot's  incum- 
bency. Owing  to  ill  health  he  relinquished  control 
of  the  seminary  in  1809,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  John  Tessier,  whose  administration  continued 
fourteen  years.  In  October,  1812,  Father  Du  Bourg 
was  appointed  Prefect  Apostolic  of  New  Orleans,  in 
-which  city  and  in  St.  Louis  he  labored  some  years, 
and  died  finally  in  France  as  Archbishop  of  Resancon, 
about  1833.     He  was  followed  in  the  presidency  of 


St.  Mary's  (secular)  College  by  Rev.  I.  B.  Paqinet, 
from  1812  to  1815;  Rev.  Simon  G.  Brute,  from  1815 
to  1818 ;  Rev.  Edward  Damphoux,  from  1818  to  1822  ; 
Rev.  Louis  Regis  Deloul,  from  1822  to  1823,  when 
Father  Tessier's  direction  ended.  In  1815,  Archbishop 
Carroll  died,  and  was  temporarily  buried  at  St.  Mary's 
chapel.  In  1817  his  successor,  Leonard  Neale,  died 
in  Georgetown,  and  Rev.  Ambrose  MarSchal,  the 
Sulpician,  became  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  conse- 
crated Dec.  14,  1817,  by  Dr.  Cheverus,  of  Boston.  In 
1819,  Father  Nagot  died,  and  in  1818,  Father  Brute 
went  to  Emmittsburg.  In  this  year  also  Rev.  Samuel 
Cooper,  the  eminent  convert,  was  ordained  by  Arch- 
bishop Marechal,  and  at  this  period  Fathers  Paqinet, 
Damphoux,  Deloul,  Alexius  Elder,  and  John  Hickey 
were  added  to  the  faculty. 

Father  Tessier  resigned  his  dignity  in  1823,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Louis  Regis  Deloul,  one  of  the 
most  estimable,  as  he  was  indeed  one  of  the  ablest, 
priests  Baltimore  ever  knew.  His  administration 
began  in  September,  1823,  and  ended  in  July,  1849. 
On  Oct.  29,  1820,  the  Rev.  John  Dubois,  the  well- 
known  Sulpician  and  president  of  Mount  St.  Mary's 
College,  became  first  bishop  of  New  York.  Two 
years  afterwards,  in  1828,  Rev.  James  H.  N.  Joubert, 
of  the  seminary,  founded  the  colored  order  of  women 
called  the  "  Oblate  Sisters  of  Providence,"  whose 
duty  comprises  the  education  of  colored  children. 
Father  Joubert  was  a  native  of  St.  Jean  d'Angfily, 
western  part  of  France,  and  came  to  Baltimore  from 
San  Domingo,  where  his  parents  had  fallen  victims  to 
the  ferocity  of  the  blacks.  Prompted  by  a  noble 
spirit  of  revenge,  he  founded  this  community  of  col- 
ored women, — the  only  one  in  the  United  States.  He 
was  born  in  1777,  and  died  in  Baltimore  Nov.  5,  1843. 
In  1834,  Rev.  Simon  G.  Brute,  of  Mount  St.  Mary's 
College,  went  to  St.  Louis,  and  became  first  bishop  of 
Vincennes,  Ind.  The  same  year  Rev.  Samuel  Eccles- 
ton,  of  St.  Mary's,  was  consecrated  fifth  archbishop 
of  Baltimore.  In  1841,  Rev.  John  Joseph  Chanche, 
also  connected  with  the  faculty  of  St.  Mary's  Semi- 
nary and  College,  received  consecration  as  the  first 
bishop  of  Natchez,  Miss.  Of  these  three  eminent 
professors,  the  former  died  in  1839,  at  Vincennes;  the 
second  in  1851,  at  Baltimore;  thedast  in  1852,  at  the 
same  place.  In  1842,  Rev.  Anthony  Garnier,  one  of 
the  founders  of  St.  Mary's  in  1791,  died  at  the  Seminary 
de  St.  Sulpice,  France,  whither  he  had  returned  about 
1803.  At  his  death  he  was  the  superior-general  of 
the  order.  About  this  tinle  the  college  which  Father 
Dillet  had  established  at  Abbottstown,  Pa.,  was  abol- 
ished, although  for  a  couple  of  years  afterwards  the 
property  remained  in  the  Sulpicians'  custody.  On 
Oct.  1,  1848,  St.  Charles'  College,  six  miles  above 
Ellicott  City,  Howard  Co.,  was  opened  by  Father 
Deloul,  and  Rev.  Oliver  Jenkins,  of  St.  Mary's,  be- 
came its  first  director.  The  presidents  of  St.  Mary's 
secular  college,  Baltimore,  from  1823  to  1849 — the 
term  of  Father  Deloul's  incumbency — were  as  follows : 


HISTOKY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Rev.  Edward  Damphoux,  1823-27;  Eev.  Michael 
Wheeler,  1827-28 ;  Rev.  Edward  Damphoux,  1828- 
29;  Rev.  Samuel  Eccleston,  1829-34;  Rev.  John 
Joseph  Chanche,  1834-41;  and  Rev.  Gilbert  Ray- 
mond, 1841-49.  Besides  these  there  were  at  St.  Mary's 
during  this  period  the  Revs.  Alexius  Elder,  John 
Hickey,  James  Hector,  Nicholas  Joubert,  Augustine 
Verot,  Oliver  Jenlcins,  Francis  L'Homme,  Hugh 
Griffiu,  Edward  Knight,  Peter  Fredet,  John  Ran- 
daune,  as  also  the  very  Rev.  Father  Tessier,  former 
superior,  who  died  at  the  seminary  about  twelve  years 
after  his  withdrawal  from  the  office.  Among  the  stu- 
dents ordained  whilst  Fatlier  Deloul  governed  the 
seminary  were  Revs.  Peter  S.  Schreiber,  John  Baptist 
Gildea,  Henry  Benedict  Coskery,  Henry  Myers,  Ed- 
ward McColgan,  William  Starrs,  John  Donelan, 
James  Dolan,  Edgar  Wadliams,  Henry  F.  Parke, 
Thomas  Foley,  Francis  Boyle,  Michael  Slattery,  Jo- 
seph Maguire,  Bernard  J.  McManus,  William  Par- 
sons, Charles  C.  Brennan,  .John  McNally,  Stephen 
Hubert,  and  Peter  Lenchan.  Of  these,  E.  Wadhams 
was  a  distinguished  convert.  Born  at  New  York  in 
1818,  he  graduated  at  Middleburg  College,  Vermont, 
twenty  years  later ;  became  a  Protestant  Episcojial 
minister  in  1843,  receiving  orders  from  Rt.  Rev.  Dr. 
Onderdonk,  Bishop  of  Western  New  York ;  came  to 
Baltimore  in  June,  1846,  and  entered  the  seminary ; 
made  his  profession  of  faith  in  St.  Mary's  Chapel,  July' 
5, 1846,  and  was  ordained  Sept.  2,  1847.  He  still  -sur- 
vives as  the  Bishop  of  Ogdensburgh,  N.  Y.  Impaired 
liealth  compelled  Rev.  Lewis  Regis  Deloul  to  sur- 
render his  position  in  November,  1849,  when  he  em- 
barked for  France,  where  he  died  in  1855.  He  was 
succeeded  as  the  superior  of  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  in 
September,  1849,  by  Rev.  Francis  L'Homme.  In 
1849,  Rev.  Gilbert  Raymond,  president  of  St.  Mary's 
secular  college,  vacated  the  post,  and  Rev.  Oliver 
.Jenkins,  president  of  St.  Charles',  took  charge  also  of  j 
St.  Mary's.  Father  D.  E.  Lyman,  a  Protestant  Epis- 
copal minister  of  Maryland,  embraced  Catholicity, 
and  became  a  priest  at  St.  Mary's  in  1850.  Father 
A.  Hewitt,  another  Protestant  minister,  subsequently 
entered  the  seminary,  and  was  ordained.  In  1851 
Archbishop  Eccleston  died,  and  in  the  following  year 
Bishop  Chanche,  of  Natchez.  In  the  same  year  Rev. 
Francis  A.  Baker,  the  founder  and  first  pastor  of  St. 
Luke's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  Franklin  Square, 
of  which  Rev.  Dr.  Rankin  is  the  present  rector,  re- 
nounced Protestantism  and  joined  the  Catholic  priest- 
hood. Rev.  Father  L'Homme  died  on  the  27th  of 
October,  1860,  and  was  succeeded  Ijy  Rev.  Joseph 
Paul  Dubruel. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  the  Catholic  clergy  of 
the  city  became  sufficiently  numerous  to  attend  to 
the  spiritual  wants  of  their  people;  and  as  those  cele- 
brated educators  of  youth,  the  Jesuit  fathers,  mani- 
fested a  willingness  to  open  a  college  in  Baltimore, 
the  Sulpicians  thought  they  could,  without  prejudice 
to   the   community,  limit   tlieniselvcs   to   their   own 


special  line,  the  education  of  clergymen,  which,  more- 
over, owing  to  an  increase  of  aspirants,  now  claimed 
their  undivided  attention.  In  consequence,  St.  Mary's 
College  was  closed  in  1852,  and  parochial  functions 
gradually  ceased  to  be  performed  within  its  chapel 
walls.  The  college  faculty,  tutors,  and  other  officers 
in  1851  were  Rev.  Oliver  L.  Jenkins,  president;  Rev. 
J.  Paul  Dubreul,  vice-president;  Rev.  John  B.  Ran- 
daune.  Rev.  Pierre  Fredet,  Rev.  Augustine  Verot, 
Rev.  Alexius  J.  Elder,  Rev.  Hugh  F.  Griffin,  Rev. 
Jno.  McNally,  Jos.  A.  Pizarro,  A.  Freitag,  J.  Dough- 
erty, F.  X.  Leray,  A.  Leo  Knott,  Alp.  Van  Schal- 
kuyck,  Jas.  Carney,  J.  Walter,  A.  McDonnell,  Jno. 
Farran,  John  Mulligan,  James  Doyle,  Aug.  Van 
Schalkuyck.  C.  E.  Gephard,  P.  Kelly,  and  Henrj'  A. 
Allen. 

On  Jan.  2,  1856,  Rev.  Peter  Fredet,  the  Professor 
of  Hi.story,  died,  and  in  the  same  year  the  corner- 
stone of  an  addition  to  the  seminary  was  laid  by 
Archbishop*  Kenrick.  In  April,  18.58,  Rev.  Augus- 
tine Verot,  of  the  seminary,  was  consecrated  Vicar- 
Apostolic  of  Florida,  whither  he  repaired  the  next 
month.  In  September,  1864,  Rev.  John  F.  Hickey 
celebrated  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  ministry,  which 
was  followed  by  his  death  on  Feb.  15,  1869,  in  his 
seventy-seventh  year.  He  was  born  at  Georgetown, 
D.  C,  in  1789,  and  on  Sept.  24,  1814,  was  ordained 
to  the  priesthood.  Rev.  Father  Alexius  Joseph  Elder 
died  on  Jan.  20,  1871,  in  the  seventy-ninth  year  of 
his  age. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  and  magnificent  build- 
ing connected  with  St.  Mary's  Seminary  was  laid 
with  impressive  ceremonies  by  Archbishop  Bayley 
on  May  31,  1876.  The  ceremonies  included  a  pro- 
cession of  seventy  seminarians,  one  hundred  and  sixty 
priests,  nine  bishops,  and  three  archbishops. 

The  main  structure  was  completed  and  blessed  on 
Feb.  11,  1878,  all  the  church  dignitaries  present  at 
the  installation  of  Archbishop  Gibbons  on  the  previ- 
ous Sunday  at  the  cathedral  being  in  attendance. 
The  pontifical  mass  was  celebrated  by  Archbishop 
Gibbons,  and  the  sermon  delivered  by  Right  Rev. 
George  Conroy,.D.D.  The  new  seminary  buildings 
stand  upon  the  site  of  the  old,  and  the  grounds  which 
they  occupy  are  bounded  by  Paca,  Druid  Hill  Ave- 
nue, Pennsylvania  Avenue,  and  St.  Mary's  Street. 
During  1881  the  north  and  a  portion  of  the  centre 
wing  was  added,  completing  the  original  plan  of  the 
college,  which  now  presents  a  front  of  three  hundred 
and  twenty  feet.  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Paul  Dubreul,  Vicar- 
General  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Maryland,  and  Superior 
of  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  died  on  April  20, 1878,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  A.  Magnien,  S.S.  Since  the  erec- 
tion and  opening  of  the  new  seminary  buildings  on 
North  Paca  Street,  in  1878,  St.  Mary's  chapel  has 
been  exclusively  devoted  to  seminary  purposes. 

St.  Mary's  Seminary — also  known  as  the  Semi- 
naire  de  St.  Sulpice— has  ever  held  a  prominent  rank 
among  the  Catholic  schools  of  divinity  in  this  coun- 


FIRES   AND   FIEE   COMPANIES. 


try.     In  1828  it  was  elevated  by  the  Holy  See  to  the 
dignity  of  a  university,  with  power  to  grant  degrees 
in  theology  and  canon  law.     The  course  of  studies  i 
embraces  five  years,   two  of  which  are   devoted  to  I 
philosophy  and  the  higher  natural  sciences,  and  the  j 
rest  to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  canon  law,  theol- 
ogy, and  ecclesiastical  history.     None  are  admitted 
but  such  as  study  for  the  priesthood  and  have  suc- 
cessfully passed  through  the  collegiate  course.     The 
institution  is  conducted  by  Sulpician  priests,  forming 
a  corporation  under  the  legal   name  of  the  "Asso- 
ciated Professors  of  St.  Mary's  Seminary."    The  pres- 
ent head  of  the  establishment  is  Dr.  A.  Magnien,  as- 
sisted by  an  able  corps  of  teachers  formed  in  the  best 
schools  at  home  or  abroad.' 

St.  Catharine's  Normal  School.— On  Thursday 
morning,  March  11,  1875,  Archbishop  Bayley  dedi- 
cated St.  Catharine's  Normal  School,  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  Harlem  and  Arlington  Avenues,  Father 
Myer,  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  Church,  assisting. 
The  institution  is  in  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  and  is  designed  to  educate  young  women 
as  Catholic  teachers.  Previous  to  the  inauguration  of 
this  institution  there  had  been  no  school  in  the  city 
for  the  education  of  Catholic  teachers.  ! 

The  Male  Free  School  of  St.  Peter's  (Catholic) 
Church  was  established  in  December,  1817,  and  re- 
ceived an  endowment  from  Charles  Carroll  of  Carroll- 
ton.  The  number  of  pupils  in  attendance  in  January,  ^ 
1820,  was  eighty.  Archbishop  Marfichal  was  presi- 
dent of  the  in.stitution,  with  Rev.  E.  Fenwick,  John 
Parsons,  John  White,  Abraham  White,  Jr.,  P.  Tier- 
nan,  John  Sinnott,  and  D.  Williamson,  Jr.,  as  di- 
rectors. 

Eaton  &  Burnett's  Business  College,  northeast 
corner  of  Baltimore  and  Charles  Streets,  has  long  been 
known  as  one  of  the  best  institutions  of  its  character 
in  the  country.  It  is  the  design  of  this  college  to 
educate  young  men  for  actual  mercantile  business  iu 
all  departments  and  phases.  The  principals  and  con- 
sulting accountants  are  Profs.  A.  H.  Eaton  and  E. 
Burnett.  The  faculty  consists  of  Profs.  A.  H.  Eaton, 
E.  Burnett,  W.  R.  Glenn,  Edward  Otis  Hinkley,  A. 
E.  Twiford,  A.B.,  W.  P.  Rinehart,  George  W.  Nach- 
man,  Rev.  R.  G.  Chaney,  A.M.,  Charles  L.  Maas, 
Robert  S.  Holden,  and  S.  Lauer. 

The  Bryant,  Stratton  &  Sadler's  Business  Col- 
lege, on  North  Charles  Street,  is  an  institution  of 
similar  character  with  the  above,  and  has  been  em- 
inently successful.  Like  Eaton  &  Burnett's,  it  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  very  best  business  colleges  in  the 
United  States.  The  faculty  of  the  college  is  as  fol- 
lows: Warren  H.  Sadler,  president;  William  H.De- 
von, William  A.  Heitmueller,  W.  H.  Patrick,  Joseph 
H.  Elliott,  G.  W.  H.  Carr,  John  K.  Hopper,  T.  W. 
Jamison,  William  R.  Will,  R.  E.  Wright,  J.  H. 
Kunker,  Jos6  De  Lamar,  William  Carpenter. 


CHAPTER    XXIL 

FIRE8   AND    FIKE   COMPANIES. 

The  First  Company— Tlie  Bucket  Brigade— The  Uuited  Fire  Depart- 
ment—The Old  Volunteer  Companies— The  Paid  Department— Prom- 

No  special  regulations  with  reference  to  fires  appear 
to  have  existed  in  Baltimore  until  1747.  On  the  11th 
of  July  in  that  year  an  act  was  passed  "  for  the  en- 
largement of  Baltimore  Town,  in  Baltimore  County," 
and  stimulated,  doubtless,  by  local  pride  in  the  grow- 
ing importance  of  the  place,  the  Assembly  added  a 
section  bearing  on  this  subject.  By  this  section  it 
was  provided 


I  See  Loyola  College,  under  head  of  St.  Ignatius'  Church. 


"  that  any  inhahitants  in  the  said  town  who  shall  after  the  first  day  of 
December  next  ensuing  permit  his,  her,  or  their  chimuoy  to  take  fire  so 
aa  to  blaze  out  at  the  top  shall  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  ten  shillings 
current  money  for  every  such  offence ;  and  any  person  having  a  house 
in  the  said  town  with  a  chimney  and  in  use,  who  shall  not  after  the  first 
said  day  of  December  keep  a  ladder  high  enough  to  extend  to  the  top  of 
the  roof  of  such  house,  shall  also  forfeit  and  pay  ten  shillings  current 

It  would  seem  that  the  fine  of  teji  shillings  and  the 
tall  ladders  combined  served  to  keep  down  fires  for  a 
good  many  years,  for  it  was  not  until  1760  that  any 
further  safeguards  appear  to  have  been  considered 
necessary.'  In  that  year  a  meeting  was  held  for  the 
purpose  of  considering  the  question  of  providing 
more  effectually  for  the  safety  of  property,  but  it  was 
not  until  several  years  later  that  the  first  fire  com- 
pany was  formed  and  the  first  engine  procured. 
Among  the  earliest  engines,  it  is  said,  were  two  im- 
ported from  Holland  by  Levi  Hollingsworth,  at  the 
request  of  the  townsfolk  ;  one  of  them,  the  "  Dutch- 
man," was  put  in  charge  of  the  Mechanical  Company, 
and  the  other,  the  "  Tick-Tack,"  in  charge  of  the 
Union.  The  works  of  the  "  Dutchman"  consisted  of 
two  pumps  made  of  sheet  brass,  and  with  a  small  sec- 
tion of  sewed  hose,  and  pipe,  constituted  the  appa- 
ratus of  the  primitive  companies  for  the  extinguish- 
ment of  fires.  After  the  organization  of  the  second 
company  all  anxiety  on  the  subject  of  fire  seems  to 
have  died  away  for  a  time,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Baltimore  Town  appear  to  have  imposed  implicit  re- 
liance in  the  protection  and  guardianship  of  those 
wonderful  machines  the  "Dutchman"  and  the  "Tick- 
Tack."  In  1785,  however,  a  third  company  {the 
Friendship)  was  formed,  and  from  this  time  forward 
greater  attention  appears  to  have  been  paid  to  the 
protection  of  property  from  fire,  public  interest  in  the 
matter  probably  having  been  quickened  by  some  dis- 
aster or  danger  from  this  source.  At  all  events  the 
inhabitants  began  to  awake  to  the  importance  and 
necessity  of  greater  precautions  and  more  thorough 
organization,  and  on  the  17th  of  March,  1787,  a  meet- 


-  Annapolis  had  a  fire-engine  some  years  before  this.  The  local  chron- 
icles inform  us  that  "  on  the  8th  of  May,  1755,  there  was  landed  at  An- 
napolis for  the  use  of  the  city  a  very  fine  engine  made  by  Newsham  and 
Ragg,  No.  180O,  which  the  inhabitants  last  year  generously  subscribed 
for.    It  throws  water  oue  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet  perpendicular." 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ing  was  held  at  the  house  of  Daniel  Grant  by  the 
representatives  of  the  Mechanical,  Union,  Friend- 
ship, and  Mercantile  fire  companies,  with  Wra.  Smith 
in  the  chair,  and  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted : 

*'  Rt'Koh'ed^  That  this  coniiuittoe  recoinnieiid  to  the  inhabitants  of  this 
town  that  they  put  liglits  in  their  windows  in  time  of  fire  in  the  night, 
not  only  near  where  the  fire  is,  but  generally  thronghont  the  town,  for 
the  convenience  of  those  who  are  repairing  to  the  fire."  ' 

**  Rcsohed,  That  it  be  recommended  to  every  housekeeper,  whore  one 
of  the  family  is  not  enrolled  in  some  fire  company,  to  provide  as  soon  as 
possible  two  good  leather  buckets,  marked  with  the  owner's  name,  and 
that  they  send  them  to  the  place  of  fire  immediately  on  the  alarm  being 


ompany  appoint  any  number  of  men  of 
en,  wlio  shall  each  be  distinguished  by  a 
lose  business  it  shall  be  to  form  lanes  for 


"Resolved,  That  each  fire 
their  own  company  for  lane- 
white  staff  eight  fiet  long,  \ 
the  purpose  of  handing  the  water. 

"Resolved,  That  each  fire  company  appoint  any  number  of  men  of 
their  own  company  for  property-men,  who  shall  each  be  distinguished 
by  having  the  crown  of  his  hat  painted  white,  and  whose  business  it 
shall  be  to  take  charge  of  property  to  be  removed  in  lime  of  fire." 

In  accordance  with  these  resolutions,  ari  act  was 
passed  by  the  Assembly  on  the  15th  of  May  following 
"  for  the  more  efllctual  remedy  to  extinguish  fire  in 
Baltimore  Town."  By  this  act  every  householder  was 
required  to  keep  two  leather  buckets  hung  up  near  the 
door  of  his  house,  and  the  commissioner  of  the  town 
was  authorized  to  dig  wells  and  erect  pumps  on  the 
sides  of  the  streets.  These  famous  "leather  buckets," 
of  which  we  hear  so  much,  were  used  in  conveying 
water  to  supply  the  engines,  as  hose  and  fire-plugs 
were  not  then  in  use. 

The  attachment  of  the  early  inhabitants  to  the 
leather  buckets  seems  to  have  been  nearly  as  great  as 
that  of  the  poet  to  the  "old  oaken  bucket  that  hung 
in  the  well,"  and  if  they  were  not  regarded  with 
quite  so  much  sentiment,  they  were  certainly  made  to 
render  fully  as  valuable  service.  In  those  primitive 
times  there  were  few  or  no  idlers  or  mere  spectators 
at  fires.  Long  lines  of  people  were  formed  to  "  hand 
along  the  buckets,"  and  if  the  curious  and  idle  at- 
tempted to  pass,  the  cry  echoed  along  the  line,  "  Fall 
in !  fall  in  !"  The  resolutions  adopted  in  1787  do  not 
appear  to  have  been  complied  with  as  generally  as 
was  deemed  desirable,  for  on  the  24:th  of  November, 
1789,  it  was  considered  necessary  by  the  companies  to 
reiterate  them,  and  to  call  the  especial  attention  of 
the  inhabitants  to  the  "  great  inconvenience  arising 
for  want  of  water  in  the  distressing  time  of  fire."  It 
was  also  resolved  that 

t  fire  companies  to  meet  all  together,  [ 

1  the  first  Monday  in  December  next  ! 

at  three  o'clock  p.m.,  at  the  court-house,  and  at  such  other  places  and  I 

times  as  may  hereafter  be  agreed  to,  in  order  to  try  their  engines  and  I 

exercise  themselves,  that  they  may  be  better  enabled  to  act  more  in  con-  ' 
junction  than  they  have  hitherto  done." 

Before  1790  the  cry  of  "Fire!"  was  the  only  method  j 


rapid  locomotion  on 


of  warning  the  townspeople  and  procuring  succor,  but 
I  in  that  year  David  Evans  "  erected  an  alarm"  at  the 
I  court-house,  which  was  favorably  reported  upon  on 
the  2d  of  September  by  a  committee  of  clock-makers 
consisting  of  George  Levely,  Elijah  Evans,  Gilbert 
I  Bigger,  Joseph  Rice,  and  Standish  Barry.     Probably 
the  first  severe  test  of  the  efficiency  of  the  companies 
j  and  the  suflSciency  of  their  precautions  was  had  in 
I  the  fire  of  Dec.  4,  1796,  which  at  one  time  threatened 
I  with  destruction  the  greater  part  of  the  town.     The 
I  fire  broke  out  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  in  a 
I  frame  building  on  the  west  side  of  Lig4(t  Street  oc- 
cupied as  a  shop  by  Dr.  Goodwin,  and  Tm mediately 
,  spread  to  the  frame  buildings  of  Messrs.  Wilkinson  & 
j  Smith's  cabinet  manufactory  on  the  south  side,  and  the 
two  three-story  brick  houses  owned  by  Mr.  Hawkins. 
On  the  north  the  flames  communicated  to  the  "mag- 
nificent structure"  the  Baltimore  Academy  and  the 
I  Methodist  meeting-house.      In   spite  of  the  utmost 
efl^orts  of  the  firemen  and  citizens,  it  was  found  im- 
possible to  save  the  six  buildings  on  fire,  and  the 
j  spread  of  the  flames  could  only  be  prevented  by  par- 
tially demolishing  the  dwelling  of  Rev.  Mr.  Reid. 
"Mr.  Bryden's  'Fountain  Inn,'  directly  opposite,  was 
with   difliculty  preserved   by  wetting   the   roof  and 
spreading   wet    blankets   by   a    gentleman    traveler 
(Mr.  Francis  Charlton,  of  Yorktown,  Va.)  on  a  shed 
adjoining  the  inn,  which  was  on  fire  several  times 
previous  to  this  experiment."    Thoroughly  alarmed  by 
the  recent  danger,  a  meeting  of  citizens  was  promptly 
called,  and  a  committee  appointed  "  to  consider  and 
report  to  them  such  measures  as  may  appear  the  best 
calculated  at  this  juncture  for  the  preservation  of  the 
town  from  fire  and  other  calamities."     On  the  22d  of 
December  the  committee  reported  and  submitted  the 
following  resolutions  for  the  consideration  of  their 
fellow-citizens : 

"First,  Resolved,  That  there  be  a  voluntary  patrol  of  the  citizens  as 
long  as  the  same  may  appear  necessary,  and  that  the  town  be  divided 
into  eight  districts;  that  the  citizens  patrol  in  their  respective  districts; 
that  there  he  three  superintendents  in  each  district,  with  authority  to 
organize  and  regulate  the  patrol  thereof;  that  the  following  be  the  super- 
intendents: For  the  First  District,  John  P.  Pleasants,  William  Jessop, 
John  Stump:  for  the  Second,  John  Strieker,  David  Poe,  Joseph  Thorn- 
burg;  for  thB  TliinI,  I'l.t...  H..lliii:in,  It.jl.rrt  Smith,  James  McCannon ; 

for  the  Fell!  Hi    \i.y,,,i,     M    I.  m  .,    -  I ,.n  Etting,  Samuel  HoUings- 

worth;  fur  ti,     I  ,         I  .1'  I     mas  Hollingsworth.and  Paul 

Bentalou  ;  1 -,    ,    ,;      ,  ii .  i  .  ui- Frick,  Englehard  Yeiser; 

for  the  Seveulli,  Jia  iuml  Luw sun,  1  iiuuiiis  McElderrj ,  and  John  Macken- 
heimer;  for  the  Eighth,. loseph  Biays,  Hezekiah  Watere,  and  John  Steel. 

"Second.  Resolved,  That,  in  consideration  of  the  present  alarming 
circumstances  of  the  town,  extraordinary  vigilance  be  and  the  same  is 
hereby  recommended  to  the  chief  justice  of  the  Baltimore  County  Court 
and  his  associates  in  order  to  carry  into  complete  effect  the  provisions  of 
the  law  respecting  vagrants,  vagabonds,  and  disorderly  persons. 

"  Tltird.  liesolved.  That  it  be  and  it  is  hereby  recommended  to  the 
said  chief  justice  and  his  associates  to  give  without  delay  the  most  pointed 
instructions  to  the  watchmen  to  bo  particularly  vigilant  at  this  time  in 
the  observance  of  their  duty. 

"Fourth.  Resolved,  That  the  several  fire  companies  are  requested  to 
appoint  a  committee  of  three  from  each  company,  to  assemble  at  James 
Bryden's  tavern  on  Monday  evening  next  at  five  o'clock,  to  digest  some 
system  that  may  tend  to  insure  a  regular  uniform  government  of  the 
time  of  fire ;  and  that  it  bo  recommended  to  the  several 
s  to  assemble  on  Satunlay  evening  next  at  such  places  as 


FIRES   AND   FIRE   COMPANIES. 


they  may  respectively  appoint  for  the  purpose  of  appointing  the  said   i 
committees.  | 

'*  Fifth.  Rf.soh-ed,  That  it  is  hereby  recommended  to  the  citizens  to 
have  theU"  chimneys  swept  every  thirty  days  as  by  law  directed.^ 

"  Sixth.  Reftolvedf  Tiiat  Jesse  HolHngsworth,  Robert  Smith,  and  Alex- 
ander McKiui  be  and  they  are  hereby  appointed  to  tlie  Maryland  In- 
Burance  Fire  Company  to  issue  a  license  or  liL-enses  for  the  sweeping  of 
chimneys  to  any  person  or  persons  of  good  character  that  may  apply 
for  the  same  upon  giving  the  security  prescribed  by  law.  | 

"Seventh.  Resolnedy  That  it  is  hereby  recommended  to  the  special  com 
missloners  to  put  the  law  in  force  against  all  citizens  who  do  not  provide 
themselves  with  the  number  of  buckets  required  by  law,  and  it  is  further 
recommended  that  every  housekeeper  furnish  himself  with  four  good 
buckets,  or  a  less  number  in  proportion  to  his  abilities. 

"  E'ujhth.  Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  special  commis- 
sioners to  cause  to  be  establislied  immediately  a  competent  number  of 
large  good  pumps  in  each  street,  the  wells  thereof  to  be  deep  and  tpa- 
cious ;  and  it  is  earnestly  recommended  to  the  citizens  to  concur  in  the 
same  by  the  requisite  application  therefor,  and  it  is  further  recommended 
to  the  special  commissioners  to  make  the  necessary  repairs  to  the  public 
pumps. 

"  Ninth.  Resolved,  That  it  is  recommended  to  the  citizens  of  Baltimore 
to  give  information  to  some  magistrate  of  any  vagrant,  vagabond,  or 
•  disorderly  person  that  they  may  know  to  be  within  the  limits  of  the 
town  or  the  precincts. 

"  Tenth.  Resolved,  That  the  practice  of  firing  guns  within  the  limits 
of  the  town  is  highly  improper  and  dangerous,  and  it  is  recommended 
that  magistrates  take  all  necessary  steps  to  prevent  the  same. 

"  Eleventh.  Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  all  masters  and  mis- 
tresses of  slaves,  servants,  and  apprentices  not  to  sufler  them  to  be  from 
home  after  nine  o'clock  without  leave  in  writing. 

"  Twelfth.  Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  that  upon  the  alarm  of 
fire  all  citizens  ouglit,  in  going  to  the  place  of  fire,  to  fill  their  buckets 
with  water,  and  that  all  housekeepers  put  a  sufficient  number  of  candles 
in  their  windows  to  afford  light  to  the  citizens." 

Ill  accordance  with  the  suggestion  made  in  these 
resolutions,  a  meeting  of  the  committees  of  the  vari- 
ous fire  companies  was  held  on  the  28th  of  December 
"for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  uniform  system  at 
times  of  fire."  After  a  full  interchange  of  views,  the 
following  resolutions  were  adopted : 


I  the) 


"  Resolved,  That  the  axe-men,  hook-men,  and  ladder-men  of  each  fire 
company  unite  and  elect  their  officers,  who  shall  (in  time  of  fire)  com- 
mand them,  under  the  instruction  of  the  superintending  directory,  and 
that  no  person  shall  be  suffered  to  interfere  with  the  axe,  hook,  or  ladder- 


1  One  of  the  results  of  these  recommendations  was  the  passage  of  an 
ordinance  on  the  12th  of  December,  1798,  requiring  the  sweeping  of 
chimneys  every  four  weeks  when  considered  necessary  by  the  superin- 
tendent of  chimney-sweepei-8.  This,  however,  was  not  the  first  legisla- 
tion on  the  subject,  but  the  law  does  nut  seem  to  have  been  very  strictly 
observed.  Another  result  of  the  alarm  created  by  the  fire  of  179t>  was 
the  passage  two  years  later  of  an  ordin:ince  repeating  the  provisions  of 
the  former  act  of  Assembly,  and  requiring  the  occupier  of  every  dwelling- 
house  assessed  at  more  than  two  hundred  dollars  to  provide  two  well- 
made  leather  fire-buckets,  which  were  to  be  *' kept  in  good  repair"  and 
"hung  up  near  the  front  duor  of  the  house."  In  case  of  the  loss  of  the 
buckets  the  householder  was  required  to  replace  them  within  one  month, 
and  all  persons  were  forbidden  to  use  them  except  in  ■*  handling  water 
at  the  times  of  fire."  It  was  further  provided  that  the  supeiintendent 
of  chimney-sweepers  in  each  district  should  from  time  to  time  examine 
the  houses  and  buildings  in  their  respective  districts,  and  "see  that  they 
be  properly  furnished  with  buckets,  and  report  all  delinquents  to  the 
mayor."  The  same  ordinance  contained  various  other  regulations,  with 
reference  to  stoves  and  chimneys,  looking  to  the  prevention  of  fires.  On 
the  11th  of  June,  1799,  another  ordinance  was  passed  forbidding  the 
erection  of  any  more  wooden  buildings  within  certain  limits,  and  im- 
posing a  penalty  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  its  violation,  and  a  further 
penalty  of  twenty  dollars  per  month  until  the  removal  of  the  building 
80  erected. 


men  but  their  officers,  under  the  control  aforesaid,  who  will  distinguish 
themselves  I'y  a  badge. 

"  Rewlved,  That  the  directors  shall  consist  of  one  member  from  each 
fire  company,  to  be  chosen  by  their  several  and  respective  companies,  who 
will  also  distinguish  themselves  by  a  badge. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  property-men  of  each  fire  company  unil  e  and  elect 
their  officers  and  make  regulations  to  govern  themselves  in  time  of  fire. 

"  Resolved,  That  each  fire  company  appoint  lane-men,  who  shall  be  dis- 
tinguished by  a  staff,  and  whose  duty  it  shall  be  in  time  of  fire  to  form 
and  regulate  the  lanes. 

"Resolved,  That  the  following  persons  be  and  are  hereby  appointed  a 
committee  to  call  on  the  owners  of  property  in  their  different  districts  for 
approbation  to  the  special  commissioners  to  dig  wells  and  erect  pumps  in 
the  public  streets,  etc.,  agreeably  to  act  of  Assembly  in  each  case  made 
and  provided,  viz.: 

"  Fi ret,  John  Pleasants,  Henry  Stouffer,  Ephraim  Eobinson,  Henry  Wil- 
lis; Second,  John  Strieker,  David  Poe,  John  Mickle;  Third,  Robert  Smith, 
Peter  Hoffman,  Jesse  Hollingsworth;  Fourth,  Solomon  Etting,  Samuel 
HolHngsworth,  William  McCreery ;  Fifth,  Thomas  Hollingsworth,  Archi- 
bald Campbell,  P.  Bentalou ;  Sixth,  Engelhard  Teiser,  James  Sterling, 
Peter  Frick;  Seventh,  John  Mackenheimer,  Kichard  Lawson,  Charles 
Jessop,  James  Edwards;  Eighth,  John  Steele,  Dixon  Brown,  Job  Smith. 
Patrick  Bennett. 

'*  Resolved,  ThAt  each  fire  company  are  requested  to  assemble  on  or 
before  the  first  Tuesday  in  January  next  at  the  place  tliey  may  appoint, 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the  foregoing  into  effect,  and  this  committee 
meet  the  day  following  to  receive  their  report." 

On  the  16th  of  January,  1797,  another  meeting  was 
held  at  Mr.  Bryden's  by  the  persons  appointed  to 
take  charge  of  property  necessary  to  be  removed, 
when  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted : 

"  Resolved,  That  a  captain  and  six  assistants  be  appointed  to  command 
the  whole  of  the  property-men  at  fires;  and  that  James  Calhoun  be  ctL^ 
tain,  and  Hercules  Courtnay,  John  Merryman,  James  Somer^-ille,  Heni-y 
Schroeder,  Ebenezer  Finley.  and  Cyprian  Weils  the  assistants. 

"  Resolved,  That  eacli  member  wear  at  fires  a  hat  with  the  crown  painted 
white,  and  on  the  front  thereof  the  following  device: 


except  the  captain  and  assistants,  who.  in  place  of  the  numl^er,  the  former 
shall  have  the  word  '  captain,*  and  the  latter  *  assistants,'  to  distinguish 
them  from  others;  and  that  the  secretary  of  each  company  be  requested 
to  furnish  Mr.  James  Calhoun  with  an  accurate  list  of  the  names  of  each 
property-man  in  their  respective  companies  as  soon  as  possible,  to  en- 
able him  to  inform  each  member  of  his  number. 

"  Resolved,  That  each  member  shall  immediately  furnish  himself  with 
a  bag  to  contain  not  less  than  three  bushels,  with  a  running  string  at 
the  mouth,  and  marked  with  the  owner's  name  and  number,  which  bag 
he  shall  take  with  him  to  all  fires,  and  which  at  other  times  shall  be 
placed  near  his  buckets  and  make  no  other  use  of." 

On  the  23d  of  the  same  month  a  meeting  of  the 
directors  appointed  by  the  different  fire  companies 
was  held,  when,  under  the  favorite  form  of  "resola- 
tions,"  the  following  system  of  regulations  was 
adopted : 

*' First.  R(^8olvfid,  Ih&t  there  shall  be  appointed  a  president,  who  shall 
preside  at  all  meetings  and  at  all  fires. 

"Second.  Resolved,  That  Jesse  Hollingsworth  be  and  is  hereby  ai>- 
pointed  the  president. 

"  Third.  Resolved,  Upon  evei-y  alarm  of  fire  the  directors  instantly  re- 
pair to  the  place  of  fire;  and  in  order  that  they  may  without  ditficulty 
distinguish  one  another,  each  director  shall  bear  a  staff  with  a  small 
white  flag. 

"Fonrth.  Resolved,  That  in  times  of  fire  the  directors  continually  m- 
main  together,  unless  one  or  more  of  them  be  sent  by  the  president  to 
some  other  place  for  the  purpose  of  making  observations  or  for  some 
other  useful  purpose. 

"  Fiftfi.  Rf solved.  That  upon  all  questions  at  the  time  of  Are  the  sense 
of  the  majority  of  the  directors  present  shall  prevail. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


"Sixlh.  Itaiohfil,  That  if  at  the  time  of  a  fire  it  shall  appear  to  the 
directors  expedient  to  remoTe  a  house  or  tlie  roof  of  a  bouse,  or  to  do  any 
other  such  act,  the  directions  therefor  shall  without  delay  be  communi- 
cated by  the  president,  iu  the  presence  of  the  directors,  to  the  command- 
ing officers  of  the  axe-men,  hook-men,  and  ladder-meu. 

"Seventfi.  Besoh-ed,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  axe-men,  hook- 
men,  and  ladder-men  to  take  their  station  at  the  time  of  files  as  near  to 
the  director}  as  tlie  nature  of  the  ground  will  admit,  and  the  same  retain, 
in  order  that  the  direction  of  the  directors  may  from  time  to  time 
without  difficulty  be  communicated  to  the  commanding  officers  of  said 
company. 

"  Eighth,  liesoh-ed,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  axe-men,  hook-men, 
and  iadder-uien  to  furnish  themselves  immediately  with  axes,  hooks, and 
ladders,  and  all  other  implemeuts  necessary  to  the  eflfectiug  the  Important 
objects  of  their  respective  appvnutments." 

The  determination  to  adopt  a  regular  system  to  be 
observed  and  carried  out  by  all  the  companies,  work- 
ing in  combination  and  under  one  management,  marks 
the  first  step  towards  the  establishment  of  a  united 
fire  department. 

From  the  tone  and  character  of  the  resolutions 
adopted  at  the  meeting  soon  after  the  fire  of  Dec.  4, 
1796,  it  is  evident  that  more  than  ordinary  alarm  had 
been  created  by  that  occurrence,  and  it  was  supposed 
to  have  been  the  work  of  an  incendiary.  It  is,  more- 
over, clear,  from  the  appointment  of  citizens  to  patrol 
duty  and  other  similar  precautions,  that  there  was 
at  least  a  suspicion  that  the  destruction  of  the  city 
might  be  attemped  by  foreign  emissaries.  The  trou- 
bles between  this  country  and  Great  Britain,  which 
finally  culminated  in  the  war  of  1812,  had  already 
begun,  and  the  wish  had  been  more  than  once  ex- 
pressed by  English  journals  that  Baltimore  might  be 
razed  to  the  ground.  Under  these  circumstances  it 
was  not  unnatural  that  the  apprehension  indicated 
should  have  existed,  and  however  ill-founded  it  may 
have  been,  there  seems  some  reason  to  believe  that  it 
was  entertained.' 

It  would  seem  that  until  the  year  1810,  although 
small  quantities  of  sewed  hose  had  been  used,  no  con- 
siderable quantity  was  carried  to  the  fire  ground,  the 
usage  being  to  place  the  engine  in  front  of  the  fire 
and  supply  it  with  water  by  means  of  the  leather 
buckets  so  often  mentioned.  The  organization  of  the 
First  Baltimore  Hose  Company  in  that  year  promised 
improvement  in  this  particular,  and  the  company  had 
built  a  large  hose-carriage  on  which  to  reel  the  hose, 
made  of  leather,  and  served  over  a  pole.  By  reso- 
lution of  the  mayor  and  City  Council,  two  inches  in  | 
diameter  was  established  as  the  standard.  The  use  of 
hose,  however,  was  very  limited  until  the  year  1822, 
when  the  Patapsco  Company  was  organized  under  the 
auspices  of  J.  I.  Cohen,  Jr.,  who  introduced  a  new 
style  of  building  for  fire  company  purposes,  as  well  as  j 
the  use  of  riveted  hose.  The  formation,  equipment,  | 
and  management  of  all  the  properties  of  the  Patapsco 
Company  gave  an  impetus  to  the  companies  formed 
prior  to  it,  and  it  was  not  long  before  all  of  them  pur- 
chased riveted  hose  and  two-wheel  hose-carriages. 
New  spouting-engines  were  built  for  the  Mechanical, 


I  the  year  1803  a  lottery  was  held  for 


the  Independent,  and  the  Liberty,  and  throughout 
the  city  might  be  seen  various  new  contrivances. 
The  Deptford  obtained  a  three-wheel  reel,  and  the 
engine  of  the  same  company  had  attached  to  it  a 
third  pump  to  supply  the  others  with  water.  Small 
cylinders  were  arranged  on  the  side  of  the  suction  for 
hose,  and  the  old  rope-basket  reel  gave  way  to  two- 
wheel  reels.  About  this  period  Robert  Holloway 
introduced   the  check-valve,  and  the  fourteen  com- 

j  panics  were  equipped  to  attack  any  fire  of  less  magni- 
tude than  the  one  occurring  on  McElderry's  wharf 
prior  to  this  reformation,  and  which  destroyed  most 
of  the  property  between  the  wharf  and  the  Falls  south 
of  Pratt  Street.-  Although,  as  has  been  seen,  a 
system  of  united  action  was  adopted  by  the  various 
companies  in  1796,  it  was  not  until  1831  that  any- 
thing like  a  regular  association  was  formed  by  these 

I  organizations.  Inthat  year  the  Baltimore  Association 
of  Firemen  was  organized,   a  constitution   adopted, 

[  and  the  following  ofiicers  elected  : 

George  Baxley,  president;  Charles  M.  Keyser,  first  vice-presideut ;  Wil- 
liam Houlton,  second  vice-president;  John  C.  Reese,  secretary; 
Samuel  Wilson,  treasurer.  Standing  Committee— Frederick  S.  Lit- 
tig,  Columbian  Fire  Company ;  Thomas  D  Stran,  Deptford  Fire 
Company;  Charles  Diffenderffer,  Friendship  Fire  Company;  Wil- 
liam Wickersham,  Franklin  Fire  Company;  John  Watei-s,  Howard 
Fire  Company ;  Joshua  Turner,  Independent  Fire  Company ;  David 
Martin,  Liberty  Fire  Company  ;  Thomas  M.  Locke,  Mechanical  Fire 
Company;  SHumel  Hess,  New  Market  Fire  Company;  Menry  Mantz, 
Union  Fire  Comi)any  ;  Daniel  Dail,  Vigilant  Fire  Company ;  Jacob 
Baldeston,  Washington  Fire  Company. 

The  ofiicers  of  the  Firemen's  Association  for  1833 
were  as  follows : 

George  Baxley,  of  the  New  Market,  president ;  Charles  M.  Keyser,  of 
the  Liberty,  first  vice-president;  William  Houlton,  of  the  Deptford, 
second  vice-president ;  Samuel  W'ilson,  of  the  Independent,  treas- 
urer; Edward  Needles,  of  the  Washington,  secretary.  Standing 
Committee — John  Glass,  of  the  Columbian ;  Charles  Difienderfier, 
of  the  Friendship;  Joshua  Turi»;r,  of  the  Independent;  Joseph  K. 
.Stapleton,  of  the  Mechanical ;  Thomas  W.  .lay,  of  the  Union;  Wil- 
liam Wickersham,  of  the  Franklin;  Thomas  P.  Stran,  of  the  Dept- 
ford; John  Waters,  of  the  Howard;  Joel  'Wrigbt,  of  the  Liberty  ; 
W.  W.  Keyser,  of  the  New  Market;  Daniel  Dail,  of  tlie  Vigilant; 
E.  E.  Crane,  of  the  Washington. 

In  January,  1834,  a  Firemen's  Convention  was  held, 
and  it  was  determined  to  adopt  new  articles  of  asso- 
ciation, and  to  reorganize  as  the  "  Baltimore  United 
Fire  Department."  Accordingly,  on  the  20th  of  the 
month  the  delegates  from  the  several  fire  companies 

-  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  fire  and  hose  companies  existing  in  Bal- 
timore in  January,  1S19,  and  the  points  at  which  they  were  stationed : 

Union,  Hanover  Street;  Mechanical,  Belvidere  (now  North)  Street; 
Friendship,  Frederick  Street;  Vigilant,  Granby  Street;  New  Market, 
Eut4iw  Street;  Liberty,  Liberty  Street;  Independent,  Bridge  (now  Gay) 
Street,  O.  T.;  Deptfoi-d,  Columbian,  Fell's  Point;  First  Baltimore  Hose, 
McClellan's  Alley;  United  Hose,  Washington  Hose,  Sharp  Street;  Fell's 
Point  Hose.  Fell's  Point;  Franklin,  Light  Street. 

In  1829  there  were  fourteen  fire  companies,  with  twenty-nine  engines 
and  about  sixteen  thousand  feet  of  hose,  and  about  two  thousand  mem- 
bers. Many  parts  of  the  city  being  but  poorly  supplied  with  water,  the 
members  of  some  of  the  companies  determined  to  ascertain  whether  by 
uniting  their  hose  they  would  not  be  able  to  conduct  the  water  to  these 
points.  The  experiment  resulted  successfully,  and  proved  that  one 
supply-engine,  with  about  sixteen  men,  could  propel  the  water  through 
a  line  of  hose  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length  in 


FIRES   AND   FIRE   COMPANIES. 


met  at  the  city  hall  to  organize  the  new  association. 
Hon.  Jesse  Hunt  presided,  with  Thomas  M.  Locke  as 
.secretary,  and  by-laws  and  rules  of  order  having  been 
adopted,  the  organization  was  completed  by  the  elec- 
tion of  the  following  officers  : 

Hon.  Jesse  Hunt,  of  the  Washingtou,  president;  Charles  M.  Keyser,  of 
the  Liberty,  first  vice-president ;  Tliomas  P.  Stran,  of  the  Deptford, 
second  vice-president ;  Thomas  M.  Loclie,  of  the  Mechanical,  tliird 
vice-president ;  Samuel  Wilson,  of  the  Independent,  treasurer ;  Fred- 
erick S.  Littig,  of  the  CoUimbian,  secretary.  Standing  Committee — 
.T.  K.  Stapleton,  S.  S.  Riter,  and  J.  Needles,  Mechanical ;  Goddard  j 
Raborg,  J.  Harvey,  and  Jesse  B.  Wright,  Union;  E.  Mffenderffer,  L. 
Holter,  and  C.  S.  Davis,  Friendship ;  R.  D.  Craggs,  William  Cornth- 
wait,  and  J.  Miles,  Deptford;  Joel  Wright,  John  Brannan,  and  Jas.  i 
\.  May,  Liberty ;  Hugh  Bolton,  John  Rogers,  and  J.  S.  Turner,  ! 
Independent;  Daniel  Dail,  R.  St.  John  Stewart,  and  John  C.  Pitt, 
Vigilant;  A.  W.  Barnes,  J.  Kreager,  and  A.  Martin,  New  Market; 
John  Glass,  John  Henderson,  and  A.  Hiissey,  Columbian  ;  S.  Keerl, 
J.  R.  Moore,  and  J.  B.  Tliomas,  First  Baltimore;  John  Smith,  Fred- 
erick Seylor,  and  J.  S.  Hoffman,  United  ;  W.  Wickershani,  John  A. 
Kobb,  and  P.  Cooney,  Franklin;  T.  Watson,  T.  Gillingham,  and  C. 
W.  Evans,  Washington;  J.  I.  Cohen,  Jr.,  E.  A.Warner,  and  R. 
Lewis,  Patapsco;  S.  McClellan,  John  Waters,  and  W,  P.  Ponder, 
Howard. 

On  the  10th  of  March,  1834,  the  association  was  in- 
corporated by  the  General  Assembly  as  the  Baltimore 
United  Fire  Department,  with  the  following  incor- 
porators : 

Thomas  M.  Locke,  James  Lovegrove,  Joseph  K.  Dukehart,  Joseph  R. 
Stapleton,  John  Needles,  Samuel  S.  Riley,  and  James  McEIroy,  as  dele- 
gates for  the  Mechanical  Fire  Company ;  Jesse  B.  Wright,  Samuel  Stump, 
Jr.,  William  E.  Kane,  PhilipMuth,  Jr.,  Joshua  Harvey,  Goddard  Raborg, 
and  Alexander  Smith,  as  delegates  for  the  Union  Fire  Company ;  Dr.  Mi- 
chael Diffenderffer,  Dr.  Charles  S.  Davis,  John  P.  Miller,  Charles  Diffen- 
derffer,  Lewis  Holter,  George  Meyer,  and  Kinsey  Fowble,  as  delegates  for 
the  Friendship  Fire  Company  ;  William  Cornthwait,  Joseph  M.  Miles, 
Carvel  Conaway,  Thomas  Evans,  Thomas  P.  Stran.  Robert  Craggs,  and 
Henry  Dundore,  as  delegates  for  the  Deptford  Fire  Company ;  Charles 
M.  Keyser,  Joel  Wright,  John  Brannan,  James  A.  May,  David  Ander- 
son, Samuel  Rulon,  and  John  Kummer,  as  delegates  for  the  Liberty  Fire 
Company ;  John  Rogers,  Joseph  Matthews,  Dr.  John  L.  Yeates,  Hugti 
Bolton,  Joseph  Turner,  Joseph  L.  Thomas,  and  Samuel  Wilson,  as 
delegates  for  the  Independent  Fii  e  Company  ;  Col.  William  Stewart,  Dan- 
iel Dail,  David  Brown,  Benjamin  Buck,  Robert  St.  John  Stewart,  William 
Reauy,  and  John  C.  Pitt,  as  delegates  for  the  Vigilant  Fire  Company; 
William  W.  Keyser,  Charies  A.  Schwatka,  Henry  W.  Winters,  A.  W, 
Barnes,  John  Baldwin,  Joseph  Kreager,  and  Andrew  Martin,  as  delegates 
for  the  New  Market  Fire  Company ;  Frederick  S.  Littig,  John  Hender- 
son, John  Glass,  Ashael  Hussey  of  George,  John  Beacham,  David  Nicholl, 
and  William  Randall,  as  delegates  for  the  Columbian  Fire  Company ; 
Samuel  Keerl,  John  McKean,  Jr.,  John  R.  Moore,  Joseph  B.  Thomas, 
Daniel  H.  McPbail,  James  R.  Gaskins,  and  George  Booth,  as  delegates 
for  the  First  Baltimore  Hose  Company;  Frederick  Seylor,  John  Rick- 
stine,  John  Smith,  William  Starr,  G.  W.  Hynson,  Joseph  Walter,  and  Ja- 
cob V.  Hoffman,  as  delegates  for  the  L^nited  Hose  and  Suction  Engine 
Company;  John  A.  Bobb,  William  Wickersham,  Josepli  Coppreice,  Pat- 
rick Cooney,  James  Biaya,  Ezekiel  Dorsey,  and  Henry  R.  Landerman,  as 
delegates  for  the  Franklin  Hose  Company  ;  Jesse  Hunt,  John  E.  Reese, 
Edward  Needles.  Jacob  Balderston,  James  Gillingham,  Charles  W.  Evans, 
and  Thomas  Watson,  as  delegates  for  the  Washington  Hose  Company  ;  J. 
I.  Cohen,  Jr.,  Andrew  E.  Warner,  George  H.  Tucker,  Thomas  Shanley, 
Richard  Lewis,  James  Arthur,  and  James  H.  Jones,  as  delegates  for  the 
Patapsco  Fire  Company;  Samuel  McClellan,  John  Waters,  William  P. 
Ponder,  John  Erhman,  George  Keyser,  Alcaeus  B.  Wolf,  and  George 
Sauerwein,  as  delegates  for  the  Howard  Fire  Company. 

The  act  of  incorporation  provided  that  each  fire 
company  should  be  represented  in  the  department  by 
seven  delegates,  and  that  there  should  be  a  board  of 
select  delegates  composed  of  the  first-named  member 
of  each  delegation.     The  department  was  authorized 


to  pass  all  by-laws  which  should  be  deemed  necessary 
for  the  better  regulation  of  the  companies  during  their 
operations  at  fires,  and  was  empowered  to  redress  all 
grievances  and  settle  all  disputes  between  two  or  more 
of  the  companies,  to  enforce  obedience  to  the  by-laws, 
and  to  expel  refractory  members.  It  was  further 
authorized  to  provide  for  the  creation  of  a  fund  to  be 
applied  to  the  purpose  of  affording 

"relief  or  assistance,  comfort,  and  support"  to  the  members  of  fire  com- 
panies in  association  with  the  department,  "  whose  health  or  person 
should  have  sustained  any  injury  in  assisting  at  a  fire  or  in  performing 
any  duty  as  a  fireman,  and  in  giving  support  or  relief  to  the  families  of 
such  members  as  should  be  unfortunately  deprived  of  life  or  rendered 
incapable  or  less  capable  of  laboring  for  their  support  by  attending  to 
bis  duties  as  fireman." 

Liberal  contributions  were  at  once  made  to  this 
fund  by  the  citizens,  and  by  May,  1835,  it  amounted 
to  $11,094.08,  and  was  invested  in  city  5's  for  the 
benefit  of  the  association.^  Unfortunately,  the  rival- 
ries and  jealousies  of  the  various  companies  had 
resulted  at  a  comparatively  early  period  in  scenes  of 
riot  and  bloodshed,  and  in  spite  of  the  formation  of 
the  United  Fire  Department  disorders  and  disturb- 
ances were  of  frequent  occurrence  between  some  of 
the  organizations  which  composed  it. 

"The  alarm  of  fire,"  we  are  told,  "sounded  to  the  peaceful  citizens  as 
a  war-whoop,  and  the  scene  of  conflagration  was  the  scene  of  riot,  if  not 
invariably  of  bloodshed.  Gangs  of  disorderly  blackguards,  adopting  the 
names  of  some  of  our  fire  companies,  would  marshal  themselves  under 
ringleaders,  and,  armed  with  bludgeons,  knives,  and  even  fire-arms,  fight 
with  each  other  like  hordes  of  savages." 

The  evil  at  length  assumed  such  proportions  that 
the  Legislature  found  it  necessary  to  interfere,  and 
an  act  was  passed  on  the  30th  of  March,  1838,  "for 
the  protection  of  firemen  and  the  property -of  the 
fire  companies  in  the  city  of  Baltimore."  By  this  act 
the  destruction  or  injury  of  the  apparatus  of  any  fire 
company  was  made  a  felony  punishable  by  confine^ 
ment  in  the  penitentiary  for  not  less  than  two  nor 
more  than  five  years,  and  a  penalty  of  fine  and  im- 
prisonment prescribed  for  assaults  upon  firemen  while 
engaged  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty.  It  was  also 
provided  that  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  Balti- 
more United  Fire  Department  and  the  presidents  of 
the  several  fire  companies  should  possess  and  exercise 
all  the  powers  and  jurisdiction  of  a  justice  of  the 
peace  "  whilst  attending  at,  going  to,  or  returning 
from  any  fire."  The  disorders,  however,  did  not  ceaje, 
for  in  the  following  year  further  legislation  on  the 
same  subject  was  obtained.  In  April,  1844,  an  ordi- 
nance was  passed  by  the  City  Council  making  special 
appropriations  for  the  various  fire  companies  on  con- 
dition that  they  should  transfer  their  engine-houses 
and  lots  to  the  city,  should  exclude  minors  from  mem- 
bership, and  should  confer  authority  on  the  president 


I  On  the  19th  of  November,  1838,  a  parade  of  the  companies  occurred, 
in  which  the  following  organizations  participated:  the  Assistance  Fire 
Company,  of  Philadelphia;  Union  Fire  Company,  of  Washington;  Me- 
chanical, Union,  Friendship,  Deptford,  Liberty,  Independent,  Vigilant, 
New  Market,  Columbian,  First  Baltimore,  United,  Franklin,  Washington, 
Patapsco,  Howard,  of  Baltimore.    Charles  M.  Keyser,  chief  marshal. 


242 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


to  strike  the  names  of  unruly  members  from  the  roll. 
Officers  and  members  were  also  required  to  use  every 
effort  to  prevent  breaches  of  the  peace,  and  companies 
were  made  liable  for  damages  "  in  case  of  altercation." 
The  ordinance,  moreover,  provided  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  superintendent  of  appropriations  for  fire 
companies,  and  prohibited  the  establishment  of  any 
more  companies  without  the  consent  of  the  mayor 
and  City  Council.'  In  1849  the  city  was  divided  into 
four  fire  wards  or  districts,  and  it  was  provided  that 
the  proper  fire  ward  of  each  company  should  be  that 
in  which  its  engine-house  was  situated.  By  the  re- 
port of  the  United  Fire  Department  for  1851  it  ap- 
pears that  there  were  then  seventeen  companies  in 
active  service  in  the  city,  having  twelve  spouting- 
engines,  twenty-seven  suction-engines,  thirty-nine 
hose-carriages,  twenty-one  thousand  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  of  hose,  and  two  thousand  four  hundred 
members,  one-third  of  whom  were  classified  as  active 
firemen.  In  1854  the  City  Council  committee  on  fire 
companies  reported  that  there  were  then  in  active 
operation  seventeen  engines  and  two  hook-and-lad- 
der  companies,  having  fourteen  spouting-eugines, 
twenty-seven  suction-engines,  forty  hose-carriages, 
and  nineteen  thousand  five  hundred  feet  of  hose,  two- 
tliirds  of  which  was  in  good  order.  Great  opposi- 
tion was  at  first  offered  by  the  United  Fire  Depart- 
ment to  the  introduction  of  steam-engines,  and  several 
companies  which  had  jjurchased  them  or  had  made 
arrangements  for  doing  so  were  suspended  by  the 
dejiartment.  Upon  the  establishment  of  the  Paid 
Fire  Department  in  18-58,  the  Baltimore  Fire  De- 
partment was  composed  of  twenty-two  companies, 
three  .steam-engine  companies,  seventeen  hand-engine 
companies,  and  two  hook-and-ladder  companies,  with 
about  one  thousand  active  members,  and  about  two 
thousand  honorary  or  contributing  members.  The 
system  was  voluntary,  and  the  organization  was  sus- 
tained by  an  annual  appropriation  of  eight  hundred 
dollars  to  each  of  the  companies  and  by  contributions 
from  insurance  companies,  business  men,  property  j 
owners,  and  the  members  of  the  various  companies. 
Each  company  was  distinct  and  independent,  and  the  | 
only  persons  receiving  compensation  for  their  services 
were  the  engineers  and  hostlers  of  the  steam-engine  [ 
companies.  The  United  Fire  Department,  however,  [ 
did  not  dissolve  immediately  upon  the  inauguration 
of  the  new  system,  and,  although  of  course  not  con- 
tinuing in  active  service,  maintained  its  organization 
for  several  years.  In  1862,  when  it  became  evident 
that  the  organization  must  soon  disband,  application 
was  made  to  the  Legislature  for  such  an  amendment 

'  The  offlcore  of  the  standing  committee  of  the  United  Fire  Depart-  j 
niont  for  1S44  were  Joshua  Vansant,  cliairman ;  S.  S.  Briggs,  flint  eubsti-  ! 
tute;  Samuel  Kirk,  secoud  substitute;  Edward  :^Ittc)K-ll,  tliiid  ^ul'Sti-  j 
tlite;  James  Young,  secretary.  The  officers -I  iIm  I  mt-.l  I  n.  Dcparr-  ] 
nient  for  1845  were  Thomas  M.  Locke,  preM  I  :       ^~  ,    il    w  ntson,   ' 

first  vice-president;  David  Irelan, second  vic<.--i i     I;         i  -i,  J..lm 

Stewart,  third  vice-president;  Hugh  Boltun,  d    i^ui.i;  .imi.^  Vi.iing, 
secretary. 


of  the  charter  as  would  enable  the  department  to  dis- 
pose of  the  fund,  amounting  to  about  twenty  thousand 
dollars,  which  had  been  accumulated  under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  original  act  of  incorporation  for  the 
benefit  of  disabled  firemen  and  their  families.^  The 
necessary  legislation  for  this  purpose  was  obtained 
from  the  General  Assembly  and  the  City  Council  in 
1865.  The  act  of  the  Legislature  was  passed  on  the 
21st  of  March,  1865,  and  authorized  the  department 
to  donate  its  properties  and  effects  to  the  "  Aged  Men's 
Home"  of  Baltimore,  to  dissolve  its  organization  and 
surrender  its  charter.'  On  the  4th  of  April  the  en- 
abling acts  were  accepted  and  the  following  committee 
appointed  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  organization: 
Joshua  Vausant,  of  the  Liberty ;  J.  L.  McPhail,  of 
the  J^irst  Baltimore;  James  Young,  Franklin  ;  Samuel 
M.  Evans,  Franklin;  James  G.  Ramsey,  Columbian; 
W.  H.  B.  Fusselbaugh,  Independent;  Charles  T.  Hol- 
loway.  Pioneer.  The  fund,  amounting  to  $19,100.12, 
was  donated  on  condition  that  the  institution  should 
receive  free  of  charge  at  all  times  seven  members  of 
the  old  United  Fire  Department  who  might  stand  in 
need  of  its  care.  Before  its  dissolution  the  depart- 
ment authorized  the  establishment  of  a  Board  of  Re- 
lief, which  was  empowered  to  nominate  persons  for 
admission  to  the  Home.  The  Board  of  Relief  was 
accordingly  organized  on  the  29th  of  June,  1865,  with 
Joshua  Vansant  as  president ;  Charles  T.  Holloway, 
vice-president;  James  Young,  secretary ;  and  Hugh 
Bolton,  trea.surer.  On  the  evening  of  the  31st  of  July, 
1865,  the  members  of  the  Baltimore  Fire  Department 
met  at  the  City  Hall  for  the  last  time,  with  Henry  P. 
Duhurst,  president,  in  the  chair,  and  after  receiving 
the  report  of  Joshua  Vansant,  with  relation  to  the 
provision  made  for  the  orphan  children  of  Thomas 
Buckley,  and  the  organization  of  the  Board  of  Relief, 
adjourned  sine  die.  In  1877  the  Board  of  Relief  was 
composed  of  the  following  members: 

Mechanical,  John  A.  Needles;  Union,  Thomas  U.  Levering;  Kriend- 
Bhip,  David  Duncan;  Dcptford,  Samuel  M.  Evans;  Independent,  George 
P.  Kane;  Colimil'iaii,  .his.-ph  H.  Ao-luiin  ;  Nfw  Jliirket,  John  T.  Morris; 

Frauklin,  Ivi>  liii  I   11 l.^iiv      l'i..t i    1  Im,, I.  ,ii,,l- [.adder  Company, 

Charles  T.  II  l  i  ,    ,  ,  \  uilant,  Joseph  H. 

Graveustiiit-;  !         :      :  i  I   ,         i     i  i     ,      i   I'l  nderick  Achey; 

Wasliingt*-)!!,  \\  '  -iiMin-  I'.i!  1]-.  . i,  II  im;  Mm;,  \\,,ii  :  Howard,Francis 
A.  Miller;  Watchman,  J. .ho  W,  Havis;  Lafayttle,  Washington  Hick- 
man; Mount  Vernon,  W.  J.  Nicholls;  United  States  Hose,  Joseph  V. 
Baxter ;  Western  Hose,  William  Barrett ;  Monumental  Hose,  George  B. 
Chase. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  1877,  an  association  of  the  sur- 
viving members  of  the  old  Fire  Department  was  or- 
ganized at  the  office  of  Charles  T.  Holloway.  Among 
those  present  were  former  members  of  the  Watchman, 
the  Lafayette,  the  Monumental,  the  Pioneer  Hook- 
and-Ladder,  the  Western  Hose,  and  the  United  Hose 


liars  had  been  dispensed  by  the  associa- 
tion for  this  purpose  during  its  existence. 

3  The  committee  appointed  to  memorialize  the  Legislature  on  the  sub- 
ject consisted  of  Hon.  Joshua  Vansant,  James  L.  McFhail.  James  G. 
Kamsey,  James  Young,  W.  H.  B.  Fusselbaugh,  Samuel  M.  Kvane,  and 
Charles  T.  Holloway. 


FIRES   AND   FIRE   COMPANIES. 


243 


Companies.  John  Dukehart  was  elected  president; 
Cliarles  T.  Holloway,  vice-president;  Fredericlc 
Achey,  Sr.,  treasurer ;  George  B.  Chase,  secretary ; 
and  John  M.  Hennick,  member  of  the  standing  com- 
mittee.' 

Tlie  abolition  of  the  old  department  was  not  unat- 
tended with  regret.  For  many  years  it  had  served 
the  community  faithfully  without  reward,  and  ren- 
dered valuable  and  important  service.  It  had  num- 
bered many  brave  and  generous  men  in  its  organiza- 
tion, and  could  boast  of  many  deeds  of  gallantry, 
self-sacrifice,  and  heroism.  The  old  system,  however, 
not  only  trained  bold  and  expert  firemen,  but  gave 
rise  to  evils  of  the  greatest  magnitude.  The  spirit  of 
rivalry  not  only  produced  competition  in  battling 
with  the  flames,  but  led  to  constant  disorders  and 
breaches  of  the  peace.  Some  of  the  engine-houses 
became  hot-beds  for  the  growth  of  lawlessness  and 
depravity.  Youth  not  controlled  by  parental  restraint, 
as  soon  as  the  shades  of  night  closed  in,  sought  the 
engine-houses,  where  hours  were  spent  in  the  rehearsal 
of  deeds  of  violence  and  crime,  the  planning  of  at- 
tacks on  rival  companies,  or  in  scheming  for  the  ap- 
plication of  the  incendiary  match  without  danger  of 
detection.  Nightly,  however,  their  conversation 
would  be  interrupted  by  the  alarm-bell,  "  which  in 
a  majority  of  instances  only  heralded  the  intelligence 
that  the  incendiary  had  been  at  work."  The  "  ma- 
sheen"  would  go  forth  "  amid  hootings  and  bowlings, 
and  the  flames,  fierce  as  they  might  be,  would  be  as 
fiercely  fought  by  the  firemen,  and  when  subdued,  if 
not  while  they  were  still  raging,  the  insulting  taunt 
would  be  tlirown  out,  and  tlien  a  wild  scene  of  riot 
would  follow.  Some  of  the  participants  would  be 
taken  to  the  police-stations,  while  others,  with  bloody 
heads,  returned  to  the  engine-house  to  be  the  heroes 
of  the  next  few  hours."  These  riots  were  created  and 
participated  in  by  a  certain  class  known  as  "  hangers- 
on"  and  "runners."  Many  worthy  citizens  belonged 
to  the  companies,  and  exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost 
to  prevent  or  check  these  evils.  As  has  been  truly 
said, 

"tile  system  had  become  a  standing  outrage.  The  spirit  of  rowdyism 
wliich  had  grown  up  under  it,  not  satiafied  with  an  occasional  demon- 
stration at  fires,  turned  to  the  highways,  and  assailed  the  inoffensive 
citizen  as  he  walked  to  his  home.  Political  feuds  were  added  to  com- 
pany fights,  and  the  climax  was  an  open  warfare,  not  only  as  companies, 
but  as  individuals,  and  the  sight  of  a  member  of  a  rival  organization  was 
the  signal  for  an  attack.  Suggestion  followed  suggestion,  and  restric- 
tion followed  restriction,  in  the  vain  hope  that  a  remedy  could  be  found 
for  the  evils  without  the  destruction  of  the  system." 

The  old  system  was  a  power.  It  was  no  child's 
play  to  destroy  an  organization  which  the  habits  and 
needs  of  years  had  made  a  living  thing,  and  Avhich 

1  It  is  stated  in  one  of  the  historical  sketches  of  the  old  department, 
read  before  the  association  by  Mr.  Dukehart,  that  the  old  volunteer  or- 
ganizations played  a  conspicuous  part  in  quelling  the  Bank  of  Maryland 
riot  in  1835.  They  fearlessly  put  out  the  fire  of  rich  furniture  piled  up 
in  front  of  the  Battle  Monument,  and  mingling  policy  with  courage,  in- 
duced the  rioters  to  abstain  from  interference  by  telling  them  that  the 


fire\ 


uld  inj 


was  endeared  to  the  people  by  acts  of  the  noblest 
heroism.  The  advocates  of  the  department  could 
point  to  half  a  century's  unpaid  toil;  to  acts  of 
bravery  for  which  comparisons  could  scarce  be  found ; 
to  deeds  of  daring  which  would  have  appalled  the 
sternest  warrior.  All  these  deeds  and  all  this  half- 
century's  toil  had  been  given  without  reward,  or  at 
least  none  other  than  a  knowledge  that  a  whole  com- 
munity was  grateful.  Tliey  claimed  for  the  members 
of  the  companies  exemption  from  the  charge  of  being 
riotous,  and  asked  for  protection  against  those  who 
used  the  department  for  these  disgraceful  exhibitions. 
On  the  other  hand,  those  who  favored  the  change  saw 
plainly  the  impossibility  of  separating  the  two  ele- 
ments. Nothing  but  the  destruction  of  the  good  and 
commendable  part  would  eradicate  the  evils  which 
all  deplored.  They  conceded  the  historical  facts,  of 
which  all  were  so  proud,  but  at  the  same  time  pointed 
to  the  disgrace  which  was  inseparably  connected 
with  the  department.  They  asserted  that  a  volunteer 
department  and  acts  of  lawlessness  were  concomi- 
tants. It  became  evident  that  nothing  but  the  com- 
plete destruction  of  the  volunteer  system  would  secure 
the  results  desired.  The  ordinance  creating  the  paid 
system  was  passed,  and  following  close  on  its  passage 
was  its  institution.  The  volunteer  system  retired. 
The  engine-houses  became  places  of  mourning;  the 
adherents  of  the  system,  chagrined  at  the  cavalier 
manner  in  which  they  had  been  disposed  of,  met 
nightly  to  speak  of  the  ingratitude  of  the  people,  re- 
count the  valuable  services  which  had  been  rendered, 
or  recall  the  crowd  of  reminiscences  which  were  the 
glory  and  honor  of  the  department.  All  the  deeds, 
which  were  to  them  as  precious  jewels, — the  heroism 
which  only  ended  in  the  sacrifice  of  life,  the  winter 
midnight  scene,  the  generous  rivalry  to  risk  life  and 
limb,  the  hours  of  toil, — all,  all  were  poured  into 
sympathizing  ears.  One  after  another  of  the  martyrs 
who  at  the  post  of  duty  scorned  danger  and  courted 
death  were  reverted  to,  and  as  the  virtues  and  heroism 
of  each  were  truthfully  recounted,  many  an  eye  that 
had  looked  fiercely  and  defiantly  on  the  glaring  flame 
grew  dim  with  a  manly  tear.  But  while  these  brave 
firemen  were  sincerely  mourning  for  the  destruction 
of  a  system  which  they  loved  for  the  good  it  had 
done  and  still  could  do,  there  was  another  class  who 
were  lamenting  its  demise  for  entirely  different  rea- 
sons. This  class  were  those  who  styled  the  apparatus 
"  de  masheen  /"  who  said  "  nah  .'"  and  "  yaas  /"  They 
regretted  its  destruction  because  they  would  have 
"  tio  more  musses."  They  cursed  a  steam-engine  as  it 
passed  them  on  the  street,  and  called  it  a  "  lummix  !" 
This  class  was  severely  grieved  that  they  could  not 
"  bunk  any  more,"  and  the  wisest  of  them  prophesied 
the  failure  of  the  system.  Overcoming  the  few  ob- 
stacles that  were  thrown  in  its  way,  the  new  system 
was  inaugurated,  and  years  have  since  elapsed.  The 
results  which  have  followed  are  the  best  encomiums 
which  can  be  paid  it.     Instead  of  hearing  the  start- 


244 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ling  alarm-bell  at  almost  any  hour  of  the  night,  send- 
ing forth  notes  of  horror  from  its  brazen  throat,  it  is 
now  seldom  heard.  The  institution  of  the  fire-alarm 
telegraph,  which  is  the  great  auxiliary  of  the  depart- 
ment, is  another  great  blessing.  The  alarm  comes 
noiselessly  over  the  wires,  telling  its  tale  with  unerr- 
ing accuracy,  and  is  immediately  followed  by  the  ! 
measured  stroke  of  the  alarm-bells,  giving  the  exact 
locality  of  the  fire.  At  the  first  stroke  of  the  signal-  j 
box  in  the  engine-house  the  firemen  spring  from  I 
their  places,  rush  to  the  horses,  and  in  another  mo-  [ 
ment  the  harness  is  on,  and  the  intelligent  animals,  I 
apparently  eager  to  reach  the  scene  of  the  fire,  stalk 
unbidden  to  the  apparatus.  The  match  is  applied, 
and  in  another  instant  they  are  on  their  way.  No- 
thing is  heard  but  the  rumbling  of  the  wheels  of  the 
engine  and  hose-carriages,  the  quick  steps  of  the 
horses,  and  the  occasional  sharp  whistle  which  is 
given  en  route  to  show  that  in  five  minutes  and  a 
half  from  the  time  the  signal  was  received  the 
engine  was  ready  for  work.  In  less  time  than  it 
takes  to  recount  the  mode  of  procedure,  on  reaching 
the  fire,  the  engines  are  at  work.  There  are  no  loud 
words  spoken,  no  hooting  nor  howling,  and  no 
street-fights.  The  same  daring,  the  same  heroism  ; 
which  characterized  the  volunteer  firemen  is  dis- 
played by  their  successors.  Tremendous  streams  of 
water  are  poured  incessantly  on  the  burning  building, 
and  as  the  angry  flames  burst  out  the  fiat  of  the  fire- 
man goes  forth  :  "  Thus  far  shalt  thou  go  but  no  far- 
ther." Sinew  and  muscle  will  fail,  the  strength  of 
men  will  grow  to  weakness,  but  the  iron  muscles  and 
steel  arms  of  the  steam-engine  are  tireless, — no  ex- 
ertion can  exhaust  them,  no  labor  affect  them.  As 
soon  as  the  fire  is  extinguished,  the  horses,  apparatus, 
and  men  are  returned  to  their  places.  Such  is  the 
practical  working  of  the  Baltimore  Fire  DeiJartment, 
— a  model  in  every  particular,  a  source  of  pride  to 
our  city,  and  a  credit  and  honor  to  those  who  com- 
pose it. 

The  Mechanical  Fire  Company,   organized  in  | 
1763,  was  the  first  fire  company  established  in  Balti-  i 
more,  and  was  composed  of  the  best  citizens  of  the  j 
town.      From   its   origin   until   1769    the    primitive 
bucket  brigade,   with   axes,   ladders,   and    the    rude 
implements  common  to  the  times,  was  the  only  agency 
for  the  extinguishment  of  fires. 

In  the  same  year  in  which  the  Mechanical  was  : 
organized   a   lottery   scheme   was    proposed   for  the 
purpose  of  raising  the  sum  of  five  hundred  and  ten  ' 
pounds,  to  be  applied  to  completing  the  market-house, 
buying  two  fire-engines  and  leather  buckets,  enlarging  I 
the  town  wharf  and  building  a  new  one.     The  mana- 
gers of  this  lottery  scheme  were  John  Ridgely,  Brian 
Philpot,  John  Smith,  John   Moale,  John  Plowman, 
Barnabas    Hughes,    James    Sterett,    William    Lux, 
Andrew    Buchanan,    William    Aisquith,    Benjamin 
Rogers,    Nicholas    Jones,    Mark    Alexander,    John  1 
H.irtv,  and  Melchoir  Keener.     It  was  known  as  "the 


Baltimore  Fire-Engine  and  Wharf  Lottery,"  and  was 
drawn  in  the  market-house  on  the  26th  of  December, 
1763.  It  does  not,  however,  appear  that  the  scheme 
was  successful,  for  it  is  quite  certain  that  an  engine 
was  not  obtained  until  1769,  when  David  Shields, 
James  Cox,  Gerard  Hopkins,  George  Lindenberger, 
John  Deaver,  and  others,  aided  by  a  general  subscrip- 
tion, obtained  the  requisite  amount  (ninety-nine 
pounds,  or  two  hundred  and  sixty-four  dollars),  and 
purchased  for  this  company  the  first  engine  ever  used 
in  Baltimore.  As  the  population  of  the  town  in- 
creased other  companies  were  organized.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1789,  the  Mechanical  company  issued  a  call  to 
the  Commercial,  Friendship,  and  Union  companies 
to  meet  at  John  Stark's  tavern,  the  object  being  to 
put  into  execution  some  plan  for  procuring  a  greater 
supply  of  water  in  time  of  fire.  This  call  was  signed 
by  David  Shields  and  Adam  Fonerden.  The  com- 
mittee of  these  companies  met  at  the  place  designated 
December  18th,  Jesse  Hollinsworth  in  the  chair. 
From  the  minutes  of  the  meeting,  signed  by  W. 
Jeffries,  secretary,  it  appears  committees  were  ap- 
pointed to  apply  to  the  citizens  of  the  town  to  have 
wells  and  pumps  sunk  in  such  localities  as  were 
designated  by  special  commissioners.  The  first  list 
of  officers  and  men  composing  the  company,  as  consti- 
tuted in  1807,  that  we  have  been  able  to  obtain  is  as 
follows : 

David  Shields,  president;  ThomaB  S.  Slieppard,  vice-president;  P.  E. 
Tlionias, secretary ;  Wiliiara  Riley,  treasurer ;  John  Dulcehart,  engineer; 
Jauiea  Calhoun  and  John  Sinclair,  assistant  engineers;  Directors, 
David  Shields,  John  Hagerty,  Thomas  S.  Sheppard,  Emanuel  Kent, 
William  Riley,  Isaac  Burnetson,  Michael  Diffenderffer,  James  Mosher, 
William  Wilson,  Thomas  Ellicott;  Lane-men,  William  Wood,  Samuel 
G.  Jones,  Joseph  Townsend,  William  Jones,  John  Cornthwait,  John  An- 
derson ;  Property-men,  John  Fisher,  John  Nicholson,  Philip  Littig, 
Andrew  Hauna,  William  Husband ;  Axe-men,  John  Donaldson,  Richard 
A.  Shipley  ;  Managers  of  the  Suction-Engine,  Richard  H.  Jones,  Noah 
Moffett,  James  Wainwright,  William  E.  George;  Snction-Engiue  Men, 
John  Ready,  Thomas  B.  Baker,  John  Wilson,  Hezekiah  Niles,  Benjamin 
Armitage,  Abraham  Long,  John  Frick ;  Hose-men,  John  Kipp,  John 
Jewitt,  Joseph  Husband,  Amos  Brown,  Amos  Allison,  Gravenor  M.  Jef- 
fcris,  Jacob  Rogers;  Engine  Guards,  William  Ball,  William  Clemm,  Jr., 
Jacob  Norris,  Samuel  Hardan;  Ladder-men,  Benjamin  Sands,  David 
Smith,  John  Crane,  Thomas  D.  McHenry;  Public  Bucket-men,  William 
Baker,  Jr.,  Joseph  Smith,  Edward  Makall,  John  Compton. 

In  1812,  Thomas  S.  Sheppard  succeeded  Mr.  Shields 
as  president.  Among  his  successors  were  John  R. 
Moore  and  Thomas  M.  Locke,  the  latter  of  whom  was 
succeeded  in  1853  by  Francis  H.  B.  Boyd.  In  1855, 
John  Dukehart,  who  had  been  and  was  afterwards  a 
prominent  member  of  the  company,  succeeded  AVil- 
liam  McKim  as  president.  In  1828  the  members  of 
the  company  applied  to  the  General  Assembly  for  an 
act  of  incorporation,  which  was  granted  on  the  7th  of 
March.  The  incorporators  were  Dr.  Thomas  S.  Shep- 
pard, Hezekiah  Niles,  Isaac  N.  Toy,  William  Baker, 
John  Dukehart,  Thomas  M.  Locke,  James  Wilson, 
James  Mosher,  Joseph  Halbrook,  Joseph  K.  Staple- 
ton,  George  Rogers,  John  Dukehart,  Jr.,  William 
Gwinn  Jones,  and  such  others  as  were  then  or  after- 
wards became  members  of  the  company.     The  act 


FIRES   AND   FIRE   COMPANIES. 


245 


limited  the  property  the  company  was  authorized  to 
hold  to  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  with  all 
other  rights  appertaining  to  such  a  body  corporate. 
In  1835  and  1836  the  Mechanical  Fire  Company  oc- 
cupied a  building  on  North  Street  opposite  Lexing- 
ton ;  in  1837  the  company  purchased  a  spacious  lot 
on  Lexington  Street  adjoining  the  Law  Buildings  for 
the  purpose  of  erecting  on  it  a  new  fire-engine  house, 
but  it  does  not  appear  that  this  locality  was  utilized 
for  that  purpose,  as  they  afterwards  moved  to  No.  29 
South  Calvert  Street.  In  August,  1843,  the  company 
had  five  pieces  of  apparatus,  consisting  of  one  gallery 
engine,  two  suction-engines,  and  two  hose-carriages.  It 
was  composed  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  active  firemen 
and  two  hundred  and  eighty  honorary  members,  and 
had  fourteen  hundred  feet  of  serviceable  hose.  With 
a  view  of  exciting  and  fostering  among  its  members 
a  desire  for  mental  cultivation  and  improvement,  cer- 
tain members  of  the  Mechanical  in  1840  formed  them- 
selves into  an  association  for  the  purpose  of  collecting 
a  library  of  literary  and  scientific  books,  and  of  hold- 
ing stated  meetings  for  the  hearing  of  lectures  and 
essays.  On  the  16th  of  March  it  was  incorporated 
as  "  the  Library  Association  of  the  Mechanical  Fire 
Company,"  with  the  following  incorporators  :  Hugh 
D.  Evans,  Thomas  M.  Locke,  Folger  Pope,  Philip  W. 
Lowry,  Edward  G.  Starr,  James  Dunn  Armstrong, 
John  G.  Proud,  Jr.,  George  H.  McDowell,  John  Fur- 
long, Charles  West,  Lowry  D.  Lowry,  and  Israel 
Cohen.  The  inferior  apparatus  used  by  the  Mechani- 
cal and  other  fire  companies  becoming  inefficient,  in 
1858  this  company,  as  well  as  other  companies,  deter- 
mined to  purchase  a  steam-engine  light  enough  to  be 
drawn  by  hand,  and  at  a  meeting  on  the  18th  of  Feb- 
ruary of  that  year  it  was  concluded  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  solicit  aid  from  the  citizens  to  purchase  one. 
The  committee  appointed  consisted  of  Henry  Spil- 
nian,  J.  S.  Jenkins,  John  Dukehart,  Charles  West, 
J.  A.  Needles,  and  Samuel  McPherson.  On  July 
27,  1858,  the  necessary  funds  having  been  obtained, 
the  company  contracted  with  Poole  &  Hunt,  of  this 
city,  to  build  a  steam  fire-engine  at  a  cost  of  $3750, 
guaranteed  to  throw  an  inch-and-a-quarter  stream  of 
water  two  hundred  feet.  On  Feb.  12, 1859,  the  engine 
built  by  Messrs.  Poole  &  Hunt  at  the  works  at  Wood- 
berry  was  received  by  the  company.  The  building 
committee  who  superintended  its  construction  were 
Thomas  J.  Lovegrove,  Henry  Spilman,  and  J.  Strieker 
Jenkins.  This  engine  could  be  drawn  by  fifteen  men, 
and  was  called  the  "  Maryland."  The  old  Mechani- 
cal fire-engine,  better  known  as  the  "  Old  Lady,"  was 
sold  to  the  United  Fire  Company  of  Frederick  City 
in  April,  1860.  The  Mechanical  Company  having 
been  in  existence  ninety-five  years,  held  its  last  annual 
meeting  Jan.  6,  1859,  and  elected  the  following 
officers  :  Henry  Spilman,  president ;  Samuel  McPher- 
son, first  vice-president ;  Joseph  P.  Warner,  second ; 
and  John  A.  Needles,  third;  J.  Strieker  Jenkins^ 
treasurer;    John    D.   Stewart,   secretary;    Henry  P. 


Duhurst,  chief  engineer;  John  S.  Hogg,  Robert  S. 
Wright,  and  Richard  Dorsey,  assistant  engineers; 
delegates  to  the  United  Fire  Department,  Henry 
Spilman,  Henry  P.  Duhurst,  John  Dukehart,  John 
McGeoch,  Joseph  E.  Warner,  and  Henry  C.  James. 
At  this  meeting  John  D.  Stewart,  the  secretary,  was 
presented  with  a  pair  of  silver  goblets  in  testimony 
of  his  long  and  faithful  services  to  the  company.  On 
the  30th  of  November,  18.59,  the  old  and  efficient 
Mechanical  Fire  Company  having  been  superseded 
by  the  pay  department,  closed  its  existence  as  a  fire 
company,  but  it  was  determined  that  the  old  organi- 
zation should  still  continue,  as  it  was  in  possession  of 
a  valuable  library  of  over  3000  volumes.  The  com- 
pany continued  its  existence  in  a  hall  over  the  office 
of  the  Associated  Fire  Insurance  Company,  on  South 
Street  near  Baltimore,  until  June  15,  1873,  when  it 
surrendered  its  charter.  One  hundred  dollars  had 
been  deposited  with  the  managers  of  the  Baltimore 
Cemetery,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  compensate 
the  cemetery  company  for  keeping  the  Mechanical 
Company's  lot  in  order.  Henry  C.  Duhurst,  John  D. 
Stewart,  Henry  Spilman,  John  A.  Needles,  and  John 
Dukehart  were  appointed  trustees  to  control  the 
burial-lot,  after  which  the  company  adjourned  sine 
die,  full  of  years  of  usefulness  and  eflicient  and  heroic 
labor  for  the  protection  of  the  lives  and  property  of 
the  citizens  of  Baltimore.  After  all  the  indebtedness 
had  been  paid,  there  was  a  balance  of  twelve  hundred 
and  thirty  dollars  on  hand,  which  was  turned  over  on 
Jan.  29,  1874,  to  the  trustees  of  the  Boys'  Home.' 

The  Union  Fire  Company  was  instituted  in  1782, 
and  was  incorporated  March  5,  1834,  by  the  Legisla- 
ture, with  the  following  incorporators  :  Charles  Ker- 
nan,  Thomas  W.  Levering,  and  Jesse  B.  Wright.  In 
1843  the  company  owned  four  pieces  of  apparatus, — 
two  suction-engines  and  two  hose-carriages,  with  fifteen 
hundred  feet  of  hose, — and  consisted  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  active  firemen.  The  engine-house  was  for  a 
time  at  Hanover  Market,  but  the  company  afterwards 
built  a  fire-engine  house  in  Baltimore  Street  between 
Light  and  Charles  Streets.     In  1806  the  officers  were  : 

Elisha  Tyson,  Peter  Hoflfman,  Jr.,  Luke  Tiernau,  Samuel  Toner,  Jacob 
3l3'er8,  WaUer  Simpson,  John  McKean,  George  Heide,  Isaac  Tyson,  and 
Matthew  Tyson,  In  1817  they  were  Wm.  Schroeder,  president;  Vice- 
Presidents,  BeDJamin  Ellicott,  Peter  Mason  ;  Elisba  Tyson,  Jr.,  secretary 
and  treasurer;  Directors,  William  Schroeder,  Luke  Tiernan,  George 
Hoffman,  Isaac  Tyson,  Jolin  Levering,  Benjamin  Ellicott,  Peter  Mason, 
William  Faltz  ;  Standing  Committee,  Wm.  Scliroeder,  Isaac  Tyson,  Ben- 
jamin Ellicott;  Engineers,  Baltis  Branson,  Wm.  L.  James,  George  Yel- 
lott,  George  Sumwalt,  Jr.,  Josh.  F.  Batchelor;  Engine-keeper,  Peter 
Maurer.  In  1844,  William  Hope  was  elected  president;  in  1846,  William 
Hissey  ;  anil  in  1846,  Thomas  W.  Levering. 

In  1849  he  was  succeeded  by  William  G.  Middletou. 
In  1851,  Charles  A.  McComas  was  president,  and  was 
succeeded  in  1855  by  Jacob  T.  Harmar,  and  in  1862 


1  The  Mechanical  Fire  Company  issued  many  curious  notices.  The 
following  is  taken  from  the  minutes  of  the  company  in  1779 :  *'  In  case 
any  house  shall  take  fire  near  to  tliat  of  any  member  of  this  company, 
particular  attention  will  be  paid  to  that  member's  house  before  any 


246 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


A.  C.  N.  Matthews  became  president.    In  March,  1835, 
an  attempt  was  made  to  burn  the  engine-house,  and 
in  1859  the  company  intending  to  disband,  presented  j 
the  silverware  belonging  to  it  to  the  president,  A.  C.  i 
N.  Matthews.  | 

The  Friendship  Fire  Company  was  organized  in 
1785.  In  1805,  at  the  regular  annual  meeting  of  the 
company,  the  following  officers  were  elected  : 

John  Mackenheimer,  president;  Peter  DiflFenderffer,  vice-president; 
Baltzer  Schaeffer,  treasurer ;  John  Shiim,  engineer;  John  Weatherburn, 
secretary;  Director-General  during  tire,  John  Hillen;  Lane-men,  John 
Mackenheimer,  Henry  Dukehart,  Baltzer  Schaeffer,  Walter  Crook,  Sam- 
uel Vincent,  Wm.  Smallwood,  James  Button,  Daniel  Diffenderffer ; 
Property-men,  John  Weatherburn,  John  Readell,  Peter  Diffenderffer, 
Frederick  Prill,  John  Dickson,  Joseph  Haskins,  Jr.,  John  Schultze,  and 
Jacob  Myera.  In  1817  the  officers  elected  were  as  follows :  John  Hillen, 
president;  Philip  Uhler,  vice-president;  Baltzer  Schaeffer,  treasurer; 
Dickson  B.  Watts,  secretary  ;  John  Shrim,  engineer  and  engine-keeper; 
Directors,  John  Hillen.  Philip  Uhler,  John  Mackenheimer,  Baltzer 
Schaeffer,  Wm.  Jenkins,  Christopher  Raburg,  Wm.  Pekin,  Frederick 
Leypold,  Wm.  Warner,  Standish  Barry,  Peter  Diffenderffer,  John  Wilson  ; 
Property  Guards,  John  Keadell,  John  Dixon,  James  Hutton,  John  Gross, 
James  Harrison,  Feli.v  Weise;  Engine  Guards,  Ackerman  J.  Young, 
James  Carnaghau,  Basil  SoUers,  John  Howser,  George  Littig,  Wm.  Jones, 
Barney  Struddehoff,  Charles  Cook,  Godfried  Meyers,  Edward  Jenkins, 
John  Maydwell,  Wm.  Meeteer,  John  Franciscns,  Thomas  Warner ;  Hose- 
men  and  Guards,  D.  B.  Watts,  Wm.  Frim,  John  Finley,  Alex.  L.  Boggs, 

B.  Reynolds,  Michael  Weyer,  Edward  Priestly,  Charles  Bogge,  Michael 
Diffenderffer,  John  Bradenbough,  Sebastian  Seltzer,  George  Franciscus, 
Ezekiel  Mills,  Thomas  Lane,  Charles  Diffenderffer,  Samuel  McKiro,  John 
S.  Smith,  Wm.  Millese,  Matthew  Griffith,  John  L.  Barry,  Edward  P. 
Roberts,  Samuel  Brown,  Charles  Singleton,  Philip  Reigart,  Lewis  Cross  ; 
Standing  Committee  for  1S17,  Wm.  Peckin,  James  Caruaghan,  Biisil  Sol- 
lers,  John  Young,  Samuel  McKim. 

On  the  5th  of  April,  1839,  the  company  was  char- 
tered with  the  following  incorporators :  Charles  W. 
Karthaws,  president  of  the  company  ;  Frederick  E. 
B.  Hentze,  vice-president;  and  Charles  Difienderffer, 
Louis  Holter,  Thomas  Trotten,  John  A.  Difienderffer, 
Hugh  Deralin,  George  W.  Pryor,  William  Ward, 
William  Higgins,  William  Croggs,  and  Richard 
Miller,  directors. 

In  1843  the  company  owned  four  pieces  of  appa- 
ratus— one  gallery-engine,  one  suction-engine,  two 
hose-carriages — and  twelve  hundred  feet  of  hose.  It 
was  composed  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  active  fire- 
men and  sixty-one  honorary  members.  The  engine- 
house  was  located  at  No.  11  Frederick  Street.  At  the 
annual  election  in  January,  1845,  the  following  offi- 
cers were  returned  for  the  year :  Eli  Hewitt,  presi- 
dent; John  Buchtar,  vice-president;  Richard  Mason, 
treasurer ;  William  G.  Warner,  secretary ;  Samuel 
W.  Teal,  engineer.  In  1846  Daniel  Sefer  was  elected 
president.  The  officers  of  the  company  for  1854  were : 
President,  Samuel  S.  Mills  ;  Vice-President,  William 
A.  Warner;  Treasurer,  Patrick  Reilly;  Secretary, 
John  T.  Maguire ;  Chief  Engineer,  E.  Hyett.  The 
engine-house  of  the  company  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1856,  leaving  nothing  but  the  bare  walls.  The  com- 
pany made  a  futile  eflfort  to  obtain  funds  to  rebuild  it, 
and  were  compelled  to  resort  to  the  expedient  of 
propping  up  the  walls  of  the  old  building,  covering 
it  with  common  boards,  and  planking  up  the  windows, 
making  the  best  iirovisioii   uiultr  llic  circiniistiinccs 


for  the  protection  of  their  apparatus.  In  1857,  Robert 
Knight  was  elected  president,  with  John  B.  Carroll, 
vice-president;  Patrick  Reilly,  treasurer;  William 
Smith,  secretary;  and  William  Aldercise,  chief  engi- 
neer. James  W.  Goodrich  was  the  president  of  the 
company  in  1860,  and  in  1861  the  following  gentle- 
men were  elected  officers:  Erasmus  Uhler,  president ; 
William  J.  High,  vice-president;  P.  Reilly,  treas- 
urer ;  H.  R.  Eisenbrand,  secretary ;  Thomas  Wiley, 
engineer;  delegates  to  the  Baltimore  United  Fire 
Department,  David  Duncan,  H.  P.  Horton,  Thomas 
Goodrick,  H.  E.  Eisenbrand,  Erasmus  Uhler,  Joseph 
Stevens,  G.  W.  Goodrick.  In  1865,  D.  Duncan  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Uhler  as  president. 

The  Deptford  Fire  Company  was  instituted  in 
1792,  and  was  chartered  by  the  Legislature  Jan.  24, 
1843,  with  the  following  incorporators :  John  Dutton, 
president ;  D.  S.  Monsarat  and  Caleb  Merritt,  vice- 
presidents  ;  and  John  W.  Williams,  Oliver  Andoun, 
Thomas  F.  Frazier,  and  Robert  Read.  In  1843  the 
company  owned  one  gallery-engine,  one  suction-en- 
gine, with  one  thousand  feet  of  hose,  and  was  com- 
posed of  two  hundred  and  thirty  active  firemen  and 
thirty  honorary  members.  The  engine-house  was 
situated  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Market  (now 
Broadway)  and  Fleet  Streets,  Fell's  Point,  until  they 
built  (in  1843-44)  a  new  engine-house  at  the  corner 
of  Strawberry  Alley  (now  Dallas  Street)  and  Gough 
Streets,  which  was  burned  in  the  absence  of  the  com- 
pany at  a  fire.  In  1854  the  company  erected  a  new 
building  on  the  site  of  the  one  burned.  The  latter 
building  was  sold  at  sheriffs  sale  in  1855  to  satisfy  a 
judgment  in  the  Superior  Court  of  Baltimore  City  in 
fiivor  of  Thomas  W.  Binyon.  It  was  purchased  by 
George  W.  Buck  for  nineteen  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  dollars.  The  original  cost  of  the  building  was 
six  thousand  dollars,  four  thousand  dollars  of  which 
was  donated  by  the  City  Council.  At  an  annual 
meeting  in  1806  the  following  officers  were  elected : 

Joseph  Biays,  president;  Job  Smith,  treasurer;  John  Neilson,  John 
Lee,  and  Chas.  Feinour,  trustees  and  pipe-men;  James  Hammond,  secre- 
tary ;  Directoi-8,  Wm.  Trimble,  Hezekiah  Waters,  Thomas  Cole,  James 
Biays,  David  Burke,  James  H.  Clarke,  Wm.  Mundle,  Wm.  Daneson, 
Thomas  Cockrill,  Edward  Hegthorp ;  Lane-men,  Job  Smith,  Job  n  Snyder, 
Thomas  Tenant,  Win.  Jackson  ;  Property-men,  John  Fitz,  Wm.  Wilson, 
James  Hammond,  Thos.  C.  Morris,  George  Waters,  Richard  Waters,  and  ■ 
John  Wheeler  ;  Property  Guards,  Joseph  Clark,  Dietrich  Babb,  William 
Etchberger,  Thomas  Beague ;  Ladder-men,  John  Roach,  Athanasius 
Moore,  Levi  Glandye,  Peter  Peduzi;  Axe-men,  Henry  Neighbors,  George 
Wilson,  Edward  Dickinson,  John  Sabel ;  Hook-men,  James  B.  Graham, 
James  Pilch,  Thomas  Kirk,  Jesse  Wheeler. 

In  1811,  William  Trimble  was  elected  president, 
and  in  1817  David  Burk  was  president,  succeeded  in 
1823  by  James  Clarke.     In  1844  the  following  were 

the  officers  of  the  company :  Samuel  ,  president, 

Caleb  Merrett,  first  vice-president ;  Charles  Tyte,  sec- 
ond; 0.scar  Monsarat,  treasurer;  and  Thomas  Tru- 
man, secretary.  In  1849  William  Stran  was  presi- 
dent, succeeded  in  1851  by  William  H.  Shelly,  and 
in  1852  by  Nicholiis  Lyiu-li,  who  in  1856  was  suc- 
ceeded bv  Gforgf  W.  Buck,  and  in   l.S.")9  by  Samuel 


FIRES   AND   FIRE   COMPANIES. 


247 


M.  Evans,  who  served  until  1865.     When  the  steam  | 
fire-engines  superseded   the   hand-engine,  Baltimore  . 
City  came  into  possession  of  the  gallery-engine  of  the  j 
Deptford  company.     It  was  a  first-class  piece  of  ma-  { 
chinery,  and  was  afterwards  sold  by  the  comptroller  j 
to  the  Independent  Hose  Company  of  Frederick  City 
for  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  one-fourth  of  its 
original  cost.     In  18.'59  the  new  suction-engine  of  the 
Deptford  company,  which  was  built  by  Messrs.  John 
Rogers  &  Son,  of  Baltimore,  was  sold  to  a  fire  com- 
pany in  Philadelphia  for  six  hundred  dollars.  I 
The  Liberty  Fire  Company  was  organized  in  1794,  i 
and  chartered  on  tlie  11th  of  February,  1818,  with  j 
Wm.  Jessop  as  incorporator.     The  act  of  incorpora- 
tion empowered  William  Jessop,  Ephraim  Robinson, 
and  George  Decker  to  hold  in  trust  for  the  company 
a  lot  of  ground  conveyed  by  John  Eager  Howard  for 
the  use  of  the  company.     This  lot  was  of  triangular 
shape,  and  upon  it  the  engine-house  was  subsequently 
erected.    It  was  situated  about  the  centre  of  the  broad 
space  at  present  formed  by  the  junction  of  Fayette, 
Liberty,  and  Park  Streets,  and  in  what  is  now  the  bed 
of  the  street.     The  company  in  1843  had  four  pieces 
of  apparatus — one  gallery-engine,  one  suction-engine,  \ 
and  two  hose-carriages — and  fourteen  hundred  feet  of  j 
hose.   The  company  was  composed  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  active  firemen  and  sixty-five  honorary  mem- 
bers.    In  1807  the  officere  were: 

William  Jessop,  president ;  Rev.  Francis  Beeston,  vice-president;  Basil 
S.  Elder,  secretary ;  George  Wall,  treasurer;  Jacob  Watt,  engine-keeper; 
John  Lyetb,  notice-server;  Directors,  John  Marsh,  James  Gillingham, 
Jesse  Slinglnff,  Samuel  Lyeth,  Sr,,  James  Thompson,  Abraham  Jesso]),   ! 
Frederick  Grapevine,  George  Decker,  William  Jones,  Edward  J.  Coale  ; 
Engineers,  Jacob  Wall,  J.  Lewis  Wampler,  John  Lyeth  ;  Engine  Guard, 
Thomas  Mummey,  Elie  Hewitt,  D.  Fahnestock,  John  Whitelock,  George 
Thornburgb,  Jacob  Adams ;  Removers  of  Property,  Joseph  Hook,  George  I 
Peters,  Frederick  Sumwalt,  John  Walsh,  Thomas  Whelan,  Adam  Den-  j 
mead  ;  Property-men,  Benjamin  Fowler,  Wm.  R.  Smith,  Henry  Beckly,   [ 
George  Reinicker;  Ladder-men,  John  Inglis,  John  McKinnell,  Wm. 
Strebeck,  Charles  Avisse,  John  Bausman,  Jacob  Stiiuffer;   Hook-men, 
Reynolds  K  nox,  David  Harner,  Abraham  Larew,  Henry  Shamberg,  Jacob  ' 
Fowble,  Benjamin  Morsel ;  Axe-men,  Adam  Alter,  Anthony  Law,  Rezin 
White;  Lane-men,  Littleton  Holland,  John  Roberts,  Isaac  McPhersou, 
David  Whelan,  Daniel  Hoffman,  Leonard  Wheeler;  Hose-men,  George 
Wall,  Henry  Johnson,  Samuel  Lyetb,  Jr.,  Stephen  Grove,  B.  S.  Elder, 
George  Maris ;  Key-keepers,  John  Marsh,  Jacob  Wall,  Wm.  Jessop,  Beiy. 

In    1810  a  lottery  scheme   was   proposed   for  the 
purpose  of  building  an  engine-house,  with  William 
Jessop,   George    Decker,   Abram    Denmead,   James 
Thompson,  J.  Lewis  Wampler,  and  George  Wall  as  ' 
directors,  and  at  the  drawing,  April  20th,  the  sum  of 
six  thousand  and  two  dollars  was  realized  for  the  pur-  j 
pose.     In  1848  the  Hon.  Joshua  Vansant  was  elected  i 
president  of  the  company,  and  occupied  that  position 
until  1853,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  S.  A.  Bixter,  j 
who  was  followed  in  1854  by  Arnold   Shultz.     Mr.  ' 
Shultz  was  succeeded  in  1855  by  George  W.  Arnold, 
who  was  again  elected  in  1857.     In  18.59  he  was  sue-  j 
ceeded  by  F.  H.  Kelly,  with  Vice-Presidents,  G.  J.  \ 
Roche,  Joseph  F.  Schweitzer,  and  Arnold  Schultz ;  I 
Secretary,  J.  G.  Anderson ;  Treasurer,  Joseph  Rogers; 
Chief  Engineer,  J.  S.  Schweitzer ;  Delegates  to  the 


Baltimore  United  Fire  Department,  G.  J.  Roche, 
John  S.  Schweitzer,  F.  H.  Kelley,  Jos.  F.  Schweitzer, 
Joshua  Vansant,  John  Webster,  and  W.  T.  Jones. 
On  the  25th  of  March,  1835,  the  engine-house  of  the 
company  was  discovered  to  be  on  fire,  which  was  ex- 
tinguished. The  engine-house,  which  was  one  of  the 
old  landmarks  of  Baltimore,  was  sold  and  removed  in 
April,  1867.  It  was  a  building  of  marked  note  in  the 
city,  located  in  a  central  place,  and  many  meetings  of 
importance  were  held  within  its  walls.  In  1860,  dur- 
ing the  great  excitement  immediately  preceding  the 
civil  war,  a  palmetto  flag  was  displayed  from  its  steeple, 
and  one  of  the  first  meeetings  of  Southern  sympa- 
thizers was  held  there  for  the  purpose  of  enrolling 
volunteers.  Great  excitement  prevailed,  and  a  large 
body  of  police,  under  the  command  of  Marshal  Gif- 
ford,  were  stationed  around  and  about  the  building. 
William  H.  Cowan  presided  over  the  meeting,  at 
which  conservative  but  independent  resolutions  were 
passed.  Speeches  were  made  by  Frank  Brooke  and 
J.  Klassen,  and  over  a  hundred  names  were  added  to 
the  list  of  Southern  volunteers. 

The  Independent  Fire  Company  was  organized 
in  January,  1799,  as  tlie  Federal  Fire  Company.  Du- 
ring the  earlier  years  of  its  history  its  meetings  were 
held  at  the  house  of  James  Renshaw,  who  was  one 
of  the  first  and  most  prominent  members  of  the  or- 
ganization. At  a  meeting  held  at  his  house  on  the 
7th  of  January,  1799,  James  Edwards  was  elected 
moderator;  John  Dalrymple,  treasurer;  Thomas 
Foxall,  secretary;  John  Brown,  engineer;  Lewis 
Miller,  assistant  engineer;  and  William  Brown,  Ros- 
siter  Scott,  Peter  Bond,  and  John  Dalrymple  were 
appointed  staff-men.  At  the  annual  meeting  in  Jan- 
uary, 1801,  Richard  Colvin  was  elected  secretary; 
David  Wilson,  Samuel  Matthews,  Arthur  Mitchell, 
place-men  of  the  engine;  and  William  Brown,  Ros- 
siter  Scott,  Peter  Bond,  and  John  Dougherty,  staft- 
men.  The  officers  for  1802  were  William  Brown, 
moderator;  John  Dalrymple,  treasurer;  Lavallin 
Barry,  secretary.  For  several  years  the  engine  and 
apparatus  of  the  company  occupied  free  of  rent  a 
building  belonging  to  James  Brown,  one  of  the 
members,  but  in  1802  a  committee  consisting  of 
Peter  Bond,  John  Dougherty,  and  Jacob  Stansbury 
was  appointed  to  consider  the  subject  of  providing 
proper  accommodations  for  the  company.  On  the 
20th  of  July  the  committee  reported  "  that  they  found 
by  an  ordinance  of  the  City  Council  that  the  mayor 
was  authorized  to  purchase  for  the  use  of  the  fire 
companies  of  the  city  a  lot  or  lots  whereon  to  erect 
houses  for  the  safe  keeping  of  their  engines.  Agree- 
able to  said  ordinance  they  called  on  the  mayor,  and 
he  agreed  to  purchase,  and  has  purchased,  of  Mr.  Pat- 
rick Mullen  ground  for  that  purpose,  and  had  a  deed 
to  the  city  for  the  use  of  this  company." 

The  committee  was  continued,  and  was  empowered 
"to  have  erected  on  the  same  lot  purchased  of  Mr. 
Mullen  a  brick  building,  as  large  and  convenient  as 


248 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


possible,  situated  as  they  may  think  best,  and  that 
they,  or  either  of  them,  draw  on  our  treasurer  for 
that  purpose  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
dollars."  At  the  next  meeting,  on  the  6th  of  Sep- 
tember, the  committee  reported  the  completion  of  the 
building,  and  the  engine  was  immediately  removed 
to  its  new  quarters.  The  annual  meeting  on  the  5th 
of  January,  1807,  was  held  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
Gorsuch,  when  Peter  Bond  was  elected  moderator; 
John  Dougherty,  treasurer ;  Lavallin  Barry,  sec- 
retary;  Thomas  Matthews,  engineer;  and  Samuel 
House,  assistant  engineer. 

On  the  3d  of  December,  1810,  the  quarterly  meet- 
ing was  held  at  the  house  of  John  Hicks,  when  the 
following  preamble  and  resolution  were  offered  by 
Hugh  Balderston : 

"  Whereas^  It  is  conceived  that  it  would  promote  the  real  good  of  this 
company  to  change  the  name  by  which  we  are  distinguished,  not  that  we, 
the  present  members  thereof,  feel  the  least  hesitation  or  difliculty  in  do- 
ing all  in  our  power  to  promote  the  object  of  our  associating  together, 
but  viewing  it  altogether  unimportant  by  what  name  we  are  known,  so 
that  we  attain  the  good  object  in  view,  our  own  security,  and  the  assist- 
ance of  our  fellow-citizens  when  in  danger  from  fire;  with  this  view 
and  under  these  considerations  it  is 

"Resolved,  That  the  Federal  Fire  Company  be  hereafter  known  and 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  the  Independent,  and  to  meet  the  expense 
incidental  to  changing  the  name  it  la  determined  that  each  member,  now 
and  until  it  be  otherwise  determined,  pay  his  quarterage." 

The  resolution  was  adopted,  and  Hugh  Balderston, 
Samuel  House,  Jacob  Lafetra,  and  Arthur  Mitchell 
were  appointed  to  have  the  necessary  alterations 
made  in  the  labels,  etc.  The  meetings  of  the  com- 
pany at  this  period  were  held  at  the  house  of  John 
Hicks,  and  on  the  7th  of  January,  1811,  the  first 
annual  meeting  occurred  after  the  change  of  name, 
and  the  following  persons  were  chosen  officers  for  the 
ensuing  year :  Peter  Bond,  moderator ;  David  Wilson, 
treasurer;  Lavallin  Barry,  secretary  ;  Arthur  Mitch- 
ell, engineer;  and  Elijah  Hutton,  assistant  engineer. 
At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Independent  Company, 
on  the  1st  of  May,  1813,  it  was  resolved  "  that  a  com- 
mittee of  four  be  appointed  to  call  personally  on  the 
citizens  of  the  Sixth  Ward  and  eastern  precincts,  and 
request  them  to  repair  to  the  engine-house  at  all  calls 
of  fire,  in  order  to  assist  the  company  in  the  use  of 
the  engine,  as  many  members  are  absent  on  military 
duty."  During  the  same  year  a  contract  was  made 
with  Joseph  Shaw  to  build  the  company  a  suction 
fire-engine,  not  to  cost  more  than  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars.  At  the  quarterly  meeting  on  the  6th 
of  June,  1814,  "the  committee  for  our  suction"  re- 
ported "  that,  agreeable  to  the  request  of  the  company 
at  last  quarterly  meeting,  they  waited  on  Joseph  Shaw, 
and  informed  him  that  the  company  was  disposed  to 
take  the  suction  provided  he  would  finish  her  by  the 
time  proposed."  They  added  "  that  he  has  her  now 
in  a  state  of  forwardness,  but  not  ready  to  deliver." 
The  committee  was  continued,  "  and  requested  to  act 
with  him  respecting  her,  agreeable  to  former  con- 
tract." At  this  meeting  the  company  was  presented 
with  a  fire-bell  by  some  of  the  members,  ''  which  was 


accepted,  and  ordered  to  be  aflSxed  to  the  engine- 
house  or  as  convenient  as  possible  to  give  alarm  at 
time  of  fire."  At  the  annual  meeting  in  1817  "it 
was  represented  to  the  company  by  Samuel  House 
that  the  Legislature  had  passed  a  law  vesting  the  title 
of  part  of  Fusselback's  lot  in  Bridge  Street  in  the 
mayor  and  City  Council  for  the  use  of  the  Independ- 
ent Fire  Company.  The  question  was  asked.  Shall 
we  accept  of  it?  and  agreed  to,  and  Samuel  House, 
Joshua  Mott,  Nicholas  Burk,  John  Smith,  Thomas 
Matthews,  Henry  Hardesty,  and  William  Stansbury 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  make  the  necessary 
arrangements  for  improving  the  said  ground,  first 
having  ascertained  that  the  funds  are  provided,  and 
that  there  are  no  legal  obstacles  to  the  company's 
occupying  the  same."  Some  difficulty  was  experi- 
enced, however,  in  obtaining  possession  of  the  lot, 
and  at  the  quarterly  meeting  in  March,  1818,  Thomas 
Plienix,  William  Brown,  William  Stansbury,  Samuel 
House,  and  James  Taylor  were  appointed  "  to  pre- 
pare and  present  to  the  mayor  and  City  Council  a 
memorial  representing  the  necessity  of  this  company 
being  provided  with  a  suitable  lot  of  ground  whereon 
to  erect  an  engine-house,  stating  in  said  memorial  the 
advantages  attached  to  the  lot  at  the  junction  of 
Bridge  (Gay)  and  Harford  Streets  for  that  purpose, 
and  for  the  accommodation  of  this  company."  At 
the  succeeding  meeting  in  June  the  committee 
reported 

"  that  from  observation  and  inquiry  they  found  it  would  be  unavailing 
to  petition  the  mayor  and  City  Council  to  take  possession  of  the  property 
on  the  terms  prescribed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Maryland  at  the 
last  session,  without  some  exertion  on  their  part  to  raise  a  sum  equiva- 
lent to  the  value  of  the  property  required  for  the  use  of  the  company. 
Your  committee  therefore  waited  upon  the  citizens  with  a  subscription- 
paper  lor  the  purpose  of  raising  such  money  as  in  their  opinion  would 
be  required  to  induce  the  corporation  to  take  possession  of  the  property 
above  mentioned,  and  are  happy  to  add,  succeeded  beyond  their  most 
sanguine  expectations.  Your  committee  furthermore  report  that  they 
paid  into  the  city  treaisury  on  the  1st  of  May  the  sum  of  one  thousand 
dollars,  being  their  proportion  of  the  expense  attending  the  purchase  of 
the  lot,  and  that  by  ordinance  of  the  City  Council  the  property  not  re- 
quired for  widening  the  street  is  held  by  the  city  for  the  use  of  the  In- 
dependent Fire  Company." 

The  committee  was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of 
Rossiter  Scott  and  William  Lafl'erty,  who  were  di- 
rected to  dispose  of  the  old  engine-house,  and  to 
build  the  new  one  at  the  intersection  of  Bridge  and 
Harford  Streets.  The  new  engine-house  was  probably 
erected  during  the  following  year,  for  at  the  Septem- 
ber meeting  in  1819  "the  building  committee  were 
continued,  and  requested  to  report  to  the  next  meeting 
the  cost  of  our  engine-house  and  the  amount  of  money 
received  and  paid  by  them  for  that  purpose."  From 
the  minutes  of  the  same  meeting  it  appears  that  the 
company  rented  "the  upstairs  room"  of  the  engine- 
house  "  for  one  year  at  one  hundred  dollars"  to 
Philip  Smith  for  a  day  school,  "reserving  to  them- 
selvas  the  privilege  of  holding  their  company  meet- 
ings in  said  room,  they  providing  their  own  firewood, 
candles,  etc. ;  also  the  use  of  the  room  to  the  Female 
Sunday-school,  on  the  lime  sjiecified  to  the  female 


FIRES   AND   FIRE   COMPANIES. 


249 


teachers  of  said  Sunday-school."  Mr.  Smith  also 
agreed  to  "  have  the  school-room  cleaned  out  every 
Saturday  evening,  and  to  repair  all  damages  done  to 
the  engine-house  by  himself  or  scholars."-  In  1819 
the  officers  elected  were  as  follows : 

James  Taylor,  preaident;  William  Stansbury,  treasurer;  Hugh  Bal- 
derston,  secretary;  Benjamin  Chandler,  engineer;  Robert  HoUoway, 
assistant  engineer;  Directors,  D'.  L.  Thomas,  Joshua  Turner,  Rossiter 
Scott,  Lambert  Thomas,  John  M.  Smith,  Richard  Summerville  ;  Lane- 
men,  Henry  Pennington,  Arthur  Mitchell,  William  Lafferty,  Larkin 
Read,  Thomas  Phenix,  James  C.  Dew,  John  Haslam  ;  Directors  of  Suc- 
tion, William  Stansbury,  Jacob  Lafetra,  Jonathan  Fitch,  William  Parish, 
James  Allen ;  Hose-pipe  Men,  Samuel  Wilson,  George  Stever,  Timothy 
Richards;  Hose-men,  Elijah  Hutton,  Joshua  Mott,  Israel  Price,  Henry 
Andei-aon,  John  Mott,  Martin  Bower,  Jr.,  Larkin  Cox,  Winston  D.  Smith, 
Martin  Eichelberger,  John  Brooks,  William  Espey,  Robert  Taylor, 
Ennion  Hnssoy,  Frederick  Ellender,  Elijah  Glenn,  Francis  Youuker, 
David  Baker,  Thomas  P.  Levy.  Thomas  B.  Watts,  Richard  Snyder, 
James  Armstrong,  John  Araos,  Nicholas  Smith,  Samuel  Matthews; 
Managers  of  Suction,  Thomas  Kelso,  William  Bandle,  Joseph  Taylor, 
William  Brooks,  James  Sykes,  John  Curlett,  Gideon  Fitch,  Solomon 
Stackers,  Joshua  Matthews,  Pctei;  Swart?.;  Water-men,  Henry  Long, 
Joshua  Gorsuch;  Hook-and-Ladder  Men,  Greenberry  Phelps,  John 
Hicks;  Axe-men,  John  Kii-by,  Joseph  Cloddis;  Key-men,  Benjamin 
Chandler,  William  Lafferty,  Richard  Summerville;  Notice-server,  John 
Mott;  Standing  Committee,  Thomas  Kelso,  Eli  Baldereton,  James  Tay- 
lor, William  Stansbury,  Rossiter  Scott.  * 

In  1822,  Joshua  Turner  succeeded  James  Taylor 
as  president  of  the  company.  The  company  was 
chartered  by  the  Tjegislature  on  the  5th  of  February, 
1827,  with  James  Clark,  president  at  the  time,  and 
the  members  thereof  as  incorporators.  In  184.3  the 
company  owned  five  pieces  of  apparatus — one  gallery- 
engine,  two  suction-engines,  two  hose-carriages, — and 
twelve  hundred  feet  of  hose,  and  consisted  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty  active  members  and  fifty  honorary 
members. 

The  election  of  ofiicers  at  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  company  in  1844  resulted  as  follows :  Dr.  John 
L.  Yates,  president;  Augustus  P.  Shutt,  vice-presi- 
dent; William  M.  Richardson,  secretary;  and  Hugh 
Bolton,  treasurer.  In  1845  these  officers  were  suc- 
ceeded by  Maj.  James  O'Law  as  president;  George 
P.Kane,  vice-president;  and  Hugh  Bolton,  treasurer. 
During  a  disgraceful  riot  at  a  fire  on  Gough  Street, 
in  the  latter  year,  some  persons  unknown  took  pos- 
session of  tlie  suction-engine  of  the  company,  ran 
away  with  it,  and  threw  it  into  Harford  Run,  injuring 
it  considerably.  In  1848,  Samuel  Kirk  was  elected 
president ;  George  P.  Kane,  vice-president ;  Evan  M. 
Forinan,  secretary ;  Hugh  Bolton,  treasurer ;  Robert 
Holloway,  engineer.  Dr.  David  O'Keefe  succeeded 
Samuel  Kirk  as  president  in  1849.  In  18.53  the  com- 
pany moved  their  apparatus  from  an  old  shed  on 
High  Street  to  the  commodious  building  erected  by 
them  on  the  corner  of  Gay  and  Ensor  Streets ;  the 
building,  however,  was  not  entirely  completed  until 
18.54.  The  structure,  with  its  high  campanile  or  tower, 
was  one  of  the  handsomest  in  Oldtown,  was  three 
stories  high,  with  all  the  conveniences  necessary  for  the 
purposes  of  an  engine-house,  but  the  campanile  formed 
the  principal  feature  of  its  architectural  beauty,  being 
one  hundred  and  three  feet  in  height,  with  a  base  seven- 


teen feet  square.  It  was  Gothic  in  style,  and  was  built 
from  the  design  and  under  the  supervision  of»Rea.son 
&  Wetheall,  architects.  In  18.55  the  officers  of  the 
company  were  Jacob  Green,  president;  William 
W.  Turner,  first  vice-president;  and  John  Rogers, 
second  vice-president ;  W.  H.  B.  Fusselbaugh,  secre- 
tary; Hugh  Bolton,  treasurer;  and  Robert  Holloway, 
chief  engineer.  In  1858,  Jacob  Green  resigned  as  pres- 
ident, and  after  an  exciting  contest  Samuel  Hanna  was 
elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  The  Board  of  Fire  Com- 
missioners of  Baltimore  in  1859  purchased  the  com  ■ 
pany's  engine-house  for  eight  thousand  dollars,  the 
city  having  a  lien  on  the  building  for  five  thousand 
dollars.  The  Independent  still  kept  up  their  or- 
ganization after  the  old  system  had  been  superseded 
by  the  Paid  Fire  Department,  and  in  1860  elected  the 
following  gentlemen  officers  of  the  company :  Presi- 
dent, Samuel  Hanna ;  Vice-President,  William  H.  H. 
Turner ;  Secretary,  John  S.  Fusselbaugh ;  Treasurer, 
Hugh  Bolton;  Engineer,  Robert  Holloway;  Delegates 
to  Baltimore  United  Fire  Department,  Hugh  Bolton, 
Samuel  Hanna,  William  H.  B.  Fusselbaugh,  James 
H.  Stone,  John  S.  Fusselbaugh,  William  H.  Powell, 
J.  A.  Steigelman.  The  same  officers,  with  few  ex- 
ceptions, were  annually  elected  until  1865. 

The  Vigilant  Fire  Company.— On  the  18th  of 
January,  1804,  a  number  of  citizens  of  the  Seventh 
Ward  of  Baltimore  City  met  at  Josiah  Stephenson's 
to  concert  measures  to  organize  a  fire  company.  A 
subscription  was  taken  up  to  aid  in  the  purchase  of 
an  engine,  and  two  hundred  dollars  were  subscribed 
on  the  spot,  but  fearing  sufficient  funds  could  not  be 
obtained  in  the  ward,  it  was  resolved  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  .solicit  subscriptions  throughout  the  city. 
The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  a  committee 
for  that  purpose:  East  of  Jones'  Falls,  Edward  John- 
son, Robert  Stewart,  and  Ludwig  Herring;  west  of 
the  Falls,  Cumberland  Dugan,  Thomas  McElderry. 
Andrew  Buchanan  presided  at  this  meeting  of  or; 
ganization,  with  David  Brown,  secretary.  At  an 
annual  meeting  of  the  Vigilant  Fire  Company,  held 
1  Jan.  17,  1817,  the  following  gentlemen  were  elected 
j  officers: 

I  William  Stewart,  president;  David  Brown,  treasurer;  W.  H.  Winstan- 
ley,  secretary  ;  Robert  St.  John  Stewart,  engineer;  George  Coulson,  as- 
sistant ;  Directors,  John  Trimble,  Frederick  Schaeffer,  Thomas  Boyle, 
John  Diffenderffer,  William  McConkey,  Ephriam  Smith,  William  Stew- 
art, William  Robinson,  L.  P.  Barnes,  W.  H.  Winstanley;  Property-men, 
William  Parks,  John  Shaw,  Mayl>erry  Parks,  Thomas  Perkins ;  Axe-men, 
George  Matthiot,  Jacob  Winchester;  Supplying  Engine  Engineers,  K. 
D.  Allen;  Assistant,  William  Comegys ;  Supplying  Engine  Directors, 
John  Buck,  David  Brown,  Robinson  Woollen,  Benjamin  Buck,  John  M. 
Brown,  David  Harryman,  Joseph  Barling,  Samuel  McDonald  ;  Hose-men, 
Gilbert  Cassard,  Joseph  Hart,  Joseph  Webster,  William  Hooper,  Michael 
Hedlnger,  Samuel  Byncs,  W.  H.  Bates,  L.  G.  Taylor,  William  West,  J. 
T.  Ford,  Michael  Bandle,  William  Rusk,  C.  Comegys,  John  Cathcart, 
Samuel  Russell,  Pearl  Durkee,  Joseph  Turner,  David  Parr,  John  Cross, 
William  Edwards. 

The  Vigilant  Fire  Company  was  chartered  by  an 
act  of  the  Legislature  passed  Feb.  10,  1827,  with 
William  Stewart,  president,  and  the  members  of  the 
company  as  incorporators.     On  the  2d  of  January, 


250 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


1837,  a  meeting  of  the  company  was  held,  at  which 
resolutiyis  of  respect,  regret,  and  condolence  were 
passed  upon   the  death  of  Col.   William   Stewart,  i 
former  president  of  the  company.     In  1843  the  mem-  ; 
bers   formed  a  library  association,  and   obtained  by 
subscription  a  very  useful    and   instructive   library. 
The   following   officers   were   elected    for   the  year:  i 
T.  Yates  Walsh,  president;    Edward   Mitchell,  first 
vice-president;  James  Pauley,  second  vice-president;  ' 
C.  C.  Egorton,  third  vice-president ;  L.  D.  Daniels, 
secretary  ;  and  F.  C.  Ford,  treasurer. 

In  that  year  the  Vigilant  owned  four  pieces  of 
apparatus — one  gallery-engine,  one  suction-engine, 
two  hose-carriages — and  twelve  hundred  feet  of  hose, 
and  was  composed  of  three  hundred  and  forty-two 
active  firemen  and  sixty-three  honorary  members. 
In  that  year  the  engine-house  was  situated  at  the 
corner  of  High  and  Lombard  Streets.  In  JMarch, 
1845,  the  reel  of  the  Vigilant  was  captured  in  the 
course  of  a  riot  at  a  fire  and  taken  to  the  Long 
Wharf,  Canton,  and  there,  detaching  the  hose,  the  i 
rioters  threw  it  piece  by  i)iece  into  water  twenty 
feet  deep.  In  January,  1840,  Edward  Mitchell  was 
elected  president;  Charles  C.  Egerton,  first  vice- 
president;  Hugh  B.  Jones,  second  vice-president; 
William  H.  Valentine,  third  vice-president ;  William 
H.  Ijams,  secretary;  James  H.  Gravenstein,  treas- 
urer ;  and  Charles  H.  Ehrman,  engineer. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  elected  officers  of 
the  library  association  for  the  same  year:  John  H. 
Kehlenbeek,  president ;  Asa  H.  Smith,  vice-presi- 
dent; Leonard  A.  Helm,  secretary;  Elijah  Carson, 
treasurer ;  Edward  Little,  librarian ;  and  Francis  A. 
Miller,  Jacob  Hayward,  John  Neidheimer,  Charles 
H.  Shult,  John  Albright,  and  Robert  Hall,  trustees. 
In  1848  the  Vigilant  Company  erected  a  very  fine 
building,  with  engine-room,  library,  etc.,  all  com- 
plete, at  No.  35  East  Lombard  Street.  In  1851  the  | 
following  gentlemen  were  the  officers  of  the  com- 
pany :  E.  R.  Petherbridge,  president ;  Thomas  Crea- 
mer, first  vice-president;  Hugh  B.  Jones,  second 
vice-president ;  Malcolm  W.  Mearis,  third  vice-presi- 
dent; John  W.  Boyer,  secretary;  James  H.  Graven- 
stein, treasurer ;  and  Malcolm  W.  Mearis,  chief  direc- 
tor. In  1853,  Thomas  Creamer  succeeded  E.  R. 
Petherbridge  as  president  of  the  company.  In  1855 
the  library  association  of  the  company,  which  had 
been  in  successful  operation  for  ten  years,  elected  tlie 
following  officers:  J.  S.  Hagerty,  president;  L.  J. 
Bandell,  vice-president;  Recording  Secretary,  John 
Suter;  Financial  Secretary,  John  R.  Bayliss;  Treas- 
urer, Moses  Oettinger ;  Librarian,  W.  E.  Bradley. 
In  1857,  L.  J.  Bandell  was  elected  president  of  the 
company.  In  1858,  Thomas  Creamer  was  again 
elected  president,  and  in  October  of  the  same  year 
the  company  secured  a  steam-engine,  which  they 
named  "  Comet,"  and  which  was  built  for  them  by 
Reaney,  Neafie  &  Co.,  of  Philadelphia.  The  engine 
was  light,  but  in  other  respects  modeled  on  the  plan 


of  the  "  Alpha,"  and  cost  three  thousand  four  hun- 
dred dollars.  The  company  disbanded  in  1859,  upon 
the  introduction  of  the  Paid  Fire  Department,  but  de- 
termined to  donate  the  money  in  the  trea.sury,  after 
the  sale  of  their  building,  to  charitable  institutions. 
It  was  accordingly  divided  between  the  four  dispen- 
saries of  Baltimore,  each  receiving  the  sum  of  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-three  dollars  and  thirty-three 
cents.  On  the  18th  of  January,  1860,  the  following 
gentlemen  were  elected  officers  of  the  company: 
Thomas  Creamer,  president;  Vice-Presidents,  J.  S. 
Hagerty,  Thomas  H.  Sullivan,  and  Lemuel  J.  Bandell ; 
Secretary,  J.  J.  Ryan ;  Treasurer,  James  H.  Graven- 
stein ;  Delegates  to  the  Baltimore  United  Fire  De- 
parthient,  Thomas  Creamer,  James  H.  Gravenstein, 
Lemuel  J.  Bandell,  Charles  D.  Hiss,  John  A.  Lucas, 
and  John  K.  Bayliss. 

The  New  Market  Fire  Company.— This  was  or- 
ganized at  Chamberlain's  tavern,  in  this  city,  on  the 
14th  of  January,  1806,  when  reports  were  made  from 
various  committees  appointed  at  a  preliminary  meet- 
ing. At  a  subsequent  ineeting  at  the  same  place,  Jan- 
uary 18th,  the  following  officers  were  elected : 

George  Grundy,  president;  Peter  Little  and  Eljenozer  Finley,  vice- 
presidents;  Owen  Dorsey,  secretary;  Adam  Welsh,  tn^Hsiirer;  Bictaard 
Seabrook,  John  Stonfler,  John  Dillon,  Samuel  Cole,  William  Krehs, 
Moses  Hand,  Leonard  Frailey,  Gerhard  Von  Hatten,  Charles  Bohn,  Wil- 
liam Hayward,  directors;  Isaac  Phillips,  Asahael  Hussey,  John  Baxley, 
.Tohn  Hayward,  lane-men ;  Michael  Eimmel,  Christiau  Baum,  Samuel 
Wolf,  engineers ;  Nicholas  Orrich  Kidgely,  Peter  Pollaid,  John  D.  Read, 
Elisha  Bailey,  John  Sticher,  Thomas  Haelbraith,  James  Hyadea,  George 
Henuich,  Peter  Fowble,  Jacob  Myers,  hose-men  ;  Marshal  English,  Peter 
Hedges,  George  Reynolds,  Bennet  Kirk,  axe-mei;  William  Edwards, 
Henry  Wiuters,  Henry  Myers,  .Alexander  Thompson,  Humphrey  Sanders, 
William  B.  Lupton,  ladder-men ;  Ai-chibald  Hawkins,  George  Myers, 
Robert  Edwards,  John  Bracken,  Abraham  Pyke,  George  Speake,  hook- 
men;  David  Harris,  William  Meredith,  Jlichael  Warner,  John  Reese, 
Andrew  M.  Coy,  Josias  Thompson,  property-men ;  Oliver  Pollock,  George 
Baxley,  Gunning  S.  Bedford,  Abraham  Booth,  property  guards;  John 
Simpson,  notice-server. 

The  company  was  incorporated  by  an  act  of  the 
Legislature  passed  Jan.  20,  1808.  The  incorporators 
were  Ebenezer  Finley,  president;  Peter  Little,  first 
vice-president;  William  Krebs,  second  vice-presi- 
dent ;  Leonard  Frailey,  Owen  Dorsey,  and  Samuel 
Howard,  and  the  other  members  of  the  company. 
The  company  at  that  time  had  purchased  a  fire-engine 
and  other  apparatus,  and  had  been  presented  by  John 
Eager  Howard  with  a  lot  of  ground  upon  which  to 
build  an  engine  house  on  the  west  side  of  Eutaw 
Street  near  Lexington,  where  the  house  was  subse- 
quently erected  and  tenanted  by  the  company.  In 
1843  the  New  Market  company  had  four  pieces  of 
apparatus,  consisting  of  one  gallery-engine,  one  suc- 
tion-engine, and  two  hose-reels,  and  was  composed  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty  firemen  and  forty  honorary 
members.  In  1810  a  supplemental  act  was  passed  by 
the  Legislature,  authorizing  Ebenezer  Finley,  Charles 
Bohn,  William  Krebs,  Michael  Kimmel,  John 
Stouffer,  Daniel  Lammot,  Asahael  Hussey,  Emanuel 
Kent,  George  Warner,  Luke  Tiernan,  Adam  Welsh, 
Lewis  Pascault,  and  David  Harris  to  propose  a  lottery 


FIRES    AND   FIRE    COMPANIES. 


251 


scheme  for  the  purpose  of  raising  money  to  purchase 
an  engine  and  build  a  house  with  an  alarm-bell  thereon 
for  the  benefit  of  the  company.  The  volunteer  fire 
companies  frequently  engaged  in  rough  skirmishes, 
:ind  the  New  Market  came  in  for  its  share  of  this 
sport.  On  the  night  of  the  25th  of  July,  1853, 
whilst  a  number  of  the  members  were  proceeding  to 
a  fire,  they  were  attacked  by  a  band  of  desperadoes, 
who,  rallying  under  the  cry  of  "  Calithumpians," 
rushed  upon  them  unawares,  drove  them  from  the 
hose-carriage,  then  breaking  it  into  many  pieces, 
threw  it  into  Gwynn's  Falls.  On  the  2d  of  August, 
1855,  a  more  serious  engagement  took  place  about 
eleven  o'clock  at  night  between  the  New  Market  and 
Union  Fire  companies  on  one  side  and  the  Mount 
Vernon  Hook-and-Ladder  company  on  the  other,  in 
which  two  men  were  mortally  and  several  others 
seriously  wounded.  Ebenezer  Frailey  was  succeeded 
as  president  in  1818  by  Michael  Kimmel ;  in  1822 
by  George  Baxley  ;  in  1845  by  David  Irelan ;  in  1847 
by  George  T.  Mayre;  in  1849  by  William  G.  Gorsuch; 
in  1853  by  Lemuel  W.  Gorsuch;  and  in  1855  by 
John  Peacock.  In  1857,  Augustus  Albert,  who  had 
been  one  of  the  vice-presidents  of  the  company,  and 
who  was  subsequently  sheriff  of  Baltimore  for  two 
terms,  was  elected  president,  and  continued  to  serve 
as  such  until  the  company  went  out  of  existence.  In 
1859  the  company  yielding  to  the  change  in  the  Fire 
Department,  sold  their  gallery-engine  with  a  quantity 
of  hose  to  the  corporation  of  Waynesboro',  Pa.,  for 
seven  hundred  dollars,  and  the  suction-engine  to  the 
authorities  of  Norristown,  Pa.,  for  five  hundred  dol- 
lars. The  fine  steeple,  bell,  and  clock  were  sold  to 
the  city  and  removed  to  the  truck-house  of  No.  2 
Hook-and-Ladder  company,  then  near  the  northwest 
corner  of  Eutaw  and  Ross  Streets  (now  Druid  Hill 
Avenue).  The  engine-house  was  sold  to  Messrs. 
Howell  Brothers  for  three  thousand  one  hundred 
dollars.' 

The  Franklin  Fire  Company  was  organized  in 
1809,  but  was  not  chartered  by  the  Legislature  until 
March  7,  1844.  The  incorporators  were  James  F. 
Grieves,  Robert  Scott,  William  Wickersham,  James 
A.  Bamberger,  James  Young,  Nathan  H.  Hall,  James 
Shinnick,  and  Peter  Foy.  In  1843  the  company 
owned  four  pieces  of  apparatus, — one  gallery-engine, 
one  suction-engine,  and  two  hose-carriages, — with 
eleven  hundred  feet  of  hose.  The  company  was 
composed  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  active 
firemen  and  thirty-four  honorary  members.  The 
engine-house  was  located  on  the  northeast  corner  of 
Broadway  and  Fleet  Streets,  Fell's  Point.  On  the  2d 
of  January,  1845,  the  following  members  were  elected 

1  It  is  related  of  a  prominent  member  of  tliis  company,  Peter  Little, 
wlio  was  a  watcb-malter,  and  for  nianyyeai-s  a  member  of  Congress,  that 
on  one  occasion  he  attacked  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  on  the  subject 
of  military  aifairs.  Mr.  Randolph,  knowing  his  occupation,  interrupted 
him,  saying,  "The  gentleman  from  Maryland  knows  more  about ' tic- 


tics' 


1  tactics.' 


officers  of  the  company  :  James  Grieves,  president ; 
Robert  Scott,  vice-president;  William  Wickersham, 
treasurer;  James  Young,  secretary ;  John  Flinn,  en- 
..gineer;  David  H.  Boyer,  engine-keeper.  Robert 
'  Scott  was  president  in  1846,  and  was  succeeded  in 
1847  by  James  Grieves,  who  was  followed  in  1851  by 
David  Blanford.  He  was  succeeded  in  1852  by 
Nicholas  Lynch,  and  in  1853,  David  Blanford  was 
re-elected,  who  in  1856  gave  place  to  William 
Bouldin.  In  1857,  Joseph  W^.  Carey  was  elected 
president,  and  was  succeeded  in  1858  by  William  A. 
Van  Nostrand,  who  continued  president  until  1865. 

The  Columbian  Fire  Company  was  instituted  in 
1809,  and   chartered  by  the  Legislature  March   26, 
1839,  with  the  following  incorporators :  John  Hen- 
derson, president;  Frederick  S.  Littig,  vice-president; 
John  Henderson,  James  Frazier,  Jr.,  Aaron  Stockton, 
James  Baxter,  Job  Fosler,  John  Jillard,  Jr.,  Wil- 
I  Ham  Hunt,  Henry  W.  S.    Evans,  Joseph   Caprice, 
I  Richard   Hamilton,   Thomas   Binion,  Jr.,  and  Wil- 
liam Hooper,  directors.     In  1843  the  company  had 
■  five  pieces  of  apparatus — one  gallery-engine,  two  suc- 
;  tion-engines,  and  two  hose-reels — and  fourteen  hun- 
dred feet  of  hose.     The  company  consisted  of  two 
hundred  and  sixty  active  firemen,  and  fourteen  hon- 
j  orary  members.     The  engine-house  was  situated  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  Market  (now  Brodway)  and 
Fleet  Streets,  Fell's  Point.     In   1809  the  following 
officers  were  elected  : 

President,  Jo.seph  Allender;  Vice-President,  John  Ogston  ;  Secretary, 
William  Proctor;  Treasurer,  Thomas  Sheppard ;  Engineer,  Samuel 
Wilson;  Pipe-men,  Joshua  Atkinson,  Thomas  Sheppard;  Directors, 
Thorndike  Chase,  James  D.  Joues,  Thomas  Worrell,  Peter  Gait,  Nathan- 
iel Hynson,  Robt.  G.  Henderson,  George  Alkinson,  Isaac  Atkinson, 
Nicholas  Stansbury,  John  Laue ;  Lane-men,  William  Cornthwait,  Robert 
Moore,  Nathaniel  Childs,  Samuel  Barnes,  William  Price;  Property 
Guards,  Thomas  Conway,  Baptist  Messick  ;  Ladder-men,  Richard  Bell, 
William  Echberger,  George  Robinson,  Davis  McCaughan;  Property-men, 
William  Proctor,  Peter  Green,  James  Ferrall,  John  Duncan,  William 
Price;  Hook-men,  Anthony  Hanson,  William  P.  Barnes,  Thomas  Cornth- 
wait, William  Davis  ;  Axe-men,  Peter  Foy,  Joseph  Clark,  Joseph  White, 
Benjamin  Baker;  Managers  of  Suction-engine,  George  Hazeltou,  James 
Cunningham,  John  Smith,  Daniel  McNeal,  Deitrick  Hewld,  Philip 
Cronimiller. 

In  1811,  Thomas  Sheppard  was  elected  president, 
and  in  1844,  William  H.  Watson,  who  was  succeeded 
in  1846  by  H.  W.  S.  Evans,  in  1848  by  James 
Frazier,  in  1849  by  W.  D.  Harris,  and  in  1850  by 
Philip   Sherwood.      In    1851,    William   Colton    was 

;  elected   president,  and  in   1854,  James  G.  Ramsey. 

j  The  engine-house  built  by  the  Columbian,  on  Ann 
Street,  was  sold  by  the  sheriff  in  1857,  under  the  lien 
law,  to  Philip  R.  Reiter,  the  contractor,  whose  lien 
amounted  to  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty- 
two  dollars.  The  house  was  constructed  at  a  cost  of 
eight  thousand  dollars. 

The  Fell's  Point  Hose  and  Suction  Company  was 
organized  in  1810.  At  its  annual  meeting  in  that 
year  the  following  gentlemen  were  elected  officers : 

Alexander  McCaine,  president;  Mathew  McLaughlin,  treasurer; 
George  Chapman,  secretary;  Trustees,  Charles  M.  Poor,  James  Biays, 
Jr.,  William  B.  Dyer;  Directors,  Alexander  McCaine,  Archibald  Kent, 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITS'   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Matbew  McLiiughliii,  George  Dandle,  Robert  Graves;  EDgineers,  Joseph 
Share,  W.  B.  Dyer;  Pipe-men,  I'eter  Foy,  Thomas  Cornthwait,  Daniel 
Perigo,  James  Biays,  Jr. ;  Lane-men,  Thomas  Galloway,  John  P.  Stroble, 
Jacob  Dunham,  Joseph  Clark  ;  Hose  Guards,  William  Denny,  J.  B.  Stans- 
biiry,  Thomas  Presstman,  Joh n  Luueburg,  James  Coobes,  Abraham  Parks, 
George  Chapman,  Samuel  Graham,  James  Bell,  Jr.,  Samuel  Grace,  John 
Weary,  Joshua  Thorp,  Peter  Fenby,  John  Lout,  Nathan  Shaw,  Thomas 
Milwaters,  Blias  Evans,  R.  W.  Garrettson,  L.  B.  West,  John  Ramsey, 
James  Castello ;  Engine-men,  Robert  Conway,  Gregory  Foy,  P.  Croui- 
miller,  G.  Waggner,  T.  Rogers,  S.  Fenby,  Daniel  Evans,  B.  Bateman, 
James  Pletcli,  A.  Suthenling,  R.  Craggs,  P,  Chaids,  Robert  Gibson, 
Thomas  Hall,  William  J.  Hines,  John  Mitchell,  C.  G.  Petere,  John  Boss, 
John  Quisick,  S.  B.  Cooper,  John  Davis,  J.  J.  Rigl>y,  James  White,  J.  M. 
Mette,  Thomas  Posington,  William  Philips,  Mathew  Taylor,  William 
Feinour. 

In  1818  the  officers  elected  were  as  follows  :  Peter 
Gait,  president;  Peter Chaille,  vice-president;  Thomas 
Worrell,  treasurer;  B.  U.  Campbell,  secretary.  Trus- 
tees, Peter  Foy,  D.  Metzger,  R.  Graves;  Directors, 
Peter  Gait,  Peter  Leary,  Peter  Chaille,  T.  Pilkington, 
and  Thomas  Hall ;  Engineers,  Abraham  Parks  and 
Joseph  Share;  Pipe-men,  Peter  Foy,  Daniel  Perigo, 
Robert  Graves,  T.  Cornthwait;  Lane-men,  James  P. 
Smith,  John  Bandle,  J.  I.  Costello,  Joseph  Perigo. 
The  duties  of  engine-men  and  hose  guards  were  as- 
signed to  the  remaining  members  of  the  company. 
In  1832  its  engine-house  was  over  the  Fell's  Point 
Market-house. 

The  First  Baltimore  Hose  Company  was  insti- 
tuted in  1810.  At  a  meeting  of  its  members  in  April 
of  that  year  a  committee  was  appointed  to  purchase 
an  engine,  hose,  and  other  necessary  apparatus,  and  a 
committee  was  also  appointed  to  solicit  aid  from  the 
property-holders  of  Baltimore.  That  committee  was 
composed  of  the  following  members  :  George  Smith, 
Henry  James,  John  E.  Carey,  John  Cornthwait, 
Stacey  Horner,  William  Evans,  A.  R.  Levering,  Wm. 
Meteer,  and  Christian  Cline.  The  committee  to  re- 
ceive and  enroll  members  were  John  Davis,  Wm.  , 
Jones,  J.  Buffurn,  John  Cornthwait,  and  Joel  Hop- 
kins. The  company  was  chartered  by  the  Legislature 
on  the  24th  of  January,  1815,  with  John  Davis  as 
president,  and  the  members  thereof  as  incorporators. 
At  the  anual  meeting  of  the  company  in  1819  the  | 
following  officers  were  elected  for  the  ensuing  year  :     i 

George  Williamson,  president ;  George  S.  Baker,  vice-president ;  Joseph 
G.  Tomkins,  treasurer;  W.  H.  Sinclair,  secretary;  Directors,  Wm.  E. 
George,  T.  G.  EUuiondson,  Wm.  Martin,  Jr.,  James  Reyburn,  Benjamin  i 
Ellicott,  Jr.,  Samuel  Black,  Wm.  Lyon,  Samuel  T.  Mathick;  Standing 
Committee,  George  Williamson,  Wm.  Martin,  Jr.,  W.  E.  George,  Samuel 
Keerl,  Alex.  Fridge ;  Axe-men,  Joe  Brown,  John  Gillingham ;  Hose-men, 
Andrew  T.  Ellicott,  Wm.  Evans,  John  H.  Hodges,  Runyon  Harris,  Sam- 
uel O.  noffmaii,  Edward  K<-hly,  Samuel  R.  Tui  uer,  J..lin  Gadsby,  Edward 
Lynch,Fi,  .1^  ;i.l,  J.  nl.ii.-.Tin.m.-  T.ii.  ,  -,,„in,  I  l;..i.>.,,.<.,r„iielKeerl, 
John  li,  \\  I  1.   '  i  ^l    -      ,  ::     Miction-en- 

gine-nii-ii.  ,i  v  ,   •      i  i  ,      i     .      l    I    !i     ':    I  ,   ,i,:,s  Under-  | 

Samuel   rcuUin-y,   Tln.niaa   Fruiicc,   Wm.  H.   Sinclair,  Thomas  Tyson,    j 
Robert  Miller,  Jr.,  Wilson  Worthington,  John  F.  Poor,  Evan  T.  Poultney,   j 
■Wm.  B.  Bend,  R.  P.  Wellford,  Wm.  B.  Gwynn,  Thomas  Vance ;  Hose- 
carriage  Guards,  Alexander  Fridge,  John  T.  Brooks,  Wm.  Morris,  Isaac 
Tyson,  Joseph  G.  Tomkins,  Wm.  Gillingham.  I 


In  1820  the  honorary  members  were 
the  following  gentlemen  : 


iposed  of 


John  Davis,  Thomas  S.  Sbeppard,  Augustus  Hammer,  James  Labea, 

j   Alexander  Brown,  Joseph  King,  Jr.,  Frederick  Waesche,  Lewis  Mayer, 

,   J\'m.  Lornian,  George  T.  Dunbar,  John  M.  Sewell,  Elisha  N.  Brown, 

I   Samuel  Poultney,  Mathew  Swan,  Henry  Keerl,  Evan  Poultney,  George 

!   I.  Keerl,  John  F.  Freize,  Shaw  and  Tiffany,  R.  T.  Welford,  George  F. 

Warfield,  Alex.  Fridge,  H.  Young  and  Pochou  Wm.  Morris,  Solomon  Et- 

ting,  R.  Higinbotham,  John  Duer,  D.  Warfleld,  Joseph  Todhunter,  Alex. 

McDonald,  Charles  Tiernan,  Nicholas  Ridgely,  John  E.  Swan. 

In  1843  the  Baltimore  Hose  Company,  Samuel 
Keerl  president,  had  two  suction-engines  and  three 
Tiose-carriages,  with  fifteen  hundred  feet  of  hose,  and 
was  composed  of  a  corps  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
active  firemen,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  hon- 
orary members.  The  engine-house  of  this  company 
was  located  at  No.  10  McClellan  Alley,  near  Balti- 
more Street.  In  1844  the  company  purchased  a  new 
suction-engine,  built  by  Joseph  Share  &  Son.  The 
ofiicers  of  the  company  for  the  latter  year  were  Sam- 
uel Keerl,  president;  John  McKeen,  vice-president; 
John  Gushing,  treasurer;  and  B.  F.  Zimmerman, 
secretary.  In  1845,  G.  W.  Krebs  became  president, 
and  was  succeeded  in  1847  by  G.  W.  Flack.  In  1851, 
John  R.  Moore  was  elected  president,  and  resigned 
Sept.  10,  1857,  and  Samuel  Harris,  Jr.,  was  elected  to 
fill  the  vacancy.  When  steam-engines  were  tested 
and  found  efficient  in  other  cities,  the  First  Baltimore, 
with  commendable  public  spirit,  determined  to  obtain 
a  steam-engine  for  their  company.  In  furtherance  of 
this  object,  in  February,  1858,  the  Baltimore  Company 
appointed  a  committee  to  visit  Philadelphia,  New 
York,  and  Boston,  to  examine  fully  into  the  workings 
of  steam-engines.  The  committee  was  composed  of 
Samuel  Harris,  Jr.,  president  of  the  company,  Charles 
H.  Walker,  vice-president,  and  Samuel  Dryden  and 
Joseph  Lewis,  directors.  The  committee  left  on  the 
20th  of  February,  and  during  its  absence  a  number  of 
citizens  residing  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  engine- 
house  solicited  subscriptions  to  aid  in  the  projected 
enterprise,  among  whom  were  Messrs.  Charles  A. 
Grinnell,  John  Gushing,  Francis  T.  King,  C.  N. 
Lutz,  and  James  A.  Stone.  The  committee  of  inspec- 
tion visited  the  cities  designated,  and  returning  made 
a  highly  favorable  report  of  the  efficiency  and  supe- 
riority of  steam  fire-engines.  The  company,  there- 
fore, in  March,  1858,  contracted  with  Messrs.  Reaney, 
Neafie  &  Co.,  builders,  of  Kensington,  Philadelphia, 
to  construct  for  them  a  steam  fire-engine  to  weigh 
about  eight  thousand  pounds.  The  engine  was  com- 
pleted in  May,  1858,  and  on  the  18th  of  the  same 
month  arrived  in  Baltimore  by  the  Ericsson  Line, 
accompanied  by  a  committee  of  the  Philadelphia  Hose 
Company,  the  committee  of  the  First  Baltimore  Hose, 
the  inventors,  and  the  builder.  It  was  drawn  to  the 
open  space  north  of  the  Battle  Monument,  where  it  was 
examined  by  thousands  of  the  citizens  of  Baltimore. 
The  day  after  the  arrival  of  the  engine  it  was  taken 
from  the  engine-house  and  drawn  by  four  handsome 
gray  horses  to  the  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Sharp 
Streets,  where  the  com])any  had  placed  a  fire-plug,  and 
was  there  fully  tested.    It  was  christened  the  "Alpha." 


FIRES   AND   FIRE   COMPANIES. 


On  the  6th  of  June,  1858,  a  fire  broke  out  in  a  public 
house  known  as  the  Farmers'  and  Merchants'  Retreat, 
on  the  corner  of  Eutaw  and  Franklin  Streets,  kept  by 
George  Delphey.  The  fire  originated  in  the  stables, 
and  assumed  such  proportions  as  to  threaten  the  en- 
tire block.  The  "  Alpha"  arrived,  and,  although  a 
part  of  the  roof  and  the  upper  story  of  the  building 
had  been  burned,  the  stream  thrown  by  this  engine 
subdued  the  flames  in  fifteen  minutes,  and  achieved 
for  the  "  Alpha"  a  great  triumph  and  reputation.  In 
July,  1858,  the  Mechanical  Fire  Company  desiring  to 
purchase  the  steam-engine  "  Island  Queen"  and  to 
test  its  powers,  that  engine  and  the  "  Alpha"  were 
drawn  to  the  dock  at  the  foot  of  South  Street,  and, 
although  the  "  Island  Queen"  had  superior  hose,  it 
threw  a  stream  pumped  from  the  basin  only  one 
hundred  and  sixty-five  feet,  while  the  '"Alpha" 
threw  a  stream  two  hundred  and  twenty-one  feet. 
The  Mechanical  Company  declined  to  purchase  the 
"Island  Queen."  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Bal- 
timore Hose  Company,  Jan.  1.3,  1859,  the  following 
officers  were  elected  to  serve  the  ensuing  year:  Presi- 
dent, Samuel  Harri.s,  Jr. ;  Vice-President,  Charles  W. 
Walker ;  Secretary,  Charles  B.  Honeywell ;  Treasurer, 
G.  W.  Flack ;  Engineer,  Alexander  Forrest ;  Assist- 
ant Engineers,  George  W.  Johnston  first,  F.  W.  Ma- 
gruder  second,  and  A.  Husband  third ;  Delegates  to 
the  Baltimore  United  Fire  Department,  James  L.  Mc- 
Phail,  C.  W.  Walker,  E.  L.  Jones,  Edward  Israel, 
John  R.  Moore,  A.  Stirling,  Jr.,  James  A.  Courtney. 
In  June,  1861,  the  Baltimore  Hose  Company  held  a 
meeting  for  the  purpose  of  settling  up  the  aff'airs  of 
the  association  and  disposing  of  its  funds  In  the  treas- 
ury. It  was  determined  to  distribute  the  amount,  five 
thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  dollars  and  ten 
cents,  among  the  charitable  institutions  of  Baltimore, 
and  it  was  divided  equally  between  the  "  Home  of  the 
Friendless,"  "  Indigent  Sick  Society,"  "  Maryland 
Blind  Asylum,"  "  Baltimore  Rosine  Association," 
"  Union  Protestant  Infirmary,"  and  the  "Mercantile 
Library  Association."  After  many  years  of  useful  ser- 
vice, the  "Alpha,"  while  assisting  in  the  extinguish- 
ment of  a  fire  at  Brown  Brothers'  drug  house,  on 
Sharp  Street,  near  German,  on  the  morning  of  May  22, 
1871,  exploded  and  killed  J.  Harry  Weaver,  member 
of  the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Council  from  the 
Nineteenth  Ward. 

The  United  Hose  and  Suction  Company  was  or- 
ganized in  1810,  and  chartered  by  the  Legislature 
Dec.  19,  1812,  with  James  Powers,  the  president  of 
the  company,  and  the  members  thereof  as  incorpo- 
rators. In  1820  the  following  gentlemen  were  elected 
officers  for  the  year  : 

Presidect,  Erasmus  Uhler;  Vice-President,  Jacob  Deems;  Secretary, 
Joseph  Hiss ;  Treasurer,  Jacob  Wall ;  Standing  Committee,  Michael  Hoff- 
man, Jacob  Deems,  Leonard  Helms;  Engine-keeper,  Ebenezer  Hum- 
phrey ;  Pipe-men,  George  S.  Shade,  Henry  Risel,  John  Gnibb,  John  Dis- 
ney, Theodore  E.  Salter. 

The  first  engine  built  by  John  Rogers  &  Son  of 

17 


Baltimore  was  for  the  use  of  this  company,  and  was 
so  complete  in  finish  and  perfect  in  execution  that  it 
established  the  reputation  of  the  firm  in  that  line  of 
work.  This  engine  was  delivered  to  the  company 
Sept.  12,  1836,  and  on  Sept.  12,  1837,  the  members, 
through  their  president,  Anthony  Miltenberger,  pre- 
sented to  John  Rogers,  the  senior  member  of  the 
firm,  a  silver  goblet  with  the  following  inscription 
upon  it :  "  Has  been  in  constant  use  one  year,  and 
throws  water  from  the  gallery  two  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  feet."  In  1843  the  "  United"  had  six 
pieces  of  fire  apparatus, — one  gallery  engine,  two  suc- 
tion-engines, three  hose-carriages, — one  fire-ladder  and 
escape,  and  one  thousand  three  hundred  feet  of  hose. 
The  company  was  composed  of  two  hundred  and 
thirty  active  firemen.  The  engine-house  was  located 
on  Liberty  Street,  between  Pratt  and  Lombard  Streets. 

In  1852  the  ofiicers  were:  President,  Jno.  S.  Reese, 
Jr. ;  Win.  Harris,  Wm.  M.  Starr,  and  Jacob  B.  Balt- 
zell,  vice-presidents;  Jacob  Lanier,  Jr.,  secretary; 
and  Frederick  Achey,  treasurer.  In  1853,  Wm.  M. 
Starr  became  president.  At  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  company  held  January,  1856,  the  following  oflicers 
were  elected  to  serve  for  that  year:  President,  Geo.  A. 
Freeberger;  First  Vice-President,  James  Martin ;  Sec- 
ond Vice-President,  Chas.  Toner;  Third  Vice-Presi- 
dent, Thomas  M.  Campbell ;  Treasurer,  Thomas  M. 
Campbell;  Secretary,  Geo.  W.  Johnson;  Chief  En- 
gineer, Gabriel  P.  Key;  Engine-keeper,  Thos.  Mur- 
phy. In  1857,  Alfred  H.  Davis  succeeded  Mr.  Free- 
berger, and  in  1861,  Gen.  Anthony  Miltenberger  was 
elected  president. 

Washington  Hose  Company  was  instituted  in 
1815,  and  in  1817  the  oflicers  and  members  were : 

John  Berry,  presideut;  Jesse  Hunt,  vice-president;  Charles  G.  Kobb, 
secretary;  William  Street,  treasurer;  Directors,  Basil  Duke,  Robert 
Norris.  Joshua  Drydeu,  George  B.  Schaeffer,  Stidman  Van  Wyck,  George 
Elliott;  Engiueers,  John  S.  Watts  first,  George  Adams  second,  Joseph 
Branson  third;  Axe-men,  John  A.  Simmons,  Alfred  Crump,  Anthony 
Kinimell,  Jr.,  Josh.  Rowles;  Standing  Committee,  John  E.  Reese,  J.  P. 
Branson,  George  B.  Schaefler ;  Hose-men,  Philip  Poultney.  Simon  Wedge, 
Jr.,  Oswell  Bailey,  Lemuel  Holmes,  Charles  Little,  Jacob  Pepper,  Joseph 
Luckey,  William  F.  Btason,  Henry  Sanderson,  Adolphus  Dellinger, 
Samuel  Small,  Jacob  Yundt,  Nathaniel  Owings,  Emanuel  K.  Deaver, 
Ignatius  P.McCaudless,  John  Patterson,  Thomas  Hammond,  Samuel  H. 
Harris,  Abner  Pope,  Samuel  Shaw,  Robert  Dutton,  Mark  Grafton,  Thomas 
Symington,  E.  R.  Robinson,  Charles  Tiernan ;  Suction-men,  Philip  T. 
Tyson,  Thomas  Ellicott,  Granville  S.  Townsend,  Samuel  Spicer,  Francis 
Sorrell,  John  Gray,  Joseph  W.  Jacobs,  John  E.  Reese,  Francis  Dowell, 
Edward  Stewart,  John  M.  Dash,  James  M.  Rowe,  Anthony  L.  Cooke, 
Henry  W.  Webster,  Edwin  H.  Alfred,  Silas  Norris,  Samuel  Ewing, 
Charles  Baker,  George  Tyson,  Jr.,  Adam  Crandall,  George  W.  Bailey, 
Benjamin  Fahnestock,  James  Russel,  Peter  Barger,  D.  Bruner,  Joseph 
Fairbum,  John  Watt,  Jr.,  Josiaa  Small,  Matthias  N.  Forney,  William 
Gill;  Suction  Pipe-men,  John  C.  Norris,  George  Carey;  Hose-carriage 
Guards,  William  Little,  Samuel  Ruckle,  Thomas  L.  Berrj-,  John  Pierce. 

The  following  gentlemen  composed  the  honorary 
members  of  the  company  in  1820  : 

William  Gwynn,  Robert  Smith,  Alexander  Irwin,  William  Cole,  John 
Power,  George  B.  Schaeffer,  Jas.  Carroll,  Sr.,  D.  Barnum,  Isaac  McPher- 
aon,  Peter  Forney,  James  Symington,  H.  M.  Brackenridge,  Ebenezer  L. 
Finley,  Hartman  Elliott,  John  F.  Frieze,  Edward  Norris,  R.  P.  Simpson, 
James  Russell,  George  Thomas,  Benjamin  F.  Wheeler,  George  Weaver 
John  M.  Neal,  Joshua  Dryden,  Thomas  Ellicott,  Benjamin  I.  Cohen, 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


John  H.  Short,  Col.  George  H.  Stuart,  Joseph  Cashing,  Philip  T.  Tyson, 
William  Hopkins,  James  Carroll,  Sr ,  Col.  John  Berry,  Henry  Brice, 
Jacob  Albert,  Anthony  Eimmell,  Mark  Grafton,  Samuel  Hopkins,  Wil- 
liam H.  Bailey,  Amos  Price,  Jesse  Shipley,  William  W.  Wilson,  Joseph 
Young,  Isaac  Hoopes. 

In  1820,  John  Berry,  president,  was  succeeded  by 
Jesse  Hunt.    In  1844,  William  Wilson  was  president, 
and  was  succeeded  in  1846  by  William  L.  Simms.    In 
1852,  A.  J.  Levering  became  president,  and  was  .suc- 
ceeded in  1856  by  Henry  Handy,  and  he  in  1857  by 
William  Wilson.    In  1858,  James  Barron  was  elected 
president,  and  was  succeeded  in  1859  by  Thomas  S. 
Sumwalt.     In  1861,  A.  J.   Levering   again  became 
president,  and  continued  to  hold  the  office  until  the 
company  disbanded.     In  1843  this  company  had  five 
pieces  of  apparatus,  consisting  of  two  suction-engines  I 
and  three  hose-carriages.    It  had  eighty  active  firemen 
and  sixty  honorary  members,  and  twelve  hundred  feet 
of  serviceable  hose.  Thiscompany  was  chartered  by  the 
Legislature  Jan.  26, 1832.     In  1841  the  engine-house, 
located  on  Lombard  near  Sharp  Street,  caught  fire,  and  , 
before  the  flames  were  arrested  the  upper  jiart  of  the 
building  was  entirely  destroyed.     It  was  thought  to 
be  the  work  of  an  incendiary.    In  1852  the  Washing- 
ton Hose  Company  went  out  of  service  temporarily  \ 
on  account  of  the  sale  of  their  engine-house  to  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Eailroad  Company.    In  1853  the 
company  completed  a  handsome  three-story  building 
on  Barre  Street  near  Sharp,  and  the  20th  of  Septem-  •■ 
ber,  1858,  received  a  steam  fire-engine  constructed  by 
Messrs.  Murray  &  Hazelhurst,  Vulcan  Iron-Works,  I 
of  this   city.      The   engine   weighed   four   thousand 
pounds,  and  cost  three  thousand  dollars.    This  steam- 
engine,  the  second  that  was  introduced  into  Balti-  I 
more,  was  christened  "  The  Home."     It  was  the  first 
engine  of  the  kind  built  in  Baltimore,  and  upon  trial 
proved  entirely  satisfactory.     The  following  gentle- 
men composed  the  building  committee  to  superintend 
the  work :  Thomas  S.  Sumwalt,  A.  J.  Levering,  Wil- 
liam C.  Simmons,  and  George  M.  Sullivan.     The  fire 
commi.ssioners  of  Baltimore  in  1859  purchased  this  i 
engine  and  also  the  engine-house  in  fee,  which  was  at 
that  time  the  finest  building  of  the  kind  in  the  city,  j 
Their  two  suction-engine.s,  "The  Southern"  and  the 
"  Gazelle,"  were  sold  to  the  corporation  of  Knoxville,  j 
Tenn.,  for  the  sum  of  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
including  two  hose-reels   and   five   hundred  feet  of 
hose. 

The  Patapsco  Fire  Company  had  its  origin  in 
July,  1822,  in  the  appointment  of  a  committee  from 
each  ward  to  solicit  subscriptions  to  aid  in  its  estab- 
lishment. The  following  gentlemen  composed  the 
committee : 

John  Augell  and  Henry  Elliott,  First  and  Second  Wards  ;  S.  G.  Cald- 
well  and  James  Cox,  Third  Ward ;  John  Milhuen  and  C.  E.  Cook,  Fourth  { 
Ward ;  G.  D.  Elsworth  and  A.  E.  Warner,  Fifth  Ward ;  Peter  Nefl'  and 
L.  h.  Townsend,  Sixth  Ward;  William  F.  Redding  and  Joseph  Cone,  j 
Seventh  Ward;  Ephraim  Barker  and  G.  V.  Raymond,  Eiglith  Ward;  H.  j 
W.Evans  and  Samuel  Nightingale,  Ninth  Ward;  Thomas  Palmer  and  t 
J.  V.  N.  Throop,  Tenth  Ward ;  Nathan  Levering  and  Charlee  Schultz, 
Eleventh  Ward ;  G.  Hamner  and  George  Stiles,  Twelfth  Ward.  ' 


The  proceedings  of  this  meeting  were  signed  by 
Wm.  F.  Redding,  secretary.  The  company  was  in- 
corporated by  the  Legislature  Feb.  28,  1826,  with  J. 
I.  Cohen,  president,  and  the  members  thereof  as  in- 
corporators. In  1843  the  company  owned  five  pieces 
of  apparatus,  consisting  of  one  gallery-engine,  one 
suction-engine,  three  hose-carriages,  with  one  thou- 
sand one  hundred  feet  of  serviceable  hose.  The  en- 
gine-house was  located  first  at  the  corner  of  Fayette 
and  North  Streets.  In  1849  it  was  sold  to  Mrs. 
Rachael  Colvin,  and  the  company  purchased  a  lot 
and  built  a  new  engine-house  on  St.  Paul  near  Centre 
Street.  The  following  were  the  oflScers  in  1844:  Jacob 
I.Cohen,  Jr., president;  Andrew E.  Warner,  vice-pres- 
ident; Thomas  Wildey,  trea.surer;  and  Walter  E. 
Jones,  secretary.  For  the  year  1850  the  Hon.  Wm. 
Pinkuey  Whyte  was  elected  president,  with  Christian 
H.  Smith,  vice-president ;  John  P.  Posey,  treasurer ; 
Geo.  V.  Metzel,  secretary;  Benj.  F.  Adams,  engineer. 
J.  I.  Cohen,  who  had  been  president  for  twenty-six 
years,  declined  re-election,  but  was  still  continued  as 
a  representative  of  the  fire  department.  In  1852  Mr. 
Whyte  was  succeeded  as  president  by  James  H, 
Lucket.  In  1855,  Mendez  I.  Cohen  was  elected  presi- 
dent, and  was  .succeeded  by  Jesse  Hunt  in  1858.  Mr. 
Cohen  was  re-elected  in  1865.  In  1861  the  engine- 
house  of  the  company  on  St.  Paul  Street  was  sold  at 
public  auction  to  Michael  Roach  for  eighteen  hun- 
dred dollars ;  at  the  same  time  the  large  gallery-en- 
gine, which  originally  cost  two  thousand  dollars,  was 
sold  for  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars  to  Jesse 
Hunt,  and  the  suction-engine,  built  by  John  Rogers, 
of  Baltimore,  was  sold  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars to  D.  B.  Banks. 

The  Howard  Fire  Company  was  chartered  by  the 
Legislature  March  1,  1830,  with  the  following  incor- 
porators : 

Samuel  McCIellan,  George  Keyser,  George  W.  Williamson.  Jame^  Blair, 
McCIintock  Young,  Alcaeus  B.  Wolf,  William  Walls,  Peter  Sauerwein, 
Jr.,  George  Hathower,  B.  B.  Simpson,  Vjilentine  Dushane,  Robt.  O'Reilly, 
John  R.  Piper,  John  Grubb,  John  W.  Walker,  Franklin  Raburg,  D.  W. 
B.  McCIellan,  John  Hooper,  John  H.  Dorsey,  George  Sauerwein,  Levj 
Bowei-son,  John  Ritney,  John  Winn,  Jr.,  Stephen  Waters,  and  Alexau- 
ander  Waters. 

In  1843  the  company  owned  four  pieces  of  appa- 
ratus,— two  suction-engines  and  two  hose-carriages, — 
and  nine  hundred  feet  of  serviceable  hose,  and  had  two 
hundred  active  firemen  and  sixty-two  honorary  mem- 
bers. Their  engine-house  was  situated  on  Paca  near 
Fayette  Street.  On  the  2d  of  October,  1834,  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  company,  it  was  resolved  to  recommend  to 
the  several  fire  companies  to  close  their  engine-houses 
and  not  to  open  them  until  the  proper  authorities 
or  property-owners  generally  should  adopt  such  ener- 
getic measures  as  would  ensure  the  firemen  security 
in  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  In  July  of  the  same 
year  the  company,  having  suffered  severely  from  the 
burning  of  their  engine-house  by  an  incendiary, 
passed  resolutions  announcing  their  determination  to 
ferret  out  the  villains  engaged  in  the  wanton  destruc- 


FIRES  AND   FIRE   COMPANIES. 


255 


tion,  and  also  appointed  a  committee  to  wait  on  the 
mayor  to  request  him  to  co-operate  with  them  by 
offering  a  reward  for  the  arrest  of  the  incendiaries. 
A  committee  was  also  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions 
from  the  citizens  to  enable  tlie  company  to  repair 
their  losses.  The  committee  was  composed  of  William 
G.  Gorsuch,  Benj.  Caughey,  Dr.  Perkins,  John  C.  Rau, 
William  Barnet,  Edmund  Bull,  George  Keilholtz,  Wil- 
liam Reed,  and  William  Allen.  In  1845  the  following 
gentlemen  were  elected  officers  of  the  company  for 
that  year:  John  W.  Durst,  president;  Jos.  Carson, 
first  vice-president;  William  O.  Helm,  second  vice- 
president  ;  Samuel  Reese,  treasurer ;  William  H.  Fow- 
ler, secretary;  Elijah  Carson,  chief  engineer.  Francis 
A.  Miller  succeeded  as  president  in  1846,  and  Asa  H. 
Smith  in  1851.  Mr.  Smith  was  followed  by  Charles 
E.  Griffith  in  1853,  but  was  re-elected  in  1855,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Thomas  A.  Cooper  in  1856,  Chas. 
H.  Short  in  1859,  J.  F.  Bowers  in  1861,  and  Michael 
Hamman  in  1863.  In  1859  the  fire  commissioners  of 
Baltimore  purchased  the  company's  fine  house  and 
lot  on  Paca  Street,  now  occupied  by  No.  2  Truck  and 
Engine  Company,  for  the  Paid  Fire  Department  for 
the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars.  The  small  suction- 
engine  of  the  company  was  purchased  by  Messrs.  R. 
Townsend  &  Co.,  of  Fallston,  Beaver  Co.,  Pa.,  for 
two  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars.  The  steam- 
engine  of  the  company  was  sold  to  the  Shiffler  Hose 
Company  of  Philadelphia,  including  a  reel,  for  five 
hundred  dollars. 

The  Watchman  Fire  Company  was  organized  in 
1840,  and  incorporated  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature 
passed  March  2,  1842.     The  incorporators  were : 

Langly  B.  Culley,  the  president  of  the  company ;  John  S.  Brown, 
Abraham  Busch,  and  Thomas  W.  Jay.  the  vice-presidents ;  and  Joseph 
Craig,  Michael  Dorsey,  Gideon  Brown,  Joseph  Donovan,  John  Watch- 
man, Henry  Meyers,  George  Klasey,  and  Richard  H.  Middleton, 

In  1843  the  company  was  equipped  with  four  suc- 
tion-engines and  two  hose-reels  and  a  new  suction  and 
seven  hundred  feet  of  hose.  The  company  consisted 
of  three  hundred  and  twenty  active  firemen  and  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  honorary  members.  They  were 
first  located  near  Watchman  &  Butts'  foundry,  but  in 
July,  1843,  the  company  laid  the  corner-stone  of  a 
new  building  on  Light  Street,  near  York,  Elijah  Wat- 
son, builder.  At  the  ceremonies  of  laying  the  corner- 
stone, prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  John  Guest,  and 
a  speech  was  made  by  T.  Y.  Walsh.  The  corner-stone 
contained  among  other  things  a  piece  of  Gen.  Wash- 
ington's coffin  wrapped  in  a  copy  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  On  January  10,  1846,  the  follow- 
ing members  were  elected  officers  for  the  ensuing 
year:  Henry  E.  Barton,  Jr.,  president ;  Elijah  Bishop, 
Jacob  Grurer,  and  Hugh  McNeal,  vice-presidents; 
Isaac  N.  Denson,  treasurer  ;  William  Alexander  and 
George  Russell,  secretaries ;  and  John  Hornagle, 
chief  engineer.  In  1855,  William  H.  Thornton  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Barton  as  president.  In  1858,  Joseph  R. 
Stephens  was  elected  president. 


The  Lafayette  Hose  Company  was  organized  in 
1842  with  Samuel  Boyd  as  president,  and  four  pieces 
of  apparatus,  consisting  of  two  suction-engines  and 
two  hose-carriages.  The  company  was  composed  of 
two  hundred  and  forty-eight  active  and  forty  honorary 
members,  and  had  at  the  time  it  was  instituted  twelve 
hundred  feet  of  hose.  Its  engine-house  was  located 
at  the  corner  of  Caroline  and  Silver  Streets.  In  1843 
it  occupied  a  new  engine-house  nearly  opposite,  on 
Caroline  near  Pitt  Street.  The  company  was  incor- 
porated on  the  24th  of  January,  1842,  with  the  follow- 
ing incorporators : 

Samuel  Boyd,  Charles  Ingram,  Thomas  Gifford,  Stephen  McCoy, 
George  Schock,  J.  W.  Hall,  William  Devere,  William  McKinley,  Peter 
Carothers,  William  Pierce,  William  Rusk,  David  W.  Hudson,  Nathan- 
iel Hall,  Thomas  H.  Duvall,  I'rancis  Luke,  Richard  Fonder,  Frederick 
Davis,  Augustus  Olivane,  Solomon  J.  Willis,  William  B.  Boyd,  Samuel 
Bowen,  Thomas  H.  Willis,  James  E.  Foreman,  William  L.  Wisehraigh, 
Edward  M.  Kellum,  William  D.  Boherts,  N.  Merryman,  James  Quay, 
and  Thomas  Guay. 

The  first  officers  were: 

Samuel  Boyd,  president;  Wm.  D.  Roberts,  vice-president;  M.S.  Mc- 
Coy, treasurer;  J.  W.  Hall,  secretary;  and  Messrs.  Charles  Ingram, 
George  Schock,  R.  Fonder,  A.C.  Kendall,  and  M.  McClintock,  directori. 
In  184a  the  offlcera  were  Alex.  Gifford,  president;  W.  D.  Roberts,  first 
vice-president;  Hugh  Gifford,  second  vice-president;  David  I'arr,  treas- 
urer; Benj.  J.  Clark,  secretary;  and  Fred.  Davis,  engineer. 

In  1847  they  were  James  McNabb,  president; 
Wm.  McKinley  and  Samuel  W.  Bowcn,  vice-presi- 
dents. In  1848,  Wm.  Devere  was  elected  president, 
and  in  1851  was  succeeded  by  John  W.  Hall,  and  in 
1854,  Mr.  Devere  was  again  elected.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1855  by  R.  T.  Wilkinson,  followed  in  1860 
by  Wm.  McKinley,  the  last  president.  The  company 
having  served  its  purposes,  in  1860  it  followed  its 
predecessors  and  went  out  of  existence.  Its  fine 
engine-house  was  sold  for  a  public  school,  and  its 
notable  steeple  disapjieared. 

The  Monumental  Hose  Company. — The  organi- 
zation of  the  Miinuniental  Hose  Company  was  au- 
thorized by  an  ordinance  passed  by  the  City  Council 
of  Baltimore  on  the  17th  of  April,  1851.  The  com- 
pany proposed  to  use  nothing  but  a  hose-carriage  and 
to  furnish  the  hose  at  their  own  expense,  and  was 
composed  of  highly  respectable  young  men.  The 
first  appearance  of  the  Monumental  was  at  a  fire  at 
Fell's  Point  on  the  night  of  May  21,  1851.  The  offi- 
cers elected  in  June  of  that  year  were  composed  of 
the  following-named  gentlemen  :  President,  James  L. 
D.  Gill ;  Vice-President,  John  E.  Heald ;  Secretary, 
Charles  M.  Chase ;  Treasurer,  Joseph  M.  Boyle ; 
Chief  Engineer,  B.  Frank  Crane.  In  1853,  George 
P.  Frick  was  made  president;  John  P.  Cummins, 
vice-president;  Isaac  J.  Fowler,  secretary;  Joseph 
M.  Boyle,  treasurer  ;  and  G.  Edmund  Valitte,  chief 
engineer.  In  1854,  J.  P.  Cummins  was  elected  presi- 
dent ;  John  R.  Heald,  vice-president ;  Charles  Chase, 
treasurer ;  H.  L.  Armstrong,  secretary  ;  and  W.  H. 
Edwards,  engineer.  The  following  officers  served 
for  the  year  1858  :  President,  J.  P.  Cummins  ;  Vice- 
President,  Howard  Heald  ;  Secretary,  Geo.  B.  Chase  ; 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Treasurer,  S.  M.  Chappell ;  Delegates  to  the  Balti- 
more United  Fire  Department,  J.  P.  Cummins,  S.  M. 
Chappell,  L.  N.  Buckler,  E.  Law  Rogers,  Charles  R. 
Smith,  Charles  A.  Oliver,  Geo.  B.  Chase.  In  1860  the 
following  gentlemen  composed  the  officers  of  the 
company  :  Jacob  Heald,  president ;  Howard  Heald, 
vice-president ;  George  B.  Chase,  secretary  ;  Samuel 
M.  Chappell,  treasurer;  J.  Heald,  John  P.  Cummins, 
C.  A.  Oliver,  J.  M.  Chappell,  J.  S.  Wineberger,  Geo. 
B.  Chase,  and  Charles  R.  Smith,  delegates  to  the 
Baltimore  United  Fire  Department. 

The  Western  Hose  Company  was  established  by 
an  ordinance  of  the  City  Council  in  1852.  Its  first 
location  was  on  West  Baltimore  Street,  near  Green, 
but  in  18.57  it  was  moved  to  a  new  house,  which  it 
erected  on  Green  Street,  near  Baltimore.  In  18.55  a 
motion  was  made  at  a  meeting  of  the  United  Fire 
Department  to  admit  the  Western  Hose  into  its 
membership,  but  it  was  defeated ;  afterwards,  how- 
ever, it  was  received  into  the  department.  At  an 
election  of  officers  of  the  company,  April  7,  1852, 
the  following  gentlemen  were  elected :  Charles  F. 
Cloud,  president ;  John  C.  Ensor,  vice-president ;  D. 
Allen  Mantz,  secretary  ;  Joseph  T.  Logan,  treasurer. 
In  1856,  Joseph  T.  Logan  succeeded  Charles  F. 
Cloud  as  president,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  .Joseph 
H.  Amey  in  1857.  In  1859,  J.  T.  Tucker  was  elected 
president,  and  continued  in  that  office  until  1864. 

Pioneer  Hook-and-Ladder  Company,  No.  1,  was 
inaugurated  by  a  public  procession  of  its  uniformed 
members  in  1852.     The  uniform  was  handsome  and 
becoming,  and  consisted  of  black  hats  with  the  name  | 
in  front,  silver  lettered,  black   coat  and  pants,  the 
latter  protected  by  leather  covering.     The  company 
occupied    a    three-story   brick    house    on    Harrison 
Street  near  Fayette.     Their  apparatus  was  manufac-  ' 
tured  by  Messrs.  Rogers  &  So^n,  and  delivered  to  the  1 
company  on  the  22d  of  October,  1852,  when  the  parade  | 
took  place.     The  following  were  the  parade  officers: 
Charles  T.  HoUoway,  president ;  B.  F.  Cole,  acting  I 
vice-president;  John  M.  Denison,  secretary;    L.  H.  | 
JIatthews,  treasurer;  with  John  M.  Denison,  marshal. 
Ill  1853  the  following  were  the  officers  of  the  company : 
Charles  T.   Holloway,  president ;    Hugh    B.   Jones, 
vice-president;    John   M.    Denison,   secretary;    and 
Samuel  H.  Matthews,  engineer.     The  Pioneer  Com- 
pany had  an  excellent  library  for  the  use  of  its  mem- 
bers.    The  officers  of  the  library  association  in  1855 
were  William  G.  Holbrook,  president ;  R.  W.  Bower- 
man,  vice-president ;    M.  O'Brien,  secretary  ;    L.  A. 
Sanders,    treasurer;     Trustees,     Alexander    Geddes, 
William  D.  Jones,  Henry  Claridge,  Benjamin  Stan- 
ton ;  Librarian,  Alexander  Geddes. 

Mount  Vernon  Hook-and-Ladder  Company  was 
organized  Sept.  9,  1853,  with  the  following  officers : 
President,  B.  F.  Zimmermann  ;  First  Vice-President, 
George  F.  Zimmerman ;  Second  Vice-President, 
Thomas  Whelan ;  Secretary,  George  W.  Lindsay ; 
Treasurer,  Nathan  F.  Dushane.      The  apparatus  of 


the  Mount  Vernon  was  kept  for  some  time  in  the 
quarters  of  the  Western  Hose  Company  until  the 
company  obtained  a  building  on  the  west  side  of  Bid- 
die  Street  near  Ross  (Druid  Hill  Avenue),  but  that 
structure  being  destroyed  by  fire  the  apparatus  was 
kept  in  a  shed  nearly  opposite.  In  1855,  Col.  George 
J.  Zimmerman  was  elected  president,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1858  by  George  F.  Blinseuger,  and  in  1859 
by  John  Hielbert.  In  1861,  William  J.  Nicholas  was 
president.  On  the  night  of  Aug.  18,  1855,  on  their 
return  from  a  fire  a  terrible  fight  occurred  between 
the  Mount  Vernon  and  New  Market  companies  at 
the  corner  of  Franklin  and  Park  Streets,  in  which 
bricks,  axes,  picks,  hooks,  and  pistols  were  freely  used. 
In  the  desperate  struggle  two  men  were  mortally  and 
a  number  badly  wounded.  Upon  the  organization  of 
the  Paid  Fire  Department  tlie  Mount  Vernon  com- 
pany went  out  of  existence. 

The  United  States  Hose  Company  was  formed 
March  8,  1854,  at  a  meeting  called  for  that  purpose  at 
the  Seventeenth  Ward  House.  The  City  Council  on 
March  20th  gave  authority  for  the  organization  and 
establishment  of  this  company  in  William  Street,  on 
Federal  Hill.  The  company  commenced  operations  as 
firemen  with  a  hose-carriage  purchased  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  with  five  hundred  feet  of  hose  presented  to 
them  by  the  difierent  fire  companies  of  Baltimore. 
The  following  were  the  first  officers  of  the  company : 
President,  John  H.  Travers;  Vice-Presidents,  William 
Koonsmary,  Thomas  Meshaw,  J.  P.  Baxter;  Secretary, 
George  W.  Rider ;  Treasurer,  Josiah  Orem.  In  1855, 
Joseph  P.  Baxter  was  elected  president,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1856  by  William  M.  Starr.  In  1864  the 
following  gentlemen  were  elected  officers  of  the  com- 
pany :  President,  Joseph  P.  Baxter ;  James  Carr, 
vice-president ;  George  Rider,  secretary ;  Edward  Al- 
baugh,  treasurer;  delegates  to  the  Baltimore  United 
Fire  Department,  J.  P.  Baxter,  Edward  Albaugh, 
Daniel  Shanks,  John  Marshall,  George  Rider,  James 
Carr,  and  James  Classey.  In  September,  1857,  a  riot 
occurred  in  the  vicinity  of  the  engine-house  of  this 
company  between  its  members  and  adherents  and 
members  of  the  Mount  Vernon  Hook-and-Ladder  and 
the  Washington  Hose  Companies,  in  which  several 
men  were  shot. 

Paid  Fire  Department— For  many  years  prior  to 
the  abolition  of  the  old  Volunteer  Fire  Department 
the  subject  of  introducing  a  new  system  had  occupied 
the  public  mind,  and  as  early  as  1849  the  attention  of 
the  City  Council  had  been  formally  called  to  the  matter 
by  the  mayor.    In  his  message  of  that  year  he  says, — • 

"For  many  years  past  the  peace  of  the  city  has  been  disturbed.  Or- 
dinances have  been  passed,  and  the  City  Council  anxiously  concerned  to 
devise  some  means  to  stay  tlie  violence  and  outrage  attendant  upon 
actual  fires  and  false  alarms,  too  often  got  up  for  such  purposes." 

At  the  session  of  1849,  two  reports  were  made,  one 
in  favor  of  organizing  a  Paid  Fire  Department  with 
twelve  companies.  The  condition  of  the  city  treas- 
ury at  that  time,  however,  was  not  such  as  to  warrant 


(JHAKLES    T.   IIALLUWAY. 


FIRES   AND   FIRE    COMPANIES. 


the  increased  expenditure  which  would  have  been 
necessitated  by  the  establishment  of  a  Paid  Depart- 
ment, and  no  practical  action  was  taken  upon  the 
mayor's  suggestions.  On  the  31st  of  January,  1853, 
the  United  Fire  Department  took  up  the  subject  of 
reorganization,  and  a  committee  of  one  from  each 
company  was  appointed  to  devise  a  plan  for  this 
purpose. 

At  the  July  meeting  in  1853  the  majority  of  the 
committee  reported  a  plan  for  a  Paid  Department 
with  a  chief  engineer,  and  the  minority  presented  an 
.adverse  plan.  The  majority  report  was  rejected  by  a 
large  vote,  and  the  report  of  the  minority  was  laid  on 
the  table.  In  1854  the  subject  was  revived,  and  on 
the  15th  of  December  in  that  year  a  petition,  signed 
by  numerous  and  prominent  merchants  and  business 
men  of  Baltimore,  was  presented  in  the  First  Branch 
of  the  City  Council,  praying  a  change  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Fire  Department.'  After  referring  to  the 
well-known  evils  of  the  system  then  existing,  the 
petition  suggested  the  "  expediency  of  passing  an  or- 
dinance to  the  effect  of  creating  a  department  which 
should  be  paid  by  the  city."  In  order  "  to  raise  the 
funds  for  the  special  purpose  without  increasing  their 
already  onerous  taxes,"  the  petitioners  expressed  the 
opinion  that  "by  making  the  city  of  Baltimore  a 
general  fire  insurance  company  the  surplus  arising 
from  the  payment  of  premiums  would  be  ample  to 
meet  all  necessary  expenses,  and  leave  a  handsome 
revenue  to  the  city  besides."  The  subject  was  then 
allowed  to  rest  until  Feb.  11,  1856,  when  a  resolution 
was  adopted  by  the  United  Department  and  sent  to 
the  City  Council,  requesting  that  body  not  to  grant 
the  use  of  the  streets  to  any  more  fire  companies. 
This  request  was  denied,  but  in  18.57  the  First  Branch 
adopted  a  resolution  prohibiting  the  formation  of  any 
more  volunteer  companies.  On  the  18th  of  January, 
1858,  the  attention  of  the  City  Council  was  once  more 
called  to  the  subject  by  the  mayor,  who  in  his  message 
of  that  date  emphatically  declared  that  the  "Fire 
Department  required  reorganization,"  and  urged 
prompt  and  eftective  action.  On  the  19th  of  May, 
Mr.  Kirk  submitted  a  resolution  which  was  adopted, 
providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  commission  of 
nine  persons  to  examine  the  whole  question  and  re- 
port a  plan  "  for  the  thorough  organization  of  the 
Fire  Department  of  Baltimore."  The  commission  was 
accordingly  appointed,  and  after  investigation  made 
two  reports,  the  majority  recommending  the  reor- 
ganization of  the  existing  department,  and  the  mi- 
nority report,  by  Henry  Spilman,  urging  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Paid  Fire  Department.  The  two  reports  of 
the  commission  were  referred  to  the  joint  standing 
committee  of  the  two  branches,  which  adopted  the 
plan  suggested  in  the  majority  report,  and  submitted 
an  ordinance  embodying  its  features  to  the  Second 

1  Oh  the  lat  of  February,  1855,  a  trial  of  the  "  Latta"  steam-engine 
■was  made  at  Bowley's  wbiirf,  in  the  presence  of  an  immense  concourse  of 


Branch  of  the  City  Council.  While  the  commission 
was  still  in  session  a  meeting  was  held,  on  July  1st, 
by  the  United  Fire  Department,  at  which  resolutions 
were  adopted  protesting  against  the  violent  dismem- 
berment of  the  organization,  and  requesting  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  committee  of  representatives  from 
the  various  companies,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing 
a  plan  for  the  reorganization  of  the  department.  A 
plan  and  ordinance  were  reported  by  this  committee, 
which  were  submitted  to  the  City  Council  in  Septem- 
ber, at  the  same  time  as  the  ordinance  and  reports 
already  mentioned.  While  the  subject  was  still 
before  the  council,  numerous  memorials  signed  by 
active  firemen  were  presented  favoring  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Paid  Fire  Department,  and  arguments  on  the 
question  were  made  before  the  mayor  by  the  presi- 
dents of  the  several  companies.  The  ordinance  re- 
ported by  the  committee,  proposing  a  simple  reor- 
ganization of  the  department,  was  passed  by  the  City 
Council,  but  on  the  16th  of  November  it  was  vetoed 
by  the  mayor.  A  joint  special  committee  of  the  City 
Council  was  then  appointed  to  consider  the  sugges- 
tions made  in  the  veto  message,  and  reported  an  ordi- 
nance for  the  establishment  of  a  Paid  Department, 
which  was  passed  on  the  9th  of  December,  and  ap- 
proved by  the  mayor  on  the  following  day. 

Charles  T.  Holloway  was  appointed  chief  engineer 
of  the  force,  and  under  his  management  the  new 
system,  which  he  had  long  advocated,  began  almost 
immediately  to  prove  its  superiority  to  the  old.     Mr. 
Holloway  was  among  the  first  to  see  that  the  steam 
fire-engine  was  certain   to  supersede  the  old  hand- 
engine,  and  he  had  one  brought  from  Cincinnati  to 
exhibit  its  workings  to  the  people  of  Baltimore.     The 
I  new  "  machine"  created  a  profound  impression,  and 
I  in  a  short  time  Mr.  Holloway  succeeded  in  securing 
its  adoption  in  Baltimore.     Born  in  Baltimore,  Dec. 
25,  1827,  he  had  grown  up,  as  it  were,  with  the  old 
i  volunteer  system,  and  by  long  experience  had  learned 
i  precisely  where  it  was  defective,  and  the  dangers  and 
errors   against  which   the   new   department   should 
guard.     His  parents,  Robert  and  Eleanor  Holloway, 
though  of  Revolutionary  stock,  were  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  and  he  was  the  fifth  in  a  family  of 
eight  children. 

His  father  was  a  watch  and  clock-maker,  and  made, 
fifty  odd  years  ago,  the  clock  now  in  the  tower  of  the 
engine-house  at  Gay  and  Ensor  Streets,  Baltimore, 
^  then  occupied  by  the  old  Independent  Engine  Com- 
\  pany,  of  which  he  was  an  active  member.     His  son 
'  inherited  the  father's  predilections  for  this  service, 
and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was  president  of  the  Hope 
Junior  Fire  Company.      Charles  T.  Holloway  also 
inherited  his  father's  busiMess,  and  in  1850,  while  en- 
gaged in  it,  organized  the  Pioneer  Hook-and-Ladder 
Company,  the  first  in  the  city,  of  which  he  was  presi- 
i  dent  for  nine  years.     Such  a  company  was  then  a 
novelty,  but  it  became  an  exceedingly  useful  adjunct 
to  the  department,  and  Mr.  Holloway's  reputation  as 


258 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


a  practical  fireman  was  greatly  enhanced  by  its  suc- 
cess. 

In  1864,  Mr.  Holloway  resigned  the  position  of  chief 
engineer  of  the  Paid  Department,  and  in  parting  with 
him  the  City  Council  passed  resolutions  commending 
his  invaluable  services,  and  tendering  him  the  thanks 
of  the  public.  The  members  of  the  department  pre- 
sented him  with  a  magnificent  watch  and  chain  as  a 
testimonial  of  their  esteem.  He  had  previously,  in 
1859,  received  from  the  Pioneer  Hook-and-Ladder 
Company  a  highly  complimentary  series  of  resolutions 
passed  at  a  meeting  of  that  organization.  In  1868  he 
was  appointed  to  the  important  office  of  fire  inspector, 
which  he  has  so  administered  as  to  save  much  valuable 
property  at  fires,  to  detect  cases  of  incendiarism,  and 
to  suggest  methods  of  protection  against  conflagrations. 
He  has  rendered  the  public  great  service  by  procuring 
the  passage  of  laws  providing  for  the  inspection  of 
illuminating  oils  and  the  prevention  of  the  sale  of 
such  as  are  dangerous.  When  the  principal  insurance 
companies  determined  upon  the  formation  of  the 
Salvage  Corps,  Mr.  Holloway  organized  and  .still 
controls  that  very  useful  ally  of  the  Fire  Department. 
On  the  morning  of  Nov.  20,  1870,  while  on  duty 
at  a  fire  on  South  Charles  Street,  he  was  shock- 
ingly hurt  by  the  falling  of  a  wall  upon  him.  For 
four  hours  he  was  imprisoned  among  the  flames, 
almost  suffocated  by  smoke  and  steam.  His  sufferings 
were  terrible,  but  he  was  finally  rescued  and  brought 
back  to  life.  In  gratitude  to  Providence  for  his  es- 
cape from  death  he  presented  St.  Andrew's  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  of  which  he  is  a  vestryman,  with 
a  superb  marble  altar.  In  1870,  Mr.  Holloway  as- 
sisted in  the  organization  of  the  present  Fire  Depart- 
ment of  Pittsburgh,  and  the  Board  of  Commissioners 
thanked  him  by  resolutions  "  for  his  very  kind  as- 
sistance and  many  valuable  suggestions."  He  is 
vice-president  of  the  several  boards  of  the  Baltimore 
United  Fire  Department.  He  is  largely  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  chemical  fire  extinguishers  of  his 
own  invention,  which  he  has  brought  very  close  to 
perfection.  He  also  builds  hook-and-ladder  trucks 
on  plans  of  his  own,  and  has  patents  on  velocipedes 
and  other  inventions.  He  married  Anna  H.  Ross, 
daughter  of  the  late  Capt.  Reuben  Ross,  Oct.  12, 
1854. 

One  of  the  most  noticeable  changes  introduced  by 
the  new  system  was  the  large  reduction  in  the  force 
employed,  the  whole  number  of  men  in  the  Paid 
Department  at  its  inauguration  being  only  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-three,  or  not  more  than  often  seen 
attached  to  a  single  engine  under  the  volunteer  man- 
agement. Immediately  upon  the  approval  of  the 
ordinance  establishing  the  Paid  Department,  the 
Mechanical,  First  Baltimore,  New  Market,  and  other 
companies  tendered  their  services  until  the  organ- 
ization of  the  new  system  should  be  completed.  Ac- 
cording to  the  first  report  of  the  fire  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  ordinance,  the  estimated  cost  of  the 


new  department  for  1859  was  as  follows :  Salary  of 
chief  engineer,  $1200;  clerk,  $700;  two  assistant 
engineers,  $600  each ;  eight  firemen,  at  $300  each  ; 
six  firemen,  at  $475  each  ;  eight  hostlers,  at  $400 
each;  fifty-four  extra  men,  at  $200  each;  twenty- 
eight  extra  men,  at  $200  each;  keep  of  hook-and- 
ladder  horses,  $3300 ;  fuel  and  gas  for  engine-houses, 
$500 ;  tallow,  oil,  etc.,  for  oiling  hose,  $200 ;  repairs 
of  hose  and  machinery,  $1500 ;  rent  of  houses  and 
stables,  in  case  of  no  purchase,  $2000 ;  incidentals : 
brooms,  soap,  buckets,  tools,  etc.,  $300;  six  steam- 
engines,  $21,000 ;  one  hook-and-ladder  company, 
$1200;  hose,  $6000;  hose-carriages,  $1500;  horses, 
$5000;  harness,  $1000;  total  estimated  cost  for  salaries, 
apparatus,  etc.,  for  1859,  $75,770. 

From  the  second  report  of  the  commissioners,  made 
on  the  2d  of  January,  1860,  it  appears  that  the  total 
expenses  of  the  Fire  Department  to  that  date  were 
$123,185.33,  embracing  the  outlay  for  construction 
and  purchase  of  all  the  property  then  belonging  to 
or  in  use  by  the  department,  as  well  as  the  current 
expenses  of  the  same.  When  the  first  report  was 
made  only  three  steam-engine  companies  and  one 
hook-and-ladder  company  had  been  organized,  but 
when  the  second  report  was  submitted  four  more 
steam-engine  companies  and  one  hook-and-ladder 
company  had  been  brought  into  service,  making  the 
seven  steam-engine  companies  and  two  hook-and- 
ladder  companies  contemplated  by  the  ordinances 
establishing  the  Paid  Department.  The  steam-engine 
companies  were  the  "  Alpha,"  No.  1,  built  by  Reaney, 
Neafie  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  and  purchased  of  the 
First  Baltimore  Hose  Company ;  "  Home,"  No.  2, 
built  by  Murray  &  Hazlehurst,  Baltimore,  and  pur- 
chased of  the  Washington  Hose  Company  ;  "  Comet," 
No.  3,  built  by  Reaney,  Neafie  &  Co.,  Philadelphia, 
and  purcha.sed  of  the  Vigilant  Fire  Company  ;  "John 
Cushing,"  No.  4,  built  by  Pool  &  Hunt,  Baltimore; 
"  Thomas  Swann,"  No.  5,  built  by  Murray  &  Hazle- 
hurst, Baltimore ;  "  Deluge,"  No.  6,  built  by  Murray 
&  Hazlehurst,  Baltimore ;  "  Baltimore,"  No.  7,  built 
by  Poole  &  Hunt,  Baltimore.  These  engines  went 
into  service  under  tne  new  system  at  the  following 
dates :  "  Alpha,"  No.  1,  "  Home,"  No.  2,  and 
"Comet,"  No.  3,  Feb.  15,  1859;  "John  Cushing," 
No.  4,  May  6,  1859;  "Thomas  Swann,"  No.  5,  May 
1,  1859;  "Deluge,"  No.  6,  May  17,  1859;  "Balti- 
more," No.  7,  Sept.  27,  1859.  The  first  Board  of 
Fire  Commissioners  was  composed  of  John  Cushing, 
president;  William  H.  Stran,  John  W.  Loane,  John 
T.  Morris,  and  W.  H.  Quincy.  The  officers  were : 
Chief  Engineer,  Charles  T.  Holloway ;  Assistant 
Engineers,  James  L.  Stewart  and  James  Wesley 
Shaw ;  Clerk  to  the  Fire  Commissioners,  Daniel  Su- 
per. The  apparatus  now  in  service  consists  of  thir- 
teen steam  fire-engines,  twenty-six  four-wheel  hose- 
carriages,  twelve  steam  heaters  for  engines,  located 
in  the  houses  as  follows :  one  each  in  Nos.  1,  2,  3,  4, 
5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  10,  11,  and  12;    four   hook-and-ladder 


FIRES   AND   FIRE   COMPANIES. 


trucks  in  regular  service;  four  fuel-tenders, -located 
at  Nos.  1,  5,  and  12  Engine  Companies,  and  at  No. 
1  Hook-and-Ladder  Company ;  one  supply-wagon  ; 
twenty-four  fire-extinguishers,  two  of  which  are 
carried  on  each  hook-and-ladder  truck,  and  two  on 
each  of  the  hose-carriages  of  Nos.  2,  6,  7,  8,  9,  12, 
and  13  Engine  Companies;  five  Concord  wagons, 
with  gongs  attached,  for  the  use  of  the  officers  of  the 
department,  which  are  located  at  the  following 
houses:  chief  engineer's,  at  No.  2  Engine  Com- 
pany ;  assistant  engineer's,  eastern  district,  at  No. 
6  Engine  Company;  assistant  engineer's,  western 
district,  at  No.  4  Hook-and-Ladder  Company ;  super- 
intendent of  telegraph,  at  No.  4  Hook-and-Ladder 
Company ;  lineman  of  telegraphs,  at  No.  13  Engine 
Company ;  one  Jaggar  wagon,  with  cover,  for  use 
of  veterinary  officer  of  the  department;  in  reserve 
without  companies,  three  first-class  steam  fire-en- 
gines and  equipments,  and  one  second-class  steam 
iire-engine  and  equipment. 

The  general  officers  consist  of  one  chief  engineer, 
two  assistant  engineers,  and  one  veterinary  officer. 
The  force  consists  of  thirteen  foremen  of  engine  com- 
panies, four  foremen  of  hook-and-ladder  companies, 
thirteen  engine-men,  thirteen  assistant  engine-men, 
seventeen  hostlers,  four  tiller-men,  one  house-man,  at- 
tached to  No.  4  Hook-and-Ladder  Company,  one  hun- 
dred and  four  firemen,  and  thirty-nine  ladder-men. 
They  are  divided  into  seventeen  companies,  thirteen 
of  which  are  engine  and  four  hook-and-ladder  com- 
panies. 

Each  company  also  averages  five  substitutes,  who 
give  their  services  to  the  department  without  com- 
pensation except  when  on  duty  for  regular  members, 
and  are  always  in  the  line  of  promotion,  according  to 
their  good  behavior  and  attendance. 

Engine  Company  No.  1  went  in  service  February, 
1859.  Engine-house  situated  on  Paca  Street  north 
of  Fayette  Street.  Has  in  charge  one  steam  fire- 
engine,  two  four-wheel  hose-carriages,  one  wood- 
tender,  four  horses  and  harness,  with  all  necessary 
equipments  for  service. 

Engine  Company  No.  2  went  in  service  February, 
1859.  Engine-house  situated  on  Barre  Street  west 
of  Sharp  Street.  Has  in  charge  one  steam  fire-engine, 
two  four-wheel  hose-carriages,  two  fire-extinguishers, 
six  horses  and  harness  (two  of  which  are  for  the  use 
of  the  chief  engineer),  with  all  necessary  equipments 
for  service. 

Engine  Company  No.  3  went  into  service  February, 
1859.  Engine-house  situated  on  Lombard  Street  east 
of  High  Street.  Has  in  charge  one  steam  fire-en- 
gine, two  four-wheel  hose-carriages,  four  horses  and 
harness,  with  all  necessary  equipments  for  service. 

Engine  Company  No.  4  went  into  service  February, 
1859.  Engine-house  situated  on  North  Street  near 
Fayette  Street.  Has  in  charge  one  steam  fire-engine, 
two  four-wheel  hose-carriages,  five  horses  and  harness, 
with  all  necessary  equipments. 


Engine  Company  No.  5  went  in  service  April, 
1859.  Engine-house  situated  on  Ann  Street,  south  of 
Pratt  Street.  Has  in  charge  one  steam  fire-engine, 
two  four-wheel  hose-carriages,  four  horses  and  har- 
ness, with  all  the  necessary  equipments. 

Engine  Company  No.  6  went  into  service  April, 
1859.  Engine-house  situated  corner  of  Gay  and  En- 
sor  Streets.  Has  in  charge  one  steam  fire-engine,  two 
four-wheel  hose-carriages,  five  horses  and  harness, 
with  all  necessary  equipments  for  service  and  two 
fire-extinguishers. 

Engine  Company  No.  7  went  into  service  April, 
1859.  Engine-house  situated  corner  Eutaw  Street 
and  Druid  Hill  Avenue.  Has  in  charge  one  steam 
fire-engine,  two  four-wheel  hose-carriages,  two  fire- 
extinguishers,  five  horses  and  harness,  with  all  neces- 
sary equipments. 

Engine  Company  No.  8  went  into  service  March, 

1871.  Engine-house  situated  on  Mulberry  Street 
west  of  Schroeder  Street.  Has  in  charge  one  steam 
fire-engine,  two  four-wheel  hose-carriages,  two  fire- 
extinguishers,  four  horses  and  harness,  with  all  neces- 
sary equipments. 

Engine  Company  No.  9  went  into  service  February, 

1872.  Engine-house  situated  on  Madison  Street  near 
Broadway.  Has  in  charge  one  steam  fire-engine,  one 
reserve  steam  fire-engine,  two  four-wheel  hose-car- 
riages, two  fire-extinguishers,  five  horses  and  harness. 

Engine  Company  No.  10  went  in  service  December, 
1872.  Engine-house  situated  on  Columbia  Avenue 
east  of  Poppleton  Street.  Has  in  charge  one  steam 
fire-engine,  two  four-wheel  hose-carriages,  four  horses 
and  harness,  with  all  necessary  equipments  for 
service. 

Engine  Company  No.  11  went  in  service  December, 

1874.  Engine-house  situated  corner  Eastern  Avenue 
and  Gist  Street.  Has  in  charge  one  steam  fire-engine, 
one  reserve  steam  fire-engine,  two  four-wheel  hose- 
carriages,  five  horses  and  harness. 

Engine  Company  No.  12  went  into  service  February, 

1875.  Engine-house  situated  corner  Johnson  Street 
and  Fort  Avenue.  Has  in  charge  one  steam  fire-en- 
gine, one  reserve  steam  fire-engine,  two  four-wheel 
hose-carriages,  two  fire-extinguishers,  one  wood-ten- 
der, five  horses  and  harness. 

Engine  Company  No.  13  went  in  service  March, 

1876.  Engine-house  situated  corner  Myrtle  Avenue 
and  Fremont  Street.  Has  in  charge  one  steam  fire- 
engine,  two  four-wheel  hose-carriages,  two  reserve 
trucks  with  ladders,  two  fire-extinguishers,  six  horses 
and  harness. 

Hook-and-Ladder  Company  No.  1  went  into  service 
February,  1859.  Truck-house  situated  on  Harrison 
Street  north  of  Baltimore  Street.  Has  in  charge  one 
truck,  one  reserve  fire-engine,  one  wood  tender,  two 
fire-extinguishers,  three  horses  and  harness,  with  all 
necessary  ladders  and  equipments. 

Hook-and-Ladder  Company  No.  2  went  into  service 
April,  1859.     Truck-house   situated  on    Paca   Street 


260 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


north  of  Fayette  Street.     Has  in  charge  one  truck, 
two  fire-extinguishers,  two  horses  and  harness. 

Hook-and-Ladder  Company  No.  3  went  into  service 
January,  1871.  Truck-house  situated  on  Ann  Street 
south  of  Pratt  Street.  Has  in  charge  one  truck,  two 
fire-extinguishers,  one  wood-tender,  three  horses  and 
harness. 

Hook-and-Ladder  Company  No.  4  went  into  service 
December,  1880.  Truck-house  situated  on  Biddle 
Street  west  of  Druid  Hill  Avenue.  Has  in  charge 
one  truck,  one  hose-carriage  in  reserve,  two  fire-ex- 
tinguishers, two  horses  and  harness. 

The  expenses  of  the  department  for  1880  were 
$189,387.86;  the  estimated  expenses  for  1881  are 
$196,435. 

The  present  officers  of  the  department  are :  Board  of 
Fire  Commissioners,  Samuel  W.  Regester,  president; 
Mayor  F.  C.  Latrobe,  ex  officio  member ;  Thomas  W. 
Campbell,  Bartholomew  E.  Smith,  Charles  B.  Sling- 
lufT,  Samuel  T.  Hanna,  J.  F.  Morrison ;  Secretary 
and  Clerk,  George  A.  Campbell ;  Chief  Engineer,  John 
M.  Hennick;  Assistant  Engineers,  George  W.  EUen- 
der,  Thomas  W.  Murphy;  Fire  Inspector,  Charles  T. 
Holloway.  The  Salvage  Corps  is  situated  at  No.  27 
North  Liberty  Street. 

Fire-Alarm  and  Police  Telegraph.— The  estab- 
lishment of  a  municipal  fire-alarm  and  police  tele- 
graph  was   suggested   by  the  Sun  in  1854,  and  its 
introduction  was  again  urged  upon  the  City  Council 
in  the  following  year,  but,  like  many  other  valuable 
suggestions,  it  passed  unheeded  for  a  time.     The  sub- 
ject continued  to  be  agitated,  however,  and  on  the 
11th  of  March,  1857,  a  petition   containing  several 
thousand  signatures  was  jiresented  to  the  First  Branch 
of  the  City  Council,  praying  "  the  erection  of  a  police  ! 
and  fire-alarm  telegraph  in  the  city."     In  April  of  the  i 
same  year  the  members  of  the  City  Council  were  in-  j 
vited  to  visit  Philadelphia  to  witness  tlie  working  of  i 
the  police  and  fire-alarm  telegraph  which  had  recently  { 
been  introduced  there,  and  a  joint  special  committee, 
consisting  of  Messrs.  James  H.  Wood,  John  Duke-  I 
hart,  and  Amos  McComas,  of  the  First  Branch,  and  j 
Messrs.  F.  E.  B.  Heintz,   George  AV.  Herring,   and  j 
Lemuel  Bierbower,  of  the  Second  Branch,  were  ap-  i 
pointed  to  proceed  to  that  city  and  examine  the  oper- 
ation of  the  new  system.     They  left  Baltimore  on  the 
14th  of  April,  and  on  their  return  made  a  report  fa- 
vorable to  the  introduction  of  the  same  system  in  Bal- 
timore,  accompanied  by   resolutions    authorizing   a 
contract  to  be  made  with  Messrs.  Phillips  &  Co.  for  I 
the  construction  of  the  telegraph  and  fire-alarm  ap-  i 
paratus,  provided  the  cost  should  not  exceed  thirty 
thousand  dollars.     On  the  26th  of  May  these  resolu- 
tions were  unanimously  adopted  by  the  First  Branch 
of  the  City  Council,  but  on  the  28th  were  rejected  in  : 
the  Second  Branch  by  a  tie  vote.     A  committee  of 
conference  was  appointed  by  the  two  branches,  and  on 
the  3d  of  June  a  report  was  made  in  the  First  Branch, 
and  resolutions  adopted  authorizing  the  comptroller 


to  advertise  in  two  of  the  daily  papers  "  for  proposals 
for  the  erection  in  the  city  of  a  police  and  fire-alarm 
telegraph  for  the  use  of  the  city,  with  no  less  than 
thirty-five  alarm  stations."  On  the  9th  these  resolu- 
tions were  concurred  in  by  the  Second  Branch,  with 
an  amendment  requiring  further  legislation  by  the 
Council  before  any  contract  should  be  made  under 
their  provisions.  Proposals  for  the  work  were  made 
by  Henry  J.  Rogers  and  James  L.  McPhial,  William 
J.  Phillips  and  J.  M.  Gamewell  &  Co.,  the  latter  offer- 
ing to  undertake  the  work  for  thirty-three  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars.  On  the  16th  of  September  the 
joint  special  committee  on  the  subject  reported  in  the 
First  Branch  of  the  City  Council  resolutions  author- 
izing the  mayor,  register,  and  comptroller  to  contract 
with  Messrs.  Gamewell  and  Phillips,  on  behalf  of 
Gamewell,  Phillips,  Robertson,  and  Browning,  to  erect 
a  fire-alarm  and  police  telegraph  for  the  use  of  the 
city,  and  the  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted 
in  that  branch  on  the  following  day,  and  in  the  Sec- 
ond Branch  on  the  22d  of  the  same  month.  It  was 
provided,  however,  that  they  should  not  be  operative 
unless  the  ordinance  for  the  reorganization  of  the  Fire 
Department  should  become  a  law.  The  mayor's  veto 
of  the  ordinance  upon  which  the  resolutions  were 
made  dependent  necessitated  their  reintroduction  at 
the  following  session  of  the  City  Council,  and  they 
were  accordingly  again  passed  by  the  First  Branch  on 
the  22d  of  November.  On  the  1st  of  December  they 
received  the  approval  of  the  Second  Branch,  which 
attached  the  proviso  that  the  cost  should  not  exceed 
thirty -three  thousand  dollars.  The  sanction  of  the  City 
Council  having  thus  at  length  been  obtained,  the  erec- 
tion of  the  lines  was  commenced  the  middle  of  March, 
1859,  and  the  work  was  completed  on  the  27th  of  June, 
and  formally  transferred  to  the  city  two  days  after- 
wards. The  first  test  of  the  power  of  the  telegraphic 
wires  was  made  on  the  27th,  in  ringing  the  bell  con- 
nected with  the  engine-house  of  the  "  Alpha,"  on 
Paca  Street  near  Fayette.  On  the  31st  of  August 
connection  with  the  eastern,  western,  and  southern 
police-stations  was  made  from  the  central  olfice  in  the 
old  city  hall,  and  the  first  words  sent  over  the  wires 
to  the  southern  police  station  was  the  name  of  the 
marshal  of  police,  Mr.  Herring,  who  happened  to  be 
at  that  point.  At  the  fall  elections  of  1863  the  police 
and  fire-alarm  telegraph  was  employed  for  the  first 
time  to  transmit  the  returns  of  a  general  election.  In 
August,  1867,  the  police  commissioners  purchased 
new  telegraphic  instruments  for  the  marshal's  office 
and  the  several  station-houses,  and  the  police  tele- 
graph then  became  separate  and  distinct  from  the 
fire-alarm  telegraph.  In  1877  an  ordinance  was 
passed  by  which  the  management  and  control  of  the 
police  and  fire-alarm  telegraph  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  Board  of  Fire  Commissioners,  of  which 
the  mayor  was  constituted  a  member.  During  the 
same  year  the  boxes  of  the  old  system  were  discarded, 
and  on  the  3d  of  December  the  new  police  and  fire- 


FIRES   AND   FIRE    COMPANIES. 


261 


alarm  telegraph  was  put  in  operation.  Charles  J. 
McAleese  is  the  superintendent. 

The  Salvag'e  Corps  of  Baltimore,  while  not  a  part 
of  the  Paid  Department,  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
agencies  connected  with  the  present  system  for  the 
preservation  and  protection  of  property.  It  was  or- 
ganized through  the  efforts  of  Messrs.  Charles  B.  Hol- 
loway,  Andrew  Reese,  and  others  connected  with  in- 
surance interests,  and  is  supported  by  fire  insurance 
companies.  It  is  equipped  with  two  wagons,  Hollo- 
way's  Chemical  Extinguisher,  buckets,  and  water- 
proof covers.  The  duties  of  the  Salvage  Corps  are 
to  extinguish  incipient  fires,  to  protect  perishable 
goods  by  water-proof  covers,  to  remove  goods  to  a 
place  of  safety,  to  take  charge  of  damaged  goods,  and 
to  notify  companies  of  the  perilous  condition  of  the 
premises. 

Prominent  Fires. — 1749.  The  first  recorded  fire 
in  Baltimore  occurred  March  10,  1749,  in  the  house 
of  Greenbury  Dorsey,  by  which  one  man,  four  chil- 
dren, and  a  colored  girl  were  burned  to  death. 

1776. — September  IS.  The  main  building  and  the 
east  wing  of  the  almshouse  were  nearly  consumed 
by  fire. 

1779. — February  4.  The  brewery  of  James  Steret 
was  destroyed;  rebuilt,  and  destroyed  Nov.  4,  1783; 
rebuilt  by  Thomas  Peters,  of  Philadelphia,  and  again 
destroyed  by  fire  some  years  afterwards,  and  again  re- 
built. 

1790.— The  residence  of  the  Carrolls  at  Mount 
Clare  was  partially  destroyed  by  fire,  and  all  the  fur- 
niture damaged. 

1796.— December  4.  The  building  on  Light  Street 
occupied  by  John  Parks,  hatter,  the  drug-store 
occupied  by  Dr.  Goodwin,  adjoining,  and  the  cab- 
inet manufactory  of  Williamson  &  Smith,  on  the 
south  side,  together  with  the  two-story  residence  of 
Mr.  Hawkins,  on  the  north  side,  with  the  Baltimore 
Academy  and  the  Methodist  church,  were  destroyed 
by  fire.  The  buildings  were  opposite  "  Bryden's 
Fountain  Inn,"  which  was  in  very  great  danger  of 
destruction.  This  was  the  largest  and  most  destruc- 
tive fire  that  up  to  this  date  had  visited  Baltimore 
Town. 

1799.— May  28.  The  burning  of  the  bake-house 
of  Patrick  Millian,  on  the  west  side  of  South  Street, 
occasioned  the  destruction  of  fourteen  warehouses 
and  much  other  valuable  property  between  that  and 
Bowley's  wharf.  The  chief  losses  fell  upon  James 
Piper,  William  Jessop,  William  Woods,  Von  Kapft"  & 
Anspach,  Benjamin  Williams,  Rogers  &  Owens,  Solo- 
mon Betts,  James  Corrie,  Redmond  Berry,  M.  Larew, 
William  Ryland,  John  McFaddeu,  A.  W.  Davey,  Mrs. 
Lawson,  John  Strieker,  Patrick  Millian,  Jarard  Toep- 
ken,  J.  Masey,  Lewis  Pascault. 

1812. — November  21.  The  large  brewery  of  John- 
son &  Co.  was  destroyed,  and  shortly  afterwards  re- 
built.   • 

1817. — February  10.     A  wing  of  the  jieuitentiary 


occupied  by  three  hundred  prisoners  was  nearly 
destroyed. 

1818. — October  22.  The  old  tobacco  inspection 
warehouse,  corner  of  Philpot  and  Queen  Streets  (now 
Pratt),  Fell's  Point,  was  destroyed,  creating  a  very 
extensive  conflagration,  and  destroying  property  of 
James  Morrison,  John  Robinson,  Samuel  Kennard, 
Joseph  Coleman,  George  Wagner,  and  William  Pat- 
terson.   The  loss  was  estimated  at  $25,000. 

1820. — The  public  warehouse  on  the  Point  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire. 

1822. — June  23.  t)ver  two  million  feet  of  lumber 
near  McElderry's  wharf  destroyed  by  fire,  with  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  buildings,  many  of  them  large  and 
valuable  warehouses  filled  with  goods. 

1826. — January  17.  The  "Pantheon,"  on  Court- 
land  Street,  was  destroyed. 

1827.— March  IS.  The  warehouse  of  Mr.  Webb 
and  those  adjoining  on  Howard  Street,  with  their 
contents,  were  destroyed.  John  Rankard  and  Fred- 
erick Knipp  were  killed  by  a  falling  wall. 

1829. — December  29.  Steam  sugar-refinery  of  D. 
L.  Thomas  destroyed. 

1832.— July  15.  Lumber-yard  of  William  Car- 
son &  Co.,  Buchanan's  wharf,  together  with  ware- 
houses on  Smith's  wharf,  occupied  by  Messrs.  White, 
Buck  &  Hedrich,  Manning  &  Hope,  Hugh  Boyle,  and 
Mr.  Lester;  by  falling  walls  two  persons  were  killed 
and  four  wounded. 

1833. — September  27.  The  planing-mills  and  lum- 
ber-yard of  Howland  &  Woollen,  Lombard  Street 
near  Greene,  destroyed,  and  Columbus  Vinkle  killed 
by  suction-engine  of  the  Howard  Company. 

1835. — February  7.  The  "  Athenfeum,"  southwest 
corner  St.  Paul  and  Lexington  Streets,  totally  de- 
stroyed, involving  the  loss  of  the  philosophical  appa- 
ratus of  the  Mechanical  Institute,  the  library  of  the 
Maryland  Academy  of  Arts  with  valuable  cabinets, 
and  a  splendid  organ  belonging  to  Mr.  Shaw.  The  in- 
surance on  the  building  was  $20,000,  in  the  Equitable 
Society  of  Baltimore.  Same  day,  chair-factory  of  Mr. 
Daily,  Baltimore  Street  near  Jones'  Falls,  was  burned. 

February  13.  The  court-house,  at  that  time  one  of 
the  finest  buildings  in  the  country,  destroyed,  but  all 
the  valuable  records  were  saved.  During  the  same 
week  attempts  were  made  to  fire  Rev.  Mr.  Duncan's 
church,  Lexington  Street ;  the  Female  Orphan  Asy- 
lum, Franklin  Street ;  the  Friends'  meeting-house, 
Lombard  Street;  the  Baltimore  Gazette  oflice,  the 
Middle  police  station-house,  the  museum,  the  Lib- 
erty and  LTnion  engine-houses,  the  Exchange,  and 
many  other  public  buildings. 

February  25.  The  range  of  stables  in  the  rear  of 
the  Western  Hotel,  then  at  the  corner  of  Howard  and 
Saratoga  Streets,  were  destroyed,  and  firemen  Wra. 
McNelly,  Stewart  D.  Downes,  Michael  Moran,  and 
Wm.  Machliu  were  killed. 

1836. — April  8.  The  Lazaretto  warehouse,  at  Quar- 
antine, destroved. 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


1888.— February  3.  Front  Street  Theatre  anil  Cir- 
cus, then  occupied  by  Cooke's  celebrated  European 
Circus  Troupe,  was  entirely  consumed  by  fire.     Mr. 
Cooke  lost  the  whole  of  his  stock,  fixtures,  machinery, 
wardrobes,  and  decorations,  including  his  entire  stud  ; 
of  nearly  fifty  beautiful  horses.    "Gough's  Mansion  j 
House,"   nearly  opposite   the   theatre,   occupied  by  \ 
Patrick  Murphy,  was  also  destroyed. 

August  8.  The  extensive  soap-factory  of  Peter 
Boyd  &  Co.  destroyed  by  an  incendiary  fire,  and 
involving  in  its  destruction  that  of  the  plow-factory  | 
of  Richard  P.  Chenowith,  the  shop  and  dwelling  of 
Richard  McLanahan,  and  the  saw-mill  and  mahogany- 
yard  of  Jacob  Dalley. 

August  31.     The  cabinet-factory  of  John  Needles,  ( 
Cypress  Alley  above  Pratt  Street,  destroyed  ;  also  the 
brick  house  adjoining  of  W.  &  J.  Neal,  occupied  by 
Mr.  Cochran  as  a  furniture  wareroom ;  the  Virginia 
House  and  American  Hotel,  owned  by  R.  Smith,  on  [ 
the  south  side,  with  very  great  damage  to  many  other  I 
buildings,  and  destroying  values  equal  to  $150,000.       i 

1840.— March  30.  Ths  German  Lutheran  church, 
built  in  1808  at  a  cost  of  forty  thousand  dollars,  was 
totally  destroyed,  together  with  its  organ. 

1842. — The  extensive  rope-walk  of  George  A.  Yon 
Spreehelsen,  Lombard  Street,  was  destroyed  by  an 
incendiary,  and  involved  also  the  dwelling-houses  of 
Wm.  Mansten,  John  Wells,  and  Wm.  Knorr.  By 
the  falling  of  the  walls  on  the  next  day  seven  persons  1 
were  killed  or  injured,  mostly  children  engaged  in  ' 
picking  up  nails,  etc. 

1843.— March  9.  The  fine  mansion  corner  of  Madi- 
son and  Hoffman  Streets,  of  Andrew  Tiffany,  de- 
stroyed. 

1844.— September  10.  The  lumber-yard  of  Coates 
&  Glenn,  with  several  stores  and  dwellings,  destroyed. 

December  29.  The  shoe-store  of  Bellinger  &  Son, 
the  cracker-bakery  of  Richard  C.  Mason,  the  shoe- 
store  of  J.  H.  &  Edward  Searles,  with  all  their  stock 
of  goods,  together  with  the  tobacco-factory  of  Charles 
Ingram,  the  clothing-store  of  John  H.  Rea,  Josephs' 
lottery-office,  corner  South  and  Pratt  Streets,  and 
several  other  houses,  were  totally  destroyed. 

184-5. — December  31.  Thomas  Neilson's  observatory 
and  marine  telegraph.  Federal  Hill,  and  all  the  ap- 
paratus totally  destroyed. 

1847. — May  9.  The  cabinet-factory  of  John  and 
James  Williams  &  Co.,  58  South  Street,  the  grocery 
and  warehouse  of  Wm.  Chestnut,  corner  of  South 
and  Pratt,  Middleton's  tobacco  and  snuff-factory,  | 
Peter  Keenan's  biscuit  and  water-cracker  factory  I 
were  destroyed,  with  many  other  buildings  seriously 
damaged. 

1848.— January   H.      The  .steamboats  the  "Wal- 
cott,"  belonging  to  Robert  Taylor,  and  the  "  Jewess,"  | 
of  the  Norfolk  line,  destroyed  at  the  end  of  Patter- 
son's wharf      The  "  Walcott"  was  laid  up  for  the  I 
winter,  but  the  "  Jewess"  was  laden  with  much  freight, 
and  was  scuttled  to  prevent  total  destruction. 


May  28.  Knox's  cotton-factory,  on  the  north  side 
of  Lexington  Street,  west  of  Fremont,  with  over  sixty 
dwellings,  was  destroyed. 

1849.— January  28.  The  large  beef,  pork,  and 
candle-factory  of  Henry  Kimberly,  on  Buren  Street, 
with  contents,  destroyed  ;  loss,  $85,000. 

February  10.  The  extensive  steam  soap  and  can- 
dle manufactory  of  Smith  &  Curlett,  northeast  corner 
Holliday  and  Pleasant  Streets,  destroyed  ;  damage, 
$15,000  ;  insurance,  $25,000. 

1850. — June  4.  The  extensive  livery  and  carriage 
stables  of  Charles  Goddard,  northeast  corner  Green 
and  Raborg  Streets,  destroyed ;  horses  and  carriages 
saved. 

July  13.  The  lumber-yard  of  John  J.  Griffith,  East 
Falls  Avenue,  destroyed,  involving  also  the  lumber- 
yard of  James  Harker,  and  injuring  the  planing-mill 
of  H.  Herring,  and  embracing  the  entire  block  from 
the  Falls  to  President  Street,  with  Messrs.  King  & 
Sutton's  lumber-yard,  two  dwelling-houses  of  Richard 
Cross  on  Stiles  Street,  with  four  brick  dwellings  of 
Robert  Cross,  Mr.  Cousin's  cooper-shop,  and  several 
small  houses  occupied  by  German  families;  loss, 
$20,000. 

1851. — July  21.  The  brewery  and  two  houses  be- 
longing to  Mr.  Mattese,  at  the  then  extremity  of 
Saratoga  Street,  destroyed. 

July  28.  The  paint,  drug,  oil,  and  glass  house  of 
Messrs.  Baker  Bros.,  on  South  Charles  Street  near 
Lombard,  destroyed  to  the  extent  of  $13,000 ;  insur- 
ance, .■?51,000.  The  large  building  of  Leonard  Jarvis 
adjoining,  occupied  by  Cannon,  Bennett  &  Co.,  auc- 
tioneers, was  partially  burned,  with  all  the  adjoining 
building  seriously  damaged. 

December  14.  The  Emmanuel  Evangelical  Associ- 
ation church,  southeast  corner  Camden  and  Eutaw 
Street,  destroyed. 

December  15.  Cook's  cotton-factory,  on  French 
opposite  Chestnut  Street,  burned. 

1853. — June  28.  Lower  Broadway  Market-house, 
from  Thames  to  Lancaster  Street,  and  two  houses  on 
east  side  of  Broadway  destroyed. 

1854.  — March  6.  Messrs.  Knabe,  Gable  &  Co. 
sustained  a  loss  of  $28,000,  Mrs.  Frank  Sewall  of 
$8600,  and  W.  A.  Daushin  of  $1000. 

April  29.  St.  Paul's  Protestant  Episcopal  church, 
corner  Charles  and  Saratoga  Streets,  was  destroyed. 
The  building  cost  $140,000. 

May  14.  McElderry  &  Floyd's  lumber-yard.  Light 
Street  wharf,  between  Camden  and  Conway  Streets, 
with  the  row  of  four-story  warehouses  belonging  to 
Michael  Dorsey  and  Dr.  Keenan,  much  damaged  by 
fire 

June  10.  An  extensive  fire  damaged  small  tene- 
ments to  the  extent  of  115,000. 

October  19.  The  sash-factory  of  Crook  &  Duft",  on 
East  Falls  Avenue ;  the  steam  works  and  sash-factory 
of  Lapourelle  &  Maughlin,  on  Stiles  Street;  the  luni- 
ber-vard  of  Griffith  &  Cate,  five  houses  on  President 


FIRES   AND   FIRE    COMPANIES. 


263 


Street,  James  Bates'  establishment,  the  spice-mill  of 
Crawford  &  Berry,  the  coal-office  of  Jlr.  Cliff,  the 
cooper-shop  of  John  Cousin,  many  tenement  houses, 
and  a  vessel  load  of  coal  destroyed. 

December  9.  The  warehouse  of  J.  McGowan  &  Son, 
Baltimore  Street,  east  of  Paca,  with  seven  other  large 
warehouses,  involving  a  loss  of  $200,000.  Tlie  occu- 
pants were  J.  McGowan  &  Sons,  wliolesale  grocery 
and  liquore;  Messrs.  Knabe  &  Gahle,  piano  manufac- 
turers; Messrs.  Mills  &  Bro.,  stoves  and  tinware; 
Messrs.  Newsham  &  Co.,  iron  railing  manufacturers; 
Messrs.  Mills  &  Murray,  feed-store ;  Messrs.  Eoth- 
rock  and  Peacock,  tinners  and  roofers ;  Mr.  Caspear, 
cedar  cooper;  E.  P.  Osier,  cedar  cooper.  On  Paca  I 
Street  the  stores  of  Messrs.  Kahler  &  Smith  were 
also  on  fire.  At  one  time  it  was  feared  that  the 
Eutaw  House  would  be  destroyed,  but  the  employes 
of  the  establishment  well  saturated  the  roof  with 
water,  and  thus  prevented  the  disaster  that  might 
otherwise  have  ensued. 

1855.— April  6.  The  warehouse  No.  266  West  Bal- 
timore Street,  occupied  by  Carey,  Howe  &  Co.,  whole- 
sale boot  and  shoe  dealers,  and  George  A.  Warder  & 
Co.,  wholesale  hat  dealers,  destroyed ;  losses  to  the 
warehouse  over  $60,000,  and  to  the  latter  $50,000 ;  the 
falling  of  the  walls  destroyed  the  carpet-factory  of 
Gable,  McDowell  &  Co.,  with  stock  valued  at  $100,000. 
Total  loss  between  $200,000  and  $300,000. 

May  26.  The  wholesale  clothing  warehouse  of 
Dailey,  Massey  &  Maupin,  Baltimore  Street  near 
Howard ;  with  that  of  Devries,  Stepliens  &  Thomas, 
corner  Baltimore  and  Howard  ;  that  of  Norris,  Cald- 
well &  Co.,  grocers ;  that  of  Fisher,  Boyd  &  Co.,  on 
Howard  Street;  that  of  Mayer  &  Bro.,  John  Gush- 
ing, and  Enoch  Bennet,  destroyed  and  damaged  to  the 
extent  of  nearly  $200,000. 

July  4.  The  extensive  ham  and  bacon  establish- 
ment of  Eoloson  &  Co.,  North  Paca  Street  between 
Lexington  and  Fayette  Streets,  destroyed,  with  injury 
to  dwellings  owned  by  A.  H.  Reip,  Henry  Hartsog, 
and  the  Howard  engine-house. 

July  12.  On  Barnes  Street,  between  Broadway  and 
Bond,  the  scene  of  a  destructive  fire. 

1856. — September  18.  A  number  of  workshops  at 
the  Maryland  Penitentiary  burned. 

1 857.— April  14.  Nos.  37,  39,  and  41  South  Charles 
Street  were  destroyed  by  fire,  and  communicating  on 
Lombard  Street  to  the  warehouse  of  E.  L.  Parker  cfe 
Co.,  Hodges  &  Emack,  hardware  merchants;  Hanley 
i^  Bansemer,  wholesale  grocers;  Gilpin,  Canby  &  Co., 
wliolesale  druggists,  as  well  as  a  two-story  building, 
were  consumed.  No.  37  South  Charles  Street  was 
occupied  by  J.  S.  Robinson,  paper-dealer,  and  L. 
Harrison  &  Co.,  cap  manufacturer.  No.  39  by  R. 
Edwards  &  Co.,  and  B.  S.  &  W.  A.  Loney.  No.  41 
was  occupied  by  Norris  &  Bro.  The  falling  of  floors 
caused  the  deaths  of  Joseph  R.  Bruce,  Joseph  Ward, 
George  Boyle,  Jacob  Marshek,  Joseph  Hasson,  Wil- 
liam E.  Abell,  James  Payne,  Herman  Bollman,  Theo-  ' 


dore  Brun,  Thomas  Buckley,  Joseph  Litzeuger,  and 
Samuel  Hargrove. 

May  14.  Lumber-yard  of  Thomas  &  Price  de- 
stroyed ;  loss,  $30,000. 

November  21.  Nos.  318  and  318J  West  Baltimore 
Street,  occupied  by  Fisher,  Boyd  &  Brother,  importers, 
and  by  L.  P.  D.  Newman,  boots  and  shoes,  destroyed. 

1858. — January  10.  The  Empire  House,  corner 
Low  and  Forest  Streets,  destroyed ;  also  four-story 
warehouse  corner  Hanover  and  Lombard,  owned  by 
Col.  John  E.  Howard. 

March  25.  A  number  of  small  houses  in  Dallas 
Street  burned. 

March  26.  Arbiter  Hall,  No.  3  South  Frederick 
Street,  destroyed,  and  great  damage  done  to  several 
houses  on  Centre  Market  Space. 

1859. — January  22.  Property  on  Dugan's  wharf 
valued  at  $20,000  destroyed. 

March  16.  Old  Saratoga  Brewery,  built  in  1832  by 
Gen.  Medtart,  destroyed. 

December  11.  No.  408  West  Baltimore  Street,  C. 
M.  Steiff,  piano  manufacturer ;  No.  400,  P.  McGill, 
feed-store,  and  three  houses  owned  by  William  Bowers 
and  used  as  a  coach-factory ;  No.  404,  Thomas  Mc- 
Glennan;  and  also  at  same  time  No.  577  Pennsylvania 
Avenue,  used  as  a  stable  by  Benjamin  Horn,  were 
destroyed. 

I860.— September  4.  Old  Congress  Hall,  corner 
Baltimore  and  Liberty  Street,  occupied  by  Summers 
&  Townsend,  and  by  Samuel  Dryden,  destroyed. 

December  12.  Warehouse  No.  246  West  Baltimore 
Street,  occupied  by  Marsden  &  Brother,  also  by  Mer- 
ryfield  &  Stitchcomb,  and  on  the  third  floor  by  E. 
Rosenswig  &  Co.,  destroyed,  and  many  buildings 
seriously  damaged. 

1861. — January  11.  The  United  States  barracks 
on  Lafayette  Square  destroyed. 

1867. — February  8.  No.  9  Commerce  Street,  below 
Exchange  Place,  the  premises  occupied  by  Charles 
A.  Ross  &  Co.,  rectifiers,  was  entirely  destroyed,  and 
values  to  the  amount  of  $150,000  consumed.  No.  11, 
next  door,  occupied  by  W.  S.  Shurtzs  &  Co.,  dealers 
in  salted  fish  and  cheese,  and  also  No.  7,  occupied  by 
Adams  &  Davidson,  destroyed,  valued  at  $50,000. 

1869.— April  25.  The  oakum-factory  of  R.  B.  Hanna 
&  Co.,  Thames  Street  between  Ann  and  Wolf  Streets, 
destroyed,  and  twenty  other  houses  consumed ;  Ran- 
dolph &  Brother,  lumber-yard,  corner  Wolf  and 
Thames  Streets;  also  Charles  T.  Morris,  joiner-shop, 
138  Thames  Street,  loss  $6000 ;  No.  136,  Robert  B. 
Hanna,  loss  $10,000 ;  Nos.  132  and  134,  E.  H.  Frazier 
&  Co.,  loss $50,000 ;  No.  130,  John  Welch,  paint-shop, 
loss  $5000;  No.  128,  James  Wheedon,  loss  $3000; 
No.  126,  John  Vanderhorst;  No.  269,  South  Ann 
Street,  Dr.  Inloes;  No.  294,  Night  Day,  furniture; 
No.  292,  Peter  Smith ;  No.  290,  Henry  Mankin  ;  No. 
288,  William  Sager ;  No.  286,  Henry  Brown ;  No. 
284,  JVIrs.  Vessels ;  No.  282,  occupied  by  several  fami- 
lies ;  No.  107  Lancaster  Street,  Boonehorn  ;  Nos.  109 


264 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


and  111,  Henry  Platte;  Nos.  113  and  115,  John  Tay- 
lor ;  Randolph  chapel,  on  Lancaster  Street,  with  the 
building  adjoining,  owned  by  Mr.  Klinefelter;  No. 
255  South  Wolf  Street,  H.  Herbech ;  No.  253,  F.  K. 
Draihs;  No.  251,  Mrs.  Johnson;  No.  249,  Mrs. 
Young ;  No.  247,  Jackson  Ingelfritzs,  were  destroyed 
or  seriously  damaged. 

November  1.  The  Abbott  Iron  Company's  rolling- 
mill  damaged  to  the  extent  of  $70,000. 

1870. — November  20.  The  tobacco  warehouse  and 
factory  of  F.  W.  Feigner,  Nos.  88  and  90  South 
Charles  Street,  destroyed ;  the  wall  of  the  building 
occupied  by  J.  B.  N.  &  A.  L.  Berry,  commission  mer- 
chants, fell  in,  crushing  in  the  gable  end  of  Lloyd's 
Hotel,  kept  by  John  O'Dounell,  whose  leg  was  frac- 
tured by  the  fall.  The  walls  of  both  buildings  fell, 
burying  under  the  d6bris  Fire  Inspector  Charles  T. 
Holloway,  J.  B.  Hays,  Frederick  Marsden,  and 
Michael  Nolan,  of  No.  1  Truck  Company.  Mr.  Hol- 
loway was  taken  out  of  the  ruins  in  an  unconscious 
state,  but  recovered ;  Mr.  Hays  died.  Feigner  &  Co., 
loss,  $50,000 ;  Messrs.  Berry,  $16,500 ;  and  O'Donnell, 
$500. 

1871.— May  22.  Warehouses  of  Wm.  H.  Brown  & 
Bro.,  and  Stellman,  Henrichs  &  Co.,  and  dwelling- 
house  were  destroyed,  valued  at  $250,000.  J.  Harry 
Weaver,  memlier  of  the  First  Branch  City  Council, 
was  killed  by  the  explosion  of  the  steam  fire-engine 
"  Alpha,"  at  the  northwest  corner  of  German  and 
Howard  Streets. 

June  12.  The  steamer  "  George  Weems"  de- 
.stroyed,  and  the  "  George  Law"  badly  damaged,  in 
the  Basin. 

1872.— January  28.  The  new  ice-boat  "  Maryland" 
destroyed  ;  loss,  $25,000. 

December  IS.  The  planing-mills  of  Otto  Duker  & 
Bro.,  corner  of  President  Street  and  Canton  Avenue, 
destroyed. 

1873.— May  12.  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
of  the  Ascension,  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Lafayette 
Avenue  and  Oregon  Street,  was  destroyed. 

June  20.  Mount  Vernon  Company's  cotton-mill 
No.  1,  on  Jones'  Falls,  above  the  city,  destroyed, 
with  loss  on  building  and  machinery  amounting  to 
.  $205,000. 

July  25.  The  most  destructive  fire  ever  known  iij 
Baltimore.  The  sash  and  blind  factory  of  Messrs. 
Jos.  Thomas  &  Son,  corner  of  Park  and  Clay  Streets, 
took  fire,  and  the  combustible  materials  with  which 
it  was  filled  soon  spread  the  flames,  until  the  area  of 
flame  extended  over  portions  of  Park,  Clay,  and  Sara- 
toga Streets.  The  extensive  livery  stables  of  John  D. 
Stewart,  No.  Ill  Lexington  Street,  were  jiartially 
destroyed.  St.  Alphonsus'  church,  Saratoga  and  Park 
Streets,  as  well  as  the  cathedral,  were  in  very  great 
danger,  and  rescued  from  destruction  only  by  the  un- 
tiring efforts  of  people  and  police.  On  Lexington 
Street  the  First  English  Lutheran  church,  with  the 
parsonage  an<l  row  of  residences  on  the  west  side  of 


Park  Street,  were  destroyed.  Sparks  carried  to  the 
roof  of  the  dwelling-house  corner  of  Mulberry  and 
Park  extended  the  flames  in  a  new  direction,  but  by 
active  efforts  their  progress  was  arrested  without  the 
destruction  of  the  fine  residences  on  Cathedral  Street. 
The  First  Presbyterian  church,  Liberty  and  Saratoga 
Streets,  took  fire  in  its  tall  steeple,  and  was  soon  com- 
pletely destroyed,  and  carried  a  like  fate  to  the  whole 
row  on  the  south  side  of  Saratoga  between  Liberty 
and  Park.  The  official  report  of  Fire  Inspector  Chas. 
T.  Holloway  gave  the  following  as  the  extent  of 
damage  done :  2  churches,  3  two-.s-tory  and  attic  brick 
houses,  64  three-story  brick  houses,  18  four-story 
brick  houses,  1  two-story  frame  house,  1  three-story 
frame  house,  1  one-story  brick  house;  total,  113.  The 
loss  being  estimated  at  $750,000,  of  which  one-third 
was  covered  by  insurance.  Aid  was  obtained  from 
the  Fire  Department  of  Washington.  When  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  conflagration  was  fully  realized  a  des- 
patch was  promptly  forwarded  to  Washington  asking 
for  help,  as  follows :  "  To  the  Chief  Engineer  Wash- 
ington City  Fire  Department:  Send  every  spare  en- 
gine and  carriage  here  immediately.  Henry  Spilman, 
Chief  Engineer."  This  message,  on  reaching  Wash- 
ington City,  was  delivered  to  Martin  Cronin,  chief  of 
the  Fire  Department,  and  in  one  hour's  time  Engines 
Nos.  2  and  3,  fully  equipped,  and  having  with  them 
a  compound  pipe,  arrived  at  the  Camden  Street  depot, 
under  charge  of  the  chief  of  the  Washington  Fire  De- 
partment, assisted  by  the  president  of  the  Board 'of 
Fire  Commissioners  and  Commissioner  Joseph  Wil- 
liams. The  distance  from  Washington  to  Baltimore 
was  made  in  thirty-nine  minutes.  Chief  Cronin  at 
once  reported  to  Chief  Spilman  of  the  Baltimore  Fire 
Department,  who  placed  Engine  No.  3  on  Pleasant 
Street  below  Charles,  and  No.  2  on  Liberty  below 
Lexington  Street,  and  they  immediately  commenced 
work  on  the  buildings  near  Liberty  and  Saratoga 
Streets,  doing  efficient  and  valuable  service.  The 
officers  and  members  of  Engine  Company  No.  2,  the 
Franklin,  were  Charles  Hurdle,  foreman ;  John  Sin- 
clair, Samuel  Dawes,  Samuel  Ricks,  Hugh  Myers, 
Philip  Meredith,  Wm.  Hunt.  The  officers  of  No.  3, 
the  Columbian,  were  James  Lowe,  foreman ;  Daniel 
Barron,  Jasper  Smith,  Michael  Kane,  Walter  Cox, 
Francis  Lewis,  Conrad  Kaufman,  Lewis  Low  {repre- 
sentative of  No.  1  Truck,  Washington),  John  Fisher, 
F.  P.  Blair,  James  Frazier,  L.T.  Folansbee  (exempt). 
Each  company  had  their  horses,  hose-carriages,  and 
nine  hundred  feet  of  hose.  The  locomotive  which 
accomplished  the  extraordinary  feat  of  running  forty- 
two  miles  in  thirty-nine  minutes  was  No.  413,  and 
was  in  charge  of  Samuel  Buckey,  engineer.  The 
train  consisted  of  three  gondolas  and  one  passenger- 
coach,  Capt.  ^Vm.  Bines,  conductor,  and  all  in  charge 
of  Col.  Koontz,  agent  for  the  railroad  at  Washington. 
The  Fire  Departments  of  Philadelphia  and  Wil- 
mington promptly  tendered  assistance,  but  it  was  not 
required.     Tlie  ci'ty  of  Colnmhia  oirerc.i  aid  and  sym- 


MONUMENTS,  PARKS,  AND   SQUARES. 


pathy,  which  were  thankfully  acknowledged,  but  no 
material  assistance  was  required. 

September  10.  HoUiday  Street  Theatre  was  de- 
stroyed. The  old  Assembly  Rooms,  then  used  as  the 
Baltimore  City  College,  and  the  St.  Nicholas  Hotel 
were  badly  damaged. 

December  12.  The  old  Baltimore  Museum  build- 
ing, or  the  New  American  Theatre,  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  Baltimore  and  Calvert  Streets,  owned  by 
the  estate  of  Judge  John  Glenn  and  W.  W.  Glenn, 
was  destroyed. 

1874. — November  12.  The  Hebrew  Orphan  Asy- 
lum, on  Calverton  Heights,  on  the  site  of  the  old 
almshouse,  destroyed. 

In  the  year  1874  there  were  but  few  serious  fires ; 
among  the  largest  fires  were  the  following :  Sickle, 
Singleton  &  Co.,  fancy  goods  warehouse,  No.  22  Han- 
over Street,  loss  .t60,000,  insurance  $45,000.  Upper 
portion  of  the  consolidated  building  corner  of  South 
and  German  Streets,  loss  $35,000,  fully  insured. 
State  tobacco  warehouse  Nos.  1  and  2,  loss  $375,000, 
insurance  $250,000.  Cotton  warehouse.  No.  43  West 
Lombard  Street,  loss  .«4000,  insured.  Nicholas  &  Co., 
oil-works,  loss  $6000,  no  insurance.  Axle-grease 
factory,  loss  $2000,  insured.  Gunther  &  Finks'  fur- 
niture-factory, loss  $15,000,  insurance  $13,000.  Coul- 
son's  glue-factory,  loss  $15,000,  insurance  $6500, 
Nos.  19  and  21  Philpot  Street,  loss  $11,500,  insured. 
No.  77  West  Biddle  Street,  loss  $2300,  insured. 

1875.— No.  318  West  Baltimore  Street,  loss  $15,000. 
No.  240  South  Carolina  Street,  loss  $2500,  insured. 
Crystal  Coal  Oil-works,  Canton,  loss  $15,000,  insured. 

1876.— April  9th.  The  wholesale  drug  establish- 
ment of  William  H.  Brown  &  Brother,  No.  25  South 
Sharp  Street,  was  totally  destroyed  by  fire  with  its 
entire  contents ;  the  partial  burning  of  nine  other 
buildings,  besides  slight  damage  to  many  roofs,  much 
furniture,  stocks  of  goods,  etc.  It  was  estimated  that 
the  total  loss  was  $225,000. 

On  the  22d  of  June  the  building  on  the  corner  of 
North  and  Saratoga  Streets,  used  as  a  sale  stable,  but 
better  known  as  the  "  Old  Mud  Theatre,"  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  with  a  number  of  roofs  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  a  quantity  of  goods  damaged.  The 
entire  loss  was  estimated  at  from  $8000  to  $12,000. 

The  Merchants'  Shot-Tower,  southeast  corner  of 
Franklin  and  Front  Streets,  an  old  landmark,  and  the 
most  complete  piece  of  work  of  that  kind  in  the 
United  States,  was  burned  out  entirely  on  Saturday 
night,  September  21st. 

The  Official  Record  of  Fire  Alarms  and  Losses  by  Fire  in 
Baltimore  from  1859  to  1881. 

Years,                                                           Alarms.  Losses. 

1859 97  $75,00.5.00 

1860 116  322,831.00 

1861 131  60,0*1.41 

1862 86  83,806.16 

1863 82  130,832.56 

1864 143  163,682.47 

1865 110  79,191.89 

1866 177  181,115.00 

1867 192  293,045.00 

1868 135  76,244.75 


Tears,  Alarms. 

1869 193 

1870 165 

1871 163 

1872 175 

1873 165 

1874 146 

1875 345 

1877  "!!!!"i"""'"!!'r!!!,!!3'^!""""!  372 

1878 370 

1879 305 

1880 310 

Total  alarms  and  losses  by  fire  for 
twenty-two  years,  commencing  No- 
vember 1st  and  eudiDg  October  31st 

for  each  year 4163 


$397,259.00 
432,717.70 
475,394.00 
390.764.96 
892,628.68 
506,826.15 
608,351,67 
663,248.78 
424,237,10 
164,156.75 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

MONUMENTS,  PARKS,  AND    SQUARES. 

Washington  Monument. — Upon  the  removal  of 
the  old  ri)uit-lii)iise,  which  stood  on  the  present  site 
of  the  Battle  .Alonunifnt,  the  property-owners  of  the 
vicinity,  fearing  that  the  ground  would  be  occupied 
by  some  unsightly  building,  determined  to  memorial- 
ize the  Legislature  to  give  them  authority  to  raise 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  upon  the  spot  a  monument  to  the  memory 
of  Gen.  George  Washington.  These  memorialists 
consisted  of  John  Comegys,  James  A.  Buchanan,  and 
David  Winchester.  The  Legislature  granted  their 
petition,  but  the  war  with  England  coming  on  shortly 
afterwards,  they  made  no  progress.  In  the  mean  time 
it  began  to  be  considered  that  such  a  tall  and  isolated 
column  near  their  houses  would  be  rather  dangerous, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  war  they  concluded  that  it 
was  more  desirable  that  the  present  monument  should 
grace  the  site.  The  commissioners  then  concluded  to 
raise  the  monument  elsewhere.  Col.  John  Eager 
Howard  offered  them  as  much  land  as  was  needed 
on  the  crest  of  a  hill,  which  was  then  densely  covered 
with  trees,  where  Mount  Vernon  Place  is  now  located, 
and  the  ground  was  accepted  by  the  commissioners. 
The  corner-stone  of  the  monument  was  laid  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1815,  with  great  ceremony.  In  the  stone 
a  copper  plate  was  deposited,  on  one  side  of  which 
was  engraved, — 

"  On  the  4th  of  July,  A.D.  1815,  was  laid  this 

Foundation  Stone 

Of  a  monument  to  be  erected  to  the  memory  of  George  Washington." 

On  the  reverse, — 

*'  Managei-s — John  Comegys,  Washington  Hall,  James  A.  Buchanan, 
Lemuel  Taylor,  Robert  Gilmor,  Jr.,  George  Hoffman,  Isaac  McKim, 
Edward  J.  Coale,  William  H.  Winder,  James  Patridge,  David  Winches- 
ter, Nicholas  G.  Eidgely,  Fielding  Lucas,  Jr,,  Robert  Miller,  James  Cal- 
houn, Jr,,  Nathaniel  F.  Williams,  Jimes  Cocke,  Levi  HoUingsworth, 
John  Flick,  William  Gwynn,  James  Williams,  Benjamin  H,  Milliken, 
James  Barroll, 

"  Eli  Simpkins,  Secretary;  Robert  Mills,  Architect,  The  site  presented 
by  John  Eager  Howard,  Esq,    Edward  Johnson,  Mayor  of  the  City," 

A  sealed  glass  bottle  was  also  deposited,  containing 
a  likeness  of  Washington,  his  valedictory  address,  the 
several  newspapers  printed  in  the  city,  and  the  differ- 
ent coins  of  the  United  States.  On  the  stone  was 
engraved — "  William  Steuart  and  Thomas  Towson, 
Stone  Cutters;  Sater  Stevenson,  Stone  Mason." 


266 


HISTORY  OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  permission  granted  by  the  Legislature  included 
the  right  to  open  a  lottery  for  the  purpose  of  raising 
the  money,  and  the  following  "  Washington  Monu- 
ment Lottery"  was  accordingly  proposed :  35,000 
tickets  at  $10  each,  $350,000;  managers,  James  A. 
Buchanan,  Robert  Gilmor,  Jr.,  Robert  Miller,  Isaac 
McKim,  George  Hoffman,  Edward  J.  Coale,  Lemuel 
Taylor,  Washington  Hall,  John  Frick,  James  Pat- 
ridge,  William  Gwynn,  William  II.  Winder,  Na- 
tlKUiirl    1-.  Williams!  P;ivi<!   Will,  luslcr.  .Iain.-    I'.ai- 


roll,  Levi  HoUingsworth,  Fielding  Lucas,  Jr.,  B.  H. 
Milliken,  James  Calhoun,  Jr.,  Nicholas  G.  Ridgely, 
Dr.  James  Cocke,  James  Williams,  John  Comegys. 
Eli  Simpkins  acted  as  secretary.  The  lottery  (com- 
pany offered  a  prize  of  five  hundred  dollars,  which 
was  awarded  to  R.  Mills,  Jr.,  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  and  then  a  resident  of  Philadelphia,  for  a 
design  for  the  monument.  The  lottery  privilege 
granted  by  the  Legislature  was  exercised  by  the  man- 
agers of  the  monument  until  1824,  at  which  time  they 
relinquished  the  privilege,  as  it  interfered  with  the 
general  State  lottery  system,  on  condition  of  receiving 
annually  from  the  treasurer  of  the  Western  Shore  the 
surplus  of  the  State  lotteries  over  and  above  the  clear 
sum  of  twelve  thousand  dollars.  In  1827  another  ar- 
rangement was  made,  founded  on  the  extraordinary 
productiveness  of  the  State  lotteries  in  the  preceding 
year,  by  which  the  treasurer  of  the  Western  Shore 
was  required  by  law  to  pay  over  to  the  managers  of 
the  Wasliington  Monument  during  that  year  any  sum 
received  from  tlie  lotteries  not  exceeding  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars.  By  tlie  same  act  the  State  accepted  the 
work  as  her  own  and  declared  it  to  be  her  property, 
and  directed  that  the  inscription  placed  upon  it  should 
be  expressive  of  tlie  gratitude  of  the  State  of  Mary- 


land. The  sums  thus  raised  being  still  insufficient, 
the  treasurer  of  the  Western  Shore  was  required  by 
act  of  1829  to  issue  during  that  year  scrip  to  the 
amount  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  at  five  per  centum, 
redeemable  at  pleasure,  and  to  apply  to  the  payment 
of  the  interest  and  redemption  at  liis  discretion  the 
clear  proceeds  of  the  lotteries  over  and  above  twelve 
thousand  dollars  annually,  which  had  been  pledged  to 
this  ohjpct  in  1824.  On  the  2.5th  of  November,  1829, 
I,  ',  '  :  -i'  ill.'  Main.-,  .■.mil. risiiii;-  ill.'  1. list,  etc., 
ua-  iai-..l  l..llH--i,mmitofthe 
im. num.  Ill;  it  «  a>  |.i-.M.iited  by 
F.  T.  D.  Taylor,  of  Baltimore 
f'.iunty,  and  was  cut  of  fine 
wliite  marble  from  the  quarries 
..n  the  York  road.  The  monu- 
icnt  stands  in  an  open  space, 
t  \  )  hundred  teet  square,  appro- 
I  iiitely  called,  after  the  home 
I  Washington,"  Mount  Vernon 
I  1  iLC  It  lb  surrounded  by  fine 
il  11  and  two  public  build- 
I  1 1  1  e  ibody  Institute  and 
M  uiit  \  cinou  Methodist  Epis- 
I  al  church  The  area  inclo- 
1  by  the  iron  railing  around 
ill  monument  is  about  one 
liiiridred  feet  in  diameter;  the 
1  Li^ht  of  the  monument  above 
the  ground  is,one  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  feet,  and  above 
tide  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight  feet.  The  column  is  one 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  high; 
the  statue  is  sixteen  feet  high,  and  was  wrought  in 
three  separate  pieces  from  one  block  of  thirty-six 
tons,  each  block  weighing  about  five  and  a  half  tons 
when  completed.  It  was  elevated  successfully,  by 
means  of  a  pair  of  spars  attached  to  the  cap  of  the 
column,  by  pulleys  and  capstan,  planned  and  directed 
by  Capt.  James  D.  Woodside,  of  Washington  City. 
The  statue  is  the  design  and  work  of  Causici,  and  repre- 
sents Washington  in  the  State-House  at  Annapolis, 
Md.,  at  the  instant  he  resigned  his  commission.  The 
monument  is  a  stately  Doric  column  of  white  marble ; 
the  base  is  fifty  feet  square  and  twenty-four  feet  high ; 
the  number  of  steps  to  the  gallery  surmounting  the 
column  is  two  hundred  and  twenty.  The  following  in- 
scription is  engraved  upon  the  four  sides  of  the  base  of 
the  monument : 

GEORGE   WASHINGTON, 

STATK   OF   MARYLAND. 

Born  February  22, 1732. 

Coinmandor-iiiCbief  of  tho  American  Army,  June  1.5, 1776. 

Trenton,  December  25, 1776. 

Torktowu,  October  19, 1781. 

Commission  resigned  at  Annapolis,  December  23, 1783. 

President  of  the  United  States  Mttrcli  4, 1789. 

Retired  to  Mount  Vernon  March  4, 1797. 

Died  December  4, 1799. 


MOXUMENTS,  PARKS,  AND  SQU^EES. 


The  marble  used  in  the  monument  was  donated  by 
Gen.  Charles  Kidgely,  of  Hampton,  and  the  stone- 
cutting  was  performed  by  Gen.  William  Steuart.  The 
marble  is  of  a  very  pure  kind,  free  of  veins,  and  is  a 
fine  specimen  of  the  native  white  formation  which 
abounds  in  the  neighborhood  of  Baltimore. 

The  Wells  and  KcComas  Monument— A  meeting 
of  representatives  of  the  various  military  companies 
of  Baltimore  was  held  March  tj,  18-5-1,  at  the  armory 
of  the  Wells  and  McComas  Eiflemen,  to  devise  means 
for  obtaining  money  with  which  to  erect  a  monument 
to  commemorate  the  gallant  conduct  of  Wells  and 
McComas,  two  young  men  of  Baltimore,  to  whom 
was  attributed  the  fall  of  Gen.  Ross  at  the  battle  of 
North  Point.  An  organization  was  effected,  called 
the  "  Wells  and  McComas  Monument  Association." 
Chiefly  through  the  efforts  of  the  Wells  and  McComas 
Eiflemen,  sufficient  means  were  finally  obtained  to  in- 
sure the  success  of  the  patriotic  enterprise.  On  the 
10th  of  September,  1858,  the  remains  of  Wells  and 
McComas  were  removed  from  the  vault  at  Greenmount 
Cemetery  where  they  had  been  deposited  and  placed 
in  state  at  the  hall  of  the  Maryland  Institute.  The 
remains  were  under  the  care  of  a  guard  of  honor 
composed  of  the  Wells  and  McComas  Eiflemen,  Capt. 
Bowers  commanding.  The  catafalque,  about  three 
feet  high  and  seven  feet  square,  occupied  the  centre 
of  the  room,  where  the  bodies  remained  three  days 
and  were  vtited  by  thousands  of  the  citizens.  On  the 
morning  of  the  12th,  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of 
North  Point,  the  military  companies  and  civic  author- 
ities formed  in  procession  on  Baltimore  Street,  and  the 
coffins  were  removed  from  the  Maryland  Institute  and 
placed  upon  the  funeral  car.  The  line  of  procession 
then  moved  up  Baltimore  Street,  and  thence  through 
several  streets  to  Ashland  Square,  the  place  of  inter- 
ment, and  where  the  comer-stone  of  the  monument 
was  to  be  laid.  On  arriving  at  the  square  the  funeral  car 
was  placed  in  front  of  the  stand,  but  the  vast  concourse 
of  people  there  assembled  precluded  the  possibility  of 
the  military  forming  around  the  tomb,  as  was  designed, 
and  they  were  necessarily  compelled  to  form  on  the  adja- 
cent streets.  The  ceremonies  were  opened  with  prayer 
by  the  Eev.  John  McCron,  and  Mayor  Swann  was  nest 
introduced,  and  delivered  an  address.  At  its  close  the 
orator  of  the  day,  the  Hon.  John  C.  Legrand,  addressed 
the  immense  audience,  after  which  the  interment  took 
place.  The  base  of  the  monument  was  erected  in  1871, 
by  funds  subscribed  by  citizens,  and  an  appropriation 
of  two  thousand  seven  hundred  dollars  was  made  by 
the  City  ConncU  to  complete  the  work,  which  was  fin- 
ished May  18,  1873.  The  marble  for  the  monument 
was  obtained  from  quarries  in  Baltimore  County.  Its 
cost  was  about  three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 
Its  height  from  the  ground  is  thirty-three  feet;  the 
base,  comprising  two  granite  steps,  is  laid  upon  a  brick 
foundation  underground,  built  over  the  remains  of 
the  yoatkfiil  patriots.  The  pedestal  is  plain  and 
square,  ten  feet  high,  having  panels  on  the  four  sides 


facing  east,  west,  north,  and  south.  Upon  this  is 
reared  the  obelisk,  a  tall,  four-sided  pillar,  tapering  as 
it  rises,  and  cut  off  at  the  top  in  the  form  of  a  pyra- 
mid. The  shaft  is  of  two  immense  stones,  with  a  pro- 
tecting cap  interleaved,  the  lower  one  weighing  four- 
teen tons  and  fourteen  hundredweight,  and  is  four 
feet  square  at  the  base ;  the  final  stone  is  eleven  feet 
six  inches  high,  weighing  seven  or  eight  tons.  The 
obelisk,  therefore,  is  almost  twenty-one  feet  in  length ; 
the  protecting  stone  between  its  two  parts  is  carved  in 
raised  letters,  breaking  the  plainness  of  the  shaft  and 
making  a  very  handsome  ornament.  The  inscriptions 
are  as  follows : 
On  the  east  side  : 


"Daniel  WeUs,  born  December  30*,  1794.    Killed  September  12,  ISll, 
at  the  tattle  of  Koitb  Point,  aged  19  jeais,  8  months,  and  13  dav^." 

On  the  wtet  side : 


Battle  H onnment. — The  Committee  of  Vigilance 
and  Safety  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  deeply  impressed 
with  the  gratefiil  recollection  of  the  distinguished 
gallantry  of  their  late  fellow-citizens  who  fell  nobly 
fighting  in  defense  of  their  country,  on  the  ever  mem- 
orable 12th  and  13th  of  September,  1814,  unanimously 
resolved,  on  March  1,  1815,  upon  the  erection  of  a 
monument  to  perpetuate  their  memori«,  and  ap- 
pointed James  A.  Buchanan,  Samuel  Hollingsworth, 
Eichard  Frisby,  Joseph  Jamison,  and  Henry  Pay- 
son,  five  of  their  members,  to  carry  into  effect  the 
resolution,  "  and  that  the  corner-stone  be  laid  on  the 
12th  of  September  next,  that  there  be  then  a  grand 
procession,  that  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  be  in- 
vited to  attend,  and  that  a  suitable  address  be  de- 
livered on  the  occasion." 

Agreeably  to  the  foregoing  resolution,  on  the  12th 
of  September,  1815,  a  procession  was  formed  in  Great 
York  Street  ''now  East  Baltimore  Street),  which  pro- 
ceeded by  the  proposed  route  to  Monument  Square. 
The  funeral  car,  surmounted  by  a  plan  of  the  intended 
monument,  as  designed  by  Maximilian  Gk>defroy,  and 
executed  by  John  Finley,  assisted  by  Bembrandt 
Peale,  was  drawn  by  six  white  horses,  caparisoned 
and  led  by  six  men  in  military  uniform,  and  guarded 
by  the  lnde{)endent  Blue,  commanded  by  Capt.  Lev- 
ering. On  the  arrival  at  the  Square,  the  band,  under 
direction  of  Professors  Neninger  and  Bunzie,  per- 
formed the  music  selected  for  the  occasion.  The 
Eight  Eev.  Bishop  Kemp  then  addresed  the  Throne 
of  Grace  in  prayer,  when  the  corner-stone  of  the 
monument  was  laid  by  the  architect  and  his  assist- 
ants, under  the  direction  of  Gen.  Smith,  Gen.  Strieker, 
CoL  Amiistead,  and  the  mayor.  The  books  contain- 
ing the  names  of  the  subscribers  to  the  building  of 
the  monument,  the  newspapers  of  the  preceding  day, 
gold,  silver,  and  copper  coin  of  the  United  States, 
were  deposited  therein,  together  with  a  plate  of  cop- 
per, on  which  was  engraved : 


HISTORY   OF   BA-LTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


"A.D.MDCCCXV., 

I  the  xl.  year  of  Independence  Jamea 


1  Federal  salute  was  fired  by  the  detachment  of  artil- 
lery, and  the  assembly  was  dismissed.     Minute-guns 

" In  the  xl.  year  of  Independence  James  Madison  being  I'resident  of  /.       ,  j  ii      i     ii     „<■  ni  _;„4.  „i u 

U.S.  TO  the  memory  of  the  brave  defender,  of  .his  city,  who  glorionsly   |   Were  fired,  and  the  bclls  of  Clmst  church  were  rung 
fell  in  the  Battle  of  North  Point  on  the  xii.  September,  1814,  and  at  the  ""    '^     '""   "        '^''"  * 

bombardment  of  Fort  DIcHoni^  on  the  xiii.  of  the  same  month. 

"Edward  Johnson,  Mayor  of  the  City.     Maj.-Gen.  Samuel  Smith, 
Brig.-Gen.  John  Strieker,  and  Lieut.-Col.  G.  Armistead,  of  the  U.  S.  Ar- 


niuffled  during  the  moving  of  the  procession,  and  all 
business  was  suspended  for  the  day.  The  military 
enthusiasm  born  of  the  recent  conflict  caught  up  the 
patriotic  design,  and  money  came  in  rapidly,  especially 


"Laidthecfcrnerstoneof  this  monument  of  public  gratitude  and  tiie  |  fj-om  the  survivors  of  the  memorable  field  of  North 

deliverance  of  this  city.  Raised  by  the  munificence  of  the  citizens  of 
Baltimore,  and  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Committee  of  Vigi- 
lance and  Safety. 


.  liaughman,  and 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Inglis  then  delivered  the  address, 
after  which  the  mayor  announced  to  Gen.  Harper  that 
the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  was  completed,  when  a 


Point.  Two  impediments  to  the  enterprise  soon  be- 
came apparent,— the  difficulty  of  procuring  the  ser- 
vices of  an  artist  to  do  the  subject  justice  in  a  design 
becoming  the  dignity  of  such  an  undertaking,  and  of 
obtaining  suitable  statuary  marble  for  the  purpose. 
The  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  having  been  secured 
by  subscription,  preparations  were  made  for  the  erec- 


MONUMENTS,  PAKKS,  AND  SQUARES. 


tion  of  the  monument,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1816  the 
services  of  the  celebrated  artist,  Antonio  Capeleno, 
formerly  first  sculptor  of  the  Court  at  Madrid,  were 
procured,  and  orders  were  immediately  sent  to  Italy 
for  marble.  Considerable  delay  was  occasioned  by  an 
accident  to  the  vessel  upon  which  the  blocks  were 
shipped,  which  compelled  her  to  put  into  Malaga  for 
repairs.  The  artist  in  the  mean  time  prepared  the  im- 
portant parts  of  the  preliminary  work  by  making  the 
models  and  casts  for  the  colossal  statue  of  the  city  of 
Baltimore,  the  two  basso-rilievos,  and  the  griiHns.  In 
1816  the  base  was  raised  to  the  height  of  the  cornice, 
but  the  cornices  were  net  received  until  April,  1817, 
and  the  column  in  October  of  the  same  year,  when 
the  cornices  and  the  blocks  forming  the  socle  of  the 
column  were  put  up.  The  work  proceeded  slowly,  and 
it  became  necessary  to  apply  to  the  City  Council  for 
aid.  On  the  18th  of  March,  1819,  the  City  Council 
passed  a  resolution  "that  a  certificate  of  six  per  cent, 
stock  for  three  thousand  dollars  be  issued  to  and  in 
favor  of  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  Battle 
Monument,  to  be  applied  in  aid  of  the  funds  for  com- 
pleting the  said  monument."  On  Sept.  12,  1822,  the 
female  figure  executed  in  marble  by  Capeleno  was 
placed  upon  it.  The  Council,  March  5,  182.5,  made 
another  appropriation  of  four  thousand  dollars,  and 
the  committee,  composed  of  Jos.  Jamison,  Paul  Ben- 
talou,  and  John  Riese,  reported  in  December,  1825, 
that  the  monument  had  been  completed.  The  shaft 
of  the  monument  presents  a  fasces  symbolical  of  the 
union  ;  the  rods  are  bound  by  a  fillet,  on  which  are 
inscribed  the  names  of  those  who  fell  at  North  Point. 
The  fasces  are  ornamented  at  the  bottom  on  the  north 
and  south  fronts  with  bass-reliefs,  one  representing  the 
battle  of  North  Point  and  the  death  of  Gen.  Ross, 
the  other  the  bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry.  On 
the  east  and  west  fronts  are  lachrymal  urns,  and  on 
the  top  are  two  wreaths,  one  of  laurel,  expressing 
glory,  and  the  other  cypress,  expressing  mourning. 
The  structure  is  entirely  of  marble,  surmounted  by  a 
statue  representing  the  city  of  Baltimore.  The  head 
of  the  figure  wears  a  mural  crown,  emblematic  of 
cities.  In  one  hand  is  a  rudder,  emblem  of  naviga- 
tion ;  in  the  other  the  figure  raises  a  crown  of  laurel 
a.s  it  looks  towards  the  field  of  battle.  At  its  feet  are 
an  eagle  of  the  United  States,  and  a  bomb  in  memory 
of  the  bombardment.  The  monument  is  inclosed  with 
an  iron  railing,  outside  of  which  are  chains  fastened 
to  marble  cannons.  The  height,  without  the  statue, 
is  forty-two  feet  eight  inches  ;  the  statue  is  nine  feet 
six  inches.  Total  height  above  the  platform,  fifty-two 
feet  two  inches.  The  following  inscriptions  appear  on 
the  different  sides  of  the  monument: 

"B\TTLE  OF  North  Point, 
"12tli  of  September,  a.d.  1814,  ami  of  the  Iiidependence  of  the  United 
Stutes  the  thirty-ninth." 
"Bombardment  of  Fort  McHENitr, 
September  13,  a.d.  1814. 
"James  Lowry  Donaldson,  Adjutant,  27tli  Eegiment. 
"Gregorine  Andre,  Lieut.  1st  Rifle  Battalion. 
18  . 


"  Levi  Clagett,  3d  Lieut,  in  NichoIson's^Artilleriats. 

"G.  Jenkins,  H.  G.  McConias,  D.  Wells,  J.  Richardson,  J.  Burncston, 
W.  McCIellan,  R.  K.  Cooksey,  W.  Alexander,  G.  Fallier,  J.  Wallack,  T. 
V.  Beeston,  J.  Jephson,  J.  C.  Byrd,  D.  Howard,  E.  Marriott,  W.  Ways,  J. 
H.  Marriott  of  John,  J.  Dunn,  C.  Bell,  J.  Armstrong,  P.  Byard,  J.  Clemm, 
M.  Desk,  B.  Reynolds,  T.  Garrett,  J.  Craig,  J.  Gregg,  J.  Merriken,  R. 
Neale,  A.  Randall,  C.  Cox,  J.  Evans,  J.  H.  Cox,  U.  Pressor,  J.  Haubert, 
I.  Wolf,  B.  Bond,  D.  Davis." 

These  are  the  names  of  the  citizen-soldiers  of  Bal- 
timore who  fell  in  the  struggle  which  the  monument 
commemorates. 

The  Wildey  Monument. — At  an  annual  meeting 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd- 
Fellows  of  Maryland,  held  in  this  city  in  1861,  imme- 
diately after  the  death  of  Thomas  Wildey,  a  resolution 
was  adopted  that  the  representatives  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Maryland  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  United 
States  be  instructed  to  bring  before  that  body  at  its 
next  annual  session  the  fitness,  propriety,  and  justice 
of  erecting  a  monument  to  commemorate  the  virtues 
of  the  deceased.  This  action  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Maryland  was  communicated  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
the  United  States  at  its  meeting  in  September,  1862, 
and  that  body  directed  its  secretary  to  address  a  cir- 
cular letter  to  each  grand  body,  requesting  them  to 
submit  the  subject  to  their  subordinates,  and  that  such 
moneys  as  might  in  this  way  be  raised  should  be  for- 
warded to  the  Grand  Corresponding  Secretary,  to  be 
placed  by  him  in  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  United 
States,  to  be  held  by  the  Grand  Treasurer  in  special 
trust  as  the  "  Wildey  Monument  Fund."  In  this  way 
seventeen  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-five 
dollars  was  raised  for  the  purpose  specified,  and  at 
the  session  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in  Boston,  in  1864,  a 
design  was  adopted,  and  a  committee  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  United  States  instructed  to  procure  a 
site  for  the  monument.  That  duty  was  assigned  to 
the  members  of  the  committee  residing  in  Baltimore, 
James  L.  Ridgely  and  Joseph  B.  Escaville,  who  pe- 
titioned the  Council,  Jan.  5,  1865,  to  grant  them  a 
square  of  ground  on  North  Broadway  as  a  most  suit- 
able and  commanding  location  for  the  site  of  the  pro- 
posed monument.  The  ground  was  promptly  donated, 
and  the  erection  of  the  monument  immediately  com- 
menced. The  corner-stone  was  laid  on  the  26th  of 
April,  1865,  and  the  monument  was  completed  and 
dedicated  with  great  ceremony  on  the  20th  of  Sep- 
tember in  the  same  year,  representatives  of  the 
Federal  and  City  governments,  and  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  United  States  taking  part  in  the  pro- 
cession. The  monument  is  intended  to  illustrate  in 
its  design  the  life  of  Wildey,  and  the  character  of 
the  work  performed  by  him.  It  bears  the  following 
inscriptions.  The  northwest  base  block  bears  the 
words, — 

"The  site  for  this  monument  was  unanimously 

voted  by  the  Mayor  and  City 

Council  of  Balti- 


Upon  the  northeast  side  is  the  sentiment,- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


"  He  who  realizes  thut  tlie  true  miseion  of  man  on  earth 

is  to  rise  above  the  level  of  individual  influence, 

and  to  recognize  the  Fatherhood  of  God 

over  all,  and  the  brotherhood  of 

man,  is  Nature's  true 

The  opposite  side  coiitiiin.s, — 

"  Thomas  Wildey, 
Born  January  15, 1783 ; 
Died  October  19, 1861." 

The  northern  f:ice  bears  the  following  memorial 
inscription : 

"This  column,  erected  by  the  joint  contributions  of  the  Lodges, 
Encampments,  and  individual  members  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd-Fellows  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
and  jurisdictions  thereunto  belonging,  commemo- 
rates the  founding  of  that  order  in  the  City  of 
Baltimoreon  the  26th  day  of  April,  1819,  by 
THOMAS  WILDEY." 

The  pedestal  supports  a  full  order  of  the  Grecian 
Doric  architecture,  typifying  by  the  beauty  of  its 
proportions  and  the  simplicity  of  its  character  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd-Fellowship ;  on  the  four 
faces  of  the  frieze  of  the  entablature  are  carved  the 
emblems  of  the  order, — the  three  links,  the  heart 
and  the  hand,  and  the  bundle  of  rods  and  the  globe. 
The  column  is  surmounted  by  a  life-sized  figure  of 
Charity  protecting  orphans,  thus  blending  the  theory 
and  principles  of  the  fraternity  with  recollections  of 
the  services  of  Past  Grand  Sire  Wildey.  The  entire 
height  of  the  structure  is  fifty-two  feet,  and  the  total 
cost  was  about  eighteen  thousand  dollars. 

The  design  for  the  monument  was  executed  by 
Edward  F.  Durang,  and  it  was  erected  under  his 
supervision.  The  building  committee  consisted  of 
James  B.  Nicholson,  Joseph  B.  Escaville,  John  W. 
Stokes,  Theodore  Ross,  Joshua  Vausant,  A.  H.  Ran-  i 
son,  James  L.  Ridgely,  and  J.  T.  Havener.  ! 

The  McDonogh  Monument.— The  monument 
erected  to  commemorate  the  memory  of  John  Mc- 
Donogh, a  native  of  Baltimore,  who  died  near  New 
Orleans,  in  McDonoghville,  Oct.  26,  1850,  and  who 
left  the  bulk  of  his  immense  estate  to  the  cities  of 
New  Orleans  and  Baltimore,  for  the  education  of  the 
poor  of  those  cities,  is  located  in  Greenmount  Ceme- 
tery. The  remains  of  Mr.  McDonogh  arrived  in  this 
city  on  the  schooner  "  Mary  Clinton"  on  the  4th  of 
June,  1860,  from  New  Orleans.  They  were  tempo- 
rarily deposited  in  the  vault  of  the  Mayer  family. 
The  mayor  and  City  Council  of  Baltimore  appropri- 
ated two  thousand  dollars  for  the  erection  of  a  monu- 
ment to  the  memory  of  McDonogh  out  of  the  amount 
realized  from  his  bequest  by  the  city.  The  monument 
was  dedicated  July  31,  1865.  The  statue  is  consider- 
ably larger  than  life,  and  is  erected  in  a  conspicuous 
])ositi()ii  on  an  elevated  portion  of  Greenmount  Ceme- 
tery. It  consists  of  a  ma.ssi\r  -ranil.'  Kase,  supporting 
a  marble  i)edestal  fourteni  I.  .a  liiyli.  ii|iiin  which  the 
statue  is  reared.  The  figure  i<  natural  and  expres.sive, 
and  was  sculptured  by  Kandcjlph,  of  ISaltiinore. 


Upon  the  front  of  the  pedestal  is  the  following  in- 
scription : 

"SACKED   TO   THE   MEMOKY  OF  JOHN   McDONOGH, 

Born  in  this  city  December  29, 1779. 
Died  in  the  Town  of  McDonooii,  Louisiana,  Oct.  26, 1850." 
[Written  by  himself:] 
"  Here  lies  the  body  of  John  McDonogh,  of  New  Orleans,  Louisiana, 
one  of  the  States  of  the  United  States,  son  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth McDonogh,  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  also  one  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  awaiting  in  tirm  and  full 
faith  the  resurrection  and  the  coming  of  his  glori- 
ous Lord,  Redeemer,  and  Master  to  judge  the 

On  the  left  side  is  carved : 

"  Rules  for  my  guidance  in  life  in  1804.    Bemember  that  labor 
is  one  of  the  conditions  of  our  existence;  Time  is  gold; 
throw  not  one  minute  away,  but  place  each  one  to  ac- 
count.   Do  unto  all  men  as  you  would  be  done 
by.    Never  put  off  until  to-morrow  that  which 
you  can  do  to-day.    Never  bid  another  do 

what  you  can  do  yourself.      Never 

covet    what   is   not    your    own.     Never 

think  any  matter  go  trivial  as  not  to  deserve 

notice.    Never  give  out  that  which  does  not  first 

come  in.     Never    spend  but  to    produce.      Let    the 

greatest  order  regulate  the  transactions  of  your  life.    Study 

in  the  course  of  your  life  to  do  the  greatest  amount  of  good." 

On  the  right  side  is  the  following : 

"Deprive  yourself  of  nothing 
necessary  to  your  comfort,  but  live 
in  an  honorable  simplicity  and  frugal- 
ity. Labor  then  to  the  last  moment  of  your 
existence.    Pursue  Strictly  the  above  rules,  and 
the  divine  blessing  and  Eiches  of  every  kind  will 
flow  upon  you  to  your  heart's  content,  but  first  of  all 
remember  that  the  chief  andgreat  study  of  your  life  should 
be  to  attend  by  all  the  means  in  your  power  to  the  honor  and 
glory  of  the  Divine  Creator.    New  Orleans,  March  2d,  1804. 
John  McDoxooh," 

"The  conclusion  to  which  I  have  arrived  is  that  without  temperance 
there  is  no  health,  without  virtue  no  order,  without  religion  no  happi- 
ness, and  the  sum  of  our  being  is  to  live  wisely,  soberly,  and  righteously." 

These  inscriptions  were  copied  from  the  monument 
which  Mr.  McDonogh  had  prepared  under  his  own 
supervision,  and  which  is  now  standing  in  the  town 
of  McDonogh,  opposite  New  Orleans. 

On  the  remaining  side  of  the  pedestal  is  the  follow- 
ing : 

"Erected  by  the  constituted  authorities  of  Baltimore, 

In  memory 

OF  John  McDonooh, 

and  as  a  testimonial  of  their  appreciation  of  his  character  and  nuuiiti- 

cent  liberality  for  the  pr.iniotiun  of  a  sreat  public  enter^jrise. 


Poe  Monument. — Baltimore  gave  Edgar  Allan  Poe 
a  grave  when  he  died  on  the  7th  of  October,  1849,  in 
this  city,  but  for  many  years  gave  him  nothing  more. 
After  the  lapse  of  a  considerable  period,  Neilson  Poe, 
a  relative  of  the  unfortunate  genius,  ordered  a  stone 
for  the  purpose  of  marking  his  grave,  but  the  kindly 
design  was  frustrated  by  an  accident,  and  it  was  not 
until  1865  that  any  further  movement  in  this  direc- 
tion was  made.     At  a  regular  meeting  at  the  Public 


MONUiMENTS,  PARKS,  AND  SQUARES. 


271 


School  Teachers'  Association,  held  on  the  7th  of  Oc- 
toher  in  that  year,  a  resolution  was  offered  by  John 
Basil,  Jr.,  principal  of  No.  8  grammar  school,  direct- 
ing the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  five  "  to  de- 
vise some  means  best  adapted  in  their  judgment  to 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  one  who  has  contributed  so 


largely  to  American  literature,  '  and  a  rommittee  con- 
sisting of  Messrs.  Basil,  Baird,  and  J.  J.  G.  Webster, 
and  Misses  Veeder  and  Wise  was  at  once  appointed. 
The  committee  reported  in  favor  of  the  erection  of  a 
monument,  and  recommended  that  measures  should 
at  once  be  taken  to  secure  the  necessary  funds;  the 
recommendation  was  heartily  indorsed  by  the  associa- 
tion, which  entered  upon  the  work  without  delay. 
The  enterprise  received  the  active  assistance  of  the 
pupils  as  well  as  the  teachers  of  the  public  schools, 
and  for  some  time  was  prosecuted  with  energy  and 
enthusiasm.  Entertainments  by  the  young  ladies  of 
the  Eastern  and  Western  Female  High  Schools,  under 
the  direction  of  Miss  S.  A.  Kice,  added  largely  to  the 
fund,  which  was  increased  by  contributions  from  va- 
rious sources,  and  amounted  on  the  23d  of  March, 
1871,  to  five  hundred  and  eighty-seven  dollars  and 
two  cents.  About  this  period  a  new  committee,  con- 
sisting of  Messrs.  Elliott,  Kerr,  and  Hamilton,  and 
Misses  Rice  and  Baer,  was  appointed,  and  on  the  15th 
of  April,  1872,  the  association  resolved,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  committee,  "  that  the  money  now  in  the 
hands  of  the  treasurer  of  the  '  Poe  Memorial  Fund' 
be  appropriated  to  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  be 
placed  over  Poe's  remains."  On  the  2d  of  September, 
1874,  the  committee  received  from  the  estate  of  Dr. 
Thos.  D.  Baird,  deceased,  the  late  treasurer  of  the  Poe 
Memorial  Fund,  six  hundred  and  twenty- seven  dol- 
lars and  fifty-five  cents,  the  amount  of  principal  and  in- 
terest to  that  date,  and  believing  that  it  could  be  easily 


'  increased  to  one  thousand  dollars  by  the  contributions 
of  citizens,  they  applied  to  George  A.  Frederick,  ar- 
chitect, for  the  design  of  a  monument  to  cost  about 
that  sum.     Mr.  Frederick's  design  was  found  to  re- 
quire a  larger  amount  than  had  been  expected,  and 
,  the  committee  was  forced  once  more  to  resort  to  ap- 
i  plications  for  contributions.     The  well-known  liber- 
ality of  George  W.  Childs,  of  Philadelphia,  encour- 
j  aged  a  member  of  the  committee  to  address  him  on 
I  the  subject,  and  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours  a  reply 
!  was  received  from  that  gentleman,  expressive  of  his 
willingness  to  make  up  the  estimated  deficiency  of 
six  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.     The  necessary  amount 
having  thus  been  secured,  the  committee  proceeded 
to  place  the  construction  and  erection  of  the  monu- 
ment in  the  hands  of  Hugh  Sisson,  whose  proposal 
was  the  most  liberal  one  received.     The  monument 
I  was  completed,  and  dedicated  on  the  17th  of  Novem- 
I  ber,   1875,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of 
j  spectators,  with  addresses  by  Profs.  William  Elliott, 
t  Jr.,  and  H.  E.  Shepherd,  and  Hon.  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe. 
I  The  monument  stands  in  the  Westminster  Presby- 
]  terian   churchyard,   corner  of   Greene  and    Fayette 
Streets,  where  the  poet's  remains  were  interred  on  the 
9th  of  October,  1849.    It  consists  simply  of  a  pedestal 
!  or  die  block,  with  an  ornamental  cap  wholly  of  mar- 
ble, resting  on  two  marble  slabs,  and  a  granite  base. 
1  The  front  of  the  die  block  bears  a  medallion  portrait 
of  the  poet  by  the  sculptor  Volck,  while  on  the  west- 
j  ern  side  is  the  lines  of  inscription  :   "  Edgar  Allan 

Poe:  born  Jan.  20,  1819;  died  Oct.  7,  1849." 
I      The  Ferguson  Monument.— The  Ferguson  Monu- 
ment was  erected  by  the  citizens  of  Baltimore  to  per- 
petuate the  virtues  and  self-sacrificing  life  of  William 
B.  Ferguson,  of  Baltimore,  founder  of  the  Howard  So- 
ciety, and  its  president,  in  Norfolk,  Va.,  where  he  lost 
his  life  by  the  yellow  fever  while  devoting  his  atten- 
tion to  the  sufferers  from  that  scourge  during  its  preva- 
lence in  that  city  in  1855.     The  corner-stone  was  laid 
at  Greenmount  Cemetery,  May  11,   1857,  with   im- 
pressive ceremonies,  in  which  a  large  concourse  of  the 
best  citizens  of  Baltimore  and  a  delegation  from  the 
Howard  Association  and  the  United  Fire  Company 
of  Norfolk  participated.     The  monument  was  erected 
j  through  the  efforts  of  the  Ferguson  Monument  Asso- 
I  ciation  of   this  city,  composed  of  John   R.  Moore, 
president;  Gen.  C.  C.  Egerton,  vice-president;  Wil- 
I  liam  Wilson,  Jr.,  treasurer;   and  Thomas  W.  Hall, 
j  secretary ;    Executive    Committee,    David    Gushing, 
1  Maj.  R.  Edwards,  William  Wilson,  Jr.,  Col.  George 
i  P.  Kane,  and  Thomas  W.  Hall.    The  monument  was 
completed  June  18,  1857.     It  is  a  beautiful  specimen 
of  art,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  fence  of  marble  and 
i  steel.     The  monument  was  from  the  establishment 
j  of  A.  Geddes.     The  inscriptions  on  the  cenotaph  are 
j  as  follows : 
t       On  the  front  side  of  the  square, — 

I       "Wm.  Boyd  Ferguson,  President  of  the  Howard  Association  of  Nor- 
folk, September  •22d,  1855." 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND    COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Immediately 
tence : 


ider  tlie  above  is  the  following  s 


On  one  side  of  the  square,— 

"His  grave  is  consecrated  by  tiie  widow's  prayer,  the  orplian's  teai 
tie  blessiugs  of  the  desolate." 

On  another  side, — 

"  His  ministry  of  mercy  ceased  only  when  God's  fingers  touched  hiu 


On  the  other  face  of  the  monument, — 

"Erected  by  the  Maryland  Cadets,  the  first  Baltimore  Hose  Company, 
and  other  Baltimoreans,  in  memory  of  a  citizen  who  died  in  his  elTorts 
to  stay  the  pestilence  which  desolated  Norfolic  in  1855." 

Monument  to  William  Prescott  Smith.— Soon 

after  thr  diath  of  William  Prescott  Smith,  master  of 
transportation  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad, 
in  the  tall  of  1872,  a  number  of  gentlemen  of  the  city 
met  at  the  rooms  of  Otto  Sutro  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  contract  with  William  Einehart,  the  sculptor, 
for  a  life-size  bronze  statue  of  Mr.  Smith,  to  be  placed 
over  his  grave  in  Greenmount.  The  committee,  com- 
posed of  John  G.  Curlett,  Walter  S.  Wilkinson,  and 
Otto  Sutro,  contracted  with  Mr.  Rinehart  for  the  statue, 
who  completed  a  model  before  his  death.  The  work 
was  then  undertaken  by  Mr.  Volk,  who  followed  in 
his  model  very  closely  the  one  prepared  by  Rinehart. 
The  statue  was  cast  in  Munich,  after  the  model  and 
under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Volk.  The  likeness  to 
the  original  is  said  to  be  very  striking.  The  statue, 
when  placed  over  the  grave  in  Greenmount,  cost  about 
four  thousand  dollars. 

The  Creery  Monument.— After  the  death  of  Prof. 
William  K.  Creery,  superintendent  of  the  public 
schools  of  Baltimore,  the  teachers  and  pupils  of  these 
schools  determined  to  express  their  esteem  for  the  ser- 
vices rendered  by  him  to  public  education  by  the  erec- 
tion of  a  monument  over  his  grave  in  Greenmount 
Cemetery.  The  Teachers'  Association  placed  the  mat- 
ter in  the  hands  of  a  committee  consisting  of  Michael 
Connolly,  chairman ;  John  T.  Morris,  John  C.  Mc- 
Cahan,  Henry  E.  Shepherd,  Sara  A.  Rice,  and  Susie 
S.  Bouldin,  under  whose  charge  the  monument  was 
completed,  at  a  cost  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  The 
monument  was  dedicated  with  becoming  ceremonies 
on  the  8th  of  June,  1876.  It  is  a  simple  marble  obe- 
lisk, eight  feet  high,  on  a  square  marble  base  three 
feet  high,  surmounted  by  a  small  urn,  the  whole  being 
about  twelve  feet  in  height.  The  northwest  front  of 
the  base  bears  a  medallion  of  Prof.  Creery.  The  mon- 
ument bears  name  and  dates  of  birth  and  death  and 
the  following  inscription : 

"A  tribute  of  affection  and  respect  from  the  teachers  and  pupils  of  the 
public  schools  of  Balliiiiore  City." 

The  Gleeson  Monument. — "The  Gleeson  Monu- 
ment Association,"  witli  Hon.  Montgomery  Blair  as 
president,  Thomas  Swann  and  Mayor  Chapman 
among  the  vice-presidents,  William  Prescott  Smith, 


chairman  of  the  building  committee;  Dr.  E.  F. 
Chaisty,  financial  secretary  ;  and  William  J.  Nicholls 
and  Capt.  J.  M.  Stevens,  secretaries,  was  formed  at 
the  Eutaw  House,  Jan.  2,  1864,  and  erected  a  beau- 
tiful monument  over  the  grave  of  Capt.  John  Glee- 
son in  the  Cathedral  Cemetery  in  1866.  The  monu- 
ment is  after  a  design  by  E.  G.  Lind,  architect,  and 
built  by  Hugh  Sisson.  It  is  of  the  Doric  order,  and 
characterized  by  simplicity  and  durability.  It  has 
inscriptions  on  three  sides,  one  of  which  states  that 
it  is 

"  Erected  to  the  memory  of  Capt.  John  Gleeson,  Fifth  Maryland  Regi- 
ment U.  S.  v.,  who  was  captured  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  died  at 
Kichniond,  October  2d,  1863,  from  whence  his  remains  were  sent  to  this 
city,  November  17th,  1863." 

The  other  inscriptions  are  complimentary  to  his 
gallantry  as  a  soldier  and  other  personal  and  patriotic 
qualities.  It  was  erected  mainly  under  the  supervi- 
sion of  William  Prescott  Smith.  The  monument  is 
located  near  and  on  the  right  side  of  the  main  en- 
trance of  the  Cathedral  Cemetery,  where  Capt.  Glee- 
son is  buried. 

Druid  Hill  Park.— Although  the  establishment  of 
a  public  park  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of  Balti- 
more had  been  contemplated  for  several  years  prior 
to  1858,  it  was  not  until  that  year  that  any  definite 
action  was  taken  to  carry  out  the  purpose.  The  ani- 
mated contest  in  progress  at  that  time  between  rival 
companies  for  the  privilege  of  establishing  lines  of 
horse  railways  in  the  city  for  the  transportation  of 
passengers  suggested  the  expediency  of  making  the 
corporation  to  which  the  right  might  be  granted  pay 
for  its  franchise  by  contributing  to  the  public  health 
and  comfort.'  Accordingly,  on  the  7tii  of  April, 
1858,  the  commissioners  of  finance  were  authorized 
by  ordinance  of  the  City  Council  to  receive  from  the 
register  the  one-fifth  (now  twelve  per  centum)  of  the 
gross  revenue  of  the  passenger  railway  companies 
and  invest  the  same  from  time  to  time  in  Baltimore 
City  six  per  cent,  stock,  as  well  as  the  accruing  in- 
terest, as  a  fund  for  the  purchase  of  a  park  or  parks. 

In  pursuance  of  this  design,  when  the  city  passenger 
railway  companies,  in  March,  1859,  were  authorized  to 
construct  their  lines,  the  companies  were  required  to 
pay  into  the  hands  ofthe  city  registerquarterly  one-fifth 
(now  twelve  per  centum)  of  the  gross  receipts  accru- 
ing from  the  passenger  travel,  "  the  same  to  be  applied 
to  the  establishment  and  improvement  of  the  city 
Boundary  Avenue,  and  to  the  location,  purchase,  and 
improvement  of  such  park  or  parks  as  may  be  de- 
termined upon  hereafter  by  the  mayor  and  City 
Council  of  Baltimore  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of 
said  city,  said  park  or  parks  to  comprise  an  area  of 
not  less  than  fifty  acres  each." 

In  May,  1860,  the  subject  was  again  brouglit  before 
the  City  Council  by  a  resolution  (approved  June  4th) 
which,  after  reciting  the  fact  that  one-fifth  of  the 

mayor  of  the  city, 


MONUMENTS,  PARKS,  AND  SQUARES. 


273 


revenue  from  the  passenger  railway  companies  had 
been  pledged  to  the  purchase  of  a  park,  and  that  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  funds  were  already  in 
the  hands  of  the  register,  authorized  the  mayor  to 
appoint  four  discreet  persons,  who,  with  himself, 
should  constitute  a  commission  to  select  and  purchase 
a  site  for  the  proposed  park.  Under  this  resolution 
Mayor  Swann  appointed  Messrs.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe, 
Robert  Leslie,  William  E.  Hooper,  and  Columbus 
O'Donnell  to  act  as  commissioners,  and  on  the  21st 
of  July  approved  an  ordinance  of  the  City  Council 
providing  more  fully  for  the  purchase,  improvement, 
and  government  of  the  property  which  should  be 
secured  for  the  park.  By  this  ordinance  it  was  en- 
acted that  whenever  the  commissioners  should  certify 
to  the  register  that  they  had  purchased  the  site  for  a 
park,  it  should  be  his  duty  to  issue  and  deliver  to  the 
Commission  certificates  of  stock  of  the  mayor  and 
City  Council  of  Baltimore,  in  the  usual  form,  redeem- 
able at  the  end  of  thirty  years  from  the  date  thereof, 
and  designated  on  thfeface  of  the  certificate  as  "Pub- 
lic Park  Stock"  for  the  amount  of  the  purcha.se  money. 
By  another  section  of  the  ordinance  the  revenue 
"  derived  and  to  be  derived"  from  the  city  passenger 
railways  was  "pledged  and  set  apart  for  the  payment 
of  the  interest  on  the  certificates  of  stock  to  be  issued" 
under  its  authority,  and  it  was  provided  that  one-fifth 
of  the  revenue  from  the  passenger  railways  remaining 
after  the  payment  of  the  interest  should  be  invested 
by  the  register  in  the  stock  of  the  city  of  Baltimore 
as  a  sinking  fund  for  the  redemption  of  the  park 
debt.  It  was  further  enacted  that  four-fifths  of  the 
remaining  revenue  should  be  paid  by  the  register,  on 
the  order  of  the  Commission,  as  the  revenue  should 
be  received,  for  the  improvement  and  maintenance  of 
the  park  or  parks.^ 

1  By  ordinance  No.  37,  section  1,  May  2, 1863,  whenever  the  Park  Com- 
mission shall  certify  to  the  register  that  they  require  a  sum  of  money  for 
an  object  connected  with  the  parks,  an  issue  of  stock  is  authorized,  re- 
deemable on  Jan.  1, 1895,  interest  at  the  annual  rate  of  si-x  per  centum, 
payable  quarterly,  and  designated  as  park  improvement  stock,  for  an 
amount  suiJicient  to  meet  such  requisition,  after  retaining  one-tenth  of 
the  par  value  for  the  purposes  of  a  sinking  fund ;  provided  that  the  whole 
amount  of  bonds  so  issued  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  for  Druid  Hill  Park,  and  twenty  thousand  dollars 
for  Patterson  Park. 

By  section  3  of  the  same  ordinance  it  is  provided  that  one-tenth  of  the 
par  value  of  the  said  bonds  retained  by  the  register,  as  tiereinbefore  di- 
rected, shall  bo  invested  by  the  commissioners  of  finance  in  the  bonds  of 
the  city  of  Baltimore,  or  in  bonds  for  which  the  city  is  liable  by  indorse- 
ment, as  a  sinking  fund  fur  the  redemption  of  the  bonds  issued  under  its 
provisions;  and  the  proceeds  of  all  sales  or  rents  of  any  land  south  of 
Newington  Lane  which  may  be  sold  or  leased  by  the  Park  Commission, 
shall  be  paid  to  the  register  of  the  city,  to  be  invested  by  the  commis- 
sioners of  finance  in  the  sinking  fund  herein  provided  for  until  the  said 
fund  shall,  in  the  opinion  of  tlie  said  commissioners,  be  adequate  to  the 
redemption  of  the  bonds  hereby  authorized  at  their  maturity.  By  ordi- 
nance No.  52,  June  28, 1865,  another  issue  was  authorized  for  Druid  Hill 
Park  of  twenty-seven  thousand  dollars. 

By  ordinance  No.  80,  section  1,  May  26, 1866,  the  register  was  author- 
ized, in  accounting  with  the  Public  Park  Commission,  to  pay  to  them  the 
revenue  derived  from  the  passenger  railways,  without  other  deduction 
than  the  interest  on  the  bonds  issued  for  the  purchase  of  said  parks  and 
the  sinking  fund.  And  he  was  further  authorized  to  pay  to  tlie  Park 
uch  sums  as  might  from  time  to  time  be  required,  fifty 


It  was  provided  that  the  mayor  of  the  city  for  the 
time  being  should  always  be  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mission ex  officio,  which  was  authorized,  by  sale  or 
otherwise,  to  dispose  of  any  portion  of  the  site  or 
sites  originally  purchased  which  might  not  be  neces- 
sary for  the  purpose  of  the  park  or  parks,  "as  well  as 
any  crop,  wood,  trees,  or  other  property  that  might  be 
.severable  from  the  freehold,  should  it  become  neces- 
sary, in  the  improvement  and  maintenance  of  the  .said 
park  or  parks,  so  to  do  in  their  judgment,  and  to 
make  use  of  the  avails  thereof  for  the  use  of  said 
park  or  parks."  By  subsequent  enactment  the  mayor 
and  City  Council  were  authorized  by  the  General 
Assembly  (1868,  ch.  36)  "to  issue  from  time  to  time, 
as  they  may  deem  proper,  the  bonds  of  said  mayor 
and  City  Council,  payable  at  such  time  and  for 
such  sums  as  they  may  deem  proper,  not  exceeding 
the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  any  one  year,  and 
in  the  whole  not  exceeding  the  sum  of  one  liundred 
thousand  dollars„for  the  improvement  of  the  public 
parks  of  the  said  city."  Several  sites  were  offered 
the  commissioners,  among  which  was  the  almshouse 
property,  Mr.  Swann's  farm,  property  on  Charles 
Street  Avenue,  and  at  Oxford,  on  the  York  road,  but 
after  careful  examination  they  found  none  compara- 
ble for  the  purpose  to  Druid  Hill,  the  estate  of  Lloyd 
N.  Rogers,  situated  a  short  distance  northwest  of  the 
city  limits,  between  the  Hookstown  road  and  Jones' 
Falls.  Arrangements  were  made  for  its  purchase, 
but  before  they  were  consummated  Mr.  Rogers,  by 
the  advice  of  his  counsel,  refused  to  comply  with  his 
contract  on  the  ground  that  the  city  was  not  authorized 
by  the  Legislature  to  issue  bonds  for  the  purchase  of 
property  or  raise  money  for  any  improvement  outside 
of  the  corporate  limits.  Suit  was  brought  in  the  Cir- 
cuit Court  of  Baltimore  County  by  Messrs.  Stirling  and 
Alexander,  counsel  for  the  park  commissioners,  to 
compel  Mr.  Rogers  to  comply  with  his  contract,  and 
an  injunction  obtained  restraining  him  from  making 
any  improvements  on  the  premises,  or  from  cutting 
down  or  destroying  any  of  the  trees,  shrubbery,  or 
undergrowth.  The  trouble,  however,  was  amicably 
adjusted,  Mr.  Rogers  receiving  one  hundred  and 
twenty-one  thousand  dollars  cash  and  the  remainder 
of  the  purchase  money  in  bonds  of  the  city,  with  a 
mortgage  upon  the  whole  property  as  a  security  in 

thousand  dollars,  of  which  sum  ten  thousand  dollars  should  be  for  the 
use  exclusively  of  Patterson  Park,  and  the  remainder  for  Dniid  Hill 
Park. 

By  ordinance  of  June  8, 1870,  after  deducting  from  the  revenue  de- 
rived from  the  city  passenger  railways  the  interest  on  the  issue  of  park 
stock,  and  the  sinking  fund,  and  the  further  sum  of  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars annually  for  the  maintenance  of  the  parks,  the  surplus  of  said  reve- 
nue, and  the  rent  of  the  pavilion,  and  the  net  receipts  from  any  passenger 
railway  which  may  be  laid  within  Druid  Hill  Park  shall  be  applied,  as 
far  as  necessary,  to  reimburse  the  city  the  interest  upon  the  bonds  hereby 
authorized  to  be  issued  ;  provided  that  not  less  than  one-fifth  of  the  sum 
reserved  in  this  section  for  the  annua]  maintenance  of  the  parks,  and  of 
the  excess  of  annual  receipts  from  the  city  passenger  railway  over  the 
amount  necessaiy  to  provide  for  the  interest  on  the  bonds  issued  under 
the  provisions  of  this  ordinance,  shall  be  expended  in  the  improvement 
and  preservation  of  Patterson  Park. 


274 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


the  event  of  the  feilure  of  the  Legislature  to  confirm 
the  purchase  and  the  issue  of  the  bonds.'  Tlie  neces- 
sary papers  were  signed  on  the  27th  of  September,  1860, 
and  the  park  was  inaugurated  on  the  19th  of  October 
with  imposing  ceremonies,  in  which  the  civil  authori- 
ties of  the  city  and  various  military  organizations  of 
this  and  other  States  participated.  The  ceremonies 
at  the  pai-k  were  commenced  with  prayer  by  Kev.  Dr. 
Geo.  D.  Cummins,  rector  of  St.  Peter's  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  which  was  followed  by  an  address 
by  Mayor  Swann,  chairman  of  the  Park  Commission. 
The  ceremonies  were  concluded  with  an  ode,  written 
by  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe,  and  sung  by  the  pupils  of  the 
public  schools.-  In  the  report  of  the  Park  Commission 
to  the  mayor,  made  on  the  1st  of  January,  1864,  the 
following  estimate  of  the  number  of  acres  and  cost  of 
the  park  is  given  : 

The  piircliaae  from  Mr.   Rogers   of  the  a.  r.  p. 

Druid  Hill  estate  was 433  0  28  ftu  SIOOO  per  acre. 

Additional  purchase  of  Mr.  KoEors 8  1  17  t'  SlOOn 

11  3  36  fm  $100(1 

One-fourth  of  the  Mount  Vernon  Cemetery  16  0  0  (S)  JIOOO        " 

Bought  of  Kraft's  heirs 4  2  16  for  S6000. 

"  "      "'     "        "     ■               11  2  23  St.  SKMX)  per  acre. 


John  Clark  and  ( 
Hugh  Gelston.... 
Miles  White 


Since  this  report  was  made  the  area  of  the  park 
has  been  largely  increased  by  additional  purchases, 
until  at  present  it  contains  six  hundred  and  ninety- 
three  acres. 

The  original  patent  of  the  Druid  Hill  estate  was 
taken  out  in  1688,  and  its  name  was  suggested  by  the 
numerous  and  magnificent  oaks  which  are  still  to 
be  found  on  every  hand.  In  1709  the  estate  passed 
into  the  possession  of  Nicholas  Rogers,  in  whose 
family  it  remained  until  its  purchase  by  the  city. 
His  grandson,  of  the  same  name,  was  an  aide-de-camp 
of  Baron  de  Kalb  during  the  Revolution  ;  was  an 
architect  of  considerable  distinction,  aud  left  many 
traces  of  his  artistic  taste.  It  is  stated  that  "when 
he  returned  to  Druid  Hill  after  the  war  he  laid  it  out 
in  the  best  style  of  English  landscape  gardening.  He 
went  so  far  as  to  group  trees  with  regard  to  their  au- 
tumnal tints,  and  with  fine  effect.  The  gold  and  crimson 
colors  were  brought  out  into  strong  and  beautiful  re- 
lief by  being  backed  with  evergreens.  The  skirting 
woodlands  were  converted  into  bays  and  indentations." 

The  park  is  provided  with  four  entrances, — a  main 
entrance  at  the  head  of  Madison  Avenue  extended, 
to  which  the  city  passenger  cars  run  direct;  the  Druid 
Hill  Avenue  entrance,  from  whence  a  steam  railway 
formerly  conveyed  visitors  to  the  centre  of  the  park  ; 
the  Eutaw  Street  entrance;  and  the  Mount  Royal 
entrance,  facing  Oliver  Street,  near  the  Park  Avenue  . 
line  of  cars.    Each  gateway  is  provided  with  a  keeper, 
and  the  gates  are  open  until  9  p.m.  from  May  till  j 
October,  and  until  dark  during  the  remainder  of  the  I 
year.    The  gateway  to  the  main  entrance  was  built  in 

1  This  confirmatory  legislation  was  obtained  in  June,  IHOl. 
20n  the  12th  of  Novemher,  186(t,  leas  than  a  month  after  tlie  opening    , 
of  till,  parli,  Mr.  Rogers,  the  former  owner,  died. 


1867-68  ;  is  constructed  of  Nova  Scotia  freestone,  and 
was  designed  by  George  A.  Frederick.  After  the 
purchase  of  the  property  a  railway  was  constructed 
from  a  point  near  the  present  entrance  on  Druid  Hill 
Avenue  to  the  centre  of  the  park,  and  was  equipped 
with  a  dummy-engine  and  several  small  passenger- 
coaches,  which  were  regularly  employed  in  the  trans- 
portation of  visitors.  The  railway  has  since  been 
abandoned,  and  at  present  phaetons  run  from  all  the 
gates  direct  to  the  Mansion  House,  about  a  mile  dis- 
tant. The  Maryland  Building,  a  relic  of  the  Centen- 
nial, is  situated  on  a  knoll  at  the  west  of  the  Mansion 
House,  and  the  State  Fish  Commission  have  their 
fish-hatching  houses  and  apparatus  in  the  northern 
section  of  the  park.  Druid  Hill  Lake,  in  the  S(mth- 
eastern  part  of  the  grounds,  has  a  water  surface  of 
fifty-five  acres,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  drive  one  and 
a  half  miles  in  extent.  The  average  depth  of  this  lake 
is  about  thirty  feet,  and  it  contains  about  450,000,000 
gallons  of  water.  This  water  is  conveyed  by  natural 
flow  from  Lake  Roland,  and  is  as  high  as  it  can  be  had 
by  that  means.  Besides  this,  there  is  in  the  rear  of 
the  park  the  high-service  reservoir,  with  water-surface 
of  nine  acres.  This  reservoir  is  three  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  above  tide,  supplies  the  northwestern  section 
of  the  city,  and  the  water  is  pumped  into  it  from 
Druid  Lake  and  Mount  Royal  Reservoir  at  the  Oliver 
Street  entrance,  which  is  similar  in  size,  and  supplies 
the  centre  of  the  city.  There  is  a  lake  for  boating  in 
summer  and  skating  in  winter  thirteen  acres  in  ex- 
tent. There  is  an  island  in  this  lake,  on  which  is  a 
beautiful  house,  handsomely  fitted  up  with  cloak- 
rooms, arrangements  for  lady  skaters,  etc.  Nothing 
is  charged  for  checking  cloaks,  etc.  Spring  Lake,  near 
Crise  Fountain,  is  four  acres  in  extent;  here  are  Bra- 
zilian duck,  Brandt,  wild  geese.  Hong  Kong  or  Chinese 
geese,  ducks,  etc.,  and  a  three-legged  duck  presented  to 
the  i)ark  some  years  ago.  The  zoological  collection  is 
still  small,  but  is  rapidly  increasing.  There  are  two 
burial-grounds  in  the  park ;  the  larger  of  these,  con- 
taining two  and  one-quarter  acres,  belongs  to  the 
German  Lutheran  Church,  and  is  situated  near  the 
centre  of  the  park.  It  is  owned  by  three  congrega- 
tions, and  is  still  used  for  the  purpose  of  interment. 
It  originally  contained  four  and  a  half  acres,  but  two 
and  one-quarter  acres  in  which  there  were  no  graves 
were  condemned  by  the  park  commissioners.  The 
other  graveyard,  containing  only  half  an  acre,  and 
situated  some  distance  in  the  rear  of  the  Mansion 
House,  was  reserved  by  Mr.  Rogers  in  selling  the 
park,  the  burials  in  it  being  restricted  to  the  present 
generation.  The  old  family  residence  of  Mr.  Rogers, 
formerly  situated  in  the  northwestern  section  of  the 
park,  was  not  removed  until  1868.  In  September, 
1867,  a  valuable  addition  to  the  attractions  of  the 
park  was  received  by  the  commissioners  from  Thomas 
Winans,  in  the  form  of  a  herd  of  fifty-two  deer,  which 
had  been  raised  and  domesticated  on  his  farm  in  Bal- 
timore County.    The  herd  has  now  increased  to  about 


MONUMENTS,  PARKS,  AND  SQUARES. 


275 


two  hundred,  and  but  for  frequent 'sales  would  be 
much  larger.  The  celebrated  flock  of  thoroughbred 
Southdowns  numbers  nearly  three  hundred  ;  the  buck 
lambs  are  sold  at  twenty-five  dollars  apiece,  and  the 
demand  is  greater  than  the  supply. 

While  the  hand  of  art  has  not  been  employed  so 
extensively  at  Druid  Hill  Park  as  in  Central  Park, 
New  York,  or  in  Fairmount  Park,  Philadelphia,  its 
natural  beauties  are  probably  superior  to  those  of  any 
public  park  in  the  country,  and  have  been  heightened 
and  set  off  by  a  judicious  taste  which  has  known  how 
to  avoid  meretricious  show,  and  to  recognize  the  fact 
that  in  this  as  in  other  cases  nature  is  best  adorned 
when  least  adorned. 


By  the  temptation  of  a  series  of  shaded  and  diver- 
sified walks  for  the  pedestrian,  by  extensive  and  well- 
arranged  avenues  for  riding  and  driving,  bridle-paths 
for  horsemen,  and  by  the  introduction  of  artificial 
lakes  for  boating,  the  park  has  been  made  attractive, 
outside  of  its  beautifiil  scenery,  but  it  has  been  to 
small  extent  ornamented.  An  avenue  of  urns,  over- 
flowing with  wealth  of  floral  treasures,  lines  the  main 
entrance,  and  near  this  are  rows  of  symmetrical  horse- 
chestnut  trees,  with  beautiful  and  well-kept  lawns 
beyond,  in  which  grow  at  irregular  intervals  beautiful 
forest-trees. 

The  picnic-grounds  are  divided  into  nine  groves, 
and  permits  are  secured  in  advance  of  Capt.  Ca.ssell, 
the  park  superintendent,  thus  securing  the  grove  to 
parties  holding  the  permit  and  preventing  all  intru- 
sion. There  are  sixteen  miles  of  carriage-roads,  vary- 
ing from  twenty  to  sixty  feet  in  width,  and  eleven 
miles  of  footwalks.  These  latter  are  all  furnished 
with  seats  at  short  intervals,  which  are  manufactured 
on  the  place  during  the  winter.  The  principal  springs 
are  Edmund's  Well,  near  the  dummy  station  at  the 
head  of  the  boat  lake,  adorned  by  Mr.  Chas.  Needles 
in  a  handsome  manner.  This  spring  is  much  resorted 
to,  and  groups  are  at  all  hours  of  the  day  to  be  found 
testing  its  water  or  loitering  in  its  immediate  vicinity. 
Silver  Spring,  at  the  base  of  Centennial  Hill,  adorned 
by  Jarrard  Hopkins.  This  is  a  special  resort  for  sick 
children,  and  baby-carriages,  with  attendant  nurses 
and  attentive  mothers,  are  seen  there  throughout  the 
summer.  At  this  point,  too,  the  pony  phaetons  pro- 
vided by  Mr.  Bishop  are  stationed,  and  the  children 
are  not  a  little  attracted  to  this  point  by  them.  Some 
of  the  ponies  are  little  bigger  than  a  large-sized  goat, 
though  horselike  in  appearance  and  spirited  in  dispo- 
sition. Crise  Fountain,  at  the  head  of  Spring  Lake, 
was  ornamented  by  John  L.  Crise,  and  has  the  most 
copious  flow  of  water  of  any  of  the  springs  in  the 
park,  all  of  which  are  natural.  Mountain  Pass  and 
High  Service  and  Garrett  Bridge  Springs  are  all  ar- 
ranged for  watering  horses,  and  are  temporarily  orna- 
mented by  the  Park  Board.  At  the  bridge  donated 
by  John  W.  Garrett  there  is  also  a  spring,  which  was 
used  by  the  ancestors  of  Mr.  Rogers,  known  as  the 
Colonial  Spring.     It  is  ornamented  with  a  circle  of 


pressed  brick.  There  are  numerous  other  springs, 
which  have  not  yet  been  brought  out  or  ornamented, 
and  in  water  supplies  of  this  kind  Druid  Hill  Park  is 
far  ahead  of  any  other  public  park. 

Grounds  for  base  ball,  la  crosse,  foot-ball,  lawn 
tennis,  and  other  games  are  assigned,  and  all  that 
can  be  done  to  further  the  proper  athletic  sports  has 
received  attention.  The  principal  objects  of  atten- 
tion to  the  visitor  outside  of  the  great  natural  beauties 
of  the  place  are  the  zoological  collection,  Maryland 
Building,  and  Mansion  House,  with  its  spacious  cor- 
ridors, arm-chairs,  etc.,  all  free.  Here  are  found  re- 
freshments for  adults  as  well  as  for  children.  In  the 
basement  of  this  building  are  the  headquarters  of  the 
park  police,  where  ofiicers  are  always  on  hand  to  give 
information,  receive  lost  children,  and,  strange  as  it 
may  seem,  also  lost  adults,  who  not  unfrequently  re- 
quire attention  and  direction. 

The  Dell,  a  beautiful  stretch  of  forest  bordering  the 
park  in  rear  of  Silver  Spring,  is  one  of  the  noted 
places  in  the  vast  inclosure.  Here  little  family  par- 
ties are  seen  on  the  bright  green  sward  skirting  this 
forest  growth,  and  making  the  scene  picturesque  by 
the  gayly-decked  bonnets,  bright-colored  wraps,  etc., 
hung  on  the  trees,  while  lively  groups  of  pleasure- 
seekers  are  scattered  about  on  the  grass.  The  deep 
background  of  dark  woods  brings  out  the  picture  very 
distinctly. 

Tempest  HiU  and  the  skirting  of  woods  about  it, 
overlooking  Woodberry,  is  well  supplied  with  iron 
settees,  and  here  all  day  long  may  be  seen  lovers  of 
nature  drinking  in  the  scene. 

Prospect  Hill,  a  broad  and  elevated  plateau,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  park,  overlooking  Woodberry,  has  a 
road-bed  to  accommodate  two  hundred  and  fifty  car- 
riages at  one  time.  From  this  point  can  be  seen  nu- 
merous beautiful  country  residences,  many  of  them 
with  vistas  cut  through  heavy  timber,  so  as  to  get  a 
view  of  the  surrounding  country.  The  busy  village 
of  Woodberry  is  in  full  view,  with  all  its  manufactur- 
ing interests, — Druid  Mills,  Woodberry  Mills,  Poole 
&  Hunt's  foundry,  Garabrill's  mills,  Hooper  &  Sons' 
mills,  Clipper  Mills,  etc.  While  looking  at  the  beau- 
tiful hills  in  the  distance  you  still  hear  the  rattle  of 
the  machinery  and  the  clang  of  the  anvil  in  the  busy 
manufacturing  village  spread  out  below.  This  hill 
runs  gradually  down  by  a  beautiful  descent  to  the 
Northern  Central  Railway.  From  this  stand-point 
may  be  seen  eleven  churches  of  different  denomina- 
tions, all  in  Woodberry  or  vicinity.  The  hotel,  lo- 
cated in  that  village  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
female  operatives  of  William  E.  Hooper  &  Sons' 
mills,  looks  out  from  a  fine  grove  of  willows.  Board 
is  furnished  at  nominal  figures,  and  there  is  accommo- 
dation for  two  hundred  and  fifty  girls.  Tutors  give 
lessons  free  on  the  piano  to  such  as  desire  it,  and  con- 
certs are  given  by  the  young  ladies  at  intervals.  Par- 
lors are  in  the  hotel,  where  visitors  are  received,  and 
all  departments  close  at  ten  o'clock  p.m. 


276 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Philosopher's  Walk  is  another  of  the  features  of  the 
park,  and  is  much  resorted  to.  It  winds  through  deep 
woods  of  boundless  shade,  over  rustic  bridges,  over 
hill  and  dale,  and  has  all  the  interest  of  wild  scenery 
in  deep  forest  far  away-  from  civilization,  save  that 
every  now  and  then  a  couple  of  lovers  come  into  view, 
individual  lady  or  gentleman  with  book  in  hand  in 
deep  meditation,  parties  of  children,  and  an  occasional 
officer.  These  appearing  from  time  to  time  in  sudden 
turns  of  the  road  or  dotting  it  at  a  distance,  bring  the 
mind  back  to  the  fact  that  civilization  is  all  around  in 
spite  of  the  forest  on  every  hand,  and  the  doe,  with 
timid  spotted  fawn,  within  thirty  yards  of  the  specta- 
tor. This  Philosopher's  Walk  is  of  great  natural 
beauty,  and  in  the  display  nothing  has  been  done  to 
assist  nature. 

Around  the  fish-house  the  landscape  is  strikingly 
beautiful.  On  Terrapin's  Back  is  the  great  oak-tree, 
king  of  the  woods,  girthing  over  twenty-two  feet,  and 
ou  either  side  of  it  deep  ravines.  The  view  from  this 
point  looks  up  Green  Spring  Valley.  At  the  old  dum- 
my station,  near  Edmund's  Well,  are  the  numerous 
aged  oaks  from  which  the  park  took  its  name  of 
"  Druid."  At  Edmund's  Well  the  picture  is  always 
bright  and  lively,  and  many  persons  are  likewise 
congregated  under  these  famous  old  patriarchs  that 
stretch  their  aged  limbs  far  out  beyond  the  persons 
seated  near  their  trunks. 

Reservoir  Hill,  three  hundred  and  si.xty  feet  above 
tide,  back  of  the  mansion,  is  the  highest  point  in  the 
park.  There  is  a  beautiful  and  dense  growth  of  trees 
in  this  locality,  each  tree  showing  individuality  of 
beauty  as  well  as  collectively.  The  view  from  the 
mansion  is  strikingly  beautiful.  Looking  over  the 
beauties  of  the  park,  the  spires  of  numerous  promi- 
nent churches  in  Baltimore  are  seen,  the  elevators. 
City  Hall,  and  a  panoramic  view  down  the  harbor 
and  bay.  Lnmediately  in  front  of  the  mansion  is 
seen  the  Bull  Fountain,  presented  to  the  park  by 
Mrs.  W.  C.  C!onine  in  memory  of  her  grandson,  Wil- 
liam Bull. 

Here  and  there  through  this  beautiful,  undulating, 
and  diversified  scenery  is  seen  a  ravine  overhung 
with  densest  shade  and  shut  out  from  view  by  tan- 
gled vines,  the  source  of  some  cooling  spring,  around 
which  nature  has  been  left  to  hold  undisputed  sway 
and  mastery.  Following  the  line  of  the  principal 
avenues  of  the  park  the  eye  is  attracted  not  less  by 
the  varied  beauty  of  the  place  than  by  the  extent  and 
vastness  of  its  area.  On  the  north  and  northeast  the 
rugged  passage  of  Jones'  Falls  breaks  the  continuity 
of  the  landscape.  The  forest  on  this  side  of  the  park 
is  without  a  parallel  in  any  part  of  the  world.  A  ride 
through  the  various  commodious  roads  that  for  miles 
wind  through  this  beautiful  stretch  of  rolling  country 
never  fails  to  exhilarate  the  person  making  such  an 
examination  of  the  grounds.  The  towering  forest, 
the  bosky  dell,  the  attactive  sward,  broken  with  in- 
dividual trees  at  irregular  intervals,  and  groups  of 


pleasure-seekers  or  schools  on  picnics,  make  a  picture 
that  fails  not  to  impress  every  beholder,  and  creates  a 
wish  for  such  scenery  to  be  enjoyed  daily. 

The  exits  of  the  park  are  as  follows:  West  exit, 
Reisterstown  road ;  northwest,  Pimlico  Avenue;  north, 
Green  Spring  Avenue.  On  some  occasions  between 
thirty  thousand  and  forty  thousand  people  have  visited 
the  park  in  a  single  day. 

The  first  superintendent  of  the  park  was  Robert 
Sullivan,  who  died  in  September,  1867,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  present  courteous  and  efficient  super- 
intendent, Capt.  William  H.  Cassell.     The  present 
Board  of  Commissioners  consists  of  Ferdinand  C.  La- 
trobe,  mayor,  ex  officio  chairman ;   Thomas   Swann, 
John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  William  E.  Hooper,  Charles  H. 
j  Mercer,  George  S.  Brown,  commissioners. 
I      Patterson  Park.— On  the  24th  of  January,  1827, 
I  William  Patterson  addressed  to  Jacob  Small,  the  then 
I  mayor  of  Baltimore,  a  letter,  in  which  he  proposed  to 
present  to  the  city  two  adjoining  squares  of  ground, 
I  containing  about  five  or  six  acres,  on  HampsteadHill, 
'  on  the  south  side  of  Smith  Street,  and  opposite  Lou- 
I  denslager's  tavern,  to  be  used  as  a  public  walk  or  park 
j  by  the  citizens  of  Baltimore.     On  the  1st  of  March, 
(  1827,  the  City  Council  passed  resolutions  accepting 
the  offer  and  providing  for  the  improvement  and  in- 
closure  of  the  grounds,  which  had  already,  by  reason 
of  its  varied  and  picturesque  views  and  pleasant  sur- 
roundings, become  a  favorite  promenade.     This,  with 
additions,  constitutes  what  is  now  known  as  Patterson 
Park.     On  the  evening  of  July  13,  1853,  the  park 
was  formally  introduced  to  the  public.     There  were 
some  twenty  thousand  citizens  present  to  witness  the 
display  of  fireworks  and  take  part  in  the  ceremonies 
of  the  occasion.     About  seven  o'clock  a  park  of  ar- 
tillery  (eighteen-pounders),  the  same  that  in   1814 
had  been  used  by  Commodore  Rogers  in  the  defense 
j  of  Baltimore,  arrived,  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
David  R.  Brown,  and  began  firing  salutes.     William 
Bond  had  charge  of  the  pyrotechnic  display.     The 
band  of  the  Independent  Blues,  numbering  twenty- 
one  pieces,  under  the  lead  of  Prof  Holland,  furnished 
the  music.   The  following  gentlemen  acted  as  a  Com- 
mittee of  Arrangements  :   Col.  J.  Maybury  Turner, 
Mr.  Abbott,  of  Abbott  &  Lawrence,  Thomas  J.  Rusk, 
Peter   Mowell,   Jacob   Poppler,   William    McElroy, 
George  A.  Poppler,  J.  J.  Bankard,  John  W.  Pentz, 
Thomas  Woolen,  James  L.  Pentz,  Edward  Dowling, 
and  George  A.  Rusk. 

Patterson  Park  contains  fifty-six  acres  of  highly- 
improved  land,  and  is  situated  on  the  eastern  suburb 
of  the  city,  bounded  by  Baltimore  Street  on  the  north. 
Eastern  Avenue  on  the  south,  Luzerne  Street  on  the 
east,  and  Patterson  Park  Avenue  on  the  west.  It  is 
a  parallelogram,  the  longer  sides  being  on  Patterson 
Park  Avenue  and  Luzerne  Street.  There  are  nine 
entrances  in  all,  two  of  which  are  for  vehicles.  The 
main  entrance  is  on  Patterson  Park  Avenue,  fronting 
Lombard   Street.     This   gateway   is  formed  of   four 


MONUMENTS,  PAKKS,  AND   SQUARES. 


277 


substantial  marble  coluuins,  and  the  design  elaborate 
while  chaste.  It  was  erected  in  1869  by  Messrs. 
Whitelaw  &  Fenhagen. 

On  entering  this  gate  a  large  fountain  is  immediately 
in  front.  It  has  a  marble  basin  fifty  feet  in  diameter, 
in  which  are  numerous  fish  of  different  kinds.  A 
column  rises  in  the  centre,  surmounted  by  a  jet  which 
throws  water  to  a  height  of  twenty  feet  in  an  umbrella- 
shape. 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  this  entrance  the  dis- 
phiy  of  flowers  and  shrubbery  is  effective.  One  of 
the  squares  contains  a  great  variety  of  agaves  or  cen- 
tury plants,  that  bloom  once  in  a  hundred  years.  The 
collection  is  a  good  one,  and  attracts  much  attention. 
A  number  of  metal  casts  of  animals,  life-size,  are 
placed  in  this  part  of  the  grounds.  There  is  a  cast 
of  a  mastiff',  and  also  of  a  Siberian  bloodhound,  a 
copy  of  an  original  in  the  Florentine  gallery.  A  car- 
riage-drive extends  all  the  way  round  the  park,  about 
a  mile  and  a  quarter  in  length,  passing  the  princij)al 
points  of  interest.  There  are  numerous  walks  for  pe- 
destrians, which  are  regularly  thronged  of  an  evening. 

The  trees  furnish  an  abundance  of  shade  in  the 
older  portion  of  the  park,  and  the  part  taken  in  eight 
years  ago  is  now  strikingly  improved  in  that  respect. 
These  trees  include  elms,  maples,  lindens,  locusts  of 
all  sorts,  oaks  in  variety,  evergreens  of  various  kinds 
and  shades  of  color,  all  making  an  attractive  picture 
by  their  harmonious  blending  in  the  landscape.  The 
land  is  rolling,  and  furnishes  opportunity  for  a  display 
of  landscape  gardening  which  has  been  taken  advan- 
tage of  with  much  taste. 

The  conservatory,  with  the  tropical  plants  which 
it  contains,  and  the  numerous  beautiful  flower-beds 
arranged  in  different  ways  around  it,  is  one  of  the 
great  attractions  of  this  park.     The  conservatory  is 
built  in  the  curvilinear  style,  span-roof,  with  centre 
building  octagon-shape,  rising  to  a  dome,  this  centre 
building  being  forty  by  forty  feet,  and  the  wings  fifty  by  | 
twenty-five  feet  each.  This  is  decidedly  the  largestcon-  i 
servatory  in  Baltimore,  and  its  contents  are  strikingly 
beautiful.   In  the  centre  building  grow  a  profusion  of  I 
plants  that  present  all  the  appearance  of  a  tropical  j 
forest,  not  only  in  variety  of  plants  but  also  in  size.  I 
The  centre  plant  growing  in  this  mass  of  tropical  lux-  | 
uriance  is  the  Ficus  elastica,  or  India-rubber  tree,  thirty 
feet  high,  the  banana,  the  mango,  with  fruit  on  it,  the 
Paiidanus  utitus,  or  screw-pine,  the   Yucca  Gautama- 
lennis,  and  others  vying  with  the  India-rubber  plant 
in  height.     In  the  south  wing  of  this  building  are  a 
groat  variety  of  beautiful  ferns,  orchids,  or  air-plants, 
many  of  them  of  large  size,  growing  on  piecas  of  plank 
and  clay.     These  latter  plants  derive  their  whole  nu- 
triment from  the  atmosphere.    Here  also  may  be  seen 
the  Carica  papaya,  or   melon-tree,  with  fruit  on   it, 
which  fruit,  when  fully  developed,  is  as  large  as  an 
Eastern  Shore  watermelon.     In  the  north  wing  are 
fine  specimens  of  palms,  and  many  other  beautiful  I 
and  curious  plants. 


A  lake  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  park  covers 
about  two  and  three-fourths  acres  of  ground.  It  is  of 
irregular  form,  the  banks  surmounted  with  willow, 
poplar,  and  birch-trees.  An  island  in  the  centre  con- 
tains the  "  Santa  Maria,"  which  was  presented  to  the 
park  by  the  Italian  Society  after  the  sesqui-centen- 
nial,  having  been  used  in  a  parade  to  represent  the 
vessel  in  which  Christopher  Columbus  discovered 
America.  This  lake  is  well  supplied  with  boats  for 
pleasure-parties,  and  numerous  water-fowl  of  pure 
breed  float  on  its  surface.  Among  these  are  the 
Egyptian  goose,  Hong-Kong  goose,  wild  goose  of 
United  States,  Pekin  duck,  etc.  Near  the  lake  may 
be  seen  a  model  of  the  Lumber  Exchange  building, 
which  was  presented  by  the  lumber  merchants  of 
Baltimore,  and  which  was  also  in  the  procession  during 
the  sesqui-centennial  celebration. 

The  buildings  in  the  park  are  such  as  are  necessary 
for  the  convenience  of  the  public.  Among  them  are 
the  refectory,  pavilion,  pagoda,  ladies'  room,  near  the 
lake,  bird-house,  etc.  The  pavilion  was  erected 
during  the  summer  of  1869. 

The  view  from  the  battery,  situated  near  the  main 
entrance,  is  difficult  of  description,  overlooking  as  it 
does  the  Patapsco,  Locust  Point,  the  Basin,  the  lower 
harbor,  the  Marine  Hospital,  and  Anne  Arundel 
County,  Canton,  the  Chesapeake  Bay  for  miles  down, 
and  a  large  portion  of  the  city.  This  grand  panorama 
daily  attracts  large  numbers  to  the  battery,  particularly 
strangers.  The  battery  was  erected  in  1814  against 
the  threatened  invasion  by  the  British,  headed  by  Gen. 
Ross,  which  was  averted  by  the  battle  of  North  Point. 
The  fortifications  in  great  part  still  remain,  and  are 
covered,  like  the  rest  of  the  park,  with  beautiful  turf. 
They  are  inclosed,  and  the  public  are  not  permitted 
to  tread  upou  them,  the  precinct  being  considered 
sacred.  Old  men  in  the  neighborhood  say  they  car- 
ried sods  on  their  heads  and  helped  to  build  these 
works  when  boys.  A  flag-staff"  seventy-five  feet  high 
is  placed  on  these  battlements,  and  at  the  base  of  it 
is  a  ten-pound  cannon,  which  was  fished  up  in  the 
harbor  by  one  of  the  mud-machines  some  years  ago. 

On  the  north  of  the  park  the  country  is  open, 
showing  in  the  distance  Clifton,  the  residence  of  the 
late  Johns  Hopkins ;  near,  in  the  same  direction,  is  the 
Scheutzen  Park  and  Baltimore  Cemetery.  On  the 
east  is  a  stretch  of  country  showing  Bayview,  High- 
landtown, — one  of  the  suburbs, — and,  closer.  Canton 
Park.  This  ground  was  deeded  to  the  Canton  Com- 
pany for  a  public  park,  and  can  only  be  used  as  such. 
Directly  east  of  Patterson  Park  is  a  stretch  of  vacant 
land,  rising  gradually  to  the  east,  and  suggestively 
appropriate  as  an  addition  to  the  park,  which  with 
its  present  acreage  can  scarcely  accommodate  the 
throngs  visiting  it.  It  is  understood  that  the  Canton 
Company  are  willing  to  turn  over  to  the  city  that 
tract  of  land  known  as  Canton  Park  in  the  event  of 
an  extension  of  Patterson  Park  in  that  direction. 
There  are  about  eight  acres  in  Canton  Park. 


278 


HISTOllY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Riverside  Park,  overlooking  the  Patapsco  River, 
Spring  Gardens,  Locust  Point,  Fort  McHenry,  and 
as  far  down  tlie  bay  as  North  Point,  is  probably  the 
most  attractive  place  in  South  Baltimore.     It  is  situ- 
ated between  Randall,  Covington,  and  Johnson  Streets, 
and  in  a  direct  line  south  with  Federal  Hill  Park,  from  i 
which  point  it  can  be  distinctly  seen.     It  contains 
seventeen   and  a  quarter  acres,  handsomely  embel- 
lished and  improved.     A  large  marble  fountain  dec-  1 
orates  the  centre  of  the  park,  in  which  are  numerous 
gold  and  other  fish,  and  at  intervals  four  drinking-  1 
fountains  supply  the   visitors  with   ice-water.     The  I 
park  is  laid  out  with  well-arranged  drives  and  walks. 
There  are  two  driving  entrances,  one  each   at   the 
northwest  and  northeast  corners  of  the  park,  on  Ran-  i 
dall  Street.     There  are  two  pavilions,  one  on  the  west  i 
and  one  on  the  north  side  of  the  park.     A  nursery  is  i 
on  tlie  grounds,  where  trees  and  shrubs,  as  well  as  ' 
flowers,  are  raised  for  the  ornamentation  of  the  place,  j 
The  lawns  are  fine  and  kept  closely  shaven,  aud  nu- 
merous floral  designs  decorate  the  place.     The  trees  [ 
have  all  been  set  out  since  the  park  was  opened  in 
1875,  and  show  remarkable  beauty  and  thrift,  mak-  [ 
ing  a  beautiful  shade  all  over  the  grounds.     The  park  i 
is  inclosed  with  iron  railings,  and  provided  with  set-  ' 
tees  and  rustic  benches.     The  attendance  is  large, 
and  on  Sunday  afternoons  as  many  as  seven  thousand 
people  are  seen  in  the  grounds,  showing  the  appreci- 
ation in  which  this  attractive  place  is  held.     There 
has  been  some  talk  of  extending  the  park  westward 
by  purchase  of  the  ground  at  present  partly  occupied 
by  the  City  Passenger  Railway  Company's  car  stables.  , 

Federal  HiU  Park.— Federal  Hill  Park,  in  South 
Baltimore,  although  not  yet  completed,  already  gives 
promise  of  being  one  of  the  most  attractive  resorts  in  j 
the  city.  It  is  an  elevated  plateau,  eighty-two  feet 
above  tide-water,  and  bounded  on  the  north  by  Hughes 
Street,  on  the  south  by  Warren  Street,  on  the  east  by 
Covington  Street,  on  the  west  by  Johnson  Street,  this 
last-named  street  not  yet  being  graded.  The  base  of 
the  park  covers  eight  and  a  quarter  acres,  and  the  pla- 
teau is  a  surface  of  four  and  a  half  acres.  There  is  a  ! 
rise  of  seventy-two  feet  from  the  base  of  the  park  to 
the  plateau.  On  this  plateau  at  present  is  the  old 
Signal  Service  observatory,  which  is  still  used  to  herald 
the  approach  of  vessels  aud  steamers.  From  the  pla- 
teau, as  well  as  from  the  observatory,  the  scene  is  ex- 
tended and  varied,  surpassing  in  many  respects  the  ' 
view  from  Washington  Monument.  A  full  view  is 
had  of  the  city,  with  its  churches,  foundries,  manufac- 
tories, etc.,  and  as  far  down  the  bay  as  a  good  glass 
■will  reach. 

Commencing  southward,  Anne  Arundel  County's 
hills  and  farm-houses  are  plainly  visible,  and  as  the 
eye  sweeps  around  every  prominent  building  and  point 
in  the  city  is  brought  into  view,  until  the  eye  again 
rests  on  the  objects  from  which  it  started  out  on  the  j 
tour  of  inspection.  The  whole  city  encircles  this  park, 
and  the  view  is  most  striking.     Iinmcdiatclv  in  front 


of  the  park  and  to  the  east  is  the  harbor  of  the  port, 
with  all  its  variety  of  shipping  and  multiplicity  of 
small  craft.  The  water-front  view  is  not  less  interest- 
ing than  the  view  inland.  Large  steamers  and  ships 
are  seen  at  the  wharves  loading  and  unloading,  and 
smaller  steamers  and  sailing-vessels  are  constantly 
moving  up  and  down  the  harbor,  giving  life  and  vari- 
ety to  the  beautitiil  picture. 

The  plan  of  the  park  is  unique  and  unlike  that  of 
any  other  park  in  the  city.  The  old  ramparts  con- 
structed at  this  point  by  Gen.  Butler  during  the  late 
war  have  all  been  cut  down  and  converted  into  fine 
walks  and  drives.  The  park  is  almost  square.  A 
stone  wall  has  been  constructed  on  Hughes  Street, 
one  on  Warren  Street,  and  one  is  now  in  course  of 
construction  on  Johnson  Street.  These  walls  are  all 
to  be  six  feet  high.  On  Covington  Street  there  are 
a  lot  of  old  buildings  which  will  no  doubt  in  the 
future  be  bought  in  order  to  extend  the  park  in  that 
direction.  From  the  base  up  the  park  is  being  ter- 
raced, and  slopes  at  an  angle  of  one  and  a  half  to  one 
foot.  On  the  north  side  there  will  be  two  slopes,  with 
a  terrace  between  before  the  upper  terrace  is  reached, 
which  is  four  hundred  feet  long  by  twenty  feet  wide. 
The  other  sides  will  be  somewhat  similarly  arranged, 
possibly  with  more  terraces.  It  is  thfe  intention  to  put 
up  steps  in  the  centre  of  each  of  the  sides  of  the 
square  bounded  by  Hughes,  Covington,  and  Johnson 
Streets.  The  steps  on  Hughes  Street,  where  the  stone 
wall  is  six  hundred  feet  long,  are  already  completed. 
These  are  sixteen  feet  wide,  with  a  rise  of  seven  and 
a  quarter  inches  and  a  tread  of  fifteen  inches,  and  are 
easy  of  ascent. 

The  plateau  surmounting  this  park  has  an  area  of 
four  and  a  half  acres,  divided  into  walks  and  drives, 
and  will  be  handsomely  decorated  with  trees,  shrub- 
beries, and  choice  flowers.  The  driving  entrance  will 
be  on  Warren  Street,  with  entrances  for  pedestrians 
also.  The  drives  are  wide,  with  carriage  concourse 
on  the  north  side  of  the  park.  The  ornamentation 
has  not  yet  been  fully  decided  upon,  but  probably  a 
pavilion  will  be  erected  upon  the  plateau.  It  is 
thought  the  improvement  will  be  fully  completed 
next  year.  Already  settees  line  the  upper  terraces 
completed  on  the  north  side,  and  afternoon  and  even- 
ing the  place  is  crowded  with  pleasure-seekers  of  South 
Baltimore.  There  is  always  a  delightful  breeze  sweep- 
ing over  this  elevated  plateau,  and  there  is  probably 
no  resort  in  Baltimore  which  has  more  agreeable  fea- 
tures than  this  circumscribed  though  delightfully  sit- 
uated place  of  recreation  and  relax.ation. 

The  Broadway  Parks,  which  extend  from  Balti- 
more Street  to  Gay  Street,  a  distance  of  over  a  mile, 
are  the  most  extensive  in  the  city,  and  have  recently 
been  greatly  improved.  The  iron  railings  which  for- 
merly disfigured  those  near  the  Baltimore  Street  end 
have  been  removed  and  the  park  widened  several 
feet.  Neat  and  graceful  walks  have  been  laid  out, 
largo  and  luindsome  urns  placed  at  the  entrances  to 


MONUMENTS,  PAKKS,  AND   SQUARES. 


279 


the  various  squares,  and  curbs  and  drains  provided 
wherever  needed.  Beds  and  mounds  of  coleus  and 
other  plants,  designed  in  anchors,  Maltese  crosses, 
stars,  and  many  other  forms,  are  almost  innumerable, 
and  roses  and  shrubbery  are  cultivated  with  the  great- 
est success.  Shade-trees  have  also  been  platjted  in 
large  numbers.  Midway  between  Baltimore  and 
Hampstead  Streets  stands  a  fountain,  the  water  fall- 
ing into  an  octagonal  basin  of  neat  design.  In  the 
square  between  Fayette  and  Hampstead  Street  is  the 
Wildey  Monument,  erected  by  the  Odd-Fellows  of 
the  United  States  to  the  memory  of  Thomas  Wildey, 
a  citizen  of  Baltimore.  From  this  point,  the  highest 
in  the  series  of  the  Broadway  Parks,  these  beautiful 
gardens  may  be  seen  stretching  away  to  the  north 
over  an  undulating  surface  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach, 
forming  a  vision  of  great  beauty,  especially  grateful 
to  a  denizen  of  the  city.  Square  after  square  of  flow- 
ers, shrubbery,  grassy  plots,  and  winding  walks  are 
seen,  with  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital  on  the  east,  the 
whole  ending  at  Gay  Street,  where  there  is  a  foun- 
tain similar  to  that  near  Baltimore  Street  and  a 
square  of  special  beauty,  bordered  by  rows  of  shade- 
trees. 

Harlem  Park. — Harlem  Park,  located  between 
Gilmor  and  Callioun  Streets  and  Harlem  and  Ed- 
mondson  Avenues,  contains  nine  and  three-fourths 
acres,  and  is  more  than  double  the  size  of  Franklin, 
Lafayette,  and  Union  Squares,  being  about  seven 
hundred  and  ninety-three  feet  east  and  west,  and 
upwards  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  north  and 
south.  In  the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Council,  on 
the  evening  of  Nov.  11,  1867,  Mr.  Tagert  presented  a 
communication  from  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  executor 
and  trustee  of  the  late  Dr.  Thomas  Edraondson,  in  j 
I  which  he  proposed  to  give  to  the  mayor  and  City 
Council  of  Baltimore,  for  the  purpose  of  a  public 
square  or  park,  the  lot  of  ground  in  the  northwestern 
section  of  the  city  bounded  on  the  west  by  Gilmor  j 
Street,  on  the  east  by  Calhoun,  on  the  south  by 
Thompson,  and  on  the  north  by  Adams  Street.  In 
February,  1868,  an  ordinance  was  passed  accepting 
the  gift.  August  Paul,  the  civil  engineer  of  Druid  j 
Hill  Park,  prepared  the  plan  for  laying  off  the  grounds, 
and  E.  A.  Hohn  superintended  the  execution  of  the 
work.  It  was  not  dedicated  until  1876.  The  gar- 
dening in  Harlem  Park  forms  its  chief  attraction. 
Beds  and  mounds  of  exotic  and  native  flowers,  the 
most  difiicult  of  cultivation,  are  found  in  great  pro- 
fusion. The  designs  include  stars,  diamonds,  Mal- 
tese crosses,  hearts,  ovals,  circles,  and  semicircles, 
each  one  of  great  artistic  beauty  and  of  remarkably 
accurate  outline.  In  the  park  there  are  twenty-seven 
of  these  beds.  Every  available  spot  in  the  park  is 
decorated  with  beds  of  bright  and  beautifully-blended 
foliage  and  blooming  plants. 

Public  Squares.— Baltimore  might  almost  as  ap- 
propriately be  called  the  city  of  parks  as  the  city  of 
monuments.     In  addition  to  the  six  principal  places 


of  recreation  and  resort  already  mentioned,  it  con- 
tains within  the  corporate  limits  a  large  number  of 
charming  garden-spots,  which  in  other  cities  would 
probably  be  dignified  by  the  name  of  parks,  but  which 
in  Baltimore  are  generally  known  by  the  modest  name 
of  squares.  These  blooming  oases  in  the  desert  of 
brick  and  mortar,  with  their  bright  flowers,  green 
grass,  waving  trees,  and  playing  fountains,  are  becom- 
ing more  numerous  every  year,  and,  adding  largely  to 
the  health  and  comfort  of  the  inhabitants,  form  one 
of  the  distinguishing  features  of  the  city. 

Franklin  Square  is  situated  in  one  of  the  most 
closely  populated  and  handsomely  built  sections  of 
the  West  End,  and  is  bounded  by  Carey,  Calhoun, 
Lexington,  and  Fayette  Streets.  It  was  laid  out 
under  ordinance  of  April  23, 1839,  and  was  purchased 
from  James  and  Samuel  Canby  for  $10,000,  the  pur- 
chase not  being  finally  consummated,  however,  until 
1845.  The  square  contains  three  acres,  and  is  pleas- 
antly shaded  by  lindens,  maples,  poplars,  cedars,  etc. 
The  marble  fountain  and  jet  which  adorn  the  centre 
of  this  resort  were  provided  in  1850,  and  the  square 
was  lighted  for  the  first  time  with  gas  on  the  evening 
of  June  23,  1853.  The  iron  railings  which  had 
been  placed  around  the  square  in  1851  were  removed 
under  resolutions  of  Oct.  3,  1874,  Jan.  2,  1875,  and 
June  30,  1875.  The  square  was  at  one  time  provided 
with  four  wells  that  were  supposed  to  possess  medi- 
cinal qualities,  and  were  frequently  resorted  to  by  the 
sick  and  afllicted,  who  would  often  carry  away  a  sup- 
ply of  the  water  in  bottles.  Investigation,  however, 
cast  discredit  upon  the  genuineness  of  their  mineral 
pretensions,  and  for  sanitary  reasons  the  wells  were 
closed. 

Union  Square.— On  March  5,  1846,  the  mayor 
transmitted  to  the  Second  Branch  of  the  City  Council 
a  proposition  from  Messrs.  John  Donnell  &  Sons  to 
cede  to  the  city  a  tract  of  land  in  West  Baltimore 
bounded  by  Hollins,  Lombard,  Strieker,  and  Gilmor 
Streets,  to  be  by  the  city  inclosed  and  improved  as  a 
public  square.  On  April  9,  1847,  the  ordinance  to 
accept  the  plot  of  ground  passed  the  City  Council, 
and  on  the  10th  of  May  "  Union  Square"  was  donated 
to  the  city  of  Baltimore  by  the  Messrs.  Donnell.  In 
1850  the  City  Council  made  an  appropriation  of  four 
thousand  dollars  to  defray  the  expense  of  improving 
the  spring.  By  ordinance  of  April  18,  1849,  the 
mayor  and  register  were  authorized  to  sell  the  right 
to  all  surplus  water  arising  from  the  public  fountain 
in  Union  Square  to  the  president  and  directors  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Kailroad  Company.  The  marked 
feature  of  this  square  is  its  magnificent  shade,  giant 
poplars,  maples,  and  ash-trees  forming  a  leafy  canopy 
impervious  to  the  rays  of  the  sun.  The  railing  has 
recently  been  removed  from  the  squares  and  urns  of 
flowers  placed  at  the  entrances,  which  are  paved  with 
concrete.  In  the  southeast  part  of  the  square  is  a 
pavilion,  supported  by  fluted  columns  about  twelve 
feet  in  height. 


280 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMOllE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Eastern  City  Spring,  bounded  by  Lombard, 
Pratt,  Spring,  and  Eden  Streets,  contains  about  two 
acres,  and  is  a  level  plateau.  Part  of  the  ground  was 
purchased  by  the  city  on  the  1st  of  August,  1818,  and 
part  on  the  29th  of  August,  1837,  the  whole  costing 
fifteen  thousand  dollars.  The  iron  railing  was  re- 
moved in  April,  1881,  and  the  ground  near  the  side- 
walks graded  and  bordered  with  a  cement  drain  ex- 
tending around  the  square.  It  is  well  -shaded  by  large 
trees,  and  is  ornamented  with  statues  and  a  fountain 
in  the  centre.' 

Taney  Plac;e,  on  North  Avenue,  from  Charles 
Street  Avenue  to  Oak  Street,  is  a  pleasant  little  park 
lately  begun  by  the  residents  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  when  finished  will  almost  complete  a  continuous 
line  of  trees,  grass,  and  flowers  from  Charles  Street 
and  Boundary  Avenues  to  Druid  Hill  Park. 

Washington  and  Mount  Vernon  Squares.— 
These  are  the  names  by  which  the  four  squares  are 
known  which  flank  Washington  Monument  at  the  in- 
tersection of  Charles  and  Monument  Streets.  The 
two  parks  on  Monument  Street,  east  and  west  of  the 
monument,  together  constitute  Mount  Vernon  Place, 
and  are  each  two  hundred  feet  wide  by  seven  hundred 
and  forty-four  feet  long,  that  on  the  east  extending 
from  Charles  to  St.  Paul,  and  that  on  the  west  from 
Charles  to  Cathedral.  Washington  Square  is  com- 
posed of  two  plots  in  Charles  Street,  north  and  south 
of  the  monument^  each  of  which  is  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  wide  by  seven  hundred  and  forty-four  feet 
long,  that  on  the  north  extending  from  Monument 
to  Madison  Street,  and  that  on  the  south  from  Monu- 
ment to  Centre  Streets.  These  reservations,  together 
with  the  site  of  Washington  Monument,  were  donated 
to  the  city  by  Col.  John  E.  Howard,  of  famous  mem- 
ory. The  bill  providing  for  the  improvement  of  these 
plots  passed  the  City  Council  in  April,  1850.  By  or- 
dinance of  Oct.  10,  1876,  the  commissioners  were  au- 
thorized to  remove  the  iron  railings,  and  to  uiake 
such  improvements  as  they  might  deem  advisable. 
New  walks  have  been  laid  out  and  paved,  a  fountain 
erected  in  the  square  south  of  the  monument,  and 
flowers  and  shrubbery  planted.  John  W.  Garrett, 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  has  authorized 
the  city  authorities  to  procure  at  his  expense  an  addi- 
tional fountain,  to  be  placed  in  the  square  between 
Charles  and  St.  Paul  Streets.  The  fountain  will  be  a 
duplicate  of  those  in  the  Champs  Ellysees,  Paris,  and 
will  cost  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  These  squares  are 
surrounded  by  stately  buildings,  public  and  private, 
among  which  are  the  Peabody  Institute  and  Mount 
Vernon  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Lafayette  Square.— Lafayette  Square,  situated 
in  the  northwestern  section  of  the  city,  and  bounded 
by  Carrol|ton,  Lafayette,  and  Arlington  Avenues,  and 
Lanvale  Street,  was  purchased  under  the  ordinance  of 
April  28,  1857,  from  Messrs.  Knell,  Rice,  Hoffman, 

1  For  Culvert  Street  Spring,  see  foot-note  on  page  213. 


and  others,  for  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1859,  a  company  of  citizens  interested  in  the 
property  in  the  vicinity  was  formed,  with  Jacob  HofF 
as  president;  William  Carmichael,  secretary;  and 
Frederick  Weiss,  treasurer;  and  in  March  following 
the  grading  of  the  streets  around  the  square  was  com- 
menced. In  November,  1865,  the  frame  buildings 
erected  by  the  United  States  government  for  govern- 
ment purposes  during  the  civil  war  were  removed, 
and  the  square  fitted  up  and  used  again  as  a  resort. 
The  fine  forest-trees  which  adorned  this  square  at  the 
time  of  purchase  were  destroyed  by  the  troops  during 
the  military  occupation.  On  Jan.  11,  1867,  Mr. 
Handy,  in  opposing  a  resolution  to  appropriate  five 
thousand  two  hundred  dollars  to  the  repairing  of  La- 
fayette Square,  stated  in  the  City  Council  that  up  to 
that  time  twenty-nine  thousand  three  hundred  and 
sixty-eight  dollars  and  thirty  cents  had  already  been 
expended  on  this  square,  while  but  few  of  the  condi- 
tions accompanying  the  appropriation  had  been  com- 
plied with.  In  July,  1870,  the  Lafayette  Square  As- 
sociation was  formed,  with  Henry  Knell,  president ; 
J.  Henry  Knell,  secretary ;  and  F.  Rice,  treasurer ; 
and  through  the  enterprise  and  exertions  of  this  com- 
pany the  square  and  its  neighborhood  rapidly  im- 
proved. In  1872  the  handsome  bronze  fountain 
which  adorns  the  centre  of  the  square  was  placed  in 
position.  It  was  cast  in  Philadelphia,  and  cost  eight 
hundred  dollars.  The  iron  railings  round  the  square 
were  removed  under  resolution  of  May  8,  1873,  and 
with  the  curbing,  etc.,  were  sold  for  fifteen  hundred 
and  twenty  dollars,  having  cost  originally  between 
twelve  thousand  and  thirteen  thousand  dollars.  The 
square  contains  three  and  one-half  acres,  and  is  well 
I  shaded  by  English  walnut,  Norway  maple,  birch,  and 
I  other  trees.     Beds  of  various  designs,  cultivated  in  < 

canna  and  coleus,  some  containing  as  many  as  thir- 

j  teen  varieties  of  foliage  and  flowering  plants,  attest 

I  the   skill    with   which   the   square   is   kept.     In  the 

[  centre  of  the  .square  is  an  ornamental  fountain  and  a 

I  circular  basin,  in  which  sporting  gold  and  silver  fish 

[  aftbrd  the  greatest  amusement  to  the  many  children 

who  make  the  park  a  daily  resort.     The  entrances, 

eight  in  number,  are  each  flanked  by  urns  containing 

j  blooming  flowers,  and  are  paved  with  artificial  stone. 

i  Four  churches  front  on  this  beautiful  park. 

i      Johnson  Square,  bounded   by  Biddle,   Valley, 

Chase,  and  McKim  Streets,  was  purchased  by  the  city 

from  the  Vickers  estate  under  ordinance  of  May  3, 

j  1878,  and  has  been  leveled  and  provided  with  marble 

I  steps  leading  up  to  it,  but  owing  to  a  difference  of 

views  as  to  the  plan  to  be  followed  in  its  improvement 

nothing  further  has  been  done  towards  beautifying  it. 

The  site  is  an  elevated  one,  and  John.son  Square  will 

no  doubt  become  one  of  the  favorite  gardens  of  East 

Baltimore. 

Park  Place  Squares  were  created  by  ordinance 

!  of  July  23,  1860.     The  square  from  McMechen  to 

Wilson  Streets  contains  a  fountain,  rows  of  shade-trees. 


THE   ADVANTAGES   OF   BALTIMORE   AS   A   TRADE   CENTRE. 


and  a  fine  growth  of  grass,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  j 
dressed  granite  curb.  From  Wilson  to  Laurens  Streets  j 
a  curb  is  being  set,  trees  planted,  and  walks  laid  out. 

Perkins'  Spring  Square. — By  ordinance  of  Oct.  ' 
1,  1872,  the  city  comptroller  was  authorized  to  lease  i 
for  public  use  that  portion  of  the  Perkins'  Spring 
property  bounded  on  the  west  by  Ogston  Street,  on  the 
south  by  George  Street,  and  on  the  northeast  by 
Myrtle  Avenue,  with  the  right  to  purchase  at  six  per 
cent,  at  the  convenience  of  the  city.  The  square  is 
triangular  in  shape,  and  is  noted  for  the  beauty  of  its 
ilowers  and  careful  gardening.  Luxuriant  beds  of 
coleus  and  petunias  in  the  most  varied  colors  attract 
the  eye  of  the  visitor,  the  designs  being  anchors,  stars, 
shields,  etc.,  of  the  most  elaborate  kind.  Rockeries, 
covered  with  creeping  vines  and  topped  with  vases  of 
bright  flowers,  form  a  beautiful  novelty. 

Edtaw  Place  Square. — Eutaw  Place  Square  had 
its  origin  in  the  gift  of  Henry  Tifl'any,  who  in  1863 
offered  to  the  city  the  piece  of  ground,  now  in  the  bed 
of  Eutaw  Street,  extending  from  Dolphin  Street  to 
the  north  line  of  Mr.  Tiffany's  property.  The  gift 
was  accepted  by  the  ordinance  of  March  19, 1853,  Mr. 
Tiffany  agreeing  to  build  upon  each  side  of  the  square 
"  not  less  than  seven  houses,  of  not  less  than  twenty- 
five  feet  front  and  three  stories  high."  By  the  ordi- 
nance of  July  15,  1853,  the  commissioners  for  open- 
ing streets  were  required  to  condemn,  open,  and  con- 
tinue Gibson  (now  Eutaw)  Street  and  Morris  and 
Jordan  Alleys  from  the  north  line  of  Henry  Tiffany's 
property  to  Laurens  Street,  the  centre  of  the  contem- 
plated opening  in  Eutaw  Street,  to  form  a  continua- 
tion of  the  square  previously  established.  By  the 
ordinance  of  May  23,  1876,  Eutaw  Square  was  ex- 
tended from  Laurens  Street  to  North  Avenue,  giving 
it  a  total  length  of  six  blocks.  Artistic  gardening  of 
the  highest  character  has  exhausted  its  resources  in 
beautifying  these  squares,  and  it  may  be  said  without 
exaggeration  that  they  form  one  of  the  most  complete 
specimens  of  street  parking  to  be  found  anywhere. 
Between  McMechen  and  Wilson  Streets  stands  the 
handsome  fountain  exhibited  by  Messrs.  Mott  &  Co., 
of  New  York,  at  the  Philadelphia  Centennial  Expo- 
sition. The  outer  basin  is  forty-eight  feet  in  diame- 
ter, and  the  main  fountain,  standing  upon  a  granite 
base,  is  fifty  feet  high  and  has  three  distinct  basins, 
the  water  flowing  from  the  two  upper  ones  to  the 
lower,  which  is  ten  feet  in  diameter  and  richly  orna- 
mented. A  graceful  female  figure,  standing  in  a  shell, 
surmounts  the  work.  Smaller  figures  on  the  surface 
of  the  water,  and  vases  of  flowers  surrounding  the 
outer  basin,  complete  one  of  the  most  beautiful  foun- 
tains in  the  city.  Water  was  turned  on  Saturday 
afternoon,  May  19, 1877.  The  fountain  was  purchased 
and  presented  to  the  city  by  the  following  gentlemen, 
residents  of  Eutaw  Place :  Charles  C.  Fulton,  Nicholas 
Popplein,  S.  L.  Earley,  Wesley  Eicketts,  Henry  Mc- 
Shane,  J.  Edward  Hambleton,  Jr.,  Bernard  Chrom, 
Abraham  Seligman,  Theodore  R.  Miller,  Greenleaf 


Johnson,  William  H.  Crawford,  William  H.  Skinner, 
A.  W.  Bradford,  A.  H.  Russell,  E.  B.  Hunting,  John 
A.  Horner,  Horatio  D.  Vail,  Thomas  Kensett,  C.  C. 
Hermann,  William  S.  Rayner,  Robinson  &  Lord,  R. 
R.  Bowling,  and  H.  C.  Murray.  The  Gunther  foun- 
tain, the  gift  of  L.  A.  Gunther,  which  stands  in  the 
reservation  between  Mosher  and  TovvnSend  Streets,  is 
of  bronze,  eighteen  feet  high,  and  richly  ornamented. 
All  the  railings  formerly  inclosing  these  squares  were 
removed  under  resolutions  of  Jan.  8,  1876,  and  March 
25,  1878. 

Ashland  Square  is  the  site  of  the  Wells  and  Mc- 
Comas  Monument.  It  has  recently  been  planted  with 
flowers,  and  otherwise  improved. 

Madison  Square  was  laid  out  under  ordinance  of 
April  6,  1853,  by  which  the  commissioners  of  finance 
were  duly  authorized  to  purchase  from  Archibald 
Stirling  the  square  of  ground  bounded  by  Chase, 
Caroline,  Eager,  and  Eden  Streets  for  the  sum  of 
thirty  thousand  dollars.  The  square  slopes  gently  to 
the  south,  a  fountain  and  basin,  with  swimming  fish, 
forming  the  centre,  around  which  are  ranged  rustic 
seats,  beneath  the  shade  of  large  willow-trees.  Grace- 
fully winding  walks,  paved  with  concrete  and  bordered 
with  shade-trees,  lead  in  every  direction.  Beds  of 
bright-colored  coleus  and  roses,  backed  by  the  green 
of  the  sward,  give  delightful  variety  to  the  scene. 
The  iron  railing  was  removed  in  1880  and  eight  en- 
trances made,  each  marked  by  urns  of  blooming 
plants,  mounted  upon  pedestals  of  pres.sed  brick  with 
marble  panels,  the  effect  being  altogether  inviting. 

Jackson  Square.— Jackson  Square,  situated  near 
the  intersection  of  Broadway  and  Fayette  Streets,  was 
donated  to  the  city  on  the  3d  of  December,  1844,  by 
Robert  Howard,  a  prominent  merchant  and  public- 
spirited  citizen,  who  died,  much  lamented.  May  13, 
1865. 

Baker  Circle.— Baker  Circle  is  a  circular  plot  of 
ground  two  hundred  and  forty  feet  in  diameter  situ- 
ated at  the  intersection  of  Fulton  Avenue  and  Baker 
Street.  It  was  presented  by  the  executors  of  the  late 
William  Baker,  and  was  accepted  Sept.  14,  1869,  by 
resolution  of  the  City  Council. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE    ADVANTAGES    OF   BALTIMORE   AS    A    TRADE 
CENTRE. 

Geographical  Position — Commerce— Centres  of  Trade — Claims  for  Con- 
Biileration— Private  Enterprise— Houses— Basin  anil  Ship-Channels— 
Harbor  Defenses— Observatory — Clipper-Ships- SteamboatsandSteam- 
ebips— Ice-Boats,  etc. 

Whether  the  city  of  Baltimore  was  located  by  ac- 
cident or  design,  her  citizens  have  cause  for  congratu- 
lation that  they  enjoy  a  location  the  best  of  any  of 
the  Atlantic  cities  for  residence,  commerce,  trade,  and 
manufactures.     Climate  and  locality  limit  or  promote 


HISTORY   OF   BAI.TIMOllE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


the  growth  of  cities,  since  tliey  iiillueiice  and  siflect 
the  life  and  liappiness  of  people.  An  equable  climate 
void  of  extremes,  and  a  locality  free  from  deleterious 
influences,  have  enabled  tlie  citizens  of  Baltimore  to 
accomplish  in  a  scsqui-centennial  period  more  of 
population  and  wealth  than  have  fallen  to  the  fortune 
of  any  of  her  sea-board  rivals.  Free  from  the  ener- 
vating heats  of  prolonged  summers,  and  exempt  from 
that  extreme  cold  which  annually  seals  the  avenues 
of  Northern  commerce,  the  trade  and  commerce  of 
the  people  of  Baltimore  are  uninterrupted,  with  but 
very  few  exceptions,  from  one  year's  end  to  that  of 
anotlier.  While  more  distant  from  the  ocean  than 
her  chief  rivals,  her  wharves  are  nearer  to  the  great 
fields  of  Western  and  Southern  trade  than  any  of  her 
competitors ;  and  since  houi-s,  not  miles,  measure  dis- 
tance in  modern  commerce,  and  projected  improve- 
ments to  shorten  both  to  the  ocean  are  contemplated, 
the  day  is  not  distant  when,  with  her  gate  on  the  sea, 
she  will  yet  maintain  her  closer  proximity  to  the 
granaries  that  supply  the  commerce  of  the  country. 

While  Baltimore  extends  for  the  cotton,  breadstutt's, 
tobacco,  naval  stores,  and  provisions  of  the  South  the 
benefits  of  short  routes  to  a  port  that  secures  for  them 
cheap  handling  and  every  possible  facility  for  ship- 
ment across  the  seas,  it  also  aims  through  its  jobbers 
and  manufacturers  to  supply  the  Southern  interior 
markets  with  all  domestic  and  imported  goods  and 
manutiictured  products  at  the  lowest  possible  figures. 
In  all  these  respects  Baltimore  possesses  many  advan- 
tages over  New  York,  Philadelpliiu,  and  Boston. 

Its  railroad  communications,  stretching  in  every 
direction,  are  managed  at  the  minimum  of  expense  as 
compared  with  those  of  the  Northern  and  Eastern 
cities,  and  this  fact  insures  that  cheai)ness  of  trans- 
l)ortation  which  is  so  essential  to  successful  competi- 
tion to  both  the  buyer  and  seller.  In  the  dealings  of 
rival  markets,  that  which  brings  to  itself  articles  for 
consumption,  shipment,  or  purchase  with  less  outlay 
than  its  competitor  pays  secures  tlie  largest  profits  to 
all  the  parties  concerned  in  the  barter,  sale,  or  pur- 
chase. Then  another  active  factor  comes  to  influence 
foreign  trade  at  a  port  where  transfers  from  railroad 
to  ships  are  made,  or  rice  versa,  as  may  be,  according 
to  whether  the  goods  or  products  liandled  are  intended 
for  domestic  import  or  foreign  export.  This  factor  is 
the  successful  solution  of  the  problem  how  to  eflect 
the  speediest  and  least  expensive  transfer  of  cargoes 
and  their  component  parts,  and  in  this  instance  Bal- 
timore hits  established  the  best  system  in  this  country. 
Neither  the  importer  nor  the  exporter  arc  drained  of 
their  legitimate  profits  in  trade  to  pay  exorbitant 
charges  for  transfer  at  railroad  dejiots  and  wharves, 
because  all  consignments  are  received  and  dispatched 
by  the  workings  of  a  system  that  is  unsurpassed  for 
its  speed  and  economy.  Moreover,  the  foreign  steam- 
ship lines  of  Baltimore  admirably  maintain  their 
reputation  for  reliability  and  accommodations,  and 
the  growth  of  the  foreign  conimeree  of  tlie  port  is 


assisted  by  an  increasing  number  of  sailing-vessels 
arriving  and  departing. 

When  peace  was  declared  in  1865  there  was  a  gen- 
eral feeling  iu  Baltimore  business  circles  that  this  city 
must  at  once  endeavor  to  re-establisli  with  the  South 
the  commercial  relations  that  had  existed  prior  to 
18(51,  and  it  was  also  felt  tliat,  as  far  as  was  in  its  power, 
it  must  take  the  foremost  place  in  granting  the  accom- 
modation necessary  to  enable  Southern  houses  to  re- 
cover from  the  terrible  disasters  that  liad  been  inflicted 
upon  them  while  the  struggle  was  pending.  This 
sentiment  was  strongly  marked  with  regard  to  nour- 
ishing a  revival  of  trade  connections  witli  the  Vir- 
ginia cities,  and  was  undoubtedly  somewliat  due  to 
the  personal  and  business  intimacies  that  l»ad  always 
subsisted  between  Baltimore  and  them.  The  Western 
trade,  too,  was  beginning  to  attract  attention,  and  the 
energy  and  capital  of  our  peoi)Ie  were  thus  at  once 
directed  southward  across  the  Potomac  and  westward 
beyond  the  Mississippi.  Their  money  and  their  en- 
terprise, wisely  applied,  have  proved  able  to  cope  vic- 
toriously with  the  obstacles  oft'ered,  and  Baltimore 
stands  to-day  the  city  of  the  Ejistern  sea-board  that  has 
grown  to  the  largest  comparative  extent  in  solid 
prosperity  since  1865. 

4  cause  that  figures  very  luoniinently  in  the  in- 
fluences that  nurture  trade  facilities  here  is  the  rela- 
tive slightness  of  taxation  as  compared  with  that 
which  prevails  in  other  principal  cities.  The  mer- 
chant and  the  property-owner  are  not  burdened  with 
the  excessive  levies  that  depreciate  the  value  of  all 
real  estate  and  compel  the  exaction  of  high  rents. 
A  fair  valuation  of  land  and  buildings,  and  a  not  in- 
ordinate assessment  thereupon,  enable  the  building 
of  stores  and  warehouses  under  favorable  conditions, 
and  permit  them  to  be  let  out  to  tenants  at  figures 
which  do  not  oppress  business.  We  have  seen  by  the 
examples  of  other  communities  that  trade  may  he. 
most  seriously  enfeebled  when  it  is  taxed  extrava- 
gantly to  support  profligate  municipal  government, 
and  although  Baltimore  has  been  reproached  that  she 
does  not  expend  larger  sums  in  public  improvements, 
yet  experience  has  demonstrated  that  our  policy  of 
conservatism  is  wiser  and  more  profitable  in  the  long 
run  than  the  practice  of  loose  expenditures,  to  be 
eventually  paid  for  in  high  taxes  wrung  from  the 
earnings  of  industry  and  thrift.  It  has  been  found 
that  business  thrives  best  under  careful  and  economic 
government,  and  that  the  development  of  capital  is 
in  ])roportion  to  the  completeness  of  the  innnunity  it 
enjoys  from  burdensome  taxation.  This  being  the 
case,  the  erection  of  new  and  magnificent  buildings 
has  measurably  continued  even  during  periods  of 
greatest  financial  stringency.  Much  has  been  accom- 
plished also  by  the  soundness  of  the  Baltimore  bank- 
ing institutions,  both  public  and  private.  It  is  some- 
thing extraordinary  tiiat  while  in  the  North,  East, 
and  West  banks,  trust  companies,  and  insurance 
corporations  have  been  collapsing,  involving  serious 


THE  ADVANTAGES   OF   BALTIMOKE   AS  A  TRADE   CENTRE. 


distress  to  business  and  visiting  the  loss  of  millions 
of  dollars  upon  depositors,  not  one  of  the  well-estab- 
lished financial  institutions  of  Baltimore  has  shown 
any  symptoms  of  weakness/  but,  on  the  contrary,  they 
have  all  been  able  to  give  the  strongest  evidences  of 
their  soundness  and  to  carry  the  business  interests  of 
the  community  safely  through  the  storms  of  the  last 
ten  years.  It  is  even  more  worthy  of  note  that  with 
a  single  exception  not  one  of  the  leading  commercial 
establishments  of  Baltimore  has  gone  into  bank- 
ruptcy in  that  time,  and  that  the  few  manufacturers 
and  jobbers  who  have  been  compelled  to  close  their 
doors  have  done  so  honorably  and  with  the  expecta- 
tion of  resuming  operations  in  that  season  of  return- 
ing prosperity  upon  which  the  country  has  entered. 
It  is  patent  to  everybody  that  this  immunity  from  the 
evils  of  overtrading  and  wild  speculation  is  due  to  a 
strict  observance  of  the  rules  upon  which  all  perma- 
nent, prosperous  trading  and  production  are  founded, 
and  hence  it  must  be  observed  that  Baltimore  is  well 
prepared  to  extend  her  commercial  relations,  and 
occupies  a  most  enviable  situation  in  that  respect. 

Geographical  Advantages. — All  these  causes  com- 
bined have  undoubtedly  tended,  to  a  great  extent,  to 
give  Baltimore  a  commercial  standing,  the  value  of 
which  is  at  last  being  reluctantly  acknowledged  by 
sister-cities  in  the  Union  which  have  for  so  long  held 
a  maritime  supremacy.  Even  New  York,  claiming 
to  be  not  only  the  empress  of  the  East,  but  also  to  be 
the  centre  from  which  radiate  all  the  trade  and  com- 
merce of  the  continent,  has  awakened  to  the  fact  that 
her  trade  is  diminishing  rapidly  to  the  increase  of 
that  of  Baltimore.  The  New  York  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce has  tacitly  admitted  the  fact,  and  the  presi- 
dents of  the  great  trunk  lines  from  the  East  to  the 
West  have  given  cumulative  testimony  to  show  that, 
even  with  all  the  natural  advantages  possessed  by  the 
harbor  of  New  York  and  with  a  great  river  and  canal 
as  auxiliaries,  this  city  is  exercising  an  influence  that 
is  gradually  making  itself  felt  among  public  and 
private  corporations,  and  is  leading  her  rivals  to  de- 
vise some  means,  if  not  of  checking  her  pretensions, 
at  least  of  counteracting  what  to  them  is  proving  so 
destructive.  To  the  general  reader  it  may  seem  tedi- 
ous to  enter  into  details  which  prove  that  the  claims 
Baltimoreans  set  up  are  not  extravagant  and  have 
not  been  overstated.-  But  to  the  business  man,  whose 
mission  it  is  to  collect  facts  and  weigh  their  relative 
value,  statistics  are  always  welcome.  They  are  the 
atmosphere  in  which  he  moves,  the  data  on  which  he 
bases  his  calculations,  and  anything  which  will  help 
him  in  his  business  or  suggest  avenues  to  which  he 
can  turn  with  profit,  is  more  eagerly  perused  than 
would  be  well-rounded  sentences,  which  attract  with- 
out leaving  behind  any  satisfactory  impression.  This, 
then,  must  be  the  apology  if  the  present  chapter  deals 
occasionally  with  statistics  and  figures,  as  they  are 

IS  tlie  last  bank  fail- 


necessary  in  order  that  a  full  understanding  may  be 
had  of  the  trade  and  commerce  of  Baltimore. 

Situation. — Situated  as  Baltimore  is,  midway  be- 
tween the  North  and  South,  and  possessing  in  her 
climate  all  the  advantages  which  are  owned  by  the 
dwellers  on  the  rocky  headlands  of  New  England  or 
in  the  green  glkdes  of  Florida,  the  temperature  is 
neither  enervating  in  summer  nor  chilling  in  winter. 
It  is  hardly  possibly  to  conceive  of  anything  more 
genial  and  delightful  than  the  winter  which  comes  to 
us,  with  its  merry  in-door  parties,  its  round  of  balls 
and  receptions,  its  coasting  and  sleighing,  and  the 
thousand  social  influences  which  seem  to  expand  and 
strengthen  under  the  bracing  air  and  the  deep  blue 
sky.  Independently  of  the  poetic  aspect  which  this 
fact  wears,  there  is  also  a  practical  side  to  the  ques- 
tion, in  that  the  harbor  and  the  river  are  nearly  al- 
ways open  to  traffic,  and  there  is  no  loss  to  trade  from 
ice  blockades,  with  their  accompanying  discomforts 
and  inconveniences.  Even  in  the  event  of  an  ex- 
traordinary low  temperature,  the  contingencies  which 
would  naturally  follow  have  been  guarded  against, 
and  the  services  of  powerful  ice-boats  specially  con- 
structed for  the  i)urpose  are  called  into  requisition  to 
keep  the  harbor  clear  and  unimpeded.  Nowhere 
probably  in  the  Union  can  there  be  found  such  a 
commingling  of  the  lesthetic  and  the  practical,  of 
the  almost  spontaneous  luxuriance  of  the  South  and 
the  cultivation — which  is  born  of  hard  and  enduring 
toil — of  the  North,  than  in  this  city  and  its  immediate 
neighborhood.  Dank  fields  where  tobacco  flourishes 
alternate  with  rows  of  tasseled  corn  ;  acres  of  rich 
and  waving  grass  flanked  by  orchards  laden  with 
mellow  fruit,  and  flowers  that  seem  to  have  caught  all 
the  glory  of  the  summer  sunlight ;  hoary  trees  that 
have  stood  the  storms  of  a  century ;  rivers  stocked 
with  fish  and  singing  their  murmuring  song  as  they 
dance  onward  to  the  sea ;  a  bright  and  glassy  bay, 
with  storm-stained  fishing-boats  and  tall  and  stately 
ships,  and  hills  glowing  with  verdure, — all  these  form 
the  frame-work  of  the  picture,  while  placed  in  the 
centre,  set  upon  a  hill,  stands  the  great  city,  with  its 
clanging  forges,  its  busy  wharves,  its  screaming  loco- 
motives, and  nearly  all  the  industries  of  the  nation 
bound  up  and  epitomized  within  its  limits. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that,  owing  to  the  central 
position  which  Baltimore  occupies  as  regards  the  At- 
lantic portions  of  the  Union,  and  by  means  of  direct 
railroad  communication  with  the  great  West,  she  can 
successfully  compete  with  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia for  the  trade  of  the  West  and  Northwest.  The 
West  can  be  reached  as  follows:  by  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  and  its  branches  to  Pittsburgh,  Wheel- 
ing, Columbus,  Cincinnati,  Louisville,  St.  Louis,  and 
Chicago,  and  by  the  Northern  Central  Railroad  with 
all  the  great  Western  connections  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Central  Railroad.  The  Northern  Central  brings  Bal- 
timore into  close  connection  with  the  lake  country, 
the  distance  and  time  from  Baltimore  to  Erie,  Buft'alo, 


284 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


and  Niagara  being  some  seventy  miles  less  than  from 
New  York  to  these  points.  Baltimore  is  also  one 
hundred  and  fifty-two  miles  nearer  Chicago  than  New 
York;  two  hundred  and  ten  miles  nearer  St.  Louis; 
two  hundred  and  forty-six  miles  nearer  Louisville, 
Ky. ;  two  hundred  and  forty  miles  nearer  Cincinnati, 
and  one  hundred  and  four  miles  nearer  Pittsburgh. 
The  erection  by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  and  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Companies  of  capacious  grain- 
elevators  at  Locust  Point  and  Canton,  the  deepening 
of  the  harbor  to  a  uniform  depth  of  twenty-five  feet, 
and  the  superior  facilities  for  handling  freight  have 
offered  great  attractions  to  the  trade  of  the  West,  of 
which  it  has  not  been  slow  to  take  advantage.  The  [ 
other  railroads  centering  in  Baltimore  are  the  Phila-  [ 
delphia,  Wilmington  and  Baltimore;  the  Washington 
Branch  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio,  which  has  direct 
connection  with  the  entire  net-work  of  Southern  roads 
to  New  Orleans  and  Texas ;  the  Baltimore  and  Poto- 
mac to  Washington,  and  thence  by  Southern  connec- 
tions to  New  Orleans ;  and  the  Western  Maryland, 
which  passes  Gettysburg,  Hanover,  and  many  of  the 
interior  towns  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  through 
a  country  rich  in  historical  associations  and  natural 
beauty.  The  Western  Maryland  also  connects  at 
Hagerstown  with  the  Shenandoah  and  Cumberland 
Valley  Railroad. 

These  savings  of  distances  and  connections  with  the 
great  trade  centres  of  America  do  more  than  shorten 
time:  they  cheapen  the  cost  of  transportation,  and  thus 
increase  the  returns  to  the  people  trading  with  Balti- 
more. The  saving  of  three  cents  per  bushel  on  the 
grain  receipts  of  Baltimore  for  1879  (66,822,083  bush- 
els) amounted,  according  to  the  twenty-fifth  annual  re- 
port of  the  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange,  to  $2,004,662.49, 
which  was  really  equal  to  that  amount  of  additional 
profit  to  those  Western  shippers  who  sent  their  grain 
to  Baltimore  instead  of  New  York.  One  fact  in  trade 
is  worth  more  than  many  theories,  and  comes  home  to 
the  planter  and  grower  with  more  force  than  whole 
pages  of  argument. 

Commerce. — As  a  commercial  port  Baltimore  ofl^ers 
inducements  superior  to  any  American  city.  Her 
situation,  near  the  head  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  is  that 
of  an  intermediate  station  between  the  North  and 
the  South,  and  her  water  communication  with  all  the 
sea-board  cities  of  both  sections  offers  opportunities 
in  domestic  trade  nowhere  else  obtainable.  Boston, 
New  York,  and  Philadelphia  to  the  North,  and  Nor- 
folk, Wilmington,  Charleston,  Savannah,  Havana, 
New  Orleans,  and  Galveston  at  the  South,  are  all  in 
communication  by  water  lines  with  Baltimore,  where 
the  peculiar  productions  of  each  locality  are  ex- 
changed. The  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal,  though 
reaching  tide-water  at  Georgetown,  may  yet  be  re- 
garded as  another  of  the  lines  of  intercommunica- 
tion by  which  Baltimore  trade  is  promoted  and  in- 
creased. The  Atlantic  sea-board,  by  means  of  the 
Bay  Line  steamers  and  the  Sea-board  and  Roanoke 


Railroad,  are  brought  into  the  closest  commercial 
connections  with  Baltimore.  When  to  this  magnifi- 
cent system  of  continental  communications  is  added 
the  Northern  and  Eastern  system  by  water  lines  and 
railroad,  it  may  be  said  of  Baltimore  that  there  is 
hardly  a  hamlet  in  the  Union  that  may  not  feel  the 
impulse  of  her  energy  and  enterprise. 

Centres  of  Trade. — The  history  of  Baltimore  from 
its  infancy  upwards  has  been  one  indicative  of  indom- 
itable perseverance,  sterling  integrity,  and  all  the  qual- 
ities of  true  manhood  and  womanhood.  On  no  other 
principle,  even  with  the  natural  advantages  spoken 
of,  can  her  rapid  growth  and  vitality  be  accounted 
for.  Standing  on  one  of  the  eminences  which  encircle 
her,  the  eye  looks  down  on  a  panorama  which  cannot 
be  presented  by  any  other  city  in  the  Union.  And 
when  it  is  considered  that  all  that  is  looked  upon  has 
been  the  product  of  a  period  which,  so  far  as  a  Euro- 
pean city  is  concerned,  would  seem  trivial  and  insig- 
nificant, it  can  readily  be  understood  what  a  con- 
servatism of  energy  has  been  necessary  in  order  to 
produce  such  substantial  and  enduring  results.'  Al- 
though the  site  of  the  city  is  such  as  to  cause  irregu- 
larity in  some  of  the  streets,  the  various  sections  are 
laid  out  with  remarkable  uniformity.  Baltimore 
Street,  which  runs  east  and  west  for  a  distance  of 
about  five  miles,  is  the  principal  thoroughfare,  and 
the  chief  seat  of  the  retail  trade  in  all  branches  of 
industry.  Gay,  North  Charles,  Howard,  Eutaw,  and 
Lexington  Streets  have,  however,  of  late  years  at- 
tracted a  considerable  portion  of  this  trade,  although 
Baltimore  Street  still  retains  the  supremacy.  Portions 
of  it,  as  also  South,  Hanover,  Sharp,  Howard,  Liberty, 
Charles,  and  German  Streets,  and  Exchange  Place, 
are  now  the  principal  locations  of  the  wholesale  trade. 
It  is  questionable  if  New  York,  with  its  prestige  and 
constant  inpouring  of  wealth  and  capital,  could  pre- 
sent a  finer  exhibit  than  do  the  stores  which  line  the 
thoroughfares  of  Baltimore.  They  may  not,  as  a  rule, 
be  rich  in  architectural  beauty  and  outward  adorn- 
ment,— although  even  to  this  rule  there  are  excep- 
tions,— but  in  the  nature,  finish,  and  diversity  of  their 
goods,  in  the  taste  which  shines  through  them,  and 
in  the  equable  manner  in  which  all  wants  and  re- 
quirements are  attempted  to  be  supplied,  their  supe- 
riority to  much  which  is  only  arranged  for  show 
and  embellishment  is  at  once  perceptible.  It  is  not 
alone  in  the  lower  plane  of  manufactures  that  our 
business  men  exist.  The  elephant  that  tears  a  tree 
from  its  roots  can  also  pick  up  a  pin,  and  the  industry 
of  our  city  which  can  forge  a  chain  or  an  anchor  can 


1  As  large  as  it  is,  Baltimore  is  the  youngest  of  all  the 
cities  of  the  Atlantic  sea-board,  a  mere  child  to  hoary  patriarchs  like 
St.  Augustine  and  Quehec  and  Montreal ;  the  junior  of  Now  York  hy 
one  hundred  and  sixteen  years,  of  Boston  hy  one  hundred  years,  of 
Chiirleston  and  Philadelphia  hy  fifty  years.  It  is  younger  than  New 
Orleans  and  Newport ;  Richmond  and  Norfolk  overtop  it  many  years, 
and  us  for  venerable  Annnpolis,  that  ancient  beau  among  the  cities 
already  wore  periwigs  and  sported  its  gold-headed  cane  and  diamond- 
studded  snuff-box  before  lialtiniore  bad  put  on  swaddling-clothes. 


THE   ADVANTAGES   OF   BALTIMORE  AS   A   TRADE   CENTRE. 


also  fashion  those  delicate  articles  from  the  precious 
metals  which  adorn  the  head  or  deck  the  bosom  of 
beauty.  The  conservative  policy  which  has  marked 
the  commercial  cai-eer  and  growth  of  Baltimore  has 
extended  its  influence  from  the  warehouse  and  the 
counting-room  to  the  household,  and  there  is  conse- 
quently an  absence  of  that  affectation  for  everything 
which  is  new,  and  a  more  reverent  clinging  towards 
the  old  and  the  enduring.  Not  that  it  is  meant  to  be  1 
understood  that  old-fogyism  prevails  to  any  appreci-  | 
able  extent,  but  rather  that  comfort  and  solidity  are  ; 
in  greater  demand  than  mere  display  and  fashion.  It  ] 
might  surprise  casual  visitors  to  the  city  if  they  were 
furnished  with  statistics  as  to  the  value  of  the  retail 
trade  of  many  of  our  merchants.  And  the  same  re-  i 
mark  will  hold  good  when  applied  to  our  wholesale  j 
trade.  We  may  enter  a  warehouse  unpretentious  in  ! 
appearance  and  with  no  hurry  or  bustle  perceptible 
in  its  rooms  ;  its  goods,  whether  woolen,  or  cotton,  or  I 
leathern,  lie  quietly  on  its  counters  and  shelves,  and 
the  natural  thought  is  that  the  proprietors  depend  ! 
simply  upon  local  trade.  But  question  them,  and 
you  will  find  that  they  send  their  goods  as  far  South 
as  the  Gulf  and  as  far  West  as  the  Pacific  Ocean.  One 
agent  is  in  New  Orleans  taking  orders,  another  is  in 
Chicago  or  St.  Louis  driving  a  bargain  with  a  keen- 
eyed  Western  dealer.  There  are  firms  in  the  city 
whose  goods  are  known  and  sought  after  all  over  the 
United  States,  and  the  extent  of  whose  business  would 
never  be  guessed  at  simply  by  looking  at  their  stores, 
or  judging  of  them  by  their  personnel  or  their  location. 
The  refinement  which  had  its  birth  here  in  old  colo- 
nial times,  and  which  has  transmitted  its  purity 
through  a  long  line  of  descendants,  untainted  by  the 
commingling  of  newer  and  grosser  elements,  is  still 
observable  in  our  midst.  And  probably  in  no  place 
outside  of  the  family  circle  is  it  seen  to  better  advan- 
tage than  in  the  tastes  of  society  in  dress  and  fashion. 
Those  outre  costumes  and  that  strange  discord  of  colors 
so  painfully  evident  as  one  travels  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains  have  no  place  here.  And  this  of 
itself  ought  to  hold  out  an  inducement  to  surrounding 
towns  and  cities  to  extend  their  business  relations  with 
Baltimore.  There  is  not  a  steamer  arriving  at  this 
port  from  Europe  which  does  not  bring  as  part  of  its 
cargo  some  of  the  finest  products  of  European  art 
and  skill, — silks  of  the  finest  texture,  dresses  of  the 
most  approved  and  artistic  shape  and  pattern,  bonnets 
a  reflex  of  those  which  grace  the  Parisian  boulevards, 
delicate  straws  from  Leghorn,  cheviots  from  the  Scot- 
tish mills,  broadcloth  from  the  west  of  England,  and 
laces  from  Chantilly  or  Valenciennes.  Nor  are  any 
of  them  such  as  would  be  bought  cheaply  as  surplus 
stock  to  be  got  rid  of  at  any  price.  They  have  all 
been  selected  with  care,  and  under  the  personal  super- 
vision of  some  man  or  men  skilled  in  his  or  their 
business.  The  same  store  which  sells  the  poor  serving- 
girl  her  cheap  print  or  calico  has  its  representative  in 
Paris,  who  is  deep  in  the  mysteries  of  Worth,  and  who 


will  bring  home  some  marvelous  illustrations  of  the 
skill  of  the  modiste,  which  in  a  few  evenings  will  be 
worn  at  a  reception  on  the  avenue  or  in  the  square. 
The  wonderful  flowers  you  see  in  the  millinery  win- 
dows on  Baltimore  Street,  and  whose  delicate  texture 
and  glowing  color  almost  vie  with  Nature's  handiwork, 
have  been  bought  in  the  same  way,  while  even  the  toy 
for  your  boy  and  girl  at  Christmas  has  necessitated  a 
journey  across  the  Atlantic  before  it  could  take  a  place 
in  your  nursery.  But,  it  may  be  argued,  there  is 
nothing  uncommon  in  this ;  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia are  also  represented  in  London,  in  Paris,  and 
Vienna.  That  is  all  true,  but  it  is  just  here  where 
the  value  of  the  figures  and  statistics  hereafter  given 
begins  to  make  itself  apparent.  When  we  consider 
the  want  of  terminal  facilities  in  New  York,  the  ob- 
stacles and  petty  obstructions  placed  in  the  way  of  its 
trade,  the  heavy  freight  and  a  thousand  other  charges 
to  which  importers  are  subjected,  and  then  look  to  the 
advantages  which  surround  Baltimore,  and  the  corre- 
sponding inducements  which  the  dealer  can,  as  a 
natural  consequence,  offer  to  his  customer,  it  will  be 
seen  at  a  glance  that  the  position  assumed  in  this 
chapter  is  logical  and  consistent. 

Claims  for  Consideration.— In  thus  arguing  for  a 
closer  connection  between  Baltimore  and  the  South, 
as  far  as  individual  trade  is  concerned,  it  should  also 
be  borne  in  mind  that  besides  the  pecuniary  advan- 
tages to  be  derived  from  it,  this  city  is  entitled  to 
some  return  for  the  benefits  which  her  courage  and  en- 
terprise have  conferred  upon  the  States  south  of  her. 
The  position  which  she  holds,  standing  as  she  does  at 
the  very  gates  of  the  South,  has  secured  her  influence 
for  the  advantage  of  those  not  so  happily  situated  as 
she  is.  She  has  extended  her  hand  to  all  industrious 
enterprises  which  have  had  for  their  object  the  pros- 
perity of  those  sections  of  the  country  lying  contigu- 
ous to  her,  or  with  whom  she  has  been  able  to  inter- 
change commodities.  The  enterprises  which  she  has 
inaugurated  have  had  an  effect  in  stirring  up  a  spirit 
of  friendly  rivalry  and  emulation  around  her,  and 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  much  of  the  prosperity  which  the 
sea-board,  and,  as  a  result,  the  many  inland  cities  of 
the  South  are  beginning  to  feel  to-day  is  due  to  the 
establishment  of  her  lines  of  steamers,  to  the  open- 
ing up  of  her  railroads,  and  to  a  thousand  other 
schemes  which  have  been  engineered  by  her  keen- 
eyed  citizens. 

The  conservatism  which  was  mentioned  as  being 
one  of  the  characteristics  of  Baltimore  enterprise, 
and  as  having  prevented  the  ruinous  speculation  and 
loose  sense  of  morality  which  have  afflicted  younger 
communities,  has  also  produced  another  good  result. 
It  has  taught  its  possessors  the  value  of  steady  growth 
and  the  danger  of  transplanting,  except  under  the 
most  favorable  conditions.  The  illustrations  which 
fill  this  chapter  are  those  of  men  who  have  grown  up 
with  the  city,  whose  interest  in  it  is  abiding,  who 
could  not  afford  to  change  their  location,  and  whose 


THE   ADVANTAGES   OF    BALTIMORE   AS  A  TRADE    CENTRE. 


287 


means  which  honest  labor  can  win.  Her  wealthy 
citizens  enjoy  mansions  with  every  comfort,  witliout 
the  ostentatious  display  of  marble  or  brownstone 
palaces.  Her  public  schools  and  city  colleges  are 
arranged  upon  the  most  modern  and  complete  plans, 
provided  with  trained  teachers  and  learned  professors, 
and  free  to  all.  In  these  seminaries  of  learning  the 
children  of  people  in  every  class  of  society  meet  and 
contend  for  the  prizes  which  education  brings.  Sec- 
tarian differences  disappear  where  no  course  of  sec- 
tarian instruction  is  permitted,  while  morals  and 
religion  are  cultivated  by  precept  and  example. 
Markets,  surpassed  by  no  city  in  the  world,  and 
equaled  by  few  even  in  this  country  of  plenty,  offer 
and  tempt  the  people  with  excellence  of  food  and 
cheapness  of  cost.  The  beef,  mutton,  pork,  venison, 
and  fish  of  Baltimore  markets  are  equal  in  every 
respect  to  those  of  other  cities,  and  can  be  obtained 
at  retail  prices  at  about  one-half  their  cost  in  New 
York,  Boston,  or  Philadelphia;  while  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay  is  richer  in  products  for  the  table  than  any 
other  sheet  of  water  in  the  world.  Fuel,  whether 
coal  or  wood,  for  domestic  and  manufacturing  pur- 
poses, is  obtainable  in  Baltimore  at  prices  far  below 
those  of  any  other  city.  To  this  must  be  added  a 
water-supply  unequaled  in  quantity  and  unexcelled 
in  purity  by  that  of  any  other  city  in  the  Union.  In 
fact,  health,  comfort,  happiness,  and  prosperity  are 
attainable  in  Baltimore  with  less  outlay  of  capital, 
and  with  more  of  ease  and  satisfaction,  than  in  any 
other  city. 

The  Basin  and  Harbor.— That  portion  of  the  har- 
bor of  Baltimore  known  as  the  Basin  was  formerly 
much  more  extensive  than  it  is  at  present,  the  tide 
once  reaching  nearly  if  not  quite  up  to  Baltimore  and 
Gay  Streets.  As  late  as  1S18  a  writer  in  the  Federal 
Gazette  said  that  the 

"oldest  inhabitants  of  Biiltlmore  recollect  when  vessels  were  built 
near  the  City  Spring,  and  when  ships  could  unload  their  cargoes  near  the 
foot  of  Light  Street.  Younger  men  recollect  when  ships  lay  about  Pat- 
terson's wharf,  and  heavy  sloops  went  up  to  Gay  Street  (Griffith's)  bridge. 
Without  referring  to  older  documents,  it  will  be  seen  on  inspection  of 
Folie's  map  of  Baltimore,  published  in  1792,  only  tweuty-six  years  ago, 
that  eastward  of  Gay  Street  the  causeway,  now  Water  Street,  bounded 
the  tide,  and  that  a  marshy  island  occupied  the  whole  space  now  covered 
with  buildings  and  streets  south  of  that  line  ;  and  if  the  space  inclosed, 
but  still  overflowed  by  the  tide  around  the  city  dock,  and  which  is  already 
lost  to  the  harbor,  be  excluded,  it  will  be  found  that  not  one-third  of  the 
surface  of  the  basin,  covered  with  navigable  water  in  1752,  remains  open ; 
and  that  the  extent  of  basin  which  is  left  is  now  more  shallow  by  Ave  to 
ten  feet  than  it  was  twenty-five  years  ago.  My  information  as  to  the 
depth  of  water  in  the  basin  now  and  at  a  former  period  is  not  sufiiciently 
detailed  and  extensive  to  enable  me  to  be  very  particular,  but  there  can 


ttha 


I  the 


tiou  above  Fe 


i  Point." 


In  1789  the  Centre  Market  lottery  scheme  had  for 
its  object  the  filling  up  the  docks,  "  often  filled  with 
stagnated  water  and  every  species  of  filth,  which  have 
not  only  been  destructive  to  health  but  highly  incon- 
venient in  that  part  of  the  town  to  free  mercantile 
intercourse."  In  November,  1789,  an  earnest  com- 
munication was  addressed  to  the  "  honorable  repre- 


sentatives of  Baltimore  Town  and  County,"  urging 
the  importance  of  preventing  the  construction  of 
small  docks  around  the  Basin,  and  the  removal  of 
those  already  there,  and  advocating  the  inclosure  of 
the  Basin  with  "  one  continuous  street." 

'*  Let  the  proposed  Front  Street,"  says  the  writer,  "  be  the  permanent 
boundary  or  margin  of  the  basin  from  Camden  Street  on  the  north,  which 
lies  nearly  in  a  direct  line  with  Bowly's  wharf  continued  ;  on  the  west 
let  the  basin  be  bounded  by  Light  Street,  and  on  the  south  by  Lee  Street, 
leaving  the  aforesaid  boundaries  from  sixty  to  eighty  feet  vnde,  and  let 
them  be  known  by  the  names  of  North  Front  Street,  South  Front  Street, 
etc.,  then  let  the  whole  breadth  of  South  Street  be  continued  with  the 
basin  until  it  intersects  a  direct  line  drawn  from  Conway  Street  continued, 
making  the  same  a  part  of  Front  Street;  from  thence  with  said  line  of 
Conway  Street  past  Messrs.  McLure's,  Spear's,  Smith's,  and  Buchanan's 
wharves ;  and  at  the  said  Buchanan's  wharf  it  will  be  requisite  to  form 
an  angle,  on  whose  leg  towards  the  east  let  the  Front  Street  [be]  ex- 
tended to  Mr.  Pattereon'B  wharf,  still  leaving  it  not  less  than  from  sixty 
to  eighty  feet  wide  for  the  good  of  the  public.  In  these  dimen- 
sions would  he  comprehended  a  body  or  space  of  water  of  between 
sixty  and  seventy  perches  from  north  to  south;  and  from  east  to  west, 
along  the  town  and  Point,  water  sufficient  to  accommodate  all  the  ships 
belonging  to  the  United  States.  Opposite  Jones'  Falls  into  the  basin  a 
space  must  be  left  for  a  draw-bridge  and  the  necessary  works  on  each 
side.  Such  a  front  as  this  would  express  the  good  sense  and  taste  of  our 
citizens,  cause  their  improvements  to  be  admired  by  all  travelers  and 
foreigners,  become  an  excellent  boundary  to  our  harbor,  afford  every  pos- 
sible convenience  to  trade,  and  abolish  those  stinking  docks  which  are 
of  little  benefit  unless  it  be  to  infect  and  poison  the  community."  ' 

In  1816  the  filling  up  of  the  four  docks  extending 
at  that  time  up  to  Cheapside  was  commenced,  and 
subsequently  completed.  As  was  natural,  much  op- 
position was  encountered  in  every  attempt  to  get  rid 
of  the  Basin.  In  November,  1838,  Dr.  Thomas  H. 
Buckler  proposed  the  bold  but  practicable  scheme  of 
filling  up  the  Basin  from  Pratt  Street  to  the  west  side 
of  Jones'  Falls  by  leveling  Federal  Hill  and  with  its 
earth  filling  the  Basin.  The  scheme  of  Dr.  Buckler 
contemplated  the  extension  of  Calvert,  South,  Com- 
merce, Gay,  and  Frederick  Streets,  Marsh  Market 
Space,  Concord  Street,  and  West  Falls  Avenue  across 
and  over  the  Basin  and  Whetstone  Point  to  the 
Patapsco  River,  between  Fort  McHenry  and  the 
Ferry  Bar,  and  to  open  Camden,  Conway,  Barre,  Lee, 
York,  Hill,  Great  Hughes,  and  Montgomery  Streets 
eastwardly  to  intersect  West  Falls  Avenue  at  or  near 
Fells'  Point.  Such  a  scheme,  it  was  contended,  was 
necessary  to  the  health  of  the  city,  by  effectually  re- 
moving the  Basin,  and  would  be  commercially  and 
pecuniarily  advantageous  to  Baltimore.  The  removal 
of  Federal  Hill  would  not  only  extend  the  prospect, 
but  admit  the  fresh  air  from  the  river  into  the  city. 
The  now  separate  quarters  of  the  city  would  by  such 


1  Another  correspondent,  about  the  same  time,  in  the  Maryland  Gazette, 
showing  the  advantages  of  Baltimore  for  the  permanent  residence  of 
Congress,  said  that  it  had  "  as  secure  a  harbor  for  shipping  as  the  world 
can  aflbrd ;  a  capacious  basin  capable  of  being  made  to  contain  one  thou- 
sand ships,  without  any  risks  from  winds,  injury  from  freshets,  or  ice  in 
the  winter,  or  worms  in  the  summer,"  and  "  Jones'  Falls  might,  at  smaU 
expense,  be  conducted  through  every  part  of  the  town ;"  fuel,  coal,  and 
lumber  they  had  "  for  centuries  to  come."  Another  correspoudent,  who 
did  not  admire  the  appearance  of  the  town,  said,  "  Should  Congress  ever 
settle  in  Baltimore,  what  would  foreign  ambassadors  think  of  their  taste 
when  they  observed  hut  few  tolerable  streets  in  all  the  metropolis,  and 
even  those  disgraced  by  such  a  number  of  awkwardly-built,  low,  wooden 
cabins,  the  rest  of  the  town  being  divided  by  irregular,  narrow  lanes?" 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITi'   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


an  improvement  have  been  brought  into  more  direct 
communication,  and  the  capacious   and   deep-water 
harbors,  together  with  waste  lands  adjacent  to  them, 
would  have  been   advantageously  utilized.     It  was 
contended  that  pecuniarily  the  city  would  have  been  j 
benefited  by  the  acquisition  of  laud  valued  at  four  | 
million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  which  when 
sold  and  improved  would  have  added  at  least  nine 
million  dollars  to  the  taxable  basis  of  the  city ;  that 
filling  up  the  Basin  and  leveling  Federal  Hill  would  j 
reclaim  eight  hundred  and  thirty  acres  lying  then  ^ 
almost  unimproved  between   East  Light  Street  and 
Ferry  Bar,  the  value  of  which  was  put  at  forty-five  ] 
million  dollars. 

The   scheme   was    laid    before   the   City   Council, 
debated  and  referred  to  a  committee,  and  a  report 
by   Benjamin    H.   Latrobe  was   made   showing   the 
cost   for   actual   filling  to   be  $764,.346,  not  includ- 
ing the  cost  for  damage  to  existing  property  rights. 
After  much  discussion  in  the  press  and  very  great 
opposition  from  interested  parties  the  scheme  dropped  | 
out  of   public  notice.     AVhether  it  is  forever   dead  j 
remains  to  be  seen.     That  many  objections  exist  to 
the  Basin  but  few  will  deny.      Whether  its  advan- 
tages exceed  its  disadvantages  is  very  doubtful,  and 
what  will  be  the  action  of  the  city  in  the  future  can- 
not now  be  foreshadowed.     But  Dr.  Buckler,  who  was  ; 
also  the  originator  of  the  scheme  to  introduce  the 
water  of  the  Gunpowder,  has  lived  to  see  that  part  of 
his  grand  idea  consummated,  though  that  too  was 
opposed  and  for  the  time  defeated.     It  may  be  that 
within  the  not  distant  future  the  Basin  also  will  be  ' 
filled  up,  Federal  Hill  leveled,  and  the  great  scheme 
of  Dr.  Buckler  in  its  entirety  be  realized  for  the  city. 

Topographical  Map.— In  October,  1874,  John  T.  ! 
Ford  proposed  in  the  City  Council  the  preparation  | 
of  a  new  map  of  Baltimore  City  and  its  environs, 
which  should  be  an  accurate  topographical  picture 
of  the  city  and  its  adjacent  territory,  showing  within 
the  city  the  grade  and  width  of  streets  and  avenues, 
their  surface  drainage,  and  their  improved  and  unim- 
proved blocks,  with  the  wharves,  piers,  docks,  and 
depth  of  water,  and  all  practical  information  neces- 
sary to  the  understanding  of  the  topographical  fea-  | 
tures  of  the  city  ;  and  showing  beyond  the  city  limits 
in  every  direction  the  accurate  details  of  all  avenues 
and  streets,  and   their  proposed  extensions,  water- 
courses, parks,  homesteads,  with  the  elevations  and 
depressions  of  surface.     This  eftbrt  of  Mr.  Ford  was 
followed  in  1877  by  a  lecture  at  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity, by  Prof.  J.  E.  Hilgard,  of  the  United  States 
Coast  Survey,  upon  "The  Surveys  of  Baltimore  and  j 
Vicinity   for   Economic   Construction   and    Sanitary  j 
Purposes,"  urging  the  necessity  of  the  early  comple-  ' 
tion  of  the  map  as  proposed  by  Mr.  Ford.     In  1867 
an  act  of  the  Legislature  was  passed  creating  "  The 
Harbor  Commission,"  which  was   composed   of  the 
pr&sidents  of  the  Board  of  Trade  and  Corn  and  Flour  ! 
Exchange,  and  one  other  person  appointed  by  the  i 


presidents  of  the  several  Maryland  insurance  com- 
panies. This  commission  called  in  the  aid  of  the 
United  States  Coast  Survey  in  its  work  of  surveying 
the  harbor,  but  the  proposition  for  such  a  survey  was 
not  acted  upon  by  the  Council.  In  November,  1880, 
Dr.  C.  W.  Chancellor,  of  the  State  Board  of  Health, 
acting  under  authority  from  the  National  Board  of 
Health,  made  a  report  on  the  sanitary  condition  of 
Baltimore  as  determined  by  him  in  a  sanitary  survey. 

The  mayor  and  City  Council  have  power  to  provide 
for  the  preservation  of  the  navigation  of  the  Basin 
and  Patapsco  River,  within  the  limits  of  the  city,  and 
within  four  miles  thereof,  and  for  cleaning  and  deep- 
ening the  Basin  and  docks,  and  for  regulating  the 
stationing,  anchoring,  and  moving  of  vessels.  The 
harbor  is  governed  by  a  board  of  six  commissioners, 
two  of  whom  are  appointed  biennially,  who,  with  the 
mayor,  receive  no  compensation  for  the  service  they 
render  in  this  connection.  They  are  called  the  Har- 
bor Board  of  Baltimore,  and  consist  of  the  following 
members :  Mayor  F.  C.  Latrobe,  chairman  ;  John  W. 
McCoy,  William  H.  Skinner,  Thomas  B.  Ferguson, 
Robert  T.  Baldwin,  Alexander  Jones,  James  Bond; 
James  Woodside,  secretary  ;  N.  H.  Hutton,  engineer. 

There  are  also  appointed  annually,  as  other  city 
officers  are,  six  harbor-masters,  who  are  empowered 
to  collect  wharfage  on  merchandise,  tonnage,  etc.,  at 
the  city  wharves.  The  harbor-masters  for  1881  are: 
1st  District,  Joseph  Cromwell ;  2d  District,  William 
Knorr ;  3d  District,  B.  Maitland  ;  4th  District,  Fran- 
cis Cutaiar;  5th  District,  Patrick  McLaughlin ;  Spring 
Gardens,  Charles  T.  Balla. 

The  Governor  appoints  biennially  one  or  more 
persons  as  wharfingers  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  to 
take  charge  of  the  wharves  rented  or  owned  by  the 
State. 

Ship-Channels. — The  necessity  for  a  deeper  ship- 
channel  for  the  commerce  of  Baltimore  was  fully 
recognized  in  1851  by  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  meas- 
ures were  actively  undertaken  to  devise  the  means 
required  for  the  work.  At  the  January  meeting  in 
1852,  on  motion  of  Joseph  C.  Wilson,  a  resolution 
was  unanimously  adopted  for  the  appointment  of 
a  committee  of  twenty  members,  empowered  to  ex- 
amine and  report  upon  the  subject  of  deepening  the 
channel.  The  following  gentlemen  composed  the 
committee:  John  C.  Brune  (e.i-  officio  chairman),  Jacob 
Brandt,  Jr.,  Galloway  Cheston,  Jacob  G.  Davies,  Wil- 
liam Gardner,  Rol)ert  Howard,  John  Henderson, 
William  Heald,  Robert  Leslie,  Henry  Mankin,  Hugh 
McElderry,  Henry  A.  Thompson,  William  Graham, 
William  Kennedy,  David  Stuart,  Andrew  Flaunagan, 
Thomas  Whitridge,  R.  M.  Magraw,  J.  H.  Luckett,  R. 
R.  Kirkland,  James  Murray.  At  a  meeting  of  this 
committee,  Capt.  Robert  Leslie  submitted  a  chart 
constructed  in  1819  by  Lewis  Brantz,  and  urged  the 
necessity  of  a  channel  of  twenty-five  feet  depth  the 
entire  length  of  the  river,  which  could  be  accom- 
plished by  removing  the  "  Knolls,"  and  he  continued : 


THE   ADVANTAGES   OF   BALTIMORE   AS   A   TRADE   CENTRE. 


289 


"Should  the  committee  coincide  in  this  general  view,  the  question 
presents  itself.  How  is  the  object  to  bo  accomplished  ?  Shall  we  apply 
at  once  to  Congress  for  a  special  appropriation  to  be  expended  under  the 
direction  of  one  of  their  own  engineers?  or  shall  we  ask  the  appoint- 
ment of  an  engineer  to  survet/  and  report  on  the  whole  subject?  or  shall 
we  ask  for  the  construction  of  a  dredging-machine  to  be  employed  in  the 
waters  of  the  Chesapeake,  in  deepening  the  channel  leading  to  the  navy- 
yard  at  Norfolk,  on  Harrison's  Bar  in  James  River,  and  in  the  removal 
of  obstructions  in  the  Patapsco?  The  latter  plan  would  avoid  any  consti- 
tutional objections,  and  should  it  be  determined  on,  Richmond  and  Nor- 
folk would  unite  in  the  petition.  In  case  of  failure  with  (3ongress,  where 
shall  we  look?  to  the  Legislature  of  Maryland,  or  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
or  both  together  ?" 

Being  in  earnest  they  applied  to  all, — to  Congress, 
the  city,  and  the  State,  and  their  zeal  was  rewarded 
with  assistance  from  each.  Congress  appropriated 
$40,000,  the  city  granted  $50,000,  and  the  State  gave 
the  auction  dues,  amounting  to  about  $20,000.  But 
all  these  sums  were  not  immediately  available,  nor 
were  they  all  applied  by  the  same  directing  head. 
Capt.  Brewerton  had  charge  of  the  congressional 
appropriation,  and  the  commissioners  of  the  other 
funds.  The  original,  or  what  is  known  as  the  Brew- 
erton Channel,  commenced  at  Fort  McHenry,  and 
extending  one  and  one-half  miles  below  Fort  Carroll, 
was  six  miles  long,  with  an  average  natural  depth 
from  nineteen  to  twenty-one  feet  at  mean  low  water ; 
the  lower  division  of  this  channel,  extending  from  a 
point  one  and  one-half  miles  below  Fort  Carroll  to 
the  entrance  buoy  of  the  old  ship-channel,  about 
four  miles  beyond  North  Point,  was  nine  miles  in 
length,  with  an  average  depth  of  only  sixteen  to 
eighteen  feet.  Capt.  Brewerton  commenced  (Octo- 
ber, 1853)  the  formation  of  the  new  channel  by 
dredging  a  channel  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide 
and  twenty-two  feet  deep  at  mean  low  water  in  a 
direct  line  from  Fort  McHenry  to  a  point  one  and  a 
half  miles  below  Fort  Carroll,  and  thence  in  another 
straight  line  nine  miles  in  length  to  the  old  .ship- 
channel  entrance  buoy,  about  four  miles  beyond 
North  Point.  His  work  was  confined  to  the  lower 
division  until  its  depth  was  equal  to  that  in  the  upper 
division,  no  work  being  done  between  Fort  Carroll 
and  Fort  McHenry  until  the  spring  of  1873.  In  1856, 
Congress  appropriated  for  this  work  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  and  the  operations  were  conducted 
at  the  joint  cost  of  the  city  and  the  United  States 
until  suspended  in  1860,  when  the  results  obtained 
were  a  channel  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide  and 
about  twenty-two  feet  deep  at  mean  low  water,  from 
a  point  one  and  a  half  miles  below  Fort  Carroll  to  a 
point  just  beyond  North  Point,  about  four  and  a  half 
miles  in  length.  The  whole  work  was  left  in  an  un- 
finished condition.  The  original  estimate  for  this 
channel  was  .?390,000,  the  amount  expended  to  the 
date  of  suspension  was,  by  the  United  States,  $120,- 
000,  and  by  the  city  and  State,  $184,317.06,  making  a 
total  of  $304,317.06.  In  1866,  Congress  appropriated 
$15,200,  and  a  careful  resurvey  was  made  by  Maj. 
Craighill  of  the  river  below  Fort  Carroll,  which  de- 
veloped the  fact  that  the  excavations  had  been  ma- 


terially injured  by  the  tides  and  currents,  and  that 
the  lower  end  was  subject  to  obstruction  from  float- 
ing ice.  In  consequence  of  this  a  new  location  was 
made,  deflecting  from  the  Brewerton  Channel,  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  below  the  Seven-Foot  Knoll  Light, 
near  the  terminal  point  of  the  work  previously  com- 
pleted, and  running  thence  due  south  towards  Sandy 
Point  Light.  On  this  new  line  a  channel  was  pro- 
jected two  hundred  feet  wide  and  twenty-two  feet 
deep  at  mean  low  water.  In  September,  1867,  Maj.- 
Gen.  Parke,  of  the  United  States  Engineers,  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  work,  but  relieved  in  May, 
1868,  by  Brev.  Brig.-Gen.  I.  H.  Simpson,  of  the 
United  States  Engineers,  who  in  September,  1869, 
announced  the  new  south  channel  open  to  commerce, 
two  hundred  feet  wide  and  twenty-one  feet  deep  at 
mean  low  water,  and  that  the  Brewerton  Channel  had 
been  reopened  for  a  limited  width  to  the  same  depth. 
The  name  of  the  "  Craighill  Channel"  was  given  to 
the  new  south  channel  by  Gen.  Simpson.  In  1870  an 
appropriation  of  $42,900  having  been  made  by  Con- 
gress, work  was  resumed  on  the  Brewerton  Channel. 
Maj.  W.  P.  Craighill,  United  States  Engineers,  was 
again  placed  in  charge  of  the  work  in  November, 
1870,  and  the  "  contract  system"  adopted,  to  the  much 
greater  expedition  and  cheapness  of  the  work.  In 
1872  Congress  appropriated  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  for  the  work,  and  this  year  the  Patapsco  River 
Improvement  Board  was  organized,  and  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars  put  at  its  disposal.  This  greatly 
increased  the  force  employed  upon  the  work,  and  ex- 
pedited its  earlier  completion,  as  well  as  enabled  it  to 
be  enlarged  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  day, 
which  diflered  greatly  from  what  they  were  twenty 
years  before,  when  the  work  was  projected.  In  1872 
the  whole  plan  of  the  work  was  revised  and  the  chan- 
nel marked  out  in  three  divisions,  as  follows :  from 
Fort  McHenry  to  the  angle  below  Hawkins'  Point 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide  and  twenty-four  feet 
deep  at  mean  low  tide ;  thence  to  the  angle  near  Seven 
Foot  Knoll  (Brewerton  Channel),  same  dimensions; 
thence  due  south  towards  Sandy  Point  (Craighill 
Channel )  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide  through  the 
softer  portions,  four  hundred  feet  wide  through  the 
oyster-beds  and  hard  lumps,  and  twenty-four  feet 
deep  throughout.  An  addition  to  the  Brewerton 
Channel  of  six  and  three-quarters  miles  long,  one  hun- 
dred feet  wide,  and  twenty-four  feet  deep  wa,s  com- 
pleted during  the  summer  of  1872,  and  buoys  marking 
the  northern  edge  of  the  cut  located,  and  the  new 
channel  thrown  open  to  commerce.  In  1873  the 
United  States  and  the  city  of  Baltimore,  by  nearly 
equal  contributions,  made  the  sum  of  four  hundred 
thousand  dollars  available  to  the  prosecution  of  the 
work. 

The  ship-channel  has  for  its  object  to  permit  the 
approach  to  Baltimore  at  mean  low  water  of  vessels 
drawing  from  twenty-two  and  a  half  to  twenty-three 
feet,   and   at   ordinary   high  water  vessels    drawing 


290 


HISTOKY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


twenty-four  or  twenty-four  and  a  half  feet.  This 
was  attained  in  1874  by  the  completion  of  the  chan- 
nel with  a  depth  of  twenty-four  feet  at  mean  low 
water.  A  width  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  was 
given  where  tlie  material  on  the  edges  of  the  cut  is 
not  of  sufficient  liardness  to  injure  a  vessel  torching 
it,  which  is  the  case  throughout  the  channel  from 
Fort  McHenry  through  the  Brewerton  Channel,  and 
for  about  two  miles  down  the  Craighill  Channel. 
This  is  regarded  as  a  minimum  width,  which  will  be 
gradually  increased  by  the  abrasure  of  the  sides  by 


Since  that  report  by  Maj.  Craighill  the  project  of 
the  channel  has  been  enlarged  to  a  depth  of  twenty- 
seven  feet,  and  its  directionsomewhat  changed  by  an- 
other cut-off",  shortening  the  length  'and  improving 
the  work.  When  completed  Baltimore  will  enjoy  all 
the  advantages  of  easy  approach  which  New  York 
possesses  for  the  largest  ships  and  vessels  of  modern 
commerce. 

Harbor  Defenses. — The  harbor  of  Baltimore  is 
defended  by  two  fortifications,  Fort  McHenry  and 
Fort  Carroll.     The   former  is  an  inner  fort,  situated 


passing  vessels  which  may  not  be  exactly  kept  in  the  i  at  the  extremity  of  a  point  of  land  lying  between  the 
line  of  the  channel.      In   some   parts  of  the  lower  I  northwest  and  middle  branches  of  Patapsco  River, 


channel  where  hard  sides  existed  a  width  of  four 
hundred  feet  has  been  given,  and  which  is  extended 
in  many  places  to  one  thousand  feet  by  the  natural 
depth  of  the  water ;  this  width  was  given  to  the 
channel  at  the  turn  from  the  Brewerton  into  the 
Craighill  Channel,  to  give  ample  room  for  the  turn- 
ing of  large  vessels  in  passing  that  point. 


Maj.  Craighill,  in  his  report  to  the  Patapsco  River 
Improvement  Board,  in  1874,  remarks, — 

"  It  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  this  channel  is  an  artificial  road  or  high- 
way of  the  flame  general  character  in  that  respect  as  a  railway  or  canal 
or  ordinary  wagon  road.  It  did  not  exist  by  natnre.  It  waa  made,  and 
to  be  kept  in  good  condition  it  requires  care  in  its  use  and  annual  re- 
pairs. Range-lights  and  bnoys  have  been  provided  to  enable  careful 
navigators  to  And  their  highway  and  to  keep  it  safely  as  well  by  niglit 
as  by  day.  Tlte  sum  which  wilt  be  required  annually  to  keep  this  high- 
way in  its  present  condition  need  not  exceed,  and  probably  will  not  be 
less  than,  fifty  thousand  dollars.  But  it  should  bo  regularly  provided  and 
Judiciously  and  economically  applied.  The  constant  and  caref\ll  use  of 
this  channel  by  heavy  ships,  and  especially  by  screw-steamers,  will  inl- 


and now  known  as  Locust  Point.  The  first  settler 
upon  the  point  was  probably  Charles  Gorsuch,  said  to 
be  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  who  on  the 
24th  of  February,  1661,  patented  fifty  acres  of  the 
tract,  yielding  and  paying  the  rent  of  one  pound 
sterling  per  annum  in  equal  half-yearly  installments 
at  St.  Mary's.  Gorsuch  subsequently  abandoned  it, 
and  on  the  2d  of  June,  1702,  a 
patent  was  granted  for  the  same 
land  to  James  Carroll,  who  called 
it  "  Whetstone,"  and  paid  two 
shillings  rent  per  annum.  Whet- 
stone Point  or  Neck  was  evi- 
dently considered  a  favorable 
1  leation  for  a  town,  and  by  the 
ict  of  April  19,  1706,  it  was 
made  a  port  of  entry,  but  it  does 
not  appear  that  either  traders  or 
planters  ever  availed  themselves 
(it  its  commercial  "  facilities." 
In  1725,  Carroll  .sold  it  to  John 
•  iiles  for  five  pounds  sterling, 
nid  in  1727  the  Principio  Com- 
n),'  through  John  England, 
I  urchased  of  Giles  all  the  iron 
(lie  "opened  and  discovered  or 
shut  and  not  yet  discovered" 
ir  three  hundred  pounds  ster- 
ng  and  twenty  pounds  current 
iiKinev  of  Maryland.  It  was  for 
111  my  years  one  of  their  principal 
sources  of  ore.^ 

Upon  the  commencement  of 
the  Revolution  the  importance 
of  Whetstone  Point  for  the  defense  of  the  town 
was  at  once  appreciated,  and  in  1775  preparations 
were  made  to  fortify  it.  Warned  by  the  recent 
approach   of  the   British   sloop-of-war   "Otter,"   in 

1  The  Principid  Company  was  an  association  of  British  iron-masters, 
merchants,  and  capitalists,  established  in  the  early  part  of  1700,  and  en- 
gaged in  nianufactnring  pig  and  bar  iron  in  the  colonies  of  Maryland 
and  Virginia, 

■-  After  the  Revolution,  in  1781,  the  projierty  of  the  company  was  con- 
fiscated, and  we  find  among  the  returns  of  the  Intendant  of  the  Revenue 
the  sale,  on  August  15tli  in  that  year,  of  seventy-live  acres,  and  on  Sep- 
tember 2.')th  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  on  Whetstone  Point 
belonging  to  the  Principio  Company. 


THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  BALTIMOEE  AS  A  TRADE  CENTRE. 


March,  1776,  the  inhabitants  set  to  work  with  a 
will  to  complete  the  defenses  of  Baltimore,  which 
liad  been  ordered  by  the  provincial  convention.  A 
water-battery  of  eighteen  guns  was  planned  at  Whet- 
stone Point  by  James  Alcock,  and  begun  under  the 
superintendence  of  Messrs.  Griest,  Griffith,  and  Lou- 
denslager,  and  Capt.  N.  Smith  was  put  in  command. 
A  large  force  of  colored  men  were  employed  in  provid- 
ing timber,  logs,  etc.,  and  in  the  erection  of  a  boom  be- 
tween Whetstone  Point  and  the  Lazaretto,  and  a  chain 
was  also  stretched,  supported  by  twenty-one  sunken 
schooners,  across  the  neck  of  the  harbor.  As  the 
Revolution  progressed  these  fortifications  were  still 
further  strengthened,  and  an  air-furnace  was  erected 
near  the  batteries,  from  which,  the  Maryland  Oazetfe 
of  Sept.  9,  1777,  declares,  "red  thunder-bolts  of  war 
will  issue  to  meet  our  invading  foes."  Until  1793 
the  fortifications  on  Whetstone  Point  remained  ex- 
clusively under  the  control  of  the  State,  but  in  conse- 
quence of  the  apprehensions  entertained  at  that 
period  of  a  conflict  with  Great  Britain,  it  was  deemed  i 
advisable  to  place  the  Point  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Federal  government,  which  was  done  in  the  follow- 
ing somewhat  condescending  resolution  passed  by  the 
Legislature  in  1793  : 

"  Whoreaa,  the  United  States  may  think  it  necessary  to  erect  a  fort, 
arsenal,  or  other  military  works  or  buildings  on  Wlietstone  Point  for  the 
public  defense;  therefore,  Resolved,  That  upon  the  application  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  the  Governor  for  permission  to  erect  a 
fort,  arsenal,  or  other  military  works  on  the  said  Point  for  the  purpose 
aforesaid,  the  Governor  shall  and  may  grant  the  same,  with  the  consent 
of  the  owner  of  the  soil." 

The  Federal  government  did  not  take  advantage  of 
this  permission,  however,  until  1798.  In  the  summer 
of  that  year  Maj.  Tousard,  an  oflicer  of  rank  and  ex- 
perience, was  ordered  to  examine  the  existing  works 
at  Whetstone  Point  and  report  the  additions  he  should 
deem  indispensable  to  the  protection  of  the  city.  Maj. 
Tousard  was  directed  to  submit  his  plans  to  the  con- 
sideration of  a  committee  of  Baltimore  citizens,  con- 
sisting of  Messrs.  Robert  Gilmor,  Jeremiah  Yellott, 
George  Sears,  Mark  Pringle,  Robert  Oliver,  Archibald 
Campbell,  William  Patterson,  Thomas  Coale,  and 
David  Stewart,  who  were  at  that  time  engaged  in 
superintending  the  construction  of  "  ships  of  war" 
that  were  being  built  by  the  subscriptions  of  the  citi- 
zens. In  an  address  to  the  public  on  the  subject 
under  date  of  July  24,  1799,  the  committee  say, — 

"  It  was  a  duty  foreign  to  our  general  pursuits,  and  in  every  respect 
inconvenient,  but  it  interested  all,  and  we  did  not  think  ourselves  at 
liberty  to  refuse.  We  were  informed  by  the  Secretary  of  War  that  the 
finances  of  the  United  States  did  not  admit  of  a  larger  appropriation 
than  twenty  thousand  dollars  towards  the  fortification  to  be  erected  in 
our  city,  and  Mty.  Tousard  was  enjoined  to  keep  this  circumstance  in 
view  in  projecting  the  proposed  new  works.  From  the  same  sum  also 
the  land  on  which  the  works  were  to  be  erected  was  to  be  purchased,  as 
well  aa  all  necessary  materials.  Maj.  Tousard,  after  examining  the  old, 
and  fully  considering  the  position  to  be  secured  by  the  new  works,  de- 
livered a  decided  opinion  to  your  committee  that  it  was  impossible  to 
erect  adequate  works  of  defense  for  the  sum  limited,  nor  would  he  risk  I 
his  professional  reputation  by  recommending  such  as  on  trial  would  de- 
ceive by  proving  insufficient.  He,  however,  submitted  the  plan  he  1 
deemed  most  proper  to  our  consideration,  with  his  estimate  of  the  ex- 


pense of  executing,  which  exceeded  the  public  appropriation  810,963.44. 
Thus  did  your  committee  see  the  economy  of  the  government  at  variance 
with  the  safety  of  the  city.  The  latter  was  too  serious  and  too  im- 
portant an  object  to  be  relinquished,  and  your  committee,  at  every 
hazard,  recommended  that  the  fortifications  should  be  erected  on  the 
most  approved  and  effectual  plan.  In  doing  this  they  relied  on  the  well- 
known  liberality,  patriotism,  and  zeal  of  their  fellow-citizens  to  supply 
the  deficiency.  The  Secretary  of  War  has  complied  with  their  recom- 
mendation, and  under  the  direction  of  your  committee  the  proper  quan- 
tity of  land  has  been  purchased,  and  considerable  progress  is  made  in 
the  necessary  works.  Mr.  Foneiu,  the  present  engineer  and  superin- 
tendent, in  whose  skill,  industry,  aud  economy  your  committee  have  per- 
fect confidence,  has  improved  the  plan  of  Maj.  Tousard  and  devotes  his 
whole  time  and  attention  to  its  completion.  In  the  mean  time  the  pub- 
lic funds  are  nearly  exhausted.  But  those  works  of  defense,  which  all 
must  admit  to  be  proper  even  in  the  event  of  peace,  and  indispensable 
in  time  of  war,  remain  incomplete.  Our  lives,  our  families,  our  property 
are  all  exposed,  for  danger  will  exist  while  Europe  is  convulsed  with 
wars,  and  as  long  aa  human  nature  remains  imperfect.  In  this  interest- 
ing situation  you  are  called  upon  to  supply  the  deficiency  of  public  ap- 
propriations by  voluntary  contributions.  Tour  committee,  from  the  ex- 
ample of  New  York  and  other  State  governments,  have  formed  au  expec- 
tation that  the  subscriptions  of  the  citizens  will  be  reimbursed  by  the 
Legislature  of  Maryland.  They  pledge  themselves  to  make  the  applica- 
tion in  person  if  required,  and  in  a  measure  of  just  and  sound  policy  and 
deeply  interesting  to  the  State,  they  may  reasonably  promise  themselves 
success.  At  the  present  moment,  however,  it  is  of  primary  importance 
to  raise  a  supply  by  private  subscription.  To  facilitate  the  business  the 
city  will  he  divided  into  districts,  and  two  of  the  subscribers  will  call  on 
the  inhabitants  of  each  district  to  receive  their  donations  on  or  after  the 
25th  instant."! 

The  fortifications  thus  constructed  consisted  of  a 
star  fort  of  brick-work,  which  was  subsequently  called 
Fort  McHenry  in  honor  of  James  McHenry,  of  Balti- 
more, who  was  the  first  Secretary  of  War  under  Wash- 
ington. During  the  war  of  1812  the  defenses  of  Fort 
McHenry  were  still  further  strengthened,  and  it  was 
thus  enabled  to  withstand  successfully  the  memorable 
attack  of  Sept.  13,  1814.  In  1872  a  heavy  water-bat- 
tery was  constructed  and  the  fort  was  placed  upon  a 
thorough  military  footing.  In  spite  of  the  proud  as- 
sociations connected  with  its  heroic  resistance  in  1814, 
Fort  McHenry  can  scarcely  be  considered  at  the 
present  day  as  an  adequate  water  defense,  and  it  might 
with  advantage  be  superseded  by  another  fortification 
at  a  greater  distance  from  the  city. 

Fort  Carroll  is  situated  in  the  middle  of  the 
Patapsco  River,  eight  miles  below  Baltimore.  It  is 
a  six-sided  work,  originally  intended  to  be  casemated 
on  all  sides,  but  has  never  been  entirely  completed. 
It  occupies  four  acres,  and  is  furnished  with  over  forty 
heavy  guns.  With  three  tiers  of  casemates  and  bar- 
bette as  originally  intended,  its  armament  would  have 
consisted  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  guns.  Fort  Car- 
roll is  in  charge  of  Col.  Craighill,  who  is  superin- 
tendent of  the  harbor  defenses  of  Baltimore.  The 
ordinary  occupants  of  the  post  are  only  the  "  fort 
keeper,"  the  light-house  keeper,  and  their  families. 
The  walls  of  the  fort  are  from  eight  to  ten  feet  thick 
and  forty  feet  high.  The  foundations  rest  upon  heavy 
piles  riprapped  and  driven  into  the  bed  of  the  river. 

Fort  Carroll  was  first  projected  in  1847,  when  Maj. 
Ogden,  of  the  United  States  Engineers,  asked  for  an 

1  Their  hope  of  reimbursement  by  the  Legislature,  and  we  may  also 
say  by  the  general  governmeut,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  realized. 


292 


HISTORY    OF    BALTIMORE    CITY    AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


appropriation  to  locate  the  site  on  Soller's  Flats,  be- 
tween Sparrow's  Point  and  Hawkins'  Point.     Work 
was  actually  begun  March  1,  1848.     Capt.  Robert  E.  1 
Lee,  then  a  brevet  colonel  of  engineers  for  nieritor-  i 
ious  services  in  the  Mexican  war,  relieved  Maj.  Ogden 
in  the  superintendence  of  the  work  on  the  15th  of  ! 
November,   1848,   remaining   in   charge   until   1852. 
Lieut.-Col.  Brewerton  had  charge  from  1861  to  1864, 
and  Col.  Craighill,  in  connection  with  other  duties,  j 
since  about  1871.  | 

The  Observatory. — The  observatory  on   Federal 
Hill  is  an  "  i,h\  iiiluibitant."   On  May  9,  1797,  Daniel 
Porter  notified  the  commercial  port  of  Baltimore  that  j 
his  observatory  rooms  were  then  ready,  and  that  the  j 
price  of  one  year's  admittance  thereto  was  three  dol-  I 
lars,  and  single  visits  twenty-five  cents ;  that  he  ex-  | 
pected  soon   "  to  get  as  good  a  telescope  as  can  be  j 
procured  in  London,"  and  that  signals  for  vessels  had  j 
been  completed  as  follows :  "  An  American  ensign  for  ! 
a  ship,  a  pendant  for  a  brig,  a  burgee  for  a  topsail  j 
schooner,  and  a  red  flag  for  a  sloop  ;  for  a  ship  and  a  [ 
brig,  a  pendant  over  the  ensign ;  for  two  brigs,  the 
ensign  over  the  pendant ;  for  two  ships,  a  pendant 
over  the  red  flag."     Gentlemen  who  wished  to  en- 
courage this  necessary  undertaking  were  invited  "to 
send  their  names  to  the  observatory  on  Federal  Hill." 
And  there  to-day,  at  an  elevation  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  above  tide,  the  signals  that  notify  of  ap- 
proaching craft  may  be  seen.     A  more  powerful  tele- 
scope than  that  of  Daniel  Porter  now  makes  out  the 
letters,  recognizes  the  flags,  and  communicates  the 
intelligence  of  the  arrival  of  the  thousands  of  vessels 
that  make  up  the  commerce  of  this  city. 

Ferries. — In  1813,  Peter  Paul  ferried  persons  across 
the  river  by  two  ferry-boats,  Nos.  1  and  2,  at  twelve 
and  a  half  cents  ferriage.  The  "  Locust  Point  Ferry 
Company"  was  organized  in  1851  with  a  capital  of 
ten  thousand  dollars,  with  Rowland  Robinson  as 
president.  Their  first  steam  ferry-boat  was  launched 
from  the  yard  of  Homey  &  Mead,  on  June  14th  of 
that  year,  and  was  designed  to  ply  between  Kerr's 
Wharf  and  Locust  Point.  Her  name  was  the  "  Lo- 
cust Point,"  and  her  regular  trips  began  Aug.  4, 
1851.  The  same  company  added  "  The  Belle  of  Bal- 
timore" to  their  line  May,  1852.  In  1857  the  City 
Council  authorized  the  use  of  the  terminus  of  the 
county  wharf,  lower  end  of  Broadway,  to  this  com- 
pany for  ferry  purposes,  and  on  May  28,  1857,  the 
"  Locust  Point"  and  the  "  Belle  of  Baltimore"  com- 
menced regularly  the  route  from  that  wharf  to  Locust 
Point. 

The  "  Federal  Hill  Steam  Ferry  Company"  was 
organized  Jan.  30,  1854  ;  E.  A.  Abbott,  president ; 
John  S.  Brown,  Horace  Abbott,  R.  A.  Taylor,  H.  R. 
Hazlehurst,  Saml.  Butler,  and  Thos.  Kensett,  direc- 
tors. The  route  was  from  Hughes  to  West  Falls 
Avenue.  The  "'  City  Block,"  a  substantial  and  com- 
modious boat,  commenced  lier  regular  trips  in  April, 
1855. 


In  1864  the  Patapsco  Company  opened  a  ferry  from 
their  lands  at  Locust  Point  to  Ferry  Bar,  and  in  Sep- 
tember the  steamer  "  Liberty"  opened  the  route. 

In  1865,  M.  E.  Uniack,  of  South  Baltimore,  opened 
a  ferry  with  twenty  small  ferry-boats,  marked  on  the 
stern  "  W.  &  C,"  for  the  ferriage  of  persons  from 
Covington  Street,  South  Baltimore,  to  the  tobacco 
warehouse  on  the  opposite  side.  In  1861  an  ordi- 
nance authorized  The  City  Block  Ferry  and  Towing 
Company  to  open  a  ferry  between  West  Falls  Avenue 
and  Great  Hughes  Street. 

Ship-Building. — As  a  ship-building  station  Balti- 
more takes  an  early  precedence  among  American 
cities.  Ships  were  built  at  Fell's  Point  at  a  period 
anterior  to  the  founding  of  Baltimore  Town.  In 
1752,  however,  but  two  ships,  the  "  Philip  and 
Charles"  and  the  "  Baltimore,"  were  owned  in  the 
town,  though  Douglass,  who  died  in  that  year,  says 
"  some  years  since  they  built  a  very  large  ship,  called 
the  '  British  Merchant,'  burden  one  thousand  hogs- 
heads." The  Province  of  Maryland  in  1 769,  accord- 
ing to  the  tables  of  Lord  Sheffield,  built  twenty  ves- 
sels of  thirteen  hundred  and  forty-four  tons.  In  1772 
only  eight  vessels  were  built  in  Maryland.  From 
Jan.  5,  1770,  to  Jan.  5,  1771,  the  total  tonnage  of 
Maryland  was  30,477  tons  entered  and  32,474  tons 
cleared;  how  much  of  this  belonged  to  Baltimore 
it  is  impossible  even  to  conjecture.  ,  John  Pearce,  in 
1777,  built  for  Messrs.  John  Sterett  and  others  the 
topsail  schooner  "  Antelope,"  armed  with  fourteen 
guns,  and  under  the  command  of  Jeremiah  Yellott 
she  made  many  voyages,  and  had  many  narrow  es- 
capes; the  "Felicity,"  the  "Nonesuch,"  the  "Buck- 
skin," and  the  "  Virginia"  frigate  of  twenty-eight  guns 
all  belong  to  this  period  of  Baltimore  ship-building, 
and  their  various  exploits  are  more  fully  detailed 
under  their  records  as  privateers  and  men-of-war. 
In  1786  there  were  entered  in  the  port  of  Baltimore 
fifty  ships,  fifty-seven  brigs,  and  one  hundred  and 
sixty  schooners  and  sloops,  and  there  were  cleared  for 
foreign  ports  twenty  ships,  fifty-seven  brigs,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  schooners  and  sloops.  In  1787, 
Messrs.  Septimus  Noel,  Isaac  Vanbibber,  Robert  Hen- 
derson, and  Thomas  Elliott  were  constituted  a  Board 
of  Examiners  to  license  pilots  and  establish  rates  of 
pilotage.  In  1791  there  arrived  at  Baltimore  sixty- 
eight  ships  and  barges,  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine 
snows  and  brigs,  ninety-four  schooners,  forty-five 
sloops,  and  three  hundred  and  seventy  coasters, 
making  seven  hundred  and  forty-six  vessels  entered 
at  the  custom-house,  and  the  clearances  were  three 
hundred  and  eighty-seven  for  foreign  ports,  and  six 
hundred  and  sixty-two  coasters.  In  1795  the  number 
of  vessels  of  all  kinds  entered  at  the  port  were  one 
hundred  and  nine  ships,  one  hundred  and  sixty-two 
brigs,  three  hundred  and  fifty  sloops  and  schooners, 
and  five  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-four  "  bay 
craft."  The  value  of  merchandise  entered  at  the  cus- 
tom-house from  October,  1790,  to  October,  1791 ,  was 


THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  BALTIMOKE  AS  A  TRADE  CENTRE. 


293 


$1,690,000;  in  1792,  $1,782,861 ;  in  1793,  $2,092,660; 
in  1794,  $3,456,421 ;  in  1795,  $4,421,924;  making  in 
all  $13,444,796;  and  for  the  State  of  Maryland,  in  the 
same  year,  $20,026,126. 

During  the  Revolution  the  shipyards  of  Baltimore 
were  very  active  in  fitting  out  cruisers  to  annoy  the 
enemy  and  to  supply  the  need  of  a  regular  navy. 
The  marine  committee  equipped  in  Baltimore  a  sloop 
and  a  schooner,  the  first  that  got  to  sea  under  the  new 
government. 

The  war  between  France  and  England  in  1798  so 
nearly  involved  the  United  States  that  preparations 
were  made  in  expectation  of  participation  therein. 
In  all  these  measures  of  defense  Baltimore  took  an 
active  and  zealous  part.  At  a  meeting  of  merchants 
held  at  the  Exchange,  No.  2  Commerce  Street,  on 
June  16,  1798,  Thorogood  Smith  in  the  chair,  Messrs. 
Robert  Oliver,  David  Stewart,  George  Sears,  John 
Strieker,  and  James  Barry  were  appointed  a  commit- 
tee to  receive  subscriptions  for  the  purpose  of  building 
and  equipping  two  sloops-of-war  to  be  presented  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States.  At  this  meet- 
ing forty  thousand  three  hundred  dollars  was  imme- 
diately subscribed  for  the  purpose,  which  was  in- 
creased in  four  days  to  seventy-six  thousand  one 
hundred  dollars.  Under  this  action  of  the  patriotic 
citizens  of  Baltimore  the  sloops-of-war  "  Maryland" 
and  "  Chesapeake"  were  built  at  Fell's  Point  and 
presented  to  the  United  States  government.  The 
"  Maryland,"  of  twenty-six  guns,  constructed  at  Price's 
ship-yard,  was  launched  on  June  3,  1799,  and  on  Sep- 
tember 13th  following  sailed  under  Capt.  John  Rogers. 
The  "  Che.sapeake,"  of  twenty  guns,  was  built  at  the 
ship-yard  of  Lewis  Rochbrune,  and  launched  on  June 
20,  1799.  The  frigate  "Constellation,"  of  thirty- 
eight  guns,  was  built  at  the  ship-yard  of  David  Stod- 
der,  in  Harris  Creek,  for  the  United  States  government, 
and  was  launched  on  Sept.  9,  1797.  Under  the  com- 
mand of  Capt.  Thomas  Truxton  the  "  Constellation" 
sailed  from  Baltimore  April  6,  1798,  and  gallantly 
captured  the  French  frigate  "  Insurgente,"  Feb.  9, 
1799.  The  "Insurgente"  was  brought  to  Baltimore 
and  fitted  out,  but  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Pat- 
rick Fletcher  was  lost  with  all  her  crew  the  ensuing 
winter.  The  merchant  ships  "  Baltimore"  and  "  Mon- 
tezuma," of  this  port,  were  fitted  out  with  twenty 
guns  each,  and  commanded  respectively  by  Capts. 
Isaac  Philips  and  Alexander  Murray.  On  the  16th 
of  November,  1798,  the  "  Baltimore"  having  convoyed 
a  number  of  American  vessels  near  Havana,  was  met 
by  a  British  squadron  under  Admiral  Loring,  who 
invited  Capt.  Philips  on  board  his  ship ;  and  in  his 
absence  had  above  fifty  men  brought  away  from  the 
"  Baltimore"  as  British  seamen,  which  Capt.  Philips 
resented  strenuously  and  offered  up  his  ship.  Admiral 
Loring  returned  all  the  men  but  five,  and  Capt.  Philips 
being  without  a  commission  for  his  ship,  and  thinking 
the  government  would  find  some  better  means  of  re- 
dress, hoisted  his  flag  and  proceeded,  but  was  dis- 


missed the  service  on  his  return  without  a  trial  by  an 
order  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.     The  remaining 
I  officers  and  crew  becoming  dissatisfied  at  the  dismissal 
of  their  commander,  in  February,  1799,   when   off 
Craney  Island,  the   officers  resigned  and  the   crew 
mutinied.      In    1799    an    elegantly-modeled    cutter 
pierced  for  fourteen  guns  was  launched  from  the  ship- 
yard of  Mr.  Price  for  the  United  States.     On  Sept.  8, 
1804,  the  United  States  schooner  "  Louisiana,"  cop- 
pered and  pierced  for  sixteen  guns,  was  launched  from 
the  yard  of  Mr.  Parsons.     In  1832  the  following  ves- 
sels were  being  built  at  the  shipyards  of  Baltimore :' 
"  At  Robb  &  Donaldson's,  a  brig  two  hundred  and 
fifty  tons;  at  Gardnes',  a  ship  five  hundred  tons;  at 
Beacham's,  a  ship  five  hundred  tons ;   at  Duncan's, 
a  ship  five  hundred  tons;  at  Price's,  a  brig  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  tons  ;  at  Kennard's,  a  large  ship  ;  at 
Dorgans  &  Bailey's  two  large  brigs  ;  at  Miles',  a  large 
schooner;  at  Stevens',  a  schooner;  at  Culley's,  a  ship; 
at  Skinner's,  besides  the  beautiful  steamboat '  Patrick 
Henry'  now  there  receiving  her  machinery,  there  is 
!  on  the  stocks  in  a  great  state  of  forwardness  a  steam- 
I  boat  which  bids  fair  to  rival  anything  of  the  kind  on 
j  the  Chesapeake."     The  "  noble  ship  '  Medora' "  was 
launched  from  P.  Beacham's  yard  Aug.  23,  1832,^  for 
the  Liverpool  trade,  Luke  Tiernan   &  Son  owners. 
j  Jan.  17, 1839,  James  Gordon  Bennett,  in  a  letter  from 
Washington  to  the  New  York  Herald,  gives  the  fol- 
1  lowing  account  of  ship-building  at  Baltimore: 

"  Everything  was  ice-bound,  yet  I  saw  much  of  interest.  There  are 
six  -vessels  building  here  for  the  Texas  government,  one  fiigate  of 
twenty  guns,  two  brigs,  and  three  schooners;  they  are  getting  rapidly 
along,  and  a  portion  will  be  afloat  next  summer.  I  examined  also  a 
splendid  new  ship,  recently  launched,  built  on  a  somewhat  new  model, 
under  the  direction  of  the  owner,  Capt.  Leslie,  of  this  city.  This  vessel 
is  called  the  -Scotia,'  measuring  four  hundred  tons,  but  capable  of  car. 
rying  twelve  hundred  tons  at  least.  The  character  of  Baltimore  for 
building  'clippers'  has  been  celebrated  in  former  days.  Such  vessels 
sacrifice  burden  to  speed.  The  '  Scotia'  is  the  first  vessel  constructed  on 
a  new  model  combining  the  Baltimore  and  Boston  systems,  so  as  to 
unite  burden  with  speed.  It  is  calculated  that  the  commercial  interest 
of  Baltimore  has  lost  five  millions  of  dollars  during  the  last  ten  years, 
arising  from  the  peculiar  construction  of  their  vessels.  A  complete  revo- 
lution is  begun.  The  '  Scotia'  is  the  first  on  the  new  plan.  I  saw  at  the 
wharf  the  '  Ann  McKim,'  a  beautiful  ship  built  on  the  old  plan  for  speed 
at  the  sacrifice  of  burden.  It  was  amusing  to  contrast  the  great  differ- 
ence between  these  ships.  Ship-building  is  carried  on  to  a  considerable 
extent  here,  and  many  merchants  of  the  North  have  their  vessels  built 
here,  principally  from  the  superior  cheapness  of  labor  as  compared  with 
New  York." 

The  LTnited  States  gunboat  "  Eutaw,"  of  twelve 
hundred  tons  measurement,  length  two  hundred  and 
forty  feet,  beam  thirty-five  feet,  and  depth  of  hold 
twelve  feet,  was  launched  from  the  ship-yard  of  J.  A. 
I  Robb  in  May,  1863,  and  the  United  States  monitor 
j  "  Waxhaw"  from  the  wharf  of  Messrs.  Denmead,  in 
May,  1865. 

Baltimore  Clippers. — The  triumph  of  Baltimore 
ship-building    was    the     Baltimore    "  clipper,"    the 


1  There  were  building  iu  the  ship-yards  of  Baltimore  in  1832  eight 

ips,  six  schooners,  and  one  steamboat. 

'  1826.     Mr.  Beacham  launched  a  six-  four-gun  ship  for  the  : 


HISTORY    OF   BALTLMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,   MARYLAND. 


fastest  and  stanchest  sailing  craft  formerly  built  in 
any  country.  The  model  is  said  to  have  originated 
at  St.  Michael's,  in  Talbot  County,  where  ship-build-  \ 
ing  had  been  handed  down  from  father  to  son,  and 
sometimes  through  collateral  branches,  from  1670,  and  i 
to  have  grown  out  of  the  "pinnace"  of  Capt.  John 
Smith.  The  model  was  a  rather  singular  one,  being 
broader  and  higher  in  the  bows  than  in  the  stern. 
Upon  the  model  of  the  "clipper"  the  yacht  "  Amer- 
ica," which  carried  ofl'the  international  prize  in  18.51, 
was  built.  These  schooners  furnished  the  British 
builders  with  models  for  their  best  ships,  and  the 
changes  introduced  by  the  Collins  line  of  steamers 
may  be  directly  traced  to  the  model  of  the  "  clipper" 
ships  of  Baltimore.  Their  admirable  forms  for  the 
combination  of  stability  with  great  speed  and  for 
holding  their  course,  their  long  and  slender  masts, 
and  their  unusually  large  spread  of  canvas,  cut  so 
perfectly  that  none  of  the  propelling  force  of  the  wind  ' 
was  lost  or  wasted,  presented  a  rig  exactly  adapted  to  ' 
the  model  of  their  need,  and  made  them  famous  all 
over  the  world.  It  was  "  The  Flying  Cloud,"  of  clip- 
per build,  that  made  the  two  shortest  trips  between 
New  York  and  San  Francisco  in  1851,  one  in  ninety 
and  the  other  in  eighty-nine  days.  The  clipper 
"Sovereign  of  the  Seas,"  in  1863,  arrived  at  Liver- 
pool from  New  York  in  less  than  fourteen  days,  and 
from  thence  to  Melbourne  in  eighty  days.  The 
"Comet"  made  the  passage  from  Liverpool  to  Hong- 
Kong  in  less  than  eighty-five  days,  and  from  San 
Francisco  to  New  York  in  seventy-seven  days;  the 
"  Panama"  from  New  York  to  Shanghai  in  eighty- 
five  days,  all  attest  the  splendid  sailing  qualities  of 
those  model  ships  which,  having  their  origin  here, 
associated  with  their  form  the  name  of  this  city. 
But  the  most  remarkable  instance  of  rapid  sailing 
recorded  is  probably  that  of  the  brig  "John  Gilpin,"  i 
of  Baltimore,  which  sailed  from  this  port  to  Batavia  j 
in  a  passage  of  eighty-two  days,  proceeded  thence  to  j 
Canton  in  eleven  days ;  from  Canton  to  Manilla  in 
five  days  ;  from  Manilla,  through  the  Straits  of  Sunda 
round  south  of  New  Holland  to  lat.  48°,  to  Valparaiso 
in  eighty-five  days,  and  from  Valparaiso  to  Lima  in  six 
days  and  seventeen  hours,  making  an  aggregate  dis- 
tance of  thirty-four  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty  ; 
miles  in  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine  days  and  seven- 
teen hours, — averaging  a  fraction  more  than  one  hun- 
dred mid  eighty-three  miles  per  day.  The  "  Gray 
Eagle,"  a  Baltimore-built  ship,  made  the  passage 
from  Rio  to  Philadelphia  in  twenty-three  and  a  half 
days.  The"Banshee,"Capt.Wingate, and  the  "Grey-  i 
hound,"  Capt.  Pickett,  both  Baltimore-built,  made 
their  famous  race  to  Rio,  the  former  winning  by 
twenty-eight  hours,  in  thirty-nine  days.  In  the 
race  the  Boston  clipper  "  Shooting  Star"  entered  at 
Etjuator,  but  was  beaten  by  the  "  Greyhound."  The 
"  Architect,"  another  Baltimore-built  clipper,  made  | 
the  voyage  from  New  Orleans  to  San  Francisco  in 
one  hundred  and  seventeen  davs. 


The  civil  war  between  the  States  and  the  tariff 
necessitated  by  the  public  debt  have  had  on  ship- 
building at  Baltimore  the  same  depressing  effect 
which  has  at  every  other  port  overtaken  American 
ship-building.  As  the  currency  has  become  fixed, 
the  price  of  labor,  which  in  ship-building  is  fully 
eighty  per  cent,  of  the  cost,  is  coming  down  ;  the  cost 
of  materials  is  diminishing;  and  it  only  remains  for 
some  modification  of  the  tariff  to  be  made  in  order  to 
revive  this  great  industry.  Baltimore  has  the  same 
skill  and  material,  the  energy  and  capital,  the  same 
cheapness  of  labor,  and  all  her  other  facilities  which 
made  the  clipper-built  ship  known  throughout  the 
world. 

The  new  demand  for  iron  ships  will  find  this  port 
equally  prepared  with  all  the  appliances  for  the  con- 
struction of  that  class  of  vessels.  The  census  of 
1880  shows  18  ship-building  firms  in  Baltimore,  em- 
ploying 540  hands,  with  .$96,500  capital,  paying  an- 
nual wages  of  $110,556,  and  paying  for  materials 
$140,069,  with  annual  products  valued  at  $309,988. 
In  addition,  there  are  15  ship-carpentering  establish- 
ments, employing  62  hands,  with  $21,375  of  capital, 
paying  $20,685  in  annual  wages,  and  for  material 
$15,302,  with  an  annual  production  valued  at  $57,630. 

French  Spoliations  prior  to  1800.— The  story  of 
French  spoliations  on  American  commerce  prior  to 
1800  presents  one  of  the  strongest  illustrations  of  the 
maxim  that  "  No  one  is  fit  to  be  a  judge  in  his  own 
case,"  for  the  original  wrongs  done  by  France  having 
been  atoned  for  by  her,  the  United  States  have  per- 
petuated and  aggravated  those  wrongs  by  receiving 
the  compensation  from  France  and  withholding  it  to 
this  day  from  the  rightful  owners.  This  outrage 
upon  American  citizens,  this  immoral  and  unconsti- 
tutional confiscation  of  the  property  of  American 
merchants,  has  a  history,  which,  though  now  almost 
forgotten,  is  nevertheless  a  blot  upon  the  character 
of  our  government.  That  history  we  propose  to 
revive  and  recall. 

Our  first  transaction  with  a  foreign  government  as 
an  independent  nation  was  the  treaty  of  alliance ;vith 
France,  concluded  6th  of  February,  1778,  and  by  that 
treaty  France  acknowledged  our  independence  and 
engaged  to  supjjort  it  with  all  her  power.  Its  second 
article  declared  that  "  the  essential  and  direct  end  of 
the  present  defensive  alliance  is  to  maintain  effect- 
ually the  liberty,  sovereignty,  and  independence,  ab- 
solute and  unlimited,  of  the  said  United  States,  as 
well  in  matters  of  government  as  of  commerce ;"  and, 
in  prosecution  of  this  object,  France  engaged  to  fur- 
nish assistance,  without  any  claim  to  compensation, 
whatever  might  be  the  event  of  the  war.  The  conse- 
quence of  this  treaty  to  France  was  an  immediate  and 
expensive  war  with  Great  Britain. 

For  the  guarantee  of  our  independence  and  for  the 
material  aid  given  by  France  to  the  United  States, 
article  11  of  the  treaty  guaranteed  "the  present  pos- 
sessions of  the  Crown  of  France  in  America,  as  well 


THE   ADVANTAGES   OF    BALTIMOKE    AS   A  TRADE    CENTRE. 


as  those  it  may  acquire  by  the  future  treaty  of  peace," 
and  by  article  12,  "the  contracting  parties  declare 
that  in  case  of  a  rupture  between  France  and  Eng- 
land, the  reciprocal  guarantee  declared  in  article  11 
shall  have  its  force  and  effect  the  moment  such  war 
shall  break  out." 

France  fulfilled  her  engagements  to  the  letter, — she 
furnished  supplies  of  men  and  money,  and  her  troops 
and  ships  participated  in  the  surrender  of  Lord  Corn- 
wallis.  England  yielded  to  the  united  forces  of  the 
two  countries,  acknowledged  our  independence,  and 
ample  territory  was  secured  by  the  treaty  of  peace. 

On  the  same  day  that  the  treaty  of  alliance  was 
formed  with  France  another  treaty,  of  amity  and 
commerce,  was  concluded,  the  17th,  22d,  and  23d  arti- 
cles of  which  have  an  important  bearing  upon  our 
subject.  Article  17  made  it  "  lawful  for  the  ships  of 
war  and  privateers  freely  to  carry  whithersoever  they 
please  the  ships  and  goods  taken  from  their  enemies," 
without  duty  to  admiralty  officers,  and  without  arrest  I 
or  seizure  in  port,  and  without  search  or  examination. 
And  on  the  other  hand,  "  no  shelter  or  refuge  shall  be 
given  in  the  ports  of  either  contracting  party  to  such 
as  shall  make  prizes  of  the  subjects,  people,  or  prop- 
erty of  either  of  the  parties."  Article  22  provided 
that  "  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  foreign  privateers," 
not  belonging  to  France  or  the  United  States,  "  to  fit 
their  ships  in  the  ports  of  either,"  or  to  sell  what  they 
have  taken,  or  to  exchange  ship  or  merchandise,  nor 
make  purchase  of  anything  beyond  absolute  necessa- 
ries. Article  23  made  it  lawful  for  the  subjects  of 
France  or  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  sail 
with  their  ships,  no  matter  who  were  the  proprietors 
of  the  merchandise  laden  thereon,  with  all  manner  of 
liberty  and  security,  from  any  port  to  the  places  of 
those  who  now  are  or  hereafter  shall  be  at  enmity 
with  either  France  or  the  United  States;  that  free 
ships  shall  also  give  a  freedom  to  goods,  and  that  every- 
thing shall  be  deemed  free  and  exempt  found  on 
board  the  ship  of  either  contracting  party  except 
contraband  of  war,  which  latter  articles  were  listed 
in  another  article ;  and  the  same  freedom  extended 
to  persons  as  well  as  to  property.  On  the  14th  of  No-  j 
vember,  1788,  the  Consular  Convention  was  also  con-  j 
eluded  between  France  and  the  United  States.  I 

The  French  Revolution  of  1789  convulsed  Europe 
and   involved  almost  every  nation  in   wars,  during 
which  rights  unprotected  by  ample  force  were  re-  ) 
spected  by  neither  party.     Our  commerce,  at  that  i 
time  flourishing,  and  encouraged  by  the  neutral  po- 
sition of  our  government,  was  peculiarly  exposed  to 
danger,  and  suffered  extremely.    Our  citizens  shipped 
immense  quantities  of  provisions  to  the  belligerents  j 
of  Europe,  trusting  for  immunity  and  safety  to  our 
neutrality  and  to  the  action  of  our  government.   Their  i 
ships  fell  an  easy  jjrey  to  the  contending  parties,  and  j 
our  commerce  was  almost  entirely  swept  from  the  | 
sea.     Under  these  circumstances  the  government  is-  | 
sued  its  circular,  as  follows  : 


"CunipIaiDts  having  been  made  to  the  government  of  the  United  States 
of  some  instances  of  unjustifiable  vexation  and  spoliation  committed  on 
our  merchant  vessels  by  the  privateers  of  the  powers  at  war,  and  it  being 
possible  that  other  instances  may  have  happened  of  which  no  informa- 
tion has  been  given  to  the  government,  I  have  it  in  charge  from  the 
President  to  assure  the  merchants  of  the  United  States  concerned  in 
foreign  commerce  and  navigation  that  due  attention  will  be  paid  to  any 
injuries  tliey  may  suffer  on  the  high  seas  or  in  foreign  countries,  con- 
trary to  the  law  of  nations  or  to  existing  treaties;  and  that  on  their  for- 
warding hither  (to  the  Department  of  State)  well-authenticated  evidence 
of  the  same,  proper  proceedings  will  be  adopted  for  their  relief" 

In  response  to  this  invitation  merchants  collected 
the  evidence  of  their  injuries  and  transmitted  it  to 
the  State  Department.  For  what  purpose  was  the 
invitation  given  if  not  for  redress  of  wrongs,  com- 
pensation for  losses,  "  indemnity  for  the  past,  and 
security  for  the  future?"  That  the  government  so 
understood  its  duty,  and  entered  actively  upon  its 
discharge,  is  abundantly  proven  by  the  instructions 
given  to  our  ministers  resident  in  France,  by  the  ac- 
tion of  those  oflicers,  and  by  the  results  of  their  labors. 
The  instructions  given  to  Mr.  Monroe,  who  succeeded 
Mr.  Morris  in  1794,  were  "to  insist  upon  compensa- 
tion for  the  captures  and  spoliations  of  our  property 
and  injuries  to  the  persons  of  our  citizens  by  French 
cruisers."  This  was  done,  and  so  persistently  done 
that  apology  was  given  and  explanation  offered,  the 
French  minister  concluding  his  dispatch  by  saying 
that  "the  difficulty  of  distinguishing  our  allies  from 
our  enemies  has  often  been  the  cause  of  offenses  com- 
mitted on  board  your  vessels ;  all  that  the  administra- 
tion could  do  is  to  order  indemnification  to  those  who 
have  suffered,  and  to  punish  the  guilty."  But  the 
spoliations  did  not  cease,  and,  to  the  contrary,  in- 
creased, not  only  in  European  waters,  but  even  the 
authorities  in  the  West  Indian  possessions  of  France 
i.ssued  their  decrees  prohibiting  trade  with  Great 
Britain  and  her  islands,  authorizing  the  seizure  of 
American  vessels  and  the  appropriation  of  the  prop- 
erty of  American  citizens.  Some  idea  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  American  commerce  and  the  loss  to  our  citi- 
zens may  be  had  from  a  single  clause  in  a  report  to 
the  Executive  Directory  of  France,  in  which  it  is  said 

"  that  having  found  no  resource  in  finance,  and  knowing  the  unfriendly 
disposition  of  the  Americans,  and  to  avoid  perishing  in  distress,  they  had 
armed  for  cruising;  and  that  already  eighty-seven  cruisers  were  at  sea; 
and  that  for  three  months  preceding  the  administration  had  subsisted 
and  individuals  been  enriched  by  the  product  of  their  prizes." 

The  people  of  this  country,  humiliated  by  the  wrongs 
endured  by  their  fellow-citizens,  and  the  evident 
hesitancy  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  vindicate 
the  national  honor,  began  an  agitation  which  drew  a 
resolution  from  the  House  of  Representatives  asking 
for  information.  In  reply  to  which,  on  the  21st  of 
June,  1797,  the  Secretary  of  State  reported  the  facts 
of  wrong  and  humiliation,  of  property  seized  and 
confiscated  both  in  France  and  her  West  India 
possessions,  of  citizens  beaten,  insulted,  and  cruelly 
imprisoned,  of  the  exchange  of  American  citizens 
with  England  for  Frenchmen,  and  among  other  out- 
rages that  perpetrated  upon  "  Capt.  William  Murphy 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  the  ship  '  Cincinnatus,'  of  Baltimore,  with  a  copy 
of  the  protest,  together  with  an  extract  of  a  letter 
from  Mr.  King,  minister  of  the  United  States  in  Lon- 
don, who  examined  Capt.  Murphy's  thumbs,  and  says 
the  marks  of  the  torturing-screws  will  {ro  with  him  to 
his  grave." 

During  all  these  wrongs  and  outrages  the  protests 
of  our  government  were  overshadowed  and  clouded 
by  the  knowedge  of  the  fact  that  the  stipulations  of 
our  guaranty  of  the  possessions  of  France  in  the 
West  Indies  by  article  11  of  the  treaty  of  alliance 
were  unfulfilled,  and  that  our  government  was  liable 
at  any  moment  to  be  called  on  to  discharge  its  portion 
of  that  treaty.  In  one  of  the  conversations,  Mr. 
Monroe  was  asked  by  the  French  minister  if  he  in- 
sisted on  the  execution  of  the  treaties,  and  Mr.  Mon- 
roe declined  giving  an  explicit  reply.  The  procla- 
mation of  neutrality,  issued  by  President  Washington, 
in  December,  1793,  aggravated  and  exasperated  tlie 
French.  The  excitement  of  that  day  has  passed 
away,  the  violence  of  its  hasty  spirit  no  longer  blinds 
the  judgment  of  men,  and  candor  compels  the  con- 
fession that  our  engagements  under  the  treaty  of  al- 
liance were  unlimited,  and  that  the  casus  f<jederis  was 
not  confined  to  a  defensive  war ;  that  we  could  not 
be  neutral  while  that  treaty  was  unannulled.  The 
treaty  with  England  of  1794  was  made  known  at  this 
time,  and  that  also  increased  the  unfriendliness  of 
France.  Many  of  its  provisions  interfered  with  the 
privileges  of  France  under  the  treaty  of  alliance  of 
1778 ;  the  17th  article  of  which  gave  'to  French 
men-of-war  and  privateers  the  exclusive  right  of 
shelter  in  our  ports;  the  22d  article  i)rohibited  any 
but  French  privateers  from  fitting  out  their  ships, 
selling  their  prizes,  or  purchasing  anything  but  abso- 
lute nece.ssaries.  The  treaty  with  England  (1794)  ex- 
tended many  of  these  privileges  to  England,  and, 
moreover,  the  principle  that  free  ships  make  free  aoods, 
guaranteed  to  France,  was  surrendered  to  England, 
and  British  cruisers  were  allowed  to  take  French 
goods  and  French  subjects  from  our  vessels.  The  list 
of  contraband  articles  of  the  treaty  of  1788  was  en- 
larged and  extended  by  that  of  1794,  very  greatly  to 
the  injury  of  France.  These  were  practical  and  seri- 
ous grievances,  which  were  subsequently  brought  for- 
ward by  France  as  an  offset  to  the  claims  of  our  citi- 
zens, and  formed  a  part  of  the  consideration  for 
which  these  claims  were  relinquished. 

From  the  time  of  the  publication  of  the  treaty  with 
England  (1794)  the  tone  of  the  French  government 
towards  the  United  States  materially  changed ;  she 
demanded  the  performance  of  the  stipulation  of  guar- 
anty of  her  West  India  possessions,  then  lost  to  her ; 
she  suspended  her  minister  to  our  government,  and 
refused  to  receive  ours  in  France.  Though  the  mis- 
sion of  Marshall,  Pinkney,  and  Gerry  proved  fruit- 
less, yet  their  instructions  are  an  important  factor  in 
the  history  of  these  claims.  The  language  of  these 
instructions  was : 


"  Although  the  reparation  fur  losses  sustained  by  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  in  consequence  of  irregular  or  illegal  captures  or  con- 
demnations, or  forcible  seizures  or  detentions,  is  of  very  high  impor- 
tance, and  is  to  be  pressed  with  the  greatest  earnestness,  yet  it  is  not  to  be 
insisted  on  as  an  indispensable  condition  of  the  proposed  treaty.  You 
are  nol,  however^  to  renounce  these  claims  of  our  citizens,  nor  to  stipulate  that 
they  be  assumed  by  the  United  States  as  a  loan  to  the  French  govern- 


After  suggesting  the  necessity  of  revising  all  our 
treaties  with  France,  the  instructions  continue: 

"  In  such  revision,  the  first  object  tliat  will  attract  your  attention  is 
the  reciprocal  guaranty  in  the  11th  article  in  the  treaty  of  alliance. 
Tkis  guaranty  we  are  ■perfectly  willing  to  renounce.  The  guaranty  by 
France  of  the  liberty,  sovereignty,  and  independence  of  the  United 
States  will  add  nothing  to  our  security;  while,  on  the  contrary,  our  guar* 
anty  of  the  possessions  of  France  in  America  will  perpetually  expose  us  to 
the  risk  and  expense  of  ivar,  or  to  disputes  and  questions  concemimj  our 
national  faUh." 

It  was  our  covenant  in  the  treaty  of  alliance  that 
it  was  important  to  get  rid  of,  and  for  that  covenant 
our  government  swapped  the  claims  of  its  citizens  on 
France.  But  not  at  that  time.  The  mission  of  Mar- 
shall, Pinkney,  and  Gerry  failed  in  1798,  and  with 
so  much  humiliation  that  the  President,  in  his  mes- 
sage to  Congress,  declared  that  "  he  would  never  send 
another  minister  to  France  without  assurances  that 
he  would  be  received,  respected,  and  honored  as 
representative  of  a  great,  free,  powerful,  and  inde- 
pendent nation." 

To  such  a  length  were  these  French  depredations 
carried  that  our  government,  finding  it  useless  to  re- 
monstrate, and  fruitless  to  ask  indemnity,  determined 
to  adopt  more  efficient  measures  to  assert  its  own 
dignity  and  protect  the  rights  of  its  own  citizens. 
For  this  purpose  legislation  provided,  by  the  act  of 
May  28,  1798,  for  the  seizure  of  any  armed  vessel  of 
France  hovering  on  the  coast  of  the  United  States 
with  the  purpose  of  committing  depredations  on  our 
commerce.  On  the  13th  of  June,  1798,  the  Congress 
passed  an  act  suspending  all  intercourse  with  France ; 
on  the  25th  of  June,  "  An  act  to  authorize  the  defense 
of  merchants'  vessels  of  the  United  States  against 
French  depredations,"  besides  other  statutes  of  like 
character.  These  acts  of  quasi  war  were  followed  on 
the  7th  of  July,  1798,  by  the  law  annulling  the  treaties 
between  the  United  States  and  France,— a  law  which 
no  publicist  will  approve  and  which  posterity  will 
condemn.  It  is  not  within  the  province  of  one  party 
to  a  treaty  to  annul  its  provisions,  even  though  its 
provisions  may  have  been  violated  by  the  other. 

It  has  been  important  thus  hurriedly  to  trace  the 
principal  events  in  our  relations  with  France  in  order 
to  understand  how  these  claims  originated,  the  steps 
taken  in  negotiation  for  their  settlement,  and  how 
they  were  transferred  from  France  to  our  own  gov- 
ernment. Negotiations  were  renewed  in  1800,  with 
Chief  Justice  Ellsworth,  Mr.  Davie,  and  Mr.  Murray 
envoys  extraordinary  and  ministers  plenipotentiary. 
Their  instructions,  like  those  to  the  previous  embassy, 
were  to  the  effect  that  compensation  for  all  losses  and 
damages  sustained  by  reason  of  illegal  captures  or 
condemnations  of  the  vessels  or  other  property  of  our 


THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  BALTIMOKE  AS  A  TKADE  CENTRE. 


citizens  was  to  be  "  an  indispensable  condition  of  the 
treaty  ;"  that  while  national  claims  might  be  recipro-  [ 
cally  waived  and  abandoned,  individual  losses  must 
be  recognized  and  their  compensation  provided  for. 
Among  the  ultimata  were,  first,  the  establishment  of  i 
a  board  to  hear  and  determine  all  claiiAs  of  our  citi-  I 
zens  and  binding  France  to  pay  ;  second,  the  treaties  j 
declared  no  longer  obligatory  by  act  of  Congress 
were  not  to  be  revived ;  and,  third,  the  guaranty  of 
French  possession  was  not  to  be  stipulated  for  in 
any  new  treaty.  The  principal  object,  therefore,  of 
this  embassy,  as  of  the  first,  was  the  satisfaction  of 
the  claims  of  our  citizens ;  and  for  this  purpose  our 
minister  submitted  six  articles  of  a  treaty  relating 
entirely  to  the  claims  which  the  citizens  and  subjects 
of  the  two  nations  might  have  against  the  two  gov- 
ernments respectively,  and  binding  each  government 
to  their  full  and  complete  satisfaction.  The  French 
minister  replied  assenting  to  the  principles,  and  add- 
ing: "The  respective  ministers  agree  also  upon  the 
expediency  of  compensation.  The  discussion,  then, 
is  now  confined  to  two  points,  viz. :  First,  what  are 
the  principles  which  ought  to  govern  the  political 
and  commercial  relations  of  the  two  nations  ?  Sec- 
ond, what  is  the  form  most  suitable  to  the  respective 
interests  of  liquidating  and  discharging  the  indemni- 
ties which  shall  be  due  ?"  The  French  ministry  re- 
fused to  recognize  the  right  of  Congress  to  annul  the 
treaty  of  1778  by  the  act  of  July  7,  1798.  The  Amer- 
ican ministers  had  been  expressly  instructed  not  to 
admit  the  existence  of  the  former  treaties.  The 
French  thought  it  hard  to  indemnify  for  violating 
engagements  unless  they  can  thereby  be  restored  to 
the  benefit  of  them.  The  French  minister  offered 
two  propositions,  viz. :  first,  "  To  stipulate  for  the 
full  and  entire  recognition  of  the  treaties,  and  the 
reciprocal  engagements  of  compensation  for  damages 
resulting  on  both  sides  for  their  infraction;"  or,  sec- 
ondly, "  The  formation  of  a  new  treaty,  in  which  the 
French  nation,  laying  aside  a  privilege  disagreeable 
to  the  United  States,  would  treat  for  its  political  and 
commercial  relations  as  the  most  favored  nation,  and 
in  which  there  would  be  no  demand  for  compensa- 
tion," thus  reducing  it  to  the  simple  alternative  of 
the  ancient  treaties  with  full  indemnity,  or  a  new 
treaty  assuring  equality  with  no  indemnity. 

This  alternative  presented  to  the  American  envoys 
the  dilemma  of  abandoning  the  negotiations  or  depart- 
,  ing  from  their  instructions.  To  avoid  this  they  offered 
a  new  project, — that  the  former  treaties  should  be  re- 
newed and  confirmed,  except  so  far  as  altered  by  the 
projected  treaties ;  that  either  party,  upon  the  pay- 
ment of  three  million  of  francs,  might  reduce  the 
rights  of  the  other  as  to  privateers  to  those  of  the 
most  favored  nation  ;  that  the  neutral  guaranty  should 
be  commuted  for  the  annual  payment  of  one  million 
of  francs  during  the  war,  or  the  gross  sum  of  five  mil- 
lion of  francs  at  any  one  time  ;  that  the  former  trea- 
ties, except  the  17th  article,  should  be  modified ;  that 


there  should  be  a  mutual  stipulation  for  indemnities ; 
and  that  all  properties  seized,  but  not  then  condemned, 
should  be  restored.  This  was  considered  by  the 
French  as  an  adoption  of  their  second  alternative,  by 
which  indemnities  were  to  be  relinquished,  and  pro- 
posed in  direct  terms  that  "  the  indemnities  which 
shall  be  due  by  France  to  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  paid  for  by  the  United  States;  and 
in  return  for  which  France  yields  the  exclusive  privi- 
lege resulting  from  the  17th  and  22d  articles  of  the 
treaty  of  commerce,  and  from  the  rights  of  guaranty 
of  the  11th  article  of  the  treaty  of  alliance."  The 
American  envoys  not  being  able  to  agree  to  this, 
had  recourse  to  a  "temporary  arrangement  which 
would  extricate  the  United  States  from  the  situa- 
tion in  which  they  were  involved,  save  the  immense 
property  of  our  citizens  then  depending  before  the 
French  council  of  prizes,  and  secure,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, our  commerce  against  the  abuses  of  capture 
during  the  present  war;"  they  therefore  agreed  to 
the  convention  of  Sept.  30,  1800,  the  second  article  of 
which  provided  that  France  and  the  United  States, 
"  not  being  able  to  agree  at  present"  as  to  the  treaties 
of  1788,  "  nor  upon  the  indemnities  mutually  due  or 
claimed,"  will  negotiate  further  on  these  subjects  at  a 
convenient  time,  until  which  time  the  treaties  had 
no  operation,  and  the  future  relations  of  the  nations 
were  then  provided  for.  The  last  article  of  the  conven- 
tion of  1800,  after  providing  for  the  prosecution  of 
"  debts  contracted,"  concluded,  "  but  this  clause  shall 
not  extend  to  indemnities  claimed  on  account  of  cap- 
tures or  confiscations,"  these  having  been  left  for 
future  negotiation  by  the  second  article.  On  the  3d 
of  February,  1801,  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  rati- 
fied this  convention,  provided  the  second  article  be 
expunged,  and  in  lieu  thereof  the  following  be  in- 
serted:  "It  is  agreed  that  the  present  convention 
shall  be  in  force  for  the  term  of  eight  years  from  the 
time  of  exchange  of  ratifications."  To  this  France 
j  added  a  clause  which,  after  consenting  to  the  "  eight 
years,"  and  with  the  retrenchment  of  the  second 
I  article,  provided  thai  by  this  retrenchment  the  two 
i  states  renounce  the  respective  pretensions  which  are  the 
I  object  of  this  article."  Thus  the  United  States,  by 
j  treaty,  released  France  from  its  obligation,  and  for 
that  release  obtained  valuable  considerations,  at  one 
time  estimated  as  high  as  five  million  of  francs,  and 
by  France  held  at  a  much  higher  value.  Mr.  Madi- 
son, under  date  of  Feb.  6,  1804,  says  "the  claims 
from  which  France  were  released  were  admitted  by 
France,  and  the  release  was  for  a  valuable  considera- 
tion in  a  correspondent  release  of  the  United  States 
from  certain  claims  on  them."  Thus  private  prop- 
erty was  taken  for  public  uses  without  compensa- 
tion, contrary  to  good  morals,  positive  law,  and  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

For  more  than  eighty   years   this  confiscation   of 

private  property  to  public  uses  has  been  submitted 

'  to,  not  without  complaint  or  effort  on  the  part  of  the 


298 


HISTORY  OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


claimants,  but  against  their  earnest  application  and 
to  their  manifest  injury.  On  May  19,  1829,  a  meet- 
ing of  the  merchants  of  Baltimore  interested  in 
these  claims  was  held,  with  David  Winchester  as 
chairman  and  Samuel  Sterett  as  secretary,  and  from 
that  day  to  within  a  very  late  period  the  suft'cr- 
ers  and  their  heirs  have  vainly  appealed  to  Congress 
for  relief.  In  1870  the  following  list  of  Baltimore 
claimants  was  published  :  William  Smith,  by  Robert 
Smith,  executor ;  George  Grundy,  by  Samuel  J.  Don- 
aldson, trustee ;  Thomas  Smith,  by  J.  J.  Donaldson, 
trustee  ;  Falls  &  Brown,  by  Stewart  Brown  ;  Albert  See- 
kamp,  by  J.  L.  E.  Amelung,  administrator;  Baltimore 
In.surance  Company,  by  David  Winchester,  president ; 
Maryland  Insurance  Company,  by  John  Holland, 
president ;  Marine  Insurance  Company,  by  Daniel 
Howland,  secretary;  David  Pearce,  by  C.  R.  Pearce; 
Henry  Dashiell,  by  Mary  Dashiell ;  S.  Smith,  and 
Smith  &  Buchanan,  by  Jonathan  Meredith  and  Thos. 
Ellicott,  trustees;  John  McFadden  &  Co.,  Richard 
Caton,  Thomas  and  Samuel  Hollingsworth ;  Wm. 
Cole,  by  C.  F.  Mayer ;  Cumberland  Dugan  ;  Charles 
Ghequire,  by  Luke  Tiernan ;  Luke  Tiernan,  Paul 
Bentalou,  James  Clarke,  Joseph  Young,  Wm.  Lor- 
man,  Wm.  Van  Wyck,  Wm.  B.  Magruder  &  Co., 
David  Stewart  &  Sons,  Joseph  Williams,  by  N.  F. 
Williams,  attorney ;  Lewis  Pascault,  John  Donnell, 
Gabriel  Wood, by  Robert  Barry;  John  Hollins,  John 
S.  Howell,  by  John  Hollins;  John  Ross,  by  Beverly 
Diggs;  David  Wilson,  by  Alice  Wilson;  Thomas  C. 
Jenkins,  Robert  and  George  McCandless,  Bedford  & 
Morton,  James  Barry,  by  Robert  Barry ;  Barry,  Cole  & 
Barry,  Buchanan  &  Young,  Samuel  Young,  by  Cumber- 
land Williams;  Wm.  Patterson,  John  Holmes,  Marcus 
McCausland,  Geo.  Repold,  by  Frederick  Walsche ; 
James  Corrie,  by  George  W.  Dashiell ;  John  Granby, 
by  Jonas  Hastings ;  Stouifer  &  Closs,  by  Henry  Stouf- 
fer;  Dwerliagen  &  Groverman,  Alexander  Martler, 
James  JafFrey,  by  James  C.  Howard,  administrator ; 
Robert  Gilmor  &  Son,  Alex.  McKim,  Von  Kapft  & 
Anspach,  R.  C.  Boislandry,  John  Carriere,  Henry 
Mission,  Samuel  P.  Walker,  Robert  and  John  Oliver, 
Henry  Payson,  George  Sears,  by  John  Strieker;  John 
A.  Dubernat,  William  Duncan,  by  Luke  Tiernan ; 
Jacob  Adams,  Wm.  Presstman,  by  Robert  Lemmon  ; 
Francis  Blackwell,  Fred,  and  Henry  Konig,  by  C.  F. 
Magee ;  John  Hillen,  Wm.  L.  Sontag  &  Co.,  by  Geo. 
F.  de  la  Roche  ;  Chris.  Johnson,  by  Maurice  Johnson  ; 
Thos.  Higgenbotham,  John  Lester  &  Co.,  establish- 
ment of  Robt.  Courtenay  ;  Wm.  D.  McKim,  for  John 
McKim  &  Son  ;  Rogers  &  Owings,  by  Philip  Rogers  ; 
Jeremiah  Yellott,  by  Philip  Rogers ;  Solomon  Belts, 
Abraham  Falconer,  by  Solomon  Belts ;  James  Price, 
Andrew  Buchanan,  by  John  Donaldson,  trustee; 
Jesse  Tyson,  by  Thomas  Tyson  ;  Peter  Hoffman  & 
Son,  by  John  Hoffman  ;  Wm.  Taylor,  by  Jonathan 
Meredith,  trustee;  A.  J.  Swartz,  Gabriel  Wood,  by 
Robt.  Barry  ;  Zach.  Cooperman  &  Co.,  by  David  Wil- 
liam.son,    trustee;    Jacob     Meyers,    Isaac    Causten, 


I  William  Robb,  by  James  Ferguson ;  John  A.  Duber- 

j  nat,  Lemuel  Taylor,  by  Ro.sswell  L.  Colt,  trustee; 

j  Anthony  Groverman,  for  D.  Werhagen  &  Groverman. 

The   total   original    amount    supposed    to   be    over 

.fl, .500,000. 

A  Pirate  in  the  Chesapeake.— In  the  Federal 
Gazelle  of  Aug.  31,  1807,  we  have  the  "Official  Re- 
!  port"  of  the  capture  of  a  pirate  in  the  Chesapeake. 
1  The  schooner  "  Volunteer,"  belonging  to  James  Cal- 
well,  was  loaned  for  the  expedition,  which  was  under 
the  command  of  Lieut.  Porter,  of  the  United  States 
j  navy.      Capt.  Samuel  Sterett,  of  the  "Independent 
j  Company,"  and  Capt.  Joseph  Sterett,  of  "  Baltimore 
United  Volunteers,"  made  the  report  to  Col.  John 
Strieker,  Fifth  Maryland  Regiment.     The  following 
are  the  names  of  the  volunteers :  William  Cooper,  of 
Norfolk,  Charles  Wingman,  John   Miller,   William 
;  Davidson,    William    Deakins,  George    Lee,  James 
I  Brien,  William  Richardson,  James  Dunahue,  James 
Vinson,  Claudius  Beese,  James  Towers,  John  Davis, 
Thomas  Wring,  John  Ferns,  William  Macey,  William 
I  Murdoch,  Tobias  Belt,  and  Overton  Hardy,  of  Balti- 
'  more,  all  of  whom  are  commended  for  "  cool  and  de- 
j  liberate  courage  in  the  hour  of  trial,"  which  consisted 
I  in  capturing  three  men  on    a   schooner,  four  others 
having  taken  to  a  boat  and  made  the  shore  on  the  ap- 
proach of  the  "  Volunteer."     These  latter  were  cap- 
tured by  the  "French  imperial  ship  'Patriot,'"  and 
delivered  up  by  the  commander,  Capt.  Krohn,  and 
j  after  the  consent  of  Gen.  Turreau,  French  minister 
j  at  Washington,  had  been  obtained,  were  imprisoned 
in  the  jail  at  Annapolis,  and  thus  was  "a  place  of 
piracy  which  tlueatoiied  serious  injury  to  our  com- 
merce" coni[iletfly  liroken  up. 

The  Blockade  of  the  Chesapeake.— Sept.  27, 1813, 
the  schooner  "  Boa  Esperanza,"  Capt.  Coelke,  was 
!  overhauled  at  the  Capes,  and  sent  back  to  Baltimore 
I  with  the  following  hint: 

1       "Suffered  to  return  to  Baltimore,  but  warned  that  tlie  vessel  will  be 
I   destroyed  if  she  again  attempts  to  force  the  Blockade,  and  after  this  notice 
any  other  vessel  attempting  to  force  the  Blockade  will  be  captured  or 
destroyed, 

"Rob:  Barns, 
"  Capt.  aiid  Senior  off:  o/  Ji.  M.  Ships  employed 
jjl  Oi'  Blockade  of  the  Chempeake. 
^       "  H.  SI.  Ship  '  Dragoon,'  Sept.  20th,  1813." 

;  The  blockade  passed  away,  and  in  181.5,  March  5th, 
"  our  wharves  are  once  more  crowded  with  vessels  and 
enlivened  with  the  active  bustle  of  busy  citizens  with 
cheerful  countenances.  More  than  thirty  vessels  have 
come  into  our  Basin  within  the  last  forty-eight  hours, 
which  has  reduced  the  price  of  wood  to  the  old 
reasonable  peace  rates.  Country  produce  is  also 
arriving  in  abundance,  and  we  may  expect  the  prices 
of  marketing  will  be  at  the  old  rates  in  a  few  days." 
An  Ice  Blockade.— As  late  as  March  6,  1817,  the 
harbor  of  Baltimore  was  effectually  closed  by  ice.  A 
public  meeting  of  citizens  was  called,  which  deter- 
mined on  an  effort  to  open  a  passage  by  cutting  and 
breaking  the  ice.     The  following  citizens  were  ap- 


THE   ADVANTAGES   OF   BALTIMORE   AS  A  TRADE   CENTRE. 


299 


pointed  "  superintendents"  for  that  part  of  the  Basin 
extending  from  the  county  wharf  to  Fell's  wharf: 
Francis  D.  McHenri,-,  John  W.  Wilson,  John  Lever- 
ing, Joel  Vickers,  Thomas  L.  Sheppard,  Wm.  Pen- 
ington,  John  Diffenderffer,  and  Solomon  G.  Albers; 
and  for  the  direction  from  Fell's  Point  downwards, 
Thorndike  Chase,  James  Biays,  Thomas  Sheppard, 
Capt.  A.  Carr,  William  Price,  and  Thomas  Worrell. 
The  superintendents  and  the  inhabitants  assembled  at 
F.  D.  McHenry's  county  wharf  on  March  7,  1817, 
at  eight  o'clock,  but  the  Federal  Gazette  does  not 
state  whether  the  ice  blockade  was  raised.' 

Winans'  Yacht,  "The  Sokoloflf."— This  was  a 
yacht  of  which  it  was  said  she  "  will  not  upset  in  the 
strongest  gale."  She  was  launched  at  Ferry  Bar,  in 
this  city,  June  10,  1876.  She  was  the  invention  of 
Thomas  Winans.  The  frame,  hull,  deck,  etc.,  were 
of  jointed  iron  plates,  from  the  workshop  of  Bartlett,  [ 
Robins  &  Co.,  and  inclosed  sixteen  air-tight  compart-  j 
ments.  The  craft  was  thirty-two  feet  long,  four  feet 
in  depth,  and  eight  feet  in  breadth  of  beam  ;  capacity,  1 
seven  and  one-third  tons ;  draft,  six  feet,  of  which 
three  feet  was  for  the  iron  keel,  which  was  separated 
and  fastened  fore  and  aft  by  brass  gudgeons  so  as  to 
permit  the  boat  to  swing  clear.  The  mast — thirty-six 
feet  long — was  fastened  to  the  keel  at  the  bow,  so  that 
in  a  gust  of  wind  the  mast  and  keel  would  go  over, 
leaving  the  boat  upright.  The  boom  was  thirty-six 
feet  and  the  gaff  fourteen  feet.  The  yacht  would 
carry  the  extraordinary  amount  of  six  hundred  and 
twenty  square  feet  of  canvas,  which  was  twice  the 
amount  usually  carried  by  a  boat  of  the  same  capacity. 

The  Winans'  Cigar  Ship.— Messrs.  Ross  and  Thos. 
Winans,  of  this  city,  whose  "  object"  it  was  "  to  ad- 
vance the  science  of  commerce  by  supplying  vessels 
which  will  more  fully  answer  the  requirements  than 
any  heretofore  constructed,"  in  the  year  1858  began 
the  construction  of  their  novel  cigar  steamer.  The 
"  circular"  of  the  Messrs.  Winans  says  that, — 

"  With  a  view  to  obtaiuing  greater  safety,  dispatch,  uuifurmity,  and 
certainty,  as  well  as  economy  of  transportation  by  sea  (taking  shi])- 
wrecka  and  other  casualties  into  consideration),  that  we  devised  and  com- 
bined the  elements -exhibited  in  the  vessel  in  question. 

"  Experience  hjis  shown  that  steam-power  on  board  sea-going  vessels, 
when  used  in  aid  of  sails,  insures,  to  a  great  extent,  dispatch,  certainty 
of  action,  and  uniformity  in  time  of  their  voyages.  Now  we  believe 
■  that  by  discarding  sails  entirely  and  all  their  necessary  appendages,  the 
building  of  the  vessel  of  iron,  having  reference  to  the  use  of  steam  alone, 
these  most  desirable  ends  may  be  even  still  more  fully  obtained. 

"The  length  of  the  vessel  we  are  building  is  more  than  eleven  times 
its  breadth  of  beam,  being  sixteen  feet  broad  and  one  hundred  and 
eighty  feet  long." 

Four  high-pressure  engines  were  to  supply  the 
motive-power. 

Around  this  huge  cigar-shaped  iron  vessel  at  mid- 
ship was  passed  an  iron  wheel  with  flanges  at  an 
angle,  adapted  to  work  upon  the  water  and  give  pro- 
pulsion  to   the  vessel.      This  wheel  was  driven  by 

1  Messrs.  Buchanan,  Dorsey,  and  Gettings,  citizens  of  Baltimore,  who 
were  captured  in  the  attack  by  the  British,  arrived  in  New  York  Dec. 
13, 1814,  on  board  the  British  cartel  sloop  "Jane  and  Martha." 


machinery  from  the  inside,  and  was  covered  all 
round  by  a  belt  of  iron  broad  enough  to  inclose  the 
wheel,  and  extended  some  four  feet  on  each  side  be- 
yond it.  This  nondescript  ship  was  launched  in 
October,  1858,  and  went  upon  her  first  trial  trip  in 
January,  1859,  attaining  an  average  speed  of  about 
twelve  miles  an  hour.  In  February,  1859,  the  ship 
was  lengthened  thirty-nine  feet,  making  her  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-four  feet  long.  In  October,  1859, 
experimental  trials  induced  her  owner  to  increase  her 
length  to  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet.  In  De- 
cember, 1859,  the  craft  went  to  Norfolk,  Va.,  and 
from  there  made  several  experimental  trips  to  sea, 
returning  to  Baltimore  December  12th.  No  success 
attended  this  experiment,  which  has  been  continued 
in  England  at  an  outlay  of  five  hundred  thousand 
pounds,  according  to  the  London  Daily  Telegraph. 

Air-Ship. — In  1875  the  problem  of  aerial  naviga- 
tion found  in  W.  F.  Shroeder,  of  Baltimore,  a  firm 
believer,  who,  with  the  assistance  of  capital  contrib- 
uted by  friends  in  the  city,  attempted  the  construction 
of  an  air-ship  on  the  vacant  lot  at  the  intersection  of 
Madison  and  Boundary  Avenues.  Considerable  pro- 
gress was  made  in  the  construction  of  the  ship,  but  a 
violent  storm  destroyed  alike  the  ship  and  the  hopes 
of  its  friends.  The  problem,  so  far  as  Baltimore  is 
concerned,  will  probably  remain  truly  unsolved. 

The  Yacht  "John  T.  Ford."— The  miniature 
schooner  "John  T.  Ford,"  intended  for  the  Paris  Ex- 
position, was  of  two  and  a  quarter  tons  burden.  She 
was  built  in  Baltimore  for  Capt.  Gold,  and  took  her  de- 
parture from  this  port  on  June  22,  1867,  amid  every 
demonstration  of  good  will  and  encouragement.  Her 
crew  were  Capt.  Gold,  Capt.  Riddle,  John  Shaney,  and 
Murphy,  a  cabin-boy.  The  little  craft  made  her 
way  without  accident  to  Halifax,  when  Capt.  Riddle 
left  her,  as  she  had  shown  herself  too  small,  in  his 
opinion,  to  carry  four  persons  across  the  Atlantic. 
At  Halifax  Andrew  Armstrong  shipped  as  seaman, 
and  the  little  schooner  sailed  from  Halifax  July  16th. 
At  the  entrance  of  the  British  Channel,  on  the  19th 
of  August,  she  encountered  a  sudden  squall,  which 
upset  the  vessel,  and  all  hands  except  the  seaman 
Armstrong  were  lost.  "In  all  kinds  of  weather," 
says  Armstrong  in  his  account  of  the  voyage,  "  two- 
of  the  crew  had  to  be  on  deck,  as  there  was  only  room 
for  two  below,  and  they  were  cramped  up."  From 
the  28th  of  July  until  the  wreck  of  the  schooner  bad 
weather  was  encountered,  and  loss  of  stores,  water, 
oil  for  cooking,  and  every  kind  of  suffering  was  en- 
dured by  the  unfortunate  crew.  On  two  occasions 
they  might  have  been  saved  by  passing  vessels  if  the 
captain  had  reported  their  actual  condition^  but 
instead  he  merely  asked  for  provisions.  On  the  19th 
of  August  the  little  craft  capsized,  and  as  the  ballast 
was  loosened  by  the  boards  having  been  used  for  fuel, 
she  continued  to  roll  over  and  over,  the  hapless  crew 
clinging  to  her  sides,  and  washed  off"  and  on  for  four 
days.     The  captain,  the  mate,  and  the  boy  perished. 


300 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


but  Armstrong  was  rescued  on  the  23d  of  August  by  | 
the  ship  "  Aerolite,"  after  liaving  clung  to  the  wreck,  I 
without  nourishment,  for  four  days.     Armstrong  re-  ; 
covered,  and  was  cared  for  by  the  American  consul. 
The  little  schooner  was  found  on  the  coast  of  Ireland, 
near  Queenstown.     Such  was   the  termination  of  a 
foolhardy  venture  from  which  no  practical  good  would 
have  been  possible  even  if  it  had  been  attended  with 
complete  success. 

Steamboats. — Before  the  inauguration  of  the  era  of 
steam  navigation,  travelers  by  water  from  Baltimore  to  , 
northern  or  southern  points  were  conveyed  in  the  old-  ' 
fashioned  sloops  or  packet-boats,  which  ran  weekly  or  i 
tri-weekly  from  the  port,  making  connection  at  their 
land  termini  with  the  no  less  old-fashioned  wagon  : 
or  stage.     The  first  regular  line  of  packets  between  < 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  was  started  in  1804,  by 
William  McDonald  and  Andrew  Fisher  Henderson, 
and  consisted  of  four  sloops,  which  ran  to  French-  ' 
town,  from  which  point  the  freight  was  carried  to  New 
Castle  by  wagon,  and  passengers  by  stages,  and  thence 
by  sloop  to  Philadelphia.     In  1808,  Edward  Trippe, 
of  Dorchester  County,  John  Ferguson,  Jonas  Owens, 
and  Capt.  Taylor  started  a  new  line  with  four  sloops,  j 
which  ran  to  Court-House  Point,  on  Elk  Eiver,  whence 
passengers  and  freight  were  conveyed  across  the  pen- 
insula to  a  point  a  little  below  the  present  site  of 
Delaware  City,  and  thence  by  sloop  to  Philadelphia. 
In  1810  the  two  packet  lines  to  Philadelphia  were 
consolidated,   and    became    known   as   the   "  Union 
Line."     The  advantages  of  steam  navigation,  how- 
ever, were  so  obvious  that  in  1812  the  managers  de- 
termined to  supersede  the  packet  with  the  steamboat. 
The  important   change   was  soon   eft'ected,  and   the 
"  Chesapeake,"  the  first  steamboat  built  in  Baltimore, 
and  the  first  that  ran  in  Maryland  waters,  was  com- 
pleted in  1813,  under  the  superintendence  of  Edward 
Trippe.     Her   first  trip  was  made  on  Sunday,  June 
12th,  when   she   made   an   excursion  to  Annapolis, 
which  was   followed  by   another  to  Rock  Hall  the  I 
next  week,  and  on  Monday,  June  21st,  she  took  her  i 
place  on  the  line  and  commenced  her  regular  trips.  [ 
The  Federal  Gazette  and  Baltimore  Daily  Adrertiser  of  : 
the  next  day  contained  the  following  advertisement :    | 

"STEAM  BOAT.  j 

"  The  public  are  respectfully  informed  that 

"  The  Steam  Boat  has  commenced  regularly  in  the  line,  and  will  leave 
the  lower  end  of  Bowley'B  wharf  every  Monday,  Wednesday,  Jt  Friday 
at  9  o'clock  A.M.  for  Krench-town.    The  Steam  Boat  at  New  Oastle  (the  j 
*  Delaware')  waits  the  arrival  of  her  passengers  to  proceed  to  Philadel-  ! 

"McDonald  &  Son. 
rat  trip  this  day  to  French-town  A 


The  "  Chesapeake"  was  built  by  William  Flaunigan, 
whose  ship-yard  was  situated  at  the  present  site  of  the 
wharf  of  the  Boston  steamship  line,  and  her  construc- 
tion was  superintended  by  Edward  Trippe,  a  gentle- 
man of  extensive  scientific  attainments  and  practical 
knowledge.   The  "  Chesapeake"  was  one  hundred  and 


thirty  feet  long,  twenty-two  feet  wide,  and  depth  of 
hold  seven  feet.  Her  wheels  were  ten  feet  in  diameter 
and  five  feet  in  depth.  Her  engine  was  a  cross-head, 
with  four  and  one-half  feet  .strokes,  which  revolved  a 
cog-wheel  that  worked  in  teeth  upon  the  shaft,  which 
wa-s  of  cast  iron  ;  a  fly-wheel  was  connected  with  the 
engine  to  enable  it  to  pass  its  centre.  The  smoke- 
stack was  amidships  behind  the  engine,  and  extending 
about  twenty  feet  abaft  of  it  was  the  boiler.  She  had 
a  miist  forward  with  a  yard,  and  sail  to  be  spread 
when  the  wind  was  fair.  There  was  no  upper  deck, 
but  in  warm  weather  an  awning  was  stretched  over 
the  quarter-deck,  which  was  taken  down,  stanchions 
and  all,  in  the  fall.  She  had  no  pilot-house,  but  was 
steered  by  a  wheel  working  in  the  cogs  of  a  quadrant 
attached  to  the  top  of  the  rudder-head.  The  ladies' 
cabin,  fitted  with  berths,  occupied  the  stern  of  the 
boat.  Between  it  and  the  machinery  was  the  gentle- 
men's cabin,  also  supplied  with  berths,  and  which  was 
at  the  same  time  the  dining-saloon.  In  front  of  the 
machinery  was  the  forward  cabin,  similarly  fitted  up. 
These  cabins  were  furnished  in  first-cla^s  style,  and 
no  provision  was  made  for  second-class  passengers. 
In  fact,  there  were  none.  They  might  take  the  sloops, 
as  the  agents  did  not  hesitate  to  intimate  in  their  ad- 
vertisements. 

The  appliances  for  her  navigation  were  simple  and 
crude.  A  pilot  stood  at  the  bow,  who  called  out  the 
course  to  the  helmsman  at  the  stern.  There  were  no 
bells  to  signal  the  engineer,  but  the  captain  conveyed 
his  commands  by  word  of  mouth,  or  by  stamping  with 
his  heel  upon  the  wood-work  over  the  engine.  The 
boat  had  been  running  for  six  months  when  the  en- 
gineer, a  German  named  Yeager,  accidentally  ascer- 
tained that  he  could  reverse  the  engine,  and  this  was 
regarded  as  a  great  discovery.  Her  speed  was  five 
miles  an  hour,  for  although  her  agents  claimed  that 
she  made  the  trip  to  Frenchtown  and  back  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  it  is  now  known  that  the  distance  is  a  trifle 
less  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  Her  cost 
was  about  forty  thousand  dollars. 

The  "Chesapeake"  continued  the  sole  steamboat  in 
Baltimore  waters  for  two  years.  Her  success  was  very 
great,  her  net  profits  amounting  to  forty  per  cent.  At 
this  period  Messrs.  Briscoe  &  Partridge  were  running 
a  rival  line  of  packets  to  Philadelphia,  i;ia  Elkton  and 
Wilmington,  which  began  rapidly  to  lose  public  pa- 
tronage after  the  appearance  of  the  "  Chesapeake." 
This  was  in  part  due  to  the  fact  that  the  fare  in  the 
steamboat  was  six  dollars,  while  by  way  of  the  packets 
it  was  only  four  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  which  made 
the  latter  second-class  modes  of  conveyance,  and  gave 
the  journey  by  the  steamer  an  air  of  fashion  and  gen- 
tility that  added  greatly  to  its  popularity.  The  pomp 
and  ceremony  ingeniously  connected  with  the  depart- 
ure of  the  "  Chesapeake"  also  served  to  tickle  the  pop- 
ular fancy,  and  to  attract  public  attention  and  custom. 
Her  departure  from  the  wharf  was  announced  by  the 
explosion  of  an  iron  swivel,  which  was  run  out  of  her 


THE   ADVANTAGES   OP   BALTIMORE   AS  A   TRADE   CENTRE. 


forward  gangway.  This  exultant  music,  while  attract- 
ing the  admiring  attention  of  the  citizens,  sounded 
mournfully  in  the  counting-room  of  their  rivals. 
They  saw  that  if  they  were  to  continue  their  compe- 
tition successfully  with  the  Union  line  they  too  must 
have  a  steamboat,  and  in  July,  1815,  were  fortunate 
enough  to  secure  the  "  Eagle,"  which  came  round  from 
the  Delaware  in  search  of  a  charter,  and  which  com- 
menced to  run  on  the  Elkton  and  Wilmington  line  on 
the  24th  of  the  same  month,  under  command  of  Capt. 
Moses  Rogers.  Passengers  were  received  at  Wilming- 
ton by  the  steamboat  "  Vesta"  from  Philadelphia. 
It  was  also  announced  at  the  same  time  by  the  agents 
of  the  Elkton  line  that  "  a  steamboat  was  preparing 
to  run  between  Baltimore  and  the  Eastern  Shore," 
and  that  "  until  that  boat  should  be  ready"  the 
"  Eagle"  would  leave  Baltimore  every  Saturday  morn- 
ing, returning  on  Sunday,  for  the  accommodation  of 
passengers  to  and  from  that  point. 

The  "  Eagle"  was  a  boat  of  about  the  same  size  and 
speed  as  the  "  Chesapeake."  She  continued  on  the  line 
for  four  years  and  was  then  sold,  and  ran  to  Annapo- 
lis and  the  Patuxent  River  until  April  18, 1824,  when 
on  her  return  trip  to  the  city  she  exploded  her  boiler, 
severely  injuring  Henry  M.  Murray,  State's  attorney, 
and  seven  of  the  boat-hands.  Mr.  Murray  languished 
until  the  28th,  when  he  died  from  the  accident,  which 
was  the  first  fatal  explosion  on  the  "  Chesapeake." '  In 
October,  1816,  the  Union  Company  added  two  new 
boats  to  their  line, — the  "  Baltimore,"  Capt.  Matthew 
Jenkins,  built  in  Philadelphia,  to  ply  between  Phila- 
delphia and  New  Castle,  and  the  "  Philadelphia," 
Capt.  Edward  Trippe  (the  second  steamboat  built  in 
Baltimore),  to  ply  between  Baltimore  and  French- 
town  in  conjunction  with  the  ''  Delaware"  and  the 
"  Chesapeake,"  which  were  still  running.  Following 
close  upon  them  the  Elkton  line  announced  that  on 
December  2d  the  steamboat  "  New  Jersey,"  Capt. 
Moses  Rogers,  just  arrived  from  Philadelphia  via 
Norfolk,  would  start  on  the  line.  The  "  New  Jersey" 
was  distinguished  by  a  large  gilt  horse  in  front  of  its 
cut-water,  which  attracted  universal  attention  by  its 
size  and  brilliancy. 

The  first  steamboat  that  ran  between  Baltimore, 
Norfolk,  and  Richmond  was  the  "  Eagle,"  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Moses  Rogers.  In  1815  he  adver- 
tises in  the  Federal  Gazette  the  running  of  his  boat 
from  Baltimore  to  Norfolk,  and  thence  to  Richmond, 
returning  by  the  same  route.  The  third  steamboat 
built  in  Baltimore  was  the  "  Virginia,"  commanded 
by  Capt.  John  Ferguson.  She  was  completed  Aug. 
20,  1817,  and  made  regular  trips  to  Norfolk  and  re- 
turn. In  November,  1818,  the  "  United  States," 
another    Baltimore-built    boat,    was    added   to   the 


1  The  earliest  charitable  excursion  from  Baltimore  was  made  to  An- 
napolis by  the  steamer  "  Chesaiieake,"  on  Aug.  6, 1815,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  sufferers  by  the  disastrous  fire  at  Petersburg.  The  author  is  indebted 
to  Capt.  Andrew  C.  Trippe,  of  the  Baltimore  bar,  for  much  information 
relating  to  the  early  steamboats  of  Baltimore. 
20 


Union  line,  and  took  the  place  of  the  "Chesa- 
peake," which  passed  off  the  scene.  "  The  Consti- 
tution," built  for  the  Union  line  by  James  Beacham, 
was  launched  in  August,  1822.  In  1837  the  "Ala- 
bama," the  largest  steamboat  up  to  that  time  in  the 
port,  was  launched  for  the  Baltimore  and  Norfolk 
line.  Dec.  1, 1849,  the  Baltimore  steam-packets  began 
their  regular  trips  on  Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday 
from  Baltimore,  returning  the  alternate  days;  and  in 
1851  commenced  to  make  daily  trips. 

The  "  Maryland,"  in  1818,  established  steam  com- 
munication between  Baltimore  and  Talbot,  and  was 
the  first  steamboat  that  appeared  in  the  waters  of  that 
county.  The  accommodations  of  the  "Maryland" 
were  of  a  very  primitive  and  limited  description,  the 
hull  being  occupied  not  only  by  the  engine  and  boilers, 
but  also  for  the  storage  of  freight  and  cord-wood,  the 
fuel  then  exclusively  used  to  make  steam.  Her  first 
commander  was  Capt.  S.  Dickinson,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Capt.  Clement  Vickers.  During  the  late 
civil  war  she  was  employed  as  a  transport,  and  after 
its  conclusion  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  New  York, 
from  which  port  she  had  sailed  for  many  years.  The 
"  Maryland"  was  succeeded  on  the  route  by  the  "  Paul 
Jones"  in  1838,  which  was  afterwards  employed  as 
a  tow-boat  between  Baltimore  and  Havre  de  Grace, 
and  whilst  on  one  of  her  trips  exploded  her  boiler  off 
Sparrow's  Point,  in  Patapsco  River,  killing  the  en- 
gineer and  injuring  several  other  persons.  The 
"Osiris"  followed  the  "Paul  Jones"  in  1843.  In 
1846  the  "  Cambridge"  was  built  in  Baltimore  for  this 
route,  and  was  afterwards  destroyed  by  fire.  Other 
steamers  on  the  route  were  the  "  Hugh  Jenkins," 
subsequently  known  as  the  "  Kent  Island,"  the  "  Ga- 
zelle" or  "  Orange,"  the  "  Champion,"  built  in  1851, 
the  "  Dupont,"  the  "  William  Selden,"  the  "  Kent," 
built  in  Baltimore  in  1854,  the  "  Cecil,"  the  "  Bal- 
loon," and  the  "  Pioneer." 

Among  the  veteran  steamers  of  Baltimore  was  the 
"  Columbia,"  which  was  built  in  1828,  and  was  in 
active  service  until  December,  1874.  She  belonged 
to  the  Washington  and  Alexandria,  or  Potomac  line. 

Eastern  Shore  Steamboat  Company. — The  steam- 
ers of  this  company  run  between  Baltimore  and  the 
counties  of  Somerset,  Worcester,  and  Wicomico,  in 
Maryland,  and  Accomac  and  Northampton,  in  Vir- 
ginia. The  freight  carried  consists  principally  of 
market  produce.  The  company  began  as  a  private 
enterprise  ;  the  first  steamer  put  on  the  route  was  the 
"  Maggie,"  Oct.  26,  1867.  The  company  was  incor- 
porated June  16, 1869,  and  Samuel  Harlan  was  chosen 
president,  J.  T.  Gause  vice-president,  E.  A.  Siter 
treasurer,  S.  A.  Flynn  secretary,  P.  R.  Clark  (of  Bal- 
timore) general  agent.  There  has  been  no  change  in 
the  ofiScers,  except  in  the  appointment  of  Millard 
Thomas,  in  1871,  to  the  position  of  general  superin- 
tendent. In  1871  the  steamer  "  Helen"  was  built  by 
the  company,  and  in  1875  the  "Tangier,"  from  the 
proceeds  of  the  steamer  "  Sue,"  which  had  been  sold 


302 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE    CITY    AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


in  1874.  These  steamers  average  about  five  hundred 
and  fifty  tons. 

To  Southern  Ports. — The  launch  of  the  steamship 
"Republic"  on  April  9,  1849,  at  the  yard  of  Messrs. 
Robb,  was  the  inauguration  of  steamship  communi- 
cation with  Southern  ports  from  this  city,  and  on 
Nov.  9,  1849,  the  "  Republic"  started  on  her  first  trip 
to  Charleston,  S.  C,  with  a  full  cargo  of  freight  and  a 
number  of  passengers.  Sept.  24,  1850,  a  meeting  was 
held' at  the  ofiice  of  J.  D.  Pratt,  239  West  Baltimore 
Street,  to  consider  the  project  of  forming  a  regular 
line  of  steam-packets  between  this  city  and  Charleston 
and  Wilmington,  and  Dec.  6,  1851,  the  "Palmetto," 
the  first  of  the  regular  line  of  steamers  established  be- 
tween Baltimore  and  Charleston,  sailed  from  this  port. 
In  1853  a  vigorous  effort  was  made  by  commercial 
and  mercantile  men  to  obtain  the  required  subscrip- 
tions for  the  establishment  of  steam  communications 
with  Savannah,  Ga.  A  public  meeting  was  held  on  the 
27th  of  September  for  the  purpose  of  advancing  the 
enterprise,  and  a  committee  of  the  following  prominent 
citizens  was  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions  to  the 
enterprise,  viz. :  Col.  G.  P.  Kane,  W.  Crichton,  M.  W. 
Rogers,  Allan  Chapman,  W.  T.  Walters,  S.  B.  Smith, 
M.  O'Brien,  T.  W.  Levering,  E.  B.  Long,  William  D. 
Miller,  William  Woodward,  William  Wilson,  Jr.,  E. 
G.  Wilson,  A.  D.  Kelley,  and  W.  B.  Norris. 

The  Baltimore  and  Savannah  Steamship  Company 
was  not  organized  until  1865 ;  the  capital  at  the  start 
was  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  with  the  steamers 
"  North  Point"  and  the  "  Fannie"  ;  in  1869  the  capi- 
tal was  increased  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  and  the  "  America"  was  procured,  and  1870 
the  "  Saragossa"  was  added  to  the  line.  In  December, 
1875,  a  series  of  heavy  losses  was  encountered  by  the 
company  and  it  was  dissolved,  Messrs.  George  J. 
and  Samuel  Appold,  with  D.  H.  Miller,  purchasing 
the  steamships  "  Saragossa"  and  "  America."  These 
gentlemen  being  identified  with  the  Baltimore  and 
Boston  line  of  steamships,  the  present  line  to  Sa- 
vannah is  run  under  the  auspices  of  the  Merchants' 
and  Miners'  Transportation  Company. 

The  Baltimore,  Charleston,  and  Havana  Line. 
— On  Oct.  30,  1865,  a  meeting  presided  over  by  Geo. 
S.  Brown,  Esq.,  was  held  at  the  residence  of  C.  G.  de 
Garmeudia,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  company 
to  run  a  line  of  steamers  between  this  city  and  Ha- 
vana, calling  at  Charleston.  Forty  thousand  dollars 
having  been  subscribed,  a  resolution  was  adopted  that 
the  balance  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  be  so- 
licited from  the  capitalists  of  this  city,  with  a  view 
to  purchasing  a  steamer  capable  of  accommodating 
first-class  passengers,  as  well  as  the  growing  trade  be- 
tween this  city  and  that  island.  In  December,  1865, 
the  "  Isabella,"  pioneer  ship  of  the  line,  sailed  from 
Baltimore  with  a  full  cargo  and  a  number  of  passengers. 
The  "Isabella"  had  been  a  famous  blockader  during 
the  civil  war,  and  was  captured  by  the  United  States, 
and  was  called  the  "  Fort  Donaldson."    She  was  built 


at  Glasgow  in  1860.  In  1868  the  company  increased 
its  capital  and  extended  its  operations  to  embrace  New 
Orleans,  and  the  "  Cuba"  and  the  "  Liberty"  were 
added  to  the  line.  After  the  dissolution  of  the  com- 
pany the  "  Liberty"  was  continued  by  George  S. 
Brown,  who  purchased  her,  in  the  Havana  trade  until 
some  time  in  1874,  when  she  was  injured  on  the  Florida 
reefs,  and  was  afterwards  sold  to  New  York  parties. 

To  Boston. — March  27,  1854,  it  was  stated  in  one 
of  the  Baltimore  papers  "  that  the  sum  of  one  hundred 
and  forty-six  thousand  dollars  has  been  subscribed  in 
Boston  and  Baltimore  for  the  establishment  of  a  line 
of  side-wheel  steamers  between  those  cities,  and  the 
contracts  for  boats  and  engines  will  be  made  April  1st." 
In  1856  the  steamship  "  Joseph  Whitney"  of  the  Bos- 
ton and  Baltimore  line  arrived  in  this  city,  opening 
the  steam  communication.  The  occasion  was  made 
one  of  congratulation,  and  at  a  dinner  on  board 
the  "  Joseph  Whitney"  there  were  present  George 
Bartlett,  Charles  H.  Gunnell,  Benjamin  Deford, 
Thomas  H.  Jenkins,  A.  Fuller  Crane,  William  Ken- 
nedy, and  Mr.  Elder,  of  the  Merchants'  and  Miners' 
Transportation  Company,  and  Thomas  Swann,  Esq. 
The  "  Caledonian,"  the  "  Mount  Savage,"  and  the 
"Western  Port,"  purchased  from  the  Parker  Vein 
Coal  Company,  were  soon  added  to  the  line.  The 
Merchants'  and  Miners'  Transportation  Company,  in 
1864,  opened  the  present  and  existing  line  of  screw 
steamships  with  the  "  William  Kennedy"  and  the 
"  George  Appold."  The  '•'  Joseph  Whitney"  of  this 
line  was  destroyed  by  the  Confederates  in  Savannah, 
and  the  "  Spaulding"  and  the  "  Benjamin  Deford" 
were  taken  by  the  United  States  government  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war,  so  that  for  three  years  the 
operations  of  the  line  were  entirely  suspended.  In 
1871  the  "  William  Crane"  was  added  to  the  line,  and 
the  line  at  present  consists  of  the  "George  Appold," 
"William  Lawrence,"  "Johns  Hopkins,"  "William 
Crane." 

Richmond  and  York  River  Line  of  Steamers.— 
The  Richmond  and  York  River  line  commenced 
oi)erating  between  Baltimore  and  Richmond,  via  West 
Point,  Va.,  and  the  York  River  Railroad,  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1867;  in  1873  the  property  changed  hands, 
and  the  line  was  reorganized.  As  now  operated,  it 
extends  from  Baltimore  to  West  Point,  Va.,  connect- 
ing with  the  Piedmont  Air-Line  .system  of  railroads. 
It  also  operates  a  branch  line  to  Richmond,  Va., 
direct,  via  James  River,  another  branch  line  to  Alex- 
andria, Georgetown,  and  Washington,  via  the  Poto- 
mac, and  a  line  through  the  North  Carolina  sounds 
to  Newbern  and  Wilmington,  N.  C.  All  of  these 
lines  are  under  one  management ;  the  office  of  the 
company  is  90  Light  Street. 

The  Bay  line  to  Norfolk,  connecting  with  the  Sea- 
board and  Roanoke  Railroad.  E.  Brown,  G.  T.  A., 
157  North  Baltimore  Street. 

The  Maryland  Steamboat  Company,  to  Easton,  Ox- 
ford, Cambridge,  and  landings  on  Choptank  River 


THE   ADVANTAGES 


BALTIMORE  AS  A  TRADE   CENTRE. 


every  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday,  to  Annapolis 
daily,  to  great  Wicomico  River,  Dividing  and  Dymer's 
Creeks,  and  Piankatank  River,  every  Tuesday  and 
Friday. 

The  Weems  line,  to  Patuxent  and  Rappahannock 
Rivers.     H.  Williams,  agent,  114  Light  Street. 

The  Shriver  line  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia  via 
canals,  daily.  J.  Alexander  Shriver,  3  Light  Street, 
agent. 

Potomac  Steamboat  Company,  to  Easton,  Oxford, 
Cambridge,  Jamaica  Point,  Cabin  Creek,  and  Wright's 
wharf,  Tuesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Saturdays,  returning 
Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays.  George  Mat- 
tingly,  superintendent,  11  Light  Street. 

The  steamer  "  Trumpeter,"  for  Sassafras,  Backneck, 
and  Tolchester,  Tuesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Saturdays, 
returning  alternate  days.     William  Condiff,  master. 

The  Chester  River  Steamboat  Company,  to  Chester- 
town,  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays,  also  to 
Rolph's,  Booker's,  Quaker  Neck,  Gray's  Inn,  Centre- 
ville,  and  Kent  Island,  returning  Tuesdays,  Thurs- 
days, and  Saturdays.     George  Warfield,  president. 

Marine  Docks. — The  absence  of  proper  facilities 
at  the  port  of  Baltimore  for  docking  and  repairing 
large  vessels  was  seriously  felt  previous  to  1878,  and 
operated  greatly  to  the  disadvantage  of  its  commerce. 
Various  efforts  had  been  made  from  time  to  time  to 
secure  the  required  improvements,  but  the  large  cost 
of  a  suitable  site  and  buildings  and  the  fear  that  the 
expenditure  would  not  be  remunerative  delayed  the 
enterprise  until  a  few  public-spirited  citizens,  aided 
by  the  government,  built  a  dry-dock  of  the  size  and 
description  so  long  needed. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  city  the  small-sized  vessels 
of  the  port  in  need  of  repairs  were  hauled  on  the 
marine  railways,  while  vessels  of  over  twelve  hundred 
tons  had  to  be  taken  to  New  York  or  some  other  port 
on  the  coast.  Impressed  with  the  necessity  of  possess- 
ing a  dock  for  repairing  the  large  vessels  sailing  out 
of  the  port  of  Baltimore,  a  number  of  gentlemen 
organized  in  1828  "  The  Baltimore  Screw-Dock  Com- 
pany," for  the  purpose  of  erecting  one  or  more  screw 
docks  for  elevating  vessels  for  repairs.  It  was  incor- 
porated on  Jan.  21,  1829,  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$75,000,  divided  into  shares  of  $100  each,  and  with 
the  following  incorporators  and  officers :  Luke  Tier- 
nan,  president;  J.  Mezick,  R.  H.  Osgood,  M.  Kelly, 
J.  Hoppe,  S.  W.  Staples,  and  W.  H.  Conkling,  direc- 
tors. The  screw-dock  was  built  at  Ramsey's  wharf, 
Fell's  Point,  and  cost  about  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars.  It  was  first  tried  on  June  27th  by  the  brig 
"  Catharine,"  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  tons  burden. 
The  dock  wa.s  constantly  used  until  the  night  of  June 
28, 1847,  when  it  broke  down  under  the  weight  of  the 
British  bark  "  Barlow."  It  was  immediately  cleaned 
out,  repaired,  and  steam  thenceforth  used  in  place  of 
horse-power.  The  "  Baltimore  Marine  Sectional  Dock 
Company"  was  incorporated  on  the  22d  of  March, 
1867,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $150,000,  divided  into 


shares  of  $100  each,  and  the  following  incorporators : 
John  J.  Abrahams,  James  A.  Hooper,  Woodward 
Abrahams,  A.  S.  Knight,  R.  K.  Hawley,  and  William 
H.  Abrahams.  The  "Baltimore  Dry-Dock  and  Ware- 
house Company"  was  incorporated  March  30,  1868, 
with  the  following  incorporators :  Henry  M.  Warfield, 
William  T.  Markland,  James  C.  Clark,  Hugh  Sisson, 
John  H.  Tegmeyer,  and  George  L.  Harrison. 

The  first  dry-dock  ever  constructed  in  Baltimore 
was  built  by  Messrs.  William  E.  Woodall  &  Co.,  at 
the  wharf  of  Charles  Reeder,  foot  of  Hughes  Street, 
south  side  of  the  Basin,  in  1874.  It  had  a  capacity  of 
over  two  thousand  tons.  Its  width  was  eighty  feet, 
depth  of  hold  seven  feet,  and  height  of  walls  thirty 
feet.  The  frame  was  of  white  oak  fifteen  inches  square, 
and  the  outside  of  Georgia  yellow  pine.  About  one 
million  feet  of  timber  was  used  in  its  construction. 
The  machinery  was  built  by  Charles  Reeder  &  Co., 
and  consisted  of  a  forty  horse-power  engine  and 
twenty-eight  pumps.  The  dock  was  a  floating  one, 
aud  was  towed  to  the  lower  end  of  Fell's  Point  and 
anchored  in  the  stream.  The  first  vessel  docked  was 
the  United  States  steamer  "  Heliotrope,"  in  Novem- 
ber, 1874.' 

The  establishment  of  the  North  German  Lloyd  and 
the  Allan  lines  of  steamships  from  the  port  of  Balti- 
more, and  the  increased  terminal  facilities  erected  by 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  at  Locust  Point, 
soon  increased  the  commerce  of  the  city,  and  marked 
a  new  era  in  its  history.  The  necessity  for  increiised 
docking  facilities  and  the  building  of  a  new  first-class 
dry-dock  was  soon  apparent,  and  a  company  was 
formed  with  a  capital  of  $1,000,000,  divided  into 
shares  of  $100  each,  with  a  Board  of  Directors  com- 
posed of  James  Carey  Coale,  Charles  Morton  Stewart, 
Decatur  H.  Miller,  Robert  Garrett,  and  George  A. 
Von  Lingen.  It  was  incorporated  on  Dec.  14,  1877, 
as  "The  Baltimore  Dry-Dock  Company,"  and  it  soon 
after  caused  a  bill  to  be  introduced  into  Congress 
granting  a  portion  of  the  Fort  McHenry  tract  for  the 
construction  of  a  "  Simpson's  Improved  Dry-Dock," 
of  large  proportions,  in  return  for  which  it  was  stipu- 
lated that  government  vessels  should  be  docked  free 
of  charge.  After  some  delay  the  bill  was  passed  and 
approved  by  the  President,  June  19,  1878.  Having 
secured  the  site,  Messrs.  John  W.  Garrett  and  his  two 
sons,  Robert  and  T.  Harrison  Garrett,  James  E.  Simp- 
son &  Co.,  James  Carey  Coale,  C.  Morton  Stewart, 
Decatur  H.  Miller,  A.  Von  Lingen,  and  Alexander 

1  Philip  H.  Muller  completed  a  marine  railway  in  1843,  at  the  lower 
end  of  Pliilpot  Street,  near  the  Bethel  church,  and  in  1849,  Hugh  A. 
Cooper  and  Samuel  Butler  built  one  in  connection  with  the  former's  ship- 
yard. In  1865  another  marine  railway  was  built  at  Canton  by  a  company, 
the  first  officers  of  which  were  Adam  Denmead,  president ;  Talbott  Den- 
mead,  secretary ;  and  John  W.  Kandolpb,  treasurer.  The  first  vessel 
talieu  upon  the  railway  was  the  United  States  gunboat  "Mercedita,"  of 
eight  hundred  tons.  In  the  same  year  William  Shoemaker  *  Son,  con- 
tractors, built  a  marine  railway  for  J.  N.  Muller,  adjoining  his  shipyard, 
at  the  intersection  of  Philpot  and  Point  Streets.  In  186;l,  Messrs.  Far- 
raday  &  Woodall  built  a  marine  railway  in  connection  with  their  ship- 
yard at  the  foot  of  Montgomery  Street. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Harris,  the  originators  of  the  enterprise,  invited  the 
community  to  subscribe  to  the  capital  stock  to  enable 
them  to  raise  the  means  to  build  the  dock.  They  en- 
countered great  difficulty  in  securing  subscriptions, 
and  finally,  on  Dec.  14, 1878,  to  prevent  the  failure  of 
the  enterprise,  these  public-spirited  gentlemen  reduced 
the  capital  stock  to  $365,500,  in  shares  of  $100  each, 
and  assumed  the  burden  and  risk  of  carrying  out 
their  laudable  design.  The  company  was  finally  or- 
ganized March  4,  1879,  and  the  following  officers  ap- 
pointed :  President,  Robert  Garrett ;  Treasurer,  James 
Carey  Coale ;  Secretary,  Alexander  Harris ;  Directors, 
Decatur  H.  Miller,  George  A.  Von  Lingen,  C.  Morton 
Stewart,  and  James  Carey  Coale.  A  contract  was  made 
March  21,  1879,  with  J.  E.  Simpson  &  Co.,  inventors 
and  patentees,  for  the  construction  of  a  first-class  dry- 
dock,  and  all  the  buildings,  piers,  and  other  improve- 
ments necessary  to  constitute  a  dock  and  ship-yard  of 
the  most  extensive  and  complete  description.  The 
deed  from  the  United  States  was  executed  March  2G, 
1879,  and  required  that  the  dry-dock  sliould  be  com- 
pleted within  two  years  from  that  date,  and  the 
whole  work  was  finished  within  fifteen  months  of  that 
period,  and  its  completion  celebrated  June  26,  1880. 
In  addition  to  the  supervision  of  the  company's  en- 
gineer, the  work  was  thoroughly  inspected  during 
its  progress  by  a  board  of  officers  of  the  United  States 
Navy  Department  appointed  for  the  purpose.  Upon 
its  completion,  by  request  of  the  dry-dock  company,  a 
board  of  navy  officers,  composed  of  H.  H.  Stewart, 
President  and  Chief  Engineer,  U.S.N. ;  Philip  Hich- 
born,  Naval  Constructor,  U.S.N. ;  W.  L.  Mintonye, 
Naval  Constructor,  U.S.N. ;  H.  S.  Craven,  Civil  En- 
gineer, U.S.N. ;  and  F.  C.  Prindle,  Civil  Engineer, 
U.S.N.,  were  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
to  again  inspect  the  work,  and  these  officers  reported 
that  the  dock  was  securely  and  substantially  built, 
and  would  safely  dock  and  sustain  any  vessel  it  is  ca- 
pable of  receiving.  The  dock  is  of  the  following  di- 
mensions: extreme  length  on  coping,  five  hundred 
and  four  feet;  on  floor,  four  hundred  and  seventy  feet; 
extreme  width  on  coping,  one  hundred  and  fifteen  feet; 
on  floor,  forty-five  feet;  width  of  entrance,  eighty  feet; 
depth  of  gate-sill  below  high  water,  twenty-three  feet. 
The  dock  is  closed  by  means  of  an  iron  caisson  or 
floating-gate,  made  to  fit  in  either  of  two  grooves  in 
the  entrance  abutments,  the  inner  groove  being  located 
twenty  feet  from  the  outer  one.  It  is  filled  through 
six  tubular  filling  sluices  placed  in  the  caisson,  each 
twenty-two  inches  in  diameter.  The  dock  is  built 
principally  of  yellow-pine  and  white-oak,  with  a  sub- 
stantial pile  foundation,  and  is  so  designed  and  con- 
structed as  to  aflford  strength,  dryness,  air,  light,  and 
easy  access.  The  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  at  Baltimore  is 
so  small  that  the  dock  is  available  for  use  at  any  time. 
One  hour  is  generally  consumed  in  filling  it  and  three 
hours  in  emptying  it,  alter  the  vessel  is  in  position. 
It  is  emptied  by  means  of  two  centrifugal  pumps, 
seven  feet  in  diameter,  and  operated  by  two  vertical 


high-pressure  18  by  24  engines,  geared  IJ  to  1.  The 
pumps,  engines,  and  boilers  are  located  near  the  dock 
entrance.  There  are  other  buildings  necessary  for 
ship-building  near  at  hand.  The  property  is  four 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide  facing  the  water,  with  a 
depth  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  con- 
tains about  fourteen  acres.  The  wharf  facilities  con- 
sist of  two  substantial  pile  piers,  one  20  by  200,  and 
one  80  by  200,  the  latter  fitted  with  a  pair  of  heavy 
shears,  a  slip  between  them  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  feet  wide  and  two  hundred  feet  long  (being  the 
approach  to  the  dock ),  and  a  slip  alongside  the  freight- 
house  seven  hundred  feet  long ;  depth  of  water,  twenty- 
five  feet.  The  portion  of  the  yard  devoted  to  ship- 
building purposes  has  a  frontage  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  feet.  The  establishment  has  excellent  rail- 
road facilities,  the  tracks  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  entering  the  yard  and  running  alongside 
the  dock  and  freight-house  their  whole  length. 

The  dry -dock  and  improvements  soon  after  comple- 
tion were  leased  to  Messrs.  Malster  &  Reaney,  expe- 
rienced and  skillful  builders  of  iron  and  wooden 
vessels,  of  Baltimore,  and  it  was  opened  for  business 
on  July  16,  1880,  when  it  was  used  for  docking  the 
British  steamship  "Andean,"  of  twenty-two  hundred 
tons.  The  importance  of  this  improvement  to  the 
business  interests  of  Baltimore  cannot  be  too  highly 
estimated,  and  its  success  during  the  short  period  it 
has  been  in  operation  shows  that  it  is  fully  appre- 
ciated by  the  commercial  world.  William  T.  Malster, 
the  senior  member  of  the  great  firm  of  Malster  & 
Reaney,  to  whom  the  dry-dock  has  been  leased,  was 
born  in  Cecil  Co.,  Md.,  April  4,  1843.  His  life  has 
not  been  one  of  ease  or  pleasure,  but  of  work  and 
labor.  Without  the  advantages  of  an  early  education, 
he  has  picked  up  vast  amounts  of  practical  knowledge 
in  the  "  off-hours"  of  work,  and  his  observant  mind 
has  laid  in  stores  of  information  in  hours  and  upon 
occasions  when  the  minds  of  others  would  have  been 
at  play.  Many  employments  were  tried  by  Mr. 
Malster  in  his  youth  before  he  found  himself  suited 
for  life.  Neither  the  farm  nor  the  grocery-store,  the 
confectionery  business,  the  painter,  the  blacksmith,  nor  . 
carpenter  would  suit  the  active  energy  and  the  in- 
quiring mind  of  a  restive  and  energetic  man.  Find- 
ing employment  on  a  steamer,  machinery  filled  up  the 
visions  of  an  ambition  that  before  would  not  be  satis- 
fied. The  school  of  design  when  on  shore  supple- 
mented the  school  of  practice  when  afloat.  Engi- 
neering was  thus  studied  in  theory  and  practice,  and 
the  result  was  a  perfect  examination  for  engineer  be- 
fore the  United  States  inspectors.  From  the  position 
of  engineer  on  a  canal  freight-boat  to  that  of  chief 
engineer  on  an  ocean  transport  the  course  of  promo- 
tion was  steady  and  without  interruption.  In  all  the 
places  of  his  employment  he  was  storing  up  informa- 
tion and  making  the  study  of  the  construction  of 
steamships  preparatory  to  embracing  the  first  oppor- 
tunity that  was  presented. 


■%  .  .m 


WILLIAM    L.   JIALSTER. 


THE   ADVANTAGES   OF   BALTIMOEE  AS  A  TEADE    CENTRE. 


In  1871,  in  a  small  shop  in  Caroline  Street,  Mr. 
Malster  began  the  business  of  constructing  engines 
and  steamers;  in  this  small  shop,  and  partly,  indeed 
mostly,  in  the  street,  he  built  some  of  the  most  pow- 
erful engines  ever  constructed  in  Baltimore.  The 
reputation  thus  won  brought  an  increase  of  orders, 
and  thus  necessitated  an  enlarged  workshop.  At  the 
foot  of  Ann  Street  he  built  the  "  Enoch  Pratt"  and  the 
enormous  hull  of  the  ice-boat  "F.  C.  Latrobe,"  to- 
gether with  many  other  iron  as  well  as  wooden  steam- 
ers. His  .shojjs  became  widely  known  for  excellent 
work,  and  himself  as  a  reliable  and  skillful  builder. 
Again  he  "builded  better  than  he  knew,"  and  other 
and  larger  quarters  became  indispensable  for  his  in- 
creasing busine'ss.  The  magnificent  iron  bridge  over 
.Tones'  Falls  at  Calvert  Street  is  the  work  of  his  shops, 
and  now,  established  at  the  new  dry-dock,  his  firm  has 
one  of  the  most  extensive  and  complete  plants  for 
the  construction  of  iron  steamers  and  all  their  ap- 
pointments that  can  be  found  in  this  country.  In 
1879,  W.  B.  Reaney,  of  Philadelphia,  a  thoroughly 
trained  constructing  engineer  and  ship-builder,  be- 
came associated  with  Mr.  Malster,  and  the  firm  of 
Malster  &  Reaney  was  established.  Mr.  Reaney  was 
born  in  Philadelphia,  April  26,  1833.  His  father, 
Thomas  Reaney,  was  the  senior  partner  of  Reaney, 
Neafie  &  Co.,  engineers  and  iron  ship-builders  of  Phil- 
adelphia. He  educated  his  son  in  his  own  works,  care- 
fiilly  training  him  in  every  part  of  the  business,  and 
he  soon  proved  an  apt  pupil.  When  but  twenty-four 
years  of  age  he  became  engineer  and  superintendent 
of  his  father's  works,  and  retained  this  position  until 
Jan.  1,  1860.  In  the  following  month,  in  connection 
with  his  father,  Thomas  Reaney,  he  established  ship- 
))uilding  and  engine-works  at  Chester,  Pa.,  where  the 
firm  built  three  monitors  and  twelve  iron  steamers  for 
the  United  States  government,  and  a  large  number  of 
iron  steamers  for  the  merchant  service,  ranging  from 
five  hundred  to  two  thousand  five  hundred  tons  bur- 
then. Mr.  Reaney  subsequently  designed  and  superin- 
tended the  construction  of  the  Girard  Point  elevator  in 
Philadelphia,  and  the  Canton  elevator  for  the  North- 
ern Central  Railway  in  this  city,  and  it  was  while  con- 
ducting this  latter  enterprise  that  the  advantages  and 
opportunities  offered  by  Baltimore  for  the  prosecution 
of  the  business  of  ship-building  were  so  forcibly  im- 
pressed upon  him  as  to  lead  to  his  removal  from 
Pennsylvania,  and  to  the  formation  of  the  connection 
with  Mr.  Malster.  Such  an  establishment  is  valuable 
to  Baltimore  not  only  as  a  matter  of  reputation  and 
pride,  but  as  a  valuable  assistant  in  the  development 
of  her  population,  her  trade,  and  her  business.  This 
firm  has  not  only  planted  the  instruments  of  a  well- 
organized  workshop,  but  its  members  have  also  laid 
broad  and  deep  the  foundations  of  business  integrity 
that  cannot  fail  to  be  more  useful  in  the  future 
business  of  the  concern  than  even  their  valuable 
plant. 

Steamships. — The  first  steamship  that  ever  crossed 


the  Atlantic  from  Europe  was  the  "  City  of  Kingston," 
which  arrived  in  Baltimore  in  February,  1838.  The 
"  City  of  Kingston"  was  schooner-rigged,  spread  a 
very  large  square-sail  from  her  foreyard,  and  was  a 
handsome  vessel  of  three  hundred  and  twenty-five 
tons,  British  measure.  Her  wheels  and  arms  were 
made  of  wrought  iron,  and  she  had  two  engines,  each 
of  fifty  horse-power,  consumed  half  a  ton  of  Liverpool 
coal  every  hour,  and  carried  five  hundred  and  fifty 
tons  of  coal  without  inconvenience.  She  left  London 
for  Jamaica  via  Madeira,  where  she  safely  arrived, 
but  failing  to  obtain  an  engagement  as  a  packet  be- 
tween Jamaica  and  Carthagena,  as  originally  in- 
tended, she  left  Jamaica  for  New  York,  and  put  into 
Norfolk,  whence  she  resumed  her  voyage,  but  encoun- 
tering a  heavy  gale,  and  failing  in  all  attempts  to 
make  way  with  wood  or  anthracite  coal,  she  put  back 
and  came  up  to  Baltimore.  Her  speed  with  steam 
was  about  twelve  miles  an  hour,'  and  she  was  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Crane.  She  left  Baltimore  at 
noon  on  Sunday,  May  20th,  for  London  direct.  It 
was  during  the  same  year  that  the  "  Sirius,"  from 
Liverpool,  and  the  "  Great  Western,"  from  Bristol, 
entered  the  port  of  New  York,  but  they  did  not  reach 
that  city  until  the  latter  part  of  April,  while  the 
"  City  of  Kingston,"  as  we  have  seen,  arrived  at  Bal- 
timore in  February .- 

To  Liverpool. — The  civil  war  (1861-65)  inter- 
rupted and  postponed  the  establishment  of  a  line  of 
steamships  between  this  city  and  Liverpool.  But  as 
soon  as  peace  enabled  persons  to  consider  and  under- 
take peaceful  pursuits,  the  project  was  renewed  and 
put  in  process  of  successful  experiment  by  citizens  of 
Baltimore  purchasing,  in  1865,  four  first-class  screw- 
steamers,  the  "  Neptune,"  "  Glaucus,"  '•  Proteus," 
"  Menus"  ;  their  names  being  changed  to  the  "  Car- 
roll," the  "  Alleghany,"  the  "  Somerset,"  and  the 
"  Worcester,"  after  four  principal  counties  of  the 
State.  The  "  Somerset,"  on  Nov.  30,  1865,  inaugu- 
rated the  first  steamship  line  from  Baltimore  to  any 
European  port  amid  every  demonstration  of  public 
joy.  Notwithstanding  the  public  interest  taken  in 
this  line,  as  well  as  the  most  favorable  assistance  of 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  this  pioneer  line 
proved  but  moderately  successful,  and  was  succeeded 


1  In  connection  with  the  early  history  of  steam  navigation,  it  may  be 
stated  that  on  the  2d  of  March,  1S14,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  mayor's 
oflBce  to  examine  the  model  of  a  floating-battery,  to  be  worked  by  steam, 
submitted  by  Capt.  George  Stiles.  The  battery  was  designed  to  carry 
thirty  thirty-two  pounders,  and  was  projected  as  a  means  of  defense 
against  the  threatened  attack  of  the  Biitish.  "  At  the  same  time,"  we 
are  told,  "  the  opinions  of  several  respectable  persons,  well  acquainted 
with  the  subject,  were  likewise  submitted,  stating  the  practicaliility  of 
constructing  and  advantageously  employing  such  a  machine."  It  was, 
therefore,  unanimously  resolved  that  application  should  be  made  to  the 
citizens  of  Baltimore  for  subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  850,000  for  the 
purpose  of  constructing  the  floating-battery,  and  a  number  of  prominent 
citizens  were  requested  "  to  carry  subscription  papers  round." 

2  As  a  matter  of  reference  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  "  Great  East- 
ern," on  her  first  trip  to  this  country  in  1860,  anchored  in  Annapolis 
Roads,  where  she  was  visited  in  August  by  a  large  number  of  persons 
from  Baltimore  and  other  points. 


306 


IIISTOIIY    OF    BALTIMORE    CITY    AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Baltimore  and 


by  the  "  North  German  Lloyd, 
Bremen  line"  of  steamships. 

In  1870  the  present  Liverpool  line,  known  as  "  The 
Allan  Line,"  was  established  between  this  port  and 
Liverpool,  starting  every  two  weeks  from  each  port. 
The  "  Austrian,"  of  this  line,  arrived  on  her  first  trip 
to  Baltimore  on  Oct.  27,  1870.  The  steamers  of  this 
line  in  1879  were  the  "Sardinian,"  4100  tons;  the 
"Polynesian,"  4100  tons;  the  "Sarmatian,"  3600 
tons  ;  the  "  Circassian,"  4000  tons ;  the  "  Moravian," 
3650  tons;  the  "  Hibernian,"  3000  tons;  the  "Peru- 
vian," 3400  tons;  the  "Nova  Scotian,"  3300  tons; 
the  "  Caspian,"  3000  tons  ;  the  "  Scandinavian,"  3000 
tons;  the  "Prussian,"  3000  tons;  the  "Austrian," 
2700  tons ;  the  "  Nestorian,"  2700  tons  ;  the  "  Cana- 
dian," 2600  tons;  the  "  Manitobian,"  3000  tons;  the 
"Corinthian,"  2400  tons;  the  "Phoenician,"  2800 
tons;  and  the  " Waldensian,"  2600  tons.  A  special 
feature  of  this  line  is  the  delightful  summer  excur- 
sion trips  to  Halifax,  which  have  every  year  increased 
in  popularity. 

Baltimore  and  Bremen.— At  the  February  meet- 
ing of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  Company,  in  1868,  President  Garrett 
announced  the  completion  of  a  contract  between  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company  and  the  North 
German  Lloyds  for  at  least  two  first-class  iron  steam- 
ships, to  be  put  upon  the  route  between  Bremen  and 
Baltimore,  and  maintained  for  five  years.  Under  this 
agreement  two  screw  steamship.?,  the  "  Baltimore" 
and  the  "  Berlin,"  each  two  thousand  five  hundred 
tons,  were,  in  1868,  put  upon  the  line,  to  be  run  in 
connection  with  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
Company.  The  arrival  of  the  "Baltimore"  at  this 
city  in  March,  1868,  was  celebrated  with  every  demon- 
stration of  great  public  satisfaction.  Regarded  as 
the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  the 
city,  it  was  duly  honored  by  municipal,  corporate, 
and  individual  celebration.  It  had  been  for  many 
years  the  ambition  of  this  city  to  place  herself  upon 
an  equal  footing  with  other  Atlantic  cities  in  the  j 
transatlantic  trade.  For  years  the  subject  had  been 
agitated  and  discussed,  but  from  various  causes,  among 
which  were  the  civil  war  of  1861-65,  the  practical 
carrying  out  of  the  plans  had  been  defeated,  until, 
through  the  perseverance  and  persistent  effort  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  first  the 
Liverpool  line  was  opened,  and  then  the  Bremen 
line.  In  honor  of  the  arrival  of  the  pioneer  ship  of 
this  line,  the  "  Baltimore,"  a  complimentary  banquet 
was^given  by  the  merchants  of  Baltimore  to  the  offi- 
cers of  the  "  Baltimore"  on  the  26th  of  March,  1868, 
at  which  over  three  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  most 
prominent  citizens  of  this  city  participated.  In  re- 
plying to  the  toast  to  the  steamship  line,  the  late 
Albert  Schumacher  said, — 

"The  mftiu  impulse  (towards  tJie  establishment  of  tlie  liue)  came  from 
this  side,  aud  you  are  chielly  indebted  for  its  consummation  to  my 
friend  Mr.  Ganett,  president  of  tlio  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Kuilroad  Com- 
pany, witliout  whose  aid  the  line  could  not  have  been  estublislied.     The 


advantages  which  he  offered,  in  addition  to  advancing  one-half  of  the 
capital  required,  such  as  the  promise  of  providing  a  pier,  with  all  neces- 
sary accommodations  for  vessels  and  cargoes,  and  of  supplying  the 
steamers  with  coal  at  less  than  current  market  rates,  were  powerful 
arguments,  and  induced  the  North  German  Lloyds  to  give  Baltimore  the 
preference  over  other  cities  which  sought  to  secure  its  co-operation  for 
the  same  object.  The  connection  is  a  happy  one.  Both  companies  have 
been  eminently  successful  in  their  respective  spheres,  and  their  associa- 
tion promises  well  for  the  futureof  this  young  enterprise." 

And  Mr.  Garrett  replying,  remarked, — 

"  Immediately  upon  the  close  of  the  recent  terrific  contest,  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Company,  trusting  that  the  boundless  energies  which  for 
four  dreadful  years  bad  been  expended  in  deeds  of  blood  and  destruction 
would  be  organized  for  great  commercial  and  other  advantageous  devel- 
opments, believing,  too,  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  their  city  should 
arrange  to  offer  for  the  consideration  aud  use  of  their  country  and  Eu- 
rope the  best  modern  facilities  for  ocean  commerce,  purchased  from  the 
Federal  government  steamers  that  had  been  used  for  war  purposes,  with 
the  object  of  inaugurating  a  line  of  steamships  to  ply  between  Baltimore 
and  Liverpool.  That  enterprise,  thus  inaugurated,  proved  that  the  ex- 
pectations of  those  who,  from  the  founding  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad,  held  sound  views,  based  upon  correct  elements  of  calculation. 
Gradually  the  attention  of  capitalists  of  Europe  was  thus  commanded  to 
the  advantages  of  this  port;  the  admirable  character  of  its  harbor;  the 
superior  navigation  from  the  ocean  to  its  whan'es ;  and  the  vast  facilities 
to  be  obtained  and  economies  to  be  effected,  in  comparison  with  other 
cities,  by  the  use  of  this  port  and  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
and  its  connections,  for  the  great  and  growing  business  of  a  large  por- 
tion of  this  country." 

The  great  enterprise  thus  inaugurated  was  further 
developed  by  the  arrival,  April  22,  1868,  of  the 
"  Berlin,"  the  companion  ship  of  the  line,  with  a  full 
complement  of  passengers  and  an  assorted  cargo. 
A  cable  dispatch  of  May  23, 1872,  gave  "an  account  of 
the  loss  of  the  "  Baltimore."  Arriving  at  Southamp- 
ton on  the  20th  of  May,  and  sailing  hence,  met, 

"at  twelve  o'clock  last  night  off  Hastings,  with  disaster  which  will 
probably  prove  a  total  loss.  She  came  in  collision  with  an  unknown 
steamer,'  and  had  a  hole  eighteen  feet  long  by  seven  feet  wide  stove  in 
her  hull.  Water  poured  in  rapidly  and  extinguished  her  tires,  not,  how- 
ever, before  the  steamer  had  been  run  aground.  The  coast-guard  at 
Hastings  immediately  came  to  the  rescue  of  the  distressed  vessel,  and 
succeeded  in  rescuing  her  passengers  and  crew  and  landing  them  in 
safety." 

The  Baltimore  and  Bremen  line  has  continued  to 
increase  in  public  favor,  and  now  has  six  first-class 
steamships  regularly  plying  between  Bremen,  South- 
ampton, and  Baltimore.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Allan 
line  to  Baltimore,  no  steamer  of  the  Bremen  line  to 
this  port  has  yet  met  with  any  accident  resulting  in 
loss  of  life. 

Regular  lines  of  steamships  of  the  most  improved 
style  of  construction  are  run  at  the  present  time  (1881) 
by  the  German  Lloyds  between  Baltimore  and  Bremen, 
starting  every  alternate  Wednesday  from  Baltimore, 
and  every  alternate  Thursday  from  Bremen. 

The  Allan  line,  between  Baltimore  and  Liverpool, 
calling  at  Halifax,  fortnightly.  A.  Shumacher  &  Co., 
No.  5  South  Gay  Street,  agents. 

Hooper  line  of  steamers,  for  Liverpool  direct.  J. 
Hooper  &  Co.,  agents,  Gay  and  Lombard  Streets. 

The  National  line,  to  Liverpool.  W.  Schnautt'er, 
agent,  Holliday  Street. 

The  Johnston  line  for  Liverpool,  Antwerp,  Belfast, 

'  The  Spanish  screw-.^teanicr  "  Loreniw." 


THE   ADVANTAGES   OF   BALTIMORE   AS  A   TRADE   CENTRE. 


307 


and  Barrow.  Patterson,  Ramsay  &  Co.,  agents,  56 
South  Gay  Street. 

The  Merchants'  and  Miners'  Transportation  Com- 
pany's line,  for  New  York  direct,  also  to  Boston  and 
to  Providence,  R.  I.,  via  Norfolk.  A.  L.  Huggins, 
agent.  Spear's  wharf,  Baltimore,  and  George  H.  Glover, 
pier  14  North  River,  N.  Y.,  agent.  The  same  com- 
pany also  runs  steamers  to  Savanuah,  Ga. 

Tow-boats.— Previous  to  1849  steam-tugs  or  tow- 
Ijoats  were  unknown  in  the  harbor  of  this  city,  the 
regular  side-wheel  steamers  being,  previous  to  1849, 
used  for  moving  sailing-vessels  into  and  out  of  the 
harbor  as  well  as  within  the  harbor.  The  idea  of  in- 
troducing regular  steam-tugs  on  the  Patapsco  orig- 
inated with  Capt.  Luke  League,  who  brought  fi-om 
Philadelphia  the  tug  "  Charles  H.  Haswel,"  which 
Tipon  its  first  trial  proved  so  great  a  success  that  in 
the  month  of  November  of  that  year  Capt.  League 
purchased  in  Philadelphia  and  brought  to  this  city 
the  tug  "  Hector."  In  1852,  John  Henderson  pur- 
chased in  Philadelphia  two  other  tugs  for  service 
in  Baltimore.  In  1856,  John  Wells  built  the  first 
steam-tug,  "  The  Sun,"  constructed  in  Baltimore. 
From  that  small  beginning  of  Capt.  League  in  1849 
to  the  present  day  the  fleet  of  steam-tugs  has  in- 
creased in  number  and  power,  until  the  mercantile 
service  at  this  port  is  as  well  served  with  steam-tugs 
as  that  of  any  port  in  the  country. 

Ice-Soats. — The  severity  of  occasional  and  excep- 
tional winters  closes  the  harbor  of  Baltimore  with 
ice,  and  checks  to  some  extent  the  movements  of 
commerce.  In  1837  the  ice-boat  "Relief,"  an  indi- 
vidual enterprise,  rendered  very  efficient  service  in 
opening  a  way  for  commercial  intercourse.  In  1848 
the  ice-breaker  "  Patapsco"  was  burned,  and  after- 
wards her  hull  was  broken  up.  In  1867  the  City 
Council  appropriated  seventy-five  thousand  dollars 
and  the  State  added  the  same  amount  for  the  build- 
ing of  the  ice-boat  "  City  of  Baltimore."  Messrs.  A. 
Schumacher,  I.  M.  Parr,  and  Francis  W.  Wilson  were 
commissioners  for  the  superintendence  of  the  con- 
struction as  well  as  management,  and  the  means  for 
the  cost  were  raised  by  the  sale  of  city  six  per  cent, 
bonds,  redeemable  in  1890.  In  1868  the  ice-boat 
"  Chesapeake"  made  her  first  trial  of  breaking  the 
ice  (January  17th),  and  released  from  the  ice  the 
steamship  "  Cuba,"  of  the  New  Orleans  and  Havana 
line,  and  the  "  Worcester,"  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  line.  Her  builder  was  Chas.  Reeder,  and  her 
•captain  D.  C.  Lander.  In  1871  she  burst  her  boiler 
and  was  partially  burned,  and  sunk  in  the  river 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Craighill  Channel.  She  was 
afterwards  raised,  and  sold  for  thirteen  hundred  dol- 
lars to  Messrs.  E.  M.  Hanna  &  Co.  In  1871  the  ice- 
boat "  Maryland"  was  launched  from  the  yard  of 
Messrs.  Wellner  &  Beech,  Fell's  Point,  to  take  the 
place  of  the  "  Chesapeake."  She  also  was  nearly 
destroyed  by  fire  in  January,  1872.  In  1878  the  ice- 
boat "  F.  C.  Latrobe"  was  launched  from  the  ship- 


yard of  Wm.  T.  Malster,  and  at  present  the  "  Mary- 
land" and  the  "  F.  C.  Latrobe"  effectively  keep  the 
harbor  open  for  the  passage  of  vessels. 

Tonnage,  etc.— The  subjoined  tables  will  explain 
the  tonnage  facilities  of  this  port,  as  well  as  afford 
the  means  of  comparison  for  its  gradual  increase  and 
growing  importance: 

Abeivals  fbom  Foreign  Poets. 


Yeabs. 

Steam- 
ships. 

Ships. 

Barks. 

Brigs. 

Schoon- 

Total. 

Total,  1879 

290 

175 

1160 

134 

190 

1939 

Total,  1878 

137 

999 

160 

240 

1723 

Total,  1877 

194 

207 

1434 

187 

Total,  1875 

77 

47 

446 

.41 

245 

1055 

Cleabed  for  Foeeiqn  Poets. 


Total,  1880. 
Total,  1879. 
Total,  1878. 
Total,  1877. 
Total,  1876. 
Total,  1875. 


Steam- 
ships. 

Ships. 

Barks. 

Brigs. 

Schoon- 
ers. 

297 

120 

968 

110 

133 

135 

186 

72 

874 

159 

149 

99 

94 

837 

178 

151 

85 

53 

437 

•■^ 

184 

■i 

2 

1 

§ 

5 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

«■> 

Argentine 

3 



3 

5 

30 

606 

Beleian 

DaS: :::::::::::. 

... 



2 

5 

French 

? 

9. 

27 

34 

35 

101 

133 

Italian 

263 

272 

205 

Nicaragnan 

20 

157 



Portuguese 



1 

1 

Spanish 

26 

1 

4 

4 

36 

32 

2 

2 

30 

15 

Total,  1880 

313 

114 

» 

108 

121 

1521 

1939 

Months. 

1880. 

1879. 

Foreign. 

American. 

Foreign. 

American. 

100,344 
95,187 
79;312 
110,792 
102,129 
95870 
126,910 
160,453 
104,821 
96:809 
96,195 
76,245 

5,868 
7,930 
10,436 
12,040 
9,206 
9,436 
4:431 
7,179 
7,948 
6j343 
4,474 
7,634 

82,142 

89,280 
137,941 

97,186 
116,660 
113,057 

93,187 
141,190 
187,260 
107,810 
160  665 

7.379 

May 

8,482 
11,239 

6:M9 

S.SRO 

December. 

124,834                8,687 

1,236,067 

91,929 

HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE  CITY    AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Total  amount  of  tonnage  arrived  from  foreign 

ports  during  1880 1,326,996 

Total  Hniount  of  tonnage  arrived  from  foreign 
ports  during  1879 1,549,050 

Decrease,  1880 222,054 


Of  the  total  ) 
1880,  723,129  to 


— 

1880. 

1879. 

Foreign. 

American. 

Foreign.       American. 

J 

95,178 
100,426 
126:.M1 
127,2.(9 

76,586 
108,371 
143,919 
162,7^(8 
102,408 

95,682 
112,760 

98,432 

4,132 
:  8,933 

70S6 

8,693 
12.766 

2,351 

mi 
7,073 
6,361 
2406 
7,326 

74,935              5.701 

102,941 
113,337 
90,963 
127,449 
139,119 
167,773 
142,761 
103,802 
102,048 

Marcl.       '"! 

11.317 

May.'.!!!'.::!!!!!!!!!!.'! 
jSr/..'.'.'.'.'.'.'!!!!!!.'!.'!!! 

August 

7,483 
8,694 
4,046 
5110 

September. 

NOTemi;;";;!'.'."!!!".!!! 

7,701 
7,371 
7331 
8.330 

Total 

1,348,240 

81.145 

1.389,072 

92,892 

Total  amount  of  toDnage  cleared  for  foreign  ports 

during  1880 1,429,385 

Total  amouDt  of  tonnage  cleared  for  foreign  ports 
during  1879 1,481,971 

Decrease,  1880 52,58fi 


Of  the  total  number  of  vessels  which  cleared  for  foreign  ports  during 
1880,  there  were  23  American  and  13  foreign  which  cleared  in  ballast, 
the  former  principally  small  West  India  fruit-schooners;  and  of  the 
latter  several  were  chartered  to  load  at  Nova  Scotia  ports,  while  the 
others  cleared  for  foreign  ports  via  Norfolk,  New  Orleans,  or  other 
American  cities. 


Cleared  roE  Foreign  Poets  : 


Yeabs  1879  AND  1880. 


— 

Sleam- 
ships. 

Ships. 

Barks. 

Brigs. 

Sch»n- 

Total, 
1880. 

Total, 
1879. 

January 

22 
13 
18 
27 
18 
19 
42 
55 
21 
19 
20 
23 

4 
10 
15 
14 
10 
15 

6 
12 
10 

9 
10 

5 

120 
171 
126 
72 
94 

66 

70 

81 
56 
77 
101 
95 
79 
78 
80 
72 

968 
1046 
1008 
874 
837 
437 

10 
4 
11 
12 
12 
7 
6 
10 
13 
13 
11 
2 

110 
i:» 
158 
159 
178 
241 

8 
20 
11 

18 
22 

110 
117 
168 
152 
118 

140 
165 
160 

£ 

151 

6            im 

fiSL'iiv;:!!! 

October 

November. 

December 

2 

4 

8 
15 

174 
130 
123 
129 
117 

1814 
1697 
1349 

160 
196 
188 
134 
134 

Total,  1880 

Total,  1879 

Total,  1878 

TotHi,  1877 

Total.  187B 

Total.  1875 

297 
276 
184 
95 
99 
85 

186 
222 
149 
151 
184 

■•i'8U 

NATioNAinr  OF  Vessels  cleared 

FOB  FoBEIQN  FOKTS 

DHEINO  THE 

Yeaes  1879 

AND  1880. 

t 

1 

1 

i 

i 

i 

1 

i 

i 

American 

6 

68 

37 

120 

?<ii 

289 

Argentine 

Austrian 



18 

1 

16 

243 

.51 

349 

Belguin 

1 

I 

Dutch 

2 

2 

i 

French 



26 

38 

36 

IM 

131 

Italian 

244 

11 

255 

19» 

Nicaraguan 





Portuguese 

1 

5 

39 

46 

52 

Spanish 

27 

1 

7 

.39 

32 



1 

25 

2 

28 

14 

297 



120 

968 

110 

133 

1628 

1814 

ToNNAOE  OF  Vessels 


Tears. 

Number  of  Tons. 

Total  Tons. 

Foreign. 

American. 

1870 

130.863 
232,402 
274,990 
334,1.54 
412,742 
4.-(6,372 
752,234 
879,481 

i;389;072 
i;348;240 

93.092 
92  332 
99388 
118935 
125.893 
127,795 
97,917 
91,515 
126,277 
92,899 
81,145 

223,956 

374.378 

SjisS 

jgi^ 

850,151 

970,996 

J879      

1.481.971 

i;429:386 

Princijyat   arlidtA   exported  from   Baltimore   to  foreign  countries  for  past 


Articles. 

1880. 

1879. 

1878. 

Bark,  Quercitron,  bags 

70,293 

18,225 

7,566 

486,891 

33,768,985 

14,686.402 

12,891 

67,756 

17,761 

8,649 

448.349 

32,152,612 

2i:327;729 

25,857 

60,884 
10.718 

Corn-meal,  barrels 

2V22! 

19.610.791 

J69M458 
14;373 

Cotton   bales' .'!! 

148,036     1            93,755 
13  031                  a  120 

84,144 

3.340 

20,079 

14.780,980 

28,870,172 

2,634 

244,357 

640,612 

34,797  502 

5:716 
23,322.482 
21.915,858 

1461094 

138,021 

26  9.50  Rl  9 

i'^2 

14,746.451 

Beef,  tierces  and  barrels 

'    2:943 

Lard   pounds                

21.262,610 

Pork,  barrels  and  boxes 

4,348                  7.414 
53,874     1            53,262 

'    8:337 

In  addition  to  the  articles  named  above,  there  were  exported  13,28& 
boxes  starch,  19,408  cases  canned  goods,  100  M  shooks  and  heads.  3639 
M  hoops.  44.887  tons  coal,  542  barrels  apples,  1131  barrels  dried  apples, 
624  boxes  bristles,  11,327  bushels  clover-seed,  1649  packages  glassware, 
4569  ban  els  hominy  and  grits,  29,774  packages  oil-cake,  1348  packages 
oil-meal.  233,567  pounds  oil-meal,  14,040  reams  paper,  13,215  bushels  po- 
tatoes. 636  M  shingles.  47.633  tree-nails,  2984  sheep,  72  horeee,  10,771 
cattle,  121  mules,  211  bushels  beans,  8837  bushels  potatoes,  22  packages 
glue-stock,  1598  bales  hair,  112,962  gallons  lard  oil,  73  packages  leather, 
2204  logs  wood,  812  cases  matches,  1080  pigs,  3850  empty  hogsheads,— 


THE   ADVANTAGES   OP   BALTIMOKE   AS   A   TRADE   CENTRE. 


cooperage  stuff,— 336  empty  tierces,  6000  laths,  8424  bushels  bran,  33,209 
pouuilB  candles,  048  bales  cotton  duck,  391  bags  rice,  104  sacks  salt, 
3,684,649  pounds  tnllow,  1625  casks  potash,  135  tons  sassalVas-root,  36,000 
gallons  alcohol,  1484  carboys  acid,  607  boxes  soap,  17,160  pounds  grease, 
13,796  barrels  naval  stores,  and  179,300  pounds  tongues. 

IMPORTS. 

ConiparaCive  (able  of  imports  unil  receipts  of  principal  articles  for  last  three 


Aeticies. 

1880. 

1879. 

1878. 

Coffee  Mo  ba"8 

431,289 

24^:'JS? 

1,676,6.60 

16,690,291 

36,414,:i93 

1,172.4.^7 

20.-.,6l3 

3:i4,488 

16,943 

15,443 

11312 

18;2S9 

5:1,923 

24,204 

5,474 

531,401 

2,686 

17:1.262 

1,684,311 

2:1.161.896 

34,634,426 

1,616,877 

154,:i3l 

265,»98 

7;932 

15.940 

14.746 

12.217 

47,.622 

15,131 

18:1,000 

26,814 

19,419 

6,046 

"■- 

20,070 

6.925 

404,758 

173,357 

20  569 

89,678 

1.6,062 

267,848 

488 .627 

liil 

Cotton,  bales 

159,888 

17.907,108 

22  017120 

Oats,  bLshels 

Kye.  bushels 

1,052,046 
59,631 
360,(100 

Macker,-1,  barrels 

Herriug,  barrels 

8,515 
18,:a6 

LetiionV  boxes 

11.424 

1,689 

26.''37 

■^"^",l'»g8 

33;6I9 
30,l:i5 

2,818 

Kico,  tierces 

gl^-S:::;:::::::::;::::::::::;::: 

Salt  bushels 

18,832 
2.229 
33;j,6:i7 
186,000 
19.865 
94,158 
1.3.169 
305,082 

16,6:12 

4,164 

217,652 

18:1.316 

Spirits  of  turpentine,  barrels.... 

Rosin,  barrels 

Tar,  etc.,  barrels 

Tin  plates  boxes 

10.379 
47,576 
19,544 
145,694 

the  above  1 


lu  addition  to  the  articled 
imported  26,858  tons  agricultural  salt,  6444  casks  cement,  13,786  tons 
brimstone  and  sulphur,  2360  barrels  oranges,  659,000  oranges,  1000  mats 
raisins,  65,752  dozen  pineapples,  51,457  bunches  bananas,  11,632  bags 
nitrate  soda,  2049  tons  bones,  2635  tons  bone-ash,  :i387  packages  earthen- 
ware, 11,960  horns,  18,583  barrels  grapes,  06,000  grape  fruit,  16  packages 
mineral  water,  957  packages  and  350  tons  marble,  11,150  bushels  pota- 
toes, 114  tons  and  380,000  bags  ivory-nuts,  29,12  pounds  India-rubber, 
45,763  packages  chemicals,  88,000  bricks,  4010  cases  clay,  6675  conch- 
shells,  6418  bars  copper,  112  packages  drug-',  240  bales  hair,  8,094,000 
laths,  2870  packages  vinegar,  49:i6  packages  wines  and  liquors,  2775  bun- 
dles wire,  1193  boxes  soap,  2316  bags  sumac,  19,462  bundles  gas  strips, 
173  bales  wool,  40U0  cases  canned  fruit,  and  20,776  bundles  cotton  ties. 

FOREIGN  TRADE  OF  BALTIMORE  FOR  TWENTT-FOUB  TEARS. 


Fiscal  Year. 

Imports. 

Exports. 

Total. 

89,119,907 
10,581,208 
8,930,157 
9,713,921 
9,784,773 
9,449,105 
3:096;620 
4,484,399 
5,835,60:l 
4,816,464 
8,1.65,991 
12,209,609 
12,9:10,733 
16,S03.0:i2 
19,612,468 
24.672,X7I 
2S,K36.3U5 
29,287,603 
29,:i02.l:i8 
27,7K8,992 
22,340,629 
22,327.928 
16.9:18,028 
19,945,991 
18,643,253 

810,866  637 
13,405,:193 
9:878,386 
9,074,611 
8,804.606 
12,949,625 
8,:i75,:l03 
11,01:1,871 
8,741.755 
11,794,546 
10,804,012 
10,996,348 
13,867,:i9I 
13.667.630 

16>37,8.66 
lx.325.32l 
19,:i44.l77 
27.61:1,111 
27.615,667 
31,216,807 
39,206.274 
45,492,527 
78,220.870 
73,994,910 

819,976,544 

ig^^ 

jgg[ 

22,398,730 

I-'- 

23,204,857 

1874 

66  8li6  249 

1878     .... 

02  431  155 

96.168,861 
92,638,163 

INTERNAL   REVENUE. 

The  internal  revenue  collected  in  this  collection 
district  during  1879  and  1880  was  as  follows: 

Taxes.  1880.  1879. 

On  spirits 8709,248.94  8700,201.68 

On  tobacco 1,282,979.48  1,I02,:)33.52 

On  beer 26.6,126.59  22k,S17.04 

On  banks 60,59861  52,28045 

Other  collections 36,695.35  7,362.81 

Penalties 1,682.48  482.41 

Total 82,:)46,331.45    $2,091,477.91 

Increase  for  1880,  8254,8,53.54. 

Distances  from  Baltimore  to  Principal  Cities. 

Miles.  Miles. 


Annapolis,  Md 
Albany,  N.  Y.. 
Altoona,  Pa.... 

Atlanta,  Ga 

Boston,  Maj?8... 
BufTiil...  N,T... 


Mobile,  Ala 1065 

Montgomery,  Ala 899 

Memphis,  Tenn 971 

Milwaukee.  Wis 890 


Norfolk,  Va 

New  York  City 

New  Haven,  Conn.. 


New  Orleans,  La.. 

Nashville,  Tenn 

Omaha,  Neb 

Varksishur!;.  W.  Va... 


Petereburg,  Va. 

Qnincy,  111 

Uichniond,  Va.. 


lull  Unwii,  lu.l 654 

Grafton,  W,  Va 279 

Galveston,  Texas 1711 

Hageretown,  Md 103 

Havre  de  Grace,  Md 36 

Harrisburg,  Pa 85 

Harrisonburg,  Va 162 

Hartford,  Conn 829 

Indianapolis,  Ind 704 

Jei-sey  Citv.  N.  J 188 

Kansas  Cilj-,  Mo 1213 

Lexington,  Ky 688 


Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 2332 

Staunton,  Va 193 

St.  Louis,  Mo 931 


Pa.. 


St.  Paul,  Mil 


Leavenworth.  Kan.... 

Lynchburg,  Va 

Martinsburg,  W.  Va.. 
Macon,  Ga 


218 
1296 

St.  Joseph,  Mo 1237 

Toledo,  O 591 

Terra  Haute,  Ind 765 

Utica,  N.  Y 427 

Vicksburg,  Miss 1202 

Washington.  D.  C 40 

Wheeling,  W.  Va 379 

Winchester,  Va 113 

Wilmington,  N.  C 418 


Distances  on  the  Chesapeake.— The  following 
tables  have  been  furnished  by  the  United  States 
Coast  Survey,  and  are  taken  from  official  measure- 
ments by  statute  miles : 


Sev<  n  t  11 1  Knoll 
Low  CI  I<,lind  Point  mouth  ( 
Mouth  of  Magothy  Ruer 
Pool  s  lalanil  Light-house 
Love  Point  Light  house  K  1 
Sandy  P  11 1  Li„ht  house 
Legos  Point  mouth  of  Bnsh 

Queeliht  >w  11 

Thomas   P  int  Light  house 

Hov  ell  s  Point 

Kent  Point 

Mouth  )f  Cox  8  Creek  W  est 

Turktv  Point  Light  hou<.e 

Fredeiick  on  bassatras  Rnei 

Havre  de  drace 

Fail  Ha>en   Herring  Creek 

Tnu  \  s  1  an  ling,  Heriing  (.  t 

St.  Michaels 

Chaili  1   wn 

CheBt^  * 


Choi  t  ink  111!   I  I  i„l  I  1 

Oxford 

Ca8Ileha\en  (.h  pt  ink  Ri\ 

Easlon  landin„ 

Cove  Point  I  ight  h  use 


310 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Baltimoie  to  Miles. 

Cambridge 70 

Chancellor's  Point,  Cluiptiiiik  Kivn       7i'4 

Church's  Creek  Landini; T^]4 

Drum  Point,  Patnxent  Hiv.  I   76 

Mill  Creek  I-andinK,PatuN.ui   !:,>..  78 

Mouth  of  Cabin  Creek,  (Jli.M.im.k  Un^i 1»]4 

Hunting  Creek,  Choptank  Uiver 81 

Hooper's  Strait  Fog  Signal 9154 

Point  Lookout  Light-house 95 

Clay  M.n.l  LiRht  l„m«. 98 

Solon,.  ■ '-  I  nrr  yi-,,ti,  ■;  r  101 

Smllh.  !■   , M  I      :  .  1U5V4 

Willi. ■  ii  >.  i.    ■  in 

Crl»l..l  I.  :     -I  115 

Vic.,..:.  1..I  ;,  .       ^  l::  124 

Wnll»l.i,u,.,  I.,  l--!05i 

Pongotcafc'ui'  I  ..'    !  129 

Windmill  P.Miit  1  :     ,  129 

Onancock  Lamlin  l-W)^ 

Chorrv  l'..iiit,  I;         ,  ■  :..  i.  135 

Parn.if. ''•.),  I  l;,|.|..,i„. k  1;,>,t 1:19 

Wulli,  ,,.  1,1,  HI 

Will,,u,     I    ,.  :    r      :,    !  ,.  i;iv,., 147 

Nt«    r    ,     :   -  :     ;      i    I        il   house 151 

Ch.-..'   -         1  I     I  ;    .i-'  lol 

EasH:l      :         i  155% 

Turk  -        !         I  156 

Toe.'-  II       ■        I  ,,■.  163% 

01.1  I' i    M  175 

Cape  Ik  n:.    ki.h.  I 175 

Cranev  l=k.i,.l  l„^ki-i„.u.-,. 1821^ 

Norfolk 187 

From  Baltimore  to  Foreign  Ports. — The  distance 
by  water  from  Baltimore  to  Bremen,  in  Germany,  is 
3575  miles;  to  Liverpool,  England,  3023  miles ;  to  Lon- 
don, 3225  miles;  to  Havre,  France,  3148  miles;  to 
Southampton,  England,  3156  miles;  to  Amsterdam, 
Holland,  3510  miles ;  to  Canton,  China,  10,600  miles  ; 
to  Batavia,  Java,  13,066  miles  ;  to  Bordeaux,  France, 
3310  miles;  to  Botany  Bay,  Australia,  13,294  miles; 
to  Bombay,  India,  11,574  miles;  to  Constantinople, 
5140  miles;  to  Havana,  1280  miles;  to  Hong  Kong, 
China,  6488  miles;  to  Lima,  Peru,  11,310  miles;  to 
Nagasaki,  Japan,  9800  miles ;  to  Pekin,  China,  15,325 
miles ;  to  Eio  Janeiro,  Brazil,  5920  miles ;  to  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  7157  miles. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

TRAN.SPORTATION. 

Roads— stage-Lines — Internal  Improvements — Steam  Railroads — Adams 
Express  Company— Railroad  Riots— Omnibuses — City  and  Suburban 
Railroads— Old  Roads. 

As  early  as  1666  the  Assembly  of  Maryland  began 
the  work  of  expediting  intercommunication  between 
the  difi'erent  parts  of  the  colony,  and  for  this  purpose 
passed  an  act  for  "  marking  highways  and  making 
the  heads  of  rivers,  creeks,  branches,  and  swamps 
piissable  for  horse  and  foot;"  and  in  1704  the  width 
of  roads  was  established  at  twenty  feet,  and  provis- 
ion was  made  for  marking  their  route  by  notching 
trees  and  branding  them  with  marking-irons ;  and 
in  1774,  Isaac  Griest,  Benjamin  Griffith,  Jesse  Hol- 
lingsworth,  and  others  were  appointed  commissioners 
to  direct  the  expenditure  of  nearly  $11,000  to  con- 
struct the  three  great  roads  leading  to  the  town.  The 
Frederick,  Reisterstown,  and  York  roads  were  laid  out 
in  1787.  The  Falls  road  was  authorized  by  act  of 
Assembly,  Dec.  27,  1791.  to  be  laid  out  forty  feet  wide 


from  the  mill-seats  of  Elisha  Tyson,  William  and 
Charles  Jessop,  John  Ellicott,  George  Leggett,  Rob- 
ert Long,  Jacob  Hart,  and  John  Strieker  to  Balti- 
more Town.  Charles  Alex.  Warfield,  Lewis  Law- 
rence, Thomas  Hobbs,  of  Anne  Arundel  County,  and 
Thomas  Worthington,  Zachariah  McCubbin,  and 
Daniel  Carroll,  of  Baltimore  County,  were  appointed 
commissioners,  and  empowered  to  make  the  Freder- 
ick road,  in  1792,  a  public  highway.  The  Washing- 
ton turnpike  was  authorized  on  the  31st  of  December, 
1796 ;  and  an  "  act  to  lay  out  and  establish  a  turnpike 
road  from  the  city  of  Baltimore,  through  Frederick 
Town,  in  Frederick  County,  to  Elizabeth  Town 
(now  Hagerstown)  and  Williamsport,  in  Washington 
County,"  was  passed  by  the  General  Assembly  on  the 
20th  of  January,  1797.  The  Reisterstown  Turnpike 
Company  was  also  incorporated  at  the  same  time.  In 
1805  three  companies  were  incorporated  by  one  act  for 
the  construction  of  three  most  important  roads, — the 
Baltimore  and  Fredericktown  turnpike  road,  the  Bal- 
timore and  Reisterstown  turnpike  road,  and  the  Balti- 
more and  Yorktown  turnpike  road.  In  1815  the  first 
of  these  companies  was  empowered  to  extend  its  road 
from  Boonsborough  as  the  beginning  of  the  Cumber- 
land turnpike  road.  In  1813  the  presidents  and  direc- 
tors for  the  time  being  of  the  several  incorporate  banks 
in  the  city  of  Baltimore — of  the  Hagerstown  Bank,  of 
the  Connococheague  Bank,  and  the  Cumberland  Bank 
of  Alleghany — were  incorporated  as  the  president, 
managers,  and  company  of  the  Cumberland  turnpike 
road.  In  1821  the  presidents  and  directors  of  the 
banks  in  Baltimore,  except  the  City  Bank,  and  the 
president  and  directors  of  the  Bank  of  Hagerstown 
were  incorporated  as  the  president,  managers,  and 
company  of  the  Boonsborough  Turnpike  Company. 
The  era  of  railroads,  which  began  about  this  time,  put 
an  end  to  turnpike  roads,  except  as  feeders  to  rail- 
roads. 

Early  Stage-Lines. — As  early  as  1757  a  line  of 
stages,  boats,  and  wagons  was  run  by  John  Hughes 
&  Co.  between  Annapolis  and  Philadelphia  as  fol- 
lows :  By  "good  stage-boats  on  the  river  Delaware 
and  on  the  Sassafras  at  Frederick  Town  immedi- 
ately to  Annapolis."  The  land  carriage  by  this  route 
was  only  twenty-one  miles.  lu  1772  a  stage-line  be- 
tween Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  made  regular  pas- 
sage along  the  route  from  Philadelphia  by  stage- 
boat  to  Wilmington  every  Wednesday,  from  Wil- 
mington to  Charlestown  by  stage-wagon,  and  by 
packet  from  Charlestown  to  Baltimore.  The  time 
was  from  two  to  three  days,  as  weather  permitted,  and 
the  fare  eleven  shillings.  Messrs.  Smith  &  Flanagan 
were  the  agents  in  Baltimore,  and  Thomas  Ellicott  at 
Fell's  Point.  In  the  next  year,  1773,  a  line  of  stage, 
boat,  and  wagon,  by  Patrick  Hamilton  and  Joseph 
Tatlow,  was  run  between  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore 
via  boat  to  New  Castle  on  same  day,  by  stage-wagon 
from  New  Castle  to  Charlestown  the  next  day,  and 
by  packet  to  Baltimore  the  day  after,  returning  the 


TKANSPORTATION. 


311 


alternate  days  of  the  week,  "  fare  eleven  shillings, 
and  luggage  at  reasonable  rates."  In  1781,  Gabriel 
Peterson  Vanhorn  ran  his  "  carriage"  from  Daniel 
Grant's  Fountain  Inn,  Market  Space,  Baltimore,  at 
eight  o'clock,  to  Capt.  Phillips,  "  where  the  passengers 
may  dine,"  and  thence  to  Harford  Town,  where  they 
remained  over-night,  and  proceeded  next  morning  to 
the  Susquehanna  for  breakfast  at  Capt.  Twining's, 
meeting  there  the  stage  from  Philadelphia  and  ex- 
changing passengers,  returning  by  same  route  to 
Baltimore,  "  fare  $4  specie,  and  the  like  sum  for  150 
weight  of  baggage."  Nathaniel  Twining  and  Gershon 
Johnson,  of  Philadelphia,  ran  the  stages  connecting 
with  Vanhorn's  line,  and  assured  the  passenger  leav- 
ing "Baltimore  on  Monday  morning  of  completing 
his  journey  to  Elizabeth  Town  by  Friday  at  two 
o'clock."  Letters  were  carried  by  this  line  :  for 
"every  letter  one-eighth  of  a  hard  dollar,  to  be  paid 
by  the  person  sending  the  letter." 

John  Hamilton,  of  Charlestown,  Messrs.  Stockton 
&  Eakin,  of  New  Castle,  and  James  McClenam, 
Crooked  Billet  wharf,  Philadelphia,  ran  packet-boats 
and  stages  from  this  city  to  Philadelphia  in  1784  by 
the  following  route  :  From  Richard  Lemmon's  wharf 
every  Saturday  at  2  p.m.,  stopping  one-half  hour  at 
William  Trimble's  wharf.  Fell's  Point,  arriving  Sun- 
day evening  at  Charlestown,  and  departing  Monday 
morning  in  wagon  for  New  Castle,  thence  in  the  fol- 
lowing morning  by  boat  to  Philadelphia,  returning 
on  alternate  days.  William  Hubin,  Basil  Noel,  and 
Joseph  Middleton  in  1786  provided  two  vessels  for 
the  conveyance  of  passengers  between  Philadelphia 
and  Baltimore  via  New  Town,  Chester,  Georgetown, 
Warwick,  Middletown,  Ked  Lion,  Wilmington,  and 
Chester,  arriving  in  Philadelphia  the  next  day  by 
twelve  o'clock.  William  Howell  and  William  Thomas 
rail  stages  via  Charlestown  and  New  Castle  in  1787. 
In  this  year  the  public  post-stages  between  this  city 
and  Philadelphia,  under  the  direction  of  Messrs. 
Twining,  Vanhorn  &  Co.,  performed  the  whole  dis- 
tance in  one  day.  Gabriel  Peterson  Vanhorn  &  Co. 
ran  a  stage-line  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays 
from  Baltimore,  and  on  alternate  days  from  Philadel- 
phia, and  after  April,  by  means  of  the  Charlestown 
packet,  a  daily  line,  Sundays  excepted.  John  Starck's 
"Indian  Queen,"  in  Baltimore,  and  James  Thompson's 
"Indian  Queen,"  in  Philadelphia,  were  the  points  of 
departure,  fare  £1  1.5s.  to  Philadelphia.  In  1788, 
William  Clark  commenced  running  a  daily  line  of 
stages  between  Baltimore  and  Annapolis.  William 
Evans  &  Co.  established  in  1794  a  line  of  stages  for 
six  trips  per  week  between  the  two  cities.  In  1796 
the  route  via  Frenchtown  was  opened  by  William 
McDonald  &  Co.  D.  Fulton  &  Co.  were  proprietors 
in  1809  of  the  Pilot  stages.  The  New  Line  Expedi- 
tion stages  in  1811  made  the  trip  daily  in  fifteen 
hours  from  John  H.  Barney's  "Fountain  Inn,"  Balti- 
more, stopping  at  French  Ringgold's,  Havre  de 
Grace;  Mathias  Tyson,  Elkton  ;  David  Brinton,  Wil- 


mington; Joseph  Reper,  Chester ;  and  David  Barnum, 
"Shakespeare  Hotel,"  Philadelphia.  In  this  same 
year  the  New  Pilot  stages,  through  in  one  day,  left 
Gadsby's  Hotel,  Hanover  Street,  and  arrived  at  the 
"  Mansion  House,"  Philadelphia,  early  in  the  evening; 
Richard  C.  Stockton  (Baltimore),  William  B.  Stokes 
'(Havre  de  Grace),  Joshua  Richardson  and  Alexander 
Scott  (Elkton),  William  Anderson  (Chester),  and  Wil- 
liam F.Stockton  (Philadelphia),  proprietors.  In  1818, 
Stockton  &  Stokes's  new  post-chaise  line  performed 
the  whole  journey  to  Philadelphia  "  by  daylicjkt," 
fare  «8. 

The  Old  Stage-road  to  Philadelphia. — The 
road  by  which  the  stages  traveled  to  Philadelphia  in 
1802  left  this  city  at  "Union  Town,"  and  running 
nearly  due  east,  crossed  Back  River  very  high  up  near 
"  Bird-in-hand,"  and  thence  to  Smith's  Shop,  Buck 
Town,  Scales  Town,  crossed  Bird  River  near  the  old 
iron-works,  reached  the  Great  Gunpowder,  thence 
across  to  the  Little  Gunpowder  near  Grand  Turk,  and 
passing  into  Harford  County,  continued  by  Black 
Horse,  across  Winter's  Run,  and  over  Gunpowder 
Neck'  to  the  Bush  River,  through  Abington,  about 
one  and  a  half  miles  from  Joppa,  reached  Bush  Town, 
also  called  Harford,  thence  over  the  northeast  branch 
of  Bush  River,  near  Hall's  Mill,  by  Poplar  Hill,  on  to 
Havre  de  Grace,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Susquehanna, 
across  which  a  ferry  carried  the  stages  at  the  charge 
of  12  for  coach  and  four  horses  ;  thence  in  a  northeast- 
erly direction  to  Charlestown,  on  Northeast  River, 
where,  bending  north,  the  road  crossed  the  river 
at  Northeast  Town,  passed  on  to  Elkton,  in  Cecil 
County,  and  crossed  the  State  line  forty-five  miles  from 
Philadelphia,  and  then  over  Christiana  Creek  to  the 
village  of  Christiana,  and  nearly  due  north  crossed 
White  Clay  Creek  to  Newport,  and  thence  to  Wil- 
mington, near  which  place  the  road  crossed  Brandy- 
wine  Creek,  then  Shellpot  Creek,  Cartwill  Creek,  ap- 
proached the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  and  proceeding 
along  the  banks,  across  Naaman's  Creek,  passed  out  of 
Delaware  into  Pennsylvania  near  Marcus  Hook,  and 
thence  over  Chester  Creek  and  through  Chester,  still 
close  to  the  banks  of  the  river,  crossed  the  Schuylkill 
at  Gray's  Ferry,  and  entered  Philadelphia,  a  total  dis- 
tance of  ninety-eight  miles. 

Old  Road  to  Washington. — Leaving  the  ex- 
treme western  limit  of  the  city,  the  road  crossed 
Gwynn's  Falls,  and  over  hills  and  through  woods, 
reached  the  Patapsco  by  ferry  at  Elkridge ;  then  run- 
ning through  Anne  Arundel  County,  parallel  to  Deep 
Run,  which  it  crossed  near  Spurrier's  Town,  it  passed 
the  Patuxent  about  seventeen  miles  from  Baltimore, 
thence  into  Prince  George  County,  through  Vanville 
and  Bladensburg,  into  Washington  City. 

Stage-Lines  to  Alexandria,  Va. — In  1783,  Ga- 

'  So  called  from  a  "  tradition  that  the  Indians  who  formerly  lived  on 
this  tract,  when  first  acquainted  with  the  use  of  gunpowder,  supposed  it 
to  be  a  vegetable  seed ;  they  purchased  a  quantity,  and  sowed  it  on  this 
neck,  exl)ecting  it  to  produce  a  good  crop." 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE    CITY   AND    COUNTY%  MARYLAND. 


briel  P.  Vanliorn's  line  of  stages  to  Alexandria  left 
Baltimore  Town  on  the  same  daj's  and  hours  as  the 
Philadelphia  stages,  and  arrived  in  Alexandria  the 
same  evening.  On  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Satur- 
days left  Alexandria,  fare  $3.  At  Alexandria,  in 
1789,  "the  Virginia  stages  met  those  of  Maryland," 
and  eontinued  three  trips  a  week  to  Fredericksburg 
and  Richmond.'  In  1799,  James  Bryden  and  .John 
H.  Barney  &  Co.  ran  the  Diligent  line  of  stages 
every  morning  at  six  o'clock  from  the  Fountain  Inn 
to  Alexandria  in  eleven  hours  and  thirty  minutes.  A 
stage-line  to  the  Eastern  Shore  in  1789  was  contem- 
plated by  Gershon  Johnson  and  Robert  Hodgson ;  the 
j)roposed  route  was  by  Murray's  Tavern,  on  the  Sus- 
quehanna road,  thence  across  the  bay  between  Man- 
of-War  Shoals  and  Pool's  Island,  and  thence  over  the 
"Eastern  Shore."  Twining  &  Vanhorn  ran  in  1783 
an  "  every  other  day  line"  to  Annapolis,  and  William 
Clark  in  1788  ran  a  line  of  stages  from  Baltimore  and 
Annapolis  every  morning.  Henry  Stouffer  in  1789 
ran  a  tri-weekly  line,  and  Greenbury  Docheersb,  Ja- 
cob Turner,  and  Nehemiah  Holland  in  1811  ran  the 
Exposition  line  of  stages  every  Sunday,  Tuesday,  and 
Friday  ;  tickets  at  Barney's  stage-otfice,  Light  Street. 

From  Lancaster,  Pa.,  ma  York  to  Baltimore,  in 
1797,  a  stage  started  every  Monday  morning  from  the 
house  of  William  Ferris,  stopping  for  dinner  at 
Baltzer  Spangler's,  in  York,  and  arrived  in  Baltimore 
Tuesday  evening  ;  and  returned  from  the  house  of 
Abraham  KaufFman,  at  the  sign  of  the  Black  Bear,  in 
Gay  Street,  every  Wednesday,  and  arrived  in  York 
on  Thursday,  connecting  with  stages  to  Philadelphia 
or  Lancaster;  fare  to  York  from  Lancaster  eleven 
shillings,  and  from  York  to  Baltimore  three  and  a 
half  shillings,  with  fifteen  pounds  of  baggage. 

Edward  McCabe  and  Levi  Hulton  in  1808  ran  a 
line  of  stages  to  Carlisle,  in  Pennsylvania,  leaving 
the  house  of  Benjamin  Williams  (formerly  David 
Hostetter's  tavern),  sign  of  Red  Lion,  North  Howard 
Street,  Baltimore,  every  Thursday  at  4  a.m.,  arriving 
at  Hanover  the  same  evening.  In  1818,  Adam  Hoo- 
ver's line  of  stages  ran  from  Baltimore,  through  Reis- 
terstown,  Hampstead,  Manchester,  Hanover,  Abbotts-  j 
town,  York  Springs,  and  Petersburg  to  Carlisle,  Pa.,  t 
and  also  a  hack  from  Carlisle  for  Ramsay's  Sulphur 
Springs. 

John  Ragan  in  1797  ran  a  stage  three  times  a  week 
to  Hagerstown  ;  and  to  Emmitsburg,  via  Union  and 
Taneytown,  a  bi-weekly  line  was  run  in  1826,  and  in 
this  last  year  a  line  to  Chambersbiirg  was  running 
every  Thursday  and  Saturday. 

A  bi-weekly  line  of  stage-coaches  ran  in  1783  be- 
tween Baltimore  and  Frederick  Town,  William  Da- 
vey  and  Richard  Shoebels  proprietors,  "stopping  for 
the  entertainment  of  passengers  at  Mr.  Hobbs',  Mr. 
Simpson's,  and  Mr.  Ricketts',  where  good  fare  may 


>  In  18IS  the  line  from  Washington  wa 
Hooe'a  Ferry,  and  Port  Royal. 


I  Piacataway,  Port  Tobacco, 


be  had  for  fifteen  shillings."  In  1819  the  stage-route 
from  Baltimore  to  Pittsburgh  and  Wheeling  was 
via  Frederick  Town,  Hagerstown,  Cumberland,  and 
Brownsville.  Starting  from  Gadsby's  Hotel  every 
Sunday,  Tuesday,  and  Thursday,  it  arrived  at  Ha- 
gerstown at  8  o'clock  P.M.  same  day ;  left  Hagerstown 
Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays  at  3  o'clock 
-i.M.,  arriving  at  Pratt's  Tavern  same  evening  at  6 
P.M. ;  left  Pratt's  Tuesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Satur- 
days at  2  A.M.,  and  arrived  at  Union  Town,  Pa., 
at  9  P.M.,  leaving  there  at  4  a.m.,  and  arriving  at 
Pittsburgh  and  West  Alexandria  the  same  evening; 
thence  at  4  a.m.,  arriving  in  Wheeling  at  7  a.m., 
through  in  four  days.  The  Good  Intent  and  Pilot 
lines  to  Pittsburgh  and  Wheeling  and  Cincinnati  in 
1838  ran  daily,  with  United  States  mail. 

In  their  "day  and  generation"  these  were  the  fast 
lines  of  our  fathers,  but  they  have  passed  away  for- 
ever, leaving  behind  them  only  their  advertisements 
for  travelers  to  show  who  were  the  men  of  energy  and 
enterprise  that  preceded  the  "  railway  kings"  of  the 
present  time. 

Internal  Improvements. — No  State  in  the  Union 
has  a  bolder  record  upon  internal  improvements  than 
the  State  of  Maryland,  and  whether  we  look  at  her 
completed  works  or  at  the  many  which  "  closed  their 
little  being  without  light  and  went  down  to  the  grave 
unborn,"  we  shall  discover  a  people  who  throughout 
their  history  have  exhibited  fiir-reaching  views  of 
State  improvement  and  commercial  development. 
As  early  as  1783  the  people  began  to  stir  themselves 
about  works  of  internal  improvement  which  should 
bring  other  people  and  their  productsjiearer  to  Mary- 
land and  her  water-ways  to  the  ocean.  At  that  early 
day  water-ways  ofl'ered  the  most  practicable  and 
easiest  mode  of  intercommunication.  The  Susque- 
hanna River  poured  its  waters  into  the  Chesapeake, 
and  extended  far  up  into  the  "back  country"  of 
Pennsylvania.  To  reach  that  fertile  country  and 
transport  its  productions  to  Baltimore,  men  like 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton  were  "actuated  by 
very  laudable  motives,"  and  subscribed  eighteen 
thousand  five  hundred  pounds  in  Maryland  currency, 
and  pledged  themselves  to  raise  a  further  sura  of  fif- 
teen hundred  pounds,  and  the  General  Assembly, 
"  being  strongly  impressed  with  the  general  utility  of 
the  said  undertaking,  with  the  beneficial  consequences 
that  will  be  derived  from  the  accomplishment  thereof," 
incorporated  the  "Proprietors  of  the  Susquehanna 
Canal."  It  was  a  courageous  beginning,  and  an  ex- 
ample that  was  followed  in  1784  by  an  effort  to  ex- 
tend the  navigation  of  the  North  Branch  of  the 
Potomac  River,  which  "  would  also  serve  the  com- 
mon interest,"  and  therefore  "the  Potomac  Company" 
was  incorporated,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $222,222.22. 
In  the  same  year  leave  was  granted  to  the  citizens  of 
Baltimore  to  cut  a  canal  from  the  Basin  to  the  Ferry 
Branch  of  the  Patapsco.  In  1796  a  charter  was 
granted  to  the  "  Pocomoke   Company"  for  the  im- 


TRANSPORTATION. 


provement  of  that  river,  with  a  capital  of  $11,000. 
In  1799  the  "  Chesapealie  and  Delaware  Canal 
Company"  was  incorporated,  with  a  capital  of 
$500,000.  We  cannot  here  undertake  to  trace  the 
amount  of  work  done  under  any  of  these  charters, 
our  purpose  having  been  merely  to  sketch  the  early 
history  of  our  people  in  the  matter  of  internal  im- 
provement. It  will  be  seen  from  these  dates  that  the 
spirit  of  improvement  was  early  abroad  in  Maryland. 

The  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Dehaware  Bays, 
notwithstanding  the  last-mentioned  charter,  were  not 
connected,  and  the  war  of  1812-14  was  fought  with- 
out the  aid  of  such  a  work.  In  1812  the  Legis- 
lature of  Maryland  first  indicated  a  purpose  to  con- 
nect the  State  with  the  internal  improvements,  as 
may  be  seen  in  the  words  of  the  preamble  of  the 
act  of  that  year,  which  says  that  during  the  war  of 
the  Revolution  such  a  canal  as  the  Chesapeake  and 
Delaware  would  have  been  important,  in  a  military 
point  of  view,  to  the  whole  people,  and  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland,  and  Delaware  would  be  of  great 
importance  in  promoting  commerce.  Therefore  it 
was  resolved  that  if  the  United  States  would  take 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  shares,  and  Pennsylvania 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  shares,  and  Delaware 
one  hundred  shares,  Maryland  would  take  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  shares. 

The  Patapsco  Canal  Company,  with  a  capital  of 
$1,000,000,  was  incorporated  in  1817,  and  in  the  same 
year  a  company  was  chartered  to  connect  by  canal 
the  Severn  River  and  Curtis  Creek,  and  from  the 
Severn  River  to  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Potomac. 
The  latter  was  to  be  the  "  Washington  and  Baltimore 
Canal  Company,"  and  its  capital  stock  was  $800,000. 

Neither  the  United  States,  nor  Pennsylvania  nor 
Delaware  having  paid  any  attention  to  the  invitation 
of  Maryland  in  1812  to  aid,  as  shown  above,  in  the 
work  of  connecting  the  waters  of  the  Delaware  and 
Chesapeake  Bays,  in  1822  the  Legislature  of  Mary- 
land came  to  its  aid,  saying,  "  There  does  not  appear 
to  exist  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  and  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  to  subscribe 
their  respective  quotas ;"  and  directs  its  own  sub- 
scription to  be  made  if  certain  private  subscriptions 
could  be  had.  It  was  about  this  time,  1823,  that 
the  first  definite  indications  of  public  sentiment 
were  given  for  the  construction  of  a  water-way  from 
the  Chesapeake  to  the  Ohio.  The  preamble  re- 
cited that  "  a  navigable  canal  from  the  tide- water  of 
the  river  Potomac,  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  to 
the  mouth  of  Savage  Creek,  on  the  North  Branch  of 
the  said  river,  and  extending  thence  across  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains  to  some  convenient  point  on  the 
navigable  waters  of  the  river  Ohio,  will  be  a  work  of 
great  profit  and  advantage,  and  interweave  more 
closely  all  the  mutual  interests  and  afiectious  that  are 
calculated  to  consolidate  and  perpetuate  the  vital 
principles  of  union."  For  these  reasons  the  canal 
company  was  incorporated,  and  the  "  Potomac  Canal 


Company,"  incorporated  in  1784,  was  directed  "  to 
cease  and  determine."  The  capital  was  fixed  at 
$6,000,000,  and  provision  was  made  for  the  reduction 
jjro  rata  in  the  number  of  shares  subscribed  for,  in 
case  popular  interest  in  the  investment  led  to  a  larger 
subscription  than  this  amount.  A  dividend  was  to  be 
declared  annually  or  semi-annually,  but  no  dividend  to 
a  larger  amount  than  fifteen  per  cent,  per  annum  was 
to  be  declared.  So  great  were  the  expectations  of 
popular  subscriptions  that  it  was  not  then  thought 
necessary  to  admit  the  State  to  share  in  the  prospective 
profits.  In  this  year,  1823,  the  General  Assembly  also 
considered  the  subject  of  connecting  the  Susquehanna 
River  with  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  authority  was 
given  to  the  city  to  construct  the  work,  which  was  to 
be  called  the  "  Baltimore  Canal."  The  State  reserved 
the  right  to  purchase  the  improvement  after  it  was 
made.  In  1824,  John  J.  Jacques,  of  Dorchester  County, 
was  authorized  by  act  of  Assembly  to  make  a  canal 
between  Fishing  Bay  and  the  Nanticoke  River,  and  in 
1825,  John  McKnight  obtained  like  authority  for  a 
canal  from  Hapleford  Creek  to  the  main  road  in  Dor- 
chester County,  and  "sundry  citizens"  in  Somerset 
County  were  also  authorized  to  cut  a  canal  from  Quan- 
tico  Creek  to  the  Nanticoke  River ;  and  Baltimore  not 
having  availed  herself  of  the  privilege  of  constructing 
the  "Baltimore  Canal,"  the  "Susquehanna  and  Poto- 
mac Canal  Company"  was  incorporated  (1825),  with  a 
capital  of  $2,500,000.  The  "  proprietors  of  the  Susque- 
hanna Canal  Company"  of  1783  not  having  fulfilled 
their  mission,  were  authorized  to  subscribe  to  the  new 
work,  and  the  old  company  was  to  be  extinct.  The 
"  Maryland  Canal"  was  originated  in  this  same  year, 
1825,  to  connect  the  "  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal" 
with  Baltimore.  In  furtherance  of  this  great  enterprise 
public  meetings  were  held  in  Frederick,  Cumberland, 
Williamsport,  and  Washington.  Surveys  were  made 
by  Isaac  Trimble  of  the  following  routes  : 

Miles.  Lockage.  Cost. 

Westminster 113  860 

Liiiganore 81  827  S8,810,00(] 

Sciioca 76  7(il  6,3ii4,:i(X] 

Georgetown U%  262  3,o30,00J 

In  1836,  William  Krebs  was  elected  president,  and 
Richard  Caton,  Daniel  Cobb,  Samuel  Jones,  Jr., 
Charles  F.  Mayer,  Jacob  Albert,  and  James  W.  Mc- 
Culloch,  directors.  In  1826  the  Internal  Improve- 
ment Bill  became  a  law,  and  the  Board  of  Public 
Works  was  established,  consisting  of  Thomas  Bu- 
chanan, Richard  Potts,  Robert  W.  Bowie,  Isaac  Mc- 
Kim,  William  Howard,  Ezekiel  F.  Chambers,  R.  H. 
Goldsborough,  Littleton  Dennis,  and  the  Governor  of 
the  State,  ex  officio  president. 

In  1828  the  Frederick  County  Canal  Company 
and  the  Annapolis  and  Potomac  Canal  Company 
were  incorporated,  the  latter  to  take  the  place  of  the 
Washington  and  Baltimore  Canal  Company  of  1817, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  ancient  capital  of 
the  State  a  connection  with  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio 
Canal ;    in    1832   the   Lewis   and   Pocomoke   Canal 


314 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Company  and  Transquoekin  Canal  Company  of  Dor- 
chester County  ;  and  in  1835  authority  was  given  to 
construct  a  canal  from  Cumberland,  Md.,  to  the  mouth 
of  Savage  Creek,  and  also  the  Tide- Water  Canal  in 
the  place  of  the  Baltimore  Canal  Company ;  and  in 
1836  the  St.  Martin's  Canal  and  Navigation  Company 
was  incorporated. 

In  1826  the  railroad  fever  seems  to  have  supplanted 
the  canal  fever,  and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
inaugurated  the  new  era.  In  1827  the  Baltimore  and 
Susquehanna  Railroad,  also  the  Elkton  and  Wilming- 
ton Railroad  Company,  the  New  Castle  and  French- 
town  Turnpike  and  Railroad  Company,  were  incor- 
porated. In  1828  the  Baltimore  and  Washington 
Turnpike  Company  was  authorized  to  build  a  railroad 
to  Washington.  The  Washington  Branch  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  in  1830;  the  Wilmington  and 
Smyrna  Railroad  Company,  the  Alleghany  Coal- 
Mine  Railroad  Company,  the  Cecil  County  Railroad 
Company,  Baltimore  and  Port  Deposit  Railroad 
Company,  and  Sam's  Creek  Railroad  Company  were 
all  incorporated  in  1831.  The  Eastern  Shore  Rail- 
road was  chartered  in  the  legislative  year  1885,  but 
in  fact  upon  the  4th  of  June,  1836.  The  feverish 
excitement  in  relation  to  internal  improvements  in 
the  State  culminated  in  the  passage  of  "The  Eight 
Million  Loan  Bill,"  under  which  the  Chesapeake  and 
Ohio  Canal  and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  re- 
ceived a  subscription  of  three  millions  of  dollars  each, 
and  the  Eastern  Shore  Railroad  Company,  the  Mary- 
land Canal  Company  of  1825,  and  the  Annapolis  and 
Potomac  Canal  Company  of  1828  were  remembered. 
That  to  the  Eastern  Shore  Railroad  Company  was 
not,  like  the  others,  made  dependent  upon  individual 
subscriptions.  This  sketch  of  the  era  of  internal 
improvements  in  Maryland  will  show  with  what  earn- 
estness the  people  entered  into  the  work  of  opening  up 
the  county,  and  may  also  serve  to  show,  when  read 
by  the  light  of  subsequent  experience,  how  futile 
were  the  expectations  that  possessed  our  fathers  when 
they  thought  that  within  a  few  years  the  State  would 
"  desist  from  taxation  and  live  upon  the  income  of 
its  public  works,  and  from  the  surplus  applied  to  new 
enterprises  enlarge  the  public  wealth  and  elevate  the 
community  to  honor  and  fortune." 

Railroad  Connections. — "  Remarks  on  the  Inter- 
course of  Baltimore  with  the  Western  Country.  With 
a  view  of  the  communications  proposed  between  the 
Atlantic  and  Western  States.  Baltimore.  Printed 
and  published  by  Joseph  Robinson,  1818."  Such  is 
the  title  of  a  curious  old  pamphlet  of  the  times  of 
turnpikes.  The  map  that  accompanies  the  pamphlet 
shows  two  turnpikes  projected,  the  one  from  Phila- 
delphia to  Pittsburgh,  the  other  from  Baltimore  to 
Wheeling.  The  first  pas.ses  Lancaster  and  Harris- 
burg  to  Pittsburgh,  and  the  second  from  Baltimore,  via 
Hagerstown  and  Hancock,  to  Wheeling.  The  argu- 
ments advanced  by  the  author  of  the  pamphlet  in 
favor  of  the   Baltimore   to  Wheeling  turnpike   are 


identical  with  those  which  have  since  demonstrated 
the  greater  usefulness  and  cheapness  in  transporta- 
tion of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  over  all  the 
great  trunk  lines  that  now  connect  the  Mississippi 
Valley  with  the  Atlantic.  The  proposed  Baltimore 
and  Wheeling  turnpike  would  have  been  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty-two  miles  and  ninety-nine  and  a  half 
perches ;  that  between  Philadelphia  and  Wheeling, 
four  hundred  and  twenty-three  miles,  or  by  another 
route,  five  hundred  and  eighteen  miles.  The  esti- 
mates for  working  expenses  and  profits  were  as 
follows : 

First  Cost. 
2  teams  at  each  stage,— 28  teams,  6  hoTses  each, — 168  horses. 

168  horses,  at  S120 ., S20,16U 

25  wagons,  at  $)llO 7,600 

Expenses  not  foreseen 2,340 

$50,1)00 

Annoai,  Expenses. 

Interest  on  8:i0,000  capital  at  G  per  cent 81,800 

Keep  of  168  horses,  at  40  cts.  per  diem 24,628 

28  drivers,  at  S20  per  month 6,720 

$33,048 

Annual  Receipts. 

60  cwt.  taken  for  S2  for  300  worlting  days 936,000 

One-third  freight  back 12,000 

$48,000 
Leaving  a  balance  of  815,000  after  paying  interest  on  capital. 

This  extract  measures  in  one  way  the  rapid  advance 
of  our  country  in  sixty-three  years, — "  60  cwt."  per 
day,  not  a  rar-load ! 

Ten  years  later,  1828,  perhaps  the  writer  of  this 
old  pamphlet  may  have  witnessed  the  ceremony  of 
the  venerable  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton  laying 
the  "  corner-stone"  of  the  first  great  railroad  in  the 
United  States,  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio.  The  three 
hundred  and  seventy-nine  miles  to  Wheeling,  which 
were  completed  in  1853,  have  been  extended  to  three 
thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-eight  miles  in  1881. 
It  crosses  the  States  of  Maryland,  West  Virginia, 
Ohio,  Illinois,  and  Indiana,  and  forms  connection 
with  the  trans-Mississippi  system,  by  which  it  reaches 
to  the  Pacific.  Its  branches  extend  northward  to 
the  Lakes,  and  southward  it  has  continuous  connec- 
tions to  the  Gulf,  thus  centering  at  Baltimore  those 
facilities  of  travel  and  transportation  by  which 
almost  every  State  has  intimate  relations  with  this 
city.  Nearly  every  city  and  important  town  in  the 
Northwest,  the  West,  and  Southwest  are  by  this  one 
line  and  its  connections  brought  into  commercial  and 
social  relations  with  Baltimore. 

The  Northern  Central  Railway  connects  Baltimore 
with  the  great  Pennsylvania  system,  and  its  connec- 
tions extend  over  almost  the  same  country  as  that 
traversed  by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio,  thus  furnishing 
a  competing  connection,  by  which  the  utmost  possible 
economy  in  the  cost  of  transportation  is  secured.  The 
South  and  Southwest  also  enjoy  the  same  advantages 
of  competing  roads.  The  Baltimore  and  Potomac, 
with  the  Washington  and  Alexandria,  the  Alexandria 
and  Fredericksburg,  the  Richmond,  Fredericksburg 
and  Potomac,  stretches  onward  through  Virginia  and 


|f|Jl!rei_i!i}iii!|iii5f,!i|'  ,, 


BALTIMORE   AND    OHIO    RAILROAD    CENTRAL   BUILDING. 


TRANSPORTATION. 


North  Carolina  to  Georgia  and  to  the  Gulf  and  the 
Mississippi.  The  trans-Potomac  connections  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  traverse  Virginia,  branching  at 
Lynchburg  to  the  southwest,  and  also  to  the  south 
via  Danville.  The  Atlantic  sea-board,  by  means  of 
the  Bay  Line  steamers  and  the  Sea-board  and  Roan- 
oke Railroad,  are  brought  into  the  closest  commercial 
relations  with  Baltimore.  When  to  this  magnificent 
system  of  continental  communications  is  added  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  system,  it  may  be  said  of  Bal- 
timore that  there  is  hardly  a  hamlet  in  the  Union 
tluit  may  not  feel  the  impulse  of  her  energy  and  en- 
terprise. 

The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad. — No  adequate 
sketch  of  the  growth  of  Baltimore  City  could  be  given 
that  did  not  embody  some  account  of  the  great  rail- 
road which  has  probably  contributed  more  to  its  com- 
mercial prosperity  than  all  other  agencies  combined. 
Happily,  the  origin  and  early  history  of  this  splendid 
public  improvement  are  not  involved  in  obscurity. 
There  are  men  still  living  whose  recollection  goes 
back  to  the  first  organization  of  the  company,  and 
who  were  identified  with  the  movements  by  which  its 
corporate  franchises  were  secured  and  its  credit  estab- 
lished. All  of  the  original  projectors  and  corporators 
have  passed  away,  but  some  of  their  younger  associates 
still  remain.  Were  there  no  other  sources  of  infor- 
mation, an  accurate  history  of  the  road  from  the  day 
the  "  first  stone"  was  laid  by  Charles  Carroll  of  Car- 
roUton  (July  4,  1828)  down  to  a  very  recent  period 
might  be  compiled  from  the  public  laws,  the  reports 
of  committees  of  the  two  houses  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, and  the  decisions  of  the  courts.  There  was 
something  so  striking  in  the  inauguration  of  this 
gigantic  enterprise  that  the  main  incidents  were 
deeply  impressed  upon  the  popular  mind,  and  the 
whole  story  has  since  crystallized  into  local  legends 
which  are  part  of  the  lore  of  every  Baltimore  school- 
boy. 

As  the  first  railroad  ever  projected  for  general  trafiic 
between  widely-separated  sections  of  the  country,  the 
history  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  during  the  first 
ten  years  of  its  progress  towards  the  mountains  is 
singularly  interesting.  The  builders  were  compelled 
not  only  to  grapple  with  the  unsolved  problems  of 
railroad  construction,  but  to  devise  all  the  mechani- 
cal appliances  by  which  transportation  was  to  be  ef- 
fected. The  colossal  monument  which  they  have  left 
of  their  far-reaching  commercial  sagacity  is  colored 
with  the  romance  of  invention,  and  in  the  experi- 
ments conducted  by  the  ingenious  mechanics  whose 
names  are  associated  with  the  early  history  of  the 
company  is  to  be  found  the  germ  of  almost  everything 
that  is  now  regarded  as  useful  and  effective  in  the 
moving  of  railway  trains.  It  is  also  a  remarkable 
fact  that  the  familiar  phrases  by  which  railroad  opera- 
tions are  now  described  were  used  in  the  reports,  ad- 
dresses, and  resolutions  in  which  the  founders  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  first  disclosed  their  contemplated 


enterprise  to  the  public ;  while  the  original  act  of  in- 
corporation, as  drawn  by  the  late  Hon.  John  V.  L. 
McMahon,  one  of  Maryland's  most  distinguished 
lawyers  and  orators,  has  served  as  a  model  for  nearly 
all  the  railroad  charters  that  have  been  granted  in  the 
United  States. 

During  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century  the 
trade  of  the  West  was  as  much  a  matter  of  concern 
to  the  enterprising  merchants  of  Baltimore  as  it  is 
to-day.     The  State  of  New  York  had  laid  the  foun- 
dation for  the  commercial  supremacy  of  her  chief  city 
by  digging  a  canal  from  the  lakes  to  the  Hudson 
River,  while  Pennsylvania  was  engaged  in  an  exten- 
sive scheme  of  public  improvements  which  were  in- 
tended to  unite  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Delaware 
Rivers  with  the  Ohio  River  and  the  lakes.     At  that 
time  the  only  means  of  bringing  the  W^est  into  easy 
communication  with  the  sea-board  that  seemed  prac- 
ticable was  the  linking  together  of  navigable  rivers 
by  canals.     Notwithstanding  the  tremendous  cost  and 
the  extraordinary  obstacles  to  be  overcome,  Maryland 
embarked  in  the  colossal  undertaking.     The  Chesa- 
peake and  Ohio  Canal  was  chartered  by  the  Legisla- 
ture in  the  year  1825,  and  a  subscription  of  $500,000 
to  the  capital  authorized  by  the  act  of  incorporation 
paved   the  way  for   further   investments   and   loans 
until   the  State  had  completely  prostrated   its  own 
credit.     The  franchises,  money,  and  credit  granted  to 
the  canal  not  only  exhausted  the  resources  that  ought 
!  to  have  been  expended  upon  the  railway  in  order  to 
I  secure  its  speedy  completion,  but  placed  obstacles  in 
j  its  path  which  greatly  retarded  its  progress.     At  one 
I  time  the  opposition  of  the  canal   company  seemed 
1  more  formidable  than  the  mountains  which  loomed 
!  up  beyond  the  point  where  the  right  of  way  was  dis- 
puted. 

Among  the  public-spirited  citizens  of  Baltimore 
who  saw  that  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal  could 
not  be  extended  across  the  mountains  except  at  such 
I  a  cost  as  would  make  the  project  utterly  impractica- 
ble were  Philip  E.  Thomas  and  George  Brown.' 
Both  were  gentlemen  of  wealth  and  intelligence,  and 
!  both  had  devoted  much  study  to  the  new  method  of 
transportation  which  had  been  for  some  time  attract- 
ing attention  in  England.  They  were  in  correspond- 
ence with  friends  abroad,  who  kept  them  informed  of 
the  various  experiments  that  were  being  tried  on  the 
short  railways  at  the  New  Castle  coal-mines  and  else- 
where. From  the  data  thus  obtained  these  thoughtful 
pioneers  in  the  greatest  commercial  enterprise  of  the 
nineteenth  century  came  to  the  conclusion  that  rail- 
ways were  entirely  practicable  for  the  general  pur- 
poses of  transportation  and  traffic,  and  that  they  must 
eventually  supersede  the  costly  canals  which  were 

1  At  this  time  Mr.  Thomas  was  president  of  the  Mechanics'  Banl5,  but 
in  consequence  of  the  engagements  which  afterwards  devolved  npon  him 
as  the  president  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  he  resigned  the 
presidency  of  the  bank,  and  George  Brown  was  elected  to  fill  the  va- 


316 


HISTORY    OF    BALTIMOllE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


then  in  the  course  of  construction  between  the  sea- 
board and  the  West.  Acting  upon  this  conviction, 
they  invited  some  twenty-five  of  the  leading  citizens 
of  Baltimore  to  meet  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Brown 
on  the  evening  of  Feb.  12,  1827,  for  the  purpose  of 
procuring  an  interchange  of  opinion  upon  the  subject 
in  which  they  were  so  profoundly  interested.' 

At  this  meeting  William  Patterson  was  appointed 
chairman,  and  David  Winchester  secretary.  Various 
documents  and  statements  setting  forth  the  advan- 
tages of  railroads  over  turnpikes  and  canals  having 
been  exhibited  and  approved,  a  committee  consisting 
of  Philip  E.  Thomas,  Benjamin  C.  Howard,  George 
Brown,  Talbot  Jones,  Joseph  W.  Patterson,  and  Evan 
Thomas  was  appointed  to  make  a  formal  report  at 
a  future  meeting,  embodying  the  views  of  those  who 
had  faith  in  the  success  of  the  contemplated  railway. 

This  report  was  submitted  by  Mr.  Thomas,  the 
chairman  of  the  committee,  at  a  meeting  held  on 
Feb.  19,  1827,  and  when  read  at  this  day,  in  the  light 
of  what  has  been  accomplished,  it  almost  seems  as  if 
the  author  was  touched  with  the  spirit  of  prophecy 
when  he  unfolded  the  possibilities  of  the  great  scheme, 
in  the  prosecution  of  which  he  was  destined  to  play 
so  distinguished  a  part.  In  the  broad,  comprehensive 
view  taken  by  these  sagacious  founders  of  the  rail- 
road system  in  the  United  States,  nothing  but  a 
double  track  railway  would  meet  the  demands  of  the 
traffic  between  Baltimore  and  the  great  West,  and 
the  resolution  on  Feb.  19,  1827,  proposing  the  con- 
struction of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  calls 
for  "  a  double  track."  In  those  days  New  Orleans 
was  looked  upon  as  the  most  formidable  competitor 
with  Baltimore  for  the  trade  of  the  West,  and  Mr. 
Thomas,  in  his  report,  while  admitting  the  superior 
advantages  enjoyed  by  New  Orleans,  expresses  the 
belief  that  the  long  distance  between  the  States  bor- 
dering on  the  Ohio  and  the  "  Crescent  City,"  and  the 
deleterious  effect  of  the  Southern  climate  upon  grain 
and  provisions,  would  save  to  Baltimore  a  consider- 
able share  of  the  trade  of  the  Ohio  Valley  and  the 
Upper  Mississippi  Valley.  Mr.  Thomas  lived  long 
enough  to  see  the  railroad  system  which  he  inaugu- 
rated stretching  its  arms  far  across  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  and  downwards  to  the  very  city  which  he 
supposed  would  become  the  metropolis  of  the  West, 
as  well  as  the  South,  because  the  waters  of  all  the 
great  rivers  of  the  West  flow  by  her  wharves.  Far- 
reaching  as  was  his  vision,  and  comprehensive  as  was 
his  intellect,  he  did  not  dream  that  the  new  force 
which  he  and  his  associates  were  calling  into  exist- 
ence would  turn  traffic  from  its  natural  channels,  and 
rob  rivers  of  their  commerce. 

A  large  edition  of  this  report  was  ordered  to  be 
printed,  and  at  this  day  it  is  impossible  to  estimate 

IThe  call  being  **to  take  into  consideration  the  beet  means  of  re- 
Btoringto  the  city  of  Baltimore  that  portion  of  tho  WeBtern  trade  which 
has  lately  been  diverted  from  it  by  the  introduction  of  steam  navigation 
and  by  other  causes.^' 


the  effect  which  it  produced  upon  the  public  mind. 
It  gave  an  impulse  to  railroad  building  which  was 
felt  throughout  the  whole  country,  and  enterprises, 
which  had  lain  dormant  for  years,  were  quickened 
into  life.  A  plan  for  the  organization  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad  Company  was  immediately 
drawn  up,  and  a  committee  of  eminent  citizens  of 
Maryland  appointed  to  procure  an  act  of  incorpora- 
tion from  the  General  Assembly  then  in  session ;  and 
also  secure  the  necessary  legislation  from  the  other 
States — Virginia  and  Pennsylvania — through  a  por- 
tion of  whose  territory  the  road  as  projected  would 
pass  before  reaching  the  Ohio  River.-' 

The  application  to  the  General  Assembly  was  suc- 
cessful, and  the  act  of  incorporation  was  passed  Feb. 
27, 1 827,  nine  days  after  the  scheme  was  first  submitted 
to  the  public.  The  distinguished  lawyer  who  prepared 
the  charter  had  no  precedents  to  guide  him,  but  its 
provisions  are  nevertheless  well  adapted  to  promote 
the  objects  for  which  it  was  granted,  and  it  is,  withal, 
so  exact  in  its  language,  and  has  stood  the  test  of  prac- 
tical experience  and  judicial  scrutiny  so  well,  that  even 
now  its  phraseology  is  seldom  departed  from  in  the 
drawing  of  similar  instruments.  The  ('lause  exempt- 
ing the  shares  of  capital  stock  from  taxation  gave  rise 
to  much  controversy  in  later  years,  but  the  Court  of 
Appeals  not  only  affirmed  its  constitutionality,  but 
decided  that,  under  this  provision,  all  the  property  of 
the  company  of  every  description  was  exempt  from 
taxation.  The  capital  stock  was  fixed  at  $3,000,000 
(30,000  shares,  each  of  the  value  of  $100),  which  the 
president  and  directors  were  empowered  to  increase, 
and  the  State  was  authorized  to  subscribe  for  10,000 
shares  ($1,000,000),  and  the  city  of  Baltimore  5000 
shares  ($500,000).  Such  was  the  confidence  in  the 
ultimate  success  of  the  project,  and  such  the  enthusi- 
asm of  the  people,  that  during  the  eleven  days  on 
which  the  stock  books  were  kept  open  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore  the  subscriptions  amounted  to  $4,178,000. 
The  charter  fixed  the  amount  at  $3,000,000  (half  of 
which  was  to  be  reserved  for  the  State  of  Maryland 
and  the  city  of  Baltimore).  There  was  as  yet  no 
board  of  directors  in  existence,  and  Isaac  McKim, 
Thomas  EUicott,  Jos.  W.  Patterson,  John  McKim, 
Jr.,  William  Stewart,  Talbot  Jones,  Roswell  L.  Colt, 
George  Brown,  and  Evan  Thomas,  the  commissioners 
named  in  the  act,  could  only  accept  subscriptions  to 
the  amount  of  $1,500,000.  Before  the  close  of  the 
year  1828  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock  to  the 
amount  of  $4,000,000  were  accepted  by  the  board  of 
directors. 

A  sufficient  amount  of  stock  having  been  subscribed 


2  This  committee  was  composed  of  the  following  gentlemen  :  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton,  William  Patterson.  lenac  McKim,  Robert  Oliver, 
Charles  Eidgely,  of  Hampton,  Tliounis  Tenant,  Alexander  Brown,  John 
tIcKim,  Jr.,  Talbot  Jones,  James  Wilson,  Thomas  Ellicott,  George  Hoff- 
man, William  Stewart,  Philip  E.  Thomas,  William  Lorman,  George 
Warner,  Benjamin  C.  Howard,  Solenion  Etting,  W.  W.  Taylor,  Alex- 
ander Fridge,  James  L.  Hawkins,  John  B.  Morris,  Luke  Tieruan,  Alex- 
ander McDonald,  and  Solomon  Birckhead. 


TRANSPORTATION. 


317 


and  all  the  preliminary  conditions  prescribed  by  the 
act  of  incorporation  having  been  complied  with,  the 
construction  of  the  railroad  was  commenced.'  The 
board  of  directors  was  organized  April  23,  1827,  and 
consisted  of  the  following  gentlemen  :  Charles  Carroll 
of  Carrollton,  William  Patterson,  Robert  Oliver, 
Alexander  Brown,  Isaac  McKim,  William  Lorman, 
George  Hoffman,  Philip  E.  Thomas,  John  B.  Morris, 
Thomas  Ellicott,  Talbot  Jones,  and  William  Stewart. 
Philip  E.  Thomas  was  made  president,  and  George 


on  which  the  "first  stone"  was  laid.  Charles  Carroll 
of  Carrollton,  the  last  surviving  signer  of  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence,  took  a  conspicuous  part  in 
the  ceremonies  of  the  day.  The  military  and  civic 
procession  was  the  largest  and  most  imposing  that 
Baltimore  had  ever  seen,  and  a  number  of  the  most 
distinguished  men  in  the  country  honored  the  occa- 
sion with  their  presence.  The  memorial  stone,  which 
was  presented  by  the  stone-cutters  of  Baltimore, 
through  a  committee  composed  of  James  F.  Syming- 


lARLE.S  CAKKOLL  OF  CAKKOLLTOX. 


Brown  treasurer.     The  4th  of  July,  1828,  will  be  for- 
ever memorable  in  the  annals  of  Baltimore  as  the  day 

I  The  earliest  use  of  the  railway  principle  in  America  was  by  the 
"Qaincy  Granite  Railway  Company,"  which  was  chartered  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  Massachusetts,  March  4, 1826,  for  "  the  conveyance  of  stone  and 
other  property."  The  incorporators  were  Thomas  H.  Perkins,  William 
Sallivan,  Amos  Lawrence,  David  Moody,  Solomon  Willard,  Gridley 
Bryant,  "and  their  associates,"  with  a  capital  of  $100,000.  They  were 
not  authorized  to  transport  passengers  until  April,  1846,  but  never 
availed  themselves  of  this  privilege.  Messrs.  Philip  E.  Thomas,  Alexan- 
der Brown,  and  Thomas  Ellicott  were  appointed  a  committee  by  the  Bal- 
timore and  Ohio  Railroad  to  examine  this  roaii,  which  they  did,  and 
made  a  very  elaborate  report  on  the  2lst  of  June,  1827. 
21 


ton,  Frederick  Baughman,  H.  B.  Griffith,  and  Alex- 
ander Gadde.ss,  was  planted  in  an  open  field  a  short 
distance  from  the  city  limits.'    In  changing  the  grade 

2  The  ceremonies  of  laying  the  corner-stone  were  begun  by  a  prayer 
by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Wyatt,  followed  by  the  reading  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence by  Upton  S.  Heath,  with  an  eloquent  preface.  The  Carroll- 
ton March,  composed  by  Mr.  Ctifton,  being  then  performed,  John  B. 
Morris,  one  of  the  directors,  delivered  an  eloquent  address.  On  the  con- 
clusion of  the  address  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Charles  Carroll  of 
Carrollton,  with  grand  Masonic  ceremonies.  The  following  was  the  in- 
scription on  the  stone:  "  Tfcis  Storw,  presented  by  theStonc-OuWerj  of  Balti- 
more in  commemoration  of  the  commencement  of  the  BaJlimore  and  Ohio 
Railroitdf  was  here  placed  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1828,  by  the  Grand 


318 


HISTORY  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


some  years  afterwards  this  stone  was  covered  with 
earth  and  has  never  since  been  seen.  For  a  long  time 
the  precise  locality  was  unknown,  but  it  has  since 
been  ascertained  and  marked. 

Fortunate  as  was  the  company  in  its  selection  of  offi- 
cers and  in  the  intelligent  mechanics  whom  it  took 
into  its  employ,  it  nevertheless  owes  much  of  its  early 
success  to  the  corps  of  skillful  and  adventurous  engi- 
neers detailed  from  the  United  States  army  to  make 
a  reconnoissance  from  the  Chesapeake  Bay  to  the 
Ohio,  and  to  report  the  result  of  their  experimental 
surveys.  During  the  summer  of  1827  these  gentlemen 
entered  upon  the  work  assigned  them,  and  early  in  the 
following  year  made  their  report.  All  the  engineers 
who  have  followed  in  the  paths  opened  up  by  these 
pioneers  have  been  greatly  indebted  to  them  for  tlieir 
full  and  accurate  description  of  the  topography  of  the 
region  traversed  by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad. 
Gen.  Isaac  Trimble,  to  whom  was  assigned  the  district 
through  which  the  Parkersburg  branch  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  now  passes,  and  which  he,  with  a  touch 
of  unconscious  humor,  divides  into  two  sections  in  his 
report,  "  the  mountainous  and  the  hilly,"  is  at  this  writ- 
ing (October,  1881)  still  living,  and  still  a  practical 
engineer. 

There  was  a  general  concurrence  in  the  opinion  that 
the  line  of  the  first  division  of  the  road  trom  Baltimore 


Loil.je  o/  Man/liml.  assisteil  l>y  CTiarZes  OirroU  of  CarrolUm,  the  last  sur- 

i,:j, ,/>■:-.■  :'>■  !■  ..  '...■..'  ]>■,.  ■■<,^  //.■''., -/■/-.■'/r^,  autl  ucder  the 
ilii'    ',     M    '  r.    !■■     !■.     I    ..■   I  \'r.    I    I     ■!   iiM    I         I. ui  Company.^'*    On 

M"i:i   AMi  uiii,:  I;  M  I  i:..  M.         Ii^il nii\..l   1 1 1.    -toiiH  was  deposited  a 

gliu^s  cylimlor,  lit- iiiieticiilly  seiiled,  cmitainiiig  ;i  txipy  of  the  charter  of 
the  company,  as  granted  and  confirmed  by  the  States  of  Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, and  Pennsylvania,  and  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  together  with 
a  scroll  containing  these  words :  "  This  stone  is  deposited  in  conimemora. 
tion  of  the  commencement  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  a  work 
of  iUep  and  vUal  interest  to  the  American  people.  Its  accomplishment 
will  confer  the  most  important  benefits  upon  this  nation  by  facilitating 
its  commerce,  diffusing  and  extending  its  social  intercourse,  and  perpetu- 
ating the  happy  union  of  these  confederated  States.  The  first  general 
meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Baltimore  to  confer  upon  the  adoption  of 
proper  measures  for  undertaking  this  magnificent  work  was  on  the  12th 
day  of  February,  1827.  An  act  of  incorporation  by  the  State  of  Mary- 
land was  granted  Feb.  28, 1827,  and  was  confirmed  by  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia March  8,  1S27.  Stock  was  subscribed  to  provide  funds  for  its  ex- 
ecution April  1, 1827.    The  first  board  of  directors  was  elected  April  23, 

1827.  The  company  was  organized  April  24, 1827.  An  examination  of 
the  country  was  commenced  under  the  direction  of  Lieut.-Col.  Stephen 
H.  Long  and  Capt.  William  G.  McNeill,  U.  S.  Topographical  Engineers, 
and  William  Howard,  D.  S.  Civil  Engineer,  assisted  by  Lieuts.  Barney, 
Trimble,  and  Dillebunty,  of  the  U.  S.  artillery,  and  Mr.  Harrison,  July 
2, 1827.  The  actual  surveys  to  determine  the  route  were  begun  by  the 
same  officers,  with  the  additional  assistance  of  Lieuts.  Cook,  Gwynn, 
Hazzard,  Fessenden,  and  Thompson,  and  Mr.  Guiou,  Nov.  20, 1827.  Tlie 
charter  of  the  company  was  confirmed  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
Feb.  22, 1828.  The  State  of  Maryland  became  a  stockholder  in  the  com- 
pany, by  subscribing  for  half  a  million  of  dollars  of  its  stock,  March  6, 

1828.  And  the  construction  of  the  road  was  commenced  July  4, 1828, 
under  the  management  of  the  following-named  board  of  directors: 
Philip  Evau  Thomas,  president ;  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  William 
Patterson,  Robert  Oliver,  Alexander  Brown,  Isaac  McKim,  William  Lor- 
mau,  George  Hoffman,  John  B.  Morris,  Talbot  Jones,  William  Stewart, 
Solomon  fitting,  Patrick  Macauley ;  George  Brown,  treasurer."  The  com- 
mittee to  arrange  the  ceremonies  of  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  was 
composed  of  George  Hoffman,  Alexander  Brown,  John  B.  Morris,  and 
Patrick  Macauley. 


westward  should  follow  the  course  of  the  Patapsco 
River,  cross  Parr's  Ridge,  and  run  thence,  by. as  direct 
a  line  as  possible,  to  Point  of  Rocks  ;  thence  along  the 
Maryland  shore  of  the  Potomac  River,  through  the 
gap  at  Harper's  Ferry,  to  William.sport,  which  was 
fixed  as  the  terminus  of  the  first  division.  This  route 
turned  the  flank  of  the  Catoctin  Mountain,  and 
avoided  the  necessity  of  grading  or  tunneling  the 
South  Mountain,  by  taking  advantage  of  the  natural 
cut  made  by  the  waters  of  the  Potomac.  Other  routes 
were  surveyed,  any  one  of  which  might  have  been 
quite  as  advantageous  for  local  traffic,  but  the  avoid- 
ing of  the  mountain  grades  was  a  consideration  too 
weighty  to  be  overcome.  One  of  the  experimental 
surveys  led  to  Mechanicstown,  and  thence  through 
the  South  Mountain  by  the  gaps  now  occupied  by  the 
Western  Maryland  Railroad.  All  the  lines  converged 
at  Williamsport,  and  it  was  a  very  great  disappoint- 
ment to  the  people  of  Washington  County  when  the 
litigation  with  the  canal  company  and  the  subsequent 
action  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  compelled  the  Bal- 
timore and  Ohio  Company  to  cross  the  Potomac  at 
Harper's  Ferry  and  locate  their  line  in  that  State  as 
far  west  as  Cumberland.  This  was  one  of  the  unhappy 
consequences  of  the  dispute  concerning  the  riglit  of 
way  through  the  passes  of  the  Potomac. 

In  his  report  of  the  first  reconnoissance.  Col.  Long, 
the  chief  of  the  corps  of  engineers,  not  only  gave  a 
topographical  sketch  of  the  country  through  which 
the  experimental  lines  were  run,  but  also  appended 
"  a  statement  of  the  principles"  which  in  his  opinion 
should  govern  the  construction  of  railroads.  Consid- 
ering that  he  was  dealing  with  a  subject  upon  which 
there  was  at  that  time  but  little  information  derived 
from  actual  experience,  his  theories  and  suggestions 
were  surprisingly  near  to  being  correct.  He  was  of 
the  opinion  that  the  space  between  the  rails  should  be 
four  feet  six  and  a  half  inches  ;  that  where  there  are 
two  tracks  there  should  be  an  intervening  space  of  two 
feet ;  that  the  embankment  for  a  double  track  should 
be  eighteen  feet  wide  on  the  top,  and  that  all  side- 
tracks should  be  laid  so  as  to  allow  loaded  cars  seven 
feet  wide  to  pass  each  other.  He  also  took  into  ac- 
count the  effect  of  the  heat  of  summer  and  the  cold 
of  winter  upon  the  iron  rails,  and  suggested  that  the 
holes  for  the  rivets  should  be  elliptical,  so  as  to  allow 
one-twelfth  of  an  inch  on  each  side  of  the  rivet  for 
contraction  and  expansion.  In  common  with  most  of 
the  railroad  men  of  those  days,  he  thought  that  stone 
was  the  proper  material  for  longitudinal  sills,  and  he 
advised  the  Board  of  Directors  that  wooden  sills  should 
never  be  used,  "  except  in  situations  where  a  tempo- 
rary structure  is  advisable  in  order  to  allow  the  sub- 
stratum of  the  road  to  settle  and  consolidate  before  a 
work  of  more  permanent  character  can  be  advan- 
tageously substituted."  The  directors  so  far  con- 
curred in  this  view  that  when  the  road  reached  the 
vicinity  of  Ellicott's  Mills,  where  granite  quarries 
still  abound,  a  portion  of  one  section  of  track  was  laid 


TRANSPOKTATION. 


319 


with   granite  sills.     An  enthusiastic   newspaper  re- 
porter  of  the  period,  who  passed  over  the  road  on  a 
free  excursion   May  22,  1830,  describes  the  granite  I 
rail  section  as  the  "  ne  plus  ultra  of  railroad  making, 
combining  as  it  does  the  greatest  strength  and  solidity  ' 
in  a  material  which  will  endure  for  ages.     It  possesses, 
also,  the  advantage,  from  its  unyielding  nature,  of  af- 
fording the  full  cnjo)Tnent  of  the  moving  power  which 
may  be  applied."    The  "  unyielding  nature"  so  highly 
commended  by  the  reporter  is  the  quality  which  un- 
fits granite  for  railroad  sills,  as  was  soon  discovered, 
and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  made  no  further  ' 
experiments  with  this  material. 

Having  divided  the  line  of  the  road  as  located  be- 
tween Baltimore  and  Ellicott's  Mills  into  twenty-six 
sections,  the  contracts  for  constructing  the  road-bed 
were  given  out  early  in  July,  1828,  and  work  was 
begun  on  July  28th,  the  first  grading  being  done  on 
the  sections  intervening  between  the  "  first  stone"  and  i 
the  city  limits.  The  deep  cut  some  two  miles  west  of 
the  starting*point  greatly  delayed  the  work,  and  the 
cost,  which  largely  exceeded  the  estimates,  had  a  some- 
what depressing  effect  on  the  prospects  of  the  com- 
pany. The  burst  of  enthusisam  which  had  run  up  the 
conditional  stock  subscriptions  to  $4,000,000  thirty 
days  after  the  charter  was  granted  had  measurably 
subsided  before  the  first  section  of  the  road  was 
graded,  and  the  directors  were  obliged  to  advance 
$200,000  of  their  own  private  funds  to  complete  the 
above-mentioned  cut.  During  the  year  1829  the  three 
sections  of  the  road  nearest  the  city  were  completed, 
a  depot  was  established  at  the  end  of  Pratt  near 
Poppleton  Street,  on  ground  now  inclosed  in  the 
Mount  Clare  yards,  and  on  Jan.  7, 1830,  the  company 
began  to  run  excursion-ears  out  to  the  CarroUton  vi- 
aduct, about  one  and  a  half  miles  distant.  The  fare 
for  the  round  trip  was  nine  cents,  or  three  tickets  for 
twenty-five  cents,  and  the  Federal  Gazette,  in  chron- 
icling the  event,  exultingly  remarked  that  "  within 
about  fifteen  months  after  the  actual  commencement 
of  its  construction  our  railroad  has  begun  to  be  pro- 
ductive." The  cars  used  for  the  excursions  were  of  a 
pattern  that  would  excite  much  ridicule  in  these  days, 
and  were  drawn  by  a  single  horse  provided  for  the  com- 
pany by  Messrs.  Stockton  &  Stokes,  the  great  stage- 
drivers;  but  .such  was  the  novelty  of  "  a  ride  upon 
the  rail"  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1830  that  on  fine 
days  the  Mount  Clare  depot  was  crowded  with  eager 
excursionists,  and  it  was  impossible  for  the  company 
with  its  limited  facilities  to  furnish  transportation  for 
all  who  were  anxious  to  try  the  new  mode  of  travel. 
On  the  22d  of  May,  1830,  the  road  was  formally 
opened  to  Ellicott's  Mills,  and  then  the  business  of 
transporting  passengers  and  freight  began  in  real 
earnest.  The  company  put  new  cars  on  the  track  as 
fast  as  they  could  be  built,  making  such  improvements 
from  time  to  time  as  experience  suggested,  and  man- 
aged the  transportation  business  so  well  that  the  re- 
ceipts, which  averaged  something  over  $1000  a  week, 


largely  exceeded  the  working  expenses.  The  average 
number  of  passengers  during  the  month  of  June  ex- 
ceeded 400  per  day.  The  result  of  the  first  three 
months'  operations  between  Baltimore  and  Ellicott's 
Mills  practically  solved  the  railway  problem. 

While  the  company  was  devoting  its  energies  to 
the  construction  of  the  road,  and  to  the  procuring 
of  means  to  carry  on  the  great  undertaking,  a  half- 
dozen  thoughtful  mechanics  were  inventing  and  per- 
fecting the  machinery  which  wa.s  destined  to  become 
a  most  important  part  of  the  railroad  system.  The 
locomotive  was  not  entirely  unknown  at  this  period, 
but  it  was  yet  a  slow,  feeble,  and  somewhat  intract- 
able machine.  It  remained  for  the  engineers  and  me- 
chanics in  the  employ  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  Company  to  develop  its  power  and  speed,  to 
give  it  beauty  of  form  and  action,  to  adapt  it  to  curves 
and  grades,  and,  in  short,  to  endow  it  with  most  of 
the  splendid  qualities  which  make  the  "  iron  horse"  the 
wonder  of  the  age.  About  the  time  that  the  company 
was  chartered,  Ross  Winans,  a  New  Jersey  farmer,  who 
had  a  remarkable  genius  for  mechanical  invention, 
;  removed  to  Baltimore,  and  turned  his  attention  to  the 
building  of  steam-engines.  The  experiments  in  the 
construction  of  railroad  machinery  which  the  com- 
pany instituted  gave  Mr.  Winans  a  wide  field  for  the 
exercise  of  his  inventive  faculties.  To  him  the  rail- 
road world  is  indebted  for  a  series  of  improvements 
in  the  construction  of  the  locomotive  without  which 
it  might  have  long  remained  a  sort  of  blind  giant, 
incapable  of  moving  except  upon  a  straight  track. 
The  Winans  journals,  friction-wheels,  coal-burning 
j  grates,  and  four-wheel  trucks  lifted  forward  the  rail- 
way art  at  least  ten  years.  His  famous  camel-back 
engines  were  in  their  day  the  most  powerful  motors 
in  the  world,  and  although  none  have  been  built  since 
1861,  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  still  has  a 
large  number  of  them  in  daily  use. 

The  first  locomotives  and  cars  used  on  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  road  had  wheels  with  flanges  on  the 
outside,  and  for  a  while  it  was  supposed  that  if  the 
flanges  were  put  inside  it  would  be  difiicult  to  keep 
the  car  on  the  track.  Jonathan  Knight,  the  chief 
engineer  of  the  company,  was  at  first  of  this  opinion, 
but  after  the  track  had  been  laid  to  Ellicott's  Mills 
with  the  iron  strap  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  wooden 
rails,  and  this  section  of  the  road  had  been  in  actual 
operation  for  four  or  five  months,  he  came  to  a  differ- 
ent conclusion.  About  this  time  Mr.  Knight  demon- 
strated by  an  intricate  and  laborious  mathematical 
calculation  that  a  pair  of  car-wheels  should  be  equal 
sections  of  a  cone,  with  the  larger  diameters  turned 
inward  and  facing  each  other.  He  proved  by  scien- 
tific demonstration  that  wheels  of  this  form  would  be 
less  likely  to  leave  the  track  than  if  they  were  par- 
allel sections  of  a  cylinder.  Every  time  a  drayman 
rolls  a  flour-barrel  down  a  pair  of  skids  he  illustrates 
the  principle  which  Mr.  Knight  applied  to  the  con- 
struction of  car-wheels.    The  two  cones  are  constantly 


HISTORY  OP   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


adjusting  themselves  to  tlie  curvature  of  tlie  track  and 
keeping  the  axle  approximately  at  right  angles  to  the 
rails.  In  rounding  curves  one  wheel  is  crowded  over 
against  the  outer  rail,  and  by  revolving  on  its  larger 
diameter  overcomes  the  increased  distance ;  while 
the  other  wheel,  being  pulled  away  from  the  inside 
rail,  revolves  on  its  smaller  diameter,  and  having  a 


PETER    COOPER  S    LOCOMOTIVE. 

less  distance  to  travel,  both  wheels  move  in  lines  ap- 
proximately parallel  with  the  track.  Except  in  turn- 
ing sharp  curves  the  flange  scarcely  ever  touches  the 
rail,  and  under  ordinary  conditions  a  pair  of  conical 
wheels  without  flanges  would  keep  the  track.  Mr. 
Knight  was  not  the  original  inventor  of  the  cone- 
shaped  car-wheel,  for  it  was  in  use  in  England  as 
early  as  1829,  but  he  made  an  improvement  in  the 
form  of  a  rim,  which  was  regarded  as  of  great  utility. 
Of  late  years,  as  railroad-tracks  have  improved,  the 
tendency  has  been  to  lessen  the  angle  of  the  cone,  in 
order  to  bring  more  of  the  rim  of  the  wheel  in  eon- 
tact  with  the  rail. 

To  Peter  Cooper,  of  New  York,  whose  eighty-fourth 
birthday  was  recently  celebrated,  belongs  the  honor 
of  placing  the  first  steam-motor  on  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad.  Mr.  Cooper  had  made  a  large  invest- 
ment in  real  estate  in  Baltimore,  and  took  much  in- 
terest in  the  great  public  improvement,  whose  suc- 
cess, he  had  every  reason  to  believe,  would  largely 
enhance  the  value  of  his  property.  The  distinction 
which  Mr.  Cooper  has  since  attained  as  a  philanthro- 
pist and  millionaire  has,  however,  given  an  importance 
to  this  experiment  which  it  scarcely  deserves.  His 
engine  consisted  of  a  small  upright  boiler,  with  enough 
of  the  machinery  of  an  ordinary  stationary  engine  to 
turn  the  wheels  of  the  low  platform-car  on  which  it 
was  mounted.  There  not  being  enough  of  draft  to 
force  the  fire  through  the  flues,  a  small  fanning  ap- 


paratus was  attached,  which  was  kept  in  motion  by 
means  of  a  band-wheel  and  strap  running  to  a  pulley 
on  one  of  the  axles.     The  first  trip  was  made  to  the 
Relay  House  on  Aug.  25,  1830,'  and  the  motor  being 
considered  a  success,  Mr.  Cooper  invited  the  officers 
of  the  company  and  several  of  his  friends,  twenty- 
three  persons  in  all,  to  make  an  excursion  to  Ellicott's 
Mills  on  August  28th.    Eighteen  of 
the  excursionists  seated  themselves 
in  a  small  car  in  front  of  the  en- 
gine, and  five  were  permitted  to  ride 
with  the  engineer,  Mr.  Cooper  him- 
self    Where  the  grade  was  favora- 
ble a  speed  of  a  mile  in  four  minutes 
was  attained,  but  the  average  speed 
did  not  exceed  a  mile  in  five  min- 
utes.    Mr.  Cooper  was  highly  com- 
plimented by  his  friends  and  guests 
upon  the  success  of  his  engine,  but 
it  soon  passed  out  of  notice,  and  if 
any   new  principle  or'mechanical 
appliance  entered  into  its  construc- 
tion which  has  been  of  the  least 
practical  utility  the  fact  has  been 
forgotten.    Nevertheless  the  experi- 
ment of  drawing,  or  rather  pushing, 
a   car  with  a  steam-motor  had   a 
good  moral  effect,  and  no  doubt  en- 
couraged the  projectors  of  the  road 
to  hope  for  better  results   from  a 
more  powerful  machine.' 

Before  the  steam-motor  made  its  appearance  on  the 


1  Upon  this  occasiou  the  following  certificate  was  given  to  Mr. Cooper: 
"Among  the  persons  who  rode  on  the  carriage  of  the  engine,  the  sub- 
scribers take  this  opportunity  to  express  their  high  gratification  at  the 
experiment,  and  to  state  their  full  confidence  in  the  general  construc- 
tion of  the  engine  and  the  superior  advantages  of  tiiis  mode  of  convey- 
ance. Leonard  Frailey,  John  S.  Sliriver,  Frederick  S.  Littig,  Isaac 
Cooper,  A.  Horton,  Henry  Wedford,  Wm.  Tilyard,  Alexander  F.  Turn- 
bull,  Robert  Carey  Long." 

"  The  power  of  Mr.  Ct>oper's  "  working  model"  was  "little  if  any  over 
the  power  of  one  horse,  and  was  at  the  time  described  as  follows: 
"  Diameter  of  the  cylinder,  314  inches,  or  8J^  in  area ;  length  of  the  stroke 
of  the  piston,  14  inches ;  speed  of  the  piston  per  minute,  220  feel ;  pressure 
of  Btoam  per  inch  area,  bQ  pounds.  The  position  of  Uie  cylinder  is  ver- 
tical, and  tlie  motion  of  the  rod  is  connected  with  a  vertical  cog-wheel 
of  44  cogs,  working  into  a  pinion  of  23,  fixed  on  the  axle  of  the  forward 
wheels ;  the  axles  of  these  wheels  move  in  boxes  of  (jillinghanrs  con- 
struction, the  bearings  on  the  extremity  outside  the  nave;  the  rear 
wheels  are  on  Ross  Winans'  patent  principle,  with  friction-wheels, 
which  permit  the  carriage  to  adjust  its  motion  to  the  curves  of  the  road. 
The  carriage- frame  and  its  component  parts  were  made  by  Richard  luilay, 
and  is  by  its  elasticity  well  adapted  to  relieve  the  engine  from  any  occa- 
sional concussion,  which  the  gearing,  as  described  above,  is  also,  as  ex- 
perience has  proved,  admirably  suited  to  counteract.  The  boiler  and  some 
of  the  working  jiarts  of  the  engine  were  made  by  Charles  Reeder;  the 
power,  it  is  believed,  is  of  peculiar  construction,  and  may  be  termed  a 
'  double  boiler,'  as  it  is  composed  of  two  parts,  each  differing  materially 
from  the  other.  Tlie  outer  boiler  is  formed  of  two  centric  cylinden>, 
placed  two  inches  apart  all  around,  the  space  between  them  closed  at 
top  and  bottom,  and  filled  as  high  as  the  gauge-line  with  water;  within 
the  open  circular  space  a  cylinder  boiler  is  placed,  of  such  size  as  to 
leave  a  distance  of  two  inches  all  around  between  its  circumference  and 
inner  case  of  the  outside  boiler,  to  which,  however,  it  is  connected  by 
an  opening  at  the  bottom  of  the  water,  and  one  at  the  top  for  the  steam 
communication.    The  ends  of  this  inner  boiler  are  closed,  but  through 


TRANSPORTATION. 


railroad-track  at  Mount  Clare  several  experiments 
were  tried  iu  the  way  of  rigging  cars  with  sails, 
to  be  propelled  by  the  wind.  Evan  Thomas,  brother 
to  the  president  of  the  company,  who  had  made  a 
personal  inspection  of  most  of  the  railroads  in  opera- 
tion at  that  time  in  England  and  America,  con- 
structed a  sail-car,  which  he  named  "  ^olus,"  and 
when  the  wind  was  favorable  its  performances  were 
highly  satisfactory.  Its  first  appearance  was  on  Jan. 
23, 1830.  Baron  Krudener,  Eussian  minister  at  Wash- 
ington, was  so  much  impressed  with  what  he  heard 
about  the  railroad  operations  at  Baltimore  that  he 
came  over  and  took  a  trip  on  the  "^olus,"  managing 
the  sail  himself.  Following  the  sailing-car  came  the 
"  horse-power"  car.  A  horse  was  placed  in  a  box-car 
and  made  to  walk  on  an  endless  apron  or  belt,  and  to 
communicate  motion  to  the  wheels,  as  in  the  horse- 
power machines  of  the  present  day.  The  "  horse- 
car,"  like  the  "  sailing-car,"  had  its  day,  and  is  re- 
ferred to  now  as  an  illustration  of  the  crudity  of  the 
ideas  prevailing  fifty  years  ago  in  reference  to  rail- 
roads. There  was  at  that  time  an  apprentice-boy  in 
Mr.  Winans'  machine-shop,  who  fifteen  years  after- 
wards superintended  the  construction  of  the  loco- 
motives for  the  first  railways  built  in  Russia.  One 
of  the  English  engineers  in  the  employ  of  the  Czar 
wrote  to  Ross  Winans,  asking  him  to  make  an  effec- 
tive pile-driver  to  be  used  on  these  works.  Mr. 
Winans  made  the  pile-driver,  and  also  a  locomotive, 
to  be  sent  to  St.  Petersburg,  and  his  son  Thomas 
concluded  to  go  there  also  and  show  the  Russians 


how  to  use  the  machines.  The  locomotives  proved 
to  be  so  much  superior  to  those  that  had  been  brought 
from  England  that  the  Czar  determined  to  have  a 


the  body  of  it  Bfty-three  gun-barrel  tubes  are  fixed  vertically,  through 
which,  and  also  through  the  .space  between  the  inner  and  outer  boilera, 
the  flame  and  heat  pass  from  the  furnace,  which  is  immediately  beneath 
the  inner  boiler.  The  fire  is  urged  by  a  fan  revolving  in  a  case,  and 
driven  by  the  motion  of  the  carriage.  The  water-tank  is  a  low,  oblong 
case,  placed  lengthwise  on  the  carriage-frame.  A  light  pyramidal  frame 
Supports  the  cylinder  and  sustains  the  movenienls.  The  boiler  is  vertical, 
and  the  whole  presents  an  appeanince  of  much  lightness  and  simplicity ; 
the  entile  weight  is  not  much  more  than  a  ton  and  a  half." 

Mr,  Cooper,  in  an  interview  published  in  the  New  York  WorU  in 
June,  1881,  gave  his  recollections  of  his  engine  as  follows :  "  During  the 
year  1828  I  became  the  owner  of  three  thousand  acres  of  land  in  the  city 
of  Baltimore,  on  which  I  began  to  build  the  Canton  Iron-Works.  At 
that  time  the  Legislature  had  granted  a  charter  to  a  company  to  build  a 
railroad  for  carrying  passengers  and  merchandise,  and  the  capital  stock 
was  to  he  $500,000.  The  route  was  from  Baltimore  through  the  Patapsco 
Valley  to  Ellicott's  Mills,  a  distance  of  thirteen  miles.  The  road  was 
constiucted  very  simply,  and  had  a  number  of  short  turns,  which  dis- 
couraged the  projectors,  who  thought  that  no  engine  could  he  built  to 
take  these  curves.  They  had  almost  determined  to  abandon  the  road, 
when  I  told  them  tliat  if  they  would  only  hold  on  a  little  while  longer  I 
thought  I  could  overcome  the  diificulty.  In  my  glue-factory  at  New 
York,  on  the  '  Old  Middle  road,' — a  road  that  was  situated  somewhere 
between  Thirty-first  and  Thirty-second  Streets,— I  bad  an  old  stationary 
engine,  with  a  boiler  about  the  size  of  a  barrel,  and  a  cylinder  three  and 
a  half  inches  in  diameter.  The  whole  engine  could  easily  be  moved  on  a 
hand-barrow.  I  sent  for  the  engine,  and  when  it  arrived  at  Baltimore  I 
took  it  to  a  carriage-maker's,  mounted  it  on  a  truck,  and  connected  it 
with  the  wheels  by  an  ordinary  crank.  The  day  we  made  the  experi- 
ment there  were  thirty-six  men  on  the  car  and  six  men  on  the  engine, 
which  carried  its  own  fuel  and  water.  The  thirteen  miles  were  made, 
up  a  grade  of  eighteen  feet  to  the  mile,  in  one  hour  and  twelve  minutes, 
and  the  return  trip  in  fifty-seven  minutes.  This  was  the  first  passenger- 
engine  built  in  America,  and  the  first  passenger-train  that  was  ever 
drawn  by  an  engine  on  this  continent." 


large  number  built  upon  the  same  model.  Mr. 
Winans  entered  into  an  engagement  to  superin- 
tend the  construction  of  locomotives  and  railway  ma- 
chinery in  the  government  shops,  upon  terms  which 
brought  great  profit  to  himself  and  his  business  part- 
ner, Mr.  Harrison,  of  Philadelphia.  The  Baltimore 
mechanic,  who  went  abroad  to  exhibit  a  locomotive, 
came  home  a  millionaire. 

For  a  year  or  longer  after  the  opening  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  road  to  Ellicott's  Mills,  the  depot  re- 
mained at  the  west  end  of  Pratt  Street,  outside  the 
city  limits.  It  was  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the 
company,  as  well  as  to  the  public,  that  the  track 
should  be  extended  to  Pratt  Street  wharf,  at  the  head 
of  the  Basin,  where  communication  would  be  estab- 
lished with  the  shipping,  and  especially  with  the 
steamer  which  plied  between  Baltimore  and  Phila- 
delphia ;  but  such  was  the  opposition  on  the  part  of 
a  portion  of  the  citizens  of  Baltimore  to  laying  a  rail- 
road-track through  Pratt  Street  that  the  ordinance 
granting  the  right  of  way  was  not  passed  by  the  City 
Council  till  April  1,  1831,  and  the  connection  with 
tide-water  was  not  made  till  Sept.  29,  1831,  at  which 
time  a  depot  was  established  at  the  intersection  of 
Light  and  Pratt  Streets ;  but  the  passenger-cars  started 
from  the  Three  Tuns  Hotel,  on  the  corner  of  Pratt 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


and  Paca  Streets,  for  some  months  later.    A  bitter  i 
controversy  was  waged  in   the  ward  meetings  and  j 
through  the  newspapers  over  tlie  occupation  of  Pratt  ! 
Street  by  the  railroad  while  the  ordinance  was  pend- 
ing, and  it  has  broken  out  at  intervals  from  that  time 
till  the  present. 

While  the  discussion  was  going  on  in  the  city  as 
to  whether  an  actual  connection  with  the  shipping- 
wharves  was  desirable  or  otherwise,  the  road  was 
being  rapidly  pushed  westward.  On  Nov.  12,  1831, 
the  president  and  directors,  accompanied  by  the  mayor 
of  Baltimore  and  members  of  the  City  Council,  made 
a  trip  to  the  inclined  plane  near  Parrsville,  and  Dec. 
1,  1831,  the  road  was  formally  opened  to  Frederick 
with  a  grand  excursion,  in  which  the  Governor  of  the 
State  and  other  prominent  officials  took  part.  Each 
car  was  drawn  by  one  horse,  and  although  a  snow  had 
fallen  during  the  previous  night,  "the  large  caval- 
cade" (using  the  language  of  the  reporter  of  the  ex- 
cursion) made  ten  miles  an  hour.  Some  of  the  ex- 
cursionists returned  to  Baltimore  on  the  same  evening, 
deeply  impressed  with  the  belief  that  they  had  made 
the  best  day's  journey  on  record,  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  in  twelve  hours. 

We  now  come  to  the  period  when  the  "  iron  horse" 
took  the  track  and  crowded  off  all  competitors.  In 
his  presence  the  sail-cars,  the  tread-powers,  and  even 
the  horse-cars  became  mere  toys,  either  to  be  thrown 
aside  as  worthless  rubbish,  or  put  away  and  preserved 
as  memorials'  of  the  infancy  of  railroad  transporta- 
tion. Prior  to  1831  a  few  locomotives  had  been  con- 
structed both  in  England  and  America,  but  they  were 
of  small  capacity,  and  it  was  a  question  whether  they 
could  be  used  on  roads  in  which  there  were  curves  of 
a  radius  of  four  hundred  feet.  However,  the  im- 
provements made  by  Mr.  Knight,  Mr.  Imlay,  and 
Mr.  Winans  in  the  form  of  car-wheels  and  journals, 
and  in  the  mode  of  mounting  cars  on  trucks,  had 
practically  solved  the  problem,  and  all  that  remained 
to  be  done  was  to  apply  these  inventions  to  the  loco- 
motive, and  its  ability  to  turn  curves  without  leaving 
the  track  became  an  assured  fact. 

An  advertisement  published  by  the  company  Jan. 
4,  1831,  offering  a  premium  for  two  locomotives  which 
should  come  up  to  the  specifications  therein  set  forth, 
is  somewhat  remarkable,  for  the  reason  that  it  shows 
a  very  thorough  knowledge  of  what  a  railroad  engine 
ought  to  be,  although  the  motor  which  the  president 
describes  had  not  yet  taken  form  and  shape.  The 
object  of  the  advertisement  was  to  submit  to  the  in- 
genious mechanics  of  the  country  certain  ascertained 
facts  and  principles,  to  the  end  that  they  might  be 
applied  to  the  construction  of  an  effective  locomotive, 
Such  was  the  faith  of  the  company  in  the  utility  of 
the  inventions  of  Mr.  Knight  and  Mr.  Winans  that 
it  was  expres-sly  stipulated  they  should  be  embodied 
in  the  competing  locomotives.  The  experience  of 
fifty  years  has  shown  that  the  company  did  not  claim 
too  much  for  tliese  improvements.     The  sum  of  four 


thousand  dollars  (the  premium  being  included  in  the 
price)  was  to  be  paid  for  the  locomotive,  constructed 
in  accordance  with  these  specifications,  which  should 
be  deemed  the  best  after  thirty  days'  actual  use,  and 
three  tliousand  five  hundred  dollars  for  the  second 
best.  Three  locomotives  were  constructed  in  pur- 
suance of  this  advertisement,  and  the  tests  to  which 
they  were  subjected  and  the  exhibitions  given  of 
their  working  capacity  constitute  a  most  interesting 
chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad.  The  company  extended  the  time  named 
in  the  advertisement  for  testing  the  engines  (June  1, 
1831)  to  June  27th,  and  in  point  of  fact  the  trial 
did  not  come  off  till  July  12th.  Only  two  competitors 
put  in  an  appearance  at  the  first  trial,  the  "  York," 
manufactured  by  Davis  &  Gartner,  at  York,  Pa.,  and 
an  engine  from  New  York  City,  the  name  of  which 
is  not  recorded  in  the  local  chronicles.  Another 
engine,  built  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  by  George  Welsh, 
had  been  entered  for  the  prize,  but  it  was  not  ready 
to  take  the  track  on  the  day  finally  set  for  the  con- 
test. At  this  exhibition  the  "  York"  won  all  the 
honors.  On  the  first  'trip  it  made  a  mile  in  three 
minutes,  drawing  a  car  containing  forty  persons,  and 
rounded  the  curves  without  checking  speed.  Several 
trips  were  made,  and  the  engine  ran  a  mile  in  two 
minutes  and  a  half  on  some  portions  of  the  road. 
After  the  Davis  engine  had  astonished  the  assembled 
multitude  with  its  splendid  performance,  the  New  York 
engine  made  a  short  trip,  but  it  fell  so  far  behind  its 
competitor  in  the  essential  quality  of  ^peed  that  not 
much  notice  was  taken  of  its  merits,  whatever  they 
may  have  been.  The  "  York"  was  kept  on  the  road 
until  it  was  worn  out;  the  builder,  Phineas  Davis, 
was  made  chief  constructor  of  engines  for  the  com- 
pany, and  remained  in  its  service  until  he  was  acci- 
dentally killed  while  taking  his  employes  on  an  ex- 
cursion to  Washington,  on  Sept.  27,  1835.'     Four  of 

^  Plitneas  Davis  was  a  self-taught  man,  and  like  all  eminent  men  of 
his  class  in  science  and  art,  he  wascapableof  achieving  the  most  decisive 
results,  Mr.  Davis  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  and  ear)^  in  life 
migrated  to  York,  Pa.,  where  he  arrived  poor,  friendless,  and  nnknown. 
He  began  the  watch-making  business  in  York  with  an  estimable  citizen, 
and  soon  met  with  great  success.  After  continuing  in  business  for  sev- 
eral years  he  turned  bis  attention  to  chemistry,  hut  soon  applied  himself 
to  steam  and  the  constructiou  of  steam-engines,  in  which  he  took  great 
delight.  In  connection  with  his  partner,  Mr.  Garlner,  he  built  several 
engines  for  various  purposes,  and  made  many  improvements  to  illustrate 
their  power  and  capacity  for  work.  The  firat  efficient  locomotive  engine 
used  upon  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  was  constructed  by  Davis  & 
Gartner,  under  his  direction,  at  York,  and  brought  to  Baltimore  upon 
wagons.  From  this  period  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  a  large  number  of 
locomotives  were  built  for  this  great  work  under  his  immediate  superin? 
tendence,  and  scarcely  any  one  ever  succeeded  another  without  evincing 
some  improvement  in  design  or  execution.  The  construction  of  locomo- 
tives was  particularly  suited  to  his  taste  and  capacity,  and  the  Bhllimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad  Company  very  soon  discovered  his  value  in  that  depart- 
ment and  ofTered  him  such  facilities  as  induced  him  to  leave  the  concern 
at  York  in  the  care  of  his  jiartner  and  engage  in  making  engines  in  Balti- 
more at  the  company's  shops.  He  had  been  so  engaged  for  a  couple  of 
years,  and  by  his  talents,  industry,  and  perseverance,  under  the  liberal  en- 
couragement of  the  company,  he  hat!  by  successive  improvement*  brought 
the  locomotive  to  a  high  dogroc  of  perfection.  He  was  on  a  trial-trip 
with  his  latest-improved  engine  when  lie  met  his  doatli.     Upon  the  re- 


TRANSPORTATION. 


323 


the  engines  built  by  Mr.  Davis  after  the  model  of  the 
"York"  are  still  in  daily  use  at  the  Mount  Clare 
depot  as  "  regulators"  for  making  up  trains  and  push- 
ing cars  about  from  one  yard  to  another. 

A  history  of  the  growth  of  the  locomotive  from  the 
diminutive  upright  engine  mounted  on  a  small  plat- 
form-car which  won  the  prize  in  1831  to  the  ponder- 
ous "  camel"  invented  by  Ross  Winans  cannot  be 
given  within  the  limits  of  this  sketch,  although  the 
subject  is  most  attractive.  In  the  specifications  for 
the  prize  engine  of  1831  it  was  provided  that  "it  must 
on  a  level  road  be  capable  of  drawing  day  by  day 
fifteen  tons,  inclusive  of  the  weight  of  the  wagons,  fif- 
teen miles  per  hour."  The  powerful  "  camel"  (which 
is  still  a  familiar  object  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
road,  although  none  have  been  built  since  1861)  draws 
a  train  of  thirty  coal-cars,  about  four  hundred  and 
fifty  tons,  including  the  weight  of  the  cars.  The 
best  performance  of  the  "  camel,"  however,  is  com- 
pletely eclipsed  by  the  "  Consolidation,"  the  name 
given  to  the  new  freight-engines  now  built  at  the 
Mount  Clare  shops.  The  usual  load  for  one  of  these 
powerful  locomotives  is  a  train  of  fifty-two  coal-cars, 
nearly  eight  hundred  tons. 

The  progress  from  the  quaint-looking  little  wagons 
which  Richard  Imlay,  the  enterprising  manufacturer, 
then  at  the  corner  of  Monument  and  North  Streets, 
used  to  exhibit  in  Monument  Square  before  he  de- 
livered them  to  the  company  to  the  palace-coaches 
which  the  company  now  builds  for  itself  is  scarcely 
less  striking.' 


turn  of  the  train  from  WaBhington  he  rode  on  the  tender  to  watch  the 
movements  of  the  engine,  and  while  thus  engaged  it  ran  off  tlie  tracli, 
which  brought  the  cars  in  the  rear  with  great  force  upon  the  tendpr,  in- 
stantly killing  its  only  occupant.  His  body  was  brought  to  Baltimore 
and  interred  in  the  Friends'  burying-ground  at  the  corner  of  Aisqnitb 
and  Fayette  Streets.  He  left  two  orphan  children,  his  wife  having  died  a 
short  time  before. 

The  Rrat  successful  locomotive  engine  after  the  "  York"  on  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad  was  also  built  by  Messrs.  Davis  &  Gartner,  and 
called  the  "  AUantic."  The  experimental  trial  of  this  engine  took 
place  on  Aug.  6, 1S32,  and  was  highly  successful.  It  was  the  first  engine 
that  completely  succeeded  in  burning  anthracite  coal.  A  trip  of  eighty 
miles  per  day  was  performed  with  a  consumption  of  one  ton  of  coal. 
From  this  time  forward  steam-power  was  generally  used  on  the  road. 

The  first  fatal  accident  occurred  with  the  horse-cars,  which  ran  over  a 
driver  near  the  city  on  Sept.  13, 1830.  On  Dec.  3, 1831,  John  Lanahan 
was  killed  near  the  Monocacy  viaduct.  He  was  the  first  person  killed 
by  "  a  car  in  the  reg\ilar  use  of  the  company."  On  Nov.  12, 1834,  the 
boiler  of  a  new  engine  built  by  Charles  Reeder  for  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad,  while  engaged  in  drj^wing  a  train  of  burden -cars,  ex- 
ploded and  killed  the  engineer  and  severely  wounded  the  fireman. 
This  was  the  first  locomotive  explosion  on  the  road. 

^  The  first  passenger-car  was  made  like  an  old-fashioned  "  Conestoga" 
country-wagon  on  railroad  wheels.  Then  came  cars  resembling  the  old- 
fashioned  stage-coach,  with  the  same  springs  and  leather  braces,  and  car- 
rying nine  passengers  each,  with  a  driver's  seat  perched  upon  eitherend, 
as  there  were  no  turn-tables  at  that  early  day.  For  a  long  time  the  cars 
were  gaudily  painted,  with  a  small  increase  in  the  size.  One  of  Mr. 
'  Imlay's  cars  is  thus  described  on  Aug.  4, 1830 :  *'  The  body  of  the  carriage 
will  contain  twelve  persons,  and  the  outside  seats  at  either  end  will  re- 
ceive six,  including  the  driver.  On  the  top  of  the  carriage  is  placed  a 
double  sofa,  running  lengthwise,  which  will  accommodate  twelve  more. 
A  wire  netting  rises  from  two  sides  of  the  top  of  the  carriage  to  a  height 
which  renders  the  top  seats  perfectly  secure.  The  whole  is  surmounted 
by  an  iron  framework,  with  an  awning  to  protect  from  the  sun  or  rain. 


With  the  advent  of  the  locomotive  the  Imlay  wagons 
disappeared  from  the  road.  In  November,  1831,  two 
cars  were  put  into  service  in  which  glazed  windows 
with  sliding  sash  were  substituted  for  leather  curtains. 
Mr.  Knight,  the  chief  engineer  of  the  company,  de- 
signed a  car  called  the  "  Dromedary,"  from  some  fan- 
cied resemblance  to  that  animal,  which  embodied 
most  of  the  features  of  the  modern  street-car.  Trains 
of  cars  like  these  were  called  brigades,  and  were  con- 
tinued until  Ross  Winans  placed  upon  the  track  the 
first  eight-wheel  car  ever  built  for  passengers  and 
called  it  "  Columbus."  This  car  was  a  large  box,  and 
had  a  truck  of  four  wheels  at  each  end,  like  the  eight- 
wheel  cars  of  the  present  time  ;  the  seats  were  on  the 
top  of  the  car  as  well  as  inside,  and  were  reached  by 
a  ladder  at  one  of  the  coiners.  This  was  followed 
by  several  odd-shaped  contrivances ;  one  was  named 
the  "Sea  Serpent,"  another  was  known  by  the  name 
of  the  "  Frederick,"  next  came  the  "  Winchester," 
which  was  followed  by  the  "  Washington,"  each  an 
improvement  on  its  predecessor.  Gradually  the  car- 
builders  divested  themselves  of  the  stage-coach  idea, 
and  the  model  of  the  railroad  car  as  it  now  exists  be- 
gan to  grow  into  shape,  but  the  development  of  the 
passenger-coach  was  much  slower  than  that  of  the 
locomotive. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1831  sixty  miles  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  were  in  operation  ;  a 
connection  had  been  made  with  tide-water ;  the  prac- 
ticability of  using  steam  locomotives  had  been  fully 
demonstrated ;  two  engines,  the  "  York"  and  "  At- 
lantic," were  each  making  four  trips  a  day  between 
Baltimore  and  Ellicott's  Mills;  and  the  amount  of 
freight  otfered  for  transportation  far  exceeded  the 
capacity  of  the  company's  rolling  stock.  On  account 
of  the  inclined  planes  at  Parr's  Ridge,  horses  were 
still  used  to  draw  the  cars  between  Ellicott's  Mills 
and  Frederick.  In  all  its  mechanical  experiments 
the  company  had  been  singularly  successful,  and  it 
had  now  a  regularly  organized  department  for  de- 
signing and  manufacturing  the  machinery  used  in 
transportation.  All  this  had  been  accomplished,  or 
rather  created,  in  three  years. 

It  now  becomes  necessary  to  make  a  digression  in 
the  narrative,  and  leave  the  main  stem  for  a  time  in 
order  to  give  some  account  of  the  Washington  branch. 
The  building  of  a  railway  between  Baltimore  and  the 
national  capital  was  no  doubt  contemplated  by  the 
projectors  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  road  when  they 
first  entered  upon  the  great  enterprise,  although  it 
was  not  mentioned  in  the  original  charter.  One  of 
the  reasons  given  for  locating  the  first  division  of  the 
road  on  the  line  of  the  Patapsco  was  the  fact  that 
this  route  would  bring  it  within  thirty  miles  of  Wash- 
ington, and  that  the  most  difficult  and  costly  portion 

The  carriage,  which  is  named  the  '  Ohio,'  is  very  handsomely  finished, 
and  will,  we  have  no  doubt,  be  a  great  favoi-ite  with  the  visitors  to  the 
railroad,  the  number  of  whom,  we  are  gratified  to  learn,  continues  to  be 
as  great  as  it  was  at  the  opening  of  the  road." 


HISTORY   OF    BALTIMORE    CITY    AND    COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  a  road  between  the  two  cities  would  be  covered  by 
the  first  nine  miles  of  the  main  stem.  When  the 
project  was  first  presented  to  the  public  (May  12, 1829) 
and  conditional  subscriptions  called  for,  the  idea 
seemed  to  be  to  organize  another  company,  to  be  called 
"The Baltimore  and  Washington  Railroad  Company," 
with  a  capital  stock  of  $300,000  divided  into  6000 
shares  of  $50  each.  Most  of  the  gentlemen'  whose 
names  were  appended  to  the  advertisement  were  di- 
rectors in  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company.  Nothing 
was  accomplished,  however,  by  this  appeal  to  the 
public,  and  the  project  slumbered  until  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Company  in  its  corporate  capacity  took 
hold  of  it  and  carried  it  through.  At  a  meeting  of 
the  directors,  held  Dec.  6, 18.30,  a  resolution  presented 
by  William  Patterson  and  seconded  by  Robert  Oliver 
was  adopted  directing  the  chief  engineer  to  make  the 
necessary  surveys  and  report  upon  the  estimated  cost 
of  a  branch  road  to  Washington.  It  was  also  re- 
solved that  application  be  made  to  Congress  for  such 
legislation  as  might  be  deemed  necessary  to  secure 
the  right  to  build  and  operate  the  branch  road  in  the 
District  of  Columbia.  Congress  passed  an  act  grant- 
ing the  franchises  and  privileges  prayed  for  March  2, 
1831. 

Although  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  claimed 
that  it  had  the  power  to  construct  the  Washington 
branch  under  tjie  provisions  of  its  original  charter, 
an  act  was  passed  by  the  General  Assembly  Feb.  22, 
1831,  expressly  granting  this  authority.  It  was  pro- 
vided in  this  act  that  the  State  should  have  the  option 
any  time  within  two  years  after  the  completion  of  the 
road  to  subscribe  for  and  receive  the  stock  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  to  the  amount  of  the 
whole  or  any  part  of  the  sum  expended  in  building 
this  branch,  the  stock  of  the  company  to  be  increased 
by  the  amount  of  stock  thus  taken  by  the  State.  This 
extraordinary  provision  was  not  coupled  with  any 
grant  of  money  or  credit,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that 
it  defeated  the  whole  purpose  of  the  act  and  hindered 
and  delayed  the  enterprise  which  it  was  intended  to 
promote.  A  supplementary  act  was  passed  March  9, 
1833,  repealing  this  portion  of  the  act  of  Feb.  22, 
1831,  and  authorizing  the  treasurer  of  the  Western 
Shore  to  subscribe  for  5000  shares  of  the  branch  road 
as  soon  as  10,000  shares  were  taken  by  private  indi- 
viduals and  corporations.  This  act  further  provided 
that  all  the  money  applied  to  the  construction  of 
the  Washington  branch  should  be  represented  by 
stock  separate  and  distinct  from  the  regular  stock  of 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company.  As  a  sort  of  per- 
petual premium  on  the  $500,000  stock  subscription 
authorized  by  this  act,  it  was  provided  that  the  com- 
pany must  pay  to  the  State  one-fifth  of  the  gross  re- 
ceipts from  passengers  on  the  Washington  branch, 
and   that  settlement  must  be  made  and  the  money 


>  WiUiam  Patlerson,  John  S.  Hillon,  C.  D.  Williams,  Thomas  i 
Jr.,  George  Brown  ,Han80ii  Penn,  William  Lorman,  James  Wilson,  John 
B.  Morris,  John  C.  Herbert,  Eilmund  I).  Duviill. 


paid  over  every  six  months.  This  proved  to  be  the 
mo.st  profitable  financial  transaction  ever  entered  into 
by  the  State  of  Maryland.  During  the  forty  years 
that  this  provision  of  the  act  of  March  9,  1833,  re- 
mained in  force,  the  State  received  from  the  company 
$1,675,250  in  stock  dividends  on  the  $500,000  invest- 
ment, and  $3,327,919  from  the  twenty  per  cent,  tax 
on  passengers.- 

With  the  money  obtained  from  the  State  on  these 
hard  conditions,  and  $1,000,000  advanced  by  the  di- 
rectors, who  took  10,000  shares  of  the  stock  for  the 
use  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company, 
the  road  was  built.  Of  these  last-mentioned  shares 
5000  were  sent  to  Brown,  Shipley  &  Co.  in  Liverpool, 
and  were  the  first  American  railway  securities  ever 
deposited  in  a  foreign  banking-house.  The  country 
traversed  by  the  Washington  branch  is  level,  and  the 
grading  was  soon  completed  after  the  contractors  got 
to  work.  The  bridge  across  the  Patapsco  at  the  Relay 
House  was,  at  the  time  it  was  completed,  the  finest 
and  most  costly  work  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States. 
Eight  stone  arches,  each  of  fifty-eight  feet  span  and 
sixty-six  feet  high,  support  the  iron  superstructure. 
This  beautiful  viaduct  was  designed  by  the  late  Ben- 
jamin H.  Latrobe,  who  had  recently  been  made  as- 
sistant to  Mr.  Knight,  the  chief  engineer.  On  the 
25th  of  August,  1835,  the  branch  was  opened  for 
travel  throughout  its  entire  length,  and  forthwith  be- 
came one  of  the  most  profitable  railroads  in  the  world. 
The  returns  for  the  first  quarter  showed  that  an  average 
of  two  hundred  passengers  per  day  had  been  carried 
over  the  road,  and  this  number  increased  with  each 
succeeding  year,  until  there  are  now  thirteen  daily 
passenger-trains  running  each  way  between  the  two 
cities  over  this  road. 

Returning  to  the  main  stem,  we  come  to  an  incident 
in  the  history  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company 
which  in  its  consequences  immediate  and  remote  was 
most  unfortunate.  As  already  stated,  the  directors, 
for  reasons  which  at  that  time  seemed  to  leave  no 
alternative,  had  determined  to  outflank  the  Catoctin 
Mountain  by  passing  around  the  Point  of  Rocks,  and 
to  get  through  the  Blue  Ridge  by  way  of  the  Harper's 
Ferry  Gap.  In  the  summer  of  1828,  while  the  agents 
of  the  company  were  proceeding  to  negotiate  with  the 
owners  of  the  ground  on  which  the  road  had  been  lo- 
cated between  Sandy  Hook  and  Harper's  Ferry  for 
the  right  of  way,  an  injunction  was  sued  out  in  the 
Washington  County  Court,  at  the  instance  of  the 
canal  company,  restraining  the  railroad  company  ac- 
quiring title  to  the  land  until  its  own  works  had  been 
located  through  the  pass.  Another  injunction  was 
sued  out  in  Frederick  County  which  stopped  the  rail- 
road company  from  proceeding  with  the  construction 
of  its  road  beyond  the  Point  of  Rocks.  The  litiga- 
tion begun  by  these  injunctions  lasted  until  the  year 
1832,  when  the  Court  of  Appeals  decided  that  the 


TRANSPORTATION. 


325 


Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal  Company,  as  the  assignee 
of  the  Potomac  Company,  chartered  in  1784,  had  the 
right  of  the  choice  of  route  along  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac,  and  that  the  railroad  company  could  not 
occupy  any  place  along  the  river  in  a  way  to  restrict 
the  canal  company  in  the  location  of  its  works.  This 
stopped  the  further  progress  of  the  road  until  the 
canal  company  had  decided  how  much  of  the  narrow 
strip  of  ground  between  the  river  and  the  precipitous 
walls  of  the  mountain  it  desired  to  appropriate,  and 
after  it  had  exercised  its  right  of  election  in  this  re- 
gard there  was  no  room  left  for  the  railroad.  Nothing 
remained  for  the  railroad  company  but  a  "  compro- 
mise" which  would  permit  the  joint  occupation  of 
the  narrow  passes  between  the  Point  of  Rocks  and 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  to  this  end  application  was  made 
to  the  Legislature  for  an  act  proposing  a  plan  of  agree- 
ment between  the  two  companies.  A  committee  of 
the  House  of  Delegates,  after  inspecting  the  disputed 
passes,  reported  that  there  was  room  enough  for  both 
the  canal  and  the  railroad,  and  severely  reprobated 
the  canal  company  for  stopping  the  westward  exten- 
sion of  the  road.  No  remedy  could  be  applied,  how- 
ever, except  to  give  tlie  sanction  of  the  Legislature 
to  a  compromise,  the  terms  of  which  were  set  forth  in 
the  act  of  December,  1832.  The  railroad  company 
was  authorized  to  subscribe  for  2500  shares  of  the 
canal  stock,  and  the  canal  company  was  to  be  per- 
mitted to  grade  the  road  through  the  disputed  passes, 
and  to  receive  $100,000  for  the  work.  The  appoint- 
ment of  two  commissioners  was  provided  for  in  the 
act,  who  were  empowered  to  carry  its  provisions  into 
effect,  both  companies  consenting  thereto.  After  some 
negotiation,  a  settlement  was  effected  which  closed  the 
whole  controversy.  The  railroad  company  paid  the 
canal  company  in  lieu  of  the  stock  subscription,  and 
in  satisfaction  of  all  the  conditions  of  the  compro- 
mise act,  the  sum  of  $226,000 ;  and  further  agreed 
that  the  railroad  should  not  be  pushed  beyond  Har- 
per's Ferry  until  the  canal  reached  Cumberland,  pro- 
vided that  it  got  there  at  the  time  fixed  in  its  charter, 
the  year  1840.  On  the  9th  of  May,  1833,  the  con- 
struction of  the  railroad  from  Point  of  Rocks  to 
Harper's  Ferry  was  resumed,  the  work  having  been 
stopped  five  years  by  the  controversy  with  the  canal 
company.  At  this  day  it  is  impossible  to  calculate 
the  loss  inflicted  upon  the  railroad  company,  and 
more  especially  upon  the  city  of  Baltimore,  by  this 
interruption  and  by  the  further  delay  at  Harper's 
Ferry  in  pursuance  of  the  compromise  with  the  canal 
company. 

The  far-seeing  men  who  were  the  first  projectors 
of  a  railway  from  Baltimore  to  the  great  West  real- 
ized the  importance  of  reaching  the  Ohio  River  in 
advance  of  all  similar  works,  and  it  was  provided  in 
the  act  of  incorporation  that  if  the  road  was  not  com- 
pleted in  ten  years  from  the  day  its  construction  was 
begun  the  company  should  forfeit  its  corporate  fran- 
chises.    All   the   advantages   that  Baltimore   might 


have  enjoyed  by  being  brought  into  communication 
with  the  West  by  rail  ten  years  in  advance  of  her 
sister  sea-board  cities  were  sacrificed  by  the  delays 
occasioned  by  the  persistent  assertion  of  the  "  para- 
mount right"  of  the  canal  company  to  occupy  the 
valley  of  the  Potomac.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the 
injunctions  sued  out  in  the  summer  of  1828  tfie  rail- 
road company  would  have  been  bringing  coal  from 
Cumberland  to  tide-water  before  the  digging  of  the 
canal  had  been  fairly  begun,  and  possibly  the  State 
might  have  been  saved  from  the  profitless  investment 
which  for  a  time  destroyed  its  own  credit  and  brought 
it  to  the  very  verge  of  repudiation.  As  it  was,  the 
road  was  not  opened  to  Cumberland  till  Nov.  5,  1842. 
The  company  promised  to  build  fifty  miles  of  road 
every  year  until  the  Ohio  River  was  reached,  but 
owing  to  the  difficulty  in  getting  through  the  Har- 
per's Ferry  Gap,  to  financial  embarrassments  occa- 
sioned by  the  long  delay,  and  to  the  new  conditions 
imposed  by  the  Virginia  Legislature  after  the  charter 
in  that  State  had  expired  by  limitation,  it  was  only 
able  to  build  one  hundred  and  seventy-nine  miles  of 
the  main  stem  in  fourteen  years.  As  late  as  1835  the 
southern  and  western  counties  of  Pennsylvania  looked 
to  Baltimore  as  the  best  market  for  their  products, 
and  to  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  as  the  most 
suitable  route  of  transit  between  the  East  and  the 
West.  In  an  act  passed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Legis- 
lature in  that  year,  giving  the  Susquehanna  Canal 
Company  the  right  to  connect  its  works  with  the 
Pennsylvania  Canal  at  Columbia,  it  was  made  one  of 
the  conditions  of  the  grant  that  the  State  of  Mary- 
land should  permit  a  railroad  leading  from  the  Cum- 
berland Valley  to  connect  with  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  road  at  Hagerstown,  Williamsport,  or  some 
point  in  that  vicinity.  Virginia  refused  to  renew  the 
charter  of  the  company,  however,  except  upon  the 
condition  that  the  road  should  cross  the  Potomac 
River  at  Harper's  Ferry  and  proceed  westward  with- 
in the  limits  of  that  State  to  a  point  six  miles  east  of 
Cumberland.  One  of  the  disastrous  consequences  of 
the  long  delay  at  Point  of  Rocks  was  the  loss  of  a 
connection  with  Chambersburg  and  the  Cumberland 
Valley,  which,  if  it  had  been  made  any  time  prior  to 
1840,  would  have  been  of  incalculable  advantage  to 
Baltimore. 

The  five  years'  blockade  at  the  Point  of  Rocks, 
however,  was  not  entirely  without  compensation. 
During  that  period  the  art  of  transporting  passengers 
and  freight  by  rail  was  thoroughly  studied  and  mas- 
tered. The  completed  division  of  the  main  stem  be- 
tween Point  of  Rocks  and  Baltimore  and  the  Wash- 
ington branch  were  put  into  successful  operation, 
and  the  speed  and  strength  of  the  "  iron  horse"  had 
been  developed  to  a  degree  not  dreamed  of  when  the 
controversy  with  the  canal  company  began.  At  the 
trial  of  locomotives  in  the  summer  of  1831  the 
"York"  was  regarded  as  a  magnificent  motor  be- 
cause it  could  draw  a  load  of  fifteen  tons  at  the  rate 


326 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  fifteen  miles  an  hour;  but  in  1834  the  "Arabian," 
also  built  by  Phineas  Davis,  was  making  daily  trips 
of  eighty  miles,  oftentimes  drawing  a  load  of  two 
hundred  and  twelve  tons.  Five  other  locomotives 
of  equal  power  were  doing  the  same  service  on  the 
Washington  branch,  and  when  the  road  was  opened 
betweefl  the  two  cities  they  made  the  trip  in  two 
hours  and  ten  minutes.  At  the  close  of  the  year 
1835  the  company  had  seven  locomotives,  forty-four 
passenger-cars,  and  one  thousand  and  seventy-eight 
freight-cars  in  daily*  use.  The  shops  at  Mount  Clare 
for  the  construction  and  repair  of  cars  and  locomo- 
tives had  grown  to  such  proportions  that  the  ten-acre 
lot  donated  to  the  company  by  James  Carroll,  Esq., 
was  found  to  be  entirely  too  small  for  the  machinery 
department,  and  an  adjacent  lot  of  eleven  acres  was 
purchased,  which  was  soon  covered  with  shops  and 
railroad-tracks. 

From  1835  to  1838  nothing  was  done  towards  the 
extension  of  the  road  beyond  Harper's  Ferry  except 
the  surveying  of  routes  by  the  engineer  corps.  On 
April  2,  1838,  the  Virginia  Legislature  passed  the  act 
heretofore  referred  to,  which  required  the  company 
to  locate  the  next  ninety-two  miles  of  its  road  in  that 
State,  and  also  to  make  Wheeling  the  western  termi- 
nus. Work  was  resumed  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year 
1838,  and  during  the  next  four  years  the  company  de- 
voted its  energies  and  resources  mainly  to  the  construc- 
tion of  the  road  from  Harper's  Ferry  to  Cumberland, 
a  distance  of  ninety-seven  miles.  The  approach  to 
the  Harper's  Ferry  bridge  on  the  Virginia  side  was 
covered  by  the  reservation  on  which  the  United  States 
armory  was  located,  but  the  Secretary  of  War  gave 
the  company  permission  to  lay  its  track  through  these 
grounds.  By  taking  the  southern  bank  of  the  Poto- 
mac the  railroad  company  left  the  canal  company  to 
the  full  enjoyment  of  its  "  paramount  right"  to  the 
northern  bank,  while  the  act  of  June  4,  1836,  so  far 
modified  the  compromise  of  1833  as  to  allow  the  two 
works  to  proceed  in  the  direction  of  Cumberland 
pari  passu.  The  first  division  of  one  hundred  miles 
of  the  main  stem  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  road 
ended  at  Martinsburg,  and  here  extensive  repair-shops 
were  subsequently  erected. 

Marvellous  as  was  the  foresight  of  the  men  who 
projected  this  gigantic  enterprise,  they  were  greatly 
mistaken  in  their  estimate  of  the  probable  cost. 
This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  however,  when  we  re- 
member that  the  railroad  of  1828  was  an  entirely 
different  structure  from  the  railroad  of  1838.  With 
increased  capacity  came  increased  cost.  As  locomo- 
tives grew  in  size,  weight,  and  power,  the  rails, 
bridges,  and  even  the  road-bed  had  to  be  enlarged, 
strengthened,  and  adapted  to  the  changed  conditions. 
In  a  memorial  presented  to  the  two  Houses  of  Con- 
gress Jan.  28,  1829,  the  president  and  directors  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  the  cost  of  building  the 
road  to  the  Ohio  River  would  not  exceed  seven  mil- 
lions of  dollars.     T"p   to  Oct.  1,  1838,  the  comii.iny 


had  expended  on  the  main  stem  between  Baltimore 
and  Harper's  Ferry  $3,584,970,  and  in  its  various  op- 
erations the  whole  of  its  original  capital  ($4,000,000) 
had  been  exhausted.  Long  before  the  road  emerged 
from  the  valley  of  the  Patapsco  it  became  evident 
that  more  capital  would  be  needed. 

An  act  of  the  General  Assembly  passed  Feb.  25, 
1836,  authorized  the  mayor  and  City  Council  of  Balti- 
more to  make  an  additional  subscription  of  $3,000,000 
to  the  capital  stock  of  the  company,  and  soon  after- 
wards an  ordinance  was  passed  by  the  City  Council 
to  carry  the  act  into  effect.  The  main  inducement  to 
the  acceptance  of  the  plan  of  compromise  between 
the  canal  company  and  the  railroad  company,  as  pre- 
scribed by  the  act  of  1833,  heretofore  mentioned,  was 
the  expectation  that  both  companies  would  receive 
further  aid  from  the  State.  This  hope  was  realized 
in  the  passage  of  the  act  of  June  4, 1836,  under  which 
a  subscription  of  $3,000,000  to  the  capital  stock  of 
each  company  was  made,  upon  a  guarantee  being 
given  of  a  perpetual  dividend  of  six  per  cent,  per 
annum.  This  proved  a  good  investment  for  the  State, 
as  far  as  the  railroad  company  was  concerned,  but  the 
three  millions  of  dollars  given  to  the  canal  have 
never  brought  any  return.  By  the  terms  of  the  act 
authorizing  the  subscription,  the  canal  company  was 
exempted  from  the  payment  of  the  six  per  cent, 
dividend  for  three  years,  and  this  exemption  has  been 
indefinitely  prolonged ;  in  fact,  the  State  subsequently 
waived  its  lien  upon  the  canal  in  favor  of  other 
creditors,  and  has  no  means  of  recovering  the  inter- 
est in  arrears  until  the  preferred  bondholders  have 
been  satisfied. 

The  act  of  June  4,  1836,  imposed  certain  restric- 
tions and  limitations  upon  the  railroad  company  re- 
lating to  the  joint  construction  of  the  two  works  from 
Harper's  Ferry  westward,  most  of  which  were  avoided 
by  crossing  over  to  the  south  side  of  the  Potomac ; 
but  the  company,  in  locating  this  division  of  the  road 
in  Virginia,  violated  one  of  the  provisions  of  the  act, 
which  gave  great  dissatisfaction  in  Western  Maryland 
and  led  to  another  controversy  in  the  Legislature  and 
in  the  courts.  It  was  enacted  that  the  road  should 
run  through  Boonsboro'  and  Hagerstown,  and  thence 
to  Cumberland  ;  and  in  the  event  of  any  other  route 
being  chosen,  the  company  was  to  forfeit  one  million 
of  dollars  to  the  State  of  Jlaryland  for  the  use  of 
Washington  County.  When  the  company  decided  to 
take  the  Virginia  route,  the  county  commissioners  of 
Washington  County  brought  suit  in  the  Frederick 
County  Court,  claiming  one  million  of  dollars.  Before 
the  case  was  tried,  however,  the  Legislature  met  and 
repealed  this  section  of  the  act  of  June  4,  1836.  A 
pro  forma  judgment  was  entered  for  the  defendants 
I  and  an  appeal  taken.  The  Court  of  Appeals  decided 
[  that  the  million  of  dollars  mentioned  in  the  act  was 
j  in  the  nature  of  a  penalty,  which  the  Legislature 
could  remit,  and  which  it  had,  in  fact,  remitted  by 
repealing  the  section  of  the  act  which  prescribed  it. 


TRANSPORTATION. 


327 


To  the  great  regret  of  the  directors,  the  stockholders, 
and  the  people  of  the  State  at  large,  Philip  E.  Thomas  ; 
resigned  the  presidency  of  the  company  June  30, 1836,  j 
having  filled  the  office  with  distinguished  ability  for  ; 
a  period  of  nine  years.  His  health  had  become  im- 
paired by  the  exhausting  labors  which  he  had  per-  i 
formed  in  carrying  forward  the  great  enterprise,  of 
which  he  was  the  first  projector,  and  after  its  practi- 
cability had  been  fully  demonstrated,  and  the  means 
to  complete  it  (as  was  then  supposed)  had  been  pro- 
vided, he  was  anxious  to  retire.  No  one  can  read  the 
reports  and  memorials  which  he  prepared  when  the 
construction  of  an  extended  liue  of  railway  was  yet 
an  untried  experiment  without  being  impressed  with 
his  broad  comprehension  of  commercial  aflairs  and 
his  acute  perception  of  the  relations  between  trade 
and  transportation.  His  style  in  writing  was  clear, 
forcible,  and  even  elegant,  and  the  words  and  phrases 
which  he  used  seem  to  have  been  handed  down  as 
part  of  the  railroad  system  which  he  founded.  In 
his  letter  of  resignation  he  thus  modestly  but  most 
accurately  stated  what  had  been  accomplished  by  the 
company  from  which  he  was  about  to  retire : 

"The  extension  of  the  main  line  of  the  road  being  elfected  as  far  as 
Harper's  Ferry,  on  the  Potomac  River,  at  which  point  it  is  now  connected 
with  the  Windiester  and  Potomac  Railway,  the  lateral  road  to  Wash- 
ington being  also  opened  and  in  successful  operation,  I  feel  mj'self  at 
liberty  to  withdraw  from  the  presidency  of  the  company.  On  retiring 
from  a  position  in  which  I  have  received  so  many  proofs  of  your  personal 
friendship,  I  cannot  forbear  the  expression  of  my  most  grateful  acknowl- 
edgments. When  I  entered  upon  the  duties  of  this  office  little  was. 
known  in  our  country,  either  as  regarded  the  construction  of  railways 
or  the  application  of  moving  power  upon  them,  and  indeed  the  experi- 
ence of  Europe  at  that  time  offered  but  faint  and  very  uncertain  lights 
in  regard  to  this  system.  We  had  therefore,  of  necessity,  everything  to 
learn,  and  without  youi  constant  and  cordial  co-operation  I  am  sensible 
I  could  not  have  sustained  myself  under  the  many  complicated  difficul- 
ties which  often  pressed  upon  me.  An  extensive  fund  of  valuable  infor- 
mation has  now  been  obtained,  a  universal  confidence  is  now  felt  in  tlie 
undertaking,  and  a  firm  determination  is  manifested  to  carry  it  forward 
to  its  completion,  as  originally  intended.  Under  these  circumstances  I 
feel  assured  that  with  the  excellent  organization  you  have  adopted  in 
relation  to  the  several  departments  into  which  the  concerns  of  the  com- 
pany are  divided,  its  further  management  will  be  rendered  much  less 
difficult,  and  the  early  completion  of  the  road  may  be  regarded  as  certain. 
An  opportunity  will  then  be  afforded  of  fully  testing  the  usefulness  of 
this  undertaking;  and  whilst  important  benefits  will  be  secured  to  our 
country,  and  especially  to  the  city  of  Baltimore,  by  the  facilities  opened 
through  this  channel  of  communication  with  the  West,  the  stockholders, 
under  a  prudent  management  of  their  aflairs,  will  receive  a  fair  remu- 
neration for  their  capital  invested." 

Mr.  Thomas  lived  to  see  the  road  completed  to  the 
Ohio  River  and  the  hopeful  predictions  in  his  letter 
of  resignation  fully  realized.     After  a  brief  interim, 
during  which   the  office  was  temporarily  filled   by  i 
Joseph    W.  Patterson,   son   of    William    Patterson,  j 
one  of  the  first  directors,  he  was  succeeded  by  the  ] 
Hon.  Louis  McLane   as   president  of  the  company,  j 
The  difficult  duty  of  negotiating  the  securities  fur-  i 
nished   in   payment  of  the  subscription  authorized  j 
by  the  act  of  June  4,  1836,  in   such   a   manner  as 
not  to  injure  the  credit  of  the  State  at  a  time  of 
great  financial  depression  devolved  upon   Mr.   Mc- 
Lane.    He  spent   much   time  abroad,  and  through 
his  exertions  one  of  the  great  London  banking-houses 


was  induced  to  make  advances  from  time  to  time, 
which  carried  the  company  through  a  most  disastrous 
financial  panic  without  sacrificing  its  securities  or  sus- 
pending work.  The  construction  of  the  ninety-seven 
miles  of  road  between  Harper's  Ferry  and  Cumberland 
cost  $3,-5o4,403,  and  the  whole  of  this  sum  was  raised  by 
the  sale  and  hypothecation  of  bonds  and  stocks  at  a 
time  when  American  securities  were  greatly  depressed 
in  the  European  money  markets,  and  these  operations 
were  conducted  without  loss  to  the  State  or  the  com- 
pany. In  one  emergency  Baltimore  City  stock  to 
the  amount  of  1515,000  was  paid  out  as  currency  to 
contractors  and  other  creditors  of  the  company. 

The  road  was  opened  to  Cumberland  Nov.  5,  1842, 
and  that  city  remained  its  western  terminus  during 
the  next  seven  years.  The  completed  portion  of  the 
main  stem  had  cost  thus  far,  in  round  numbers, 
$7,500,000.  Of  the  State's  subscription  under  the  act 
of  June  4,  1836,  something  over  $2,500,000  still  re- 
mained on  hand  as  available  capital,  and  a  contingent 
subscription  of  $1,058,420  on  the  part  of  the  State  of 
Virginia  and  .$500,000  on  the  part  of  the  city  of 
Wheeling  was  awaiting  the  further  westward  progress 
of  the  road  on  the  line  indicated  in  the  act  of  the 
Virginia  Legislature,  passed  April  2,  1838.  Singular 
as  it  may  seem  at  this  day,  but  little  importance  was 
attached  to  the  transportation  of  coal  at  the  time  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company  establi-shed 
its  western  depot  at  Cumberland.  There  was  much 
congratulation  over  the  completion  of  the  road  to  this 
point,  but  it  was  because  Baltimore  had  been  brought 
within  thirty  hours'  ride  of  Wheeling,  and  the  cur- 
rent of  trade  and  travel  which  flowed  eastward  from 
the  Ohio  River  had  been  intercepted  at  "  the  gates  of 
the  mountains."  The  possible  development  of  the 
coal  trade  was  regarded  as  an  incident  which  might 
prove  of  some  advantage  to  the  company,  but  the 
great  controlling  object  which  overshadowed  every 
other  consideration  was  the  establishing  of  commu- 
nication w-ith  the  Ohio  River. 

The  only  mode  of  bringing  coal  to  Cumberland  in 
those  days  was  by  hauling  it  in  wagons  over  mountain 
roads.  The  great  mines  which  have  since  yielded 
many  millions  of  tons  had  not  then  been  opened, 
and  in  fact  there  was  but  little  demand  for  bitumin- 
ous coal  in  the  sea-board  cities.  Pennsylvania,  by  a 
system  of  canals  and  railroads,  had  connected  her 
anthracite  mines  with  the  Delaware  and  Susquehanna 
Rivers  and  with  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  hard  coal 
had  almost  entirely  superseded  soft  coal  in  the  great 
work.-hops  of  the  East,  and  was  gradually  establishing 
itself  as  the  best  fuel  for  domestic  use.  The  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad  Company  was  itself  a  large 
consumer  of  anthracite,  no  other  fuel  being  used 
in  its  locomotives  and  machine-shops.  It  was  the 
tremendous  impulse  given  to  manufactures  and  to 
steam  navigation  on  the  ocean  by  the  building  of  the 
great  railways  between  the  East  and  the  West  that 
created  a  demand  for  Cumberland  coal. 


328 


HISTORY  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND 'COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


During  the  year  1843  the  president  and  directors  of 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  scarcely  thought  it 
necessary  to  make  any  special  preparations  for  the 
carrying  of  coal,  and  only  four  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  sixty-four  tons  were  brought  to  Balti- 
more during  that  year.  Ross  Winans  had  constructed 
an  engine  as  early  as  1842  which  was  capable  of 
drawing  eleven  hundred  tons  on  a  level  road  and 
one  hundred  and  seventy  tons  up  a  grade  of  eighty- 
two  feet  to  the  mile,  so  that  the  motive-power  of  the 
company  was  supposed  to  be  equal  to  all  the  demands 
likely  to  be  made  upon  it  for  the  transportation  of 
coal  until  railway  communication  had  been  estab- 
lished with  the  mines.  The  development  of  the 
Cumberland  coal-mines,  however,  followed  close  upon 
the  completion  of  the  railroad  to  that  point.  In  the 
year  1843  the  Maryland  and  New  York  Iron  and  Coal 
Company  began  operations,  and  a  railway  connecting 
its  extensive  mines  with  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road was  projected.  It  was  represented  to  the  rail- 
road company  that  the  success  of  the  raining  com- 
pany would  depend  largely  upon  the  rate  at  which 
coal  could  be  transported  by  rail  from  Cumberland  to 
Baltimore,  and  that  this  would  have  to  be  determined 
in  advance.  At  first  the  railroad  company  refused  to 
enter  into  a  permanent  contract,  because  it  would 
involve  the  expense  of  building  a  large  number  of 
cars  especially  designed  for  carrying  coal ;  and  in 
the  event  of  a  failure  in  the  demand  for  coal,  these 
cars  could  not  be  advantageously  used  in  the  trans- 
portation of  ordinary  freight.  Subsequently,  however, 
upon  a  guarantee  being  given  that  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  tons  of  coal  per  day  would  be  furnished 
for  three  hundred  days  in  the  year,  the  company  en- 
tered into  a  contract  by  which  it  agreed  to  transport 
coal  from  Cumberland  to  Baltimore  for  one  and  one- 
third  cents  per  ton  per  mile,  with  ten  cents  per  ton 
added  for  hauling  the  cars  through  the  streets  of  Balti- 
more to  the  point  of  delivery,  the  cost  of  loading  and 
unloading  to  be  borne  by  the  mining  company.  This 
contract  was  made  early  in  January,  1844,  but  it  was 
not  to  take  effect  until  the  projected  railway  to  the 
mines  had  been  completed. 

In  the  mean  time  the  canal  had  "  stretched  its  slow 
length"  along  the  tortuous  banks  of  the  Potomac  as 
far  as  dam  No.  6,  forty-five  miles  east  of  Cumberland, 
and  in  the  summer  of  1843  was  ready  to  begin  the 
transportation  of  coal  from  that  point.  An  arrange- 
ment was  made  between  the  canal  company  and  the 
railroad  company  by  which  the  latter  agreed  to  carry 
coal  from  Cumberland  to  dam  No.  6  and  deliver  it 
to  the  boatmen  for  two  cents  per  ton  per  mile.  At 
the  ensuing  session  of  the  Legislature  the  subject  of 
coal  transportation  was  taken  up  by  the  House  of 
Delegates,  and  an  order  was  passed  Jan.  25,  1844, 
calling  upon  the  president  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  Company  to  answer  certain  interrogatories 
as  to  the  cost  of  transporting  coal  by  rail,  and  as  to 
the  facilities  of  the  company  for  supplying  the  canal 


with  coal  at  dam  No.  6.  The  canal  company  had 
exhausted  all  its  means,  and  was  unable  to  prosecute 
its  work  any  further  without  additional  aid  from  the 
State,  and  the  object  of  this  inquiry  seemed  to  be  to 
determine  whether  it  would  be  better  to  make  dam 
No.  6  the  terminus  of  the  canal  and  depend  upon  the 
railroad  for  a  supply  of  coal,  or  to  postpone  the  liens 
of  the  State  so  as  to  permit  the  company  to  pledge  its 
revenues  for  additional  loans  to  complete  the  canal  to 
Cumberland.  In  response  to  the.se  inquiries,  Mr.  Mc- 
Lane  submitted  a  statement  to  show  that  according  to 
the  established  rates  coal  could  be  delivered  at 
Georgetown  at  about  the  same  cost  for  transportation 
whether  the  boats  should  be  loaded  from  the  railroad- 
trains  at  Cumberland  or  at  dam  No.  6.  Mr.  McLane 
further  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  demand  for 
Cumberland  coal  would  not  exceed  100,000  tons  a 
year  for  many  years  to  come. 

In  this  prediction  Mr.  McLane  was  mistaken,  al- 
though the  experience  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Company  during  the  first  four  years  after  the  opening 
of  the  coal  trade  was  far  from  encouraging.  Only 
5433  tons  were  carried  in  1844 ;  the  next  year  the 
amount  rose  to  16,020  tons.  The  whole  transporta- 
tion of  coal  for  four  years  wa.s  44,840  tons.  From 
this  time  forward  the  coal  trade  grew  so  rapidly  that 
the  company  often  found  it  difiicult  to  provide  trans- 
portation. Six  new  freight-engines  built  by  Ross 
Winans  were  placed  on  the  road  in  1846,  and  nine 
more  were  added  during  the  two  succeeding  years. 
In  1849  the  coal  carried  eastward  from  Cumberland 
by  rail  aggregated  142,449  tons,  and  in  1850  the 
amount  increased  to  192,806  tons.  The  canal  having 
been  completed  to  Cumberland  in  1850,  began  carry- 
ing coal  from  that  point,  and  the  immediate  effect  of 
the  competition  was  largely  increased  shipments  by 
rail.  In  1860  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  brought  493,031 
tons  of  coal  to  Baltimore,  1,112,938  tons  in  1870,  and 
2,255,146  tons  in  1880. 

The  construction  of  the  road  westward  from  Cum- 
berland was  not  begun  till  1849.  This  long  delay 
was  occasioned  mainly  by  the  difficulty  in  procuring 
the  requisite  legislation  from  the  States  of  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania.  In  the  original  charter  ten  years 
was  fixed  as  the  time  for  building  the  road.  When 
the  Virginia  Legislature  gave  permission  to  locate 
the  road  through  that  State,  the  same  limitation  was 
put  into  the  act.  When  the  term  expired  the  Mary- 
land Legislature  extended  it  twenty  years,  and  the 
Virginia  Legislature  five  years.  In  the  Pennsylvania 
act  the  limitation  was  fixed  at  fifteen  years.  Thus 
it  happened  that  at  the  close  of  the  year  1843  the  com- 
pany had  no  authority  to  enter  either  of  the  States, 
through  one  or  the  other  of  which  it  was  obliged  to 
go  in  order  to  reach  the  Ohio  River.  In  the  fifteen 
years  that  had  elapsed  since  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Company  began  it«  work  the  circumstances  had  ma- 
terially changed,  other  railroads  from  the  sea-board  to 
the  Ohio  River  had  been  projected,  and  new  interests 


TKANSPORTATION. 


329 


had  arisen  more  or  less  antagonistic  to  the  great  enter- 
prise that  antedated  them  all.  In  the  Pennsylvania 
act  of  1828  authorizing  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Com- 
pany to  locate  its  road  through  that  State  it  was  made 
one  of  the  conditions  that  the  western  terminus  should 
be  at  Pittsburgh,  and  if  the  company  should  elect 
otherwise,  then  a  lateral  branch  should  be  constructed 
from  the  main  stem  to  Pittsburgh.  Reference  has 
already  been  made  to  the  clause  in  the  Pennsylvania 
act  of  1836  providing  for  a  railroad  connection  with 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  at  Hagerstown  or  Williams- 
port.  Such  was  the  feeling  in  Pennsylvania  towards 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  during  the  first  ten 
years  of  its  existence.  Five  years  later  the  people  of 
Western  Pennsylvania  were  still  anxious  that  the  road 
should  come  to  Pittsburgh,  but  they  wanted  that  city 
to  be  the  terminus  of  the  main  stem.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  representatives  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
and  the  great  commercial  interests  that  centred  there 
were  most  anxious  to  keep  the  road  entirely  out  of 
the  State.  After  a  protracted  contest  in  the  Legisla- 
ture, an  act  was  passed  in  1846  authorizing  the  build- 
ing of  what  was  long  known  as  the  "  Connellsville 
road,"  now  the  Pittsburgh  branch  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio,  which  extends  from  Cumberland  to  Pitts- 
burgh by  way  of  Connellsville.  At  that  time  a  large 
number  of  the  Baltimore  merchants,  including  heavy 
stockholders  in  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company, 
believed  that  this  should  be  made  the  western  exten- 
sion of  the  main  stem,  and  that  the  company  should 
devote  all  its  resources  and  energies  to  its  immediate 
completion. 

As  long  as  there  was  any  probability  that  the  main 
stem  of  the  road  might  be  taken  to  Pittsburgh  instead 
of  Wheeling,  the  Virginia  Legislature  refused  to 
grant  the  right  of  way  through  that  State.  In  1845 
an  act  was  passed  renewing  the  charter,  but  it  was 
encumbered  with  such  provisions  and  restrictions  as 
it  was  impossible  for  the  company  to  accept.  It  was 
not  till  1847  that  the  authority  to  enter  the  State  was 
given,  and  this  was  coupled  with  the  imperative  con- 
dition that  the  main  stem  must  go  to  Wheeling.  Not 
being  able  to  procure  any  better  terms,  the  company 
decided  to  accept  the  Virginia  act  of  1847. 

After  the  right  of  way  had  been  secured,  a  most 
formidable  task  still  remained  to  be  accomplished 
before  work  could  be  resumed  on  the  western  exten- 
sion, namely,  the  restoration  of  the  credit  of  the 
company.  During  the  seven  years'  delay  at  Cumber- 
land public  confidence  had  become  weakened  in  the 
ultimate  success  of  the  project;  the  hostile  attitude 
of  the  Virginia  Legislature  had  a  most  depressing 
influence ;  and  notwithstanding  the  expectations 
founded  upon  the  development  of  the  coal  trade,  the 
immediate  effect  of  the  increased  demand  for  trans- 
portation was  to  impose  a  large  additional  expense  on 
the  company  for  new  rolling  stock,  and  for  the  recon- 
struction of  a  portion  of  the  road  which  had  not  yet 
been  repaired  out  of  the  earnings.     The  credit  of  the 


State  of  Maryland  had  suffered  a  severe  shock  abroad 
through  the  temporary  failure  to  pay  interest  on  her 
bonds,  and  it  was  impossible  to  dispose  of  the  securi- 
ties in  which  she  had  paid  her  last  subscription  to  the 
capital  stock  of  the  company  except  at  a  ruinous 
sacrifice.  From  year  to  year  the  president  of  the 
company  was  obliged  to  inform  the  stockholders  that 
all  the  net  revenue  derived  from  working  the  road 
had  been  absorbed  in  the  payment  of  interest,  in  im- 
proving the  track  and  purchasing  additional  rolling 
stock,  and  that  no  money  dividend  could  be  declared. 
Under  these  depressing  influences  the  stock  of  the 
company  ran  down  from  1100  per  share  to  $28  per 
share,  and  its  financial  outlook  was  sufficiently  gloomy. 

At  this  critical  period  in  the  history  of  the  road  a 
new  man  appeared  on  the  scene  who  afterwards 
attained  wide  distinction  as  president  of  the  company, 
as  mayor  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  as  Governor  of  the 
State  of  Maryland,  and  as  a  representative  in  Con- 
gress. In  the  winter  of  1847,  Thomas  Swann,  at 
the  urgent  solicitation  of  the  president  and  directors 
of  the  company,  went  to  Richmond  to  secure  from 
the  Virginia  Legislature  the  best  terms  possible  in 
the  act  granting  the  right  of  way  through  the  State. 
He  subsequently  went  to  Wheeling  to  confer  with 
the  authorities  of  that  city  in  relation  to  the  exten- 
sion of  the  road.  Early  in  1848  he  was  elected  one 
of  the  directors  of  the  company,  and  very  soon  his 
energy,  intelligence,  and  force  of  character  were  felt 
in  the  administration  of  its  aflairs.  Mr.  McLane  ten- 
dered his  resignation  as  president  of  the  company 
Sept.  13,  1848,  and  Mr.  Swann  was  chosen  his  suc- 
cessor Oct.  10,  1848.  From  that  time  until  he  retired 
from  the  office  Mr.  Swann  devoted  his  great  abili- 
ties to  the  service  of  the  company,  to  the  almost  en- 
tire exclusion  of  hie  own  private  business  interests. 
Under  his  administration  the  road  was  built  from 
Cumberland  to  Wheeling.  As  soon  as  the  iron  track 
touched  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  he  felt  at  liberty  to  lay 
down  the  burdens  and  responsibilities  which  he  had 
borne  with  unfaltering  courage  and  resolute  purpose 
until  the  splendid  consummation  had  been  reached. 

Mr.  Swann  found  the  road  resting  at  Cumberland  in 
a  state  of  semi-paralysis.  Although  a  portion  of  the 
capital  contributed  by  the  State  for  its  completion 
still  remained,  it  was  not  available,  because  the  credit 
of  both  the  State  and  the  company  had  been  seriously 
impaired.  To  the  work  of  re-establishing  the  credit 
of  the  company  Mr.  Swann  first  addressed  himself, 
and  having  restored  confidence  and  demonstrated  the 
grand  possibilities  that  lay  within  easy  reach,  he 
boldly  advised  the  directors  to  proceed  with  the  work, 
and  accordingly  contracts  were  let  for  the  construction 
of  the  whole  western  division.  To  provide  the  means 
for  meeting  the  enormous  outlay  which  the  building 
of  two  hundred  miles  of  railway  involved  was  indeed 
a  herculean  task.  Heretofore  the  company  had  built 
its  road  mainly  with  the  capital  furnished  by  the  State 
and  the  city  of  Baltimore,  but  the  bounty  of  both  the 


330 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


State  and  city  had  been  exhausted,  and  the  company 
had  nothing  to  rely  on  now  save  its  own  credit  and 
its  own  resources.  The  remainder  of  the  sterling 
bonds  were  sold,  and  when  tiie  money  derived  from 
this  source  bad  been  expended,  Mr.  Swann  courage- 
ously faced  the  situation  and  advised  the  sale  of  the 
company's  coupon  bonds,  authorized  to  be  issued  at 
the  discretion  of  the  president  and  directors  by  the 
act  of  1845.  Prior  to  this  none  of  these  bonds  had 
been  put  on  the  market  because  the  president  and  di- 
rectors feared  that  they  would  fall  below  par,  and  the 
effect  would  be  to  still  further  impair  the  credit  of 
the  company.  But  when  the  alternative  was  pre- 
sented to  Mr.  Swann  of  submitting  to  a  discount  or 
stopping  work  on  the  western  division  of  the  road, 
he  had  no  hesitation  in  deciding  what  ougiit  to  be 
done.  The  first  lot  of  bonds  offered  were  taken  by  a 
banking-house  at  eighty  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  then 
the  price  rose  to  eighty-seven  cents.  The  effect  upon 
the  credit  of  the  company  was  precisely  the  reverse 
of  what  had  been  predicted  by  those  who  opposed 
the  selling  of  the  bonds  below  par.  Mr.  Swann  was 
severely  criticized  while  this  matter  was  pending,  but 
the  result  fully  vindicated  the  wisdom  of  his  action. 

As  already  stated,  the  extension  of  the  road  west- 
ward from  Cumberland  was  commenced  in  1849.  The 
engineers  had  not  proceeded  far  before  they  again 
came  in  collision  with  the  old  claim  of  the  Chesa- 
peake and  Ohio  Canal  Company  to  the  "paramount 
right"  to  occupy  the  narrow  passes  of  the  Potomac, 
but  the  difficulty  was  settled  without  litigation,  and 
the  company  was  permitted  to  build  its  road  across 
and  through  the  mountains  without  any  further  inter- 
ruption from  the  "assignee  of  the  Potomac  Company, 
chartered  in  1784,"  and  soon  got  out  of  the  region 
supposed  to  be  covered  by  this  ancient  grant.  On  the 
22d  of  July,  18.51,  the  road  was  opened  for  travel  to 
Piedmont,  twenty-eight  miles  west  of  Cumberland, 
and  on  the  22d  of  June,  1852,  the  first  train  reached 
the  Monongahela  Eiver.  The  conditional  subscription 
of  $500,000  to  the  capital  stock  of  the  company  made  by 
the  city  of  Wheeling  became  available  when  the  road 
crossed  the  Monongahela,  and  that  sum  was  now  added 
to  the  construction  fund.  In  the  fulfillment  of  a 
promise  or  a  prophecy  made  by  Mr.  Swann  two 
years  before,  the  road  was  completed  to  Wheeling 
Jan.  1,  1853,  and  was  formally  opened  from  the  Ches- 
apeake to  the  Ohio  by  an  excursion  from  Baltimore 
to  Wheeling,  Jan.  10,  1853.  The  municipal  authori- 
ties of  Wheeling  gave^a  grand  complimentary  banquet 
to  the  visitors  on  January  12th,  at  which  George 
Brown,  the  first  treasurer  of  the  company,  and  who, 
in  connection  with  Philip  E.  Thomas,  had  first  sug- 
gested the  building  of  a  railway  from  tide-water  to 
the  Ohio  River,  gave  a  most  interesting  historical 
sketch  of  the  early  history  of  the  road. 

No  railroad  two  hundred  miles  in  length  was  ever 
before  constructed  through  a  region  presenting  so 
many  natural    obstacles  in  so  short   a  time  as  the 


western  division  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio.      The 
j  contracts  were  given  out  in  the  summer  of  1849,  and 
I  the  road  was  opened  for  travel  throughout  its  entire 
length  Jan.  10,  1853.     Notwithstanding  the  vastly 
improved  appliances  that  have  been  invented  since 
j  1853  for  boring  tunnels  and  building  bridges,  no  such 
i  rapidity  of  construction  has  been  witnessed  on  this 
side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  up  to  the  present  time. 
The  road  traverses  a  region  which  the  mighty  rush 
of  the  locomotive  for  thirty  years  has  not  deprived 
of  its  native  wildness,  and  all  the  industrial  forces 
which  the  railroad  has  introduced  have  not  tamed  the 
J  wild  spirit  that  haunts  these  mountain-peaks.     The 
j  "  iron  horse"   encircles  them  in  his  course,  but  his 
1  path  is  only  a  dark  thread  winding  around  hills  and 
through  gorges  which  nature  neglected  to  make  abso- 
lutely inaccessible.   There  are  twelve  tunnels  between 
Cumberland   and    Wheeling,    the  aggregate    length 
of  which  is  ten  thousand  five  hundred  feet  (two  miles) ; 
the  longest  is  the  great  tunnel  at  Kingwood,  four 
,  thousand   one   hundred    feet,    which   cost   S4G0,000. 
There  are  also  one  hundred  and  fourteen  bridges  on 
this  division  of  the  road,  some  of  which  are  splendid 
structures.     The  construction  of  a  railroad  two  hun- 
j  dred  miles  in  length  across  a  series  of  parallel  moun- 
tain  ranges,   tunneling  such   as   could  not  be  out- 
!  flanked  or  graded,  in  the  space  of  three  years  was  a 
j  marvelous  achievement.      This  division  of  the  road 
i  cost,  in  round  numbers,  $8,000,000.    Up  to  the  time  of 
its  completion  the  whole  line  between  Baltimore  and 
'  Wheeling  had  cost  $17,500,000,  in   round  numbers, 
and  the  laying  of  a  second  track,  the  purchase  of 
real  estate,  and  the  stocking  of  the  road  with  loco- 
motives and  cars  had  brought  the  whole  expenditure 
up    to  $22,000,000,  this  sum  being  more  than  three 
times   the   amount   of  the   original   estimate.      The 
common  stock  of  the  company  had  been  issued  to  the 
amount  of  $9,091,500,  of  which  6855  shares  ($685,500) 
,  were  held  by  the  State  of  Maryland,  42,.582  shares 
i  ($4,258,200)   by  the  city   of  Baltimore,  5000  shares 
!  ($500,000)  by  the  city  of  Wheeling,  and  46,478  shares 
I  ($4,647,800)  by  individuals.    To  this  must  be  added 
I  the  30,000  shares  of  preferred  six  per  cent,  stock  issued 
under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  June  4,  1836,  and 
'  held  by  the  State  of  Maryland  ($3,000,000),  making 
the  entire  stock   debt  of  the  company  $13,091,500. 
Up  to  this  time  coupon  bonds  secured  by  mortgage 
j  had  been  issued  to  the  amount  of  $5,677,012. 

Mr.  Swann  resigned  the  presidency  of  the  company 
I  April   13,  1853,  and   on   the  same  day   William  G. 
Harrison  was  elected  his  successor,  who  filled  the 
I  office   four  years   and  was  succeeded  by  Chauncey 
Brooks,  who  retired  at  the  end  of  two  years.     During 
these  six  years  the  company  was  mainly  concerned 
I  in  paying  off  its  debts,  increasing  its  revenues,  de- 
veloping the  capacity  of  the  road,  arching  the  tunnels 
on  the  western  division,  and  establishing  communica- 
tion with  the  system  of  railroads  beyond  the  Ohio 
River.      The  Northwe-stern  Virginia — now  the  Par- 


TKANSPORTATION. 


331 


kersburg  branch  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio — was 
chartered  in  1851,  and  completed  in  1857.  It  extends 
from  Grafton,  on  the  main  stem  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio,  to  Parkersburg,  on  the  Ohio  River,  a  distance 
of  one  hundred  and  four  miles,  and  is  the  middle 
division  of  the  "  short  line"  between  Baltimore  and 
Cincinnati.  Mr.  Swann  was  the  first  president  of  the 
company,  and  held  the  office  until  the  road  was 
finished  and  leased  to  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Com- 
pany. The  road  was  built  mainly  with  funds  fur- 
nished by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company,  which 
indorsed  its  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $1,500,000,  and 
advanced  in  cash  at  various  times  nearly  two  n\illions 
of  dollars.  The  city  of  Baltimore  indorsed  its  bonds 
to  the  amount  of  $1,500,000,  and  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Company  afterwards  assumed  the  payment  of 
the  interest.  This  road  reached  the  Ohio  River  in 
advance  of  the  Marietta  and  Cincinnati  road,  and 
some  years  elapsed  before  the  connections  necessary 
to  form  an  unbroken  line  between  Baltimore  and 
Cincinnati  were  effected,  although  the  interchange  of 
business  began  in  1857. 

All  the  acts  relating  to  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  passed  by  the  Virginia  Legislature  contem- 
plated Wheeling  as  the  terminus  of  the  main  stem. 
When  the  road  was  opened  to  that  city  the  Central 
Ohio  road  was  in  process  of  construction,  and  it  was 
taken  for  granted  that  it  would  come  to  the  opposite 
shore,  and  that  a  connection  would  be  made  between 
the  two  roads  by  means  of  ferry-boats  until  a  bridge 
could  be  built.  The  president  and  directors  of  the 
Central  Ohio  Company,  however,  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  it  would  be  best  to  make  Bellaire,  on  the 
Ohio  side  of  the  river,  the  terminus  of  the  road,  and 
to  form  a  connection  with  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
road  by  cro.ssing  over  to  Benwood,  on  the  Virginia 
side  of  the  river,  four  miles  below  Wheeling.  Al- 
though the  president  and  directors  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Company  were  in  no  way  responsible  for 
this  action  of  the  Central  Ohio  Company,  yet  after  it 
had  been  determined  on  they  could  do  nothing  but 
accept  the  situation  and  make  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments for  an  interchange  of  business  between  the 
two  roads.  After  spending  many  millions  of  dollars 
in  building  a  trunk  line,  they  could  not  refuse  a  con- 
nection with  the  main  western  branch.  Preparations 
for  the  construction  of  extensive  wharves  on  both  sides 
of  the  river  were  accordingly  made  with  .a  view  to 
running  ferry-boats  between  Benwood  and  Bellaire. 
A  sudden  stop  was  put  to  the  work,  however,  on  the 
Virginian  side  by  an  injunction  sued  out  at  the  in- 
stance of  the  municipal  authorities  of  Wheeling  to 
restrain  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  from 
making  a  junction  with  the  Central  Ohio  road  at  a 
point  which  would  deprive  that  city  of  all  the  advan- 
tages it  expected  to  derive  from  its  position  as  the 
terminus  of  the  main  stem.  A  motion  to  dissolve  the 
injunction  was  overruled,  and  the  case  was  taken  to 
the  Virginia  Court  of  Appeals,  where  it  was  held  that 


the  act  of  the  Legislature  fixing  the  terminus  of  the 
main  .stem  at  Wheeling  could  not  be  so  construed  as 
to  prohibit  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  from 
forming  connections  with  other  railroads  at  such 
points  as  might  be  deemed  most  advantageous.  This 
decision  was  made  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1855, 
and  no  further  legal  obstacles  were  interposed  to 
prevent  the  junction  of  the  two  railroads. 

While  the  company  was  carrying  on  these  great  en- 
terprises west  of  the  mountains,  constantly  wrestling 
with  the  forces  of  nature,  and  occasionally  with  the 
prohibitory  processes  of  the  law,  the  eastern  end  of 
the  line  was  not  neglected.  After  a  protracted  struggle 
the  City  Council  passed  an  ordinance  in  1845  giving 
the  company  authority  to  extend  its  tracks  to  Locust 
Point.  This  ordinance  was  vetoed  by  the  mayor  on 
account  of  the  popular  opposition  to  a  section  which 
permitted  locomotives  to  be  run  through  Pratt  and 
other  streets  on  another  part  of  the  line.  It  was 
afterwards  passed  in  a  modified  form  and  approved. 
The  company  then  began  building  the  great  wharves 
and  piers  at  Locust  Point  which  are  now  regarded  as 
the  very  bulwarks  of  the  commerce  of  Baltimore.  The 
main  depot  was  removed  from  Pratt  Street,  between 
Charles  and  Light  Streets,  to  its  present  site  in  the 
summer  of  1852,  and  "  Camden  Station"  became 
henceforth  one  of  the  landmarks  of  the  city.'  The 
fine  building  which  is  now  the  headquarters  of  the 
company  was  completed  in  1867.  The  Mount  Clare 
shops  and  yards  were  enlarged  until  an  area  of  more 
than  forty  acres  was  covered  with  sheds  and  railroad- 
tracks. 

We  now  come  to  a  point  in  the  history  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad  which  is  closely  linked  to  the 
present,  and  which  is  covered  by  the  personal  recollec- 
tion of  men  who  have  not  yet  passed  the  meridian  of 
life.  On  the  17th  of  November,  1858,  Chauncey 
Brooks  resigned  the  presidency  of  the  company,  and 
John  W.  Garrett,  the  present  incumbent,  was  elected 
to  fill  his  place.  The  period  of  railroad  expansion  ' 
had  just  set  in  when  Mr.  Garrett  assumed  direc- 
tion of  the  affairs  of  the  company,  and  he  found 

1  The  ordinance  authorizing -the  introduction  of  the  traclts  of  the  Bal- 
timore and  Ohio  Bailroad  to  the  depot  of  the  company  on  the  south  side 
of  Pratt  west  of  Light  Street,  and  to  the  depot  at  President  Street,  and 
upon  Paca,  Howard,  Eutaw,  Charles,  and  Camden  Streets,  was  passed  by 
the  City  Council  in  April,  1831.  This,  privilege  was  extended  by  ordi- 
nance to  other  streets  in  1831,  18:)2,  1833,  1836,  1837,  1838,  1840,  1843, 
1847.  etc.  In  June,  1852,  the  company  purchased  the  property  bounded 
by  Camden,  Howard,  Eutaw,  and  Lee  Streets,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting 
a  new  depot.  The  property  occupying  the  site,  consisting  of  forty-niue 
houses,  was  sold  at  public  auction  on  September  28th,  and  the  houses 
were  immediately  removed,  preparatory  to  the  erection  of  the  present 
Camden  Street  depot  buildings,  under  the  superintendence  of  Messrs. 
Niernsee  &  Neilson,  architects.  The  front  range  of  buildings  on  Camden 
Street  was  begun  in  1856,  and  the  directors  met  in  it  for  the  first  time 
on  Feb.  11, 1857.  Tlie  old  depots  on  Pratt  Street  near  Light,  and  on  the 
east  side  of  Charles  Street  south  of  Pratt,  were  sold  at  public  auction  on 
July  25, 1853,  for  J65,000,  the  latter  lot  subject  to  a  gronnd-rent  of  nine 
hundred  dollars.  The  former  had  a  front  on  Pratt  Street  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  feet  eight  inches,  with  a  depth  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  feet,  and  tlie  latter  a  front  of  two  hundred  s  ' 
feet  on  Charles  Street,  with  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  forty  feet. 


cu>-^-^^^L  ^ 


TKANSPORTATION. 


333 


of  the  Peabody  Institute,  and  a  public  fountain  cost- 
ing the  same  amount,  which  he  has  authorized  to  be 
purchased  and  presented  to  the  City  of  Baltimore. 
His  last  visit  to  Europe  greatly  improved  Mr.  Gar- 
rett's health,  and  his  capacity  for  thought  and  work 
is  not  less  than  it  was  twenty  years  ago,  notwith- 
standing that  he  was  sixty-one  years  old  on  July  31st, 
and  has  undergone  almost  incessant  labor  from  his 
youth  up.  He  continues  as  the  head  of  the  banking- 
house  of  Robert  Garrett  &  Sons,  but  its  affairs  are 
managed  by  his  youngest  son,  T.  Harrison  Garrett, 
who  worthily  maintains  its  higli  reputation.  His 
eldest  son,  Eobert  Garrett,  is  also  a  member  of  the 
lirm,  but  is  occupying  the  very  responsible  post  of 
first  vice-president  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road, and  is  in  the  direct  line  of  promotion,  which 
he  has  earned  by  the  able  discharge  of  his  duties. 
Thoroughly  familiar  with  railroad  government  in 
these  days  of  the  keenest  competition,  Robert  Gar- 
rett is  the  legitimate  successor  of  his  honored  father, 
by  whose  policy  he  has  largely  helped  to  guide  the 
road  during  that  gentleman's  absence  abroad,  when 
the  labor  mainly  devolved  upon  him. 

Although  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  was  the  first  rail- 
road projected  to  the  West,  it  was  not  the  first  to 
enter  and  "  occupy  the  land."  While  the  company 
waited  six  years  at  Cumberland  for  permission  to  pass 
through  the  State  of  Virginia,  Western  energy  and 
enterprise,  aided  by  Eastern  capital,  began  the  con- 
struction of  a  system  of  railroads  which  sent  its 
ramifications  through  the  whole  Mississippi  Valley 
and  formed  connections  with  the  trunk  lines  from  the 
East  that  first  entered  the  much-coveted  territory. 
Long  before  the  main  stem  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  road  reached  the  Ohio  River  two  great  rail- 
roads were  draining  the  Ohio  Valley  and  the  whole 
of  the  lake  region  of  their  products.  By  a  process 
of  "  consolidation"  which  is  still  in  progress  the 
stronger  of  these  Western  railroads  took  possession 
of  the  weaker,  and  these  were  in  turn  swallowed  up 
by  the  lines  whose  geographical  position  made  them 
desirable  links  in  the  great  Northern  chain. 

When  Mr.  Garrett  first  viewed  the  field,  in  which 
he  has  since  won  so  much  renown,  he  saw  that  all  the 
currents  of  Western  traffic  had  been  turned  away 
from  Baltimore,  and  that  the  money  expended  in 
carrying  the  road  westward  from  Cumberland  to  the 
Ohio  River  would  be  practically  lost  unless  a  new 
system  of  Western  railroads  was  organized  and  made 
tributary  to  the  new  trunk  line.  To  this  colossal  un- 
dertaking Mr.  Garrett  addressed  himself,  and  in  the 
extraordinary  development  of  the  domestic  and  for- 
eign trade  of  Baltimore  City  during  the  past  fifteen 
years,  as  well  as  in  the  solid  prosperity  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Company,  are  seen  the  substantial 
results  of  his  labors.  The  Western  branches  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  traverse  the  most  productive 
sections  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  and  tap  all 
the  great  granaries  on  the  Mississippi  and  on  the 
22 


lakes,  while  a  continuous  procession  of  heavily-laden 
trains  brings  wheat  and  corn  to  the  Baltimore  eleva- 
tors. The  aggressive  movements  of  rival  lines  and 
the  "  wrecking"  and  consolidation  of  the  heavily 
mortgaged  Western  roads  compelled  Mr.  Garrett  to 
enter  the  lists  as  the  champion  of  his  own  city  and 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad;  and  certainly 
those  who  are  interested  in  the  commercial  prosperity 
of  Baltimore  have  no  reason  to  regret  the  inaugura- 
tion of  a  struggle  which  has  resulted  so  advanta- 
geously to  themselves,  however  disappointing  it  may 
have  been  to  the  representatives  of  rival  cities  and 
rival  interests,  who  had  all  the  advantage  of  being 
first  in  the  field. 

The  experience  of  the  first  four  or  five  years  after 
the  road  reached  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  River  was  not 
encouraging.  When  the  main  stem  was  completed  to 
Wheeling  no  railroad  was  there  to  meet  it.  The  Cen- 
tral Ohio  road  was  approaching  from  the  West,  but 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  was  obliged  to  loan 
it  $400,000  to  enable  it  to  reach  the  western  bank  of 
the  river,  and  then  a  proper  connection  between  the 
two  roads  was  delayed  for  more  than  a  year  by  the 
litigation  heretofore  referred  to.  As  the  Parkersburg 
branch  approached  the  Ohio  River,  its  projectors  were 
astounded  to  see  the  Marietta  and  Cincinnati  road 
turned  away  from  the  point  at  which  the  two  roads  were 
to  join  and  its  eastern  terminus  established  ten  miles 
farther  up  the  river,  thus  leaving  an  ugly  gap  to  be 
filled  either  by  jjutting  a  line  of  steamers  on  the  river 
or  building  a  branch  road  some  eight  or  ten  miles  in 
length.  The  mighty  tide  of  travel  from  the  West 
which  was  expected  to  move  eastward  over  the  main 
stem  and  over  the  Parkersburg  branch  did  not  come. 
Under  the  prudent  and  conservative  management  of 
Mr.  Garrett's  immediate  predecessors  the  revenues  of 
the  company  had  steadily  increased,  but  they  were 
derived  mainly  from  the  transportation  of  coal,  from 
freight  brought  up  the  Ohio  River  in  steamboats,  and 
from  the  local  traffic.  Prior  to  1859  the  Western  rail- 
road connections  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  had  not 
yielded  results  commensurate  to  the  general  expecta- 
tion. 

In  carrying  out  the  aggressive  policy  through  which 
Baltimore  was  enabled  to  win  back  the  trade  that  had 
been  diverted  to  other  cities,  Mr.  Garrett  encountered 
much  opposition.  He  regarded  it  as  a  matter  of  the 
first  importance  that  the  road  should  be  kept  in  a  high 
state  of  efficiency,  and  that  it  should  yield  a  fair  re- 
turn to  the  stockholders.  The  city  of  Baltimore  being 
a  stockholder  to  the  amount  of  $3,500,000,  and  having 
loaned  the  company  $5,000,000  besides,  suffered  heavily 
whenever  there  was  a  falling  off  in  the  net  earnings 
of  the  road.  So  large  a  portion  of  the  municipal  rev- 
enue was  derived  from  this  source  that  the  passing  of 
a  single  dividend  occasioned  much  embarrassment. 
In  order  to  lighten  the  burden  of  taxation  and  to  pro- 
tect the  credit  of  the  city,  Mr.  Garrett  saw  that  the 
of  the  road  must  be  enlarged  and  its  earnings 


334 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


This  could  only  be  done  by  extending 
its  Western  connections,  and  by  carrying  "through 
freiglit"  at  the  schedule  rates  fixed  by  the  other  trunk 
lines.  The  Central  Ohio  road  and  its  tributaries 
were  looked  to  as  the  main  source  of  supply,  and  in 
order  to  secure  the  flour,  grain,  and  other  products 
carried  by  these  lines,  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Com- 
pany was  obliged  to  make  such  traffic  contracts  as 
would  furnish  a  special  inducemeut  to  Western  ship- 
pers to  select  the  Baltimore  market,  or  at  least  to  send 
their  freight  to  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Boston 
by  way  of  Baltimore. 

In  these  days  of  sharp  railroad  competition  nobody 
disputes  the  wisdom  or  necessity  of  tratfic  contracts  be- 
tween connecting  lines  by  which  the  profits  of  trans- 
portation are  divided  on  an  equable  basis;  but  when 
Mr.  Garrett  began  the  organization  of  the  splendid  sys- 
tem of  Western  railroads  which  now  contributes  many 
millions  of  dollars  annually  to  the  trade  of  Baltimore 
the  matter  was  not  so  well  understood,  and  he  was 
bitterly  assailed  in  the  newspapers  for  the  supposed 
discrimination  against  local  shippers,  and  especially 
for  carrying  Western  freight  to  Philadelphia  and  New 
York  at  rates  but  little  in  excess  of  those  charged 
on  freight  delivered  at  Baltimore.  He  was  also 
charged  with  discriminating  against  the  river  trade, 
one  of  the  specifications  of  the  bill  of  complaint,  as 
exhibited  in  the  newspapers,  being  that  the  low  rates 
at  which  return  freights  were  carried  on  the  Central 
Ohio  road  prevented  the  steamboats  from  loading  at 
Benwood  for  the  downward  trip.  It  was  also  insinu- 
ated that  persons  connected  with  the  management  of 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  road  were  speculating  in  the 
securities  of  the  Central  Ohio  Company,  and  that  it 
was  for  their  benefit  these  alleged  discriminations 
against  Baltimore  interests  were  made.  Even  as  late 
as  1863,  when  the  president  and  directors  of  the  Bal- 
timore and  Ohio  Company  decided  to  invest  $1,223,932 
in  the  securities  of  the  Ohio  Central  Company,  an  in- 
junction was  sued  out  to  prevent  the  resolution  of  the 
board  from  being  carried  into  effect. 

The  "discrimination"  controversy  was  carried  on 
through  the  newspapers  during  the  summer  and  au- 
tumn of  1859,  and  when  the  Legislature  met  the  next 
winter  the  House  of  Delegates  passed  an  order  call- 
ing upon  Mr.  Garrett  to  answer  whether  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Company  had  not  discriminated  against  Bal- 
timore City  in  fixing  its  rates  of  freight.  In  response 
to  this  order,  Mr.  Garrett  addressed  a  communication 
to  the  House  of  Delegates,  in  which  he  said, — 

"  Itgives  me  pleasure  to  answer  the  inquiry  propounded  in  that  order. 
This  coD)pany  does  not  discriminate  against  the  city  of  Baltimore  in  the 
rates  of  freight.  It  has,  on  the  contrary,  heen  its  constant  effort  to  con- 
tribute to  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  that  community  by  malting  the 
largest  pmcticable  differences  in  its  favor.  .  .  .  The  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  Company  is  one  of  the  several  great  lines  of  railway  which 
stretch  from  the  sea-board  to  the  West.  The  others  are  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad,  the  New  York  and  Erie  lluilroad,  and  the  New  York  Central. 
Not  one  of  these  roods  reaches  by  its  own  line  to  the  valleys  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  Missouri  and  the  leading  cities  in  the  West  and  Southwest, 
from  which  an  iuimonso  traffic  is  drawn.    They  connect  with  other 


Western  lines.   Upon  the  character  of  the  arrangement  which  tltey  make 

with  those  lines  depends  the  amount  of  trade  which  each  is  able  to  obtain. 

i   The  road  which  does  not  compete  with  them  in  making  such  arrange- 

j   ments  receives  no  part  of  the  freight  which  passes  over  them  to  the 

J   Eastern  markets. 

j  "  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  and  Baltimore  City  were  long  the 
I  victims  of  the  agreements  thus  made  between  the  Northern  and  Western 
I  lines.  The  road  has  in  consequence,  as  occasion  reqnired,  retaliated,  to 
j  vindicate  its  real  advantages.  In  executing  this  policy,  and  in  the  very 
maintenance  of  a  discrimination  by  this  company  ih  favor  of  Baltimore, 
{  a  conflict  occurred  with  the  Northern  lines  last  year.  During  a  bnef 
portion  of  that  time  all  the  companies  engaged  in  competition  for  West- 
i  em  trailic,  and  in  that  battle  carried  '  through  freight'  at  rates  below  the 
I  actual  cost  of  transportation. 

"The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company,  at  great  temporary  sacrifice, re- 
fused to  agree  to  any  arrangement  but  such  as  would  properly  recognize 
discriminations  in  favor  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  to  which  its  geographi- 
cal advantages  entitled  it.  It  succeeded  in  enforcing  its  equitable  de- 
mands. It  boldly  met  the  emergency  when  necessary,  and  at  the  earliest 
practicable  period  arranged  for  remunerative  rates,  when  its  objects  had 
been  accomplished.  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  say  to  the  House  of  Delegates 
that  not  one  pound  of  freight  is  carried  beyond  Baltimore,  by  reason  of 
any  policy  of  this  company,  that  would  under  any  other  policy  come  to 
Baltimore  as  a  market.  The  battle  has  been  to  obtain  the  carriage  of 
freight  on  its  way  to  and  from  the  West  and  Philadelphia,  New  York, 
and  Boston,  and  thus  secute  a  profit  to  the  State,  city,  and  private  stock- 
holders, who  are  all  interested  in  the  road  as  proprietors.  Moreover,  it  is 
the  partial  profit  drawn  from  these  arrangements  which  enables  the  com- 
pany to  keep  the  local  freights  within  this  State  and  Virginia  generally 
below  the  rates  authorized  by  the  charter,  and  below  the  average  rates  of 
other  roads." 

In  this  answer  to  the  House  of  Delegates  Mr.  Gar- 
rett forcibly  states  the  general  principle  on  which 
transportation  must  be  conducted  in  this  epoch  of  the 
railway  age.  "Through  freights"  will  inevitably  seek 
the  lines  that  charge  the  lowest  rates,  and  it  is  better 
to  carry  them  at  very  small  profit  than  not  to  carry 
them  at  all.  The  charge  of  "  discrimination"  has  been 
made  many  times  since  this  letter  was  written,  but  it 
has  always  been  regarded  as  a  sufficient  answer  to 
everything  that  can  be  said  against  the  policy  therein 
enunciated. 

The  substantial  fruits  of  Mr.  Garrett's  vigorous  ad- 
ministration were  just  beginning  to  be  plucked  when 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war  interrupted  communica- 
tion with  the  West,  completely  cut  off  all  commercial 
relations  with  the  South,  and  exposed  the  company's 
property  to  destruction.  The  road  stretched  along 
the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  and  for  four  years  contending  armies  fought 
for  its  possession,  the  one  side  striving  to  protect  it, 
because  it  was  indispensable  to  the  United  States 
government  as  a  great  highway  for  the  transportation 
of  troops  and  munitions  of  war,  and  the  other  side 
trying  to  destroy  it  for  the  same  reason.  Through  all 
this  distressing  period  Mr.  Garrett  was  equal  to  every 
emergency,  and  managed  the  afl!airs  of  the  company 
with  such  discretion  and  ability  as  not  only  to  save 
the  stockholders  from  loss,  but  to  put  the  government 
under  the  highest  obligations  for  the  means  of  prose- 
cuting its  campaigns.  The  news  that  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad  had  been  torn  up  at  any  point  by  the 
enemy  always  sent  a  shudder  of  apprehension  through 
the  entire  North,  and  nothing  did  so  much  to  allay  the 
fear  of  invasion  from  the  South  a.<  the  announcement 
that  its  trains  were  again  making  their  regular  trips. 


TRANSPORTATION. 


In  most  instances  the  damage  inflicted  by  raiders  was 
promptly  repaired,  and  the  courage,  energy,  and  zeal 
shown  by  the  railroad  men  in  restoring  communica- 
tion often  contrasted  strongly  with  the  indecision  and 
cowardice  of  military  commanders. 

On  May  25,  1861,  a  small  party  of  raiders  crossed 
over  from  Virginia  to  the  Point  of  Rocks  and  de- 
tached an  immense  rock  from  an  overhanging  ledge, 
wjiich  dropped  on  the  track  and  stopped  all  westward 
bound  trains,  and  three  days  afterwards  more  than 
one  hundred  miles  of  the  road  were  seized  by  the 
Southern  troops.  This  division  of  the  road  was  not 
again  opened  for  travel  till  March  28,  1862.  Simul- 
taneously with  the  movement  on  the  middle  division 
of  the  main  stem,  raids  were  made  upon  the  western 
division  and  the  Parkersburg  branch  at  various  points. 
Several  bridges  were  burned,  but  the  rapid  movement 
of  the  Union  troops  from  the  Ohio  River  eastward 
prevented  any  further  destruction  during  the  year 
1861.  Fourteen  locomotives  were  taken  from  the 
track  at  Martinsburg  and  hauled  with  horses  over  the 
turnpike  to  Strasburg,  a  distance  of  forty-five  miles. 
All  of  the  most  valuable  machinery  in  the  company's 
repair-shops  was  transported  to  Strasburg  in  the  same 
way,  and  a  great  deal  of  railroad  material  besides. 
Forty-two  locomotives  were  run  on  to  a  long  trestle- 
work,  which  was  then  fired,  and  w'hen  the  wooden 
cross-beams  were  burned  the  heavy  engines  fell 
through  and  were  completely  wrecked.  Some  of 
these  locomotives  had  steam  up  when  they  were 
seized,  and  the  jar  which  they  sustained  when  the 
burning  timbers  gave  way  opened  the  whistle-valves. 
During  the  whole  of  that  day  of  destruction  and  dis- 
aster these  dismantled  machines  gave  forth  screams 
and  groans  that  filled  all  who  heard  them  with  melan- 
choly forebodings.  When  the  Union  army  under 
Gen.  Patterson  advanced  from  Hagerstown  towards 
the  Potomac  River  the  Confederates  fell  back  to  Win- 
chester, but  before  they  left  the  railroad  they  destroyed 
all  the  bridges  from  Harper's  Ferry  westward  for  a 
distance  of  nearly  eighty  miles.  While  the  Southern 
troops  who  had  occupied  Harper's  Ferry  were  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  taking  part 
in  the  Bull  Run  campaign  the  Union  troops  crossed 
over  into  Virginia,  and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Com- 
pany immediately  began  to  rebuild  the  Harper's  Ferry 
bridge,  but  before  the  trestle-work  was 'in  place  the 
Confederates  returned  from  Bull  Run,  and  the  Union 
forces  fell  back  into  Maryland,  where  they  remained 
until  March,  1862.  The  repairs  on  the  middle  divis- 
ion of  the  road  were  commenced  at  Cumberland  in 
the  winter  of  1861-62,  and  the  construction  corps 
came  eastward  with  the  advance  of  Gen.  Lander's 
forces,  rebuilding  the  bridges  whenever  military  pro- 
tection was  afforded.  On  the  4th  of  March  work  was 
begun  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  although  the  weather 
was  exceedingly  unfavorable  a  bridge  was  built  across 
the  river  in  fourteen  days,  and  on  the  night  of  the  18th 
the  first  locomotive  crossed  over  to  Harper's  Ferry 


that  had  been  there  for  nine  months.  By  April  1st 
the  bridges  had  all  been  rebuilt,  and  thirty-six  miles 
of  track  from  which  the  iron  had  been  removed  and 
taken  South  relaid.  During  the  next  two  months 
there  was  a  succession  of  extraordinary  freshets  which 
washed  away  a  number  of  bridges,  including  the  trest- 
ling  at  Harper's  Ferry.  The  road  was  opened,  how- 
ever, for  through  travel  between  Baltimore  and  Wheel- 
ing early  in  June,  and  there  was  no  further  interrup- 
tion till  Gen.  Lee  invaded  Maryland  in  September, 
1862.  The  first  hostile  act  was  the  blowing  up  of  the 
fine  iron  bridge  across  the  Monocacy  at  Frederick 
Junction ;'  the  fated  Harper's  Ferry  bridge  was  again 
thrown  into  the  river,  and  the  track  destroyed  be- 
tween Harper's  Ferry  and  Martinsburg.  This  divis- 
ion of  the  road  was  again  destroyed  during  Gen. 
Lee's  invasion  in  1863,  but  far  heavier  damages  were 
inflicted  by  the  Breckenridge  raid  of  1864.  All  the 
bridges  from  Monocacy  Junction  westward  to  Mar- 
tinsburg and  beyond  were  torn  down,  and  the  track 
was  broken  within  forty  miles  of  Baltimore.  A  divis- 
ion of  the  Union  army  under  Gen.  Hunter  marched 
up  the  Valley  of  Virginia  early  in  the  summer  of 
1864,  and  after  making  an  ineffectual  demonstration 
on  Lynchburg  retreated  across  the  mountains  to  the 
Kanawha  Valley.  Trains  were  sent  to  Parkersburg, 
and  the  same  troops  were  brought  back  to  the  place 
from  which  they  had  set  out  after  having  made  a  cir- 
cuit of  more  than  six  hundred  miles.  By  the  time 
they  reached  Cumberland,  however,  the  Confederate 
force  which  they  had  encountered  in  front  of  Lynch- 
burg had  by  a  rapid  march  northward  entered  Mary- 
land. The  main  body  under  Gen.  Breckenridge 
turned  eastward  after  crossing  the  Potomac,  fought  a 
battle  at  Monocacy  Junction,  and  then  advanced  on 
Washington.  In  the  outskirts  of  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia Gen.  Early  met  the  Sixth  Corps,  which  had 
been  hastily  brought  up  from  Gen.  Grant's  army,  at 
that  time  lying  in  front  of  Petersburg.  After  an  in- 
considerable skirmish  the  Confederate  force  retreated 
up  the  river  and  crossed  into  Virginia  at  the  first 
available  ford.  Most  of  the  cavalry  that  came  down 
the  Valley  of  Virginia  with  Breckenridge  remained 
in  the  vicinity  of  Martinsburg,  and  from  that  point 
made  raids  up  and  down  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road, and  crossing  the  Potomac,  one  detachment  went 
as  far  north  as  Chambersburg  and  burned  that  town, 
while  another  laid  Hagerstown  under  contribution. 
These  raids  began  June  29,  1864,  and  continued  at 
intervals  till  September  13th.  Gen.  Hunter's  troops 
were  brought  eastward  from  Cumberland,  literally 
through  the  lines  of  the  enemy.  Reconnoitering 
parties  in  iron-clad  cars  were  sent  in  front  of  the 
military  trains  to  feel  the  way  and  protect  the  bridge- 
builders,  but  even  after  a  considerable  army  had  been 
concentrated  at  Harper's  Ferry  the  work  of  destroy- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ing   the   bridges   went  on  more   rapidly   than   their 
restoration.  i 

In  the  mean  time  Gen.  I'hilip  Sheridan  was  sent  to 
take  command  of  the  Union  forces  in  this  department. 
He  organized  an  army  out  of  the  fragments  of  the  , 
various  corps  that  had  been  sent  to  the  Potomac  to 
repel  the  Breckenridge  invasion,  and  early  in  Sep-  | 
tember  moved  up  the  valley.    On  the  19th  of  October 
the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek  was  fought,  and  the  Con- 
federate forces  were  started  on  a  retreat  from  which 
they  never  returned.    Sporadic  raids  on  the  railroad  , 
were  continued  by  the  small  detachments  of  cavalry 
that  were  left  behind  up  to  the  day  of  the  surrender  \ 
at  Appomattox.     It  was  frequently  necessary  to  run 
a  train  of  iron-clad  cars  in  front  of  the  regular  trains, 
and  even  with  these  precautions  the  passengers  did 
not  always  escape   pillage,  while  the   construction 
corps  was   kept  busy  restoring  the  bridges,  water-  , 
tanks,  and  other  appurtenances  of  the  road,  which  ' 
were  destroyed  from  day  to  day.     The  late  William  , 
Prescott  Smith  was  master  of  transportation  during 
tlie  war,  and  in  closing  his  report  for  18(52  he  uses  this 
language : 

"When  tlie  history  of  the  present  war  in  connection  with  railroad  I 
affairs  is  properly  written,  the  wonderful  fidelity,  courage,  and  success  I 
•with  which  the  men  generally  of  ouv  service  have  acted  their  part  in  [ 
these  eventful  times  must  occupy  an  honorable  place  in  such  a  record. 
The  most  daring  bravery  in  protecting  the  property  of  the  company  and 
the  lives  of  its  passengers  was  frequently  shown,  while  the  admirable 
judgment  and  discretion  exhibited,  even  in  many  instances  by  the  hum- 
blest men  connected  with  the  trains  or  other  duties,  is  entitled  to  the 
highest  favor  of  the  company,  and  challenges,  indeed,  the  applause  of 
the  community.  Before  the  road  was  itrst  closed  in  June,  1861,  by  the 
destruction  of  track  and  bridges,  prior  to  the  evacuation  of  Harper's 
Ferry  by  the  Confederates,  the  trains  were  daily  literally  run  through 
the  lines  and  camps  of  both  armies ;  but  such  whs  the  singleness  of  pur- 
pose with  which  our  men  devoted  themselves  to  their  duties  that  few 
special  difficulties  arose  in  working  the  road,  other  than  such  as  were 
directed  by  supposed  military  necessities."  j 

Notwithstanding  the  immense  destruction  of  prop-  j 
erty  and  the  interruption  of  transportation  during  a 
considerable  portion  of  each  year,  the  company  made 
money  during  all  these  troublous  times.  All  the  troops  , 
and  munitions  of  war  sent  from  the  North  and  West  ; 
to  Washington  passed  over  the  Washington  branch,  i 
and  the  earnings  of  the  thirty  miles  of  track  between 
the  Relay  House  and  Washington  exceeded  anything  , 
ever  known  in  the  history  of  railroads.     In  1863  the 
company's  common  stock  paid  six  per  cent,  dividends, 
and  eight  per  cent,  dividends  in  1864. 

Railroad  building  was  suspended  during  the  war 
(except  in  so  far  as  it  was  necessary  to  restore  the  tracks  [ 
and  bridges  destroyed  by  the  enemy),  and  from  1861 
to  1864  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  added  no 
new  branches  to  its  lines.  The  most  important  finan- 
cial movement  of  this  period  was  the  purchase  of  the 
mortgage  held  by  the  city  of  Baltimore  on  the  Par- 
kersburg  branch  as  security  for  the  payment  of 
the  $1,500,000  indorsed  bonds.  In  consideration  of 
$1,200,000  in  cash  paid  by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Company,  the  city  surrendered  its  lien  on  the  Par- 
kersburg  branch,  and  agreed  to  pay  the  interest  on  the 


$1,500,000  of  bonds  and  the  principal  at  maturity. 
This  agreement  having  been  consummated  in  July, 
1864,  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  became  vir- 
tually the  owner  of  the  Parkersburg  branch,  its  total 
investments  in  the  stock,  bonds,  and  other  obligations 
of  the  Northwestern  Virginia  Company  amounting 
to  $5,680,684.  Upon  the  reorganization  of  the  com- 
pany preferred  stock  to  this  amount  was  issued  to  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company.  ^ 

With  the  return  of  peace  Mr.  Garrett  resumed  the 
work  of  extending  the  lines  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
in  the  West.  Preparations  were  begun  for  building 
bridges  across  the  Ohio  River  at  Benwood  and  at 
Parkersburg.  The  Central  Ohio  road,  which  extends 
from  Bellaire,  opposite  Benwood,  to  Columbus,  a  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  miles,  was 
leased  Dec.  1,  1866,  and  two  years  afterwards  the 
Sandusky,  Mansfield  and  Newark  road  was  leased, 
which  brought  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  to  the  shores 
of  Lake  Erie,  and  gave  it  a  point  of  departure  from 
which  it  was  subsequently  carried  in  a  direct  line  to 
Chicago.  The  company  was  busy  with  great  enter- 
prises during  the  year  1867.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
four  large  wooden  steamships  were  purchased  from 
the  United  States  government,  and  a  line  established 
between  Baltimore  and  Liverpool ;  but  it  was  soon 
abandoned  for  a  line  of  iron  steamships  between  Bal- 
timore and  Bremen.  The  North  German  Lloyds  Con- 
tributed one-half  the  capital  stock,  and  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Company  the  other  half.  For  a  period  of 
thirteen  years  the  magnificent  vessels  of  this  line 
have  made  their  regular  trips  across  the  ocean,  in 
storm  and  sunshine,  without  an  accident.  The  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Company  built  the  splendid  piers  at 
Locust  Point  at  which  the  vessels  receive  and  deliver 
their  cargoes,  and  the  thousands  of  emigrants  who 
come  over  in  the  steerage  step  from  the  wharf  into 
the  cars  that  take  them  to  their  destination  in  the 
West  without  an  hour's  delay.  In  November,  1867, 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  leased  the  Win- 
chester and  Potomac  road  on  terms  which  amount 
substantially  to  a  purchase,  and  to  this  the  Winches- 
ter and  Strasbnrg,  the  Strasburg  and  Harrisonburg, 
and  the  completed  portion  of  the  Valley  road  have 
since  been  added,  making  a  continuous  line  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  miles,  extending  southward 
to  Staunton,  through  the  very  heart  of  Virginia.  This 
line  will  soon  reach  Lexington,  Va.,  where  it  will 
connect  with  the  Richmond  and  Alleghany  Railroad. 
The  Washington  County  branch,  which  connects  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  with  Hagerstown,  was  completed 
in  September,  1807.  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company 
furnished  $400,000  of  the  capital,  Washington  County 
$150,000,  and  private  subscriptions  were  made  to  the 
amount  of  $200,000,  mostly  by  the  directors  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company. 

Some  reference  must  now  be  made  to  a  most  import- 
ant improvement  which  shortened  the  distance  be- 
tween the  national  capital  .and  all  jioint.s  in  the  West 


TRANSPORTATION. 


by  forty-eight  miles.  The  construction  of  a  branch 
road  from  Washington  to  a  point  on  the  main  stem 
was  long  contemplated,  but  the  route  presented  so 
many  difficulties  that  the  enterprise  was  not  under- 
taken until  the  company  bad  ample  means  to  carry  it 
through.  The  necessary  legislation  was  procured  in 
1865,  and  the  act  provided  that  the  road  must  be  com- 
pleted in  five  years.  The  limitation  ran  out  in  1870,' 
but  the  Legislature  extended  it  till  March  21,  1873. 
Although  only  forty-three  miles  in  length,  the  Metro- 
politan branch  cost  $3,583,497.  The  junction  with 
the  main  stem  is  made  at  Point  of  Rocks,  sixty-nine 
miles  west  of  Baltimore.  From  thence  the  distance 
to  Washington  by  way  of  the  Relay  House  is  ninety 
miles,  and  by  the  Metropolitan  branch  forty-three 
miles.  The  distance  from  Point  of  Rocks  to  Balti- 
more by  way  of  Washington  is  eighty-two  miles 
(thirteen  miles  further  than  by  the  direct  route),  but 
notwithstanding  the  increased  distance  all  the  through 
passenger-trains  to  and  from  the  West  are  run  by  way 
of  Washington,  while  the  freight-trains  and  the  local 
passenger-trains  take  the  main  stem.  The  branch  was 
opened  for  through  travel  on  the  25th  of  May,  1873. 

The  reasons  that  induced,  or  rather  compelled,  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  to  carry  the  main  stem 
to  Wheeling  instead  of  Pittsburgh  have  heretofore  been 
stated.  But  the  idea  of  a  connection  with  Pittsburgh 
was  not  abandoned,  and  the  extension  of  the  Con- 
nellsville  road  to  Cumberland  was  regarded  as  a 
matter  of  such  vital  importance  to  Baltimore  that  the  j 
City  Council,  with  the  approbation  of  the  masses  of 
the  people,  authorized  a  loan  of  $1,000,000  in  city 
stock  to  the  Connellsville  Company.  This  loan  was 
made  in  1856,  and  for  nineteen  years  the  city  paid 
$60,000  per  annum  interest  on  the  stock  without  re- 
ceiving any  return.  In  1876  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Company  assumed  the  payment  of  the  principal  and 
the  interest  in  arrears,  the  whole  debt  amounting  to 
$2,2.35,000  at  the  time  of  its  liquidation.  The  whole 
distance  from  Cumberland  to  Pittsburgh  by  way  of 
Connellsville  is  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  miles, 
whereas  the  distance  from  Cumberland  to  Wheeling, 
as  measured  on  the  railroad,  is  two  hundred  and  one 
miles,  although  the  actual  distance  by  the  national 
turnpike  is  only  ojie  hundred  and  thirty-one  miles. 
This  shows  the  difliculties  that  had  to  be  overcome  in 
locating  the  western  division  of  the  main  stem.  The 
route  to  Pittsburgh  is  comparatively  direct,  and  for 
nearly  a  hundred  miles  runs  through  a  thickly-settled 
and  highly-productive  section  of  Pennsylvania.  In 
1856,  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe,  chief  engineer  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  road,  having  completed  the  sur- 
veys for  the  Parkersburg  branch,  accepted  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Connellsville  Company,  and  devoted  his 
energies  and  large  practical  experience  to  the  exten- 
sion of  the  road  in  the  direction  of  Cumberland.  For 
a  number  of  years  the  road  connected  with  the  Penn- 
sylvania road  at  Turtle  Creek,  ten  miles  east  of  Pitts- 
burgh, but  during  the  administration  of  Mr.  Latrobe 


it  was  extended  directly  into  the  city,  and  thus  be- 
came independent  of  the  Pennsylvania  Company. 
This  was  accomplished  in  1861,  the  whole  length  of 
the  road  being  at  that  time  fifty-eight  and  a  half 
miles.  A  link  of  ninety-one  miles  between  Connells- 
ville and  Cumberland  remained  to  be  constructed, 
upon  which  about  $200,000  had  been  expended.  The 
breaking  out  of  the  war  put  an  end  to  all  further 
operations  on  the  Cumberland  division  ;  but  with  the 
return  of  peace  work  was  resumed  and  prosecuted  at 
intervals,  as  means  could  be  procured,  until  it  was 
finally  completed,  April  11,  1871,  when  there  was  a 
grand  excursion  from  each  end  of  the  line,  and  cour- 
tesies were  interchanged  between  the  municipal 
authorities  of  Baltimore  and  Pittsburgh.  The  whole 
distance  between  the  two  cities  by  this  line  is  three 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  miles ;  between  Washing- 
ton and  Pittsburgh,  three  hundred  miles. 

The  route  of  the  Connellsville  Railroad  was  first 
surveyed  by  Gen.  Washington  in  1754.  He  was 
then  looking  for  an  available  wagon-road,  over  which 
an  army  could  be  moved  whenever  it  became  neces- 
sary to  dislodge  the  French  from  Fort  Duquesne,  and 
to  take  possession  of  the  vast  region  beyond  the  Ohio, 
which  they  claimed  by  right  of  first  occupation.  The 
following  year  he  accompanied  Braddock's  expe- 
dition over  the  same  route,  and  participated  in  the 
battle  in  which  that  brave  but  arrogant  commander 
lost  his  life.  No  sooner  had  Gen.  Washington  re- 
signed his  commission  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  of  independence  than  he  hastened  with  com- 
pass and  chain  to  the  .scene  of  his  early  surveys,  and 
again  traced  a  line  from  Cumberland  to  Braddock's 
battle-field.  This  time  he  was  looking  for  a  prac- 
ticable route  for  the  great  canal  which  he  had  pro- 
jected from  tide-water  on  the  Potomac  River  to  the 
Ohio  River  and  the  Lakes.  He  was  president  of  the 
Potomac  Company,  chartered  by  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia in  1784,  whose  extensive  franchises  were  long 
afterwards  assigned  to  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio 
Canal  Company,  and  gave  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  Company  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  as  has 
heretofore  been  explained. 

To  keep  the  leading  events  of  Mr.  Garrett's  admin- 
istration in  chronological  order,  it  will  now  be  neces- 
sary to  give  some  account  of  the  extension  and  im- 
provement of  the  lines  west  of  the  Ohio  River.  In 
1871  tiie  bridge  across  the  Ohio  River  at  Benwood 
was  completed,  and  the  building  of  the  Chicago  di- 
vision of  the  road  was  begun.  It  starts  from  a  point 
on  the  Lake  Erie  division  eighty-nine  miles  north  of 
Newark,  Ohio,  and  extends  from  thence  in  a  direct 
line  to  Chicago,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  and  forty- 
three  miles,  through  a  country  of  unsurpassed  fer- 
tility, abounding  in  the  products  of  agricultural  and 
mechanical  industry,  which  it  has  greatly  helped  to 
develop.  The  entire  division  was  completed  in  1874, 
and  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1875  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  road  had  passed  more  than  four  hundred 


338 


HISTORY    OF    BALTIMORE    CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


miles  beyond  the  limits  contemplated  in  its  corporate 
title,  and  might  have  been  appropriately  called  the 
Baltimore  and  Chicago  road. 

The  Marietta  and  Cincinnati  Company  having 
carried  the  terminus  of  its  road  some  ten  miles  above 
the  point  at  which  it  was  supposed  a  junction  with 
the  Parkersburg  branch  would  be  made,  it  became 
necessary  for  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company,  after 
building  a  splendid  bridge  across  the  river  at  Parkers- 
burg, to  invest  nearly  $2,000,000  in  a  branch,  or 
rather  a  "  link,"  thirty  miles  long,  to  connect  the  two 
lines  at  a  favorable  point.  The  distance  between 
Baltimore  and  Cincinnati  was  lessened  ten  miles  by 
building  this  link.  The  Marietta  and  Cincinnati 
road  did  not  run  directly  into  the  city  of  Cincinnati, 
but  connected  with  the  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  and 
Dayton  road  six  miles  outside  the  city  limits.  It 
was  of  the  highest  importance  that  the  main  line 
should  run  directly  into  the  city  and  have  proper 
terminal  facilities  there  ;  consequently  a  sort  of  "  end" 
link  was  built  and  provided  with  all  the  appurte- 
nances that  belong  to  tlie  main  depot  of  a  grand  trunk 
line.  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  not  only 
advanced  the  money  for  all  these  improvements,  but 
it  also  furnished  the  means  for  rebuilding  the  Mari- 
etta and  Cincinnati  road  throughout  its  entire  length 
and  bringing  it  up  to  the  requirements  of  a  large 
traffic.  The  Marietta  and  Cincinnati  Company  gave 
its  notes  for  these  loans  and  pledged  securities  which 
it  was  never  able  to  redeem,  and  after  an  ineffectual 
struggle  with  adverse  circumstances  was  obliged  to 
ask  for  a  receiver,  and  John  King,  Jr.,  then  the 
first  vice-president  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Com- 
pany, was  appointed  to  that  position.  The  road  is 
now  the  western  division  of  the  "short  line"  be- 
tween Baltimore  and  Cincinnati,  the  length  of  the 
whole  line  being  five  hundred  and  seventy-eight 
miles. 

The  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Railroad,  which  runs  in 
a  direct  line  from  Cincinnati  to  St.  Louis,  across  the 
States  of  Indiana  and  Illinois,  a  distance  of  three 
hundred  and  forty  miles,  had  the  misfortune  to  en- 
cumber itself  with  a  profitless  branch  which  brought 
it  but  little  revenue  and  entailed  a  heavy  annual  ex- 
pense. The  company  being  unable  to  meet  the  in- 
terest on  its  obligations,  was  forced  into  bankruptcy 
by  the  bondholders,  and  Mr.  King  was  appointed 
receiver  of  this  insolvent  corporation  also.  Mr.'  King's 
health  has  recently  necessitated  his  retirement  from 
the  receivership  of  both  the  Marietta  and  Cincinnati 
and  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  roads,  and  his  successor 
at  this  date  (Oct.  5,  1881)  has  not  been  appointed. 
The  road  connects  with  the  Marietta  and  Cincinnati 
road,  and  gives  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  a  continuous 
line  to  St.  Louis.  Each  of  the  three  main  branches  of 
the  trunk  line  west  of  the  Ohio  River  is  intersected  by 
numerous  smaller  branches  which  help  to  swell  the 
general  traific,  although  some  of  them  are  fiir  from 
being  profitable  to  their  stockholders. 


The  new  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  central 
building  is  now  nearly  completed.  The  property, 
which  is  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Baltimore  and 
Calvert  Streets,  fronting  one  hundred  and  two  feet 
six  inches  on  Baltimore,  and  one  hundred  and  four 
feet  two  inches  on  Calvert  Street,  was  purchased 
for  $225,000  cash.  Th«  building  being  erected 
upon  this  land  is  seven  stories  above  the  sidewalk, 
and  a  first-class  and  durable  structure  in  every  par- 
ticular. The  massive  walls  of  brick  are  laid  in 
cement,  the  staircases,  window-frames,  and  joists  are 
of  iron,  while  the  building  will  be  made  fire-proof 
throughout,  and  provided  with  fire  and  burglar- 
proof  vaults.  The  fronts  are  of  the  finest  quality  of 
Baltimore  pressed  brick,  except  that  of  the  first  floor, 
which  is  of  fine-cut  granite.  The  trimmings  of  the 
pressed  brick  fronts  are  of  the  Cheat  River  or  blue 
stone.     The  granite  and  Cheat  River  stone  were  pro- 

i  cured  from  quarries  upon  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 

I  road,  and  are  believed  to  be  equal  in  color,  quality, 

j  and  effectiveness  to  any  in  the  United  States.  The 
first  floor  will  be  appropriated  to  offices  for  the  pas- 

I  senger,  ticket,  freight,  telegraph,  and  express  services; 
the  second  floor  for  the  president,  vice-presidents,  and 

I  their  assistants,  and  for  the  trea.sury  department ;  the 
third  for  the  room  of  the  board  of  directors  and  the 
general  freight  department;  the  fourth  for  the  audi- 
tor's department.  The  remaining  floors  will  be  used 
for  other  departments,  documents,  etc.  There  will  be 
passenger  and  freight  elevators,  located  to  furnish 
convenient    communication   with   each   floor.      The 

1  building  when  completed  will  not  only  afford  much 
improved  facilities  and  conveniences  for  the  public 
and  the  company,  but  its  architecture  will  add  greatly 
to  the  attractive  appearance  of  the  metropolis. 

In  anticipation  of  the  trade  which  the  western 
tributaries  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  road  would 
bring  to  Baltimore,  the  tide-water  improvements  at 
Locust  Point  were  pushed  forward  as  rapidly  as  the 

j  magnitude  of  the  work  would  permit.  Piers  were 
extended  out  into  deep  water,  where  vessels  drawing 
twenty-seven  feet  can  load ;  railroad-tracks  multiplied 
upon  the  wharves,  and  three  magnificent  elevators 

I  loomed  up,  the  most  conspicuous  monuments  to  the 
genius  of  commerce  that  had  yet  been  reared  on  the 
shores  of  the  Chesapeake.  Elevator  "  A"  was  com- 
pleted in  1872,  and  has  a  storage  capacity  of  1,000,000 
bushels  of  grain.  Elevator  "  B,"  completed  in  1874, 
has  a  storage  capacity  of  1,500,000  bushels.  Elevator 
"C,"  recently  completed,  has  a  storage  capacity  of 
1,800,000  bushels.  The  company  now  have  storage- 
room  for  4,300,000  bushels  of  grain,  which  can  be 
poured  into  vessels  of  the  largest  burthen  as  they  lie 
moored  to  the  piers  on  which  the  elevators  are  built. 
All  along  the  water-front  are  trestled  piers  for  dump- 
ing coal  into  vessels  from  the  cars  that  bring  it  from 
the  mines.  These  splendid  improvements  may  be 
said  to  have  restored  the  foreign  commerce  of  Balti- 
more. 


TRANSPORTATION. 


Notwithstanding  the  large  expenditure  upon  the 
improvements  in  Baltimore  and  throughout  the  whole 
length  of  its  lines,  the  credit  of  the  company  re- 
mained unimpaired,  and  dividends  were  regularly 
paid  out  of  the  net  earnings.  In  January,  1874,  a 
loan  of  $10,000,000  was  negotiated  in  London  upon 
the  most  favorable  terms,  although  the  distrust  occa- 
sioned by  the  financial  panic  of  1873  had  greatly  de- 
preciated nearly  all  the  railway  securities  offered  in 
the  foreign  market.  Part  of  the  money  thus  obtained 
was  used  in  building  the  Chicago  extension. 

Scarcely  had  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company 
completed  its  most  important  western  connections 
before  Baltimore  took  its  place  as  the  second  of  the 
sea-board  cities  in  the  exportation  of  grain  (being 
outranked  only  by  New  York),  and  the  great  bulk  of 
the  wheat  and  corn  sent  abroad  passed  through  the 
Locust  Point  elevators.  During  the  fiscal  year  end- 
ing Sept.  30,  1878,  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company 
brought  to  the  sea-board  20,639,654  bushels  of  grain 
and  778,211  barrels  of  flour ;  and  the  report  for  the 
fiscal  year  ending  Sept.  30,  1880,  shows  a  gain  of 
over  five  million  of  bushels  on  the  transportation  of 
1878.  The  carrying  of  live  stock  is  a  most  important 
branch  of  the  Western  traffic,  and  in  1880  the  aggre- 
gate weight  of  the  animals  brought  to  Baltimore  was 
165,454  tons.  In  the  transportation  of  all  other 
.standard  products  the  increase  since  1870  has  been 
most  surprising.  The  gross  revenues  of  the  company 
for  1880  (derived  from  the  operation  of  its  various 
lines)  were  $18,317,740,  and  net  earnings  $7,986,970. 
At  this  writing  (June,  1881)  the  stock-board  quotation 
of  the  company's  common  stock  (par  value  $100)  is 
$225. 

At  the  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  directors  of 
the  railroad  company,  held  on  July  13,  1881,  Presi- 
dent Garrett  submitted  the  resignations  of  John 
King,  Jr.,  first  vice-president,  and  of  Wm.  Keyser, 
second  vice-president  of  the  company,  which  had  been 
placed  in  his  hands.  The  board  passed  resolutions  ac- 
cepting the  resignations  and  complimentary  to  the  re- 
signing officials,  and  there  was  a  general  expression  of 
regret  upon  the  severance  of  the  company's  relations 
with  two  gentlemen  who  had  been  so  long  and  so 
closely  identified  with  the  management  of  the  road. 
Mr.  King  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad  Company  for  twenty-seven  years. 
He  began  his  railroad  career  as  a  ticket  agent  at 
Camden  Station,  and  by  gradual  steps  he  became 
paymaster,  auditor,  general  freight  agent,  and  finally 
first  vice-president,  which  several  positions  he  filled 
with  remarkable  ability.  Mr.  King  is  also  president 
of  the  Pittsburgh  and  Connellsville  Railroad  Company 
and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  and  Chicago  Railroad 
Company,  and  thus  has  become  one  of  the  conspic- 
uous railroad  managers  of  the  country.  Untiring 
patience,  sagacious  foresight,  broad  and  liberal  views 
of  general  policy,  a  wonderful  mastery  of  every-day 
detail,  singular  fecility  in  dispatch  of  business,  prompt 


and  decisive  answers  to  persons  having  negotiations 
with  the  road,  as  well  as  to  the  daily  problems  he 
has  been  called  upon  to  solve,  an  unruffled  temper 
in  the  discharge  of  his  daily  duties,  a  clear  and  inci- 
sive style  in  speech,  and  in  written  statement  the  ap- 
propriate clothing  of  the  thoughts  of  a  business  man- 
ager who  knows  precisely  what  he  wants  and  why 
he  wants  it, — these  are  some  of  the  many  valuable 
characteristics  and  acquirements  which  Mr.  King 
brought  to  the  performance  of  his  duties.  The  con- 
troversy of  eight  years'  standing  between  the  corpo- 
ration and  the  State  he  settled,  after  the  prolonged 
and  sometimes  bitter  discussion  of  years,  in  a  manner 
most  creditable  to  the  company  and  to  the  State  to 
which  it  owes  its  existence.  No  railroad  oflicer  was 
more  respected  than  he  by  the  officials  of  rival  roads. 
He  was  conciliatory  when  conciliation  was  right,  but 
at  the  same  time  equally  ready  and  vigorous  when 
a  railroad  war  was  needful;  and  in  all  the  controver- 
sies of  railroad  strife  and  war  no  man  has  ever  im- 
peached his  word  or  integrity  of  statement. 

Mr.  Keyser  has  also  been  of  va.st  service  to  the  com- 
pany. He  brought  to  the  performance  of  his  duties 
as  a  railroad  oBicer  a  broad  mercantile  knowledge 
and  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  wants  of  business 
men  in  their  dealings  with  railroads.  To  understand 
practically  and  thoroughly  the  views  of  bankers, 
merchants,  and  business  men  generally  in  regard  to 
the  relations  of  great  transporting  companies  to  the 
country's  trade  is  something  particularly  desirable  in 
a  general  railroad  officer,  and  Mr.  Keyser  possessed 
this  important  requirement  in  a  marked  degree. 
None  knew  better  than  he  how  to  harmonize  and 
reconcile  those  views  with  the  at  times  apparently 
conflicting  demands  of  a  railroad  company.  His 
genial  humor  and  kindly  disposition  also  made  him 
an  object  of  affection  to  all  the  employes  of  the  road. 
In  the  strike  of  1877  he  met  the  men  at  the  Cross 
Street  Market,  and  while  he  told  them  firmly  that 
the  company  could  not  accede  to  their  demands,  he 
yet  presented  the  company 's  cause,  as  well  as  that  of 
its  employes,  in  such  a  light  that  every  angry  man  es- 
teemed him  for  his  honest,  fearless,  and  manly  ways. 
He  moved  unarmed  and  unharmed  among  the  strikers 
at  Martinsburg,  Keyser,  Piedmont,  and  Grafton,  and 
everywhere  his  kindly  but  firm  tone  of  advice  and 
persuasion  was  heard  with  respect  by  men  who  but 
a  few  hours  before  were  breathing  vengeance  upon 
managers  whom  they  thought  had  done  them  a  griev- 
ous wrong.  Mr.  Keyser,  during  his  connection  with 
the  road,  attended  in  the  main  to  the  company's  deal- 
ings with  official  bodies  and  public  officers,  and  was 
brought  in  contact  with  a  large  number  of  public  men 
of  the  various  States  traversed  by  the  company's 
lines,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  no  one  has 
done  more  than  he  to  popularize  the  company  in  its 
dealings  with  the  public. 

Robert  Garrett,  the  eldest  son  of  President  Garrett, 
who  had  been  practically  the  president  of  the  road 


340 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


during  the  two  years'  absence  of  his  father  in  Europe, 
was  elected  to  the  office  of  first  vice-president  as  the 
successor  of  Mr.  King,  whose  interests  had  Iain  almost 
exclusively  in  the  West.  Samuel  Spencer,  who  had 
large  railroad  experience  in  the  service  of  the  com- 
pany, was  appointed  third  vice-president  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  the  promotion  of  "Robert  Gai-rett. 
John  M.  Hood,  the  president  of  the  Western  Mary- 
land Railroad,  was  tendered  the  position  of  second 
vice-president,  but  he  decided  not  to  sever  his  con- 
nection with  the  Western  Maryland.  In  his  official 
connection  with  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad, 
Robert  Garrett  has  exhibited  many  sterling  business 
traits,  as  well  as  popular  characteristics,  to  the  advan- 
tage not  only  of  the  railroad  corporation,  but  of  the 
city  of  Baltimore.  He  combines  with  the  sagacity 
and  prudence  of  a  veteran  the  enterprise  and  courage 
of  a  young  and  vigorous  manhood,  and  he  may  be 
trusted  to  make  prompt  and  profitable  use  of  every 
opportunity  as  it  arises  to  promote  the  interests  of 
the  company.  Endowed  with  a  remarkable  capacity 
for  hard  work,  a  quick  intelligence,  and  a  positive 
genius  for  railway  management,  and  enjoying,  more- 
over, the  advantage  of  his  father's  vast  experience,  he 
is  peculiarly  well  fitted  to  assume  the  grave  responsi- 
bilities which  will  rest  upon  him  as  the  executive  of 
the  company.  Doubtless  as  long  as  his  health  per- 
mits John  W.  Garrett  will  remain  at  the  head  of  the 
road  ;  but  it  must  be  a  source  of  satisfaction  to  him, 
as  well  as  the  general  public,  to  know  that  a  succes- 
sion at  any  time  would  involve  no  interruption  of  the 
company's  policy,  and  jeopardize  none  of  its  interests. 
If  any  evidence  was  needed  to  show  the  comprehen- 
sive business  intelligence  of  Robert  Garrett,  a  recital 
of  a  few  of  the  prominent  features  from  the  fifty- 
fourth  annual  report  of  the  company  demonstrates 
beyond  question  the  enormous  work  the  road  has  ac- 
complished in  the  last  year  of  his  management.  It 
proves  also  that  Baltimore's  trunk-line  is  the  line  of 
the  country, — in  fact,  the  most  important  in  the 
world.  The  revenues  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  Sep- 
tember 30th  aggregated  no  less  than  $18,317,740.10,  an 
increase,  as  compared  with  1879,  of  $4,123,759.67,  and 
an  increase,  as  compared  with  1878,  of  $4,552,460.11. 
In  other  words,  the  revenues  were  greater  by  about 
25  per  cent.  The  net  earnings  were  $5,172,980.76,  or 
$831,735.67  more  than  in  1879.  Compared  with  the 
great  increase  in  revenues  this  shows  at  first  sight  a 
disappointingly  small  gain,  large  as  the  figures  are ; 
but  he  who  reads  the  report  carefully  will  find  an 
explanation  much  more  than  satisfactory.  Twenty- 
four  engines  of  the  largest  class  (the  "Consolidated" 
or  "Mogul"  engines)  and  two  engines  for  switching 
purposes  have  been  built  at  the  cost  of  $211,733.61 ; 
334  cars  of  largely-increased  capacity  have  been  built ; 
697  iron  hopper-cars  have  been  raised  from  20,000  to 
30,000  pounds  capacity  per  car;  297  house  and  727  gon- 
dola-cars have  been  increased  in  capacity  from  20,000 
to  40,000  pounds  ;  50  additional  refrigerator-cars  have 


been  built;  501  hopper  gondolas,  115  stock,  and  1012 
house-cars,  each  of  40,000  pounds  capacity,  have  been 
constructed,  besides  5  passenger-coaches  and  other  mis- 
cellaneous cars.  The  cost  of  1690  cars  was  $716,881.32. 
A  very  large  amount  was  also  expended  upon  steel 
rails.  Seven  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  track  are  now 
laid  with  steel  rails.  The  whole  of  this  has  been 
charged  to  repairs.  In  other  words,  over  a  million 
of  dollars  of  the  revenues  has  been  applied  to  the 
construction  of  new  rolling  stock  alone,  and  instead 
of  the  sums  being  charged  against  "  construction  ac- 
count," they  are  entered  again.5t  "  repairs."  The  divi- 
dend is  provided  for,  a  splendid  surplus  is  left,  and 
the  stockholders  find  themselves  possessed  of  a  fuller 
and  better  equipment  by  far  than  ever  before  in  the 
history  of  the  corporation,  and  with  the  roadway  in 
splendid  condition.  The  increase  in  the  tonnage  is 
most  remarkable.  In  1871  the  aggregate  of  through 
merchandise  east  and  west  was  435,207  tons;  in  1876 
it  had  reached  1,093,393  tons  ;  last  year  it  was  1,425,- 
629  tons  ;  in  1880  the  total  was  1,980,397  tons.  This 
increase  of  about  33  per  cent,  is  almost  unprece- 
dented in  railroad  history.  In  this  aggregate  enter  the 
following  items :  598,992  barrels  of  flour,  25,962,696 
bushels  of  grain,  and  54,530  tons  of  lumber  brought 
to  Baltimore  ;  165,454  tons  of  live-stock  transported, 
and  4,388,856  tons  of  coal,  an  increase  for  the  year  of 
997,881  tons  of  coal. 

But  the  half  is  not  yet  told.     The  indebtedness  of 
the  corporation  was  decreased  in  the  fiscal  year  by 
the  sum  of  $2,830,815.98.    And  the  profit  and  loss  ac- 
count shows  an  increase  of  $2,356,984.44,  the  surplus 
fund,  which  represents  invested  capital  derived  from 
net  earnings,  and  which  is  not  represented  by  either 
stock   or   bonds,  now   amounting  to   $40,561,642.37. 
With   all   this   accomplished,   the   condition   of  the 
tracks,  engines,  and  cars  has  been  brought  to  a  very 
high  standard,  and  the  hotels  owned  by  the  company 
have  been  placed  in  superior  order. 
\       As  regards  the  branch  lines,  the  Washington  road 
i  reports  an  increase  in  net  earnings  of  $22,822.88,  the 
Parkereburg  branch  an  increase  of  $176,250.49  (1862 
tons  of  steel  rails  were  laid),  the  Pittsburgh  division 
an    increase   of   $279,545.04,   the    Central    Ohio    of 
I  $38,754.21,  the  Chicago  of  $72,142.93,  the  Lake  Erie 
1  of  $19,739.76,  and  the  Straitsville  of  $42,598.54.     The 
improved  result  on  all  the  lines  worked  by  the  com- 
pany aggregated  $652,849.71.     The  condition  of  the 
1  Pittsburgh  and  Connellsville  road  is  very  satisfactory, 
j  the  net  earnings  being  $1,011,827.09,  and  the  excess 
1  of  net  earnings,  after  paying  $678,858.40  for  interest 
i  on  mortgage  indebtedness,  $332,968.69.     Attention  is 
j  also  called  to  the  improvements  at  Camden  Station, 
the  additional    tobacco   warehouse,   the    new  grain 
elevator  recently  built,  with  a  capacity  for  1,800,000 
bushels,  the  Locust  Point  and  Canton  ferry,  the  Bal- 
timore Stock-Yard  Company,  the   central   building, 
i  and  the  dry-dock.    The  Berlin  branch  and  the  Somer- 
set and  Cambria  Railroad — the  two  new  feeders  and 


TRANSPORTATION. 


connections,  the  latter  of  great  value  and  import- 
ance—are referred  to  descriptively.  The  importance 
of  deepening  the  channel  to  the  port  to  twenty-seven 
feet  at  mean  tide,  and  of  the  construction  of  the  Ches- 
apeake and  Delaware  Canal,  are  strongly  urged. 

From  first  to  last  the  report  is  a  splendid  one,  and 
it  is  most  gratifying  to  know  that  there  is  every  pros- 
pect not  only  of  a  continuance  of  the  prosperity  of 
the  great  corporation,  but  even  of  a  marked  increase 
in  its  already  enormous  business  and  revenues. 

The  only  branches  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  men- 
tioned in  the  foregoing  sketch  are  those  which  are 
actually  worked  by  the  company,  (inly  excepting  the 
Marietta  and  Cincinnati  and  th.'  i  )liin  ami  Mississippi, 
which,  although  they  form  ]i:ni  of  thr  Kaltimore  and 
Ohio  system,  still  maintain  their  own  organization. 
John  King,  Jr.,  until  recently  first  vice-president  of 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company,  was  receiver  for 
both  of  these  roads.  No  allusion  has  been  made  to  a 
number  of  short  roads  in  Maryland,  Pennsylvania, 
West  Virginia,  and  Ohio  which  are  owned  and 
worked  by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company.  A 
most  important  branch  is  now  being  built  from  Som- 
erset, Pa.,  to  Johnstown,  where  the  great  iron-works 
of  the  Cambria  Company  are  located.  Quite  recently 
a  syndicate  of  capitalists  connected  with  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Company  bought  the  Delaware  West- 
ern road,  with  a  view  to  making  it  an  independent 
line  between  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia.  About 
seventy  miles  of  road  must  be  built  and  the  Susque- 
hanna must  be  bridged  before  trains  can  run  between 
the  two  cities  on  this  line.  At  present  the  northward- 
bound  trains  from  AVashington  and  the  West  cross 
the  harbor  on  a  steam  transport,  and  proceed  to  their 
destination  by  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and 
Baltimore  Railroad.  The  through  trains  for  the 
South  take  the  Virginia  Midland  road  at  Washing- 
ton, and  strike  the  Atlantic,  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
road  at  Lynchburg,  and  the  Piedmont  Air-Line  at 
Danville. 

In  common  with  all  other  great  railroads,  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  has  had  many  a  tough  struggle  with 
adversity,  the  immediate  consequences  of  which  were 
sufficiently  discouraging.  On  July  24,  1868,  an  un- 
precedented flood  swept  down  the  valley  of  the  Pa- 
tapsco,  destroying  bridges  and  culverts,  lifting  the 
track  from  the  embankment,  and  inflicting  damages 
wliich  compelled  a  total  suspension  of  the  running  of 
trains  on  this  division  of  the  road  for  fourteen  days. 
Some  compensation  for  the  heavy  loss  was  found  in 
the  opportunity  that  the  reconstruction  of  the  road 
afforded  for  straightening  the  track  and  getting  away 
from  the  serpentine  bends  of  the  Patapsco.  During 
the  preceding  year  a  tunnel  eight  liundred  feet  long 
was  bored  through  the  flinty  rocks  of  the  Catoctin 
Mountain,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  very  curve  which 
it  took  the  company,  aided  by  the  Legislature  and 
two  courts  of  equity,  six  years  to  establish. 

The  "cutting"  of  rates  by  competing  lines  has  fre- 


quently inflicted  heavier  loss  on  the  company  than  it 
ever  sustained  by  storm  or  flood,  and  the  Western 
railroad  "  wars"  have  proved  far  more  disastrous  than 
the  periodic  raids  that  the  Southern  soldiers  used  to 
make  upon  the  bridges  and  track  of  the  middle  di- 
vision. For  eight  years  the  company  was  engaged  in 
a  controversy  with  the  State  over  the  tax  imposed  on 
the  Washington  branch,  one-fifth  of  the  gross  receipts 
from  passengers  between  Baltimore  and  Washington 
being  reserved  to  the  State  by  the  act  of  1833.  In 
1869  the  company  being  advised  by  eminent  counsel 
that  under  recent  decisions  of  the  United  States  Su- 
preme Court  this  tax  was  unconstitutional,  withheld 
payment.  The  matter  was  taken  up  by  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  after  a  protracted  struggle  a  resolution  pa  sed 
the  House  of  Delegates  directing  the  attorney-gen- 
eral to  proceed  against  the  company  by  writ  of  scire 
facias,  with  a  view  to  forfeiting  its  charter.  This  reso- 
lution was  defeated  in  the  Senate,  and  a  substitute  was 
adopted  by  both  houses  directing  the  attorney-gen- 
eral to  bring  suit  for  the  money  alleged  to  be  due. 
An  action  of  debt  was  brought  in  the  Superior  Court 
of  Baltimore  City,  and  the  case  was  decided  in  favor 
of  the  company.  The  Court  of  Appeals  reversed  the 
decision  of  the  Superior  Court,  and  the  case  was  then 
carried  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
where  it  was  finally  decided  in  favor  of  the  State.  In 
the  mean  time  various  plans  of  adjustment  were  dis- 
cussed at  the  successive  sessions  of  the  Legislature, 
and  in  1878  an  act  was  passed  which  settled  the  con- 
troversy upon  terms  satisfactory  to  the  State  and  the 
company.  Under  the  provisions  of  this  act  the  com- 
pany paid  $466,540  in  liquidation  of  all  arrears,  and 

I  the  Legislature  abolished  the  one-fifth  passenger  tax, 
and  in  lieu  thereof  imposed  a  tax  of  one-third  of  one 
percent,  upon  the  company's  gross  earnings  on  all  its 
lines  within  the  State  of  Maryland.  This  is  the  only 
State  tax  paid  by  the  company. 

The  foregoing  is  simply  an  outline  of  the  history  of 
a  great  corporation,  whose  struggles,  experiments,  and 
triumphs  cover  the  whole  of  the  railway  age.     Some 

I  of  its  most  splendid  achievements  have  been  merely 

i  alluded  to,  while  others  have  been  entirely  omitted. 
In  the  lives  of  the  patient,  laborious,  persevering  men 

'  who  inaugurated  the  great  enterprise  and  put  it  into 
actual  operation  there  is  abundant  material  for  many 

j  volumes  of  interesting  biography.  Some  of  those  who 
made  the  road  a  great  commercial  success  are  still  con- 
nected with  its  management.  From  the  laying  of  "  the 
first  stone"  it  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  attract  to 
its  .service  men  endowed  with  a  peculiar  genius  for 
railway  affairs. 

Mr.  Garrett  belongs  to  the  modern  period,  and  his 
administration  has  not  yet  come  within  the  domain  of 
historical  review ;  but  the  immediate  results  of  his 
policy  of  railroad  extension  are  so  apparent  in  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  Baltimore,  in  the  enlarge- 
ment of  its  foreign  and  domestic  trade,  and  in  the 
commanding  position  occupied  by  the  Baltimore  and 


342 


HISTORY   OP   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Ohio  in  the  railroad  system  of  the  United  States,  that 
it  will  not  be  necessary  for  him  to  wait  for  "coming 
generations"  to  comprehend  and  ai)preciate  the  mag- 
nitude of  his  achievements. 

The  principal  officers  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  are  John  W.  Garrett,  president;  Robert 
Garrett,  first  vice-president;  Samuel  Spencer,  third 
vice-president ;  Andrew  Anderson,  assistant  to  presi- 
dent; John  W.  Davis,  assistant  to  vice-presidents; 
George  P.  Frick,  general  manager  of  telegraphs,  etc. ; 
Wm.  M.  Clements,  master  of  transportation  ;  Wm.  H. 
Ijams,  treasurer ;  W.  T.  Thelin,  auditor ;  O.  R.  John- 
son, master  of  road;  John  C.  Davis,  master  of  ma- 
chinery; L.  M.  Cole,  general  ticket  agent;  M.  H. 
Smith,  general  freight  agent;  A.  J.  Fairbanks,  gen- 
eral agent,  Camden  Station ;  R.  F.  Beeler,  general 
agent,  Locust  Point;  N.  S.  Hill,  purchasing  agent; 
J.  L.  Randolph,  chief  engineer ;  Geo.  S.  Koontz,  gen- 
eral agent  at  Washington. 


Ktlaj 

ElllLOtt  ( lt> 

H  llofields 


lei  Jails 
toi  s  Torrj 
l"  lllp 


^    St 

It      IjoK 

Mu        (iHVllIC 

McMechen  ■■ 


IlHllt  vtr 
CI  arlesl  v 
Cameruii 


^e^^t.«n 
Muldletowii 
Cedai  Crcik 
Ca|H  II  It  M\ 


Stations. 

Miles. 

Sutions. 

Gaithersburg 

German  town 

Boyd's 

Barnesville 

Miles. 

21.5 

26.5 

29.6 

33.2 

Metropolitan  Junction.. 
Terra  CotU 

1 

3.2 

4 

7 

11 

TuBcarora 

39 

Washington  Junction 

Stations. 
Savage 

42.7 

Miles. 
20.2 

stations. 
Camden  Station 

WiSHINOTO 
Miles. 

Eik'nidge.'."!!!.'.'.'"!;;"'.'.'.'. 

Dorset's  ■.'.'.'.'.'.■.';.";.'.".'.■.■.■.■.■.'.■ 

JeSBUl-'s 

Bridewell 

Annapolis  Junction 

Stations. 

Annapolis  Junction 

Patuxent 

Odenton 

!1'.'.'.  111.7 

Miles. 

!'.'.'.'.'.'.'    3.0 

G.O 

8.5 

10.0 

Miles. 

'     ii        24.5 

I:   '.i-    :::                                          !>» 

Washington 

KBIDGE  BAILEOAU. 

Stations. 

Sorv/Se;:-::;;;::::;:. 

Iglehait 

31.7 

34 

34.2 

39 

40 

Miles. 

11.5 

13.5 

15.5 

Millersville 

Stations. 

Annapolis 

AND   EAILEOAD. 

Stations. 
(•Ii«,l„ni.sville 

20.5 

Mile*. 
....  109.5 
....  110.5 

A.  and  F.  K.  R.  Crossing i: 

Springfield ^ 

Burke's                                        1  1 

Elmingt'on. '.'.'.'.'.'.'.■.'.'.'.'.'.'.■.'.'."' 
Lovingston 

TyeKiver"!!.'.";!.'.'.'.".".".".;!; 
NewGhisgow 

M?llw'5'. !...■■.■.'.'.'.''.'.!''.'.'.'.'.'.. 

Burfoi.l-^ 

Lynclil.urg 

Luaui,,....": 

Lawyer's  Road 

Evii.gt.m 

i.vn.'i,'.'"'' ; ;:'.':";;.'.'.".'.'." 

Ihtv\-:t'.ZZZZZZ'.".'. 
Fall  Creek 

....  121 
....  126.5 
....  131.2 
....  13:) 
....  137 
....  140.6 

Fairfax 

.','  ■, 

Xokesville 

342 

....       38  7 

....  1.H.5 
.  ..  l.ii'..5 

Warrenton  Junction 

41 

....  liy.S 

\Va,T»Mtnn    

60 

....  170.5 
....  176.5 
....  181.5 
....  187.5 
....  1915 
....  194.6 
....  198.5 
....  205 
....  208.6 
....  214.6 

....  2la.6 

....  225.5 
2'95 

WS'-.r----  ■ 

102.2 

Danv.lle 

....  236 

Northern  Central  Railway  Company. — At  a  very 
early  jjcriod  ett'orts  were  made  to  secure  to  Baltimore 
the  trade  of  the  Susquehanna,  and  in  1783  the  Legis- 
lature incorporated  the  Susquehanna  Canal  Company 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  canal  from  the  Maryland 
line  to  tide-water.  After  the  expenditure  of  more 
than  a  million  of  dollars,  mainly  contributed  by  the 
citizens  of  Baltimore,  a  canal  of  about  ten  miles  in 
length  was  completed  from  the  Maryland  line  to  Port 
Deposit.  This  canal  proved  to  be  of  little  value,  and 
about  1816  it  was  finally  purchased  by  a  few  wealthy 
citizens  of  Baltimore  for  a  trifling  sum.  After  the 
failure  of  the  canal  the  active  and  intelligent  men  of 
Baltimore  still  directed  their  attention  to  the  trade 
of  the  Susquehanna,  and  about  1800  they  projected 
the  bold  experiment  of  running  "arks"  (which  had 
never  before  descended  below  Columbia)  over  the 
dangerous  rapids  of  the  river  to  tide-water.  The 
experiment  succeeded,  and  by  successive  improve- 
nuMit!>   ill  tlie   bed   of   the  river   its  navigation  soon 


TEANSPOKTATION. 


343 


became  comparatively  safe.  lu  the  mean  time,  from 
1800  to  1812,  large  sums  of  money  were  also  expended 
by  the  merchants  and  traders  and  insurance  officers 
of  Baltimore  in  improving  and  facilitating  land  in- 
tercourse with  the  country  bordering  on  the  southern 
shore  of  the  Susquehanna  by  means  of  turnpike  roads 
extending  in  every  direction,  including  the  interior 
of  Pennsylvania.  Baltimore  continued  to  enjoy  the 
trade  of  this  region  for  a  considerable  period,  but 
the  idea  suggested  itself  of  establishing  a  return 
trade  with  this  productive  section.  To  this  end  the 
Legislature  of  Maryland,  in  1822,  appointed  Theo- 
dorick  Bland,  George  Winchester,  and  John  Patter- 
son commissioners  to  lay  out  and  survey  a  route  for 
a  canal  from  the  Conewago  Falls  to  Baltimore.  They 
appointed  James  Geddess,  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished engineers  of  the  country,  to  make  the  sur- 
vey, and  in  their  very  elaborate  report  recommended 
the  construction  of  a  canal  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
river  from  the  Conewago  Falls  to  Baltimore.  They 
repudiated  the  idea  of  a  joint-stock  company,  and 
recommended  that  it  should  be  constructed  by  the 
mayor  and  City  Council  of  Baltimore  in  their  cor- 
porate capacity.  To  execute  this  plan  it  was  nec- 
essary to  obtain  the  authority  of  the  Legislature, 
which  would  have  been  granted  but  for  the  interfer- 
ence of  the  parties  who  had  purchased  the  ten  miles 
of  canal.  The  same  parties  afterwards  attempted  to 
organize  a  company  to  make  a  canal  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  river,  from  the  Maryland  line  upwards,  but 
they  were  in  turn  defeated. 

These  efforts  to  gain  the  trade  of  the  Susquehanna 
region  were  continued  until  August,  1827,  when  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Messrs.  Winchester,  Leakin,  Kelso, 
Stouffer,  and  Jenkins  were  appointed  jointly  by  the 
York  Haven  Company  and  the  several  turnpike  boards 
to  examine  into  the  practicability  of  making  a 
railroad  from  Baltimore  to  the  Susquehanna.  Ac- 
companied by  William  F.  Small,  civil  engineer  of 
Baltimore,  they  arrived  at  York  Haven,  after  making 
a  general  reconnoissance  along  their  line,  on  Aug.  15, 
1 827.  The  committee  on  their  return  were  unanimously 
of  the  opinion  that  no  insuperable  obstacles  existed  to 
the  construction  of  a  railroad  from  Baltimore  to  the 
Susquehanna,  and  accordingly  a  company  was  organ- 
ized. It  was  incorporated  Feb.  13, 1828,  the  purpose, 
as  set  forth  in  the  charter,  being  to  build  a  railway 
from  Baltimore  to  York  Haven,  where  a  connection 
was  to  be  made  with  the  Pennsylvania  Canal,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river.' 

The  first  directors  of  the  company  were  Charles 
Eidgely,  of  Hampton,  Hugh  W.  Evans,  George  Win- 
chester, Robert  Purviance,  Thomas  Wilson,  James 


1  York  Haven  was  at  that  time  a  place  of  growing  importance,  and 
it  was  supposed  that  it  would  take  precedence  of  aU  the  towns  on  the 
western  shore  of  the  Susquehanna.  In  the  quiet  wayside  station  on 
the  line  of  the  Northern  Central  Eailway,  eleven  miles  above  York,  past 
which  the  express-trains  rush  without  the  least  recognition  of  its  exist- 
ence, the  traveler  of  this  day  would  scarcely  recognize  the  embryo 
metropolis  of  a  half-century  ago. 


Smith,  James  L.  Hawkins,  James  B.  Stansbury,  Shep- 
perd  C.  Leakin,  Thomas  Finley,  Justus  Hoppe,  and 
John  Kelso.^  At  the  organization  of  the  Board  of 
Directors,  May  5,  1828,  George  Winchester  was  elec- 
ted president,  and  George  J.  Brown  secretary.  The 
popular  excitement  over  internal  impovements  which 
had  been  created  by  the  projectors  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  road  during  the  previous  year  had  not  yet 
subsided  when  the  books  for  stock  subscriptions  to 
the  Baltimore  and  Susquehanna  road  were  opened  at 
the  old  Franklin  Bank,  and  33,700  shares  were  sub- 
scribed for  in  a  few  days,  although  only  20,000  shares 
of  the  par  value  of  $50  per  share  were  authorized  by 
the  charter,  and  GOOO  of  these  were  reserved  for  the 
State  of  Maryland,  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania.  It  was  supposed  that  the 
Pennsylvania  Legislature  would  promptly  adopt  the 
charter,  and  that  the  company  would  be  permitted  to 
build  its  road  to  the  Susquehanna  without  hindrance. 
To  the  great  disappointment  of  the  friends  of  the 
enterprise  in  both  States,  the  Philadelphia  influence 
was  sufficiently  strong  to  prevent  the  Maryland  com- 
pany from  acquiring  any  corporate  rights  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  it  was  only  alter  a  persistent  struggle,  last- 
ing through  three  years,  that  a  Pennsylvania  com- 
pany was  incorporated  and  vested  with  authority  to 
build  a  railway  from  York  to  the  Maryland  line. 
The  corporators  of  this  company  were  George  Small, 
Michael  Doudle,  Daniel  Inginfritz,  Jacob  Laumaster, 
James  Shall,  Charles  Weiser,  Peter  Ahl,  Jacob  Bailor, 
Phineas  Davis,  George  Morris,  and  Jacob  Emmitt,  of 
the  borough  of  York  ;  and  Charles  A.  Barnitz,  Henry 
Snyder,  Daniel  Raman,  Joseph  Osborn,  John  Hel- 
lings,  John  Smith,  and  William  Patterson,  of  York 
County. 

Soon  after  its  organization  the  Baltimore  and  Sus- 
quehanna Company  dispatched  a  corps  of  engineers 
to  make  the  necessary  surveys  and  select  the  most 
practicable  route  between  the  points  named  in  the 
charter.  Brig.-Gen.  Joseph  G.  Swift,  of  the  United 
States  Engineers,  was  chief  of  this  corps,  and  was 
assisted  by  William  F.  Small,  Charles  Ward,  James 
Collins,  Jr.,  and  Joseph  G.  Partridge,  civil  engineers 
of  Baltimore. 

The  centennial  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the 
city  of  Baltimore  was  fittingly  celebrated  on  the  8th 
of  August,  1829,  by  laying  the  "corner-stone"  of  this 
railway,  which  during  the  next  half-century  was  des- 
tined to  grow  into  one  of  the  most  splendid  public 
improvements  of  the  age.  This  stone  was  planted 
with  appropriate  ceremonies  on  the  northern  bound- 
ary of  the  city,  some  sixty  feet  from  the  present  site 
of  the  North  Avenue  bridge,  where  it  remained  until 
October  30,  1870,  when  it  was  dug  up  by  workmen 
who  were  removing  earth  from  this  locality  to  cover 

"  All  of  these  gentlemen  were  the  incorporators  of  the  company  ex- 
cepting Messre.  Finley  and  Kelso.  They  were  substituted  by  Messrs. 
Eoswell  L.  Colt,  Jacob  I.  Cohen,  and  William  Frick.  William  Frick 
declined,  being  a  director. 


344 


HISTOllV    OF    BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


the  arch  of  the  Potomac  tuiiiiel.  It  marked  the  start- 
ing-point of  the  Baltimore  and  Susquehanna  Rail- 
road, the  second  great  highway  for  transportation 
projected  by  the  merchants  of  Baltimore.  The  first  j 
division  was  located  on  the  line  of  Jones'  Falls,  and 
to  this  day  the  picturesque  valley  through  which 
the  road  approaches  the  city  remains  as  fresh  and  as 
serenely  rural  in  all  its  features  as  when  the  "iron 
horse"  first  intruded  upon  the  privacy  of  the  suburban 
homes  that  dot  these  wooded  hills.  Cars  began  to 
run  from  Baltimore  to  the  Relay  Station  {now  Lake 
Roland)  July  4,  1S31.  The  engineers  located  the 
road  to  the  northern  border  of  the  State,  and  ran  an 
experimental  line  to  York,  but  the  obstructive  action 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  greatly  embarrassed 
the  company  in  its  operations.  After  the  road  had  , 
been  completed  to  the  Relay  Station  work  on  the  ' 
main  stem  was  stopped,  and  the  unexpended  portion 
of  the  original  capital  was  devoted  to  the  building  of 
a  branch  in  the  direction  of  Westminster,  with  the 
ultimate  purpose  of  extending  it  to  "  the  head-waters 
of  the  Monocacy  River,"  as  authorized  by  a  supple- 
ment to  the  charter,  passed  Feb.  7, 1830.  The  branch 
road  was  opened  to  the  Green  Spring  Hotel,  some 
seven  or  eight  miles  from  the  Relay  Junction,  and 
fifteen  miles  from  Baltimore,  on  May  26,  1832.  In 
the  mean  time  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  had  so 
far  receded  from  its  opposition  to  the  building  of  the 
main  stem  in  the  direction  of  the  Susquehanna  as  to 
charter  the  New  York  and  Maryland  Line  Company,  i 
The  prospect  of  uniting  the  two  roads  at  the  State 
line  arrested  the  further  extension  of  the  Westminster 
branch,  and  its  terminus  remained  at  the  Green 
Spring  Hotel  until  the  Western  Maryland  Company 
took  up  the  abandoned  work,  twenty-five  years  after- 
wards, and  carried  it  to  the  point  originally  contem- 
plated and  far  beyond. 

Upon  the  completed  section  of  the  main  stem  be- 
tween Baltimore  and  Relay  Station  a  locomotive  im- 
ported from  England  was  placed  on  the  road  on  the  ; 
6th  of  August,  1832,  which,  after  various  alterations 
and  improvements  in  the  wheels,  so  as  to  adapt  them 
to  the  turning  of  curves,  became  a  very  effective 
motor.  It  was  named  the  "  Herald,"  after  the  ship 
in  which  it  was  brought  across  the  ocean,  and  was 
built  by  the  celebrated  engineer  Stephenson.  John 
Lawson,  an  English  engineer,  came  over  with  the 
locomotive,  and  ran  it  for  some  months.  The  "Her-  ■ 
aid"  remained  on  the  road  twenty-three  years,  and 
was  included  in  the  inventory  of  rolling  stock  turned 
over  to  the  Consolidated  Company,  Jan.  1,  1855. 
Not  long  afterwards  it  was  taken  to  the  car-shops  in 
York  and  broken  up. 

The   Baltimore  and    Susquehanna    Company  was  j 
obliged  to  apply  to  the  State  and  to  the  City  of  Bal- 
timore at  various  times  for  aid  to  carry  on  its  work.  ; 
The  cost  of  building  the  several  sections  far  exceeded 
the  original  estimates,  and  the  road  was  not  opened  j 
for  travel  to  York  until  Aug.  .'W,  1838.     One  passen- 


ger-train a  day  was  sufficient  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
traveling  public  for  some  time.  The  trip  of  sixty 
miles  was  made  in  four  hours,  and  the  fare  was 
one  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents.  All  the  railroads 
chartered  in  Pennsylvania  at  that  time  were  public 
highways,  upon  which  any  person  had  the  right  to 
place  cars  and  have  them  transported  on  the  payment 
of  the  "  tolls,"  as  fixed  by  the  company,  within  the 
limits  prescribed  by  the  Legislature.  For  many 
years  nearly  all  the  local  freight  moved  over  the  roads 
which  now  form  the  Northern  Central  was  carried  in 
cars  owned  by  the  shippers. 

While  the  Baltimore  and  Susquehanna  Company 
was  slowly  pushing  its  road  northward  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  State  line,  an  act  of  the  Legislature  was 
passed  (March  22,  1836)  authorizing  it  to  build  a 
branch  road  eastward  through  Baltimore  and  Har- 
ford Counties  to  Peach  Bottom,  on  the  Susquehanna, 
with  a  view  to  cro.ssing  the  river  at  that  point  and 
forming  a  connection  with  the  Philadelphia  and  Co- 
lumbia Railroad  in  Lancaster  County.  This  lateral 
branch  was  never  built,  although  the  contemplated 
route  is  now  partly  covered  by  the  Baltimore  and 
Delta  Narrow-Gauge.  Long  before  the  road  touched 
the  western  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  at  York  Haven 
all  idea  of  a  connection  with  the  Pennsylvania  Canal 
was  abandoned.  In  due  time  several  connections 
were  made  with  other  roads  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in 
1854,'  by  the  concurrent  action  of  Maryland  and 
Pennsylvania,  four  roads,  constituting  a  continuous 
line  between  Baltimore  and  Sunbury,  were  consoli- 
dated into  one,  under  the  name  of  the  Northern  Cen- 
tral Railroad  Company.  These  acts  consolidated  in 
one  corporation  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the 
charters  of  the  Baltimore  and  Susquehanna  Railroad 
Company,  whose  road  extended  from  Baltimore  to 
the  Pennsylvania  line,  chartered  by  Maryland  in 
1828;  of  the  York  and  Maryland  Line  Railroad 
Company,  whose  road  extended  from  the  Maryland 
line  to  York,  chartered  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
in  1832  ;  of  the  York  and  Cumberland  Railroad  Com- 
pany, whose  road  extended  from  York  to  Bridgeport, 
opposite  Harrisburg,  chartered  by  the  same  State  in 
1846 ;  and  of  the  Susquehanna  Railroad  Company, 
whose  road  extended  from  Bridgeport  to  the  town  of 
Sunbury,  under  the  general  railroad  law  of  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania,  by  a  charter  from  that  State  in  1851. 

The  consolidated  line  thus  formed  extends  from 
Baltimore  through  Baltimore  County,  in  Maryland, 
and  the  counties  of  York,  Cumberland,  Perry,  Dau- 
phin, and  Northumberland,  in  Pennsylvania,  to  the 
town  of  Sunbury,  at  the  junction  of  the  north  and 
west  branches  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  a  total  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  miles. 

1  On  the  4th  of  July,  1854,  one  of  the  most  terrible  railroail  accidents 
thut  over  occurred  in  this  country  took  place  on  the  Susquehanna  Itail- 
road,  caused  by  collision  in  a  curve  of  the  road  about  midway  between 
the  Kelay  House  ami  "  Rider's  Grove."    Thirty-Rve  persons  were  killed 

and  over  one  hundred  were  wounded. 


TRANSPOKTATION. 


At  Union  Depot,  one  and  one-tenth  miles  north  of  [ 
Calvert  Street  Station,'  Baltimore,  connection  is  made  j 
with  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac  Railroad,  thus  af- 
fording communication  with  the  South.  Connection 
may  also  be  made  here  with  the  Western  Maryland 
road,  and  with  trains  for  Philadelphia  and  New  York 
via  the  Philadelphia  and  Wilmington  road. 

At  Kelay,  seven  miles  from  Baltimore,  a  branch 
diverges  from  the  main  line  and  follows  the  Green 
Spring  Valley  to  a  connection  with  the  Western 
Maryland  Railroad,  at  a  distance  of  eight  and  a  half 
miles.  This  branch  was  originally  owned  by  the 
Susquehanna  Railroad  Company,  and  was  known  as 
the  Westminster  or  Green  Spring  branch.  Shortly 
after  the  Western  Maryland  Railroad  was  chartered 
in  1854  it  commenced  the  construction  of  a  line  from 
the  terminus  of  the  Green  Spring  branch  into  the 
counties  of  Carroll  and  Washington.  At  that  time  a 
contract  was  made  between  the  Northern  Central  and 
the  Western  Maryland  Railroad  Company,  transfer- 
ring this  branch  to  the  latter  company,  with  the  pro- 
vision that  should  the  Western  Maryland  Railroad 
Company  at  any  time  either  build  a  new  line  to  Bal- 
timore, or  reach  that  city  with  its  traffic  by  any  other 
line  than  that  of  the  Northern  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany, the  latter  should  have  the  right  to  repurchase 
it  at  its  appraised  value.  In  1873  the  Western  Mary- 
land Railroad  Company  completed  an  independent 
line  to  Baltimore ;  and  in  July,  1874,  upon  the  pay- 
ment of  $10,000,  the  Northern  Central  Railway  Com- 
pany resumed  possession  of  the  branch.  At  Hanover 
Junction,  forty -six  miles  from  Baltimore,  the  North- 
ern Central  Railroad  makes  connection  with  the 
Hanover  Branch  Railroad,  extending  fourteen  miles 
to  the  town  of  Hanover,  and  thence  seventeen  miles 
to  the  town  of  Gettysburg  ;  and  another  line  extend- 
ing southward  from  Hanover  to  the  Pennsylvania 
line,  where  connection  is  made  with  the  Frederick 
and  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  which  has  been  leased 
by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company.'-  At  York, 
fifty-eight  miles  from  Baltimore,  connection  is  made 
with  the  York  branch  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 
extending  from  York  to  Wrightsville  and  Columbia, 
on  the  Susquehanna  River,  and  connecting  at  the 
latter  point  with  the  main  line  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad.  At  Bridgeport  connection  is  made  with 
the  Cumberland  Valley  Railroad,  extending  west- 
ward to  West  Virginia.  Connection  is  also  made  at 
Bridgeport  with  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  and  the 
Lebanon  Valley  branch  of  the  Philadelphia  and 
Reading  Railroad.  At  Dauphin  the  Schuylkill  and 
Susquehanna  branch  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Read- 


1  The  lot  of  ground  bounded  by  Franklin,  North,  Centre,  and  Calvert 
Streets,  upon  which  the  Calvert  Street  Station  is  built,  was  purchased 
by  the  Susquehanna  Eailroad  Company  in  June,  1848,  from  the  Balti- 
more  Water  Company.  It  was  formerly  occupied  by  Sands  &  Lents' 
"Amphitheatre,"  destroyed  by  flro  about  1847,  and  the  "Old  City 
Mills." 

2  The  Hanover  branch  to  Hanover,  Pa.,  was  opened  for  business  Oct. 
22, 1852. 


ing  Railroad  diverges,  passing  through  the  Lorberry 
and  Schuylkill  coal  regions.  At  Millersburg  the 
Lyken's  Valley  Railroad  is  reached,  and  at  Treaver- 
tou  the  Treaverton  Railroad  is  crossed.  At  Sunbury 
the  Philadelphia  and  Erie  Railroad  is  reached,  con- 
necting with  the  Elmira  and  Williamsport  Railroad, 
seventy-eight  miles  in  length,  leased  to  the  Northern 
Central  April  15,  1863.  At  Elmira  connection  is 
made  with  the  line  of  the  Erie  Railway  Company. 
At  Warren  and  Corry  the  Pennsylvania  and  the 
Northern  Central  connects  with  roads  running  into  the 
great  oil  regions  of  that  State.  At  Emporium  it 
connects  with  a  direct  line  to  Buffalo,  and  at  Drift- 
wood the  Alleghany  Valley  Railroad  unites  with  its 
eastern  outlet.  At  Sunbury  connection  is  also  made 
with  the  Danville,  Hazleton  and  Wilkesbarre  Rail- 
road, and  two  miles  north  of  Sunbury  is  located  the 
Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad.  Con- 
nection is  also  made  at  Sunbury  with  the  line  of  the 
Shamokin  Valley  and  Pottsville  Railroad  Company, 
which  was  leased  to  the  Northern  Central  Feb.  27, 
18(i3.  It  extends  from  Sunbury  to  Shamokin  and 
Mount  Carmel,  a  distance  of  twenty-eight  miles,  with 
a  branch  of  three  miles  to  the  extensive  coal  lands 
owned  by  the  company  on  Coal  Run. 

The  president  of  the  Northern  Central  Railway 
Company  at  the  time  of  the  consolidation  was  the 
late  Hon.  John  P.  Kennedy,  a  gentleman  no  less  dis- 
tinguished for  his  enlightened  public  spirit  than  for 
his  literary  genius  and  scholarly  accomplishments. 
The  directors  on  the  part  of  the  city  of  Baltimore 
were  Richard  C.  Mason  and  William  McPhail,  and 
on  the  part  of  the  stockholders  W.  H.  Keighler,  Simon 
Cameron,  Michael  Herr,  John  Herr,  Francis  White, 
Eli  Lewis,  Zenus  Barnum,  Johns  Hopkins,  R.  M. 
Magraw,  Lloyd  N.  Rogers,  W.  E.  Mayhew,  and  W. 
F.  Packer.  The  secretary  of  the  company  was  Robert 
S.  Hollins,  and  the  treasurer  John  S.  Leib.  The  last- 
mentioned  gentleman  has  filled  the  office  which  he 
now  holds  ever  since  the  organization  of  the  Northern 
Central  Company. 

With  the  extension  of  the  Northern  Central  road 
to  Sunbury  began  the  active  development  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna coal-fields.  In  1880  the  company  trans- 
ported 4,196,715  tons  of  coal  over  its  lines.  From 
Sunbury  to  Williamsport  the  company  uses  the  track 
of  the  Philadelphia  and  Erie  road.  The  Elmira 
division  begins  at  Williamsport,  and  runs  almost  due 
north  seventy-eight  miles  to  the  city  from  which  it 
takes  its  name ;  here  the  Canandaigua  division  begins, 
which  connects  with  the  New  York  Central  at  Ca- 
nandaigua, three  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  from 
Baltimore.  The  main  stem  crosses  three  States,  and 
virtually  connects  both  Lake  Erie  and  Lake  Ontario 
with  the  Chesapeake.  The  whole  line  runs  through 
a  populous  and  highly  cultivated  region,  teeming 
with  all  the  industries  by  which  wealth  is  created. 
The  scenery  along  the  middle  and  upper  divisions  has 
furnished  subjects  for  famous  artists  of  both  hemis- 


346 


HISTORY    OF    BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


pheres,  and  the  romantic  retreats  which  the  northern 
extension  has  opened  up  to  tourists  and  health-seekers 
have  attained  a  wide  celebrity. 

Mr.  Kennedy,  the  first  president  of  the  Northern 
Central  Company,  filled  the  office  two  years.  Messrs. 
Zenus  Barnum,  John  S.  Gittings,  and  Gen.  A.  B.  War- 
ford  each  held  the  office  one  year.  Hon.  J.  Donald 
Cameron  (now  United  States  Senator  from  Pennsyl- 
vania) was  elected  president  in  1863,  and  remained  in 
office  until  1875,  when,  on  account  of  other  engage- 
ments, he  declined  a  re-election,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Col.  Thomas  A.  Scott,  who  resigned  in  1879  and 
was  succeeded  by  George  B.  Roberts,  president  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Company.  The  officers  for  the  year 
1881  are  as  follows:  President,  George  B.Roberts; 
Vice-President,  A.  J.  Cassatt;  Directors,  A.  J.  Cas- 
satt,  Wistar  Morris,  Samuel  C.  Huey,  John  P.  Green, 
Edmund  Smith,  George  Small,  B.  F.  Newcomer,  S. 
M.  Shoemaker,  J.  N.  Hutchinson,  Dell  Noblitt,  Harry 
Walters,  Henry  Gilbert;  Secretary,  Stephen  W. 
White ;  Treasurer,  John  S.  Leib ;  Auditor,  John 
Ciowe;  General  Manager,  Frank  Thompson. 

One  of  the  most  active  and  diligent  directors  of  this 
railroad  company  in  Baltimore  for  many  years  has  been 
George  Small.  Having  been  born  and  raised  in 
Pennsylvania,  along  the  line  of  the  road  over  which, 
it  has  been  said,  "  that  at  one  time  fully  one-sixth  of 
the  freight  forwarded  over  the  Northern  Central  Rail- 
road to  Baltimore  was  shipped  by  his  father's  mer- 
cantile house  in  York,"  it  was  very  natural  that  he 
should  take  a  very  active  part  in  its  management. 
Mr.  Small  was  born  in  York,  Pa.,  Dec.  13,  1825,  and 
was  the  son  of  Philip  A.  Small  and  Sarah  Lati- 
mer. His  father  was  born  in  York  in  1797,  and  was 
the  eldest  son  of  George  Small,  a  descendant  of  Law- 
rence Small,  a  Reformed  Lutheran  clergyman  who 
came  to  this  country  very  early  in  the  eighteenth 
century  with  three  sons,  one  of  whom  settled  on  the 
banks  of  the  Hudson  River,  near  Albany,  a  second  in 
Eastern  Pennsylvania,  and  a  third  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania. George  Small,  Sr.,  married  the  daughter 
of  Col.  Philip  Albright,  an  officer  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary army,  who  was  an  intimate  personal  friend  of 
Gen.  Washington,  and  at  whose  house  Washington 
found  a  home  during  that  gloomy  period  of  the  Revo- 
lution when  the  Continental  Congress  was  sitting  in 
the  old  court-house  at  York.  Sarah  Latimer,  the 
wife  of  Philip  A.  Small,  was  a  descendant  of  William 
Latimer,  a  brother  of  the  Bishop  Latimer  who,  with 
Ridley,  was  burned  at  the  stake  in  Oxford,  England, 
in  the  year  1555.  Philip  A.  Small,  the  head  of  the 
firm  of  P.  A.  &  S.  Small,  of  York,  died  April  3, 1875. 
He  began  business  in  Baltimore  in  1815,  with  the  firm 
of  Schultz,  Konig  &  Co.  In  1820  he  went  into  busi- 
ness in  York  with  his  father,  the  firm  being  George 
Small  &  Son,  which  was  changed  to  George  Small  & 
Sons  by  the  accession  of  his  brother,  Samuel  Small, 
and  at  the  retirement  of  the  senior  partner  in  1821 
to  P.  A.  &  S.  Small.   The  operations  of  this  firm  grew 


I  to  very  extensive  proportions,  and  he  gave  them  his 
I  personal  attention  to  within  three  weeks  of  his  deatl}. 
j  He  was  also  heavily  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
iron,  and  built  a  furnace  in  Harford  County,  Md., 
I  which  was  successfully  operated  for  many  years. 
j  About  1847  the  firm,  with  the  Messrs.  Patterson,  of 
Baltimore,  erected  the  Ashland  Furnaces,  near  Cock- 
eysville,  Baltimore  Co.,  Md.,  which  are  now  in  full  and 
successful  operation,  under  the  presidency  of  George 
Small.  Extensive  farming  and  stock-raising  were 
also  successfully  carried  on  by  Philip  A.  Small,  whose 
whole  life  was  one  of  activity  and  energy,  and  ex- 
hibited wonderful  elasticity.  In  his  counting-room 
at  York  by  sunrise,  he  gave  his  personal  supervision 
to  the  many  divisions  of  his  extensive  business. 
The  credit  of  his  house  ranked  with  that  of  the  first 
I  in  the  whole  country,  and  sustained  itself  unsullied 
in  all  the  periods  of  financial  depression  and  panics. 
Charitable  to  a  very  large  extent,  whenever  worthy 
]  objects  offered;  his  advice  was  always  sought  and 
heeded  by  the  younger  farmers,  merchants,  and  manu- 
facturers around  him.  His  physical  and  mental  con- 
stitution was  unusually  strong,  and  his  faculties  were 
j  preserved  unimpaired  until  the  last,  and  his  judgment 
i  was  as  clear  at  seventy-eight  years  as  at  any  period  of 
j  his  life.  Four  daughters  and  three  sons  survive  him, 
I  of  whom  George  Small,  of  Baltimore,  is  the  eldest. 
The  present  George  Small  was  educated  at  the  York 
County  Academy,  and  decided  upon  a  mercantile  life 
before  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-one  (Sept.  1, 1846)  he  came  to  reside  in  Balti- 
more. Displaying  the  mental  and  moral  traits  that 
are  indispensable  to  the  successful  merchant,  he 
quickly  controlled  a  large  and  rapidly  extended  busi- 
ness, and  aided  by  the  agency  of  the  great  milling 
house  of  P.  A.  &  S.  Small,  with  the  Codorus  Mills, 
near  York,  he  supplied  the  Brazil  market  for  many 
years  through  the  port  of  Baltimore  with  some  ninety 
thousand  barrels  of  flour  annually,  and  to-day  no 
mercantile  house  in  Baltimore  has  a  reputation  su- 
perior to  that  of  George  Small  &  Co.  Since  the 
death  of  Philip  A.  Small,  he  has  succeeded  to  the 
head  of  the  house  of  P.  A.  &  S.  Small,  and  both  es- 
tablishments prosper  under  the  vigorous  brain  and 
steady  hand  that  guides  their  affairs.  In  the  midst 
of  all  his  business  engagements  he  has  devoted  much 
time  and  given  great  attention  to  the  cultivation  and 
extension  of  the  business  connections  and  relations 
of  Baltimore  with  that  large  and  fertile  section  of 
Pennsylvania  through  which  the  Northern  Central 
Railroad  passes.  He  energetically  aided  in  the  open- 
ing of  that  railroad,  and  has  been  for  many  years  one 
of  its  directoi-s  as  well  as  a  director  in  the  Baltimore 
and  Potomac  Railroad,  and  in  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Baltimore;  also  president  of  the  Ashland 
Iron  Company,  whose  works  on  the  Northern  Central 
Railroad  are  the  largest  manufactory  of  the  kind  in 
Maryland.  With  all  these  enterprises  on  hand  he  is 
one  of  the  busiest  men  in  Baltimore,  but  his  method- 


TRANSPORTATION. 


347 


ical  habits  and  comprehensive  grasp  of  affairs  render 
him  able  to  perform  an  amount  of  daily  work  that 
would  swamp  men  less  precise  and  systematic  in 
their  handling  of  business.  His  judgment  on  ob- 
scure and  complicated  commercial  and  railroad  prob- 
lems is  regarded  by  his  associates  as  especially  sound, 
while  his  executive  ability  is  in  harmony  with  the 
other  features  of  his  character.  No  fairer  example 
of  the  meritoriously  successful  merchant  could  be 
set  for  the  imitation  of  young  men.  Mr.  Small  mar-  ■ 
ried,  Jan.  13,  1852,  Mary  Grant  Jackson,  daughter  of  ' 
Col.  William  A.  Jackson,  of  Fredericksburg,  Va., 
whose  ancestors  emigrated  from  England  in  1730. 
They  have  no  children.  Mr.  Small  has  an  elegant 
mansion  on  Mount  Vernon  Place,  and  is  attached  to 
the  Presbyterian  Church;  and  while  an  enthusiastic 
Whig,  and  Unionist  and  Republican,  he  has  uniformly 
refused  to  accept  any  public  position  or  become  a  can- 
didate for  office. 

During  the  war  the  Northern  Central  was  a  most 
important  link  in  the  main  line  of  communication 
between  the  national  Capital  and  the  North  and 
West,  and  during  the  first  two  years  most  of  the  mili- 
tary trains  from  New  York  took  this  route.  On  the 
20th  of  April,  1861,  the  principal  bridges  on  the 
Maryland  division  were  burned  to  prevent  the  trans- 
portation of  troops  from  the  North  to  Washington, 
and  operations  on  the  lower  end  of  the  line  were  en- 
tirely suspended  for  nearly  a  month.  Alarmed  by 
the  measures  adopted  for  the  protection  of  Baltimore, 
the  managers  removed  the  main  office  of  the  com- 
pany to  Harrisburg,  and  the  meetings  of  the  board  of 
directors  were  held  there  during  the  remainder  of  the 
year  1861.  The  road  resumed  operations  May  11, 
1861,  but  there  was  another  suspension  of  the  run- 
ning of  trains  between  Baltimore  and  Harrisburg 
while  the  Gettysburg  campaign  was  in  progress.  All 
the  bridges  on  the  main  stem  from  Hanover  Junction 
to  Goldsboro',  fifteen  miles  above  York,  were  burned 
at  this  time,  and  the  Wrightsville  branch  was  com- 
pletely destroyed.  Notwithstanding  these  heavy 
losses,  the  company  profited  so  much  by  the  trans- 
portation of  troops  and  military  supplies  that  it  was 
able  to  rebuild  the  greater  portion  of  its  main  stem, 
and  to  put  down  a  double  track  out  of  its  surplus 
revenues.  After  the  war  the  northern  extensions  and 
leases  heretofore  mentioned  were  consummated,  and 
the  main  stem  was  brought  into  immediate  commu- 
nication with  the  three  great  trunk-lines  which  it 
crosses,  namely,  the  Pennsylvania  road,  the  New 
York  and  Erie  road,  and  the  New  York  Central. 
Important  improvements  were  also  made  at  the  Balti- 
more terminus.  The  piers  at  Canton  were  enlarged, 
and  the  storage  facilities  increased  by  the  erection  of 
new  elevators  and  warehouses.  The  old  track  by 
which  trains  entered  and  departed  from  the  city  was 
abandoned,  and  a  new  route  established  on  the  line 
of  the  Falls,  upon  which  trains  run  to  Calvert  Sta- 
tion without  crossing  any  street  at  grade,  save  at  the 


entrance  to  the  depot.  All  the  other  cross  streets  are 
carried  over  the  track  and  over  the  Falls  on  iron 
bridges.  It  is  one  of  the  peculiar  features  of  the 
Northern  Central,  and  the  roads  which  connect  with  it 
in  Baltimore,  that  the  running  of  trains  does  not  in 
the  least  interfere  with  travel  and  transportation  on 
the  streets.  The  fine  building  on  the  corner  of  Cal- 
vert and  Centre  Streets,  in  which  the  main  offices  of 
the  company  are  located,  was  erected  in  1876. 

Like  all  other  roads  whose  history  goes  back  to  the 
beginning  of  the  railway  age,  the  Northern  Central 
(or  rather  the  Baltimore  and  Susquehanna)  was  greatly 
embarrassed  during  the  first  twenty  years  of  its  exist- 
ence for  want  of  sufficient  money  to  carry  on  its  opera- 
tions. The  city  of  Baltimore  came  to  its  aid,  and 
loaned  it  various  sums  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to 
$850,000,  besides  investing  $200,000  in  the  capital 
stock,  making  in  all,  with  interest,  $1,250,000.  The 
Northern  Central  Company  liquidated  the  entire  debt 
in  1866  by  paying  $880,000.  The  State  of  Maryland 
loaned  the  company  $1,750,000,  on  which  it  pays  an 
annuity  of  $90,000. 

The  Northern  Central  is  the  parent  stem  of  the 
Union  road,  by  which  its  trains  reach  the  Canton 
wharves,  and  of  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac  road.  A 
separate  sketch  is  given  of  each  of  these  splendid  im- 
provements. The  large  investments  made  by  the 
company  in  its  leased  lines,  and  in  permanent  im- 
provements at  its  tide-water  terminus,  have  for  the 
most  part  absorbed  its  net  earnings,  but  it  must  in- 
evitably become  one  of  the  most  profitable,  as  it  is 
already  oneof  the  best  managed,  railways  in  the  world. 
No  estimate  can  be  given  of  what  it  has  done  for 
Baltimore,  save  that  which  is  furnished  by  the  growth 
of  the  city  in  population,  wealth,  and  commercial 
prosperity  since  the  Northern  Central  first  began  to 
bring  to  its  warehouses  and  shipping-wharves  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  North  and  West. 

DISTANCES  ON  THE  NORTHERN  CENTRAL   RAILWAY. 
Stations.                        Miles.  '             Stations.                        Miles. 
Baltimore 0.0    Bentley 31.7 


Moitkton 23,'2     MfW  (  iiliuiel 

White  Hall 26.8  i  Brideeiiort.. 

Parktun 28.9  I  Harrisburg.. 


Articles. 

Coal, tons 

General  merchandise,  tons.. 

Flour,  barrels 

Grain,  bushels 

Live-stock,  tons 

Pig-iron  and  iron  ores,  tons. 


Z3M 


412,1 


194,674  180,302  104,139 

.,438  447,965  336,282 

),056  25,288,390  14,486,900 

i,S36  17.082  14,382 

1,495  421,748  415,640 

i,704  19,218  10,458 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Arti.li.s.  1880.       1879.        1878. 

„.,    i,,i  30,16a,.146        32,852,73a        10,620,183 

,1    ;  ,    ,,    -  649.274  499,908  280.641 

I  2,752  2,505  1,889 

18,423  8,742  8,6.36 

-,,,,,,.,    u-  18,423  21,632  20,188 

Not  tons,  ISNl 1,424,.V)3 

1S79 l..'>70,,6" 


),7S4 


9liC,(l 


The  Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and  Baltimore 
Railroad.— Tliis  railroad  company  was  formed  of 
four  coiiipaiiies,— the  Baltimore  and  Port  Deposit,  the 
Delaware  and  Maryland,  the  Wilmington  and  Sus- 
quehanna, and  the  Phihidelphia  and  Delaware  County 
Kailroad  Companies. 

The  Baltimore  and  Port  Deposit  Railroad  Company 
was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  Maryland 
March  5,  1832,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $1,000,000, 
divided  into  ten  thousand  shares  of  $100  each,  and 
the  necessary  authority  to  construct  a  railroad  fjrom 
Baltimore  to  the  Susquehanna  River.  The  incorpo- 
rators were  Albert  Constable,  John  W.  Thomas, 
<iraiiville  S.  Townsend,  Heury  S.  Stiles,  Frederick 
Dawson,  William  H.  Freeman,  Peter  Neff,  and  Job 
.'<mith,  who  opened  books  for  subscription  to  the 
lapital  stock  in  Baltimore  on  May  21,  1832.  A  pre- 
liminary organization  was  effected  in  1833,  and  in 
.January,  1834,  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe  was  appointed 
engineer,  and  immediately  surveyed  the  proposed 
line.  The  enterprise  slumbered  until  May,  1835,  when 
the  company  was  reorganized,  and  E.  L.  Finley 
elected  president,  who  immediately  thereafter  caused 
the  construction  of  the  work  to  begin.  Mr.  Finley 
resigned  the  presidency  October  12th,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Roswell  L.  Colt,  of  Baltimore,  who  resigned 
during  the  ensuing  month,  and  gave  place  to  Lewis 
Brantz,  of  the  same  city. 

The  Delaware  and  Maryland  Railroad  Company 
was  chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  Maryland  on  the 
14th  of  March,  1832,  with  a  capital  of  $3,000,000,  to 
construct  a  railroad  from  some  point  on  the  Delaware 
and  Maryland  State  line  to  Port  Deposit,  or  any  other 
])()int  on  the  Susquehanna  River.  This  company, 
however,  was  not  organized  until  April  18,  1835, 
when  it  met  at  Elkton,  and  elected  Mathew  Newkirk, 
of  Philadelphia,  president.  William  Strickland  was 
chosen  engineer,  and  in  June  following  the  road 
was  begun,  and  pushed  forward  until  April  18,  1836, 
when  the  rompany  was  merged  into  the  Wilmington 
and  Siisqui'lianna  Company,  which  was  incorporated 
by  tiR'  lA'fcnslature  of  Delaware,  Jan.  18,  1832,  with  a 
capital  of  ^^(((i.dOO,  and  with  power  to  build  a  road 
from  the  I'onnsylvania  line  through  Wilmington 
towards  the  Susquehanna  River  to  the  Maryland  line. 

The  Philadelphia  and  Delaware  County  Railroad 
Company  was  chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  Penn- 
sylvania April  2,  1831,  with  a  capital  of  $200,000, 
and  with  power  to  construct  a  railroad  from  Philadel- 
phia to  tiie  Penn.sylvania  and  Delaware  State  lines. 
The  road  was  organized  in  18.35,  and  on  Jan.  18, 1836, 


Mathew  Newkirk  was  elected  president.  It  was  the 
intention  of  the  charter  and  board  of  directors  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Port  Deposit  Railroad  that  the  eastern 
terminus  of  the  road  should  be  at  Port  Deposit,  but 
in  April,  1836,  a  committee  of  conference  between 
this  and  the  Delaware  and  Maryland  Companies  re- 
ported in  favor  of  a  ferry  at  Havre  de  Grace,  and  the 
projjosed  terminal  jioint  at  Port  Deposit  was  aban- 
doned. 

Before  this  time  the  rival  interests  of  Port  Deposit 
and  Havre  de  Grace  had  been  warring  to  obtain  the 
eastern  terminus  of  the  road.  A  contest  arose  in 
1835  between  the  company  and  the  inhabitants  north 
of  the  line  of  the  road,  in  the  vicinity  of  Gunpowder, 
Bird's,  and  Bush  Rivers,  ostensibly  because  the  pro- 
posed crossing  of  these  rivers  (which  are  navigable 
for  small  craft)  at  the  points  located  would  intercept 
navigation  ;  but  it  is  said  the  inhabitants  were  actu- 
ated in  part  by  a  desire  to  carry  the  line  farther  north 
in  the  interest  of  Port  Deposit.  This  opposition  was 
very  energetic,  and  had  to  be  overcome  by  legislative 
action.  This  difficulty  having  been  adju^lrd.  the  con- 
struction of  the  road  was  advanced  wiih  rapi'lily  iiud 
spirit.  In  June,  1837,  the  road  was  (■oiiipUli'd  to  the 
Susquehanna,  and  two  coal-burning  engines  having 
been  built  by  Messrs.  Gillingham  &  Winans,  of  Balti- 
more, the  first  regular  train  passed  over  the  road  be- 
tween the  latter  city  and  Havre  de  Grace  on  the  6th 
of  July.  A  steam  ferry-boat  of  the  first  class  was 
ordered  for  the  Susquehanna  crossing,  upon  a  plan 
which  would  permit  the  cars  to  be  transferred  to  an 
upper  deck  by  direct  connection  with  the  track.  The 
steamer  "  Susquehanna"  was  the  first  boat  constructed 
in  the  United  States  upon  this  model  and  used  for 
this  purpose.  She  was  replaced  in  December,  1854, 
by  the  "  Maryland,"  a  new  and  more  commodious 
steamer,  which  was  used  until  November,  1866,  when 
the  bridge  across  the  Susquehanna  was  completed. 
A  trial  excursion  was  made  upon  the  Wilmington 
and  Susquehanna  Railroad,  between  AVilmington  and 
the  Susquehanna  River,  as  early  as  May  5,  1837,  but 
the  formal  opening  of  the  road  did  not  take  place 
until  July  19th,  at  which  time  an  entertainment  was 
provided  by  the  two  companies  on  board  of  the  "Sus- 
quehanna." 

This  new  route  to  Philadelphia  via  Wilmington 
commenced  running  a  daily  regular  train  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  passengers  on  July  31,  1837.  The 
cars  started  from  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
depot  in  Pratt  Street  at  6  a.m.,  and  proceeded  to 
Havre  de  Grace,  where  the  passengers  took  their 
breakfast  on  board  the  steamer  "  Susquehanna"  while 
crossing  the  river.  From  thence  the  cars  proceeded 
to  Wilmington,  connecting  with  the  steamboat  "Tele- 
graph," Capt.  Whilldin,  plying  between  Wilmington 
and  Philadelphia,  and  landing  the  passengers  at  Dock 
Street.  The  fare  to  Philadelphia  from  Baltimore  was 
$4,  to  Wilmington  $3.25,  Elkton  $2,  Havre  de  Grace 
$1.50,  Perryman's  $1 ;  time  of  journey  to  Philadelphia, 


TRANSPORTATION. 


349 


six  hours.     The  steamboat  "  Canton"  took  passengers 
from  Havre  de  Grace  to  Port  Deposit. 

A   union   of  the   different  railroad  lines  between 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  was  now  agitated,  and 
steps  were  taken  for  its  consummation.     While  the 
matter  was  pending,  on  Jan.  21, 1838,  Mr.  Brantz,  of 
the  Baltimore   road,  died,  and  James  I.  Cohen,  of  I 
the  same  city,  was  elected  to  succeed  him,  and  con- 
tinued to  hold  this  position  until  the  following  Feb- 
ruary, when  the  desired  union  was  effected  between  | 
the  Baltimore  and  Port  Deposit  and  the  Delaware 
and  Maryland  Railroad  Companies.    The  latter  com- 
pany, as  we  have  seen,  had  formed  a  union  with  the 
Wilmington  and  Susquehanna  Company  on  April  18, 
1836,  and   the  joint   companies   adopted   its   name.  > 
The   Philadelphia   and   Delaware   County   Railroad  j 
Company  was  reorganized  in  1836,  and  the  title  of 
the  company  was  changed  to  the  Philadelphia,  Wil- 
mington  and   Baltimore   Railroad   Company.      The 
road,  as  limited  by  the  charter,  extended  only  to  the 
Pennsylvania  State  line,  but  in  1837  an  arrangement 
was    effected   with    the   Susquehanna   Company  by 
whic]i  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and  Baltimore  j 
road  acquired  the  right  of  way  from  the  State  line  to 
Wilmington.     The  road  was   soon   after  completed, 
and  opened  from  Gray's  Ferry  to  Baltimore  on  Jan.  , 
15,  1838.  ; 

Although  there  was  now  but  one  line  of  road,  it 
was  the  property  of  three  companies,  viz.,  the  Phila- 
delphia, Wilmington  and  Baltimore  Railroad,  from 
Philadelphia  to  Wilmington ;  the  Wilmington  and 
Susquehanna  Railroad,  from  Wilmington  to  the  Sus- 
quehanna River;  and  the  Baltimore  and  Port  De- 
posit Railroad,  from  that  river  to  Baltimore.  This 
unity  of  property  without  unity  of  interests  was  soon 
looked  upon  as  likely  to  be  disadvantageous  for  all 
parties,  and  "  it  became  evident  that  the  permanent  j 
and  indivisible  combination  of  the  three  companies 
as  one  corporation  would  prevent  the  danger  and  dis- 
cord of  jarring  interests  and  sectional  prejudice,  and 
secure  that  harmony  of  action  in  their  united  efforts 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  public  so  indispensable 
to  their  mutual  utility,  existence,  and  advantage." 
These  considerations  led  to  a  consolidation  of  the 
three  companies  into  one,  under  the  name  of  .the 
Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and  Baltimore  Railroad 
Company,  with  a  capital  of  $2,250,000,  which  was 
finally  consummated  on  the  5th  of  February,  1838, 
and  on  the  20th  the  new  board  elected  Mathew  New- 
kirk  president.  He  resigned,  and  on  June  1,  1842, 
M.  Brooke  Buckley  was  chosen  to  succeed  him.  He 
was  succeeded,  Jan.  12,  1846,  by  Edward  C.  Dale, 
who  resigned  in  July,  1848,  and  on  Jan.  9, 1849,  Wm. 
H.  Swift  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Mr.  Swift 
resigned  Feb.  28,  1851,  and  Samuel  M.  Felton  was 
elected  president.  In  consequence  of  ill-health  Mr. 
Felton  resigned,  to  take  effect  on  April  15,  1865,  and 
Isaac  Hinckley  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

Before  1842  the  company  had  used  a  portion  of  the 


passenger  depot  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
now  (1881)  occupied  by  James  D.  Mason  &  Sons, 
cracker  dealers,  but  the  inconvenience  attending  such 
an  arrangemeflt  induced  them  to  build  the  present  com- 
modious station  at  the  southeast  corner  of  President 
Street  and  Canton  Avenue.  At  the  first  opening  of  the 
road  freight  was  loaded  on  the  cars  at  Canton,  and  the 
passengers  were  transferred  by  horse-cars  from  the  old 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  depot  to  the  same  point.  On  May 
26, 1842,  the  cars  of  the  company  were  brought  for  the 
first  time  to  the  new  station  at  President  Street  by  loco- 
motive power,  and  from  this  time  to  the  present  both 
passeugersand  freight  have  been  carried  from  this  point. 
In  1848  the  stone  blocks  along  Pratt  Street,  on  which 
the  strap-rails  were  originally  laid,  were  taken  up  and 
oak  timbers  substituted  in  their  place.  The  founda- 
tion of  the  present  depot  was  laid  in  May,  1849,  and 
on  Feb.  18,  1850,  the  new  station  was  completed  and 
occupied,  and  the  old  depot  on  Pratt  Street  left  to  the 
use  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  at  the 
same  time,  with  a  view  to  better  accommodations  in 
Philadelphia,  the  site  of  the  present  depot  at  Broad 
and  Prime  Streets  in  that  city  was  purchased. 

Various  efforts  were  made  from  time  to  time,  for 
several  years,  to  procure  legislative  permission  to 
construct  a  bridge  across  the  Susquehanna  River  at 
Havre  de  Grace,  but  strong  opposition  was  offered  by 
the  residents  of  Port  Deposit  and  its  vicinity,  who 
deemed  such  a  structure  a  serious  obstruction  to  navi- 
gation, and  these  efforts  were  without  success  until 
the  12th  of  May,  1853,  when,  by  compromise  with  its 
opponents,  the  company  was  authorized  to  construct 
a  bridge,  on  condition  of  building  a  branch  railroad 
from  Perryville,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  to 
Port  Deposit,  a  distance  of  four  and  a  half  miles. 
Many  ditficulties  arose  to  prevent  the  completion  of 
the  bridge.  The  piers  were  commenced  in  1861,  but 
were  not  ready  for  the  superstructure  until  October, 

1865,  when  the  engineer  began  the  erection  of  the 
spans.  All  of  these  spans,  with  the  exception  of  the 
one  to  the  west  of  the  draw,  were  in  place  on  July  25, 

1866,  when  a  terrible  tornado  blew  them  off  the  piers 
into  the  river.' 

Happily  the  piers  were  uninjured,  and  on  the  3d  of 
August,  the  debris  having  been  removed,  work  was 
again  commenced  on  the  immense  superstructure,  and 
in  eighty-six  days  the  bridge  was  finished  and  an  en- 
gine passed  over  it.  This  great  structure  was  formally 
opened  for  public  use  on  November  26th,  the  event 
being  marked  by  festivities  and  a  meeting  of  excur- 

1  In  1852  the  Susquehanna  was  frozen  over  with  ice  of  such  thickness 
as  to  prevent  the  use  of  the  ferry-boat  for  several  weelis,  and  the  rail- 
road company  determined  to  lay  a  traclt  upon  the  ice.  This  was  com- 
pleted on  January  15th,  and  continued  in  use  until  Fehruary  24th,  when 
it  was  taken  up,  and  in  a  few  days  the  river  was  free  of  ice.  During  this 
time  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy-eight  cars,  loaded  with 
freight  and  passengers,  were  transported  upon  this  natural  brid<je,  the 
tonnage  amounting  to  about  ten  thousand  tons.  The  whole  was  accom- 
plished without  accident  of  any  kind,  and  the  materials  were  all  re- 
moved  before  the  breaking  up  of  the  river  without  the  loss  of  a  cross-Ue 


350 


HISTORY   OP  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


sion  parties,  under  the  auspices  of  the  company,  from 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  otlier  cities.  The  bridge 
consists  of  twelve  spans,  of  two  liundred  and  fifty  feet 
each  between  the  piers,  with  a  draw  for  passing  vessels 
of  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  feet,  the  twelve  piers 
being  each  eight  feet  wide,  adding  thus  an  aggregate 
of  ninety-six  feet,  and  making  the  whole  structure 
three  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-eight  feet 
in  length.  The  firet  si.x  piers  on  the  eastern  side  are 
built  of  solid  masonry  bedded  on  piles,  and  the  re- 
mainder entirely  of  stone,  the  foundation  reaching 
far  below  the  bed  of  the  river.  The  distance  from 
the  surface  of  the  water  at  medium  tide  to  the  track 
or  floor  of  the  bridge  is  twenty-six  feet.  The  width 
of  the  structure  is  twenty-one  feet.  The  bridge  was 
constructed  under  the  immediate  superintendence  of 
George  A.  Parker,  chief  engineer,  with  Benjamin  H. 
Latrobe,  consulting  engineer,  and  E.  Larkins  and  S. 
B.  Fuller,  assistants.  The  masonry  was  done  under 
the  superintendence  of  L.  Bates,  and  J.  E.  Bagley 
and  F.  W.  Cushing  were  the  supervisors  of  the  super- 
structure. Five  million  feet  of  timber,  20,000  cubic 
yards  of  masonry,  and  3,000,000  pounds  of  wrought 
and  cast  iron  were  used  in  the  structure.  The  im- 
mense superstructure,  originally  of  wood,  has  grad- 
ually been  replaced  with  iron. 

In  1878  the  railroad  company  acquired  in  Balti- 
more all  the  water-front  of  the  harbor  from  Eastern 
Avenue  to  Patuxent  Street,  Canton,  nearly  fifteen 
hundred  feet.  In  October  they  began  to  improve  this 
property,  and  erected  an  extensive  pier  over  four 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  to  accommodate  the  pas- 
seuger  and  freight  steamers  of  the  Norfolk  Line  and 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  trafiic  between  Can- 
ton and  Locust  Point.  In  addition  to  these  improve- 
ments, others  of  an  extended  character  (some  of  which 
are  upon  its  line,  while  others,  as  tributaries,  will  ad- 
vance its  business)  have  been  projected  and  are  now 
progressing.  As  it  is  the  direct  and  only  connecting 
link  between  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  the  travel 
over  its  line  is  very  large.  Its  double  track  between 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  comprises  one  hundred 
and  ninety-two  miles  of  rail,  traversed  by  sixty-one 
daily  trains,  employing  one  hundred  and  fifteen  pas- 
senger and  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  freight-cars.  Its 
facilities  for  safe  and  rapid  transit  are  not  surpassed 
by  any  road  in  the  Union,  and  its  business  is  steadily 
increasing.  During  1880  trouble  arose  between  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  and  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Companies  as  to  the  right  of  way  over  the  Junction 
Railroad  at  Philadelphia,  which  finally  led  to  the 
formation  of  a  syndicate  for  the  purpose  of  purchas- 
ing the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and  Baltimore 
Railroad. 

Among  those  interested  in  the  syndicate  were  Vice- 
Pr&sident  Haven,  of  the  New  Jersey  Central,  and  the 
I'epresentatives  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad. 
On  the  22d  of  February,  1881,  it  was  announced  that 
the  syndicate  had  bought  a  controlling  interest  in  the 


Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and  Baltimore  road  from 
Director  N.  P.  Thayer,  of  Boston,  in  which  city  eighty- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  stock  was  held.  The  Penn.syl- 
vania  Railroad,  however,  was  aware  that  Mr.  Thayer 
had  sold  the  stock  short  at  $70  a  share,  and  as  it  had 
been  selling  in  Boston  at  $65,  it  was  inferred  that  he 
was  not  authorized  to  offer  the  Boston  stockholders 
more  than  $70.  The  Pennsylvania  Company  accord- 
ingly directed  its  Boston  representatives,  Messrs.  Kid- 
der, Peabody  &  Co.,  to  inform  the  stockholders  that 
they  could  get  more  for  it,  and  the  latter  appointed  a 
committee  to  take  charge  of  their  stock  and  .sell  it  on 
the  best  possible  terms.  The  committee  soon  con- 
trolled more  than  one-half  the  shares,  and  on  the  7th 
of  March  met  President  Roberts  and  Vice-Presidents 
Cassatt  and  Smith,  of  the  Pennsylvania  road,  in  New 
York,  who  agreed  to  take  at  .$80  per  share,  on  or  be- 
fore July  1st,  all  the  stock  of  the  Philadelphia,  Wil- 
mington and  Baltimore  Railroad  which  should  be 
ofiered  them  before  the  1st  of  April.  At  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Pennsylvania  road, 
on  the  following  day.  President  Roberts  announced 
the  purchase,  and  the  meeting  authorized  the  issue  of 
400,000  shares  of  new  stock  to  raise  the  requisite  funds 
for  the  purchase.  The  total  amount  of  the  purchase- 
money  was  $16,675,692,  of  which  $14,949,052  went  to 
Boston  stockholders,  and  the  rest  to  stockholders  in 
Phila.lil|,lii;i.  Wilmington,  and  Baltimore.  Of  this 
anidiiiii  .<:  1,71  II  1,01  III  were  furnished  in  subscriptions 
for  the  .-^l  I  Mil  1(1,1)110  loan  of  four  per  cent,  made  on 
June  7th.  The  loan  runs  forty  years,  and  is  secured 
by  200,000  shares  of  Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and 
Baltimore  stock,  with  a  semi-annual  sinking  fund  of 
about  $175,000,  or  the  difference  between  the  interest 
to  be  paid  semi-annually  ($200,000)  and  the  dividends 
that  would  otherwise  be  payable  on  the  Philadel- 
phia, Wilmington  and  Baltimore  stock  ($400,000  semi- 
annually, minus  about  $25,000  for  taxes).  The  bal- 
ance of  the  amount  paid  for  the  stock  was  drawn  from 
the  company's  surplus,  which  was  being  replenished 
by  subscriptions  to  the  new  stock,  allotted  in  the 
proportion  of  one  share  to  every  eight  already  held, 
and  taken  by  the  stockholders  at  par.  The  amount 
realized  from  the  sale  of  new  stock  up  to  the  expira- 
tion of  the  time  allowed,  June  15th,  was,  in  round 
numbers,  $8,730,000,  showing  that  174,600  shares  of 
new  stock  were  issued.  The  possession  of  the  Phila- 
delphia, Wilmington  and  Baltimore  virtually  involves 
control  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  Central, 
which  extends  from  Lamokin  Junction  to  Octorara, 
Md.,  forty-six  miles,  with  a  three-mile  branch  to  Port 
Deposit;  the  Chester  Creek  Railroad,  leased,  consti- 
tuting the  first  seven  miles  from  Lamokin  to  West 
Chester  Junction ;  and  the  West  Chester  and  Phila- 
delphia Railroad,  extending  26.3  miles  from  Philadel- 
phia to  West  Chester. 

On  the  1st  of  July,  1881,  all  the  terms  of  the  con- 
tract had  been  complied  with,  and  the  Pennsylvania 
Company  took  possession  of  the  road. 


^^^^ 


TRANSPORTATION. 


351 


DISTANCES    ON    THE    PHILADELPHIA,    WILMINGTON    AND 


Stations. 
Itimorc 


3ALTI3IOEE   RAILROAD. 
Miles.  Stations. 

0    Elkton 

4  1  Newark 

9    Stautou 

I  Newport.. 


Perrymaiisvjlle 27    Claymout.. 

Aberdeen 31     Liiiwood..., 

Havre  de  Grace 36     Thurlow... 


37     Lamoki] 


North  East 46 

Baltimore  and  Potomac  Railroad.— In  the  con- 
struction of  public  works  in  Maryland  the  southern 
counties  of  the  Western  Shore  were  for  a  long  time 
neglected.  The  population  being  comparatively 
sparse,  and  agriculture  being  the  principal  industry, 
there  were  no  local  interests  that  were  not  sufficiently 
well  served  by  the  steamers  which  made  regular  trips 
to  the  ports  on  the  Chesapeake  Bay  and  Potomac 
Eiver  and  the  little  sailing-vessels  which  spread  their 
white  wings  on  all  the  tributary  streams.  The  Balti- 
more and  Potomac  Railroad  Company  was  chartered 
May  6,  1853,  with  the  following  incorporators : 
Thumas  G.  Pratt,  John  S.  Sellman,  Charles  R.  Stew- 
art, Eezin  Hammond,  George  Wells,  Owen  Disney, 
John  T.  Hodges,  James  S.  Owens,  Thomas  F.  Bowie, 
George  Morton,  William  R.  Barker,  William  P. 
Brooke,  Dr.  Charles  Diivall,  W.  W.  W.  Bowie, 
Charles  C.  Hill,  Thomas  J.  Marshall,  Nicholas  H. 
Shipley,  P.  W.  Grain,  William  B.  Stone,  John  Mat- 
thews, John  W.  Jenkins,  Francis  Thompson,  Uzial 
Nalley,  Walter  Mitchell,  Edmund  Perry,  George 
Thomas,  Richard  H.  Miles,  Edmund  J.  Plowden, 
John  C.  Brune,  John  S.  Gittings,  James  Carroll,  Ed- 
ward Reynolds,  Henry  Garrett,  Francis  Neale,  Zenus 
Barnum,  and  William  Baker.  The  object  of  the  pro- 
jectors was  to  unite  the  railroad  system  of  Maryland 
and  Pennsylvania  with  that  of  Virginia  by  building 
a  road  from  Baltimore  down  the  Western  Shore,  and 
crossing  the  lower  Potomac,  form  a  junction  with  the 
Richmond  and  Fredericksburg  road  at  Acquia  Creek. 
In  those  days  passengers  for  the  South  went  from 
Washington  to  Acquia  Creek  in  steamboats,  and  the 
Baltimore  and  Potomac  road  was  intended  to  supply 
the  missing  link,  and  to  make  a  continuous  line  of 
railway  from  Baltimore  to  Richmond. 

Beyond  the  granting  of  the  charter,  nothing  was 
done  towards  the  building  of  the  road  during  the 
next  six  years.  The  company  was  organized  in 
December,  1858,  and  a  Board  of  Directors  elected 
composed  of  the  following  gentlemen:  Hon.  John 
Stephen  Sellman,  Hon.  William  D.  Bowie,  Hon. 
W^alter  Mitchell,  John  W.  Jenkins,  W.  W.  W. 
Bowie,  Edwin  J.  Plowden,  and  Edwin  Robinson. 
The  board  met  in  Baltimore,  Jan.  12,  1859,  and 
elected  Hon.  John  Stephen  Sellman,  president;  H. 
W.  Cooke,  secretary ;  and  John  S.  Gittings,  treasurer. 
In  1861  the  Hon.  Odeu  Bowie  was  elected  president, 
and  he  still  fills  the  office.  To  the  active  agency  and 
energetic   labor  of  Oden    Bowie,  more  than  to  any 


other  person,  is  due  the  successful  construction  of  this 
connection  of  Baltimore  with  Washington  City  and 
Southern  Maryland.  William  Duckett  Bowie,  the 
father  of  Oden  Bowie,  was  born  at  Fair  View,  in 
Prince  George's  Co.,  Md.,  the  present  family-seat,  on 
the  7th  of  October,  1803.  Eliza  Oden,  the  mother  of 
Oden  Bowie,  was  born  at  Belfield,  in  the  same  county. 
William  Bowie,  of  Walter,  the  grandfather  of  Oden 
Bowie,  was  born  Jan.  29,  1776,  and  died  Sept.  10, 
1826.  He  married  Kitty  B.  Duckett,  only  child  of 
Baruch  Duckett,  on  Dec.  14,  1802,  and  William 
Duckett  Bowie,  above  mentioned,  was  their  first  child. 
Walter  Bowie  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
and  Elizabeth  Brooks,  Nov.  16,  1771.  His  son,  Wil- 
liam Bowie,  of  Walter,  was  a  member  of  Congress 
contemporaneously  with  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke, 
of  whom  he  was  a  particular  friend.  Benjamin  Oden, 
the  maternal  grandfather  of  Oden  Bowie,  was  born 
April,  1772,  and  married  Miss  West,  of  Woodyard, 
Prince  George's  Co.,  Md.  Oden  Bowie  was  born  in 
Prince  George's  Co.,  Md.,  Nov.  10,  1826,  and  was  ed- 
ucated by  a  private  tutor  at  home  until  nine  years  of 
age,  when,  upon  the  death  of  his  mother,  he  was  sent 
to  the  preparatory  department  of  St.  John's  College, 
Annapolis,  at  that  time  under  the  charge  of  the  dis- 
tinguished Prof.  Elwell. 

He   remained   at  St.  John's   three  years,  and   at 

twelve  years  of  age  attended  St.  Mary's  College,  Bal- 

{  timore,  where  in  July,  1845,  he  graduated  as  valedic- 

j  torian  of  his  class.     On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Mexi- 

1  can  war  in  1846,  with  his  academic  laurels  still  fresh 

upon  his  brow,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Baltimore 

and  Washington  Battalion,  commanded  by  Lieut. -Col. 

I  William  H.  Watson,  and  was  promoted  to  a  lieuten- 

antcy  at  the  battle  of  Monterey,  where  he  was  highly 

complimented  for  gallantry  by  Gen.  Taylor.    During 

this  engagement  he  took  part  in  the  celebrated  charge 

made  into  the  very  heart  of  Monterey,  and  on  the 

retreat  of  the  battalion  Lieut.-Col.  Watson  and  Lieut. 

Bowie  became  separated  from  the  main  body.     While 

thus  retiring  they  met  another  column  advancing  to 

the  attack,  which  they  joined,  and  a  few  minutes  after 

Lieut.-Col.  Watson  was  instantly  killed,  Lieut.  Bowie 

being  the  only  officer  of  the  battalion  with  him  when 

befell.'  President  Polk  subsequently  appointed  Lieut. 


1  Upon  tlie  death  of  Lieut.-Col.  Watson,  Lieut.  Bowie 


the 


following  1 


"Monterey,  Sept.  28, 184C. 

"  Mv  Dear  Madam, — It  is  with  feelings  of  the  keenest  sorrow  that  I 

am  compelled  to  announce  to  you  the  sad  bereavement,  which  I  fear  you 

may  have  been  informed  of  ere  this  through  a  newspaper  medium.    I 

would  fain  have  preferred  that  some  other  person  more  adequate  to  the 

task  should  have  announced  to  you  the  death  of  "yonr  late  husband ;  but 

as  in  life  I  was  most  intimate  with  him,  and  was  at  his  side  when  the 

fatal  messenger  of  death  performed  its  destructive  errand,  I  was  requested 

by  him  to  inform  you  of  bis  fall.    It  may  ameliorate  some  little  the  grief 

which  the  news  of  his  demise  will  inflict  to  know  that  Col.  Watson  fell 

while  gallantly  leading  on  a  Spartan  few  to  a  second  charge,  after  our 

forces  had  once  been  repulsed  and  were  then  retreating.     I  am  happy 

to  say  that  through  the  whole  army  his  heroism  is  spoken  of  in  the 

'   highest  terms  of  laudation,  and  of  the  many  who  fell  on  that  day  no  one 

'   was  more  regretted.    His  wound  was  received  from  a  musket-ball  which 


35i 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUiNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Bowie  senior  captain  of  the  only  voltigeur  regiment 
(one  01  the  ten  new  United  States  regiments  then  i 
raised  by  act  of  Congress)  ever  in  tlie  United  States  1 
service,  the  now  distinguished  Gen.  Joseph  E.  John- 
ston   being    its    lieutenant-colonel.      Capt.   Bowie's 
health,   liowever.  proved    unequal   to   the   rigor    of  I 
military  life,  and  he  was. compelled  to  return  home 
before  the  end  of  the  war.     His  services,  however, 
had  not  passed  unmarked,  and  after  the  conclusion  of 
hostilities  the  Maryland  Legislature  adopted  resolu-  j 
tions  eulogizing  his  gallantry  and  good  conduct. 

In  politics  Jlr.  Bowie  has  always  been  a  Democrat.  I 
His  political  career  commenced  in  Prince  George's  i 
County  in   1847,  when   he   was   nominated   for  the  i 
House  of  Delegates  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  | 
although  not  of  age  on  the  day  of  election,  was  beaten 
only  ten  votes  in  that  strong  Whig  county.     At  the  : 
next  election  iu  1849  he  was  elected  to  the  House, 
the  only  Democrat  from  the  county,  his  three  col- 
leagues" being   Whigs.     After  this  he  withdrew  en- 
tirely from  active  politics  until  1861,  when  he  was 
nominated  as  the  "  peace  candidate"  for  the  Senate,  | 
but  the  polls  were  seized  by  the   military,  and  the 
Democrats  were  not  allowed  to  vote.     In  1864  he  was 
nominated  as  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Lieuten 
ant-Governor,  but  was  beaten  by  the  soldier  vote  ii 
the  field.     Mr.  Bowie  was  chairman  of  the  Demo- 
cratic State  Central  Committee  during  the  whole  of 
the  war,  and   was   one  of  the  principal  negotiators 
with  Governor  Swann  in  regaining   control  of  the 
State  for  the  Democrats.     He  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Chicago  State  Democratic  Convention  which  nomi- 
nated  McClellan  for   the   Presidency   in   1864,  was 
then  appointed  the  member  of  the  Democratic  State 
Committee  from  Maryland,  and  it  was  through  his 
exertions  and  influence  that  the  Democratic  State 
Convention  of  1868  was  held  in  Baltimore.     In  1867 
he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  where  he  became 
chairman  on  the  Committees  on  Federal  Kelations 
and  Executive  Nominations,  member  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Internal  Improvements,  and  other  important 
standing   committees.     This   was  a   very   important 
legislative  session,  and  Mr.  Bowie  rendered  valuable 
and  efficient  service  iu  the  consideration  and  deter- 

passed  through  the  neck,  severing  the  jugular  vein.  He  died  a  most 
placid  death,  with  a  smile  upon  his  countenance,  iu  ahout  five  minutes 
after  the  wound  was  received.  I  remained  with  him  until  lie  breathed 
his  last,  and  we  performed  the  last  sad  rites  with  military  honors.  I  took 
from  his  neck  your  miniature,  which,  together  with  his  efiTects,  are  now 
in  my  possession,  an  inventory  of  them  having  been  taken  by  Capt. 
Kenly  and  myself.  His  death,  as  I  have  said,  is  deplored  by  all,  but  by 
none  half  so  much  as  the  oilicera  under  his  command.  To  us  was  his 
real  worth  known,  and  by  ns  was  every  kindness  received  from  him.  A 
committee  has  been  appointed  to  express  our  sorrow,  and  to  devise,  if 
possible,  some  means  of  sending  his  body  to  Baltimore.  In  conclusion, 
madam,  with  a  full  sense  of  the  grief  which  this  news  will  impart,  I 
may  be  permitted  to  express  the  hope  that  you  will  bear  up  under  the 
aflliction,  and  comfort  yourself  with  the  assurance  that  his  death  was  not 
without  the  consent  of  Him  '  who  permitteth  the  sparrow  to  fall  without 
his  knowledge." 

"  Very  truly  and  respectfully, 
"  To  Mrs.  WiiLTAM  n.  Watson.  "  Oden  Bowie." 


mination  of  the  many  great  public  questions  of  the 
hour.  It  was  at  this  session  that  an  effort  was  made 
to  annul  the  charter  of  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac 
Railroad,  and  the  life  of  the  road  was  only  saved  by 
the  energy  and  ability  of  Mr.  Bowie.  In  1867  he 
was  elected  Governor  by  a  majority  of  nearly  42,000 
votes,  leading  largely  the  rest  of  the  Democratic  State 
ticket.  Governor  Bowie's  administration  was  of  a 
most  successful  character,  and  was  marked  by,  many 
practical  and  important  achievements.  Among  them 
may  be  mentioned  the  settlement  of  the  oyster  diffi- 
culties with  Virginia,  the  collection  of  the  arrearages 
I  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  the  repayment 
by  the  United  States  of  large  sums  of  money  advanced 
by  the  State,  and  the  obtainment  of  large  quantities 
of  arms  and  artillery  from  the  Federal  government. 
:  Not  the  least  of  the  practical  results  of  his  adminis- 
tration was  the  wonderful  change  produced  in  the 
condition  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal,  which 
was  metamorphosed  from  a  financial  wreck  into  an 
'  interest-paying  enterprise.  Since  his  retirement  from 
I  the  executive  chair  he  has  taken  no  part  in  active 
politics. 

Mr.  Bowie's  business  life  has  involved  many  im- 
portant and  responsible  trusts.  In  1860  he  was  made, 
as  we  have  stated,  president  of  the  Baltimore  and  Po- 
tomac Railroad  Company,  and  at  once  proceeded  to 
push  that  enterprise  with  his  customary  energy,  having 
several  sections  of  the  road  under  contract  in  1861, 
when  the  work  was  interrupted  by  the  outbreak  of  the 
civil  war.  On  the  return  of  peace  the  construction  of 
the  road  was  recommenced,  and  was  soon  completed 
under  Mr.  Bowie's  intelligent  management.  In  1873 
he  was  elected  president  of  the  Baltimore  City  Passen- 
ger Railway  Company.  W^hen  he  assumed  the  presi- 
dency of  this  corporation  its  stock  was  selling  at  §14, 
with  a  par  value  of  $25,  no  dividends  had  been  de- 
clared for  two  years,  the  company  owed  the  city  a  debt 
I  of  over  $100,000*  for  arrearages  of  park  tax,  and  the 
road  stock  was  in  a  wretched  condition.  At  present 
I  the  stock  of  the  company  is  quoted  at  $40,  with  no 
sellers,  stockholders  receive  regular  dividends,  and 
the  equipment  of  the  road  is  of  the  best  character. 
In  1870  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Maryland 
Jockey  Club,  then  organized,  and  through  his  exer- 
tions the  course  at  Pimlico  was  bought  and  estab- 
lished. The  establishment  of  the  "Dinner  Stakes," 
and  subsequently  of  the  "  Breakfast  Stakes,"  two  of 
the  most  popular  events  of  the  Pimlico  course,  was 
suggested  by  Mr.  Bowie  at  the  famous  "  dinner- 
party" at  Saratoga.  In  order  to  connect  the  city 
and  course  more  closely,  the  Arlington  and  Pimlico 
Railroad  Company  was  organized  in  January,  1881, 
with  Hon.  John  Jlerryman  as  president.  Mr.  Mer- 
,  ryman  was  ill  when  elected,  and  was  confined  to  hia 
house  all  winter,  but  during  his  sickness  the  road 
j  was  built  through  the  energetic  efforts  of  Mr.  Bowie, 
and  the  first  train  ran  over  it  on  the  14th  of  May, 
1881. 


TRANSPORTATION. 


353 


Mr.  Bowie  began  the  study  of  law  soon  after  his 
graduation  in  1845,  but  upon  his  return  from  Mexico 
he  devoted  himself  to  farming,  and  in  spite  of  his 
active  business  and  political  career  has  managed  ever 
since  to  find  time  for  agricultural  pursuits.  Mr. 
Bowie  has  several  of  the  finest  stock-farms  in  the 
county,  breeding  largely  thoroughbred  horses,  Devon 
cattle.  Southdown  and  Cotswold  .sheep.  The  fine  flock 
of  Southdowns  in  Druid  Hill  Park  were  purchased  by 
the  commissioners  from  Mr.  Bowie.  His  horse-breed- 
ing farm  is  now  only  excelled  in  the  number  of  stal- 
lions and  mares  by  Alexander's  and  Sanford's,  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  Gen.  Harding's,  in  Tennessee,  and  he  pro- 
poses soon  to  establish  annual  sales  of  the  yearlings 
bred  at  Fair  View,  such  as  are  held  by  the  gentlemen 
above  named.  In  1851,  Mr.  Bowie  married  Alice 
Carter,  daughter  of  Charles  H.  Carter  (a  descendant 
of  "  King"  Carter,  of  Virginia).  Mrs.  Bowie's  mother 
was  Rosalie  Eugenie  Calvert,  of  Riversdale,  Prince 
George's  Co.,  Md.,  and  a  descendant  of  Lord  Balti- 
more. Mr.  Bowie  joined  the  Masonic  order  in  1870, 
and  is  a  Master  Mason.  He  is  a  member,  though  not 
a  communicant,  of  the  Episcopal  Church  ;  has  been 
vestryman  of  his  parish  in  Prince  George's  County 


Rutter,  the  contractor,  and  the  first  locomotive  passed 
through  it  June  26,  1873.  The  Union  Railroad,  with 
its  double-track  tunnel,  was  completed  about  the  same 
time,  and  brought  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and 
Baltimore  Railroad  into  close  relations  with  the  Bal- 
timore and  Potomac.  Through  trains  from  Washing- 
ton to  New  York  began  to  pass  around  and  under 
Baltimore  without  breaking  connection  and  almost 
without  making  a  halt.  While  these  improvements 
were  in  progress  in  Baltimore  and  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Potomac,  the  Richmond  and  Fredericksburg  road 
was  extended  to  Washington,  and  joined  to  the  Balti- 
more and  Potomac  at  the  Sixth  Street  Depot,  and  thus 
the  connection  between  the  Penn.sylvania  Railroad 
and  the  South  was  completed.  As  heretofore  inti- 
mated, the  revenues  of  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac 
Company  are  derived  mainly  from  the  division  of  the 
road  between  Baltimore  and  Washington.  After  the 
extension  of  the  Potomac  road  to  Washington,  and 
the  construction  of  the  Alexandria  and  Fredericks- 
burg Railroad,  there  was  no  need  for  crossing  the  lower 
Potomac,  and  consequently  the  southern  terminus  in 
Maryland  remains  at  Pope's  Creek,  in  Charles  County. 
With  the  further  development  of  the  agricultural  re- 


fer many  years,  and  several  times  delegate  to  the  I  sources  of  the  Western  Peninsula,  the  division  of  the 
diocesan  convention.  His  legal  residence  is  at  the  !  road  between  Bowie  Junction  (where  the  Washing- 
ton branch  diverges  from  the  main  stem)  and  Pope's 
Creek  (48.7  miles)  may  become  profitable  to  the  com- 
pany, but  up  to  this  time  it  has  not  paid  its  working 
expenses.  The  upper  division,  however,  is  a  link  in 
the  main  line  between  the  North  and  the  South,  and 
over  it  is  transported  the  great  bulk  of  the  freight 
sent  from  the  North  to  AVashington.  All  the  an- 
thracite coal  brought  from  the  Susquehanna  mines 
to  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  passes  over  the  upper 
division,  and  this  is  of  itself  an  immense  business. 
The  Northern  Central,  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington 
and  Baltimore,  and  the  Western  Maryland  Railroads 
join  tracks  with  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac,  and 
southward  bound  trains,  whether  freight  or  passenger, 
can  continue  their  journey  without  breaking  con- 
nection at  Baltimore.  The  Pennsylvania  Company 
has  a  'controlling  interest  in  the  Northern  'Central 
road.'as'well  as  in  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac  road, 
and  with  the  exception  of  the  president,  all  the  prin- 
cipal executive  oflScers  of  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac 
Company  are  also  oflicers  of  the  Northern  Central 
Company,  and  some  of  them  hold  similar  positions 
enough  for  a  double  track  and  a  mile  and  a  half  in  I  in  the  Pennsylvania  Company.  The  three  roads  are 
length  was  built  under  the  northern  section  of  the  operated  under  the  same  general  direction,  although 
city,  at  a  cost  exceeding  two  million  and  a  half  of  each  maintains  an  independent  organization.  It  is 
dollars.  Work  was  begun  on  the  Baltimore  and  Po-  [  more  than  probable  that  the  recent  purchase  of  a 
tomac  road  in  1868,  and  it  was  completed  inside  of  '  controlling  interest  in  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington 
four  years.  Trains  began  to  run  from  Lafayette  Sta-  j  and  Baltimore  Railroad  by  the  Pennsylvania  Com- 
tion,  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  to  Washington  July  |  pany,  will  bring  that  road  into  more  intimate  rela- 
2, 1872.  The  tunnel  was  planned  in  1869  by  Thomas  j  tions  with  the  Pennsylvania  system,  and  that  a  still 
Seabrook,  general  manager,  C.  S.  Emack,  the  chief  I  larger  portion  of  the  travel  and  trafl[ic  between  the 
engineer,  and  H.  H.  Carter,  the  resident  engineer,  ;  North  and  Washington  will  pass  over  the  uppei 
and  the  work  commenced  in  June,  1871,  by  Thomas  '  division  of  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac. 


old  family  estate  of  Fair  View,  in  Prince  George's 
County. 

Some  little  grading  was  done  on  the  line  of  the 
Potomac  Railroad  in  the  vicinity  of  Upper  Marlboro' 
in  1860,  but  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  put  an  end 
to  all  further  operations  until  the  return  of  peace. 
One  of  the  provisions  of  the  charter  gave  the  com- 
pany authority  to  build  "  lateral"  roads,  and  in  1867 
the  project  of  building  a  branch  to  Washington  took 
definite  shape.  This  gave  an  impulse  to  the  work 
which  carried  it  from  Baltimore  to  its  southern 
terminus,  and  sent  a  branch  across  to  the  national 
capital  that  became  of  vastly  more  importance,  in  a 
financial  point  of  view,  than  the  whole  of  the  main 
stem  below  Bowie  Junction. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  had  long  de- 
sired to  secure  a  southern  outlet,  and  the  Washing- 
ton branch  of  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac  road  afforded 
the  opportunity.  Nearly  all  the  capital  invested  in 
the  road  was  furnished  by  the  Pennsylvania  and 
Northern  Central  Railroad  Companies,  and  in  order 
to  make  a  junction  with  the  latter  road  a  tunnel  wide 


354 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  construction  of  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac 
tunnel  has  solved  the  question  of  rapid  transit  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore  for  a  century  at  least,  if  not  for  all 
time.  In  obedience  to  some  inevitable  law,  which  is 
probably  not  fully  understood,  the  centre  of  popula- 
tion in  all  great  cities  on  this  side  of  the  ocean  is 
constantly  moving  to  the  northwest,  unless  prevented 
by  insuperable  natural  obstacles.  This  tendency  is 
particularly  marked  in  Baltimore,  and  there  is  indefi- 
nite room  for  the  city  to  grow  in  that  direction.  The 
Baltimore  and  Potomac  road  sweeps  around  the 
northern  and  western  suburbs,  and  by  means  of  the 
tunnel  its  trains  are  brought  within  easy  reach  of  the 
crowded  business  thoroughfares.  The  time  will  come 
when  this  subterranean  arch  will  become  the  main 
artery  of  communication  between  two  distinctly 
marked  sections  of  the  city. 

DISTANCES  ON  THE  BALTIMORE   AND   POTOMAC   KAILROAD. 


(Eic 


Fhedeeicksbuug  Bai 


Richland 81  I  Butberglen 

Brooke 88  I  C.  &  D.  R.  R.  Jun 

Potomac  Run 90  i  Tayloreville 

Fredericksliurg 97  I  Ashland 

Suuiniit 105  I  Kilby 

Guinoa 109  i  Hungary 

Woodford in  I  Boulton , 

Milforrt 118  :  Elba , 


Pent 


122 


The  Union  Railroad  and  Tunnel.— This  import- 
ant enterprise  cdinicrts  together  the  Baltimore  and 
Potomac,  W. -I  (III  .Maryland,  Northern  Central,  Phila- 
delphia, WihiiiiiutDU  and  Baltimore,  and  Baltimore 
and  Delta  Eailroads,  and  brings  them  all  to  tide- 
water at  Canton.  The  Union  Railroad  was  chartered 
by  the  Legislature  of  Maryland  on  Feb.  5, 1866,  with 
the  following  commissionc'rs  who  were  authorized  to 
receive  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock  of  the  com- 
pany, which  was  limited  to  $600,000,  in  shares  of 
$100  each  :  John  W.  Randolph,  Alford  Mace,  Jesse 
Tyson,  Samuel  Shoemaker,  Chauncey  Brooks,  Horace 
Abbott,  William  A.  Fisher,  Dr.  J.  H.  Tyler,  Thomas 
Booze,  F.  Littig  Schaeffer,  S.  J.  Carroll,  Charles  J. 
Baker,  and  Evan  T.  Ellicott.  The  charter  of  the 
company  was  amended  and  several  sections  repealed 
by  the  Legislatures  of  1867  and  1870,  and  nothing  was 
done  towards  building  the  road  until  the  fall  of  the 
latter  year,  hi  view  of  the  advantages  likely  to  ac- 
crue to  the  Canton  Company  upon  the  completion  of 
the  road,  that  corporation  at  a  general  meeting  of  the 
stockholders  held  in  November,  1870,  subscribed  for 


$590,000  of  the  $600,000  of  the  stock,  and  indorsed 
the  bonds  of  the  Union  Company  for  $873,000,  which 
it  was  thought  was  ample  to  defray  the  whole  cost  of 
the  road.  For  the  safety  of  the  Canton  Company,  the 
Union  Railroad  Company  executed  to  it  a  mortgage 
on  its  franchise,  and  on  all  the  rights  and  property  to  be 
acquired  thereunder,  and  entered  into  an  agreement  to 
pay  to  the  Canton  Company  the  interest  on  the  bonds 
as  it  became  due,  and  six  per  cent,  per  annum  for  in- 
terest on  $220,196,  and  five  per  cent,  per  annum  on 
the  same  sum,  in  liquidation  of  the  principal  of  this 
amount,  conveyed  in  ground-rents  by  the  Canton 
Company  to  trustees  to  secure  the  bonds.  Thus  the 
road  was  built,  and  it  became  the  property  of  the 
Canton  Company,  who  are  the  almost  sole  owners  of 
its  stock  and  bonds.  The  first  president  of  the  com- 
pany was  William  G.  Harrison,  who  has  continued  in 
that  capacity  up  to  the  present  time.  C.  P.  Manning 
was  chief  engineer,  and  under  his  supervision  the 
plans  were  designed.  Messrs.  J.  C.  Wrenshall  and  J. 
R.  Kenly  were  the  resident  engineers,  under  whose 
inspection  the  work  was  completed,  and  Messrs.  Drill, 
Wiley,  &  Andrews  were  the  contractors.  The  work 
was  given  out  late  in  March,  1871,  and  begun  May  1st, 
and  continued  without  intermission  until  it  was  com- 
pleted, July  24,  1873,  when  the  first  trains  passed 
through  the  tunnel.  On  that  day  the  9.20  a.m.  fast 
train  from  Washington  for  New  York  arrived  at  the 
Potomac  (now  Union )  Depot,  at  Charles  Street,  and  in 
ten  minutes  it  passed  through  the  tunnel  and  sped  on 
its  way  northward  on  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington 
and  Baltimore  track,  which  forms  a  junction  with  the 
Union  Railroad  near  Bayview  Asylum.  Two  other 
trains  passed  through  the  tunnel  later  in  the  day. 

The  construction  of  the  Union  Railroad  tunnel,  al- 
though a  work  demanding  skillful  engineering,  did 
not  present  some  of  the  peculiar  difficulties  of  that 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac  tunnel.  But  little 
trouble  was  experienced  from  water,  and  as  the  line 
of  its  construction  was  not  closely  built  up,  the  ne- 
cessity of  vertical  cuts  with  an  intricate  system  of 
timbering  for  their  support  was  obviated.  The  quan- 
tity of  rock  met  with  rendering  blasting  necessary 
was  not  very  great,  and  no  unusual  difficulties  were 
presented  in  the  progress  of  the  work.  A  great  deal 
of  sand  and  gravel  was  found,  making  such  a  pre- 
carious bottom  in  many  places  that  an  invert  arch 
was  constructed  for  two-thirds  of  the  distance. 

From  the  eastern  facade  at  Bond  Street  the  tunnel 
extends  under  the  bed  of  Hoffman  Street,  crossing 
under  the  beds  of  Dallas,  Caroline,  Spring,  and  Eden 
Streets,  Central  and  Harford  Avenues,  Aisquith,  Ensor, 
Valley,  and  McKim  Streets,  and  Greenmount  Avenue, 
where  it  ends.  From  Ensor  Street  to  Greenmount 
Avenue  the  line  of  the  tunnel  passes  along  beside  the 
south  wall  of  Greenmount  Cemetery.  The  western 
facjade  is  similar  in  appearance  to  the  eastern.  Its  face 
is  immediately  against  the  embankment  of  Green- 
mount Avenue,  and  it  has  wing-walls  of  bluostone, 


TRANSPOKTATION. 


355 


extending  a  short  distance  on  either  side.  The  tunnel 
is  an  air-line,  and  is  three  thousand  four  hundred  and 
ten  feet  in  length,  or  about  five-eighths  of  a  mile.  Only 
a  small  distance  was  drifted,  being  the  portion  between 
Harford  Avenue  and  Eden  Street,  where  the  tunnel 
was  boxed  through  at  a  depth  of  some  seventy  feet, 
extending  under  the  beds  of  Harford  and  Central 
Avenues.  The  tunnel  is  built  entirely  of  brick,  and 
is  twenty-three  and  one-half  feet  high  by  twenty-six 
feet  wide,  and  the  height  from  the  rails  to  the  top  of 
the  arch  is  nineteen  and  one-half  feet.  The  shape  of 
the  arch  is  slightly  different  from  that  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Potomac  tunnel,  the  haunches  and  vertex 
of  the  arch  forming  a  semicircle  of  thirteen  feet 
radius,  the  sides  an  arch  of  twenty-six  feet  radius, 
and  the  invert  an  arch  of  thirty  feet  radius.  The 
arch  is  constructed  of  five  rings  of  brick,  and  is 
broken  up  with  masonry  of  bluestone.  The  eastern 
facade  is  ninety  feet  above  tide-level,  sloping  down 
to  fifty  feet  at  the  western  facade.  In  the  construc- 
tion of  the  tunnel  8,810,000  bricks  were  used,  and 
there  were  18,622  cubic  yards  of  stone-backing  behind 
the  arch.  In  making  the  open  cuts  224,000  cubic 
yards  of  earth  were  excavated,  and  in  drifting  12,000 
cubic  yards.  During  the  progress  of  the  work  36,000 
cubic  yards  of  stone  were  taken  out.  The  work  also 
required  6000  yards  of  retaining-vvall  masonry  built 
at  the  approaches,  and  2361  yards  of  masonry  for 
bridge  abutments.  Upwards  of  three  hundred  men 
were  employed  upon  the  work. 

The  Union  Kailroad  begins  at  its  junction  with  the 
track  of  the  Northern  Central  Railroad,  near  Charles 
Street,  running  eastwardly  along  the  line  of  Jones' 
Falls  to  the  western  entrance  of  the  tunnel  at  Green- 
mount  Avenue.  Emerging  from  the  tunnel  at  Bond 
Street,  it  passes  over  Broadway  and  Belair  Avenue 
on  iron  bridges,  and  curves  southwardly  to  Eager 
Street ;  thence  it  runs  due  east,  following  the  line  of 
Eager  Street,  crossing  East  Avenue,  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  city.  Passing  on  through  the  open 
country,  it  again  curves  southeastwardly,  dividing 
into  two  branches,  one  cro.ssing  the  Philadelphia 
turnpike  by  a  bridge,  and  connecting  with  the  Phil- 
adelphia, Wilmington  and  Baltimore  Eailroad  at 
Dungan's  Lane,  the  other  running  due  south  to  Can- 
ton, passing  through  the  lands  of  the  Canton  Com- 
pany for  three  miles,  ending  at  tide-water  on  Ninth 
Street.  The  road  is  laid  with  a  double  track,  and  is 
three  and  four-fifths  miles  from  the  Union  Depot  to 
the  junction  with  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and 
Baltimore  Railroad  at  Bayview  Station,  and  from 
Union  Depot  to  tide-water  six  miles.  The  cost  of 
the  road  and  tunnel  has  been  about  $3,000,000.  As 
the  Union  Railroad  is  a  toll-road,  it  has  very  little 
rolling-stock  and  very  few  buildings. 

Western  Maryland  Railroad.— Of  all  the  rail- 
roads tliat  centre  at  Baltimore,  the  Western  Maryland 
was  the  hist  to  be  completed.  Although  projected  in 
1830,  its  trains  did  not  enter  the  city  on  its  own  track 


till  1873.  It  is  difficult  for  those  who  pass  over  the 
road  to  understand  why  its  building  was  delayed  so 
long.  Fully  fifty  years  ago  the  people  of  Baltimore 
were  most  anxious  to  establish  communication  by  rail 
with  the  fertile  and  populous  region  which  it  traverses. 
The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  road  would  have  been  lo- 
cated upon  this  line  if  the  engineers  could  have  found 
a  practicable  route  across  the  South  Mountain.  Rail- 
road building  was  in  its  infancy  when  these  explor- 
ations were  made.  After  the  Baltimore  and  Susque- 
hanna Company  (now  the  Northern  Central)  had 
completed  eight  miles  of  its  main  stem  it  turned  to 
the  west  and  built  nine  miles  of  road  through  the 
Green  Spring  Valley,  with  the  intention  of  continu- 
ing the  line  to  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  completed  por- 
tion of  this  branch  was  opened  for  travel  May  26, 
1832.  When  work  was  resumed  on  the  main  stem, 
the  western  extension  of  the  Green  Spring  branch 
was  suspended,  and  nothing  further  was  done  for 
twenty  years. 

An  act  was  passed  May  27,  1852,  incorporating  the 
Baltimore,  Carroll  and  Frederick  Railroad  Company. 
The  corporators  were  George  Brown,  Robert  M.  Ma- 
graw,  Zenus  Barnum,  William  F.  Johnson,  Charles 
Painter,  Richard  Green,  Richard  Worthington,  Nich- 
olas Kelly,  Edward  Remington,  Jacob  Reese,  John 
Fisher,  Jacob  Mathias,  David  Roop,  Joshua  Smith, 
J.  Henry  Hoppe,  David  H.  Shriver,  John  Smith, 
Samuel  Ecker,  Joseph  Moore,  Reuben  Haines,  of 
W.,  Daniel  P.  Saylor,  John  Cover,  Peregrine  Fitz- 
hugh,  Joshua  Motter,  Robert  Annan,  David  Rinehart, 
Jervis  Spencer,  Isaac  Motter,  and  John  Baker.  This 
company  was  authorized  to  build  a  railroad  to  the 
"head-waters  of  the  Monocacy  River,"  with  the 
option  of  beginning  at  Baltimore  or  at  the  terminus 
of  the  Green  Spring  branch  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Susquehanna  road  (Northern  Central).  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  the  corporate  name  was  changed  to  "  the 
Western  Maryland  Railroad  Company,"  and  an  act 
was  passed  at  the  same  session  of  the  Legislature 
authorizing  the  company  to  issue  bonds  to  the  amount 
of  $1,000,000,  and  to  extend  the  road  to  Hagerstown. 
Robert  M.  Magraw  was  the  first  president  of  the  new 
company.  Nothing  was  done  for  five  or  six  years 
except  that  it  was  decided  to  begin  building  at  the 
terminus  of  the  Green  Spring  branch,  and  to  use  the 
main  stem  of  the  Northern  Central  Railway  from 
Lake  Roland  to  the  city.  The  road  was  opened  to 
Owings'  Mills  Aug.  11,  1859,  and  to  Westminster 
June  15,  1861.  One  year  afterwards  trains  began  to 
run  to  Union  Bridge,  twelve  miles  beyond  West- 
minster, and  this  place  remained  the  terminus  of  the 
road  until  Jan.  9,  1871,  when  it  was  opened  to 
Mechanicstown,  fifty-nine  miles  from  Baltimore. 

The  construction  of  the  road  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Blue  Ridge  was  begun  in  1866.  In  that  year  the 
Legislature  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  county  com- 
missioners of  Washington  County  to  subscribe  $150,000 
to  the  capital  stock  of  the  Western  Maryland  Com- 


356 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


pany,  the  money  to  be  expended  in  grading  the  road 
from  the  western  sloi)e  of  the  mountain  to  Hagers- 
town.  The  commissioners  of  Washington  County 
suljsequently  indorsed  the  bonds  of  the  Western 
Maryland  Company  to  the  amount  of  S300,000.  There 
was  some  delay  in  getting  over  the  mountain,  and  the 
eastern  and  western'  divisions  were  not  united  until 
June  G,  1872,  when  trains  began  to  run  to  Hagers- 
town.  The  Williamsport "  extension"  and  the  "  short 
line"  from  Baltimore  to  Owings'  Mills  were  builtsimul- 
taneously,  and  the  road  was  opened  to  the  Potomac 
River  Dec.  17,  1873.  After  the  completion  of  the 
direct  line  from  Owings'  Mills  to  the  city,  the  nine 
miles  of  track  between  the  Green  Spring  Junction 
and  Lake  Roland  reverted  to  the  original  owners,  and 
this  division  is  again  operated  as  the  Green  Spring 
branch  of  the  Northern  Central  Railway. 

Baltimore  City  and  Washington  County  furnished 
the  greater  portion  of  the  capital  used  in  building  the 
Western  Maryland  Railroad,  and  the  Board  of  Direc- 
tors and  the  oiEcers  of  the  company  were  subject  to 
the  mutations  of  municipal  politics.  A  great  deal  of 
money  was  wasted,  and  although  the  route  presented 
no  extraordinary  difficulties,  the  cost  of  construction 
per  mile  far  exceeded  that  of  any  other  railroad  in 
Maryland.  The  funded  debt  amounts  to  $4,205,250, 
or  something  more  than  $48,000  for  every  mile  of  the 
main  stem.  To  this  must  be  added  the  capital  paid 
in  by  the  stockholders.  Bonds  representing  the 
funded  debt  to  the  amount  of  $2,375,000  are  indorsed 
by  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  bonds  amounting  to 
$300,000  are  indorsed  by  Washington  County. 

Early  in  1874,  Col.  J.  M.  Hood,  a  practical  engineer 
of  large  experience,  was  elected  president  of  the  com- 
pany and  general  manager.  With  his  administration 
began  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  Western  Mary- 
land Railroad.  The  management  was  completely 
divorced  from  municipal  politics,  and  the  president 
became  in  fact,  as  well  as  in  theory,  the  chief  execu- 
tive officer  of  the  company.  The  net  earnings  of  the 
road  increased  from  year  to  year,  new  sources  of  rev- 
enue were  developed,  the  floating  debt  was  paid,  the 
overdue  interest  on  the  mortgage  debt  was  funded, 
and  the  liquidation  of  the  principal  provided  for  on 
terms  satisfactory  to  the  bondholders.  The  old  por- 
tion of  the  main  stem  was  rebuilt,  additional  pas- 
senger-trains were  put  on  the  eastern  division,  and 
special  inducements  were  held  out  to  summer  excur- 
sionists to  visit  the  romantic  spots  on  the  line  of  the 
road.  The  increased  facilities  for  getting  to  and  from 
the  city  attracted  a  large  number  of  people  to  the 
suburban  towns  on  the  line  of  the  road,  and  the  move- 
ment of  population  in  this  direction  is  seen  in  the 
constantly  increa.sing  receipts  from  passengers  on  the 
eastern  division.  A  summer  resort  was  established 
at  Penmar,  on  the  summit  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  which 
W!is  visited  by  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  per- 
sons last  season.  In  1874  a  contract  was  concluded 
with  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac  Railroad  Company, 


under  which  the  trains  of  the  Western  Maryland 
Company  enter  the  city  through  the  tunnel  and  run 
direct  to  Hillen  Station.  This  fine  depot  was  built  in 
1875  with  funds  loaned  by  the  city.  Early  in  1880 
the  Baltimore  and  Hanover  Railroad  was  completed 
to  Emory  Grove  Station,  nineteen  miles  from  the  city, 
where  it  connects  with  the  main  stem  of  the  Western 
Maryland  road.  Its  trains  run  to  Hillen  Station  on 
the  Western  Maryland  track,  and  the  business  drawn 
from  the  section  of  country  traversed  by  the  new  road 
has  added  considerably  to  the  revenues  of  the  West- 
ern Maryland  Company. 

The  projected  line  of  the  Western  Maryland  Rail- 
road ran  through  Emmittsburg  and  Waynesboro'  in 
all  the  old  surveys,  but  in  the  multitude  of  counsels 
which  prevailed  between  1867  and  1870  the  route  was 
changed  to  its  present  location.  It  then  became  neces- 
sary to  reach  these  two  important  towns,  each  lying 
five  miles  north  of  the  main  stem,  by  means  of  lateral 
branches.'  The  Emmittsburg  branch,  which  diverge* 
from  the  Western  Maryland  road  at  Rocky  Ridge, 
fifty-four  miles  from  Baltimore,  was  completed  in 
1875.  The  Waynesboro'  branch,  which  has  developed 
into  the  Baltimore  and  Cumberland  Valley  Railroad, 
leaves  the  main  stem  at  Edgemont,  on  the  western 
slope  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  extends  to  Waynesboro', 
seven  and  a  half  miles ;  thence  to  Shippensburg,  by 
way  of  Chambersburg,  twenty-six  miles,  the  whole 
length  of  the  road  being  thirty-three  and  a  half  miles. 
This,  in  fact,  is  an  extension  of  the  Western  Maryland 
road  into  the  very  heart  of  the  Cumberland  Valley. 
The  Baltimore  and  Cumberland  Valley  road  was 
opened  on  the  5th  of  September,  1881,  to  Chambers- 
burg, and  has  since  been  completed  and  opened  to 
I  Shippensburg.  The  Cumberland  Valley  of  Pennsyl- 
i  vania,  which  is  brought  into  close  connection  with 
I  Baltimore  by  this  road,  extends  from  the  Susquehanna 
River  on  the  north  to  the  Potomac  on  the  south,  a 
I  distance  of  eighty-one  miles,  and  is  an  extremely  rich 
j  and  thickly  populated  section.  The  land  is  well 
j  watered  by  small  streams,  and  the  North  Mountain 
on  the  west,  and  the  Blue  Ridge  on  the  east,  protect 
the  valley  from  violent  storms  in  winter.  Every  pro- 
duct of  the  soil  known  to  this  climate  is  successfully 
'raised.  By  this  route  Chambersburg  is  ninety-seven 
and  a  half  miles  from  Baltimore,  while  it  is  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  iiom  Philadelphia  by  way  of 
I  Harrisburg ;  and  Shippensburg  is  one  hundred  and 
I  eight  and  a  half  miles  from  Baltimore,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  miles  from  Philadelphia.  It  is  con- 
fidently expected  that  this  difference  in  distance  in 
favor  of  Baltimore  will  have  a  marked  influence  upon 
the  course  of  trade. 

1  A  couipiiny  was  cliartered  in  1865  called  the  Gwynn's  Falls  Railroad. 
A  siiflicieht  amount  of  stock  having  been  subscribed,  a  company  was  or- 
ganized on  October  8t)i  by  the  election  of  the  following  officers :  George 
Slothower,  president ;  and  John  Weathered,  J.  T.  Myers,  J.  Howard  Mc- 
Heury,  Mr.  Harris,  and  Theodore  Mottu,  directors.  Notwithstanding  an 
earnest  spirit  was  manifested,  nothing  more  was  done  under  the  charter. 
It  was  CKtiniated  the  road  would  cost  $'250,O00. 


TKANSPORTATION. 


President  John  Mifflin  Hood,  through  whose  exer- 
tions and  under  whose  personal  direction  these  im- 
portant extensions  have  been  made,  is  one  of  the 
youngest  of  the  prominent  railroad  men  of  the  coun- 
try. He  was  born  at  Bowling  Green,  the  old  family 
residence,  near  Sykesville,  in  Howard  Co.,  Md.,  on 
the  5th  of  April,  1843.  His  father.  Dr.  Benjamin 
Hood,  was  the  son  of  Benjamin  and  Sarah  Hood,  and 
was  born  at  Bowling  Green  in  1812,  and  died  in  1855, 
in  the  forty-third  year  of  his  age.  His  mother,  Han- 
nah Mifflin  Hood,  was  the  daughter  of  Alexander 
Coulter,  of  Baltimore,  where  she  was  born.  Young 
Hood  was  educated  in  Howard  and  Harford  Counties, 
completing  his  course  at  Rugby's  Institute,  Mount 
Washington,  in  1859.  He  then  commenced  the  study 
of  engineering,  and  in  July  of  the  same  year  secured 
employment  in  the  engineer  corps  engaged  in  the  ex- 
tension of  the  Delaware  Railroad.  The  same  corps 
was  next  employed  in  the  construction  of  the  Eastern 
Shore  Railroad  of  Maryland,  Mr.  Hood  soon  becoming 
principal  assistant  engineer,  and  for  part  of  the  time 
having  sole  charge  of  the  operations.  In  August, 
1861,  he  went  to  Brazil,  but  finding  the  field  for  engi- 
neering unpromising,  returned  to  Baltimore  in  Jan- 
uary, 1862,  and  after  studying  marine  engineering, 
ran  the  blockade,  and  reported  to  the  Confederate 
authorities  at  Richmond,  Va.,  for  service.  He  was 
at  once  assigned  to  duty  as  topographical  engineer 
and  draughtsman  of  the  military  railroad  then  build- 
ing from  Danville,  Va.,  to  Greenboro',  N.  C.  (since 
known  as  the  Piedmont  Railroad),  and  upon  the  com- 
pletion of  his  work  declined  a  commission  offered  in 
the  Engineer  Corps,  and  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Com- 
pany C,  Second  Battalion  Maryland  Infantry.  He 
served  with  distinction  in  the  Maryland  Infantry 
until  the  spring  of  1864,  when,  owing  to  the  scarcity 
of  engineers,  he  accepted  a  lieutenant's  commission 
in  the  Second  Regiment  of  Engineer  Troops,  in  which 
service  he  continued  until  surrendered  at  Appomat- 
tox. Mr.  Hood  was  several  times  slightly  wounded, 
and  at  Stanard's  Mill,  in  the  Spottsylvania  battles, 
had  his  left  arm  badly  shattered  above  the  elbow. 
While  still  incapacitated  for  duty  he  ran  the  blockade, 
and,  wading  the  Potomac  at  night,  visited  his  family, 
and  came  to  Baltimore,  where  he  had  his  wound 
treated  by  Prof.  Nathan  R.  Smith,  returning  to  his 
command  before  Richmond  with  a  large  party  of  re- 
cruits for  the  Confederate  service.  In  September,  1865, 
he  was  employed  by  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington 
and  Baltimore  Railroad  to  make  surveys  for  the  ex- 
tension of  the  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  Central  line 
between  the  Susquehanna  River  and  Baltimore;  he 
was  next  placed  in  charge  of  the  construction  of  the 
Port  Deposit  branch  of  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington 
and  Baltimore  Railroad,  and  made  chief  engineer  of 
the  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  Central  Railroad,  and 
constructed  its  line  through  Cecil  County  to  the  Sus- 
quehanna River.  He  was  soon  afterwards  elected 
engineer  and  superintendent  of  the  same  company. 


and  in  April,  1870,  became  general  superintendent  of 
the  Florida  (now  Atlantic,  Gulf  and  West  India 
Transit)  Railroad.  His  health  failing,  in  November, 
1871,  he  accepted  the  position  of  chief  engineer  of 
the  Oxford  and  York  Narrow-Gauge  Railroad,  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  while  holding  this  position  he  be- 
came also  chief  engineer  of  a  new  line,  known  as  the 
Baltimore,  Philadelphia  and  New  Y^ork  Railroad,  the 
construction  of  which  was  stopped  by  the  panic  of 
1873.  On  the  14th  of  January,  1874,  Mr.  Hood  was 
elected  vice-president  and  general  superintendent  of 
the  Western  Maryland  Railroad,  and  on  the  24th  of 
March  following  he  was  made  president  and  general 
manager  of  the  road,  including  the  office  of  chief  en- 
gineer, in  which  position  he  continues  to  the  present 
time.  On  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Keyser  in  1881,  Mr. 
Hood  was  tendered  the  office  of  second  vice-president 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  but  declined  the 
office.  Mr.  Hood  married  on  the  17th  of  July,  1867, 
Florence  Eloise  Haden,  of  Botetourt  County,  Va.,  and 
has  five  children.  The  presidents  of  the  Western 
Maryland  Company  and  the  dates  on  which  they  were 
respectively  elected  are  given  in  the  following  list : 


.John  Lee  Chapman.  Nov.  8,  1866. 

JNatnan  Maines lSb4.  i  WendeU  Bollmaii...ApiiI  2,  1868. 

William  Roberts June  23,  1858.      George  M.  Bokee...May  17, 1870. 

Augustus  Shriver June  12,  I860.      Robert  T.  Banks.. ..Oct.  18,  1S71. 

Natban  Haines October,  1861.    I  James  L.  McLane... Nov.  21,  1S71. 

John  Smith Nov.  6,  1862.    i  Alexander  Rieman.Dec.  2,  1873. 

Robert  Irvin Jan.  6,  1863.      |  John  M.  Hood March  24, 1874. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  TONNAGE  RECEIPTS  ON  WESTERN  MART- 
LAND  RAILROAD  FOR  TEAR  ENDING  NOV.  30,  1880,  COM- 
PARED WITH  TWO  PREVIOUS  TEARS: 


Lumber  and  bark 

Coal 

1880. 

Tons. 

11,808 

1879. 

Tons. 
10,154 
10,081 
39,0:i7 

27',999 
4,564 
1.(152 
93,692 
92,562 
108,906 

KAILROA 

1878. 
Tons. 
11,016 
9  955 

42,225 
3,630 
26395 

4;iii 



Wood 



Flour,  barrels 

Net  tonnage 

DISTANCES  ON 

stations. 

Oakland..'.'.'.;;.'!;!:;.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.' 

WESTER^ 

Miles. 

s 

64,820 

154.795 

MABTLAND 

Stations. 

Middleburg 

Frederick  Junct 

89,891 

0. 

Miles. 
....    48 
....    49 

Mount  Hope 

GreeTiw.od 

McD..hM,I,  

11 

12 

13 

Double  Pipe  Creek 

Rocky  Ridge 

....     61 
....     64 

Ouin..-    M;;i 

Emmittsburg... 



....     61 

19 

;;;;;;;;;  22 

26 

Gl.-i,  M-iTis 

Finksl.urg 

toy's 

Graceham 

Mechanicstown 

■::= 

....     65 

57 

....     59 

Westminster 

Avondale 

30 

33 

36 

Blue  Ridge 

Waynesboro'.... 
Smithsburg 

;;;;::;:;::::: 

....     69 
....     71 

Union  Bridge 

""ge-^to"" 



86 

The  Baltimore  and  Drum  Point  Railroad.— As 

early  as  1856  a  railroad  was  projected  between  Balti- 
more and  Drum  Point,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Patuxent 
River.  In  1867  the  Legislature  made  an  appropri- 
ation of  $5000  to  make  a  survey  of  the  route,  and 
commissioners  were  appointed  by  Governor  Bowie, 
under  whose  direction  a  survey  was  made  by  Col.  G. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


H.  Hughes.  The  commissioners  made  a  favorable 
report  on  the  subject,  and  in  1868  a  charter  was 
granted  by  the  Legislature  for  the  "  Baltimore  and 
Drum  Point  Railroad  Company,"  and  the  following 
persons  were  appointed  commissioners  to  receive  sub- 
scriptions to  the  capital  stock  :  George  W.  Hughes, 
Dr.  R.  S.  Stewart,  D.  R.  Magruder,  B.  Allen  Welch, 
Henry  M.  Warfield,  Henry  E.  Morton,  Augustus 
Hall,  James  Cheston,  Jr.,  John  Parran,  Thomas  S. 
Iglehart,  James  T.  Briscoe,  Joshua  Linthicum,  E.  J. 
Henkle,  Thomas  H.  Hall,  William  Hawkins,  Henry 
Owings,  of  Samuel,  Henry  Duvall,  Isaac  Solomon, 
George  W.  Nutwell,  Dr.  William  P.  Dorsey,  Dr. 
Nicholas  Knighton,  C.  S.  Parran,  Dr.  Thomas  Ham- 
mond, Joseph  Norfolk,  Joseph  Blake,  of  Thomas, 
Johns  Hopkins,  Galloway  Cheston,  A.  C.  Gibbs, 
Richard  O.  Crisp,  Dr.  Basil  S.  Dixon,  and  Charles  .S. 
Somerville.  The  capital  stock  of  the  company  was 
to  be  $1,500,000,  divided  into  shares  of  $100  each. 

Governor  Bowie,  in  his  message  to  the  Legislature, 
called  attention  to  the  advantages  that  would  accrue 
to  the  State  by  the  construction  of  this  road,  and  re- 
commended that  aid  be  given  it  by  the  counties  and 
Baltimore  City.  He  said  that  "  any  one  who  knows 
the  country  through  which  the  road  is  to  run  will 
admit  that  its  capacity  for  production  cannot  well  be 
exaggerated,"  and  the  advantages  that  would  result 
from  its  construction  would  largely  counterbalance 
the  outlay.  He  also  said  that  Drum  Point  has  long 
been  known  to  the  shipping  interests  as  one  of  the 
safest  and  most  commodious  harbors  in  the  country, 
and  has  for  many  years  been  looked  upon  by  many 
intelligent  merchants  and  shippers  as  a  jjoint  which 
would  prove  a  valuable  adjunct  to  the  commerce  of 
B.altimore  if  connected  by  railroad  with  that  city,  af- 
fording as  it  does  the  deepest  water,  never  liable  to 
any  obstruction  by  ice  or  otherwise,  and  within  an 
easy  run  of  the  capes.  "  The  necessity  also  of  a  coal 
depot  upon  deep  water,  and  at  a  point  convenient  to 
the  ocean,  has  long  been  felt,  and  Drum  Point  is  be- 
lieved to  aftbrd  the  best  location  for  this  purpose. 
Besides,  the  development  of  the  intermediate  country 
between  that  harbor  and  our  chief  city,  a  fine  soil 
especially  adapted  to  the  growth  of  the  earliest  and 
finest  fruits  and  vegetables,  and  the  convenient  trans- 
portation of  the  valuable  products  of  the  surround- 
ing waters  are  considered  very  important  to  the  full 
growth  and  prosperity  of  the  State."' 

There  has  been  subscribed  to  the  capital  stock  of 
the  company  by  the  State  of  Maryland  $152,000 ;  by 
tlic  county  of  Anne  Arundel,  .$200,000 ;  by  the  county 
of  Calvert,  $100,000 ;  and  by  individuals  along  the 
line  of  the  proposed  road,  $221,000.  Estimates  and 
jilans  are  being  prepared  by  Nicholas  Goldsborough, 
chief  engineer,  and  as  soon  as  they  are  completed 
proposals  for  the  work  will  be  advertised  for  and  the 


'  Prof.  Biiche,  nt  thu 
of  1S69  iinil  1800,  sa.Vfl  I 


;i'<l  Stiitm  CoaBt  Sui-vi- 
uHior  lit  Dnnii  I'uiiit 


road  pushed  to  completion.  In  Baltimore  City  prop- 
erty for  depots  amply  sufficient  for  both  freight  and 
passenger  facilities  has  been  secured.  The  ground, 
comprising  five  blocks,  is  located  from  West  to  Bay- 
ard Streets,  and  between  Russell  and  Ridgely  Streets. 
The  lots  purchased  were  principally  owned  by  Gen. 
I.  R.  Trimble,  the  Howard  estate,  John  H.  B.  Latrobe, 
Francis  White,  and  others.  On  this  property  the 
company  proposes  to  erect  its  depots  for  freight  and 
passengers.  The  passenger  depot  will  front  on  West 
Street.  Other  buildings  of  large  size  will  be  so  lo- 
cated as  to  give  ample  space  for  receiving  and  hand- 
ling all  products  of  the  country  through  which  this 
road  will  pass,  such  as  tobacco,  grain,  fruit,  vegetables, 
oysters,  and  fish.  For  the  transportation  of  these  the 
road  will  offer  especial  advantages,  as  saving  both 
time  and  expense.  The  line  as  located  leaves  Balti- 
more on  Ridgely  Street  extended  to  Putnam  Street, 
along  which  it  passes  until,  on  crossing  Gvvynn's 
Falls,  it  enters  the  property  of  the  South  Baltimore 
Land  Company,  in  Baltimore  County.  After  passing 
through  the  Kaufman  estate  and  the  lands  of  Patrick 
O'Brien  and  others,  it  crosses  the  main  branch  of  the 
Patapsco  River  to  Brooklyn.  From  thence  the  line 
extends  easterly  to  Curtis'  Creek,  through  the  lands 
of  the  Patapsco  Land  Company  and  others,  and  then 
takes  the  general  direction  south,  crossing  Furnace 
and  Marley  Creeks,  and  the  Severn  River  at  Cypress 
Point.  This  is  within  two  and  a  half  miles  of  the 
Annapolis  and  Elkridge  Railroad,  which  it  joins  at 
Waterbury  Station.  The  distance  from  Baltimore  to 
Waterbury  Station  is  about  nineteen  miles.  From 
that  point  the  track  of  the  Annapolis  and  Elkridge 
Railroad,  which  has  been  purchased  by  the  Baltimore 
and  Drum  Point  Railroad  Company,  will  be  used  to 
Annapolis,  making  the  entire  distance  from  Baltimore 
to  the  capital  of  the  State  about  twenty-six  miles, 
being  the  shortest  practicable  rail  route.  The  line  in 
Baltimore  City  crosses  the  tracks  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  at  Ostend  Street  above  grade.  Right 
of  way  has  also  been  secured  through  Putnam  Street 
to  the  tracks  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
on  that  street,  admitting  of  a  grade  connection  be- 
tween the  two  railroads.  For  a  considerable  time 
past  Augustus  Albert,  president  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Drum  Point  Railroad,  and  Chief  Engineer  Golds- 
borough  have  been  energetically  at  work  to  secure 
the  right  of  way,  and  it  has  now  been  accomplished 
as  far  as  the  Annapolis  and  Elkridge  Railway,  except 
in  a  very  few  cases.  From  Annapolis  the  road  will 
run  by  the  shortest  routes  [iracticable  to  South  River, 
Owensville,  Fair  Haven,  Friendship,  Prince  Fred- 
erick, Port  Republic,  and  St.  Leonard's,  the  distance 
between  the  termini  being  about  seventy-six  miles. 

Opposite  Drum  Point  Harbor  the  Southern  Mary- 
land Railroad  Company  have  surveyed  a  track  from 
California,  a  point  thirteen  miles  from  Point  Lookout, 
which  will  give  this  locality  direct  connection  with 
tlie  latter  |)()int  ami  Washington  City  and  its  connec- 


ADAMS    EXPRESS    COMPANY'S    OFFICE, 
205  BALTIMOBE  STREET,  BALTIMORE,  MD. 


TRANSPORTATION. 


359 


tions.  The  Southern  Maryland  Railroad,  from  its 
intersection  with  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac  road 
at  Brandywiue  to  St.  Mary's  City  and  Point  Lookout, 
including  the  branch  to  the  Patuxent  River,  opposite 
Drum  Point  Harbor,  will  be  completed  in  18S1,  and 
to  Washington  City  by  the  following  spring.  The 
officers  of  the  Southern  Maryland  Railroad  for  the 
ensuing  year  are  John  Van  Riswick,  of  Washington 
City,  president;  J.  H.  Linville,  of  Philadelphia, 
vice-president;  Frank  Hume,  of  Washington  City, 
treasurer;  Directors,  Col.  W.  W.  W.  Wood,  S.  A. 
Lambert,  L.  G.  Hine,  John  P.  Poe,  Mr.  Barbour, 
Edward  Wheaton.  Dr.  John  M.  Brome,  John  G. 
Chapman,  and  Mr.  Elliott  are  directors  on  the  part 
of  the  State  of  Maryland. 

Baltimore  and  Delta  Railroad.— This  company 
was  chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  Maryland  in 
18G8,  as  "  The  Baltimore  and  Svvann  Lake  Passenger 
Railway  Company,"  with  the  following  incorporators : 
James  L.  Sutton,  A.  W.  Bradford,  Hiram  Woods,  Jr., 
Dr.  W.  R.  Monroe,  George  Merryman,  Daniel  Adler, 
and  W.  S.  G.  Baker.  This  charter  was  amended  by 
act  of  1874,  ch.  272,  and  the  name  changed  to  the 
Baltimore,  Hampden  and  To<vsontown  Railway  Com- 
pany. This  company  was  consolidated  with  the  Bal- 
timore and  Delta  Railway  Company  by  act  of  1878, 
ch.  195,  to  be  known  by  the  latter  name.  The  Balti- 
more and  Delta  Railway  Company  was  incorporated 
under  the  act  of  1870,  ch.  476. 

The  road  is  narrow-gauge,  and  when  completed, 
will  run  from  Baltimore,  via  Towsontown,  Belair 
(Harford  County),  Rocks  of  Deer  Creek,  Pylesville, 
to  Delta,  a  slate-mining  town  in  York  County,  Pa.,  a 
distance  of  forty-four  and  a  half  miles.  At  Delta 
it  connects  with  the  Peach  Bottom  Narrow-Gauge 
Railway,  already  built.  The  Baltimore  end  con- 
nects with  the  Northern  Central  Railway,  and  the 
first  rail  was  laid  on  Aug.  23,  1881,  on  the  Falls 
road  under  North  Avenue  bridge.  Work  on  the 
road  is  being  vigorously  pushed,  and  it  is  expected 
Towsontown  will  be  reached  by  November  of  the  pres- 
ent year.  The  contractors  hope  to  finish  to  Belair, 
Harford  Co.,  by  Jan.  1,  1882,  and  to  Delta  early  in 
the  spring.  The  road  runs  through  an  elevated,  fine, 
healthy  country,  well  dotted  with  fine  country  resi- 
dences. Loch  Raven,  the  permanent  city  water  lake 
on  the  Big  Gunpowder  River,  four  miles  long,  is  on 
the  line  of  this  road,  and  the  company  have  already 
secured  ample  picnic  grounds,  etc.,  and  will  lay  them 
off  for  a  summer  resort.  The  Rocks  of  Deer  Creek, 
already  a  place  of  resort,  thirty-three  miles  from  Bal- 
timore, will  also  be  improved  by  the  company  to  ac- 
commodate summer  excursionists.  There  are  over 
eleven  hundred  subscribers  to  the  capital  stock  of  the 
company,  and  the  grading,  masonry,  depot  grounds, 
right  of  way,  etc.,  have  all  been  done  by  stock  sub- 
scriptions. The  mortgage  is  light,  about  thirteen 
thousand  dollars  on  each  mile  of  the  road.  The  road 
will  cost  seventeen  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  per 


mile;  steel  rails,  forty  pounds  to  the  yard,  with  fine 
equipment  generally, — Baldwin  engines  and  first-class 
cars.  The  main  depot  will  be  on  the  grounds  of  the 
company,  near  where  the  first  rail  was  laid.  The 
president  of  the  road  is  William  H.  Waters;  S.  G. 
Boyd,  superintendent;  Thomas  Armstrong,  treasurer; 
E.  B.  Pleasants,  engineer;  R.  C.  Woods,  first  assist- 
ant engineer;  Robert  Hanna,  second  assistant  en- 
gineer; William  Gilmor,  financial  agent. 

Adams  Express  Company.— One  of  the  most  re- 
markable developments  of  railroad  facilities  is  that 
of  the  express  business,  which  now  extends  over 
more  than  60,000  miles  of  railroads,  employing  near 
4000  horses  and  20,000  men,  with  over  8000  offices. 
This  organized  system  of  transportation  for  mer- 
chandise and  parcels  of  all  kinds  originated  in 
1839  with  William  Harnden,  of  Boston.  A  year 
later  P.  B.  Burke  and  Alvan  Adams,  of  Boston, 
started  a  competing  express,  which  was  the  foun- 
dation of  that  extensive  system  of  transportation 
afterwards  known  as  Adams  &  Co.'s  Express,  and 
now,  with  world-wide  connection,  as  the  Adams 
Express  Company.  The  Adams  &  Co.'s  Express  was 
an  association  of  various  express  lines  from  Boston 
to  Philadelphia,  where,  about  1843,  E.  S.  Sanford,  as 
agent  for  Alvan  Adams,  became  associated  with  S.  M. 
Shoemaker,  of  Baltimore,  then  extensively  engaged 
in  the  express  business  South  and  West  from  Balti- 
more. In  1854,  Adams  &  Co.,  the  Harnden  Express, 
Kingsley  &  Co.,  and  Hoey  &  Co.  were  consolidated 
in  a  joint  stock  company,  under  the  laws  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  by  the  corporate  name  of  the  Adams 
Express  Company.  Since  then  this  now  famous  trans- 
portation agency  has  extended  with  the  growth  of 
railroads  and  steamboat  lines  until  it  has  ramified 
into  a  vast  network  of  lines  and  agencies  covering  the 
whole  country,  and  greatly  adding  to  the  facilities  of 
exchange  and  to  the  accommodations  of  daily  inter- 
course. The  country  is  indebted  to  one  of  the  citizens 
of  Baltimore  for  the  great  facilities  which  the  people 
enjoy  by  means  of  the  present  express  system.  To 
Samuel  M.  Shoemaker  is  due  the  credit  not  only  of 
originating  the  express  business  in  Baltimore,  but 
also  organizing  and  developing  its  vast  economies 
throughout  the  South  and  West.  Mr.  Shoemaker 
was  born  at  Bayou  la  Fourche,  La.,  on  the  28th  of 
June,  1821,  and  was  brought  by  his  mother,  when 
only  a  few  months  old,  to  Baltimore  County,  where 
she  returned  after  the  accidental  drowning  of  her 
husband  in  the  Mississippi  River.  Educated  at  La- 
fayette College,  Pennsylvania,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
became  a  clerk  in  the  counting-house  of  Alexander 
Falls  &  Co.,  wholesale  grocers,  in  Baltimore.  It  was 
doubtless  in  the  difficulties  of  this  business  that  the 
idea  of  the  express  system  as  a  means  of  expediting 
and  extending  trade  was  suggested  to  the  active 
mind  of  a  young  and  energetic  man  engaged  in  the 
transmission  and  delivery  of  merchandise.  Appointed 
at  the  age  of  twenty  to  the  agency  of  the  Rappahannock 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Steam  Packet  Company,  trading  between  Baltimore 
and  Fredericksburg,  the  wants  and  necessities  of 
greater  regularity  and  expedition  in  the  transmission 
of  merchandise  became  more  and  more  apparent  to 
Mr.  Shoemaker,  and  though  for  a  short  period  also 
engaged  with  Mr.  Martin  in  the  grocery  business,  yet 
the  forwarding  and  transportation  of  merchandise  en- 
gaged not  only  most  of  his  time,  but  more  completely 
coincided  with  the  bent  and  inclination  of  his  mind. 
Withdrawing  from  the  grocery  business  after  about 
eighteen  months,  Mr.  Shoemaker  obtained  the  Balti- 
more agency  of  the  Ericsson  line  of  steamers  be- 
tween Philadelphia  and  Baltimore.  Displaying  re- 
markable energy  and  aptitude  for  the  forwarding 
business  while  managing  these  lines,  in  1843  E.  S. 
Sanford,  then  agent  of  Adams  &  Co.'s  Express  at 
Philadelphia,  invited  Mr.  Shoemaker  to  unite  with 
him  in  establishing  an  express  line  between  that  city 
and  Baltimore,  and  under  the  name  of  Adams  ^  Co.'s 
Express,  the  Sanford  and  Shoemaker  line  was  opened, 
developed,  and  systematized  into  lines  to  Richmond, 
Va.,  and  Charleston,  S.  C.  In  conjunction  with  Green 
&  Co.,  the  express  system  was  widened  to  Wheeling, 
and  the  Great  Western  Express  between  Baltimore 
and  St.  Louis  was  also  organized.  The  railroad  system 
then  stopped  at  Cumberland  ;  but  by  means  of  stage 
and  river  transportation,  Wheeling,  Pittsburgh,  Cin- 
cinnati, Louisville,  and  St.  Louis  were  brought  within 
the  lines  of  express  organization.  Every  new  link  in 
the  great  chain  of  accommodation  and  expedition  of 
business  was  made  under  the  name  of  Adams  &  Co. ; 
and  by  the  energy  and  diligence  of  Sanford  &  Shoe- 
maker, the  proprietors,  the  business  grew  throughout 
the  South  and  West  into  vast  proportions.  In  1854 
their  facilities  were  extended  eastward  to  New  York 
and  Boston  by  means  of  arrangements  with  the  pro- 
prietors of  other  express  lines.  Gradually  the  inter-  j 
change  of  business  facilitated  as  well  as  suggested  the  j 
consolidation  of  lines,  and  the  Adams  Express  Com-  I 
pany  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  combination  of  the 
several  lines  above  mentioned. 

The  extent  of  the  business  transacted  by  this  single 
company  is  said  to  be  greater  than  that  of  any  one 
line  of  railroad  in  the  country.     Auxiliary  to  all  the 
wants  and  necessities  of  the  business  of  the  whole 
country,  it  has  also  become  indispensable  to  the  re- 
quirements of  social  life,  and  while  the  merchant  and 
banker,  the  State  and  national  governments,  are  patrons 
of  its  agencies,  the  Christmas  and  Thanksgiving  fes- 
tivals of  the  people  are  made  more  joyful  by  the  facili- 
ties it  offers  for  the  interchange  of  the  social  ameni- 
ties of  those  occasions.     Immense  sums  of  money,  j 
the  most  valuable  jewels  and  gems,  the  most  important  i 
public  and  private  papers,  the  most  perishable  com-  ' 
modities,  and  the  closest  secrets  are  intrusted  to  its  ' 
care  with  the  utmost  confidence  in  its  skill  and  in-  ' 
tegrity.   Tender  babies  are  tran.sported  with  a  mother's  ! 
care,  and  the  last  offices  to  the  dead  performed  with 
all  the  decorum  which  affection  could  suggest. 


In  the  organization  and  perfection  of  this  vast  and 
intricate  agency,  Mr.  Shoemaker  has  been  the  most 
successful  worker,  until  he  has  become  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal managers  and  most  trusted  officers  of  the  organ- 
ization. To  his  judgment  is  due  the  purchase  of  the 
large  iron  warehouse  No.  205  West  Baltimore  Street, 
and  No.  36  German  Street,  where  are  established 
the  most  complete  and  convenient  offices  which  the 
company  possess.  While  engaged  in  a  business  which 
requires  the  closest  attention,  Mr.  Shoemaker  has  yet 
found  time  to  identify  himself  with  the  railroad, 
banking,  and  manufacturing  enterprises  of  Maryland, 
as  well  as  lend  a  helping  hand  in  the  development 
of  those  in  States  farther  South.  In  December,  1853, 
Mr.  Shoemaker  was  married  to  Miss  Augusta  C.  Ec- 
cleston,  daughter  of  the  late  Hon.  John  B.  Eccleston, 
a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  Maryland.  His 
ample  fortune  has  enabled  him  to  make  his  house  a 
centre  of  social  attraction,  and  his  hospitable  nature 
has  made  it  famous  as  one  of  the  most  delightful 
homes  in  the  city. 

Among  the  real  workers  in  the  Adams  Express 
Company,  John  Q.  A.  Herring,  the  superintendent, 
occupies  a  very  prominent  place.  Beginning  his 
transportation  life  as  a  messenger  on  the  Baltimore 
and  Richmond  route  in  1852,  he  has  gradually  as- 
cended the  ladder  of  promotion,  rung  by  rung,  until 
from  messenger  he  has  become  the  superintendent  of  a 
vast  and  intricate  system  of  transportation.  He  aided 
very  greatly  in  the  organization  and  c(msolidation  of 
the  system  throughout  the  South  and  West,  and  con- 
ducted successfully  many  of  the  negotiations  required 
in  perfecting  and  consolidating  the  various  lines.  His 
activity  and  enterprise  have  also  made  him  prominent 
in  almost  every  local  movement  and  measure  of  im- 
portance, and  his  sound  judgment  and  great  executive 
capacity  have  been  recognized  by  the  public  on  many 
interesting  occasions. 

In  the  matter  of  alleviating  the  sufferings  of  the 
wounded  on  the  battle-field  of  Gettysburg,  the  Adams 
Express  Company  was  awarded  a  most  honorable 
testimonial  in  the  fullowing  letter: 


'Sen 


Off 


"  Wasuingto.v  City,  D.  C,  July  20, 1803. 
"  S.  M.  SuoEMAKEB,  Esu.,  Baltimore ; 

"  Dear  Sir, — I  desire  to  express  to  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  great 
benefits  rendered  by  the  Adams  Express  Company  and  its  agents  to  the 
wounded  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 

"I  assure  you  I  shall  always  bear  in  grateful  remembrance  the  noble 
services  which  the  Adams  Express  Company  and  its  agents  have  ren- 
dered, and  I  beg  you  to  convey  to  your  agents  my  high  appreciation  of 
their  labors. 

"  Yours  sincerely, 

*'  William  .\.  Hammond,  Sunjeon- General" 

Lieut.-Col.  J.  M.  Cuyler,  the  Medical  Inspector  of 
the  United  States  Army,  gratefully  acknowledged 
their  services,  and  in  his  report  said,  "To  Adams 
Express  Company  we  are  also  greatly  indebted  for 
much  liberality  and  kindness  extended  to  the  wounded 
at  a  time  when  they  were  most  in  need." 

Railroad  Riots.— In  August,  1829,  several  disgrace- 


^rn.  J^k//j^7^i^^/Cu) 


TRANSPORTATION. 


3U1 


ful  riots  occurred  among  the  laborers  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad.  On  Friday,  August  14th,  one  man 
was  killed  near  the  city  and  several  wounded,  and  on 
Sunday  the  dwelling  of  Thomas  Elliott,  one  of  the 
contractors,  was  broken  open  by  a  body  of  railroad 
men  and  Mr.  Elliott  severely  wounded. 

On  the  29th  of  June,  1831,  a  riot  occurred  on  the 
third  division  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio,  about 
twenty-five  miles  from  Baltimore.  A  contractor  on  the 
road,  Truxton  Lyon,  of  Pennsylvania,  absconded  with 
the  funds  he  had  received  fVom  the  company  to  pay 
the  workmen.  The  latter,  attributing  the  fault  to  the 
company,  assembled  to  the  number  of  about  two  hun- 
dred and  commenced  the  destruction  of  the  railroad. 
Information  of  the  riot  was  sent  to  Baltimore,  and  the 
sherifi'  of  Baltimore  County  was  directed  by  Judge 
Hanson  to  arrest  the  persons  engaged  in  it,  but  he 
reported  that  he  was  unable  to  obtain  a  sufficient 
posse  comitatus  to  execute  the  warrant,  as  the  rioters 
had  fully  organized  by  choosing  a  leader,  and  had 
declared  their  intention  to  proceed  in  destroying  the 
property  of  the  company.  A  requisition  was  made 
upon  Gen.  G.  H.  Steuart,  commanding  the  Baltimore 
militia,  for  a  detachment  of  volunteers  to  quell  the 
disturbance,  and  a  body  of  troops  started  on  the  cars 
about  ten  o'clock  at  night.  They  reached  the  third 
division  of  the  road  about  daylight,  and  succeeded 
without  dilficulty  in  restoring  order. 

The  damage  done  to  the  railroad  amounted  to  about 
five  thousand  dollars.  Gen.  Steuart  and  his  command 
were  subsequently  the  recipients  of  a  letter  of  thanks 
from  the  president  pro  tern,  of  the  road,  William 
Patterson,  on  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  for  the 
services  rendered  the  company.  It  is  highly  probable 
that  if  the  troops  had  not  arrived  early  that  morning 
at  the  scene  of  destruction  the  fine  bridge  across  the 
Patapsco  would  have  been  destroyed. 

On  the  25th  of  June,  1834,  Mr:  Gorman,  one  of  the 
contractors  of  the  Washington  Railroad,  about  eigh- 
teen miles  from  Baltimore,  was  assailed  in  his  own 
shanty  by  eight  or  ten  men,  supposed  to  be  some  of 
those  at  work  on  the  road.  John  Watson,  a  super- 
intendent, was  also  in  the  shanty  on  a  casual  visit. 
Both  gentlemen  were  forcibly  dragged  out,  beaten 
severely,  and  left  in  a  state  of  insensibility.  About 
midnight  the  next  day  the  same  rioters  surrounded 
the  office  where  Mr.  Watson  was  lying  wounded,  and 
after  breaking  open  the  door,  they  deliberately  mur- 
dered him  in  a  most  barbarous  and  shocking  manner, 
the  back  of  his  head  being  cut  open  and  the  brains 
scattered  about.  William  Messer,  one  of  Mr.  Wat- 
son's assistants,  who  was  present  in  the  ofiice  when 
the  attack  on  it  was  made,  was  dragged  out  and 
shot  dead.  Another  of  the  superintendents,  a  Mr. 
Gallon,  was  also  shot  dead;  several  other  persons 
were  injured,  but  none  dangerously.  A  number  of 
shanties  were  destroyed  on  the  section  of  the  road 
near  Elkridge,  and  injury  was  apprehended  to  the 
JRelay  House  and  adjoining  property.     A  requisition 


was  made  on  the  military  of  the  city,  and  a  detachment 
composed  of  the  infantry  companies  commanded  by 
Capts.  Hodgkinson,  Cook,  Hickman,  Maguire,  Cheves, 
and  Branson,  and  Capt.  Bouldin's  troop  of  horse,  the 
whole  under  command  of  Maj.  E.  L.  Finley,  marched 
for  the  scene  of  disturbance.  It  was  expected  that  a 
general  battle  would  be  fought,  but  the  rioters,  con- 
cluding that  discretion  was  the  better  part  of  valor, 
dispersed  rapidly  upon  the  approach  of  the  military. 
The  troops  succeeded,  however,  in  arresting  about 
three  hundred  of  them  and  lodged  them  in  the  city 
jail. 

On  the  27th  of  April,  1857,  a  new  order  adopted  by 
the  board  of  directors  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  for  sealing  the  doors  of  the  merchandise 
cars  took  effect,  to  which  the  conductors  objected,  and 
on  the  29th  they  assembled  in  force  at  the  Martins- 
burg  Station  and  undertook  to  stop  the  operations  of 
the  road  by  violence.  In  Baltimore,  on  the  30th,  the 
rioters  prevented  the  departure  of  the  trains,  and  on 
the  next  day  stopped  them  at  the  Washington  turn- 
pike bridge,  where  they  expelled  the  employes  and 
uncoupled  the  cars. 

The  police  of  the  city  not  being  authorized  to  act 
out  of  the  city  limits,  Governor  Ligon  ordered  the 
militia  to  guard  the  trains,  which  were  accordingly 
accompanied  by  troops,  and  after  several  skirmishes 
at  Jackson's  bridge,  at  the  deep  cut  beyond,  at  Elli- 
cott's  Mills,  and  other  points  along  the  road,  order 
was  restored.  A  number  of  the  rioters  were  wounded 
in  these  skirmishes,  and  one  man,  Henry  Houser, 
was  killed. 

The  Old  Omnibus  Lines.— It  was  not  until  May  1, 
1844,  that  omnibus  lines  were  established  in  Balti- 
more.    On  April  30th  of  that  year  two  new  omni- 
buses  arrived,   "quite   handsome  affairs,  well   fitted 
up,  richly   decorated,    and   drawn   by  good   horses. 
Another  is  expected  in  a  few  days,  and  four  more  as 
soon  as  they  are  finished."     The  route  was  from  the 
corner  of  Franklin  Street  and  Eutaw  to  Baltimore, 
to  Gay,  to  Pratt,  and  thence  to  Market  Street  (now 
Broadway),  Fell's  Point.     The  Sun  of  May  1,  1844, 
says,   "In  other  cities,   in  addition   to   the  general 
convenience,  these  lines  have  tended  to  enhance  the 
value  of  property  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  enabling 
persons  to  reside  at  a  distance  from  their  places  of 
business,  in  more  healthy  localities,  without  loss  of 
time  and  fatigue  of  walking,  whilst  the  cost  is  but  a 
trifle."     June  7th  of  the  same  year  a  line  of  omni- 
buses commenced  running  to  Govanstown,  stopping 
I  at  the  Star  Tavern  and  Cold  Spring  Hotel.     Nov.  29, 
j  1844,  the  Blue  Line  of  omnibuses  began  to  run  from 
Pennsylvania  Avenue  to  Exchange  Place,  via  Green 
i  and  Baltimore  Streets,  South  Street,  Lombard  Street 
j  to  Exchange  Place;  thence,  via  Gay,  Baltimore,  Caro- 
line, Gough,  Bond,  Thames,  to   the   Point   Market. 
i  Fare,  16  tickets  for  $1.00.    I.  Peters  &  Co.,  proprietors. 
:  Lines  across  the  city  were  started  in  1845,  running 
'  from  Howard  and  Madison  Streets,  via  Baltimore  and 


362 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Gay  Streets,  to  Ashland  Square,  and  also  from  Ex- 
change Place  to  Ashland  Square,  both  continuing  to 
Greenmount  Cemetery. 

The  York  Road  line  of  omnibuses  commenced  run- 
ning in  1847,  thus  bringing  Towsontown  and  vicinity 
nearer  to  Baltimore  in  point  of  time  and  convenience. 
This  line  ran  but  one  trip  a  day  at  starting.  The 
route  lay  from  Monument  Square  down  Forest  Street 
to  Ensor  Street,  along  Gay  to  Fayette,  thence  to  Hil- 
len  and  High  Streets.  In  1850  the  Yellow  line,  Ja- 
cob Hardtner,  proprietor,  was  established  along  the 
general  route  from  east  to  west.  Peters'  line  was 
withdrawn  in  1850.  The  Monumental  line  ran  from 
corner  of  Ross  and  Light,  through  Light,  Montgom- 
ery, Hanover  to  Baltimore,  thence  to  Broadway,  and 
down  Thames.  From  the  lower  end  of  Broadway  to 
Canton  a  line  was  established  in  1851 ;  and  in  1852  the 
Canton  Company  put  on  a  line  from  the  Eutaw  House 
to  their  grounds,  stopping  near  the  old  race-course. 
This  was  the  White  line.  A  line  from  Paca  Street 
to  the  Baltimore  Cemetery  was  started  in  1852, — from 
Paca  to  Fremont,  to  Pratt,  to  Sharp,  to  Baltimore,  to 
Gay,  to  the  cemetery.  The  Good  Intent  line,  from 
Franklin  Square  down  Baltimore  Street  to  Gay,  to 
Pratt,  to  Broadway,  thence  to  corner  of  Thames  and 
Bond  Street,  was  started  in  1852.  In  July,  1853, 
James  Mitchell,  proprietor  of  the  People's  line  of 
omnibuses,  running  from  Ashland  Square  to  Franklin 
Square,  added  two  "  new  and  elegant  omnibuses"  to 
his  route.  The  Accommodation  line,  in  1854,  was 
established  by  A.  Johnson  along  the  route  from  Fell's 
Point  up  Broadway,  through  Pratt  and  Gay  Streets, 
thence  to  Baltimore  and  Franklin  Square.  A  three- 
cent  line,  in  1856,  was  started  from  the  Merchants' 
Exchange  to  Madison  Avenue,  via  Baltimore  Street. 

The  Harlem  Stage-coach  Company'  was  incor- 
porated February,  1878,  to  run  a  line  of  coaches  from 
Fulton  Avenue  to  Edmondson  Avenue,  thence  to 
Carey  Street,  to  Baltimore,  to  South,  and  Exchange 
Place.  The  directors  were  John  J.  M.  Sellman,  Ga- 
briel D.  Clark,  Jr.,  John  Hubner,  Lucius  C.  Polk, 
Joseph  M.  Cone,  A.  M.  O.  Saville,  and  Robert  C.  Dif- 
fenderflfer.  The  capital  of  the  company  is  $50,000. 
When  the  street-cars  began  running  in  1858  the 
public  deserted  the  omnibuses,  and  it  was  thought 
that  the  time  for  that  kind  of  locomotion  had  passed 
forever,  but  when  in  1878  the  old-time  omnibuses  re- 
appeared they  met  with  a  favorable  reception  from 
the  public.  The  line  was  opened  on  the  24th  of  June, 
1878.  Feb.  10,  1880,  the  Baltimore  Chariot  Company 
undertook  to  transport  passengers  between  South, 
Howard,  and  Montgomery  Streets  and  Broadway  and 
North  Gay  Streets;  J.  B.  N.  Barry  president,  and 
John  H.  Middleton  secretary.  The  enterprise  was  of 
very  short  duration.  A  line  of  Herdic  coaches  was 
established  in  May,  1881,  running  between  Eutaw 

1  In  1851,  Mr.  Person,  of  Baltimore,  invented  and  exhibited  in  New 
York  a  machine  to  register  the  number  of  passengers  tliat  may  ride  in 


and  Exchange  Places,  but  were  withdrawn  after  a 
few  MKiiiths'  trial. 

Baltimore  City  Passenger  Railway  Company. — 
On  the  24th  of  March,  1854,  a  petition  from  John  H. 
Barnes,  .Tames  B.  George,  Jr.,  George  W.  Russell,  and 
James  H.  Bond  was  presented  to  the  City  Council 
for  a  railroad  through  the  streets  of  the  city.'^  The 
petition  was  referred  to  the  committee  on  Internal 
Improvements,  which  reported  a  resolution  that  the 
importance  of  the  subject  was  so  great  that  it  ought 
to  be  decided  by  the  voters  of  Baltimore  at  the  next 
election.  No  further  action  appears  to  have  been 
taken  on  the  .subject  at  that  time.  In  18.58,  Mr. 
Crowley,  a  member  from  Baltimore  in  the  Legisla- 
ture, introduced  a  bill  to  incorporate  "  The  Balti- 
more City  Passenger  Railway  Company,"  to  con- 
struct a  road  from  West  Baltimore  to  Canton,  with 
Robert  H.  Archer,  J.  P.  Shannon,  George  S.  Riggs,  J. 
E.  Wilson,  J.  P.  Archer,  and  associates  as  incorpora- 
tors, but  the  bill  failed  to  become  a  law  for  want  of 
time.  Before  the  adjournment  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly, Messrs.  William  Robertson,  of  the  "  Old  Line"  of 
omnibuses,  with  Coleman  &  Baily,  of  the  "  Accom- 
modation Line,"  and  John  Mitchell,  of  the  "  People's 
Line,"  petitioned  the  City  Council  for  authority  to 
lay  down  a  railroad  from  Franklin  Square  through 
Baltimore  Street  to  Broadway  or  Bond,  and  thence  to 
Canton,  whereupon  the  incorporators  in  the  "  City 
Passenger  Railway  Company's"  bill  petitioned  the 
Council  to  delay  any  action  in  the  matter  until  after 
the  passage  of  the  bill  then  before  the  Legislature.' 
The  subject  was  postponed  Sept.  24,  1858,  for  want  of 
time  to  consider  it.  Nov.  17, 1858,  Messrs.  Chauncey 
Brooks,  Zenus  Barnum,  and  others  petitioned  the  City 
Council  for  permission  to  lay  down  a  city  passenger 
horse  railway  on  Baltimore,  Charles,  Gay,  and  other 
streets  of  the  city,  and  similar  petitions  were  presented 
by  E.  L.  Thomas,  Thomas  B.  Brinkley,  and  others 
for  the  same  privileges.  On  September  29th,  Mr. 
Talbot,  in  the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Council,  re- 
ported a  bill  for  constructing  a  passenger  railway 
from  the  western  to  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  city. 

During  the  agitation  of  the  question  previous  to 
1858,  "  remonstrances"  against  granting  authority  for 
street  railways  were  "signed  by  all  the  busin&ss  men 
except  two*  on  this  (Baltimore)  Street,"  but  a  great 

-  I ;  I.  11,..  1,  I.  1^  .1  .ul.le,  and  the  cars  to  he  propelled  by  horse.power. 
Tl..  I  .,  .1  i  tli.it  they  are  "awareof  the  importance  of  more 
(1..-  ;i.     .  :iii. .us  extremes  of  the  city,  and  for  Ihe  purpose  of 

'^i\ I  1,1  ;.     -.-iK'rally  the  advantage  of  a  certain,  easy,  and  ex- 

|...i;i      .-t  travel,"  propose  to  construct  said  railway  along 

l!;.li,i,  II    I:    II.  Franklin  Square  to  Broadway,  thence  to  Canton 

A\.  ...I.  ,  ...  ,.  ..I, ...I I,  I  -jiiiilar  to  the  lines  of  street  railway  in  successful 
opeiati.m  in  Ne-w  i.irk  City. 

^  At  the  same  session  another  city  railroad  bill  was  introduced  to  in- 
corporate "The  City  and  Hampden  Railroad  Company,"  with  .T.  N.  Mc- 
Jillon,  W.  S.  Cn.wk.y,  T.iithi-r  ,1.  Cox,  B.  H.  Stabler,  Christian  Keener, 
It, I  II  In.  i.,A  I  i'l,.,  Ill,  A  L.  Webb,  J  Malcom,  and  othor8a8co^- 
p..l,.|  I  I  :  ,  I  ■  .1  ii.l  from  the  city  to  the  property  of  the 
Hi. nil  1  I  \  I  I,  .  ,  I  ,.1..'  to  Towsontown,  the  company  to 
i.i::..!  .  .   ^'  i II .1.1  ..   lhu,s  was  subscribed  and  paid  in. 

<  Tl.,.  i.n.pi  i.-l..r»  .,f  'iV.e  S<„i.  and  Messrs.  Huwcll  &  Bro. 


TRANSPORTATION. 


change  took  place  during  the  year,  and  by  December, 
1858,  a  petition  was  signed  by  five  or  six  hundred 
owners  and  tenants  of  property  on  Baltimore  Street  to 
the  mayor  and  City  Council  in  favor  of  granting  to 
Chauncey  Brooks,  Zenus  Barnum,  and  others  the  priv- 
ilege of  laying  passenger  railways  on  that  and  other 
streets.  Feb.  21,  1859,  Mr.  Beacham,  from  the  Com- 
mittee on  Highways  in  the  First  Branch  of  the  City 
Council,  reported  an  ordinance  empowering  William 
H.  Travers,  William  H.  Browning,  and  others  to  lay 
down  passenger  railways  on  Baltimore  and  other 
streets,  and  a  minority  report  by  Mr.  Van  Nostrand 
empowering  the  several  omnibus  proprietors  to  con- 
struct a  similar  railway.  The  "  Travers"  ordinance 
was  passed  by  the  First  Branch  on  March  2,  1859, 
by  a  vole  of  yeas  14,  nays  6,  with  an  amendment 
reducing  the  fare  to  four  cents  for  each  passenger. 
On  March  11th  it  passed  the  Second  Branch  with 
several  amendments,  which  were  concurred  in  by  the 
First  Branch  on  March  14th.  The  ordinance  fixed 
the  fare  at  four  cents  from  one  end  of  the  city  to  the 
other,  the  grant  to  extend  for  fifteen  years,  with  the 
privilege  to  the  city  to  buy  out  the  company,  and  if 
this  was  not  exercised  the  grant  to  extend  for  fifteen 
years  more.  The  "  Brooks"  ordinance  was  rejected, 
notwithstanding  it  contained  the  same  provisions,  with 
the  addition  that  "  none  but  Maryland  capitalists" 
were  to  take  the  stock,  and  the  fare  not  to  exceed 
three  cents,  with  a  bonus  of  $10,000  per  year  to  the 
city  for  the  privilege,  and  a  mortgage  to  secure  the 
perfo-mance  of  the  tenor  and  conditions  of  the  ordi- 
nance. The  passage  of  the  "  Travers"  ordinance  was 
fiercely  assailed  as  "one  of  the  most  objectionable  leg- 
islative acts  ever  imposed  upon  the  people  of  Balti- 
more," in  that  it  required /o«r  cents  for  fare,  while 
a  more  favorable  bill  in  other  respects  would  have 
charged  only  three  cents.  "  It  is  estimated  that  in  a 
short  time  the  cars  will  carry  twenty  thousand  pas- 
sengers a  day,"  with  a  tax  of  one  cent  each,  which 
they  were  not  required  to  pay  by  the  rejected 
"Brooks"  ordinance.  The  ordinance  was  vetoed  by 
the  mayor  on  the  22d  of  March  ;  but  on  March  23d 
tlie  First  Branch  pa.ssed  an  ordinance  by  a  vote  of 
ayes  15,  nays  3,  similar  in  every  respect,  and  with  the 
same  grantees,  but  fixing  the  fare  at  '^ five  cents  for 
each  passenger,"  and  further  providing  for  the  pay- 
ment to  the  city  quarterly  "  one-fifth  of  the  gross  re- 
ceipts accruing  from  the  passenger  travel  upon  said 
roads  located  within  the  city  limits."  The  Second 
Branch  concurred  on  the  25th,  and  passed  the  ordi- 
nance, with  some  immaterial  amendments,  by  a  vote 
of  ayes  7,  nays  3.  Mayor  Swann  signed  the  ordinance 
on  the  28th  of  March,  and  on  the  29th  sent  in  a  mes- 
sage requesting  the  Council  to  submit  to  the  people 
the  question  whether  the  "park  tax"  AnA  five-cent 
fares,  or  four  cents  and  no  "  park  tax"  should  be  the 
provisions  of  the  ordinance.  On  the  15th  of  April 
the  "grantees"  under  the  "Travers"  ordinance  dis- 
posed of  the  franchise  to  L.  Johnston  and  others,  of 


Philadelphia,  for  a  consideration  not  named  in  the 
deed,  but  reported  to  have  been  $100,000.  The  as- 
signment was  vigorously  assailed  as  soon  as  made 
known,  and  the  proceedings  connected  with  the  grant 
and  sale  denounced  as  "exceedingly  discreditable," 
and  the  charge  made  that  the  charter  had  been  ob- 
tained "  through  favor,  partiality,  and  inducements 
which  can  only  be  conjectured."  "  Pliant  legislators," 
it  was  said,  "  may  grasp  the  bribe  which  corrupts  them 
and  achieve  a  temporary  wrong,  and  presently  enjoy 
their  dishonest  gains,  but  the  wrong  by  which  a  bur- 
densome tax  is  entailed  upon  the  people  of  a  great 
city  for  a  series  of  years  will  be  a  daily  plague  and 
torment  to  all  concerned  until  the  character  of  the 
whole  transaction  is  scourged  into  the  light,  and  an 
indignant  people  annuls  the  instrument  of  their  hu- 
miliation." Injunctions,judicial  opinions,  and  action 
by  city  and  State  legislation  were  loudly  demanded, 
because  the  first  proceedings  were  "  malum  in  se."  The 
deed  of  sale  was  made  on  the  2d  of  April  by  William 
H.  Travers,  William  G.  Browning,  William  De  Goey, 
Robert  Cathcart,  and  Joshua  B.  Sumwalt,  of  Balti- 
moie,  to  L.  Johnston,  Conrad  S.  Grove,  Robert  F.  Nay- 
lor,  John  Ely,  and  Jonathan  Brock,  of  Philadelphia. 
Mr.  Colton  in  the  City  Council  presented  on  April 
21st  a  resolution  denouncing  the  sale,  and  directing 
the  counselor  of  the  city  to  consider  the  provisions  of 
the  ordinance,  and  to  report  if  said  ordinance  should' 
be  repealed.  No  report  was  ever  made  upon  the 
resolution,  and  on  May  24th  ground  was  broken  on 
Broadway  for  the  building  of  the  road,  on  what  is 
now  the  Eutaw  Street  and  Broadway  line.'  The 
powerful  protests  of  the  press  and  the  well-known 
indignation  of  the  best  portion  of  the  tax-payers  of 
the  city  were  ineffectual  to  right  the  great  wrong, 
because  "  bloody  lawlessness''  had  "  disfranchised" 
the  people.  A  meeting  of  the  people  in  favor  of  a 
three-cent  fare  was  broken  up  by  rowdyism,  and 
other  "  incidents  of  the  age"  demonstrated  the  utter 
helplessness  of  the  people  of  Baltimore  at  that  time. 
"  Know-nothing"  rowdyism  and  outrage  are  the 
"shame,  deep  and  blighting,  shame,"  inscribed  upon 
the  history  of  the  city  at  that  time. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  1859,  Mayor  Swann  sent  a 
message  to  the  City  Council,  in  which,  among  other 
matters,  he  held  that  the  transfer  of  the  grant  before 
the  work  was  commenced  was  contrary  to  the  spirit 
and  intention  of  the  ordinance;  that  a  refusal  to 
open  books  by  the  Philadelphia  party  was  a  forfeiture 
of  all  privileges  under  the  ordinance ;  that  the  origi- 
nal grantees  could  not  open  books  after  their  transfer 
of  the  ordinance ;  and  that  the  Legislature  would  not 
by  a  charter  give  validity  to  a  contract  with  an  asso- 


1  The  arrangement  required  by  the  ordinance  with  the  omnibui 
was  settled  by  arbitration  ;  tlie  proprietors  of  the  lines,  retaining 
stages,  liorses,  etc.,  received  $83,87.5  for  their  stable  property,  to  1 
livered  on  the  completion  of  the  railway. 

The  contract  for  constructing  the  whole  line  of  railway  was  aw 
to  William  S.  Shoemaker. 


364 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ciation  never  contemplated  by  the  ordinance.  The 
"  farce"  of  opening  books  was  played  at  No.  6  St. 
Paul  Street,  on  the  26th  of  June,  in  the  presence  of 
Win.  S.  Travers,  Wm.  S.  Browning,  Wm.  De  Goey, 
Robert  Cathcart,  and  Joshua  B.  Sumwalt ;  on  the  third 
and  last  day  the  farce  closed  without  a  bona-fide  sub- 
scription. The  grantees  having  sold  out,  and  the  pur- 
chasers being  absent  and  without  corporate  powers, 
the  public  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  affair. 

Nevertheless  the  "  work"  went  on,  and  on  July  6th 
"  ground  was  broken"  on  North  Green  Street  for  the 
Green  Street  line,  under  a  contract  with  J.  G.  Crowley, 
and  on  the  12th  of  July  the  first  car  was  placed  on 
the  City  Passenger  Railway  on  Broadway,  and  a  con- 
siderable number  of  persons  assembled  to  witness  the 
start.  During  the  entire  morning  the  car  on  every  trip 
was  crowded  to  e.xcess  with  men  and  boys,  particu- 
larly the  latter,  who  were  present  by  hundreds,  those 
of  them  who  could  not  get  a  seat  inside  clinging  to 
the  platforms  and  sides  of  the  car. 

On  July  14th  an  injunction'  was  filed  in  the  City 
Court  restraining  the  City  Passenger  Railway  Com- 
pany from  laying  more  than  a  single  track  on  Balti- 
more Street  between  North  and  Sharp.  The  power 
of  the  City  Council  to  grant  the  privileges  in  the 
"  Travers"  ordinance  was  not  raised  by  this  injunc- 
tion, but  at  this  time  (July  20th)  public  opinion  was 
turned  to  the  consideration  of  the  question  whether 
without  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  the  power 
of  laying  street  railways  could  be  conferred  by  the 
mayor  and  City  Council.  Numerous  enabling  acts 
from  1797  to  1853  were  quoted  in  the  daily  press  to 
show  how  limited  were  the  powers  of  the  mayor  and 
City  Council  over  the  streets  of  the  city  until  further 
authority  was  obtained  from  the  General  Assembly. 
The  want  of  corporate  powers  also  now  began  to  em- 
barrass the  purchasers,  and  to  remedy  this,  at  a  meet- 
ing held  July  25th,  a  committee  of  five  was  appointed 
"  to  organize  the  City  Passenger  Railway  Company, 
to  fix  the  capital  stock,  the  price  of  shares,  and  any 
and  all  other  matters  and  things  inherent  to  or  con- 
nected therewith."  This  committee  consisted  of  John 
A.  Thompson,  Robert  Hooper,  Col.  Henry  Snyder, 
Wm.  Callow,  and  Col.  Isaac  M.  Denson.  The  report 
of  this  committee  was  equally  unsatisfactory,  and  was 
immediately  assailed  as  "playing  into  the  hands  of 
the  existing  usurpation,  and  entirely  to  preclude  the 
citizens  of  Baltimore  from  all  hope  of  commanding 
an  interest  in  this  important  work." 

The  injunction  above  referred  to  was  appealed 
from  by  the  assignees  and  grantees  on  October  23d, 
and  having  given  bond  in  the  sum  of  $40,000,  they 
proceeded  to  lay  down  the  double  track  over  the 
whole  ground  between  North  and  Sharp  Streets  on 


nplaiiiants  were  Noah  Walker,  Hamilton  Easter,  Samuel 
and  wife,  Hugh  L.  Bond,  trustee,  R.  Snowden  Andrews, 
Henrietta  R.  Glenn,  W.  W.  Glenn,  and  John  Glonn,  Jr.,  Thos.  McKen- 
zie,  Frederick  Fickcy,  Jr.,  and  Robert  Campbell,  Sr.,  owners  and  repre- 
sentatives of  property  between  the  points  valued  at  SSOO,000. 


Baltimore  Street,  and  completed  it  by  the  27th  of  Oc- 
tober, thus  enabling  the  cars  to  pass  on  that  day  from 
one  end  of  the  line  to  the  other. 

The  time  for  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly 
was  approaching,  and  preparations  for  the  work  to  be 
done  required  another  "  meeting  of  subscribers  to  the 
City  Passenger  Railways,"  which  was  held  December 
14th,  at  which  were  present  about  twenty  of  the  sub- 
scribers who  on  the  4th  of  August  previous  had 
formed  themselves  into  an  association.  The  object 
of  the  meeting  was  to  raise  "  more  money"  to  enable 
the  association  to  prosecute  its  affairs  successfully  be- 
fore the  Legislature. 

The  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1860  took 
place  early  in  January,  and  on  the  19th  of  that  month 
the  "  opposing  forces"  in  the  railway  war  were  all 
promptly  in  the  field.  A  bill  to  incorporate  "  the 
Baltimore  City  Passenger  Railway  Company,"  with 
the  same  privileges  as  the  "Travers"  ordinance,  with 
a  capital  of  40,000  shares  of  $50  each,  and  with  the 
Philadelphians,  or,  as  they  were  then  styled,  "  Brock 
&  Co.,"  as  incorporators,  was  met  by  a  memorial  signed 
by  Henry  Maukin,  J.  L.  Owens,  J.  N.  McJilton,  John 
C.  Crooner,  George  B.  Clark,  Chas.  S.  Willett,  Chaun- 
cey  Brooks,  William  F.  Murdoch,  A.  Neill,  Nicholas 
Poplein,  and  John  Merryman,  setting  forth  the  his- 
tory of  the  ordinances  in  the  City  Council  and  pray- 
ing relief  to  the  people  of  Baltimore  from  the  "  Trav- 
ers" ordinance  and  its  assignees.  This  relief  was 
asked,  first,  because  it  did  not  contribute  to  the  gen- 
eral fund  of  the  city  as  much  as  the  rejected  "  Brooks" 
ordinance  would  have  done ;  second,  it  did  not  pro- 
vide for  connections  with  other  street  railways ;  third, 
because  it  charged  five  cents  (with  one  cent  to  the 
city  for  park  purposes)  instead  of  three,  as  proposed 
by  the  "  Brooks"  ordinance.  With  the  approach  of  the 
"  Lobby  Gang"  the  vigor  and  vehemence  of  the  press 
increased,  and  reviving  and  retelling  the  history  of  the 
"  Great  Fraud,"  the  corruption  and  partisan  action 
of  the  City  Council,  and  dealing  its  blows  at  the 
mayor  and  the  "  roughs,"  carried  the  war  with  great 
force  against  the  "  intrigue,  corruption,  and  fraud 
practiced  under  the  connivance  of  those  who  have 
been  instrumental  in  sustaining  and  using  the  most 
extreme  resources  of  corruption  and  fraud  against 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  of  Baltimore."  The 
Legislature  being  Democratic,  the  "  Lobby"  was  con- 
stituted on  like  principles  ;  "  an  ex-United  States 
senator,  two  ex-members  of  Congress,  and  an  ex- 
president  of  a  railroad,"  said  one  of  the  papers,  "  are 
at  the  dirty  work."  The  Democratic  City  Conven- 
tion of  February  2d  denounced  by  resolution  the 
manner  in  which  the  "  Travers"  ordinance  was  forced 
upon  the  city,  and  were  of  course  persuasive,  at  least 
with  the  Democrats  in  the  Legislature,  against  the 
"  Brock"  bill.  An  enthusiastic  demonstration  of  the 
people  was  made  at  the  Maryland  Institute  on  the 
6th  of  February  against  the  passage  of  the  "  Brock" 
bill,  with  Adam  Denmead  as  president,  and  John  C. 


TRANSPORTATION. 


365 


Brune,  J.  Parkhurst,  Jr.,  Thomas  E.  Hambleton,  W. 
D.  Miller,  J.  H.  Thomas,  F.  Fickey,  Jr.,  W.  F. 
Murdoch,  Peter  Merrill,  Charles  Webb,  William  J. 
Reimaii,  James  Hodges,  John  C.  Bridges,  Albert 
Schumacher,  John  S.  Williams,  I.  M.  Parr,  John  B. 
Seidenstricker,  Samuel  K.  George,  Hugh  Bolton,  John 
R.  Conway,  William  G.  Harrison,  vice-presidents ; 
with  P.  P.  Pendleton  and  Albert  Jenkins,  secretaries. 
A  committee  of  five,  consisting  of  P.  G.  Sauerwein, 
L.  Sangston,  W.  H.  Brune,  J.  R.  Spencer,  and  Joshua 
Vansant,  reported  resolutions  earnestly  invoking  the 
Legislature  not  to  pass  the  "  Brock"  bill,  approving 
of  the  investigation  ordered  by  the  Legislature,  pro- 
testing the  ability  and  willingness  of  the  citizens  of 
Baltimore  to  build  the  street  railways  as  they  had  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  that  while  wel- 
coming at  all  times  the  introduction  of  foreign  capital 
for  fair  and  honorable  purposes,  they  "  detest  a  scheme 
the  real  object  of  which  is  to  rob  the  poorer  class  of 
the  people  for  the  benefit  of  speculators,"  and  appoint- 
ing a  committee  to  present  the  resolution  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly.  On  the  10th  of  February  the  Com- 
mittee on  Corporations  began  the  investigation,  which 
continued  until  the  15th  of  the  same  month ;  the 
"  rich  developments"  of  that  investigation  are  things 
of  the  past,  exciting  and  interesting  at  that  time,  and 
perhaps  capable  of  pointing  a  moral,  but  utterly  "  dry 
as  dust"  at  present  to  the  people  of  this  day.  But  for 
the  purpose  of  understanding  this  history  of  the  city 
passenger  railway  excitement  in  its  early  day,  we 
serve  up  the  "points"  established  by  the  investi- 
gation, that  "  in  the  beginning"  the  capital  was  to 
come  from  Philadelphia,  and  that  this  was  known  to 
the  "  grantees"  and  to  members  of  the  City  Council ; 
that  the  ordinance  did  contain  a  promise  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  the  people  of  Baltimore  to  subscribe  to  the 
"  capital  stock ;"  that  the  grant  was  sold  and  assigned 
as  soon  as  passed ;  that  the  section  providing  for  the 
opening  of  books  in  Baltimore  was  so  framed  that 
the  obligation  was  not  binding  upon  the  assignees ; 
all  of  which  have  the  appearance  at  this  day  of  very 
"sharp  practice,"  if  not  of  the  "bare-faced  fraud" 
it  was  considered  twenty  years  ago.  Another  im- 
mense public  meeting  was  held  at  the  Maryland  Insti- 
tute February  26th,  "  to  give  expression  to  the  feelings 
and  indignation  of  the  people,  and  to  make  a  last  ap- 
peal to  the  House  of  Delegates  to  pause  before  they 
rob  the  people  of  the  indisputable  franchise  for  the 
benefit  of  a  foreign  monopoly."  To  aid  in  the  defeat 
of  the  Brock  bill,  the  "  Commissioner  Bill"  was  in- 
troduced, by  which  Johns  Hopkins,  W.  F.  Murdoch, 
Chauncey  Brooks,  Jr.,  A.  Thompson,  J.  M.  Owen, 
"Adam  Denmead,  John  Merry  man,  of  Baltimore  County, 
J.  Smith,  N.  Poplein,  J.  L.  Owings,  Peter  Mowell,  I. 
M.  Denison,  G.  Q.  Quail,  J.  H.  Thomas,  J.  Vansant, 
W.  Hopkins,  and  J.  J.  Abrams  were  constituted 
a  Board  of  Commissioners  for  the  organization  of  a  city 
passenger  railway  company  with  a  three-cent  fare. 
The  following  committee  was  appointed  to  go  and  re- 
24 


)  main  in  Annapolis  until  the  passenger  railway  ques- 
I  tion  should  be  disposed  of:  J.  Hanson  Thomas,  Ed- 
!  ward  Wolff",  J.  B.  Seidenstricker,  P.  B.  Sauerwein, 
Robert  Hooper,  W.  T.  Walters,  J.  W.  Jenkins,  J.  W. 
McCoy,  Henry  Taylor,  McH.  Grofton,  H.  W.  Dra- 
heley,  J.  W.  Frey,  H.  Sisson,  C.  F.  Middleton,  W.  J. 
Albert,  F.  Neal,"  E.  Oatis  Hinkley,  H.  F.  Stickney, 
Gustavus  Lurman,  J.  M.  Green,  A.  K.  Mantz,  J.  H. 
Brown,  James  Hodges,  J.  Mohler,  F.  B.  Fitzgerald, 
J.  B.  Mattison,  Charles  Shipley,  Peter  Mowell,  George 
Appold,  Jacob  Pappler,  Samuel  Chew,  Jr.,  J.  P. 
Archer,  Joshua  Vansant,  J.  H.  Spencer,  W.  P.  Light- 
ener,  George  T.  Thomas,  C.  Webb,  W.  Canby,  W.  P. 
Spencer,  S.  R.  Smith,  W.  S.  Crowley,  D.  Stewart,  J. 
F.  Watkins.  B.  Whiteley,  L.  H.  Gover,  W.  H.  Rob- 
erts, N.  E.  Berry,  W.  H.  Owens,  George  Merryman, 
S.  G.  Miles,  Thomas  Street,  J.  W.  Wilson,  and  Peter 
Hanson.  By  March  6th,  in  two  days  $600,000  was 
pledged  by  name  to  the  three-ceat  fare  bill,  and  the 
"  address  of  the  people"  was  presented  to  the  Legis- 
lature, a  document  setting  forth  in  plain,  unvarnished 
and  dispassionate  language  the  wrongs  that  would  be 
done  to  the  city  by  the  "  Brock"  bill  if  it  should  be- 
come a  law.  The  sub-committee  of  the  general  com- 
mittee, consisting  of  Messrs.  J.  Hanson  Thomas,  P.  G. 
Sauerwein,  John  W.  McCoy,  J.  B.  Seidenstricker,  and 
E.  O.  Hinkley,  prepared  an  address  to  the  House  of 
Delegates  in  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  Baltimore  on 
their  city  passenger  railway  enterprise,  contrasting  in 
strong  terms  the  two  propositions  before  the  House  of 
Delegates,  the  one  by  a  "  close  corporation  of  strangers 
to  our  soil  and  institutions,"  the  other  by  "your  own 
constituents,"  and  presenting  with  forcible  reasons 
the  propriety  and  sound  policy  of  the  Commissioner 
bill.  Excitement  and  self-interest  continued  to  in- 
crease personal  feeling  until,  to  the  utmost  conftjsion 
within  and  without  the  House  of  Delegates,  on  the 
evening  of  March  11th  actual  personal  altercation  was 
added,  involving  the  serious  wounding  and  hazard- 
ing of  several  of  the  partisans  of  each  side.  That 
evening  a  collision  occurred  in  the  rotunda  of  the 
capital  at  Annapolis  between  Thomas  H.  Gardiner,  of 
the  "  Brock"  party,  and  John  W.  McCoy,  a  friend 
and  advocate  of  the  Commissioner  bill,  resulting  in 
the  wounding  of  Mr.  Gardiner  in  the  thigh ;  confu- 
sion and  disorder  reigned  in  the  capital,  and  threats 
against  the  lives  of  members  were  openly  made, 
until  by  a  motion  of  Mr.  Morgan  the  house  adjourned 
sine  die  without  action  on  the  Commissioner  bill,  the 
"  Brock"  bill  having  been  defeated  on  the  23d  of 
February. 

The  General  Assembly  having  adjourned  without 
incorporating  either  party  as  the  City  Passenger  Rail- 
way Company,  on  the  11th  of  May,  1860,  articles  of 
agreement  were  executed  between  the  city  of  Balti- 
more and  the  "assignees,"  under  the  name  of  the 
"  Passenger  Railway  Association,"  whereby  Jonathan 
Brock,  Conrad  S.  Grove,  and  Robert  F.  Taylor  and 
their  successors  were  constituted  trustees  of  all  prop- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


erties  acquired  or  thereafter  to  be  acquired  by,  and 
as  representatives  in  law  and  equity  of  the  associa- 
tion. The  beneficial  interests  were  divided  into  40,000 
shares  at  the  par  value  of  $50.  The  association  was 
endowed  with  powers  similar  in  all  respects  to  those 
of  an  incorporated  company,  and  continued  to  hold 
and  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the  grant.  The  prop- 
erty of  the  association  at  the  date  of  the  contract  with 
the  city  of  Baltimore  consisted  of  "about  twenty- 
two  miles  of  railway-tracks,  with  turn-outs,  switches, 
and  crossings,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,"  sixty-five 
passenger-cars,  three  hundred  and  sixty  horses,  har- 
ness, blankets,  stables  and  stable  equipments,  etc., 
costing  less  than  $500,000,  which  properties  were 
represented  by  a  capital  stock  of  $2,000,000.  The 
association,  through  trustees,  continued  in  possession 
and  management  of  the  street  railways  until  the 
meeting  of  the  General  Assembly,  when,  on  Feb.  13, 
1862,  an  act  was  passed  whereby  Henry  Tyson,  John 
W.  Walker,  William  Chesnut,  John  W.  Randolph, 
Conrad  S.  Grove,  Jonathan  Brock,  and  Albert  W. 
Markley,  and  others,  their  associates,  assignees  of  all 
the  rights,  powers,  and  privileges  granted  to  William 
H.  Travers,  William  S.  Browning,  William  De  Goey, 
Robert  Cathcart,  and  Joshua  B.  Sumwalt,  aud  their 
associates  and  assignees,  by  an  ordinance  of  the  mayor 
and  City  Council  of  Baltimore,  approved  on  or  about 
the  28th  of  March,  1859,  were  incorporated  by  the 
name  and  style  of  the  "Baltimore  City  Passenger 
Railway  Company."  Henry  Tyson  was  elected  presi- 
dent, and  a  more  satisfactory  relation  established 
with  the  city  and  public  than  had  existed  at  any  time 
before.' 

The  internal  revenue  tax  of  one  and  one-half  per 
centum  on  gross  receipts,  the  depreciation  of  the  cur- 
rency, and  the  increase  in  the  cost  of  every  article 
used  by  the  company  produced  embarrassments 
which  could  only  be  remedied  by  an  increase  of  fare 
above  five  cents.  The  provisions  of  the  charter,  being 
identical  with  those  of  the  ordinance  of  March  29, 
1859,  did  not  provide  for  any  power  in  the  company 
to  alter  or  vary  the  express  stipulation  for  five  cents 
"  for  transporting  passengers  from  one  part  of  the 
city  to  any  other  on  the  line  of  these  railways."  The 
right  to  provide  for  the  internal  revenue  tax  by  an 
increase  of  fare  could  not  be  disputed,  but  that  in- 
crease was  only  about  three-quarters  of  a  mill,  aud 
was  not  practicable ;  and  the  right  to  add  the  next 
lowest  possible  sum,  which  was  one  cent  for  each  pas- 
senger, was,  if  not  conceded,  at  least  no  longer  de- 

1  On  the  17th  of  Dccemher,  1860,  the  company  commenced  running 
cars  day  and  night  for  tlie  better  accommodation  of  the  public,  the  cara 
pacing  the  corner  of  Calvert  and  Baltimore  Streets  every  half-hour  after 
twelve  o'clock,  the  faro  after  that  hour  being  ten  cents.  The  running  of 
all.night  cars  continued  for  one  week  only,  when  they  ceased.  The  line 
from  Baltimore  Street  to  Boundary  Avenue,  known  as  the  Charles  Street 
line,  was  completed  on  the  2d  of  December,  la62,  and  put  in  operation 
on  the  following  day.  One-horee  cars  were  at  one  time  employed  on  this 
route.  The  Park  Passenger  Railway  was  completed  in  September,  1864. 
The  line  to  the  President  Street  Depot  was  opened  on  the  25th  of  April, 
1870. 


nied.    The  fare,  therefore,  was  raised  to  six  cents  in 

1863.  But  the  right  claimed  to  charge  two  cents  ad- 
ditional where  a  passenger  is  transferred  from  one  car 
to  another  wiis  not  so  clear,  and  the  matter  was  re- 
ferred to  the  joint  special  committee  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil on  the  Baltimore  Passenger  Railway  Company, 
from  which  a  report  was  made  Jan.  9,  1863,  by  C. 
Sidney  Norris,  G.  J.  Kennard,  and  A.  Schwartz,  of 
the  Second  Branch,  and  T.  H.  Mules,  John  Duke- 
hart,  and  Thomas  W.  Cromer,  of  the  First  Branch, 
whereby  the  right  to  make  the  extra  charge  was  de- 
nied ;  but  legal  proceedings  to  prevent  its  exercise 
were  discouraged  because  of  the  embarrassed  condi- 
tion of  the  financial  affairs  of  the  company.  In  view 
of  the  fact  that  the  city  was  then  receiving  all  the 
profits  of  the  company  and  the  stockholders  nothing, 
it  was  considered  by  the  committee  to  be  "  sound 
policy  for  the  city  to  afford  the  company  all  the  tem- 
porary assistance  legally  in  its  power  to  render,  there 
being  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  your  committee  that 
in  a  short  time  the  increased  revenue  of  the  com- 
pany will  enable  it  to  comply  strictly  with  all  the 
obligations  of  its  charter  and  leave  a  fair  remunera- 
tion to  its  stockholders."  In  further  pursuance  of 
this  policy,  the  City  Council  on  the  11th  of  February, 

1864,  adopted  a  resolution  directing  the  city  collector 
to  susjjend  the  collection  of  the  license  tax  upon  the 
cars  of  the  company  until  otherwise  ordered,  and  on 
the  7th  of  March  in  the  same  year,  an  act  was  passed 
by  the  Legislature  authorizing  the  company  to  in- 
crease the  fare  from  five  to  six  cents,  "  without  charge 
for  transfer  tickets."  It  was  provided,  however,  that 
the  company  should  continue  to  pay  one-fifth  of  the 
gross  receipts  from  passengers  to  the  city,  and  that 
the  operation  of  the  act  should  be  limited  to  two  years. 
Even  these  measures  of  relief  were,  however,  insuf- 
ficient, and  on  the  24th  of  December,  1864,  the  com- 
pany, through  its  president,  Mr.  Tyson,  addressed  a 
communication  to  the  City  Council  on  the  subject  of 
its  financial  condition^  asking  the  municipal  authori- 
ties to  co-operate  with  the  company  in  measures  to 
obtain  the  necessary  relief.  A  committee  of  the  City 
Council  was  appointed  in  January,  1865,  to  examine 
the  company's  books,  and  ascertained  that  though  no 
extraordinary  expenditure  had  been  incurred  during 
the  last  half  fiscal  year,  the  current  working  expenses 
in  that  period  were  in  excess  of  the  revenue  by  the 
sum  of  $8000.  As  further  evidence  of  their  embar- 
rassment, the  company  oflered  to  sell  their  franchise 
and  all  their  property  to  the  city  at  their  actual  cost, 
namely,  $640,000,  or,  if  preferred  by  the  city,  at  a 
valuation  to  be  ascertained  by  arbitrators.  The  com- 
mittee, however,  reported  that  though  the  company  was 
in  need  of  relief,  the  city  had  already  done  all  in  its 
power  in  remitting  taxes  and  licenses,  and  suggested 
that  no  further  aid  should  be  extended.  The  com- 
pany then  appealed  to  the  Legislature  for  relief,  ask- 

I  ing  the  reduction  of  the  park  tax  to  one-third  of  the 
'  net   receipts ;    and   although   this    request  was   not 


TRANSPORTATION. 


367 


granted,  an  act  was  passed  on  the  16th  of  March, 
1865,  authorizing  the  company  to  charge  four  cents 
for  transfer  tickets.  On  the  1st  of  April  following 
the  company  announced  that  on  and  after  April  3d 
the  fare  would  be  seven  instead  of  six  cents,  with  a 
charge  of  three  instead  of  four  cents  for  transfers. 
The  authority  for  the  increase  was  claimed  to  be 
derived  from  the  tenth  section  of  the  amendatory 
internal  revenue  act  passed  by  Congress  at  the  pre- 
ceding session,  which  provided  that  whenever  the 
tax  of  two  and  a  half  per  cent,  on  the  gross  receipts 
of  railways,  canals,  steamboats,  vehicles,  etc.,  should 
amount  to  a  sum  involving  the  fraction  of  a  cent, 
such  corporations  or  persons  should  be  authorized 
to  add  to  the  fare  one  cent  in  lieu  of  such  fraction.' 

Up  to  April  15,  1867,  the  care  of  the  City  Passen- 
ger Line  turned  oflF  at  Holliday  Street,  but  on  that 
date  the  present  system  was  adopted,  and  the  cars 
began  to  run  directly  to  and  from  the  extreme  east- 
ern and  western  termini.  The  question  of  allowing 
the  cars  to  run  on  Sunday  was  agitated  as  early  as 
1862,  and  in  July  of  that  year  a  resolution  was  passed 
by  the  Second  Branch  of  the  City  Council  providing 
for  taking  the  sense  of  the  people  on  the  subject  at 
the  next  municipal  election,  but  it  was  laid  on  the 
table  in  the  First  Branch  under  the  rules.  In  Sep- 
tember of  the  following  year  the  resolution  was  passed 
by  both  branches  of  the  City  Council,  but  was  vetoed 
by  the  mayor  on  the  24th  of  that  month,  in  the  follow- 
ing emphatic  language :  "  Gentlemen, — I  return  to 
your  honorable  body  without  my  approval  a  resolution 
providing  for  ascertaining  the  sense  of  the  people  on 
the  running  of  cars  on  Sunday.  I  am  opposed  to  the 
running  of  cars  on  Sunday,  feeling  convinced  that 
no  greater  source  of  demoralization  could  be  legal- 
ized. Entertaining  this  view,  I  cannot  with  any  pro- 
priety sanction  a  resolution  placing  the  matter  before 
the  people."  In  1867  the  question  was  again  brought 
forward,  and  was  submitted  to  the  people  on  the  10th 
of  April  in  that  year.  A  majority  of  the  popular 
vote  was  cast  in  favor  of  granting  the  privilege,  and 
Sunday  cars  commenced  running  on  April  2Sth. 

On  the  29th  of  April,  1870,  a  decision  was  rendered 
in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  for  Maryland  by 
Judge  Giles  requiring  street-car  companies  to  carry 
colored  persons  on  the  same  terms  and  in  the  same 
class  of  cars  provided  for  other  passengers,  and  on  the 
2d  of  May  special  cars  for  colored  passengers  were 
placed  on  the  tracks  of  the  City  Passenger  Railway. 
On  each  of  these  cars  was  affixed  a  placard  bearing 
the  words,  "  Colored  persons  are  permitted  to  ride  in 
this  car."  On  the  11th  of  November,  1871,  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court  decided  in  the  case  of 
John  W.  Fields,  colored,  against  the  City  Passenger 
Railway  Company  that  this  discrimination  was  ille- 
gal, and  that  colored  passengers  were  entitled  to  use 


1  The  dummy-engine  and  ca 
I  the  26th  of  August,  1865. 


1  the  park  t 


all  the  cars  without  distinction.  In  accordance  with 
this  decision,  the  company  on  Monday,  the  13th  of 
November,  removed  the  signs  from  the  cars,  and  all 
passengers  were  received  without  discrimination.  In 
1870  the  clause  of  the  internal  revenue  law  author- 
izing railways  and  other  common  carriers  to  add  one 
cent  to  their  ordinary  fares  to  reimburse  themselves 
for  the  fractional  tax  was  repealed  by  Congress,  to  go 
into  eflect  on  the  1st  of  October  in  that  year,  and  on 
that  date  the  fare  on  the  Baltimore  City  Passenger 
Railway  was  reduced  to  six  cents. 

On  the  13th  of  August,  1873,  the  resignation  of 
Mr.  Tyson  as  president  of  the  company  was  accepted, 
and  on  the  14th  of  October  following  ex-Governor 
Bowie  was  elected  as  his  successor.  On  the  14th  of 
January,  1874,  Enoch  Pratt  was  chosen  president, 
but  declined  to  serve,  and  Governor  Bowie  was  re- 
elected on  the  22d  of  the  same  month. 

At  the  session  of  1874  the  company  presented  a 
memorial  to  the  Legislature  asking  for  the  reduction 
of  the  park  tax  to  ten  per  cent.,  but  the  General  As- 
sembly declining  to  act  in  the  premises,  on  the  ground 
that  it  would  be  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts, 
application  for  similar  relief  was  made  to  the  City 
Council  in  May  of  that  year;  and  on  the  21st  Mr. 
Porter,  from  the  Committee  on  City  Passenger  Rail- 
ways, reported  an  ordinance  in  the  First  Branch  of 
the  City  Council  reducing  the  park  tax  on  all  the 
lines  to  twelve  per  centum  of  their  gross  receipts, 
instead  of  the  one-fifth  originally  required.  This 
ordinance  was  passed  in  the  following  month,  and 
still  regulates  the  obligations  of  the  various  street-car 
companies.  An  effort  was  made  at  the  session  of  the 
Legislature  in  1880  to  obtain  a  still  further  reduction 
in  the  park  tax,  but  the  attempt  was  not  successful. 
The  directors  of  the  company  for  1881  are  Oden 
Bowie,  Gabriel  D.  Clark,  Austin  Jenkins,  John  Bol- 
giano,  Wesley  Ricketts,  Jackson  Holland,  and  Wesley 
A.  Tucker. 

Citizens'  Passenger  Railway  Company.— The 
Citizens'  Passenger  Railway  was  authorized  by  ordi- 
nance of  the  City  Council,  passed  June  25,  1868,  and 
was  incorporated  in  1870,  with  Samuel  Snowden, 
Jacob  Rice,  Mathew  B.  Sellers,  John  Richardson, 
Capt.  George  A.  Coleman,  James  S.  Hagerty,  Dr.  J. 
J.  Moran,  William  J.  Hooper,  John  W.  Munson, 
Andrew  J.  Myers,  Alfred  P.  Burt,  and  their  associates 
as  incorporators.  Immediately  after  the  acceptance  of 
the  charter  the  corporators  organized  by  the  election 
of  James  S.  Hagerty,  president;  J.  E.  H.  Boston, 
secretary ;  and  George  V.  Keen,  treasurer,  with  Oliver 
A.  Parker,  William  J.  Hooper,  A.  P.  Burt,  H.  Shriver, 
Jacob  Hecht,  P.  S.  Chappelle,  and  Harvey  Knew  as 
directors.  The  line  extends  from  Druid  Hill  Park 
to  Patterson  Park.  In  1876  an  effort  was  made  by 
this  company  to  substitute  steam  for  horse-power,  and 
for  this  purpose  a  small  steam-engine  with  car  at- 
tached commenced  running  September  28th.  The 
locomotive  was   built  at  the  Baldwin   Locomotive 


368 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Works,  in  Philadelphia,  for  the  Citizens'  Passenger 
Railway  Company,  and  was  transferred  by  a  team  of 
six  horses  to  the  track  of  the  City  Passenger  Railway 
Company  at  Albemarle  Street,  and  thence  to  the 
track  of  the  Citizens'  Line  at  corner  of  High  and 
Lombard  Streets,  and  then  to  the  Northwestern  Sta- 
tion of  the  company.  The  motor  was  of  ten-horse 
power,  with  eight-inch  cylinder,  and  weighed  seven 
thousand  pounds,  consuming  its  own  smoke,  and  cost- 
ing three  thousand  dollars.  A  permit  of  sixty  days 
for  trial  was  granted  by  the  City  Council,  but  at  the 
expiration  of  the  time  the  motor  was  withdrawn. 
James  S.  Hagerty  is  president  of  the  company.  The 
directors  for  1881  are  O.  A.  Parker,  Henry  Shriver, 
Joseph  Friedenwald,  George  V.  Keen,  Jacob  Hecht, 
John  E.  Boston,  and  Frederick  Rice. 

People's   Passenger   Railway    Company, — The 
People's  Passenger  Railway  Company  was  incorpo- 
rated by  act  of  Assembly  of  1876,  ch.  242,  and  by  the 
ordinance  of  June  28,  1878,  Wm.  Frederick,  Jacob 
Tome,  Michael  P.  O'Hern,  and  George  W.  P.  Coats, 
the  incorporators,  were  authorized  to  construct  pas- 
senger railway  tracks  along  certain  streets  of  the  city. 
The  line  extends  from  the  intersection  of  Druid  Hill  { 
and  Boundary  Avenues  to  Fort  McHenry,  and  is  the 
only  one  of  the  city  railways  proper  on  which  the  fare 
is  five  cents.     The  first  car  was  run  over  the  road  on  j 
the  9th  of  August,  1879.     In  September,  1878,  the  I 
company  mortgaged  the  road  for  $100,000  to  Jacob  ' 
Tome,  of  Cecil  County.     The  directors  for  1881  are  j 
Hon.  J.  D.  Cameron,  Jacob  Tome,  John  J.  Patterson, 
Isaac  M.  Denson,  Eugene  Higgins,  John  Quinn,  and 
W.  H.  Patterson. 

Park  Railway  Company.— On  the  28th  of  March,  , 
1872,  an  ordinance  was  passed  by  the  City  Council 
authorizing  James  L.  McLane,  Wallace  King,  C.  Ol- 
iver G'Donnell,  Darius  C.  Howell,  George  P.  Frick, 
Cumberland  Dugan,  James  W.  Tyson,  John  S.  Hogg, 
and  Gerard  T.  Hopkins  to  lay  down  city  passenger 
railway  tracks  along  German  Street,  beginning  at  the  i 
west  line  of  South  Street,  and  extending  by  way  of 
Charles,  Saratoga,  Park,  Franklin,  Howard,  Dolphin, 
Bolton,  and  McMechen  Streets  to  the  northern  limit 
of  the  city,  under  the  name  and  style  of  the  Park  \ 
Railway  Company.  By  act  "bf  1872,  ch.  369,  Charles 
Webb,  Henry  Taylor,  Wm.  Devriese,  Rev.  Franklin 
Wilson,  H.  L.  Whitridge,  Charles  E.  Dickey,  and 
Wm.  S.  Whitely  were  made  a  body  corporate,  by  the 
name  and  style  of  Baltimore  and  Peabody  Heights 
and  Waverly  Passenger  Railway,  with  power  to  con- 
struct passenger  railways  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  on 
all  such  streets  and  subject  to  such  conditions  as 
might  be  designated  by  the  mayor  and  City  Council. 
Upon  the  passage  of  this  act  the  persons  named  in 
the  Park  Railway  ordinance  of  March  28th  assigned 
their  rights  to  the  Baltimore,  Peabody  Heights  and 
Waverly  Passenger  Railway  Company,  and  the  two 
organizations  were  consolidated  under  the  latter 
name.     The  road  went  into  operation  on  the  21st  of 


November,  1872.  The  first  officers  were  Geo.  P. 
Frick,  president,  and  James  L.  McLane,  Daniel  J. 
Foley,  C.  Oliver  O'Donnell,  James  W.  Tyson,  Charles 
E.  Dickey,  John  W.  Griffith,  R.  L.  Cuyler,  and  Wal- 
lace King,  directors.  On  the  2d  of  December,  1876, 
the  Peabody  Heights  Railway,  then  owned  by  Charles 
E.  Dickey,  was  purchased  and  consolidated  with  the 
company,  giving  it  a  continuous  line  from  German 
and  South  Streets  to  Waverly,  on  the  York  road,  in 
Baltimore  County,  a  mile  beyond  the  city  limits. 

Baltimore  and  CatonsvlUe  Passenger  Railway 
Company. — This  company  was  incorporated  March 
3,  1800,  to  run  passenger-cars  from  Baltimore  to 
Catonsville  and  beyond  on  the  bed  of  the  Frederick 
turnpike,  and  by  the  act  of  1874  was  authorized  to  use 
steam  instead  of  horse-power  for  the  transportation 
of  passengers,  provided  the  Baltimore  and  Frederick- 
town  Turnpike  Road  Company  consent  to  the  use  of 
steam  instead  of  horse-power  on  said  railway,  and 
that  the  locomotives  used  be  smokeless,  fireless,  and 
noiseless,  except  only  ordinary  noise  and  smoke  from 
running  of  cars.  On  the  29th  of  October,  1860,  the 
company  was  fully  organized  by  the  election  of  the 
following  directors :  William  Wilkens,  John  C.  Hol- 
land, George  M.  Gill,  Asa  Needham,  Darius  C.  How- 
ell, Mathias  Benzinger,  and  James  H.  Stone.  William 
Wilkins  was  elected  president,  and  James  H.  Stone 
treasurer  and  secretary.  The  road  was  commenced 
March  26,  1861,  and  opened  to  travel  in  August,  1862,' 
between  Baltimore  and  the  western  limits  of  Catons- 
ville, and  continued  under  the  presidency  of  Mr. 
Wilkins  until  November,  1868,  when  the  following 
officers  were  elected,  who  have  been  continued  till 
the  present  time :  President,  John  C.  Holland ;  Treas- 
urer, H.  H.  Graue  ;  Secretary,  William  W.  Orndorff; 
Directors,  John  C.  Holland,  Benjamin  Whitely,  James 
W.  Flack,  Frank  Frick,  Herman  H.  Graue,  Asa  H. 
Smith,  and  Jeremiah  Storm. 

Col.  John  C.  Holland,  the  president  of  the  road, 
was  born  in  Baltimore,  Jan.  24,  1822,  of  an  old  Mary- 
land family.  His  father,  James  Holland,  was  one 
of  the  "Old  Defenders,"  serving  in  Montgomery's 
artillery  at  the  battle  of  North  Point.  His  mother 
was  Nancy  Fuller,  oldest  daughter  of  William  Fuller, 
of  Baltimore  County.  Mr.  Holland  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  Baltimore,  and  was  appren- 
ticed in  the  paper-hanging  and  upholstering  busi- 
ness to  Walter  Crook.  From  1842  to  18.54  he  was  in 
business,  and  retired  in  the  latter  year  with  impaired 
health.  In  1852  he  visited  Europe  in  the  interest  of 
his  business,  but  upon  retiring  from  the  partnership 
with  his  brother  in  1854  he  removed  to  Baltimore 
County,  where  he  resided  from  1854  to  1874.  For  the 
benefit  of  his  health  he  visited  the  West  Indies,  the 
Spanish  Main,  Laguayra,  Caraccas,  Porto  Cabello,  and 
Havana.  He  has  always  been  prominent  in  public 
matters,  and  taken  a  lively  interest  in  the  temper- 


1  to  Catonsville  from  the  eastern  terminus  on  July  23, 


i 


t 


_0&'^- 


TRANSPORTATION. 


369 


ance  cause,  organizing  in  1841  the  Washingtoniau 
Temperance  Society  in  Baltimore,  of  which  he  was 
president.  From  1839  to  1842  he  was  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Patapsco  Fire  Company,  and  held  positions 
of  honor  and  usefulness  in  the  Fire  Department.  In 
1845  he  was  an  active  member  of  the  Independent 
Blues,  one  of  the  oldest  military  companies,  of  which 
he  was  a  lieutenant.  From  1842  to  1862  he  was  a 
member  of  the  AVashington  Lodge,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd-Fellows,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
incorporators,  and  for  several  years  financial  secretary 
and  chaplain.  In  1841,  with  other  members  of  the 
Universalist  Church,  he  organized  the  Murray  Insti- 
tute in  the  lecture-room  of  the  church  corner  of 
Pleasant  and  Calvert  Streets.  Its  discussions  were 
conducted  with  great  ability,  and  drew  large  and 
intelligent  audiences,  and  at  that  time  was  the  only 
literary  institution  where  the  slavery  question  could 
be  discussed  in  Baltimore.  Here  it  was  earnestly 
debated  by  its  friends  and  foes,  and  commanded  great 
public  interest  and  attention.  Col.  Holland's  ability 
as  presiding  officer  contributed  largely  to  its  popu- 
larity. 

In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  supporting  Polk  and 
Dallas  against  Clay  and  Frelinghuysen,  but  in  1845 
he  advocated  the  American  party  and  espoused  its 
principles,  and  was  upon  its  ticket  for  the  Legislature, 
but  was  defeated.  Removing  to  the  county  in  1854, 
he  immediately  became  a  recognized  leader  in  the 
American  party,  and  was  the  next  year  elected  by 
that  party  to  the  House  of  Delegates.  An  accident, 
causing  the  fracture  of  his  leg,  a  few  days  before  the 
meeting  of  the  Legislature,  prevented  his  taking  his 
seat.  In  1860  he  took  a  decided  ground  as  a  LTnionist, 
delivering  many  public  addresses  at  public  meetings 
and  State  conventions  in  the  support  of  the  Federal 
Union.  He  assisted  in  raising  the  Fifth  Maryland 
Regiment,  of  which  he  was  commissioned  lieutenant- 
colonel.  Though  organized  as  a  home-guard,  the 
regiment  was  ordered  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  Col. 
Holland,  as  field-officer  of  the  day,  was  on  duty  the 
night  the  "  Merrimac"  was  destroyed.  Compelled  by 
bilious  fever  to  return  home,  he  was  assigned  to  re- 
cruiting service  in  Baltimore,  and  proceeded  with  a 
large  detachment  of  recruits  to  the  regiment,  partici- 
pating in  the  battle  of  Antietam.  In  1863  he  was  ap- 
pointed provost-marshal  and  president  of  the  Board 
of  Enrollment  for  the  Fifth  Congressional  District  of 
Maryland ;  the  district  was  large  and  intensely  South- 
ern, but  Col.  Holland  enrolled  the  whole  district, 
and  furnished  the  full  quota  of  men  from  the  southern 
counties  of  Maryland.  He  was  honorably  discharged 
the  service  Aug.  15,  1865.  In  1863  he  was  nomi- 
nated for  Congress  by  the  Union  party  of  the  Fifth 
Congressional  District  of  Maryland,  but  owing  to  the 
divided  LTnion  vote  he  was  defeated.  Nominated 
again  in  1864,  he  was  defeated  in  the  district,  which 
was  still  intensely  hostile  to  the  Unionists.  In  No- 
vember, 1868,  he  was  unanimously  elected  president 


of  the  Baltimore,  Catonsville  and  Ellicott  Mills  Rail- 
way Company.  Upon  assuming  control  he  found  the 
company  heavily  encumbered  with  debt  and  paying 
no  dividend.  Devoting  his  entire  time  to  its  affairs, 
he  soon  paid  off  a  mortgage  then  due  and  under  exe- 

j  cution,  relieving  the  company  of  its  embarrassments, 

i  and  has  so  successfully  administered  its  affiiirs  that  it 
has  been  paying  handsome  dividends.  He  has  been 
annually  re-elected  for  ten  consecutive  years,  and  still 
fills  the  place.  He  was  also  elected  president  of  the 
Baltimore,  Calverton  and  Powhatan  Railroad  Com- 

1  pany  in  1874,  and  after  serving  for  three  years  re- 
signed. In  all  the  positions  to  which  he  has  been 
called  he  has  developed  decided  administrative  and 
executive  ability,  administering  trusts  in  all  positions 
with  fidelity  and  unobtrusive  quietness,  always  re- 
spectful to  associate  and  superior  officers,  and  kind 
and  courteous  to  inferiors.  Since  1874  he  has  resided 
in  Baltimore  City. 

Col.  Holland  has  always  cultivated  a  taste  for  liter- 
ature, and  is  an  earnest,  forcible,  and  logical  public 
speaker.  In  1878  he  was  unanimously  nominated  by 
the  Republican  convention  of  the  Fourth  Congres- 
sional District  for  Congress,  but  was  defeated  by  Mr. 
McLane.  He  has  been  twice  married,  and  is  now  a 
widower. 

Suburban  Horse-Cars. — The  Towsontown  Rail- 
road Company  was  incorporated  by  the  General  As- 
sembly of  Maryland  on  the  9th  of  March,  1858,  with 

!  the  following  incorporators :  Nathan  Smedley,  John 

!  R.  D.  Bedford,   Enos   Smedley,  Jacob  Wisner,    Dr. 

!  Grafton  N.  Bosley,  Amos  Matthews,  William  M.  El- 
licott, Benjamin  Bowen,  William  Bowen,  James  L. 
McDaniel,  and  William  B.  Hill.     Books  for  subscrip- 

;  tion  of  stock  were  opened  at  the  office  of  William  B. 

!  Hill,  corner  St.  Paul  and  Fayette  Streets,  and  at  the 
office  of  J.  R.  D.  Bedford,  Towsontown,  on  the  2d 
of  July,  1860.      On    the   following   10th  of  July  a 

!  meeting  of  land-owners  and  others  favorable  to  the 
proposed  road  was  held  at  the  Cold  Spring  Hotel,  and 
Zenus  Baruum,  A.  S.  Abell,  W.  P.  Preston,  Archibald 
Sterling,  John  E.  Owens,  W.  I.  Whitely,  G.  M.  Bos- 
ley, B.  N.  Payne,  Ed.  H.  Ady,  George  C.  Irving,  Wil- 

i  liam  B.  Chew,  and  John  Stevenson  subscribed  for  the 
necessary  amount  of  stock.     Archibald  Sterling  was 

j  chosen  president,  and  John  R.  D.  Bedford  secretary. 

1  The  iron  track  was  completed  to  Govanstown  27th 
of  May,  1863,  and  shortly  afterwards  completed  to 


Towsontown. 

The  Baltimore,  Calverton  and  Powhatan  Eail- 
road  was  incorporated  by  act  of  Assembly  in  1870,  to 
construct  a  line  of  horse  railway  from  some  convenient 
point  in  the  western  part  of  the  city  to  Wethereds- 
ville,  Franklintown,  Powhatan,  or  to  any  one  or  all 
of  said  places.  The  incorporators  were  Messrs.  J. 
Lazear,  W.  P.  Webb,  L.  Turner,  C.  B.  Slingluff,  Eli 
G.  Ulery,  G.  Cheston,  F.  White,  Jr.,  S.  Berry,  and  J. 
Hurst.  By  act  of  1872  it  was  authorized  to  acquire 
'  all  the  corporate  rights  and  franchises  of  the  Hooks- 


370 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


town  and  Pimlico  branch,  and  the  Eandallstovvn 
branch  of  the  Baltimore,  Calverton  and  Powhatan 
Eailroad  Company,  or  either  of  them,  so  as  to  unite 
them  all  into  one  roadt 

The  first  officers  of  the  Baltimore,  Calverton  and 
Powhatan  Eailway  were  elected  on  May  21, 1870,  and 
were  as  follows:  James  A.  Garey,  president;  E.  D. 
Freeman,  secretary  ;  Charles  Shipley,  treasurer ;  Gen. 
Jesse  Lazear,  William  P.  Webb,  Lewis  Turner,  Joshua  | 
Zimmerman,  K.G.Ulery,Carey  McClelland,  and  John 
D.  Hammond,  directors. 

Baltimore  and  Pikesville  Railroad  Company.— 
By  the  act  of  Feb.  6,  1866,  John  T.  Ford,  William  i 
Thompson,  Charles  H.  Mills,  Gustavus  A.  Thompson, 
and  Covington  D.  Barnetz  were  authorized  to  open 
books  and  receive  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Pikesville  Railroad  Company 
thereby  incorporated.  Nothing  came  of  this,  how- 
ever, and  by  the  act  of  1870,  ch.  249,  the  Baltimore 
and  Reisterstown  Turnpike  Company  were  authorized 
to  construct  a  passenger  railway  between  Baltimore 
and  Pikesville.  The  work  was  commenced  in  1872, 
and  includes  a  branch  road  to  the  agricultural  grounds 
at  Pimlico. 

The  Baltimore  and  Randallstown  Horse  Rail- 
road Company  was  organized  in  1872,  with  Messrs. 
George  R.  Vickers,  Hamilton  Easter,  James  L.  Ridge- 
ly,  William  M.  Hoopes,  P.  W.  Patterson,  Charles  G.  j 
Wilson,  and  Fielder  Sliuglufl"  as  directors.     Fielder  ; 
Slingluff  was  chosen   president ;    George   N.  Moale, 
secretary ;   and   James   L.   Ridgely,  treasurer.     The 
road    extended    from   the    corner   of   Fremont  and 
Presstman   Streets  out  the  Liberty  road  to   Morris' 
Bridge,  through  the  estate  of  Jesse  Slingluif  to  the 
Highland,  thence  to  the  estates  of  George  R.  Vickers  ' 
and  Dr.  Hoopes,   and  again  to  the  Liberty  road  at  I 
the  estate  of  James  L.  Ridgely,  and  thence  to  Pow- 
hatan Lake.    The  company  is  no  longer  in  existence, 
the  road  and  equipments  having  been  sold  Feb.  3, 
1874.  I 

Baltimore  and  Hampden  Railway  Company. — 
The  Baltimore  and   Hampden   Passenger  Railroad,  : 
connecting  this  city  with  the  thriving  manufacturing 
suburb  of  Hampden,  was  incorporated  by  act  of  1872,  [ 
and  opened  in  March,  1876.     The  officers  are  Albert  I 
H.  Carrol,  president;  H.  W.  Rogers,  secretary;  and 
L.  L.  Conrad,  R.  J.   Capron,  H.  Mankin,  J."  W.  L. 
Brady,  and  Daviil  Carroll,  directors. 

The  Baltimore  and  Hall  Springs  Passenger 
Railway  was  incorporated  by  act  of  the  General 
Assembly  at  the  session  of  1870,  and  opened  for  busi- 
ness between  the  city  and  Darly  Park  on  the  21st  of 
October,  1872.  By  act  of  1872  the  time  for  the  com- 
pletion of  the  road  was  extended  to  April  13,  1875. 

Among  other  street  railways  projected  or  in  course 
of  construction  in  Baltimore,  are  the  Central  Cross- 
Town  Railway,  the  Monumental  Railway,  and  the 
Patterson  and  Druid  Hill  Parks  City  Passenger  Rail- 
way, 


CHAPTER    XXVL 


CO.M.MERCIAL   IXDU.-^TKIES    .\ND    .M.WUFACTURE.S. 


The  growth  of  tobacco  absorbed  the  attention  of 
the  planters  of  Maryland  from  the  earliest  period  of 
her  colonial  existence  ;  it  monopolized  their  industry, 
excluding  almost  entirely  the  cultivation  of  grain, 
and  preventing  the  introduction  of  manufactures.  It 
grew  upon  one-half  of  the  arable  soil  of  the  colony ; 
was  the  chief  production  and  support  of  the  whole 
of  her  people,  and  was  the  foundation  of  her  trade 
and  commerce.  The  "  country  pay"  was  in  tobacco, 
the  currency  of  the  colony  was  tobacco,  and  the  legis- 
lation of  the  colony  was  "  to  amend  the  staple  of 
tobacco,  for  preventing  frauds  in  his  majesty's  cus- 
toms, and  for  limiting  the  fees  of  officers."  (Laws 
of  Maryland,  1763,  ch.  xviii.)  That  "  tobacco  code" 
was  composed  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  sections, 
and  provided  the  mo.st  minute  details  for  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  tobacco,  its  warehousing,  its  shipping; 
punishment  for  stealing,  opening  hogsheads,  burning 
or  damaging  was  provided  by  that  act ;  every  officer 
in  the  province  and  every  laborer  was  paid  in  to- 
bacco ;  all  debts  could  be  discharged  in  tobacco,  and 
all  custom  duties  were  paid  in  tobacco.  This  univer- 
sality of  use  compelled  the  establishment  of  some 
mode  of  fixing,  if  not  its  value,  at  least  its  purity, 
and  hence  tobacco  inspection  became  at  an  early  day 
a  necessity  in  Maryland.  By  the  "  tobacco  code"  act 
of  1763  Baltimore  Town  was  favored  with  two  inspec- 
tors at  an  annual  salary  of  9600  pounds  of  tobacco 
each,  and  Baltimore  County  with  two  at  Joppa  with 
a  salary  of  6400  pounds  each,  two  at  Otter  Point 
near  Red  Cleft,  on  Bush  River,  with  salary  at  6400 
pounds  each,  and  two  at  John  Loney's,  Swan  Creek, 
and  Rock  Run,  on  Susquehanna  River,  with  salary  at 
6400  pounds  each.  It  was  impossible  for  a  whole 
people  thus  to  devote  all  their  energies  and  the  pro- 
ductiveness of  a  virgin  soil  upon  one  commodity 
without  increasing  its  production  far  beyond  its  real 
value  and  depreciating  its  price.  Thus  in  1663  the 
tobacco  sold  would  scarcely  purchase  the  clothing  of 
the  people,  and  in  1639  the  fears  of  famine  compelled 
the  enactment  of  a  law  compelling  every  planter  to 
cultivate  two  acres  in  corn  for  each  member  of  his 
household.  The  fluctuations  in  price  were  variable 
and  without  any  fixed  causes.  But  the  tobacco 
code  of  1763  brought  greater  regularity  in  the  pro- 
duction of  the  staple,  and  if  it  did  not  restore  the 
character  of  the  quality  to  that  of  its  early  history,  it 
at  least  retarded  the  depreciation. 

The  value  of  Maryland  tobacco  in  1770  in  London 
was  £300,000,  with  a  population  of  174,000  in  1775. 
In  1789  a  severe  penalty  was  enacted  against  export- 
ing or  carrying  out  of  the  State  any  tobacco  previous 
to  entry  and  inspection.     In  1795  the  justices  of  the 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


371 


peace  were  authorized  to  appoint  the  places  of  inspec- 
tion and  designate  the  numher  of  inspectors.  All 
along  the  pages  of  Maryland  laws,  from  the  tobacco 
code  of  176.3  to  the  present  day,  the  care  bestowed  by 
the  State  upon  the  tobacco  interest  is  marked  and 
important.  Although  the  general  subject  of  tobacco 
legislation  belongs  more  particularly  to  the  history 
of  the  State,  the  account  of  the  "Tobacco  Fund,"  by 
which  the  tobacco  warehouses  in  the  city  were  built, 
more  properly  pertains  to  the  history  of  Baltimore 
City.  The  Tobacco  Fund  owes  its  origin  to  "  an  act 
to  establish  State  warehouses  for  the  inspection  of 
tobacco  in  the  city  of  Baltimore," '  authorizing  the 
Governor  and  Council  to  contract  for  the  erecting  of 
warehouses  and  for  the  appointment  of  inspectors.  A 
supplement  to  this  acf^  authorized  the  Governor  and 
Council  to  contract  for  the  building  of  a  fire-proof 
State  warehouse  or  warehouses  for  the  inspection  of 
tobacco  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  The  expenditure 
under  this  act  was  $.54,500.  In  1826  the  General  As- 
sembly^ appointed  commissioners  to  value  and  con- 
demn so  much  of  the  land  lying  south  of  Pratt  Street, 
between  Market  Space  and  O'Donnell's  wharf,  as 
would  be  proper  and  necessary  to  perfect  the  design 
of  the  act  of  1825 ;  and  the  act  further  directed  the 
treasurer  of  the  Western  Shore  to  borrow  on  the  credit 
of  the  State,  at  a  rate  not  exceeding  five  per  cent,  per 
annum,  a  sum  suflicient  to  cover  the  amount  of  the 
value  of  such  real  estate  as  might  be  valued  and  con- 
demned. The  revenue  arising  from  the  inspection  of 
tobacco  was  pledged  to  pay  the  interest  and  principal 
of  the  loan,  and  the  premium  arising  from  the  sale  of 
the  bonds  was  directed  to  be  invested  for  the  redemption 
of  the  loan.  This  sum  was  one  per  cent,  on  $48,000, 
the  amount  of  the  sale  of  the  bonds,  and  amounted 
to  $480,  and  was  invested  in  the  stock  of  the  Farmers' 
Bank  of  Maryland,  and  constituted  the  foundation  of 
the  "Tobacco  Warehouse  Sinking  Fund."  In  1832 
the  General  Assembly,  by  resolution  No.  20,  directed 
the  treasurer  of  the  Western-Shore  to  carry  to  the 
credit  of  this  fund  the  sum  of  $12,563.70,  being  the 
net  revenue  accrued  from  the  inspection  of  tobacco, 
and  to  invest  the  same  in  public  stocks  to  be  applied 
to  the  redemption  of  the  $48,000  loan.  In  1833,  by 
the  consolidation  of  the  several  sinking  funds  of  the 
State,*  the  "  Tobacco  Warehouse  Sinking  Fund"  was 
merged  in  general  sinking  fund  and  ceased  to  exist  as 
a  separate  account.  The  treasurer  of  the  Western 
Shore  was  further  directed,  at  the  session  of  1834,°  to 
place  to  the  credit  of  the  balance  of  the  tobacco  in- 
spection revenue  what  sum  remained  in  the  treasury 
on  the  1st  day  of  December  annually,  for  the  purpose 
of  redeeming  the  loan  of  $48,000.  This  was  done 
until  1844,  when  the  debt  was  extinguished.  In 
1835 '^  the  General  Assembly  authorized  the  Governor 
and  Council  to  build  a  new  inspection  warehouse  in 


Baltimore,  and  for  this  purpose  authorized  the  treas- 
urer to  negotiate  a  loan  of  $30,000  under  the  credit 
of  the  State  by  a  six  per  cent,  stock,  redeemable  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  State  at  any  time  after  such  period 
as  the  premium  for  which  said  stock  should  sell,  and 
the  revenue  arising  from  that  portion  of  the  State's 
wharves  attached  to  the  warehouse  lot,  by  invest- 
ment and  reinvestment,  should  produce  a  sum  suffi- 
cient to  pay  the  principal.  This  loan  was  disposed  of 
at  a  premium  of  $3525,  and  that  premium  and  the 
wharf  revenues  discharged  the  debt  in  May,  1853. 
Warehouse  No.  2  was  built  under  the  act  of  1843,' 
which  authorized  a  loan  of  $30,000,  which  being  ne- 
gotiated at  par  there  was  no  accretion  to  the  fund 
from  that  source.  Under  the  actof  1845'  stock  to  the 
amount  of  $81,984.15  was  issued,  which  sold  for  only 
$77,006.05,  and  the  amount  of  stock  sold  under  the 
act  of  1846"  to  reimburse  the  tobacco  inspectors  for 
expenses  over  and  above  their  receipts  was  $21,705.52. 
The  act  of  1853'"  provided  for  the  building  of  a  new 
warehouse,  under'which  .$34,202.22  was  expended. 
The  tobacco  inspection  fund  was  indebted  to  the 
treasury  of  the  State  in  the  year  1875  in  the  sum  of 
$61,168.04. 

The  cost  of  the  various  warehouses  has  been  as 
follows:  Warehouse  No.  4,  land  $7810.94,  building 
$47,779.19;  warehouse  No.  5,  $29,961.05;  Nos.  1, 2,  and 
3,  for  land  and  buildings  $97,211.96 ;  improvements 
on  same, $19,678.33;  additional  warehouse  lot,  $25,000; 
building,  $96,790.57 ;  repairs  and  improvements  to 
same,  $.'')0,609.38.  The  total  disbursements  have 
been  $1,632,829.61,  with  a  balance  due  the  State  of 
$61,168.04. 

The  following  tables  exhibit  the  inspection  of  to- 
bacco at  Baltimore  from  1841  to  1880: 


1842 

1843 

3t;,759 

2(i,lin 

39.844 

1847 

33,729 

3(1,869 

..27  U85 

29,248 

1854 

1856 

1856 

1867 

lSr,9.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..^. 

2';,f'1'^ 

5(1.4(17 

}S 

31,516 

11  :i37 

1870 

1371 

1872 

25,969 

:i0,956 

33,254 

27,754 

33.523 

13,465 
15,320 
26,716 
28,862 
16,671 

9,702 
13,064 
13,965 
16,798 
17,720 
17,947 
10,362 
10,097 
12,959 

7,640 
22,300 
16,331 
23,000 
23,(j00 


17,032 
21,961 
15,396 


13,614 

16',347 
24,162 
26,699 
6,036 


1,043 
1,472 
2,660 
991 
1,663 

3il69 
3,022 
3,100 
3,012 
3,646 
2,267 
2,140 
3,077 


4,183 
1,608 
2,193 


43,082 
47,503 
66,660 

49400 
33,906 
45,601 
41,833 
42,742 
48,332 
48,667 
38,970 
39,668 
62,852 
47,305 

62',801 
77,503 
67,671 
58,699 
66,976 
.52,619 
4.3,962 
47,660 
63,747 
37,959 
44,648 
47,070 
49,570 
51,209 
66,067 
.67,965 
40,367 


1  Laws  of  Maryland,  1 
3  Ibid.,  1826,  ch.  250. 
5  Resolution  No.  40. 


!  Ibid.,  1826,  ch.  169. 

»  Session  1833,  res.  No.  20. 

»  Laws  of  Maryland,  1836,  ch.  350. 


«  Ibid.,  1846,  ch.  97. 
w  Ibid.,  1863,  ch.  381. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Year.                         Maryland.  Ohio.  Kentucky,  etc.  Tot»I. 

1876 4>,IU  1V.SI9            978            60,8clJ< 

1877 :iS,Wi  22,914            444            62,263 

1878 46,521  16,955             715            64,191 

1879 :!",KiO  16,44(1            4.t5            54,725 

18SCI 30,871  8,258            211            45,367 

The  following  table  shows  the  shipments  of  Mary- 
land and  Ohio  tobacco  from  Baltimore,  January  1st  to 
December  81st,  for  fifteen  years  : 


At  the  present  time  Baltimore  is  the  great  depot 
for  the  inspection,  sale,  and  shipment  of  this  import- 
ant staple  to  foreign  countries.  It  is  contiguous  to 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  other  sections  of  the  country  remarkable 
for  the  production  of  the  best  brands  of  tobacco. 
The  admirable  location  and  abundant  capital  of  our 


1860. 



16,005 
15,198 
4,192 
6S2 
6,320 
818 

42,215 

1867. 

22,190 
21,137 
5467 
2.358 
9,059 

1868. 

9,381 
5,632 
7,910 
2,109 

1869. 

1870. 

9,697 
8,014 
5:893 
1,908 
4.872 

46 

1871. 

1872. 

1873. 

1874.       1875.      1876. 

1877.      1878. 

14,371     18,808 
13,888     18.307 
1,810       3,578 
611          301 
12,886     15,476 

■  2V726     ■  1,496 

1879.       1880. 

Bremen 

Kotterdam 

kn'ulan.l. ...:."'".!'.'''.'.!. 
KruiK- 

.\ntwei-p,  etc 

17,358 
7,763 
6,992 
1,192 
9,672 



15,984 

2:209 

8,940 
45,161 

14,103 
10,475 
6,042 
2:367 
8,516 

'■"eis 

221 

12,673 
10,616 
5,913 
1398 
17,495 
1.279 

T252 
126 

14.910       8,485     19,933 
10,889       7,200     14,624 
4,191       2,691       4.938 
2,921       1,237       1,822 
9,994       8,976     11,397 
2,337  j 

■"e^ijso  I  "siVm  1 ::;.::::: 

i    "i 

9,953       6,762 
10,219     ll.OOT 

l,2;i7       1,829 
12,975     18,048 

■'241  :;::::::: 

Total 

61,111 

32,467 

42,077 

42,336 

51,652 

49,241    33,070    52,714 

46,322     58,020 

37,260     39,616 

The  inspections  for  1880  from  Maryland,  Virginia, 
Ohio,  and  Kentucky  in  the  various  warehouses  is  as 


Warehouses. 

Maryland. 

Ohio.      I 

Centucl 

No.  1 

.    8,042 



No.  2 

.    8,142 

64 

No.  3 

.     9.078 

No.  4 

.     7.060 

No.  5 

.     4,549 

1,175 

Locust  Point 

5,834 

69 

Canton 

Total.. 


S,2S5 


Tobacco  Manufactured. — That  the  manufacture 
of  tobacco  wa.s  a  very  early  industry  in  Baltimore  is 
abundantly  shown  in  the  columns  of  the  old  news- 
papers, in  which  we  find,  as  early  as  1766,  that  Thomp-  i 
son  &  Farish  had  a  store  for  the  sale  of  their  tobacco,  \ 
manufactured  at  Georgetown,  in  Frederick  County,  ; 
and  Fau  Eiufes,  in  1789,  at  Bowley's  wharf,  was  a  com- 
mission merchant  for  the  sale  of  leaf  and  manufac- 
tured tobacco.  In  the  same  year  Adrian  Valck  & 
Co.  manufactured  tobacco  and  snuff",  and  sold  at  the 
following  reduced  prices :  No.  1,  Is.  2d.  per  pound ;  No. 
2,  9d.  per  pound ;  No.  3,  6rf.  per  pound  ;  Kite's  Foot, 
first  quality,  2s.  6rf.  per  pound ;  Scotch  snuff,  in  bottles, 
2s.  6d.  per  bottle ;  ditto  in  bladders,  2s.  6d.  per  pound ; 
American  rappee,  equal  to  Dunkirk,  No.  1,  2s.  per 
pound ;  Macuba,  ditto.  No.  2,  15s.  6d.  per  pound ; 
chewing  tobacco,  in  rolls  from  six  to  ten  pounds,  10s. 
per  pound ;  ditto  in  small  rolls,  5s.,  7s.,  and  12s.  per 
dozen.  Also  various  smoking  tobacco  of  superior 
quality  at  8s.  4rf.,  7s.  6d.,  6s.,  and  4s.  Gd.  per  pound." 
Jos.  Brown,  in  1777,  manufactured  tobacco  at  164 
Baltimore  Street. 

The  following  table  shows  the  proportions  of  the 
manufacturing  interests  of  Baltimore,  a.s  ascertained 
by  the  census  of  1880,  as  well  as  their  development 
during  the  last  ten  years : 

No.of  No.of    Amt.nf  Amt.  in  Value  of    Value  of 
Est.    Hands.  Capital.  Wages.  Material.    Products. 
Tobacco,  includ- 
ing cigars,  1870.    186    1978    $916,877  8399,570  51,482,717  52,372.069 
Tobacco  and  snuff      13      346      496,400  82,046  251.911        653,760 
Cigars 247      970      390,300  295,439  395,584    1,070,873 


tobacco  merchants  enable  them  to  carry  large  stocks, 
and  the  fine  rail  and  water  facilities  which  the  port 
of  Baltimore  enjoys  confer  superior  advantages  in 
attracting  and  holding  trade.  Indeed,  Baltimore  may 
be  said  to  be  mistress  of  the  market.  There  are  also 
several  very  large  factories  for  the  manufacture  of 
smoking,  fine-cut,  and  chewing  tobacco,  and  snuffs, 
which  are  equal  if  not  superior  to  any  made  in  the 
country,  and  have  attained  a  wide  reputation  in  Eu- 
rope.' Among  the  leading  firms  engaged  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  tobacco  in  Baltimore  are  Messrs.  Gail  & 
Ax,  Marburg  Bros.,  D.  H.,  Jr.,  &  L.  V.  Miller,  B.  F. 
Parlett  &  Co.,  J.  D.  Kremelberg,  and  R.  Starr  &  Co. 
Among  the  principal  dealers  in  leaf  tobacco  are  the 
Becker  Bros.,  John  Behrens  &  Co.,  Werner,  Dresel  & 


1  In  April,  1826,  the  tobacco  merchants  of  Baltimore  signed  the  fol- 
lowing agreement : 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  shippers  and  purchasers  of  Maryland  tobacco, 
pledge  oureelves  to  each  other  not  to  purchase  a  hogshead  which  may 
be  hereafter  inspected  in  any  warehouse  in  this  city,  except  such  an 
have  been  selected  or  which  may  hereafter  be  selected  by  the  Executive 
of  the  State,  in  accordance  with'  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  law  enacted 
at  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature  to  regulate  the  same.  And  such  of 
us  aa  are  agents  for  houses  in  Europe  bind  ourselves  that  we  will  not  give 
any  advances  on  tobacco  inspected  in  this  city  and  shipped  unless  it  has 
been  done  conformably  to  what  is  stated  above. 


Thomas  Tennant. 

William  P.  Dunnington. 

Jacob  Wichelhauser. 

Isaiah  Mankin. 

Jacob  Adams. 

F.  W.  Heueke. 

J.  J.  Hoogeworff. 

Henry  G.  Jacobsen. 

Henry  Rodewald. 

Nathaniel  Pearce. 

Henry  Rodewald. 

Benjamin  M.  Hodges. 

J.  P.  Krafft. 

William  Cooke. 

R.  H.  Douglass. 

John  G.  Dorsey. 

Joseph  Ferguson. 

Walter  Muschett. 

Frederick  Graf. 

John  C.  Delprat. 

William  Dawson  &  Co. 

Tliomas  Barber. 

Charles  W.  Karthaus. 

I).  F.  Magruder. 

Brunei  Dannemanu. 

George  W.  Waring. 

Thomas  Macilroy. 

Ralph  Smith. 

Von  Kapff  &  Brune. 

F.  L.  Brauns. 

Hammond  &  Newman. 

C.  C.  Egerton. 

Henry  Payson  &  Co. 

Gnstavus  Magruder. 

James  Bosley. 

R.  Gilmore  Jt  Sons. 

C.  U.  Heineken. 

John  Laffitte,  Jr. 

H.  W.  Evans. 

Thompson  &  Bathurst." 

c^ 


^p%^c? 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


Co.,  Decatur  H.  Miller,  John  P.  Pleasants  &  Sons, 
Richards,  Leftwich  &  Co.,  A.  Seemuller  &  Sons,  and 
Liidolph  Wilhelm  Gunther.  Mr.  Gunther  is  not  only 
a  dealer  in  tobacco,  but  is  also  one  of  our  most  enter- 
prising German  citizens,  and  takes  a  large  share  in 
developing  our  industries,  maintaining  our  manufac- 
tures, commerce,  credit,  and  civic  repute  and  stand- 
ing. He  is  a  descendant  of  the  noble  German  family 
of  Schwartzburg-Sondershausen,  which  traces  its  an- 
cestry back  to  the  dark  ages.  George  John  Gunther, 
his  father,  served  as  chief  surgeon  of  the  fourth  bat- 
talion of  the  king's  German  legion  against  Napoleon 
in  the  early  part  of  the  century,  and  at  Waterloo  had 
three  horses  shot  under  him  and  was  severely  wounded, 
receiving  from  King  George  a  special  medal  of  honor, 
which  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  The  veteran  settled  in  Nienburg  after  peace 
was  declared,  and  there  married  Caroline  Mensching, 
who  was  a  daughter  of  a  leading  physician  of  that 
town  and  a  noted  beauty.  Ludolph  Wilhelm  was 
born  Feb.  6,  1821,  and  after  receiving  his  educa- 
tion there  he  went  into  a  Bremen  commercial  house 
to  study  business  and  languages  at  the  same  time. 
In  1839  he  was  invited  by  a  large  German  importing- 
house  in  Baltimore  to  connect  himself  with  it,  and 
this  opening  he  was  glad  to  avail  himself  of;  but 
when  he  landed  in  this  city  the  promised  engage- 
ment was  annulled  on  account  of  the  then  existing 
business  crisis,  and  the  young  stranger  was  thrown 
upon  his  own  resources.  He  was  an  excellent  lin- 
guist, penman,  and  accountant,  and  he  soon  found 
employment.  He  was  with  the  Easters  for  a  few 
years,  and  subsequently  with  the  now  extinct  firm  of 
Pendleton,  Riley  &  Co.,  in  whose  service  he  made 
trips  to  what  was  then  the  far  West,  traveling  be- 
yond Cumberland  in  stage-coaches  or  on  horseback. 
He  went  among  the  Indians  in  their  camps,  and  wit- 
nessed the  expulsion  of  the  Mormons  from  Nauvoo, 
111.  Risk  and  toil  were  never  absent  from  these  | 
journeys,  but  they  richly  repaid  the  house  for  which  I 
Mr.  Gunther  labored,  and  brought  to  him  much  use- 
ful knowledge  and  experience.  He  located  in  1848 
on  the  Ohio  River,  in  Kentucky,  and  prepared  ship- 
timbers  and  staves  for  the  English  and  French 
markets,  but  the  floods  of  two  successive  years  so  in- 
terfered with  him  that  he  abandoned  the  enterprise 
and  returned  to  Baltimore  to  reside,  where  he  has 
since  transacted  a  large  business  as  a  cotton  and  to- 
bacco commission  merchant,  and  in  the  improvement 
of  his  extensive  real  estate.  He  is  a  large  property- 
owner,  having  a  superb  residence  on  Eutaw  Place 
and  the  massive  warehouses  on  South  Gay  Street 
known  as  the  Gunther  Buildings.  He  is  a  director  of 
the  Merchants'  National  Bank  and  of  several  insur- 
ance companies,  and  has  filled  other  positions  of 
honor  and  trust,  including  that  of  member  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Maryland  Hospital  for  the 
Insane.  In  politics  he  was  formerly  a  Whig,  and 
when  that  party  died  out  he  became  a  Democrat. 


He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church.  His  first 
wife  was  Miss  Catherine  Upsliaw,  of  King  and  Queen 
County,  Va.,  and  of  this  union  there  were  born  two  sons, 
both  now  prosperous  merchants,  one  in  Louisville 
and  the  other  in  New  Orleans.  After  the  death  ot 
this  lady  he  was  married,  in  January,  1855,  to  Miss 
Martha  Ann  Cecil,  of  King  William  County,  Va.,ade- 
scendant  of  the  English  Cecils  who  settled  in  Mary- 
land. They  have  four  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom  is  a 
member  of  the  Baltimore  bar,  and  steadily  advancing 
in  his  profession. 

The  Milling  and  Flour  Trade.—"  We  may  easily 
estimate,"  says  Chalmers,  "  the  numbers,  wealth,  and 
power  of  a  people  who  think  it  necessary  by  general 
contribution  to  erect  a  water-mill  for  the  use  of  the 
colony."  This  was  said  in  relation  to  a  bill  which 
passed  the  third  Assembly  of  Maryland  in  1638-39, 
authorizing  the  Governor  and  Council  to  contract  for 
the  erection  of  a  water-mill,  provided  the  cost  should 
not  "  exceed  twenty  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco," 
which  was  to  be  raised  for  the  purpose  by  general 
taxation  in  two  years.  A  mill  is  mentioned  as  having 
been  set  up  in  1635  "  near  the  town,"  probably  at 
St.  Mary's,  the  capital.  The  sparseness  of  population, 
for  which  hand-mills  sufliced,  may  have  suffered  this 
to  go  down.  The  other,  it  is  2)robable,  was  built  on 
the  Isle  of  Kent,  as  the  other  county  of  the  province 
was  called.  Plantagenet,  in  his  account  of  New  Al- 
bion, 1648,  mentioned  a  mill  and  fort  on  Kent  Isle, 
"  lately  pulled  down,  and,  on  account  of  war  with  the 
Indians  near  it,  not  worth  the  keeping." 

Maryland  passed  several  judicious  laws  for  the  en- 
couragement of  industry  and  manufactures  at  an  early 
period.  One  of  these,  in  1681,  aimed,  among  other 
things,  to  promote  tillage  and  the  raising  of  provis- 
ions. It  was  not  till  1730  that  Baltimore,  now  one  of 
the  largest  flour-markets  in  the  world,  was  founded, 
and  it  was  late  in  the  provincial  period  before  the 
jjlace  entered  upon  its  career  of  rapid  growth.  How 
early  mills  began  to  be  erected  on  the  Patapsco,  Jones' 
Falls,  and  neighboring  mill-streams  so  rich  in  water- 
power  we  are  unable  to  say.  About  the  earliest, 
however,  was  one  erected  in  1711  by  Jonathan  Han- 
son, millwright,  on  a  mill-seat  purchased  of  Mr.  Car- 
roll, and  of  whicli  the  ruins  were  visible  in  1854  at 
the  intersection  of  Holliday  and  Bath  Streets. 

The  Maryland  Legislature,  about  the  year  1748, 
made  grants  of  land  to  those  who  would  erect  water- 
mills  in  order  to  encourage  the  manufacture  of  flour 
for  exportation.  Many  of  the  arts  were  carried  to 
Maryland  by  the  people  of  the  more  northern  colo- 
nies, particularly  from  Pennsylvania. 

In  1762,  William  Moore,  a  native  of  Ireland,  re- 
moved from  Brandywine  Mills,  in  Delaware,  to  Balti- 
more, where  he  purchased  mill  property  of  Edward 
Fell.  The  upper  mill-seats  he  sold  to  Joseph  EUicott 
and  John  and  Hugh  Burgess,  of  Bucks  County,  Pa., 
who  built  a  mill  "  opposite  the  site  of  the  jail."  Ten 
years  after,  Ellicott,   with  two  brothers,  John  and 


374 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Andrew,  built  mills  on  ^he  Patapsco.  In  1769,  not- 
withstanding the  general  attention  to  tobacco,  there 
were  exported  from  Baltimore  45,868  tons  of  flour 
and  bread.  Two  yeare  after  an  act  of  the  Assembly 
was  passed  to  i)revent  the  export  of  flour,  staves,  and 
shingles,  which  were  not  merchantable,  and  to  regu- 
late weights  and  measures,  etc.  Jonathan  Hanson, 
whose  father  had  erected  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth 
mills  on  the  Falls,  was  appointed  inspector  of  flour, 
which  continued  to  be  sold  by  weight  until  after  the 
Revolution.  The  salutary  effect  of  such  ordinances 
was  made  apjiarent  in  the  high  reputation  of  Mary- 
land flour,  which,  with  that  of  Pennsylvania,  com- 
manded better  prices  in  the  southern  provinces  and 
the  West  India  markets  than  other  flour  perhaps 
scarcely  inferior. 

In  1787,  Oliver  Evans  made  an  application  to  the 
Assembly  of  Maryland  for  the  exclusive  right  of  using 
his  improved  mill  machinery,  and  also  his  steam- 
carriages,  all  of  which  was  granted,  although  the 
last-named  project  had  been  rejected  and  derided  in 
the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  early  in  the  same 
year.  The  mill  improvements  of  the  patentee  were 
not  long  after  introduced  into  the  large  establish- 
ments of  the  EUicotts  on  the  Patapsco.  The  savings 
in  the  expense  of  attendance  alone  thereby  effected 
at  these  mills,  where  three  hundred  and  twenty  bar- 
rels of  flour  were  daily  made,  was  estimated  at  $4875 
annually ;  and  the  saving  made  by  the  increased 
manufacture  was  at  least  fifty  cents  a  barrel,  a  gain  in 
that  department  of  $32,500. 

James  Eumsey  about  the  year  1784  also  made  some 
important  improvements  in  mill  machinery.  Adver- 
tisements of  mills  for  sale  and  for  rent  frequently 
appear  in  the  newspapers  of  those  days.  James 
Carey,  in  Baltimore,  advertises,  Jan.  24,  1760,  a  mill 
for  sale  "  sixteen  miles  from  the  Town  on  the  Fred- 
erick Road,"  and  Charles  Carroll,  in  1782,  advertised 
a  mill  near  Baltimore  Town  for  rent ;  and  in  the 
same  year  William  McLaughlin,  commissioner  of 
provisions,  gives  notice  of  the  following  mills  where 
may  be  deposited  grain  for  payment  of  taxes,  viz. : 
Benjamin  Grifiith,  Col.  James  Gittings,  Benjamin 
Rogers,  Capt.  Charles  Eidgely,  Thomas  Mathews, 
Jacob  Lemmon,  Arthur  Chriswith,  Samuel  Owings, 
Dr.  Wm.  Lyons,  Solomon  Allen,  and  Henry  Brower. 
The  weight  of  flour  per  barrel  was  fixed  in  1781  at 
the  present  standard  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-six 
pounds  net.  The  fathers  of  Maryland  milling  were 
unquestionably  Joseph,  Andrew,  and  John  Ellicott; 
for  though  prior  to  1772,  the  date  of  their  purchase 
of  lauds  and  mill-sites  on  the  Patapsco  River  at  the 
point  now  known  as  Ellicott's  City,  there  were  many 
other  mills  around  the  present  site  of  Baltimore,  yet 
the  purchase,  building,  and  improvements  introduced 
by  them  produced  such  very  great  changes  in  the 
manufacture  of  flour  that  they  are  justly  entitled  to 
the  proud  distinction  of  being  tlie  real  progenitors  of 
modern  milliriL'  in  Marvhind. 


The  EUicotts  were  men  of  great  resolution  and 
energy,  and  their  migration  from  Bucks  County, 
Pa.,  with  "  wagons,  carts,  wheelbarrows,  and  hand- 
barrows,  and  all  their  agricultural  and  mechanical 
implements,  with  the  household  goods  for  the  fami- 
lies of  their  workmen,  and  the  draught-horses  neces-  ' 
sary  for  the  work  of  milling  and  agriculture,"  shows 
them  to  have  been  men  of  great  enterprise. 

Embarking  with  all  their  multifarious  wealth  of 
tools  and  machinery  of  labor  on  board  a  vessel  in  the 
port  of  Philadelphia,  their  cargo  of  men  and  materials 
was  taken  down  the  Delaware  to  New  Castle,  where 
the  wagons  loaded,  and  the  land  voyage  across  the 
peninsula  was  made  to  the  Head  of  Elk,  where  they 
were  again  embarked  on  a  vessel  and  carried  down 
the  bay  and  up  the  Patapsco  to  Elkridge  Landing, 
then  the  head  of  navigation  on  that  river.  At  this 
point  the  EUicotts  discharged  their  cargo,  and  reload- 
ing carts  and  wagons,  hand  and  wheelbarrows,  they 
passed  over  the  narrow,  rough  country  to  within  one 
mile  of  their  destination,  when,  stopped  by  precipices 
and  rocks,  they  unloaded  all  vehicles,  and  carried 
their  contents  by  hand  and  shoulders  to  the  end  of 
their  journey.  In  "The  Hollow,"  as  the  point  of 
settlement  was  called,  the  work  of  improvement  was 
immediately  commenced,  and  pressed  with  so  much 
spirit  and  energy  that  by  the  time  of  harvest  in  1774 
a  house  one  hundred  feet  long  and  of  proportionate 
breadth  and  height,  with  chambers  for  the  storage  of 
grain,  was  completed ;  it  also  contained  all  the  im- 
provements and  inventions  of  the  EUicotts  for  the 
manufacture  of  that  celebrated  brand  of  flour  which 
has  made  the  exportation  of  Baltimore  famous  all 
over  the  world. 

The  Ellicott  brothers,  Joseph,  Andrew,  and  John 
Ellicott,  transacted  business  under  the  firm-name  of 
"  Ellicott  &  Co."  Their  lands  were  a  wilderness  of 
the  finest  timber  and  the  most  productive  character 
when  cleared  of  the  undergrowth ;  the  wild  turkey 
and  the  deer  were  numerous  until  driven  away  by  the 
noise  of  improvement  and  the  constant  intercourse  of 
men.  They  possessed  that  fine  taste  which  even  in 
the  rush  of  improvement  respects  and  preserves  the 
beautiful  trees  that  everywhere  overspread  their  lands, 
and  for  fifty  years  after  their  settlement  they  pre- 
served and  cherished  the  wild  Maryland  forest,  and 
for  the  distance  their  lands  extended  along  the  river- 
banks  these  forest-trees  continued  to  flourish;  and 
down  to  a  late  date,  when  the  railroad,  which  respects 
and  venerates  nothing,  laid  its  axe  at  the  root  of  these 
old  trees,  they  were  to  be  seen  over  hill  and  fields, 
giving  stately  beauty  to  the  landscape. 

The  completion  of  the  mills  in  1774  opened  their 
manufacture  of  flour.' 


'  We  append  an  e 

Sold  to  Wm.  L.I 

1774,  Dec. 


I  from  the  first  ledger  of  Ellicott  &  Co. : 


,  100  Barrels  of  flour. 


"    17».   " 
losing  pnrty  i 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


375 


The  first  wheat  tliey  manufactured  into  flour  was 
tlie  production  of  their  own  fields,  and  for  several 
years  their  only  supply  was  from  their  own  sowing ; 
the  cultivators  of  tobacco  would  not  embark  in  the 
growth  of  wheat  without  some  example  of  success 
which  would  hold  out  at  least  an  encouraging  pros- 
pect of  proiit.  Wheat  was  then  grown  only  by  the 
wealthy  for  their  own  use,  and  was  ground  into  flour 
at  a  small  mill  near  Elkridge  Landing;  hand-mills 
ground  the  Indian  corn,  and  hominy  was  beaten  by 
hand.  To  the  old  residents  the  operations  of  the 
Ellicotts  appeared  as  extremely  unwise,  and  notwith- 
standing their  ability,  integrity,  and  liberality,  they 
were  distrusted  by  the  planters,  who  remained  stead- 
fast in  their  determination  not  to  abaqdon  the  culti- 
vation of  tobacco  for  that  of  wheat,  nor  to  unite  in 
the  building  of  bridges  or  construction  of  roads.  It 
takes  time  to  work  an  important  change  in  the  habits 
of  men,  but  the  day  came  in  the  end,  and  was  fostered 
and  promoted  by  the  steady  adherence  of  the  Elli- 
cotts to  their  first  determination.  They  continued  to 
oiier  fair  prices  for  wheat,  to  encourage  and  enforce 
by  example  a  different  mode  of  agriculture,  to  make 
roads  and  build  bridges,  and  in  the  end  they  revo- 
lutionized the  whole  farming  system  of  that  part  of 
Maryland  where  the  force  of  their  example  could 
reach.  They  were  road-builders  also,  constructing  a 
road  wholly  at  their  own  cost  from  Eliicott's  City  to 
Baltimore,  and  from  Eliicott's  City  to  Carroll  Manor, 
on  the  route  to  Frederick.  They  were  instructors  of 
youth,  building  and  supporting  a  school  for  the  chil- 
dren of  their  operatives;  they  were  improvers  of 
public  taste,  by  introducing  at  their  store  a  diflerent 
and  finer  class  of  goods  than  could  before  be  purchased 
at  any  country  store  in  Maryland. 

By  the  year  1783  the  supply  of  wheat  from  the 
counties  of  Anne  Arundel  and  Frederick  had  so 
much  increased  that  the  Ellicotts,  anticipating  peace 
with  Great  Britain,  made  preparation  for  the  expor- 
tation of  their  flour;  to  this  end  they  built  their 
wharf  at  the  corner  of  Pratt  and  Light  Streets,  from 
logs  cut  on  Curtis'  Creek ;  for  dredging  their  dock 
they  introduced  the  first  of  those  "  mud-machines" 
which,  since  improved  and  perfected,  are  now  em- 
ployed to  deepen  the  harbor  and  basin. 

Elias  EUicott,  a  son  of  Andrew  EUicott,  took  charge 
of  the  export  business  of  EUicott  &  Co.,  and  in  1783 
took  up  his  residence  in  Baltimore,  and  lived  at  the 
corner  of  Sharp  and  Lombard  Streets. 

tioDB  had  a  coarse  house  and  place  of  residence  at  Elkridge  Landing. 
Other  purchases  hy  Wm.  Lux  Bowley  are  recorded  in  after-years  at 
higher  prices;  in  1777  the  price  of  flour  per  barrel  is  charged  at  £2  8s.  6d. 
and  charges.  Beautiful  residences  were  added  to  the  SDiall  town  of  Elk- 
ridge Landing  immediately  after  the  terniinatiuu  of  the  Revolutionary 
war,  with  handsome  grounds,  flower-gardens,  and  gravel-walks,  but  as 
Baltimore  rose  to  eminence,  and  was  also  a  more  healthful  location, 
Elkridge  Landing  declined.  A  household  tiook  in  one  of  the  families 
of  Eliicott's  Mills  gives  the  following  prices  for  different  sorts  of  pro- 
visions in  1774:  "Bacon,  2fl.  6d.  per  pound;  turkeys,  4d.  per  pound; 
chickens,  4d.  per  pound;  butter,  9rf.  per  pound;  beef  and  pork,  3(/.  per 
pound  ;  at  the  snme  time  a  man's  wages  per  day  was  20il." 


If  not  the  introducers  of.  plaster  of  Paris  as  a  fer- 
tilizer, the  Ellicotts  were  certainly  among  the  earli- 
est users  of  this  improver  of  the  soil.  The  improve- 
ment of  fruit  culture  and  the  introduction  of  "graft- 
ing" is  also  due  very  largely  to  these  men.  They 
were  Friends,  and,  with  the  Pierponts,  Haywards, 
Reads,  and  others,  had  their  meeting-house  near 
Ilchester. 

With  Robert  Goodloe  Harper,  William  Cook,  Eli- 
sha  Tyson,  John  McKim,  John  Donnell,  Robert  Gil- 
mor,  and  others,  the  Ellicotts  were  in  1804  the  advo- 
cates for  the  introduction  of  a  sufiicient  supply  of 
water  into  Baltimore.  The  charter  was  obtained  by 
Andrew  EUicott,  then  a  member  of  the  Legislature, 
and  Jonathan  EUicott  was  for  a  time  president  of  the 
"  Baltimore  Water  Company." 

The  Ellicotts  were  and  had  been  millers  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  were  the  inventors  of  all  the  important 
improvements  in  mill  machinery,  and  used  "eleva- 
tors" and  "  hopper-boys"  at  their  Pettets  Mills  as  early 
as  1761,  but  without  taking  out  patent-rights,  and 
this  liberality  involved  them  in  an  expensive  lawsuit 
with  Oliver  Evans,  who  obtained  letters  patent  from 
the  Legislature  of  Maryland  for  the  use  of  "  elevators" 
and  "  hopper-boys." ' 

The  "  brake"  now  used  to  retard  the  speed  of  wag- 
ons and  other  vehicles  was  first  made  in  this  country 
in  the  workshops  at  Eliicott's  City.  It  was  seen  in 
France  and  Belgium  by  James  Brooke  EUicott,  who 
sent  a  drawing  thereof  to  John  EUicott,  from  which 
it  was  made  and  introduced  in  this  country,  and  the 
chain  to  the  wheel  dispensed  with. 

Joseph  EUicott,  the  senior  partner,  withdrew  from 
the  concern  in  1774.  John  EUicott  died  in  1795,  and 
Andrew  EUicott  turned  over  his  interest  to  his  three 
sons,  Jonathan,  Elias,  and  George  EUicott.  In  1808 
EUicott  &  Co.  disposed  of  between  eight  hundred  and 
nine  hundred  acres  of  their  property  to  the  Union 
Manufacturing  Company  of  Maryland.  In  1772, 
Joseph  EUicott,  with  Hugh  Burgess,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, purchased  on  Jones'  Falls  a  mill  within  the 
present  city  limits,  but  in  consequence  of  receiving  a 
legacy  from  his  grandfather,  of  Callumpton,  England, 
which  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  go  to  Eng- 
land, he  disposed  of  his  property  in  the  mills.  His 
inventive  turn  of  mind  had  produced  a  "repeating 
watch"  which  was  an  admirable  time-keeper,  and 
which   in   England  was  the   means  of  introducing 


1  In  the  Laws  of  Maryland,  ch.  21, 1787,  a  patent  is  granted  to  Oliver 
Evans  (May  2l8t)  for  the  "elevator"  and  "hopper-boy"  and  a  "steam 
carriage,"  for  fourteen  years,  with  the  exclusive  right  of  making  and 
selling  within  the  State,  wiUi  a  penalty  for  first  violation  £100,  for  the 
second,  £200.  Evans  had  been  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  mills,  and  had 
seen  the  "elevators,"  and  from  them  it  was  believed  by  the  Ellicotts 
that  he  had  obtained  the  idea  which  he  patented.  They  charged  him 
with  treachery  and  duplicity,  and  concluded  all  intercourse  with  him. 
In  1812-13,  Evans  sued  the  Ellicotts  for  using  his  inventions  contrary  to 
law.  The  lawyers  for  Evans  were  William  Pinkney  and  Robert  Good- 
loo  Harper,  and  for  the  Ellicotts,  Richard  Ridgely  and  Lnther  Martin. 
Evans  obtained  a  verdict,  under  which  he  became  a  large  capitalist  by 
pursuing  with  ria:or  all  ulio  used  his  patents. 


HISTOKY   OF  BALTIMOKB   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


him  to  many  eminent  men  of  science';  among  them  I 
Dr.  Ferguson,  the  distinguished  mathematician  and 
astronomer,  wlio  introduced  him  to  the  Royal  Philo- 
sophical Society.  Upon  his  residence  on  the  Patapsco 
he  constructed  a  four-faced  musical  clock,  which  com- 
bined the  most  delicate  and  accurate  movements, 
with  the  greatest  simplicity.' 

The  Ellicotts  of  Ellicott's  City  have  found  a  faith- 
ful chronicler  in  their  descendant,  Martha  E.  Tyson, 
from  whose  "  Settlement  of  Ellicott's  Mills"  the  facts 
above  narrated  are  mainly  derived. 

In  1801  there  were  located  and  in  operation  a  very 
large  number  of  mills  along  the  course  of  Jones' 
Falls,  which  were  owned  by  Messrs.  Stump,  Moore, 
Pennington,  Tyson,  and  others,  and  in  the  State  in 
1810  there  were  three  hundred  and  ninety-nine 
wheat-mills. 

The  progress  of  the  milling  business  of  Baltimore 
has  been  steady  and  without  important  retrogression 
until  within  the  past  few  years.  In  1800  there  were 
within  four  miles  of  Baltimore  eighteen  large  mer- 
chant flour-mills,  and  in  1822  the  manufacture  of  flour 
around  Baltin)ore  amounted  to  300,000  barrels.  The 
following  tables  will  show  the  extent  which  the  trade 
has  obtained  at  this  port.  Western  flour  finds  at 
Baltimore  one  of  its  principal  ports  of  departure  for 
foreign  countries,  and  from  the  warehouses  the  South- 
ern States  draw  the  largest  share  of  their  supply. 
The  inspections  of  flour  at  Baltimore  since  1841  have 
been  as  follows : 

Bbls. 
613,006 


1842 

1843 547,224 

1844 480,475 

1845 5e:!,n32 

1846 8:i4,655 

1847 945,787 


Half-bbl6.  Total  in  M 

31,716  628,974 

26,962  658,282 

20,415  560,431 

26,062  499,601 

26,226  576,745 

31,322  860,116 

27,339  959,456 


1  We  add  the  following  account  of  this  fine  specimen  of  ingenuity  and 
science  from  Charles  W.  Evans,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  the  grandson  of  Joseph 
Ellicott :  "  The  case  of  the  clock  is  of  mahogany,  in  the  shape  of  a  four- 
sided  pillar  or  column,  neatly  though  plainly  finished,  and  on  the  capi- 
tol  is  the  clock,  with  four  faces,  it  being  designed  to  stand  in  the  middle 
of  an  apartment,  or  a  sufficient  distance  from  the  wall  to  enable  the  ob- 
server to  walk  around  it.  On  one  face  is  represented  tiie  sun,  moon,  and 
all  the  planets,  moving  in  their  different  orbits  as  they  do  in  the  heav- 
ens. On  another  face  are  the  hands,  which  designate  the  hours,  minutes, 
days,  weeks,  months,  and  years,  the  years  representing  one  century.  On 
the  third  face  are  marked  twenty-four  musical  tunes  of  the  times  pre- 
vious to  the  American  Kevolution,  as  follows :  '  Lady's  Anthem," '  Capt. 
Bead's  Minuet,'  'Lady  Coventry's  Minuet,'  'Address  to  Sleep,"  The 
Hounds  are  All  Out,"  Willinghaw's  Frolic,"  The  Lass  with  a  Delicate 
Air,'  'Humors  of  Wafliug,'  'Come,  Brave  Boys,'  'Seamen's  Hymn,' 
'God  Save  the  King,'  'Bellisle's  March,' '  The  Hemp  Dresser,'  'Harvest 
Home,' '  The  Pilgrim,"  Ballancea's  Strain,' '  King  of  Prussia's  March,' 
'Lovely  Nancy,'  'The  Mason's  Health,'  'Nancy  Dawson,'  'Lads  and 
Lassies," '  Black  Dove,'  and  two  illegible.  In  the  centre  of  this  face  is  a 
pointer,  which  being  placed  against  any  named  tune,  this  tune  is  re- 
peated every  fifteen  minutes  until  the  pointer  is  removed  to  another. 
On  the  fourth  face  is  a  plate  of  glass,  through  which  you  see  the  curious 
mechanism  of  the  clock. 

"  The  clock  was  constructed  in  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  about  the  year  1769. 
Joseph  Ellicott,  in  its  construction,  was  assisted  by  his  son,  Andrew 
Ellicott,  a  youUi  of  fifteen  years  of  age,  who  afterwards  fulfilled  im- 
portant trusts  under  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  died 
professor  of  mathematics  in  the  military  academy  at  West  Point  in 
1820.    The  clock  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Catharine  Evans,  in  Albany, 


N.  Y.' 


Bbls. 

Half-bble. 

Total  in  bbls. 

22,933 
27.667 

736,441 
761,519 

1849 

759.686 

1850 

882,777 

26,630 

896,592 

32,828 

1,288.990 

18.53 

1,171,208 

24.872 

1,183,704 

1854 

829,430 

15,5:)0 

16,572 
15,880 

940,314 
856,914 

1857 

847,974 

185S. 

898,487 

16,000 

900,487 

1859 

845,031 

18;3U8 

8.')4,I85 

1S61 

890,404 

1865 

.      OM.021 

1806 'il;l  l:'.4 

•■-  ll'i 

1809 

1872 

1873 

1      1   ■  M  '■ 

1876 

1.'.;. ,  .iA 

l^i" 

i,irj.,.i8 

.  1,594,113 
1  084  311 

1879 

1880 

.  1,676,660 

The   export   of   flour   from    Baltimore    to  foreign 
countries  for  the  last  four  years  has  been  as  follows : 


DBST.N.X.0». 

1880. 

1879. 

1878. 

1877. 

141,105 

92,219 

273 

2 

262,533 

■■■3,616 
96,406 
3,330 

100,353 

1,118 

200 

363,796 

'58 

Holland 

Brazil 



1,904 
260,409 

'■"i',994 
80,109 
1,361 

53 
255,310 

"ci'ionies 

British  North  Americau 
West  Indies 

■■■v:9M 

116,070 
7,708 

7ki?? 

Total 

486,891 

448,359 

590,160 

369,519 

The  Grain  Trade. — The  history  of  the  grain  trade 
shows  that  Baltimore  has  always  taken  high  rank 
among  the  grain-markets  of  this  country.  Situated  on 
the  most  convenient  and  extensive  navigable  waters, 
Baltimore  Town  attracted  to  its  wharves  the  wheat 
and  corn  of  all  the  Chesapeake  Bay  and  tributary 
waters,  and  as  soon  as  roads  were  constructed  the  in- 
terior country  found  Baltimore  its  natural  market  for 
grain  of  all  kind.  The  State  of  Maryland,  a  large 
portion  of  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and 
North  Carolina,  have  always  made  Baltimore  the 
chief  market  for  their  grain  products.  The  advent  of 
railroads  and  the  immense  extent  of  country  through 
which  those  centring  in  Baltimore  pass  has  greatly 
increased  the  trade  of  this  port  in  grain.  The  flour 
manufactured  in  the  mills  around  Baltimore,  as  well 
as  that  from  the  country  mills,  was  manufactured  from 
wheat  which  has  ranked  at  all  times,  and  still  con- 
tinues to  rank,  as  the  very  best  produced  in  this 
country.  The  high  standard  of  Baltimore  flour  early 
attracted  attention,  and  has  since  been  maintained, 
until  there  is  no  city  in  any  country  whose  flour  bears 
a  higher  character  than  that  of  Baltimore. 

The  elevators  that  now  aid  in  the  removal  of  grain 
from  ears  to  vessels,  as  well  as  store  the  same,  have 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


greatly  facilitated  this  trade  and  increased  its  magni- 
tude. From  1850,  when  the  receipts  were  2,300,000 
busliels,  they  have  increased  in  1880  to  36,414,393 
bushels  of  wheat,  and  from  3,250,000  bushels  of  corn 
to  16,590,291  bushels. 

The  magnitude  of  the  grain  trade  at  Baltimore  will 
best  be  understood  by  an  examination  of  the  following 
tables.  The  receipts  and  exports  of  wheat  and  corn 
at  Baltimore  for  a  period  of  thirty-one  years  have  been 
as  follows : 


Receipts. 

EXPOBTS. 

Wheat,  bus. 

Corn,  bus. 

Wheat,  bus. 

Corn,  bus. 

2  300  000 

S.'oO  000 

450  000 

3,'46i;i50 

2,650,000 
3,745,900 

1852 

287,060 

445,900 

2.673,085 

248.248 
113;085 

228,306 
601,104 

4,642,124 

978,372 

526,768 
768,669 

1866 

4.297,700 

5,003,492 

1867 

3,103,498 

4,183,854 

178,414 

392.424 

4.046,745 

130,196 

451,193 

1860 

599,288 

469,196 

1861 

:,l'.iii,:)74 

795,636 

742,272 

■i.,;  :l  ■ 

.,JJ(|,1S9 

879,711 

84,373 

101,644 
101,544 

1866 

1  KST  r,7{) 

2,9(6,246 

60,092 

830,000 
800,000 

5,661,763 
4177  264 

1869 

;;J.|',i,'l96 

3,9^3,663 

Villi  01  HI 

.iiuiniio 

1870 

...r.:,.?,:,! 

3,831,676 

1871 

i-;.-,iii7 

5,735,921 

■   .-r,! 

187;i 

8,330,449 

1874 

187S 

1S7.; 

■  i    ■ 

1  ■  -  1 

1878 

1879 

oO, 

I6;.n'iiv.;iii 

■J3,~6i''jsl 

14',7«7iio8 

The  destination  of  this  large  amount  of  grain  will 
be  seen  from  the  following  table  of  exports  for  the 
three  years  of  1878,  1879,  and  1880: 

Exports  of  Corn  for  past  Three  Tears  by  Countries. 


),733      17,984,448 
t,682  948,0o7 

1,281        l,i!01,673 


238,896 
52,068 
72,960 


"■■90,022 

Africa 

1,939 
17,590 
17,437 
23,172 

21,429 

24,90i 
6,601 
22,027 

106 

British  North  American  Colonies.. 

West  Indies 

Mexico 

36,083 
28,417 
18,000 

^rSr::::::::::::::;:;;::;:::::::::::::;;;- 

10,300 




Norway 

9,656 

Total 

14,686,402 

21,327,729 

16,953,458 

Exports  of  Wheat  for  past  Three  Years  i 


Countries. 


Destination. 

Bushels. 

1879. 
Bushels. 

1878. 
Bushels. 

Great  Britain 

Germany 

14,968,004 

14,230,394 

189,409 

"2,'96'6,'7'8'9 

1,280,191 

88,541 

'io,'5r2 

25,962 
9,183 

12,920,413 

16,669,508 

296,679 

4,630 

1,716,436 

392,756 

11,371,612 

Belgium  .. 

980  038 

Holland 

Portugal.'.'.'.'.'...'..'.....'.''.".'.'.'.".'.'!;'.'.'!.'..'.'.. 
Turkey 

145,475 
106,816 

9,565 
211,081 

Total 

33,768,985 

32,152,612 

19,610,791 

The  growth  of  the  trade  of  Baltimore,  both  foreign 
and  domestic,  will  be  better  understood  by  comparison 
with  other  cities,  and  taking  the  five  great  Atlantic 
ports  for  the  three  years  past,  it  will  be  seen  that  Bal- 
timore has  risen  to  the  position  of  second  to  New 
York  only  in  the  volume  and  value  of  her  receipts 
and  exports  of  grain : 

, 1878. , 

Port.  Flour.  Wheat.  Corn. 

Barrels.  Bushels.  Bushels. 

New  York 2,811,836  66,170,6*!  27,870,992 

Baltimore 590,150  19,610,791  16,963.468 

Philadelphia 190,345  8,923,708  19,695,699 

Boston 387,771  3,888,608  6,669,138 

New  Orleans 38,042  838,088  6,02.5,664 

Total 4,018,144        88,431,839        77,114,951 

, 1879. . 

Port.  Flour.  Wheat.  Corn. 

Barrels.  Bushels.  Bushels. 

Nfw  Y.irk 4,230,242  63,342,862  36,035,628 

Kiliii ■        448,359  32,152,612  21.327,729 

r:,:i      li       201,818  16,814,572  14,0.39,228 

r     I     .  618,295  5,214,293  7,15,5,963 

.s-«  iiilr  111.    40,230  2,796,669  3,909,587 

Tutiil 5,538,944      120,321,008        82,408,136 

. 1 880. , 

Port.                                Flour.  Wheat.  Corn. 

BnrrcN  Bn«l.»lq  HiikIihIs. 

New  York ■. 4.^l^^  ■'  .,l-,l,j-;  n:    .,172 

Baltimore -I"        l  11'    '  .lui 

Philadelphia J^- ■  i       :  j  I JT 

Boston l,ii!iii,."i  ■::■■.■'■  It  I'lijlH 

New  Orleans j:;,.-bLi  .:-,.m  j,.1_  ■.». -.:.;., 153 

Total 6,026,457      117,423,971       103.629,370 

The  percentages  of  the  exports  of  breadstuffs  from 
the  Atlantic  seaports  for  the  past  ten  years  are  as  fol- 
lows : 


Years. 

Baltimore. 

Boston. 

New  Or- 
leans. 

New  York. 

Philadel- 
phia. 

Port- 
land. 

4.54 



73.30 

5.96 

6.96 

72.50 

4.79 

1873 

.       12.25 

2.90 

1.94 

73.11 

6.51 

3.29 

1874 

.       12.89 

3.59 

2.66 

70.80 

7.15 

3.01 

1875 

14.63 

4.73 

0.99 

64.88 

11.38 

3.40 

5.68 

1.89 

48.66 

19.48 

2.70 

1878 

.       19.81 

6.69 

3.80 

53.80 

14.85 

1.16 

1879 

.       23.53 

6.76 

2.97 

1880 

.       20.31 

7.47 

52.83 

12.40 

0.71 

Beginning  in  1871  with  10.24  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
exports  of  breadstuffs  from  the  six  ports,  Baltimore 
steadily  gained  until  1877,  when  her  percentage  was 
23.35,  but  in  the  following  year  there  was  a  decline  to 
19.81  per  cent.,  which  was,  however,  followed  by  23.53 


378 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY    AND    COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


per  cent,  in  the  next  year,  only  to  drop  back  to  20.31 
per  cent,  in  1880.  While  Baltimore  has  in  ten  years 
increased  her  percentage  from  10.24  to  20.81,  or 
nearly  double.  New  York's  percentage  has  almost 
steadily  declined.  In  1871  New  York's  percentage 
was  73.30,  but  in  1872  it  had  fallen  to  72.50,  while  in 
1873  there  was  a  slight  rally,  and  the  upward  turn 
carried  it  to  73.11,  after  which  each  year,  excepting 
1877,  marked  a  decline  until  1879,  when  the  figures 
were  52.05,  and  in  1880  it  again  moved  upward,  but 
only  to  reach  52.83,  against  73.30  for  1871,  or  a  de- 
cline of  about  30  per  cent,  in  ten  years. 

From  1879  to  1880,  New  Orleans  gained  more  rap- 
idly than  any  other  port,  having  more  than  doubled 
her  percentage  in  that  time.  During  1880  the  gain 
at  New  Orleans  was  but  a  small  fraction  less  than  the 
loss  at  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  together.  Phila- 
delphia's lowest  percentage  for  the  ten  years  was  in 
1871,  and  the  highest  in  1876,  while  the  percentage 
in  1880  was  less  than  in  either  1878  or  1879.  Port- 
land in  1871  had  exactly  the  same  percentage  as 
Philadelphia,  but  every  year  since,  with  one  excep- 
tion, has  witnessed  a  steady  decline,  and  in  1880  the 
percentage  of  that  port  was  less  than  three-fourths 
of  one  per  cent. 

The  percentages  of  the  total,  as  given  in  the  above 
figures,  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  rate  of  in- 
crease or  decrease  at  each  port,  which  has  been  as 
follows : 


New  Orleane 
New  York... 
Philadelphia 


Per  Cent. 

Per  Cen 

316.14 



The  total  increase  or  decrease  in  bushels  at  each 
port  in  1880,  as  compared  with  1871,  was  as  follows: 


Bushels. 

44,746,261 

16,(K)4,324 

14,3CH),«09 

Bushels. 

Boston 



p^lS!::":::::::::::: 

1,781,797 

The  gain  at  Baltimore  in  the  ten  years  under 
was  44,746,261  bushels,  which  was  1,500,000  bushels 
more  than  the  combined  gains  at  Boston  and  Phila- 
delphia, was  28,700,000  more  than  the  increase  at 
Boston,  was  30,400,000  bushels  more  than  the  gain  at 
New  Orleans,  and  was  17,200,000  bushels  more  than 
the  gain  at  Philadelphia. 

For  the  year  ending  Aug.  31,  1876,  the  exports  of 
wheat  from  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Balti- 
more, and  New  Orleans  amounted  to  32,072,705  bushels, 
of  which  only  1,147,445  bushels,  or  3.57  per  cent.,  went 
from  Baltimore;  while  New  York  had  8.70  per  cent., 
Boston  0.47,  Philadelphia  8.24,  and  New  Orleans 
.002.  The  shipments  from  Baltimore  were  then  nearly 
five  per  cent,  less  than  from  Philadelphia.    For  the 


1  From  1873  to  1880. 


year  ending  Aug.  31,  1881,  the  shipments  from  Balti- 
more were  27,676,158  bushels,  27.75  per  cent. ;  while 
from  Philadelphia  the  shipments  were  only  12,024,288 
bushels,  or  12.10  per  cent. 

In  six  years  New  York's  percentage  has  decreased 
from  87.70  to  50.10  each  year,  showing  a  steady  decline, 
while  during  the  same  time  Baltimore  has  increased 
from  3.57  to  27.75,  and  our  percentage  for  the  past 
year  would  doubtless  have  been  even  larger  but  for 
the  unfortunate  lack  of  suflBcient  elevator  storage- 
room.  Boston  shows  a  small  decrease  compared  with 
last  year,  while  New  Orleans  made  a  moderate  gain. 

The  trade  in  oats,  rye,  and  barley  from  1868  to  1880, 
as  given  in  the  report  of  the  Corn  and  Flour  Ex- 
change, is  as  follows : 


1 

Oats. 
I   Bushels. 

Bushels. 

B^t^;. 

Total  corn  and 

wheat  rec'd. 

Bushels. 

Total,  1880 

■ "  i878!;;;.'.'.'."."; 

1,172,487 

'  i.;;J';.9-T 

224,606 

sa.HSi 

llr,,C89 

321,195 
269,307 
350,000 

"      1876 

"      1876 

"      1874 

"      1873 

"      1872 

"       1871 

"       1870 

"      1809 

"       1808 

It  will  be  seen  that  Baltimore  exports  about  22  per 
cent,  of  the  aggregate  grain  exports  of  the  whole 
country,  and  that  this  percentage  has  steadily  grown 
from  year  to  year,  with  only  those  fluctuations  which 
followed  necessarily  the  improved  crops  in  foreign 
countries.  The  steady  growth  of  her  grain  trade  will 
eventually  lead  to  a  corresponding  increase  of  her 
imports,  and  this  result  has  already  taken  .place  to 
some  extent,  though  not  to  that  point  which  the 
value  of  her  large  exports  would  justify  the  expecta- 
tions of  her  merchants.  The  railroad  receipts  of 
grain  of  all  kinds  for  the  year  1880  were  as  follows: 

Bus.  Grain. 

Baltimore  and  Ohio  road 26,796.990 

Northern  Central  road 21,8(19,066 

Western  Maryland 1,21I,.M0 

48,817,686 
Balance  water-borne :.     5,899,586 

Total  receipts,  1880 54,717,172 

The  following  shows  the  receipts  of  grain  at  Balti- 
more per  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  and  the 
Pennsylvania  or  Northern  Central  road  for  the  last 
five  years  : 

B.  &  O.  Road.  N.  C.  Road. 

Years.  Bushels.  Bushels. 

1876 18.87.6,194  4.8-'.6,l,32 

1877 1.6,814,016  K,r,07..i79 

1878 18,824,229  14,485,900 

1879 .32,241,129  2.6,288,390 

1880 26,700,900  21,809,066 

The  importance  and  value  of  the  grain  trade  has 
naturally  attracted  to  it  a  large  amount  of  capital  as 
well  as  many  men  of  enterprise  and  great  business 


tlx^^^a^^y/^.  {■ 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


capacity.     Prominent  among  sucli  establishments  is 
the  house  of  C.  W.  Slagle  &  Co. 

Charles  William  Slagle  was  born  in  Hanover,  York 
Co.,  Pa.,  March  11,  1828.  His  great-grandfather  was 
one  of  a  band  of  pioneers  who  first  settled  west  of  the 
Susquehanna  River  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  be- 
came owner  of  large  landed  estates  in  what  was  first 
York,  but  now  Adams  County,  and  the  homestead  is 
still  owned  by  the  family.  David  Slagle,  his  father, 
was  born  on  the  old  homestead  in  1802;  became  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Hanover,  filling  the  office  of 
chief  burgess,  member  of  the  Town  Council,  and  other 
public  trusts;  died  July  6,  1870.  In  1827  he  married 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Peter  Winebreuner,  an  old  and 
esteemed  citizen  of  Hanover.  She  was  born  in  1800, 
and  died  in  June,  1867.  She  was  a  member  of  the 
church,  exemplary  for  her  piety  and  good  works,  and 
universally  respected.  They  had  born  to  them  Charles 
W.,  David  N.,  Henry  P.,  Jacob  W.,  and  Belinda  M. 
Henry  died  young ;  David  N.  and  Jacob  W.  live  in 
Baltimore,  and,  with  their  brother  Charles,  constitute 
the  firm  of  C.  W.  Slagle  &  Co.  Their  only  sister  mar- 
ried Hon.  Henry  J.  Myers,  of  Adams  County,  Pa. ; 
they  have  but  one  child  living. 

After  completing  his  education  at  New  Oxford  Col- 
legiate Institute,  Charles  W.  Slagle  was  employed  in 
business  houses  in  Hanover,  Reading,  and  York,  Pa. ; 
came  to  Baltimore  Dec.  21,  1851,  and  Jan.  7,  1852, 
formed  a  connection  with  Edmund  Wolf,  establishing 
the  wholesale  grocery  and  commission  firm  of  Wolf 
&  Slagle,  at  110  West  Pratt  Street.  In  January, 
1856,  he  sold  his  interest  to  Mr.  Wolf,  and  March  1, 
1856,  established  the  present  grain,  flour,  and  seed- 
house  of  C.  W.  Slagle  &  Co.  at  their  present  location, 
No.  118  North  Street,  being  now  the  oldest  grain  firm 
on  that  street.  They  command  an  extensive  trade  and  j 
their  reputation  is  widely  known. 

Nov.  8,  1860,  Mr.  Slagle  married  Rachel  A.  Mat-  | 
thews,  of  Baltimore  County,  born  Oct.  7,  18.39,  and  a  1 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Matthews,  of  a  large  and  highly 
respectable  Quaker  family.  Her  mother  is  a  Method-  j 
ist,  the  daughter  of  George  Letty,  and  grandfather  of 
Caleb  Bosley,  under  whose  hospitable  roof  many  | 
a  Methodist  preacher  found  a  welcome  home.  He  j 
was  a  brother  of  Eliza  Bosley,  and  Col.  Nicholas  M.  | 
Bosley,  of  Hayfields,  was  his  nephew.  By  this  mar-  | 
riage  six  children  were  born  to  Mr.  Slagle,  of  whom  ! 
four  only  live,— Mary  H.,  Charles  N.,  D.  Clinton,  i 
and  Lillie  A.;  Katie  S.  and  Ross  are  deceased. 

Mr.  Slagle  was  always  an  active  promoter  of  the 
welfare  of  the  city,  was  one  of  the  original  members 
of  the  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange,  was  twice  elected 
one  of  its  directors,  and  for  the  last  six  years  was 
vice-president  of  the  Corn  and  Flour  E.xchange  Build- 
ing Company.  In  1857  he  was  one  of  the  promoters 
of  the  American  Fire  Insurance  Company,  and  ever 
since  has  been  in  its  board,  served  as  member  of  its 
finance  committee,  chairman  of  the  building  co'm- 
mittee,  and  for  the  last  six  years  as  its  vice-president; 


has  also  been  a  director  in  the  Citizens'  National 
Bank,  and  since  1870  in  the  Frederick  Turnpike 
Company,  and  identified  with  other  financial  institu- 
tions, as  well  as  insurance  and  railroad  enterprises. 
Was  one  of  the  originators  and  director  in  the  Balti- 
more and  Hanover  Railroad,  for  the  construction  of 
which  he  consumed  so  much  of  his  time  and  energy, 
and  was  a  director  of  the  Hanover  Junction,  Hanover 
and  Gettysburg  Railroad.  In  1870  he  entered  as 
special  partner  with  J.  G.  Kroft  and  P.  Forney  Wine- 
brenner,  as  the  firm  of  J.  G.  Kroft  &  Co.,  for  oyster 
and  fruit-packing,  and  built  up  one  of  the  largest  es- 
tablishments of  the  kind  in  the  United  States,  em- 
ploying at  times  over  four  hundred  hands.  In  the 
spring  of  1879,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  eldest 
daughter,  he  visited  Europe,  and  traveled  through 
England,  Belgium,  Holland,  Germany,  Switzerland, 
and  France. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he  was  a  decided 
opponent  of  secession,  firm  and  unswerving  in  his  at- 
tachment to  the  Union  and  his  country,  and  gave  the 
cause  material  aid.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  and 
liberal  supporters  of  the  Nursery  and  Child's  Hos- 
pital, and  associated  with  various  other  religious  and 
charitable  societies ;  has  extended  aid  to  many  young 
men  commencing  business,  and  in  a  quiet  way  assisted 
a  large  number  of  the  worthy  poor.  His  financial 
ability  has  fitted_  him  for  important  trusts,  but  he 
shrinks  from  notoriety,  is  retiring  in  his  habits, 
although  his  attachments  and  affections  are  strong 
and  ardent.  He  attributes  whatever  success  he  has 
achieved  in  life  to  a  good  mother  and  a  devoted  wife, 
in  both  of  which  he  has  been  particularly  blessed. 
He  is  no  politician  ;  never  held  public  office,  being 
strictly  a  man  of  busine.ss,  and  giving  close  attention 
thereto. 

Terminal  Facilities.— It  was  early  perceived  by 
the  management  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road that  the  "  handling"  of  the  vast  amount  of  grain 
which  their  system  of  "  in  bulk"  transportation  was 
bringing  to  Baltimore  could  not  continue  either  with 
economy  or  convenience.  The  construction,  there- 
fore, of  the  first  great  elevator  east  of  the  mountains, 
with  a  capacity  of  500,000  bushels,  was  another  of 
the  triumphs  of  Baltimore  enterprise.  A  second  ele- 
vator, with  a  capacity  of  1,500,000  bushels,  was  com- 
pleted, and  now  a  third  is  finished,  with  a  capacity 
of  1,800,000  bushels.  These  elevators  are  supplied 
with  every  appliance  which  modern  machinists  can 
construct  for  storing,  weighing,  cleaning,  and  de- 
livering grain  into  vessels.  Double  tracks  of  rail- 
roads run  into  each  elevator,  thus  bringing  the  grain 
in  the  cars  within  reach  of  the  machinery  which  is 
to  hoist  it  into  the  elevator  or  transmit  it  into  the 
vessel. 

Two  miles  of  water-front  are  occupied  by  the  ter- 
minal facilities  of  this  road,  and  throughout  its  length 
it  is  a  busy  mart  of  trade.  There  are  the  docks  of 
the  North  German  Lloyd's  steamers,  which  ply  be- 


380 


HISTORY   OP   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


tween  Haltiraore,  Soutliainpton,  and  Bremen,  and  of 
the  Allan  Line  to  Halifax  and  Liverpool.  The  ac- 
commodations at  the  upper  pier  for  emigrants  are 
equal  to  those  of  any  city  for  comfort  and  conveni- 
ence, and  their  dispatch  to  their  destinations  is  inter- 
rupted in  no  way.  The  piers  number  thirty-two,  and 
extend  to  the  dry-dock. 

The  Baltimore  Elevator  Company,  at  Canton,  oper- 
ate three  elevators  in  connection  with  the  Northern 
Central  Railway,  with  a  combined  storage  capacity 
of  1,350,000  bushels,  receiving  580  cars  and  delivering 
675,000  bushels  daily.  In  addition  to  these  the  float- 
inj,'  elevators  aid  greatly  in  facilitating  the  quick  dis- 
patch of  vessels.  The  "  Artisan,"  of  the  Maryland 
Floating  Elevator  Company,  68  South  Street,  F.  N. 
Gardner,  capacity  2000  bushels  per  hour  ;  the  "  Hat- 
tie"  and  the  "  Domestic,"  45  Wood  Street,  John 
Wood,  agent,  the  former  3500  bushels,  and  the  latter 
2000  bushels  per  hour;  the  "  Independent,"  97  South 
Street,  Samuel  Phillips  &  Co.,  capacity  3000  bushels 
per  hour;  and  the  "Eureka,"  No.  5  P.  O.  Avenue, 
Eugene  Lewis,  agent,  capacity  3000  bushels  per 
hour;  the  "Maryland,"  No.  62  South  Gay  Street, 
Wm.  Goodwin,  proprietor,  capacity  6000  bushels  per 
hour. 

The  Live  Cattle  Trade.— This  trade  has  been 
greatly  increased  of  late  years,  so  much  so  that  iu 
addition  to  the  large  accommodation  at  theCalverton 
Road  Stock- Yards,  on  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac 
Railroad,  the  organization  of  the  Baltimore  Stock- 
Yard  Company  was  completed  during  the  present 
year.  It  is  located  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road (Mount  Clare  branch),  and  is  one  of  the  most 
extensive  and  complete  establishments  of  the  kind  in 
the  country. 

The  receipts  of  beef  cattle  at  Baltimore  for'tbe  past 
eleven  years  are  as  follows : 


Years. 

1870 ..... 

No.  Head.  ,  Years. 
89,021  '  1876 

No.  Head. 
109,854 

1875 

113,370 

The  receipts  of  beef  cattle  at  Baltimore  for  the  past 
three  vcars  are  as  follows : 


21,320 

38,698 
32,700 
7,488 
g;912 
3,631 

669 
696 

150.829 

4.5,363 
25.722 
24,956 
10,971 
4;.501 

5.349 

::■■;■■::::::::::::::  c^e 

lfi.009 

842 

J^^^, 

138,909 

117.676 

Tiie  receipts  of  live  sheep  at  Baltimore  for  the  last 
four  years  are  as  follows : 

Year,".  Number.    Y'ears. 


1879 


umber.     \  ears.  Number. 

248,047  i  187S 246,282 

243,520  1  1877 203,348 


The  receipts  of  live  hogs  at  Baltimore  for  the  last 
eight  years  are  as  follows : 

YearB.  Number.    Years.  Number. 

187.3 392,7,34  '  1877 319,661 

1874 367,547  ,  1878 360,614 

1875 277,496     1879 356,.524 

1876 247,462]  1880 336,867 

The  Sutchers. — Among  the  trades,  business,  and 
employments  of  the  citizens  of  Baltimore,  there  is  not 
one  that  surpasses  the  butchers  in  any  respect.  In- 
telligent in  the  management  of  their  affairs,  active 
and  enterprising  in  business,  they  are  public-spirited, 
and  their  liberality  is  well  known  and  appreciated. 
The  "  Butchers'  Association  of  Baltimore"  in  1839 
stopped  the  operation  of  forestallers  and  monopolists 
by  adopting  a  resolution  "  that  from  May  2d  they 
would  not  charge  more  than  twelve  and  a  half  cents 
per  pound  for  beef,  and  if  they  were  unable  to  furnish 
it  at  that  price  they  would  vacate  their  stalls."  This 
grew  out  of  the  oppressions  under  which  they  and  the 
public  in  general  suffered  from  the  extortions  of  fore- 
stallers and  monopolist  cattle-dealers.  Among  those 
who  signed  the  resolutions  were  William  Rusk,  Henry 
Pentz,  Marcus  Wolf,  J.  W.  Pentz,  H.  M.  Turner,  J. 
W.  Bankard,  J.  M.  Turner,  Andrew  H.  Wells,  Charles 
Myers,  Christian  Stingle,  Leon  Dyer,  William  Bank- 
ard, Samuel  Kimberly,  Jacob  Banks,  Jr.,  Lewis 
Turner,  Josiah  Keller,  H.  R.  Williar,  Daniel  Pentz, 
William  Eden,  John  J.  Pentz,  George  Martin,  F. 
Shelby,  Edward  Moon,  James  Elmore,  Lewis  Chand- 
ler, Thomas  Rodley,  John  M.  Dyer,  L.  W.  Elmore, 
Richard  Gallagher,  Hiram  Kauffman,  F.  Hoover, 
William  L.  Rusk,  Samuel  S.  Pentz,  T.  J.  Rusk,  Jr., 
William  J.  Pentz,  Robert  Rusk,  H.  Kimberly,  John 
McElroy,  Jacob  Bankard,  Jr.,  Robert  Elliott,  George 

A.  Levering,  Lewis  Winingder,  Thomas  J.  Rusk, 
]  Edward  Vain,  John  Hardy,  John  Moore,  George  H. 
[  Wilson,  Edward  Hahn,  Peter  Wilson,  William  Far- 
I  nier,  Charles  A.  Pentz,  Peter  Zell,  Thoma.s  Mitchell, 

James  Stewart,  Martin  Solomon,  John  Hoff,  William 
Carmichael,  Peter  Crager,  .Tohn  Xickilson,  William 
Biggs,  Jacob  Greasley,  William  Steer,  Henry  Reafiier, 

B.  Burke.  William  Rusk,  president;  Marcus  Wolf,  sec- 
retary. And  in  1842,  when  the  "shinplaster"  nuisance 
was  abroad  in  the  land,  a  public  meeting  of  the  butchers 
was  organized  by  the  appointment  of  John  J.  Pentz, 
chairman,  and  Marcus  Wolf,  secretary.  The  follow- 
ing resolution,  adopted  at  a  former  meeting,  was  re- 
ported as  having  received  over  one  hundred  signa- 
tures, procured  by  a  committee  appointed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  them : 

"  liesoli-cd,  Th&t  we  will  not  receive  nor  circulate  any  savings  insti- 
tution, or  individual  notes  purporting  to  be  currencj-,  except  railroad 
ortlers,  from  and  after  Jan.  17,  1842,  unless 


This  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted.  Mr. 
Wolf  offered  a  resolution  providing  for  the  payment 
of  purchases  of  .stock  by  the  butchers,  one-half  in 
railroad  shares;  for  this  a  substitute  was  offered  by 
J.  M.  Turner,  which  was  accepted  by  Mr.  Wolf,  with 


^/^^u^ 


l^/^/^^^  / 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


ther  way  than  in  auch  ordere." 

preceded  the   reading  of  | 


modifications  proposed  by  himself.     As  modi: 
read  thus : 

"  Resolved,  That  we  will  receive  B 
par  in  market  for  meats,  and  make 
February  let  next,  altogether  in  no 

Considerable  discussion 
this  resolution,  but  on  being  read  by  the  secretary  it 
appeared  so  satisfactory  to  the  meeting  that  the  ques- 
tion was  immediately  taken,  and  it  was  adopted  with- 
out a  single  dissenting  vote. 

These  incidents  from  a  former  time  illustrate  the 
spirit  that  animated  this  great  association  when  ques- 
tions affecting  public  interest  agitated  the  community. 
In  1832  the  butchers  finding  that  they  were  the  vic- 
tims of  an  odious  monopoly,  organized  the  "  Butch- 
ers' Hide  and  Tallow  Association."  The  object  of 
the  association  was  to  salt  their  own  hides  and  render 
their  own  tallow,  and  thus  protect  the  butchers 
against  impositions  by  giving  them  control  of  their 
own  business.  Marcus  Wolf  was  made  president ;  Wil- 
liam Carmichael,  vice-president ;  James  P.  Thomas, 
treasurer.  The  directors  were  Edward  Moore,  Henry 
Eiefle,  Francis  Hoover,  Jacob  Hoff,  Frederick  Rice, 
John  H.  Toffling,  Lewis  Turner,  and  George  H.  Lov- 
ering.  Lewis  Turner  early  became  the  chief  manager 
of  the  association,  and  its  success  and  efficiency  must 
be  largely  attributed  to  his  skill  and  ability. 

Mr.  Turner  was  born  in  Baltimore,  June  15,  1810, 
and  was  one  of  the  five  children  of  William  and 
Elizabeth  Turner,  of  whom  he  is  the  only  survivor. 
Mrs.  Turner  (born  Huber)  was  of  German  family, 
and  died  when  her  son  was  eight  years  of  age.  He 
went  to  live  with  an  aunt  at  an  early  age  ;  they  were 
without  support  except  his  scanty  earnings  at  fruit- 
picking  and  other  labor  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city. 
What  little  education  he  could  pick  up  in  the  inter- 
vals of  labor  was  mainly  acquired  in  the  neighboring 
Sunday-schools.  At  eleven  years  of  age  he  entered 
the  china  and  queensware  store  of  George  and  Wil- 
liam Keyser,  on  Howard  Street,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained three  years.  In  order  to  learn  a  trade  he  then 
apprenticed  himself  to  a  shoemaker,  and  in  a  short 
time  became  an  expert  workman,  but  his  health  failed, 
and  before  he  was  eighteen  he  was  compelled  to  seek 
another  opening  in  life.  He  served  an  apprenticeship 
of  three  years  and  a  half  with  Frederick  Neibling,  a 
butcher,  and  having  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  business  he  went  to  Lancaster,  Ohio,  in  com- 
pany with  a  friend,  where  in  1831  they  opened  a 
butchering  establishment.  They  were  doing  well,  but 
sickness  again  attacked  Mr.  Turner,  and  in  1832  he 
was  forced  to  return  to  Baltimore,  where  he  com- 
menced the  same  line  of  business,  relinquishing  it 
in  1857  to  his  second  son,  Lewis  Turner,  Jr.,  whose 
death  in  1879  was  a  subject  of  wide-spread  regret. 
Mr.  Turner  has  been  very  successful  in  life,  and  has 
dealt  very  largely  in  real  estate.  His  transactions 
have  substantially  aided  in  the  improvement  of  what 
are  now  some  of  the  handsomest  localities  of  West 
25 


Baltimore.  For  ten  years,  dating  from  1866,  he  was 
president  of  the  Baltimore  Butchers'  Hide,  Tallow, 
and  Cattle  Association,  a  position  of  heavy  pecuniary 
responsibility  and  severe  labor.  Governor  Oden  Bowie 
.subsequently  appointed  him  to  the  position  of  State 
weigher  of  live-stock  on  account  of  his  practical 
knowledge  of  cattle  and  the  cattle  trade,  and  he  in- 
troduced at  the  stock-yards  many  improvements,  the 
value  of  which  have  stood  the  test  of  time.  Mr. 
Turner  was  the  founder  and  first  president  of  the 
Butchers'  Loan  and  Annuity  Association,  and  is  vice- 
president  of  the  Baltimore  City  Loan  and  Annuity 
Association.  In  1832  he  married  Margaret,  daughter 
of  Capt.  Dominick  Bader,  of  the  German  Yagers  in 
the  British  service,  who  was  captured  by  the  Ameri- 
cans at  the  battle  of  Bladensburg.  They  have  had 
nine  children,  of  whom  seven  are  now  living.  Mr. 
Turner  is  a  member  of  Mount  Vernon  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Sterling  Thomas  was  another 
butcher  whose  irreproachable  conduct  and  Christian 
character  secured  for  him  the  confidence  of  the  com- 
munity and  church.  His  career  presents  a  fine  ex- 
ample of  honesty,  integrity,  energy,  and  perseverance 
struggling  with  all  the  adverse  circumstances  of  life 
and  rising  into  complete  triumph. 

Provisions. — The  trade  in  provisions  has  of  late 
years  been  very  greatly  extended  both  inwardly  and 
outwardly  from  Baltimore.  The  railroad  and  steamer 
lines  centring  at  this  port  have  made  it  the  distribu- 
ting point  for  the  Atlantic  seaboard  States  as  well  as  a 
large  exporting  point  to  foreign  countries. 

The  receipts  of  Western  hog  product  at  Baltimore 
for  the  last  nine  years  were  as  follows : 

Years.  Pounds.  I  Years.  Pounds. 

880 93,542,400  I  1875 140,000,000 

879 133,572,000  '  1874 124,000,000 

878 122,964,000  ;  1873 111,668,000 

877 107,632,000  I  1872 100,000,000 

876 132,578,840 

The  shipments  of  provisions  from  Baltimore  for 
i880  were  as  follows  : 


Great  Brit 
Germany ., 
Holland... 


British  Guiana 

Br.North  American  Colonies 

West  Indies 

Aspinwali 


22,602 
748 

28,870,172 


And  for  the  five  preceding  years  the  shi 
been :  „   , 

Lard.               Bacon.  Pork.  Beef. 

Pounds.  Pounds.  Barrels.  Barrels. 

1879 26,950,519  21,915,853  7,414  2,143 

1878      21,262,610  14,746,451  8,337  2,943 

1877'                    12,348,851          8,452,239  7,511  4,741 

1S7G 12,268,709          5,482,000  14,874  3,321 

1875.!.'."! 8,520,006          1,130,210  17,864  3,127 

The  above  table  exhibits  the  growth  of  the  trade  in 
refined  lard,  which  has  developed  within  the  last 
decade  into  very  large  proportions.  The  Baltimore 
brands  of  refined  lard  have  attained  the  highest  repu- 


382 


HISTORY   OP   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


tation  in  Continental  European  markets,  as  well  as  in 
those  of  South  America  and  the  West  Indies.  The 
growth  and  extent  of  this  immense  business  is  but 
little  understood  by  our  citizens,  and  the  following 
statistics  of  exports  from  the  port  of  Baltimore  at 
each  decade  from  1850  is  very  strilcing  : 

EXPOBTS   FROM   PoRT  OF   BaLTIMOHB  IN   POUNDS. 

Bacon.  Lard. 

1850 5,259,713  »37,47-i 

lar,n 788,333  3.285,385 

1S7U 253,552  1,701,360 

1880 28,870,172  34,797,502 

In  addition  to  this  export  trade,  Baltimore  has  a 
large  demand  for  provisions  from  Virginia,  North  and 
South  Carolina,  and  other  Southern  States.  The  ex- 
cellent manner  in  which  meat  and  lard  are  prepared 
by  our  merchants  is  universally  acknowledged,  and 
this  has  a  tendency  more  than  anything  else  to  keep 
up  the  demand  which  otherwise  might  be  diverted, 
now  that  the  Western  merchants  have  become  such 
strong  competitors  for  our  Southern  trade.  In  this 
competition  individual  experience,  integrity,  and  en- 
terprise must  count  for  even  more  than  the  mere 
advantages  of  location,  and  Baltimore  is  singularly 
fortunate  in  the  pcrsotmd  of  the  merchants  who  hold 
the  leading  places  in  this  important  branch  of  busi- 
ness. Among  the  most  prominent  firms  in  this  city 
is  that  of  T.  Robert  Jenkins  &  Sons,  whose  integrity 
and  energy  have  contributed  largely  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  provision  trade  of  Baltimore. 

Mr.  Jenkins,  the  senior  member  of  the  firm,  was 
born  in  Baltimore,  April  19,  1822,  and  is  a  scion 
of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  distinguished  Catholic 
families  of  Maryland.  He  is  a  descendant  of  William 
Jenkins,  the  son  of  Ap  Jenkins,  of  Wales,  and  Mary 
Courtney,  daughter  of  Lieut.  Thomas  Courtney,  of 
England,  who  left  Great  Britain  about  the  year  1660  to 
escape  the  religious  persecutions  of  which  the  Catho- 
lics were  the  victims,  and  settled  down  at  White  Plains, 
Md.,  six  miles  from  old  St.  Mary's  City,  and  near  the 
head  of  St.  Mary's  River.  Here  they  lived  peacefully 
for  many  years  under  the  beneficent  and  tolerant  gov- 
ernment of  the  Lord  Proprietary ;  but  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century  discord  arose,  the  Catholic  disa- 
bility act  wiis  passed,  and  some  time  prior  to  1730  the 
Jenkins  family  sought  out  Long  Green  Land,  in  Balti- 
more County,  then  the  frontier  of  the  province  and 
inhabited  by  Indians,  a  home  where  their  faith  would 
not  subject  them  to  pains  and  penalties.  This  prop- 
erty is  still  held  by  the  family.  The  first  William  Jen- 
kins was  born  on  the  St.  Mary's  homestead  in  1663,  and 
the  emigrants  to  Long  Green  Land  were  Michael, 
Courtney,  and  Ignatius  Jenkins.  There  another  Mi- 
chael Jenkins  was  born,  Dec.  21, 1736,  and  he  married, 
on  Dec.  21,  1761,  Charity  Ann  Wheeler,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Wheeler,  a  wealthy  Catholic  gentleman  of 
Baltimore  County,  whose  family  were  also  refugees 
from  intolerant  laws.  Their  sons  were  Thomas  Court- 
ney, William  Edward,  and  Michael  Jenkins,  who  all 
removed  to  Baltimore  City  about  the  year  1784,  enter- 


ing various  lines  of  business  and  establishing  firms 
some  of  which  are  still  in  prosperous  existence.  Wil- 
liam Jenkins  is  conspicuous  in  the  history  of  Balti- 
more as  a  leader  in  business,  a  useful  citizen,  and  a 
stern  patriot,  and  these  are  characteristics  that  are 
indeed  common  to  the  whole  family.  He  had  a  large 
tannery  on  the  York  road,  and  was  the  father  of  the 
leather  trade  in  this  city.  Early  in  life  he  joined 
what  was  called  "Paul  Bertalou's  Legion,"  a  body  of 
volunteer  cavalry,  which  in  those  days  often  escorted 
President  Washington  from  Waterloo  to  Baltimore, 
on  his  way  from  Mount  Vernon  to  Philadelphia, 
where  Congress  then  held  its  sessions.  In  1812  all 
four  of  the  brothers  went  into  the  field  as  volunteers, 
and  took  part  in  the  defense  of  Baltimore  at  the  battle 
of  North  Point.  Thomas  Courtney  Jenkins  was  mar- 
ried in  1806,  by  Archbishop  Carroll,  to  Elizabeth  Gold, 
a  Baltimore  lady.  Their  children  were  Louis  Wil- 
liam, lawyer  and  member  of  the  State  Legislature 
and  City  Council,  born  1806,  died  1840;  Michael 
Courtney,  lawyer,  born  1809,  died  1877 ;  Theodore, 
physician,  born  1809 ;  Oliver  L.,  priest,  and  president 
of  St.  Charles  College,  Howard  County,  born  1813, 
died  1868  ;  Martha  A.,  who  married  Hon.  Z.  Collins 
Lee,  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Baltimore, 
and  Thomas  Robert,  the  subject  of  this  biography. 
He  entered  Georgetown  College  in  his  early  youth,  and 
graduated  with  honor  in  1840.  In  1845  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Rebecca  A.  Hunter,  daughter  of  John  Hunter, 
of  Baltimore  County,  and  granddaughter  of  John  Hil- 
len,  by  Archbishop  Eccleston.  In  1848  he,  together 
with  Philip  T.  George,  established  the  wholesale  pro- 
vision house  of  George  &  Jenkins,  which  had  a  very 
successful  career  of  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  was 
dissolved  in  1873.  Mr.  Jenkins  has  since  then  con- 
tinued the  business,  associating  with  him  his  sons 
Francis  X.  and  Alphonsus  L.,  under  the  style  of  T. 
Robert  Jenkins  &Sons.  During  his  long  commercial 
career  Mr.  Jenkins'  name  has  always  been  found 
upon  the  subscription  lists  of  new  and  important 
enterprises  connected  with  the  development  of  the 
city.  He  is  a  director  in  the  Farmers'  and  Merchants' 
National  Bank,  the  Baltimore  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany, and  other  corporations.  His  participation  in 
the  extension  of  the  provision  trade  of  the  city  is  a 
matter  of  public  knowledge.  This  trade  has  reached 
proportions  that  are  astonishing  when  compared  with 
its  condition  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Jenkins'  entry  into 
the  business,  and  in  every  stage  of  its  growth  the 
l^rorainence  of  the  firms  that  counted  him  as  a  mem- 
ber is  apparent.  He  is  a  loyal  and  faithful  member 
of  the  Catholic  Church,  to  which  his  family  has  been 
most  devotedly  attached  in  its  trials  and  sufferings,  as 
well  as  in  its  days  of  triumph. 

Coffee. — The  city  of  Baltimore  from  "Colonial 
days"  has  enjoyed  a  most  prominent  position  among 
American  ports  in  the  coftee  trade,  once  holding 
almost  a  monopoly.  She  still  occupies  the  second 
place  among  American  cities  as  a  point  of  import  for 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


South  American  coffees.  The  following  tables  ex- 
hibit the  trade  in  coflee  for  the  past  twenty-eight 
years : 

Year.                                             Buss.  Yciir.                                             B:igs. 


18.H 

^11".^'^'' 

1-'- 

.:-.'■■■ 

1856 

vIt'^i^.i 

1-7" 

1  ,/  -' 

1867 

-jn  ;    ,(,.1 

l-TI     

:j.i\,-<:\ 

18G0 

1861 

..  ..      7;  .7  , 

i-.r,      

17  .,7:; 

1863 

481,18 

531,4li 

1866 

160:487ll880 

431,28! 

The  imports  of  Kio  coffee  at  all  the  ports  in  the 
United  States  for  the  past  three  years  have  been  as 
follows  : 

1880.  1879.  1878. 

Ports.  Bags.  Bags.  Bags. 

Baltimore 431,289  531,401         481,184 

New  York 1,277,649  l,7i2,361      1,117,377 

New  Orleans 199,916  212,668         137,727 

Mobile 9,600  30,403  39,322 

Savannah 17,844  22,160  20,456 

Charleston '.. 

Galveston 14,500  32,913  30,317 

Philadelphia 

Richmond 7,100  3,500 

Boston 


Total 1,950,.598         2,569,006      1,829,883 

During  the  past  year  the  well-known  house  of  E. 
Levering  &  Co.  have  added  to  their  immense  busi- 
ness of  importing  that  of  roasting  coffees,  which  bids 
fair  to  become  in  the  near  future  the  great  feature  of 
the  coffee  trade ;  the  same  business  of  roasting  cofiee 
is  largely  conducted  by  Barclay  &  Hasson,  ZoUer  & 
Little,  and  others. 

In  spite  of  the  persistent  efforts  which  have  been 
made  to  destroy  the  coffee  and  sugar  trade  of  Balti- 
more, it  is  still  represented  by  houses  as  substantial 
and  responsible  as  any  in  the  United  States.  Promi- 
nent among  them  is  that  of 

FISHER,  WAGNER  &  MACKALL. 
This  Commercial  House — engaged  for  seventy  years 
past  in  the  Sugar  and  Coffee  Trade — was  founded  No- 
vember 20,  1811,  by  Richard  Henry  Douglass,  who 
transacted  business  under  the  Firm  of 

Richard  H.  Douglass 
until  July  1, 1815,  when  he  admitted  his  brother  Wil- 
liam Douglass  to  partnership  under  the  Firm  of 

R.  H.  &  Wm.  Douglass. 
William  Douglass  dying  July  8,  1821,  the  business 
was  continued  by  the  surviving  partner,  under  the 
Firm  of 

Richard  H.  Douglass, 
until   January  1,  1828,  when,  by  the  admission  of 
James  Isom  Fisher  (who  had  entered  the  Counting- 
House  as  a  youth  in  1814),  the  Firm  became 

R.  H.  Douglass  &  Co. 
R.  H.  Douglass  died  October  30,  1829,  in  the  49th 
year  of  his  age;  but,  under  the  provisions  of  his  Will, 
the  Firm  was  continued,  unchanged,  by  his  surviving 
partner  James  I.  Fisher  and  his  nepliew  B.  G.  Doug- 


lass Moxley.  On  February  21, 1832,  Mr.  Fisher  mar- 
ried Sophia  M.  P.  Moxley,  sister  of  his  partner  and 
niece  of  R.  H.  Douglass,  deceased.  On  November  6, 
1833,  the  Firm  was  dissolved  by  the  retirement  of  Mr. 
Moxley,  and  the  business  was  continued  by 

James  I.  Fisher, 
under  his  own  name.  In  1850  Mr.  Fisher  took  into  his 
Counting-House,  as  clerks,  his  sons  Robert  Alexander 
Fisher  and  Richard  Douglass  Fisher;  and  on  January 
1,  1854,  he  admitted  them  to  partnership  under  the 
Firm  of 

James  I.  Fisher  &  Soxs, 
which  remained  unchanged  until  1862,  at  the  end  of 
which  year  James  I.  Fisher  and  Robert  A.  Fisher 
withdrew  from  active  life,  the  former  in  view  of  ad- 
vancing age  and  the  latter  owing  to  declining  health. 
The  succession  was  retained  by  Richard  D.  Fisher, 
under  the  Firm  of 

Richard  D.  Fisher  &  Co., 
until  December  1,  1864,  by  which  time  the  health  of 
Robert  A.  Fisher  was  partially  restored  and  he  was 
enabled  to  rejoin  his  brother  under  the  Firm  of 

Fisher  Brothers  &  Co. 
On  January  1,  1866,  Basil  Wagner  (who  had  been  a 
Clerk  of  the  House  since  18.57)  became  a  partner  of 
this  Firm.  On  July  30,  1877,  James  I.  Fisher  (now 
retired)  died,  in  the  79th  year  of  his  age.  At  the  end 
of  the  latter  year  Richard  D.  Fisher  withdrew  from 
active  business,  and  on  January  1,  1878,  was  formed 
the  Firm  of 

Robert  A.  Fisher  &  Co., 
consisting  of  Robert  A.  Fisher,  Basil  Wagner,  and 
Leonard  Covington  Mackall  (the  last-named  having 
originally  entered  the  House  as  clerk  in  1860)  as  Gen- 
eral Partners,  and  Richard  D.  Fisher  as  Special  Part- 
ner. This  Partnership  expiring  by  limitation  at  the 
end  of  three  years,  the  Firm  of 

R.  A.  &  R.  D.  Fisher  &  Co. 
was  formed  on  January  1,  1881,  by  Robert  A.  Fisher, 
Richard  D.  Fisher,  Basil  Wagner,  and  Leonard  C. 
Mackall ;  but  was  dissolved  by  the  death  of  Robert 
A.  Fisher,  in  the  49th  year  of  his  age,  on  February  4, 
1881.     The  present  Firm  of 

Fisher,  Wagner  &  Mackall 
was   formed   on   February  5,   1881,  and   coasists   of 
Richard  D.  Fisher,  Basil  Wagner,  and  Leonard  C. 
Mackall.  

The  rank  held  by  this  old  and  solidly  established 
house  is  too  well  known  to  require  explanation  after 
the  simple  recital  of  facts  given  above.  Such  facts 
speak  for  themselves.  Founded  in  1811,  it  has  grown 
up  with  the  growth  of  the  city,  and  become  commer- 
cially bone  of  its  bone,  and  flesh  of  its  flesh.  Of  the 
living  members  of  the  firm  it  would  be  inappropriate 
to  say  more  than  that  they  faithfully  maintain  its 
ancient  reputation,  and  of  those  connected  with  its 


384 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


early  history  we  cannot  speak  better  than  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  following  extracts  from  the  press  of  the 
city  in  which  they  lived  and  labored : 

Richard  Henry  Douglass 
Died  October  30, 1829. 

"To  associate  with  announcements  of  this  kind 
some  allusion  to  the  remarkable  characteristics  of  their 
particular  subjects,  is  an  observance  amiable  as  it  is 
common.  But,  the  friendship  which  suggests  it  must 
often  regret  the  entire  inadequacy  of  a  notice,  neces- 
sarily so  brief,  to  do  justice  to  all  the  qualities  which 
it  delights  to  remember  as  embellishing  and  endear- 
ing the  departed.  This  is  experienced  to  be  emi- 
nently the  case  in  regard  to  the  excellent  man  whose 
death  it  is  our  melancholy  tribute  to  record. 

"Mr.  Douglass  was  a  native  of  Charles  County, 
Maryland,  but,  with  the  exception  of  temporary  for- 
eign residences  with  commercial  views,  had,  from 
early  youth,  resided  in  Baltimore;  during  which 
period  he  enjoyed  pre-eminent  standing  as  an  enter- 
prising Merchant  and  useful  Citizen. 

"  To  those  with  whom  he  mingled  in  social  life 
(and  to  this  number  belongs  the  mass  of  our  respect- 
able inhabitants)  he  was  known  as  one  who  united 
the  solid  attainments  of  education  with  intrinsic 
virtues  of  a  mind  highly  endued— the  refinements  of 
taste  with  the  dignity  of  reason — the  graces  of  the 
Gentleman  with  the  piety  of  the  Christian.  This 
last  consolatory  trait  of  character  was  conspicu- 
ously confirmed  during  bis  protracted  illness,  which 
while  it  imposed  a  painftil  and  hardly  remitted 
confinement  of  one  year,  could  not  disturb  the 
cheerful  composure  of  his  mind — it  was  pillowed 
upon  certain  anticipation  of  a  blissful  futurity.  His 
natural  goodness  of  heart  will  be  remembered  by  all, 
and  there  is  a  large  class  who  can  attest  that  the  same 
kindly  ieeling  which  made  him  so  amiable  an  associ- 
ate, was,  to  the  needy  and  distressed,  an  open  handed 
and  diffusive  charity. 

"As  a  husband  and  father— but  here  we  must 
pause ;  we  have  no  power  for  aught  but  silent  condo- 
lence when  we  would  speak  of  the  severe  privation 
of  his  interesting  family." — Baltimore  American,  Nov. 
2,  1829. 

James  Isom  Fisher 
Died  July  30,  1877. 

"The  death  of  this  venerable  and  universally  re- 
spected citizen,  which  was  noted  in  our  obituary 
column  of  yesterday,  removes  another  of  the  few 
connecting  links  between  the  mercantile  community 
of  to-day  and  the  generation  of  well-trained,  able 
and  enterprising  merchants  which  preceded  it.  Of 
the  men  of  his  time,  there  was  no  one  to  whom  the 
common  and  cordial  consent  of  his  brethren  would 
have  assigned  a  higher  rank  than  to  Mr.  Fisher,  for 
all  the  qualities  which  give  dignity  and  usefulness  to 
the  mercantile  profession.  In  those  days,  the  element 
of  simple  speculation,  or — to  speak  more  precisely — 


of  pure  chance,  entered  comparatively  little  into  com- 
mercial aff;iirs.  The  telegraph  had  not  placed  men 
upon  their  present  equality  of  knowledge  as  to  com- 
mercial facts,  and  they  were  necessarily  thrown  upon 
their  individual  intelligence  and  prevision,  their  fa- 
miliarity with  the  course  and  laws  of  trade,  their  ex- 
perienced knowledge  of  the  necessities  and  demands 
of  nations  in  peace  and  at  war  and  in  seasons  of  want 
and  plenty.  The  pursuit  of  commerce  was  therefore 
essentially  a  profession,  requiring  special  education 
and  long  training,  like  every  other  intellectual  call- 
ing. It  involved  large  calculations,  large  views  and 
large  experience,  and  it  bestowed  its  rewards,  for  the 
most  part,  upon  those  of  its  followers  who  were  ablest, 
most  prudent  and  most  wise.  It  had  its  vicissitudes, 
of  course,  but  they  were,  in  the  main,  the  vicissitudes 
of  all  those  who  '  go  down  unto  the  sea  in  ships.' 
They  did  not  belong  to  the  same  class  of  chances  as 
those  which  have  passed,  in  our  day,  from  the  stock 
board  and  gold  room  into  every  department  of  trade. 
"  In  speaking,  therefore,  of  Mr.  Fisher  as  a  leading 
and  successful  merchant  of  his  generation,  we  mean 
to  speak  of  him  as  one  who  earned  his  position  and 
success  by  a  life-time  of  well-directed  ability,  indus- 
try, and  intelligent  enterprise.  He  was  eminently 
sagacious,  prudent,  and  far-seeing — a  man  of  strong 
will,  of  resolute  and  patient  perseverance,  of  thorough 
system  and  exact  and  conscientious  punctuality. 
Above  all,  he  was  the  very  soul  of  mercantile  and 
personal  integrity — even  more  scrupulous,  in  the  jus- 
tice of  his  dealings,  when  it  was  to  his  loss  to  be  so, 
than  when  it  might  be  to  his  gain.  Among  all  the  ac- 
cumulations of  his  long  and  prosperous  labors,  there 
can  be  none  more  permanent,  or  more  valuable  as  an 
example  and  a  legacy,  than  the  record  of  his  manly, 
simple,  and  absolutely  upright  life." — Baltimore  Even- 
ing Bulletin,  July  31,  1877. 

Robert  Alexander  Fisher 
Died  February  4,  1881. 
"  When  a  citizen  of  such  public  spirit,  of  such 
staunch  business  integrity,  and  of  such  a  lovable  per- 
sonal character  as  Mr.  Robert  A.  Fisher  is  stricken 
down  by  the  cold  hand  of  death,  the  most  sincere 
expressions  of  regret  are  apt  to  seem  but  mere  com- 
mon-places. His  associates  in  the  activities  of  the 
business  world  will  feel  his  loss  much  more  keenly 
than  can  be  indicated  by  formal  resolutions  or  ad- 
dresses, however  eloquent ;  for  there  are  some  quali- 
ties in  human  nature  that  cannot  be  defined  by  speech, 
and  some  influences  that  cannot  be  measured  by 
passing  feelings.  It  happens,  not  infrequently,  that 
men  of  large  renown,  over  whose  biers  high-sounding 
eulogies  are  pronounced,  leave  behind  them  no  real 
mourners  ;  and  it  sometimes  happens  that  those  who 
go  to  the  grave  '  unwept,  unhonored,  and  unsung,'  are 
afterwards  found  to  have  been  of  permanent  service 
to  the  age  in  which  they  lived.  It  is  rare  that  the 
usefulness  of  the  citizen  and  the  nobility  of  the  man 


COMMERCIAL  INDUSTRIES    AND   MANUi'ACTURES. 


find  such  universal  recognition  at  the  hands  of  his 
contemporaries.  As  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
Mr.  Fisher's  services  will  be  formally  commemorated  ; 
but  that  acknowledgment  will  be^of  small  significance 
compared  with  the  sentiment  of  profound  and  sincere 
regret  which  the  news  of  his  sudden  death  has  called 
forth  among  all  classes  of  his  fellow-citizens.  And 
there  is,  indeed,  no  loss  which  a  city  can  sustain  that 
is  to  be  compared  for  a  moment  with  that  which  it 
suflTers  when  a  citizen  like  Mr.  Fisher  is  cut  down  in 
his  prime."— Baltimore  American,  Feb.  5,  1881. 

Petroleum. — At  one  time  Baltimore  had  reason- 
able expectations  of  becoming  a  first-class  port  for 
the  shipping  of  petroleum,  but  the  operation  and 
manipulation  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  has  dis- 
appointed those  hopes,  and  her  trade  in  Western 
Refined  is  gradually  being  lost.  The  subjoined  tables 
will  exhibit  the  present  prospects  as  well  as  the  past 
condition  of  this  trade. 

The  receipts  of  crude  and  refined  petroleum  foi-  the 
year  1880  were  as  follows : 


t;n,9o4 

"     1873 

201,000 

The  following  table  will  sliow  the  shipments,  in  gal- 
lons, to  each  port  from  Baltimore  for  three  years : 


Destiniition. 
Amsterdam 

1880. 

1879. 
087,165 
2,789.476 

1878. 

900,885 

7,786,293 

113,899 

415,190 

18,040,794 

97,687 

69,555 

114,094 

226,287 

454,266 

736,638 

1,246,249 

142,989 

2,488,962 

149,526 

111,430 

356,229 

151,091 

Arendal 

Barcelona 

Bremen 

Bergen 

'.'.'    9,097,731 

3:i,n:!6 

Copenhagen  

136,165 
123,330 
135.277 

1,637.913 
93,020 

Dunkirk 

'.'.     "521,533 

Hamburg 

..     1,735,758 

Konigsberg 



...       887,970 
..        101,365 

178,019 

Norway 

100,906 
1,418.161 
341,159 
63,000 
222,200 
229,906 

..        365.984 

1,482,893 
388843 
16,500 
1,363,283 
314,313 
145  648 
20,000 

^ttin    " 

South  America  

4,972 
..       119,001 
..        107,810 

Trieste 

West  Indies 

231,690 

226,978 
107:034 

]S^:z::::::-::::::::::::r. r 

5,000 
191,986 
266,220 

Tuborg 





250 
..  14,780,980 

Total 

23,322,482 

37,712,900 

Cooperage. — The  vast  number  of  barrels  required 
by  the  commerce  and  trade  of  a  large  city  has  not 
failed  to  create  an  immense  industry  in  this  city. 
Oil,  pork,  syrup,  beef,  whisky,  flour,  and  other  arti- 
cles of  commerce  are  required  to  be  packed  in  barrels, 
and  these  again  require  constant  repairing.     The  de- 


mands of  such  an  industry  embrace  millions  of  feet 
of  lumber,  specially  prepared,  and  adapted  by  ma- 
terial and  form  for  the  particular  uses  to  which  the 
barrel  is  to  be  applied.  Hence  the  trade  in  shooks 
and  hoops  ha.s  assumed  immense  proportions,  and  the 
railroads  extending  to  the  forests  of  Virginia,  West 
"Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  other  States  are  doing  a 
very  large  business  in  the  transportation  of  these 
articles.  The  West  India  Islands  take  a  large  amount 
of  the  cooperage  of  Baltimore,  and  the  shipments  to 
these  ports  from  this  city  are  larger  than  from  any 
other  United  States  port.  The  statistics  of  this  trade, 
from  the  census  of  1880,  show  the  following: 

Number  of  establishments 38 

Number  of  hands 444 

Amount  of  capital J220,850 

wages 8146,282 

Cost  of  material $;i24,764 

Value  of  products $558,068 

Naval  Stores. — Spirits  of  turpentine,  rosin,  and 
tar  find  at  Baltimore  a  ready  market,  and  their  trade 
has  gradually  extended.  AVe  give  annexed  receipts 
for  the  past  ten  years,  compiled  from  the  Baltimore 
Journal  of  Commerce  : 

Spirits  T,    •  Tar  and 

Years.                                                             Turpentine.  ^,,,'°-  Pitch. 

Bbls.  ^''''-  Bbls. 

1880 19,665  94,158  13,169 

1879 20,,569  89,578  15.062 

1878 16.379  47,676  19,544 

1877 16,139  65,763  20,043 

1876 19,557  82,668  23,144 

1875 16,749  70,694  18,686 

1874 18,867  71,301  21,943 

1873 17,979  80,346  19,243 

1872 21,667  80,020  13,467 

1871 22,862  79,352  13,243 

Ice. — When  ice  first  became  an  article  of  merchan- 
dise in  Baltimore  is  not  known,  but  it  is  possible  that 
the  "  ice  trade,"  in  a  small  way  at  least,  began  even 
before  Baltimore  had  exchanged  the  swaddling  clothes 
of  the  town  for  the  dignity  of  municipal  robes.  It 
was  not,  however,  until  1828  that  the  trade  in  North- 
ern ice  was  begun,  as  up  to  that  period  the  local  sup- 
ply appears  to  have  been  sufficient  for  the  needs  of 
the  community.  The  winter  of  1827-28  was  exceed- 
ingly mild,  and  no  ice  being  made  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Baltimore,  the  inhabitants  were  forced  to 
rely  during  the  ensuing  summer  upon  importations 
from  Maine,  from  whence  many  full  cargoes  were 
received  and  sold  at  considerable  profit.  It  was  this 
experience  probably  and  the  superiority  of  the 
Northern  ice  to  the  home  article  that  led  to  the 
establishment  of  regular  agencies  for  supplying  the 
Baltimore  market  with  imported  ice.  In  1837  the 
ice  trade  had  become  sufficiently  profitable  to  war- 
rant more  enlarged  operations  than  had  hitherto  been 
attempted,  and  Thomas  J.  Cochran  engaged  in  the 
business,  and  was  soon  followed  by  Messrs.  Wm.  H. 
Oler,  David  Siimwalt,  Michael  Hurley,  John  Hamil- 
ton, Jacob  Frederick,  and  others.  Most  of  these 
firms  are  still  actively  engaged  in  the  trade,  bringing 
their  ice  mainly  from  the  Susquehanna,  where  a  large 
number  of  immense  ice-houses  have  been  erected, 
and  in  mild  seasons  from  the  unfailing  ice-fields  of 
Maine.     In  1835  the  entire  annual  consumption  of 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ice  in  Baltimore  was  only  about  one  thousand  tons, 
requiring  the  services  of  less  than  a  score  of  em- 
ploye's in  its  handling  and  distribution.  The  follow- 
ing figures  from  the  census  of  1880  show  how  greatly 
this  trade  has  grown.  The  distribution  and  con- 
sumption of  ice  for  the  year  commencing  Oct.  1, 1879, 
to  Oct.  1,  1880,  in  Baltimore  was  as  follows: 


.\gfei.t,iiU  ,u.,..u,U  „1  ua^..,  i..ua  lu  th>;  »:u... $102,900 

In  addition  to  the  above,  there  was  secured  from 
the  ponds  near  the  city  by  the  brewers  4498  tons; 
And  meat-packers,  6179  tons. 


nitchi 


IS79-80.. 
1878-79.. 
1877-78.. 


Maryland 

TOUB.' 

Kennebec 

Kivei'.  Me. 

Tons. 

183,240 

I'laiko 

113,325 

128,000 

50,100 

6,000 

102,200 

The  largest  ice-dealers  in  Baltimore  are  naturally 
those  who  first  entered  the  field,  Messrs.  Cochran  &  Co. 
The  senior  partner,  T.  J.  Cochran,  died  in  1867,  when 
his  interest  was  purchased  by  his  brother,  James  E. 
Cochran.  Woodward  Abrahams  became  a  member  of 
the  firm  in  185.1,  and  has  contributed  very  materially 
to  its  success  and  jjrosperity.  Mr.  Abrahams  traces  the 
genealogy  of  his  family  back  to  Joseph  Abrahams, 
who  emigrated  from  England  to  Massachusetts  about 
the  year  1660,  and  transplanted  to  the  new  country 
the  sturdy  virtues  of  a  good  old  stock.  The  first 
Woodward  Abrahams  was  born  in  1727,  and  was  mar- 
ried in  1751  to  Tabitha  Smithurst.  At  his  home  in 
Marblehead  he  was  postmaster  and  collector  of  cus- 
toms, besides  filling  other  public  positions.  His  son 
Woodward  was  born  at  Marblehead,  July  14,  1762, 
and  the  second  Woodward  had  a  sou  named  William, 
who  was  one  of  the  defenders  of  the  three-gun  bat- 
tery on  the  Patapsco  River  during  the  war  of  1812. 
Another  son,  the  third  Woodward,  had  a  great  longing 
for  the  sea,  and  it  happened  to  him  to  be  with  his 
ship  at  Baltimore  in  1802,  where  he  met  Miss  Hannah 
Wooley,  of  Harford  County,  Md.  Courtship  and  mar- 
riage followed.  Capt.  Abrahams  determined  to  make 
Maryl.and  his  home,  and  after  he  lost  his  ship,  the 
"  Adrianna,"  on  a  voyage  from  London  to  Baltimore, 
he  quit  the  sea  and  settled  down  on  a  farm  called 
"  Lucky  Mistake,"  in  Cecil  County,  on  the  Susque- 
hanna. The  present  Woodward  Abrahams  was  the 
fourth  son  of  this  union,  and  was  born  Oct.  2,  1814, 
and  in  1844  was  married  to  Margaret  E.  Littig. 
After  the  death  of  the  old  captain  tiie  family  re- 
moved   to    Baltimore,   and   Mr.    Abrahams   learned 


printing.  He  superintended  an  establishment  in 
Petersburg,  Va.,  and  afterwards  w:is  one  of  the  pub- 
lishers of  the  Koiftern  Express  and  the  Kaleidoscope 
in  Baltimore.  Mr.  Abrahams  is  wealthy,  a  liberal 
patron  of  the  fine  arts,  and  is  connected  with  many 
charitable  institutions.  He  cherishes  a  deep  affection 
for  Miisonry,  and  is  a  "Knight  Commander,  Court  of 
Honor  33,"  the  highest  post  attainable  in  the  order. 
He  is  also  allied  with  Odd-Fellowship.  He  is  ex- 
ceedingly popular  in  business  and  social  circles,  and 
at  his  beautiful  home  on  Linden  Avenue  dispenses 
a  refined  and  generous  hospitality.  His  residence  is 
adorned  with  choice  works  of  the  sculptor's  and 
painter's  arts  that  have  been  selected  with  rare  taste. 
Strictly  abstemious  in  his  habits,  Mr.  Abrahams  ap- 
pears much  younger  than  his  years,  and  bids  fair  to 
attain  or  exceed  the  venerable  age  of  many  of  his 
ancestors. 

Coal  Trade.— The  first  coal  used  in  Baltimore,  it  is 
beli(ived,  was  cannel  coal,  which  was  shipped  from  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  to  this  port  for  several  years  prior  to  1800, 
and  consumed  by  those  who  could  afibrd  this  luxuri- 
ous fuel.  On  the  3d  of  August,  1801,  Benjamin  Hen- 
frey,  au  Englishman,  "  respectfully  informs  the  citi- 
zens of  Baltimore  that  he  has  opened  a  coal-mine  on 
the  lands  of  Charles  Ridgely,  Esq.,  of  Hampton,  eight 
and  a  half  miles  from  this  town,  and  is  now  ready  to 
deliver  good  pit  coal  on  the  following  terms  for  cash, 
viz. :  ten  cents  per  bushel  at  the  pit  or  eighteen  cents 
delivered  in  Baltimore,  and  to  those  persons  who  buy 
one  hundred  bushels  and  upwards,  two  cents  less." 
This  discovery,  according  to  Mr.  Henfrey's  description, 
"  answered  well  for  grates  and  stoves,"  "  made  a  pleas- 
ant fire,"  emitting  "no  offensive  smell,"  burned  "with 
a  lively  flame  like  cannel  coal,"  left  a  deposit  of 
"  white  ashes  with  very  little  cinder,"  and  was  what 
"  is  known  in  Europe  by  the  term  Bovey  coal."  Mr. 
Henfrey  expressed  great  confidence  in  the  value  of 
his  "  find,"  but  his  mine  for  some  reason  unknown 
did  not  prove  a  success.'  What  may  have  been  the 
cause  of  his  failure  is  not  now  ascertainable,  but  Mr. 
Henfrey  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  considerable 
scientific  attainments,  and  probably  with  some  previ- 
ous experience  in  coal-mining.  There  were  even  then 
rival  coal  interests  in  the  field,  as  he  requests  Intending 
customers  to  "  send  their  orders  to  John  Morgan, 
McElderry's  wharf,  who  keeps  coal  forsale,"  and  their 
competition  may  have  possibly  prevented  the  success 
of  his  enterprise. 

In  1816,  Messrs.  Richard  Caton,  Benjamin  and 
James  EUicott,  Levi  Hollingsworth,  and  others  ob- 
tained licenses  from  several  proprietors,  and  employed 
John  Leadbetter  to  bore  for  coal  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Saratoga  and  North  Streets.  The  undertaking 
must  have  been  suggested  by  some  previous  discover- 


1  Mr.  Henfrey  was  more  successful  soon  after  in  discovering  a  method 
of  creating  light  by  gas  from  wood.  He  exhibited  experiments  in 
Baltimore,  and  actually  lighted  Richmond,  Va.,  before  any  similar 
diflcovery  wns  known. 


^liL 


(V'V\Q-AaU) 


~^ 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


387 


ies  pointing  to  the  probability  of  coal  deposits  in  that 
locality,  but  at  all  events  it  was  rewarded  by  no 
practical  results. 

In  May,  1848,  a  vein  of  coal  thirty-five  feet  below 
the  surface  was  discovered  in  digging  a  well  at  the 
corner  of  Ross  and  Union  Streets.  A  considerable 
quantity  was  taken  out  in  passing  through  the  vein, 
and  was  said  to  burn  well,  though  its  appearance  was 
not  in  its  favor. 

All  these  various  discoveries  have  ended  in  disap- 
pointment for  the  reason  that  the  substance  discovered 
has  never  been  a  true  coal,  and  only  in  a  few  instances 
a  poor  substitute  for  it.  Carbonaceous  matter  has  ac- 
cumulated at  various  places  in  the  Jurassic  and  later 
clays,  and  in  some  of  these,  as  well  as  in  more  modern 
fresh-water  bogs  and  ponds,  it  has  accumulated  in  ex- 
tensive deposits.  Trees,  shrubs,  and  plants  have  been 
drifted  down  from  the  hills  and  banks  of  these  ancient 
depressions,  stranded  in  the  mire,  and  covered  with 
alluvial  sediments.  Sealed  thus  in  almost  air-tight 
strata,  they  have  undergone  a  slow  carbonization, 
which  has  turned  them  into  the  lignites  and  charcoal 
masses  which  have  so  often  been  mistaken  for  true 
coal.  Whole  trunks  of  trees  are  often  found  in  the 
clays  of  the  iron  ore  beds,  and  when  these  are  exposed 
to  the  air  for  a  short  time  resemble  anthracite  coal, 
botli  in  hardness  of  texture  and  in  thefinequality  of  the 
shining  surface.  Such  deposits  have  occurred  in  the 
clays  south  and  east  of  Baltimore,  in  the  Clifton  tun- 
nel near  the  Washington  turnpike,  and  in  wells  and 
tunnels  within  the  city.  In  general  it  is  strongly 
impregnated  with  sulphuret  of  iron,  which  deadens 
its  flame  and  disturbs  its  combustion.  No  true  coal- 
measures  exist  within  the  limits  of  the  county,  and 
hence  none  of  the  kinds  of  coal  useful  for  fuel  and 
manufacturing  purposes  can  ever  be  met  with  here. 

Baltimore's  strength  as  a  commercial  and  manu- 
facturing centre  is  supplemented  by  her  proximity  to 
the  great  coal-fields  of  Maryland,  West  Virginia,  and 
Pennsylvania.  The  vast  supplies  of  coal  which  nature 
has  stored  away  in  these  regions  form  not  only  a 
commercial  staple  of  the  most  valuable  character,  but 
an  important  element  in  the  achievement  of  manu- 
facturing greatness.  Situated  within  easy  distance  of 
the  l)ituminous  deposits  of  the  Cumberland  region,  of 
the  gas-coal  of  West  Virginia,  and  the  anthracite 
coal  of  Pennsylvania,  and  connected  with  them  all  by 
direct  lines  of  railroad,  Baltimore  can  furnish  coal  of 
every  description,  in  all  quantities  and  for  every  pur- 
pose, more  cheaply  and  readily  than  any  city  in  the 
country.  The  figures  given  below  show  the  propor- 
tions the  trade  has  already  attained ;  and  when  it  is 
remembered  that  only  a  few  years  ago  the  annual 
shipments  of  bituminous  coal  from  the  mines  scarcely 
reached  1700  tons,  a  more  striking  presentation  of  its 
growth  could  not  be  made.  The  coal  trade  at  Balti- 
more at  present  gives  employment  to  over  five  thou- 
sand vessels,  and  the  coals  received  at  the  port  are 
shipped  not  only  to  all  domestic  but  many  foreign 


ports.  The  foreign  trade,  for  the  most  part,  has 
sprung  into  existence  during  the  last  four  or  five 
years,  and  gives  promise  of  steady  growth.  The 
cheap  rates  at  which  coal  can  be  put  upon  the  mar- 
ket in  Baltimore  offer  special  inducement  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  ocean  and  coastwise  lines  of  steamers 
at  this  port,  and  have  already  attracted  the  attention 
of  ship-owners  and  the  commercial  world.  The 
ocean  steamers  of  New  York  are  supplied  with  coal 
carried  by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and 
shipped  from  Baltimore.  The  cost  of  transportation 
from  Baltimore  to  New  York  is  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  per  ton,  which  must  be  added  to  the  expenses 
of  steam-lines  from  the  latter  point.  How  important 
this  single  item  is  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact 
that  the  Bremen  steamers  from  Baltimore  to  the  home 
port  consume  eight  hundred  tons  of  coal,  making 
their  expenses  for  coal  on  each  voyage  twelve  hun- 
dred dollars  less  than  if  they  sailed  from  New  York. 
Such  a  combination  of  circumstances  favorable  to  the 
development  of  an  immense  and  profitable  trade  in 
an  article  which  has  become  the  wings  of  commerce 
as  well  as  the  muscles  of  manufactures  have  not  es- 
caped the  keen-eyed  vision  of  capital ;  and  in  addition 
to  the  railroad  connections  already  existing  with  the 
coal  regions,  others  are  projected  by  the  Western 
Maryland  Railroad,  and  by  the  Canton  Company, 
which  proposes  to  construct  a  shorter  line  to  the 
bituminous  coal  regions  and  to  Pittsburgh. 

The  following  shows  the  total  quantity  of  Cumber- 
land coal  forwarded  per  rail  and  canal  from  1842  to 
1874,  inclusive : 


Years. 

Total  by 
Baltimore 
and  Ohio 
Railroad. 
1,708 

Total  by 
Baltimoie 
and  Ohio 
Uaual. 

Total  by 
Peniisvlva- 
nia  Rail- 
road 

Aggregate. 

10.082 

ilfi 

29,795 
62,640 
79  571 

1847 

62;i)40 

79  671 

142  449 

1860 

192,806 
174  701 

4,042 
82,978 
65,719 
157,760 
155,845 
183,786 
204,120 
116,574 
254,251 
297,842 
295878 
97,599 

216^92 

343/202 
343,178 
468,153 
482;:i26 
652.151 
604,137 
860,339 
816,103 
778,802 
767,064 

8,585,966 

196,848 
267,679 

1852 

m%l 

334,178 

1854 

503,836 



706,450 

l^i^ 

682.486 

VSg 

649,6i6 

788,909 

isei 

1S62 

1863 

1864 

172,075 
218,950 
531,533 
399;364 



269,674 
317  634 

748  345 



903,495 

1  079,331 

JS 

■ 

K+K,l  18 

riij;.i:is 
1   1-1, sU 
l,il7,_;47 

i^sTel'ieoi 

17,648,434 

1,330.443 

]**'','] 



1,717,075 
2,345,153 
2;355;471 
2,674,101 
2,410,895 

26,338,681 

ISTJ 

1874 

"22,021 
114,689 
67,671 

204,281 

1  Includes  38,100  tons  used  on  line  of  Cumberland  and  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  and  its  branches,  and  at  Cumberland  and  Piedmont;  also 
424,580  tons  used  by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company  in  loco- 
motives, rolling-mills,  etc. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  following  table  shows  tlie  receipts  of  coal  at 
Baltimore  for  the  past  seven  years: 


1879., 


1877 ,"  I    ,';•. 

1876 IJll        ■  '          I 

1875 l.l",:i  JTi.TM 

1874 l,.l(i(i,!<WJ  232,038 

Foreign  exports  for  the  year  amounted  to  52,356 
tons,  against  28,059  tons  in  1879,  32,804  tons  in  1878, 
and  27,189  tons  in  1877. 

The  receipts  of  anthracite  coal  for  Northern  Cen- 
tral Railroad,  335,356  tons,  against  412,169  tons  in 
1879,  and  301,042  tons  in  1878. 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  of  fuel  con- 
sumed in  the  city  and  vicinity  during  the  twelve 
months  commencing  June  1,  1879,  and  ending  May 
31,  1880: 

Tons.  Value. 

Antliracite  coal 382,376  $l,:i60,964 

Bituminous  coal 439,623  1,019,209 

Caldrons. 

Coke 3,588  15,641 

Cords. 

Wood" 124,945  412,001 

Charcoal 2,366,823  223,883 

Other  fuels 144,377 

Total 83,770,035 

Although  the  area  of  our  coal-fields  is  not  defined 
with  absolute  precision,  there  is  good  authority  for 
the  statement  that  "  there  are  about  two  hundred  mil- 
lions of  tons  of  the  '  big  vein'  untouched." 

Between  1842  and  1869  fourteen  million  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  tons  were  mined  and  shipped 
to  market,  and  it  is  estimated  tliat  at  the  same  rate 
of  mining  the  big  vein  will  last  for  at  least  a  century. 
The  four  and  six-feet  veins  combined  contain  more 
than  the  big  vein,  and  "  it  is  therefore  safe  to  say  that 
the  minor  veins  will  yield  two  millions  of  tons  per 
annum  for  another  century ;  so,  if  we  may  feel  sure 
that  we  can  go  on  duplicating  the  present  product 
until  the  year  2080,  it  is  hardly  necessary  for  the 
present  generation  to  be  anxious  about  the  exhaus- 
tion of  the  coal-measures  of  Alleghany." 

The  coal  region  of  Maryland  and  West  Virginia  be- 
gins in  Alleghany  County,  Md.  The  great  bituminous 
coal  basin  of  the  State  lies  between  Dan's  and  Savage 
Mountains,  extending  over  sixty  miles  in  length,  and 
five  in  breadth.  Through  this  valley  flows  George's 
Creek,  on  both  sides  of  which  are  large  deposits  of  the 
celebrated  George's  Creek  Cumberland  coal,  so  exten- 
sively used  in  iron  and  other  manufactures,  as  well  as 
upon  railways,  steamboats,  etc.  These  fields  are  owned 
by  mining  companies  actively  employed  in  working 
the  deposits,  millions  of  capital  being  invested  in  the 
business,  and  thousands  of  men  constantly  engaged 
in  the  various  operations  of  these  immense  interests. 
The  Cumberland  and  Pennsylvania  Railroad  runs  the 
entire  length  of  the  valley,  and  carries  the  coal  from 

1  Foi-ty-four  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty  cords  of  wood  in- 
cluded in  this  was  burned  into  charcoal,  producing  2,226.600  bushels, 
whicti  is  inclu<led  in  the  item  of  clmrcoa). 

'  Tar-cake,  petroleum-cake,  gasoline  used  as  fuel. 


the  mines  to  Piedmont  and  Cumberland,  from  whence 
it  is  shipped  to  such  points  as  may  be  desired.  From 
Piedmont  it  finds  its  way  to  Baltimore  by  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  from  Cumberland  by 
the  same  route  to  Baltimore,  and  by  the  Chesapeake 
and  Ohio  Canal  to  Georgetown  and  Alexandria. 
Northumberland  coal  can  be  carried  by  the  Cum- 
berland and  Pennsylvania  road,  by  way  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania connection,  to  Philadelphia  and  New  York. 

The  principal  company  engaged  in  the  develop- 
ment of  these  mines  is  the  Consolidation  Coal  Com- 
pany, formed  in  1864  by  the  combination  of  several 
of  the  wealthiest  coal  corporations  in  the  country. 

The  extraordinary  success  and  prestige  in  the  busi- 
ness and  financial  world  which  have  been  won  by  this 
gigantic  corporation  have  been  due  mainly  to  the 
splendid  enterprise  and  rare  executive  capacity  of  its 
president,  Charles  F.  Mayer.  Mr.  Mayer  comes  of  a 
family  widely  distinguished  for  ability  in  many  varied 
spheres  of  thought  and  action. 

His  father,  Lewis  Mayer,  who  died  in  the  prime  of 
a  brilliant  manhood,  was  educated  at  one  of  the  best 
continental  universities,  and  was  a  cultivated  and  ac- 
complished gentleman.  He  was  no  less  noted  for  his 
business  talent  than  for  his  mental  culture,  and  was 
among  the  pioneers  in  developing  the  anthracite  coal 
region  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  and  many  of  his 
relatives  were  large  landholders.  The  father  of  Lewis 
Mayer  was  Christian  Mayer,  who  filled  until  his  death 
the  office  of  consul-general  of  Wurtemberg,  and  was 
well  known  to  the  citizens  of  half  a  century  ago  as 
one  of  the  most  successful  merchants  of  Baltimore. 
There  were  no  consuls  appointed  by  the  king  of  Wur- 
temberg at  that  time,  or  for  many  years  afterwards, 
and  all  the  business  Avith  that  country  from  the 
United  States  passed  through  his  hands.  Christian 
Mayer  was  also  the  father  of  Charles  F.  Mayer,  the 
distinguished  lawyer,  and  of  Col.  Brantz  Mayer,  the 
litterateur,  who  is  known  wherever  American  litera- 
ture is  read.  Lewis  Mayer  was  married  in  Lancaster, 
Pa.,  to  his  relative,  Susan  O.  Mayer,  daughter  of  Chris- 
topher M.ayer,  of  that  place,  an  opulent  merchant, 
who  represented  his  district  for  years  in  the  Senate  of 
his  native  State,  and  died  there,  leaving  a  large  for- 
tune to  his  children.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old 
school,  and  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  respected 
citizens  of  Pennsylvania. 

"He  dwelt  in  a  large,  double  stone  house  at  the 
corner  of  Duke  and  Orange  Streets,  Lancaster,  dis- 
pensing an  elegant  hospitality.  He  was  a  remarkably 
handsome  and  dignified  man,  with  quiet  manners, 
long  a  leader  among  his  fellow-citizens  as  head  of 
one  of  their  most  influential  families."  He  died  on 
the  11th  of  August,  1815.  Without  further  reference 
to  the  details  of  the  family  genealogy,  which  shows 
the  descent  from  Melchior  Mayer,  born  in  Ulm,  1495, 
until  the  emigration  to  America  in  1752,  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  say  that  Charles  F.  Mayer  is  sprung  from  a 
race  of  men  and  women  noted  in  their  day  for  pos- 


^/t^-^^ 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES  AND   MANUFACTURES. 


seasing  the  virtues  as  well  as  the  accomplishments  of 
generations  of  cultivated  and  educated  people.  The 
Mayer  family  have  intermarried  with  some  of  the 
most  distinguished  families  of  Virginia  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  their  representatives  can  be  traced  from 
the  northern  boundary  to  the  Mexican  gulf.  Mr. 
Mayer  himself  was  educated  in  Baltimore,  and  at  a 
very  early  age  entered  the  counting-house  of  his 
uncle,  Frederick  Konig  (who  married  Mr.  Mayer's 
paternal  aunt),  and  who  was  one  of  the  large  import- 
ing merchants  of  that  day.  Mr.  Mayer  at  once  mani- 
fested great  aptitude  for  business,  and  before  he  was 
of  age  was  sent  as  supercargo  to  the  west  coast  of 
South  America  on  one  of  the  last  trading  voyages 
fitted  out  in  Baltimore  for  that  coast.  Returning  to 
this  country  after  an  absence  of  nearly  two  years,  he 
became  the  head  of  the  concern  in  which  he  was 
brought  up,  and  continued  until  1865  to  conduct  a 
large  and  very  successful  business.  In  that  year  he 
withdrew  from  active  participation  in  the  firm,  and 
with  a  number  of  other  prominent  gentlemen  of  Bal- 
timore purchased  and  undertook  the  development  of 
one  of  the  valuable  gas-coal  basins  of  West  Virginia, 
and  organized  the  "  Despard  Coal  Company,"  occupy- 
ing the  position  of  vice-president,  and  afterwards  pres- 
ident, in  which  latter  position  he  still  continues  to  man- 
age the  affairs  of  the  company  with  eminent  success. 

In  1871  he  formed  the  house  of  Mayer,  Carroll  & 
Co.,  miners  and  shippers  of  coal,  which,  under  the 
name  of  Davis,  Mayer  &  Co.,  continues  to  be  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  enterprising  firms  in  this  city,  the 
first-mentioned  member  of  the  establishment  being 
Hon.  Henry  G.  Davis,  United  States  senator  from 
West  Virginia.  In  1877,  Mr.  Mayer  was  elected  to 
the  presidency  of  the  Consolidation  Coal  Company  of 
Maryland,  and  of  the  Cumberland  and  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company.  Mr.  Mayer  is  also  a  director  of 
the  Western  National  Bank  of  Baltimore,  the  Eutaw 
Savings-Bank  of  Baltimore,  the  Baltimore  Steam- 
Packet  Company,  trustee  of  the  Church  Home  and 
Infirmary,  and  a  member  of  the  vestry  of  St.  Paul's 
Episcopal  Church.  He  was  married  in  1866  to  his 
cousin,  Susan  Douglas,  daughter  of  the  late  Hon. 
George  May  Keim,  of  Reading,  Pa.  There  is  no  issue 
of  this  marriage. 

Of  Mr.  Mayer's  private  and  personal  character  it  is 
unnecessary,  as  it  would  be  inappropriate,  to  speak  at 
length  in  this  connection.  A  man  of  actions  rather 
than  words,  he  demonstrates  his  public  spirit  by  actual 
achievements  that  advance  the  prosperity  and  welfare 
of  the  community  rather  than  by  brilliant  promises 
and  showy  rhetoric.  In  private  friendship  firm  and 
unvarying,  his  strong  hand  has  smoothed  the  path  for 
many  whose  subsequent  success  has  been  due  to  his 
timely  assistance,  while  his  charities,  though  quiet 
and  unostentatious,  have  found  their  way  to  the  sup- 
port of  hundreds  of  meritorious  objects,  and  though 
bidden  to  be  silent,  now  will  bear  eloquent  testimony 
when  the  greatest  of  Christian  virtues  is  called  upon 


to  point  out  the  worthiest  of  her  followers.  A  man  of 
remarkable  business  talent,  of  untiring  energy  and 
fixedness  of  purpose,  whatever  is  undertaken  by  him 
to  it  he  gives  his  whole  soul,  and  lets  not  one  of  the 
many  interests  confided  to  his  care  suff'er  from  want  of 
ability,  integrity,  or  industry.  Such  men  are  indeed 
rare,  an  honor  to  the  community  in  which  they  reside, 
an  object  of  emulation  by  the  youth  of  to-day,  the 
men  of  to-morrow. 

Some  idea  of  the  resources  and  the  extent  of  the 
operations  of  the  company  over  which  Mr.  Mayer 
presides  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  it  has  a 
capital  of  $10,250,000,  and  owns  over  seven  thousand 
acres  of  the  "big  vein,"  and  over  fourteen  thousand 
acres  of  the  smaller  veins,  its  coal-lands  forming  two- 
thirds  of  the  George's  Creek  deposit.  The  coal  mined 
by  the  company  is  semi-bituminous  in  its  character, 
remarkably  free  from  impurities,  and  specially  adapted 
for  manufacturing  purposes  where  a  combination  of 
economy  and  power  are  desired. 

The  Cumberland  and  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  al- 
ready referred  to,  is  also  the  result  of  the  vast  capital 
and  energy  of  the  Consolidation  Coal  Company,  which 
has  thus  provided  itself  and  other  coal  companies 
with  facilities  for  transportation  unequaled  by  those 
of  any  coal  region  in  the  country.  The  coal  trade  of 
Baltimore  has  felt  the  stimulus  imparted  by  this  en- 
ergetic corporation,  and  its  growth  of  recent  years  is 
mainly  attributable  to  the  admirable  and  complete 
system  which  regulates  every  detail  of  the  vast  busi- 
ness of  this  company.  Its  principal  ofiice  is  at  No.  13 
German  Street,  Baltimore,  but  it  has  agencies  in  New 
York,  Boston,  and  other  places.  Locust  Point  is  the 
chief  point  of  shipment,  but  it  also  has  piers  at  the 
Cumberland  basin  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal, 
from  whence  it  sends  coal  to  Georgetown. 

The  following  table  shows  the  product  of  the  whole 
Cumberland  coal-field  for  each  year  since  1864,  and 
the  product  of  the  mines  of  the  Consolidation  Coal 
Company,  thus  indicating  the  proportion  which  the 
business  of  this  single  company  bears  to  that  of  the 
entire  region : 


Teabs. 

Whole 
Region. 
Tons. 

Consolidation 

Coal  Company. 

Tons. 

667,996 
903,495 
1,079,331 
1,193,822 
1330  443 
1,882,669 
1,717,075 
2,346,163 
2,355.471 
2,674,101 
2,410,895 
2,342,773 
1,835,081 

1,679,322 
1,730,709 
2,136,160 

33,641 

68,097 

}*J;^ 

256.790 

383,707 

jgZy 

1873 

548.414 
467,458 

jg!'f 

404,015 

488,692 

}ggQ 

Total 

37,637,268 

5,835,263 

390 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  continued  improvement  in  the  general  busi- 
ness of  the  country  warrants  the  expectation  of  an 
increase  in  the  company's  business  for  the  year  1881, 
and  with  more  profitable  results  than  have  been  pos- 
sible with  the  low  prices  for  coal  which  have  i)revailed 
until  very  recently.  The  mining  operations  of  the 
company  have  been  carried  on  during  the  past  year 
without  accidents  or  expenses  of  extraordinary  char- 
acter, and  generally  upon  the  system  heretofore  ob- 
served. The  mines  are  now  capable  of  an  output  of 
four  thousand  tons  per  day.  During  the  past  year 
the  company  has  made  large  extensions  and  improve- 
ments in  the  mining  department,  which  will  enable 
it  hereafter  to  meet  promptly  the  increasing  demand 
for  its  product.  These  improvements  have  also  ac- 
complished some  important  economies  iu  the  working 
of  its  mines. 

Every  economy  consistent  with  the  most  efficient 
management  and  preservation  of  the  property  has 
been  observed  in  all  the  departments.  The  railroads  of 
the  company  have  been  improved  during  the  past  year 
by  the  addition  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  tons  of 
heavy  steel  rail.  Everything  in  the  road  department  is 
in  superior  condition.  The  directors  are  William  F. 
Burns,  William  F.  Frick,  John  Gregg,  William  Don- 
nell,  William  Whitewright,  George  B.  Warren,  Kob- 
ert  Garrett,  Decatur  H.  Miller,  and  Edward  DeRose. 
The  secretary  and  treasurer  is  Charles  W.  Keim, 
whose  efficiency,  fidelity,  and  energy  have  thoroughly 
merited  the  important  trusts  confided  to  him.  The 
company  is  represented  at  Cumberland,  Md.,  by  P.  L. 
Burwell,  resident  agent ;  at  Georgetown  by  Gilmore, 
Meredith  &  Co. ;  iu  New  York  by  Roussel  &  Hicks  ; 
and  iu  Boston  by  Wood  &  Oliphant.  In  addition  to 
the  Cumberland  and  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  already 
mentioned,  the  Consolidation  Company  also  owns  the 
Eckhart  Branch  Railroad,  extending  from  the  vil- 
lage of  Eckhart  to  Cumberland,  and  the  State  Line 
road,  connecting  the  Cumberland  and  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  with  the  Pennsylvania  system  of  roads.  It 
is  worthy  of  note  that  intelligent  employers  of  steam- 
power  everywhere  are  abandoning  the  use  of  the 
cheaper  coals  in  favor  of  the  semi-bituminous  pro- 
duct of  the  George's  Creek  region,  on  account  of 
the  vastly  superior  steam-producing  qualities  of  the 
latter.  It  is  claimed  by  manufacturers  of  experience 
that  there  is  a  saving  in  the  use  of  the  best  semi-bitu- 
minous coal  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  per  cent,  as 
compared  with  anthracite.  No  doubt  this  fact  has 
much  to  do  with  the  commercial  supremacy  Great 
Britain  so  long  enjoyed.  In  that  country  bituminous 
coals  are  exclusively  used  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses. In  1876,  134,125,166  tons  of  coal  were  raised, 
of  which  about  18,000,000  tons  were  exported,  while 
the  greatest  quantity  of  coal  ever  raised  in  the  United 
States  in  a  single  year  was  50,000,000,  of  which 
30,000,000  tons  were  bituminous  and  20,000,000  tons 
were  anthracite. 

Among  those  most  largely  interested  in  the  Cum- 


berland coal-fields,  as  well  as  in  the  general  coal  trade 
■of  the  city,  is  James  Boyce,  so  well  known  in  Balti- 
more and  elsewhere  for  his  business  capacity  and 
success.  Mr.  Boyce  was  born  in  the  town  of  Chester, 
Orange  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  8,  1823,  of  parents  who  were 
natives  of  Dublin,  Ireland.  After  receiving  a  com- 
mon-school education  he  went  to  New  York  City,  and 
found  employment  as  clerk  with  a  retail  grocer,  sub- 
sequently entering  into  a  wholesale  house  in  the  same 
capacity.  In  1839,  being  then  in  his  sixteenth  year, 
he  obtained  a  situation  in  a  coal-office,  and  thus  his 
attention  was  diverted  to  the  line  of  business  in  which 
he  has  since  become  so  successful.  In  1842  he  opened 
business  on  his  own  account,  and  five  years  later  he 
became  interested  in  the  Cumberland  coal-fields.  He 
invested  his  accumulated  capital  iu  bituminous  coal- 
lands  in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  operating  largely  in 
his  own  name,  and  also  acting  as  general  agent  of  a 
mining  company,  in  which  he  was  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal stockholders.  He  removed  to  Baltimore  be- 
cause of  its  being  more  convenient  as  the  centre  of 
his  operations,  and  was  elected  president  of  the 
Franklin  Coal  Company  of  Maryland,  of  whose 
property  he  became  sole  owner  in  1865.  The  de- 
mands of  the  United  States  government  during  the 
war  epoch  for  immense  quantities  of  coal  provided 
Mr.  Boyce  with  the  opportunity  of  accepting  con- 
tracts on  a  scale  of  magnitude  that  was  possible  to 
but  a  few  dealers.  For  this  single  account  millions 
of  tons  were  mined,  handled,  and  transferred,  Mr. 
Boyce  faithfully  fulfilling  to  the  letter  every  specifi- 
cation of  his  contracts,  and  coming  to  be  regarded  by 
the  government  officers  as  always  reliable  and  prompt. 
Most  of  these  shipments  were  anthracite  coal  from 
Pennsylvania,  in  which  State  he  purchased  an  an- 
thracite tract,  and  he  is  engaged  in  working  other 
collieries  in  Maryland  and  Virginia.  He  is  the 
largest  owner  in  the  stock  of  the  Maryland  Union 
Coal  Company  of  Maryland,  as  well  as  manager  of 
the  mines,  having  sole  control  of  the  sale  of  the  coal, 
which  company  now  owns  the  lands  formerly  worked 
by  him,  known  as  the  George's  Creek  Mining  Com- 
pany, Franklin  Company,  Hammel  and  Midland  tracts. 
He  is  also  half-owner  of  the  Gaston  gas-coal  mine, 
and  the  largest  owner  in  another  gas-coal  mining 
company  of  West  Virginia,  and  is  interested  in  gold 
and  copper  mining  properties  in  North  Carolina. 
The  growth  of  Mr.  Boyce's  business  has  more  than 
kept  j)ace  with  the  increase  in  the  use  of  coal  through- 
out the  country.  Interests  of  enormous  proportions 
have  been  gathered  into  his  hands,  and  he  directs  them 
with  such  business  ability  that  he  is  now  one  of  the 
most  extensive  miners  and  shippers  of  bituminous  coal 
in  Maryland  and  West  Virginia,  and  is  sometimes 
spoken  of  as  the  autocrat  of  the  trade.  He  had  very 
few  advantages  in  making  his  start  in  life,  for  his 
education  was  limited  and  his  family  in  moderate 
circumstances.  He  earned  by  hard  labor  the  small 
fund  witli   which  he  entered  into  tlie  coal  trade,  and 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^(:>w^'^^^ 


COMMERCIAL  INDUSTRIES   AND  MANUFACTURES. 


all  of  his  now  large  fortune  lias  been  built  up  by  his 
own  exertions.  He  is  remarkably  self-reliant,  and 
has  every  detail  of  his  vast  business  at  his  fingers' 
ends.  Many  years  ago,  before  Locust  Point  showed 
any  signs  of  becoming  the  great  maritime  depot  for 
the  port  of  Baltimore,  he  decided  for  himself  what  its 
future  must  be.  He  bought  water-fronts  and  erected 
coal  piers,  recently  rebuilt  with  iron,  with  direct  rail- 
road communication,  and  furnished  them  with  all  the 
best  machinery  and  other  facilities  for  the  quick  and 
cheap  handling  of  bituminous  coal.  This  property 
is  now  worth  a  large  increase  over  its  cost  to  Mr. 
Boyce,  and  upon  it  are  received  from  the  mines  and 
transferred  to  vessels  thousands  of  tons  of  coal  annu- 
ally, which  are  shipped  to  our  own  coast  ports  and  to 
those  of  the  West  Indies,  South  America,  and  even  to 
California.  Mr.  Boyce  is  very  quiet  and  retiring  in 
his  habits  and  manners,  but  in  business  circles  his 
name  is  synonymous  with  financial  strength  and  re- 
sponsibility. His  leisure  hours  are  spent  at  his  de- 
lightful home  in  Baltimore  County.  He  has  been 
twice  married,  first  in  1844,  and  secondly  in  1850, 
both  ladies  being  residents  of  New  York  City.  His 
first  wife  died  in  1845,  leaving  an  only  daughter. 
The  second  marriage  has  been  fruitful  of  four  sons 
and  two  daughters.  JVIr.  Boyce's  eldest  son,  James, 
was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Cox  &  Boyce,  wholesale 
coal-dealers.  New  York,  now  representing  his  father 
in  the  coal  business  in  New  York  City  and  vicinity. 

Baltimore  Anthracite  Coal-Mine.— On  the  20th 
of  July,  1829,  Garrick  Mallery,  John  L.  Butler,  and 
Chester  Butler,  administrators  of  Lord  Butler,  con- 
veyed to  Thomas  Symington,  of  Baltimore,  four  hun- 
dred and  ten  acres  of  coal-land  in  the  vicinity  of 
Wilkesbarre,  Luzerne  Co.,  Pa.,  for  the  consideration 
of  fourteen  thousand  dollars,  or  about  thirty-four 
dollars  an  acre. 

On  this  land  was  then  opened  and  partially  de- 
veloped the  great  vein  then  known  as  the  Butler,  but 
ever  after  the  "  Baltimore  vein,"  and  so  put  down 
upon  the  coal  maps,  whenever  it  ajipears  through  the 
whole  valley.  This  seam  of  coal  will  average  twenty- 
six  feet  in  thickness,  of  the  best  quality  of  anthracite 
coal,  and  will  yield,  after  allowing  the  necessary  pil- 
lars for  supporting  the  roof  and  twenty  per  cent,  in 
waste  in  preparation,  twenty-six  thousand  tons  to  the 
acre,  and  worth  to-day  one  dollar  per  ton  in  the  mine ; 
exhibiting  the  fact  that  one  acre  of  the  land  is  worth 
over  twice  as  much  per  acre  (because  there  are  other 
seams  under  and  otter  it)  as  Mr.  Symington  paid  for 
the  four  hundred  and  ten  acres  in  1829.  A  million  of 
dollars  would  not  buy  the  tract  to-day,  after  over 
forty  years'  mining.  There  is  no  purer  or  better 
quality  of  coal  in  the  great  field  than  is  contained  in 
this  mine. 

After  the  purchase  of  the  mine,  Mr.  Symington 
organized  a  company  under  the  name  of  the  "  Balti- 
more Coal  Company."  This  company  immediately 
commenced  mining  and  shipping  coal  from  tliis  mine 


in  arks  to  Baltimore,  hauling  it  in  wagons  from  the 
mines  to  the  Susquehanna,  a  distance  of  two  miles. 
This  business  was  continued  for  several  years,  but  was 
attended  with  no  success.  The  stock  went  down  to 
five  dollars  per  share.  After  the  building  of  railroads 
and  canals,  and  the  coal  business  became  established, 
these  shares  passed  hands  at  five  hundred  dollars  a 
share.  The  mines  are  now  owned  by  the  "  Delaware 
and  Hudson  Canal  Company,"  and  carried  on  upon  a 
large  scale. 

Baltimore  was  the  first  shipping  depot  of  coal  in 
this  trade.  Not  from  this  vein,  however,  for  as  early 
as  1810  coal  was  shipped  from  Baltimore  coastwise  to 
New  York.  It  was  sent  down  the  Susquehanna  from 
the  Wyoming  coal-field  in  arks  by  Abijah  Smith,  who 
may  be  justly  called  the  pioneer  of  the  trade,  and  who 
devoted  his  life  to  the  business.  He  died  about  1826. 
The  vein  which  Mr.  Smith  operated  in  is  known  as 
the  red-ash  vein,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
which  is  some  twenty-eight  feet  in  thickness.  This 
vein  .underlies  the  Baltimore  vein,  but  on  the  Balti- 
more purchase  it  is  not  over  ten  feet  in  thickness. 

The  coal  trade  in  1810  in  the  county  of  Luzerne 
may  have  amounted  annually  to  five  hundred  tons. 
The  trade  in  1874  was  probably  ten  millions  within 
the  county  limits. 

In  referring  to  the  growth  of  the  coal  trade  of  Balti- 
more, the  prominent  connection  of  the  late  Robert 
Howard  with  its  early  history  and  the  measures  which 
contributed  so  greatly  to  its  subsequent  development 
should  not  be  forgotten.  Mr.  Howard  was  intimately 
connected  with  many  of  the  most  useful  improve- 
ments of  the  city,  and  his  career  as  a  merchant  and 
public-spirited  citizen  was  one  which  has  left  its  mark. 
He  was  among  the  first  who  appreciated  the  value  of 
the  coal  trade  to  Baltimore,  and  used  his  personal  and 
official  influence  as  president  of  the  Second  Branch  of 
the  City  Council  to  have  the  terminus  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad  extended  to  Locust  Point.' 
He  died  May  12,  1865. 

One  of  the  oldest  and  best-known  coal-dealers  in 
Baltimore  is  Edward  Day  Onion.  Mr.  Onion  was  born 
in  Harford  County,  Md.,  on  the  27th  of  September, 
1829.  He  is  the  son  of  Lloyd  Day  Onion,  born  in  1799 
on  the  Little  Gunpowder,  Baltimore  County.  His 
mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Elizabeth  Rouse, 
was  born  in  Harford  County,  Md.  His  paternal  grand- 
father, William  Onion,  was  a  member  of  the  Principio 
Iron  Company,  which  was  organized  in  1719,  and 
which  was  the  first  to  erect  iron-works  in  Maryland. 
Lawrence  Washington,  of  Virginia,  father  of  Gen. 
George  Washington,  was  a  member  of  the  Principio 
Company.  The  father  of  Mr.  Onion  afterwards  estab- 
lished iron-works  on  his  own  account  on  the  Gun- 
powder River,  in  Baltimore  County. 

Edward  Day  Onion  was  married  Dec.  26,  1850,  to 


'  Jackson  Square,  located  near  Broadway  and  Fayette  Streets, 
presented  by  liinl  to  the  city. 


392 


HISTORY   OP   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Elizabeth  Ann  Buckniiller,  daughter  of  Robert  S. 
Buckmiller,  of  Baltimore,  of  German  ancestry.  His 
first  wife  dying,  he  was  married  the  second  time, 
June  24,  1868,  to  Julia  Ann  R.awlings,  a  daughter  of 
Joshua  Rawlings,  of  Baltimore. 

Mr.  Onion  received  a  limited  education  at  a  com- 
mon school  in  Harford  County,  but  like  most  men  of 
active  minds  and  great  energy  lias  known  how  to  re- 
pair the  deficiencies  of  early  training  by  improving 
the  opportunities  of  after-years. 

His  parents  were  Catholics,  but  his  first  wife  be- 
coming a  member  of  the  Lutheran  communion,  he 
attended  that  church  with  her,  and  although  not  a 
communicant,  he  has  since  continued  to  be  a  mem- 
ber of  the  congregation.  In  politics  Mr.  Onion  is 
a  Democrat,  and  votes  with  that  party  on  all  great 
public  measures.  When  he  was  about  sixteen  years 
of  age  he  entered,  as  an  apprentice,  a  cabinet  manu- 
factory in  order  to  learn  that  trade,  but  only  remained 
in  that  business  for  about  twelve  months. 

In  1857  he  commenced  dealing  iu  wood  and  coal,  and 
has  been  engaged  in  that  business  with  considerable 
success  until  the  present  time. 

Mr.  Onion  and  his  first  wife  had  eight  childjen, 
five  of  whom  are  living, — two  sons,  Robert  S.  and 
James  E.,  and  three  daughters,  Virginia  C,  Eliz- 
abeth A.,  and  Ann  Olevia.  Virginia  C.  married 
Wm.  G.  Wilson,  and  Elizabeth  A.  married  Louis  G. 
Onion,  all  residing  in  Baltimore. 

Edward  Day  Onion  is  one  of  the  best-known  busi- 
ness men  of  enterprise  in  Baltimore.  Closely  atten- 
tive to  his  business,  and  correct  in  his  dealings,  he 
bears  a  most  excellent  character  in  the  business  com- 
munity, and  is  highly  esteemed  by  the  public  for  his 
many  fine  traits  of  character.  He  has  the  justly- 
merited  reputation  of  unimpeachable  integrity,  and 
in  the  social  relations  of  life  is  highly  valued  by  a 
large  circle  of  friends. 

Lumber  Trade. — The  navigable  waters  of  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,  extending  from  the  woodlands  of 
Pennsylvania  on  the  north  to  the  great  forests  of  the 
Carolinas  at  the  south,  the  railroad  lines  that  extend 
from  Baltimore  to  every  forest  as  well  as  grain  region 
of  the  country,  could  not  have  failed  to  make  this 
city  a  very  large  lumber-market.  The  numerous  in- 
dustries that  are  dependent  directly  and  indirectly 
upon  lumber  in  all  its  various  branches  aggregate 
nearly  four  hundred  establishments  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore.  For  their  consumption  over  three  hun- 
dred millions  of  feet  of  white  and  yellow  pine,  j)oplar, 
ash,  walnut,  oak,  and  other  woods  are  annually  re- 
ceived in  Baltimore.  This  is  also  a  great  market  for 
lumber  used  in  car  manufacturing  in  all  sections  of 
the  United  States.  The  building  trade  of  the  city, 
itself  very  large,  aUso  manufactures  lumber  for  ship- 
ping into  the  interior  as  well  as  to  foreign  ports ;  the 
furniture  trade,  in  its  many  divisions,  consumes  im- 
mense quantities  of  the  lighter  kinds;  mouldings, 
ovals,  picture-frames,  carriages  and  wagons,  wheel- 


wrights, ship-carpentering, box-manufactures  are  very 
extensively  conducted  in  this  city,  as  will  be  seen  by 
the  following  tables,  from  the  census  of  1880 : 

T,.i„.tr,-«.  v„  No.  of  Amt.  o(  Amt.  of  Val.  of  Val.of 

limuBlnes.  Ko.  ^^^^^  Capital.  Wages.  Material.  Products. 

Boxes,  ci(!ar 48  $10,100  $13,450  $23,327  $47,100 

packing 198  463  152,737  ir,2,a9fl  31S,SJ9  !)IJ2,222 

Carpentering    and 

building 79  1143  318,800  :;  J H'.  --iTI  1,122.126 

Carriages,  wagons .  65  626  297,7-5(1  j"    ,    I  i  .i,!l,379 

Cooperage 38  444  220,860  1  h  i  ..".s,068 

Furniture,  etc 56  1072  697,102  :.;,:-  ,    ,  ji.  I,,.:i2,438 

Looliing-glass,  etc.  29  395  109,3.50  ;)l,l..l  ll.,,.;c.  .;t,4,402 
Lumber,       planed 

and  sawed 4  62  61,000  22,699  168,200  204,462 

Patterns,  models...  3  3  1,450  2,050  1,700  ,      8,100 

Pumps 3  6  2,700  3,000  3,400  10,600 

Koofing  material...  15  147  198,425  46,636  81,000  207,654 

Sash,  doors,  blinds.  8  443  344.526  118,115  322,113  663,755 

Ship-building 18  540  96,950  110,556  140,009  309,988 

"    carpentering..  15  62  21,375  20,686  16,302  67,030 

Wheelwrighting ...  3  60  10,150  13,630  20,101  45,630 

Wood  carving 6  20  2,360  7,780  8,.545  24,700 

Woodenware 2  96  86,000  27,500  62,500  114,260 

Salt.' — The  port  of  Baltimore  possesses,  by  means 
of  her  steamer  lines,  equal  advantages  with  the  most 
favored  ports  elsewhere  for  the  importation  of  salt, 
and  her  extended  lines  of  railroad  offer  superior  ad- 
vantages for  distribution  to  interior  points.  Ship- 
ments are  made  directly  from  vessel  to  cars,  and  the 

1  The  dependence  of  the  colonies  upon  Great  Britain  is  well  illustrated 
in  the  following  account  of  the  difiiculties  and  embarrassments  that  at- 
tended, during  the  Revolution,  the  obtaining  of  this  prime  necessary 
of  life.  We  append  the  proceedings  of  a  public  meeting  and  the  or- 
ganization of  a  society  for  the  reduction  of  the  price  of  salt.  It  appeared 
in  the  Pemisylvania  Packet  and  General  AdcertUer  of  Nov.  2, 1779  : 

"  Baltimoee,  Oct.  26, 1779. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  society  for  reducing  the  price  of  salt,  etc.,  held 
for  the  first  time  at  the  Coffee  House  in  Baltimore  Town  on  Friday,  the 
15th  of  October,  1779,  Col.  John  Dorsey  was  elected  chairman  of  the  so- 
ciety ;  Mr.  James  Calhoun,  treasurer ;  and  Mr.  Robert  Buchanan,  secre- 
tary. Messrs.  William  Neil,  David  Stewart,  and  Mark  Pringle  were  ap- 
pointed to  retail  salt.  One  thousand  bushels  of  alum  salt,  imported,  had 
been  purchased  by  Mr.  Neil  at  £50  per  bushel.  Mr.  Caldwell,  desirous  of 
aiding  the  society,  had  given  £750  towards  defraying  the  expense  of  re- 
tailing the  salt  bought  of  Mr.  Neil.  It  was  resolved  '  That  the  purchase 
made  by  Mr.  Noil  is  approved  of,  and  that  the  salt  be  retailed  at  £50  per 
bushel,  the  original  cost.'  The  other  purchases  reported,  made  on  ac- 
count of  the  society,  aggregated  1100  bushels  at  £50  per  bushel.  The 
following  subscriptions  for  the  purchase  of  salt  were  then  made :  '  We, 
the  subscribers,  inhabitants  of  the  town  and  county  of  Baltimore,  view- 
ing with  great  concern  the  exorbitant  price  to  which  the  article  of  salt 
has  lately  risen,  and  apprehending  the  avarice  of  the  aggressors,  if  not 
speedily  and  vigorously  opposed,  will  soon  put  that  necessity  of  life  out 
of  the  reach  of  the  industrious  poor  both  in  town  and  county,  do  hereby 
associate  ourselves  together  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  the  price  of  salt 
and  to  prevent,  as  far  m  is  la  our  power,  the  evil  consequences  which 
must  ensue  to  the  community  at  large  from  the  pernicious  arts  of  specu- 
lators and  engrossers. 

"  •  To  attain  these  laudable  ends  we  do,  each  for  himself  engage  to  pay 
into  the  hands  of  a  treasurer,  to  be  appointed  by  the  society,  the  sums  of 
money  annexed  to  our  respective  names ;  this  money  to  be  expended  in 
purchasing  all  salt  which  may  arrive  at  the  port  of  Baltimore  in  the 
course  of  two  months,  which  shall  be  sold  out  in  small  quantities,  at  a 
price  barely  sufficient  to  pay  the  cost  and  such  expenses  as  may  neces- 
sarily attend  the  retailing  of  it.  Witness  our  hands  this  14th  day  of  Oc- 
tober, 1779. 

'"SigMwl:  S.  .V  It.  Pnrviance,  £10,000;  Wm.  Smith,  £5000;  Wm.  Willis, 

.£41111",    Mill.    Iiiii_l  ,    1. Daniel   Bowley,  £5000;  John  McCure, 

I'.'"       1         I "Ill    Hammond,  £4000;  Stephen  Stewart, 

.li  HI',        I  ,    I'hos.  Langton,  £1000;  Thos.  Barling, 

i;:;iiii'  i  a  i  ii  lin,^- >,.i  ii,,  t;iiuO;  Hugh  Young,  £5000;  James  Cal- 
houn, .tjuiiii;  Jonuthun  Hudson,  .£3000;  Richard  Carson,  £1000;  Mark 
Alexander,  £2000;  B.  &  A.  McKim,  £2000;  Matthew  Ridley,  SMOi); 
David  Stewart,  £6000;  Thos.  Russell,  £5000;  Hughes  &  Williamson, 
£200(1;  Gardner  H  Yates,  £2000;  John  Sterrett,  £1000;  Saml.  Smith, 
£2000;  Philip  Graybill,  £1000.    Total,  £93,000.'" 


^.^^2^ 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


393 


low  freights  secured  by  vessels  coming  to  Baltimore 
to  load  with  grain  have  extended  the  trade  in  salt  to 
the  proportions  exhibited  in  the  annexed  table  of  the 
imports  at  Baltimore  for  the  past  twelve  years : 

Liverpool.  Coastwise.  Bulk. 

Sacks.  Sacks.  Bushels. 

1880 33.3,637  2,000  185,000 

1879 409,758  173,357 

1.S7S 213,628  4,024  183,316 

1S77 290,166  12,355          89,301 

ISTC. 301,586  6.400  118,S04 

187"! 213,007  3,800  1G4,49J 

1874 2!;9.893  8,000  201,486 

1873 280,146  8,206  142,985 

1872 167,527  16,073  248,693 

1871 2113,872  7,088  101,413 

1870 149,112  1,815  122,667 

1860 136,674  16,367  104,763 

Fish. — The  Chesapeake  Bay,  teeming  with  fish 
suited  to  every  palate,  would  of  itself  constitute 
Baltimore  the  leading  fish-market  of  the  country. 
Its  bay  mackerel,  Potomac  herring,  its  shad,  drum, 
sheepshead,  taylor,  rock,  white  and  yellow  perch,  crabs, 
and  the  numerous  other  varieties  offer  greater  quantities 
and  more  decided  excellence  than  are  offered  by  any 
other  waters  of  this  country.  Not  only  the  home 
article  but  the  foreign  article  from  the  British  prov- 
inces find  their  best  distributing-point  at  Baltimore. 
The  annexed  table  exhibits  the  imports  and  receipts 
offish  for  1880,  as  compared  with  a  number  of  former 
years : 


Fbou 

r^r 

=f 

British  Provinces 

289 
16,654 

16,943 
12,237 
13,515 
15,696 
21,038 
27,485 
17,172 
17314 
15,630 
26,202 

1086 

New  England 



14,413 

15,499 
22,0.30 
23:366 

1878 

36,473 
14,858 
22,444 

20,767 
24,718 
36,755 

"       1875 

"       1874 

18,327 
9,769 
12,291 
12,474 


Manufactures. — While  commerce  was  encouraged 
by  the  policy  of  Great  Britain,  manufactures  in  the 
colonies  were  forbidden  and  repressed.  Hence  the 
former  grew  and  expanded  from  the  earliest  period 
of  the  city's  history,  while  the  latter  languished  until 
the  Eevolution  set  free  the  energy  and  enterprise  of 
the  people. 

There  existed  in  Baltimore  Town  as  early  as  1788 
a  linen-factory,  a  bleach-yard,  a  paper-mill,  a  slitting- 
machine,  a  card-factory,  and  two  nail-factories.  The 
manufactures  of  the  whole  country  received  an  im- 
petus from  the  action  of  "seven  hundred  of  the  me- 
chanics and  tradesmen  of  Baltimore,"  who  by  peti- 
tion to  Congress,  March,  1789,  called  attention  to  the 
decline  of  manufactures  and  trade  since  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  prayed  that  the  new  government  under  the  ' 


country,  "independent  in  ftict  as  well  as  name,"  would 
give  early  attention  to  the  encouragement  and  protec- 
tion of  American  manufactures,  by  imposing  on  "  all 
foreign  articles  which  could  be  made  in  America  such 
duties  as  would  give  preference  to  their  labor."  This 
was  indeed  the  origin  of  the  American  sy.stem  of  pro- 
tection to  home  industry.  The  first  Congress  re- 
sponded to  this  prayer  by  a  law,  the  preamble  of 
which  declared  that  it  was  "  necessary  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  government,  for  the  discharge  of  the  debt 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  encouragement  and  pro- 
tection of  manufactures,  that  duties  be  laid  on  goods, 
wares,  and  merchandise  imported." 

The  Athenian  Society  of  Baltimore  in  1809  was 
formed  for  the  deposit  and  sale  of  domestic  manufac- 
tures, the  officers  being  William  Haslett,  president; 
Joseph  Townsend,  John  Hillen,  William  McDonald, 
James  Wilson,  Luke  Tieinan,  Aaron  Levering,  and 
George  Decker,  directors,  with  Robert  McKim,  John 

D.  Craig,  Jerrard  T.  Hopkins,  Nathan  Levering, 
Isaac  Burneston,  Samuel  Harden,  John  Kipp,  A.  J. 
Schwartz,  James  Mosher,  Ghriste  Slemmer,  Isaac  N. 
Toy,  and  Lewis  Brantz,  premium  committee.  The 
Union  Manufacturing  Company  was  formed  in  1808, 
with  William  Patterson,  John  McKim,  John  Gill, 
Robert  McKim,  A.  J.  Schwartze,  William  Jones, 
Ludwick  Herring,  John  Trimble,  James  H.  MeCul- 
loh,  William  Wilson,  Benjamin  Ellicott,  and  Robert 
Gilmor,  directors.  The  American  Society  for  the 
Promotion  of  Domestic  Manufactures  and  National 
Industry  was  organized  Feb.  12,  1817,  with  Charles 
Ridgely,  of  Hampton,  president ;  John  E.  Howard 
and  William  Patterson,  vice-presidents ;  John  Gill, 
William  Gwynn,  secretaries;  Nathaniel  Williams 
and  W.  Winder,  counselors;  James  A.  Buchanan, 
Alexander  McKim,  William   Lormaii,  J.  C.  White, 

E.  W.  Gray,  J.  A.  Schwartze,  John  McKim,  Jr.,  Al- 
exander McDonald,  Isaac  Burneston,  Andrew  Elli- 
cott, and  Luke  Tiernan,  corresponding  committee. 
"The  Baltimore  Economical  Association"  was  organ- 
ized in  conformity  to  a  resolution  of  the  citizens  of 
Baltimore  in  1819,  with  William  Patterson,  president; 
Isaac  Burneston,  treasurer ;  L.  Mathews,  secretary ; 
James  Mosher,  N.  F.  Williams,  Alexander  McKim, 
A.  J.  Schwartze,  John  Hillen,  and  Luke  Tiernan,  di- 
rectors. At  the  great  Tariff  Convention  held  in  New 
York  in  183.5,  Baltimore  was  represented  by  thirty- 
seven  delegates  appointed  in  public  meeting,  at  which 
William  Stewart,  mayor,  presided.  The  names  were 
Luke  Tiernan,  Thomas  Ellicott,  Samuel  Moore,  John 
P.  Kennedy,  William  McDonald,  W.  W.  Taylor, 
John  McKim,  Jr.,  Christian  Keener,  Hezekiah  Niles, 
Joseph  K.  Stapleton,  William  Meeter,  James  Wil- 
liams, James  Wilson,  Sheppard  C.  Leakin,  James 
Howard,  Columbus  O'Donnell,  Math.  Kelly,  James 
Beacham,  Lewin  Wethered,  John  Glenn,  J.  B.  Mor- 
ris, John  Kelso,  Jesse  Hunt,  S.  D.  Walker,  R.  H. 
Jones,  George  Rogers,  Joseph  W.  Patterson,  R.  C. 
Colt,  Isaac  Tyson,  Jr.,  R.  L.  Hollins,  H.  W.  Evans, 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE  CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Joseph  Beatty,  John  T.  Barr,  H.  Boyle,  E.  L.  Finley, 
Evan  T.  EUicott,  and  James  W.  McCulloh.  In  1842 
"  the  friends  of  Home  Industry"  in  Baltimore  again 
rallied  in  an  imposing  meeting  at  the  Exchange,  with 
James  Harwood,  president;  B.  H.  Richardson,  Peter 
Leary,  Benjamin  Deford,  J.  G.  Davis,  L.  B.  Cully, 
Hucii  Birckhead,  Thomas  Williams,  O.  C.  Tiffany, 
John  Dushane,  Thomas  Sewell,  Robert  Howard, 
Christian  Kaborg,  John  Watchman,  and  Charles 
Reeder,  vice-presidents ;  and  B.  C.  Sanders,  Richard 
Lilly,  George  Rogers,  and  John  L.  Carey,  secretaries. 
Thus,  upon  every  principle  of  succession,  the  pres- 
ent generation  of  citizens  of  Baltimore  inherit  the 
zeal  and  spirit  of  a  manufacturing  community.  With 
far-reaching  lines  of  railroad  to  bring  the  raw  ma- 
terial and  to  distribute  the  manufactured  articles, 
with  water-power  abundant  and  convenient,  with 
cheap  coal  for  the  generation  of  steam,  with  cheap 
labor,  an  orderly  population,  and  with  exemption 
from  burdensome  taxation,  Baltimore  offers  to  manu- 
facturers more  inducements  and  encouragements  than 
any  other  city.  Mayor  Latrobe,  in  his  message  of 
Jan.  8,  1877,  very  properly  remarks,  '"  We  should  re- 
member that  it  is  not  commerce  alone,  but  commerce 
and  manufactures  together,  that  will  insure  the  future 
prosperity  of  the  community.  While,  therefore,  we 
are  deepening  the  harbor,  and  thus  making  available 
the  natural  advantages  of  our  short  lines  to  the  West, 
let  us  lend  a  helping  hand  to  those  people  who, 
profiting  by  our  cheap  coal,  healthy  climate,  plentiful 
supply  of  water,  low  rents,  and  cheap  living,  would 
establish  in  Baltimore  the  great  manufacturing  es- 
tablishments that  have  built  up  Philadelphia  and 
neighboring  communities.  But  we  can  never  have 
manufactures  unless,  by  a  change  in  our  existing  laws, 
we  offer  similar  inducements  to  capitalists  as  are  ten- 
dered them  elsewhere."  The  City  Council,  in  response 
to  this  message,  provided  for  the  appointment  of  a 
'■  commission  on  the  establishment  of  manufactures," 
whose  report,  after  exhaustively  examining  the  whole 
subject,  recommended :  1.  The  exemption  of  "  plant" 
and  machinery  from  city  taxation  for  a  period  of  five 
years;  2.  A  drawback  from  present  water-rates  of 
seventy-five  percent,  of  the  total  consumption  of  water 
for  which  they  are  charged ;  3.  A  general  reduction 
of  water-rates  to  the  extent  of  twenty-five  per  cent. ;' 
4.  A  special  tax  on  insurance  agencies ;  and  suggested 
the  modification  of  State  legislation  so  as  to  distribute 
and  equalize  taxation  throughout  the  State.  Some  of 
these  recommendations  have  now  assumed  the  shape 
of  law,  and  the  plant  and  machinery  of  manufacturing 
establishments  have  been  expressly  exempted  from 
taxation.  Water-rates  have  also  been  reduced,  and 
the  new  supply  of  water  from  the  Gunpowder  adds 
largely  to  the  manufacturing  facilities  and  advantages 
of  the  city. 

>  The  price  of  water  to  those  using  meters  has  been  reduced  from 
fifteen  cenu  to  eight  cents  per  thousand  gallons,  so  that  the  rate  to'man- 
ufacturers  is  really  nominal. 


Oysters,  Fruit,  and  Vegetable  Packing.— Dis- 
tinct and  separate  as  these  subjects  are,  yet  in  trade 
they  are  united  and  complete  the  work  of  the  year. 
In  fall  and  winter  the  oyster  is  manipulated,  and 
spring  and  summer  fruit  and  vegetables  are  canned 
in  the  same  establishment.  This  combination  has 
developed  a  trade  and  business  in  Baltimore  for 
which  she  has  no  rival  and  never  can  have  a  success- 
ful competitor.  Ample  capital,  long  experience,  and 
abundant  labor  have   contributed  to  build  up  this 

,  trade  to  immense  proportions,  until  in  all  its  many 
branches  of  growing,  gathering,  transporting,  pick- 
ing, preparing,  canning,  and  shipping  it  is  believed 
that  fifty  thousand  persons  are  employed.  One  thou- 
sand  schooners   and    three   thousand   five   hundred 

I  smaller  boats  are  employed  in  oystering  during  the 
fall  and  winter,  the  greater  proportion  of  which  in 
summer  and  fall  are  engaged  in  transporting  fruit 
and  vegetables. 

The  oyster  trade  has  two  divisions,  that  of  packing 
the  raw  oyster  for  early  though  not  immediate  con- 
sumption, and  the  partially  cooked  for  transportation 
and  deferred  consumption.  In  both  trades  they  are 
hermetically  sealed  in  tin  cans.  This  latter  article, 
indispensable  to  this  trade,  has  also  immense  de- 
velopment, reaching  to  20,000,000  of  cans. 

Several  of  the  packing-houses  are  also  manufac- 
turers of  their  own  cans  and  cases,  as  well  as  burners 
of  the  shells,  and  thus  manufacturers  of  lime ;  the 
extent  of  the  last-mentioned  branch  may  be  estimated 
from  the  fact  that  one  establishment  has  made  600,000 
bushels  of  pure  white  lime  in  a  year. 

The  packing  of  fruit  and  vegetables,  as  well  as  the 
manufacture  of  preserves,  sauces,  catsups,  and  pickles, 
all  belong  to  this  branch  of  the  trade.  In  1868  the 
capital  employed  was  estimated  at  §9,000,000,  and  in 
1880  at  $30,000,000.  The  different  modes  of  classifi- 
cation adopted  in  the  census  prevent  the  combined 
capital  actually  employed  in  this  business  from  being 
stated  with  any  accuracy.     Inquiry  among  those  best 

I  acquainted  with  the  trade  has  fixed  the  amount  at  the 

1  figures  given  above. 

Among  the  packers  of  oysters,  fruits,  and  vege- 
tables is  the  house  of  Piatt  &  Co.,  the  head  of  which 
is  Sandy  Beach  Piatt,  who  was  born  in  Milford,  New 
Haven  Co.,  Conn.,  Sept.  6,  1812.     He  is  the  son  of 

I  Elanson  Piatt,  born  in  Milford,  Conn.,  in  1790.  His 
mother  was  Betsy  Ward  Beach,  born  in  Milford, 
Conn.,  in  1791.  His  grandfather,  Isaac  Piatt,  resided 
in  Milford,  Conn.,  and  was  noted  for  his  active  interest 
in  town.  State,  and  national  affairs.  On  the  maternal 
side  Mr.  Piatt's  grandfather  was  a  farmer.  His  great- 
grandfather, for  whom  he  was  named,  belonged  to  the 
coast-guard  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and 
had  a  record  of  many  daring  exploits,  although  he 
was  then  sixty  years  of  age.  He  lived  to  the  age  of 
ninety-seven  years.  Mr.  Piatt  married  Harriet  Hem- 
mingway,  who  was  born  in  East  Haven,  Conn.  Her 
ancestors  landed  in  New  England  with  Bradford's 


'^^. 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES  AND   MANUFACTURES. 


395 


colony.  Mr.  Piatt  was  educated  at  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  State;  and  is  a  Congregationalist  in  re- 
ligion, in  politics  was  an  Old-Line  Whig.  He  served 
as  quartermaster  on  the  regimental  stafi"  of  the  Second 
Kegiment  of  the  Connecticut  militia  in  1835,  183(5, 
and  1837.  Mr.  Piatt  was  educated  as  an  architect  and 
builder,  in  which  business  he  continued  until  1848. 
He  then  commenced  his  present  business,  that  of 
oyster  and  fruit  packing.  He  first  engaged  in  the 
business  in  New  York.  In  1849  he  removed  to 
Chicago,  and  established  himself  in  business  there  at 
the  corner  of  Clark  and  South  Water  Streets,  receiving 
his  oysters  part  of  the  route  by  stage,  the  railroads  not 
then  connecting,  and  by  sledges  to  Milwaukee,  trips 
only  being  made  in  the  winter  season.  In  1852  he 
made  Buftalo,  N.  Y.,  his  distributing-point,  on  account 
of  railroad  facilities  and  lake  communications  to  the 
West  and  Southwest.  In  1858,  the  trade  having  in- 
creased to  such  an  extent  that  the  supply  began  to 
.  fail  from  New  Haven  waters,  he  was  compelled  to  seek 
a  better  source  of  supply,  and  went  to  Seaford,  Del.,  at 
the  head  of  navigation  of  the  Nanticoke,  then  famous 
for  oysters. 

lu  1864  he  moved  to  Baltimore  City  to  avail  himself 
of  the  fine  oysters  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  added  to  the 
fresh  oyster  business  that  of  canning  fruits  and  vege- 
tables, as  well  as  oysters  hermetically  sealed,  which 
found  a  ready  market  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Mr. 
Piatt  has  continued  in  the  business  in  Baltimore  in 
connection  with  his  two  sons,  H.  S.  Piatt,  who  is  now 
president  of  the  Union  Oyster  Company,  of  Baltimore, 
and  William  S.  Piatt,  who  manages  the  business  of 
Piatt  &  Co.,  and  has  succeeded  in  building  up  a  large 
trade,  his  brands  being  familiar  to  the  entire  trade. 
Mr.  Piatt's  eldest  son,  L.  B.  Piatt,  Jr.,  is  a  minister 
in  the  Congregational  Church.  Another  son,  James 
B.  Piatt,  who  was  connected  with  his  father  in  busi- 
ness and  was  well  known  in  Baltimore  and  other 
cities,  died  in  1873.  He  has  two  daughters,  Harriet 
M.  Piatt  and  Jennie  E.  Piatt. 

Thomas  J.  Myer,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  oyster 
and  fruit  packing  business  in  Baltimore,  was  born  in 
this  city,  Nov.  23,  1820.  His  father  was  Thomas 
Myer,  born  in  this  city,  March  21,  1788,'  and  his 
mother  was  Anna  Ringgold,  born  in  Kent  Island, 
Queen  Anne  Co.,  Md. 

Thomas  Myer,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  the  son  of  Jacob  Myer  and  Mary  Welsh. 
Jacob  Myer  was  the  son  of  John  Jeremiah  Mayer  and 
Anne  Schley,  and  was  born  in  Frederick,  Md.  J.J. 
Mayer  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  that  place, 
and  came  from  Frankfort-on-the-Main.  The  original 
family  name  was  Mayer,  and  John  J.  changed  it  to 
Myer.  Mary  Welsh  was  the  daughter  of  Charles 
Welsh,  of  Baltimore,  and  was  born  in  this  city. 
Anna  Ringgold,  the  mother  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Jacob  Ringgold  and 
Rebecca  Kirby,  of  Kent  Island,  Md.  Mrs.  Myer  is 
the  daughter  of  William   Shriver  and  Mary  M.  J. 


Owens,  of  Union  Mills,  Carroll  Co.,  Md.  She  was 
born  May  3,  1829.  Her  father  was  William  Shriver, 
son  of  Andrew  Shriver  and  Elizabeth  Schultz.  He 
was  born  at  Union  Mills,  Dec.  25,  1796,  where  he  re- 
sided until  his  death,  June  11,  1879.  Her  mother 
was  the  daughter  of  James  Owens,  of  Baltimore,  and 
was  born  in  this  city,  Aug.  29, 1808,  and  is  now  living 
at  the  homestead  at  Union  Mills. 

Mr.  Myer  was  educated  at  the  best  schools  of  the 
day,  including  the  old  City  College,  and  commenced 
his  business  career  at  the  age  of  seventeen  in  a 
grocery-house  on  Light  Street  wharf  at  a  small  salary, 
and  after  filling  another  situation  without  any  better 
pecuniary  return,  determined  to  quit  Baltimore  and 
try  his  fortunes  in  the  South.  He  arrived  in  Natchez, 
Miss.,  January,  1840,  without  money,  but  was  fortu- 
nate in  obtaining  immediately  a  situation  in  a  cotton 
commission  house.  In  1843,  having  made  some 
savings  from  his  salary,  he  went  to  New  Orleans,  and 
started  on  his  own  account  a  grain  business,  in  which 
he  accumulated  about  $4000,  with  which  he  returned 
to  Baltimore  in  1847,  to  be  with  his  father,  who  died 
in.  1848.  He  commenced  with  the  brick  business  in 
Baltimore,  and  then  tried  the  hardware,  but  both 
being  very  slow,  and  requiring  close  work  to  keep 
ahead,  he  began  the  oyster  and  fruit  packing,  in 
which  he  has  been  eminently  successful.  In  religion 
he  is  a  Catholic,  though  his  parents  were  Protestant 
Episcopalians.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  but  has 
never  had  any  aspirations  for  oflice  of  any  kind.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Metropolitan  Savings- 
Bank.  He  was  married  Jan.  21,  1850,  and  his  wife  is 
yet  living.  They  have  had  nine  children,  viz. :  Anna, 
married  to  F.  S.  Willson,  Jan.  21, 1873,  and  died  Dec. 
19,  1873 ;  William  S.,  married  to  Mary  J.,  daughter  of 
D.  J.  Foley,  April  26,  1881 ;  Thomas  R.,  Albert  T., 
Mary  J.,  Elizabeth,  Constance,  Robert  J.,  and  Anna, 
all  of  whom  are  living. 

Oysters,  Feuits,  and  Veoetables,  Canneh. 

iKsn  Wn  No.  of    Amt.  of  Amt.  ol 

issu.  JNO.  g^^jjg     Capital.  W».ff™. 
Oysters,  fruits, 

etc 45  14,296    81,980,450  8820,035    ?3,902,200    $5,262,568 

Preserves  aud 

sauces 6            48          21,410  10,276  21,011           46,199 

The  number  of  boats  and  vessels  licensed  by  the 
State  for  the  oyster  trade  is  shown  by  the  following 
tables,  compiled  from  the  books  of  the  comptroller's 
oflice  at  Annapolis  : 


Fiscal  Year. 

1  Number 

Aggregate  Ton- 

Amount  of  License 

of  Boats. 

Paid  by  Same. 

1870-71 ~ 

..[         627 

13,862.49 

$41,587.46 

30,227.73 

]'.<:i-.:.    

583 

14,118.53 

42,355.58 

49,837,46 

37,408.39 

10,391.10 

31,173.29 

1         '" 

6,202.17 

18,606.50 

Total 

..        5722 

132,506.81 

8391,617.40 

396 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  value  of  these  dredging-boats  is  set  down  at 
$1,050,000,  which,  with  the  value  of  the  winders, 
dredges,  etc.,  added,  would  amount  to  11,120,000. 
The  scraping-boats  number  550,  and  employ  2200 
men ;   in  addition  there  are  300  unlicensed  boats. 

The  pay  of  the  men  employed  averages  eighteen 
dollars  per  month  for  seven  and  a  half  months,  or 
$297,000  for  the  time  employed.  There  are  5148 
tong-men,  using  1828  canoes,  and  200  boats  called 
"runners." 

Summary  of  investments : 

700  dredgers,  at  $160(1 $1,050,000 

Oiltflt  for  same 70,000 

5S0  ecrapera,  at  S8(Kl 440,000 

200  runners,  at  $161X1 300,000 

1825  canoes,  at  $100 182,500 

$2,042,500 
$162,000 


3275 


The  annual  wages  paid  are  as  follows  : 


5,600      wages $916,300 

2.200  "      297,000 

5,148  "     1,158,000 


Total 13,748 


82,538,1) 


With  four  persons  dependent  upon  every  oyster- 
man,  there  are  54,992  persons  dependent  upon  this 
trade  in  Maryland. 

There  are  two  hundred  vessels  employed  in  the 
shipments  of  oysters  in  shell  for  eight  months  of  the 
year.     The  following  is  the  summary  of  the  trade : 


To 

For  Planting. 
Bushels. 

For  Immediate 

Consumption. 

Bushels. 

Total. 
Bushels. 

9,(WI 
66,000 

110,000 

75,000 
50,000 

30,000 
80;000 

84,000 
116,000 

140,000 
80  000 

Fair  Haven,  Conn 

Providence     and    Provi- 
dence River 

Boston 

488,800 

488,800 
162,960 

200,000 
650,000 
100,000 

162,960 
200,000 

Seaford,  Del.,  for  packing 



673,880 

597,960 

2,021,840 

Summary  op  Peesons  and  Wages. 

Men  employ.  1    ii  v,  ii.l;     13,748     wages $2,538,000 

Emploves  "f  !  I  I  1       !■  '  -        8,639  "     777,779 

Oan-maktr- ,1    i  il       ikiiien 700         "    256,000 

Prepariiit:  I   I  '       i  !.|ii.u 1,290         "    248,802 

Individual  i'.i  !■(-  225  

34,602  $3,820,621 

with  83,.S45  persons  depending  upon  the  trade  for 
their  annual  .support. 

Confectionery,  Candy,  and  Foreign  Fruits. — In 
the  maiuil'acture  of  confectionery  and  candies  in  this 
city  there  are  thirty-seven  establishments,  employing 
one  hundred  and  twenty-one  hands,  with  capital 
amounting  to  one  million  dollars,  and  giving  employ- 
ment to  more  than  five  hundred  employes. 

The  trade  in  foreign  fruits  is  also  very  large,  em- 
bracing the  Mediterranean  and  West  India  ports, 
oranges  and  lemons  from  Florida  and  Sicily,  almonds 


and  raisins  from  Malaga,  raisins  from  Valencia,  cur- 
rants, citron,  figs,  dates,  prunes,  sardines,  Canton 
ginger,  together  with  French  candies  and  conserves. 

The  manufactures  of  these  articles  in  Baltimore  en- 
joy an  enviable  reputation,  and  the  trade  therein  is 
extending  throughout  the  South  and  West.  Pure 
sugar  is  used  exclusively,  and  adulteration  with  terra 
alba,  barytes,  and  other  noxious  ingredients,  so  ex- 
tensively employed  elsewhere,  is  carefully  avoided. 
To  every  variety  of  candy  and  conserves  there  has 
lately  been  added  the  manufacture  of  fruit-butters, 
jellies,  canned  fruits,  and  cigars.  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey,  Maryland,  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  Ohio, 
North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Florida  are 
the  markets  for  the  manufacture  of  Baltimore  sweet 
goods. 

Among  the  largest  and  most  reliable  houses  in 
Baltimore  engaged  in  this  trade  is  that  of  T.  A.  Bryan 
&  Co.,  successors  to  Summers  &  Bryan.  This  old 
firm  began  business  fifty  years  ago  in  a  small  house  • 
at  the  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Liberty  Streets,  and 
the  present  spacious  establishment  of  the  successors, 
on  Baltimore  Street  near  Eutaw,  is  a  monument  to 
honest  and  intelligent  enterprise. 

Cracker  Bakeries. — The  manufacture  of  crackers, 
formerly  a  slow  and  arduous  business,  has,  through 
improved  machinery,  passed  from  the  hands  and  feet 
of  manual  labor  into  that  of  machinery,  where  clean- 
liness is  possible.  In  Baltimore  all  the  changes  from 
the  old  mode  of  hand-made  crackers  to  that  of  ma- 
chinery have  taken  place,  and  now  the  outlay  of 
millions  of  dollars  in  plant  and  machinery  and  the 
employment  of  many  hundred  persons  marks  the  pro- 
gress made  on  this  part  of  the  staff  of  life.  In  1820, 
Richard  C.  Mason  established  a  small  bakery  near 
the  Basin,  where  flour  and  water  were  put  in  a  trough 
and  mixed  by  hand ;  a  cloth  was  thrown  over  the 
dough  of  "our  daddies,"  and  a  number  of  men  with 
bare  feet,  and  all  that  they  imply,  would  tread  it  into 
a  solid  mass,  after  which  it  was  placed  upon  a  plat- 
form, and  a  long  razor-blade,  worked  by  a  man's  feet, 
was  used  to  cut  and  knead  it.  It  was  then  flattened 
and  cut  into  shape  by  hand,  and  baked  in  hand-ovens. 
This  Richard  C.  Mason  was  born  at  Watertown,  Mass., 
in  1783,  and  removed  to  Baltimore  in  1816.  Mr.  Ma- 
son traces  his  ancestors  through  five  generations  to 
Capt.  Hugh  Mason,  who,  with  his  wife  Esther,  sailed 
from  Ipswich,  England,  in  the  bark  "  Francis,"  John 
Cutting,  master,  April,  1634,  and  received  his  com- 
mission of  captain  from  Governor  Endicott  in  1652, 
at  which  time  he  settled  at  Watertown.  Capt.  Hugh 
Mason's  son  Nehemiah  was  the  father  of  Hugh  Ma- 
son the  second,  who  left  three  sons,  the  youngest  of 
whom  was  R.  C.  Mason,  the  founder  of  the  ship-bread 
and  cracker  bakery  now  conducted  by  his  son,  James 
D.  Mason,  who,  having  received  a  practical  education, 
entered  business  at  a  very  early  age,  and  soon  worked 
his  way  into  the  confidence  and  respect  of  all  classes 
of  the  communitv.     Mr.  Mason  has  been  twice  mar- 


T.   A.  BRYAN    &    CO, 
351  BALTIMOEE  STREET,  BALTIMORE,  MD. 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTEIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


397 


ried.  His  first  wife  was  Mary  Dent,  of  this  city,  and 
his  second  wife  was  Mary  Cooke,  of  Philadelphia. 
He  has  three  sons,  all  connected  with  him  in  his 
bakery  business,  and  one  daughter.  He  has  long 
been  a  member  of  Washington  Lodge  of  Free  and  j 
Accepted  Masons,  and  is  now  treasurer  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Maryland. 

Fertilizers. — As  Baltimore  was  the  first  city  in  the 
Union  to  import  Peruvian  guano,  which  trade  began 
in  1832,  so  her  manufacturers  are,  fifty  years  after- 
wards, the  largest  and  among  the  best  and  most  reli- 
able compounders  of  artificial  or  chemical  fertilizers. 
The  arrival  of  the  first  cargo  of  Peruvian  guano  in 
Baltimore  in  1832  may  be  regarded  as  the  beginning 
of  a  new  era  in  agriculture.     Experiments  to  deter- 
mine the  value  and  uses  of  this  novel  manure  led  to  \ 
discoveries  of  great  importance  in  other  directions. 
An  impulse  was  given  to  analyses  of  soils,  and  land- 
holders were  taught  the  characteristics  of  the  proper- 
ties they  owned  and  the  proper  methods  of  utilizing 
them.     Progress  was  slow  for  a  time  and  incredulity  I 
great,  but  the  steady  success  of  those  engaged  in  the 
handling  of  fertilizers  encouraged  others,  and  in  1858 
John  Kettlewell,  then  naval  ofiicer  of  the  port,  asso-  [ 
ciated  himself  with  John  S.  Keese  &  Co.  in  the  prep-  j 
aration  of  artificial  manures.     A  factory  equipped  I 
with  suitable  machinery  was  erected,  and  the  manu- 
facture of  what  was  becoming  a  great  commercial 
staple  was  begun  on  an  extended  scale. 

The  imports  of  Peruvian  guano  at  Baltimore  in 
1849  were  2700  tons;  in  1850,  6800;  in  1851,  25,000; 
and  in  1854,  58,927.  From  this  beginning  the  indus- 
try has  developed,  until  at  present  (1881)  there  are 
in  Baltimore  27  factories,  representing  a  capital  of 
$5,000,000,  giving  employment  to  2500  persons,  dis- 
bursing annually  to  employes  $1,500,000,  expending 
in  the  purchase  of  materials  $3,554,945,  and  producing 
annually  values  amounting  to  $5,419,358.  The  ag- 
gregate product  of  these  factories  for  the  year  1880 
was  280,000  tons  of  fertilizers,  or  more  than  half  the 
amount  annually  consumed  in  the  United  States.  Thus 
the  manufacture  of  fertilizers  ranks  only  second  in  im- 
portance of  all  the  manufactures  in  this  city.  Until 
within  a  recent  period  Baltimore  fertilizers  found 
their  chief  market  in  the  South,  but  many  of  them  are 
now  used  in  Ohio,  and  the  high-pressure  farming  in 
parts  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Iowa  has  created  a  de- 
mand for  them  which  Baltimore  manufacturers  find 
it  difficult  at  times  to  supply,  and  which  has  not  in- 
frequently tasked  to  their  utmost  the  resources  of  the 
transportation  companies. 

Guano  as  a  fertilizer  has  been  greatly  superseded 
by  the  manufactured  article,  and  it  is  used  now  almost 
entirely  as  an  ingredient  in  manufacture,  rather  than 
applied  directly  to  the  land.  Chemical  analysis  has 
'  taught  the  wants  of  plants,  and  shown  how  these  wants 
can  be  best  applied  in  their  proper  proportions  and 
of  their  proper  ingredients.  Hence  manipulated  ma- 
nures have  come  into  most  extensive  use,  their  manu- 


facture requiring  the  highest  scientific  acquirements. 
In  all  these  respects  the  manures  of  Baltimore  houses 
have  been  found  by  long  and  thorough  trial  to  be 
superior  to  those  of  any  other  city.  Adulteration  is  so 
easily  practiced,  and  its  discovery  so  distant  and  dif- 
ficult, that  the  personal  character  of  the  manufac- 
turer is  necessarily  greatly  relied  on  for  a  genuine 
and  properly  compounded  article.  In  this  respect, 
also,  the  manufacturers  of  manures  in  this  city  are 
not  behind  those  of  any  community." 

The  ingredients  used  in  the  manufacture  of  these 
manures  are  exceedingly  varied,  and  are  brought 
from  all  portions  of  the  globe, — mineral  phosphates 
from  Spain,  France,  England,  Canada,  South  Caro- 
lina; tankage  from  the  West;  fish-scrap,  or  dried  fish, 
bone-black,  ground  bone,  desiccated  bone,  brimstone, 
from  Sicily ;  Peruvian,  Navassa,  and  Mexican  guanos, 
and  kainit  and  other  potash  salts  from  Germany. 
All  of  these  are  made  available  by  solution  in  acids 
of  proper  strength,  ammoniac  and  phosphoric  acids 
being  the  most  valuable  to  the  soil  and  in  the  pro- 
duction of  crops. 

The  practical  benefits  to  agriculture  resulting  from 
the  use  of  these  fertilizers  can  be  scarcely  overesti- 
mated. Millions  of  acres  of  waste  and  abandoned 
land  have  been  restored  to  cultivation  through  their 
use,  and  the  productive  power  of  millions  more  has 
been  quadrupled  through  their  agency.  The  increase 
in  the  cotton  production  of  the  South  is  said  to  be 
mainly  due  to  the  general  use  of  these  fertilizers,  so 
that  the  phrase  "  no  guano,  no  crop,"  has  almost  be- 
come a  proverb  with  the  Southern  planter. 

The  increasing  importance  of  this  trade  has  re- 
cently led  to  the  organization  of  "The  Chemical  and 
Fertilizer  Exchange  of  Baltimore  City,"  the  object  of 
which  is  "  to  advance  the  commercial  character  and 
promote  the  general  agricultural  interests,  and  es- 
pecially those  of  the  trade  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture, importation,  and  merchandizing  of  agricultural 
chemicals,  fertilizing  materials,  and  guanos."  The 
officers  of  the  Exchange  for  1881  are  as  follows :  Presi- 
dent, K.  W.  L.  Rasin;  Vice-President,  William  Orem ; 
Treasurer,  W.  S.  Powell ;  Directors,  Winfield  S.  Du- 
nan,  R.  W.  L.  Rasin,  William  Morris  Orem,  William 
J.  Davison,  Robert  Ober,  B.  N.  Baker,  and  W.  S. 
Powell;  Secretary,  A.  de  Ghequier.  The  offices  of 
the  Exchange  are  in  the  Rialto  Building,  on  Second 
Street. 

Mr.  Rasin,  the  president  of  the  Exchange,  is  de- 

1  It  is  believed  that  the  elder  Booth,  the  great  tragedian,  was  the  first 
person  in  Maryland  to  use  bones  as  a  fertilizer.  His  house  was  about 
three  miles  northeast  of  Belair,  in  Harford  County,  and  in  1826-27  he 
advertised  in  the  Bond  of  ViiUm,  published  in  Belair,  offering  to  pay  cash 
for  all  bones  brought  to  his  house.  Money  being  scarce  and  bones  being 
plenty  in  those  days,  he  was  soon  iu  receipt  of  a  very  large  supply. 
Carts,  wagons,  baskets,  and  even  aprons  on  old  women  were  soon  seen 
wending  their  way  to  his  mansion,  and  an  enormous  pile  of  bones  was 
very  soon  accumulated.  These  the  great  tragedian  pounded,  burnt,  and 
crushed,  as  the  best  mode  of  extracting  that  "  good  oft  interred  with  their 
bones,"  of  which  he  had  so  often  appealed  to  "Friends,  Romans,  and 
countrymen." 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


sccnded  from  a  French  family,  one  branch  of  which 
was  among  the  pioneers  in  the  settlement  of  Mary- 
land, his  great-grandfather,  William  Rasin,  having 
settled  on  Kent  Island  in  the  third  decade  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  He  represented  his  county  in 
the  General  Assembly  of  1757,  and  was  a  vestryman 
of  Chester  Parish.  His  son  was  William  Blackiston 
Hasin,  who  at  sixteen  years  of  age  enlisted  as  a 
jirivate  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  rose  to  the  rank 
of  captain,  and,  as  an  ensign,  was  one  of  the  gallant 
Maryland  line  at  the  battle  of  Camden,  where  he  was 
the  only  color-bearer  who  brought  his  flag  off  the 
field.  In  the  third  generation  following  William 
Rasin  was  Robert  Wilson  Rasin,  who  married  Mary 
Rebecca  Ringgold  and  left  two  sons,  R.  W.  L.  Rasin, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  Isaac  Freeman  Rasin, 
the  present  clerk  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
for  Baltimore  City.  On  the  mother's  side  the  de- 
scent is  from  Thomas  Ringgold,  Lord  of  Hunting- 
field,  who  came  from  England  to  America,  and  in 
1650  settled  on  Kent  Island  with  his  two  sons,  James 
and  John.  He  was  a  member  of  the  courts  as  far 
back  as  1651,  and  in  1652  was  commissioned  under 
Oliver  Cromwell's  protectorate  for  the  decision  of  all 
matters  in  dispute  in  the  English  colonies  in  the 
Chesapeake  Bay;  he  and  sixty-five  others  pledging 
themselves  to  be  true  to  the  commonwealth  of  Eng- 
land without  king  or  House  of  Lords. 

The  grandmother  of  R.  W.  L.  Rasin  was  Phcebe 
Wilson  Rasin,  who  was  connected  on  her  mother's 
side  with  the  family  of  Gouverneur  Morris,  the  friend 
of  George  Washington,  and  the  moneyed  assistant  of 
the  Revolutionary  cause.  Mr.  Rasin  was  born  atCour- 
sey's  Point,  Queen  Anne's  Co.,  Md.,  Oct.  27, 1836,  and 
ten  years  afterwards  the  family  removed  to  Baltimore. 
It  was  his  destiny  to  enter  within  a  few  years  the  busi- 
ness of  the  nuuiutacture  and  sale  of  fertilizers,  which 
he  has  never  since  abandoned.  He  held  positions 
in  the  offices  of  the  Philadelphia  Guano  Company 
and  the  Sombrero  Guano  Company,  and  later  on  be- 
came connected  with  Capt.  Edward  K.  Cooper,  the 
discoverer  and  owner  of  Navassa  Island  and  its  vast 
guano  deposits,  and  went  to  the  island  as  manager 
of  the  work.  Subsequently  it  was  sold  to  the  Na- 
vassa Phosphate  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Rasin  was 
made  the  general  agent.  In  1872  he  resigned  the 
position,  his  own  extensive  business  in  fertilizers  de- 
manding his  entire  time  and  attention.  Besides  in- 
troducing various  fertilizers  into  the  United  States, 
he. brought  the  Navassa  and  Sombrero  guanos  to 
the  notice  of  European  agriculturists,  and  also  per- 
fected a  plan  for  the  utilization  of  the  meat  and  bone 
refuse  from  the  great  slaughter-houses  of  the  West 
and  Texas,  whereby  the  once  unvalued  materials 
have  been  converted  into  the  base  of  the  bone  and 
nitrogenous  ingredients  that  unite  to  make  up  the 
best  class  of  fertilizers.  With  the  firm-title  of  R.  W. 
L.  Rasin  &  Co.,  he  and  Capt.  Cooper,  his  partner, 
now  have  a  factory  that  has   not  a  superior  in  the 


world.  It  covers  an  area  of  nearly  two  acres  at  the 
corner  of  Covington  and  Cross  Streets,  in  South  Bal- 
timore. The  crude  phosphates  are  manipulated  by 
machinery  which  is  a  marvel  of  power  and  economy 
of  labor,  and  when  they  are  turned  into  fertilizers  a 
warehouse  with  a  capacity  of  five  thousand  ton.s  ac- 
commodates the  storage.  A  third  building  contains 
the  chemicals,  of  which  an  immense  amount  is  used. 
The  present  capacity  of  the  factory  is  about  thirty- 
six  thousand  tons  per  annum.  The  products  of  the 
factory  are  sent  all  over  the  country,  and  there  has 
been  such  a  demand  for  them  in  the  South  that  the 
firm  has  found  it  necessary  to  establish  a  branch 
house  in  Atlanta,  Ga.  Mr.  Rasin  has  a  refined  taste 
for  horticulture,  and  in  1873  he  and  a  few  other  gen- 
tlemen of  similar  inclination  resuscitated  the  Mary- 
land Horticultural  Society,  at  whose  monthly  and 
annual  exhibitions  can  be  seen  a  display  of  plants 
and  flowers  not  rivaled  by  any  other  city  in  the 
United  States.  The  grounds  around  his  summer  resi- 
dence, "  Athol,"  a  few  miles  out  of  town,  are  beauti- 
fully furnished  with  rare  annual  and  perennial  shrubs 
and  flowers.  In  the  conservatory  there  is  the  floral 
wealth  of  the  tropics ;  a  grape-house  contains  the 
finest  varieties  of  vines  ;  the  green-house  overflows 
with  indigenous  and  exogenous  plants ;  and  the  fern- 
ery is  a  bower  of  luxuriant  beauty.  Mr.  Rasin  has 
imported  from  the  West  Indies  a  new  variety  of  cen- 
tury plant,  which,  in  compliment  to  him,  was  named 
by  Mr.  Smith,  the  botanist  of  the  United  States  con- 
servatories at  Washington,  Agave  Easinii.  The 
"Rocky"  fountain  at  Athol  is  made  up  of  slag  from 
iron  furnaces,  and  tiie  pockets  of  the  rocks  are  filled 
with  superb  specimens  of  growing  native  ferns.  Mr. 
Rasin  has  a  luxurious  city  residence  on  Hamilton  Ter- 
race, North  Eutaw  Street,  and,  with  his  brother,  owns 
the  "  Old  Field  Point"  estate  in  Kent  County,  on  the 
Sassafras  River,  which  has  been  held  by  the  family 
for  two  centuries.  He  is  treasurer  of  the  Maryland 
Horticultural  Society,  and  treasurer  of  the  National 
Chemical  Fertilizer  Association.  He  personally  su- 
perintends his  extensive  business,  traveling  from 
Maine  to  Texas,  and  has  made  several  visits  to 
Europe.  He  tendered  his  services  in  behalf  of  the 
International  Cotton  Exposition,  held  at  Atlanta  in 
October,  1881,  and  realizing  that  with  the  completion 
of  Southern  railroad  connections  now  being  built, 
Baltimore  should  become  a  great  cotton  port,  he  has 
strenuously  endeavored  to  cultivate  the  Baltimore 
interest  in  the  exhibition,  and  procured  large  sub- 
scriptions to  it.  In  June,  1860,  he  married  Miss 
Margaret  A.  Johnson,  and  their  children  are  Mary 
Ringgold  Rasin,  Robert  Cooper  Rasin,  Grace  Rasin, 
Bessie  Rasin,  and  Viola  Rasin. 

Another  old  and  leading  firm  in  this  department. 
is  that  of  R.  J.  Baker  &  Co.  Richard  J.  Baker,  the 
head  of  the  house,  was  born  in  this  city,  Jan.  13, 
1812,  and  receiving  the  ordinary  instruction  of  the 
academical  schools,  he  completed  his  studies  in  As- 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


bury  College,  in  Howard  Street.  After  remaining 
five  years  in  the  store  of  Wm.  Brundage,  in  the  paint 
and  oil  business,  on  Cheapside,  he  was  admitted  to 
the  house  of  Stanley  &  Co.,  which  became  Stanleys 
&  Baker.  In  1837  the  Stanleys  retired,  and  Mr. 
Baker  continued  the  business,  confining  it  to  drugs 
and  dye-stuffs.  This  was  the  period  when  the  subject 
of  improving  the  soil  was  uppermost  in  almost  every 
mind.  The  rich  farming-lands  of  the  West,  and  the 
improving  and  increasing  lines  of  communication 
therewith,  threatened  great  injury  to  the  agricultural 
interests  of  the  worn-out  and  exhausted  soils  in  the 
Eastern  States.  Peruvian  guano  had  been  discovered 
and  introduced,  but  soon  its  expensiveness  and  vola- 
tile character,  and  the  fact  that  it  was  a  stimulant 
rather  than  a  permanent  manure,  led  to  experiments 
that  would  fix  its  volatility  and  render  its  effects 
more  durable  in  the  soil.  In  this  work  chemistry 
supplied  the  information  and  suggested  the  material. 
Mr.  Baker  was  among  the  first  to  take  hold  of  this 
subject.  To  it  he  applied  all  the  energy  of  his  mind, 
and  becoming  fully  satisfied  of  the  usefulness  and 
practicability  of  combining  with  guano  other  sub- 
stances that  would  reduce  its  cost  and  make  more 
lasting  its  effects,  he  began  on  an  extensive  and  ex- 
panding scale  the  manufacture  and  manipulation  of 
fertilizers.  Doing  work  on  a  reliable  and  scientific 
basis,  according  to  special  formula;  for  the  different 
products  of  the  soil,  it  was  not  long  before  his  house 
was  appreciated  by  farmers  and  planters  and  began 
to  furnish  them  with  unmixed  chemicals,  and  com- 
pounding special  formulte,  enabled  them  at  greatly 
reduced  cost  to  provide  themselves  with  a  pure  and 
unadulterated  article.  While  Mr.  Baker  was  thus 
establishing  a  large  manufacturing  business  in  Balti- 
more, he  was  likewise  enabling  the  farmer  to  renew 
his  exhausted  land  and  regain  his  waning  fortunes. 
From  1837  to  1866,  Mr.  Baker  was  alone  in  business, 
but  in  the  latter  year  he  associated  with  himself 
Eichard  J.  Hollingsworth,  whom  he  had  trained, 
and  who  has  since  been  the  active  business  manager, 
and  among  the  foremost  in  perfecting  forraulre  and 
extending  the  trade  throughout  the  Middle  and 
Southern  States. 

Mr.  Baker's  business  course  was  a  steady  advance. 
Avoiding  speculation,  and  free  from  restless,  competi- 
tive enterprise,  his  house  rose  to  a  leading  place  in 
the  trade,  and  it  has  never  lost  it.  Calm  in  spirit, 
and  unmoved  by  the  fluctuations  of  markets,  his 
opinions  have  generally  been  verified  by  subsequent 
events.  His  unimpeachable  honor  established  him 
firmly  in  the  confidence  and  regard  of  the  community, 
and  gave  his  influence,  views,  and  opinions  very  great 
value. 

At  the  organization  of  the  Piedmont  Guano  and 

Manufacturing   Company  he  was  elected  president, 

and  his  knowledge  and  ripe  experience  has  made  it 

one  of  the  most  successful  enterprises  in  the  city. 

A  house  like  E.  J.  Baker  &Co.'s  is,  in  a  sense,  pro- 


ducer, merchant,  and  manufacturer,  and  directly  aids 
each  class  and  promotes  the  prosperity  of  all. 

As  has  already  been  suggested,  there  is  scarcely  any 
other  branch  of  business  in  which  personal  integrity 
and  high  character  is  so  important  for  the  develop- 
ment and  retention  of  trade,  and  it  is  fortunate  for 
Baltimore  that  her  manufacturers  of  fertilizers  have 
established  a  wide  reputation  for  honesty  and  fair 
dealing.  Among  those  who  have  contributed  largely 
to  the  maintenance  of  this  high  standard  of  mercan- 
tile honor  may  be  mentioned  the  progressive  house 
of  Wm.  Whitelock  &  Co.  Mr.  Whitelock  was  born 
in  Wilmington,  Del.,  in  the  first  quarter  of  the 
present  century.  He  was  the  son  of  George  and 
Sarah  Whitelock,  and  is  of  pure  English  descent,  his 


^^^ 


V^^^ 


ancestors  on  the  paternal  side  having  emigrated  from 
Leeds.  His  mother  was  a  descendant  of  Caleb  Pusey, 
a  Friend  very  prominent  in  the  colonial  days  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  came  in  the  year  1682  from  at 
or  near  Pusey  Hall,  Berkshire,  England.  His  father 
erected  a  cotton-factory  near  Wilmington,  in  1817, 
but  finding  himself  bankrupt  six  years  later,  he  re- 
moved with  his  seven  children  to  Baltimore,  where 
he  died  in  1833.  Owing  to  his  father's  straightened 
circumstances,  William  Whitelock  received  a  very 
limited  common-school  education.  Impelled  by  a 
love  of  reading,  inherited  from  his  mother,  he  obtained 
a  situation  in  the  book-store  of  Edmund  J.  Coale,  on 
North  Calvert  Street,  soon  afterwards  removing  to 
Norfolk,  where  he  completed  his  mercantile  training 
in  the  large  shipping-house  of  Smith  J.  Fisher.  With 
a  little  capital  saved  from  his  salary  he  returned  to 


400 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Baltimore  in  1845,  and  opened  a  retail  grocery-store 
at  the  corner  of  Gay  and  High  Streets,  which  soon 
exj^anded  into  a  shipping  business  extending  over  the 
Southern  States  and  the  West  India  Islands.  The 
late  Samuel  K.  George  had  about  that  time  imported 
some  Peruvian  guano,  and  Mr.  Whitelock,  apprecia- 
ting its  value,  undertook  its  sale  with  characteristic 
energy,  and  by  granting  credits  to  the  farmers  built 
up  a  heavy  and  lucrative  trade  in  the  article.  Nor 
was  his  business  confined  to  that  specialty  of  fertilizer. 
He  was  the  fir.st  merchant  to  introduce  the  phosphatic 
and  other  guanos  to  the  notice  of  the  agriculturists 
of  this  region.  In  the  year  1857  he  erected  the  fine 
warehouse  on  South  Street  now  occupied  by  him,  and 
during  the  past  twenty  years  has  mainly  confined  his 
attention  to  the  manufacture  of  fertilizers  at  his 
factories  on  Federal  Hill.  At  the  solicitation  of  many 
leading  citizens,  Mr.  Whitelock,  in  1858,  established 
the  Old  Town  Bank,  and  was  its  president  for  a  long 
period.  In  1864  he  was  one  of  the  founders  and  the 
first  president  of  the  Third  National  Bank.  He  is 
now  a  director  in  several  of  the  leading  fire  and  ma- 
rine insurance  companies.  His  early  political  asso- 
ciations were  with  the  W^hig  party,  and  when  civil 
strife  began  he  became  an  Unconditional  Unionist, 
freely  yielding  all  his  influence  to  the  support  of  the 
government.  In  1863,  at  the  request  of  Henry  Win- 
ter Davis,  he  stood  as  a  Republican  candidate  for 
State  senator  from  Baltimore  County,  and  in  1875  he 
was  elected  from  the  same  county  to  the  House  of 
Delegates  on  the  Reform  ticket.  Though  he  has  al- 
ways taken  an  active  interest  in  political  movements, 
this  is  the  only  political  office  that  he  has  ever  held. 
His  business  management  has  always  been  marked  by 
great  prudence  combined  with  enterprise,  and  his 
credit  has  never  been  in  the  slightest  degree  impaired 
in  any  of  the  crises  that  have  shaken  the  com- 
mercial community.  He  has  for  twenty  years  resided 
on  his  beautiful  estate  of  "  Wildwood,"  near  Mount 
Washington,  Baltimore  County.  He  married,  in  1853, 
Jane,  the  daughter  of  Stephen  Woolston,  of  Bucks 
County,  Pa.,  whose  ancestors  emigrated  from  England 
to  West  Jersey  about  the  year  1680.  They  have  six 
children, — George,  Elizabeth,  Anna,  Mary,  Susan, 
and  William.  George  Whitelock  is  a  member  of  the 
bar  of  Baltimore. 

The  house  of  Gustavus  Ober  &  Sons  is  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  city,  and  no  account  of  this  great  interest 
would  be  complete  without  at  least  a  brief  reference 
to  the  founder  of  this  establishment.  Gustavus  Ober 
was  born  on  the  10th  of  February,  1819,  in  Montgomery 
County,  Md.,  and  died  in  Baltimore,  on  the  27th  of 
January,  1881,  in  the  sixty-second  year  of  his  age. 
His  parents  were  Robert  Ober  and  Catharine  (Tenney) 
Ober,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Beverly,  Mass.  The 
father,  Robert  Ober,  was  a  prominent  merchant  of 
Georgetown,  D.  C.,and  became  especially  well  known 
for  his  patriotism  in  public  afiiiirs  during  the  war  of 
1812-14.    Mr.  Ober's  grandfather  was  also  an  honored 


merchant  of  Georgetown.  Gustavus  Ober  was  mar- 
ried to  Rebecca  Kettlewell  on  the  27th  of  July,  1841. 
His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Charles  Kettlewell,  a 
prominent  and  esteemed  citizen  of  York  County,  Pa. 
Mr.  Ober  was  educated  at  private  schools  in  Mont- 
gomery County,  and  was  emphatically  a  self-made 
man,  having  never  taken  a  regular  academic  course. 
In  his  fifteenth  year  he  entered  a  drug-store  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  graduated  before  he  was  twenty-one  at 
the  College  of  Pharmacy  in  that  city.  He  remained 
in  Philadelphia  in  the  drug  business  until  1840,  when 
he  settled  in  Baltimore,  and  opened  on  his  own  ac- 
count a  wholesale  drug-store  on  Charles  Street.  In 
this  business  he  had  a  fair  measure  of  success. 

In  1856,  Mr.  Ober  became  connected  with  the  late 
John  Kettlewell  in  the  manufacture  of  fertilizers,  a 
business  that  was  at  that  time  in  its  infancy.  It  was 
in  this  new  business  that  Mr.  Ober's  enterprise,  fore- 
sight, and  nerve  became  conspicuous.  His  success 
was  so  great  that  he  abandoned  the  drug  business 
and  devoted  all  his  energies  to  the  manufacture  of 
fertilizers  and  the  development  of  this  new  branch 
of  trade.  In  1861,  however,  the  firm  was  cut  off  from 
their  market,  the  Southern  States,  by  the  lines  of  op- 
posing armies,  and  the  business  was  suspended  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Kettlewell  died  during  the 
war,  and  Mr.  Ober  alone,  as  soon  as  peace  was  re- 
stored, resumed  the  business  on  a  large  scale,  and 
prosecuted  it  with  remarkable  skill  and  success  until 
the  day  of  his  death. 

On  the  1st  of  July,  1869,  a  new  firm  was  formed 
under  the  style  of  G.  Ober  &  Sons,  consisting  of  Gus- 
tavus Ober  and  his  two  sons,  John  K.  and  Robert 
Ober.  The  new  firm  enlarged  the  sphere  of  their 
operations,  and  were  encouraged  by  such  rapid  suc- 
cess that  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Ober's  death  the  firm 
was  just  completing  large  acid  chambers  to  their 
manufactory  at  Locust  Point  to  meet  the  demands  of 
their  market  throughout  the  whole  South. 

Mr.  Ober,  whilst  so  remarkable  for  his  talents, 
energy,  and  judgment  as  a  man  of  business,  was  a 
truly  consistent  Christian,  a  firm  Presbyterian,  a  pray- 
ing and  working  church-member,  and  for  more  than 
twenty  years  a  revered  and  useful  ruling  elder,  first 
in  the  Westminster,  and  then  in  the  Franklin  Square 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Baltimore.  For  years  previous 
to  his  death  he  was  an  active  and  faithful  member  of 
the  Boards  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Missions,  and  a 
liberal  supporter  of  these  pious  causes.  His  dispo- 
sition and  habits  were  retiring  and  domestic,  rather 
avoiding  than  seeking  public  honors ;  and  only  as  a 
matter  of  duty,  when  his  friends  thought  it  necessary 
to  use  his  name  as  a  Democratic  candidate  to  reclaim 
his  ward  (the  Nineteenth),  did  he  consent  to  become  a 
candidate  for  the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Council,  to 
which  hewas  elected  by  a  handsome  majority.  During 
his  term  of  office  he  was  eminent  for  the  same  ster- 
ling qualities  which  marked  his  business  career  and 
his  religious  life. 


cM^ 


COMMERCIAL  INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


401 


^^.  C^.  J'^rrs/f 


He  leaves  three  sons  and  five  daughters  living. 
The  sons  are  John  K.,  Robert,  and  Gustavus  Ober, 
Jr.  The  daughters  are  Catharine,  married  to  Jolm 
A.  Hambleton,  of  Baltimore;  Virginia  R.,  married  to 
Charles  Watkins,  of  Richmond,  Va. ;  Mary  E.,  mar- 
ried to  John  J.  Hickok,  of  Augusta,  Ga. ;  Misses 
Matilda  G.  and  Ella  B.  Ober. 

As  a  merchant  Mr.  Ober  was  extensively  known, 
and  possessed  the  confidence  of  the  mercantile  world. 
It  was  well  known  that  his  representations  could 
always  be  implicitly  trusted,  and  that  no  amount  of 
profit  could  induce  him  to  misrepresent  his  manu- 
factures. As  a  citizen  his  advice,  always  given  with- 
out ostentation,  had  the  greatest  weight  as  that  of  a 
reading,  thoughtful,  observant,  judicious,  and  saga- 
cious man.  His  remarks  upon  men  and  aflfairs  were 
singularly  free  from  all  prejudice  and  invidious  per- 
sonalities. In  personal  appearance  he  was  large, 
erect,  and  of  noble  countenance  and  mien.  During 
his  life  Mr.  Ober  acquired  a  very  considerable  for- 
tune, but  the  richest  legacy  he  has  left  to  his  children 
is  the  unsullied  name  of  a  "  Christian  gentleman." 

The  death  of  Mr.  Ober  was  sudden  in  an  extreme 
degree.  He  had  been  for  a  short  time  previous  suf- 
fering from  some  obscure  malarial  disease,  but  was 
thought  to  have  recovered  and  to  need  but  a  short 
time  for  complete  restoration  to  his  usual  vigorous 
health.  He  passed  the  last  evening  of  his  life  at  his 
home  in  the  manner  he  loved  so  well, — reading,  con- 


versing with  his  pastor,  his  fellow-elders,  his  wife,  and 
children.  He  retired  without  complaining  of  any 
discomfort,  spoke  to  his  wife  about  one  o'clock  in  the 
night  in  his  natural  tones  and  in  apparent  good 
health,  and  at  four  it  was  discovered  that  he  had 
quietly  breathed  out  his  life  without  a  pain,  or  groan, 
or  struggle,  in  perfect  peace  with  God  and  man. 

The  formation  of  the  Chemical  Exchange,  to  which 
we  have  previously  referred,  is  an  outward  and  visible 
indication  not  only  of  the  proportions  already  attained 
by  the  trade,  but  of  the  promise  which  it  holds  out  of 
further  expansion.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
new  organization  will  exert  a  most  beneficial  influence, 
and  that  under  the  systematic  and  organized  effort 
which  it  will  encourage  even  more  splendid  results 
will  be  realized  than  have  already  crowned  individual 
enterprise  and  energy.  The  character  of  the  officers 
selected  indeed  affords  a  guarantee  to  this  effect,  which 
will  be  fully  redeemed  in  time.  A  brief  account  has 
been  given  on  another  page  of  the  business  career  of 
the  president  of  the  Exchange,  and  in  this  connection 
it  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  refer  more  particularly 
to  another  of  the  officers,  William  Sutheron  Powell, 
who  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  representatives  of 
the  organization,  and  one  of  the  active,  progressive 
merchants  of  Baltimore.  Mr.  Powell,  who  is  the 
originator  and  patentee  of  "  Powell's  Prepared  Agri- 
cultural Chemicals,"  was  born  in  Alexandria,  Va., 
1  May  10,  1853.     His  father,  Edward  B.  Powell,  was  a 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE  CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


member  of  the  well-known  Powell  family  of  Loudon 
County,  Va.,  and  liis  mother  was  of  the  old  Sutheron 
family  of  St.  Mary's  County,  Md.  Mr.  Powell  comes 
from  what. may  be  called  a  profession-family,  as 
nearly  every  member  on  both  paternal  and  maternal 
sides  have  been  connected  with  the  civil  or  military 
jirofessions  of  the  country,  and,  with  one  or  two  ex-  I 
coptions,  he  is  the  only  merchant  in  the  family. 
Owing  to  the  disastrous  termination  for  all  Southern  I 
men  of  the  late  civil  war,  Mr.  Powell,  at  the  age  of 
fifteen,  dependent  entirely  on  his  own  resources,  found 
himself  in  Baltimore  without  one  dollar  in  pocket 
and  his  trunk  in  the  express-office  with  freight  un- 
paid. In  this  dilemma  work — and  hard  work — was 
plainly  his  only  alternative,  and  to  work  he  went 
cheerfully,  resolutely,  and  with  determination  to  win 
ill  the  coming  struggle.  On  a  salary  of  twelve  dol- 
lars per  month,  with  the  floor  for  a  bed,  and  preparing 
his  own  food  over  a  gas-stove,  he  fought  his  fight  with 
poverty,  and  came  oft"  victorious  after  a  six  months' 
struggle. 

As  a  member  of  the  well-known  house  of  William 
H.  Brown  &  Co.,  he  can  look  back  upon  the  past  with  j 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  however  hard  the 
struggle  it  is  now  over,  and  without  injury  either  to 
himself  or  any  other  man.  The  originator  of  Powell's 
Prepared  Chemicals  and  the  treasurer  and  manager 
of  the  Brown  Chemical  Company,  he  has  "  made  two 
blades  of  grass  grow  where  only  one  grew  before"  in 
many  of  the  exhausted  acres  of  the  Southern  States. 
He  is  a  director  in  the  Merchants'  Club,  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  hospitality  of  the  Merchants'  and 
Manufacturers'  Association,  and  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday-school  of  the  Memorial  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church. 

A  Democrat  but  not  a  partisan  in  politics,  he  dis- 
charges the  duties  of  a  citizen  without  the  bitterness 
of  a  politician.  He  takes  a  lively  interest  in  every- 
thing relating  to  progress  and  advancement,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Maryland  Academy  of  Sciences. 
He  was  married  Nov.  22,  1878,  to  Lily  B.  Smith,  only 
child  of  the  late  J.  Bowen  Smith,  formerly  a  member 
of  the  well-known  Baltimore  house  of  Reynolds, 
Smith  &  Co. 

The  business  career  of  Mr.  Powell  is  another  ex- 
ample of  energy,  character,  and  determination  tri- 
umphing over  adverse  circumstances. 

Paints  and  Chemicals.  —  The  manufacture  of 
chemicals  (miscellaneous),  according  to  the  census  of 
1880,  in  this  city  is  conducted  by  13,  establishments, 
employing  191  hands,  with  an  aggregate  capital  of 
$495,000,  and  paying  for  wages  annually  $95,000,  and 
for  materials  $425,7.50,  and  producing  values  annually  I 
amounting  to  $756,840.  Those  for  the  manufacture  of  1 
jiaints  are  2  in  number,  employing  13  hands,  with 
$2200  of  capital,  and  $2770  in  annual  wages,  expend- 
ing for  materials  $1700,  and  producing  annually  $6600. 
These  statistics  give  but  an  imperfect  view  of  the  very 
large  business  that  is  done  in  this  city,  either  in  chem- 


icals or  in  paints.  The  demand  for  chemicals  in  the 
twenty-three  establishments  for  the  manufacture  of 
manures  is  filled  in  several  instances  by  those  manu- 
facturers themselves.  Oil  of  vitriol,  muriatic  and 
nitric  acid,  sulphate  of  magnesia  (Epsom  salts),  sul- 
phate of  soda  (Glauber's  salts),  and  sulphate  of  iron, 
(copperas)  are  largely  manufactured  in  this  city. 
The  bichromate  of  potash  is  manufactured  only  in  Bal- 
timore, there  not  being  another  establishment  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  largest  factory  in  the  world 
for  the  manufiicture  of  chrome-yellow  is  in  this  city. 

The  Maryland  White  Lead  Works  are  very  large  cor- 
roders,  while  many  houses  are  engaged  in  grinding  in 
oil,  white  lead,  and  zinc.  Varnish-factories  for  the 
manufacture  of  furniture  and  coach  varnishes,  japan, 
leather,  and  Dormer  varnishes  are  also  among  our 
most  flourishing  and  successful  establishments.  Raw 
and  double-boiled  linseed  oil  are  manufactured  here 
to  a  very  large  extent. 

The  goods  of  all  these  establishments  find  their  way 
throughout  the  South  and  West,  as  well  as  in  exporta- 
tion to  foreign  countries. 

Glass  Manufacture. — This  industry  in  Baltimore 
began  at  a  very  early  day  in  the  history  of  the  city. 
The  Baltimore  Glass- Works  on  Federal  Hill  was  es- 
tablished before  1800,  and  was  among  the  earliest 
works  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States.  It  has  been 
in  continual  and  successful  operation,  growing  larger 
and  developing  with  the  trade  year  by  year.  At' 
Spring  Gardens  another  factory  has  for  more  than 
twenty  years  been  in  successful  operation.  At  these 
establishments  all  kinds  of  glassware  and  in  every 
variety  are  manufactured, — bottles,  vials,  jars,  flasks, 
demijohns,  tumblers,  chimneys,  Cologne  and  extract 
bottles,  and  window-glass. 

The  Baltimore  Window-Glass  Works,  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  window-glass,  coach-glass,  and  picture- 
glass,  and  the  Maryland  Glass- Works  also  conduct 
their  business  in  Baltimore.  Together  they  turn  out 
annually  100,000  boxes  of  window-glass.' 

1  The  present  government  as  early  as  1789  manifested  a  purpose  to 
protect  the  infant  industries  of  the  country.  In  adjusting  the  first  tariff 
glass-manufacturing  was  amoug  tlie  industries  thus  protected.  "On 
motion  of  Mr.  Carroll,  of  Maryland,  who  stated  that  a  manufactory  of 
glass  had  been  successfully  commenced  in  his  State,  a  duty  of  ten  per 
cent,  ad  vojorem  was  laid  on  window  and  other  glass,  with  the  exception 
of  quart  bottles,  imported  from  foreign  countries.  The  Legislature  of 
Maryland  had  previously  encouraged  the  manufacture  of  glass  by  a  con- 
sideraljle  loan.  The  works  were  established  at  Tuscarora  Creek,  four 
miles  above  Fredericktown,  and  were  known  as  the  JEtna  Glass-Works. 
Like  most  of  the  glass.works  heretofore  established,  it  was  the  property 
of  an  ingenious  and  enterprising  German,  John  Frederick  Amelung. 
(Bishop  on  Manufactures,  vol.  ii.  p.  243.)  In  the  newspapers  of  1785  a 
notice  of  this  infant  enterprise,  signed  John  Frederick  Amelung  &  Co., 
at  the  glass-works,  refers  to  Messre.  Ludlow  &  Gould,  New  York ;  Messrs. 
Cox  &  Frazier,  Philailelphia;  Messrs.  Crockett  &  Harris,  and  Melcher 
Keener,  Baltimore ;  and  Abram  Fau,  Fredericktown.  A  committee  of 
Congi-ess  in  1790  recommended  a  "loan  of  S8000  to  Mr.  Amelung,  the 
proprietor  of  an  extensive  glass  manufactory  in  Frederick,  Maryland." 

The  Federal  GaseUe  of  March  8, 1829,  gives  the  following  names  of  com- 
missioners of  the  Baltimore  Flint  Glass  Company:  William  Patterson, 
Samuel  Moore,  George  Baily,  Nathaniel  Whitaker,  Julius  T.  Ducatel, 
Christian   Keener,  James  K.  Stapleton,  George  H.  Keerl,  and  John 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


403 


Pianos    and   Musical   Instruments.— Baltimore 

claims  precedence  of  all  American  cities  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  manufacture  of  pianos  as  well  as 
equality  of  excellence  at  the  present  time  with  any 
manufacture  of  these  instruments.  "  In  1810,  Adam 
Stewart,  a  Scotchman,  and  piano-maker  by  profession, 
established  on  Charles  Street,  near  Baltimore,  the  first 
establishment  for  the  manufacture  of  pianos  in  the 
United  States,  and  there  made  the  first  piano  that  was 
made  in  America."  This  claim  to  priority  of  manu- 
facture, which  we  find  in  the  newspapers  of  this  city, 
does  not  rest  upon  reliable  data,  as  there  is  "record" 
testimony  in  the  Patent  Office  at  Washington  that 
ten  years  prior  to  1810,  viz.,  Feb.  12,  1800,  John  J. 
Hawkins,  of  Philadelphia,  patented  an  "improve- 
ment in  the  piano-forte,"  which  he  manufactured 
and  sold  as  the  Patent  Portable  Grand  Piano.  In 
1815,  James  Stewart,  "  P.  F.  M.,"  at  "  his  old  stand  in 
St.  Paul's  Lane,"  continued  the  manufacture  of  these 
instruments,  and  in  1819  the  instruments  from  this 
establishment  were  offered  for  sale  at  No.  4  South  Gay 
Street  by  Mr.  Clifton. 


ment  of  tanneries  and  shoemaking  was  adopted  as  a 
provincial  policy  in  Maryland  as  early  as  1681,  when 
a  duty  was  imposed  upon  the  exportation  of  hides 
and  leather.  Capt.  Lux,  of  Baltimore,  was  most 
probably  the  first  tanner  of  the  city,  as  in  1743  his 
tannery  is  mentioned  in  the  journals  of  that  time  as 
situated  on  the  west  side  of  Green  (now  Exeter) 
Street. 

The  tanneries  of  Baltimore,  according  to  the  census 
of  1880,  numbered  2-5  establishments,  with  a  capital 
of  $254,929,  expending  for  wages  $70,329,  and  for 
material  $386,529,  and  with  annual  products  worth 
$605,994.  The  curriers  of  Baltimore,  by  the  same 
census,  had  10  establishments,  with  $69,856  of  capi- 
tal, and  expending  in  wages  $21,055,  and  for  materials 
$224,956,  with  annual  productions  amounting  to  1279,- 
350.  The  statistics  of  this  industry  for  the  last  twenty 
years  are  as  follows : 


Census.        Eetabs.   Hands.    Capital. 


$:!35,100 
324,785 


Wages.  Material.  Products. 

«.M.i,165  8471,010 

862,50(1  499,967  633,954 

91,384  611,585  885,344 


Since  those  early  days  the  manufacture  of  pianos 
in  Baltimore  has  gradually  grown  from  uncertain  be- 
ginning to  an  established  business,  which  now  un- 
(juestionably  ranks  the  instruments  made  in  this  city 
equal  to  any  and  superior  to  a  vast  number  of  instru- 
ments made  elsewhere.  The  late  William  Knabe,  in 
1837,  laid  the  foundation  of  the  immense  business 
yet  conducted  by  the  establishment  under  his  name, 
which  has  continued  to  expand  and  enlarge  until  it  is 
among  the  largest  and  most  complete  in  the  United 
States. 

The  manufacture  of  pianos  and  musical  instruments 
in  Baltimore  is  conducted  by  16  establishments,  em- 
ploying 690  hands,  with  an  aggregate  capital  of 
$1,119,196,  expending  in  wages  $331,307  annually, 
and  for  material  $269,233,  and  producing  values 
amounting  annually  to  $946,488. 

Leather  and  its  Manufactures.— The  encourage- 


Prominent  among  the  tanners  and  leather-dealers 
of  Baltimore  was  Benjamin  Deford,  a  descendant  of 
an  old  Huguenot  family  which  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try after  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  and 
settled  on  West  River,  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  born  in  1799,  and  where  he  was  reared  under  those 
influences  that  have  fashioned  into  the  highe-st  types 
of  manhood  many  of  the  descendants  of  the  Hugue- 
nots, who,  wherever  located  in  exile,  have  stamped 
their  individuality  upon  their  contemporaries.  Left 
an  orphan  at  an  early  age,  he  was  under  the  guardian- 
ship of  his  uncle,  Richard  G.  Hutton,  until,  in  his 
fourteenth  year,  he  was  placed  under  James  C.  Dod- 
drell,  to  learn  tanning,  currying,  and  dressing  leather. 
Faithful  in  work,  he  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  all  the  processes  of  tanning.  With  correct  habits 
and  by  strict  economy  he  accumulated  the  means  of 
beginning  business  for  himself,  and  in  1823,  without 


404 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


capital  or  influential  friends,  he  began  the  business  of 
tanning.  At  that  time  the  large  tanneries  of  Balti- 
more, though  few  in  number,  were  owned  and  worked 
by  men  of  capital  and  experience.  William  Jenkins, 
Poland,  Jenkins  &  Co.,  and  George  Appold  were  the 
leading  tanners  of  that  day.  In  a  few  years  Mr.  De- 
ford  had  laid  the  foundations  of  that  eminent  success 
which  he  afterwards  attained.  His  business  increasing 
as  the  city  grew,  he  built  and  operated  tanneries  in 
Maryland  and  other  States,  and  became  one  of  the 
leading  manufacturers  and  dealers  in  oak-tanned 
leather  in  the  United  States,  and  contributed  very 
largely  to  the  increase  and  development  of  the  trade 
in  leather  with  New  England,  New  York,  and  Phila- 
delphia. Uniting  with  others  in  the  leather  trade,  a 
charter  was  obtained  for  the  Merchants'  and  Miners' 
Transportation  Company,  under  which  the  line  of 
steamers  known  as  the  Boston  Steamship  Line  was 
organized  and  operated.  In  the  work  of  organizing 
this  steamship  line  Mr.  Deford  took  a  most  active 
part,  subscribing  largely  to  the  stock,  and  contributing 
to  its  successful  establishment  by  the  free  use  of  his 
capital  and  efforts.  In  his  honor  one  of  the  first  steam- 
ships of  the  line  was  called  the  "  Benjamin  Deford." 
The  value  of  this  line,  in  a  great  measure  owing  its 
success  to  Benjamin  Deford,  cannot  be  estimated, 
and  the  result  of  this  enterprise  has  been  to  extend 
the  line  to  New  York,  Savannah,  Charleston,  and 
other  Southern  ports. 

His  business  sagacity  made  him  one  of  the  earliest 
and  most  active  friends  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road, and  identifying  himself  with  Johns  Hopkins, 
Thomas  Swann,  Wm.  G.  Harrison,  Chauncey  Brooks, 
and  John  W.  Garrett,  he  sustained  the  road  through 
its  most  perilous  periods.  He  stood  by  the  road  when 
general  confidence  abandoned  it,  and  when  the  credit 
of  the  State  and  city  was  nearly  ruined.  In  the  Board 
of  Directors  his  practical  judgment  was  valued  in  some 
respects  above  all  others.  His  financial  and  business 
operations  had  demonstrated  the  sagacity  of  his  strong 
intellect,  while  his  careful  scrutiny  of  surroundings 
and  contingencies  proved  the  soundness  of  his  conclu- 
sions. 

The  influence  and  association  of  Mr.  Deford  were 
so  highly  esteemed  by  business  men  that  they  were 
sought  in  every  branch  of  business.  He  became  a 
director  in  the  Mount  Vernon  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, the  Mechanics'  Bank,  the  Union  Bank  of 
Maryland,  the  First  National  Bank  of  Baltimore  (of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  founders),  the  Baltimore  Sav- 
iugs-Bank,  the  Equitable  Fire  Insurance  Company, 
and  several  other  corporations.  In  all  these  boards, 
various  as  were  their  routine  of  business,  his  judg- 
ment and  opinion  were  always  sought  and  followed. 
With  a  native  genius  of  his  order,  and  trained  by  self- 
culture,  his  judgment  was  always  calm  and  clear,  with- 
holding him  from  the  eflfects  of  over-confidence,  and 
restraining  him  fro)n  those  speculative  ventures  by 
which  so  many  fortunes  have  been  wrecked.    Pursuing 


the  straight  road  of  business  enterprise,  he  builded 
his  fortune  by  laborious  industry,  and  not  by  any  sud- 
I  den  freaks  of  fortune.  Associated  with  the  late  George 
I  Brown  in  themanagement  of  the  House  of  Refuge,  he 
;  formed  for  him  a  very  strong  attachment,  and  erected 
to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Brown  a  beautiful  testimonial 
on  the  grounds  at  the  main  entrance.     The  House  of 
Reformation  for  Children  is  another  evidence  of  his 
j  benevolent  disposition,  as  he  aided  in  its  establish- 
ment.    Possessing  a  warm  and  sympathetic  nature, 
I  he  was  at  all  times  a  valuable  friend  to  the  poor  and 
suff"ering.     His  sterling  character  has  left  a  pleasant 
memory  among  all  his  contemporaries  of  Baltimore. 
I  He  died  April  17,  1870,  leaving  a  large  fortune,  and 
I  bis  funeral   was   attended  by  a   large   concourse   of 
]  citizens.     He  was  succeeded  in  business  by  his  sons 
Thomas  and  B.  F.  Deford,  who  preserved  its  relations 
to  the  trade,  and  maintain  the  high  character  estab- 
lished by  the  father. 

Another  prominent  house  in  the  tanning  business 
in  Baltimore  is  that  of  Henry  Klees  &  Son.  •  Its 
I  founder,  Henry  Klees,  was  born  in  Holbach,  Hesse- 
I  Darmstadt,  Germany,  on  the  13th  of  April,  1812, 
i  and  died  in  Baltimore  on  the  23d  of  December, 
1  1879.  His  father  was  an  oflicer  of  the  court  and 
a  member  of  the  bar,  and  desired  to  give  his  son 
the  advantage  of  a  collegiate  education.  The  latter, 
however,  had  no  inclination  for  the  military  service 
which  a  life  in  Germany  involved,  and  determined  to 
avoid  its  exactions  by  leaving  his  native  country. 
Accordingly,  in  1832  he  emigrated  to  England,  and 
I  obtaining  employment  in  one  of  the  largest  fur-dress- 
ing establishments  in  London,  soon  became  master  of 
the  business  and  was  raised  to  the  position  of  fore- 
man. But  his  enterprising  mind  saw  still  greater 
opportunities  of  advancement  in  the  New  World,  and 
declining  the  offer  of  an  interest  in  his  employers' 
house,  he  embarked  for  America  in  October,  1837, 
with  the  intention  of  prosecuting  the  same  business 
in  this  country.  On  his  arrival  in  Baltimore  he  found 
that  furs  were  not  manufactured  in  this  country,  and 
that  with  the  limited  amount  of  capital  at  his  com- 
mand it  was  impracticable  to  inaugurate  that  indus- 
try successfully.  He  therefore  secured  employment 
in  the  house  of  James  Carrigan,  manufacturer  of 
sheepskins  and  morocco,  with  whom  he  remained  ten 
years,  accumulating  a  small  capital,  and  making  him- 
self thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  business.  At  the 
end  of  that  period  he  purchased  a  half-interest  in  the 
I  firm  of  Henry  Bitzler,  and  upon  the  death  of  Mr. 
I  Bitzler,  a  year  afterwards,  continued  the  business  in 
his  own  name.  He  continued  the  manufacture  of 
morocco  and  sheepskins  until  1864,  when  his  sons 
John  and  Henry  were  admitted  to  the  partnership, 
and  a  currier's  and  tanning  department  were  added 
to  the  establishment.  The  business  expanded  so 
rapidly  that  in  1865  the  firm  purchased  the  Linga- 
nore  tannery  in  Frederick  County,  which  was  placed 
under  the  charge  of  John,  the  eldest  son.  while  Henry 


(fl  M<^^^^<^ 


c/xJ   ^2-^?-«-t^  /  ?i^f^.«V 


1.    il    t     n»,  1  abliiLir 


FRANK    &    ADLER, 
BOOTS  AND  SHOES,  314  AND  31G  BALTIMORE  STREET,  BALTIMORE,  MD. 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND    MANUFACTURES. 


405 


remained  with  his  father  in  Baltimore.  Mr.  Klees' 
death  was  due  to  injuries  received  by  the  running 
away  of  his  horse  at  New  Windsor,  Carroll  County. 

He  was  originally  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
but  became  connected  with  the  United  Brethren  in 
1840,  after  his  arrival  in  this  country.  He  subse- 
quently united  with  a  few  others  in  founding  the  East 
Baltimore  German  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of 
which  Rev.  Adam  Miller  became  the  pastor.  The  j 
church  was  situated  at  the  corner  of  Lombard  and 
Bond  Streets,  and  was  erected  principally  through  the 
liberality  of  Mr.  Klees.  It  was  at  first  simply  mis- 
sionary in  its  character,  but  the  congregation  soon 
greatly  increased,  and  a  new  edifice  was  built  on 
Broadway,  between  Bank  Street  and  Eastern  Avenue, 
and  from  this  church  the  other  three  German  Metho- 
dist Churches  have  sprung,  all  of  which  owe  much  to 
the  generosity  and  energetic  aid  afforded  by  Mr. 
Klees.  He  was  a  director  of  the  German  Central 
Bank,  a  member  of  Mountain  Lodge,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Red  Men,  Anacosta  Tribe, 
and  of  the  Shoe  and  Leather  Board  of  Trade,  by 
which  highly  complimentary  resolutions  with  regard 
to  him  were  passed  at  his  death.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Fett,  of  Baltimore,  who  had  emigrated  with  her 
father's  family  from  Germany  in  1839.  She  died  in 
July,  1879,  a  few  months  previous  to  his  death. 

Mr.  Klees,  while  of  a  kindly  and  generous  natnre, 
insisted  in  all  transactions  upon  a  strict  observance 
of  contract  and  discharge  of  duty.  He  took  great 
interest  in  the  growth  and  commercial  prosperity  of 
Baltimore,  and  his  wise  counsels  and  liberal  views 
contributed  largely  to  the  development  of  the  busi- 
ness and  industrial  interests  of  the  city.  As  a  citizen 
he  enjoyed  to  an  unusual  extent  the  general  confidence 
and  esteem,  and  is  remembered  with  affection  by  hosts 
of  friends,  to  whom  he  had  endeared  himself  by  his 
many  amiable  qualities. 

Mr.  Klees  had  a  family  of  ten  children,  three  of 
whom  died  in  infancy.  John,  one  of  the  members  of 
the  firm,  died  in  1878.  The  business  is  continued  by 
Henry  Klees,  in  accordance  with  the  request  of  his 
father,  under  the  former  name  and  style. 

Boot  and  Shoe  Manufactures.— The  improve- 
ments made  in  the  machinery  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  boots  and  shoes  have  not  been  surpassed  in 
their  aggregate  value  by  those  in  any  other  branch  of 
manufactures.  In  Baltimore  these  improvements  have 
been  availed  of  to  greatly  increase  her  manufactures 
and  to  place  them  upon  an  equal  footing  with  the 
best  establishments  in  the  country.  New  England 
and  Philadelphia  no  longer  supply  the  South  and 
West.  This  city  has  extended  her  trade  throughout 
those  regions,  and  is  now  their  equal  in  all  of  those 
States,  and  in  many  of  them  surpasses  any  other  mar- 
ket. There  are  in  this  city,  according  to  the  census 
of  1880,  33  manufacturers  of  boots  and  shoes,  with  an 
aggregate  capital  of  $588,600,  employing  1896  hands, 
expending  annually  in  wages  $595,249,  and  in  ma- 


terial $1,237,273,  with  annual  productions  valued  at 
$2,207,848. 

The   comparative  growth   of  this  manufacture  is 
presented  in  the  following  table : 


Year. 
1860 


No.  of    No.  of  Amt.  of  Amt.  of  Value  of  Value  of 

KstaLs.  Hands.  Capital.  Wages.  Material.  Products. 

J211,668      S365,737  $871,567 

61          1563  444,600  $649,721  881,949  1,937,058 

33          1896  688,600  595,249  1,237,273  2,207,848 


Boot  and  Shoe  Jobbing  Trade.— As  a  centre  for 
the  jobbing  trade  in  boots  and  shoes,  Baltimore  is  the 
Boston  of  the  South.  The  establishment  of  this 
branch  of  industry  as  a  distinct  business  is  so  recent 
as  to  excite  astonishment  at  its  progress.  Many  of 
the  merchants  who  were  pioneers  in  the  trade  are  to- 
day among  the  most  vigorous  and  active  business  men 
in  the  city,  and  yet  it  is  the  largest  single  interest  in 
Baltimore,  giving  employment  to  thousands,  and  ag- 
gregating in  sales  fully  $26,000,000.  The  conditions 
of  the  trade  are  such  that  there  can  be  no  backward 
step  in  production,  and  the  energy  and  probity  of 
those  who  direct  its  development  in  Baltimore  give 
assurance  of  healthy  expansion  in  this  locality.  With 
the  increase  of  population  there  must  be  increased 
demand  for  the  products  of  the  tanneries,  and  excel- 
lence of  workmanship  and  fairness  in  dealing  will 
always  in  the  end  command  a  proper  share  of  trade. 
It  is  gratifying  to  be  able  to  state  that  such  is  already 
the  case  in  Baltimore.  The  chief  aim  of  the  manu- 
facturers has  been  to  cheapen  production,  and  at  the 
same  time  improve  the  fabric,  and  the  extraordinary 
increase  in  sales,  taken  one  year  with  another,  is  a 
most  flattering  testimony  to  the  excellence  of  Balti- 
more workmanship  and  the  estimation  in  which  it  is 
held  abroad.  The  total  sales  for  1880,  as  given  by 
the  Shoe  and  Leather  Board  of  Trade,  were  as  follows : 
sales  of  wholesale  and  retail  dealers,  $10,500,000; 
manufacturers,  $7,150,000  ;  rubber  boots  and  shoes, 
$650,000  ;  at  auction,  $1,100,000  ;  oak  and  hemlock 
leather,  $3,400,000;  calf-skin  and  harness  leather, 
$1,400,000;  green  and  salted  hides,  calf  and  kip-skins, 
$1,100,000;  dry  hides,  $1,120,000.  This  is  an  in- 
crease of  ten  per  cent,  over  the  sales  of  the  previous 
year,  which  were  far  in  advance  of  those  made  during 
1878. 

There  are  now  engaged  in  Baltimore  an  increased 
number  of  shoe-factories,  producing  a  larger  number 
of  pairs  than  ever  before,  and  employing  between 
four  and  five  thousand  operatives  in  their  production. 
Of  the  boots  and  shoes  manufactured,  about  four- 
fifths  are  produced  by  the  aid  of  machinery.  There 
are  also  twenty-five  wholesale  houses,  and  a  multitude 
of  retail  dealers. 

Boots  and  Shoes,  Repaikino. 
No.  of    No.  of     Amt.  of      Amt.  of     Value  of    Value  of 
Estabs.   Hands.     Capital.      Wages.     Material.  Products. 
1880 591  1083      $276,787     $349,912     $427,619    $1,204,904 


Saddlf.ey  and  Harness. 
No.  of    Amt.  of 


Amt.  of     Value  of    Value  of 
Estabs.    Hands.     Capital.       Wages.     Material.   Products. 

105  710       $349,975      $268,095     $490,677     $1,051,681 


40« 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Among  the  former  merchants  of  Baltimore  who  in  ' 
their  day  and  generation  held  high  rank  in  the  busi-  i 
uess  world  and  wielded  an  influence  for  good  that  is 
still  felt  in  the  community  was  George  Bartlett,  for  j 
many  years  connected  with  the  leather  trade  of  this  1 
city.  Mr.  Bartlett  was  born  in  Boston,  Mass.,  Nov. 
24,  1792,  and  died  in  Baltimore  on  the  15th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1874,  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  his  age.  His 
father,  William  Bartlett,  was  born  in  Marblehead, 
Mass.,  in  1750,  and  liis  mother,  Susan  Swift,  the 
daughter  of  Ebenezer  Swift,  was  also  a  native  of  New 
England.  Mr.  Bartlett  was  educated  in  Boston,  and 
entered  the  boot,  shoe,  and  hat  establishment  of  Elisba 
Penniman,  of  that  city,  where  he  became  familiar  with  [ 
the  business.  Hesubscquentlyremoved  to  Baltimore  in  i 
1812,  and  established  a  house  of  the  same  character, 
but  after  some  years  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  the  | 
leather  trade,  in  which  he  continued  until  the  failure 
of  his  health  compelled  the  relinquishment  of  active 
business  life.  Mr.  Bartlett  was  a  member  of  the  First 
Unitarian  Church  of  Baltimore,  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  National  Fire  Insurance  Company  and  the 
First  National  Bank,  a  director  in  the  Western  Bank, 
and  formerly  a  director  in  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  and  other  institutions,  and  an  earnest  and 
able  advocate  of  the  public  school  system.  He  dis- 
played at  all  times  an  active  interest  in  the  pros- 
perity of  the  city,  and  aided  greatly  in  its  advance- 
ment by  his  energetic  example  and  wise  counsels. 
He  was  the  first  instigator  of  the  project  to  erect  a 
conservatory  in  Druid  Hill  Park.  He  was  quiet 
and  unobtrusive  in  his  manners,  but  he  was  never- 
theless a  man  of  decided  opinions  and  fixed  prin- 
ciples from  which  he  never  reversed.  He  was  of 
a  generous  and  kindly  nature  that  manifested  itself 
in  a  thousand  charities,  the  practical  expression  of 
sympathies  that  were  as  wide  and  comprehensive  as 
the  race  itself  Mr.  Bartlett  was  the  youngest  of  five 
children.  Susan,  his  eldest  sister,  married  John  R. 
Penniman,  of  Boston ;  Elizabeth  married  Henry 
Nolen,  of  the  same  city ;  his  brother  William  married 
Aley  Robinson,  sister  of  Vashtie,  Mr.  Bartlett's  wife; 
and  Lucretia  married  John  Osborn,  of  New  York. 

Mr.  Bartlett  was  married  Nov.  3,  1824,  to  Vashtie 
Robinson,  daughter  of  Charles  Robinson,  of  Balti- 
more County,  by  whom  he  had  four  children, — Lu- 
cretia, born  May  3,  1827,  who  married  Charles  W. 
C.  McCoy,  of  Baltimore  ;  George  W.,  born  Sept.  25, 
1834,  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Rebecca  C,  born  Jan.  14, 
1839,  who  died  in  infiincy ;'  and  George  Washington 
Burnap,  born  April  14,  1843,  who  married  Amanda 
Sallie  Griffith,  daughter  of  Ulysses  Griffith,  of  Mont- 
gomery County,  Md. 

The  children  of  Charles  W.  C.  McCoy  and  his 
wife  Lucretia  are  George  Bartlett,  Charles  Seward, 
Lewis  Macatee,  and  Maury  McCoy.  The  children  of 
George  W.  B.  Bartlett  are  Viishtie  Rebecca,  Alice 
Riggs,  George  Burnap,  and  Harry  Griffith. 

Cotton.— The  cotton  trade  of  Baltimore  is  of  recent 


growth.  Until  within  a  few^  years  but  little  was  done 
in  exporting  cotton,  and  even  now  Baltimore  does  not 
occupy  that  position  among  cotton-markets  to  which 
her  situation  and  facilities  entitle  her.  The  incor- 
poration and  organization  in  1867  of  the  Baltimore 
Warehouse  Company,  and  the  erection  of  a  cotton- 
press,  have  given  very  considerable  impetus  to  the 
trade  in  this  great  staple.  Its  manufacture  for  years 
around  Baltimore  has  been  very  great,  but  the  trade 
in  cotton  in  the  city  has  been  of  very  recent  intro- 
duction. The  Warehouse  Company  affi3rds  every  fa- 
cility for  storage,  and  its  certificates,  which  are  ne- 
gotiable securities,  enable  the  dealers  to  make  those 
advances  which  are  necessary  now  in  all  kinds  of 
trades.  The  cotton-press  prepares  the  bales  for  ship- 
ment, and  now  only  the  same  energy  and  enterprise 
which  have  so  magnificently  developed  the  grain  trade 
of  Baltimore  arc  necessary  to  make  the  city  take 
rank  among  the  great  cotton -markets  of  the  country. 
Owing  in  part  to  the  new  press,  and  in  part  to  the 
increased  steamship  facilities,  as  compared  with  for- 
mer years,  the  exports  of  cotton  from  this  port  from 
Sept.  1,  1880,  to  Aug.  20,  1881,  have  aggregated 
153,679  bales,  an  increase  of  128,640  bales  over  the 
same  time  last  year.  The  following  table  shows  the 
shipments  by  ports : 

1880-81.  1879-80.  1880-81. 

Bales.  Bales.  Increase. 

■    To  Liverpool 122,561  102,896  19,665 

"   Bremen 31,118  26,744         6,374 

Total ;.     153,679        128,640        25,039 

To  Liverpool  the  exports  reached  122,561  bales,  a 
gain  of  19,665  bales,  while  to  Bremen  the  shipments 
were  31,118  bales,  an  increase  of  5374  bales. 

The  following  tables  exhibit  the  receipts  and  ex- 
ports of  cotton  at  and  from  this  city  for  the  past  few- 
years  : 

Eeoeipts. 


Fkom 

1880. 

19,890 

1    83,773 

114,291 

32,027 

1879. 



15,230 
45,622 
85,440 
27,060 

1878. 

22,904 
47,500 
69,968 
19:516 

1877. 

17,884 
51,17*1 
63,588; 

9,489j 

1670. 

CharlestoD 

10,788 

Virginia  and  North  Carolina... 
Per  rail 

83,293 
11,076 

Total 

249,981 

173,252 

142,135 

128,932 

126,192 

EXPOKTS. 

Bales.  Bales. 

148,036     For  1874 .46,087 

93,755       "     1873 35,826 

83,295       "     1872 16,747 

37,094  ;    "     1871 36,525 

27,410  I    "     1870 29,027 


The  above  tables  show  a  steady  increase  in  receipts 
and  exports  during  the  last  decade.  This  increase  is 
likely  to  be  continuous  and  much  more  rapid  in  the 
future.  Baltimore  has  better  connections  with  the 
centres  of  production  than  formerly ;  its  compressing 
facilities  are  now  large  and  very  eftective,  and  in  the 
matter  of  warehousing,  cheap  and  easy  handling,  and 
regular  and  al)undant  steamer-room,  we  can  offer  very 


%.u^!3. 


^i, 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


407 


attractive  advantages.  The  exports  are  chiefly  to 
Liverpool,  while  the  receipts,  which  are  not  only  by 
railroad  but  by  steamer  from  the  South,  show  a  wide 
extent  of  contributing  country.  It  is  anticipated  that 
the  receipts  of  the  present  cotton  year  will  exceed 
250,000  bales,  worth,  at  $5-1  per  bale,  over  $13,500,000. 
This  is  an  important  factor  in  the  city's  trade,  though 
its  proportions  do  not  tower  up  to  the  height  of  the 
grain  trade.  The  Taylor  press  now  used  at  our  com- 
press, one  of  the  most  powerful  in  existence,  is  cap- 
able of  reducing,  at  a  charge  of  only  fifty  cents  per 
bale,  without  any  expense  for  wharfage,  fifty  or  sixty 
bales  per  hour  to  a  thickness  of  only  seven  inches  in 
the  bale.  This  is  accomplished  by  means  of  a  press- 
ure of  3800  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  and  enables 
5000  bales  to  be  loaded  on  a  vessel  which  under  the 
former  method  of  hydraulic  pressure  could  only  carry 
3000  bales.  Facilities  such  as  those  enumerated, 
combined  with  cheapness,  safety,  and  the  means  of 
obtaining  any  advances  needed  on  warehouse  receipts, 
must  inevitably  bring  cotton  to  this  port  in  increasing 
quantities. 

Cotton  Manufactures.— The  growth  of  cotton, 
manufactures  has  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  the 
cotton  trade.  The  mills  and  fiictories  immediately 
adjacent  to  Baltimore  employ  over  8.500  hands,  with 
125,000  spindles,  and  a  capital  of  $.5,000,000.  The 
factories  at  Ellicott  City,  Alberton,  Laurel,  Powhatan, 
Woodberry,  Mount  Washington,  Franklin,  and  War- 
ren are  among  the  best  established  in  the  country, 
having  splendid  water-power  conjoined  to  steam,  large 
and  substantial  buildings,  and  new  and  improved 
plant  and  machinery.  The  goods  they  turn  out  are 
recognized  for  uniformity  and  excellence  of  quality 
in  every  market.  Our  mills,  which  have  perfected 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  duck,  supply  to  the  trade 
eighty  per  cent,  of  the  entire  quantity  consumed 
throughout  the  world.  In  addition  to  this  article,  in 
which  we  have  no  rivals,  our  mills  produce  twines 
and  yarns  of  a  superior  quality,  seine  and  netting 
twines  in  demand  by  fishermen  everywhere,  a  well- 
known  article  of  lamp-wick,  and  the  best  quality  of 
Osnaburgs,  sheetings,  light  duck,  drills,  quilt  stuffs, 
twills,  and  shirtings. 

The  manufacture  of  cotton  in  Baltimore  may  be 
considered  as  starting  with  the  organization  of  the 
Baltimore  Manufacturing  Company.  The  Maryland 
Journal  of  May  15,  1789,  contains  the  following: 
"  Baltimore,  May  15.  At  a  meeting  held  at  Mr. 
Stark's  tavern  on  Saturday,  agreeable  to  a  public 
notice  given  in  the  Maryland  Journal,  etc.,  of  the 
8th  instant,  the  following  rules  for  constituting  a  manu- 
facturing society  were  read  and  approved  of:  We  the 
subscribers,  being  desirous  to  promote  the  internal 
manufactures  of  this  country,  do  associate  ourselves 
under  the  title  of  the  Baltimore  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, and  in  order  to  carry  our  view  into  effect  have 
agreed  to  the  following  rules  or  constitution."  A 
carefully   drawn   constitution   here   follows.      Many 


advertisements  appear,  calling  for  payments  upon  the 

I  shares.^     June   19th,  Isaac   Vanbibber,   Christopher 

!  Johnson,    Andrew  Skinner   Ennals,  Alexander  Mc- 

Kim,  Richard  Caton,  Thomas  Dixon,  and  Andrew- 

I  Vanbibber  were  elected  directors,  with  James  Calhoun 

as  treasurer.     June  16th,  an  advertisement  calls  for 

a  "person  qualified  to  act  as  superintendent  in  the 

manufacturing  of  cotton,  flax,  and  wool,  according  to 

the  present  most  approved  methods  in  Europe;"  also, 

"  a  number  of  skillful  manufacturers  of  cotton,  flax, 

and  wool,  to  whom,  according  to  their  abilities  and 

character,  good  encouragement  will  be  given"  by  the 

Baltimore  Manufacturing  Company.'^ 

The  Union  Manufacturing  Company  of  Maryland 
was  organized  in  1808,  with  a  capital  of  $1,000,000,  in 
which  the  State  was  a  stockholder.  It  was  located 
near  Ellicott's  Mills.  Commenced  running  in  1810  ; 
was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1815.-'  Mr.  Bishop,  in  his 
"  History  of  Manufactures,"  enumerates  among  the 
eighty-seven  cotton-mills  in  1809-10  in  the  United 
States  "  two  near  Baltimore,"  one  of  which  was  "  The 
Union,"  above  mentioned,  and  the  other  was  The 
Wa.shington  Manufacturing  Company,  on  Jones' 
Falls,  five  miles  above  Baltimore.  The  capital  of  the 
company  was  $100,000.  The  mill  was  erected  in 
1810,  and  the  company  incorporated  in  1815.  "In 
Baltimore  and  vicinity,"  says  Bishop,^  "  where  the 
marshals  reported  eleven  mills  with  9000  spindles  in 
1810,  preparations  were  making  to  run  1500  to  2000 
more  before  1st  January.  Messrs.  Worthington,  Jes- 
sop,  Cheston,  and  others  took  up  water-rights  on 
Gwynn's  Falls  for  the  erection  of  the  Calverton  Mills, 

1"New  FuiUNG-Mui,.— Geo.  Parker,  Fuller  and  Dyer,  hereby  in- 
forms his  old  customers,  and  the  public  in  generiil,  that  his  new  Fulliug- 
Mill,  at  Mr.  Josiab  Pennington's,  about  a  half  a  mile  on  Jones's  Falls 
from  Balto,  Town,  is  now  going,  and  that  he  is  ready  to  receive  cloth  at 
the  mill  to  full  and  dress.  And  it  will  be  also  received,  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, at  Mr.  John  Shultz's  in  Market  St.,  the  2nd  door  above  South  St. 
Those  who  shall  be  pleased  to  favor  him  with  their  cloth,  may  depend 
on  its  being  attended  to  witli  punctuality  and  despatch." — Maryland 
Journal,  Tuesday,  Oct.  2T,  1780. 

-  Cotton  was  grown  in  Maryland  during  the  Revolution,  as  mention  is 
made  that  the  people  of  St.  Mary  and  Talbot  Counties  raised  then  enough 
for  their  own  purposes,  and  as  late  as  the  census  of  1840,  5673  pounds 
were  gathered  in  the  State. 

3  At  an  election  held  April  7, 1808,  for  directors  of  the  "  Union  Manu- 
facturing Company"  of  Maryland,  the  following  gentlemen  were  elected : 
William  Patterson,  John  M.  Kird,  John  Gill,  Robert  M'Kim,  A.  J. 
Schwartz,  William  Jones,  Ludwick  Herring,  John  Trimble,  James  H. 
McCulloch,  William  Wilson,  Benjamin  Ellicott,  Robert  Gilmor. 

"  On  Jan.  4, 1808,  at  a  meeting  of  citizens  desirous  of  promoting  the 
establishment  of  cotton  and  woolen  manufactories,  held  at  the  Mer- 
chants' Coffee-House,  William  Patterson  chairman,  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  meet  at  same  place  January  6th,  at  si,\  p.m.,  for  the 
purpose  of  receiving  such  conimunicatiotis  as  any  of  the  citizens  ac- 
quainted with  the  theory  or  practice  of  either  of  the  above  branches 
may  think  proper  to  make  to  them,  and  to  make  report  thereof  to  a  gen- 
eral meeting  of  the  citizens  to  be  held  at  the  Merchants'  Coffee-House  on 
Saturday,  9th  inst.,  at  six  p.m. 

"  On  Jan.  4, 1808,  Baltimore  Cotton  Manufactory  will  go  into  operation, 
in  all  this  month,  where  a  number  of  boys  and  girls  from  eight  to  twelv^ 
years  of  age  are  wanted,  etc. 

'*  Applications  will  be  received  by  Thomas  White,  at  the  manufactory, 
near  the  Friend's  meeting-house,  Old-Town,  or  by  Isaac  Burneston,  196 
Market  Street." 

<  Vol.  ii.  p.  198 


408 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


four  miles  west  of  the  city."  The  Powhatan  Cotton- 
Works,  on  Gw)'nn's  Falls,  six  miles  from  Baltimore, 
were  erected  in  1810-11,  and  the  company  incorpo- 
rated in  1815."  The  Warren  Cotton-Factory,  at  Great 
Gunpowder  Falls,  was  incorporated  in  1816  ;  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1830;  rebuilt  in  1837;  sold  in 
1864,  for  $40,000,  to  Woodward  Baldwin  &  Norris.  j 
The  Eockdalc  Factory  of  Messrs.  Mason  &  Johnson, 
established  in  1847  on  the  site  of  the  old  silk-factory, 
was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1855.  The  Phoenix  Factory 
for  Osnaburgs,  Thomas  Fulton,  who  died  Jan.  12, 
1851,  proprietor,  was  established  in  1848.  Mr.  Ful- 
ton was  also  proprietor  in  1848  of  the  Washington 
Factory,-  on  Jones'  Falls,  about  five  miles  from  the 
city. 

The  Patuxent  Cotton-Factory,  at  Laurel,  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  June,  1855,  and  sold  to  G.  P.  Tiffany, 
treasurer,  for  $36,000.  Rebuilt  in  1857,  with  a  ca- 
pacity of  7000  spindles.  ' 

The  Rockland  Cotton-Factory,  established  in  1846, 
was  then  the  only  calico  print-works  in  the  State ; 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1857. 

The  Rockdale  Cotton-Factory,  on  Jones'  Falls,  was 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1855.  i 

The  Whitehall  Factory  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1854. 

The  Ashland  Factory  was  burnt  in  1864. 

The  Savage  Manufacturing  Company's  mill,  in 
1860,  was  purchased  by  Donaldson  &  Burgee. 

The  Alberton  Mills,  at  Elysville,  Howard  Co.,  are 
the  growth  of  the  enterprise  and  energy  of  the  late 
James  Sullivan  Gary,  and  those  of  his  son,  James 
Alfred  Gary.     The  father,  James  Sullivan  Gary,  was 
born  at  Medway,  Mass.,  Nov.  15,  1808.     He  was  de- 
scended  from    John    Gary,   who,   with    his  brother 
James,  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Lancashire, 
England,  in  1712,  John  settling  in  New  Hampshire, 
and  James  at  Marblehead,  Mass.     He  was  but  five 
years  old  when  his  father  died,  leaving  a  large  family, 
and  he  went  to  work  in  the  cotton-mill  of  the  Med- 
way  Manufacturing  Company,  where   he  remained  | 
constantly  employed   until   1820,   thus   acquiring   a  1 
thorough  practical  knowledge  of  the  minutest  details  j 
of  the  manufacture,  which  contributed  largely  to  his  ] 
success  in  after-life.    His  educational  advantages  were 
necessarily  very  limited,  but  were  improved  to  their  [ 
fullest  capacity  by  the  aid  of  an  exemplary  and  kind 
mother.    Quitting  the  Medway  Company  to  find  more 
profitable  employment  elsewhere,  he  engaged  succes- 
sively in  a  number  of  manufacturing  establishments, 
thus  enlarging  his  knowledge  of  the  business.      In 


2  March  16, 1810,  "John  Hagerty,  treasurer,"  advertises,  "  The  Wash- 
ington Cotton  Manufacturing  Company  (being  the  first  cotton  manufac- 
tory in  Maryland  worked  by  water)  are  now  in  operation,"  with  "  288 
spindles  going,  and  many  more  to  be  in  operation.  Tliere  are  a  few 
shares  to  be  disiiused  of,  Ibe  piice  of  wbifb  was  S.'i(t,  now  ^.■jil.wliicli  niiiy 
be  had  of  the  treasurer.  X...  12  Liglit  Street." 


these  various  changes  he  constantly  bettered  himself, 
and  by  the  time  he  wa-s  twenty-two  years  of  age  he 
had  accumulated  a  few  thousand  dollars.  Removing 
to  M:iiisliilii,  ( 'dim.,  he  became  a  partner  in  a  cotton- 
f:Kt(.r\,  hilt  this  first  venture  in  business  on  his  own 
accDiiiit  priivtil  very  unfortunate  for  him.  The  agents 
of  the  factory  went  into  bankruptcy,  and  he  lost  his 
entire  investment.  After  this  disaster  he  spent  some 
years  in  charge  of  one  of  the  departments  of  the 
mills  of  the  Lonsdale  Manufacturing  Company,  in 
Rhode  Island.  In  1838  he  removed  with  his  family 
to  Maryland,  having  been  engaged  to  take  charge  of 
one  of  the  departments  in  the  mills  of  the  Patuxent 
Manufacturing  Company,  at  Laurel,  Prince  George's 
Co.  In  1844  he  and  three  other  gentlemen  established 
the  Ashland  Manufacturing  Company  of  Baltimore 
County,  and  he  assumed  entire  supervision  of  the 
works.  This  company  operated  most  successfiilly 
until  1854,  when  the  buildings  and  machinery  were 
destroyed  by  fire.  While  thus  engaged  he  was  invited 
by  the  Patuxent  Company,  who  had  been  greatly  im- 
pressed by  his  energy  and  executive  ability,  to  take 
complete  control  of  their  works,  which  for  some  time 
he  did,  visiting  and  directing  the  mills  of  both  com- 
panies. A  year  previous  to  the  fire  at  Ashland,  Mr. 
Gary,  in  connection  with  another  gentleman,  had  es- 
tablished the  Alberton  Manufacturing  Company,  at 
Elysville,  Howard  Co.,  which  remained  in  operation 
until  1857,  when  it  shared  the  fate  of  many  other 
business  houses  in  the  financial  panic  which  swept 
over  the  nation.  A  new  organization  was  soon  after 
effected,  under  the  name  of  the  Sagouan  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  and  production  was  resumed.  In  1859, 
Mr.  Gary  discovered  that  his  associate,  who  controlled 
the  financial  afl'airs,  had  involved  the  company  in  ' 
outside  operations  to  a  large  amount,  and  with  disas- 
trous results.  He  at  once  arranged  to  assume  the 
sole  ownership  of  the  mills,  together  with  the  heavy 
indebtedness.  Recognizing  the  fact  that  he  should 
not  be  held  responsible  for  what  had  been  done  with- 
out his  knowledge,  the  creditors  were  ready  to  agree 
to  a  very  liberal  compromise,  but  he  declined  the 
offer,  promising  to  discharge  every  claim  in  full  at  a 
future  time.  A  settlement  on  this  basis  was  arranged, 
and  Mr.  Gary  soon  showed  that  his  qualifications  for 
mercantile  and  financial  transactions  were  not  inferior 
to  his  skill  as  a  manufacturer.  His  affairs  prospered 
rapidly,  and  in  half  the  time  for  which  he  had  asked 
he  was  able  to  pay  oft'  the  debts  of  the  company  in 
full  and  with  interest  added.  In  1861  his  son,  James 
Albert  Gary,  was  taken  into  partnership,  under  the 
firm-name  of  James  S.  Gary  &  Son,  and  in  1863,  for 
the  purpose  for  securing  a  wider  field  of  operations 
in  the  purchase  of  cotton  and  the  sale  of  manufac- 
tured goods,  a  branch  house  was  established  in  St. 
Louis,  with  the  title  of  James  S.  Gary  &  Co.  Great 
prosperity  attended  these  enlargements  of  the  busi- 
ness. In  1866  tlie  mills,  dwellings,  and  property  at 
Alberton  were  considerably  damaged  by  a  freshet.    A 


^ 


WILLIAM    DEVRIES   &   CO., 
312  BALTIMOBE  STREET,  BALTIMOBE,  US. 


COMMERCIAL  INDUSTRIES  AND   MANUFACTURES. 


much  greater  calamity  occurred  in  tlie  memorable 
iiood  of  1868,  when  the  whole  valley  of  the  Patapsco 
was  suddenly  swept  by  a  torrent  which  destroyed 
many  lives  and  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  property. 
Mr.  Gary  himself  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life,  and  ' 
his  loss  amounted  to  $150,000.  But  scarcely  bad  the 
waters  subsided  when,  with  his  usual  courage  and 
energy,  he  set  to  work  to  repair  damages,  first  relieving 
the  wants  of  the  people  of  the  village,  many  of  whom 
were  his  employes.  At  this  task  he  worked  night  and  ' 
day,  and  though  the  Alberton  Mills  had  suffered  so  ' 
heavily,  they  were  the  first  of  those  along  the  line  of 
the  freshet  to  resume  operations.  Mr.  Gary  died 
rather  suddenly  on  March  7,  1870,  and  is  buried  at 
Alberton,  where  the  monuments  of  his  energy  and 
skill  are  to  be  seen  in  the  great  mills  and  their  pic- 
turesque surroundings.  His  manners  were'  genial, 
and  his  disposition  amiable,  though  he  was  strict  in 
his  discipline.  He  was  a  sincere  and  zealous  Unionist 
and  Republican.  His  daughter  is  married  to  H.  B. 
Holton,  and  resides  at  the  mills.  His  son  is  a  worthy 
successor  of  the  father  at  the  head  of  tlieir  vast  busi- 
ness. He  manages  it  on  the  same  safe  principles,  and 
there  has  been  no  break  in  its  prosperity.  James  A. 
Gary  is  now  a  very  prominent  citizen  of  Baltimore. 
In  1874  he  was  the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party 
for  Congress  from  the  Fifth  District,  and  in  1879  can- 
didate for  Governor  of  Maryland.  In  the  latter  year 
he  thoroughly  stumped  the  State  and  obtained  a  flat- 
tering vote.  In  June,  1881,  he  sailed  from  Baltimore 
with  his  family  for  an  extended  tour  of  Europe!  For 
several  years  he  has  been  a  director  of  the  Citizens' 
National  Bank. 

The  property  at  Elysville  embraces  cotton-facto- 
ries, a  commodious  dwelling,  a  large  store,  and  up- 
wards of  seventy  houses  for  the  operatives,  all  built 
of  stone  in  the  most  substantial  and  convenient  man- 
ner. The  factory  is  340  by  50  feet,  four  stories  high, 
with  tasteful  belfry,  containing  the  bell  to  strike  the 
hours  "  to  begin"  and  "  to  quit"  work.  The  spindles ' 
number  9000,  with  228  looms.  The  preparatory  de- 
partment, 68  by  32  feet;  the  dyeing  department,  32  by 
50  feet;  a  store-house  for  1500  bales,  a  gas-house,  a 
reservoir  178  feet  above  the  buildings,  and  containing 
70,000  gallons.  The  estimated  value  of  the  property 
is  $600,000.  The  products  are  cotton  ducking  and 
drillings. 

In  1877  the  Laurel  Factory,  at  Laurel,  Prince 
George's  County,  suspended  operations,  and  was  sold 
to  a  new  company,  the  Gary  Manufacturing  Company, 
with  James  A.  Gary,  president ;  W.  H.  Stewart,  W. 
M.  Boone,  John  Nicholson,  and  Jos.  Friedenwald, 
directors.  Capital,  $300,000.  Operations  were  re- 
sumed in  1877,  employing  300  hands. 

The  Mount  Vernon  Company  was  organized  in  1847 
with  the  present  mill.  No.  1,  40  by  130  feet,  consum- 
ing 100,000  pounds  cotton  per  month,  and  employing 
150  hands,  and  producing  80,000  pounds  of  goods ; 
spindles  5000.   In  1853  mill  No.  2  was  erected,  204  by 


44  feet,  4  stories,  employing  150  hands,  and  5000  spin- 
dles. These  two  mills  consume  about  3000  bales  of 
cotton  annually,  with  a  production  of  $1,000,000  for 
the  same  period. 

The  Washington  Mills  at  Mount  Washington,  the 
Clipper  Mills,  Falls  Road,  Whitehall  Factory,  Falls 
Road,  and  Woodberry  Mills,  at  Woodberry,  Messrs. 
Wm.  E.  Hooper  «&  Sons,  proprietors,  are  the  most  ex- 
tensive manufactories  of  cotton  duck  in  this  country. 
They  owe  their  origin  and  growth  to  the  labors  and 
energy  of  Horatio  N.  Gambrill,  now  of  the  "  Druid 
Mills,"  and  Wm.  E.  Hooper,  the  present  proprie- 
tor. The  Whitehall  Factory,  formerly  the  "  Old 
Whitehall  Flouring-Mill,"  ou  Jones'  Falls,  was  con- 
verted and  rebuilt  in  1839  by  Mr.  Gambrill,  who  there 
commenced  with  five  looms  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
duck  for  sails.  In  1842  the  Woodberry  property  was 
purchased,  and  the  Woodberry  Mills  erected  for  a  more 
extensive  manufacture  of  the  same  article.  In  1845 
the  capacity  of  this  mill  was  doubled,  and  steam  in- 
troduced to  assist  the  failing  water-power.  In  1847 
the  Laurel  Mill,  on  Jones'  Falls,  was  purchased  from 
Hugh  Jenkins,  and  soon  after  the  "  Mount  Vernon 
Mill,  No.  1,"  was  constructed  by  conversion  of  the 
old  flouring-mill  into  a  cotton-factory.  In  1832,  Mr. 
Gambrill  purchased  the  Washington  Factory,  and 
proceeded  to  rebuild  and  enlarge  the  establishment. 
In  1863  the  Whitehall  Factory  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  and  upon  its  site  was  erected  the  Clipper  Mills. 
The  Park  Mil!,  at  Woodberry,  for  the  manufacture  of 
netting  for  seines  by  machinery,  was  built  about 
1854^55.  The  machinery  was  invented  and  patented 
by  John  McMuUen,  of  Baltimore.  In  1865,  Mr. 
Gambrill  sold  out  both  branches  of  manufacture  to 
Wm.  E.  Hooper.  The  house  of  Wm.  E.  Hooper  & 
Sons  now  conduct  the  operations  of  the  above  mills. 
The  Druid  Mills,  at  Hampden,  were  erected  in 
1866,  by  their  present  proprietor,  after  he  had  dis- 
posed of  his  interest  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
duck  and  seine  twine,  as  narrated  in  the  sketch  of 
the  mills  of  Wm.  E.  Hooper  &  Sons.  The  "  Druid 
Mills"  began  operations  in  1866,  having  cost  for  es- 
tablishment and  machinery  about  $470,000.  Ante- 
rior to  the  establishing  of  the  old  Whitehall  Factory 
for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  duck  for  sails  this 
country  had  drawn  its  supplies  from  the  Passaic  and 
Phoenix  Mills,  in  Paterson,  N.  J.,  and  from  the  looms 
of  English  and  Russian  manufacturers.  The  Balti- 
more goods  proving  of  such  excellent  quality,  and 
selling  at  a  greatly  reduced  price,  soon  effectually 
supplanted  in  the  markets  of  the  country  the  pro- 
ductions of  all  competitors.  The  civil  war  in  1861- 
65,  by  largely  increasing  the  price  of  cotton,  greatly 
checked  the  operations  of  the  Baltimore  mills;  but 
upon  the  return  of  peace  in  1865  the  works  again  sup- 
plied the  markets,  and  have  since  continued  to  outstrip 
all  competitors.  Mr.  Gambrill  has  made  several  valu- 
able improvements  in  cotton  machinery,  particularly 
that  of  a  self-stripping  cotton-card,  the  right  of  which 


410 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


was  sold  in  England  for  $66,000,  and  the  royalty  upon 
which  in  the  United  States  is  $4000  annually.  The  ] 
operatives  of  the  Druid  Mills  are  well  housed  in  neat 
cottages  belonging  to  the  proprietors  of  the  mills. 
Woodberry,  Hampden,  and  Sweetair  are  villages 
where  reside  the  families  of  the  operatives  in  the 
mills  along  the  course  of  Jones'  Falls,  and  aggregate 
a  population  of  over  5000  persons.  The  aggregate 
investment  of  money  in  and  around  these  manufac- 
turing establishments  is  over  $10,000,000. 

The  Thistle  factory  of  the  Thistle  Manufacturing 
Company,  near  Ilchester,  Howard  County,  manufac- 
tures sheetings  and  drills. 

The  Phoenix  Mills  are  situated  in  Baltimore  County, 
eighteen  miles  out  on  the  Northern  Central  Railroad  ; 
E.  W.  Garrett  &  Sons  and  Jos.  W.  Jenkins,  pro- 
prietors. 

The  Dry-Goods    Jobbing   Trade.— Tlie  jobbing 
trade  in  dry-goods  and  notions  is  one  of  the  most 
substantial  and  promising  business  interests  of  Balti- 
more.    No  regular  statistics  are  kept  of  this  trade,  ] 
and  the  figures  given  by  the  last  census  fail  to  present 
it  in  its  true  proportions,  for  the  reason  that  it  takes 
no  account  of  the  capital  or  the  transactions  of  the 
large  number  of  brokers  who  sell  altogether  by  sample, 
and  whose  stock  is  never  open  for  inspection.  In  spite, 
however,  of  the  difficulty  surrounding  an  accurate  es- 
timate, careful  inquiry  among  those  engaged  in  the 
business  renders  it  certain  that  there  is  over  twenty 
millions  of  dollars  employed  in  the  two  branches  of 
trade   under   consideration.     This   large   amount   is 
being  annually  augmented,  not  only  by  the  activity 
with  which  it  is  turned  over  in  the  course  of  busi- 
ness, but  by  the  fresh  capital  which  finds  its  way  into 
these  profitable  channels.    There  is  scarcely  any  other 
branch  of  business  in  Baltimore  whose  growth  during 
the  last  few  years  has  been  so  rapid,  or  whose  future 
points  to  more  magnificent  results.     No  better  evi- 
dence of  this  could  be  afforded  than  is  furnished  in 
the  large  number  of  new  and  splendid  business  struc-  | 
tures  which  have  been  erected  by  the  trade  within 
the  last  few  years.     Among  them  may  be  mentioned  l 
the  fine  warehouses  of  Messrs.  Hurst,  Purnell  &  Co., 
Wm.  Devries  &  Co.,  Bruff,  Faulkner  &  Co.,  Johnson, 
Sutton  &  Co.,  Seliger  &  Newman,  Ross,  Campbell  & 
Co.,  Townsend,  Whitely  &  Co.,  Turnbull,  Sweet  &  ' 
Co.,  Robt.  Hull,  and  Daniel  Miller  &  Co.     The  char- 
acter of  these  establishments,  and  the  extent  and  pro-  ] 
portions  of  the  trade  which  they  represent,  may  be  | 
gathered  from  the  accompanying  views  of  a  few  of  i 
the  leading  houses  of  Baltimore.     The  new  house  of 
Daniel  Miller  &  Co.,  at  Nos.  32  and  34  South  Sharp,  , 
and  23,  24,  and  2r>  Liberty  Street,  is,  however,  deserv- 
ing of  special  mention. 

The  building  is  five  stories  high,  with  basement  and 
sub-cellar,  with  a  front  on  Sharp  Street  of  forty-five 
feet,  and  on  Liberty  Street  of  seventy  feet,  with  a 
depth  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet.  Both  fronts 
are,  architecturally,  very  imposing.    On  Sharp  Street 


the  first  story  is  of  iron,  with  heavy  French  plate 
stained-glass  front,  while  for  the  upper  stories  the 
materials  employed  are  the  best  pressed  brick,  with 
trimmings  of  Richmond  granite  and  terra-cotta  of 
elaborate  pattern,  and  highly-polished  granite  col- 
umns and  capitals.  The  Liberty  Street  front  is  sim- 
ilar in  general  appearance,  but  the  trimmings  are  of 
Cheat  River  stone  instead  of  granite,  and  owing  to  a 
difference  of  grade,  the  entrance  is  on  a  level  with  the 
basement,  independent  of  which,  however,  a  grand 
staircase  leads  directly  to  the  door.  The  plan  of  the 
interior  is  the  same  on  every  floor.  A  double  row  of 
iron  columns,  with  ornamental  capitals  and  bases, 
handsomely  decorated  in  gold  and  delicate  tints,  ex- 
tends the  entire  depth  of  the  building.  On  each  side 
is  a  staircase  communicating  independently  with 
every  floor.  An  abundance  of  light  is  obtained  from 
three  sides  of  the  building,  and  an  immense  sky-light 
in  the  centre  pours  a  flood  of  light  upon  every  floor. 
The  building  is  supplied  with  three  elevators,  one 
passenger  and  two  freight,  of  new  and  improved  pat- 
tern. The  house,  in  addition  to  being  almost  fire- 
proof, is  amply  supplied  with  novel  facilities  for  ex- 
tinguishing a  fire  should  it  occur. 

Many  other  business  places  equally  imposing  have 
recently  been  erected,  and  the  amount  of  money  which 
is  being  expended  in  these  improvements  is  one  of  the 
best  proofs  that  could  be  obtained  of  the  expansion  of 
the  dry-goods  and  notions  interests.  Their  growth, 
however,  is  tlie  logical  result,  not  only  of  the  trade 
facilities  and  advantages  enjoyed  by  Baltimore,  but 
of  the  great  energy  and  enterprise  which  have  been 
showu  by  our  merchants  in  extending  their  connec- 
tions in  every  direction,  and  building  up  a  trade 
wherever  a  customer  is  to  be  found.  Prior  to  the 
civil  war  the  business  in  Baltimore,  as  in  other  cities, 
was  based  upon  credit  and  mutual  confidence.  The 
relations  between  buyer  and  seller  were  necessarily 
closer  than  at  present,  and  the  former  dealt  directly 
with  the  latter.  The  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  inter- 
rupted travel  and  traffic,  and  in  many  instances 
debtor  and  creditor  were  separated  from  each  other 
by  walls  of  steel  more  impassable  than  Chinese  bar- 
riers. Capital,  warned  by  these  unpleasant  lessons, 
decreed  a  cash  basis  for  the  future,  and  the  relations 
of  the  parties  were  altered.  The  buyer,  freed  fi-om 
the  thraldom  of  credit,  became  more  independent,  and 
the  seller  was  compelled  to  seek  him  and  to  offer  the 
strongest  inducements  for  his  custom.  The  Balti- 
more merchants  soon  conformed  to  the  change  in 
business  methods,  and  with  excellent  judgment  se- 
lected active  and  intelligent  agents  to  represent  them 
in  the  South,  Southwest,  and  Northwest,  and  quickly 
extended  the  area  of  their  operations  far  beyond  its 
original  limits.  Their  own  energy  and  enterprise 
have  been  infused  into  these  representatives,  and 
there  is  no  section  of  the  country  to  which  the  Bal- 
timore "  drummers"  have  not  carried  the  commer- 
cial flag  of  their  city.     The  stock  of  these  trades  will 


I  Ir-- 


iWWLIfii 

m  i  i 

Jilil  llilr'ii 


m  liiii!  iiii  ill 


DANIEL    MILLER    &     CO, 
32  AND  34  SHARP,  AND  21,  23,  AND  25  LIBERTY  STS.,  BALTIMORE,  MD. 


COMMERCIAL  INDUSTRIES  AND   MANUFACTURES. 


compare  favorably  with  that  of  similar  establishments 
in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and  embraces  the 
best  selections  of  home  and  foreign  manufacture. 
Foreign  goods  are  imported  directly  from  abroad,  and 
are  purchased  often  by  our  merchants  in  person,  who 
make  regular  trips  to  Great  Britain  and  the  continent 
of  Europe  for  the  purpose. 

In  addition  to  the  advantages  arising  from  their 
greater  proximity  to  the  South  and  West,  importers 
at  Baltimore  are  favored  by  lighter  port  charges  and  ^ 
cheaper  ship  supplies  than  obtained  at  any  rival  cities, 
and  can  therefore  sell  more  cheaply  and  on  better 
terms.  This  in  part  accounts  for  the  fact  that  com- 
peting cities  have  found  it  impossible  to  seduce  her  | 
customers,  or  to  divert  the  constantly  increasing 
stream  of  traffic  which  is  flowing  into  the  lap  of  Bal- 
timore. 

Among  the  oldest  dry-goods  houses  in  Baltimore  is 
that  of  Daniel  Miller  &  Co.,  established  in  1846.  It 
was  founded  by  the  enterprise  and  energy  of  the  distin- 
guished merchant  whose  name  it  still  bears,  and  com- 
menced business  at  No.  .304  West  Baltimore  Street,  in 
partnership  with  the  late  John  Dallam.  Nine  years 
later  Mr.  Dallam  was  killed  in  a  disaster  on  the  Cam- 
den and  Amboy  Eailroad,  and  the  surviving  partner 
continued  the  business,  which,  commencing  with 
annual  sales  of  eighty  thousand  dollars  in  1847,  in- 
creased to  one  and  a  quarter  millions  in  1870,  the  year 
of  Mr.  Miller's  death,  and  now  amounts  to  nearly 
two  millions  of  dollars. 

Mr.  Miller  was  a  native  of  Loudon  County,  Ya.,  and 
was  born  July  7,  1812.  His  father  was  a  German, 
who  had  emigrated  from  the  Fatherland  prior  to  the 
Revolution  and  made  his  home  in  Loudon  County 
as  a  teacher,  in  which  profession  he  greatly  excelled. 
With  other  patriotic  citizens  of  the  neighborhood,  he 
as.sisted  in  the  defense  of  Baltimore  in  1814,  and  after 
the  war  became  much  embarrassed  on  account  of  in- 
dorsing for  a  friend  whose  means  were  swept  away  in 
a  financial  panic.  At  this  time  Daniel  Miller,  then 
but  fourteen  years  of  age,  resolved  to  be  no  longer  a 
burden  to  his  family  but  to  start  out  in  search  of  his 
own  fortune.  He  trudged  off  to  Harper's  Ferry, 
which  was  then  a  business  and  social  centre,  and 
found  a  situation  in  a  country  store  at  a  meagre 
salary.  Thus  early  in  life  he,  in  compliance  with  the 
wishes  of  his  mother,  made  the  stern  resolution  never 
to  touch  spirits  or  tobacco,  and  notwithstanding  the 
temptations  which  beset  him  in  his  youthful  days,  he 
was  a  total  abstainer  and  remained  such  to  the  end  of 
his  life.  It  was  his  custom  to  attribute  much  of  his 
success  in  business  to  his  observance  of  this  principle, 
which  he  commended  to  all  young  men  as  a  safe 
guiding  star  no  matter  what  their  pursuits  might  be. 
He  labored  with  so  much  diligence  for  his  employers 
that  before  attaining  his  majority  he  w\is  offered  an 
interest  in  a  mercantile  house  at  Lovettsville,  Ya., 
which  he  accepted,  and  in  a  few  years  he  bought  out 
his  partners  and  conducted  the  business  on  his  own 


account.  By  the  year  1842  he  had  become  the  lead- 
ing merchant  and  citizen  of  the  vicinity,  and  ran  for 
the  Yirginia  Legislature  on  the  Whig  ticket.  He 
met  the  opposition  on  the  hustings  and  was  elected  by 
a  large  majority,  although  he  refused  to  buy  votes  or 
descend  to  any  species  of  political  bribery.  He  made 
a  useful  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  was  con- 
cerned in  the  enactment  of  several  measures  of  im- 
portance to  business  interests.  A  rural  district,  how- 
ever, was  too  contracted  a  sphere  for  the  exercise  of 
Mr.  Miller's  ambitions,  and  in  1846,  as  has  already 
been  said,  he  removed  to  this  city. 

The  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  plunged  Mr.  Miller 
into  terrible  business  difficulties.  He  was  accumu- 
lating wealth,  but  his  business  connections  were  so 
extensive  and  ramified  that  his  capital  and  credit 
were  most  seriously  involved.  Great  amounts  of 
money  were  owing  to  him  in  the  seceded  States,  and 
were  of  course  uncollectable.  In  this  critical  moment 
his  integrity  and  fortitude  were  the  salvation  of  his 
house.  Casting  to  the  winds  all  suggestions  of  com- 
promise, he  dissolved  the  partnership,  notified  his 
creditors  that  they  should  eventually  be  paid  every 
dollar,  and  set  himself  to  work  to  keep  his  promise. 
By  close  economy  and  untiring  labor  he  made  good 
his  word,  taking  up  as  he  could  his  maturing  indebt- 
edness and  renewing  what  he  was  not  able  to  pay. 
Within  five  years  he  made  himself  a  free  man  by 
paying  four  hundred  and  ninety-six  thousand  dollars, 
thus  canceling  the  principal  and  interest  of  all  his 
obligations.  It  was  the  happiest  day  of  his  life,  as  he 
himself  said,  when  he  announced  to  his  creditors  his 
full  resumption.  Mr.  Miller  was  generous  in  his  aid 
to  the  wounded  men  and  prisoners  of  war  during  the 
civil  conflict,  and  when  it  was  terminated  he  was 
alert  to  devise  ways  and  means  to  revive  commerce 
and  industry.  He  was  one  of  the  mo.st  efficient  pro- 
moters of  the  plan  to  make  advances  of  money  to  the 
farmers  of  the  valley  of  Yirginia  to  seed  and  restock 
their  farms,  and  as  treasurer  of  the  Agricultural  Aid 
Society  he  collected  and  disbursed  over  seventy  thou- 
sand dollars.  He  also  aided  in  the  establishment 
of  banks  at  Winchester,  Harrisonburg,  Staunton, 
and  Charlottesville,  and  although  there  were  debts 
amounting  to  nearly  half  a  million  dollars  due  him 
from  this  section  of  the  countrj',  he  forgave  his 
debtors,  and  gave  new  credit,  as  far  as  was  prudent, 
to  his  old  customers.  He  associated  his  two  sons, 
Henry  Clay  and  Theodore  K.,  with  him  in  business, 
and  the  firm  steadily  rose  in  commercial  eminence. 
Daniel  Miller  ^vas  married  while  at  Lovettsville  to 
Miss  Klein,  and  the  fruits  of  the  union  were  five  sous 
and  one  daughter.  He  died  suddenly  at  midnight  of 
Sunday,  July  24,  1870.  He  had  been  an  elder  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  teacher  and  superintendent 
in  the  Sunday  school.  He  was  the  first  president  of 
the  National  Exchange  Bank,  a  director  in  the  Eutaw 
Savings-Bank,  and  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade. 
His  death  threw  a  gloom  over  the  whole  community. 


412 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


His  sons  conducted  tlie  house  on  the  great  principles 
whicli  he  liad  bequeathed  to  them,  but  in  1880  it  was 
deprived  of  the  invaluable  labors  of  its  head,  Mr. 
Henry  Clay  Miller,  who,  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine 
years,  followed  his  father  to  the  grave,  and  was 
mourned  in  no  less  degree.  The  firm  now  consists  of 
Theodore  K.,  Daniel,  and  William  E.  Miller,  and  R. 
C.  Davidson  and  J.  Frank  Supplee.  They  are  all 
young  men,  and  in  full  sympathy  with  the  progressive 
spirit  which  has  always  marked  the  management  of 
the  house. 

Henry  Clay  Miller,  whoSfe  death  occurred  on  Aug.  1, 
1880,  in  the  thirty-ninth  year  of  his  age,  inherited  all 
the  business  talent  of  his  father,  and  in  the  compara- 
tively brief  period  of  business  life  which  was  allotted 
to  him  advanced  in  a  marked  degree  the  prosperity 
and  fortunes  of  the  house  with  which  he  was  associ- 
ated. He  was  born  in  Lovettsville,  Loudon  Co.,  Va., 
and  came  to  Baltimore  with  his  father  in  1846.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  this  city,  and 
graduated  in  the  Central  High  School,  now  the  Bal- 
timore City  College,  when  only  sixteen  years  of  age. 
He  was  one  of  the  best  students  in  the  class,  and  re- 
ceived the  second  of  the  Peabody  prizes.  After  his 
graduation  he  entered  his  father's  store,  and  dis- 
charged his  duties  with  so  much  judgment,  talent,  and 
fidelity  that  on  the  1st  of  January,  1865,  when  only 
twenty-three  years  of  age,  he  was  made  a  member  of 
the  firm.  In  his  new  position  the  business  qualities 
which  he  had  already  exhibited  were  tested  by  cares 
and  responsibilities  of  no  common  order,  but  be  soon 
demonstrated  by  his  calm  judgment,  unshrinking 
courage,  and  prudent  action  that  he  was  fully  equal 
to  the  most  arduous  and  complicated  business  de- 
mands, and  was  entirely  worthy  of  the  confidence 
which  had  been  placed  in  him.  His  striking  aptitude 
for  the  career  upon  which  he  had  entered  was  so  ap- 
parent that  it  was  not  long  before  he  assumed  largely 
the  management  of  the  business,  assisted  by  others, 
but  always  in  the  lead.  The  sudden  death  of  his 
father  called  for  the  every  effort  of  his  will  and  every 
resource  of  his  intellect  to  carry  on  the  work  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  designs  and  views  of  its  founder, 
and  he  acquitted  himself  in  a  manner  that  surprised 
even  those  who  best  understood  his  qualifications  and 
abilities.  Enterprising,  constantly  developing,  clear- 
headed, far-sighted,  his  operations  were  exceptionally 
successful,  and  his  investments  safe  and  remunerative. 
He  was  a  born  merchant,  and  possessed  a  reserved 
force  and  mercantile  genius  which  were  exhibited 
with  wonderful  force  and  effect  in  the  many  emer- 
gencies and  sudden  demands  of  a  great  business  ca- 
reer. The  new  structure  in  which  the  business  is  now 
conducted  was  projected  by  him,  and  though  still  un- 
finished at  his  death,  has  been  completed  in  accord- 
ance with  the  plans  arranged  by  him.  In  early  man- 
hood he  became  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
of  which  his  father  was  a  ruling  elder,  and  by  his 
large  and  ready  charities  proved  the  depth  and  sin- 


cerity of  his  religious  faith.  He  married  Elizabeth 
L.  Whelen,  daughter  of  Henry  Whelen,  of  Bryn 
Mawr,  Pa.,  and  left  two  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl. 

The  firm  of  Woodward,  Baldwin  &  Norris  is  one 
of  the  most  prominent  jobbing  houses  in  Baltimore. 
It  was  established  in  March,  1828,  on  Baltimore 
Street,  between  Liberty  and  Howard  Streets,  for  the 
sale  of  domestic  dry-goods,  under  the  name  of  Jones 
&  Woodward,  and  was  then  composed  of  William 
Woodward  and  Talbot  Dixon  Jones.  Upon  the 
death  of  the  latter,  his  younger  brother,  Andrew  D. 
Jones,  succeeded  him  in  the  business,  and  subse- 
quently Ellis  B.  Long  became  interested  in  the  firm, 
the  name  of  which  was  changed  to  Jones,  Woodward 
&  Co.  In  1844,  further  changes  having  occurred  in 
the  personnel  of  the  house,  it  assumed  the  name  of 
William  Woodward  &  Co.,  with  William  Woodward, 
Andrew  D.  Jones,  and  Wm.  H.  Baldwin,  Jr.,  as  its 
members.  Mr.  Jones  died  in  1846,  and  during  the 
same  year  the  place  of  business  was  removed  to  its 
present  location  on  Hanover  Street,  and  Francis  A. 
Fisher  was  admitted  to  the  partnership.  In  1852, 
Mr.  Fisher  retired,  and  C.  C.  Baldwin  became  a 
member  of  the  firm,  the  name  of  which  was  changed 
to  Woodward,  Baldwin  &  Co.  The  house  continued 
business  under  this  name  until  1873,  when  Summer- 
field  Baldwin,  Edward  T.  Norris,  and  Andrew  D. 
Jones,  Jr.,  the  son  of  a  former  partner,  became  mem- 
bers of  the  firm,  which  has  since  been  known  as 
Woodward,  Baldwin  &  Norris,  although  Mr.  Wood- 
ward's active  interest  ceased  at  that  date.  The  house 
has  been  in  continuous  operation  for  more  than  fifty- 
three  years,  and  its  business  prosperity  has  been 
steadily  progressive  through  all  that  period,  until  at 
the  present  time  it  ranks  among  the  most  substantial 
establishments  in  the  country.  Its  trade  extends  to 
the  West  and  Northwest,  and  to  the  South  and  South- 
west, especially  to  the  latter  points.  It  has  for  some 
years  controlled  a  number  of  cotton-mills,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  the  Savage,  in  Howard 
County,  two  in  Baltimore  County,  and  the  Arlington, 
located  in  Wilmington,  Del.  These  mills  consume 
annually  from  10,000  to  13,000  bales  of  cotton,  and 
employ  about  1000  operatives,  sustaining  from  4000 
to  5000  people.  During  the  war  between  the  two 
sections,  in  consequence  of  the  interruption  of  travel 
on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  the  inter- 
ference with  the  Western  trade,  of  which  the  house 
had  a  large  share,  a  branch  was  established  in  New 
York  at  43  and  45  Worth  Street,  under  the  super- 
vision of  C.  C.  Baldwin,  R.  F.  Woodward,  and  S.  P. 
Smith.  This  establishment  is  still  maintained,  and 
does  a  large  business  with  all  parts  of  the  South,  as 
well  as  an  extensive  export  trade  in  sheetings,  shirt- 
ings, etc.  The  firm,  while  conservative  in  character, 
keeps  fully  abreast  of  the  times,  and  always  exhibits 
a  praiseworthy  interest  in  the  welfare  and  advance- 
ment of  tlie  city  in  which  their  success  has  been 
achieved. 


i*» 


WOODWARD,  BALDWIN   &   NORRIS, 
9  AND  11  HANOVZB,  COBNEB  6EBHAN  STBEET,  BALTIMOBE,  MD. 


COMMERCIAL    INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


413 


The  dry-goods  trade  has  also  contributed  many 
other  distinguished  merchants  to  the  long  array  of  | 
business  men  whose  talents,  integrity,  and  enterprise  j 
have  done  so  much  to  give  Baltimore  a  leading  posi- 
tion among  the  chief  cities  of  the  country.  After 
all,  it  is  these  personal  qualities  which  count  for  _^ 
most  in  the  tremendous  competition  of  the  present 
day.  Superior  geographical  position,  splendid  ter- 
minal facilities,  and  great  natural  advantages  go 
for  nothing  unless  the  individual  merchant  and 
citizen  has  caught  the  progressive  spirit  of  tlu' 
age  and  appreciates  the  changes  which  time  has 
wrought  in  business  methods  and  practices,  other- 
wise the  story  of  the  tortoise  and  the  hare  will  be 
again  illustrated,  and  even  the  most  favored  lo- 
cality will  find  itself  distanced  in  the  race  by  some 
rival  upon  which  nature  has  bestowed  less,  but 
which  has  been  carried  forward  by  an  indomitable 
spirit  of  energy  and  determination.  The  true 
wealth  of  a  city  consists,  like  Cornelia's  jewels, 
in  the  character  of  her  sons,  and  the  community 
whose  business  and  mercantile  representatives  are 
worthy  of  the  responsibilities  of  their  position  pos- 
sess the  essential  factors  of  commercial  greatness. 
Fortunately  for  Baltimore,  her  natural  advantages 
are  supplemented  by  a  class  of  business  men  whose 
enterprise  is  only  second  to  their  integrity.  Ex- 
amples are  so  abundant  that  selection  is  difficult, 
but  the  life  and  business  achievements  of  the  late 
John  W.  Bruflf  furnish  an  excellent  illustration  of 
the  value  and  importance  of  a  high  individual 
standard. 

Mr.  Bruflf  was  born  in  April,  1818,  in  Talbot 
County,  Md.,  six  miles  from  St.  Michael's,  and  died 
March  3, 1868.  He  was  the  second  son  of  Joseph 
and  Eleanor  Morsell  Bruff,  both  of  whom  were  born  in 
the  same  county.  John's  father  was  the  youngest  son  of 
Thomas  Bruff,  who  emigrated  from  England  and  settled 
in  Talbot  County  in  1765.  One  of  Joseph's  brothers 
afterwards  removed  to  New  York  City,  and  a  portion 
of  the  family  still  reside  there.  The  mother  of  Joseph 
was  Eleanor  Morsell  Hopkins,  whose  parents  were  old 
settlers  in  this  country,  of  French  extraction.  Joseph 
W.  Bruff  married  Sallie  J.  Floyd,  of  Northampton 
County,  Va.,  Feb.  22,  1842,  who  was  the  daughter  of 
Elijah  and  Rachel  Floyd,  who  were  old  settlers  of  Vir- 
ginia and  of  English  origin.  John  W.  had  five  chil- 
dren, two  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom  are 
living  except  one  daughter,  who  died  in  early  woman- 
hood. The  eldest  son,  Joseph  E.  Brufl',  is  the  senior 
partner  at  the  head  of  the  firm  of  Rrufl',  Faulkner  & 
Co.,  wholesale  dry-goods  and  notions  house,  corner  of 
Eutaw  and  Baltimore  and  Eutaw  and  German  Streets, 
in  the  magnificent  Abell  Building.  The  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  Joseph  Bruflf,  although  a  farmer, 
was  thoroughly  and  widely  known  as  a  man  of  great 
ability  and  integrity,  and  was  quite  active  in  county 
and  State  politics.  He  served  in  the  Legislature  of 
Virginia  for  five  successive  terms. 
27 


John  W.  Bruflf  was  educated  at  private  schools  in  his 
native  county,  aided  by  the  tuition  of  his  father,  who 
was  highly  educated.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  en- 
tered a  dry -goods  store  in  St.  Michael's,  Talbot  County, 
as  a  clerk,  but  being  very  energetic  and  ambitious,  he 


soon  found  the  field  too  limited,  and  at  the  end  of  a 
year's  service  in  this  capacity  he  obtained  a  situation 
with  James  A.  Sangston  &  Co.,  of  Baltimore,  who 
were  at  that  time  conducting  a  very  large  and  influ- 
ential wholesale  dry-goods  house.  He  remained  with 
this  firm  almost  four  years,  when  he  embarked  in  trade 
for  himself,  forming  a  partnership  with  Thomas  Cam- 
per, who  was  then  already  engaged  in  the  retail  dry- 
goods  trade  in  Baltimore  Street  near  Light  Street.  Mr. 
Bruflf,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-two  years,  exhibited 
a  most  remarkable  talent  for  business,  and  in  the  first 
year  of  the  partnership  he  doubled  the  transactions 
of  the  firm.  The  business  of  the  house  continued  to 
increase  from  year  to  year,  until  at  the  end  of  the 
fourth  year  Edwin  Berkley,  of  Richmond,  Va.,  be- 
came a  member  of  the  firm,  which  then  engaged  ex- 
tensively in  the  wholesale  trade,  and  at  the  end  of  two 
years  the  two  other  partners  purchased  the  interest  of 
Mr.  Camper.  The  success  of  the  firm  continued  until 
1856,  when  Edwin  Berkley  retired,  and  John  W.  Bruff 
continued,  admitting  four  clerks,  who  had  been  faith- 
ful workers,  into  the  firm,  under  the  name  and  style 
of  John  W.  Bruff'  &  Co.  The  firm  continued  as  thus 
constituted  until  1864.     Although  they  were  doing  a 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


large  business  South  at  and  before  the  commencement 
of  the  war,  and  suflered  heavy  losses  thereby,  they 
still  continued  to  do  a  successful  business,  with  credit 
unimpaired,  and  paid  in  full,  without  even  asking  an 
extension.     In  1804  two  of  the  junior  members  of  the 


firm  withdrew,  forming  a  house  of  their  own.  In 
1867,  James  W.  Bruft',  a  brother  and  partner,  died, 
when  Joseph  E.  Brutf  and  Alfred  B.  Faulkner  were 
admitted  as  partners.  The  new  partnership  had  only 
continued  about  a  year,  however,  when  the  death  of 
Jolin  W.  Bruff  occurred.  He  was  a  man  of  marked 
ability  and  of  the  strictest  integrity,  a  true  and  generous 
friend,  an  earnest  and  devoted  Christian,  a  kind  hus- 
band, a  loving  father,  and  was  beloved  by  all  who  knew 
him.  His  business  career  was  one  of  financial  success. 
He  was  for  many  years  a  director  in  the  Franklin 
Bank,  and  in  the  American  Fire  Insurance  Company, 
and  in  every  position  evinced  such  sound  judgment 
and  sagacity  that  his  counsel  was  eagerly  sought  by 
many  of  his  business  friends.  The  present  firm  of 
Bruft',  Faulkner  &  Co.  is  composed  of  .Toseph  E.  Brufl", 
William  Adams,  Alfred  B.  Faulkner,  and  William  R. 
Hallett,  who  are  now  conducting  a  very  large  and  suc- 
cessful business  in  the  Abell  Building,  Nos.  321  and 
323  West  Baltimore  Street. 

John  W.  Bruff  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  was  known  as  one  of  its  most 
zealous  workers,  contributing  largely  towards  build- 
ing the  handsomest  churches  in  Baltimore,  as  well  as 
considerable  amounts  for  similar  objects  at  other 
places.    He  was  unostentatious  in  his  charities,  and 


was  never  known  to  turn  away  the  deserving  poor. 
He  died  deeply  lamented  by  his  family  and  friends 
and  highly  esteemed  by  the  public. 

The  house  of  Wm.  Devries  &  Co.  is  another  of  the 
leading  dry-goods  establishments  of  the  city,  and  oc- 
cupies the   extensive   warehouse  at   No.   312   West 
Baltimore  Street.     The  founder  of  the  house,  Wm. 
Devries,  was  born  in  Baltimore  (now  Carroll)  County, 
near  Sykesville,  Md.     His  father,  Christian  Devries, 
had  emigrated  from  Amsterdam,  Holland,  and  in  his 
new  home  united  agriculture  with  the  manufacture 
I  of  paper.     William  Devries  came  to  Baltimore  when 
I  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  obtained  a  position 
in  the  establishment  of  L.  W.  Boswell,  by  whom  at 
I  the  end  of  three  years  he  was  taken  into  partnership. 
I  When  the  firm  was  dissolved  in  1846,  in  connection 
[  with    Upton   Slinglufl",  he  established  the   house  of 
Slingluff;  Devries  &  Co.,  which  continued  its  opera- 
tions for  eight  years,  when  Mr.  Slingluff  retired,  and 
I  the  firm  of  Devries,  Stephens  &  Thomas  was  formed. 
In  1861  this  association  was  dissolved,  and  the  name 
was  changed   to  Wm.  Devries  &  Co.,  consisting  of 
Wra.   Devries,  his   nephew,   Christian    Devries,  his 
son,  Wm.  R.  Devries,  and  Solomon  Kimmell.     Mr. 
Devries  died  Nov.  27, 1877.    The  firm  now  consists  of 
Christian,  Wm.  E.,  and  Harry  Devries. 

Hurst,  Purnell  &  Co.  are  among  the  principal  im- 
porters and  wholesale  dry-goods  and  notion  dealers  in 
Baltimore.  The  house  was  founded  in  1831  by  Den- 
nis H.  Battee  and  John  Hurst,  but  in  1832  the  firm- 
name  was  changed  to  Barry  &  Hurst,  and  the  place  of 
business  removed  to  old  Congress  Hall,  at  the  south- 
west corner  of  Baltimore  and  Sharp  Streets.  In  1841 
the  firm  became  Hurst  &  Berry,  in  18.57  Hurst  &  Co., 
and  in  1869  Hurst,  Purnell  &  Co.  The  iron  ware- 
house Nos.  233  and  235  West  Baltimore  Street,  now 
occupied  by  the  firm,  was  completed  in  1877,  and  is 
a  most  elegant  structure. 

The  millinery  trade  of  Baltimore,  which  has  always 
been  large,  has  shown  wonderful  development  within 
the  past  few  years,  and  is  steadily  extending  through 
the  South,  Southwest,  West,  and  Middle  States.     In 
I  addition  to  the  large  quantities  of  domestic   goods 
[  manufactured  in  this  city,  the  choicest  products  of 
'  the  European  markets  are  imported  directly,  thus  in- 
suring not  only  variety  and  quality,  but  the  lowest 
'  prices  and  the  most  reasonable  terms  of  sale. 
I       One  of  the  oldest  and  most  prominent  firms  en- 
I  gaged   in  this  branch  of  business   is  the   house   of 
j  Armstrong,  Cator  &  Co.,  founded  in  1806  by  Thomas 
Armstrong.     Mr.  Armstrong  was  only  sixteen  years 
of  age  when  he  laid  the  foundations  of  the  establish- 
ment which  has  now  attained  such  immense  propor- 
tions, but  he  possessed  energy  and  intelligence  beyond 
his  years,  and  soon  attained  a  leading  position  among 
the  merchants  of  the  city.     After  a  prosperous  ca- 
reer of  thirty-six  years,  the  results  of  his  labors  were 
scattered  by  a  series  of  commercial  disiisters  against 
which  no  intelligence  could  guard,  and  which  no  ac- 


.  U.  Evftna,  TubUsber. 


ARMSTRONG,  CATOR  &   CO., 
237  AND  239  BALTIMOEE  STBEET,  BALTIMORE,  MD. 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


415 


tivity  could  have  prevented.  Nothing  daunted,  how- 
ever, he  addressed  himself  at  once  with  renewed  en- 
ergy and  brave  spirit  to  the  task  of  repairing  his 
shattered  fortunes,  and  was  rewarded  by  a  success 
which  soon  enabled  him  to  discharge  every  item  of 
his  indebtedness.  In  1847  he  entered  into  a  part-  ^ 
nership  with  R.  W.  Cator,  which  was  enlarged  in  i 
1852  by  the  admission  of  B.  F.  Cator,  the  firm- 
name  then  becoming  Armstrong,  Cator  &  Co.  Mr. 
Armstrong  subsequently  at  various  times  disposed  of 
his  entire  interest  in  the  business  to  Messrs.  J.  F. 
Bealmear,  W.  J.  H.  Watters,  and  W.  H.  Pagon,  and 
died  Nov.  14,  1868,  in  the  seventy-ninth  year  of  his 
age,  leaving  a  handsome  fortune  and  a  legacy  of 
$35,000  for  charitable  purposes.  The  name  of  the 
firm  ha§  remained  unchanged,  in  accordance  with  the 
English  custom,  which  retains  the  title  under  which 
a  house  has  won  fortune  and  reputation,  even  when 
its  original  founders  have  passed  away. 

After  the  admission  of  B.  F.  Cator  the  prosperity  ! 
of  the  house  continued  to  increase,  and  in  1861  it  j 
had  scarcely  a  rival  in  its  special  branch  of  trade.  ' 
The  civil  war  cut  oft'  a  large  area  of  valuable  territory,  ! 
but  the  business  was  energetically  extended  in  other 
directions,  and  when  hostilities  came  to  a  close  the  ] 
firm  was  not  long  in  renewing  its  commercial  relations 
with  its  former  customers   in   the  Southern  States. 
The  practical  sympathy  manifested  by  B.  F.  Cator 
for  Southern  prisoners  during  the  war,  and  the  lib- 
erality of  the  firm  after  its  termination  in  extend- 
ing facilities  to  reduced  merchants  in  that  section, 
merited   the   grateful   recollection  which   they  have 
inspired,  and  have  been  largely  instrumental  in  giving 
the  house  its  strong  hold  upon  Southern  trade.   There 
is  probably  no  other  establishment  of  the  same  charac- 
ter in  the  United  States  which  does  a  business  of 
such  immense  extent  and  proportions.     The  annual 
value  of  its  operations  exceeds  two  millions  of  dollars, 
and  the  rapid  development  which  it  is  still  undergoing  1 
promises  even  more  remarkable  results  in  the  near 
future.     The  employes  in  their  sales'  ofiice  and  ship- 
ping departments  alone  number  more  than  one  hun-  | 
dred   persons,   and   several    hundred   operatives    are  ; 
employed  in  the  manufacturing  branches  of  the  es- 
tablishment.    A  peculiar  feature  of  the  business,  and 
one  which  this   firm  was   the   first  to  introduce  in 
Baltimore,  is  the  direct  importation  of  pattern  bon- 
nets and  hats  from   France.      At  the  beginning   of 
each  season  they  import  one  or  two  hundred  samples 
of  the  leading  styles,  made  up  and  trimmed  by  the  first  | 
artists  in  that  department  in  Paris,  and  costing  from 
twenty-five  dollars  to  seventy-five  dollars  apiece.    As 
soon  as  they  are  received  they  are  displayed  for  general  ! 
inspection,  and  then  sold  to  the  trade  as  patterns  at  less 
than  half  the  cost  of  importation,  thus  enabling  milli- 
ners to  obtain  in  their  own   market  and  at  greatly 
reduced  prices  what  they  would   otherwise  have  to 
order  abroad  at  very  heavy  expense.     These  patterns 
are  only  used  as  designs,  the  cost  being  sixty  per  cent. 


greater  than  the  American  manufactured  article. 
While  domestic  dealers  are  thus  assisted,  the  house 
is  enabled  to  keep  in  Baltimore  a  valuable  trade 
which  would  otherwise  be  drawn  oft"  by  Northern 
importers.  The  place  of  business  is  237  and  239 
West  Baltimore  Street,  in  a  splendid  structure  five 
stories  high,  forty  feet  in  width,  two  hundred  and  four 
feet  in  depth,  and  furnished  with  all  the  modern 
improvements  and  facilities  for  handling,  selling, 
and  shipping  their  large  stock  of  merchandise. 
Benjamin  F.  Cator  died  on  the  4th  of  January,  1872, 
and  the  firm,  as  at  present  constituted,  consists  of 
Robinson  W.  Cator,  William  J.  H.  Watters,  William 
H.  Pagon,  J.  McKenney  White,  James  H.  Cator, 
Franklin  T.  Cator,  and  George  Cator.  With  the 
exception  of  Mr.  White,  they  are  all  sons  or  nephews 
of  R.  W.  Cator.  The  latter  is  the  head  of  the  house, 
and  is  noted  not  only  for  the  masterly  manner  in 
which  he  directs  a  business  whose  proper  manage- 
ment requires  the  possession  of  the  highest  intelli- 
gence and  enterprise,  but  for  the  genial  and  kindly 
personal  qualities  which  have  endeared  him  to  hosts 
of  friends. 

The  trade  which  only  seeks  to  benefit  the  individual 
trader  and  the  commerce  whose  only  object  is  selfish 
gain  are  not  separated  in  spirit  from  the  methods  of 
the  miser,  and  carry  with  them  the  seeds  of  dangers 
to  the  community  in  which  they  thrive.  How  far 
the  all-absorbing  desire  to  grow  wealthy  at  any  and 
every  cost  may  be  responsible  for  many  of  the  politi- 
cal and  social  evils  of  the  day  need  not  here  be  dis- 
cussed, but  certainly  the  fact  that  a  merchant  rarely 
discharges  the  political  duties  of  a  citizen  and  holds 
himself  aloof  from  the  current  of  afl'airs  is  not  ground 
for  any  special  boasting,  and  fifty  years  ago  would 
have  been  considered  anything  but  an  honorable  dis- 
tinction. At  all  events,  merchants  and  business  men 
might  more  fully  realize  the  pecuniary  importance 
to  themselves  of  exercising  their  due  influence  upon 
current  events,  and  of  so  far  giving  their  attention  to 
what  is  going  on  around  them  as  to  protect  their  own 
interests.  Public-spirited,  patriotic  merchants  who 
can  rise  above  the  altitude  of  their  counters,  and 
whose  aspirations  are  not  bounded  by  the  narrow 
channels  of  their  trade,  are  happily  to  be  found  in 
Baltimore,  and  wherever  found  never  fail  to  leave 
upon  the  times  the  impress  of  their  character  and 
talents.  Such  men  as  Adam  Barclay  Kyle,  William 
S.  Young,  William  J.  Hooper,  Samuel  Shoemaker, 
D.  L.  Bartlett,  R.  W.  Cator,  H.  C.  Smith,  W.  H.  Powell, 
Charles  J.  Baker,  Charles  D.  Hinks,  Henry  M.  War- 
field,  and  Decatur  H.  Miller  have  set  examples  which 
might  be  imitated  with  advantage,  and  have  shown 
that  it  is  possible  to  be  a  good  citizen  without  being 
a  poor  merchant.  Perhaps  no  better  instance  of  this 
wise  and  generous  spirit  could  be  adduced  than  is 
presented  in  the  life  of  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
of  Baltimore's  living  merchants,  James  Hodges.  The 
story  of  such  a  career  carries  with  it  a  moral  that  is 


416 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


especially  needed  at  the  present  time,  and  requires 
no  excuse  for  its  recital. 

Mr.  Hodges  was  born  Aug.  11, 1822,  at  Liberty  Hall, 
Kent  Co.,  Md.,  and  is  lineally  descended  from  six  of 
the  earliest  settlers  of  that  part  of  the  State,  whose 
names  and  dates  are  as  follows  :  William  Hodges, 
1665;  Thomas  Ringgold,  1650;  Andrew  Hanson, 
16.53;  Simon  Wilmer,  1688;  Thomas  Hynson,  1650; 
and  Marmaduke  Tylden,  grandson  of  Sir  William 
Tylden,  1658,  all  of  whom  were  members  of  the  An- 
glican Cliurch  and  prominent  in  the  annals  of  the 
county.  In  England  and  in  America  the  men  of  this 
blood  have  been  distinguished  in  military  and  civil 
life.  The  first  James  Hodges  was  a  gallant  soldier, 
who  commanded  a  company  of  troops  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  His  grandson  was  the  Hon.  James 
Hodges,  who  married  Mary  Hanson  Ringgold,  an 
amiable  lady,  whose  family  has  been  known  in  Mary- 
land for  over  two  hundred  years.  They  had  five 
children,  the  eldest  of  whom  is  the  subject  of  this 
writing.  He  was  designed  for  the  legal  profession, 
but  his  father  died  while  he  was  yet  a  boy,  leaving  a 
widow  with  children  of  tender  age  and  an  impaired 
estate.  She  came  to  Baltimore  with  them,  and  James 
Hodges,  manfully  concealing  the  disappointment 
which  he  could  not  but  keenly  feel  at  being  taken 
from  bis  studies,  obtained  a  position  in  a  commercial 
house.  It  was  far  from  being  the  sort  of  life  which 
he  had  pictured  for  himself  in  his  honorably  ambi- 
tious dreams  of  the  future,  but  if  his  duties  had  been 
of  the  most  agreeable  nature  he  could  not  have  dis- 
charged them  with  greater  fidelity  and  energy.  He 
evinced  remarkable  capacity  and  aptitude  for  busi- 
ness, and  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  confidential 
clerk.  As  his  knowledge  of  commercial  transactions 
and  familiarity  with  trade  increased,  he  resolved  to 
launch  his  own  bark  upon  the  current  of  a,ffairs,  and 
in  1846  he  and  his  brother,  William  Ringgold  Hodges, 
established  the  house  of  Hodges  Brothers.  It  seemed 
like  a  hopelessly  bold  undertaking,  for  the  brothers 
were  but  twenty-three  and  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
they  were  not  overloaded  with  capital,  and  they  had 
to  face  the  competition  of  long- established  rivals. 
But  they  triumphed  ;  their  connections  grew  from 
year  to  year,  until  now  the  firm  ranks  among  the 
principal  importing  notion  houses  in  the  United 
States,  occupying  a  spacious  and  architecturally  ele- 
gant warehouse  and  store  at  No.  23  Hanover  Street. 
In  more  recent  years  Robert  Hodges  and  William 
Penn  Lewis,  the  European  buyer  for  the  house,  have 
been  added  to  the  firm. 

James  Hodges  lias  ever  been  on  the  alert  in  the 
observation  of  new  fields  and  the  opening  of  new 
paths  of  trade.  Twenty-eight  years  ago  he  discov- 
ered that  Baltimore  was  losing  its  position  as  a  dis- 
tributing market  because  of  the  superior  enterprise 
and  capital  of  the  Northern  cities,  where  our  whole- 
sale merchants  were  obliged  to  purchase  their  stock. 
To  overcome  this  disadvantage  he  went  to  Europe 


and  brought  his  firm  into  immediate  connection  with 
the  great  British  and  Continental  manufacturers,  and 
ever  since  then  one  of  the  partners  has  made  semi- 
annual trips  for  the  purchase  of  goods.  By  this  ar- 
rangement they  have  competed  successfully  with  the 
New  York  importers,  and  by  doing  away  with  middle- 
men have  saved  the  extra  commission  to  customers, 
and  by  direct  importations  have  considerably  in- 
creased the  customs  receipts  at  Baltimore.  Mr. 
Hodges  has  taken  pains  to  educate  himself  in  the 
practical  study  of  political  economy  and  the  science 
of  finance,  to  understand  the  relations  of  the  social, 
civil,  and  commercial  spheres  of  life,  and  to  observe 
the  workings  of  the  constituent  elements  of  human 
society.  He  has  thus  become  prominent  in  public 
affairs  during  the  past  quarter  of  a  century,  his  advice 
has  frequently  been  sought  in  the  decision  of  mo- 
mentous questions,  and  as  speaker  and  writer  he  has 
exerted  a  healthful  influence  in  the  correction  of 
abuses,  the  frustration  of  contemplated  wrong,  and 
the  execution  of  numerous  projects  which  have  been 
largely  productive  of  the  welfare  of  the  city.  In 
1856  he  presented  in  the  columns  of  the  Baltimore 
American  cogent  arguments  for  the  uniforming  and 
reorganizing  of  the  municipal  police.  In  1859,  when 
the  good  citizens  of  Baltimore  were  engaged  in  the 
desperate  struggle  to  redeem  the  city  from  the  reign 
of  anarchy  and  violence  that  prevailed  under  the 
rule  of  the  Know-Nothing  party,  Mr.  Hodges  deliv- 
ered an  effective  speech  at  a  meeting  in  Monument 
Square  in  favor  of  reform,  and  at  the  ensuing  elec- 
tion he  commanded  one  of  the  squads  organized  to 
protect  legal  voters  against  the  ruffianism  of  the  armed 
mob.  That  was  a  bloody  day  in  the  local  chronicles ; 
several  citizens  were  killed  by  the  roughs,  and  it  was 
discovered  that  they  had  calculated  on  numbering 
Mr.  Hodges  among  their  victims.  But  the  cause  of 
right  was  victorious,  and  the  city  was  restored  to 
tranquillity  and  the  predominance  of  law  and  order. 
In  an  earnest  speech  at  the  Maryland  Institute,  Ln 

1860,  Mr.  Hodges  exposed  and  lielped  to  defeat  the 
iniquitous  legislative  bill  designed  to  permit  some 
Philadelphia  speculators  to  build  street  railways  in 
Baltimore  at  an  expense  of  .S700,000,  and  issue  stock 
and  bonds  to  the  amount  of  three  million  dollars.     In 

1861,  in  a  series  of  communications  to  the  Baltimore 
American,  he  demonstrated  the  wisdom,  expediency, 
and  propriety  of  running  the  street  cars  on  Sunday ; 
and  though  the  ultra-Sabbatarians  postponed  the  ex- 
tension of  this  convenience  to  the  public  for  six 
years,  the  cars  did  commence  running  on  Sunday  in 
1867.  Being  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade  at  the 
time,  he  was  appointed  a  delegate  by  that  t)ody  to 
represent  it  in  the  convention  held  at  Phihuleli)hia 
in  1868  to  organize  a  National  Board  of  Trade,  and 
was  the  author  of  the  proposition  submitted  by  its 
executive  committee  to  Congress  to  "  establish  a  new 
department  of  the  government,  to  be  known  as  the 
Department  of  Commerce."    In  1872-73  he  devoted 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


much  thought  and  research  to  the  currency  question, 
and  at  the  annual  dinner  of  the  Shoe  and  Leather 
Board  of  Trade,  in  January  of  the  latter  year,  he  re- 
viewed our  national  banking  system,  pointed  out  its 
advantages  and  defects,  and  contended  that  the  future 
prosperity  of  the  nation  was  indissolubly  connected 
with  the  resumption  of  specie  payments.  In  1873, 
Mr.  Hodges  consented  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  Demo- 
cratic nomination  for  the  mayoralty,  and  his  decision 
was  applauded  by  the  best  class  of  citizens,  but  he 
found  that  the  requirements  of  a  successful  canvass 
were  incompatible  with  his  tastes  and  sense  of  inde- 
pendence, and  he  withdrew  from  the  contest.  He 
has  been  foreman  of  the  Grand  Jury  of  the  Criminal 
Court  of  Baltimore,  and  of  the  Grand  Jury  of  the 
United  States  District  Court,  and  for  several  years 
president  of  the  Mercantile  Library  Association. 

On  May  4, 1877,  he  was  unanimously  elected  by  the 
City  Council  one  of  the  finance  commissioners  of 
Baltimore,  his  associates  on  the  board  being  Mayor 
Latrobe,  president  ex  officio,  and  Enoch  Pratt.  The 
fir.st  question  of  importance  that  came  before  the 
board  after  the  election  of  Mr.  Hodges  was  the  sub- 
stitution of  the  five  million  five  per  cent,  loan  for  the 
six  per  cent,  water  loan  of  lilce  amount  which  fell 
due  July,  1875.  The  ordinance  as  originally  passed 
was  found  to  be  defective,  and  the  former  commis- 
sioners had  failed  to  negotiate  the  loan.  In  1877  the 
matter  was  revived,  and  at  Mr.  Hodges'  suggestion 
certain  amendments  were  made  which  validated  the 
law,  and  in  a  month  the  entire  loan  was  taken  at  a 
premium,  though  its  failure  for  a  second  time  had 
been  confidently  predicted.  This  measure  saves  the 
tax-payers  $50,000  annually,  or  $1,950,000  during  the 
thirty-nine  years  which  the  loan  has  to  run.  If  this 
yearly  saving  were  invested  at  six  per  cent.,  payable 
semi-annually,  it  would  grow  in  that  time  to  nearly 
$8,000,000.  Mr.  Hodges  resigned  from  the  board  in 
consequence  of  his  inability  to  agree  with  Mayor  La- 
trobe's  policy  of  the  diversion  of  the  increment  of  the 
sinking  fund  to  the  current  expenses  of  government. 
Among  his  other  public  services,  he  was  commissioned 
by  President  Hayes,  upon  the  nomination  of  Governor 
Carroll,  to  represent  Maryland  as  honorary  commis- 
sioner at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1878,  with  Dr. 
Thomas  H.  Buckler  as  his  colleague ;  and  was  while 
there  made  by  the  Baltimore  Board  of  Trade  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Franco- American  Commercial  Treaty  Con- 
ference. He  was  one  of  the  committee  that  reported 
a  basis  for  a  treaty  of  commerce  between  France  and 
the  United  States.  He  made  a  number  of  addresses 
in  France  upon  political  and  commercial  topics  that 
were  highly  commended  by  the  press  and  public,  and 
on  his  return  home  he  was  invited  by  the  Board  of 
Trade  to  discuss  before  them  the  proposed  treaty. 
This  he  did  in  an  address  delivered  at  Rialto  Hall, 
Nov.  30,  1878,  which  was  a  lucid  and  convincing  ex- 
position of  the  mutual  advantages  to  the  two  coun- 
tries of  such  a  compact.     During  the  civil  war  he 


desired  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  but  he  could 
not  sustain  the  methods  of  the  government,  and  he 
extended  all  the  relief  in  his  power  to  the  Confeder- 
ate prisoners  and  the  sutfering  people  of  the  border 
States.  In  1865  he  availed  himself  of  an  opportunity 
at  a  banquet  given  to  the  Odd-Fellow.s'  convention 
to  publicly  advocate  the  reconstruction  of  the  Union 
upon  the  basis  of  the  equality  of  all  citizens  before  the 
law,  and  the  equal  rights  of  all  the  States  under  the 
Constitution.  Mr.  Hodges  is  a  director  of  the  Na- 
tional LTnion  Bank,  and  a  large  stockholder  in  other 
business  and  financial  institutions.  The  hours  saved 
from  commercial  and  public  engagements  are  ab- 
sorbed by  art  and  literature,  which  he  has  cultivated 
with  congenial  taste  and  admiration,  and  his  library 
is  well  stocked  with  a  collection  of  choice  books. 

While  the  percentage  of  foreign  population  is  not 
as  great  in  Baltimore  as  in  some  other  American 
cities,  it  is  a  large  and  substantial  element,  and  has 
proved  an  influential  factor  in  its  progress  and  devel- 
opment. Many  of  the  most  prominent  names  in  local 
history  belong  to  this  class,  and  it  embraces  at  the 
present  time  some  of  the  most  enterprising  and  ster- 
ling citizens  of  Baltimore.  Among  those  who  have 
thus  won  honor  and  fortune  may  be  mentioned  John 
Stellman,  a  leading  merchant  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Stellman  was  born  in  the  city  of  Bremen, 
Germany,  the  16th  of  October,  1816,  and  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  years  was  apprenticed  to  a  commer- 
cial house  in  that  city.  After  serving  his  time  of 
five  years  he  remained  in  the  house  another  year 
as  a  clerk  or  agent.  In  1838,  Mr.  Stellman  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  and  became  a  partner  in  the 
old  and  respectable  house  of  Charles  Fisher  &  Co.,  im- 
porters, in  which  connection  he  remained  until  1842, 
when  he  entered  into  the  commission  business  on 
his  own  account  at  No.  4  Hanover  Street.  He  soon 
afterwards  removed  to  a  larger  store,  No.  264  West 
Baltimore  Street,  and  continued  to  import  German 
goods,  with  agencies  for  American  manufacturers. 
In  1848,  Mr.  Christly  Henricks,  who  had  been  book- 
keeper for  Mr.  Stellman,  was  admitted  into  partner- 
ship under  the  firm-style  of  Stellman  &  Henricks,  in 
which  they  were  exceedingly  successful.  In  1854, 
Mr.  Henry  J.  Farber  was  admitted  into  the  firm, 
which  became  Stellman,  Henricks  &  Co.,  and  re- 
moved to  Hanover  Street.  Subsequently  the  firm 
moved  to  No.  23  Sharp  Street,  where  Mr.  Stellman 
had  erected  a  large  warehouse,  which  was  occupied 
for  twelve  years.  Mr.  Henrieks,  who  entered  the 
firm  July  1, 1848,  retired  from  it  July  1, 1873,  closing 
a  most  satisfactory  connection  of  twenty-five  years. 
The  business  was  continued  by  H.  J.  Farber  and  Mr. 
Stellman's  eldest  son,  with  himself  as  senior  part- 
ner, until  the  31st  of  December,  1879,  when  the  new 
firm  of  John  Stellman  &  Sons  was  established,  com- 
posed of  John  Stellman,  J.  W.  and  Francis  G.  Stell- 
man, sons  of  Mr.  Stellman.  John  Stellman,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  retired  in  December,  1880,  and  his 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


two   sons,  with   William   IJoyd,  continue  the  busi- 
ness. 

In  184)1,  Mr.  Stelliniui  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah 
Ann  Cappeau,  daughter  of  Joseph  Cappeau,  of  Bal- 
timore, and  had  eight  children,  all  of  whom  are  living. 
Mr.  Stellmaii  was  one  of  the  directors  of  the  German 
Orphan  Asylum  for  seven  years,  and  president  of  the 
Maryland  Fire  I'nsurance  Company,  a  position  which 
he  reluctantly  accepted,  and  which  he  resigned  in 
1871.  Mr.  Stellman  is  a  director  of  the  National 
Union  Bank.     He  resides  at  No.  442  Eutaw  Place. 

Mr.  Stellman's  career  is  only  one  out  of  hundreds 
which  might  be  cited  to  show  how  largely  the  German 
element  has  contributed  to  the  solid  bone  and  muscle 
of  our  prosperity.  TheGermanshave  well  been  called  | 
the  "  conquering  race,"  and  the  place  they  have  won  in 
Baltimore  proves  that  they  know  how  to  achieve  the 
victories  of  peace  no  less  than  the  triumphs  of  war. 

Building'  Materials. — In  every  article  that  enters 
intii  Uiiildin;;.  in  any  of  its  branches,  this  city  has  an 
abundant  supply.  Marble  and  granite  for  public 
structures,  and  sandstone  and  brick  for  private  resi- 
dences, are  equally  convenient,  cheap,  and  abundant. 

The  Baltimore  press  brick'  is  almost  as  well  known 
as  the  Chesapeake  oyster,  and  as  an  article  of  export 
was  antecedent  to  the  bivalve.  In  1827  the  Balti- 
more Brick  Manufacturing  and  Exporting  Company 
was  organized  "  at  the  tavern  of  George  Beltzhoover," 
with  a  capital  of  §100,000,  and  Joseph  Jamison  as 
president,  and  Joshua  Dryden  secretary.-  From  that 
early  day  the  clay  of  the  surrounding  country  has 
been  manufactured  into  bricks,  and  shipped  as  early 
as  1840  to  New  Orleans  and  other  distant  cities. 
Even  in  1838  we  find  in  the  public  prints  bricks  re- 
garded as  a  Baltimore  "staple,"  for  in  1832  there 
were  made  "  within  the  limits  of  the  city  32,000,000  of 
bricks."  At  this  time  the  annual  production  of 
bricks  is  over  100,000,000.  Extensive  yards  surround 
the  city  on  every  side,  employing  over  $1,000,000  of 
capital,  paying  wages  to  2000  men,  consuming  25,000 
tons  of  coal  and  2000  cords  of  wood. 

Furniture. — The  manufacture  of  furniture  is  a  very 
important  and  extensive  branch  of  the  industries  of 

1  "Baltimore,  wliich  of  late  3'eai-s  has  produced  superior  bricks  in  large 
quantities,  appears  not  to  have  made  them  in  sufficient  number  for  its  own 
use  for  some  years  after  its  settlement.  Charles  Carroll,  an  original  pro- 
prietor of  land  now  covereil  by  the  city,  in  1754  erected  "  at  the  Mount 
dure"  buildings  of  bricks  imported  for  the  purpose.  Two  years  after  it 
had  but  four  brick  houses,  and  only  twenty-five  in  all,  the  others  very 
primitive  in  style.  A  pottery  was  erected  in  the  town  ten  years  after 
by  John  Brown,  from  New  Jersey,  who  had  learned  the  business  in 
Wilmington,  Del.  The  town  at  that  date  contained  about  fifty  houses. 
Thirty-two  years  after  it  contained  one  thousand  nine  hundred,  and 
■was  the  fourth  in  the  Union,  having  more  than  half  the  number  of 
New  York.  This  unparalleled  increase  in  building,  the  elegance  of 
the  buildings  at  Annapolis  and  of  Frederick,  which  was  chiefly  built 
of  brick  and  stone,  must  have  made  brick-making  a  considerable 
manufacture."  (Bish.  Manuf.,  vol.  i.  p.  229.)  One  of  the  first  ordinances 
passed  by  the  City  Council  on  Feb.  28, 1798,  was  one  "to  regulate  the 
size  and  dimensions  of  bricks  made  within  the  city  of  Baltimore." 

:  Bishop's  History  of  Manufactures,  vol.  ii.  p.  34U,  says,  "Mr.  Berry 
and  others,  of  Baltimore,  were  so  successful  about  this  time  (1828)  in  the 
manufacture  of  fine  brick  as  to  stop  tlie  importation." 


this  city.  The  facilities  for  this  manufacture  are 
greater  here  than  in  any  Eastern  city.  The  prox- 
imity by  rail  of  the  city  to  the  great  lumber  districts 
of  the  country,  and  the  cheap  and  convenient  trans- 
portation by  water  to  the  Eastern  and  Southern  sup- 
ply, places  Baltimore  at  a  great  advantage  in  obtaining 
the  supply  of  raw  material  required  in  this  industry, 
while  her  cheap  houses,  low  taxes,  and  healthy  cli- 
mate all  contribute  to  cheapen  the  cost  of  manufac- 
ture. Her  establishments  in  this  trade  have  promptly 
availed  themselves  of  all  the  patents  issued  that  have 
proved  of  any  benefit  in  cheapening  the  cost  of  manu- 
facture, while  a  high  degree  of  taste  has  rendeied  the 
work  of  the  chief  manufacture  of  Baltimore  equal  in 
every  respect  of  style  and  beauty  to  those  of  any 
establishments.  The  establishments  for  the  manu- 
facture of  fiirniture,  including  refrigerators,  accord- 
ing to  the  census  of  1880,  were  55  in  number,  em- 
ploying 1072  hands,  with  an  aggregate  capital  of 
$697,102,  paying  for  wages  annually  §375,328,  ex- 
pending annually  for  material  $797,195,  and  produc- 
ing yearly  balances  equal  to  $1,532,438. 

Sugar  Refining. — The  earliest  mention  of  the  art 
of  sugar  rctining  in  Baltimore  is  contained  in  the 
Maryland  Journal  of  March  14,  1784,  in  which  it  is 
stated  that  Charles  Gartz  &  Co.  had  erected  a  sugar 
refinery  near  the  county  wharf,  foot  of  Calvert  Street, 
for  making  double  and  single-refined  sugars,  and 
lump  sugar,  for  which  they  had  imported  workmen 
from  London.  This  old  firm  in  1789  had  become 
"  Gartz,  Leypold  &  Co.,  sugar  refiners  and  distillers." 
In  1803,  Samuel  Frye  and  George  Foer  were  refining 
sugar  at  Eutaw  and  Saratoga  Streets.  The  records 
are  deficient  and  incomplete  for  the  history  of  the 
development  of  this  trade  in  Baltimore. 

The  operation  of  the  tariff,  or,  more  properly 
speaking,  the  peculiar  administration  of  the  revenue 
laws  in  their  application  to  the  importation  of  sugar 
at  Baltimore,  has  almost  destroyed  the  importation 
as  well  as  the  refining  of  sugar.  These  results  will 
be  better  comprehended  by  looking  as  well  at  what 
Baltimore  has  done  in  this  trade,  as  at  what  she  is 
doing  at  present.  In  1854,  Dougherty  &  Woods 
erected  the  Baltimore  Steam  Sugar  Refinery,  on 
Lombard  Street.  In  1866,  the  Merchants'  Sugar 
Refinery,  on  Buchanan's  wharf,  was  opened  by 
Messrs.  Fink,  Sheetz,  McSkeny  &  Co.  In  1853,  John 
C.  Brune  erected  the  sugar  refinery  on  O'Donnell's 
wharf.  The  house  of  Sterling,  Ahrens  &  Co.  suc- 
ceeded the  Merchants',  the  Maryland,  and  the  Cal- 
vert Sugar  Refineries.  The  business  of  this  large 
house  was  interwoven  with  the  trade  and  commerce 
of  Baltimore  to  a  greater  extent  than  that  of  any 
other  house  prior  to  that  time  ;  they  were  the  owners 
of  thirty  vessels  trading  from  this  port,  importing 
sugar,  molasses,  and  coffee,  and  exporting  the  pro- 
ducts of  this  country.  A  large  cooperage  establish- 
ment was  also  conducted  by  them,  and  with  other  vari- 
ous industries  they  emjiloy  regularly  over  10(10  men. 


<^ 


COMMEKCIAL  INDUSTKIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


419 


HEXRY    KIEMA: 


The  house  suspended  in  1875.  The  Calvert  Sugar 
Eefinery  reopened  in  1877,  but  suspended  in  1878, 
and  was  sold  to  a  New  York  firm. 

The  census  of  1880  shows  that  all  this  vast  trade 
has  from  some  cause  almost  departed  from  Baltimore, 
leaving  now  in  operation  but  3  establishments,  em- 
ploying 115  hands,  with  an  aggregate  capital  of 
$260,000,  paying  $31,000  in  annual  wages,  with 
$756,703  in  value  of  materials,  and  producing  annu- 
ally $840,986.  The  retrogression  of  the  importing  of 
sugar  at  this  port  will  be  understood  by  the  following 
table  for  1879.  The  year  1880  has  no  figures  in  the 
trade  report. 

Imports  of  sugar  at  Baltimore  for  1879  as  com- 
pared with  previous  years : 

Hhds.  ^-'-'. 


Bags. 


The  following  table  appeared  in  the  annual  report 
of  the  Board  of  Trade,  January,  1881,  in  the  Baltimore 
Journal  of  Commerce  : 

Imports  for  the  year  just  closed  were  as  follows : 


Demerara 

1,567 
2V309 
3.876 

115 
1,110 

25 

Barbadoes     

124 

Total 

11.051 

149 

SitGAii  AND  Molasses. 

No.  of       No.  of      Amt.  of       Amt.  of  Value  of 

Estabs.      Hands.     Capital.       Wages.  Material. 

3              115         $260,U1J0        J31,000  $756,703 


Cuba 

6,445 

44 

44 
2,818 
4,497 

127 

6,046 

6,046 
33,519 
83,308 

New  Orleans 

Total  1879 

"      1878 

"      1877 

13,449 

30,135 

50,233 

127 
441 

2,720 

Molasses. — The  trade  in  molasses  at  Baltimore  has 
followeil  the  downward  tendency  of  that  of  sugar,  and 
necessarily  from  like  causes.  The  Board  of  Trade 
report  for  1879  contains  the  following  table. 

The  imports  of  molasses  at  Baltimore  for  the  past 
three  years,  reduced  to  hogsheads,  have  been  as  follows : 

From  1879.  1878.  1877. 


Cuba 

Hhds. 
17,483 

Hhds. 

22.272 
580 

1,078 
26,237 

Hhds. 

English  Islands 

French  Islands 

272 

1,889 

Total 

19,419 

19,681 

Among  those  connected  with  the  early  development 
of  the  business  of  sugar  refining   in   this  city  was 

I  Henry  Kieman.  He  was  the  son  of  Daniel  Rieman, 
a  native  of  Germany,  and  Catharine  Peters,  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Dec.  14,  1786,  and 

I  died  in  this  city  on  the  27th  of  April,  1865.  His 
father  was  among  the  first,  if  not  the  very  first,  to 
commence  the  refining  of  sugar  in  Baltimore ;  the  old 
building  in  which  he  began  the  business  is  still  stand- 
ing on  Paca  Street  near  Franklin.  Henry  Kieman 
soon  made  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
art  of  refining,  and  while  still  under  age  took  his 
father's  place  in  the  business,  conducting  it  success- 
fully with  partners,  first  on  Paca  Street  and  then  on 
Park  Lane,  now  Raborg  Street,  until  the  war  of  1812, 
when  he  retired  with  his  family  to  the  farm  on  which 
the  Pimlico  race-course  is  now  located.  After  the 
war  he  reopened  the  refinery  on  Park  Lane,  but  left 
the  management  of  it  largely  to  his  younger  brother, 
Samuel,  and  entered  into  the  grocery  trade,  connect- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ing  with  it  tlie  packing  of  provisions,  then  in  its  in- 
fancy. He  continued  the  business  of  sugar  refining 
until  the  new  steam  process  was  introduced,  when  he 
was  forced  to  abandon  the  old  method.  Leaving  Paca 
Street,  he  removed  first  to  Eutaw  Street,  then  to  the 
corner  of  Howard  and  Fayette  Streets,  at  which  lat- 
ter point  he  engaged  solely  in  the  provision  packing 
business,  under  the  firm-name  of  Henry  Rieman  & 
Sons,  with  branch  houses  at  Cincinnati  and  Terre 
Haute,  Ind.  He  had  eight  children  who  reached 
the  nge  of"  maturity,  three  sons — Wm.  Jones,  Alex- 
ander, and  Joseph  H. — and  five  daughters  ;  the  sons 
are  all  still  living,  but  two  of  the  daughters  are  dead. 
His  eldest  son,  Wm.  J.,  has  retired  from  business, 
but  Alexander  and  Joseph  H.  continue  the  firm-name 
of  Henry  Rieman  &  Sons,  though  not  engaged  in 
active  business  operations. 

Henry  Rieman,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
brought  up  in  the  German  Reformed  faith,  but  subse- 
quently became  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
on  Fayette  Street,  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  Rev. 
J.  M.  Duncan.  After  the  death  of  Dr.  Duncan  he 
attached  himself  to  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church, 
under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Dr.  J.  T.  Smith,  in  which 
communion  he  died.  Mr.  Rieman  was  a  Democrat 
until  the  nomination  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  when  he 
voted  the  Whig  ticket,  but  returned  to  the  Democratic 
ranks  upon  the  organization  of  the  Know-Nothing 
party.  While  taking  a  proper  interest  in  the  admin- 
istration of  local  and  federal  government,  he  always 
steadfastly  declined  political  office.  He  was  for 
many  years  director  in  one  of  the  city  banks,  the 
Equitable  Insurance  Company,  and  the  Eutaw  Sav- 
ings-Bank.  Independent  in  his  opinions,  lofty  in 
tone  and  character,  retiring  in  disposition,  and  averse 
to  ostentation  and  display,  Mr.  Rieman  was  esteemed 
and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  left  a  name 
and  record  that  will  long  be  held  in  honorable  re- 
membrance. 

Bell-Founding.— The  bell-foundries  of  Baltimore, 
though  limited  to  two  establishments,  yet  are  well 
known  and  highly  appreciated  throughout  the  whole 
country.  In  the  art  of  bell-making  Baltimore  has 
attained  v('ry  high  rank,  and  her  establishments  have 
turned  out  work  equal  in  every  respect  to  that  from 
Northern  and  European  workshops.  The  first  bell 
made  from  blistered  bar  steel,  or  cast  steel  melted, 
was  manufactured  in  1827,  under  the  superintendence 
of  a  gentleman  from  Baltimore  who  was  said  to  have 
a  patent.  The  cast  was  made  at  the  New  York  Steel 
Manufacturing  Company's  works  in  New  York  City. 
It  was  equal  in  sound  to  compooition  bells,  and  could 
be  made  as  light  as  they  at  a  cost  of  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  cents  per  pound.  In  18.56  the  brass-works  of 
Henry  McShane  &  Co.  in  Baltimore  were  established, 
and  have  since  been  very  largely  extended  and  en- 
larged, until  they  have  become  one  of  the  largest  and 
best-appointed  workshops  in  this  art  in  the  country. 
They  are  upon  North  Street,  and  occupy  a  building 


two  hundred  and  fifteen  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet; 
the  establishment  also  works  the  Phoenix  Iron-Works, 
on  Holliday  Street,  for  castings  for  plumbers'  and 
machinists'  use.  Electro-plating  both  in  silver  and 
gold  forms  a  very  important  feature  in  this  firm's  work. 

The  manufactory  of  Joshua  Register  &  Sons,  on 
Holliday  Street,  is  also  a  very  extensive  and  well-es- 
tablished workshop  in  bell-founding. 

Brass-Founding  and  Finishing.— The  extensive 
use  of  brass  in  the  jilumber's  work  has  been  greatly 
extended  by  the  use  of  gas  and  water  in  cities  and 
large  towns.  The  eighty-nine  plumbing  establish- 
ments of  Baltimore  have  created  an  enormous  demand 
for  the  fixtures  employed  in  their  work,  and  led  to  the 
expansion  of  the  resources  and  capacity  of  the  brass- 
founding  and  finishing  establishments  of  this  city 
which  enables  them  to  compete  with  any  works  of  the 
kind  in  the  country.  In  these  establishments  all 
kinds  of  plumbers'  brass-work,  water,  gas,  and  steam 
fixtures  and  apparatus,  and  bells  of  all  descriptions 
are  yearly  turned  out  in  immense  quantities,  so  that 
this  city  possesses  every  facility  for  supplying  the 
trade  at  the  lowe-st  prices,  which  are  being  availed  of 
by  the  cities  of  tue  South  and  West  in  an  increasing 
degree  every  year. 


BniSS-FoUNDINO  . 


PUJMB 


1880. 


No.  of     No.  of    Amt.  of  Amt.  of    Val.  of  Val.  of 

Eetabe.    Hands.  Capital.  Wage8.  Material.  Products. 

Brass-founding  2  4        S.3.800  $1,474       82,900  SG.300 

Plumbing 80  279       199,060  84,000     181,491  426,923 

Bell  foundries  (no  figures  in  1880). 

Soap  and  Candles.— The  manufacture  of  soap  and 
candles  is  conducted  to  a  very  large  extent  in  this 
city.  Its  facilities  for  shipment  to  the  West  Indies 
and  to  the  Southern  States  enable  the  manufacturers 
of  candles  to  hold  their  own  against  the  various  oils 
that  are  so  largely  consumed  in  illumination.  There 
are  in  this  city  8  establishments,  employing  88  hands, 
vfith  a  capital  of  $261,182,  paying  in  wages  $50,495, 
and  for  material  $238,006,  with  annual  productions 
amounting  to  $365,340. 

Fire-bricks  and  Potteries. — The  note  from  Bishop, 
on  another  page,  mentions  the  success  of  Mr.  Berry, 
of  Baltimore,  in  the  manufacture  of  fire-bricks.  This 
was  John  Berry,  who  as  early  as  1812  established 
a  manufacture  of  fire-bricks  on  the  corner  of  How- 
ard and  Lee  Streets,  and  succeeded  in  producing  an 
article  equal  to  any  before  imported.  The  manu- 
facture is  still  continued,  in  connection  with  that  of 
retorts,  sewer-pipes,  tiles,  etc.,  which  are  shipped  in 
large  quantities  all  over  the  country.  There  are  in 
Baltimore,  by  the  census  of  1880,  for  the  manufacture 
of  fire-brick  and  tiles  6  establishments,  giving  em- 
ployment to  627  hands,  with  an  aggregate  capital  of 
$215,000,  paying  annually  in  wages  $121,248,  and  ex- 
pending for  material  $52,271,  with  an  aunual  pro- 
duction valued  at  $218,528. 

Shot. — The  manufacture  of  shot  in  Baltimore  be- 
gan  in   1822,  bv  a   comi)anv   of  which  Col.   .loseph 


:^^:^^^^^^^. 


^ 


^:y^ 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


421 


Jamison  was  president.  The  tower  was  on  Nortli 
Gay  Street,  and  was  IGO  feet  higli.  This  tower  was 
pulled  down  in  1845.' 

The  imposing  tower  of  the  Merchants'  Shot-Tower 
Company,  which  arrests  the  eye  of  every  visitor  to 
this  city,  was  erected  in  1828.  The  corner-stone  was 
laid  by  Charles  Carroll  of  CarroUton,  and  bears  upon 
it  the  inscription :  "  June  2,  1828,  this  stone  was  laid 
by  Charles  Carroll  of  CarroUton,  the  only  survivor  of 
the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  of 
the  United  States."  The  diameter  of  the  tower  is  50 
feet  at  the  foundation  and  25  at  the  top ;  the  height 
is  250  feet,  being  by  one  foot  the  highest  shot-tower 
in  the  world.  The  shot  from  sizes  B  to  3T,  inclusive, 
are  dropped  to  the  foundation,  the  smaller  sizes  from 
the  middle  floor.  The  capacity  of  this  tower  is  over 
100,000  bags  in  a  season,  or  nearly  500,000  bags 
yearly. 

On  Howard  and  Montgomery  Streets  the  shot-tower 
of  the  Baltimore  Lead-Works  was  erected  in  1877. 
It  is  110  feet  high,  24  feet  square  at  the  bottom,  and 
12  feet  square  at  the  top.  By  the  introduction  of  a 
current  of  cold  air,  the  extraordinary  height  of  the 
drop  is  obviated  and  dispensed  with.  These  towers 
manufacture  the  most  perfect  shot  that  is  offered  to 
the  public,  and  command  a  preference  readily  in 
every  market  to  which  they  are  sliipped. 

Marble  and  Marble  Guarrying.— The  inexhaust- 
ible marble-beds  of  Baltimore  County  have  furnished 
the  material  for  some  of  the  largest  and  most  im- 
posing buildings  in  the  country.  The  monolithic 
columns-  of  the  capitol  at  Washington,  the  City 
Hall,  Peabody  Institute,  and  Rialto  Building  in  this 
city,  as  well  as  the  famous  Washington  Monument 
and  general  post-office  in  Washington  City,  were 
constructed  of  material  from  these  quarries.  The 
pioneers  in  these  marble-quarries  were  John  Baker, 
of  this  city,  and  M.  Dougherty,  of  Baltimore  County  ; 
but  not  being  successful,  these  quarries,  in  the  year 
1835,  passed  into  the  hands  of  Messrs.  John  B.  and 
John  F.  Connolly,  of  Baltimore  County,  who  in- 
creased the  operations  of  the  works  and  developed 
the  superior  character  of  the  marble.  The  quarries 
arc  now  worked  by  the  Beaver  Dam  Marble  Com- 
pany, of  which  Hugh  Sissou  is  president. 

Mr.  Sisson  was  born  in  Baltimore  on  the  3d  of 
May,  1820,  and  resides  at  No.  283  St.  Paul  Street, 
Baltimore.  He  was  the  son  of  Martin  Sisson,  who 
was  born  near  Richmond,  Va.  His  mother's  maiden 
name  was  Mary  Beard.    She  was  born  in  Ireland,  and 

1  Tlierewas  also  an  old  sliot-tower  on  South  Eutaw  Street,  which  was 
denjulished  in  1851. 

-  Mr.  John  F.  Connolly,  of  this  city,  was  the  contractor  who  supplied 
these  columns.  The  extension  of  the  capitol  at  Washington  in  1866 
hail  practically  been  suspended  for  want  of  immense  monolithic  columns, 
wliiiii  the  law  required  to  be  of  native  material.  These  columns,  when 
finished,  were  to  be  twenty-five  and  one-quarter  feet  long,  three  feet 
eight  inches  diameter  at  the  base,  and  three  feet  at  the  top.  The  weight  of 
each  column  was  twenty-three  tons,  and  their  number  was  one  hundred. 
Baltimore  County  supplied  the  columns,  and  was  the  only  locality  where 
such  immense  blocks  of  white  marble  could  be  obtained. 


came  to  this  country  with  her  father's  family  when  a 
child. 

Hugh  Sisson  was  married  in  1848  to  Sarah  A.  Lip- 
pincott,  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Lippincott,  of  West- 
moreland County,  Pa.  They  had  eleven  children, 
six  of  whom  are  living.  There  being  no  public 
schools  in  Mr.  Sisson's  youth,  he  received  an  ordi- 
nary English  education  at  the  private  schools  in 
Baltimore,  with  an  additional  training  in  the  rudi- 
ments of  Latin  at  a  higher  school.  He  has  always 
been  a  close  reader  of  history  and  of  the  current  affairs 
of  the  day.  Mr.  Sisson  is  a  Democrat,  but  conserva- 
tive and  liberal  in  his  political  principles  and  feelings. 
Mr.  Sisson  is  a  public-spirited  citizen,  and  has 
given  active  aid  to  all  public  improvements,  and 
from  the  character  of  his  business  has  been  largely 
connected  with  nearly  every  public  enterprise  of 
the  city  of  Baltimore  and  State  of  Maryland.  At 
sixteen  years  of  age  he  was  apprenticed  in  order  to 
learn  the  trade  of  marble-cutting,  and  served  in  that 
capacity  for  five  years.  About  two  years  after  he  had 
become  skilled  in  marble-cutting  and  the  master  of 
his  own  time,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years,  he 
commenced  the  business  of  marble-cutting  on  his  own 
account  at  the  corner  of  Lombard  and  Paca  Streets, 
Baltimore.  He  soon  enlarged  his  business,  and  re- 
moved to  the  corner  of  Calvert  and  Mercer  Streets, 
and  subsequently  settled  his  place  of  business  perma- 
nently at  the  corner  of  North  and  Monument  Streets, 
where  he  erected  a  steam  marble-mill,  for  the  purpose 
of  manufacturing  monuments,  tombstones,  mantels, 
and  all  character  of  marble- work.  He  is  now  the 
most  extensive  manufacturer  of  marble-wor'k  in  Bal- 
timore, importing  marble  direct  from  Italy  in  large 
quantities,  five  and  six  cargoes  a  year.  Mr.  Sisson 
has  connected  with  him  in  business  his  two  sons, 
Hugh  and  John  B.  Sisson,  who  became  members  of 
the  firm  three  years  since.  The  firm  is  now  running 
the  Baltimore  County  quarries,  and  furnish  the 
marble  for  the  completion  of  Washington's  monu- 
ment at  the  national  capital.  Mr.  Sisson  was  the 
first  importer  of  Italian  marble  to  Baltimore.  His 
largest  contract  was  for  the  marble-work  on  the  new 
State-House  at  Columbia,  S.  C,  which  was  suddenly 
terminated  by  the  commencement  of  hostilities  in 
1861.  Mr.  Sisson  did  the  interior  marble-work  of  the 
new  City  Hall,  the  Peabody  Institute,  of  all  the 
banks,   insurance    companies'  buildings,    post-office, 

I  and  custom-house  of  Baltimore. 

!  Mr.  Sisson  is  well  known  for  the  skill  and  finish 
displayed  by  his  work,  and  in  business  circles  stands 
high.     In  his  social  relations  he  is  genial,  kind,  and 

!  agreeable,  with  a  large  circle  of  friends  sincerely  at- 

;  tached  to  him  on  account  of  his  solid  worth  as  a  man 

j  and  a  citizen. 

I  The  marble  and  stone-cutting  of  this  city  is  carried 
on  by  41  establishments,  wjth  an  aggregate  capital 

I  of  .f462,701,  giving  employment  to  1017   workmen, 

'  and  expending  annually  in  wages  .'?335,532,  and  in 


42'J 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


material  $448,414,  with  a  production  of  $965,533  in 
value. 

Tin,  Sheet-iron,  Copper.— The  census  of  1880 
shows  the  extensive  manufactures  of  these  metals  in 
Baltimore  to  be  carried  on  by  144  establishments, 
employing  1913  hands,  with  an  aggregate  capital  of 
$985,510,  expending  in  annual  wages  $529,410,  in  the 
purchase  of  material  $2,146,000  annually,  and  pro- 
ducing values  amounting  to  $3,180,611.  In  addition 
to  these  there  are  18  coppersmith  establishments,  em- 
ploying 297  hands,  with  $365,900  of  capital,  and  $112,- 
670  of  annual  wages,  expending  in  material  $1,656,- 
441,  and  producing  $1,952,051  of  annual  values. 

In  1810  a  valuable  copper-mine  was  said  to  have 
been  discovered  on  the  farm  of  Benjamin  Bowen, 
about  five  miles  from  the  city,  on  the  Falls  turnpike. 
The  Baltimore  and  Cuba  Copper-Smelting  Company 
was  organized  in  1846,  and  located  its  works  at  Whet- 
stone Point. 

The  Gunpowder  Copper- Works  are  located  on  the 
Gunpowder,  about  ten  miles  from  the  city. 

Spices. — The  manufacture  of  spices  is  very  exten- 
sively carried  on  in  this  city ;  the  home  consumption 
in  so  large  a  city  must  be  very  great,  and  the  large 
territory  into  which  Baltimore  enterprise  has  ex- 
tended its  many  articles  has  largely  increased  the 
number  of  establishments  as  well  as  the  volume  of 
business.  Pejiper,  ginger,  mace,  nutmegs,  cassia, 
and  other  spices  are  ground  in  very  large  quan- 
tities. Importing  direct  and  manufacturing  with 
great  care  has  rendered  this  city  independent  of  all 
others  in  this  trade.  The  home  manufactures  supply 
the  jobbing  trade  entirely.  Several  of  the  establish- 
ments include  the  grinding  of  coffee,  which  in  the  cen- 
sus tables  is  consolidated  with  those  for  the  grinding 
of  spices.  These  tables  show  12  establishments,  em- 
ploying 64  hands,  with  $120,750  capital,  paying,  in 
wages  $23,003,  and  for  material  $220,608,  and  pro- 
ducing annual  values  amounting  to  $296,874. 

Hair-Work  and  Curled  Hair.— In  1836,  William 
Wilkins  e.stalilislicil  liis  manufactory  of  hair,  bristles, 
etc.,  in  Baltimore.  This  trade  has  grown  very  rapidly, 
and  is  to-day  not  only  an  important  manufacturing 
interest,  employing  large  capital  and  several  hundred 
operatives,  but  has  become  also  an  important  article 
of  exportation.  The  many  uses  to  which  hair  and 
bristles  are  applied  has  increased  the  demand  for  the 
products  of  this  establishment  very  largely  in  this 
city.  According  to  the  census  returns,  which  are  far 
below  the  real  figures,  there  are  11  establishments  for 
the  manufacture  of  hair-work,  employing  154  hands, 
and  with  a  capital  of  $161,750,  expending  annually 
in  wages  $62,504,  and  for  material  $131,275,  and  pro- 
ducing yearly  values  amounting  to  $243,098.  In  ad- 
dition to  these  there  are  10  brush  manufactories,  em- 
l)loying  163  hands;  capital,  $44,500 ;  annual  wages, 
$38,535 ;  materials,  $80,15p ;  annual  products,  $154,845. 
In  the  manufacture  of  hair  mattresses  there  are  5  es- 
tablisbmonts,  employing  13  hands,  with  a  capital   of 


$4325;  wages,  $4702;  materials,  $25,413  ;  and  annual 
products,  $37,325.  These  figures  relate  to  Baltimore 
City,  and  do  not  include  the  hair-factories  of  Balti- 
more County.  Mr.  Wilkins,  who  was  the  founder  of 
curled-hair  manufacturing  in  Baltimore  and  in  the 
United  States,  was  born  in  Osterlinde,  near  Lesse, 
Dukedom  of  Brunswick,  Germany,  Oct.  13,  1817,  and 
died  in  Baltimore.  His  father,  Christian  Wilkins, 
was  a  farmer  for  many  years,  but  subsequently  entered 
the  dry-goods  business  in  Lesse,  to  which  place  he 
removed  soon  after  William's  birth.  The  family 
afterwards  removed  to  Hildesheim,  where  William 
received  his  education.  After  the  termination  of  his 
school-life  he  commenced  his  business  career  in  a 
dry-goods  store,  where  he  remained  for  several  years. 
He  felt,  however,  that  the  New  World  offered  opportu- 
nities not  to  be  found  in  the  Old,  and  full  of  the  ad- 
I  venturous  spirit  of  enterprise  which  distinguished  him 
in  after-years,  he  determined  to  come  to  America. 

To  carry  out  his  determination  he  was  forced  to 
walk  to  Bremen,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  miles. 
He  left  his  home  in  Lesse  June  23,  1836,  and  taking 
passage  at  Bremen,  arrived  in  New  York  Sept.  17, 
1836.  He  did  not  remain  in  New  York,  but  went 
immediately  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  embarked  in 
business  on  a  capital  that  might  well  be  termed 
limited,  amounting,  as  it  did,  to  only  eighteen  cents. 
In  1837  his  services  were  engaged  in  the  silk-weaving 
factory  of  William  Horstmann,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained for  about  twelve  months,  when  he  commenced 
a  general  trading  business  on  his  own  account.  In 
1839  he  made  a  journey  by  water  to  New  Orleans, 
where,  in  conjunction  with  a  Mr.  Steckheim,  he  en- 
gaged for  a  short  time  in  the  furniture  business.  He 
soon  abandoned  this,  and  going  to  Texas,  traded 
between  that  State  and  New  Orleans  for  a  few  months, 
but  the  venture  not  proving  profitable,  in  1841  he 
turned  his  face  northward  and  made  his  way  back  to 
Philadelphia  by  leisurely  stages,  not  neglecting  his 
business  on  the  route.  He  remained  about  eighteen 
months  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  married  his  first 
wife,  and  having  already  began  to  reap  the  rewards 
of  his  persevering  industry,  made  a  trip  to  Germany 
to  visit  his  father.  During  his  first  residence  in  Phil- 
adelphia he  boarded  with  H.  Gerker,  a  small  manu- 
facturer of  curled  hair,  and  this  acquaintance  sug- 
gested a  new  field  to  his  enterprising  genius.  Ac- 
^cordingly,  on  his  return  to  America  he  determined  to 
embark  in  this  branch  of  business,  and  casting  about 
for  a  favorable  locality,  fixed  upon  Baltimore,  in 
which  there  was  no  hair-factory,  and  which  seemed  to 
offer  a  promising  market  for  goods  of  this  character. 
He  was  not  a  man  to  hesitate  after  his  judgment  had 
approved  a  course  of  action,  and  he  therefore  promptly 
rented  a  part  of  Colson's  glue-factory,  near  Ross  Street, 
and  in  1843  commenced  the  curled  hair  and  glue  busi- 
ness in  Baltimore.  His  previous  trading  operations 
in  the  raw  material  now  proved  of  advantage  to  him, 
and  he  turned  bis  cxporionce  to  account  by  adding 


WM.  I^IJLIIIWS.. 


C"^^  \C^^^-^ 


COMMERCIAL  INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


the  bristle  industry  to  his  other  business.  His  enter- 
prise was  so  successful  that  he  was  forced  to  seek  larger 
accommodations,  and  accordingly  leased  a  lot  and 
built  a  factory  on  the  Frederick  road.  He  added  to 
his  grounds  and  buildings  from  time  to  time,  until 
the  immense  establishment  now  covers  fifteen  acres, 
with  an  adjacent  territory  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
acres,  occupied  by  the  dwellings  of  the  employes, 
and  neatly  laid  out  and  improved.  About  seven  hun- 
dred persons  are  constantly  employed,  and  all  the 
equipments  and  improvements  are  of  the  most  ap- 
proved character.  Several  millions  of  dollars  are  in- 
vested in  the  business,  and  the  factory  turns  out  over 
40,000  pounds  of  manufactured  goods  per  week.  A 
branch  railroad-track  runs  to  the  factory  for  the  ship- 
ment of  the  products  to  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  a 
telephone,  the  first  introduced  in  Baltimore,  connects 
these  buildings  with  the  warehouse  on  Pratt  Street  near 
Howard.  Branch  houses  in  New  York,  Chicago,  and 
St.  Louis  attest  the  magnitude  of  the  industry  here  car- 
ried on,  and  render  valuable  service  in  the  collection  of 
the  raw  material.  Mr.  Wilkins  was  an  extensive  trav- 
eler. In  1856  he  made  a  trip  to  England  and  Russia, 
in  1865  he  visited  Egypt  and  Palestine,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  visited  Spain.  Mr.  Wilkins  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Odd-Fellow  and  Masonic  fraternities,  and 
when  a  child  was  confirmed  in  the  Lutheran  Church, 
of  which  his  parents  were  members.  He  was  three 
times  married,- — in  1843  to  Sophia  Heyer,  of  Philadel- 
phia, by  whom  he  had  one  daughter  and  two  sons;  in 
1857  to  Helen  Schluter,  by  whom  he  had  one  daugh- 
ter ;  and  in  1872  to  Catharine  Lorbacher,  of  Bremen, 
by  whom  he  had  one  son  and  two  daughters. 

In  1853,  Mr.  Wilkins  associated  with  him  Herman 
H.  Graue,  who,  in  connection  with  the  sons  of 
Mr.  Wilkins,  now  conducts  this  immense  business. 
Mr.  Graue  is  a  gentleman  of  the  finest  business  quali- 
fications, and  the  development  of  the  great  industry 
with  which  he  is  connected  has  been  largely  due  to 
his  zeal  and  energy.  During  Mr.  Wilkins'  life  he  had 
entire  control  of  the  books  and  financial  department 
of  the  establishment,  and  since  his  death  has  been 
the  guiding  spirit  in  its  management.  Mr.  Wilkins 
fully  appreciated  his  personal  worth  and  business 
qualities,  and  time  has  shown  that  his  estimate  was 
thoroughly  correct.  Like  Mr.  Wilkins  himself,  Mr. 
Graue  is  the  type  of  the  best  and  most  valuable  class 
of  our  German  citizens,  and  his  enterprise,  public 
spirit,  and  rare  qualities  of  heart  and  mind  have 
given  him  a  leading  and  enviable  position  in  the 
community. 

Breweries. — Brewing  was  a  very  early  industry  in 
Maryland.  As  early  as  1756,  Peter  Creagh  advertises 
for  sale  "  a  large  brick  brew-house  on  the  Severn 
River,"  and  Peters  &  Co.,  from  1784  to  1796,  are  con- 
stant advertisers  of  ale,  strong  table  and  small  beer, 
at  their  brewery  on  Jones'  Falls.  In  1796,  Kendall 
&  Kerr  were  in  the  "  brewing  business  on  Hanover 
Street,  in  the  house  formerly  occupied  by  John  Ham- 


!  mond  &  Co."     The  "brew-house   and   utensels"  of 
j  Peter  Littig  were  sold  Oct.  20,  1789,  by  William  Mat- 
thews and  George  Levely,  trustees. 

The  manufacture  of  lager  beer  is  conducted  by 
large  establishments  and  upon  the  most  extensive 
scale  around  this  city.  Among  these  large  breweries 
are  those  of  John  H.  Vanderhorst,  of  whom  we  speak 
elsewhere,  and  John  Jacob  Seeger.  Mr.  Seeger  was 
born  in  Beutlingen,  in  the  kingdom  of  Wurtemberg, 
now  a  portion  of  the  German  Empire,  on  the  26th  of 
October,  1809.  His  father,  John  Jacob  Seeger,  was  a 
silver-plater  of  some  importance  in  the  district,  and 
his  son,  after  thorough  drilling  in  the  public  schools 
and  classical  academies  of  the  town,  pursued  the  same 
avocation.  In  1831,  Mr.  Seeger  left  Germany  and  came 
to  the  city  of  Baltimore.  He  had  no  capital  beyond 
a  stout  heart  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  his  trade, 
but  he  hired  himself  as  an  apprentice,  and  made 
enough  money  to  secure  the  comforts  of  life.  After 
three  years  of  servitude  he  established  himself  as  a 
silver-plater,  and  began  to  amass  money.  In  1835  he 
married  Barbara  Beck,  a  young  lady  from  his  native 
town  who  had  migrated  to  Baltimore,  and  by  her  he 
j  had  two  daughters,  who  are  living  respectively  in 
j  New  York  and  Toledo.  The  business  of  silver-plat- 
j  ing  proved  profitable,  and  in  1854,  attracted  by  the 
fortunes  made  in  brewing,  he  purchased  a  property 
on  the  Frederick  road  and  entered  into  the  business, 
still  retaining  his  interest  in  the  silver-plating  estab- 
lishment on  German  Street.  Mr.  Seeger  directed  his 
attention  to  the  production  of  a  good  article  of  beer, 
and  was  eminently  successful.  His  beer  became  pop- 
ular, and  in  1866  he  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  silver- 
plating  business,  and  devoted  himself  exclusively  to 
the  manufacture  of  beer,  out  of  which  industry  he  has 
amassed  a  large  fortune  and  has  given  to  the  trade  an 
enviable  reputation.  In  1845  his  wife  died,  and  in 
1850,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  native  town,  he  met  with 
Bena  Steckinfinger  and  married  her.  Paul  August 
Seeger  was  the  fruit  of  this  union,  a  young  man  who, 
by  his  close  attention  to  business  and  general  man- 
agement, has  proven  himself  to  be  a  worthy  suc- 
cessor of  his  father.  Since  1876,  Mr.  Seeger  has  been 
to  some  extent  an  invalid,  and  has  been  confined  to 
his  home  at  311  West  Fayette  Street,  but  he  has  not 
relinquished  his  interest  in  the  business  which  he  has 
built  up,  and  exercises  a  general  supervision  over  it. 
Soon  after  he  came  to  America  he  connected  him- 
self with  St.  John's  Lutheran  Church  on  Gay  Street, 
of  which  he  has  been  a  consistent  member. 

Iron. — Attention  was  called  to  the  superficial  de- 
posit of  iron  ore  in  Baltimore  County  as  early  as  1648 
by  Plantagenet,  who  estimated  the  saving  to  the  iron 
manufacturer  at  £3  per  ton ;  "  another  £5  would  be 
saved  in  fuel  by  using  driftwood  and  timber  floated 
down  the  rivers,  and  thus  the  labor  of  each  man 
would  yield  him  5s.  \0d.  per  diem,  iron  being  valued 
at  £12  per  ton."  In  1681  the  Legislature,  to  prevent 
the  exportation   of  old  iron   and  to  encourage  the 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


smiths,  imposed  a  duty  on  such  exportations.  The 
manufacture  of  iron  appears  to  liave  begun  about  this 
time.  Samples  of  Maryland  iron,  most  probably  from 
Baltimore  County,  were  received  in  England  in  1718. 
The  act  of  the  Maryland  General  Assembly  for  the 
encouragement  of  iron  manufactures  was  passed  in 
1719;  its  preamble  recites  "that  there  are  very  great 
conveniences  of  carrying  on  iron-works  within  this 
province,  which  have  not  hitherto  been  embraced  for 
want  of  proper  encouragement  to  some  first  under- 
takers." Whether  the  Principio  Company  antedated 
the  Baltimore  Company  is  not  now  to  be  ascertained 
with  certainty ;  they  probably  started  within  a  very 
few  years  of  each  other.  "  About  the  year  171.5"  is 
claimed  for  the  former,  and  the  year  1723  is  conceded 
to  be  the  date  of  the  latter.  Admitting  this  chro- 
nology, the  Principio  Company  will  be  first  examined. 
This  was  an  association,  not  incorporated,  of  British 
iron-masters, — merchants  and  capitalists  engaged  in 
manufacturing  pig  and  bar  iron  from  furnaces  in  both 
Maryland  and  Virginia.  The  prominent  shareholders 
were  Sir  Nicholas  Hachett  Carew,  Bart.,  of  Bedding- 
ton,  Surrey;  Thomas  Russell,  of  Birmingham,  and 
his  sons,  Thomas  and  William  Russell ;  Stephen 
Onion,  John  England,  Joshua,  Samuel,  and  Osgood 
Gee,  William  Chetwynd,  Esq.,  all  of  England,  and 
Augustine  and  Lawrence  Washington,  of  Virginia, 
the  father  and  brother  of  George  Washington.  The 
Principio  Company  in  1751  outranked  all  other  iron 
manufacturers  in  America,  being  the  sole  proprietors 
of  four  furnaces  and  two  forges,  viz. :  Principio  Fur- 
nace, in  Cecil  County,  Md.,  built  about  1715;  Prin- 
cipio Forge,  at  the  same  place;  North  East  Forge,  in 
the  same  county,  built  1720-30 ;  Accokeek  Furnace, 
Virginia,  built  1725;  Kingsbury  Furnace,  Baltimore 
County,  built  1744  ;  Lancashire  Furnace,  Baltimore 
County,  1751. 

In  1780,  Maryland  passed  an  act  to  seize  and  confis- 
cate all  British  property  within  the  State.  The  Wash- 
ingtons  having  sold  out  their  interest  in  the  company, 
and  taken  the  Accokeek  Furnace  for  their  interest, 
the  Principio  property  belonged  to  Englishmen,  and 
was  confiscated  and  sold  under  the  law  of  Maryland. 
The  following  returns  of  sales  made  by  the  intendent 
of  the  revenue  will  serve  to  fix  the  value  of  property 
in  Baltimore  County  at  that  time : 

1781. 

Aug.  15.  Lots  on  Whetstciiie  Point,  75  acres £2,788  0  0 

Sept.  12.  Lancashire  Furnace,  IG85  acres 9,12.'i  0  0 

"       "            "                 "            60  negroes 7,276  0  0 

"       "             "                 *'            cattle  and  horses 35-t  0  0 

•'     25.  Lots  on  Whetstone  Point,  120  acres 4,891  0  0 

Dec.     ,'">.  TrattculloJ  "  Harbour,"  900  acres..... 1,710  0  0 

8.  10  negroen  and  other  property  (Kingsbury) 2,328  0  0 

"      lli.  Tractor  land,  231  acres 1,062  0  0 

April  22.  Nortli  East  Forge  to  Thomas  Russell 6,,560  0  0 

.Inly  30.  Tract  of  land,  40  acres 3,111  0  0 

Aug.  20.  25  negroes 878  0  0 

Oct.      7.  11,633  acres  of  land 44,650  0  0 

1786. 

Aug.  23.  11.13  acres  of  land 6,320  0  0 

Total £90,050    0    0 

Thomas  Russell  had  become  a  citizen  of  Maryland, 
and  his  purcliasc  was  paid  for  in  shares  of  the  com- 


pany :  the  forge  and  other  property  at  North  East  sold 
as  follows : 

The  forge  and  other  property  called  Vulcan's  Delight, 

150  acres,  on  which  the  buildings  stand £1500  0  0 

The  tract  called  Geeofarison,  containing  574:5  acres,  in 

general  rerif  poor 2153  0  0 

■500  acres  of  leased  land 250  0  0 

32  negroes,  teams,  and  farming  implements 1356  0  0 

Making  in  the  aggregate £6350    0    0 

Thomas  Russell  died  in  1786,  leaving  a  son  Thomas ; 
the  widow  married  Daniel  Sheredine,  who,  with 
Thomas  Russell,  revived  the  iron  business  at  North 
East  in  1802.  At  the  death  of  Thomas  Russell,  Jr., 
in  1806,  the  property,  being  heavily  embarrassed,  was 
abandoned  as  an  iron-furnace  and  the  land  divided 
among  the  heirs.  In  1829  the  North  East  Forge  was 
leased  by  James  and  George  P.  Whitaker  from  Mrs. 
Frances  Sewall,  one  of  the  Russell  heirs,  and  after 
many  other  changes  and  transfers  eventually  became 
the  property  of  "  The  McCullough  Iron  Company." 
The  Principio  Furnace  was  purchased  at  the  confisca- 
tion sale  in  1786  by  Samuel  Hughes,  Edwin  Cole, 
Richard  Potts,  and  others,  who  erected  there  a  blast- 
furnace and  boring-mill,  a  grist-mill  and  tenement- 
houses.  It  was  engaged  in  making  cannon,  cannon- 
balls,  and  hollow-ware.  Guns  as  large  as  32-pounders 
were  cast  there  and  forwarded  to  the  government  at 
different  points,  and  some  were  drawn  by  horses  to 
Pittsburgh.  This  fact,  during  the  war  of  1812, 
brought  barges  from  Cockburn's  fleet  up  to  Principio, 
where  the  cannon  were  either  burst  or  spiked,  and 
many  rendered  unfit  for  service,  and  the  property 
burned.  The  property  was  partially  repaired  by  Col. 
Hughes  after  the  war,  but  being  almost  financially 
wrecked,  he  carried  it  on  only  two  or  three  years  and 
then  abandoned  it.  Messrs.  Smith  &  Gilmor,  of  Bal- 
timore, held  a  heavy  mortgage  upon  the  property, 
under  which  it  was  sold  in  1836  to  George  P.  Whit- 
taker,  Thomas  Garrett,  Joseph  Whittaker,  and  others, 
who  erected  a  blast-furnace  in  1837,  which  has  been 
in  constant  operation  ever  since. 

At  the  mouth  of  Gwynn's  Falls,  in  or  about  1723, 
"The  Baltimore  Company,"  Messrs.  Carroll,  Tasker 
&  Co.  proprietors,  erected  a  forge  on  the  land  belong- 
ing to  John  Moale,  an  English  merchant  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Provincial  Assembly,  who  carried  on  an 
extensive  business  at  Fell's  Point.  One-fifth  share  in 
these  works  belonged  to  the  estate  of  Col.  B.  Tasker, 
and  was  sold  March  13,  1765,  for  £5200. 

Col.  Sheredine  erected  a  furnace  on  the  Kingsbury 
lands,  at  the  head  of  Black  River,  in  1734. 

The  Patapsco  Iron-Works^  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Basin,  were  adverti-sed  for  gale  July  5,  1745.  The 
Lancashire  Furnace,  in  Baltimore  County,  was  owned 
in  1764  by  Mr.  Hicks,  and  in  1781  by  the  Principio 
Company. 

In  1766,  Dorsey's  Furnace,  on  the  main  falls  of 
Patapsco,  was  owned  by  Caleb  Dorsey.  In  1768, 
Hoxley  Forge,  at  the  head  of  Patapsco,  was  owned 
bv  Robert  Croxall.     In  1760  the  Onion  Iron-Works, 


COMMERCIAL  INDUSTRIES   AND  "MANUFACTURES. 


on  the  Gunpowder,  consisting  of  two  forges,  a  furnace, 
and  grist-mill,  were  owned  by  Zaccheus  Onion.  The 
death  of  Hepton  Onion,  an  owner,  is  announced  Aug. 
20,  1754.  In  1770  the  Nottingham  Iron-Furnace, 
Baltimore  County,  was  owned  by  John  Ridgely ;  this 
is  probably  the  same  as  Hampton  Furnace.  Cannon 
were  cast  here  in  1780,  and  the  furnace  is  said  to  have 
run  "  seventy  years  upon  a  single  deposit  of  brown 
ore  in  the  neighborhood."  There  was  also  another 
furnace,  belonging  to  Charles  Ridgely,  on  the  falls  of 
the  Great  Gunpowder,  in  the  same  county,  which 
produced  superior  iron  from  the  same  kind  of  ore. 
Small  cannon  and  swivels  were  ordered  at  this  fur- 
nace in  July,  1776.  The  Bush  River  Iron-Works 
were  sold  June  10,  1773.  On  Aug.  23,  1773,  Samuel 
Dorsey,  Jr.,  Charles  Ridgely,  Michael  Poe,  William 
Goodwin,  and  William  Buchanan  sold  the  iron-works 
at  Curtis'  Creek;  they  were  in  existence  as  the  Curtis 
Creek  Iron- Works  in  1781.  In  1773  the  Lancaster 
Furnace,  near  Baltimore  Town,  was  owned  by  George 
Mathews.  In  1774  the  Hockley  Furnace,  at  Elk- 
ridge  Landing,  William  Hammond  manager,  was 
conducted  by  the  Baltimore  Company.  In  1779  the 
Principio  and  Kingsbury  Iron- Works  are  mentioned. 
In  1780,  Andrew  Ellicott  had  a  steel-furnace  at  Upper 
Ellicott's  Mills ;  in  this  same  year  Henry  Howard  & 
■Co.  manufactured  cannon  and  shot  at  the  Northamp- 
ton Furnace,  in  Baltimore  County.  James  Buchanan, 
in  1782,  conducted  the  Mount  Royal  Forge,  near  Bal- 
timore Town.  In  1789,  Stuart's  Nail-Factory  was  on 
Church  Hill,  and  Adrian  Valck  imported  steel.  In 
1793  the  Bush  Creek  Forge  and  Mill  was  in  opera- 
tion near  Frederick  Town.  Henry  Brim  had  a  nail- 
factory  near  the  court-house  in  1787.  John  Dorsey 
conducted  in  1790  the  Oakley  Nail  and  Anchor 
Manufactory,  about  one  mile  from  Baltimore  Town. 
The  Avalon  Iron-Works  were  erected  about  1800  by 
the  Dorseys. 

Among  the  houses  engaged  in  the  iron  trade  of 
Baltimore  at  present  is  that  of  William  G.  and  Wil- 
liam G.  Wetherall,  Jr.  William  G.  Wetherall,  Sr., 
was  born  in  Baltimore  County  on  the  23d  of  Febru- 
ary, 1800.  His  ancestors  on  the  paternal  side  were 
of  pure  English  stock,  while  on  the  maternal  side  he 
is  of  Irish  descent.  His  mother's  maiden  name  was 
May  Bedel  Presbury.  Both  his  paternal  and  mater- 
nal ancestors  settled  in  Harford  County  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  where  they  became  large  landholders. 
His  father,  William  Wetherall,  was  an  officer  in  the 
Union  Bank  of  Maryland  for  thirty-seven  years,  and 
his  own  business  career  began  at  an  early  age,  when 
he  entered  the  counting-room  of  Hollins  &  McBlair, 
who  were  large  importers  of  East  India  goods. 

In  1821,  Mr.  Wetherall  went  to  Mexico  in  one  of 
Thomas  Tennant's  clipper  schooners  as  a  clerk  in 
the  house  of  D'Arbel  &  Co.,  of  Tampico,  D'Arcy  and 
Didier  being  the  principal  partners  in  the  firm,  and 
in  a  few  years  he  was  admitted  into  the  partnership. 
After  closing  up  the  business  of  the  firm  in  1830,  he 


returned  to  Baltimore,  the  other  partners  having  pre- 
ceded him.  He  again  visited  Mexico  in  1835-36, 
but  returned  home  in  impaired  health  and  fortune. 
In  1846  he  commenced  the  business  of  importer  and 


7^^dJ7ri^a/c 


dealer  in  iron  and  steel,  in  connection  with  his  son, 
William  G.  Wetherall,  Jr.,  in  Baltimore,  in  which 
business  he  is  still  engaged.  His  character  for  ster- 
ling worth  and  business  enterprise  has  won  the  rich 
success  which  it  has  so  amply  merited. 

A  census  bulletin  for  1880  shows  the  following  sta- 
tistics of  blast-furnaces,  rolling-mills,  steel-works,  and 
forges  in  Maryland : 

Number  of  estabUshnients 23 

Capital  invested  iu  1880 $4,962,125 

Males  empluyed  above  19  years 2656 

Hales  euiployed  below  16  years Iu7 

Total  hands  employed 3763 

Value  of  material  used  iu  1880 S-,884,574 

Value  of  products  made  in  1880 84,470,050 

Total  amount  paid  in  wages $905,090 

Weight  of  all  products  made  in  1880 110,934 

"      1S70 95_424 

Iron  Bridge  Building.— This  important  industry 
has  developed  since  railroads  began  to  use  so  exten- 
sively iron  rather  than  stone  or  wooden  bridges.  In 
Baltimore  the  Patapsco  Bridge  and  Iron-Works,  the 
Clarke  Bridge  Company,  H.  A.  Ramsay  &  Co.,  and 
the  Baltimore  Bridge  Company  are  engaged  in  this 
industry  and  others  connected  therewith. 

In  the  extensive  and  well-appointed  workshop  of 
Messrs.  Pool  &  Hunt,  at  Woodberry,  there  are  unsur- 
passed facilities  for  the  manufacture  of  machinery 
and  castings  of  the  largest  and  heaviest  character, 


426 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND    COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ami  their  work  lias  ever  been  found  of  the  best  qual- 
ity as  regards   material   and  workmanship.     Estab-  | 
lislied  in  1831,  they  have  for  more  than  thirty  years 
manufactured  portable  and  stationary  steam-engines, 
Babcock  &  Wilcox  patent  tubular  steam-boilers,  tur-  1 
bine  water-wheels,  circular  saws,  gang  saw-mills,  etc. 

Among  the  iron  establishments  of  Baltimore  are  ; 
the  Stickney  Iron  Company,  Canton,  manufacturers 
of  charcoal  pig  iron  ;  Troxell,  Handy  &  Greer,  agents 
for  antliracite,  charcoal,  and  coke  pig  iron,  cham- 
bered hammered  blooms,  etc. ;  Keyser  Bros.  &  Co.,  i 
anthracite,  charcoal,  and  coke  pig  iron,  Scotch  pig 
iron,  bar,  sheet,  and  boiler-plate  iron,  cast  and  spring 
steel,  nails,  and  horse-shoes  ;  Baltimore  Steam-Boiler 
Works  manufacture  steam-boilers  of  every  descrip- 
tion, tanks,  stills,  and  all  kinds  of  plate-iron  work. 

Rivets  and  Spikes. — In  1865  the  establishment 
now  owned  and  conducted  by  William  Gilmor,  of 
William,  for  the  manufacture  of  rivets  and  .spikes,  was 
founded,  but  not  on  the  present  footing.  To-day  it 
has  a  capacity  equal  to  any  in  the  country  for  the 
manufacture  of  all  the  smaller  articles  used  in  the 
construction  of  boilers  and  engines,  such  as  rivets, 
spikes,  bolts,  nuts,  washers,  wood  screws,  etc.  Its 
trade  has  assumed  very  large  proportions,  and  its 
products  are  shipped  all  over  the  country. 

Messrs.  E.  Pratt  &  Brother  are  also  dealers  in  iron, 
cut  nails,  spikes,  horse  and  mule-shoes,  Taunton 
yellow  metal,  and  Cumberland  coal. 

Architectural  Iron. — The  foundry  e.stablished  in 
1844  by  Hayward,  Bartlett  &  Co.  is  among  the  most 
prominent  of  the  manufacturing  establishments  of 
this  city.  Originally  stove-works,  they  have  been 
extended  from  time  to  time  until  now  they  are  one 
of  the  most  extensive  manufacturers  of  architectural 
iron  gas-works,  and  heating  by  hot  water  and  steam, 
in  the  United  States.  The  public  and  many  of  the 
private  buildings  of  Baltimore,  the  treasury  building 
at  Washington,  the  custom-houses  at  Portland,  Me., 
in  Buflalo,  and  in  New  York  City  are  heated  by  the 
apparatus  constructed  at  these  works.  In  1863  the 
"Winans  Locomotive-Works"  passed  into  the  hands 
of  this  establishment,  under  the  name  of  the  "Bal- 
timore Locomotive- Works,"  which  were  continued  as 
such  to  the  close  of  the  late  civil  war.  David  L. 
Bartlett,  the  senior  of  the  firm,  was  born  in  Hadley, 
Mass.,  in  December,  1816.  His  father  was  Daniel 
Bartlett,  and  his  mother's  maiden  name  was  Louisa 
Stockbridge,  both  of  Hadley,  Mass.  His  ancestors, 
both  paternal  and  maternal,  were  New  England  people 
for  many  generations,  intimately  connected  with  the 
history  of  that  section. 

Mr.  Bartlett's  rudiniental  education  was  obtained 
at  the  very  excellent  common  schools  of  New  Eng- 
land, and  comjjleted  at  one  of  the  academies  of  that 
section,  so  noted  for  their  thorough  course  and  train- 
ing in  all  the  branches  necessary  for  the  pursuits  of 
business. 

Mr.  Bartlett  commenced  the  business  of  a  manu- 


facturer of  iron  when  a  young  man  in  Hartford, 
Conn.,  where  he  had  a  fair  mea.sure  of  success.  In 
1844  he  removed  to  Baltimore  and  established  a  foun- 
dry on  President  Street,  but  removed  in  a  slmrt  time 
to  Leadenhall  Street,  and  in  1850  established  liis 
foundry  permanently  on  the  corner  of  Scott  and  Pratt 
Streets,  where  the  present  firm,  Bartlett,  Hayward  it 
Co.,  have  gradually  enlarged  the  business  and  have 
been  very  successful.  The  firm  employs  an  average 
of  five  hundred  skilled  workmen,  and  fills  a  vast 
number  of  orders  and  contracts. 

Mr.  Bartlett  has  been  intrusted  with  many  import- 
ant mea.sures  involving  the  interests  of  the  public. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the 
mayor  of  Baltimore  to  report  on  the  proper  means 
of  encouraging  manufactures ;  is  one  of  the  trustees 
of  the  McDonogh  School  Fund ;  has  been  one  of  the 
managers  of  the  Maryland  Institute ;  and  is  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  Farmers'  and  Planters'  Bank. 

Mr.  Bartlett's  general  reputation  may  be  well  con- 
ceived by  the  character  of  the  public  trusts  with 
which  he  has  been  connected.  To  a  mature  judgment 
and  ripe  experience  he  has  brought  to  every  under- 
taking, both  public  and  private,  a  faithfid,  consci- 
entious discharge  of  duty  that  has  secured  him  the 
entire  confidence  of  the  community  in  which  he  cast 
his  fortunes  more  than  forty  years  ago.  He  is  at 
present  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  an  iron  constitution, 
preserved  and  strengthened  by  systematic  habits, 
and  promises  yet,  according  to  all  human  judgment, 
many  years  of  usefulness  to  his  family  and  to  the 
public. 

Mr.  Bartlett  is  commanding  in  presence,  urbane  in 
manners,  social  and  genial  in  all  his  relations  with 
men,  and  exceedingly  popular  with  all  classes ;  and 
in  all  connections,  religious,  political,  and  in  busi- 
ness, he  has  been  active,  consistent,  and  faithful,  se- 
curing thereby  the  ajjprobation  and  esteem  of  all 
good  men  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact  during 
an  active  life.  He  is  a  communicant  in  the  Episcopal 
Church,  and  has  had  no  taste  or  inclination  for  polit- 
ical office,  but  during  the  existence  of  the  Whig  party 
he  affiliated  with  it.  Upon  its  dissolution  he  became 
a  member  of  the  Republican  party,  with  which  he  has 
since  acted  and  voted. 

He  has  been  married  twice.  By  his  first  wife, 
Sarah  Abby,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  January, 
1845,  he  had  two  children,  who  are  still  living.  He 
was  married  the  second  time  in  April,  1867,  to  Julia 
E.  Pettibone,  of  Simsbury,  Conn. 

Charles  KniUi's  Marine-Engine  Works  are  among 
the  old-esial.li^li.Ml  institutions  of  Baltimore.  The 
father  of  thf  present  proprietor  removed  to  Baltimore 
in  1813,  and  built  the  first  steamboat-engine  in  the  city. 
Distinguished  for  mechanical  skill  and  fidelity  of 
workmanship,  he  won  a  wide-spread  and  enviable 
reputation.  Charles  Reeder  &  Sons  succeeded  to  the 
business  in  1837,  and  aided  in  the  construction  of  sev- 
eral government  vessels,  among  them  the  "  Natchez," 


-  ^J^^^-^^l^^ 


COMMERCIAL  INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


of  eight  hundred  tons,  to  run  between  New  York  and 
Natchez,  Miss.  The  "  Isabel,"  a  steamer  of  twelve  '< 
hundred  tons,  constructed  to  run  between  Charleston 
and  Havana,  attracted  great  attention  because  of 
many  important  improvements  introduced  by  the 
builders  that  rendered  her  eminently  successful. 
The  "  Tennessee"  and  "  Louisiana"  and  many  other 
steam-vessels  were  furnished  with  machinery  at  th&se 
works,  all  of  which  have  received  high  commendation 
for  the  excellence  of  their  performance  and  the  su-  ' 
perior  quality  of  their  machinery.  The  works  are 
now  conducted  by  C.  Reeder  &  Co.,  51  Hughes  Street. 
Charles  Reeder,  the  head  of  the  firm,  was  born 
in  Baltimore,  Oct.  31,  1817,  of  parents  who  had  re- 
moved from  Pennsylvania  to  this  city  three  years 
previou.sly.  His  father  constructed  the  first  steam- 
boat-engine that  was  built  in  Baltimore,  and  rebuilt 
and  improved,  so  as  to  cause  it  to  work  much  faster,  , 
the  old  "  Grasshopper"  locomotive,  which  was  one  of 
the  first  introduced  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road. This  veteran  engine  was  continued  in  use  for 
many  years,  and  is  now  kept  in  the  company's  shops 
at  Mount  Clare  as  a  bit  of  railroad  bric-a-brac  that 
money  could  not  purchase.  It  was  shown  at  the 
sesqui-centennial  celebration  of  1880,  in  the  inaug- 
ural parade.  In  1832,  Charles  Reeder  entered  his 
father's  shop,  and  while  learning  the  machinist's 
trade  employed  his  leisure  hours  in  the  study  of 
mechanical  philosophy  and  mathematics,  having 
for  his  tutor  J.  J.  Reekers,  an  accomplished  mathe- 
matician. By  const.ant  attendance  upon  lectures 
at  the  University  of  Maryland,  and  by  steady  read- 
ing, he  added  to  the  stock  of  his  knowledge  of  chem- 
istry and  the  laws  of  physics  relative  to  the  steam- 
engine.  Much  more  ship-building  was  done  then 
than  now  in  Baltimore,  and  in  the  three  years  suc- 
ceeding 1835,  Mr.  Reeder,  who  had  been  admitted 
into  the  firm  of  C.  Reeder  &  Sons,  and  made  foreman 
of  the  machine  department,  assisted  in  the  construc- 
tion of  several  steamers  which  in  their  day  reflected 
much  credit  upon  Baltimore  ship-yards.  In  1838  the 
works  were  destroyed  by  fire,  and  in  attempting  to 
rebuild  them  the  company  fell  into  a  financial  swamp, 
from  which  it  did  not  free  itself  for  several  years.  In 
partnership  with  his  elder  brother,  Mr.  Reeder  re- 
stored the  credit  which  the  establishment  had  for- 
merly possessed,  and  after  the  time  when,  in  1848, 
the  brother  withdrew  to  take  the  management  of  a 
steamship  line  in  which  he  was  interested,  Charles 
Reeder  conducted  the  business  individually.  The 
same  year  he  furnished  the  machinery  for  the  steam- 
ship "  Isabel,"  to  run  between  Charleston  and  Ha- 
vana, and  introduced  into  it  so  many  valuable  im- 
provements of  his  own  design  that  other  builders 
copied  them,  and  vessels  already  afloat  were  altered 
to  conform  to  them.  They  became  a  general  feature 
of  side-wheel  steamers  in  the  ocean  trade.  The 
Reeder  shops  have  sent  out  hundreds  of  engines  for 
ocean,  bay,  and  river  steamers,  and  sustain  a  very 


high  reputation.  The  firm  is  now  Charles  Reeder  & 
Sons,  the  other  partners  being  Oliver  and  Charles  M. 
Reeder.  Besides  these  sons,  Mr.  Reeder's  children  are 
Andrew  J.,  Frances,  Teresa,  Alice,  and  Leonard.  He 
was  married  in  October,  1838,  to  Frances  Ann  Sher- 
lock, daughter  of  Peter  and  Frances  Sherlock.  By 
his  devotion  of  more  than  thirty  years  to  business  he 
has  acquired  a  handsome  competence,  but  has  never 
relinquished  the  active  superintendency  of  his  works. 
The  Abbott  Iron  Company.  — The  venerable 
Peter  Cooper,  now  of  New  York,  owned  and  operated 
in  1828-29  what  was  then  known  as  the  "  Cooper" 
or  "  Canton"  Forges.  In  1836,  Horace  Abbott, 
having  removed  from  Massachusetts  to  Baltimore, 
purchased  these  works,  which  were  afterwards  known 
as  the  Abbott  Iron- Works,  for  the  manufacture  of 
wrought-iron  shafts,  cranks,  axles,  for  steamboats  and 
railroad  purposes.  These  works  have  the  credit  of 
having  made  the  first  very  large  steamboat  shaft 
ever  forged  in  this  country.  It  was  made  for  the  Rus- 
sian frigate  "  Kamtchatka,"  and  was  exhibited  at  the 
New  York  Exchange,  where  it  attracted  very  great 
attention.  In  these  mills  was  also  made  the  armor 
for  the  original  "  Monitor,"  which  stood  so  well  the 
hammerings  of  the  "  Merrimac"  in  Hampton  Roads. 
The  "Roanoke,"  the  "  Agamenticus,"  and  "Monad- 
nock"  were  clothed  by  these  works  in  their  iron 
plates,  as  well  as  many  other  government  vessels.  In 
1863  these  works  completed  250,000  pounds  of  rolled 
iron  in  forty-eight  hours.  In  1865,  Mr.  Abbott  dis- 
posed of  his  works  to  an  association  of  capitalists,  and 
under  the  name  of  "  The  Abbott  Iron  Company"  they 
are  now  doing  a  large  and  profitable  business. 

Coleman  &  Taylor,  boiler-makers,  manufacture  all 
kinds  of  bath  and  steam-boilers,  water-tanks,  oil- 
stills,  smoke-stacks,  etc. 

Thomas  C.  Bassher  &  Co.  manufacture  boilers, 
engines,  and  pumps. 

The  manufacture  of  stoves  and  hollow-ware  is  a 
large  branch  of  the  iron  industry  of  Baltimore.  Among 
the  prominent  representatives  of  this  department  are 
the  Leibrandt  &  McDowell  Stove  Company,  A.  Weis- 
kittel  &  Son,  and  Isaac  A.  Sheppard  &  Co.  In  1860, 
Mr.  Sheppard,  in  connection  with  J.  C.  Horn,  William 
B.  Walton,  J.  S.  Biddle,  and  John  Sheeler,  estab- 
lished the  Excelsior  Stove- Works  of  Philadelphia, 
under  the  firm-name  of  Isaac  A.  Sheppard  &  Co.,  and 
has  pursued  the  business  successfully  ;  and  in  1866  the 
firm  purchased  the  property  or  plot  of  ground  bounded 
by  Eastern  Avenue  and  Chester  Street,  and  Canton 
Avenue  and  Castle  Street,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
and  erected  thereon  the  Excelsior  Stove- Works  of 
Baltimore.  From  that  time  he  has  had  financial  con- 
trol and  general  management  of  the  business  in  both 
establishments,  spending  about  one-third  of  his  time 
in  Baltimore  during  the  first  five  or  six  years,  and 
giving  about  two-thirds  of  his  time  to  the  Philadel- 
phia establishment.  Mr.  Sheeler  died  in  1878,  and 
in  accordance  with  the  articles  of  agreement  the  co- 


428 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


partnership  expired  on  Feb.  1,  1879.  On  that  day  a 
new  partnership  was  formed  by  the  surviving  part- 
ners and  Franklin  L.  Sheppard,  son  of  the  senior  [ 
partner,  under  the  same  firm-name,  Isaac  A.  Shep- 
pard &  Co.,  the  general  management  of  both  estab- 
lishments being,  as  before,  in  the  hands  of  Isaac  A. 
Sheppard.  The  firm  gives  employment  to  about  two 
hundred  hands  in  Philadelphia,  and  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  in  Baltimore.  At  this  time  the  works 
are  running  full  time,  and  melting  about  forty  tons  of 
iron  dailv.  1 


sisting  his  mother  in  keeping  the  family  together. 
At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  apprenticed  himself  to 
learn  the  business  of  iron-founding,  and  commenced 
stove-moulding  in  January,  1844.  During  his  ap- 
prenticeship two  evenings  in  each  week  were  allowed 
for  the  .study  of  writing  and  arithmetic,  and  two  even- 
ings were  given  to  reading  and  general  improvement. 
Having  completed  the  specified  term  of  apprentice- 
ship, he  continued  as  a  journeyman  in  the  same  e.s- 
tablishment  for  thirteen  years. 

Mr.  Sheppard  and  the  members  of  his  immediate 


.sTO^  cvio 


A\ENUE   A> 


Mr.  Sheppard  was  born  in  Cumberland  County, 
N.  J.,  July  11,  1827,  and  resides  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia. His  father  and  mother  were  Ephraim  and 
Mary  Sheppard.  His  father  was  the  third  son  of 
Isaac  Sheppard,  and  was  also  born  in  Cumberland 
County,  N.  J.,  Aug.  5,  1801.  His  mother  was  the 
third  daughter  of  John  Westcott,  and  was  born  March 
14,  1798.  Both  his  parents  and  grandparents  were 
born  in  New  Jersey,  and  the  parents  of  the  latter 
were  among  the  first  white  settlers  on  the  Cohansey 
River,  which  divides  in  part  Salem  and  Cumberland 
Counties,  N.  J.  He  was  married  Feb.  5, 1850,  to  Caro- 
line  M.  Holmes,  a  native  of  Philadelphia.  Her  an- 
eestors  were  from  Devonshire,  England.  Mr.  Shep- 
pard attended  the  district  school,  which  was  held  but 
three  months  in  each  year,  from  the  age  of  five  until 
l)ast  eleven  years  old,  when  his  parents  removed  to 
Philadelphia,  where  he  entered  a  grammar  school, 
but  remained  one  term  only,  being  then  obliged  to 
assist  in  the  support  of  the  family  on  account  of  the 
continued  illness  of  his  father.  He  was  first  em- 
ployed as  an  errand-boy  in  a  store,  afterwards  in  a 
l)akery ,  and  made  other  changes  as  opportunity  offered 
and  increased  compensation   could   be  obtained,  as- 


family  are  members  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  and  he  has  served  as  a  church-warden  and 
delegate  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  Pennsylvania 
for  many  years. 

In  politics  Mr.  Sheppard  is  a  Republican.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  1859,  1860,  and  1861.  During  the  ses- 
sion of  1861  he  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Ways  and  Means,  and  was  also  unanimously  elected 
Speaker  of  the  House,  and  served  in  that  capacity 
more  than  one-third  of  the  time  of  that  session.  In 
1867  he  was  elected  by  the  Councils  of  Philadelphia 
to  represent  the  interests  of  the  city  in  the  Northern 
Liberties  Gas  Company,  and  he  still  holds  that  trust. 
In  1879  he  was  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Judges  of 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Public  Education  of  Philadelphia  for  a  term  of 
three  years.  In  1874  he  was  elected  Grand  Master  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd- 
Fellows  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1877  was  elected 
a  representative  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania 
to  the  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  of  the  order,  and  was 
re-elected  in  1879  and  again  in  1881.  He  is  also  one 
of  the  trustees  of  the  Widows  and  Orphans'  Fund  of 


■^ 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND  MANUFACTURES. 


429 


the  I.  O.  O.  F.  of  Pennsylvania.  He  is  a  Past  Master 
in  the  Masonic  order,  and  ex-councilor  in  the  Order 
of  United  American  Mechanics.  He  is  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Sixteenth  Ward  Association  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Society  of  Organized  Charity.  In  1870  he 
assisted  in  organizing  the  National  Security  Bank  of 
Philadelphia,  and  was  elected  a  director  therein,  and 
in  1872  he  was  elected  vice-president,  and  has  been 
re-elected  to  that  position  every  year  since  that  time. 
Since  1875  he  has  been  a  director  of  the  Warwick 
Iron  Company,  and  in  1881  he  was  elected  a  director 
of  the  Northern  Safe  Deposit  and  Trust  Company  of 
Philadelphia.  Mr.  Sheppard's  only  speeches  are  those 
that  appear  on  the  records  of  the  Legislature  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  an  address  to  the  committee  of  the  Leg- 
islature of  Maryland  on  the  subject  of  "  Convict  La- 
bor in  the  State  Prison  of  Maryland,"  and  a  few  re- 
ported speeches  delivered  at  conventions  called  to  con- 
sider matters  of  trade  and  commfirce. 

Mr.  Sheppard's  career  affords  a  conspicuous  illus- 
tration of  the  splendid  possibilities  which  lie  within 
the  grasp  of  untiring  energy  and  enterprise,  and  may 
well  serve  as  a  shining  example  to  the  struggling  and 
ambitious  youth  of  the  present  generation. 

Few  business  men  occupy  a  higher  place  in  the  com- 
mercial world  than  Charles  Williams  Bentley,  one  of 
the  most  substantial  iron  manufacturers  of  Baltimore. 
The  son  of  George  Washington  and  Anna  Bentley, 
he  was  born  in  North  Stonington,  New  London 
Co.,  Conn.,  July  2,  1815,  and  was  reared  in  that 
severe  New  England  school  which  considers  labor  as 
the  first  duty  of  man,  and  which  has  wrung  so  many 
triumphs  from  the  sterile  soil  and  bleak  hills  of  that 
inhospitable  region.  His  father  was  a  true  descendant 
of  the  stern  soldiers  who  overturned  the  British  throne, 
and  persevering  and  indomitable  in  his  own  purposes, 
imbued  his  son  with  the  same  determined  spirit.  His 
early  years  were  devoted  to  agricultural  labors  on  his 
father's  farm,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  inspired  by 
the  New  England  love  of  adventure,  he  left  home 
and  went  to  sea.  On  his  return  from  his  firSt  voyage, 
however,  he  yielded  to  his  parents'  wishes,  and  was 
bound  apprentice  to  a  house-building  firm  at  Norwich, 
where  he  commenced  the  study  of  machinery  and 
laid  the  foundations  of  much  of  the  practical  knowl- 
edge which  was  subsequently  displayed  in  wider  j 
spheres.  After  the  completion  of  his  apprenticeship 
he  worked  for  some  time  on  his  own  account,  and  af- 
terwards re-entered  the  service  of  his  old  employers, 
who  had  taken  large  contracts  from  the  Canton  Com- 
pany of  Baltimore.  It  was  in  connection  with  this 
employment  that  he  first  came  to  Baltimore  in  1837, 
where  he  was  soon  placed  in  the  entire  charge  of  the 
work  at  Canton.  When  the  contract  had  been  com- 
pleted he  formed  a  partnership  with  the  agent  of  the 
Canton  Company,  and  commenced  business  by  erect- 
ing the  first  fully-equipped  sash  and  door  factory  in 
the  State.  The  enterprise  did  not  prove  successful, 
owing  to  the  prejudice  against  machine-made  work, 
28 


and  in  1840  Mr.  Bentley  turned  his  attention  to  the 
invention  of  a  fuel-saving  steam-boiler  for  cooking 
and  agricultural  purposes.  The  result  of  his  efforts 
was  the  upright  tubular  boiler,  upon  which  Mr.  Bent- 
ley obtained  a  patent,  and  which  is  still  widely  known 
and  employed.  The  invention  gave  an  impetus  to 
his  business,  and  in  1848  his  establishment  comprised 
a  foundry,  machine-shop,  and  a  boiler-shop,  employ- 
ing from  eighty  to  one  hundred  hands,  and  manu- 
facturing every  description  of  boilers,  steam-engines, 
and  machinery.  His  work  was  noted  for  its  excel- 
lence, and  in  18-50  he  received  for  one  of  his  steam- 
engines  the  first  gold  medal  ever  awarded  by  the 
Maryland  Institute.  In  1855  disease  contracted  in 
Georgia  and  Florida  while  engaged  in  the  erection  of 
mills  in  those  States  compelled  Mr.  Bentley  to  retire 
from  active  business,  and  to  relinquish  the  manu- 
facture of  engines  and  machinery.  He,  however,  es- 
tablished the  Baltimore  Steam-Boiler  Works,  which 
is  the  oldest  and  largest  private  boiler-shop  in  the 
country.  In  1858  he  purchased  the  property  on  the 
Northern  Central  Railroad,  now  known  as  Bentley 
Springs,  and  erected  the  station,  several  houses,  and 
the  Glenn  House,  which  was  a  favorite  summer  resort 
until  its  destruction  in  1868. 

Mr.  Bentley  has  always  manifested  a  strong  interest 
in  the  intellectual  as  well  as  the  material  advancement 
of  the  community,  and  was  one  of  the  most  active  of 
the  founders  of  the  Maryland  Institute  for  the  Pro- 
motion of  the  Mechanic  Arts.  He  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  its  Board  of  Managers  for  thirty  successive 
years,  a  member  of  the  committee  on  exhibitions, 
superintendent  and  chairman  of  several  of  the  expo- 
sitions, and  vice-president  and  president  of  the  insti- 
tution. No  one  in  the  community  has  been  more 
thoroughly  identified  with  the  Maryland  Institute  in 
its  progress  and  development,  and  to  no  one  is  more 
honor  due  for  the  gratifying  results  that  have  been 
accomplished  by  it.  Mr.  Bentley  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity  and  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

His  wife  was  Miss  Ann  Owens  Laty,  daughter  of 
the  late  John  J.  Laty,  of  Baltimore,  by  whom  he  has 
had  nine  children, — four  sons  and  five  daughters. 

Iron  Census  Statistics,  1880. 
No.  of  No.  of 

Industries.        Estabs.  Hands.  Capital.  Wages.  Material.  Products. 

Blacksmithing,  1880.  132  350    $143,765  $122,721  $113,830  $376,510 

Bridge-building,  1880      3  803      302,000  448,972  329,000  893,000 

Cutlery 11  66        37,900  20,706  13,010  46,726 

Forging  chains 2  9          2,600  1,200  3,550  7,550 

Gunsmiths 6  17        10,700  8,675  5,125  19,270 

Hardware 3  IS          7.100  3,460  6,200  12,500 

Instruments 12  71         S3,S(M  30,174  11,670  65,950 

Iron-foundries 64  2,186    1,688,716  798,375  1,422,593  2,665,683 

Stoves 9  480      429,712  158,368  251,376  613,712 

Tinware,  copper,  and 

sheet-iron 144  1,913      985,510  629,410  2,146,600  3,180,611 

Wire-worl£ 4  52        33,600  24,000  26,000  77,000 

Whiskies. — The  rye  whiskies  of  Baltimore  have 
for  years  been  appreciated  all  over  the  country,  and 
many  of  her  brands  are  so  well  known  as  to  be  pre- 
ferred beyond  all  others.     Her  trade  in  high  wines  is 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


also  very  great,  and  her  distilleries  rank  among  the 
largest  and  best  in  the  country.  Over  100,000  barrels 
are  annually  sold  by  the  trade,  the  aggregate  capital 
of  which  is  over  $3,000,000. 

The  following  shows  the  yearly  production  of  high 
wines  in  this  collection  district  for  a  number  of  past 
years : 

Pkgs.  Proofgalls. 

Total  1880 43,201  1,836,890 

••      1879 26,637  1,129,639 

"      1878 16,154  710,616 

"      1877 18,677  839,397 

"     1876 19,516  884,847 

"     1875 22,830  1,027,308 

"     1874 26,991  1,169,500 

"      1873 27,073  1,219,366 

"      1872 21,790  980,643 

The  internal  revenue  collected  in  Baltimore  district 
for  1880,  as  compared  with  1879,  is  as  follows : 

Taxes.  1880.  1879. 

On  spirits J709,248.94  §700,201.68 

"   tobacco l,28i,979.48  1,102,333.62 

"   beer 265,126.69  2^8,817.04 

"   banks 50,698.61  52,280.45 

other  colleetions 36,695.35  7,362.81 

Penalties l,Gb2.48  482.41 

Total $2,346,331.45  82,091,477.91 

Increase  for  1880,  f254,853.64. 

Plated  Ware. — The  manufacture  of  plated  ware 
promises  in  time  to  become  a  very  profitable  industry. 
Although  the  establishments  are  neither  so  large  nor 
so  numerous  as  exist  in  some  other  cities,  the  skill 
engaged  in  the  business  is  equal  to  that  to  be  found 
anywhere,  and  the  quality  of  the  workmanship  and 
the  elegance  and  honesty  of  the  work  are  fast  giving 
the  productions  of  the  Baltimore  manufacturers  in 
this  line  a  reputation  of  the  most  enviable  character. 
Among  the  most  successful  firms  in  the  city  is  that  of 
Charles  W.  Hamill  &  Co.  Mr.  Hamill  was  born  in 
Baltimore,  March  2,  1845. 

His  father,  Robert  Hamill,  was  born  in  Baltimore 
County  in  1821,  and  his  mother,  Catharine  Conant 
Hamill,  was  born  in  Boston,  Mass.,  in  1823,  both  of 
whom  are  now  living.  His  father's  parents  came  to 
this  country  from  Ireland.  His  grandfather,  Robert, 
participated  as  a  soldier  in  the  battle  of  North  Point 
in  defense  of  Baltimore.  His  mother's  parents  came 
to  Baltimore  from  Boston.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Samuel  W.  Conant,  who  died  a  few  years  since  at  the 
venerable  age  of  eighty-one  years.  His  grandmother, 
Sallie  Winslow  Conant,  is  still  living,  aged  eighty- 
six  years.  She  has  a  brother,  John  Winslow,  and  a 
sister  living  in  Boston,  aged  respectively  seventy-nine 
and  seventy-six  years.  They  are  descendants  of  the 
Winslow  family,  celebrated  in  the  history  of  New 
England.  Charles  W.  Hamill  has  been  remarkable 
from  his  youth  for  tenacity  of  purpose  and,great  reso- 
lution of  character  in  every  enterprise  he  ever  under- 
took. He  secured  a  primary  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Baltimore,  but  when  he  became  thirteen 
years  of  age  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  :i>>ist  liis  father, 
and  with  that  purpose,  althougli  lii-  |i:iiriil-  insisted 
on  his  continuing  at  school,  he  cntni'd  a  ^iim-slorc  as 
an  errand-boy.     Here  he  continued   faithfully  to  dis- 


charge his  duties  for  three  years,  and  in  1861,  carried 
away  by  the  common  enthusiasm  in  behalf  of  the 
South  shared  by  the  young  men  of  Baltimore,  he 
started  South  to  join  the  Confederate  army,  but  was 
captured,  brought  back,  and  paroled.  He  then  found 
employment  in  an  serated  bakery,  and  in  accordance 
with  his  general  rule,  he  soon  made  himself  familiar 
with  all  the  details  of  the  business,  and  became  fore- 
man of  the  establishment  in  two  years  after  he  en- 
tered it.  The  business,  however,  did  not  succeed,  and 
the  firm  failing  in  1863,  he  entered  and  remained  in  a 
book-store  for  two  years.  At  the  expiration  of  this 
time,  his  brother  having  returned  from  the  army,  he 
gave  up  the  place  to  him  and  addressed  himselt 
earnestly  to  the  study  of  the  business  of  silver- 
plating.  His  quick  conceptions  at  once  convinced 
him  that  this  was  the  business  of  his  life,  and  al- 
though he  accepted  the  position  for  three  months 
without  pay,  he  applied  his  life-rule  and  learned  all 
the  details.  He  went  to  another  establishment,  where 
he  continued  his  study  of  the  business,  and  devoted 
eleven  years  to  its  mastery.  He  had  been  very  care- 
ful of  his  earnings,  and  having  accumulated  sufficient 
funds  to  buy  a  house,  which  he  mortgaged  for  $3000, 
he  commenced  the  business  for  himself  in  a  small 
way  at  No.  28  North  Holliday  Street  in  1876.  He 
there  commenced  the  manufacture  of  steel-plated 
ware  with  ten  hands,  but  steadily  increased  this  num- 
ber in  two  years  to  forty  hands,  and  added  the  ad- 
joining building.  No.  28,  to  his  manufactory.  At  this 
time,  disagreeing  with  his  partner,  and  being  unable 
to  make  a  settlement,  he  filed  a  bill  in  court  asking 
for  the  appointment  of  receivers  to  wind  up  the  busi- 
ness, and  at  the  receivers'  sale  he  purchased  all  the 
tools  and  machinery  of  the  late  firm,  and  having  sur- 
rendered all  his  money  and  property  to  the  receivers, 
he  borrowed  $3500,  giving  a  bill  of  sale  on  the  ma- 
chinery to  secure  the  payment,  and  on  Jan.  1,  1879, 
having  associated  with  him  James  H.  F.  Hiser,  he 
commenced  business  again  under  the  same  firm-name, 
on  the  southwest  corner  of  South  and  German  Streets, 
employing  fifteen  hands.  In  January,  1881,  the  firm 
removed  to  the  corner  of  Calvert  and  German  Streets, 
occupying  five  floors,  and  employing  twenty-five 
hands.  It  is  the  most  complete  factory  of  the  kind 
south  of  the  New  England  States.  The  firm  make 
their  own  designs,  metals,  moulds,  dies,  etc.  The 
business  receives  the  personal  attention  of  Mr.  Hamill, 
whose  pluck  and  energy  must  make  it  a  great  success. 

Mr.  Hamill  was  married  April  2, 1873,  to  Elizabeth 
T.  Wellener,  daughter  of  Basil  S.  Wellener,  a  well- 
known  ship-builder  of  Baltimore.  They  have  six 
children,— Grace  Wellener,  Harry  Winslow,  Frank 
Wesley,  George  Wade,  Carl  Webb,  and  Hattie  Wins- 
low. He  has  never  taken  an  active  part  in  politics, 
but  having  been  educated  in  the  Democratic  party 
he  votes  that  ticket. 

Mr.  Hamill  joined  Harmony  Lodge,  No.  6,  I.  0. 
O.  F.,  in  Mav,  1867;  he  has  received  all  the  honors  of 


^^^ 


COMMEKCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


the  lodge,  and  a  medal  for  services  as  a  Degree  Master 
for  two  years.  He  is  now  and  has  been  continu- 
ously elected  recording  secretary  of  the  lodge  for  six- 
teen terms,  a  period  of  eight  years.  He  also  joined 
the  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  34,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  in 
1870. 

Straw  Goods. — The  manufacture  of  straw  goods  in 
Baltimore  is  a  comparatively  new  industrj^,  but  it  is  a 
thriving  interest  and  is  rapidly  growing.  Its  most 
prominent,  as  well  as  its  earliest,  representative  in 
Baltimore  is  the  firm  of  Wilson  &  Perry,  which  com- 
menced business  in  this  city  in  1866.  In  the  earlier 
period  of  his  life  Granville  Oscar  Wilson  was  a 
manufacturer  of  boots  and  shoes,  and  subsequently 
became  proprietor  of  a  hotel  in  Foxboro',  Mass. 
The  failure  of  his  health  necessitated  the  relinquish- 
ment of  this  business,  and  in  1866  he  came  to  Balti- 
more, and  in  conjunction  with  W.  C.  Perry,  of  Reho- 
both,  Mass.,  began  on  a  small  scale  the  manufacture 
of  straw  goods  at  71  Lexington  Street.  The  firm 
commenced  with  only  three  hands,  but  their  opera- 
tions were  so  successful  that  in  less  than  six  weeks 
they  were  forced  to  Massachusetts  for  twenty-five 
more.  In  1874  No.  101  Lexington  Street  was  pur- 
chased, in  1880  No.  46  Liberty  Street,  and  in  1881 
No.  50  Liberty  Street,  and  Nos.  4  and  6  Clay  Street, 
which  are  all  occupied  for  the  purposes  of  the  busi- 
ness. The  establishment  has  four  fronts,  contains 
an  acre  and  a  half  of  flooring,  and  employs  some 
three  hundred  hands.  Mr.  Perry's  connection  with 
the  house  continued  until  July,  1879,  when  his  inter- 
est was  purchased  by  Mr.  Wilson,  who  has  since  con- 
ducted the  business  alone.  Mr.  Wilson  was  born  in 
Easton,  Bristol  Co.,  Mass.,  of  parents  who  were  both 
natives  of  that  place.  He  is  of  English  descent  on 
the  paternal  and  of  Scotch  descent  on  the  maternal 
side,  and  has  inherited  the  sterling  qualities  of  both 
races.  The  earliest  representatives  of  the  paternal 
side  of  his  family  in  this  county  were  three  brothers 
who  emigrated  from  England,  one  of  them  settling 
in  Massachusetts,  one  in  New  York,  and  one  in  Penn- 
sylvania. His  wife's  mother  was  a  member  of  the 
noted  family  of  Talbotts,  so  well  known  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  county.  Mr.  Wilson  was  married  on  the 
5th  of  September,  1852,  to  Miss  Ruth  Tisdale,  daugh- 
ter of  Col.  Israel  Tisdale,  of  Sharon,  Mass.,  and  has 
three  children,  one  son  and  two  daughters. 

Fair  in  all  his  dealings,  reliable  in  representation, 
and  prompt  in  the  discharge  of  all  his  obligations, 
Mr.  Wilson  ranks  high  in  the  mercantile  world.  To 
these  qualities  and  to  the  indomitable  pluck  and  en- 
ergy so  characteristic  of  New  England  blood,  his 
great  and  deserved  success  is  attributable. 

Immigration. — The  steamship  lines  to  Baltimore, 
the  port  arrangements  for  the  reception  of  immigrants, 
and  the  facilities  offered  by  the  railroads  for  quick, 
pleasant,  and  expeditious  passage  to  interior  points 
have  contributed  to  make  this  port  very  attractive  to 
immigrants  from  Europe.      These  advantages  have 


increased  the  annual  arrivals  from  9149  in  1870  to 
15,074  in  1880. 

The  extreme  poverty  of  the  great  mass  of  people 
from  whom  the  ranks  of  immigration  are  recruited 
prevents  many  from  bettering  their  condition  by  re- 
moving to  this  country.  A  remedy  to  some  extent 
for  this  is  found  in  remittances  from  America,  and  for 
this  purpose  the  steamship  lines  have  effected  most 
excellent  arrangements.  Parties  wishing  "to  prepay  a 
passage  to  this  country  are  furnished  a  certificate 
(which  they  send  by  registered  letter  to  their  friend 
abroad)  and  a  receipt  for  the  passage-money.  The 
passenger  in  the  old  country,  on  receiving  his  certifi-  . 
cate,  notifies  the  agent  at  Liverpool  or  Queenstown 
or  in  Europe  of  the  fact,  and  is  advised  at  once  when 
and  where  he  is  to  embark,  and  all  other  necessary 
directions  are  given  him.  On  arrival  in  Baltimore 
the  immigrant  lands  at  the  piers  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad,  where  his  friends  meet  him.  To  this 
pier  none  are  admitted  except  on  tickets  of  admission, 
and  thus  the  ignorant  immigrants  are  protected  from 
the  arts  and  deceptions  that  at  other  ports  have  so 
often  robbed  and  plundered  them.  Attention  to  the 
wants  and  requirements  of  immigrant  passengers 
which  the  steamship  lines  to  this  port  have  shown 
has  given  them  a  very  high  rank  among  the  lines 
from  Europe  to  America,  and  has  been  the  means  of 
attracting  to  this  port  a  large  number  of  such  passen- 
gers, which  number  is  annually  increasing,  as  shown 
by  the  returns. 

Miscellaneous  Business  Notes.— From  the  adver- 
tising columns  of  old  newspapers  and  the  leaves  of  old 
pamphlets  many  facts  of  interest  relating  to  the  past 
are  to  be  gathered ;  these  miscellaneous  notes  are  not  to 
be  found  in  history  nor  biography,  and  yet  they  make 
up  the  picture  of  the  past  more  completely  than  whole 
j  pages  of  description.  James  Rumsey  in  1784  was 
I  engaged  in  the  application  of  steam  to  the  propulsion 
of  boats  "  against  wind  and  tide,"  and  to  navigate 
and  build  boats  "  calculated  to  work  with  greater  ease 
and  rapidity  against  rapid  rivers."  Rumsey  made 
his  experiment  on  the  Potomac,  near  Sir  John's  Run. 
With  Fitch  he  maintained  a  controversy  as  to  the 
priority  of  the  right,  and  was  sustained  by  the  Legis- 
latures of  New  York,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  while 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  New  Jersey  sustained 
Fitch.  Oliver  Evans,  then  an  inhabitant  of  Balti- 
more, made  application  in  1787  to  the  Legislature  of 
Maryland  for  the  exclusive  right  of  using  his  im- 
proved mill  machinery.  James  Carey  was  a  ware- 
houseman in  Baltimore  in  1759,  and  Daniel  Carroll 
in  1760  advertised  for  sober  men  to  settle  in  Upper 
Marlborough.  Andrew  Buchanan  in  1762  retired 
from  the  business  of  barber  and  peruke-maker  in 
favor  of  James  Reid.  In  the  same  year  Charles  Wilson 
Peale  was  engaged  in  saddlery  and  harness-making. 
Jonathan  Plowman  and  William  Lux  were  variety 
store-keepers  in  1764,  while  John  Boyd  &  Co.  were 
druggists,  and  Robert  Mullen  and  Thomas  Martin,  at 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


the  sign  of  the  "Teapot,"  were  gold  and  silversmiths. 
Robert  Pinkney  was  a  fashionable  tailor  in  Baltimore 
in  1765,  and  advertised  his  "  art  as  the  experience  of 
eight  years  in  London."  In  the  same  year  John  Steven- 
son was  dealing  in  European  and  East  Indian  goods, 
while  David  McCulloh  was  deputy  postmaster  at  Joppa, 
and  James  Chalmers  a  goldsmith  in  Baltimore.  John 
Ashburner  was  a  "  prominent"  merchant  of  Balti- 
more in  1766,  and  John  Bond  was  in  the  lumber  trade 
at  Fell's  Point.  Basil  Frances  and  William  Whit- 
croft  were  watch-makers  in  Baltimore,  and  Gerrard 
Hopkins,  son  of  Samuel,  from  Philadelphia,  was  a 
cabinet  and  chair-maker  in  1767.  Thomas  Hewitt 
made  perukes  in  1762,  and  Buchanan  &  Hughes  im- 
ported European  and  East  Indian  goods  in  the  packet 
"Maryland,"  Capt.  Ramsay,  from  London,  and  the 
"  Betsy,"  Capt.  Anderson,  from  Bristol.  At  the  sign 
of  the  "Blue  Stocking"  Mark  Howard  was  a  "hosier" 
in  1768,  and  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton  did  a  gen- 
eral grocery  and  country  produce  business  in  Annap- 
olis in  1769.  The  schooner  "Virginia,"  Capt.  Thomas 
Gerrald,  master,  sailed  from  Baltimore  for  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  with  a  number  of  French  neutrals,  on 
May  1,  1767.  Hudson  &  Thompson  dissolved  part- 
nership in  1770,  and  Ashburner  &  Place  were  mer- 
chants ;  James  Ormsby,  a  French  watch-maker ;  Ga- 
briel Lewyn  was  also  making  watches ;  and  the  first 
rope-walk  erected  in  Baltimore  was  by  Lux  &  Smith, 
near  Bond  Street,  in  1771.  Mordecai  Gist  was  an 
East  India  and  European  merchant  on  Market  Street, 
and  Thomas  Morgan  was  a  clock-maker,  in  1772. 
Robert  Pinkney,  tailor,  was  killed  by  a  fall  from  his 
horse,  Nov.  13,  1773,  at  Annapolis ;  and  Alexander 
Donaldson  &  Co.  were  East  India  and  European  mer- 
chants on  Gay  Street,  Baltimore,  Christopher  Johnson 
retailed  dry-goods,  Daniel  McHenry,  Thomas  Usher, 
wholesale  dry-goods,  John  Flanagan,  wines.  Grant  & 
Garretson,  tailors,  Christopher  Hughes  &  Co.,  jewel- 
ers, Francis  Sanderson,  copper-smith,  and  Richard 
Berland,  tailor  and  habit-maker,  in  1773. 

In  this  year  a  young  gentleman  designed  for  holy 
orders  is  mentioned  in  the  Maryland  Journal  of 
October  9th  as  "betting  on  the  races."  William 
Stenson  was  a  "  rider"  between  Philadelphia  and 
Baltimore  in  1774;  John  Graham  was  a  nail-maker; 
and  Andrew  Davidson,  Daniel  McJilton,  Rowland 
McQuillon,  William  McCartie,  John  Cannon,  Edward 
Allen,  Elias  Barnaby,  and  Philip  Grace  advertised  in 
the  Maryland  Journal  of  Jan.  17, 1776,  for  a  number  of 
journeymen  shoemakers,  some  for  men's  and  others  for 
women's  shoes,  and  promise  "  the  greatest  encourage- 
ment to  those  who  apply  to  either  of  us."  Elijah  Stans- 
bury  was  a  merchant  tailor,  Charles  Williams  a  silk- 
dyer  at  "Lux  &Bowley's  old  store,"  in  1779;  R.  Caton 
&  Co.  were  dry-goods  merchants  on  Water  Street  in 
1785;  and  Andrew  Van  Bibber  was  in  the  grocery  trade 
in  the  same  year.  In  1787,  Alexander  Forsyth  carried 
on  business  in  Congress  Hall ;  A.  W.  Davey  was  a  broker 
and  Amos  Loney  a  dealer  in  coal  at  Tripolet's  Wharf  in 


1788 ;  John  Fisher  was  a  brush-maker  on  Gay  Street 
near  Market;  May  &  Payson  manufactured  duck, 
Russia  duck,  flax,  cotton,  and  New  England  rum ; 
William  Patterson  &  Bro.  dissolved ;  Rice  &  Co.  sold 
books,  etc.,  on  Market  Street  near  Calvert;  Abraham 
Sitler,  on  Calvert  Street,  opposite  the  "  Sign  of  the 
Sun,"  dealt  in  paints,  oils,  etc. ;  James  Dryden  was 
a  hair-dresser  on  Market  Street  above  South ;  Thomas 
McElderry,  at  the  sign  of  the  "  Golden  Umbrella," 
corner  of  Market  and  Gay,  sold  Irish  linen,  sheeting, 
and  dowlas ;  Whiteside  &  Cator,  dissolved  ;  William 
Buckler  imported  from  London  in  the  brig  "  Ceres," 
Capt.  Chase,  cloths,  cassimeres,  jeans,  fustians,  royal 
rib  and  satinets,  stuff's  and  camlets.  A  meeting  of 
tradesmen  and  manufacturers  at  Nathan  Griffith's 
passed  resolutions  petitioning  Congress  in  favor  of 
American  manufactures ;  Isaac  Van  Bibber,  Alexan- 
der McKim,  Thomas  Dickson,  and  Christopher  John- 
son were  directors,  and  James  Calhoun  treasurer  of 
the  Baltimore  Cotton  Manufactory  ;  Jane  Maggs  was 
a  pastry-cook  ;  Knox,  Usher  &  McCulloh  dissolved; 
Tyson  &  Anderson  were  dissolved  by  the  death  of 
Joseph  Anderson ;  Richard  Lawson  &  Co.,  Bowley's 
Wharf,  was  in  general  merchandise ;  Robert  and 
Alexander  McKim,  on  Tenth  Street,  were  in  the 
European  merchandise  business ;  Leonard  Harbaugh 
erected  a  threshing-machine  in  Hanover  Market- 
house,  and  invited  all  to  examine  the  same ;  John 
Chamberlain,  in  Old  Town,  near  Moore's  bridge,  was 
a  stocking-maker;  Manchester,  Birmingham,  and 
Sheffield  goods  were  for  sale  by  Abraham  Usher  & 
Co.  at  the  "  Sign  of  the  Spinning-Wheel,"  opposite 
William  Wilson's  boot  and  shoe-factory,  on  north  side 
of  Market  Street,  a  few  doors  below  the  corner  of 
Calvert ;  John  Evans  and  Jacob  Deiter  were  bakers 
in  South  Street;  Samuel  Stringer  Coal  announced 
the  dissolution  of  the  firm  of  Weisenthal  &  Coal  by 
the  death  of  Dr.  Charles  Frederick  Weisenthal,  the 
accounts  to  be  settled  by  Dr.  Frederick  Dalcho; 
Joseph  Kennedy  was  a  stucco  workman,  "  regularly 
bred  to  the  trade  in  Ireland,"  and  whose  work  could  be 
seen  at  Mount  Clare,  near  town,  and  at  Mr.  Collins', 
on  Howard's  Hill ;  John  and  Joseph  Swan  sold  grind- 
stones, rum,  rice,  and  indigo;  Samuel  and  John  Smith 
sold  Muscabado  sugar ;  Yates  &  Ligget  were  auction- 
eers ;  Henry  Halbate  was  a  dyer,  and  "  wanted  an  ap- 
prentice immediately ;"  Jasper  and  James  de  Carnaps 
dealt  in  German  linens  on  Market  Street  next  door 
to  the  "  Indian  King" ;  Eliza  Burke  was  a  mantua- 
maker  and  milliner  on  East  Street  opposite  Dr.  Boyd ; 
Jacob  Hoffman  was  a  tin  and  coppersmith  on  Cal- 
vert Street  opposite  "The  Golden  Sun";  Henry 
Keerl,  at  the  "  Sign  of  the  Golden  Swan,"  on  Market 
Street,  near  Congress  Hall,  received  by  ship.  "  Sam- 
son" from  Amsterdam  medicines,  aqua;  fortis,  duplex, 
oil  of  vitriol,  and  many  other  medicines;  the  glass- 
house offered  glassware  of  all  kinds  for  sale;  Hodg- 
son &  Nicholson  were  iron-mongers,  jewelers,  and 
cutlers  on  Market  Street;  Ireland  &  Potts,  on  Bowley's 


COMMERCIAL  INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


Wharf,  sold  spades,  shovels,  etc. ;  Adrian  Valck  dealt 
in  Congo  tea  and  Lisbon  wine,  per  the  "  Candi- 
das," Capt.  A.  P.  de  Haas,  from  Lisbon;  Walter 
Roe,  at  the  "  Golden  Bee-Hive,"  New  Market-house, 
was  in  the  dry-goods  trade  ;  Nicholas  Coleman  &  Co. 
were  bakers;  George  and  John  Tillinghast  were  deal- 
ers in  cotton,  green  coffee,  etc. ;  Stewart  &  Plunket, 
on  Rowley's  Wharf,  dealt  in  salt ;  Seth  Barton  was  a 
dry-goods  importer ;  Robert  Gilmor  imported  green 
coffee  by  the  brig  "Fame";  Carey  &  Tilghman 
were  importers  of  coffee ;  Jos.  Jaffrey  dealt  in  tar, 
rice,  and  deer-skins ;  John  Fribourg  was  a  tailor  and 
habit-maker ;  David  Vance  was  a  hair-sieve  maker 
on  Calvert  Street ;  Robert  and  Alexander  Riddell  were 
dry -goods  merchants;  Alexander  Coulter,  a  saddler; 
Heathcote  &  Doll,  in  merchandise  ;  Thos.  Hepburn, 
in  wine  and  spirits ;  Christopher  and  Robert  John- 
son, dealers  in  teas ;  Ratien  &  Koneche,  in  linens ; 
Richard  Sydner,  in  calicoes  and  chintzes,  on  Cheap- 
side  ;  Oliver  &  Thompson,  in  salt,  on  Gay  Street ; 
James  Buchanan  and  William  Robb,  in  liquors,  on 
Commerce  Street;  John  Proctoi?,  a  coach-maker,  at 
the  "Sign  of  St.  Luke,"  on  Market  Street;  Waters  & 
Zacharie,  grocers  (dissolved  partnership) ;  L.  Master, 
in  dry-goods,  on  Gay  Street ;  Hugh  McCurdy,  at  the 
sign  of  the  "  Golden  Fan,"  Calvert  Street,  dealt  in 
dry-goods  in  the  year  1789;  William  Loomis,  at 
Bowley's  Wharf,  dealt  in  Jamaica  and  Antigua  spirits 
in  1791 ;  Thomas  Sein  was  an  apothecary  at  Market 
and  Patrick  Streets,  and  Thos.  Poultney  was  in  hard- 
ware and  cutlery  on  Market  Street  in  1792.  At  the 
yearly  meeting  for  1796  of  the  Carpenters'  Associa- 
tion, Frederick  Haefligh,  John  Dalrymple,  Richard 
Bond,  Jr.,  George  Wall,  and  John  Machenheimer  were 
chosen  measurers;  the  first  issue  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Fell's  Point  Directory,  by  Thompson  &  Walker,  ap- 
peared in  1796,  and  Walker  offered  to  keep  up  boards 
with  the  name  of  the  streets  painted  thereon  at  one 
dollar  per  board,  and  he  solicited  subscriptions  for  that 
purpose.  This  was  among  the  first  indications  of  the 
approach  of  the  period  when  Baltimore  Town  was 
taking  on  the  real  habits  of  a  city.  Street  numbers 
also  appear  in  the  year  1796.  Yates  &  Edmonson,  at 
106  Market  Street,  sold  dry-goods ;  G.  &  C.  Linden- 
berger  were  opposite  the  "Indian  Queen";  Robert 
Mickle,  in  dry-goods,  at  168  Market  Street ;  Buchanan 
&  Young,  at  135  Market  Street,  were  in  dry-goods ; 
Anthony  Groverman,  in  dry-goods,  on  Smith's  Wharf; 
Raborg  &  Doudle,  grocers,  at  176  Market  Street; 
Alexander,  Browne  &  Co.,  grocers,  at  No.  2  Bowley's 
Wharf, — they  were  Henry  Alexander,  Charles  Browne, 
and  Alexander  Lawson  ;  George  Lettig  made  hats  on 
the  Causeway,  and  also  at  141  Market  Street ;  L.  Tier- 
nan,  dry-goods,  at  1.55  Market  Steet ;  Wm.  Robb,  at  7 
South  Street ;  Mr.  Frances,  of  the  new  theatre,  kept  a 
dancing-school,  and  gave  a  ball  on  Oct.  25, 1796,  at  the 
Assembly  Rooms,  Bryden's  Tavern ;  Yates  &  Canifk- 
bell,  Barney  &  Hollins  were  auctioneers ;  David 
Stewart  &  Sons  were   general  merchants;    John  H. 


199  Market  Street,  was  in  general  mer- 
chandise; Davies  &  Fulton  were  at  139  Market 
Street ;  Frederick  and  Henry  Koenig  were  in  general 
merchandise ;  William  Travers  Peachey,  an  iron- 
monger, cutler,  and  jeweler,  was  at  138  Market  Street ; 
Robert  Leslie  &  Co.  were  watch-makers,  119  (and 
afterwards  at  93)  Market  Street,  between  Calvert  and 
South  Streets,  in  1797. 

The  duties  bonded  for  the  State  of  Maryland  for  the 
year  1794  were  $1,226,139,  and  the  net  duties  paid  to 
the  treasurer  were  $795,700.  In  the  year  1794  the 
relative  statements  of  the  trade  of  the  large  towns 
were :  For  New  York,  $2,140,453 ;  for  Philadelphia, 
$2,000,091;  Baltimore,  $1,198,232;  Boston,  $1,003,164; 
Charleston,  $716,922;  Norfolk,  $270,000.  The  Fed- 
eral Gazette  gives  the  following  statement  of  ex- 
ports for  1792 :  Philadelphia,  $8,000,000;  New  York, 
$5,500,000;  Baltimore,  $2,500,000.  For  1798,  New 
York,  $13,000,000  ;  Philadelphia,  $10,000,000 ;  Balti- 
more, $10,000,000.  1799,  Baltimore,  $16,610,000.  Dr. 
Andrew  Weisenthal  succeeded  Dr.  Edward  Johnson  in 
the  practice  of  midwifery  in  1797.  John  McKim,  Jr., 
&  Co.  were  at  36  Market  Street;  Henry  Payson  at  75 
Bowley's  Wharf;  Brune,  Foulke  &  Co.  at  182  Market 
Street ;  Gerrard  &  Hopkins  were  next  door  to  Samuel 
Hollingsworth ;  James  Law  at  159  Market  Street ; 
Joseph  Hoskins  at  62  South  Street ;  Jacob  Mayer  at 
55  Market,  glassware  and  china  ;  John  F.  Legros, 
watch-maker,  137  Market;  B.  J.  Von Kapflf  succeeded 
Von  Kapff"  &  Anspach,  general  merchants ;  Neale, 
McKim  &  Co.,  124  Market  Street,  glassware;  John 
and  JamesjHughes,  Market  and  Howard ;  Charles  Ghe- 
quire,  dry-goods;  John  Healy  and  Mathew  Hulse, 
dry-goods,  179  Market,  were  in  the  different  trades  in 
1797.  Daniel  Larrabee,  60  Market,  shoes ;  Fred.  Schaf- 
fer,  ship-broker,  35  South  Street;  William  Finn 
offered  a  place  for  warm  and  cold  baths  in  the  city  in 
1799. 

A  company  was  formed  in  1790  to  erect  an  exten- 
sive gunpowder-factory  in  the  city,  and  in  the  next 
year  it  was  built  on  Gwynn's  Falls,  and  was  in  opera- 
tion until  September,  1812,  when  it  blew  up  and  was 
never  rebuilt.  George  Chandler,  of  Baltimore,  re- 
ceived a  patent  in  1796  for  a  machine  combining  the 
cutting  and  heading  of  nails  by  machinery.  Thomas 
Paine,  author  of  the  "Age  of  Reason,"  arrived  in 
Baltimore  by  the  ship  "  London"  from  Havre  de 
Grace,  Oct.  30,  1802.  Albert  Seekamp,  George 
Repold,  advertise,  Aug.  25,  1803,  "on  board  the 
j  ship  '  Mercury,'  Littleton  Waters  master,  just  ar- 
rived from  Bremen,  a  large  number  of  young,  healthy 
men,  women,  and  children  ;  for  terms  apply  to  the 
captain  on  board."  William  B.  Dyer,  of  Baltimore, 
Feb.  27,  1808,  received  a  patent  for  a  cordage  spin- 
ning-wheel. The  Baltimore  bleach-fields  were  in 
1801  in  Saratoga  Street,  near  Gray's  Gardens,  on  the 
I  land  of  L.  Tiernan,  with  James  Andrews  head- 
bleacher.  The  British  cartel-sloop  "The  Jane  and 
Martha"  brought  to  New  York,  Dec.  13, 1814,  Messrs. 


434 


HTSTOKY   OF   BALTIMOKE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Buchanan,  Dorsey,  and  Gittings,  citizens  of  Baltimore, 
captured  during  the  attacl<  on  the  city.  Ebenezer 
Ford,  of  Baltimore,  was  granted  a  patent  April  14, 
1814,  for  a  torpedo.  George  Ellicott,  Baltimore,  re- 
ceived a  patent  Sept.  20,  1816,  for  rolling  bar  iron 
edgeways.  Peter  L.  Lannay,  Baltimore,  received  a 
patent  Dec.  4,  181G,  for  elastic  water-proof  leather. 
Francis  Guy,  Baltimore,  awarded,  Feb.  23,  1819,  a 
patent  for  paper  carpet,  which  was  really  the  first 
step  in  the  making  of  oil-cloth.  Thomas  J.  Bond, 
Baltimore,  awarded  a  patent  for  iron  boats  Dec.  21. 
1820.  At  the  exhibition  of  domestic  manufactures 
held  in  Washington  City  in  February,  1825,  Catharine 
Gattie,  of  Baltimore,  exhibited  coach-bindings ;  Mr. 
Hamlin's  improved  hats,  made  of  Eussia  cotton  duck 
and  varnished,  which  were  much  approved  by  the 
Kavy  Department ;  stair-carpets  by  Mr.  Wilson, 
shovels  and  spades  by  Mr.  Harvie,  and  machine-cards 
by  Mr.  McCoy,  and  axe-heads  by  Mr.  Kinsey.  Mr. 
Gideon  B.  Smith,  of  Baltimore,  made  known  in  1829 
the  qualities  of  Morus  mullicmdis,  or  mulberry  of  the 
Philippine  Islands.  Isaac  Tyson,  Baltimore,  received 
a  patent  Feb.  15,  1827,  for  making  copperas.  The 
first  American  patent  for  a  locomotive  was  taken  out 
by  William  Howard,  of  Baltimore,  Dec.  10,  1828. 
Handsome  silk  ribbons  in  great  variety  were  man- 
ufactured in  Baltimore  in  1829  from  American  silk. 
Patents  for  making  soap  by  steam  were  issued  to  B. 
Toll  and  J.  Doyle,  Baltimore,  July  19th,  and  to  John 
Kennedy,  Oct.  1,  1830.  James  Simpson,  Baltimore, 
received  a  patent  Aug.  23,  1831,  for  wheels  for  rail- 
road carriages.  Jesse  Marden,  Baltimore,  patent, 
Sept.  9,  1835,  for  balance  platform-scale  for  weighing, 
a  useful  invention  still  in  demand.  A  convention  of 
silk-growers  was  held  in  Baltimore  Dec.  11,  1838,  at 
which  about  two  hundred  delegates  assembled,  who 
elected  Judge  Comstock,  of  Connecticut,  president. 
Resolutions  were  adopted  to  form  a  National  Silk 
Society  (which  was  organized  the  next  day),  and  to 
issue  an  address  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  on 
the  culture  of  silk.  About  this  time  an  establishment 
employing  twenty  Jacquard  looms  in  making  silk 
and  worsted  vestings,  velvets,  dress  and  other  silks 
was  set  up  in  Baltimore.  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe  patented 
a  stove  for  heating  rooms  in  1846,  and  B.  H.  Latrobe 
patented  in  1848  a  compound  break-joint  railroad 
rail.  Beatty's  powder-mill  exploded  March  1,  1849, 
being  the  third  time  in  a  few  years.  'The  brig  "  Wind- 
ward," Capt.  Charles  Brown,  loaded  with  flour  at  Lo- 
cust Point,  February,  1853,  was  the  first  vessel  that 
loaded  tlicn'  with  such  freight. 

Manufacturing  Industries  of  Baltimore.— The 
following  table  from  the  Census  Bureau  of  the  in- 
dustrial statistics  of  Baltimore  may  be  regarded  as 
complete,  the  only  actual  figures  not  yet  returned 
being  those  of  breweries,  cotton  goods,  coke,  distil- 
leries, the  fisheries,  gas,  glass,  iron  and  steel  manufiie- 
tures,  mixed  textile  fabrics,  oyster-canning  and  pack- 
ing, petroleum,  mining  and  refining,  print-works,  rail- 


road repairing,  salt,  ship-building,  silk  goods,  woolen 
goods,  and  the  mining  industries,  these  branches 
having  been  assigned  to  special  experts,  without  re- 
gard to  locality,  whose  reports  will  be  hereafter  pub- 
lished in  detail.  There  are  means,  however,  in  accord- 
ance with  well-known  census  laws,  of  approximating 
these  lacking  returns  very  accurately  and  combining 
them  with  the  other  figures,  so  as  to  get  a  very  good 
general  average.  In  the  tables  received  the  aggre- 
gates for  1880  show  the  number  of  industrial  establish- 
ments to  be  3547 ;  the  capital  employed,  §32,449,772; 
the  number  of  hands  employed,  62,983 ;  the  aggre- 
gate annual  wages,  $13,576,493  ;  the  cost  of  material, 
$44,054,383;  and  the  value  of  products,  $71,744,770. 
These  figures  are  eminently  satisfactory.  They  reveal 
a  rapid  industrial  development  in  our  city  in  spite  of 
the  period  of  extreme  depression  between  1873  and 
1879. 

By  comparison  of  the  variations  and  constants  of 
one  or  two  of  the  special  reports  of  experts  which 
have  come  in,  with  data  already  given,  according  to 
well-known  census  laws,  we  find  that  the  returns  yet 
to  be  made  will  increase  those  already  given  above  in 
the  sum  of  at  least  18  per  cent. ;  so  that  the  indus- 
tries of  Baltimore  in  1880,  as  compared  with  those  of 
Baltimore  City  and  Baltimore  County  in  1870,  will 
stand  thus : 

City  in  1880.         City  and  County  in  1870. 

EstaWishments 4,185  2,759 

Capital $37,290,732  826,049,040 

Hands 74,340  33,182 

Wages $16,919,861  $10,352,078 

Materials $51,984,171  $.)6,144,425 

Products $84,668,828  $59,219,933 

For  Baltimore  City  alone  in  1870  the  hands  num- 
bered 28,178,  and  the  annual  products  were  valued  at 
$51,006,278.  The  women  employed  then  in  both  city 
and  county  were  only  7107.  The  increase  in  the 
number  of  hands  is  most  remarkable.  In  1870  Balti- 
more employed  in  manufacturing  industries  only  1  in 
8.1  of  its  population,  while  Philadelphia  employed  1 
in  5.04.  Its  manufacturing  capital  was  $97  per  head, 
while  that  of  Philadelphia  was  $252 ;  its  product  per 
capita  was  $219,  that  of  Philadelphia  being  $464. 
Baltimore  now  employs  one  in  5.3  of  its  population, 
having  nearly  caught  up  with  Philadelphia.  Its  cap- 
ital has  grown  in  proportion  to  population,  but  not  in 
proportion  to  the  increase  of  labor,  and  its  products 
have  increased  slightly  in  value  per  capita.  The 
wage  fund  has  not  grown  as  rapidly  as  the  labor  ;  but 
when  we  take  the  average  of  hands  employed,  count- 
ing the  number  of  children  also,  the  result  will  not  be 
pauper  wages  by  any  means,  the  yearly  average  being 
$444,  a  daily  wage  of  $1.46  for  each  man,  woman,  and 
child.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  hands  is  124 
per  cent.,  and  of  women  employed  150  per  cent.  The 
increase  in  the  products  is  nearly  40  per  cent. 

Ill  1^70,  ai;aiii,  for  the  whole  State  of  Maryland  the 
estiilili-liiiii  iiN  wire  5812;  the  number  of  hands  em- 
jiloycil  w:i>  1  l.-^iii' ;  the  capital,  .$36,438,729;  the  wages, 
$12,6S2,S17;  the  materials,  $46,897,032,  and  the  pro- 


COMMERCIAL   INDUSTRIES   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


ducts,  «!76,.593,613.    It  will  thus  be  seen  that  in  point 
of  industrial  growth  the  Baltimore  of  the  sesqui-cen- 
tennial  year  does  not  need  to  confine  itself  to  com- 
parison with  the  Baltimore  City  and  County  of  1870. 
It  flings  down  its  gauntlet  to  the  State,  and  the  whole  i 
State  cannot  afford  to  take  it  up.     There  are  1627 
fewer  establishments  in  the  city  in  1880  than  there  j 
were  in  the  State  in  1870;  but,  en  revanche,  the  estab- 
lishments of  the  city  in  1880  exceed  those  of  the  city 
and  county  in  1870  by  1426.     The  city's  capital  in  ] 
manufactures  in  1880  exceeds  that  of  city  and  county  j 
in  1870  more  than  $11,000,000,  and  that  of  the  State 
in  1870  nearly  $1,000,000.     But  the  labor  and  wages 
account  is  still  more  remarkable.     In  spite,  as  we 
have  said,  of  the  universal  collapse  of  industries  and 
trade  from  1873  to  1879,  the  increase  in  the  number  of 
hands  employed  in  Baltimore  industries  in  1880  was 
41,178,  or  124  per  cent,  over  those  employed  in  both 
city  and  county  in  1870,  and  the  excess  in.  1880  of 
hands  employed  in  the  city  above  those  employed  in  j 
1870  in  the  State,  inclusive  of  the  city,  was  29,480,  or  : 
65  per  cent.    The  wages  paid  in  the  city  in  1880  show 
an  increase  over  those  paid  in  1870  in  city  and  county  | 
both  of  a  little  over  50  per  cent.,  and  $894,676  above  j 
those  paid  in  the  entire  State  in  1870.    It  must  be  re-  | 
membered  that  in  1870  both  prices  and  wages  were 
inflated  to  the  extent  of  at  least  40  per  cent,  in  con- 
sequence of  a  spurious,  make-believe,  irredeemable 
currency.     We   are  now,  after  a  great  commercial  | 
panic  and  industrial  depression,  operating  upon  an 
exclusively  hard-money  basis.    Yet,  in  the  face  of  all  j 
these  figures,  all  this  growth  and  expansion,  some  of  j 
the  little  statesmen  of  the  hour  have  been  heard  to 
say  that  Baltimore  is  not  a  manufacturing  city.'    As  j 
they  turned  their  backs  to  the  sesqui-centennial  cele- 
bration, so  they  will  shut  their  eyes  to  the  census. 
However,  a  city  which  grows  so  rapidly  is  in  a  fair  , 
way  to  outgrow  them  too. 

The  greatest  and  most  noticeable  increase  in  the 
manufactures  of  Baltimore  has  been  in  the  line  of  ' 


those  special  industries  for  which  our  city  has  the 
most  unquestioned  facilities.  The  boot  and  shoe 
manufacturers  employ  about  3031  hands,  and  their 
products  are  valued  at  $3,453,011.  Our  production 
of  canned  fruits  and  vegetables  has  increased  from 
$1,587,230  for  the  whole  State  in  1870  to  $5,262,568 
for  the  city  only  in  1880.  In  1870  the  product  of 
the  State  in  tin,  copper,  and  sheet-iron  ware  was 
$1,634,000 ;  in  1880  the  product  of  the  city  alone  in 
these  wares  was  $3,260,331.  In  1870,  in  the  tables  for 
manufactures,  is  given  a  table  of  "  selected  manufac- 
tures" for  Baltimore  County  (including  the  city),  in 
which  those  industries  which  seem  to  be  most  favored 
by  both  nature  and  art  in  this  locality  are  indicated 
and  dwelt  upon.  This  table,  after  having  been  further 
reduced  so  as  to  include  only  those  industries  the  an- 
nual product  of  which  in  1870  exceeded  $1,000,000, 
yielded  a  total  of  $35,400,000  in  round  numbers. 
From  this  table,  in  making  a  comparison  with  1880, 
it  is  necessary  further  to  exclude  the  sugar  refining 
business,  yielding  $7,000,000  in  1870,  but  only  $840,000 
in  1880,  and  the  iron  manufacture,  which  in  1880  in 
none  of  its  classifications  came  up  to  a  million,  while 
in  1870  its  product  was  $4,000,000.  We  must  also  ex- 
clude the  copper  manufacture,  destroyed  that  very 
census  year  by  act  of  Congress.  In  spite  of  all  this, 
the  aggregates  for  1880  of  these  specialized  industries 
rose  in  1880  to  $46,000,000,  and  this  does  not  include 
the  oyster  trade,  worth  to  the  city  nearly  $8,000,000. 
The  boot  and  shoe  trade  has  increased  50  per  cent.  ; 
the  clothing  trade  60  per  cent. ;  the  business  of  can- 
ning fruits  and  vegetables  from  $1,400,000  to  $5,200,- 
000,  and  so  on. 

But  it  is  needless  to  pursue  these  special  industries 
further.  We  simply  wish  to  illustrate  that  subject  in 
which  all  of  our  fellow-citizens  are  more  deeply  in- 
terested,— the  growth  of  Baltimore.  The  fact  of  the 
rapidity  of  growth,  in  a  period  for  the  most  part  of 
complete  commercial  stagnation  and  industrial  dis- 
tress, is  established  by  the  figures. 


Awnings  and  tent,  1880.. 

1870.. 

Bakeries,  1S80 


Bask  1. 1 
Black  ^ 
Boukl. 


Boxes,  paper,  1880 

1870 

Boxes,  wooden  (packing),  In 


BruslieB,  1880.. 


Capital. 

Hands      Annual 
Employed.  Wages. 

Materials 
Employed. 

Products. 

$5,601 

50 

$9,295 

$10,300 

$47,600 

749,372 

745 

213,265 

1,266,971 

1,873,991 

1,118.361 

31,000 

12,636 

6,160 

18 

4,868 

143,765 

350 

122,721 

113,850 

376,610 

63,056 

588,600 

1,896 

595,249 

1,237,273 

2,207,848 

444,600 

649,721 

881,949 

1,937,058 

276,787 

i:083 

345,912 

427,619 

1,204.904 

13,450 

34,020 

226 

32;617 

82,883 

140,625 

10,600 

52,300 

137 

52,576 

4 

1,474 

2,900 

6,300 

58,000 

136 

61,659 

85,676 

256,435 

121,248 

926,550 

1,712 

501,814 

302,000 

448,972 

329,000 

37,616 

35,673 

75,832 

136.766 

70,200 

215 

35,336 

184,704 

276,538 

44,500 

11,500 

31 

8,300 

15,543 

318,000 

1,143 

332,496 

869,743 

1,422,126 

21,373 

HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Carpets  (rag) 

Carriages  and  wagons,  1880 

Clothing  (men),  1880 

Clothing  (women),  1880 

CofTeo  and  Bpiccs  (ground),  1880 

Chemicals  (miscellaneous),  1880 

Cutlery  and  edge-tools,  1880 

Coffins,  1880 

Confectionery,  1880 

Cooperage 

Coppersmitliing,  1880 


Corsets,  1880 

Dentistry  (mechanical),  1880.. 

Dyeing  and  scouring,  1880 

Engraving,  ISSO 


liturc,  iucluiling  refrigerators,  1880.. 
,  dressed,  1880 


Gunsmiths,  1880 

Hiiir-work,  1880 

Hardware,  1880 

Hats  and  caps,  1880 


Instruments,  surgical,  1880.. 

Irou-foundries,  1880 

Leather  curried,  1880 


Leather  tanned,  1880... 


Marble  and  stoue-cutting,  tombstones,  1870.. 

Mattresses,  etc.,  1880 

Millinery,  1880 

Musical 


1  sign,  1880.. 


Painting,  house  a 

Paints,  1880 

Paints  not  specified,  1870 

Paints,  lead,  and  zinc,  1880 

Paper-hanging,  1880 

Patterns  anil  models,  1880 

Photographing,  1880 

Plaster-grinding,  1880 

Plumbing  and  gas-fitting,  1880.. 

Preserves  and  sauces,  1880 

Pumps,  1880 

1870 

Roofing  material,  1880 

1870 

Saddlery  and  harness,  1880 

1870 

Sails,  1880.. 


Saws,  1880 

Scales  and  balances 

Sewing-machines,  1880 

Sewing-machines  (repaired),  1880... 
Soap  and  caudles 

Ship-building  and  repairing,  1880... 

Shirts,  1880 

Show-cases,  1880 

Silverware,  1880 


Capital. 

Hands       Annual 
Employed.  Wages. 

Materials 
Employed. 

Products. 

$32,62.5 

112 

820,428 

845,078 

893,500 

10;050 

30 

4,900 

16,330 

28,467 

178,860 

475.103 

l,00i,851 

9,074 

1,337,208 

,166,510 

7,o:i3 

1,068,508 

3,646,651 

5,574,342 

40;7UO 

116 

86,025 

121.640 

120,760 

64 

23,003 

220,608 

290,874 

13'J,f«0 

29 

16,123 

360,.535 

191 

95,000 

425,760 

766,840 

6G 

20,706 

13,010 

46,720 

85,876 

84 

31,484 

60,103 

176.923 

8,000 

27 

6,626 

10,090 

143,770 

121 

36,70S 

334,789 

474,750 

246 

C«,0:i8 

457,293 

695,374 

146,282 

324,764 

264,142 

004 

244,520 

263,019 

765,101 

305,000 

297 

112,670 

1,656,441 

1,952,051 

20,701 

18,000 

6,640 

28,000 

12,100 

13 

6,323 

42,786 

61 

21,031 

11,310 

64,862 

19,000 

22 

10,175 

3:360 

22,000 

2,600 

9 

697,102 

1,072 

375,328 

604,489 

30,000 

8,105 

68,600 

36 

8,470 

65,500 

57,000 

98 

35,748 

6,500 

30 

5,600 

20,000 

34,20(1 

3,200 

10,700 

17 

8:675 

5,125 

19,270 

5,150 

18 

7,216 

2,000 

101,760 

154 

62,504 

131,275 

243,098 

3,222 

13,086 

24,392 

3,450 

6,200 

9,636 

48,OIK) 

80 

21,495 

43,000 

89,600 

12,282 

18,<X)0 

2,925 

35.000 

23 

11,800 

32,800 

37 

12,630 

5,420 

30,750 

16,000 

14 

5,744 

1,200 

11,000 

1,688,710 

2,186 

1,422,593 

2,665,580 

69,866 

73 

21,055 

141,270 

107 

42,990 

327,714 

254,929 

152,030 

49 

109,360 

395 

96,464 

142,678 

364,402 

22,699 

168,200 

204,462 

46,600 

3,945,0110 

336,450 

3,659,495 

5,419,353 

37,962 

398,344 

476,300 

325,532 

448,414 

965,533 

27,880 

220,800 

251 

122,014 

133,446 

352,648 

13 

25,413 

37,325 

67 

14,414 

69,730 

94,740 

9,S00 

1,119,196 

690 

331,307 

946,488 

249,348 

317,570 

674,600 

2,200 

13 

2,770 

6,600 

41 

20,000 

300,000 

44,500 

465,148 

640,000 

141 

41,685 

165,604 

i;460 

2,050 

1,700 

8,101 

66,160 

70 

24,005 

24,4;iG 

90,228 

63,800 

16 

9,914 

23,313 

279 

84,000 

181,000 

426,923 

21,410 

48 

10,276 

45,199 

2,700 

6 

3,000 

2i:i00 

36 

10,602 

17,641 

198,425 

14,000 

44x237 

80,853 

349,975 

710 

268,096 

1,051,051 

251 

88,003 

108 

46:290 

168,935 

76,827 

80,700 

106 

72,069 

2,321 

2,744 

3,116 

4,092 

12,000 

4,181 

22,000 

3,250 

36,.535 

58,000 

24,000 

62 

16,600 

23,500 

6020 

3,950 

60,495 

295,566 

494,165 

OC',950 

640 

110,666 

140,069 

68 

37,296 

27,342 

ps'ss 

13,500 

34 

12,197 

135,428 

132 

67,925 

75.392 

96:0U4 

75,337 

99,000 

144 

65,801 

TKADE  ORGANIZATIONS. 


Industries. 

Stoves,  1880 

Straw-goods,  1880 

Sugar  and  molasses,  1880 

Tinware,  including  copper  and  sheet  iron,  1880... 

Tobacco,  including  cigars  and  snuff,  1880 

Tobacco,  snuff,  and  cigars 

Type-foundries,  1880 

1870 

Umbrellas  and  canes,  1880 

1870 

Upholstering,  1880 

1870 

Vinegar,  1880 

1870 

Watch-repairing,  1880 

Wheelwrighting,  1880 

Wire-work 

Wood-carving 

Wood  brackets  and  moulding,  1870 

Wooden-ware,  1870 

Wood  turned  and  carved,  1870 

Miscellaneous 


985.610 
667,525 
916,877 


10,160 

33,500 

2,360 

169,000 


Annual 

i.  Wages. 

Materials 
Employed. 

Products. 

$158,368 

$251,376 

$613,712 

57.391 

264,007 

31,0(10 

756,703 

840,986 

2,146,600 

3,180,611 

280,551 

806,103 

1,396,432 

399,570 

1,482,717 

2.372.069 

82,046 

251,911 

653,760 

12,800 

45,000 

7,500 

1,780 

12,000 

2,080 

8,500 

17,400 

3,600 

64,112 

23,240 

70,045 

136,700 

7,012 

58,112 

87,012 

3,672 

73,810 

24,389 

18:900 

73,675 

13,630 

24,000 

26,000 

77,000 

7,780 

8,545 

24,700 

56,500 

27,500 

34,020 

5,400 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

TRADE    ORGAXrZATI0N.S. 

The  Exchange— Corn  and  Flour  Exchange— Chamber  of  Commerce- 
Shoe  and  Leather  Board  of  Trade — Provision  Exchange — Merchants' 
and  Manufacturei-s'  Association. 

Board  of  Trade  and  "Exchange  Building."— 

The  first  attempt  to  establish  a  general  business  asso-  ; 
elation  in  Baltimore  appears  to  have  been  made  in  i 
1793,  when  an  effort  was  made  by  a  number  of  mer- 
chants to  open  an  "  Exchange"  for  the  transaction  of 
busine.ss,  and  buildings  at  the  northwest  corner  of 
Lombard  and  Exchange  Alley  (now  known  as  Com- 
merce Street)  were  fitted  up  and  used  for  the  purpose, 
but  after  a  time  were  closed  and  the  Exchange  discon- 
tinued.    On  the  25th  of  January,  1816,  an  act  was 
passed  by  the  General  Assembly  to  incorporate  the 
"Baltimore  Exchange  Company,"  of  which  William 
Patterson  was  chairman.   The  incorporators  were  Wil- 
liam Patterson,  Robert  Goodloe  Harper,  Dennis  A.  j 
Smith,  John  Oliver,  Thomas  Tenant,  Robert  Smith,  | 
Henry  Payson,  Henry  Thompson,  Thomas  Sheppard, 
George  P.  Stevenson,  Isaac  McKim,  and  John  Hollins. 
This  company  was  incorporated  "  to  erect,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  commercial  utility,  a  public  building  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore,  called  the  Baltimore  Exchange," 
with  the  proviso  that  its  whole  capital  stock  should  not 
exceed fivehundred  thousand  dollars,  and  that  itshould 
not  hold  real  estate  "  exceeding  the  value  of  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  first  cost,  exclusive  of  the  im- 
provements to  be  made  thereupon  by  the  said  com-  '• 
pany."    Previous  to  the  incorporation  of  the  company,  \ 
at  an  election  held  by  the  stockholders,  on  the  16th  of  : 
May,  1815,  at  the  Fountain  Inn,  the  following  gentle- 
men were  duly  elected  trustees :  Isaac  McKim,  Henry 
Thompson,  D.  A.  Smith,  R.  G.  Harper,  Thomas  Ten- 
ant, William  Patterson,  Henry  Payson,  John  Hollins, 
George  P.  Stevenson,  Thomas  Sheppard,  John  Oliver, 
and  Robert  Smith.     At  an  election  for  president  and 


directors  of  the  Exchange  Company,  held  April  1, 
1816,  the  following  gentlemen  were  chosen :  Wil- 
liam Patterson,  president;  John  Hollins,  Robert  G. 
Harper,  Henry  Thompson,  George  P.  Stevenson,  Isaac 
McKim,  Robert  Smith,  Dennis  A.  Smith,  Thomas 
Sheppard,  John  Donnell,  James  Mo.sher,  R.  L.  Colt, 
and  John  S.  Smith,  directors. 

Under  the  auspices  of  this  company  the  Exchange 
Building  was  commenced,  although  not  entirely  com- 
pleted for  many  years.  At  the  time  of  its  completion, 
in  size  and  magnificence  as  a  commercial  building  it 
had  "no  rival  in  America."  The  original  plan  of  the 
immense  structure  included  two  wings,  one  on  Gay 
Street,  which  still  remains  as  originally  designed,  and 
the  other  west  of  the  main  building,  and  constructed 
in  the  same  general  style  as  that  on  the  east.  These 
two  wings  were  joined  together  in  the  centre  by  the 
great  saloon  or  "  'change,"  which  consisted  of  a  hall 
fifty-three  feet  square,  thus  giving  the  building  the 
form  of  the  letter  H.  The  structure  was  four  stories 
high,  including  a  vaulted  basement.  It  was  bounded 
by  Gay  Street  on  the  east,  Water  (now  Lombard) 
Street  on  the  south,  Second  Street  on  the  north,  and 
Exchange  Alley  on  the  west.  The  east  and  west 
fronts  were  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet  in  length 
and  those  on  the  north  and  south  one  hundred  and 
forty  feet.  The  southeast  wing  was  occupied  as  the 
custom-house,  and  the  northeast  by  the  old  Branch 
Bank  of  the  United  States,  and  now  by  the  Merchants' 
National  Bank  of  Baltimore.  The  west  wing  was  for 
many  years  famous  as  the  Exchange  Hotel.  Contigu- 
ous to  the  hall  of  the  Exchange,  in  the  west  wing,  was 
the  reading-room,  a  handsome  apartment,  fifty-three 
feet  long  by  thirty  wide.  The  hall  of  the  Exchange  had 
three  principal  entrances,  the  main  one  on  Gay  and 
the  other  two  on  Second  and  Water  Streets.  The 
main  entrance  from  the  east  was  by  a  flight  of  marble 
steps  twelve  feet  wide,  which  led  under  a  decorated 
vault,  terminating  at  the  door  of  the  rotunda  in  a 


438 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


wide  platform.  ^Similar  entrances  from  the  north  and 
south  courts  and  from  Exchange  Alley  also  led  into 
the  Exchange  hall.  On  the  east  and  west  of  this 
hall  are  six  Ionic  columns,  of  single  blocks  of  Italian 
marble,  each  fifteen  feet  nine  inches  high  and  one 
foot  nine  inches  in  diameter.  Beyond  the  colonnades  j 
the  hull  extended  fifteen  feet  on  each  side,  so  that 
the  s|);u'(>  allotted  to  the  merchants  was  eighty-three 
feet  by  fifty-three.  Without  the  colonnades  were 
halls  leading  to  four  flights  of  stairs.  Over  each  col- 
onnade is  a  gallery,  above  which  rises  a  semicircular 
arch,  the  whole  surmounted  by  a  magnificent  dome, 
the  internal  height  of  which  from  the  floor  of  the 
hall  is  one  hundred  and  fifteen  feet.  The  basement 
story  of  the  building  was  laid  out  in  twenty  oflices 
lor  brokers,  attorneys,  and  counting-houses.  On  each 
side  of  the  north  and  south  entrances  were  rooms 
twenty-four  by  eighteen  feet,  and  on  the  Gay  Street 
front  four  rooms,  two  of  them  eighteen  by  thirty  and 
two  thirty  feet  square, — in  all  nine  spacious  rooms, 
each  of  them  furnished  with  fire-proof  closets,  and 
adapted  to  the  purposes  of  insurance  offices,  for  which 
they  were  subsequently  used.  A  part  of  the  building 
on  Gay  Street  was  also  occupied  at  one  time  by  the 
officers  of  the  municipal  government. 

The  Exchange  Building  was  constructed  after  a  de- 
sign of  the  eminent  architect,  BenjaminH.Latrobe,Sr., 
the  architect  of  the  cathedral,  and  at  one  time  one  of 
the  chief  architects  of  the  capitol  at  Washington. 
Col.  Jacob  Small,  of  Baltimore,  superintended  its 
construction.  The  building  when  first  erected  was 
entirely  fire-proof,  and  originally  cost  about  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  thousand  dollars.  Both  the  interior 
and  exterior,  however,  have  undergone  many  changes 
since  the  erection  of  the  building.  The  old-fashioned 
winding  stairs  in  the  corners  which  led  to  the  second 
story  of  the  rotunda  and  other  features  of  former 
days  have  disappeared,  and  to  the  regret  of  many 
persons  the  architectural  features  of  the  rotunda 
itself  have  been  changed  in  the  last  eight  years. 
The  accommodations  of  the  custom-house,  which  in 
course  of  time  came  to  be  located  in  the  Exchange 
Building,  were  at  first  of  a  very  limited  character,  be- 
ginning at  the  door  on  Lombard  Street,  and  embrac- 
ing only  a  space  of  about  seventy-two  by  forty-five 
feet.  All  the  various  clerks  were  ranged  around 
this  small  hall  in  little  pens,  like  so  many  domesti- 
cated animals.  During  the  coUectorship  of  George 
P.  Kane  extensive  changes  were  made ;  the  Gay 
Street  entrance  was  blocked  up,  and  the  custom-house 
extended  north  into  the  rooms  formerly  occupied  by  the 
merchants  as  an  exchange  and  commercial  meeting- 
place.  It  was  handsomely  fitted  up,  and  thus  re- 
mained until  1871,  when,  the  growth  of  the  port  re- 
quiring more  space,  the  rotunda  was  made  a  part  of 
the  custom-hou.sc,  llais  rrinliiiiiL;  it  at  that  time  prob- 
ably one  of  the  nio^i  (■..niiiMiilioii-,  in  ilic  1  niii'i]  States. 
These  various  cliaii'jr-  of  a  ~iili-tanlial  an. I  .Irciinitive 
character  cost  not   less  than  one  luHidrcd  and  fifty 


thousand  dollars.  The  post-office  became  totally 
separated  from  the  rotunda  by  the  present  corridor, 
while  new  additions  north  and  south  were  reared  on 
the  site  of  the  old  Exchange  Hotel.  The  beautiful 
east  and  west  recessed  arches  of  the  rotunda  were 
filled  in  at  this  period,  and  the  whole  of  the  u|iper 
fioors,  as  well  as  the  lower  ones,  were  subjected  to 
the  most  extensive  and  costly  changes.  The  lodging- 
rooms  of  the  old  Exchange  Hotel,  which  occupied  the 
west  wing  of  the  Exchange,  extended  entirely  around 
the  rotunda  above  the  first  floor,  and  included  all 
the  space  above  the  custom-house  and  the  rooms  on 
the  Gay  and  Lombard  Street  sides  in  the  second  and 
third  floors,  now  used  for  the  various  offices  of  the  cus- 
toms. After  continuing  for  very  many  years  as  a 
hotel  it  ceased  to  be  profitable,  and  was  given  up  in 
that  capacity.  The  old  west  wing  was  for  some  years 
turned  into  offices,  but  it  was  finally  pulled  down  al- 
together. 

On  June  1,  1820,  the  Exchange  was  opened  for  the 
first  time  for  the  transaction  of  business,  and  "  mer- 
chants, traders,  and  tradesmen  of  every  description 
mingled  in  congratulation  upon  the  establishment  of 
an  institution  which  promises  so  many  facilities  to 
every  variety  of  negotiation."  "Notwithstanding 
the  pre.sent  languid  state  of  commerce,  purchases  and 
sales  to  a  considerable  amount  were  negotiated"  on 
the  opening  day,  and  "  for  the  convenience  and  dis- 
patch of  business"  the  principal  merchants  of  the 
city  entered  into  an  agreement  to  meet  on  'change 
every  day  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock,  and  some 
of  the  most  extensive  traders  bound  themselves  "  to 
make  no  engagements  for  the  purchase  and  sale  of 
produce  except  at  this  general  place  of  resort." 
Among  those  who  entered  into  this  agreement  were 
Eobert  Gilmor&  Sons,  Wm.  Patterson  &  Sons,  Robert 
&  John  Oliver,  Wm.  Wilson  &  Sons,  John  Donnell, 
Isaac  McKim,  John  McKim,  Luke  Tiernan  &  Sons, 
Alex.  Brown  &  Sons,  Wm.  Lorman  &  Son,  Thomas 
Tenant,  Campbell,  Ritchie  &  Co.,  R.  H.  &  W.  Douglass, 
Hez.  Clagett  &Son,  Archibald  Kerr,  H.  &  R.  H.  Os- 
good, Thompson  Bathurst,  Henry  Thompson,  Charles 
Wirgman,  Isaac  Tyson,  Jesse  Tyson  &  Sons,  Fred.  C. 
Graff",  John  Hollins,  Macdonald  &  Ridgely,  Justus 
Hoppe,  C.  W.  Karthaus  &  Co.,  John  Strieker,  Henry 
Schroder  &  Son,  Samuel  Hollingsworth  &  Sons,  Sol- 
omon Etting,  Baptist  Mezick,  Elias  Ellicott,  Henry 
Brice,  Isaac  Phillips,  Thomas  Sheppard,  Hammond 
&  Newman,  Joseph  King,  Jr.,  Wm.  Bosley,  George 
&  Wm.  Read,  Robinson  &  Clap,  C.  Deshon,  Von 
Kapflf  &  Brune,  Elisha  Tyson,  Jr.,  Wm.  Dawson  & 
Co.,  James  Corner,  J.  W.  &  E.  Patterson,  David  Kizer 
&  Co.,  Isaiah  Mankin,  Sanuiol  Kttin^-,  Roswell  L. 
Colt,  F.  &  L.  Hauxthall.  U-Im  it  Lrniinmi  ^t  Co.,  Van 
Wyck&  Morgan,  Harrison  ^  Si>r.tt.  l>aac  (i.  Roberts, 
Ridgely  &  Edgar,  M.  P.  Mitchell,  Thomas  Little,  W. 
L.  Schmidt,  C.  C.  Jamison  &  Co.,  George  Douglass, 
S.  &  J.  E.  Carey,  Charles  Gwinn,  Keller  &  Forman, 
W.  P.  Lcmnum,  Hall  ^^c  Marcan,  Joel  Vickcrs,  Wm. 


TRADE   ORGANIZATIONS. 


Child,  Brundige,  Vose  &  Co.,  Wm.  McDonald  & 
Son,  N.  F.  Williams,  John  Diffenderffer,  Perkins  & 
Saltonstall,  Mayer  &  Brantz,  John  Mackay,  J.  &  J. 
Stoufter,  Wm.  Baartscheer,  Bradford  &  Cooch,  L.  & 
J.  Barney,  Thomas  Wilson,  John  Nicholson,  S.  &  H. 
White,  Creighton  &  Woodville,  Wm.  Howell  &  Son, 
John  Travers,  Jr.,  J.  J.  Hoogerwerfl',  Isaac  Edmond- 
son,  H.  D.  Wichelhausen  &  Co.,  R.  A.  Denny,  D'Arcy 
&  Didier,  Ely  Balderston,  Wm.  Cole,  M.  McBlair, 
Levi  Hollingsworth,  A.  &  J.  E.  Lewis,  Benjamin  M. 
Hodges,  Samuel  Harden,  Kelso  &  Ferguson,  Jacob 
Tyson  &  Son,  J.  P.  Pleasants  &  Son,  Hayne  &  Crox- 
all,  Josiah  Turner  &  Co.,  Wilmer  &  Palmer,  McHenry 
&  Shaw,  James  Barroll,  Fridge  &  Morris,  Barthe  & 
Lafitte,  Wilson,  Mullikin  &  Co.,  W.  R.  Swift,  O.  H. 
Neilson,  P.  A.  Guestier,  Mayhew  &  Hobby,  J.  P. 
Kraft't,  H.  W.  Evans,  J.  H.  Heidelbach,  Wm.  Murdoch 
&  Co.,  Wm.  Norris,  George  F.  Warfield,  Charles  Mal- 
loy,  Wm.  Wierman,  John  C.  Delpratt, Sweeting &Ster- 
ett,  M.  &  P.  Tiernan  &  Co.,  Henry  Payson  &  Co.,  C. 
S.  Koenig,  George  &  John  Hoflman,  Leonard  Kimball, 
J.  C.  White  &  Sons,  Lyde  Goodwin,  T.  C.  Proebsting, 
Jacob  Adams,  James  Ramsay,  Samuel  Byrnes,  Thos. 
G.  Reyburn,  John  N.  Snow  &  Co.,  J.  I.  Cohen,  Jr., 
John  McClure,  McFaden  &  Harris,  Wm.  Baker  & 
Son,  Thomas  J.  Bond,  Brune  &  Dannemann,  John 
Bolte,  Wm.  Stewart  .^-  Co.,  J.  J.  Reekers,  Hollings- 
worth &  Worthington,  John  Oyston,  N.  Pearce,  and 
F.  Lucas,  Jr. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  1820,  a  meeting  of  the 
merchants  of  the  city  was  held  at  the  Exchange  for 
the  purpose  of  organizing  a  Chamber  of  Commerce. 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution, 
and  at  an  adjourned  meeting  held  at  the  same  place, 
on  September  23d,  at  which  Robert  Gilmor  was  chair- 
man, and  Christian  Mayer,  secretary,  the  plan  of  a  con- 
stitution was  submitted  and  adopted  in  an  amended 
form.  A  copy  was  ordered  to  be  deposited  in  the 
reading-room  of  the  Exchange,  for  the  signatures  of 
those  who  were  entitled  to  become  members  accord- 
ing to  the  first  article  of  the  constitution,  which  was 
as  follows  : 


"  No  person  can  become  a  iiifuiber  of  tlii 
citizen  of  the  United  States  and  a  trading  merchant  of  the  city  of  Bal- 
timore, either  aa  a  shipowner,  importer,  or  exporter,  a  president  of  an 
insurance  office,  or  a  marine  insurance  broker;  and  every  such  person 
desirous  of  becoming  a  member  shall  sign  this  constitution  before  the 
Ist  of  November  next,  or  nnist  thereafter  be  nominated  by  a  member,  at 
a  stated  meeting  of  the  society,  at  least  one  month  before  he  can  be 
chosen;  he  shall  then  be  balloted  for,  and  three  negatives  shall  exclude 
any  applicant;  nor  can  such  person  be  again  proposed  before  twelve 
months  after  such  rejection." 

The  constitution  having  been  signed  by  all  the 
prominent  merchants  of  the  city,  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  was  organized  by  the  election  of  Robert 
Gilmor,  president ;  William  Patterson  and  William 
Lorman,  vice-presidents ;  Christian  Mayer,  treasurer  ; 
and  William  Cooke,  secretary.  The  same  ofiicers  were 
re-elected  on  Jan.  8,  1822,  with  the  exception  of 
William  Patterson,  who  was  succeeded  by  Thomas 


Tenant  as  vice-president.  Robert  Gilmor  died  Jan. 
14,  1822,  and  Mr.  Patterson  was  elected  May  6th  in 
his  place,  but  he  declined  to  serve,  and  William  Lor- 
man was  elected.  He  served  until  1830,  when  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  suspended  operations.  In 
the  mean  time  the  Exchange  company  became  em- 
barrassed, and  at  a  general  meeting  on  the  1st  of  No- 
vember, 1825,  "unanimously  adopted  a  resolution 
authorizing  the  president  and  directors  to  dispose  of 
all  the  company's  property  at  private  sale,  .  .  .  reserv- 
ing only  the  use  of  the  hall  and  reading-room  for 
commercial  purposes,  agreeable  to  the  original  inten- 
tions of  the  company,  the  hall  to  be  subject  to  no 
charge,  the  rent  arising  from  the  reading-room  to  be 
received  by  the  purchaser."  The  president,  David 
Winchester,  and  William  Patterson,  Henry  Payson, 
John  Donnell,  F.  W.  Brune,  Alexander  Brown,  Henry 
Thomjjson,  Solomon  Etting,  William  Lorman,  and 
Stewart  Brown,  the  directors,  in  pursuance  of  the 
authority  vested  in  them  by  the  stockholders,  first 
offered  the  property  on  Jan.  7,  1826,  to  the  city  for 
municipal  purposes  for  the  sum  of  ninety  thousand 
dollars,  being  one-third  of  its  original  cost,  payable 
in  city  stock  bearing  interest  at  five  per  cent.  The 
matter  was  held  under  consideration  by  the  City 
Council  for  several  years,  until  finally,  in  May,  1851, 
a  small  company  of  gentlemen,  including  the  late 
George  P.  Kane,  J.  Hall  Pleasants,  and  several 
others,  bought  the  entire  property  excepting  the 
Merchants'  National  Bank  building  and  the  custom- 
house, on  very  advantageous  terms  ($90,000),  it  having 
turned  out  commercially  a  very  disastrous  enterprise. 

On  the  25th  of  February,  1836,  a  meeting  was  held 
at  the  Exchange  reading-room  to  organize  a  Board 
of  Trade.  Henry  Thompson  was  called  to  the  chair, 
and  William  S.  Harrison  and  James  C.  Sellman  were 
appointed  secretaries.  On  motion  of  B.  I.  Cohen,  a* 
committee  of  .five,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Isaac  Tyson, 
O.  C.  Tiffany,  George  W.  Peterkin,  Hugh  Jenkins, 
and  C.  C.  Jamison,  were  appointed  to  nominate  offi- 
cers of  the  a.ssociation.  They  made  the  following  nom- 
inations, which  were  unanimously  adopted :  Pr&sident, 
Henry  Thompson;  Vice-Presidents,  James  Wilson, 
Jacob  Albert,  Samuel  Hoffman,  James  Howard ; 
Treasurer,  Benjamin  I.  Cohen;  Directors,  Joseph 
Todhunter,Hugh  Birckhead,  W.G.  Harrison,  Thomas 
Finley,  Nathan  Tyson,  Jacob  G.  Davies,  G.  H.  New- 
man, Chris.  Keener,  James  George,  James  I.  Corner, 
S.  Jones,  Jr.,  Thomas  W.  Hall,  George  Brown,  John 
Gibson,  Thomas  Wilson,  C.  W.  Karthaus,  Daniel 
Cobb,  J.  P.  Erskine,  R.  A.  Taylor,  John  B.  Howell, 
Joseph  Gushing,  William  Cooke,  John  H.  Hodges, 
W.  C.  Shaw,  William  Crawford,  Jr.,  John  H.  Orn- 
dorff. 

The  president  lived  but  little  more  than  one  year 
after  his  election,  and  was  succeeded  by  James  Wil- 
son, who  served  until  1843,  when  the  board  again 
disbanded.  For  a  portion  of  this  time  the  board  had 
no  rooms  of  its  own,  and  met  at  the  office  of  its  pres- 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ident,  Mr.  Wilson.  On  tlie  5th  of  October,  1849,  a 
meeting  of  merchants  was  held  in  the  E.xchange,  pur- 
suant to  a  previous  adjournment,  for  the  purpose  of 
reorganizing  the  Board  of  Trade.  William  McKim 
presided,  and  Wilmot  Johnson  acted  as  secretary. 
The  committee  appointed  at  a  i)revious  meeting  to 
draft  resolutions,  etc.,  reported  through  their  chair- 
man, E.  B.  Dallam,  and  their  report,  with  an  unim- 
portant amendment,  Wius  adopted.  On  motion  of  E. 
P.  Cohen,  it  was  resolved  to  hold  another  meeting  on 
the  10th  for  the  purpose  of  electing  officers,  which 
was  accordingly  done,  and  the  following  gentlemen 
were  elected:  President,  John  C.  Brune  ;  Vice-Presi- 
dents, William  McKim,  Herman  H.  Perry,  Henry 
Tiffany,  Nathan  Rogers ;  Treasurer,  E.  B.  Dallam ; 
Secretary,  George  U.  Porter;'  Directors,  T.  C.  Jen- 
kins, William  P.  Lemmon,  Joseph  C.  Wilson,  Pat- 
rick H.  Sullivan,  James  George,  Enoch  Pratt,  Daniel 
Warfield,  Gustav  W.  Lorman,  William  G.  Harrison, 
William  E.  Travers,  Albert  Schumacker,  Alexander 
Reiman,  David  S.  Wilson,  Josiah  Lee,  Thomas  Wil- 
son, William  Bose,  Benjamin  C.  Buck,  Henry  S.  Gar- 
rett, Thomas  W.  Levering,  George  B.  Hoffman,  John 
J.  Abrahams,  Hugh  Jenkins,  Enoch  S.  Courtney,  and 
George  K.  Walter. 

It  would  seem  that  even  at  this  early  date  much 
interest  was  taken  in  the  choice  of  officers,  and  that 
an  "  opposition"  and  a  "  regular"  ticket  gave  spice  to 
this  first  election.  "Considerable  interest,"  we  are 
told,  "  was  manifested  in  the  result,  and  the  occasion 
was  marked  by  the  excitement  of  a  jealous  but  ami- 
cable contest."  On  the  10th  of  May,  1852,  the  Board 
of  Trade  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature.-  In 
January,  1856,  the  United  States  government  pur- 
chased the  remainder  of  the  E.xchange  Building  for 
two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  thousand  dollars,  one 
liundred  and  ten  thousand  dollars  having  previously 
been  paid  for  the  wing  occupied  by  the  custom-house. 
This  sale  necessitated  the  erection  of  a  new  Exchange 
Building,  and  accordingly,  on  the  9th  of  March,  1858, 
an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  incorporating 
the  "  Baltimore  Exchange  Building  Company."  The 
following  gentlemen  were  appointed  by  the  act  com- 
missioners to  receive  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock 
of  the  company :  Hugh  Jenkins,  Wm.  Crichton,  John 
C.  Brune,  Israel  M.  Parr,  Horatio  L.  Whitridge,  James 
Hooper,  Jr.,  George  P.  Kane,  John  S.  Williams, 
Henry  M.  Warfield,  Wm.  Chestnut,  George  H.  Kyle, 
Thomas  W.  Levering,  James  I.  Fisher,  Gustav  W. 
Lorman,  Frank  Sullivan,  Addison  K.  Ford,  Samuel 
Harris,  Jr.,  E.  G.  Perine,  Benj.  F.  Harrison,  Wm.  W. 
Woodward,  James  H.  Shone,  John  W.  Garrett,  Johns 
Hopkins,  Robert  Leslie,  J.  J.  Skinner,  Robert   A. 


1  The  present  most  efllcient  secretary  of  the  Baltimore  Board  of  Trade, 
C.eorge  U.  Porter,  has  held  that  position  ever  since  the  organization  of 
tlio  board  in  1849. 

•  The  incorporators  were  the  officers  of  the  board,  with  the  exception 
of  Henry  S.  Garrett,  who  declined.    Chauucey  Brooks  was  substituted 


'  Dobbin,  James  E.  Tyson,  W.  S.  Walters,  Allan  A. 
Chapman,  Benj.  F.  Newcomer,  James  George,  Gallo- 
way Cheston,  Wm.  E.  Mahew,  and  Archibald  Stirling. 
By  its  terms  the  act  was  to  continue  in  force  until  Jan. 
1,  1890,  and  until  the  end  of  the  next  session  of  the 
General  Assembly  thereafter.  The  site  selected  for 
the  new  Exchange  was  the  lot  adjoining  the  post- 
office,  with  a  front  of  sixty  feet,  and  a  depth  of  one 
hundred  and  ninety  feet,  running  through  from  Sec- 

I  ond  Street  to  Exchange  Place.  On  this  location  the 
present  Exchange  Building  was  erected,  being  com- 
pleted in  August,  1859.  By  the  act  of  1878,  ch.  383, 
the  Board  of  Trade  was  authorized 

)   "to  create  and  organize  within  itself  a  Court  of  Arbitration  fur  the  ad- 
judication and  settlement,  according  to  the  principles,  of  law,  equity, 
and  commercial  usage,  or  of  either  applicable  thereto,  of  any  and  all 
controversies  concerning  or  growing  out  of  contracts  of  sale,  manufac- 
turing, or  letting  in  rent;  of  the  making  or  negotiating  or  transfer  of 
bills  of  exchange,  promissory  notes,  bills  of  lading,  railroad,  warehouse, 
or  other  similar  receipts,  and  other  such  commercial  paper ;  of  guaran- 
j   tees,  of  agency,  of  bailment,  of  partnership,  of  insurance,  of  affreight- 
I   ment,  or  of  any  other  transactions  of  whatever  specific  class,  pertaining 
to  trade,  commerce,  navigation,  manufactures,  or  mechanic  arts,  or  buai- 
I    ness  connected  with  any  of  them  ;  or  contracts  for  personal  work,  labor, 
I   and  service  done  or  rendered,  or  to  be  done  or  rendered  in  and  about  the 
pursuit  and  transactions  of  trade,  commerce,  navigation,  manufactures, 
or  mechanic  arts,  where  one  or  more  of  the  parties  to  which  controversies 
j   is  or  are  members  of  the  said  corporation,  in  all  cases  wherein  said  con- 
troversy  is,  by  the  consent  of  all  the  parties  thereto  signified  by  a  sub- 
mission in  writing,  referred  for  adjudication  and  settlement  to  said  court." 

In  pursuance  of  this  authority,  the  court  was  or- 
ganized on  the  22d  of  June,  1878,  with  Hon.  John 
j  A.  Inglis  as  judge,  and  George  U.  Porter  as  clerk. 

•  Upon  the  death  of  Judge  Inglis,  Isaac  D.  Jones  was 
1  selected  to  succeed  him. 

The  rooms  of  the  board  are  (at  present)  in  the  Ex- 
change Building,  immediately  west  of  the  post-office 
and  fronting  on  Exchange  Place,  but  it  will  occupy 
rooms  in  the  new  Chamber  of  Commerce  Building, 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  Post-office  Avenue  and 
Second  Street,  when  it  is  completed.  The  presidents 
of  the  Board  of  Trade  since  its  organization  to  the 
j  present  time  have  been  Robert  Gilmor,  1821-22;  Wil- 

•  liam  Lorman,  1822-30 ;  from  1830  to  1835  the  board 
j  was  in  a  state  of  suspension  ;  Henry  Thompson,  1836- 

37 ;  James  Wilson,  1837-43 ;  from  18i3  to  1849  in  a 

!  state  of  suspension  ;  John  C.  Brune,  1849-62 ;  Thomas 

I  C.  Jenkins,  1862-65;  Albert  Schumacker,  1865-71; 

:  Horatio  L.  Whitridge,  1871-73;  J.  Hall  Pleasants, 

1873-77;    Decatur  H.   Miller,   1877-79;    Robert   A. 

Fisher,   1879-81.      Upon  the  death  of  Mr.   Fisher, 

Israel  M.  Parr  was  elected  to  succeed  him,  and  was 

I  re-elected  for  1881-82. 

The  objects  and  purposes  of  the  Board  of  Trade 
are,  briefly,  to  secure  and  utilize  the  advantages 
which  the  position  of  the  city  offers  to  commerce 
and  manufacturers;  "to  consider  all  subjects  of  inter- 
nal improvement  agitated  in  the  community  which 
may  be  brought  under  their  notice  by  members  of  the 
j  same,  and  take  such  effectual  mea-sures  in  relation 
thereto  as  the  importance  of  the  subject  shall  call 
for;  to  settle  and  adjust  all  matters  relating  to  the 


TKADE   ORGANIZATIONS. 


trade  of  the  city ;  to  establish  its  customs  and  ordi- 
nances, and  to  maintain  unity  of  action  for  public 
good."  The  Board  of  Trade  has  a  membership  of 
upwards  of  five  hundred  firms  of  the  city,  and  by  its 
influence  and  vigilance  in  all  matters  pertaining  to 
trade  and  commerce  has  largely  contributed  to  the 
prosperity  and  growth  of  Baltimore.  It  was  through 
the  persistent  efforts  of  the  board  that  the  river  chan- 
nel was  deepened  from  eighteen  to  twenty-five  feet, 
without  which  there  could  have  been  no  enlargement 
of  the  commerce  of  the  port.  Thirty  years  ago  ves- 
sels of  about  eighteen  hundred  tons  were  the  largest 
that  could  conveniently  enter  our  harbor;  now 
steamers  of  four  thousand  five  hundred  tons  are  seen 
daily  in  our  port.  The  present  oflicers  of  the  board 
are  Israel  M.  Parr,  president ;  W.  W.  Spence,  Henry 
C.  Smith,  George  P.  Frick,  S.  P.  Thompson,  vice- 
presidents  ;  John  R.  SeemuUer,  treasurer;  George  U. 
Porter,  secretary  ;  Directors,  Samuel  P.  Thompson, 
James  Carey  Coale,  Joseph  H.  Rieman,  David  L. 
Bartlett,  Robinson  W.  Cator,  Eugene  Levering,  G. 
A.  Von  Lingen,  Thomas  Poultney,  Jr.,  W.  Graham 
Bowdoin,  Stephen  Bonsai,  Samuel  E.  Hoogewerff, 
John  E.  Hurst,  Samuel  Eccles,  Jr.,  W.  Hy.  Bald- 
win, Jr.,  J.  Wilcox  Brown,  German  H.  Hunt,  George 
J.  Appold,  James  A.  Gary,  J.  P.  Elliott,  D.  T.  Buzby, 
T.  J.  Myer,  W.  A.  Symington,  F.  X.  Jenkins,  Wm. 
H.  Perot,  E.  D.  Bigelow. 

The  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange. — The  Corn  and 
Flour  Exchange  was  organized  in  1851.  The  mem- 
bership was  at  first  limited,  and  the  operations  of  the 
association  conducted  in  a  somewhat  informal  man- 
ner, but  in  1853  the  organization  had  attained  to  such 
proportions  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  inaugurate 
more  regular  methods,  and  to  provide  more  commo- 
dious accommodations.  A  warehouse.  No.  76  Bow- 
ley's  Wharf,  was  accordingly  rented  and  fitted  up  for  its 
use  under  the  supervision  of  a  committee  consisting 
of  Messrs.  Crichton,  Fenly,  and  Parr,  where  on  Wed- 
nesday, May  11,  1853,  the  Exchange  commenced  the 
transaction  of  business.  The  membership  continued 
to  increase  so  rapidly  that  in  1855  additional  room 
was  needed,  and  the  house  adjoining  was  leased  and 
a  part  of  it  brought  into  requisition.  During  the 
same  year  application  was  made  to  the  Legislature 
for  an  act  of  incorporation,  but  the  application  was 
unsuccessful,  "  owing  to  erroneous  reports  circulated 
among  the  farmers  of  the  State  regarding  the  purpose 
of  the  institution."  The  association  was  thus  forced 
to  obtain  its  charter  under  the  general  incorporation 
act  of  1852,  which  it  did  on  the  22d  of  May,  1855, 
shortly  after  the  refusal  of  the  General  Assembly  to 
allow  it  the  privileges  of  an  incorporated  body.  After 
the  purchase  of  the  old  Exchange  property,  on  Gay 
and  Second  Streets,  by  the  Federal  government,  it 
was  suggested  that  the  Board  of  Trade,  Corn  and 
Flour  Exchange,  and  the  various  commercial  organi- 
zations of  the  city  should  combine  in  the  erection  of 
a  building  suitable  to  their  several  wants.     A  lot  next 


to  the  post-oflice  and  running  from  Exchange  Place 
to  Second  Street  was  offered  by  Col.  George  P.  Kane, 
on  behalf  of  the  Exchange  Company,  and  on  the'^th  of 
March,  1858,  the  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange  decided 
to  accept  it;  but  on  the  10th  of  March,  1859,  the  Ex- 
change authorized  the  purchase  of  a  lot  on  South  and 
Wood  Streets,  owned  by  Messrs.  Pratt,  Schaeffer,  and 
McDonald,  and  during  the  same  year  commenced  the 
erection  of  the  building  now  occupying  that  site,' 
which  was  completed  in  the  early  part  of  1860,  and 
formally  opened  on  the  1st  of  May  in  that  year.  The 
desks  in  the  Exchange  were  sold  on  the  5th  of  the 
same  month  at  premiums  ranging  from  fifteen  to 
seventy  dollars  each,  the  latter  sum  being  the  bid  of 
Messrs.  Patterson  &  Wolford.  In  January,  1862,  the 
Union  members  retired  from  the  Exchange  and  formed 
a  new  organization,  which  was  chartered  on  the  30th 
of  that  month  as  the  Maryland  Corn  and  Flour  Ex- 
change, with  William  Chestnut,  Peter  Sauerwein, 
George  F.  Needham,  Samuel  Hazlehurst,  James  A. 
Hooper,  William  E.  Woodyear,  B.  B.  Perkins,  Rob- 
ert Tyson,  Samuel  Duer,  Matthias  Roberts,  Robert 
Fowler,  Michael  Dorsey,  James  B.  Kawfielt,  James 
D.  Mason,  and  James  R.  Clark  as  incorporators. 
Rooms  were  fitted  up  in  the  Hooper  Building,  south- 
east corner  of  Pratt  and  South  Streets,  for  the  new 
Exchange,  which  continued  its  separate  organization 
only  a  few  months,  when  its  members  reunited  with 
the  old  association. 

On  the  23d  of  March,  1865,  the  Exchange  was  rein- 
corporated, with  William  Chestnut,  Thomas  Whit- 
ridge,  Joseph  0.  Ford,  Francis  White,  Robert  Tyson, 
George  Small,  James  A.  Hooper,  B.  F.  Phillips,  Lu- 
ther J.  Cox,  Jr.,  P.  H.  Magill,  Samuel  Duer,  J.  B. 
Clark,  M.  Roberts,  John  G.  Hewes,  and  C.  W.  Slagle 
as  incorporators.  In  March,  1870,  the  act  of  1865 
was  repealed  by  the  Legislature  and  the  Exchange 
provided  with  a  new  charter,  with  William  S.  Young, 
James  R.  Herbert,  Thomas  R.  Matthews,  Jr.,  S.  Sprigg 
Belt,  H.  F.  Turner,  Thomas  D.  Loney,  John  B.  Wil- 
liams, Joseph  H.  Meixsel,  W.  W.  Frush,  R.  M.  Wylie, 
William  R.  Howard,  George  T.  Kenly,  William  T. 
Pitt,  Harry  McCoy,  and  John  H.  Fowler  as  incorpo- 
rators. By  this  act,  which  forms  the  present  charter 
of  the  Baltimore  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange,  it  is  pro- 
vided that  the  property,  affairs,  business,  and  concerns 
of  the  corporation  shall  be  managed  by  a  Board  of 
Directors,  consisting  of  fifteen  members  of  the  asso- 
ciation, to  be  elected  annually,  the  board  to  elect  a 
president,  two  vice-presidents,  and  a  treasurer  from 
their  own  body,  and  to  appoint  a  secretary.    The  pur- 


1  The  building  waa  erected  by  the  Corn  Exchange  Buildings  Company, 
which  was  originally  chartered  under  the  general  incorporation  laws  of 
the  State  as  the  Exchange  Buildings  Company.  Doubt  having  been  ex- 
pressed as  to  the  legality  of  the  organization  under  the  general  laws,  the 
company  was  incorporated  on  the  8th  of  February,  1860,  as  the  Corn 
Exchange  Buildings  Company,  with  Horatio  S.  Whitridge,  William 
,  Crichton,  Charles  D.  Hinks,  George  P.  Kane,  Samuel  S.  Levering,  Henry 
M.  Warfleld,  Thomas  K.  Matthews,  Jr.,  Beujamin  G.  Harris,  and  Frank- 
lin F.  Pope  as  incorporators. 


HISTOKY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


poses  of  the  corporation,  as  defined  by  its  charter,  are 
"  to  provide  and  regulate  a  suitable  room  or  rooms  for 
a  produce  exchange  in  the  city  of  Baltimore;  to  in- 
culcate just  and  equitable  principles  in  trade ;  to 
establish  and  maintain  uniformity  in  commercial 
usage;  to  acquire,  preserve,  and  disseminate  valu- 
able business  information ;  and  to  adjust  contro- 
versies and  misunderstandings  between  its  members 
and  themselves,  or  between  them  and  other  persons 
thereto  consenting,  which  may  arise  in  the  course  of 
business."  To  this  end  the  board  of  directors  are 
required  to  elect  annually  by  ballot  iive  members  of 
the  association  who  are  not  members  of  the  board 
as  a  committee,  to  be  known  as  the  Arbitration  Com- 
mittee of  the  Baltimore  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange. 

"The  duty  of  said  Aibitration  Commiltee  shall  le  to  hear  anil  decide 
any  controvereies  which  may  arise  in  business  between  the  membera  of 
said  organization,  or  said  members  and  other  persons,  as  may  be  volnn- 
tarily  submitted  to  said  Committee  of  Arbitration ;  and  such  members 
and  persons  may,  by  an  instrument  in  writing  signed  by  them  and  at- 
tested by  a  subscribing  witness,  agree  to  submit  to  the  decision  of  said 
committee  any  such  controversy  so  arising  as  might  be  the  subject  of  an 
action  at  law  or  in  equity,  except  claims  of  title  to  real  estate." 

Rule  second  of  the  by-laws  of  the  Exchange  pro- 
vides that 

"  any  person  twenty-one  yeare  of  age  or  over,  approved  by  the  Board  of 
Directors,  may  become  a  member  of  this  association  until  the  1st  day 
of  May,  1881,  upon  the  payment  of  an  initiation  fee  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollare,  after  which  the  initiation  fee  shall  be  five  hundred  dollars ; 
or  on  the  presentation  of  an  unimpaired  or  unforfeited  certificate  of 
membership,  duly  transferred,  and  by  signing  an  agreement  to  be  gov- 
erned by  the  rules,  resolutions,  and  by-laws,  and  by  all  the  amendments 
and  additions  that  may  be  made  thereio;  provided  that  no  person  shall  ■ 
be  approved  by  the  directors  as  a  member  of  the  association  who  is  not 
a  resident  of  the  State  of  Maryland,  or  permanently  doing  business  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore.  All  applications  for  merabersbip  shall  be  accom- 
panied by  the  cash  for  the  amount  of  the  initiation  fee  in  force  at  the 
time  and  the  current  annual  assessment  for  the  year,  or  an  unimpaired 
certificate  of  membership  duly  indorsed." 

The  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange  now  numbers  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  members.  It  still  occupies  the 
structure  at  the  corner  of  South  and  Wood  Streets, 
but  upon  the  completion  of  the  new  Chamber  of 
Commerce  Building,  now  in  course  of  erection,  will 
occupy  the  elegant  and  commodious  quarters  therein 
specially  prepared  and  arranged  for  its  accommoda- 
tion. While  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  Company  is 
a  distinct  corporation,  the  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange 
is  largely  represented  in  its  membership  and  manage-  | 
inent,  and  holds  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  its  | 
stock,  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  its  bonds.  The 
Corn  and  Flour  Exchange  have  leased  for  twenty 
years  the  third  floor  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
Building,  at  a  rental  of  $12,000  per  year.  The  suc- 
cessive presidents  of  the  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange 
have  been  Nathan  Tyson,  Wm.  Crichton,  John  S. 
Williams,  Henry  M.  Warfield,  Wm.  Chestnut,  Israel 
M.  Parr,  P.  P.  Pendleton,  Wm.  S.  Young,  S.  Sprigg 
Belt,  Charles  D.  Fisher,  W.  B.  McAtee,  J.  T.  Middle- 
ton,  and  William  S.  Young. 

The  ofliccrs  for  1881  are : 

President,  William  S.  Young ;  First  Vice-President,  William  G.  Atldnsnn ; 
Second  Vice-I'residont,  U.  A.  Parr;  Treasurer,  George  T.  lienly;  Sec 


retary,  William  F.  Wheatley;  Assistant  Secretary,  Henry  A.  Wroth. 
Executive  Committee,  William  P.  Barndollar,  chairman;  Loui» 
Mullcr,  William  M.  Cooper.  Finance  Committee,  George  T.  Kenly, 
William  G.  Atkinson,  Charles  D.  Fislier.  Membersbi|j  Committee, 
William  P. Barndollar, chairman  ;  Louis  Mnil.  r.  w  ill,,,rjj  \l  Cooper, 
F.  T.Smith,  E.  Thomas  Rinchart.  B..H1.1  1  |ii...t  .1  ,  \lilliam  S. 
Young,  William  G.  Atkinson,  H.  A.  Parr,  C...!.  T  K,,,l,,  William 
P.  Barndollar,  Louis  Muller,  William  M.  i.~i,.i,  11  ,1.  I(,„wn, 
Charles  Rous,  E.  B.  Owens,  William  J.  Doyle,  Jas.  Kii.ix,  cliurlos  D. 
Fisher,  John  G.  Harryman,  B.  C.  Hays.  Standing  Committees:  Ar- 
bitration, J.  I.  Middleton,  P.  H.  Macgill,  F.  T.  Smith,  II.  F.  Zollick- 
ofTer,  E.  D.  Bigelow;  Harbor  and  River  Improvement,  E.  D.  Bige- 
low,  John  S.  Dickinson,  N.  S.  Hill,  A.  L.  Huggins,  C.  W.  Slagle; 
Wheat,  D.  M.  Tate,  chairman,  Herman  Williams,  R.  F.  Etzler, 
Chas.  D.  Fisher,  Geo.  T.  Gambrill,  J.  B.  Hall,  John  C.  Legg,  E.  M. 
Schryver,  J.  K.  B.  Emory,  Wm.  E.  Woodyear;  Flour,  R.  M.  Wylie, 
chairman,  Jiis.  J.  Corner,  E.  Thos.  Rinehart,  J.  Olney  Norris,  James 
Pearson,  John  Gill,  E.  J.  Snow;  Corn,  Chas.  W.  Baer,  chairman, 


S.  R.  Col 


W.  Fohter, 


Knox.l.r,,    II     M.,i,,,,,l    1;    ll,,,,|,.,,„     1, w    Tn.il,  H.D.Williar; 

Southern  '■  !      I  I  II  ,  .I..I1U  B.  Phillips, 

L.  J.  Cux.'  •     I  I         ,    ,1    II.  Forney,  N. 

J.  Appl,:;;;,iii,,  I:..,-, mil  i.  <  i . .,  1. ,  , ,  I .  w  -  I,,  ^1,-,  Jas.  E.  Tyson ; 
Barley,  IS.  BI;iUi-,  .Kilin  IJuy.l,  G.  Fr.ii.k  Gil.ney;  .Special  Committee 
on  the  Propiised  Canal  to  Connect  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware 
Bays,  J.  I.  Middleton,  P.  H.  Macgill,  Robert  Tyson,  D.  M.  Tate,  S. 
P.  Thompson ;  Grain  Inspection  Department  (office.  .'J7  South  Street), 
Edward  Roelkey,  chief  inspector. 

William  S.  Young,  the  president  of  the  Corn  and 
Flour  Exchange,  was  first  elected  to  that  position  in 
1870,  and  served  through  that  and  the  two  succeeding 
years,  when  he  declined  the  nomination  for  the  fourth 
term.  During  his  administration  the  want  of  greater 
powers  and  privileges  for  the  Exchange  was  felt  to  be 
a  serious  drawback  to  its  progress.  It  was  hampered 
by  the  restrictions  of  its  charter,  which  was  prepared 
when  the  immense  grain  trade  of  Baltimore  was  in  its 
infancy,  and  hence  was  not  adapted  to  the  conduct 
of  the  vast  and  growing  business  of  the  Exchange. 
Mr.  Young,  from  his  stand-point  as  president,  resolved 
that  the  proper  remedy  should  be  applied,  and  under 
his  direction  a  new  act  of  incorporation  was  drawn  up, 
and  its  passage  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Maryland 
was  procured.  After  securing  this  act  of  incorpora- 
tion it  became  necessary  to  adopt  a  code  of  by-laws, 
rules,  regulations,  etc.,  which  he  diligently  set  him- 
self to  work  to  devise  and  collate,  and  which  soon 
caused  everything  to  work  smoothly  and  harmo- 
niously under  the  new  life  which  was  given  to  the 
Exchange. 

Under  this  new  charter,  of  which  Mr.  Young  may 
be  said  to  have  been  the  parent,  the  Exchange  had 
the  amplest  room  to  expand,  and  its  provisions  have 
been  found  to  be  such  as  to  stimulate  and  protect  the 
business  interests  of  the  community.  In  1881  there 
was  such  a  demand  upon  him  to  again  become  the 
president  of  the  Exchange  that  his  consent  was  reluc- 
tantly given  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  [)re-sideiicy 
once  more,  and  he  is  now  discharging  the  duties  of 
the  post  with  a  sagacity  and  energy  that  guarantees 
the  continued  welfare  of  the  institution.  In  the  in- 
terim he  was  for  a  number  of  years  chairman  of  the 
Arbitration  Committee,  a  position  secondary  only  to 
that  of  the  presidency.  This  committee  frequently 
decides  niisuuderstandings  and  controversies  between 


TRADE   ORGANIZATIONS. 


443 


merchants  involving  thousands  of  dollars,  and  they 
have  the  same  legal  force  as  a  judgment  obtained  in 
a  court  of  law.  There  is  no  position  that  has  a  closer 
connection  with  the  commercial  progress  of  Baltimore, 
and  it  can  only  be  properly  filled  by  a  merchant  of 
broad  views,  liberal  tendencies,  devotion  to  local  in- 
terests, and  fullest  comprehension  of  the  great  battle- 
field of  business  rivalry.  Such  a  man  is  Mr.  Young. 
When  he  first  entered  on  the  presidency  in  1870  the 
Exchange  was  in  debt,  but  one  result  of  his  adminis- 
tration and  the  workings  of  the  new  charter  was  the 
speedy  accumulation  of  a  large  surplus  fund,  which 
has  since  been  maintained.  The  Exchange  has  re- 
cently found  itself  able  to  buy  fifty  thousand  dollars 
worth  of  the  bonds  of  the  new  Chamber  of  Commerce 
Building  Company,  after  subscribing  and  paying  for 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  its  stock,  payment  for 
which  was  made  out  of  the  initiation  fees  of  new  mem- 
bers. Its  financial  aflFairs  were  never  before  in  so  grat- 
ifying a  condition,  and  it  may  confidently  be  antici- 
pated that  they  will  ever  continue  to  improve  while 
Mr.  Young's  sound  policy  and  executive  force  lead  the 
management  or  his  system  is  followed.  He  has  had 
a  long  business  career,  that  has  been  crowned  with  the 
rewards  of  integrity  and  earnest  labor.  He  was  born 
in  Hanover,  York  Co.,  Pa.,  Dec.  25, 1825,  coming  of  an 
old  and  honorable  family  among  the  solid  burghers  of 
that  busy  and  wealthy  town.  His  father  was  George 
Young,  and  his  mother  Susan  Sholl,  both  born  in  Han- 
over, one  in  1797  and  the  other  in  1803.  His  pater- 
nal grandfather  was  William  Young,  and  his  mater- 
nal grandfather  John  Sholl,  both  leading  capitalists 
and  citizens  of  Hanover,  and  active  in  all  the  public 
enterprises  of  their  day.  His  father  brought  up  all 
his  sons  to  habits  of  industry  and  to  know  their  value. 
He  was  largely  engaged  in  farming  and  the  manufac- 
ture of  tobacco,  and  the  boys  were  all  furnished  with 
employment  during  their  school  vacations,  and  even 
between  the  morning  and  afternoon  sessions  of  school. 
,  William  S.  Young  was  one  of  the  first  pupils  under 
the  public  school  system  after  its  introduction  into 
Hanover,  and  was  afterwards  entered  at  Dickinson 
College,  Carlisle,  Pa.,  where  he  graduated  in  July, 
]  843,  before  reaching  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  John 
P.  Durbin,  Robert  Emory,  John  McClintock,  and  Wil- 
liam H.  Allen  were  then  the  principal  instructors  at 
Dickinson.  After  finishing  his  education  Mr.  Young 
went  West  with  an  uncle  residing  in  Middletown, 
Butler  Co.,  Ohio,  and  taught  in  the  public  schools 
there  for  two  years  and  a  half. 

He  then  engaged  in  the  hardware  and  iron  and 
grain  business,  and  pursued  it  until  1858.  Finding 
that  the  extension  of  the  railroad  system  in  the 
vicinity  of  Hanover  had  opened  a  new  field  for  busi- 
ness enterprise,  he  came  to  Baltimore  in  that  year 
and  established  himself  in  the  grain  trade  on  North 
Street,  subsequently  purchasing  two  large  warehouses, 
one  of  which  is  still  occupied  by  his  firm.  Their 
transactions  aggregate  annually  a  very  large   sum. 


Mr.  Young  has  been  a  member  of  an  extensive  grain- 
purchasing  firm  in  Hanover  for  twenty-three  years,  and 
for  ten  years  has  had  an  interest  in  the  manufacture  of 
dye-woods,  bark,  liquors,  and  extracts,  in  his  native 
county.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  of  decided 
convictions,  but  never  obtrudes  them.  Although 
very  averse  to  accepting  public  oflice,  he  was  elected 
on  the  Reform  ticket  in  1875  to  the  First  Branch  of 
the  City  Council  of  Baltimore  as  representative  of 
the  Twentieth  Ward.  His  strongest  motive  in  be- 
coming a  councilman  was  to  help  in  abolishing  the 
City  Yard,  a  municipal  institution  that  had  been  con- 
verted into  an  engine  of  political  fraud  and  public 
extravagance.  He  led  the  movement  to  wipe  out 
this  costly  and  objectionable  attachment  to  the  city 
government,  and  the  effort  was  completely  successful. 
He  considered  it  his  duty  to  labor  for  the  interests  of 
the  people  rather  than  to  provide  places  for  office- 
seekers,  and  his  official  record  was  in  consonance 
with  his  sound  business  principles.  While  in  Ohio 
he  was  married  to  Mary  A.  Hilt,  of  Middletown,  who 
died  in  1864.  In  June,  1870,  he  was  married  to 
Amelia  Forney,  daughter  of  Jacob  Forney,  of  Han- 
over. Her  father  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  citi- 
zens of  Hanover.  He  was  foremost  in  urging  the 
construction  of  the  railroads  centering  there,  and  is 
even  now  still  pressing  forward  a  further  extension 
of  the  system.  Her  father  was  the  founder  and  for  a 
long  time  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Hanover,  and  is  now,  in  his  eighty-fifth  year,  com- 
fortably retired  from  active  business.  The  ancestors 
of  Jacob  Forney  were  the  original  white  settlers  of 
the  tract  of  land  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  so 
long  in  dispute  between  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania, 
which  was  at  one  time  outside  of  all  legal  jurisdic- 
tion and  the  reftige  of  criminals  from  both  provinces. 
He  now  owns  and  occupies  property  the  deed  for 
which  was  obtained  from  Wm.  Penn,  and  the  prop- 
erty has  never  had  an  owner  outside  of  the  family. 

Mr.  Young,  as  a  public  speaker,  is  frequently  called 
upon  to  respond  to  after-dinner  toasts,  and  has  very 
frequently  declined  delivering  addresses  before  so- 
cieties and  associations;  and  in  the  canvass  of  1875 
he  delivered  a  number  of  forcible  political  addresses. 
He  is  a  fluent  speaker,  and  his  speeches  are  charac- 
terized by  a  full  presentation  of  cognate  facts  and  by 
incisive  logic.  He  possesses  the  esteem  and  confi- 
dence of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  his  mercantile  record 
has  never  been  tarnished.  Seven  children  have  been 
born  to  him,  those  living  being  George,  Elizabeth 
Forney,  and  Jacob  Forney. 

Chamber  of  Commerce.— The  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce Building  Company  was  incorporated  at  the 
January  session  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1880  for 
the  purpose  of  constructing  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
Building  now  in  course  of  erection.' 


1  The  company  was  originally  incorporated  as  the  Corn  E.\change  Build- 
g  Company,  but  its  title  was  changed  to  the  present  designation  by  the 
t  of  18S0. 


444 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


By  this  act  Charles  D.  Fisher,  Walter  B.  McAtee, 
George  Small,  Israel  M.  Parr,  William  E.  Woodyear, 
David  M.  Tate,  Robert  Tyson,  George  H.  Baer,  and 
J.  Olney  Norris  were  appointed  commissioners  to  re- 
ceive subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock  of  the  cor- 
poration. The  authorized  stock  of  the  company  was 
fixed  at  $200,000,  in  shares  of  $100  each,  and  it  was 
fu  rther  empowered  to  borrow  money  to  such  an  amount 
as  might  be  necessary,  not  exceeding  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  and  to  issue  its  bonds  for  the  same. 
The  Baltimore  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange  were  also 
empowered  to  subscribe  to  the  stock,  and  the  commis- 
sioners were  authorized  to  accept  such  subscription  to 
the  extent  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars.  As  soon  as  the  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars of  stock  should  be  subscribed,  the  subscribers, 
the  act  provided,  should  immediately  become  a  body 
corporate  by  the  name  of  the  "  Chamber  of  Commerce 
Building  Company."  The  object  of  the  company,  as 
defined  by  the  act  of  incorporation,  is  to  erect  and 
maintain  a  proper  edifice  suitable  for  the  use  of  the 
Corn  and  Flour  Exchange,  the  transaction  of  its  busi- 
ness, and  the  accommodation  of  its  members  for  so 
long  as  it  may  desire,  and  also  to  provide  and  let  suit- 
able and  convenient  offices  and  places  of  business  in 
said  building  for  the  use  of  members  of  both  the  said 
corporations.  The  act  further  directed  that  the  com- 
pany should  be  governed  by  nine  directors,  of  whom 
four  should  be  named  by  the  Corn  and  Flour  Ex- 
change, and  the  remaining  five  to  be  elected  by  the 
stockholders. 

Directors  were  elected  on  the  2.5th  of  March,  1880, 
and  the  company  was  formally  organized  on  the  29th 
of  the  same  month  by  the  election  of  Walter  B.  Mc- 
Atee president,  and  J.  Olney  Norris  secretary. 

A  lot  of  ground  bounded  by  Holliday,  Second  Street, 
and  Post-office  Avenue,  eighty-four  feet  front  by  one 
hundred  and  eighty-six  deep,  was  purchased  from 
William  W.  McClellan  for  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars,  and  work  on  the  new  building 
was  commenced  on  the  1st  of  July,  1880,  and  the  cor- 
ner-stone was  laid  on  the  15th  of  October  following. 
The  committee  gathered  in  the  basement  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  new  building,  and  proceeded 
each  to  lay  a  brick  which  would  afterwards  be  capped 
by  the  corner-stone.  The  bricks  had  inscribed  on 
them  the  names  of  the  board,  the  maker  of  the 
bricks  to  be  used  in  the  construction,  the  architect 
and  builder,  and  the  names  of  the  daily  and  weekly 
newspapers  of  the  city.  The  bricks  were  laid  in 
the  following  order,  John  E.  Marshall,  superintend- 
ent of  the  building,  spreading  the  mortar:  First, 
"Chamber  of  Commerce,  W.  B.  McAtee,  President," 
laid  by  Mr.  McAtee;  second,  "Erected  by  Chamber 
of  Commerce  Building  Company,  a.d.  1880,"  laid  by 
Mr.  iMcAtee;  third,  "Corn  and  Flour  Exchange," 
laid  by  Mr.  McAtee ;  fourth,  "  Walter  B.  McAtee, 
President;"  fifth,  "B.  F.  Newcomer;"  sixth,  "J.I. 
Middleton;"    seventh,    "I.  M.    Parr,"    laid   by   Mr. 


McAtee;  eighth,  "Charles  D.  Fisher ;"  ninth,  "J. 
Olney  Norris,  Treasurer;"  tenth,  "Robert  Tyson;" 
eleventh,  "D.  M.  Tate,"  laid  by  Mr.  McAtee;  twelfth, 
"W.W.  McClellan;"  thirteenth,  "The  Sun  Shines  for 
All,"  with  a  blazing  sun  in  the  centre,  laid  by  Messrs. 

'  Edwin  F.  and  George  W.  Abell ;  fourteenth,  "Amer- 
ican;" fifteenth,  "Gazette;"  sixteenth,  "Journal  of 
Commerce;"  seventeenth,  German  Correspondent;" 
eighteenth,   "  Evening  News ;"    nineteenth,    "  BaUi- 

j  morean;"   twentieth,  "Telegram;"   laid  by  Mr.  Mc- 

I  Atee ;  twenty-first,  "A.  H.  Russell,  Bricks,"  laid  by 
Mr.   McAtee ;    twenty-second,   "  John   E.   Niernsee, 

I  Architect;"  twenty-third,  "John  E.  Marshall,  Su- 
perintendent ;"  twenty-fourth,  "  William  S.  Osborn, 
Secretary." 

'  The  building  is  designed  in  the  free  classic  style, 
and  will  be  four  stories  high,  with  a  height  of  ninety 

i  feet  from  the  pavement  to  the  top  of  the  cornice.  The 
base  and  first  story  of  the  building  is  faced  entirely 
with  the  beautiful  granite  of  the  Westham  Granite 
Company  of  Richmond,  Va.,  Col.  R.  Snowden  An- 
drews, contractor.  Theupperstoriesareof  fine  pressed 
brick,  with  granite  facings  around  the  windows,  band 
courses,  lintels,  caps,  and  cornices.  The  main  entrance, 
at  the  southern  front,  on  Second  Street,  is  embellished 
by  a  massive  granite  portico,  three  stories  in  height, 
composed  of  ornate  base,  dado,  and  piers,  on  which  rest 
the  four  polished  granite  columns,  with  granite  capi- 
tals emblematic  of  the  corn  and  wheat  growths,  sup- 

I  porting  the  three-story  central  window  arch,  with  the 
inscription  "Chamber  of  Commerce"  in  polished  let- 
ters on  the  granite  arch-stones.  The  entire  building 
is  to  be  fire-proof,  with  rolled  iron  beams  and  lines  of 
teil  arches  for  the  floors,  iron-framed  roof,  and  iron 

I  staircases,  of  which  latter  there  are  to  be  two  in  the 

1  building.  The  grand  main  stairway,  leading  up  to 
the  Exchange  Hall,  situated  in  a  stair-hall  of  twenty 

!  feet  in  width  at  the  northern  end  of  the  central  cor- 
ridor, will  be  a  double  flight  for  each  story,  leading 
up  by  a  central  flight  of  eight  feet  in  width,  and  re- 
turning by  a  double  flight,  each  five  feet  in  width.  For 
the  use  of  the  office-rooms  in  the  three  stories  below 
the  Exchange  there  will  be  a  central  iron  stairway  of 
six  feet  in  width,  besides  a  hydraulic  elevator  located 
in  the  well-hole  of  the  stairway.     The  general  plan 

'  of  the  building  consists  of  a  central  corridor  of  four- 
teen feet  in  width  running  from  the  entrance  portico, 
on  Second  Street,  through  the  entire  depth  of  the 
building  from  south  to  north,  and  a  cross  corridor  of 
thirteen  feet  in  width  running  across  the  width  of  the 
building.  At  the  rear  of  this  cross  corridor,  and  to 
the  right  and  left  of  the  central  corridor,  are  situated 
seventeen  large,  well-lighted  office-rooms  of  the  aver- 
age size  of  sixteen  by  thirty  feet,  among  them  the 
two  corner  offices  on  the  south,  each  thirty  feet 
square,  with  fire-proof  vaults.  In  all  there  will  be 
fifty-eight  offices,  inclusive  of  those  connected  di- 
rectly with  the  Exchange  Hall.  Adjacent  to  the 
main  stairs  to  the  hall  there  will  be  two  large  by- 


P    o 
5    g 


TRADE  ORGANIZATIONS. 


draulic  elevators  of  the  most  approved  "  Hall"  pat- 
ent, each  capable  of  holding  twenty-five  persons,  and 
ascending  alternately  at  one  minute's  time  to  the 
level  of  the  Exchange  floor. 

The  great  Exchange  Hall,  on  the  fourth  floor  of  the 
building,  will  be  seventy-six  and  a  half  feet  in  width, 
and  one  hundred  and  forty-six  and  a  half  feet  long, 
containing  eleven  thousand  one  hundred  and  eight 
square  feet,  and  forty  feet  in  height.  In  the  rear  of 
this  hall,  and  connected  therewith,  will  be  situated  the 
reading,  secretary,  and  clerks'  rooms,  writing  and 
waiting-room,  wardrobe,  lavatory,  etc.  The  tele- 
graph oflices  are  situated  within  the  hall  itself,  which 
is  to  be  provided  with  a  corn  and  wheat  pit,  and  a 
rostrum  for  the  president  and  clerks  at  the  southern 
end,  and  a  gallery,  accessible  from  the  stairway  at  the 
northern  end,  for  spectators  or  visitors.  All  the 
apartments  within  the  building  will  be  heated  by  low- 
pressure  steam-heaters,  situated  below  the  window- 
sills  of  the  rooms,  and  all  the  oflice-rooms,  as  well  as 
the  Exchange  Hall,  will  be  effectually  ventilated 
through  flues  from  each  room,  connected  with  the 
two  large  aspirating  shafts,  each  four  by  nine  feet  in 
size,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  in  height, 
located  near  the  northern  end  of  the  building.  These 
shafts  will  be  supplied  with  steam  coils,  which,  with 
the  heat  from  the  iron  .smoke-pipes  of  the  boiler,  will 
supply  the  necessary  ventilating  power  within  those 
shafts.  In  the  cellars  of  the  building  will  be  located 
two  large  horizontal  steam-boilers  for  the  heating  and 
winter  ventilation  of  the  building,  besides  a  vertical 
steam-boiler  for  the  working  of  the  pumps  to  supply 
the  elevator  tanks  and  summer  ventilation  of  the 
rooms.  The  remainder  of  the  cellar  will  contain 
extensive  coal-vaults,  the  hydraulic  machinery  for  the 
elevators,  engines,  and  janitor's  rooms,  etc.  The  es- 
timated cost  of  the  building  is  two  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  dollars.  The  architect  is  John  R.  Niernsee. 
John  E.  Marshall,  who  has  charge  of  the  entire  work, 
and  is  constructing  it  in  the  most  skillful  and  work- 
manlike manner,  also  constructed  the  Safe  Deposit 
Building,  and  is  at  present  the  general  superintendent 
of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital.  The  building  com- 
mittee consists  of  William  B.  McAtee,  chairman  ; 
Charles  D.  Fisher,  and  W.  W.  McClellan.  The 
board  of  directors  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
Company  is  composed  of  W.  B.  McAtee,  president; 
B.  F.  Newcomer,  Charles  D.  Fisher,  John  T.  Middle- 
ton,  D.  M.  Tate,  J.  Olney  Norris,  Robert  Tyson, 
William  S.  Young,  and  W.  W,  McClellan. 

Grain  Shippers'  Association.— The  grain  shippers 
of  Baltimore  in  this  year  (1881)  have  formed  a  "  Grain 
Shippers'  Association,"  with  John  Gill,  of  Gill  & 
Fisher,  president,  and  Randolph  Mordecai,  secretary. 
The  association  is  for  the  mutual  protection  of  grain 
shippers  against  foreign  trade  bodies  and  the  fre- 
quently occurring  amendments  in  foreign  contracts 
without  consultation  as  to  American  interests,  and 
more  especially  against  the  arbitrary  amendments  to 
29 


the  destination  clause  of  American  grain  contracts 
made  by  the  London  Corn  Trade  Association.  Here- 
tofore American  shippers  could  use  any  vessel  that 
would  fit  the  contract  at  the  shipper's  risk ;  and  if  the 
vessel  did  not  suit,  the  shipper  had  the  privilege  of 
substituting  another  to  suit  without  consultation  with 
buyers  in  London.  Now  the  buyers  dictate  that  be- 
fore the  shipper  loads  any  vessel  he  must  let  them 
know  the  name,  and  if  they  do  not  want  it  they  have 
three  days  to  decide,  and  may,  perhaps,  run  it  be- 
yond the  limit  of  the  contract,  and  throw  it  up. 

Produce  and  Fish  Exchange.— A  new  feature  in 
the  trade  and  trafiic  of  this  city  is  the  organization  of 
the  "  Produce  and  Fish  Exchange  Company,"  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $250,000,  for  the  purpose  of  establish- 
ing a  central  depot  for  the  reception  and  sale  of  the 
vast  quantities  of  oysters,  fish,  game,  dairy  and  gar- 
den produce,  orchard  produce,  and  foreign  fruits 
that  find  in  Baltimore  their  first  distribution.  The 
trade  in  these  various  articles  employs  millions  of  dol- 
lars, furnishes  employment  to  many  thousand  peo- 
ple, and  forms  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important 
interests  of  the  trade  and  commerce  of  this  city. 
Growing  yearly  in  volume  and  value,  these  different 
trades  need  a  central  point  of  concentration  in  order 
to  better  effect  their  profitable  distribution.  They 
need  a  depot  where  they  can  be  received,  stored, 
handled,  and  shipped  with  all  the  facilities  and  econo- 
mies of  modern  trade  and  commerce,  and  where  deal- 
ers can  find  at. small  expense  those  aids  to  business 
now  denied  them  in  the  dispersed  and  scattered  con- 
dition of  the  trade  in  these  various  articles.  The 
loss  of  time  and  money  involved  in  the  distribution 
of  produce,  fish,  oysters,  and  other  perishable  com- 
modities from  isolated  warehouses,  the  long  water 
frontage  of  the  city,  and  the  termini  of  five  railroads, 
requires  and  demands  some  means  of  greater  economy. 
The  antiquated  and  improvident  system  of  the  past 
it  is  the  design  of  this  Exchange  to  revolutionize  and 
modernize,  to  substitute  savings  for  wastefulness,  to 
handle  produce  rapidly  and  economically,  and  to 
bring  growers,  fishermen,  and  merchants  together 
under  more  favorable  circumstances  for  negotiations. 
For  these  purposes.  Hooper's  Wharf,  Wolfe  Street, 
Fell's  Point,  has  been  purchased ;  the  old  buildings 
are  being  torn  down,  and  the  work  of  construction  is 
well  under  way.  The  site  is  excellent,  and  the  loca- 
tion all  that  can  be  desired,  offering  both  water  and 
rail  communication  and  ample  space.  The  Exchange 
will  afford  to  all  merchants  engaged  in  these  traffics 
a  convenient  place  of  resort,  with  tracks  connecting 
with  all  railroads  entering  the  city,  and  extending  to 
long  and  substantial  piers,  by  the  side  of  which  the 
ocean  steamers,  the  fishing,  oystering,  and  truck- 
boats  of  the  Chesapeake  will  find  excellent  wharfage. 
The  Exchange  will  be  supplied  with  refrigerating 
rooms,  as  well  as  with  warm-air  rooms,  where  neither 
decay  in  summer  nor  freezing  in  winter  will  injure 
commodities.      To  this  end  the  latest  principles  of 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


modern  science  will  be  employed  to  secure  perfect 
ventilation  and  to  prevent  injury  from  change  of  tem- 
perature. A  new  feature  of  ripening  tropical  fruits 
by  artificial  means  will  be  introduced,  whereby  the 
unripe  oranges,  bananas,  and  pines  may  be  brought 
to  the  perfection  of  their  native  climes,  and  which  is 
unknown  to  the  American  consumer  of  green-picked 
fruits,  ripened  in  the  hold  of  sailing-vessels  through 
tropical  waters. 

The  perishable  products,  like  butter,  eggs,  cheese, 
potatoes,  and  fruits,  will  be  stored  under  conditions 
not  attainable  by  individual  enterprise,  and  where 
the  disasters  incident  to  weather,  exposure,  and  ignor- 
ant handling  cannot  occur  to  them. 

Fresh  fish  preserved  alive  in  tanks  will  also  be  a 
feature  in  the  Exchange. 

The  incorporators  of  the  Exchange  were  William 
Edward  Hooper,  William  John  Hooper,  Theodore 
Hooper,  Alcarus  Hooper,  Van  Vert  Klinefelter,  Henry 
Mactier  Warfield,  Millard  Scott  Black,  James  Edward 
Hooper,  and  Edward  Lewis  Feigner,  who  are  also  the 
board  of  directors,  with  Henry  M.  Warfield,  presi- 
dent, and  William  J.  Hooper,  secretary  and  treas- 
urer. 

The  Baltimore  Crockery  and  Glassware  Asso- 
ciation is  designed  for  the  protection  and  consolida- 
tion of  the  trade  in  glass  and  queensware  by  mutual 
agreement  "  to  sell  only  such  trade  as  deal  exclu- 
sively in  glass  and  queensware,"  and  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  association  will  "  buy  only  from  such 
manufacturers  as  will  confine  themselves  to  selling 
to  those  exclusively  engaged  in  the  glass  and  queens- 
ware business."  The  sale  to  tea,  grocery,  tin,  wood, 
and  willow-ware  stores  and  country  merchants  and 
auction  houses  by  some  manufacturers  of  glass  and 
queensware  was  doing  injury  to  the  trade,  and  to 
prevent  this  the  association  was  organized.  Those 
represented  were  Newbold  &  Sons,  Chandlee,  Quarles 
&  Co.,  D.  E.  Haynes  &  Co.,  Leopold  &  Co.,  John  A. 
Dobson  &  Co.,  J.  Wilson  Brown,  R.  P.  Bayley  &  Co., 
Finley  Pawley,  Meaniey  &  Gray,  L.  Kaufmann, 
Joseph  Scherer,  John  Bowers,  Peter  J.  Burkard,  John 
Hoos,  Louis  Eeese,  John  F.  Batzler,  Joseph  P.  Mar- 
tin, C.  Shapperle,  and  Schlutter  &  Bro. 

Baltimore  Stock-Yard  Company.— The  Baltimore 
Stock-Yard  Company  of  Baltimore  County  was  organ- 
ized April  5,  1880,  under  the  general  incorporation 
laws  of  the  State,  with  the  following  incorporators : 
William  Keyser,  Robert  Garrett,  Jacob  EUinger, 
William  J.  Kirk,  Abraham  Lehman,  James  Clark, 
and  John  K.  Cowen,  and  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$800,000,  in  8000  shares  of  $100  each.  William 
Keyser,  Robert  Garrett,  Josiah  L.  Keck,  Briggs  S. 
Cunningham,  John  King,  Jr.,  Jacob  EUinger,  and 
James  Clark  were  chosen  as  directors  for  one  year. 

The  Clareniount  estate,  on  the  Mount  Clare  branch 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  in  the  suburbs 
of  the  city,  and  comprising  about  sixty  acres,  was 
purchased  by  the  company  and  fitted  up  as  stock- 


yards, with  all  the  modern  improvements  and  facili- 
ties for  the  transaction  of  the  cattle  business.  At  an 
election  of  officers  May  26,  1880,  Josiah  L.  Keck,  of 
Cincinnati,  was  chosen  president;  Jacob  EUinger, 
treasurer;  John  K.  Cowen,  counsel  and  secretary; 
and  the  board  of  directors  given  above  was  retained. 
'  The  stock-yards  of  this  company  were  opened  for 
business  Sept.  15,  1881.  As  completed  they  have 
forty  pens,  each  capable  of  holding  a  car-load  of 
cattle,  a  wooden  structure  with  capacity  for  six  thou- 
sand hogs,  and  a  sheep-house  which  will  hold  ten 
thousand  sheep,  besides  other  accessories  for  feeding 
and  storing  stock  which  are  not  surpassed  in  the 
United  States. 

Calverton  Stock- Yards.— The  Calverton  Stock- 
Yards,  under  the  management  of  the  Calverton 
Stock- Yard  Company,  were  thoroughly  renovated 
and  enlarged,  and  opened  for  business  April  18, 1881. 
The  property  consists  of  twenty-eight  acres  of  land, 
lying  on  both  sides  of  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac 
Railroad,  east  of  the  Calverton  road,  and,  with  the 
improvements  recently  made,  has  a  capacity  for  five 
thousand  head  of  cattle,  ten  thousand  sheep,  and  five 
thousand  hogs. 

Joseph  J.  Martin,  of  Philadelphia,  is  president, 
and  Thomas  B.  Shriver,  of  the  same  city,  is  treasurer 
of  the  company.  The  capital  stock  is  $200,000,  held 
mostly  in  Philadelphia  and  Chicago.  With  such  ex- 
cellent facilities  as  are  extended  by  the  stock-yards 
of  Baltimore,  there  can  be  no  reason  why  the  city 
should  not  become  the  great  central  distributing-point 
for  stock  along  the  Atlantic  sea-board. 

The  Industrial  Exposition  and  Musical  Festival 
Association  <>(  iJaUiniore  City,  ilfsij,'iii'il  ti.  cstalilish 
permanently  in  this  city  an  institution  that  will  em- 
brace within  its  scope  everything  appertaining  to  art, 
music,  and  industrial  pursuits,  has  been  chartered  in 
this  year  with  the  following  incorporators  :  Mayor  F. 
C.  Latrobe,  A.  S.  Abell,  Robert  Garrett,  Henry  C. 
Smith,  Robert  T.  Baldwin,  Germon  H.Hunt,  Wm.  J. 
Hooper,  David  L.  Bartlett,  R.  W.  L.  Rasin,  John  W. 
McCoy,  Samuel  W.  Regester,  and  Otto  Sutro. 

It  is  proposed  to  erect  a  handsome  building  upon  a 
suitable  site,  with  a  hall  capable  of  holding  a  great 
number  of  persons,  and  to  be  arranged  for  industrial 
displays,  musical  festivals,  and  large  public  gather- 
ings of  a  kindred  nature. 

The  ofiicers  elected  June  13,  1881,  are :  President, 
Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe ;  Vice-President,  Henry  Clay 
Smith ;  Treasurer,  Robert  T.  Baldwin ;  Secretary, 
Walter  S.  Wilkinson;  with  the  following  committees, 
in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  by-laws  :  On 
Finance,  Robert  T.  Baldwin,  A.  S.  Abell,  and  Robert 
Garrett;  on  Building,  D.  L.  Bartlett,  R.  W.  L.  Rasin, 
and  William  J.  Hooper  ;  on  Site,  Henry  C.  Smith, 
John  W.  McCoy,  and  Samuel  W.  Regester ;  on  Exhi- 
bitions, Samuel  W.  Regester,  William  J.  Hooper,  and 
Germou  H.  Hunt;  on  Musical  Festivals,  Otto  Sutro, 
Robert  Garrett,  and  D.  L.  Bartlett ;  Executive  Com- 


TRADE   ORGANIZATIONS. 


mittee,  Hon.  F.  C.  Latrobe,  Robert  T.  Baldwin,  D. 
L.  Bartlett,  S.  W.  Regester,  and  Otto  Sutro. 

The  Shoe  and  Leather  Board  of  Trade.— A  num- 
ber of  merchants  engaged  in  the  jobbing  trade  of  boots 
and  shoes  met  together  March  11, 1870,  and  organized 
an  association,  which  has  since  been  known  as  the  Shoe 
and  Leather  Board  of  Trade.     The  following  gentle-  , 
men  were  selected  as  officers  for  the  first  year:  Presi-  i 
dent,  Henry  C.Smith  ;  Vice-President,  James  Carey  ; 
Secretary,  John  H.  Bash  ;  Treasurer,  Wm.  T.  Dixon ;  j 
Board  of  Directors,  T.  J.  Magruder,  J.  P.  Neer,  Isaac 
S.  George,  John  W.  Jenkins,  C.  S.  Shriver,  John  C. 
Balderston,  and  R.  H.  Manko. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  trade  in  Baltimore,  and 
the  numberless  questions  arising  out  of  its  expansion 
and  the  development  of  freight-lines,  suggested  united 
action  for  their  intelligent  disposition.  The  wisdom 
of  these  merchants  was  soon  manifest,  and  after  some 
months  the  hide  and  leather  men  were  joined  with 
them.  From  the  date  of  organization  the  body  has 
been  a  stirring  and  healthy  force  in  the  community, 
and  many  other  branches  of  industry  have  felt  the 
efiects  of  its  earnest  work.  Matters  likely  to  influ- 
ence injuriously  the  trade  have  been,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, eliminated,  while  improvements  which  were 
merely  suggestions  prior  to  1870  have  budded  into 
realities.  The  minutes  of  the  first  meeting  state  the 
objects  to  be  the  "  future  development  and  permanent 
success,"  both  of  which  have  thus  far  been  accom- 
plished as  far  as  it  was  in  human  power  to  achieve 
them. 

Henry  C.  Smith,  the  first  president,  has  been  elected 
annually  since  1870,  and  to  his  activity  and  intelli- 
gence is  due  in  no  small  degree  the  success  of  the 
board.  At  the  last  annual  meeting  for  the  election 
of  officers  for  1881,  the  following  were  chosen: 
President,  Henry  C.  Smith  ;  Vice-Presidents,  James 
Carey,  T.  J.  Magruder,  Thomas  Deford,  Henry  Clark ; 
Corresponding  Secretary,  H.  W.  Marston ;  Recording 
Secretary,  E.  S.  Alnutt ;  Treasurer,  John  Q.  Adams ; 
Directors,  Thomas  N.  Patterson,  Thomas  K.  Carey, 
Wm.  T.  Dixon,  Robert  Evitt,  Charles  Adler,  L. 
Berney,  George  Jenkins,  Charles  Heiser.  The  rooms 
of  the  board  are  at  284  West  Baltimore  Street. 

Merchants  and  Manufacturers'  Association. — 
A  meetipg  of  merchants  and  manufacturers  was  held 
in  Baltimore  Sept.  12,  1880,  for  purposes  of  mutual 
protection  and  advancement,  and  on  the  8th  of  the 
following  month  an  organization  was  effected  by  the 
adoption  of  a  constitution  and  election  of  officers  and 
committees  under  the  title  of  "  The  Merchants  and 
Manufacturers'  Association  of  Baltimore."  This  was 
without  doubt  the  most  important  move  yet  made  for 
the  promotion  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the  city. 
It  had  been  rendered  absolutely  necessary  by  the 
formation  of  associations  of  a  similar  character  in 
other  cities,  and  the  consequent  unfavorable  discrimi- 
nations against  the  trade  of  Baltimore,  which  their 
united  efforts  had  secured.      It  was  found  that  the 


trade  of  many  parts  of  the  South  was  being  steadily 
diverted  from  Baltimore,  its  natural  outlet,  to  points 
farther  north,  through  the  instrumentality  of  special 
rates,  and  individual  action  was  powerless  to  effect  a 
change. 

The  community  was  ripe  for  the  undertaking,  and 
in  a  few  weeks  a  large  majority  of  the  leading  com- 
mercial and  manufacturing  industries  were  repre- 
sented in  the  association.  The  eflbrts  of  the  new 
organization  were  at  once  directed  to  a  reformation 
of  the  unjust  passenger  and  freight  rates  which  had 
been  establi.shed  on  many  of  the  lines  of  travel,  and 
the  operations  of  a  few  months  demonstrated  the 
wonderful  power  and  influence  which  results  from 
combination.  Already  have  the  natural  advantages 
of  Baltimore  in  location  and  proximity  been  made  to 
assume  their  proper  relations  towards  other  commu- 
nities. Highly  favorable  terms  have  been  secured  in 
many  instances  over  the  railroads,  and  in  others  in- 
justice has  been  reduced  to  a  minimum.  But  the 
aims  of  this  association  are  as  broad  as  its  name 
implies.  All  vexatious  problems  likely  to  be  encoun- 
tered in  the  various  branches  of  trade  are  subject  to 
its  cognizance,  and  its  committees  are  actively  engaged 
in  considering  and  suggesting  methods  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  general  commerce  of  the  city.  The 
Merchants  and  Manufacturers'  Association  has  given 
special  attention  to  the  project  of  a  ship-canal  con- 
necting the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware 
Bays,  an  undertaking  now  generally  conceded  to  be 
of  the  first  importance  to  the  trade  of  Baltimore. 
Through  their  efforts  mainly  a  charter  for  the  pro- 
posed improvement  has  been  secured  from  the  State 
of  Delaware,  and  the  granting  of  a  similar  franchise 
will  be  urged  upon  the  Legislature  of  Jlaryland  at 
its  approaching  session. 

The  officers  and  committees  of  the  association  are 
also  engaged  in  disseminating  information  in  respect 
to  the  commercial  and  manufacturing  facilities  of 
Baltimore,  and  in  bringing  local  sentiment  to  bear 
on  the  subject.  It  is  not  alone  enough  that  the  city 
possesses  exceptional  advantages  in  its  inexhaustible 
supplies  of  iron,  in  the  superior  quality  of  its  bitu- 
minous coal,  and  the  moderate  prices  for  which  it  can 
be  procured,  and  in  the  unexampled  water  facilities 
which  can  be  obtained  here ;  these  must  be  made 
known  to  the  outside  world,  to  the  people  who  are 
willing  and  anxious  to  make  use  of  them,  and  it  is 
this  publicity  which  the  association  is  endeavoring  to 
extend  by  all  legitimate  means. 

The  main-stay  of  a  city  is  its  manufactures,  to 
which  commerce  is  supplementary.  The  union  of 
these  assures  the  largest  prosperity  to  a  community. 
The  aim  of  the  Merchants  and  Manufacturers'  Asso- 
ciation is  to  combine  these  important  interests  in  a 
mutual  struggle  for  the  advancement  of  the  city. 
The  rooms  of  the  association  are  in  the  White  Build- 
ing, southwest  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Howard 
Streets. 


448 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  following  is  a  list  of  the  officers  elected  for  the 
first  year:  President,  Henry  C.  Smith;  Vice-Presi- 
dents, John  E.  Hurst,  D.  J.  Foley,  P.  T.  George, 
Germon  H.  Hunt ;  Treasurer,  William  T.  Dixon  ; 
Directors,  R.  W.  Cator,  D.  L.  Bartlett,  G.  W.  Gail, 
Thomas  W.  Johnson,  Philip  Darby,  Thomas  Def'ord, 
T.  J.  Magruder,  Eugene  Levering,  Christian  Devries, 
R.  R.  Smith,  W.  H.  Baldwin,  Solomon  Frank,  W.  H. 
Crawford,  Henry  Sonneborn,  J.  L.  Sickel,  J.  Frank 
Supplee,  Oliver  F.  Zell,  N.  G.  Penniman,  P.  H.  Ma- 
gill,  Charles  Goldsborough,  Wesley  A.  Tucker,  Fran- 
cis Burns,  David  Anibach,  J.  P.  Meanley,  D.  D. 
Mallory ;  Secretary,  John  R.  Bland. 

The  leading  spirit  in  the  organization  of  this  asso- 
ciation, and  to  whose  efforts  and  energy  its  usefulness 
may  be  largely  attributed,  was  Henry  Clay  Smith. 
Mr.  Smith  was  born  on  the  2d  of  February,  1827,  at 
Georgetown,  D.  C,  and  he  accompanied  his  parents 
upon  their  removal  to  Baltimore  in  1835,  and  has 
since  resided  in  this  city. 

Mr.  Smith  received  the  best  common-school  educa- 
tion obtainable  at  that  day,  which  he  has  since  utilized 
in  a  practical  and  successful  manner  in  building  up 
his  own  fortunes,  as  well  as  aiding  in  many  public  en- 
terprises looking  to  the  enlargement  and  development 
of  the  commercial,  industrial,  and  other  material  in- 
terests of  the  city  of  Baltimore.  He  has  also  been 
closely  identified  with  many  benevolent  and  philan- 
thropic associations,  in  which  he  has  taken  a  leading 
part,  and  through  them  accomplished  much  good  in 
the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  needy  and 
destitute  of  our  city. 

He  was  one  of  the  projectors  of  the  beautiful  Mount 
Vernon  Place  ]\Iethodist  Episcopal  Church,  which 
has  added  so  much  to  the  adornment  of  the  locality 
in  which  it  is  located,  and  also  to  the  church  archi- 
tecture of  the  city;  he  was  also  a  member  of  the 
building  committee,  and,  together  with  the  late  John 
Hurst  and  Edward  Roberts,  the  three  largest  financial 
contributors  to  its  erection. 

In  politics  Mr.  Smith  was  a  stanch  Whig,  and  an 
earnest  admirer  of  him  who  was  the  embodiment  of 
that  party  and  after  whom  he  was  named,  the  illustri- 
ous statesman,  patriot,  and  orator,  Henry  Clay,  of 
Kentucky.  After  the  dissolution  of  the  Whig  party 
he  became  a  Democrat,  and  has  since  acted  with  that 
liarty.  During  the  late  war  his  sympathies  were  with 
the  South,  but  upon  the  termination  of  hostilities  by 
the  surrender  of  Gen.  Lee  he  promptly  accepted  the 
situation,  and  busied  himself  as  far  as  was  in  his  power 
to  bring  about  reconciliation  and  good-will  among  | 
tliose  with  whom  he  had  influence  and  who  had  be- 
come estranged  by  the  bitter  feelings  growing  out  of 
the  war. 

Mr.  Smith  has  been  for  many  years  identified  with 
and  has  taken  much  interest  in  the  successful  devel- 
opment of  Baltimore's  great  public  work,  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad,  both  as  a  stockholder  and  a 
director;  he  is  also  a  director  of  the  Merchants  and 


Miners'  Transportation  Company,  who  are  operating 
at  this  time  eleven  steamers,  covering  the  ports  of 
Baltimore,  New  York,  Boston,  Providence,  Savannah, 
Norfolk,  and  West  Point;  he  is  also  a  director  in  the 
following-named  business  and  philanthropic  corpora- 
tions: Merchants'  Mutual  Marine  Insurance  Com- 
pany, National  Exchange  Bank  of  Baltimore,  Central 
Savings-Bank  of  Baltimore,  Baltimore  General  Dis- 
pensary, Baltimore  Female  House  of  Reftige,  and 
a  vice-president  of  the  Board  of  Trade. 

Mr.  Smith  was  elected  and  served  as  president  of 
the  Mercantile  Library  Association  for  the  years 
1876  and  1877. 

In  1870  the  Shoe  and  Leather  Board  of  Trade  was 
organized ;  it  was  composed  of  all  the  wholesale 
dealers  in  the  sale  and  manufacture  of  boots,  shoes, 
and  leather,  and  Henry  C.  Smith  was  elected  its  first 
president,  and  has  been  unanimously  re-elected  to  the 
same  position  every  succeeding  year. 

Mr.  Smith  has  shown  marked  ability  and  force  in 
developing  this  great  interest  until  it  has  reached 
large  results,  and  through  its  instrumentality  Balti- 
more is  now  known  as  the  largest  shoe  and  leather 
distributing-market  south  of  Boston, — in  fact,  it  has 
become  the  Boston  of  the  South. 

The  Merchants  and  Manufacturers'  Association 
was  formed  in  the  fall  of  1880,  and  Mr.  Smith  wa3 
unanimously  elected  its  president.  The  formation  of 
this  association  had  become  a  public  necessity  to  the 
trade  of  this  city;  unjust  discriminations  had  been 
employed  against  the  trade,  both  in  passenger  and, 
freight  rates,  and  to  such  an  extent  by  the  transporta- 
tion companies,  acting  in  the  interests  of  rival  cities, 
that  the  merchants  and  manufacturers  of  Baltimore 
found  that  these  abuses  were  so  gigantic  that  they 
could  be  corrected  only  by  combined  action.  They 
therefore  met  together  and  formed  an  association  for 
the  purpose  of  co-operating  in  all  matters  looking  to 
the  interests  of  the  trade  and  industries  of  the  city. 
Nearly  all  the  merchants  and  manufacturers  re- 
sponded to  the  call,  and  have  heartily  joined  in 
making  the  association  the  most  cflective  and  useful 
ever  organized  in  our  midst. 

To  Mr.  Smith  much  credit  is  due  for  the  earnest 
and  faithful  devotion  to  the  prosperity  of  the  mercan- 
tile and  manufacturing  interests  of  Baltimore  as  man- 
ifested by  him  in  promoting  the  usefulness  of  this 
■effective  organization,  and  also  in  his  successful  eflbrfs 
to  have  exempted  from  taxation  the  plant  of  the 
manufacturer,  thereby  largely  increasing  the  number 
of  manufactories  in  Baltimore,  this  result  having  been 
attained  through  the  efforts  of  a  commission  appointed 
by  the  mayor  and  City  Councils  of  Baltimore  for  the 
purpose  of  considering  the  question  of  taxation  on 
manufactures,  and  which  resulted  in  producing  an 
elaborate  and  exhaustive  report,  and  finally  by  the 
State  Legislature  and  the  Councils  of  Baltimore 
enacting  the  required  legislation.  Mr.  Smith  was  a 
member  of  this  commission. 


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^^- 


BANKS   AND   BANKEKS. 


Mr.  Smith  was  a  leading  member  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  Sesqui-Centennial  Celebration,  and 
to  his  energy  and  taste  much  of  that  great  success 
was  due.  He  was  also  president  of  the  Baltimore 
Oriole  Celebration,  which  was  likewise  a  grand  suc- 
cess. As  a  public  speaker  at  business  meetings  and 
festive  occasions  he  is  forcible,  logical,  and  instructing. 
Fully  informed  upon  all  matters  relating  to  business, 
trade,  and  commerce,  his  utterances  command  atten- 
tion and  bis  statements  are  always  reliable.  A  suc- 
cessful merchant,  he  is  also  a  useful  citizen,  enjoying 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  community  in  the 
highest  degree. 

The  Merchants'  Club.— The  Merchants'  Club  of 
Baltimore  City  was  incorporated  June  7, 1881,  by  the 
following  gentlemen :  Charles  D.  Fisher,  John  I. 
Middleton,  Patrick  H.  MacGill,  Richard  D.  Fisher, 
Richard  M.  Venable,  Edward  G.  McDowell,  J.  Wil- 
cox Brown,  William  Winchester,  Edward  Fitzgerald, 
J.  Olney  Norris,  James  Hodges,  William  J.  H.  Wal- 
ters, Alfred  B.  Faulkner,  John  B.  Dixon,  Littleton 

B.  Purnell,  William  S.  Powell,  of  whom  the  first 
twelve  were  chosen  a  board  of  directors.  The  objects 
of  the  club  are  social  and  the  maintenance  of  confi- 
dential relations  between  those  engaged  in  similar  or 
parallel  pur.suits,  and  also  the  promotion  of  those 
traits  of  hospitality  and  culture  for  which  Baltimore 
has  been  so  justly  famous  in  the  past.  The  club  lias 
purchased  a  lot  fronting  fifty  feet  on  German  Street 
near  South,  with  a  depth  of  eighty-six  feet,  upon 
which  it  intends  to  erect  a  magnificent  club-house. 
John  R.  Nirnsee  is  the  architect. 

The  Drug  Exchange,  organized  in  1881  for  the  pur- 
pose of  protecting  those  engaged  in  buying,  selling, 
and  manufacturing  drugs,  has  for  officers:  President, 

C.  V.  Emich;  Vice-President,  M.  R.  Culbreth;  Secre- 
tary, George  Healy ;  Treasurer,  George  L.  Horn,  with 
a  board  of  seven  directors. 

The  Grocers'  Exchange,  for  the  improvement  and 
advancement  of  its  members,  and  to  obtain  and  dis- 
seminate information  about  the  business  of  buying 
and  selling  groceries,  and  for  the  general  advantage 
of  those  engaged  in  that  occupation,  has  been  char- 
tered in  this  year  with  the  following  incorporators : 
Jordan  Stabler,  Thomas  M.  Green,  Edwin  Blackburn, 
Richard  T.  H.  Lawson,  Wm.  Crook,  George  K.  Mc- 
Gaw,  and  David  F.  Orr.  Messrs.  Lawson  and  McGaw 
are  of  Baltimore  County.  The  directors  are  John 
G.  Medinger,  Samuel  R.  King,  Thomas  L.  Reese, 
John  G.  Cowman,  George  K.  McGaw,  Wm.  Crook, 
Alfred  Ijams,  Thomas  A.  Agnew,  Patrick  T.  Tully, 
and  Henry  Hamilton. 

The  Lumber  Exchange  was  established  in  1875, 
for  the  promotion  of  the  lumber  trade  of  the  city. 
Since  its  estalilishment,  having  grown  in  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  those  engaged  in  the  lumber 
business,  it  has  become  a  leading  and  most  influential 
commercial  organization.  The  Exchange  holds  its 
meetings  in  their  beautiful  building,  at  the  corner  of 


Eastern  and  East  Falls  Avenues.  The  officers  are 
Martin  Hawley,  president ;  Vice-President,  Wm.  D. 
Gill ;  Treasurer,  Thomas  J.  Shryock ;  Secretary,  F.  E. 
Waters. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

BANKS    AND    BANKERS. 

Early  Bankers — "Shinplasters" — The  Stamp  Act  Suspensions — Bank 
Statements — Alexander  Brown  &  Co. — Bank  of  Maryland — United 
States  Bank— Savings-Banks— Stock  Board— Sale  Deposit  Company. 

Banking  in  Baltimore  may  be  said  to  have  taken 
as  its  initial  point  that  effijrt  of  her  "  patriotic  and 
virtuous  citizens"  who  in  1783  "subscribed  and 
pledged  their  property  and  credit  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  bank,  for  the  express  and  sole  purpose  of 
procuring  provisions  and  other  necessary  supplies  for 
the  army."  The  State  pledged  "  faith  and  honor  to 
the  subscribers  to  the  bank  to  pay  them  any  sum  of 
money  by  them  subscribed  and  advanced,  in  specie, 
with  interest,  and  to  pay  the  charges  attending  the 
transacting  the  business  of  the  bank,  and  the  pur- 
chase of  provisions  and  other  necessaries  for  the 
army."  Destitute  of  all  proper  circulatory  medium, 
and  in  want  of  the  means  for  carrying  on  the  war  of 
the  Revolution,  this  effort  at  a  bank  without  capital 
and  a  fiscal  agent  based  upon  promise  and  pledge 
was  a  patriotic  effort  that  did  not  have  financial  suc- 
cess ;  nor  was  the  issue  of  two  hundred  thousand 
pounds  in  bills  of  credit,  redeemable  within  four 
years,  payable  out  of  confiscated  British  property,  any 
greater  success,  notwithstanding  there  was  a  general 
association  of  the  people,  at  which  men  pledged  their 
sacred  honor  to  receive  them  as  specie.  They  fluc- 
tuated at  two  for  one,  and  three  for  two,  but  finally 
in  1783  were  at  a  value  but  10  per  cent,  below  specie. 

The  establishment  of  the  Bank  of  Maryland  in 
1784,  and  of  the  United  States  Bank  at  Philadelphia 
in  1791,  with  its  Baltimore  Branch  in  1792,  more  par- 
ticularly fix  the  date  of  the  rise  of  the  financial  in- 
stitutions of  the  city. 

Before  that  time  the  money-changers  of  the  peo- 
ple were  not  many ;  we  find  mention  in  1781  that 
"  Thomas  Brereton,  Esq.,  original  and  ancient  broker, 
etc.,  was  married  to  Miss  Sally  Marshall,  daughter 
of  Thomas  John  Marshall,  late  of  Northampton 
County,  Va.,"  and  that  Zachariah  Allen  continued 
the  notarial  business  in  1784  in  the  wing  of  Col. 
Nicholas  Rogers'  house  in  Market  Street.  Adrian 
Valck  in  1789  sold  bills  of  exchange  on  London, 
Amsterdam,  and  Paris,  as  well  as  bought  all  kinds  of 
public  securities.  In  1813,  when  the  subject  of  re- 
newing the  charters  of  the  banks  was  under  discus- 
sion, the  following  list  of  banks  and  their  capital  and 
their  losses,  in  consequence  of  taxes  for  roads  and 
schools,  was  published : 


450 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE  CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


T*nion  Bank  of  Maryland. 

Hank  of  BalUmore 

Mechanics'  Bank 

Commercial  and  Farmers' 
Bank 

City  Bank .-.. 

Franklin  Hank 

Marino  Bank 

Fanners'  and  Mechanics'.. 

Bank  of  Maryland.....'..... 

Hagers  Town  Bank 

Farmers'  Bank  of  Mary- 
land  

Elkton  Bank 

Farmers'  of  Worcester  and 
Somerset 

Cumberland  Bank 


fl 


$37,037.04  353,310.66  $00,353.70 
H,S14.42   24,32R.66   30,141.48 

l._i,l.r.  i:"-'   17,772.22   30,117.00 


60<),UUii 
500,0()il 
300,000, 


72  K4 


.7.J.22  30,117.90 

I  ',ii.,,!.:B  18,070.73 

I..,i,ij3.;i3  18,070.73 

s,8S6.11  15,058.95 


3,70:).70   3,703.70 

3,085.12,  4,433.05  7,529.47 

21,326.66  21,326.66 

■  5,031.66,  5,331.66 

I  3,554.44  3,564.44 

I  3,654.44  3,554.44 


$11,360,000  $116,666.66  $196,383.00  $313,019.66 

The  war  with  Great  Britain  having  caused  the  re- 
moval of  the  specie  of  the  bank.s  into  the  interior, 
the  want  of  change  in  the  ordinary  transactions  of 
daily  intercourse,  caused  a  meeting  on  Sept.  1,  1814, 
of  the  presidents  and  cashiers  of  the  respective  banks 
in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  at  which  it  was  resolved  that : 

"  WlteretiH^  Tile  banks  of  this  city  have  deemed  it  prudent  at  the  present 
juucture  to  remove  their  specie  into  the  interior,  from  which  circum- 
stance some  inconveniences  have  been  experienced;  and  it  is  believed 
that  small  notes  might  at  this  period  be  advantageously  substituted  for 
specie ;  and  whereas  the  Bank  of  Maryland  only  is  authorized  by  its  charter 
to  issue  notes  of  a  smaller  denomination  than  five  dollars; 

"  27iere/ore  it  is  resolved.  That  the  Bank  of  Maryland  issue  notes  of  one, 
two,  and  three  dollars,  payable  at  the  respective  banks  of  this  city,  and 
that  each  bank  at  which  the  same  shall  be  made  payable  doth  hereby 
pledge  itself  to  redeem  the  said  notes  when  tranquility  shall  be  restored 
to  the  city. 

"  Wm.  Cooke,  rri:iideiU  of  t/ie  Bank  of  Maryland. 
"  Wm.  Wilson,  Presidenl  of  the  Bank  of  BalUmore. 
"  Heshy  Fayson,  President  of  the  Union  Bank  of 

Maryland. 
"James  Mosher,  President  of  the  Mecltanies^  Bank. 
"  Joseph  H.  Nicholson,  President  of  the  Cmnmereiul 

ami  Farmers^  Bank. 
"  Wm.  Grahame,  Fremdenl  of  the  farmers  and  Mer- 
chants' Bank. 
"  Hez.  H.  Waters,  President  of  the  Marine  Bank. 
"  Philip  Moore,  President  of  the  franklin  Bank. 
"John  Donneh,  President  of  the  City  Banlc." 

These  small  notes  continued  to  be  issued  and  re- 
issued until  1820,  when,  on  September  7th,  the  banks 
resolved  that  they  will  not  "  either  issue  or  reissue  any 
notes  le.ss  than  five  dollars,  and  will  not  receive  in  pay- 
ment or  on  deposit  such  notes  other  than  their  own." 

To  avoid  in  some  measure  the  pressure  upon  com- 
merce and  trade  caused  by  the  suspension  of  specie 
payments  by  the  banks  in  1837,  the  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  mayor  and  City  Council  under  the 
ordinance  of  the  16th  May,  1837,  issued  the  following 
small  corporation  notes : 

Of    5  cent  notes,  7,440 $372,00 

"   10    "         "       l,9.i(] 195.00 

"  25     "        "    4:V"3 10,848.26 

"  60    "        "    43,453 21,726,.50 

"  $1  notes,  17,985 17,085.00 

"  S2     "         6,930 13,878.00 

"  $1  new  omission,  11,064 11,064.00 

"  $2    "          "            11,664 23,328.00 

Total  amount  of  issue 599,990.75 


These  small  notes,  amounting  to  nearly  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  were  paid  out  by  the  authori- 
ties for  labor  supplies  and  other  purchases  and  pay- 
ments. That  these  notes  were  in  their  "day  and 
generation"  of  very  great  convenience  no  one  can 
doubt,  and  redeemed  as  they  were  without  discount 
or  drawback,  their  issue  was  productive  of  no  evil 
whatever.  This  was  the  era  and  heyday  of  "shin- 
plasters,"  and  had  these  small  notes  been  confined  to 
responsible  bodies  like  the  city,  the  evil  of  their  issue 
would  have  been  greatly  decreased.  The  suspension 
of  specie  payments  dragged  its  slow  length  along,  in- 
flicting its  evils  and  prolonging  the  distresses  of  the 
people  for  several  years.  The  efforts  of  the  State  to 
protect  her  credit  are  well  known,  but  when,  in  1844, 
the  State  passed  the  "Stamp  Act,"  by  which  a  tax 
was  imposed  upon  bonds,  notes,  bills  of  exchange, 
and  other  evidences  of  indebtedness,  the  strongest 
opposition  developed  in  several  parts  of  the  State, 
and  in  the  City  Council  of  Baltimore  opposition  went 
so  far  as  to  threaten  to  make  the  collection  of  the 
State  taxes  dependent  upon  the  repeal  of  the  "  Stamp 
Act." 

There  has  been  so  much  special  as  well  as  general 
legislation  in  relation  to  the  banks  in  Maryland, 
filling  the  statute-books  with  a  multitude  of  acts, 
original  and  supplementary,  that  it  is  almost  im- 
passible to  obtain  a  full  and  complete  understanding 
of  the  varied  chartered  powers,  legal  responsibilities, 
and  actual  condition  at  one  time  of  the  different 
banks  in  Baltimore  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  na- 
tional banking  act.  Prior  to  1840  their  suspensions 
of  specie  payments  had  been  so  frequent  and  many 
that  the  "  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Currency," 
embodied  in  the  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, the  Hon.  Levi  Woodbury,  to  Congress,  there  is 
mentioned  the  Merchants'  Bank,  the  Western  Bank, 
the  Farmers  and  Planters'  Bank,  Chesapeake  Bank, 
and  Hamilton  Bank,  all  of  Baltimore,  as  having  for- 
feited their  charters  for  failing  to  pay  specie  for  their 
notes.  And  these  suspensions  were  always  followed 
by  the  is.sue  of  "  shinplasters."  In  1842  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad  issued  its  "  promises  to  pay" 
as  currency,  and  circulated  them  by  payment  to  its 
employes  and  for  its  purchases.  These  small  notes 
entered  into  circulation  to  such  an  extent  that  it  soon 
became  necessary  for  the  dry -goods  merchants,  grocers, 
etc.,  to  make  arrangements  for  their  reception  only 
at  current  value,  but  they  very  soon  (Jfarch,  1842) 
would  not  pass  at  any  discount.  At  this  time  city 
sixes  had  gone  down  to  fifty  cents.  The  banks  re- 
sumed specie  payments  May,  1842. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Baltimore  banks 
which  applied  for  a  renewal  of  their  charters  under 
the  act  of  1853,  and  their  condition  at  that  time: 

The  Bank  of  Baltimore.  Charter  expired  Dec.  31, 
1858,  under  act  of  1834,  ch.  274 ;  authorized  capital 
stock,  $2,000,000;  capital  jiaid  in  Jan.  1,  1855, 
11,200,000. 


BANKS   AND   BANKERS. 


Union  Bank  of  Maryland.     Charter  expired  Dec.     April   1,  1860,  and  end  of  next  General  Assembly 
.31,  1859,  under  act  of  1834,  ch.  274;  authorized  cap-     thereafter  (March  10,  1861),  under  act  of  1844,  ch. 


ital  stock,  12,000,000;  capital  paid  in,  $1,103,475. 

Mechanics'  Bank.  Charter  expired  Dec.  31,  1857, 
under  act  of  1844,  ch.  294 ;  authorized  capital  stock, 
$1,000,000;  capital  paid  in,  $600,000. 

Marine  Bank.     Charter  expired  Dec.  31,  1856,  un- 


12 ;  authorized  capital  stock,  $1,000,000 ;  capital  paid 

1,  $105,937. 

The  panic  of  1857,  which  had  been  gradually 
gathering  from  many  points,  and  for  which  many 
causes  of  both  Legislature  and  business   are  justly 


der  act  of  1844,  ch.  289 ;   authorized  capital  stock,     responsible,  broke  upon  the  city  of  Baltimore  on  the 
$1,000,000 ;  capital  paid  in,  .$336,340.  26th  of  September,  1857.     The  banks  of  Philadelphia 

Farmers  and  Merchants'  Bank.     Charter  expired  |  also  suspended  that  day,  and  one  after  another,  like 


Dec.  31,  1856,  under  act  of  1854,  ch.  274;  authorized 
capital  stock,  $1,000,000 ;  capital  paid  in,  $393,560. 

Chesapeake  Bank.  Charter  expired  Dec.  31,  1856, 
and  end  of  next  General  Assembly  thereafter,  which 
is  March  10,  1858,  under  act  of  1835,  ch.  313 ;  au- 
thorized capital  stock,  $1,000,000;  capital  paid  in, 
$364,163. 

Citizens'  Bank.  Charter  expired  Dec.  31,  1856, 
and  end  of  next  General  Assembly  thereafter  (March 
10,  1858),  under  act  of  1835,  ch.  314;  authorized 
capital  stock,  $1,000,000 ;  capital  paid  in,  $341,860. 

Commercial  and  Farmers'  Bank.  Charter  expired 
Dec.  31,  1858,  and  end  of  next  General  Assembly 
thereafter  (March  10,  1860),  under  act  of  1845,  ch. 
260;  authorized  capital  stock,  $1,000,000;  capital 
paid  in,  $512,560. 

Farmers  and  Planters'  Bank.  Charter  expired  Dec. 
31,  1856,  and  end  of  next  General  Assembly  there- 
after (March  10,  1858),  under  act  of  1835,  ch.  315  ; 
authorized  capital  stock,  $1,000,000  ;  capital  paid  in, 
$776,262. 

Merchants'  Bank.  Charter  expired  Dec.  31,  1855, 
and  end  of  next  General  Assembly  thereafter  (March 
10, 1856),  under  act  of  1834,  ch.  210 ;  authorized  capi- 
tal stock,  $2,000,000 ;  capital  paid  in,  $1,500,000. 

Western  Bank.  Charter  expired  Dec.  31,  18.56, 
and  end  of  next  General  Assembly  thereafter  (March 
10,  18.58),  under  act  of  1835,  ch.  287;  authorized  capi- 


bricks  in  a  row,  the  banks  began  to  shut  up  their 
specie-drawers.  At  an  early  hour  of  the  26th  of  Sep- 
tember the  principal  officers  of  the  banks  assembled 
in  consultation,  and  after  adjournment  published  the 
following  report : 

"  Baltimore,  Sept.  26, 1857. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  presidents  of  all  the  banks  of  the  city  of  Balti- 
more held  this  day,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Johns  Hopkins,  the  following  re  - 
olution  was  adopted : 

'"  Resolved,  That  as  the  banks  of  Philadelphia  have  suspended  specie 
payments,  it  is  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  interests  of  the  city 
of  Baltimore  and  of  our  State  that  our  banks  suspend  also.*" 

As  Philadelphia  banks  led  Baltimore  banks  into 
suspension  of  specie  payment,  so  on  Feb.  6,  1858,  she 
set  the  example  of  resumption,  which  Baltimore 
banks  immediately  followed. 

On  Nov.  23,  1860,  all  the  banks  in  Baltimore  sus- 
pended specie  payments,  an  action  deemed  advisable 
on  account  of  the  disturbances  of  the  times  and  the 
threatening  aspect  of  public  affairs.  The  condition 
of  political  affairs  in  1860  was  uncertain  enough  to 
shake  the  confidence  of  the  public  in  all  financial 
concerns ;  the  storm  that  was  then  rising  was  not  of  a 
character  to  blow  over  very  soon.  The  passage  of 
the  national  banking  act  put  a  termination  to  the 
destructive  features  of  city  or  State  banking  systems, 
and  brought  all  to  the  same  measure  of  stature  and 
solvency. 

The  official  statements  of  the  banks  of  Baltimore 
on  July  1,  1881,  as  compared  with  the  statements  re- 


tal  stock,  $1,000,000 ;  capital  paid  in,  $586,840. 

Fell's  Point  Savings  Institution.     Charter  expired  !  ported  July  1,  1880,  were  as  follows  : 

JULY  1,  1880. 
Name.  Surplus  and 

Capital.    Undivided  Deposits. 
Profits. 
8451,000        fl,3£ 


JULY  1,  1881. 
Surplus 
and  Undivided  Deposits. 
Profits. 


National  Bank  of  Baltinio 
Citizens'  National  Bank... 

Commercial  and  i^;n ( - 

Farmers  and  Met-  !,  ,i 
National  Farnior^  u   : 
National  Mecbiuii.  -    I;. 
Merchants' Natinii:il   l;iii 

First  National  Bank 

Second  National  Bank 

Third  National  Bank 

National  Exchange  Bank. 
Traders'  National  BiuiU... 

Western  NatioUiil  i;,n,'. 
Druvei-sand  Mwiiii.i        \ 
National  Marin.-  Km 

Chesapeake  Bank  - 

Bank  of  Commerce 

Franklin  Bank 

German-American  Bank... 
Peoples'  Bank 


81,210,700 
600,000 
612,560 


1,000,000 
1,500,0(X) 
1,110,000 
800,000 


1100,000 
500,000 
155,298 
377,070 


300,000 
111,7*0 
200,000 
150,000 


120,000 
163,000 
387,000 
89,000 
640,000 
291,000  , 
279,000  ' 


142,000 

235,000 

8,000 

28,000 

Bl 
21,000 
40,000 
46,000 
27,000 
20,000 


1,980,000 
2,200,000 
1,300,000 
1,300,000 


260,000 
400,000 
302,000 
119,000 
378,000 
291,000 


3484,000 
368,000 
121,000 
173,000 
378,000 
131,000 
659,000 
344,000 
316,000 

60.000 
123,000 

22,000 
141,000 


63,000 
61,000 
21,000 
30,000 
17,000 


2,400,000 
1,100,000 
1,500,000 
989,000 
469,000 
812,000 
387,000 
926,000 
1,500,000 


1  The  capital  of  the  Drovers  and  Mechanics'  National  Bank  has  been  increased  from  $155,298  in  1880  to  $220,000  in  1881. 

°  The  Chesapeake  Bank  on  July  14th  distributed  twenty-five  dollars  per  share  to  the  stockholders.   It  is  thought  that  the  stock  will  eventually 
pay  fifty  dollars  per  share.    Par  value,  twenty-five  dollars. 


452 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Bank  of  Maryland.— The  establisliment  of  a  bank 
in  Baltimore  appears  to  have  been  contemplated  as 
early  as  1784,  and  during  the  early  part  of  that  year 
a  meeting  with  this  object  in  view  was  called  tor  the 
26th  of  February  at  the  New  Assembly  Rooms. 
This  meeting  was  followed  by  the  announcement  in 
tlie  MarylMiid  Jnnniu/ af  March  2d,  from  the  "presi- 
dent, dircriui-,  :iih1  .-..iiipany  of  the  Bank  of  Mary- 
land," that  ••  >ul.s,Tipti.in,s  would  be  taken  by  William 
Smith,  Daniel  Bowley,  Isaac  Vanbibber,  Samuel 
Smith,  John  Sterctt,  William  Patterson,  Richard 
Ridgely,  Thomas  Yates,  Jesse  Hollingsworth,  Engel- 
hard Yeiser,  George  Styer,  James  Calhoun,  Abraham 
Vanbibber,  and  Thomas  Usher."  Nothing  definite, 
however,  would  seem  to  have  resulted  from  this  an- 
nouncement, for  on  the  8th  of  November  following 
"such  of  the  inhabitants  as  are  desirous  of  promoting 
the  establishment  of  a  bank  in  the  town  of  Baltimore 
were  requested  to  meet  in  the  room  over  the  market- 
house  on  Wednesday,  10th  of  November,  1784,  at  six 
o'clock,"  and  the  public  was  informed  that  the  "  rea- 
sons would  be  given  why  it  was  not  established  last 
winter."  Shortly  after  this  second  meeting  it  was  an- 
nounced that  "the  number  of  necessary  shares  to  en- 
title the  subscribers  thereof  to  proceed  to  the  election 
of  twelve  directors  for  the  proposed  bank  having  been 
completed,  an  election  for  the  purpose  aforesaid  would 
be  held  at  the  rooms  over  the  market-house  on  Satur- 
day evening,  the  4th  of  December,  1784,  at  five  o'clock, 
at  which  time  and  place  all  concerned  were  requested 
to  appear,  either  in  person  or  by  proxy.  Those  who 
in  the  mean  time  incline  to  become  subscribers"  were 
informed  that  "  they  would  find  the  subscription- 
papers  with  Tench  Tilghraan,  Samuel  Smith,  Wil- 
liam Patterson,  Robert  Gilmor,  and  Daniel  Bowley." 
At  the  November  session  of  the  Legislature  in  1790 
the  bank  was  formally  incorporated,  and  Messrs. 
Samuel  Smith,  William  Patterson,  Jeremiah  Yellott, 
Englehard  Yeiser,  Robert  Gilmor,  Thorogood  Smith, 
Charles  Gartz,  Thomas  Hollingsworth,  James  Ed- 
wards, James  Carey,  Otho  H.  Williams,  and  Nicholas 
Sluby  were  authorized  to  receive  subscriptions.  In 
fourteen  days  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  were 
.subscribed  in  shares  of  one  hundred  dollai-s  each, 
being  two-thirds  of  the  capital,  which  was  paid  in 
during  the  ensuing  year,  and  the  institution  went 
into  operation  upon  a  portion  of  the  capital,  William 
Patterson  being  elected  president,  and  Ebenezer 
Mackie  cashier.  The  entire  capital  of  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars  was  afterwards  paid  in.  The  State  j 
granted  peculiar  privileges  to  the  institution,  which 
was  to  be  perpetual,  and  reserved  no  part  of  the  .stock  ' 
or  direction. 

On  the  7th  of  March,  1791,  Jeremiah  Yellott,  James  j 
Clarke,  Richard  Caton,  Henry  Nichols,  Robert  Oliver,  1 
Nicholas  Sluby,  and  Archibald  ( 'a.ii|.l.rll  were  rlfcted 
directors,  and  on  the  1st  (jf  .Inly  l.illnwin-  nuiircwas 
given  by  the  cashier,  EbeiHzcr  Maikir,  lliat  llir  liank  ; 
would  oi]en  that  day  at  "  nine  o'clock  and  shut  at  one. 


and  would  open  again  at  three  in  the  afternoon  and 
shut  at  five."  The  directors  for  1792  were  James 
Carey,  Archibald  Moncrieff,  Samuel  Smith,  Jeremiah 
Yellott,  Robert  Oliver,  Robert  Gilmor,  Charles  Gartz, 
Alex.  McKim,  Richard  Caton,  John  Hollins,  John 
O'Donnell,  and  James  Clarke.  In  1808,  William 
Cooke  was  president  of  the  bank,  and  Robert  Wilson 
cashier,  and  in  1817,  Mr.  Cooke  was  succeeded  by 
James  Carey.  On  tlie  24th  of  March,  1834,  the  di- 
rectors of  the  bank  announced  its  formal  suspension. 
A  meeting  of  the  oificcrs  of  the  several  banks  of 
the  city  was  held  at  the  Union  Bank  to  take  into 
consideration  the  state  of  affairs  arising  from  the  sus- 
pension of  the  Bank  of  Maryland,  at  which  William 
Lorman  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Nicholas  Brice, 
of  the  Farmers  and  Merchants'  Bank,  acted  as  secre- 
tary. The  president  of  the  Union  Bank  informed  the 
meeting  that  the  Bank  of  Maryland  had  made  a  deed 
of  trust,  which  they  were  prepared  to  deliver,  convey- 
ing all  the  property  to  him  in  trust  for  the  general  and 
equal  benefit  of  creditors.  It  was  unanimously  re- 
solved that  it  was  advisable  that  Mr.  EUicott  should 
accept  the  trust.  On  the  28th  of  March  a  large  meet- 
ing of  creditors  was  held  at  the  Exchange,  over  which 
the  venerable  William  Patterson  presided,  with  Nich- 
olas Brice  as  secretary.  The  following  committee  of 
fifteen  was  appointed  to  advance  the  interests  of  cred- 
itors and  to  bring  the  affairs  of  the  bank  to  a  just  and 
speedy  settlement :  Alex.  Fridge,  Jacob  Rogers,  Wil- 
liam Stuart,  George  McCubbin,  Thomas  Kelso,  R.  W. 
Gill,  William  A.  Tucker,  Charles  C.  Harper,  Philip 
Dawson,  Charles  Nichols,  Alex.  Brown,  Levin  Gale, 
Jonathan  Meredith,  Jeremiah  Nicols.  Messrs.  George 
McCubbin  and  Jeremiah  Nicols  having  declined  to 
serve  on  the  committee,  the  committee  filled  up  the 
vacancies  by  the  appointment  of  Messrs.  John  John- 
son (of  Annapolis)  and  George  W.  Thomas  (of  Kent). 
As  is  shown  elsewhere,  the  efforts  to  clear  up  the 
affairs  of  the  bank  and  to  effect  a  just  and  speedy 
settlement  were  unsuccessftil,  and  were  followed  in 
the  succeeding  year  by  the  Bank  of  Maryland  mob, 
of  which  a  full  account  is  given  under  the  head  of 
"  Mobs  and  Riots."  The  bank  building  was  situated 
in  South  Street,  between  Walnut  Street  and  Lovely 
Lane  (now  German  Street). 

Bank  of  the  United  States.— At  a  meeting  of  the 
president  and  directors  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States  at  Philadelphia  on  the  8th  of  November,  1791, 
it  was  resolved  to  establish  offices  of  discount  and 
deposit  in  the  several  cities  of  Charleston  and  New 
York,  and  towns  of  Baltimore  and  Boston.  On  the 
6th  of  February,  1792,  they  proceeded  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  office  at  Baltimore  by  the  election 
of  David  Harris  as  cashier,  and  a  board  of  thirteen 
directors,  consisting  of  James  West,  James  Carey, 
Nicholas  Sluby,  Thorogood  Smith,  Stephen  Wilson, 
Adrian  Valck,  David  Stewart,  Archibald  Campbell, 
George  Gale,  James  Dall,  John  Swan,  John  Holmes, 
and  Christopher  Johnston.    The  salary  of  the  cashier 


BANKS   AND  BANKERS. 


453 


was  fixed  at  fourteen  hundred  dollars  per  annum, 
"with  the  use  of  the  house,"  and  a  resolution  was 
adopted  "that  out  of  the  present  specie  capital  there 
be  appointed  to  the  Office  of  Discount  and  Deposit 
at  Baltimore  one  hundred  thousand  dollars."  At  a 
meeting  of  the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States  in  Philadelphia  on  the  1st  of  June,  1792,  it 
was  resolved  that  the  cashier  be  authorized  to  trans- 
mit the  capital  of  the  Office  of  Discount  and  Deposit 
in  Baltimore  with  all  convenient  dispatch,  and  that 
the  president  and  directors  of  the  office  be  authorized 
to  organize  it  and  begin  their  discounts  when  they 
shall  deem  it  expedient.  At  a  meeting  on  the  8th 
of  June  the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States 
resolved  that  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
in  department  notes,  should  be  transmitted  to  the 
office  at  Baltimore,  and  on  the  3d  of  July  they  re- 
solved that  out  of  the  third  specie  payment  there 
should  be  apportioned  to  the  Baltimore  office  fifty 
thousand  dollars.' 

On  the  2d  of  April,  1792,  the  directors  of  the  office 
of  Discount  and  Deposit  of  Baltimore  met  and  elected 
George  Gale  president.  On  motion  it  was  resolved 
that  on  Wednesday,  the  11th,  the  board  would  pro- 
ceed to  appoint  one  teller,  one  book-keeper,  one  dis- 
count clerk,  one  runner,  and  one  porter,  and  that 
they  should  be  allowed  the  following  annual  salaries  : 
the  teller  $900,  the  book-keeper  $800,  the  discount 
clerk  $600,  the  runner  $400,  and  the  porter  $150.  It 
was  further  resolved  that  the  above  officers,  clerks, 
and  porter  should  each  be  required  to  give  bond  with 
two  sureties  conditioned  for  good  behavior  in  the  fol- 
lowing sums  :  teller  .$5000,  the  book-keeper  $4000,  the 
discount  clerk  and  runner  $3000,  and  the  porter  $500. 
The  persons  elected  to  these  positions  were  Alex.  Mc- 
Donald, teller ;  John  Weatherburn,  book-keeper ; 
Owen  Dempsey,  discount  clerk  ;  Alex.  Donaldson,  run- 
ner; and  John  Williams,  porter.  On  the  19th  of  May, 
1792,  a  special  meeting  of  the  directors  was  held,  at 
which  the  following  report  was  made  by  the  commit- 
tee appointed  to  frame  by-laws  for  the  government  of 
the  office  :  First,  that  the  president,  cashier,  and  other 
officers  now  appointed,  or  who  may  hereafter  be  ap- 
pointed to  any  department  in  the  institution,  shall, 
previous  to  their  entering  upon  their  respective  duties, 
take  the  following  oath,  to  wit :  "  I,  A.  B.,  do  swear 
that  I  will  truly  and  faithfully  discharge  the  duty  of 
in  the  Office  of  Discount  and  Deposit  at  Bal- 
timore." Second,  that  the  duty  of  the  president  shall 
be  to  attend  at  all  appointed  meetings  of  the  directors, 
and  may  call  a  meeting  whenever  he  thinks  it  neces- 
sary, and  shall,  when  required  by  any  two  of  the  di- 
rectors or  by  the  cashier,  call  a  special  meeting  of  the 


1  It  may  be  interesting  to  note  the  terms  of  the  bank  for  bills  upon 
Amsterdam.  The  price  was  forty  cents  seven  mills  per  guilder;  credit, 
half  sixty  days,  and  half  one  hundred  and  twenty  days,  interest  to  be 
paid  from  day  of  sale ;  security  notes  with  two  unexceptionable  names 
or  firms,  or  one  firm  or  name,  with  a  deposit  of  funded  debt  as  a  col- 
lateral security;  quantity  not  more  than  810,000  to  any  two  names  or 


board.  Third,  that  in  the  absence  of  the  president 
the  cashier,  at  the  request  of  any  three  of  the  direc- 
tors, shall  call  a  meeting  of  the  board,  and  when  so 
convened  a  number  not  less  than  a  majority  of  the 
whole  be  competent  to  proceed  to  transact  business. 
Fourth,,  that  the  cashier  shall  weekly  lay  before  the 
directors  at  their  stated  meetings  a  distinct  abstract 
of  the  state  of  the  funds,  and  shalllikewise  trans- 
mit a  similar  abstract  once  in  every  week  to  the  di- 
rectors of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  Fifth, 
that  the  hours  of  business  in  said  bank  shall  be  from 
nine  o'clock  A.M.  until  one  o'clock  p.m.,  and  from 
three  o'clock  p.m.  until  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
That  the  directors  meet  every  Monday  precisely  at 
noon  to  transact  the  business  of  discount,  etc.,  and  that 
previous  to  entering  upon  that  business  the  state  of 
the  funds  shall  be  examined  into,  and  a  determination 
made  of  the  sum  to  be  discontinued  at  that  meeting. 
Sixth,  that  on  all  notes  and  bills  offered  for  discount 
there  shall  be  at  least  two  responsible  names,  resi- 
dents of  the  town  of  Baltimore,  and  that  no  paper 
offered  for  discount  be  received  after  eleven  o'clock 
on  the  day  of  discount.  Seventh,  that  no  person 
shall  appear  as  a  debtor  upon  the  books  of  the  bank 
for  a  sum  exceeding  twelve  thousand  dollars  at  any 
one  time.  It  is  considered  by  the  board  that  the 
objection  of  one  member  to  any  paper  offered  for 
discount  shall  not  be  sufficient  to  reject  it  unless 
the  objector's  motion  is  seconded ;  but  it  is  ex- 
pected that  in  the  event  of  one  member  only  mak- 
ing the  objection,  relying  upon  the  honor  and  se- 
crecy of  the  board,  if  he  has  any  reasons  not  gen- 
erally known,  will  communicate  them."  At  this 
meeting  Thorogood  Smith  administered  the  oath  of 
office  to  the  president  and  cashier. 

On  the  8th  of  June  the  cashier  was  ordered  to  pro- 
ceed to  Philadelphia  for  the  capital  of  the  office ;  and 
on  the  21st  of  June  it  was  resolved  that  the  office 
should  be  opened  on  the  following  day  for  deposit, 
and  on  the  25th  for  discount  for  a  term  not  exceeding 
thirty  days  for  the  present,  and  that  three  days  of 
grace  should  be  allowed  on  bills  or  notes  payable  to 
the  bank,  and  that  the  discount  should  be  taken  for 
the  same.  It  was  further  resolved  that  Messrs.  Arch. 
Campbell,  Adrian  Valck,  and  Nicolas  Sluby  should 
confer  with  the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  Maryland  to 
agree  upon  the  mode  of  conducting  the  business 
between  the  two  books.  On  the  2.Mi  of  June  the 
following  report  of  the  committee  appointed  to  revise 
the  by-laws  was  adopted :  "  That  this  office  of  dis- 
count and  deposit  shall  be  opened  on  every  day  (Sun- 
day, Christmas  Day,  the  4th  of  July,  and  all  day  of 
public  festivity  and  thanksgiving  excepted),  at  nine 
o'clock  A.M.,  until  one  o'clock  p.m.,  and  from  three  to 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  That  the  resolution  re- 
quiring two  responsible  names,  residents  of  the  town 
of  Baltimore,  on  all  notes  and  bills  offered  for  dis- 
count be  rescinded,  and  that  to  entitle  a  note  or  bill  to 
be  discounted,  the  drawer,  acceptor,  or  at  least  one 


454 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND.      % 


responsible  iiidorser  must  reside  in  Baltimore  Town. 
That  all  payments  shall  be  made  at  the  office,  and  on 
failure  of  payment  before  the  shutting  of  the  office  on 
the  last  day  of  grace,  the  note  or  bill  shall  be  forth- 
with protested.  That  notes  or  bills  deposited  for 
collection  at  any  time  before  the  commencement  of 
the  days  of  grace,  shall  as  to  notice,  demand,  and  pro- 
test be  proceeded  with  as  notes  or  bills  discounted, 
unless  the  person  depositing  the  same  shall  direct 
otherwise  in  writing.  That  payment  shall  be  re- 
ceived, if  offered  at  the  office,  on  notes  and  bills 
dejjosited  at  a  later  period,  but  the  office  shall  not  in 
such  cases  be  expected  to  give  notice,  make  demand, 
nor  cause  protest  to  be  made ;  but  the  note  or  bill,  or 
tlic  money  received  for  it,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall 
remain  subject  to  the  order  of  the  depositor.  That 
payments  made  at  the  office  shall  be  examined  at  the 
time,  and  no  error  suggested  afterwards  corrected. 
That  the  office  shall  receive  and  pay  all  specie  coins 
according  to  the  rates  and  value  that  have  been  or 
shall  hereafter  be  established  by  Congress.  That  in 
fiiture  notes  or  bills  offered  for  discount  will  be  re- 
ceived during  the  hours  of  business  on  Saturdays,  and 
on  Mondays  until  half-past  nine  o'clock."  At  a 
meeting  of  the  board  on  the  16th  of  July,  1792,  it 
was  resolved  that  "  it  be  recommended  to  all  those 
who  intend  any  negotiations  with  this  office  to  have 
their  bills  and  notes  drawn  in  dollars  and  cents  in- 
stead of  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence."  It  was  further 
resolved  that  the  president  or  cashier,  as  they  deem  i 
it  expedient,  may  either  refuse  or  receive  the  notes 
of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  1795,  Archibald  Campbell  was 
elected  president  of  the  office  in  place  of  George 
Gale,  resigned,  and  on  the  1st  of  June,  Nicholas  j 
Ridgley  having  resigned  his  place  as  second  book- 
keeper, Abraham  Thomas  was  promoted  to  that  po- 
sition, and  Ralph  Higginbotham  to  that  of  discount 
clerk.  On  the  6th  of  April  in  the  same  year  the 
board  ordered  a  book  to  be  prepared  "  to  be  called 
an  Accommodation  Barometer,  to  show  the  sum  each 
person  gets  weekly  on  discount;"  and  on  the  13th  of 
July  the  cashier  was  directed  to  "  class  the  different 
depositors  into  four  classes,  and  to  enable  him  to  do 
it  agreeably  to  the  wishes  of  the  hoard,  he  be  gov- 
erned in  classing  them  according  to  the  rates  of  their 
deposits."  On  the  17th  of  January,  1797,  after  read- 
ing the  letter  and  resolutions  of  the  stockholders  and 
directors  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  directing 
the  purchase  of  Mr.  Carter's  house  in  Gay  Street  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  office,  the  board  instructed 
the  cashier  to  complete  the  bargain  for  the  house, 
and  to  pay  Mr.  Carter  the  sum  of  twenty  thousand 
dollars,  being  the  amount  of  the  purchase-money. 
Archibald  Campbell,  Wm.  Van  Wyck,  and  David 
Harris  were  appointed  a  committee  "  to  contract  for 
the  building  of  a  kitchen  and  house-keeper's  room, 
and  for  furnishing  the  present  house  and  fitting  it  for 
the  uses  of  a  bank  and  tlie  residence  of  the  ciwhier." 


On  the  9th  of  December  in  the  same  year,  in  conse- 
quence of  notice  from  the  president  and  directors  of 
the  Bank  of  Maryland  to  the  Office  of  Discount  and 
Deposit,  and  to  the  Bank  of  Baltimore,  a  meeting  of 
representatives  of  these  institutions  was  held  at  Bry- 
den's  Inn  for  the'  purpose  of  framing  regulations  for 
the  convenience  and  protection  of  the  several  banks 
of  the  city. 

Archibald  Campbell  and  John  Swan  represented 
the  Office  of  Discount  and  Deposit,  George  Salmon 
and  David  Stewart  the  Bank  of  Baltimore,  and  Rob- 
ert Gilmor  and  Wm.  Patterson  the  Bank  of  Maryland, 
and  agreed  upon  the  following  regulations  as  useful 
and  necessary  in  the  future  business  of  the  banks  : 

First,  that  no  accommodation  notes  shall  be  dis- 
counted at  any  of  the  banks  after  the  last  day  of  the 
present  year,  and  that  all  discounts  will  be  paid  to 
the  last  indorser  only. 

Second,  that  after  the  present  year  no  checks  will 
be  received  at  any  one  bank  on  either  of  the  other 
banks. 

Third,  that  the  circulation  of  all  notes  of  the  banks 
under  five  dollars  be  discouraged  as  much  as  possible. 

Fourth,  that  each  bank  appoint  a  confidential  com- 
mittee of  three  persons  by  ballot  from  their  respective 
boards,  for  the  purpose  of  communicating  with  each 
other  on  all  matters  relating  to  the  interest  of  their 
different  institutions. 

On  the  3d  of  March,  1800,  John  Swan  was  chosen 
to  succeed  Mr.  Campbell  as  president.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  president  and  directors  on  the  8th  of  Sep- 
tember following  it  was  resolved  that  Messrs.  Mark 
Pringle,  Samuel  Hollingsworth,  James  Dall,  and 
David  Harris  "  be  a  committee  to  meet  similar  ones 
from  the  banks  of  Maryland  and  Baltimore,  to  take 
into  view  the  situation  of  the  city,  owing  to  a  malig- 
nant fever  which  at  present  it  is  in  some  degree 
afflicted  with,  and  in  case  of  its  making  further  pro- 
gress, they  are  hereby  authorized  to  remove  this  office 
into  the  country,  or  enter  into  any  other  regulation 
they  may  deem  proper  and  beneficial."  On  the  29th 
of  the  same  month  it  was  further  resolved  that  John 
Swan,  George  Grundy,  and  Christopher  Johnston  "  be 
a  committee  to  meet  similar  committees  from  the  other 
banks  of  this  city,  with  full  power  and  authority  to 
purchase  a  piece  of  ground  and  erect  suitable  build- 
ings thereon  for  the  accommodation  of  the  three 
banks  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city,  in  case  of  any  future 
affliction  of  an  infectious  nature  happening  to  our 
present  unfortunate  city."  On  the  7th  of  January, 
1811,  in  consequence  of  the  apprehension  that  the 
charter  would  not  be  renewed,  a  meeting  of  the  presi- 
dent and  directors  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States 
was  held,  at  which  it  was  resolved  that  the  different 
branches  of  the  bank  should  be  directed  not  to  dis- 
count bills  or  notes,  nor  to  make  loans  of  any  kind 
after  the  3d  day  of  March  following,  and  on  the  7th 
of  March,  John  Swan,  Hugh  Thompson,  Mark  Pringle, 
John  E.  Howard,  Samuel  Hollingsworth,  John  Oliver, 


BANKS   AND    BANKERS. 


James  Hindman,  Henry  Nichols,  Solomon  Betts, 
George  Grundy,  Christopher  Johnston,  James  Car- 
roll, G.  Richard,  and  H.  Heath  were  appointed  agents 
for  the  management  and  liquidation  of  the  affairs  of 
the  Baltimore  department  of  the  late  Bank  of  the 
United  States.  A  majority  of  the  agents  were  de- 
clared to  be  sufficient  to  constitute  a  board  for  the 
transaction  of  business,  and  they  were  authorized  to 
elect  one  of  their  number  president,  and  to  appoint 
"  their  respective  tellers,  clerks,  and  servants."  They 
were  further  invested  with  authority  "  to  pay  the 
debts  due  by  the  late  Bank  of  the  United  States  which 
were  made  payable  at  their  particular  department, 
and  to  demand  and  receive  payment  of  all  debts  due 
at  the  same  department."  At  a  meeting  of  the  trus- 
tees of  the  late  Bank  of  the  United  States  on  the  5th 
of  November,  1811,  the  cashier  was  directed  to  draw 
from  the  office  at  Baltimore  the  sum  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  in  gold,  "  to  be  conveyed  by  the  land 
stages  in  the  charge  of  two  confidential  persons." 
On  the  7th  of  October,  1812,  the  trustees  of  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States  directed  that  on  or  after  the  1st 
of  January,  1813,  the  office  at  Baltimore  should  not 
pay  any  note  of  the  late  Bank  of  the  United  States 
which  was  made  payable  at  that  office,  or  otherwise, 
nor  any  sums  remaining  on  that  day  to  the  credit 
of  individuals  upon  the  books  of  the  said  office. 
But  all  persons  who,  on  or  after  that,  present  such 
notes  for  payment,  or  demand  any  sum  which  may 
remain  to  their  credit,  should  be  referred  to  the  main 
office.  On  the  18th  of  January,  1813,  the  agents  of 
the  office  at  Batimore  recommended  the  sale  of  the 
banking-house  and  premises  and  all  the  bank  prop- 
erty in  this  city  to  the  commissioners  of  the  City  Bank 
of  Baltimore  for  the  sum  of  twenty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars, with  the  reservation  of  .sufficient  accommodations 
for  the  liquidation  of  the  affairs  of  the  office.  When 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States  was  rechartered  in 
1816  the  stock  was  taken  in  such  a  way  "that  a  Bal- 
timore clique,  taking  advantage  of  the  rule  about 
voting,  got  votes  enough  to  control  the  organization. 
By  subscribing  as  attorneys  they  got  22,187  votes  out 
of  80,000,  and  they  subscribed  only  $4,000,000  out  of 
$28,000,000." 

The  National  Bank  of  Baltimore.— This  bank  is 
at  the  present  time  the  (ildcst  in  Baltimore,  and  was 
originally  tluirtered  for  twenty  years,  under  the  name  ; 
of  the  Bank  of  Baltimore,  on  the  24th  of  December, 
1795,  with  an  authorized  capital  stock  of  $1,200,000. 
The  charter  provided  that  the  subscriptions  towards 
con.stituting  the  said  stock  should  be  opened  on  the 
first  Monday  of  the  following  June,  at  Baltimore 
Town,  for  twelve  hundred  and  forty  shares,  under 
the  superintendence  of  Messrs.  David  Stewart,  Wil- 
liam Winchester,  Thorogood  Smith,  William  Wilson, 
Archibald  Stewart,  George  Salmon,  James  West, 
Thomas  Usher,  Jr.,  Henry  Payson,  Thomas  Hol- 
lingsworth,  Nicholas  Eogers,  Elias  Ellicott,  Joseph 
Swann,  Andrew  Buchanan,  Solomon  Ettinar,  Charles 


Ghequiere,  Hugh  McCurdy,  and  Christopher  John- 
ston. Subscriptions  for  stock  were  also  received  in 
other  parts  of  the  State.  On  the  25th  of  June,  1796, 
it  was  announced  that  "  the  subscriptions  lately  taken 
for  the  Bank  of  Baltimore  having  exceeded  the  num- 
ber of  shares  allotted  to  Baltimore  Town  and  County, 
it  became  necessary  to  reduce  them  in  the  manner 
prescribed  by  act  of  Assembly,  and  the  following 
twelve  hundred  and  forty  persons  (and  no  others)  are 
entitled  to  one  share  each  in  the  bank  aforesaid."  On 
the  14th  of  October,  1796,  the  following  gentlemen 
were  chosen  directors  of  the  bank :  David  Stewart, 
William  Wilson,  William  Winchester,  George  Sal- 
mon, James  West,  William  Lorman,  Elias  Ellicott, 
John  Stump,  John  Strieker,  Charles  Ghequiere, 
Christopher  Johnston,  Solomon  Etting,  Lewis  Pas- 
cault,  Charles  Ridgely,  and  Thorogood  Smith.  The 
following  gentlemen  were  directed  to  receive  pro- 
posals for  a  house,  or  a  lot  whereon  to  erect  a  build- 
ing for  the  purposes  of  the  bank :  George  Salmon, 
Thorogood  Smith,  Thomas  Hollingsworth,  William 
Winchester,  and  Solomon  Etting.  The  directors  in 
1803  were  George  Salmon,  William  Wilson,  Elias 
Ellicott,  John  Strieker,  William  Winchester,  Alex- 
ander McDonald,  Henry  Payson,  John  Carruthere, 
Joseph  Sterett,  James  West,  Luke  Tiernan,  Ebenezer 
Finley,  Peter  Frick,  William  Lorman,  William 
Mathews.  Those  for  1804  were  George  Salmon,  Wil- 
liam Lorman,  Elias  Ellicott,  William  Wilson,  Wil- 
liam Winchester,  William  Mathews,  Joseph  Sterett, 
Alexander  McDonald,  John  Strieker,  James  West, 
Benjamin  Williams,  Emanuel  Kent,  Henry  Alex- 
ander, Thomas  Tennant,  and  Thomas  Poultuey.  By 
the  acts  of  1813,  ch.  122,  and  1815,  ch.  167,  the  charter 
of  the  bank  was  continued  and  extended  to  the  1st 
of  January,  1835,  and  by  the  act  of  1834,  ch.  274,  it 
was  extended  until  1858.  Under  the  act  of  1853,  ch. 
441,  the  bank  applied  for  an  extension  of  its  charter, 
which  was  accordingly  extended  to  Jan.  1,  1880.  Its 
first  president  was  George  Salmon,  elected  in  1796  ; 
he  was  followed  by  William  Wilson  in  1807,  and  he 
was  succeeded  by  Gen.  John  Strieker  in  1824.  Gen. 
Strieker  died  June  23,  1825,  and  William  Lorman 
was  elected  in  his  place.  Mr.  Lorman  was  succeeded 
by  Joseph  H.  McCulloh  in  1841,  who  was  followed 
in  December,  1853,  by  C.  C.  Jamison,  who  died  Sept. 
9, 1863.  Oct.  1,  1863,  Gen.  Henry  A.  Thompson  was 
elected  president,  and  served  until  his  death,  March 
12,  1880.  He  was  succeeded  by  Christian  Devries, 
the  present  president.  The  bank  has  had  but  four 
cashiers, — James  Cox,  who  served  from  1796  to  1841 ; 
C.  C.  Jamison,  from  1841  to  1853 ;  Patrick  Gibson, 
from  18.53  to  1868 ;  and  J.  Thomas  Smith,  from  1868 
to  the  present  time.  The  bank  has  had  but  one  lo- 
cation from  its  organization  until  the  present  time, 
but  the  jjresent  building  was  not  erected  until  1856, 
being  completed  in  July,  1857. 

The   institution   was    organized   as    the   National 
Bank  of  Baltimore  in  July,  1865.     It  has  continued 


456 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


in  successful  operation  eighty-five  years,  and  has 
never  missed  the  payment  of  a  single  dividend,  uor 
made  any  reduction  in  its  capital.  On  the  9th  of 
November,  1864,  the  bank,  in  company  with  several 
others  in  the  city,  suffered  from  the  operations  of  a 
gang  of  forgers,  and  in  December  of  the  same  year 
a  defalcation  by  one  of  its  clerks  of  about  $23,000 
was  discovered,  but  it  sustained  no  loss,  as  the 
amount  was  made  good.  Tuesday  afternoon,  Sept. 
17,  1878,  $27,850  in  bonds  and  $35,000  in  cash  were 
stolen  from  the  vault  of  the  bank  in  broad  daylight. 
The  capital  stock  of  the  bank,  Dec.  31,  1880,  was 
$1,210,700,  and  its  surplus  fund  $365,000. 

The  present  officers  are  Christian  Devries,  presi- 
dent; J.Thomas  Smith,  cashier;  Directors,  George 
P.  Thomas,  D.  S.  Wilson,  O.  A.  Parker,  C.  M.  Stew- 
art, Christian  Devries,  Richard  Cromwell,  James  B. 
Dixon. 

National  Union  Bank  of  Maryland. — This  bank 
was  organized  en  tin-  ICtli  (if  April,  1.S{|4,  by  the  elec- 
tion of  the  followini,-  directors:  Ebenezer  Finley,  An- 
drew EUicott,  Jr.,  David  Winchester,  Henry  Payson, 
Walter  Dorsey,  Solomon  Etting,  Luke  Tiernan,  James 
A.  Buchanan,  Charles  Ridgely,  of  H.,  Hezekiah  Clag- 
gett,  Thomas  McElderry,  John  Hollins,  Solomon 
Birckhead,  Isaac  Tyson,  Henry  Schroeder,  and  Stew- 
art Brown.  The  election  was  held  in  Bryden's  long 
room  (Fountain  Inn),  commencing  at  eight  a.m.  and 
closing  at  six  p.m.,  and  upwards  of  eighteen  thousand 
votes  were  cast.  On  April  17th  the  directors  met  and 
chose  William  Winchester  president,  and  Ralph  Hig- 
ginbotham  cashier.  Jan.  12,  1805,  the  bank  was 
incorporated  with  an  authorized  capital  stock  of 
$3,000,000,  divided  into  shares  of  $100  each.  By  the 
supplemental  act  of  1821  the  shares  were  reduced  to 
the  value  of  $75,  and  the  capital  stock  to  $2,250,000. 

The  first  location  of  the  bank  was  on  the  south  side 
of  Baltimore  Street,  between  Charles  and  Light.  In 
1807  it  was  moved  to  the  southeast  corner  of  Charles 
and  Fayette  Streets.  The  building  was  two  stories 
in  height,  forming  nearly  a  square  of  about  sixty- 
eight  feet  each  way,  reached  by  a  short  flight  of  steps 
leading  to  a  portico  ornamented  with  four  Ionic  col- 
umns. At  a  later  ])eriod  an  iron  railing  was  placed 
in  front  of  the  building,  with  a  watchman's  box  on 
the  north  corner.  In  1868  the  property  was  sold  and 
the  bank  removed  to  Baltimore  Street,  and  from 
thence,  in  1869,  to  the  new  building  on  Fayette 
Street,  east  of  Charles,  at  present  occupied  by  it. 
Feb.  14,  1845,  a  forged  check  for  $1755.55,  in  the 
name  of  Mr.  Doyle,  lottery-dealer  and  exchange 
broker,  was  successfully  passed  upon  the  bank;  in 
the  latter  part  of  March  in  the  same  year  a  loss  of 
about  $8000  was  sustained  through  the  defalcation  of 
one  of  its  officers;  in  December,  1855,  a  forged  check 
for  $2500,  in  the  name  of  William  Gilmor  Hoffman, 
was  presented  and  paid  at  the  bank;  and  in  No- 
vember, 1864,  the  bank  was  victimized  to  the  extent 
of  $4400  by  a  "  gentlemanly  stranger,"  who  also  suc- 


ceeded in  obtaining  $1300  from  the  Western,  $2400 
from  the  Chesapeake  Bank,  and  $1000  from  the  Me- 
chanics' Bank,  all  of  which  was  accomplished  in  the 
course  of  a  single  morning.  Under  the  act  of  Con- 
gress the  bank  was  incorporated  July  26,  1805,  as  the 
National  Union  Bank  of  Maryland  at  Baltimore.  Its 
present  capital  stock  is  $900,000.  Its  presidents  liave 
been  Wm.  Winchester;  Henry  Payson,  July  2,  1815; 
Thomas  Ellicott,  July  6, 1825  ;  Hugh  W.  Evans,  July 
7,  1835;  John  M.  Gordon,  July  8, 1845;  and  Wm.  W. 
Taylor,  who  has  held  the  office  from  the  6th  of  July, 
1865,  to  the  present  time.  The  charter  of  the  bank 
was  twice  extended, — in  1834  and  in  1853.  Ralph 
Higginbotham  was  succeeded  as  cashier  by  Thomas 
Ellicott,  elected  June  28,  1819,  and  he  was  followed 
by  Jonathan  Pinkney,  Jr.,  elected  Nov.  11,  1819. 
Robert  Mickle  was  elected  Oct.  7,  1830,  and  Wm.  H. 
Wells  was  elected  assistant  cashier  May,  1878.  The 
present  officers  are  Wm.  W.  Taylor,  president;  R. 
Mickle,  cashier;  W.  H.Wells,  assistant;  Directors, 
Wm.  Woodward,  James  E.  Tate,  James  Carey,  James 
Hodges,  S.  H.  Adams,  Lewis  N.  Hopkins,  John 
Stillman,  Wm.  A.  Williar,  and  Wm.  L.  Elliott. 

National  Mechanics'  Bank. — The  Mechanics' 
Bank,  southeast  corner  of  Calvert  and  Fayette  Streets, 
was  organized  in  June,  1806,  and  William  Jessop, 
William  Price,  Christopher  Raborg,  George  Warner, 
Adam  Welsh,  James  Mosher,  Adam  Fonerden,  Wil- 
liam Krebs,  Robert  Carey  Long,  Jacob  Hoffman, 
Robert  Stewart,  William  Gwynn,  Owen  Dorsey,  and 
George  Decker  were  appointed  commissioners  to  re- 
ceive subscriptions  to  the  stock.  Books  for  this  pur- 
pose were  opened  on  the  23d  of  June,  and  22,500 
shares  were  subscribed  on  the  first  day.  The  first 
board  of  directors  consisted  of  James  Mosher,  George 
Warner,  William  McDonald,  Thomas  Sheppard,  Wil- 
liam Jackson,  Robert  Stewart,  Jacob  Hoffman,  Wil- 
liam Je,ssop,  William  Gwynn,  Christian  Mayer,  Rob- 
ert Carey  Long,  Adam  Welsh,  Adam  Fonerden,  Owen 
Dorsey,  and  Peter  Little.  On  the  16th  of  July  they 
met  at  Bryden's  inn,  and  after  taking  and  subscribing 
the  oath  of  office,  elected  John  Weatherburn  presi- 
dent, at  a  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  for  the  first 
year,  and  at  a  meeting  on  the  18th,  Dennis  A.  Smith 
cashier,  at  a  salary  of  two  thousand  dollars  per  annum. 
At  a  subsequent  meeting  James  Dawes  was  elected 
teller ;  John  Baxley,  book-keeper ;  Owen  Allen,  as- 
sistant book-keeper;  Nathan  Shaw,  discount  clerk; 
Thomas  Woodyear,  runner;  and  Thoniiis  Foxhall, 
porter.  On  the  25th  of  July  a  committee,  consisting 
of  John  Weatherburn,  James  Mosher,  Robert  C.  Long, 
George  Warner,  Adam  Welsh,  and  Robert  Stewart, 
was  appointed  to  select  a  suitable  building  for  a  bank- 
ing-house, and  finally  reported  in  favor  of  renting,  at 
one  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  the  house  of  Zebu- 
Ion  Hollingsworth,  on  Calvert  Street.  The  report 
was  adopted,  and  a  committee  was  directed  "  to  con- 
tract with  Mr.  Hollingsworth  on  the  terms  proposed, 
and  to  put  in  order  the  .said  house  for  the  purposes  of 


BANKS   AND   BANKERS. 


457 


the  bank  with  all  possible  dispatch."  The  institution 
was  chartered  on  the  31st  of  December,  1806,  as  the 
Mechanics'  Bank  of  Baltimore,  with  an  authorized 
capital  of  11,000,000,  and  the  officers  and  directors  as 
incorporators.  The  second  article  of  the  constitution 
required  that  nine  of  the  directors  should  be  practical 
mechanics  or  manufacturers,  and  this  requirement 
was  embodied  in  the  seventh  section  of  the  act  of  in- 
corporation. In  order  to  insure  something  more  than 
theoretical  compliance  with  this  provision,  the  by- 
laws directed  that  "no  person- should  be  considered  as 
coming  within  the  description  of  a  practical  mechanic 
or  manufacturer  unless  he  hath  learned  and  actually 
wrought  at  some  mechanical  or  manufacturing  trade 
for  the  term  of  three  years  at  least,  and  for  twelve 
months  next  preceding  his  election  hath  been  carry- 
ing on  some  mechanical  or  manufacturing  branch  of 
business,  either  in  his  own  person,  or  by  workmen,  or 
by  apprentices  by  him  hired  and  employed."  The 
members  of  the  first  board  of  directors,  elected  in 
compliance  with  this  requirement,  were  James  Mosher, 
George  Warner,  Thomas  Sheppard,  William  Jackson, 
Jacob  Hoffman,  Robert  Carey  Long,  Adam  Welsh, 
Adam  Fonerden,  and  Peter  Little.  It  was  provided 
in  the  by-laws  that 

"  no  discounts  shall  be  made  upon  personal  security,  unless  with  at  least 
■two  responsible  names  (the  firm  and  all  the  partners  in  a  house  being 
considered  as  one  name  only),  aud  for  a  time  not  exceeding  sixty  days, 
-exclusive  of  tliree  days  of  grace,  which  shall  be  allowed  on  all  bills  and 
notes  payable  at  the  bauk,  and  discount  taken  for  the  same ;  but  similar 
paper  given  for  real  ti-ansactions  may  be  discounted  for  a  time  not  ex- 
-ceeding  one  hundred  and  twenty  days,  whether  a  running  account  is 
kept  by  the  person  offering  the  same  or  not-" 


It' 


further  provided  that 


'"to  entitle  a  bill  or  note  to  be  discounted  at  this  bank  the  acceptor  or 
payer  thereof  must  usually  reside  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  or  precincts ; 
-if  the  payer  resides  at  a  distance,  two  responsible  names  will  be  required 
[of  persons]  who  reside  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  or  in  the  precincts  thereof. 
That  on  failure  of  payment  of  any  note  or  bill  discounted  at  this  bank  be- 
fore the  shutting  of  the  bauk  on  the  last  day  of  grace,  the  note  or  bill 
shall  be  forthwith  protested,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  notary  to 
give  proper  notice  thereof  on  tlie  same  day,  or  at  farthest  the  next  morn- 
ing, to  the  indorser  or  indorsers.  The  books  and  accounts  of  the  bank 
shall  be  kept  in  dollars  and  cents,  and  shall  be  regularly  balanced  twice 
■in  every  year,  viz.,  when  the  half-yearly  dividend  shall  be  declared." 

On  the  19th  of  May,  1807,  the  board  declared  a 
■dividend  of  six  per  cent.,  payable  on  the  2d  day  of 
the  following  June.  On  the  1st  of  June,  1807,  the 
old  board  of  directors  was  re-elected,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Peter  Little,  who  was  succeeded  by  William 
Greetham.  The  same  directors  were  elected  in  1808, 
with  two  exceptions,  and  Thomas  Boyle  and  P.  E. 
Thomas  were  chosen  in  the  places  of  the  retiring 
members.  John  Weatherburn  was  annually  re-elected 
to  the  presidency  until  his  death,  on  the  21st  of  April, 
1811,  when  James  Mosher  was  chosen  to  succeed  him. 
The  board  of  directors  elected  on  the  3d  of  June  in 
the  same  year  consisted  of  Robert  Carey  Long,  Alex- 
ander Brown,  Thomas  Sheppard,  Philip  Littig,  Wil- 
liam Jackson,  William  Jessop,  James  Mosher,  Wil- 
liam Gwynn,  William  McDonald,  Christian  Mayer, 
P.  E.  Thomas,  William  Stewart,  and  George  Warner. 


On  the  17th  of  May,  1811,  the  board  resolved  to  pur- 
chase a  lot  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  bank,  and 
authorized  the  cashier  to  pay  to  Philip  Rogers  and 
John  Fisher  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  for  their  lot,  situated  at  the  corner  of  Calvert 
and  East  (Fayette)  Streets. 

At  a  meeting  on  the  17th  of  the  following  Septem- 
ber it  was  reported  that  "  the  old  building  on  the  lot 
purchased  for  a  banking-house,  was  much  out  of  re- 
pair." William  Jessop,  Tobias  E.  Stansbury,  and 
Alexander  Brown  were  appointed  a  committee  to  ex- 
amine the  old  building,  and  to  report  whether  it  would 
be  most  advisable  to  repair  it  or  prepare  materials 
and  erect  a  new  banking-house.  The  committee  re- 
ported that  they  had  "  viewed  and  examined  the  sev- 
eral old  houses,  etc.,  on  said  lot,  and  in  their  opinion, 
from  the  shattered  and  decayed  state  of  the  wood 
(which  they  are  chiefly  composed  of),  that  it  would 
in  repairing  those  several  old  buildings  be  attended 
with  a  heavy  expense,  and  which  could  not  be  remu- 
nerated in  any  reasonable  time  which  we  could  ex- 
pect to  let  them  stand,  provided  that  the  preparation 
on  (of)  a  banking-house  is  contemplated,  to  be  in 
readiness  when  the  time  of  the  present  house  expires. 
And  whereas  if  a  reasonable  time  is  taken  to  collect 
materials  and  have  them  well  prepared  the  building 
will  be  much  more  lasting,  therefore,  if  it  should  not 
be  deemed  deviating  from  the  duty  of  your  committee, 
we  would  strongly  recommend  to  the  board  of  direc- 
tors to  let  the  present  buildings  on  said  lot  remain  as 
they  are,  without  further  repair,  until  such  materials 
can  be  collected  and  prepared,  and  commence  build- 
ing as  soon  as  possible."  The  report  of  the  committee 
was  approved,  the  plan  of  a  house  submitted  by  them 
adopted,  and  William  Jessop,  Alexander  Brown,  D. 
E.  Stansbury,  and  D.  A.  Smith  appointed  a  building 
committee  to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  bank. 
Various  delays,  however,  ensued,  and  the  banking- 
house  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Fayette  and  Calvert 
Streets  was  not  completed  until  18.35.  When  Mr. 
Mosher  was  elected  president,  it  was  stipulated  by  the 
board,  with  his  approbation,  that  half  of  his  salary  of 
twelve  hundred  dollars  should  be  paid  for  the  term  of 

I  five  years  to  the  orphan  daughters  of  the  late  John 
Weatherburn,  the  former  president,  in  consideration 

I  of  his  important  services  in  the  organization  of  the 
bank.  On  the  7th  of  June,  1814,  the  attention  of  the 
board  was  called  to  the  subject,  and  it  was  resolved 
that  Mr.  Mosher's  salary  should  be  increased  to  six- 
teen hundred  dollars  per  annum,  commencing  from 

I  the  date  of  his  election  in  1811.  On  the  26th  of  April, 
1817,  the  cashier,  Dennis  A.  Smith,  tendered  his  resig- 

j  nation,  and  on  the  14th  of  May  following  John  Brice 
was  appointed  his  suc^ssor.  The  board  of  directors 
in  1820  con.sisted  of  William  McDonald,  Christian 

!  Mayer,   Philip   E.   Thomas,  George   Brown,   James 

I  Carnighan,  James  Ellicott,  William  Gwynn,  of  John, 

i  William  Jessop,  William  Jackson,  Felix  Jenkins, 
Philip  Littig,  Robert  C.  Long,  and  Jonathan  Mere- 


458 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


dith.  In  1821,  Col.  James  Mosher,  who  had  been 
president  of  the  bank  since  1811,  resigned,  and  P.  E. 
Thomas  was  cliosen  to  succeed  him,  and  entered  upon 
his  duties  on  the  6th  of  June.  He  declined  a  re-elec- 
tion in  1822,  and  was  followed  by  Richard  Carroll, 
who  resigned  in  September,  1823,  "  in  consequence  of 
a  long  and  protracted  illness,"  which  incapacitated 
him  from  duty.  During  his  sickness  William  D. 
McKim  had  acted  as  temporary  president,  and  after 
the  resignation  of  Mr.  Carroll,  Philip  E.  Thomas  was 
chosen  in  his  place.  On  the  25th  of  March,  1823, 
John  Brice,  the  cashier,  resigned,  and  on  the  2d  of 
April  Stephen  Honeywell  was  elected  to  the  vacant 
position  by  the  board,  llr.  Honeywell  resigned  on 
account  of  ill  health  Nov.  29, 1826,  and  was  succeeded 
by  William  H.  Murray.  In  September  of  the  follow- 
ing year  Mr.  Thomas,  who  had  been  annually  re- 
elected president  since  1823,  resigned,  and  George 
Brown  was  elected  to  the  office,  which  he  held  until 
April,  1834,  when,  upon  the  death  of  his  father,  he 
tendered  his  resignation,  and  was  succeeded  by  John 
B.  Morris,  who  was  elected  on  the  21st  of  April. 

Mr.  Murray  was  succeeded  by  James  W.  Alnutt  as 
cashier,  and  Mr.  Morris  by  Michael  Warner  as  presi- 
dent, in  1858.  In  1865  the  institution  was  converted 
into  a  national  bank,  under  the  name  of  the  National 
Mechanics'  Bank  of  Baltimore.  In  March,  1867, 
Mr.  Warner  resigned  the  presidency,  and  George  S. 
Brown  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  On  the  13th 
of  November  in  the  same  year  Mr.  Brown,  who  had 
only  accepted  the  position  temporarily,  tendered  his 
resignation,  and  Robert  Turner  Baldwin  was  elected 
president,  and  has  been  annually  re-elected  since. 
The  present  officers  of  the  bank  are  Robert  Turner 
Baldwin,  president;  C.  R.  Coleman,  cashier;  Di- 
rectors, R.  T.  Baldwin,  T.  C.  Jenkins,  Alexander 
Brown,  W.  F.  Lucas,  G.  W.  Ward,  S.  H.  Caughy, 
Thomas  Deford,  Robert  Lehr,  and  Robert  Garrett. 
The  capital  is  $1,000,000.  Mr.  Coleman  has  been 
cashier  of  the  bank  since  1855.  Mr.  Baldwin,  the 
president  of  the  bank,  is  a  native  of  Campbell  County, 
Va.,  where  he  was  born,  June  14, 1819,  and  is  the  son 
of  Philemon  P.  and  Elizabeth  Jane  Baldwin.  His 
mother  was  a  Miss  Turner,  and  it  was  at  the  sugges- 
tion and  through  the  influence  of  his  cousin,  Zeph- 
aniah  Turner,  of  Rappahannock  County,  Va.,  that  he 
came  to  Baltimore  in  September,  1835.  His  business 
career  began  in  the  counting-house  of  Hough,  Tur- 
ner &  Co.,  composed  of  Messrs.  Samuel  and  Robert 
Hough  and  Zephaniah  Turner,  Jr.,  and  it  was  here 
that  he  laid  the  foundation  of  a  business  knowledge 
and  experience  which  have  widened  and  grown  with 
every  succeeding  year.  From  that  period  until  the 
present  Mr.  Baldwin  has  been  constantly  engaged  in 
active  business  pursuits,  for  a  part  of  the  time  as  a 
partner  in  the  firm  of  Baldwin  &  Myer,  and  since  the 
dissolution  of  that  house  in  1866  as  president  of  the 
National  Mechanics'  Bank,  and  in  a  variety  of  capaci- 
ties requiring  the  possession  of  special  ability  and  high 


integrity.  In  1869  he  was  elected  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners of  finance  for  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  a  brief  period  of  voluntary  retirement, 
has  been  a  member  of  that  responsible  commission 
ever  since,  and  still  continues  to  act  in  that  capacity. 
His  services  as  commissioner  of  finance  have  been  ac- 
corded many  marks  of  public  approbation,  and  the 
City  Council  has  three  times  expressed  its  sense  of 
their  value  by  formal  resolutions  of  a  highly  com- 
plimentary character,  the  following,  adopted  on  the 
25th  of  April,  1877,  when  his  resignation  had  been 
laid  before  that  body,  indicating  the  estimation  in 
which  they  are  held  : 

"  n'/ierea«.  It  has  been  autlioritatively  announced  tliat  the  perHnnal  con- 
eideratiuns  which  led  to  the  resignation  by  Mr.  Baldwin  of  the  i)<)sitiou 
of  finance  commiBsioner  are  so  seriously  entertained  by  him  as  to  render 
the  general  expression  of  a  desire  that  he  might  be  induced  to  with- 
draw that  resignation  entirely  unavailing, 

"  Anil  wkemit,  It  is  eminently  due  to  the  long,  faithful,  and  disinter- 
ested services  which  that  able  and  distinguished  citizen  has  rendered  the 
municipal  government  of  Baltimore  that  a  proper  memorial  of  them 
should  be  placed  among  the  oiticial  records  of  the  city,  therefore 

"  Be  it  resoU-etl,  By  both  branches  of  the  City  Council  of  Baltimore, 
that  in  the  dittcliargeof  the  duties  of  finance  commissioner  Mr.  Robert 
T.  Baldwin  has  di&played  signal  ability,  integrity,  and  decision  of  char- 
acter, the  combination  of  wliich  Justly  entitles  him  to  be  ranked  among 
the  leading  financial  and  biisiuess  men  of  our  county. 

*'  A7td  he  it  furlher  renotved,  That  in  the  careful  guardianship  of  the 
public  credit  and  constant  apprehension  of  the  real  interest  of  Baltimore, 
Mr.  Baldwin  has  during  the  past  seven  years  of  his  olBcial  life  done  as 
much  to  command  the  respect  and  entitle  him  to  the  lasting  gratitude  of 
his  fellow-citizens  as  any  man  among  them,  and  that  it  is  the  subject  of 
deep  and  universal  regret  that  his  connection  with  the  city  government 
is  now  about  to  be  severed. 

"  Besoh-ed,  Tliat  these  resolutions  be  placed  upon  the  journal  of  each 
Branch,  and  that  the  clerk  of  this  Branch  (Second)  be  directed  to  have  a 
copy  neatly  engrossed  and  present  the  same  to  Mr.  Baldwin." 

Mr.  Baldwin  was  also  prominently  connected  with 
the  recent  reorganization  of  the  Virginia  Midland 
Railroad,  being  associated  with  Messrs.  J.  Wilcox 
Brown  and  Robert  Garrett  in  the  purchase  of  that 
road  for  the  creditors,  and,  with  those  gentlemen, 
was  "  cordially  tendered  the  thanks  of  the  stock- 
holders" for  "  the  exceedingly  able  and  efficient  man- 
ner" in  which  he  had  discharged  "  the  onerous  duties 
which  devolved"  upon  him.  As  director,  trustee,  and 
executor,  Mr.  Baldwin  has  been  called  to  various  po- 
sitions of  trust  and  responsibility,  and  has  held  con- 
fidential relations  towards  important  corporations 
and  interests,  which  he  has  served  with  unvarying 
ability  and  integrity.  His  life  has  been  one  of  con- 
stant business  activity  and  unceasing  labor,  but  its 
record  is  higher  than  that  of  mere  business  drudgery, 
and  is  filled  with  practical  results  as  useful  to  the 
community  a-s  they  are  honorable  to  himself. 

Farmers  and  Merchants'  National  Bank,— This 
bank  was  organized  in  March,  1810,  in  wliich  month 
books  for  subscriptions  were  opened  at  the  Globe  Inn 
by  the  following  commissioners:  Conrad  Reinicker, 
Jesse  Tyson,  Samuel  Stump,  Job  Smith,  George  F. 
Warfield,  Peter  Levering,  Moses  Sheppard,  Jonathan 
Manro,  Henry  Messonnier,  Nicholas  Brice,  Samuel 
McKim,  and  George  Repold.  At  a  meeting  of  tlie 
stockholders  on  the  9th  of  April  the  above  gentlemen 


3 


BANKS   AND   BANKERS. 


459 


were  elected  directors  for  the  ensuing  year,  and  on 
the  10th  the  directors  elected  William  Grahame 
president,  and  John  Duer  cashier.  On  the  24th  of 
December,  1810,  the  president  and  directors  were  in- 
corporated as  the  Farmers  and  Merchants'  Bank  of 
Baltimore,  with  an  authorized  capital  stock  of  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  Judge  Nicholas  Brice 
succeeded  Mr.  Grahame  as  president  in  1819 ;  he  was 
succeeded  by  Dr.  J.  Hanson  Thomas  in  1841,  and 
Dr.  Thomas  by  James  Sloan,  Jr.,  in  1879.  The  { 
banking-house  was  first  located  on  the  corner  of  Bank 
Lane  and  Calvert  Streets,  but  in  1849  the  European 
House,  northwest  corner  South  and  Lombard  Streets, 
was  purchased,  and  some  time  afterwards  the  present 
bank  building  erected.  In  1865  it  was  converted  into 
the  Farmers  and  Merchants'  National  Bank.  The 
amount  of  capital  stock  paid  in  Dec.  31, 1880,  was  six 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The  present  otfi- 
cers  are  James  Sloan,  Jr.,  president;  E.  S.  Beall, 
cashier;  Directors,  James  Sloan,  Jr.,  J.  Hanson 
Thomas,  Otho  H.  Williams,  T.  Robert  Jenkins, 
Jos.  B.  Brinkley,  John  J.  Thompson,  Edward  Higgins. 
Franklin  Bank,  No.  15  South  Street,  was  organized 
in  March,  1810.  David  Burke,  C.  Dugan,  Joseph 
Jamieson,  Lemuel  Taylor,  M.  McLoughlin,  Wm. 
Flanagan,  Wm.  Price,  Ludwick  Herring,  Hezekiah 
Price,  Jacob  Miller,  Adam  Fonerden,  Daniel  Conn, 
E.  H.  Jones,  John  Trimble,  Wm.  Camp,  and  George 
Dobbin  were  appointed  commissioners  to  receive  sub- 
scriptions. Books  were  opened  on  the  2d  of  April, 
1810,  and  five  hundred  and  seventy-three,  then  the 
requisite  number  of  shares,  were  subscribed  on  the 
first  day.  On  the  Itlth  of  April  following  an  election 
was  held  for  directors,  and  Wm.  Flanagan,  Hezekiah 
Price,  Jacob  Miller,  Geo.  Dobbin,  Ludwig  Herring, 
Wni.  Camp,  Joseph  Jamieson,  John  Trimble,  Rich- 
ard H.  Jones,  Wm.  Price,  Daniel  Conn,  David  Burke, 
Matthew  McLoughlin,  Adam  Fornerden,  Cumber- 
land Dugan,  and  John  Okely  were  chosen  directors. 
A  meeting  of  the  directors  was  held  on  the  following 
day,  when,  after  taking  the  usual  oath  of  office,  they 
proceeded  to  fix  the  salary  of  the  president,  and 
adopted  a  resolution  establishing  it  at  one  thousand 
dollars  per  annum.  On  the  19th  the  directors  met  at 
the  house  of  Wm.  Flanagan  and  elected  Thomas 
Dickson  president,  and  James  Dawes  cashier.  The 
salary  of  the  latter  was  fixed  at  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars "and  a  house  to  dwell  in."  On  the  7th  of  May 
the  building  committee  reported  the  purchase  from 
John  Cunningham  of  a  house  and  lot  situated  on 
Baltimore  Street  and  North  Lane  for  $15,500,  and 
the  purchase  was  approved  by  the  board.  On  the 
23d  of  May  the  board  met  at  the  banking-house  and 
resolved  that  it  would  meet  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
counting such  paper  as  might  be  offered  every  Monday 
evening  at  four  o'clock.  Monday,  the  18th  of  June, 
was  fixed  as  the  day  for  the  beginning  of  the  discount 
business,  and  operations  in  this  line  were  accordingly 
begun  on  that  date.     On  the  8th  of  July  Thomas 


Dickson,  the  president,  died,  and  on  the  10th  Philip 
Moore  was  elected  as  his  successor.  On  the  23d  of 
December,  1810,  the  bank  was  incorporated,  with  a 
capital  of  $600,000,  and  on  the  7th  of  January,  1811, 
the  charter  was  accepted  by  the  president  and  directors. 
On  the  22d  of  March,  1859,  the  bank  was  removed  to 
the  building  on  the  west  side  of  South  Street  which 
had  previously  been  occupied  by  the  Baltimore  Life 
Insurance  Company.  Mr.  Moore  was  followed  by 
John  J.  Donaldson  as  president,  and  served  until  his 
death  in  1866,  when  he  was  succeeded  on  the  20th  of 
September  by  Chas.  J.  Baker,  who  has  held  the  po- 
sition from  that  time  until  the  present.  Mr.  Dawes, 
the  first  cashier,  was  succeeded  by  James  L.  Haw- 
kins, who  was  elected  on  the  20th  of  March,  1815. 
George  Grafflin  held  the  position  for  a  time,  and  was 
followed  by  John  Buck,  who  resigned  on  the  7th  of 
April,  1863,  to  take  effect  on  the  1st  of  August.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Charles  Goodwin,  who  was  elected 
on  the  6th  of  July,  1863,  and  served  until  his  death 
in  August,  1874.  S.  Sprigg  Belt  was  elected  cashier 
in  September,  1874,  and  served  until  June,  1877,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Geo.  Sanders,  who  was  elected  act- 
ing cashier,  and  still  retains  the  position.  The  bank 
was  one  of  the  institutions  of  Baltimore  which,  on  the 
22d  of  April,  1861,  loaned  five  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars to  the  municipal  authorities  for  the  defense  of 
the  city.  The  present  splendid  banking-house  was 
erected  in  1868.  In  1840  a  series  of  defalcations,  ex- 
tending over  a  period  of  ten  years,  and  amounting  to 
about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  was  discovered. 
By  the  act  of  1880,  the  bank  was  authorized  to  change 
its  name  to  the  "Corn  Exchange  Bank  of  Baltimore." 
The  capital  of  the  bank  is  $600,000,  and  par  value  of 
stock  $12.50.  The  present  officers  are  Charles  J.  Baker, 
president;  Geo.  Sanders,  acting  cashier;  Directors, 
Geo.  Sanders,  C.  Webb,  Hugh  Sisson,  Benj.  Whitely, 
Charles  E.  Baker,  and  Henry  McShane. 

Charles  J.  Baker,  the  president  of  the  Franklin 
Bank,  is  descended  from  an  old  and  distinguished 
Welsh  family.  His  grandfather,  Richard,  son  of 
Thomas  and  Ann  Jones,  of  Wales,  was  born  in  Caer- 
narvon, North  Wales,  Jan.  3, 1750.  They  were  of  the 
same  family  as  the  celebrated  Welsh  architect,  Inigo 
Jones,  who  lived  during  the  reign  of  Charles  I. 
Richard  Jones  married  the  daughter  of  Peter  and 
Ann  Thompson,  who  was  born  in  Milthorp,  West- 
moreland County,  England,  Nov.  9,  1749.  Richard 
Jones  left  Liverpool  on  the  ship  "  Good  Hope"  on 
Nov.  27,  1783,  bound  for  Baltimore,  where  he  arrived 
on  the  24th  of  March,  1784. 

Jane  Jones,  the  mother  of  Charles  J.  Baker,  was 
born  in  Liverpool,  England,  June  19,  1784,  and  left 
Liverpool,  with  her  mother  and  brother  Thomas,  on 
the  26th  of  August,  1784,  in  the  ship  "  Olive  Branch," 
bound  for  Baltimore,  where  they  arrived  October  30th 
of  the  same  year.  Her  parents  were  Palatines  from 
the  Rhine. 

The  paternal  grandfather  of  Charles  J.  Baker  was 


IILSTOIIY    OF   13ALTIM011E  CITY    AND    COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


born  near  the  Blue  llidge,  where  the  present  town  of 
Reading,  Pa.,  is  situated,  and  when  about  six  years  of 
age  was,  with  a  sister,  the  only  persons  known  to  have 
been  saved  from  a  massacre  by  the  Indians,  and  was 
taken  to  Philadelphia,  from  whence  he  came  to  Bal- 
timore when  about  twelve  years  of' age. 

Mrs.  Dodson,  the  great-great-grandmother  of  Chas. 
J.  Baker,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  Jan.  24,  1699. 
ITer  daughter  Ann  was  married  to  Joseph  Barneston, 
of  Frederick  County,  Md.,  and  their  daughter  Anna 
was  born  Oct.  28,  1757,  aud  married  William  Baker, 
the  grandfather  of  Charles  J.  Baker. 

Charles  Joseph  Baker,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  at  "  Friendsbury,"  Baltimore  City,  May  28, 
1821,  and  resides  at  present  at  his  beautiful  country- 
jjlace,  "  Athol,"  in  Baltimore  County.  He  was  the 
sou  of  William  and  Jane  Baker  (nee  Jones).  Wil- 
liam Baker  was  liorn  in  Baltimore,  and  Jane,  his  wife, 
in  Liverpool,  England.  Mr.  Baker  was  married  to 
Elizabeth  Bosseman,  of  Carlisle,  Pa.,  Jan.  4,  1842. 
Their  children  are  William,  Jr.,  Charles  E.,  Mary  H., 
Bet.,  Richard  J.,  Jr.,  Frank  M.,  and  Ashly  Lee. 

Mr.  Baker's  preparatory  education  was  obtained  at 
the  Franklin  Academy,  Riesterstown,  Baltimore  Co., 
under  the  tuition  of  Prof  N.  C.  Brooks.  In  1835  he 
entered  the  grammar  school  of  Dickinson  College, 
Carlisle,  Pa.,  and  graduated  in  the  class  of  1841,  I 
when  the  Rev.  John  P.  Durbin,  D.D.,  was  president. 
Mr.  Baker  improved  every  hour  of  his  college  life,  [ 
laying  the  basis  of  the  broad  plans  of  business  and 
liis  many  practical  schemes  in  regard  to  the  welfare 
of  the  church  to  which  he  has  been  so  energetically 
devoted.  He  became  united  with  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  1836,  while  at  Dickinson  College, 
and  has  ever  since  been  an  active  member. 

After  his  graduation  he  entered  the  counting-room 
of  his  father's  window-glass  factory,  at  the  foot  of 
Federal  Hill,  Baltimore,  Md.  In  connection  with 
his  brother,  Henry  J.  Baker,  in  1842,  he  entered  into 
the  paint,  oil,  and  glass  trade  at  No.  2  North  Liberty 
.■Street.  The  activity  and  intelligent  enterprise  of  the 
■firm  soon  assured  success,  and  they  became  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  "  Baltimore  Window-glass,  Bottle,  and  Vial 
Works,"  operated  previously  by  Shaum  &  Reitz.  The 
business  increased  so  rapidly  that  they  enlarged  their 
premises  by  removing  to  No.  42  South  Charles  Street,  ! 
under  the  firm-style  of  Baker  &  Bro.  Their  two 
warehouses  at  this  locality  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1850  with  all  their  contents  and  seventy-five  thousand 
dollars  worth  of  stock.  They  immediately  built  their 
present  commodious  warehouses,  and  in  the  same  year 
established  the  'house  of  H.  J.  Baker  &  Bro.  in 
New  York.  It  became  one  of  the  most  important 
firms  in  that  city,  doing  a  very  large  trade  in  paints, 
French  plate  glass,  and  chemicals.  The  late  Henry 
J.  Baker,  who  principally  conducted  the  business  in 
New  York,  rose  to  a  high  position  in  the  great  com- 
mercial centre  afforded  by  that  city,  and  was  held  in 
high  esteem  as  an  exemplary  Christian  geiitleman.       ' 


In  1851,  Joseph  Rogers,  Jr.,  was  admitted  as  a 
member  of  the  Baltimore  firm,  and  the  style  was 
changed  to  Baker  Bros.  &  Co.,  and  continued  thus 
until  1865,  when  Charles  J.  Baker  purchased  the 
entire  interest  of  the  other  partners,  and  admitted 
his  sons,  William  and  Charles  E.,  and  -subsequently 
George  B.,  into  the  firm.  Mr.  Baker  was  elected  a 
director  in  the  Franklin  Bank  in  1859,  and  in  1866  he 
was  elected  president  of  that  bank,  which  position  he 
has  held  ever  since  and  continues  to  hold,  giving 
great  aid  to  the  bank  by  his  fine  financial  ability  ob- 
tained in  broad  commercial  transactions.  In  1860  he 
was  made  a  director  in  the  Canton  Company,  and  in 
1870  was  elected  its  president,  which  position  he  re- 
signed in  1877.  Mr.  Baker  is  also  largely  interested 
in  the  Maryland  White  Lead  Company,  the  Mary- 
land Fertilizing  and  Manufacturing  Company,  the 
Baltimore  Car- Wheel  Company,  the  Chemical  Com- 
pany of  Canton,  of  which  he  is  president,  and  his  son, 
B.  N.  Baker,  secretary.  Mr.  Baker's  influence,  in  con- 
nection with  William  G.  Harrison  and  others,  largely 
aided  in  the  construction  of  the  Union  Railroad  aud 
Tunnel,  giving  two  roads — the  Northern  Central  and 
Western  Maryland — a  tide- water  terminus  at  Canton, 
increasing  immensely  the  manufacturing  and  mercan- 
tile interests  of  Baltimore.  Mr.  Baker  has  always 
manifested  an  interest  in  the  development  of  every 
branch  of  trade  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  has  un- 
selfishly aided  and  contributed  to  the  development 
and  extension  of  public  enterprises,  often  of  a  nature 
calculated  to  rival  his  private  interest,  which  he  has 
never  permitted  to  stand  in  the  way  of  his  public 
spirit.  Not  content  with  individual  effort  to  advance 
the  general  interest  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  Mr. 
Baker  at  one  time  purchased  a  controlling  interest  in 
the  Gazette,  a  Baltimore  daily  paper,  hoping  through 
the  public  press  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  his  useful- 
ness; but  being  so  fully  engaged  otherwise,  he  could 
not  give  it  his  personal  attention,  and  subsequently 
sold  his  interest  in  the  paper  to  Mr.  Welsh.  Mr. 
Baker's  mercantile  life  has  been  far  above  the  resort 
to  misrepresentation  or  attempts  to  impose  "  shoddy" 
on  the  markets.  By  the  character  of  the  material  he 
manufactures  he  has  stamped  his  goods  in  every 
market  with  the  imprint  of  the  true  metal,  and  while 
thus  establishing  his  own  reputation  he  has  published 
far  and  near  the  genuineness  of  Baltimore  articles  of 
manufacture,  and  extended  the  commercial  prosperity 
of  that  city. 

Mr.  Baker's  personal  character  is  above  reproach. 
Fixing  in  his  youth  upon  a  high  standard  of  excel- 
lence, surrounded  at  home  in  his  boyhood  by  the 
best  and  purest  influences  and  models,  with  a  sen- 
sitive appreciation  of  duty  in  all  the  relations  of 
life,  he  ha-s  never  permitted  passion  or  prejudice  to 
warp  his  judgment  or  swerve  him  from  a  straight  and 
honest  course  in  life  ;  to  this  is  added  and  combined 
great  force  of  character,  determination  of  will,  and  a 
quick,  comprehensive  intellect. 


BANKS   AND   BANKERS. 


461 


Mr.  Baker,  as  a  practical  Cliristiau,  has  never  been  ; 
circumscribed    by    the    equivocating    interrogatory,  ] 
"Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?"  but  rather  decidedly  j 
governed  in  life  by  the  broader  spirit  of  his  responsi- 
bility for  his  brothers'  religious  enlightenment,  until 
it  may  be  truly  said,  as  far  as  it  can  be  said  of  men,  ! 
he  is  a  living  epistle  of  the  beauty  of  holiness.     Mr. 
Baker's  religion  is  not  confined  to  Sunday  apparel  and 
the  church,  but  has  been  carried  by  him  to  the  office, 
factory,  work-shop,  bank,  exchange, — in  fact,  wherever 
duty  calls  or  whatever  occupation  demands  his  atten- 
tion, he  infuses  into  the  place  and  those  around  in- 
fluences  and   principles   bearing  the  stamp   of  the 
Master.     His  character  may  be  said  to  have  been 
formed  on  Christian  principles,  fortified  and  strength- 
ened by  the  application  of  religious  truth  as  revealed 
in  the  Word  of  God. 

Mr.  Baker  had  an  early  connection  with  associated 
religious  work,  as  a  trustee  and  member  of  the  "  Balti- 
more City  Station  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church," 
in  rebuilding  and  extending  Eutaw  Street  Methodist 
church,  and  in  the  building  of  Madison  Avenue 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Baker  was  the  prin- 
cipal organizer  and  contributor  to  Chatsworth  Inde- 
pendent Methodist  Church,  and  Bethany  Independent 
Methodist  Church  at  Franklin  Square.  Charles  J. 
Baker  has  contributed  largely,  both  in  money  and 
individual  effort,  especially  to  building  up  and  ex- 
tending the  influence  and  usefulness  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  and  to  the  dissemination  of  religious  truth 
to  the  masses  of  the  people  of  this  city  by  any  and 
all  agencies  that  he  considered  available  for  these 
purposes.  Mr.  Baker  is  still  hale  and  hearty,  with 
all  his  powers  of  mind  and  body  in  full  maturity  and 
unimpaired,  the  result  of  a  systematic  and  temperate 
life,  and  promises  yet  many  years  of  eftbrt  in  behalf 
of  all  those  enterprises  incumbent  on  the  wealthy  cit- 
izen and  incident  to  the  man  of  high  character  in 
the  community  to  which  his  energies  are  devoted. 
His  charities  are  large  and  general,  and  while  his  re- 
ligious opinions  are  very  decided,  they  are  unclouded 
by  bigotry  and  uncircurascribed  by  sect  or  denomina- 
tion, embracing  in  philanthropy  the  whole  brother- 
hood of  man. 

The  Commercial  and  Farmers'  National  Bank  of 
Baltimore  was  organized  in  Jlarch,  1810,  and  books 
for  subscriptions  opened  March  26th,  by  the  following 
commissioners :  Isaac  Burneston,  Henry  Stoufter, 
William  W.  Taylor,  A.  T.  Schwartze,  Charles  Bohn, 
George  Decker,  Isaac  Purnell,  Edward  Harris,  Ben- 
jamin Eicaud,  Jacob  Adams,  Andrew  Clapper,  Talbot 
Jones,  William  Boss,  and  James  Hutton.  At  an  elec- 
tion held  on  the  5th  of  April,  1810,  the  above  gentle- 
men, together  with  N.  F.  Williams,  were  elected  di- 
rectors, and  on  the  6th  of  April  the  directors  elected 
Hon.  Joseph  H.  Nicholson  president,  with  George 
T.  Dunbar  cashier.  On  the  23d  of  December,  1810, 
the  bank  was  incorporated  as  the  Commercial  Far- 
mers'   Bank,   with    an   authorized   capital   stock   of 


$1,000,000.  In  June,  1865,  the  institution  became 
the  Commercial  and  Farmers'  National  Bank  of 
Baltimore,  with  Jesse  Slingluff  as  president,  and 
Joseph  H.  Rieman  as  vice-president.  Its  presidents 
have  been  Joseph  H.  Nicholson,  Isaac  Burneston, 
William  W.  Taylor,  Charles  Bohn,  Jacob  Albert,  Eli 
Claggett,  Thomas  Meredith,  and  Jesse  Slingluff,  who 
has  been  president  since  1854.  Its  capital  stock  is 
$512,560,  and  its  surplus  $115,043.  The  banking- 
house,  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Howard  and  Ger- 
man Streets,  was  built  after  a  design  of  Maximilian 
Godefroy. 

The  City  Bank  of  Baltimore  was  incorporated 
on  the  31st  of  December,  1812,  with  an  authorized 
capital  of  $1,500,000,  divided  into  60,000  shares  of 
$25  each.  The  commissioners  appointed  to  receive 
subscriptions  in  Baltimore  were  Robert  Patterson, 
Charles  Gwynn,  John  Hoff'man,  Henry  Didier,  Jr., 
Samuel  Hollingsworth,  William  Pinkney,  George  J. 
Brown,  Samuel  G.  Griffith,  Levin  Wethered,  Robert 
Barry,  William  H.  Dorsey,  James  Barroll,  Richard 
Frisby,  John  McKim,  Jr.,  Thomas  Ellicott,  Govert 
Haskins,  John  Donnell,  James  Sterett,  Peter  A. 
Karthaus,  and  Samuel  Chase.  Books  for  subscriptions 
for  34,400  shares  were  opened  in  Baltimore  on  the  1st 
of  March,  1813,  and  the  amount  was  subscribed  in 
one  hour  and  a  half.  On  the  7th  of  June,  the  same 
year,  John  Donnell  was  elected  president,  J.  Sterett 
cashier,  and  the  following  gentlemen  directors : 
Charles  Gwinn,  Henry  Didier,  Jr.,  Samuel  G.  Grif- 
fith, George  S.  Brown,  Richard  Frisby,  John  McKim, 
Jr.,  John  Donnell,  Samuel  Chase,  John  Hoffman, 
Levin  Wethered,  James  Barroll,  Thomas  Ellicott,  P. 
A.  Karthaus,  Robert  Patterson,  Govert  Haskins,  and 
Robert  Barry.  In  1819  the  bank  was  obliged  to  sus- 
pend specie  payments,  and  after  struggling  on  for  some 
time  longer  it  was  finally  forced  to  suspend  alto- 
gether. 

The  National  Marine  Bank  was  organized  in 
March,  1810,  and  books  for  subscriptions  were  opened 
on  the  26th  of  that  month.  The  bank  was  chartered 
on  the  23d  of  December  in  the  same  year,  with  Heze- 
kiah  Waters,  Joseph  Biays,  Frederick  Schaeff'er,  Job 
Smith,  Archibald  Kerr,  John  Lee,  Patrick  Bennett, 
John  Coulter,  William  Mondel,  Luke  Keersted,  Thorn- 
dick  Chase,  Joel  Vicker.s,  Baptist  Mezick,  and  Nicho- 
las Stansbury  as  incorporators.  It  was  provided  that 
the  bank  should  be  established  within  that  part  of  the 
city  commonly  called  "Fell's  Point,"  and  that  its 
capital  should  be  $600,000.  The  bank  accordingly 
commenced  business  on  Broadway,  but  removed  in 
1822  to  its  present  location,  northeast  corner  of  Gay 
and  Second  Streets.  The  first  president  of  the  bank 
was  He«ekiah  Waters,  and  the  first  cashier  James 
Law.  Mr.  Waters  served  until  1835,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Jacob  Bier,  upon  whose  death  in  March, 
1859,  B.  A.  Vickers  was  elected.  It  was  converted 
into  a  national  bank  in  February,  1880.  The  capital 
is  $377,000,  and  par  value  of  stock  $.30.    The  oflScers 


462 


HISTORY    OF    BALTIMOllE   CITY   AND    COUNTY,  MAKYLAND. 


are  B.  A.  Vickers,  president;  J.  M.  Littig,  cashier; 
Directors,  George  E.  Bowdoin,  James  Bates,  Samuel  j 
Kirby,   A.    H.   Jenkins,   B.   A.  Vickers,  Alexander 
Rieman,  V.  J.  Brown,  J.  T.  Middleton,  and  W.  A. 
Dunningtou. 

Citizens'  National  Bank.— This  institution  was 
incorporated  on  tlie  2d  of  April,  1836,  with  an  au- 
thorized capital  of  $500,000,  to  be  divided  into  50,000 
shares  of  SlOeach.  Joshua  Dryden,  David  M.  Brown, 
William  Reynolds,  Samuel  Kirk,  Wesley  Cowles, 
George  R.  Mosher,  Allen  GriiBth,  James  Harvey, 
Thomas  Sappington,  John  G.  Proud,  Charles  Chase, 
Mark  Grafton,  and  Isaac  Munroe  were  appointed 
commissioners  to  receive  subscriptions  to  the  stock. 
Books  for  this  purpose  were  opened  on  the  24th  of  ' 
May  in  the  same  year,  and  more  than  one-fifth  of  the 
stock  subscribed  on  the  first  day.  In  1844  the  bank 
wound  up  its  affairs,  but  in  April,  1850,  it  resumed 
operations  under  the  presidency  of  John  Clark,  who 
retained  the  office  until  his  death,  June  1.3,  1867. 
On  the  15th  of  July,  1865,  the  institution  became  a 
national  bank,  under  the  name  of  the  "'  Citizens'  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Baltimore."  The  present  elegant  I 
banking-house,  northeast  corner  of  Hanover  and 
Pratt  Streets,  was  built  in  1869,  and  occupied  in  Sep-  I 
tember  of  that  year.  The  officers  of  the  bank  are 
Henry  James,  president ;  J.  Wesley  Guest,  cashier. 
The  present  capital  is  $500,000,  and  the  par  value  of 
stock  is  $10. 

Henry  James,  president  of  the  Citizens'  National 
Bank,  was  born  July  1, 1821,  in  the  town  of  Truxtun, 
Cortland  Co.,  N.  Y.,  of  English  descent.  His  parents 
were  Nathaniel  and  Elizabeth  IngersoU  James,  natives 
of  Vermont,  who  were  distinguished  for  their  prudent 
and  pious  lives.  His  education  in  the  common  schools 
and  the  academy  was  supplemented  by  the  counsel 
and  example  of  these  wise  and  loving  parents,  and  as 
he  grew  up  to  manhood  he  had  reason  to  bless  the 
home-training  which  he  had  received.  Much  of  his 
youth  was  passed  upon  a  farm,  taking  part  in  all  its 
labors,  thus  strengthening  his  physical  constitution 
and  making  industry  a  habit  which  has  never  forsaken 
him.  In  1840,  Mr.  James  left  his  home,  desiring  to 
try  his  fortune  in  the  world.  He  had  no  capital  but 
his  own  strong  will,  his  readiness  to  grapple  with  work, 
and  his  confidence  in  these  as  his  best  resources.  He 
found  employment  in  New  York  City,  at  which  he 
assiduously  labored  for  three  years,  manWing  to 
maintain  himself  and  profiting  by  his  Ijusiii^s  ex- 
perience and  increased  knowledge  bftlieVorld.  In 
1843  he  landed  in  Baltimore.  He  was  an  entree 
stranger  to  the  city  and  its  people,  but  he  had  looked 
to  Baltimore  as  a  place  where  he  might  succeed  in 
his  ambition  for  enterprise  and  its  reward*,  and  he 
has  found  that  his  intuitions  wore  correct.  The  lum- 
ber business  proved  to  be  the  especial  field  open  to 
his  cultivation ;  from  modest  beginnings  in  it  he  an- 
nually extended  his  operations,  his  name  became 
known  in  all  the  avenues  of  commerce  and  trade,  and 


in  a  few  years  his  adopted  city  was  happy  to  count 
him  among  her  solid  men.  The  wholesale  lumber 
firm  of  Henry  James  &  Co.  is  now  composed  of  him- 
self and  N.  W.  James.  Among  the  partners  have 
been  William  E.  Dodge  and  James  Stokes,  of  New 
York,  and  Daniel  James,  of  Liverpool.  It  has  vast 
tracts  of  timber-land  in  Pennsylvania  and  mills  in 
that  State  and  Harford  County,  Md.,  and  is  one  of  the 
largest  establishments  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States. 
On  the  death  of  the  late  John  Clark,  Mr.  James  was 
elected  president  of  the  Citizens'  National  Bank,  and 
has  been  re-elected  year  after  year  up  to  the  present 
time.  This  bank  has  been  connected  with  the  de- 
velopment of  the  industry  and  commerce  of  Balti- 
more for  a  long  period,  and  under  Mr.  James'  presi- 
dency its  affairs  have  flourished.  Mr.  James  was  one 
of  the  first  projectors  of  the  Baltimore  Warehouse 
Company,  and  is  one  of  its  directors.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1851  to  the  daughter  of  Ammon  Cate,  of  this 
city,  and  has  a  large  family.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  regular  in  the  performance 
of  his  religious  obligations. 

The  present  large  business  of  the  Citizens'  National 
Bank  is  chiefly  due  to  the  intelligent  labor  and  strict 
attention  to  all  the  details  of  its  business  by  Mr. 
James.  The  strong  points  of  his  character  are  visi- 
ble in  his  daily  business, — energetic,  positive,  firm, 
yet  spirited  and  liberal.  He  has  doubled  the  capital 
of  the  bank  since  he  became  its  president,  and  the 
splendid  marble  banking-house  in  which  the  bank  is 
conducted  was  built  under  his  auspices.  His  whole 
business  career  has  been  one  of  honorable  success, 
attained  by  diligent  attention  to  detail  rather  than  by 
speculation,  and  he  -stands  to-day  among  the  solid 
men  of  the  city  without  a  stain  on  a  long  business 
life.  He  is  honored  in  Baltimore,  and  deserves  the 
esteem  in  which  he  is  held. 

The  Western  National  Bank,  on  the  west  side  of 
Eutaw  Street,  near  the  Eutaw  House,  originated  in 
the  Mechanics'  Savings  Fund  Society  of  Baltimore, 
which  was  incorporated  on  the  6th  of  March,  1882, 
with  William  Harden,  Isaac  C.  Lee,  William  Wood- 
ward, Lot  Ensey,  George  Carson,  Abraham  S.  Cole, 
Archibald  George,  Jr.,  William  Swan,  Resin  B.  Simp- 
son, John  Weaver,  John  Brannon,  Christian  D. 
Fahnestock,  David  Martin,  Joel  Wright,  Charles  M. 
Keyser,  Charles  D.  Slingluff",  William  Pennington, 
Thomas  E.  Hambleton,  Timothy  Kelly,  Henry  R. 
Curley,  David  Bixler,  William  Bridges,  Henry  Brice, 
John  Berry,  and  Edward  Spedden  as  incorporators. 
On  the  28th  of  March,  1836,  an  act  was  passed  incor- 
porating the  Western  Bank  of  Baltimore,  and  pro- 
viding for  the  merging  of  the  Mechanics'  Savings 
Fund  Society  into  this  new  corporation,  which  was 
authorized  to  employ  a  capital  of  not  less  than  $500,- 
000,  and  not  more  than  $1,000,000. 

In  July,  1865,  the  institution  was  converted  into  a 
national  bank.  The  .present  capital  is  $500,000,  and 
par  value  of  stock  $20.     Tlie  oflScers  are  Joshua  G. 


( 


BANKS   AND   BANKERS. 


Harvey,  president ;  William  H.  Norris,  cashier ;  and 
Walter  B.  Brooks,  Charles  F.  Mayer,  Matthew  B. 
Clark,  J.  G.  Harvey,  William  S.  Young,  William  M. 
Burns,  D.  Fahnestock,  T.  H.  Garrett,  Francis  Burns, 
Jr.,  George  F.  Sloan,  and  John  Black,  directors. 
The  old  banking-house  has  been  removed,  and  a  new 
building  on  the  site  of  the  old  is  now  (1881)  in 
course  of  construction. 

The  Chesapeake  Bank  of  Baltimore.— This  insti- 
tution was  organized  at  a  meeting  held  March  15, 1832, 
at  which  Joshua  Turner  was  chairman,  and  Samuel 
Barnes  secretary,  as  the  "  Baltimore  Eastern  Savings 
Institution."  On  the  8th  of  May,  1832,  books  were 
opened  for  subscriptions  at  Mr.  Worthington's  house, 
on  Gay  Street,  and  at  Peter  Fenby's  store,  on  Market 
Street,  Fell's  Point,  by  the  following  commissioners: 
Wm.  Reany,  Samuel  Barnes,  Joshua  Mott,  John  S. 
Gittings,  Wm.  Loney,  Wm.  H.  Hansouj  Samuel  Wil- 
liams, Peter  Fenby,  J.  Fitch,  Wm.  Kusk,  Ezekiel 
Dorsey,  Robert  Wilson,  and  B.  J.  Sanders.  On  the 
29lh  of  January,  1833,  the  institution  was  incorpo- 
rated by  the  Legislature  as  the  "  Baltimore  Eastern 
Savings  Company,"  with  the  following  persons  as 
incorporators :  John  S.  Gittings,  Samuel  Williams, 
William  Reany,  Joshua  Turner,  Richard  W.  Adams, 
Townsend  Scott,  Samuel  Rankin,  Alexander  Kirk- 
land,  Wm.  Loney,  Kensey  Johns,  Thomas  Wilson, 
William  G.  Harrison,  B.  J.  Sanders,  John  Amos, 
Jonathan  Fitch,  David  Stewart,  Samuel  Barnes,  Wm. 
H.  Hanson,  Wm.  Rusk,  Peter  Feuby,  Robert  Howard, 
and  Wm.  Hickley.  The  office  of  the  company  was 
at  first  at  No.  27  North  Gay  Street,  but  in  April,  1833, 
it  was  removed  to  the  southwest  corner  of  Gay  and 
Fayette  Streets.  On  the  29th  of  March,  1836,  an  act 
was  passed  authorizing  the  conversion  of  the  Balti- 
more Eastern  Savings  Company  into  the  Chesapeake 
Bank,  with  a  capital  stock  of  not  less  than  $500,000, 
nor  more  than  $1,000,000.  On  the  5th  of  May,  1836, 
books  were  opened  for  subscriptions  in  Baltimore, 
Frederick,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York,  by  the  fol- 
lowing commissioners :  John  S.  Gittings,  Robert  How- 
ard, Joshua  Turner,  John  Kettlewell,  John  Amos, 
Robert  Purviance,  Jr.,  James  C.  Gittings,  George  G. 
Belt,  Henry  Rieman,  J.  I.  Donaldson,  A.  Constable, 
James  Elmore,  Peter  Fenby,  Alexander  Kirkland, 
Townsend  Scott,  Wm.  Ridgeway,  John  H.  Ehlen, 
Archibald  McRoberts,  D.  J.  Ruddach,  Samuel  Scrib- 
ner,  Jacob  Heald,  and  Garret  Brown.  In  1835,  John  S. 
Gittings  was  elected  president  of  the  bank,  and  held 
that  position  until  his  death,  Dec.  8,  1879.  In  1836, 
Mr.  Gittings  was  appointed  commissioner  of  loans 
for  the  State  of  Maryland,  which  office  he  filled  until 
removed  through  a  change  in  the  State's  administra- 
tion. He  was  reinstated  under  Democratic  rule,  but 
again  removed  under  Republican  administration. 
When  the  State  of  Maryland  stopped  payment  of 
interest,  the  Chesapeake  Bank  made  such  large  ad- 
vances to  sustain  the  State's  credit  that  it  was  forced 
to  suspend  temporarily.    Its  charter  expired  in  April, 


1880,  and  was  not  renewed.  The  banking  building 
is  on  the  southeast  corner  of  North  and  Fayette 
Streets.  On  the  30th  of  January,  1864,  the  bank  was 
the  victim  of  an  adroit  swindle  by  which  it  lost  $3700, 
and  on  Tuesday,  June  26,  1866,  two  packages  of  notes 
amounting  to  $11,000  were  stolen  in  open  day  from 
the  desk  of  the  receiving  teller. 

Second  National  Bank. — This  institution  was  in- 
corporated on  the  0th  of  March,  1833,  as  the  Fell's 
Point  Savings  Institution  of  Baltimore.  The  incor- 
porators were  James  Corner,  William  H.  Conklin, 
James  Curtice,  R.  D.  Millholland,  Matthew  Kelly, 
Walter  Price,  George  V.  Sprecklsen,  William  David- 
son, William  Hubbard,  Patrick  Cooney,  John  Glass, 
Ezekiel  Dorsey,  Joseph  Gilbert,  William  Inloes, 
James  Biays,  Alexander  Cummins,  William  H.  Clen- 
dinen,  William  Wickersham,  Thomas  Curtean,  John 
Stansbury,  Robert  Dutton,  David  R.  Wilson,  Peter 
Leary,  and  William  Gardner.  On  the  28th  of  March, 
1836,  an  act  was  passed  providing  conditionally  for 
the  conversion  of  the  Fell's  Point  Savings  Institution 
into  the  Eastern  Bank  of  Baltimore,  with  a  capital  of 
not  less  than  $260,000,  nor  more  than  $500,000.  By 
the  supplementary  acts  of  1836  and  1837  the  time 
originally  allowed  for  complying  with  the  conditions 
was  extended,  but  the  institution  failed  to  avail  itself 
of  the  authority  to  change  its  corporate  name  and 
character.  By  authority  of  an  act  of  Assembly  passed 
March  8,  1864,  and  under  the  provisions  of  the  na- 
tional banking  law,  the  institution,  on  the  5th  of  May, 
1864,  commenced  business  as  a  national  bank,  with  a 
capital  of  $350,000,  and  with  John  J.  Abrahams,  E. 
U.  Robinson,  Jacob  W.  Hugg,  Samuel  Butler,  John 
S,  Oilman,  R.  K.  Hawley,  and  J.  H.  Hugg  as  di- 
rectors. Mr.  Abrahams  was  the  first  president  of  the 
institution  after  it  became  a  national  bank,  and  John 
W.  Randolph  cashier.  The  location  of  the  bank  was 
formerly  at  173  South  Broadway,  but  on  the  11th  of 
October,  1865,  it  was  removed  to  its  present  location, 
147  South  Broadway,  corner  of  Eastern  Avenue.  Its 
present  capital  is  $500,000,  and  par  value  of  stock 
$100.  The  officers  are  John  S.  Gilman,  president ;  J. 
H.  Bawden,  cashier ;  Directors,  Edward  W.  Robin- 
son, John  S.  Gilman,  Horace  Abbott,  Alexander 
Jones,  E.  K.  Hawley,  C.  C.  Homer,  and  J.  J.  Robin- 

The  Merchants'  National  Bank  was  incorporated 
on  the  11th  of  March,  1835,  with  an  authorized  capi- 
tal of  $2,000,000,  in  shares  of  $100  each.  Samuel  Hoff- 
man, John  B.  Howell,  Thomas  Harrison,  Wm.  Craw- 
ford, Jr.,  Thomas  W.  Hall,  Osmand  C.  Tiffany,  Jo- 
seph Todhunter,  Samuel  Jones,  Jr.,  Alexander  Mur- 
dock,  Evan  P.  Thomas,  James  Barroll,  and  John 
Gibson  were  appointed  commissioners  to  receive  sub- 
scriptions, and  books  were  opened  for  this  purpose  on 
the  4th  of  May  of  the  same  year  in  Baltimore  and  in 
the  counties  throughout  the  State.  During  the  ten 
days  on  which  the  books  were  open  the  subscrip- 
tions amounted  to  more  than  thirty-six  millions  of 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMOllE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


dollars  in  Baltimore  alone,  the  charter  limiting  the 
(.■:i])ital  to  two  millions.  In  July  following  George 
Brown  was  ck'ctcd  president,  and  J.  B.  Howell, 
Joscpli  Todliuntcr,  Osmond  C.  Tiffany,  Samuel 
.Jones,  Jr.,  Thomas  W.  Hall,  James  Barroll,  Evan 
I'.  Thomas,  Win.  Crawford,  Jr.,  Thomas  Harrison, 
Samuel  Hoffman,  John  Gibson,  and  Alexander  Mur- 
(lock  were  elected  directors.  Mr.  Brown  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John  McKim,  Jr.,  and  Mr.  McKim  by 
James  Swann,  in  June,  1837.  In  June,  1865,  the  in- 
stitution became  a  national  bank,  under  the  name  of 
the  Merchants'  National  Bank.  Daniel  Sprigg  was 
cashier  of  the  bank  from  its  establishment  until  his 
death,  on  the  21st  of  January,  1871.  The  present 
capital  of  the  bank  is  $1,500,000,  and  par  value  of 
stock  $100.  The  surplus  capital  is  $455,000.  The 
banking-house  is  situated  at  the  southwest  corner  of 
Gay  and  Second  Streets.  The  officers  are  Alexander  H. 
Stump,  president ;  Douglass  H.  Stump,  cashier ;  Alex- 
ander H.  Stump,  Wm.  H.  Graham,  Joseph  P.  Elliott, 
George  P.  Frick,  Richard  D.  Fisher,  Wm.  H.  Bald- 
win, Jr.,  L.  W.  Gunther,  and  Robinson  W.  Cator. 

The  National  Farmers  and  Planters'  Bank  of 
Baltimore  was  iiic<,ri"iruted  April  4,  1836,  with  an 
authorized  capital  of  82,000,000,  the  following  gentle- 
men being  appointed  commissioners  to  receive  sub- 
scriptions: Joseph  W.  Patterson,  Hugh  Boyle,  James 
Hooper,  William  Cooke,  Luther  J.  Cox,  John  Brad- 
ford, Robert  D.  Burns,  Thomas  R.  Mathews,  David  { 
Keener,  William  Thompson,  Galloway  Cheston,  Wil- 
liam E.  Mayhew,  William  Hughlett,  John  C.  Henry, 
Charles  S.  W.  Dorsey,  and  William  Ferguson.  On 
the  6th  of  April  notice  was  given  by  the  commission- 
ers that  books  for  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock 
would  be  opened  at  the  Baltimore  House  on  the  9th 
of  May,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors 
at  the  same  place  on  the  10th  of  June,  James  Ches- 
ton was  unanimously  elected  president.  The  bank 
commenced  business  Oct.  4,  1836.  Mr.  Cheston  died 
May  31,  1843,  and  was  succeeded  July  5th  by  Wil- 
liam E.  Mayhew,  who  died  April  10, 1860,  and  on  the 
same  date  was  succeeded  by  Enoch  Pratt,  who  still 
holds  that  position.  The  bank  has  had  but  two 
cashiers,— Thomas  B.  Rutter,  elected  June  27,  1836, 
died  Nov.  4,  1867,  and  the  present  cashier,  Richard 
Cornelius,  elected  Nov.  7,  1867.  The  bank  com- 
menced business  at  No.  17  South  Street.  On  September 
28, 1867,  it  was  moved  to  its  present  location,  corner  of 
South  and  German  Streets.  On  May  15,  1865,  it  was 
organized  as  a  national  bank.  The  amount  of  capi- 
tal stock  paid  in  Dec.  31,  1880,  was  $800,000.  The 
l)resent  officers  are  Enoch  Pratt,  president ;  Richard 
Cornelius,  cashier;  Directors,  Enoch  Pratt,  Thomas 
Whitridge,  William  Hopkins,  Lawrence  Thomson, 
David  L.  Bartlett,  Francis  White,  J.  Alexander  Shri- 
vcr,  Philip  T.  George,  Charles  T.  Boehm,  and  Henry 
Walters. 

Enoch  Pratt,  president  of  the  National    Farmers 
and    Planters'   Bank,  was  born  in    North  Middle- 


borough,  Plymouth  Co.,  Mass.,  Sept.  10,  1808,  and  is 
the  son  of  Isaac  Pratt  and  Naomi  Keith.  His  an- 
cestor, Phineas  Pratt,  who  arrived  at  Plymouth, 
Mass.,  in  the  ship  "  Ann"  in  1623,  and  died  at 
Charleston  April  9,  1680,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven 
years,  was  cotemporary  with  the  Pilgrim  fathers,  and 
was  one  of  those  who  fled  from  persecution  in  the 
Old  World  to  enjoy  political  and  religious  liberty  in 
the  new  laud.  On  the  maternal  side  he  is  descended 
from  Rev.  James  Keith,  who  came  to  Massachusetts 
from  Scotland  in  the  year  1662  and  settled  at  Bridge- 
water.  Enoch  Pratt  left  school  at  the  age  of  fifteen, 
and  served  an  apprenticeship  of  six  years  as  a  clerk 
in  a  Boston  store,  where  his  business  faculties  were 
early  developed,  and  he  exhibited  those  qualities  of 
clear  judgment  and  tireless  application  that  have 
since  made  him  a  leading  financier  and  capitalist  in 
his  adopted  city.  In  1831,  Mr.  Pratt  removed  to 
Baltimore  and  engaged  in  business  as  a  commission 
merchant.  He  founded  the  very  successful  whole- 
sale iron  house  of  E.  Pratt  &  Bro.,  which  now  con- 
sists of  himself  and  Henry  Janes,  and  has  given 
much  of  his  time  and  ability  to  important  financial 
and  industrial  enterprises.  He  is  president  of  the 
Farmers  and  Planters'  National  Bank,  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and  Baltimore 
Railroad  Company,  and  a  director  of  the  Savings- 
Bank  of  Baltimore.  In  the  early  days  of  the  Phila- 
delphia, Wilmington  and  Baltimore  Railroad,  Mr. 
Pratt  had  no  hesitation  in  taking  a  large  block  of  its 
stock,  by  which  action  he  identified  himself  with  a 
line  of  railway  which  in  its  accommodations  to  the 
public  is  not  surpassed  anywhere,  and  in  whose  admin- 
istration he  has  ever  since  exercised  an  influence  as 
valuable  as  powerful.  He  has  filled  many  offices  in 
connection  with  reformatory  and  charitable  institu- 
tions, and  is  now  president  of  the  House  of  Reforma- 
tion and  Instruction  for  Colored  Children,  at  Chelten- 
ham, Prince  George's  Co.,  Md.,  and  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Managers  of  the  Maryland  House  of  Correc- 
tion. The  Cheltenham  institution  would  hardly  have 
been  established  but  for  Mr.  Pratt's  liberality  and 
perseverance.  He  saw  with  grief  that  there  was 
actually  no  refuge  for  the  homeless  and  friendless 
multitude  of  colored  children  swarming  in  the  streets 
of  Baltimore  and  left  to  grow  up  in  idleness  and  vice, 
and  he  projected,  with  the  aid  of  a  few  kindred  spirits, 
the  House  of  Reformation,  where  these  waifs  are  now- 
kindly  cared  for  and  taught  to  become  good  and  in- 
dustrious men,  freely  donating  his  own  farm  property 
for  its  site.  The  Priihoily  Institute  has  for  many 
years  been  benefited  1>\  ilir  iiilluriice  of  Mr.  Pratt  in 
its  administration,  and  as  its  treasurer  his  experience 
in  financial  affiiirs  has  been  given  to  the  management 
of  the  millions  bequeathed  to  Baltimore  by  the  late 
eminent  banker.  He  has  also  taken  much  interest 
in  the  Nursery  and  Child's  Hospital,  one  of  the 
noblest  of  local  charities,  and  in  the  Maryland  Insti- 
tute for  the  Promotion  of  the  Mechanic  Arts.    The 


BANKS   AND    BANKERS. 


465 


costly  clock  in  the  tower  of  the  Institute  Building  is 
his  gift.  In  1877  he  was  unanimously  elected  by  the 
City  Council  one  of  the  finance  commissioners  of  Bal- 
timore, a  post  of  honor  and  great  responsibility.  This 
was  all  the  more  a  compliment  to  him  personally  for 
the  reason  that  he  was  politically  opposed  to  the 
dominant  party,  and  was  the  only  Republican  ever 
invited  by  a  Democratic  City  Council  to  accept  the 
position.  As  a  commissioner  his  ripe  wisdom  and 
thorough  knowledge  were  invaluable  in  shaping  the 
financial  policy  of  the  municipality,  but  the  pressure 
of  private  business  compelled  his  withdrawal  from  the 
board.  In  1880,  Mr.  Pratt  was  solicited  to  become 
the  Republican  candidate  for  Congress  from  the 
Fourth  District  of  Maryland,  but  he  was  unable  to 
sacrifice  his  business  interests  to  the  call  of  party, 
and  was  compelled  to  decline  the  nomination  that 
had  been  tendered  him  by  the  convention.  For  a  j 
short  time  he  was  president  of  the  Baltimore  City  I 
Passenger  Railway  Company,  and  until  recently  was 
a  very  heavy  stockholder  in  that  corporation.  He  is 
in  the  fall  possession  of  mental  and  physical  vigor,  and 
enjoying  the  rewards  of  an  unspotted  career  embracing 
more  than  half  a  century  of  active  business  life.  Un- 
assuming in  manner  and  never  courting  public  no- 
toriety, Mr.  Pratt  is  still  an  exceedingly  acute  ob- 
server of  men  and  events,  and  takes  a  most  intelligent 
interest  in  politics  and  legislation  when  they  afiect  I 
the  general  welfare,  and  his  influence  has  frequently 
been  felt  in  the  City  Councils  and  the  legislative 
halls  at  Annapolis  in  procuring  action  upon  import- 
ant measures.  He  quickly  sees  through  a  mask  that 
is  intended  to  hide  a  mischievous  project,  and  has 
exposed  many  whose  success  would  have  been  a  public 
calamity.  On  Aug.  1,  1839,  Mr.  ,Pratt  was  married 
to  Maria  Louisa  Hydz,  whose  paternal  ancestors  ! 
were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Massachusetts,  j 
while  on  the  mother's  side  she  is  descended  from  a 
German  family  who  located  in  Baltimore  more  than 
a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.     They  are  childless. 

The  Howard  Bank,  northwest  corner  of  Howard 
and  Fayette  Streets,  was  incorporated  on  the  5th  of 
February,  1848,  as  the  Howard  Street  Savings-Bank, 
with  Joseph  Simms,  Elias  Shaw,  George  C.  Addison, 
Anthony  Bonm,  George  R.  Cinnamond,  Benjamin  C. 
Barroll,  Nathan  C.  Brooks,  Samuel  Guest,  Moses  G. 
Hinds,  William  Robinson,  Daniel  C.  H.  Emory,  John 
G.  Hewes,  James  L.  Collins,  William  H.  Emory,  S. 
M.  Cochrane,  William  Gunnison,  Charles  S.  Willit, 
David  Whitson,  John  Showacre,  George  R.  Quail, 
William  Gibson,  Jr.,  John  Higham,  William  E. 
Whetson,  John  B.  Emory,  William  Reese,  Amos  B. 
Shaw,  John  Ahern,  James  M.  Lester,  George  M. 
Smith,  William  S.  Browning,  John  A.  Thompson, 
John  C.  Smith,  Lawson  P.  Keach,  Charles  W.  Keach, 
Wells  Chase,  Allen  T.  Lewis,  Solomon'  H.  Phillips, 
James  Matthews,  and  James  Macpherson  as  incorpo- 
rators. By  the  act  of  March  9,  1850,  the  bank  was 
empowered  to  issue  notes  of  the  nature  and  in  the 


usual  form  of  bank-notes,  and  by  the  act  of  March 
10,  1854,  the  name  of  the  institution  was  changed  to 
the  Howard  Bank,  and  its  powers  further  enlarged. 
Its  capital  is  $200,000,  and  par  value  of  stock  $10. 
Samuel  Edwards  is  president,  Thomas  G.  Ridgeway 
cashier;  Directors,  James  S.  Wilson,  R.  Lawson, 
Caleb  Kelly,  John  R.  Cox,  Henry  Wirt,  David  Har- 
lan, D.  C.  Weaver,  Samuel  Edmonds,  G.  N.  Hollo- 
way,  Jr.,  John  Ferry,  Joseph  Fink,  John  G.  Me- 
Cullough. 

The  People's  Bank. — This  bank  was  incorporated 
on  the  18th  of  May,  185.3,  as  the  Fremont  Savings 
Institution,  with  Joseph  Harvey,  William  G.  Thomas, 
Jesse  Hay,  William  Wilkins,  Thomas  J.  Townsend, 
James  W.  Bowers,  Joseph  H.  Curley,  William  M. 
Woods,  Peter  Deible,  Isaac  Mules,  Joshua  H.  Hynes, 
Jr.,  E.  Morrison,  James  C.  Kirkle,  Philip  J.  Thomas, 
H.  C.  Forman,  J.  H.  Hynes,  Simon  S.  Bowis,  and 
James  Mitchell  as  incorporators.  By  the  act  of 
March  6,  1856,  the  bank  was  empowered,  with  the 
consent  of  the  depositors,  to  convert  the  deposits  into 
capital  stock  to  the  extent  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars.  It  was  further  authorized  to  re- 
ceive additional  subscriptions  to  the  stock  created  as 
above,  and  it  was  provided  that  as  soon  as  seventy-five 
thousand  dollars  should  be  paid  as  part  of  the  capital 
stock  the  corporation  might  assume  and  adopt  the 
name  of  the  "People's  Bank  of  Baltimore,"  and 
under  that  name  should  be  entitled  to  all  the  rights 
of  other  banking  institutions  of  the  State,  together 
with  its  former  privilege  of  receiving  money  on  de- 
posit as  a  saving  institution.  The  first  banking-house 
was  situated  on  the  south  side  of  West  Baltimore 
Street,  between  Schroeder  and  Oregon  Streets ;  at 
present  it  is  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Baltimore  and 
Paca  Streets.  The  first  president  of  the  People's 
Bank  was  Miles  White.  He  was  succeeded  by  David 
Carson,  who  served  in  that  position  for  twelve  years. 
At  his  death  he  was  succeeded  by  Jacob  J.  Taylor, 
who  was  followed  by  E.  A.  Clabaugh.  On  the  night 
of  the  15th  of  August,  1868,  about  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars was  stolen  from  the  bank  by  burglars,  who  ef- 
fected an  entrance  through  the  west  wall  of  an  ad- 
joining warehouse.  The  capital  is  $111,740,  and  par 
value  of  stock  $20.  The  present  officers  are  E.  A. 
Clabaugh,  president ;  Theodore  G.  Austin,  cashier  ; 
and  H.  H.  Chase,  E.  A.  Clabaugh,  W.  H.  Brown, 
William  H.  Abrahams,  and  J.  H.  Judick,  board  of 
directors. 

The  Bank  of  Commerce,  No.  26  South  Street, 
was  chartered  on  the  10th  of  March,  1854,  with 
Moore  N.  Falls,  Frederick  Schumaker,  Lewis  Au- 
doun,  John  Wilson,  and  Charles  R.  Taylor  as  incor- 
porators, with  an  authorized  capital  of  $.300,000.  In 
1855  it  was  found  necessary  to  reorganize  the  manage- 
ment, and  Jas.  W.  Alnutt  was  elected  president,  and 
Geo.  C.  Miller  cashier.  Its  present  capital  is  $202,- 
500.  Its 'officers  are  Eugene  Levering,  president; 
James  R.  Edmunds,  cashier ;  Directors,  Eugene  Lev- 


466 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ering,  Geo.  O.  Manning,  Charles  Reeder,  Thomas  H. 
Hanson,  James  S.  Forbes,  James  R.  Clark,  and  John 
C.  King. 

The  Old  Town  Bank,  southeast  corner  of  Gay  and 
E.\eter  Streets,  was  incorporated  on  the  2d  of  March, 
1858,  as  tlie  Old  Town  Savings  Institution  of  Balti- 
more. It  provided  in  the  charter  that  the  institution 
should  always  be  located  east  of  Jones'  Falls  and 
north  of  Baltimore  Street.  The  incorporators  were 
Wni.  Whitelock,  H.  F.  Stickney,  Caleb  W.  Burgess, 
James  Musgrove,  Charles  B.  Green,  James  "Webb, 
Samuel  McCubbin,  Joseph  C.  Boyd,  James  McNiel, 
Jr.,  George  J.  Kennard,  Charles  H.  Mercer,  James 
Lucas,  James  D.  Mason,  William  J.  King,  Edmund 
Wolf,  Thomas  J.  Welby,  James  R.  Flemming,  Wm. 
P.  Leightner,  Wm.  Rogers,  and  Winston  Barnes. 
The  first  officers  were  Wm.  Whitelock,  jiresident;  C. 
W.  Burgess,  treasurer ;  Joseph  C.  Boyd,  H.  F.  Stick- 
ney, James  Musgrove,  Thomas  J.  Welby,  James 
Webb,  James  D.  Mason,  Richard  Fonder,  Charles  W. 
Ely,  George  J.  Kennard,  and  Anion  Green,  directors. 
James  Webb  succeeded  Mr.  Whitelock  as  president 
on  the  9th  of  April,  1861,  and  E.  G.  Hipsley  succeeded 
Mr.  Webb  on  the  5th  of  January,  1875.  By  the  act 
of  1872,  ch.  6,  the  name  of  the  institution  was  changed 
to  the  "  Old  Town  Bank  of  Baltimore,"  and  the  origi- 
nal charter  amended  in  various  particulars.  By  this 
act  it  was  provided  that  the  capital  of  the  bank  should 
be  $500,000,  divided  into  shares  of  the  par  value  of 
$10  each,  and  that  as  soon  as  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  should  be  paid  up  the  corporation  should  be 
entitled  to  all  the  rights,  powers,  and  privileges  of 
other  State  banking  institutions.  The  present  capital 
is  $150,000.  The  officers  are  E.  G.  Hipsley,  president; 
Theodore  F.  Wilcox,  cashier;  Directors,  Wm.  H.  B. 
Fusselbaugh,  James  Musgrove,  Lewis  Seldner,  Chas. 
W.  Hatter,  Beruhard  Clark,  Daniel  Donnelly,  Chas. 
Tyler,  and  N.  Rufus  Gill. 

The  First  National  Bank  was  incorporated  under 
the  national  currency  act  of  February,  1863,  and 
was  organized  November  16th  of  the  same  year. 
Dec.  2,  1863,  a  meeting  of  the  stockholders  was  held 
in  the  president  and  directors'  room  of  the  Citizens' 
Bank,  corner  of  Pratt  and  Hanover  Streets,  and  on 
motion  of  Johns  Hopkins,  Gen.  Columbus  O'Don- 
nell  took  the  chair,  and  J.  W.  Guest,  cashier  of  the 
Citizens'  Bank,  was  appointed  secretary  of  the  meet- 
ing. The  articles  of  association  were  read  and 
signed,  and  it  was  shown  that  one  million  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  had  already  been  subscribed.  On  mo- 
tion of  Thomas  Wilson,  Messrs.  Wm.  Kennedy,  Wm. 
Fisher,  and  Archibald  Sterling,  Sr.,  were  appointed 
a  committee  to  nominate  nine  directors,  and  reported 
the  names  of  the  following  gentlemen,  who  were 
elected :  Thomas  Swann,  Columbus  O'Donnell,  John 
Clark,  Benjamin  Deford,  Wm.  J.  Albert,  Horace 
Abbott,  Thomas  Kelso,  Wm.  E.  Hooper,  and  Johns 
Hopkins.  Immediately  after  their  election,  the  di- 
rectors elcctc<l  Hon.  Thomas  Swann  president  of  the 


bank.  The  first  stockholders  or  subscribers  were 
Thomas  Swann,  A.  M.  White,  John  Clark,  Wm.  J. 
Albert,  Columbus  O'Donnell,  Geo.  S.  Ai)pokl,  Ben- 
jamin Deford,  Johns  Hopkins,  Wm.  Kennedy,  George 
Bartlett,  Wm.  E.  Hooper,  H.  S.  Shryock,  Thomas 
Kelso,  Samuel  Phillip,  S.  R.  Hardesty,  Thomas  Ken- 
sett,  Thomas  Pierce,  Thomas  Wilson,  Samuel  Kirby, 
Thos.  Whitridge,  Galloway  Cheston,  Isaac  Tyson,  Wm. 
Heald,  S.  M.  Shoemaker,  T.  F.  Troxwell,  Archibald 
Sterling,  Sr.,  A.  Lorman,  Nathan  Pusey,  John  Coate.s, 
Wm.  H.  Shryock,  G.  K.  Taylor,  Wm.  Fisher,  Horace 
Abbott,  George  Small,  J.  G.  Cockey,  Geo.  R.  Dodge, 
George  F.  Webb,  J.  I.  Fisher,  Wm.  S.  Rayner,  and 
James  Hooper.  None  of  these  subscribers,  it  is  said, 
took  less  than  ten  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  stock. 
Mr.  Swann  served  until  Dec.  18,  1866,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Columbus  O'Donnell,  elected  Dec.  18, 
1866,  who  served  until  his  death,  May  25,  1873. 
June  3,  IS?."..  .1.  Sauiin  Xorris  was  elected  president, 
and  has  liehl  llini  |".-iti..M  ever  since.  The  banking- 
house  is  loiatcMl  at  No.  s  South  Gay  Street,  and  occu- 
pies the  old  Oliver  or  Patterson  mansion,  which  was 
purchased  and  fitted  up  for  the  purposes  of  the  insti- 
tution. It  commenced  business  about  the  1st  of 
March,  1864.  The  amount  of  capital  stock  paid  in 
Dec.  31, 1880,  was  $1,110,000.  Its  present  officers  are 
J.  Saurin  Norris,  president ;  Horace  Abbott,  vice- 
president;  E.  J.  Penniman, cashier;  Directors,  Horace 
Abbott,  William  E.  Hooper,  Samuel  M.  Shoemaker, 
George  Small,  John  G.  Cockey,  J.  Saurin  Norris, 
Gilmor  Meredith,  Thomas  Pierce,  and  John  W.  Hall. 

The  National  Exchange  Bank  was  chartered  in 
1865,  with  a  capital  of  $300,000,  and  opened  its  doors 
for  business  on  the  29th  of  May  in  that  year.  Daniel 
Miller  was  the  first  president,  and  H.  R.  Riddle  the 
first  cashier.  In  1867,  Mr.  Miller  was  succeeded  by 
John  Hurst,  who  remained  president  until  his  death, 
April  12,  1880.  The  present  capital  is  $600,000.  The 
officers  are  William  T.  Dixon,  president ;  J.  P.  New, 
cashier ;  Directors,  B.  F.  Parlett,  John  E.  Hurst,  Wil- 
liam T.  Dixon,  H.  C.  Smith,  David  T.  Buzby,  R. 
Walter,  Francis  T.  King,  Summerficld  Baldwin, 
Daniel  Miller. 

The  Third  National  Bank  of  Baltimore  was  or- 
ganized Dec.  15,  1864,  with  William  Whitelock  as 
president,  and  was  chartered  Feb.  17,  1865,  with  a 
capital  of  $600,000.  The  first  board  of  directors  con- 
sisted of  WilliamWhitelock,  Thomas  Y.  Canby,  Ger- 
ard T.  Hopkins,  Gerard  H.  Reese,  Jeremiah  Wheel- 
wright, P.  S.  Chappell,  William  H.  Crawford,  J. 
Franklin  Dix,  James  Carey  Coale,  and  E.  L.  Parker. 
The  bank  opened  for  business  May  23,  1865.  Mr. 
Whitelock  was  succeeded  as  president,  Aug.  10,  1869, 
by  Thomas  Y.  Canby,  and  Mr.  Canby  by  Philip  S. 
Chappell,  Jan.  12,  1870.  Mr.  Chappell  died  May  21, 
1875,  and  Mr.  Canby  was  elected  vice-president  June 
2d  of  that  year,  and  president  March  6, 1878,  and  still 
holds  that  position.  The  bank  is  situated  at  No.  31 
South  Street.    Sci)t.  26,  1877,  with  the  consent  of  the 


BANKS   AND   BANKERS. 


467 


stockholders,  it  was  determined  to  reduce  the  capital 
from  $600,000  to  $500,000,  which  was  accordingly 
done.  In  March,  1870,  the  bank  was  victimized  to 
the  amount  of  .$6500  by  a  forged  certified  check  upon 
a  New  York  bank.  Sunday,  Aug.  18,  1872,  burglars 
entered  the  bank  by  cutting  through  the  vault  from 
the  building  on  the  north  side,  and  carried  off  about 
$65,000  in  cash  and  over  $100,000  in  bonds  of  various 
kinds.  On  the  Ist  of  February,  1881,  the  bank  had 
been  in  operation  fifteen  years  and  eight  months,  had 
paid  twenty-seven  dividends,  and  passed  four  on  ac- 
count of  losses.  Thirteen  of  the  dividends  paid  were 
five  per  cent,  each  ;  one  was  four  and  a  half  per  cent. ; 
three,  four  per  cent. ;  and  ten  were  three  per  cent. 
The  present  board  of  directors  consists  of  Thomas  Y. 
Canby,  William  H.  Crawford,  Samuel  E.  Hoogewerf, 
Henry  S.  Shryock,  James  S.  Hagerty,  Jacob  Tome,  J. 
Franklin  Dix,  John  Curlett,  John  E.  H.  Boston,  and 
Henry  Shriver.  The  bank's  capital  Feb.  1,  1881,  was 
$500,000 ;  surplus,  $42,600. 

The  Traders'  National  Bank  was  organized  in 
1865  as  the  First  National  Bank  of  Annapolis,  and 
opened  for  business  in  that  city  June  5,  1865,  with 
Wm.  H.  Tuck  as  president.  By  act  of  Congress  of 
June,  1872,  the  bank  was  moved  to  Baltimore,  and  its 
name  changed  to  the  Traders'  National  Bank  of  Bal- 
timore. As  such  it  opened  its  doors  for  business,  with 
"Wm.  H.  Tuck  as  president,  on  the  1st  of  June,  1874, 
at  its  present  location,  northwest  corner  of  Light  and 
German  Streets.  A  few  months  afterwards  Mr.  Tuck 
resigned,  and  Isaac  S.  George  was  elected  president, 
and  still  holds  that  position.  Its  capital  is  $230,000, 
and  its  other  officers  are  Clayton  Cannon,  cashier; 
Isaac  S.  George,  H.  T.  Vickery,  John  H.  Fowler, 
Wm.  T.  Markland,  T.  C.  Basshor,  Alexander  Shaw, 
and  B.  Buck  Porter. 

Isaac  S.  George,  president  of  the  Traders'  National 
Bank,  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  July  18,  1818. 
He  is  the  son  of  James  B.  George,  who  was  born  near 
Govanstown,  in  Baltimore  County,  in  1794.  When  a 
boy  James  B.  George  was  apprenticed  to  John 
Schroeder  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  shoemaker.  At  the 
termination  of  his  apprenticeship  he  worked  as  a 
journeyman  for  John  Kierl,  for  whom  he  subsequently 
became  foreman,  until  1823.  He  then  commenced 
the  shoe  business  on  his  own  account  in  Centre  Mar- 
ket Space,  and  continued  in  it  until  1857,  when  he 
retired.  In  the  war  of  1812  he  was  stationed  with 
his  regiment  at  Fort  McHenry  during  its  bombard- 
ment, and  was  a  member  of  the  Old  Defenders'  Asso- 
ciation until  his  death,  Feb.  1, 1869.  James  B.  George 
was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Legislature  of  Maryland 
in  1852.  He  was  a  member  of  the  City  Council  in 
1861.  His  ancestors  were  French  Huguenots,  and 
emigrated  to  this  country  in  1730,  and  were  promi- 
nent in  the  battle  of  Brandywine.  The  paternal 
grandmother  of  Isaac  S.  George,  Elizabeth  A.  George, 
was  one  of  the  original  members  of  Light  Street 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.     Her  connection  with 


it  covered  a  period  of  seventy  years,  lasting  until  her 
death  at  the  age  of  ninety-six  years.  His  paternal 
grandfather,  Frederick,  was  a  carpenter  at  Govans- 
town, Baltimore  County. 

His  maternal  ancestors  were  Scotch-Irish,  born  in 
the  county  of  Derry,  Ireland,  and  emigrated  to 
America  in  1801.  His  maternal  grandfather  was 
John  Stewart^  whose  wife's  maiden  name  was  Nancy 
Glasgo.  They  were  originally  Calvinistic  Presby- 
terians, and  belonged  to  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Churcli,  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Lloyd  Streets, 
under  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  John  Glendy.  Mr. 
George's  mother  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1800,  and 
came  with  the  family  to  this  country  in  1801.  Her 
maiden  name  was  Mary  Ellen  Stewart.  His  father 
and  mother  were  married  Aug.  3,  1817,  and  had  ten 
children,  of  whom  Isaac  was  the  eldest.  Mr.  George 
was  married  by  the  Rev.  James  Shrigley,  of  the  First 
Univcrsalist  Church,  Feb.  3,  1843,  to  Elizabeth  A. 
Mann,  who  was  born  in  Halifax,  August,  1818,  during 
the  temporary  residence  of  her  parents  there  while 
era  route  for  the  United  States.  They  were  members 
of  the  Rev.  John  M.  Duncan's  church  on  Fayette 
Street,  but  subsequently  aided  in  the  establishment 
of  a  Univcrsalist  Church  in  Baltimore.  Eleven  chil- 
dren were  the  result  of  this  marriage,  five  of  whom 
are  now  living, — Mary  Ellen  (wife  of  David  L. 
Maulsby),  Sarah  Mann  (wife  of  Marcus  W.  Wolf), 
Katie  B.,  Lillie  A.,  and  G.  W.  Russell  George.  The 
eldest  son  of  Mr.  George,  J.  Brown  George,  an  ex- 
emplary man  of  high  business  qualifications,  in  the 
full  tide  of  success  in  the  commission  boot  and  shoe 
business,  was  killed  suddenly  by  falling  from  a  win- 
dow of  the  warehouse  on  the  corner  of  Sharp  and 
Lombard  Streets,  on  the  9th  of  July,  1880.  Mr. 
George's  education  was  limited  to  the  ordinary  Eng- 
lish branches  taught  by  Dr.  Shrigley,  Mr.  Reese, 
Dr.  Francis  Waters,  and  S.  A.  Rossell  in  this  city. 
At  thirteen  years  of  age  he  left  school  to  assist  his 
father  in  business,  with  whom  he  continued  until  he 
established  an  independent  business  in  Centre  Market 
Space,  where  he  continued  for  many  years,  until  he 
was  compelled  to  change  his  business  on  account  of 
bad  health. 

In  1864,  in  connection  with  his  .son,  J.  Brown 
George,  he  established  the  house  of  Isaac  L.  George 
&  Son,  at  No.  252  West  Baltimore  Street,  where  he 
remained  until  he  built  the  warehouse  northeast  cor- 
ner of  Baltimore  and  Liberty  Streets,  into  which  the 
firm  moved.  The  iirm  met  with  ordinary  success. 
In  1875,  Mr.  George  retired  from  the  firm,  but  the 
business  was  continued  by  J.  Brown  George  until  his 
death,  after  which  he  again  entered  into  business 
with  his  youngest  son,  carrying  on  the  boot  and 
shoe  business  under  the  firm-style  of  "G.  W.  Russell 
George  &  Co." 

Mr.  George  has  held  the  following  business  posi- 
tions :  In  1869  was  made  president  of  the  Atlantic 
and  George's  Creek  Coal  Company.     On  the  reorgan- 


HISTORY  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ization  of  the  company  Mr.  George  vacated  the  presi- 
dency. In  1868  was  elected  president  of  the  Atlantic 
Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  Company,  which  he  held 
for  some  years,  until,  according  to  his  advice,  the  com- 
pany closed  the  business,  discharging  all  obligations 
in  full.  Mr.  George  is  not  a  member  of  any  church, 
nor  demonstrative  in  his  religious  sentiments,  which 
are  nevertheless  firmly  fixed,  believing  that  men  should 
rather  live  religion  than  profess  it.  Not  the  least  big- 
oted in  his  opinions,  but  tolerant  of  all  creeds,  he  be- 
lieves that  finally,  through  the  great  mercy  of  God, 
all  men  will  attain  happiness  in  the  next  world. 

Since  the  dissolution  of  the  old  Whig  party  Mr. 
George  has  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party. 
Loyal  to  the  government,  discarding  secession  as  a 
fatal  heresy,  he  was  an  opponent  of  the  "Know- 
Nothing"  party  because  of  its  intolerance.  He  was 
a  candidate  of  the  Reform  party  in  1858  for  the  Legis- 
lature, and,  with  his  defeated  colleagues,  contested 
the  right  to  their  seats  unsuccessfully.  Mr.  George 
supported  John  C.  Breckenridge  for  the  Presidency  of 
the  United  States.  In  1860,  Mayor  Brown  appointed 
him  a  member  of  the  Water  Board.  In  1864  he  was 
nominated  on  the  Democratic  ticket  for  the  State 
Senate.  In  1867  he  was  a  member  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  Maryland,  and  subsequently 
served,  in  1867  and  1868,  in  the  City  Council  as 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 

Mr.  George  was  for  many  years  an  active  director 
of  the  Maryland  Institute,  serving  in  the  capacity  of 
president  of  the  board  for  two  years.  In  1872  he  was 
appointed  by  Mayor  Vansant  one  of  the  board  of  vis- 
itors to  the  city  jail,  in  which  position  he  served  for 
six  years,  the  last  two  as  president  of  the  board.  He 
has  been  for  many  years  a  director  in  the  Associated 
Fireman's  Insurance  Company.  He  has  taken  great 
interest  in  the  growth  of  Odd-Fellowship,  as  well  as 
being  closely  wedded  to  the  Masonic  rites.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Murray  Institute,  of  a  social, 
literary  character.  In  1879  he  was  elected  president 
of  the  Consolidated  Real  Estate  and  Fire  Insurance  i 
Company,  for  the  purpose  of  winding  up  its  business, 
in  which  he  is  now  engaged.  His  whole  life  has  been 
devoted  to  business  enterprises,  and  to  public  measures 
calculated  to  advance  the  material  growth  of  Balti- 
more, in  which  he  has  always  felt  an  earnest  pride. 
As  a  citizen,  Mr.  George  has  enjoyed  the  full  confi- 
dence of  the  public,  and  whatever  trust  has  been  re- 
posed in  him,  his  highest  and  only  eflFort  has  been  to 
study  the  right  and  pursue  its  dictates  fearless  of  con- 
sequences. As  a  merchant  he  has  been  moderately 
successful,  and  whilst  not  demonstrative  in  liberality, 
his  ambition  has  been  a  desire  to  be  gauged  by  a  cor- 
rect standard  of  ])ublic  justice. 

The  German-American  Bank,  No.  173  South 
Broadway,  was  organized  in  May,  1871,  and  was  in- 
corporated by  act  of  1872,  ch.  222,  with  a  capital  of 
$200,000,  and  the  privilege  of  increasing  it  to  $500,- 
000.      The    incorporators    were    William    Scliwarz, 


Charles  Cronhardt,  Alexander  Y.  Dolfield,  Conrad 
Gunther,  Henry  Smith,  Simon  Stern,  John  Hertel, 
John  G.  Mann,  F.  F.  Holthons,  John  B.  Wentz,  Levi 
Straus,  and  Lewis  Ehrman.  The  capital  is  §;?00,000, 
and  par  value  of  stock  $100.  The  ofiicers  are  William 
Schwarz,  president*  A.  Y.  Dolfield,  cashier ;  Direc- 
tors, William  Schwarz,  A.  Y.  Dolfield,  C.  Gunther, 
Henry  Smith,  John  Hertel,  John  G.  Mann,  Lewis 
Ehrman,  Nicholas  M.  Smith,  and  J.  Q.  A.  HoUoway. 

The  German  Bank  of  Baltimore  was  chartered 
July  1,  ISOX,  as  the  German  Savings-Bank,  with  a 
capital  of  8520,000.  In  1874  it  was  converted  by  act 
of  Assembly  into  a  commercial  bank,  and  its  name 
changed  to  the  German  Bank  of  Baltimore.  The  in- 
corporators under  this  act  were  Charles  Weber,  Henry 
Straus,  Anton  Weiskittle,  Frederick  Wehr,  William 
S.  Atkinson,  A.  H.  Schultz,  J.  G.  Koppelmann,  M. 
Willinger,  Peter  Volz,  H.  R.  Hoenemann,  Anton 
Bosse,  and  Christopher  Gissel.  Its  authorized  capital 
stock  is  $600,000,  which  may  be  reduced,  if  desired, 
to  $400,000.  It  was  first  located  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  South  and  Lombard  Streets,  but  in  1869 
was  moved  to  its  present  location  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  Baltimore  and  Holliday  Streets.  Charles 
Weber  has  been  president  of  the  bank  since  its  or- 
ganization.    Capital,  Dec.  31,  1880,  $429,800. 

The  United  German  Bank,  formerly  at  the  south- 
east corner  of  Baltimore  Street  and  Post-Office  Avenue, 
was  incorporated  by  act  of  1870,  ch.  121,  as  the  "  Uni- 
ted German  Real  Estate  and  Fire  Insurance  Company 
of  Baltimore."  The  incorporators  were  Michael  Al- 
bert, Robert  Rennert,  Joseph  Kreuzer,  John  Beil, 
Clemens  Ostendorf,  Francis  Heine,  Bernard  Leifield, 
John  A.  Hamman,  Francis  Meyd,  John  W.  Gerkin, 
Christopher  Kreuzer,  John  Smith,  Andrew  Hofmann, 
and  Ouu-les  Wcstrich. 

Central  National  Bank. — The  Central  National 
Bank  was  orijanized  under  the  national  banking 
laws  in  1871,  and  commenced  business  at  No.  5  South 
Street  on  the  1st  of  March  in  that  year,  with  James 
O'Conner,  of  Pittsburgh,  as  president.  Among  the 
stockholders  were  Messrs.  Johns  Hopkins,  John  W. 
Garrett,  Wm.  T.  Walters,  F.  W.  Bennett,  John  JI. 
Orem,  and  others.  The  operations  of  the  bank  were, 
however,  discontinued  after  a  brief  period. 

The  Drovers'  and  Mechanics'  National  Bank  of 
Baltimore,  northwest  corner  of  Eutaw  and  Fayette 
Streets,  was  incorporated  at  the  legislative  session 
of  1874,  with  Mason  L.  Weems,  Thomas  W.  Johnson, 
William  D.  Miller,  Edwin  Higgins,  Lewis  Meyers, 
John  Turnbull,  Jr.,  Henry  Williams,  William  P. 
Hamilton,  Henry  W.  Webb,  Dr.  Charles  II.  Jones, 
James  Bayliss,  Luke  H.  Miller,  and  J.  J.  H.  Sellman 
as  incorporators.  The  capital  authorized  by  the  act 
was  $50,000,  with  the  privilege  of  increasing  it  to 
$250,000.  Books  were  opened  for  subscriptions  in 
April,  1874,  and  in  May  John  Turnbull,  Jr.,  Jacob 
Ellenger,  Jesse  Hay,  Carey  McClelland,  Lewis  Myers, 
Felix  McCurlev,  .L  L.  BaVliss,  Wm.  Eden,  Dr.  Chius. 


BANKS   AND   BANKERS. 


H.  Jones,  and  Wm.  D.  Miller  were  elected  directors. 
On  the  4th  of  January,  1875,  the  bank  opened  its 
doors  for  business  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Balti- 
more and  Carey  Streets,  with  Jacob  Ellenger  as  presi- 
dent, and  J.  D.  Wheeler,  Jr.,  cashier.  The  present 
location  is  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Fayette  and 
Eutaw  Streets.  Capital,  $220,000 ;  par  value  of  stock, 
$100.  The  present  officers  are  Jacob  Ellenger,  presi- 
dent ;  J.  D.  Wheeler,  Jr.,  cashier ;  and  Jacob  Ellen- 
ger, Wm.  Eden,  Wm.  D.  Miller,  Wm.  Carson,  Lewis 
Ripple,  James  Carroll,  David  Logan,  Robert  Mitchell, 
Alonzo  L.  Wolf,  and  Michael  Carling,  directors.  It 
was  converted  into  a  national  bank  in  1881. 

The  German  Central  Bank  was  incorporated  in 
1874.  It  is  located  at  11  North  Street.  Its  capital 
is  $200,000,  and  par  value  of  stock  $25.  The  present 
officers  are  August  Hellweg,  president ;  C.  Wilstorf, 
cashier;  Directors,  Henry  Vees,  A.  Hellweg,  W.  A. 
Dreyer,  Charles  Friese,  J.  H.  Vonderhorst,  Frederick 
A.  Kerchner,  F.  Fuchs,  George  Franke,  John  A.  Grif- 
fith, Jr.,  M.  Friedman,  A.  Gottschalk,  and  A.  E. 
Groneberg. 


19th  of  May,  1854,  Francis  T.  King  was  elected  presi- 
dent, and  has  been  annually  re-elected  ever  since. 
On  the  8th  of  February,  1866,  the  name  of  the  insti- 
tution was  changed  to  that  of  the  Central  Savings- 
Bank  of  Baltimore.  The  following  table  shows  the 
of  the  bank  : 


Feb.  1, 1855,  amount  due  depositors.. 


Jan.  1, 1881, 


89,069.72;  a.coui 

tsopen..  1500 

205,52M06; 

..  4302 

648,.396,30: 

..  .6638 

,329,601.63; 

..  8137 

The  bank  was  first  located  on  North  Calvert  Street, 
next  to  the  National  Mechanics'  Bank ;  it  afterwards 
removed  to  No.  53  Lexington  Street,  and  from  thence 
to  the  southeast  corner  of  Charles  and  Lexington 
Streets.  The  present  officers  are  Francis  T.  King, 
president;  John  Curlett,  treasurer;  A.  G.  Brown, 
attorney;  Directors,  George  W.  Corner,  William  B. 
Canfield,  Daniel  J.  Foley,  J.  B.  Seidenstricker,  Wil- 
liam Bridges,  Thomas  J.  Wilson,  George  Sanders, 
Germon  H.  Hunt,  Christian  Ax,  Henry  C.  Smith, 
Charles  J.  Baker,  Dr.  J.  F.  Monmonier,  D.  L. 
Bartlett,  Robert  Turner,  Hamilton  Easter,  AVilliam 


TAX   ASSESSMENTS   (FROM   THE   OFFICE   OF  STATE   TAX   COMMISSIONER)    FOE   1881. 


BAI.T..MOEE  CiTV  Ban 

KS. 

Number 

of  Shares 

of  Stock. 

13,500 

Par  Value 
of  each 

Share. 

S15.0O 
25.00 
26.00 
10.00 

100.00 
33.3314 
20.00 
10.00 

100.00 

100.00 
40.00 
8.00 

100.00 
12.50 

100.00 
10.00 

100.00 
30.00 
10.00 
25.00 
75.00 

100.00 

100.00 
10.00 
20.00 

100  00 

100.00 

100.00 
20.00 

Assessed 
Value 
of  each 
Share. 
$15.00 

35.00 

36'.40 

14.00 
106.00 

35.3314 

21.20 

15.00 

91.00 
125.00 

45.00 
7.00 

01.00 

11.00 

75.00 

9.50 

126.00 

31.00 

11.00 

37.50 

80.00 
128.00 
110.00 

10.00 

20.00 
148.00 
103.00 
100.00 

29.00 

Shares. 

?202,5(X).OO 
500,430.00 
1,506.20 
2,324.00 
498,094.00 
17,384.00 
27,835  60 
7,60,000.00 
213,400.00 

1,387,600.00 
731,2.60.00 
277,112.60 
276,841.00 
17,974.00 
300,000.00 
190,000.00 

1,890,000.00 
389,639.00 

1,100,000.00 

1,200,000.00 
952,080.00 

1,549,696.00 
660,000.00 
150,000.00 
111.740.00 
740,000.00 
615,000.00 
230,000.00 
725,000.00 

Value  of 

Real 
Propel  ty. 
8117,542.00 

65.084.00 
16,167.00 

90,421.00 
27,925.00 
50,000,00 
35,625.00 

10;387.'00 

245,732.00 
20,524.00 
50,000.00 
49,213.00 
78,050.00 

141.2.60.00 
89,919.00 

114,751.00 

.33,812.00 
31,201.00 
28,139.00 
47,561.00 
12,674.00 
24,803.00 

lowed  for 
Investments 
Paying  Taxes. 

43 

$99,802.82 

1                     '■     1    I'ii'uk 

of  Baltimore 

4  699 

'            1       ■       1  •  r 

Franklin  1;,...          l:  , 

fBaUimore.'.""' 

2,200 

11,100 

16,250 

39.587Vi; 

103,193.00 

Gennaii-.\i .  :  r              I; .  ;;■ 

German  Ci'iiii  ..   1;  i    ;     •■    r  ,'  ,i.    .i 



...::.:.  I^IV^ 



20,000 

''                   •.!                         '"       l:    '     ''"        ■' 

15,000 

12,569 
...  100,000 

32:000 

11,901 

-:                  1     .          ,:         ■   ^     \i      .■     '■        „    ,: 

lui^lre'l :.. 

134,849.00 



6,600 

i«ilnir\atio„..l'  n-ml"'.f'Baltimore  ■     ' 

■■ 

5,587 

........      o,wo 

Western  National  Bank  of  Baltimore 



25,000 

Central  Savings-Bank  of  Baltimore.— Tiiis  in- 
stitution was  incorporated  as  the  "  Dime  Saving- 
Bank"  of  Baltimore  on  the  10th  of  March,  1854,  and 
the  first  meeting  of  the  incorporators  was  held  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  27th,  at  the  office  of  the  "  Poor  As- 
sociation." The  incorporators  were  Isaac  P.  Cook, 
Francis  T.  King,  William  B.  Canfield,  John  F.  Mc- 
Jilton,  John  B.  Seidenstricker,  Dr.  Richard  H. 
Thomas,  Robert  Turner,  William  Bridges,  Samuel 
Burnett,  Charles  J.  Baker,  George  W.  Corner,  Stir- 
ling Thomas,  George  W.  Tinges,  Louis  Audoun, 
Thomas  C.  Hoffman,  Robert  G.  Armstrong,  James  S. 
Suter,  Phillip  Hiss,  John  S.  Brown,  William  Crane, 
George  Sanders,  George  R.  Dodge,  John  W.  Ball, 
William  H.  Keighler,  and  John  M.  Orem.     On  the 


Numsen,  William  Woodward,    James  Carey,   Jesse 
Tyson,  Samuel  Appold,  and  Edward  Roberts. 

Savings-Bank  of  Baltimore. — The  first  steps  to- 
wards the  organization  of  the  Savings-Bank  of  Balti- 
more were  taken  at  a  meeting  held  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1818,  at  Gadsly's  Hotel,  at  which  the  Rt. 
Rev.  Bishop  Kemp  presided,  with  Isaac  Burneston  as 
secretary.  After  examining  the  plans  of  several  sim- 
ilar institutions  in  other  cities,  it  was  resolved  that  it 
was  expedient  to  establish  a  Savings  or  Provident 
Bank  in  Baltimore.  David  Winchester,  Henry  Brice, 
and  Charles  G.  Appleton  were  accordingly  appointed 
a  committee  to  draft  a  constitution,  which  was  re- 
ported and  adopted  at  an  adjourned  meeting  held  on 
the  15th,  when  the  same  committee,  with  the  addi- 


470 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


tioii  of  Messrs.  Abiier  Neal  and  Isaac  McPherson, 
were  authorized  to  call  upon  the  citizens  of  Balti- 
more to  become  members  of  the  association.  At  an 
election  held  on  the  2d  of  February,  1818,  at  Gadsby's 
Hotel,  the  following  gentlemen  were  elected  directors 
of  the  Savings-Bank  of  Baltimore  for  the  ensuing 
twelve  months :  Daniel  Rowland,  Samuel  J.  Donald- 
son, Fred.  W.  Brune,  John  Hoffman,  W.  R.  Swift, 
Roswell  L.  Colt,  John  Sinclair,  Alexander  Irvine, 
I'hiirlis  Warfield,  Isaac  Tyson,  William  Krebs,  John 
M  r  K ,  an,  Thomas  W.  Griffith,  William  Childs,  Joseph 
(iHliiiii;-,  Henry  Brice,  Henry  Lorman,  Evan  T.  Elli- 
tott,  William  Hopkins,  William  Stewart,  Thomas 
Sheppard,  George  S.  Baker,  and  John  C.  Richards. 
Daniel  Howland  was  elected  president,  and  on  the 
16th  of  March,  1818,  the  bank  opened  for  the  recep- 
tion of  deposits  at  No.  100  Market  (now  Baltimore) 
Street.  The  first  report,  made  on  the  15th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1819,  was  as  follows: 

"  The  committee  appoi  iitetl  by  the  president  and  directors  of  the  Savings- 
Banlt  of  Baltimore  to  audit  their  accomite  beg  leave  to  submit  the  fol- 
lowing extract  of  the  accounts  : 
".\mount  received  from  l.iS  depositora  from  tlie  16th  of 

March  last  to  the  11th  of  January $15,i)57.n(; 

Amount  withdrawn  by  41  deiiositors .S,:l08.44 

Leaving  to  the  credit  of  depositors 812,648  02 

Interest  that  has  accrued 342.37 

Sr2,990.99 
From  which   the   following  disbursements  have 
been  made.  viz. : 

Interest  paid  depositors S89.82 

Amount  paid  for  stationery 74.92 

Amouut  paid  secretary,  salary  one  year 150.00 

$314.74 

Interest  in  U.  S.  fi  per  cents,  at  par 6,000.1K) 

Placed  in  an  incorporated  bank  in  this  city,  bear- 
ing interest  at  6  per  cent 6,676.25 

$12,900.99" 

On  the  30th  of  January,  1819,  the  bank  was  char- 
tered, the  following  being  the  incorporators:  Isaac 
.Phillips,  James  Dall,  John  C.  Keerl,  George  S.  Baker, 
Elisha  N.  Browne,  John  C.  Richards,  Robert  Neilson, 
Evan  Thomas,  Jr.,  Robert  Miller,  C.  H.  Appleton, 
William  Noi:ris,  John  Gibson,  Amos  Brown,  John 
Ready,  Oliver  H.  Neilson,  Samuel  J.  Donaldson,  Na- 
thaniel Williams,  Richard  Carroll,  William  Child, 
Marcus  McCausland,  Thomas  L.  Emory,  Jr.,  John 
Gadsby,  George  Hoffman,  John  Hoffman,  James 
Campbell,  Luke  Tiernan,  Robert  McKim,  William 
Lorman,  Fielding  Lucas,  Jr.,  James  Mosher,  John 
Brice,  Henry  Payson,  Solomon  Birckhead,  John  Sin- 
clair, William  Gwynn,  William  McMechen,  John 
Mott,  William  Wilson,  James  Wilson,  Thomas  W. 
Griffith,  John  Merryman,  Joseph  Cox,  Henry  Schroe- 
der,  Daniel  Chambers,  Joseph  K.  Stapleton,  O.  H. 
Thomas,  John  H.  Rodgers,  John  Thomas,  Jr.,  Abner 
Neal,  Peter  Hoffman,  B.  H.  MuUikin,  Isaac  Burnes- 
ton,  Isaac  McPherson,  A.  Macdonald,  Joseph  Gush- 
ing, David  Harris,  Talbot  Jones,  Alexander  Irvine, 
George  Decker,  William  Browne,  Ashton  Alexander, 
Solomon  Etting,  George  A.  Dunkel,  Maxwell  Mc- 
Dowell, William  W.  Taylor,  John  Howes,  B.  N. 
Sand.s,  William  Krebs,  John  McKim,  Robert  Miller, 
Thomas  Ellicott,  Edward  Gray,  James  Hiudman,  John 


Og.ston,  Isaiah  Sittle,  Jesse  Hunt,  Elias  Ellicott, 
Andrew  Ellicott,  James  Cheston,  Robert  Gilmor,  Ros- 
well L.  Colt,  John  Oliver,  James  A.  Buchanan,  Solo- 
mon Betts,  Peter  Levering,  Charles  Worthiiigton, 
William  Hopkins,  Evan  T.  Ellicott,  Isaac  Tyson, 
Moses  Sheppard,  William  R.  Gwynn,  N.  Brice,  Wil- 
liam Patterson,  James  Barroll,  John  Strieker,  James 
Carey,  William  Cooke,  Gerard  P.  Hopkins,  George 
Roberts,  William  Tyson,  Robert  Smith,  Henry  Brice, 
James  Carroll,  Jr.,  David  Winchester,  A.  J.Schwartze, 
William  S.  Moore,  William  R.  Swift,  William  Mc- 
Donald, C.  C.  Jamison,  Christian  Mayer,  Jacob  Small, 
John  Gill,  .Tohn  Purviance,  Henry  Thompson,  Alex- 
ander Brown,  Thoma.s  Tenant,  Isaac  McKim,  James 
H.  IMcCulloh,  Jacob  Rogers,  William  Stewart,  Von 
Kapir  \  I'.niiif,  n.iriirl  Hi.w  land,  William  Jenkins, 
Tln.nia-  Shi^ppanl,  !,.  .M  al I  In  ws,  John  A.  Morton,  Jr., 
ILiiiy  r.  .^iiiiirnr,  ('.  Dc^lion,  Levi  Hollingsworth, 
Alexander  Lorman,  Joseph  Todhunter,  William  Gil- 
mor, John  Berry.  On  the  4th  of  March,  1819,  the 
total  amount  of  deposits  was  $19,371,  and  the  list  of 
depositors  was  as  follows:  nine  widows,  nine  spinsters, 
seven  married  women,  sixteen  female  servants,  two 
clergymen,  five  schoolmasters,  two  merchants,  two 
farmers,  five  charitable  societies,  nine  minors,  four 
clerks,  forty  mechanics,  five  tavern-keepers,  five  dray- 
men, six  laborers,  ten  tailors,  three  barbers,  three  boot- 
blacks, two  sailors,  and  thirteen  male  servants,  making 
a  total  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  depositors.  In 
1834  the  bank  was  situated  in  the  basement  story  of 
the  Exchange,  with  entrance  on  Gay  Street.  In  1846 
the  dwelling  of  Col.  Thomas  Tenant,  northwest  cor- 
ner of  Gay  and  Second  Streets,  was  purchased  for  ten 
thousand  dollars,  and  the  bank  removed  to  that  loca- 
tion in  September  of  that  year.  At  one  time  the  bank 
was  opened  only  once  a  week,  and  its  business  con- 
ducted by  the  directors  in  person,  who  were  divided 
into  committees  and  performed  a  large  part  of  the 
clerical  labor.  A  comparison  of  the  following  state- 
ment of  the  bank's  operations  during  1880  with  the 
statement  of  its  o'perations  for  the  first  year  of  its  ex- 
istence presents  an  interesting  illustration  of  the  vast 
growth  of  its  business : 

Amount  of  funds,  31st  December,  1879 $13,667,002.91 

Received  from  depositors  during  1880 2,047,222.03 

Add  interest  on  loans  and  dividends  on  stocks, 

etc.,  same  year $796,695.43 

Less  premiums  paid  on  stocks  purchased,  etc..    176,771.50 

619,923.93 

$10,934,148,87 
From  which  deduct  as  follows : 
Amount  paid  depositors  during  1880,  in- 
cluding principal  and  interest $2,1S.'>,96.'>.04 

Amount  paid,  expenses 30,894.50 

Amouut  paid,  taxes 20,730.88 

2,2,37,691.02 

Leaving  amount  of  funds,  31st  December,  1880 $14,696,567.85 

The  ofiicers  are  Archibald  Stirling,  president,  who 
succeeded  Joseph  Gushing,  Sr.,  in  1849  ;  David  Bald- 
win, treasurer  ;  S.  McLee  Richardson,  assistant  treas- 
urer ;  Directors,  A.  Stirling,  Edward  Kurtz,  Thomas 
C.  Jenkins,  N.  Popplein,  Samuel  Kirby,  George  S. 
Brown,  Thomas  Whitridge,  Solomon  Corner,  Austin 


^r(r(/% 


^^l^7~l'l</ 


BANKS   AND   BANKERS. 


Jenkins,  Lawrence  Thomsen,  Enoch  Pratt,  Henry 
Jones,  George  B.  Cole,  B.  F.  Newcomer,  A.  H.  Stump, 
Claas  Vocke,  Theodore  Hooper,  Richard  D.  Fisher, 
Herman  Von  Kapft",  Charles  T.  Boehm,  Charles 
Markell,  Hollins  McKim,  Joseph  M.  Cashing,  and 
James  A.  Gary. 

The  Eutaw  Savings-Bank  was  incorporated  by 
the  General  Assembly  on  the  26th  of  March,  1847, 
with  Edward  Gray,  Robert  Garrett,  John  Dushane, 
Chauncey  Brooks,  William  Heald,  Fielding  Lucas, 
Jr.,  Elisha  P.  Barrows,  Thomas  Meredith,  George 
Bartlett,  John  Q.  Hewlett,  William  McKim,  Charles 
Howard,  W.  Reynolds,  Lewyn  Wethered,  W.  E. 
Mayhew,  Thomas  Harrison,  W.  F.  Murdoch,  Joseph 
Taylor,  Henry  Rieman,  John  Gushing,  Fielder  Israel. 
O.  C.  Tiflany,  Thomas  C.  Jenkins,  Leonard  Jarvis, 
Philip  E.  Thomas,  Alexander  Kirkland,  B.  C.  Ward, 
William  Wyman,  Wesley  Starr,  Jesse  Hunt,  John 
Landstreet,  Hugh  Jenkins,  W.  H.  Keighler,  Josiah 
Small,  Francis  Burns,  Frederick  Cray,  William 
Hooper,  Andrew  Gregg,  John  Bigham,  Michael  F. 
Keyser,  Alexander  D.  Kelley,  John  Rouse,  Johii 
Sharkey,  George  A.  Davis,  Henry  Beamer,  James 
Williams,  Henry  Henderson,  W.  F.  Dalrymple, 
Thomas  Whitridge,  C.  D.  SlinglufF,  John  King,  Solo- 
mon Hillen,  Jr.,  Thomas  Sewell,  Edward  Williams, 
and  James  Harvey  as  incorporators.  The  institution 
was  formally  organized  on  the  16th  of  April,  1847,  at 
a  meeting  in  the  Eutaw  House,  which  was  attended 
by  Robert  Garrett,  William  Reynolds,  Joseph  Taylor, 
John  Dushane,  Henry  Beamer,  William  F.  Dalrym- 
ple, Leonard  Jarvis,  John  Q.  Hewlett,  George  A. 
Davis,  Chauncey  Brooks,  Edward  Williams,  George 
Bartlett,  Philip  E.  Thomas,  James  Harvey,  Fred. 
Cray,  Alexander  Kirkland,  Elisha  P.  Barrows,  Wil- 
liam Hooper,  Jesse  Hunt.  Mr.  Garrett  presided,  and 
BIr.  Hunt  acted  as  secretary.  After  the  formal  ac- 
ceptance of  the  charter,  Jesse  Hunt  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  bank,  with  a  board  of  directors  consisting 
of  Robert  Garrett,  Leonard  Jarvis,  Fielder  Israel, 
James  Harvey,  Thomas  Sewell,  Jesse  Hunt,  Henry 
Beamer,  M.  F.  Keiser,  Alexander  Kirkland,  John 
Dushane,  William  Heald,  Joseph  Taylor,  John  Cash- 
ing, William  Reynolds,  William  Hooper,  Edward 
Williams,  George  Bartlett,  Fielder  Lucas,  Jr.,  Elisha 
P.  Barrows,  Philip  E.  Thomas,  Francis  Burns,  Fred. 
Cray,  George  A.  Davis,  John  Q.  Hewlett,  Andrew 
Gregg. 

The  first  secretary  was  Thomas  P.  Harvey,  who  was 
elected  in  July,  1850;  but  the  office  of  secretary  was 
abolished,  and  Edward  T.  Owens  appointed  treasurer, 
on  the  26th  of  February,  1858.  Mr.  Owens  died  sud- 
denly Sept.  20,  1872,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his 
age,  and  was  succeeded  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month 
by  Wm.  H.  Dorsey.  He,  however,  served  but  a  short 
time,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  present  incumbent, 
Robt.  D.  Brown,  on  the  8th  of  January,  1873. 

Jesse  Hunt,  the  first  president,  died  in  December, 
1872,  and  was  succeeded,  on  the  17th  of  the  same 


month,  by  William  Findley  Burns,  who  still  holds 
this  position.  During  the  first  year  of  the  institu- 
tion's existence  the  president  served  without  pay,  but 
at  the  annual  meeting  on  the  21st  of  June,  1848,  his 
salary  was  fixed  at  five  hundred  dollars,  and  the  third 
year  was  raised  to  one  thousand  dollars.  And  the 
whole  expenses  of  the  bank  from  April  26,  1847,  to 
Jan.  1,  1850,  aggregated  two  thousand  three  hundred 
and  twenty-five  dollars. 

The  first  location  of  the  bank  was  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  Eutaw  and  Baltimore  Streets,  under  the 
Eutaw  House,  in  a  room  the  use  of  which  was  given 
without  charge  during  the  first  year  by  Mr.  Garrett, 
the  owner  of  the  property.  • 

The  construction  of  the  present  banking-house  at 
the  southeast  corner  of  Fayette  and  Eutaw  Streets 
was  commenced  in  June,  1857,  and  was  completed  in 
December  of  the  same  year,  the  institution  being  re- 
moved to  its  new  quarters  on  the  31st  of  December, 
1857. 

The  total  amount  of  deposits  during  the  first  year 
was  $44,675.16.  At  present  it  numbers  over  21,000 
depositora,  and  has  between  six  and  seven  million 
dollars  on  deposit.  The  following  statement  from  the 
annual  report  of  Jan.  3,  1881,  exhibits  in  a  striking 
way  the  present  financial  condition  of  the  institu- 
tion : 

Amount  of  funds,  Dec.  31,  1879 $6,860,27.X37 

Kecpived  from  depositors  during  1880 1,667,559.58 

Received  from  interest  un  loans  and  dividends  on  stock, 

etc.,  during  1880 : 308,006.98 


"  for  expenses 

imount  charged  off  for  premiums  paid  i 
U.  S.  and  othler  securities 


Leaving  net  funds,  Dec.  31, 1880 $6,374,909.56 

Accounts  open  Dec.  31, 1879 16,828 

during  1880 4,392 

Accounts  closed  in  1880 2,326 

lining  open  Dec.  31,1880 18,894 


By  its  charter  the  Eutaw  Savings-Bank  i.s  forbidden 
to  issue  any  form  of  notes  or  bills  for  circulation,  and 
its  by-laws  provide  that  its  investments  shall  be  con- 
fined to  the  purchase  of  public  securities,  or  to  loans 
upon  real  estate,  and  such  collaterals  as  may  be  ap- 
proved by  the  board  of  investment.  The  bank  has 
adhered  strictly  to  these  regulations,  and  its  invest- 
ments are  made  only  in  securities  which  it  would  re- 
quire a  State  or  national  revolution  to  shake.  Deposits 
are  received  in  sums  of  not  less  than  one  dollar,  and 
draw  four  per  cent,  interest,  with  a  dividend  every 
third  year  of  the  surplus,  which  has  often  increased 
the  earnings  of  depositors  to  an  average  of  from  six 
and  one-half  to  seven  per  cent,  per  annum. 

While  the  management  of  the  bank  has  been  care- 
ful and  conservative  from  the  beginning  of  its  history, 
its  present  prosperity  is  largely  due  to  the  financial 
and  executive  ability  which  have  characterized  its 
administration.  Mr.  Burns  is  a  native  of  this  city,  and 
was  born  on  the  13th  of  January,  1820.     His  father. 


HISTORY  OF  BALTIMORE  CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Francis  Burns,  married  Elizabeth  Highlands,  of  Phila- 
delphia, Jan.  12,  IHIJ),  and  died  on  Dec.  28,  1879,  in 
the  eighty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  of  Scotch- 
Irish  parentage,  and  came  from  Philadelphia  to  Balti- 
more in  his  youth,  and  as  early  as  1818  laid  the 
foundations  of  a  business  which  not  only  brought  to 
him  considerable  wealth,  but  also  gained  for  him  and 
for  Baltimore  a  national  reputation  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  bricks  used  in  the  finest  and  most  substantial 
class  of  buildings.  He  was  for  more  than  thirty  years 
a  director  of  the  Western,  now  the  Western  National 
Bank,  and  for  many  years  previous  to  his  death  was 
one  of  the  most  efficient  and  active  directors  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  besides  filling  various 
other  positions  of  trust  in  corporations  identified  w^ith 
the  growing  interests  and  progress  of  Baltimore. 
William  F.  Burns  was  educated  at  Lafayette  College, 
Pennsylvania,  and  in  1836  he  returned  to  Baltimore 
to  engage  in  business  with  his  father.  They  formed 
a  copartnership  in  1842,  and  in  1851  consolidated 
the  two  firms  of  Burns  &  Russell  and  Francis  Burns 
&  Son,  under  the  name  of  Burns,  Russell  &  Co. 
In  1871,  Mr.  Burns  was  elected  president  of  the 
Peoples'  Gas  Company,  and  so  continued  until  that 
corporation  was  merged  into  the  Consolidated  Gas 
Company  in  1880.  In  1872  he  retired  from  business, 
and  in  the  same  year,  as  has  been  said,  was  elected 
president  of  the  Eutaw  Savings-Bank.  He  was 
elected  a  director  on  the  part  of  the  stockholders  of 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  in  18S0,  to  fill  the 
vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death  of  his  ftither,  and  in 
1881  he  was  made  chairman  of  the  finance  committee 
of  the  board,  to  take  the  place  of  Galloway  Cheston, 
who  died  in  that  year.  He  has  been  for  twenty-three 
years  a  director  in  the  Western,  now  Western  National 
Bank,  and  is  also  a  director  in  the  Safe  Dejjosit  and 
Trust  Company,  the  Marietta  and  Cincinnati  Rail- 
road Company,  the  Consolidation  Coal  Company,  the 
Consolidated  Gas  Company,  and  holds  other  promi- 
nent positions.  He  married,  Jan.  17,  1843,  Mary  E. 
Ruddach,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Rebecca  Ruddach, 
and  granddaughter  of  Capt.  Daniel  S.  Stellvvagen,  of 
the  American  navy,  who  distinguished  himself  in  the 
last  war  with  England  in  the  fighting  on  Lake 
Champlain.  Mr.  Burns  has  but  one  child,  a  daughter, 
the  wife  of  Charles  Beasten,  Jr.,  of  the  Baltimore  bar. 
Metropolitan  Savings-Bank.— The  "  Beneficial 
Savings  Fund  Society  of  Baltimore"  was  incorporated 
in  1867 ;  in  August  of  the  same  year  the  bapk  was 
opened  for  business  in  the  basement  of  the  Chesa- 
peake Bank  Building,  Fayette  and  North  Streets ;  its 
incorporators  were  Francis  Neale,  George  W.  Webb, 
Charles  M.  Dougherty,  C.  Oliver  O'Donnell,  Alfred 
Jenkins,  Leonard  J.  Tormey,  John  Murphy,  Luke 
Cassidy,  Daniel  Donnelly,  George  V.  Hull,  John 
Malloy,  Wm.  F.  Dammann,  Joseph  Judick,  John  W. 
Jenkins,  Daniel  J.  Foley,  Wm.  H.  V.  Smith,  Thomas 
J.  Myer,  Henry  Boguc,  Joseph  Firk,  St.  John  Car- 
roll,  IleiHv   McCatlhiv,   Isaac   llartm^in,  Tluimas  ( '. 


Yearly,  Mathias  Benzinger,  John  Piquett,  and  Pat- 
rick J.  Costolay.  Francis  Neale  was  elected  president, 
and  C.  C.  Shriver  treasurer.  The  bank  wa-s  removed 
to  its  present  site,  northeast  corner  of  Lexington  and 
Calvert  Streets,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Neale,  and  its 
name  was  changed  to  the  "  Metropolitan  Savings- 
Bank  of  Baltimore"  in  1876.  Mathias  Benzinger 
succeeded  Mr.  Neale  in  the  presidency  in  1873,  and 
Isaac  Hartman  succeeded  Mr.  Benzinger  in  1874,  and 
is  its  president  at  the  pre-sent  time,  with  C.  C.  Shriver 
treasurer,  and  the  following  board  of  managers:  John 
W.  Jenkins,  Luke  Cassidy,  Daniel  Donnelly,  E.  Aus- 
tin Jenkins,  John  Malloy,  F.  Wm.  Dammann,  Cum- 
berland Dugan,  Daniel  J.  Foley,  Thomas  J.  Myer, 
Henry  Bogue,  Joseph  Firk,  Henry  Moale,  Isaac 
Hartman,  Thomas  C.  Yearly,  Henry  R.  McNally, 
J.  J.  Turner,  John  M.  Frederick,  F.  C.  Neale,  Thos. 
Wlielan,  Simon  J.  Kemp,  Michael  Jenkins,  Alfred 
Reip,  John  Littig,  J.  Henry  Judick,  and  J.  D. 
Wheeler,  Jr. 

The  Broadway  Savings-Bank  was  chartered  in 
1865,  and  commenced  business  on  the  12th  of  June 
in  that  year.  It  is  situated  at  63  South  Broadway. 
The  officers  are  Alex.  Jones,  president ;  Thomas  H. 
Morris,  treasurer ;  Philip  Allison,  secretary ;  Directors, 
Wm.  H.  Cathcart,AVm.  B.  Jones,  Edward  W.  Robinson, 
E.  T.  Robb,  James  Bates,  Washington  Kelly,  John 
Hughes,  Wm.  C.  Orr,  V.  V.  Kleinfelter,  and  A.  F. 
Jones. 

Alexander  Jones,  president  of  the  Broadway  Sav- 
ings-Bank, is  the  son  of  Caleb  Jones  and  Mary  Ben- 
nett, both  of  St.  Mary's  County,  where  their  families 
have  resided  for  more  than  two  hundred  years.  Mr. 
Jones  was  born  in  that  county  on  the  14th  of  July, 
1809.  Losing  his  parents  at  the  early  age  of  five 
years,  he  was  compelled  to  seek  employment  when 
very  young.  His  education  was  limited  to  the  ordi- 
nary branches  of  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  as 
taught  in  the  "  old  field  schools"  of  the  counties.  He 
came  to  Baltimore  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  ap- 
prenticed himself  to  a  pilot,  under  whom  for  seven 
years  he  followed  the  business  of  navigation,  and 
perfected  himself  in  all  the  details  of  the  mastership 
of  a  sailing-vessel.  During  his  apprenticeship  he 
made  the  voyage  to  Europe,  and  several  times  to  the 
West  Indies.  In  1838  he  commanded  the  brig  "  Fal- 
con," trading  to  the  West  Indies,  and  remained  for 
three  years  in  that  trade ;  the  brig  "  Ogelthorpe"  was 
afterwards  under  his  command  in  the  trade  to  South- 
ern ports  and  Cuba;  the  bark  "James  Ryder," 
wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Norway,  was  at  the  time  of 
the  disaster  commanded  by  him  ;  the  "  Victoria,"  as 
well  as  the  "  Eleanor,"  were  also  commanded  by  him. 
Having  by  frugality  accumulated  some  capital,  Capt. 
Jones  built  the  brig  "  Mary  A.  Jones,"  so  called  after 
his  first  wife.  In  this  ship  he  made  several  voyages 
to  New  Orleans,  Liverpool,  and  the  Rio  de  la  Plata, 
and  sold  the  vessel  finally  in  New  Orleans.  In  1848 
he   built    the    bark  "Elizabeth"    for   the   Liverpool 


^'i^-,g>W4 


BANKS   AND   BANKERS. 


trade,  in  which  she  was  employed  for  five  or  six  years, 
and  then  sold  in  Boston,  Mass.  In  1853  he  built  the 
"  Isabella  C.  Jones"  for  the  tobacco  trade  to  Europe. 
In  1858  he  built  the  fine  vessel  "  Gen.  Strieker,"  and 
in  1859,  at  the  solicitation  of  his  family,  he  withdrew  ! 
from  tlie  quarter-deck  to  a  more  retired  life  at  home.  I 
He  continued  to  build  and  run  vessels,  but  not  to  j 
sail  and  command  them.  In  1862  he  built  the  "  Su-  I 
sie  M.  Jones,"  which  he  afterwards  sold  in  Bremen. 
The  "  Isabella  C.  Jones"  was  lost  at  sea  with  all  her 
officers  and  men,  except  Capt.  Wm.  Caleb  Jones,  the 
son  of  Capt.  Alex.  Jones.  He  owned  the  "  Crest  of 
the  Waves,"  lost  off  Hog  Island  in  1870,  and  in  which 
disaster  his  son,  Capt.  Wm.  Caleb  Jones,  perished. 
In  addition  to  the  vessels  above  named,  Capt.  Jones 
built  the  "  Gamaliel,"  the  "  Ellen  Stewart,"  the  "  Isa- 
bella," the  "  Alexander  Jones,"  the  "  Kate  Jones,"  as 
well  as  several  boats  of  very  great  power  and  beauty 
of  form  and  construction,  especially  the  "Mary  Shaw" 
and  the  "  Anna  Bell."  In  1862,  profiting  by  his  per- 
sonal experience  of  the  benefits  which  savings-banks 
confer,  he  established  the  Broadway  Savings-Bank, 
of  which  he  has  been  continuously  president,  and 
serving  without  pay  or  emolument.  The  bank,  like 
its  founder,  has  always  been  safe,  reliable,  useftil  to 
the  community,  and  content  to  grow  slow  while  it 
grows  safe.  The  first  thousand  dollars  which  Capt. 
Jones  ever  collected  together  was  the  deposit  in  the 
savings-bank,  and  the  accumulation  was  so  quick 
and  without  any  inconvenience  to  himself  that  the 
experience  gained  of  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from 
savings  determined  him  to  devote  his  time  and  ex- 
perience to  building  up  such  an  institution. 

Capt.  Jones  more  than  fifty  years  ago  connected 
himself  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
has  always  worshiped  in  the  Broadway  Church  of 
that  denomination.  The  Seamen's  Bethel  Union,  of 
which  he  has  been  a  director  for  many  years,  has  al- 
ways benefited  by  his  knowledge  of  the  habits,  cus- 
toms, idiosyncrasies,  and  prejudices  of  sailors ;  of  the 
Charitable  Marine  Society  he  has  also  been  a  man- 
ager for  many  years.  In  1833  he  married  Ann  Shaw. 
The  children  of  this  marriage  were  Elizabeth  Ellen, 
married  to  Capt.  Benjamin  Franklin  Henderson,  of 
New  Jersey;  Susannah,  who  married  John  H.  Hugg, 
of  Baltimore;  William  Caleb,  lost  at  sea.  After  the 
death  of  his  wife  Capt.  Jones  married  her  sister,  Isa- 
bella C.  Shaw,  on  the  7th  of  March,  1850.  The  children 


of  this  marriage  were  Mary  Ann,  deceased ;  Alex- 
ander Franklin;  Thomas  Bennett,  deceased;  Isabella 
C,  married  to  William  S.  Ireland,  of  New  Jersey ; 
Benetta  Eugenia,  deceased ;  and  Emma  Virginia,  now 
about  fourteen  years  of  age. 

In  person  Capt.  Jones  is  of  medium  height,  heavily 
and  muscularly  built,  with  a  full  and  friendly  coun- 
tenance. His  life  has  been  that  of  a  Christian  gentle- 
man, earnest  and  philanthropic,  unostentatious  and 
unobtrusive,  quiet,  positive,  and  faithful  towards  God 
and  man.  In  politics  a  firm  Democrat,  avoiding  office, 
except  such  as  those  whose  duties  came  within  the 
line  of  his  professional  life  as  a  member  of  the  Har- 
bor Board.  Such  a  man  is  an  ornament  to  his 
church  and  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 

Maryland  Savings-Bank  of  Baltimore.— This 
institution  was  incorporated  March  25,  1881,  and 
began  business  with  the  following  board  of  directors: 
William  H.  Baldwin,  Jr.,  Calvin  S.  Shriver,  Thomas 
Deford,  Patrick  H.  McGill,  Jacob  G.  Stoneburner, 
Edgar  G.  Miller,  Aubry  Pearson,  J.  Franklin  Dix, 
John  H.  Bash,  George  O.  Manning,  Thomas  C.  Bass- 
hor,  and  Hazeltine  G.  Vickery. 

Miscellaneous  Savings  Institutions.— Among 
former  banking  institutions  of  Baltimore  which  passed 
away  after  an  ephemeral  existence  were  the  "  Com- 
mercial Savings  Institution,"  incorporated  in  1832; 
the  "  Mechanics'  Savings  In.stitution,"  which  sus- 
pended in  May,  1842;  the  "Minors' Savings  Associa- 
tion of  East  Baltimore,"  which  closed  in  1862;  the 
"  Commercial  Bank  of  Baltimore,"  which  was  char- 
tered in  1835;  the  "Patapsco  Savings  Fund,"  which, 
to  use  the  language  of  that  day,  "  exploded"  in  Sep- 
tember, 1840;  the  "American  Bank,"  which  was  in- 
corporated in  1856,  and  closed  June  19,  1858 ;  and  the 
"  Maryland  Savings  Institution,"  which,  after  an  ex- 
istence of  about  seven  years,  suspended  May  6,  1834. 

In  1840  the  following  banking  institutions  sus- 
pended operations;  "Real  Estate  Savings  Institu- 
tion," "  Foreign  and  Domestic  E.xchange  Institution," 
"Patapsco,"  "Savings,"  "Mechanics',"  "Baltimore 
Savings,"  "  Central  Savings,"  and  "  City  Trust." 
"Orders"  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Com- 
pany were  also  issued  for  large  amounts,  and  coming 
into  the  hands  of  speculators  at  a  very  low  rate,  were 
redeemed  by  the  city  at  their  face  value  for  city  stock, 
which  was  then  selling  for  about  forty-five  cents  on 
the  dollar. 


TAX   ASSESSMENTS   (FKOM   THE  OFFICE  OF   STATE   TAX    COMMISSIONER)  FOR 
Savings-banks  in  Baltimore  Citv. 


Accounts  under      Amount  lit 
T„,a,  Deposits.       ^-"''"fnl     -le  ,„  Tax 


Broadway  Savings-Bank  of  Baltimore $236,2.S5.69 

Central  Savings-Banli  of  Baltimore 1,367,502.00 

Eutaw  Savings-Bank  of  Baltimore 6,225,190.37 

Eastern  Mechanics'  Savings  Institution  of  Baltimore...  10,372.00 

German  Savings-Bank  of  Baltimore 324,553.83 

Metropolitan  Savings-Bank  of  Baltimore 555,754.90 

Peabody  Savings  Institution  of  Baltimore  City 12,676.71 

Savings-Bank  of  Baltimore 14,035,136.00 


823,628.66  $9,482.13 

203,625.00  171,482.00 

461,200.110  2,606,542.37 

10,372.00 

50,117.00  8,460.00 

!!!"!!!!"!!!      i'fi'e.i'i 

730,320.00  3,481,386.00 


Value  of 
Real  Prop- 

$12,960.00 
72,145.00 
67,738.00 


94,683.00 
239,865!oO 


$19,525.00 
164,760.00 
692,ii90.00 


474 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Alexander  Brown  &  Sons.— In  addition  to  the 
incorporated  banks  of  tliis  city,  tliere  are  numerous 
strong  and  substantial  individual  and  partnership 
bankers,  through  whom  large  amounts  of  the  floating 
capital  of  wealthy  citizens  find  investment.  The 
oldest  of  these  private  banking-liouses  is  that  of 
Alexander  Brown  &  Sons,  established  in  1811.  The 
parent-house  of  Brown  Brothers  &  Co.,  in  New  York, 
John  A.  Brown  &  Co.,  in  Philadelphia,  and  though 
one  year  younger  than  that  of  Brown,  Shipley  & 
Co.,  in  Liverpool  and  London,  was  yet  always  re- 
garded as  the  head  of  the  great  banking-houses  of 
the  Browns.  Alexander  Brown  died  in  1834,  leaving 
a  memory  fragrant  with  deeds  of  substantial  business 
kindness  and  charities.  His  remark  on  the  occasion 
of  a  financial  panic  that  "  no  merchant  in  Baltimore 
should  be  allowed  to  fail  who  can  show  he  is  solvent" 
illustrates  both  the  kindness  of  heart  and  the  wisdom 
of  head  that  made  him  the  greatest  of  American 
bankers.  His  son  George  continued  the  firm-name 
of  Alexander  Brown  &  Sons,  and  he  too  was  one  of 
the  most  valuable  citizens  Baltimore  ever  had.  Fore- 
most in  all  great  and  good  enterprises,  comprehensive 
in  his  views  of  business,  and  expansive  in  enterprise, 
he  was  one  of  the  moving  spirits  that  inaugurated  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad.  He  died  in  18.^9. 
The  firm  after  his  death  consisted  of  George  S. 
Brown,  W.  H.  Graham,  and  W.  G.  Bowdoin,  and  still 
maintains  the  high  standing  imparted  to  it  by  Alex- 
ander Brown,  the  father,  and  George  Brown,  his  son. 
In  1853,  B.  IJ.  Campbell,  a  well-known  and  highly- 
esteemed  citizen,  cashier  of  the  Patapsco  Bank  of 
Ellicott  City,  became  connected  with  the  house,  and 
the  same  year  Wm.  Graham,  then  of  Gittings,  Don- 
aldson &  Graham,  became  connected  also  with  the 
firm.  Col.  Campbell  died  in  1855.  The  banking- 
house  of  Alexander  Brown  &  Sons  was  formed  by  the 
late  Alexander  Brown,  who  was  born  in  the  north  of 
Ireland  in  1764,  and  came  of  that  robust  and  vigorous 
stock  which  has  sent  great  and  grand  men  all  over 
the  world,  and  has  notably  promoted  the  prosperity 
of  the  American  republic.  Mr.  Brown  was  married 
at  Ballymena,  Ireland,  where  all  his  children  were 
born,  and  where  he  was  engaged  in  business.  In  the 
year  1800,  leaving  his  younger  children — George, 
John  A.,  and  James — to  be  educated  in  England,  he 
came  with  his  wife  and  his  eldest  son,  William,  to 
Baltimore.  He  was  induced  to  take  this  step  by  his 
brother,  Stewart  Brown,  who  had  previously  estab- 
lished himself  in  business  in  Baltimore,  and  by  his 
friend  and  brother-in-law.  Dr.  George  Brown,  who 
had  married  a  sister  of  his  wife,  and  who,  without 
being  related  to  him  by  blood,  bore  the  same  surname, 
and  had  settled  in  Baltimore  in  the  year  1783.  Al- 
exander Brown  brought  with  him  sufiicient  capital  to 
permit  him  to  undertake  the  importation  and  sale  of 
Irish  linens.  Previous  to  the  days  of  cotton  manu- 
facturing on   a  large  scale,  these  linens  were  an  im- 


portant article  of  commerce,  and  I 


;h  his  de 


ings 


in  them  Mr.  Brown  was  gradually  drawn  into  a  gen- 
eral shipping  business,  and  then  into  acting  as  a 
banker  for  firms  and  individuals  in  foreign  trade,  and 
for  persons  coming  from  abroad  to  this  country. 

In  1810,  William  Brown  went  to  Liverpool,  where 
he  and  his  brother  James  established  the  house  of 
William  &  James  Brown  &  Co.,  which  subsequently 
became  Brown,  Shipley  &  Co.,  with  a  branch  in  Lon- 
don. William  Brown  for  many  years  represented 
the  county  of  Lancashire  in  the  British  Parliament, 
and  in  1862  was  created  a  baronet  by  Queen  Victoria 
in  consideration  of  his  eminent  commercial  position, 
and  his  gift  to  the  city  of  Liverpool  of  a  munificent 
endowment  of  a  free  public  library,  and  the  erection 
of  a  noble  building  for  its  accommodation.  He  died 
in  1864,  leaving  an  immense  fortune.  In  1811  the 
firm  of  Alexander  Brown  &  Sons  was  formed  in  Bal- 
timore; and  in  1818,  John  A.  Brown  established  a 
branch  of  the  house  in  Philadelphia;  and  in  1825, 
James  Brown  settled  in  New  York  and  established 
the  firm  of  Brown  Brothers  &  Co.  John  A.  Brown 
retired  in  1839,  and  the  title  of  the  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  houses  is  now  the  same.  Alexander 
Brown  and  his  son  George  remained  in  Baltimore, 
and  conducted  the  aft'airs  of  the  parent-house  in 
America.  So  long  as  the  former  lived  Baltimore  was 
the  headquarters  of  all  the  houses,  and  several  times 
each  year,  and  on  all  occasions  of  importance,  the 
brothers  met  here  to  consult  with  their  father  and 
with  each  other.  Thus  the  widely-ramified  business 
was  like  the  parts  of  agreatmachine  working  smoothly 
in  unison.  While  all  the  family  were  conspicuously 
sagacious  financiers,  Alexander  Brown's  was  the 
guiding  and  controlling  mind  that  decided  all  ques- 
tions of  doubt  or  difficulty.  He  had  had  but  little 
education  in  schools  and  books,  but  his  genius  for 
business  was  of  the  very  first  order,  and  his  unassail- 
able integrity  made  the  name  of  his  house  respected 
in  all  the  financial  centres  of  Christendom.  The 
commercial  bills  of  the  Browns  have  been  for  years 
as  well  known  and  as  highly  appreciated  in  the  marts 
of  the  world  as  those  of  the  Rothschilds. 

Alexander  and  his  son  George  predicated  the  future 
of  railroads.  They  saw  the  vast  benefits  which  would 
result  from  the  construction  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad,  and  in  its  inception  they  aided  it  lib- 
erally with  their  means,  besides  devoting  much  per- 
sonal care  and  attention  to  its  business,  and  the  ex- 
periments in  what  was  then  the  novel  science  of 
railroading.  The  first  meeting  of  the  pioneers  in  this 
enterprise  was  held  in  the  parlor  of  George  Brown. 
Alexander  Brown  died  in  1834  of  pneumonia,  which 
he  contracted  while  presiding  over  a  meeting  of  mer- 
chants at  the  Exchange  on  a  very  cold  winter's  day. 
The  meeting  had  been  called  on  the  occasion  of  a 
financial  panic  resulting  from  the  failure  of  the  Bank 
of  Maryland,  and  Mr.  Brown  then  declared  most  em- 
phatically that  no  merchant  who  could  show  that  he 
was  solvent  should   be  permitted  to  foil.     After  his 


AaJSS^Sa-TDHIHJ. 


BANKS   AND   BANKERS. 


death,  George  Brown,  who  was  born  at  Ballymena, 
Ireland,  in  1787,  became  the  head  of  the  Baltimore 
house.  With  perhaps  less  enterprise  than  his  father, 
he  was  equally  prudent  and  prescient,  and  was  equally 
indefatigable  in  his  application  to  business.  When 
in  1827  the  Mechanics'  Bank  was  carried  to  the  verge 
of  insolvency  by  bad  management,  he  consented  to  be- 
come its  president,  and  in  a  short  time  placed  it  in  a 
more  prosperous  condition  than  it  had  ever  known 
before.  Curiously  enough,  years  afterwards  his  son, 
George  Stewart  Brown,  successfully  presided  over 
the  same  institution,  having  been  called  to  the  rescue 
of  it  after  it  had  sustained  a  serious  disaster.  George 
Brown  was  the  founder  and  for  some  time  the  pre- 
sident of  the  Merchants'  Bank,  and  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  Society  for  the  Improvement  of  the  Con- 
dition of  the  Poor.  The  House  of  Refuge  was  an 
object  of  his  special  care.  He  was  one  of  the  origi- 
nal trustees  of  the  Peabody  Institute.  At  the  age 
of  forty-nine,  when  he  was  a  merchant  and  banker 
of  the  highest  standing,  he  faithfully  served  in  a 
volunteer  cavalry  company  which  was  raised  by  the 
citizens  after  the  sanguinary  riot  of  1835  to  pre- 
serve the  peace.  He  died  in  1859,  possessed  of  the 
largest  fortune  ever  held  up  to  that  time  by  a  citizen 
of  Maryland.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Isabella  Brown,  is  still 
living  at  an  advanced  age.  Although  her  husband 
made  no  provision  for  charity  in  his  will,  she  has  car- 
ried out  what  were  known  to  be  his  wishes,  and  many 
thousands  of  dollars  have  been  expended  by  her  in 
pursuance  of  them.  She  built  the  beautiful  Brown 
Memorial  Church  on  Park  Avenue.  The  banking- 
firm  now  consists  of  her  son,  George  Stewart  Brown, 
William  H.  Graham,  and  W.  G.  Bowdoin.  Mr. 
Brown  is  paymaster-general  of  the  State  of  Mary- 
land, and  has  held  many  positions  of  trust  and  honor 
in  commercial,  benevolent,  and  religious  enterprises. 
He  was  president  of  the  Baltimore  and  Havana  Steam- 
ship Company,  and  is  a  director  in  the  National 
Mechanics'  Bank,  and  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Park 
Commissioners.  He  has  been  a  manager  of  the 
House  of  Refuge  since  1859,  and  for  several  years  of 
the  Asylum  for  the  Blind,  and  also  of  the  Maryland 
Bible  Society.  He  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Pea- 
body  Institute,  and  has  been  connected  with  the 
Canton  Company  for  twenty-three  years,  either  as 
vice-president  or  director.  He  is  identified  with  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  is  the  most 
liberal  contributor  to  its  support.  He  has  twice 
served  the  city  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Harbor 
Commissioners  and  the  Commission  on  Manufactures. 
Mr.  Brown  is  very  retiring  in  his  disposition,  but 
he  is  nevertheless  a  thoroughly  public-spirited  citi- 
zen, considering  that  no  question  relative  to  the  po- 
litical or  commercial  affairs  of  the  city  is  unworthy 
the  attention  of  men  who  have  its  best  interests  at 
heart.  Without  making  any  display,  he  accomplishes 
a  great  deal  of  good  work,  and  his  house  is  one  of  the 
financial  bulwarks  of  the  city.     He  inherits  the  busi- 


ness acumen  of  his  father  and  grandfather,  and  sus- 
tains the  reputation  of  the  firm  which  they  established. 
He  married,  in  1857,  Miss  Harriet  Eaton,  of  New  York 
City.  They  have  one  son,  Alexander,  named  after 
his  great-grandfather. 

Nicholson  &  Sons.— In  1828  the  four  sons  of  Chris- 
topher Nicholson — viz.,  John  J.,  Isaac  L.,  Gustavus, 
and  Columbus — established  on  the  corner  of  Howard 
and  Baltimore  Streets,  and  also  on  Harrison  Street, 
the  banking-houses  of  J.  J.  Nicholson  &  Sons,  and 
of  Isaac  L.  Nicholson  &  Co.  These  firms,  like  that 
of  Alexander  Brown  &  Sons,  have  never  changed 
their  names,  never  encountered  financial  disaster, 
and  from  father  to  son  the  name  and  character  has 
descended  unimpaired,  and  to-day  enjoy  solid  stand- 
ing and  confidence  in  the  community.  The  elder 
Nicholson  never  left  the  legitimate  sphere  of  his  busi- 
ness to  engage  in  speculations,  never  indorsed  a  note, 
and  never  had  a  lawsuit.  In  1843,  John  S.  Nichol- 
son was  assaulted  on  the  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Paca 
Streets,  when  going  home,  and  robbed  of  $12,000, 
which,  in  a  tin  box,  he  was  carrying  home.  The  gang 
of  robbers  consisted  of  five  loafers  who  belonged  to 
a  volunteer  fire  company  in  the  neighborhood.  The 
robbers  were  afterwards  apprehended  on  the  testimony 
of  one  of  their  confederates,  and  convicted  and  sent 
to  the  penitentiary  for  long  terms ;  two  of  them  died 
in  prison,  and  the  others  were  pardoned  upon  the  in- 
tercession of  Mr.  Nicholson.  John  S.  Nicholson  died 
Aug.  18,  1879,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years. 

Robert  Garrett  &  Sons.— The  house  of  Robert 
Garrett  &  Sous  was  founded  by  Robert  Garrett,  the 
father  of  John  W.  Garrett,  president  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad.  The  senior  member  of  this  great 
banking-house  was  born  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  and 
died  from  an  attack  of  paralysis  on  Feb.  4, 1857.  His 
parents  emigrated  to  this  country  when  he  was  about 
eight  years  of  age  and  settled  in  Cumberland  County, 
Pa.,  where  he  resided  with  them  until  1804,  when  he 
came  to  Baltimore.  He  commenced  his  commercial 
career  in  this  city  as  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  Patrick 
Dinsmore,  in  which  capacity  he  remained  some  four 
years,  when  he- became  a  partner  in  the  firm  known 
as  Wallace  &  Garrett,  which  continued  up  to  the  year 
1812,  when  the  partnership  was  dissolved.  Mr.  Gar- 
rett then  removed  to  Middletown,  Washington  Co., 
Pa.,  and  entered  into  business  there,  but  returned  to 
Baltimore  about  1820,  and  became  actively  engaged 
in  commercial  pursuits.  About  the  year  1836  the  firm 
so  extensively  and  favorably  known  as  Robert  Gar- 
rett &  Sons  was  formed,  and  has  continued  to  this 
time,  being  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  opu- 
lent and  enterprising  financial  and  exchange  houses 
in  our  midst,  having  been  of  late  years  engaged  in 
large  and  important  operations  and  negotiations  for 
corporate  companies  and  individuals.  The  original 
location  was  at  the  warehouse  No.  34  North  Howard 
Street,  and  for  its  own  convenience  the  banking  oper- 
ations were  connected  with  the  business  of  the  house 


476 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


which  in  the  course  of  time  became  the  active  corre- 
spondents and  representatives  of  George  Peabody  & 
Co.,  of  London,  and  of  other  well-known  European 
firms,  as  well  as  of  many  prominent  mercantile  firms 
in  the  Westerti  States,  and  held  a  leading  position  in 
the  commerce  of  the  city.  Kobert  Garrett,  the  founder 
of  the  house,  thoroughly  appreciated  the  unlimited  re- 
sources and  growing  importance  of  the  West,  as  well 
as  the  geographical  advantages  of  Baltimore,  and 
spared  no  pains  in  developing  commercial  relations 
with  that  section.  Robert  Garrett  was  by  nature  affa- 
ble and  courteous  in  his  intercourse  with  all,  either  as 
a  man  of  business  or  socially  ;  his  life,  which  was  one 
of  usefulness,  was  so  passed  as  to  command  the  good 
will  of  all  who  knew  him.  As  a  benevolent  citizen, 
there  were  few  of  our  charitable  institutions  at  the 
time  of  his  death  but  were  the  recipients  of  his  bounty. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  a  director  of  the  West- 
ern Bank,  the  Eutaw  Savings-Bank,  and  the  Baltimore 
Gas  Company. 

His  sons,  Henry  S.  Garrett,  the  eldest,  and  John  W. 
Garrett,  were  no  less  alive  to  the  importance  of  Balti- 
more's trade  connections  with  the  Western  States,  and 
when  they  became  members  of  the  firm  threw  them- 
selves with  great  spirit  into  their  father's  plans,  and  by 
their  energy  and  enterprise  soon  greatly  advanced  the 
commercial  interests  of  the  city,  while  at  the  same  time 
enlarging  the  scope  of  thhir  own  business.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  firm  were  among  the  earliest  and  most 
zealous  supporters  of  all  practical  measures  looking 
to  the  opening  of  communications  by  canal  and  rail- 
way with  all  sections  of  the  country,  and  were  among 
the  first  to  grasp  the  true  significance  and  scope  of 
the  great  railway  project  which  was  to  link  Baltimore 
with  the  West.  The  house  was  subsequently  removed 
to  its  present  location  on  South  Street,  and  became 
exclusively  a  banking  establishment,  operating  not 
only  in  stocks,  but  doing  a  large  foreign  business  as 
well,  the  great  house  of  Morgan  &  Co.,  of  London, 
being  among  its  correspondents.  The  firm  is  at  pres- 
ent composed  of  John  W.  Garrett  and  his  two  sons, 
Robert  and  T.  Harrison  Garrett.  Henry  S.  Garrett, 
brother  of  John  W.  Garrett,  for  many  years  a  member 
of  the  firm,  died  on  Oct.  10,  1867,  aged  fifty  years, 
deeply  lamented  both  in  business  and  social  circles. 
He  was  a  gentleman  of  fine  business  ability,  of  great 
practical  benevolence,  and  a  zealous  and  liberal  sup- 
])<)rter  not  only  of  his  particular  church,  but  of  relig- 
ious work  in  all  its  branches.  The  management  of 
the  house  is  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  T.  Harrison  Gar- 
rett, who  is  a  member  of  the  Baltimore  Stock  Board, 
and  who  is  noted  not  only  for  his  knowledge  and 
ability  in  all  matters  of  business  and  finance,  but  for 
his  public  spirit  and  cultivated  tastes.  His  library  is 
the  largest  private  collection  in  the  State,  embracing 
works  of  the  rarest  and  most  unique  character,  and 
the  mo.st  complete  bibliography  of  the  Baltimore  and 
(Jhio  Railroad  Company  to  be  found  in  the  country. 
His  collection^of  autograph  letters  is  one  of  the  lar- 


gest and  most  interesting  in  the  United  States,  con- 
taining letters  of  nearly  all  the  prominent  historical 
personages  of  America  from  the  time  of  Wa-shington 
to  the  present.  Mr.  Garret  also  possesses  one  of  the 
best  numismatic  collections  in  the  State,  and  is  con- 
stantly adding  to  his  acquisitions  in  this  line. 

Wilson,  Colston  &  Co. — The  banking-house  of 
Wilson,  Colston  &  Co.,  1.34  West  Baltimore  Street, 
was  established  in  1867,  and  is  composed  of  James 
G.  Wilson,  Frederick  M.  Colston,  and  William  B. 
Wilson.  The  members  of  the  firm  are  both  bankers 
and  brokers,  but  the  house  pays  especial  attention  to 
inveitment  securities  as  distinguished  from  speculation. 
It  does  a  large  business  in  Southern  securities,  espe- 
cially in  those  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  and  is  one  of 
the  leading  firms  in  this  branch  of  business.  It  has 
also  had  large  experience  in  handling  and  introduc- 
ing city  and  other  similar  securities  of  high  grade, 
and  has  won  an  enviable  reputation  for  the  care  with 
which  all  its  dealings  are  conducted.  The  house  is 
thoroughly  conservative,  carefully  avoiding  specula- 
tion, and,  as  a  consequence,  has  a  large  number  of 
depositors  and  patrons. 

McKim  &  Co. — The  banking-house  of  McKim  & 
Co.  was  established  in  185-5  by  William  McKim. 
Mr.  McKim  was  the  eldest  son  of  William  D.  Mc- 
Kim. The  name  of  McKim  has  long  been  identified 
with  Baltimore  business.  John  McKim,  the  progen- 
itor of  the  Maryland  family,  was  born  in  Ireland  in 
1670.  His  son  Thomas,  the  father  of  John,  Alexander, 
and  Robert,  was  born  in  Londonderry  in  1710,  and 
came  to  this  country  in  1734,  and  settled  in  Philadel- 
phia. His  eldest  son,  John,  was  born  in  1742,  and 
came  to  Baltimore  a  very  young  man,  and  established 
a  mercantile  business  on  Baltimore  Street  near  Gay. 
He  married  Margaret  Duncan,  of  Philadelphia.  He 
had  two  sons,  Isaac  and  William  D.,  the  former  of 
whom  became  a  partner  with  the  father  in  1796,  under 
the  firm-name  of  John  McKim  &  Co.  In  1807  the 
father  retired  from  business  with  an  ample  fortune, 
and  died  in  1819,  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age. 
Isaac  McKim  was  born  July  21,  1775.  He  took  great 
pride  in  the  clipper-ships,  of  which  the  "  Ann  McKim" 
was  one  of  the  fastest  and  most  celebrated.  He  was 
in  the  war  of  1812  aide  to  Gen.  Samuel  Smith,  and 
advanced  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  the  city  to  aid  in 
its  defense.  He  was  a  promoter  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad,  and  one  of  its  first  Board  of  Directors. 
He  was  a  State  senator,  and  twice  elected  to  Congress. 
He  was  a  prominent  and  influential  Democrat.  He 
died  in  1838,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three. 

William  D.  McKim,  the  son  of  John  McKim,  was 
born  in  1779  in  Philadelphia,  and  came  to  Baltimore 
with  his  father  in  1785.  In  1806  he  married  Miss  Has- 
lett,  of  Caroline  County.  He  was  one  of  the  origi- 
nators of  the  Baltimore  Gas  Company.  He  died  at  the 
age  of  thirty-five  in  1834.  William  McKim,  his  eldest 
son,  and  the  founder  of  the  house  of  McKim  &  Co., 
was  born   Dec.  21,  1808.     He  was  educated  in  the 


^/?//.  /^^y 


5=>x 


BANKS    AND   BANKERS. 


477 


schools  of  the  city  and  St.  Mary's  College,  and  studied 
law  with  Judge  Purviance,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1830.  In  1831  he  was  taken  into  partnership 
with  his  father,  who  retired  in  the  autumn  of  that  j 
year,  and  Hastell,  the  brother,  was  taken  into  the 
house,  and  established  the  Philadelphia  branch.  On 
.Tan.  1,  1855,  he  established  the  house  of  McKim  & 
Co.,  in  which  he  was  engaged  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  served  as  a  director  of  the  Franklin  Bank  and 
the  Bank  of  Baltimore,  president  of  the  Baltimore 
Marine  Insurance  Company  and  of  the  Northwestern 
Virginia  Railroad  Company.  He  was  always  deeply 
interested  in  politics,  though  steadfastly  refusing  all 
nominations  or  appointments.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Whig  party  during  the  whole  of  its  existence. 
He  was  a  Unionist  during  the  civil  war,  but  at  all 
times  endeavored  to  secure  mild  measures  for  the 
Southern  people.     He  died  Sept.  11,  1879. 

John  A.  Hambleton  &  Co.— The  founder  of  this 
banking-house,  Thomas  E.  Hambleton,  was  born  at 
Abingdon,  Harford  Co.,  Md.,  May  15,  1798,  and  died 
Aug.  18,  1876.  He  married,  Dec.  2,  1824,  Sarah  A. 
Slinglufl',  daughter  of  Jesse  Slingluff,  and  sister  of 
Jesse  Slingluff,  president  of  the  Commercial  and 
Farmers'  National  Bank.  He  was  one  of  the  origi- 
nators of  the  new  Board  of  Water  Commissioners  of 
Baltimore  in  1858,  and  a  member  of  it  until  1861. 
He  organized  and  was  the  first  president  of  the  Mary- 
laud  Fire  Insurance  Company,  an  institution  whose 
financial  foundation  is  as  solid  as  a  rock,  and  one 
that  commands  the  confidence  of  the  community.  Its 
administrations  have  numbered  some  of  the  strong- 
est and  soundest  business  men  in  the  city,  and  its 
stability  has  never  been  shaken.  Mr.  Hambleton 
was  an  Old-Line  Whig  up  to  the  commencement  of 
the  civil  war,  when  his  sympathies  turned  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Democratic  party.  He  took  an  active  part 
in  the  establishment  of  the  cotton-factories  at  Elys- 
ville,  Md.,  and  was  largely  interested  in  other  cotton- 
manufacturing  enterprises  in  the  city  and  its  vicinity. 
He  established  in  Baltimore  a  dry-goods  jobbing- 
house,  and  was  widely  known  as  an  honorable  and 
successful  merchant.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church,  and  a  director  in  the  West- 
ern Bank.  The  ancestry  of  the  Hambletons  came 
from  the  "  Hambleton  Hills,"  England,  and  were 
farmers.  In  1659  they  were  granted  a  patent  for  a 
tract  of  land  called  Martingham  and  Williton,  in 
Talbot  County,  Md.,  which  is  still  held  in  the  family. 
William  Hambleton  received  a  commission  April  9, 
1778,  as  captain,  and  served  in  the  Revolutionary 
army.  Samuel  Hambleton  and  John  N.  Hambleton 
were  pursers  in  the  navy,  'the  former  having  been 
commissioned  by  President  Jefferson  in  1806.  Thomas 
E.  Hambleton  had  seven  children, — Jesse  S.,  John 
A.,  T.  Edward,  William  Sherwood,  Francis  H.,  James 
Douglass,  and  Clara.  Jesse  Slingluff  Hambleton 
went  with  Walker  to  Nicaragua  and  died  there,  and 
William  Sherwood  Hambleton  died  while  on  his  way 


to  Japan  with  Commodore  Perry.  John  A.  Hamble- 
ton acquired  a  good  education,  and  went  into  the  dry- 
goods  business  with  his  father,  the  firm  becoming 
Hambleton  &  Son.  T.  Edward  Hambleton  graduated 
at  St.  Mary's  College  in  1849,  and  after  engaging 
temporarily  in  manufacturing  and  in  the  provision 
trade,  he  too  was  admitted  into  the  dry-goods  firm  as 
a  partner.  These  two  brothers  were  born  at  New 
Windsor,  Carroll  Co.,  Md.,  John  A.  on  March  28, 
1827,  and  T.  Edward  on  May  17, 1829.  The  dry-goods 
business  was  successfully  prosecuted  until  the  open- 
ing of  the  war,  when  the  latter's  adventurous  spirit 
and  sympathy  for  the  South  carried  him  to  Rich- 
mond. He  made  several  trips  to  Europe  through  the 
line  of  Federal  blockaders,  and  built  the  steamer 
"  Dare,"  of  which  he  took  command.  On  Jan.  8, 
1862,  he  was  hotly  pursued  by  five  men-of-war,  who 
forced  him  to  beach  his  ship  on  the  coast  near  Debe- 
due,  S.  C.  He  set  her  on  fire  and  made  prisoners  of 
the  boarding-party  sent  to  take  her.  In  1864  he  and 
John  A.  formed  the  banking-house  of  John  A.  Ham- 
bleton &  Co.,  and  for  seventeen  years  it  has  stood  as 
one  of  the  great  financial  establishments  of  the  city. 
It  is  noted  for  its  large  transactions,  and  for  the  energy 
with  which  it  takes  hold  of  important  enterprises  and 
presents  them  to  the  attention  of  investors.  The 
brothers  are  thoroughly  versed  in  all  matters  relating 
to  commercial  and  financial  interests,  and  their  judg- 
ment upon  the  condition  of  the  money-markets  of 
the  world,  the  actual  and  prospective  value  of  securi- 
ties, and  the  opportunities  for  good  investments  of 
capital  is  invariably  a  safe  guide.  The  reputation  of 
their  firm  is  of  the  very  highest  nature,  and  its  enter- 
prise reaches  out  into  distant  fields  and  makes  them 
tributary  to  it.  They  have  valuable  interests  in  In- 
dianapolis, Ind.,  in  Colorado,  and  elsewhere  through- 
out the  West.  Their  weekly  financial  circular  is  a 
careful  and  reliable  review  of  operations  in  the  mar- 
kets, and  an  expression  of  sound  opinion  as  to  the 
future.  It  is  indispensable  to  financiers,  capitalists, 
bankers  and  brokers,  and  investors,  and  has  become 
a  standard  necessity  in  this  community.  They  have 
negotiated  a  number  of  large  loans,  and  confine  them- 
selves to  a  strictly  legitimate  business.  John  E. 
Hambleton,  in  1855,  married  Mary  E.  Woolen,  of 
Baltimore,  who  died  in  1872,  leaving  three  children, 
Grace,  Bessie,  and  Bell.  In  1874  he  married  Kate, 
daughter  of  Gustavus  Oljer,  of  Baltimore.  In  1852 
T.  Edward  Hambleton  married  Arabella,  daughter  of 
Maj.  Dixon  Stansbury,  of  the  United  States  army, 
who  was  taken  prisoner  in  Canada  in  the  war  of  1812, 
and  wounded  in  the  Indian  wars  in  Florida.  They 
have  had  three  children,  Sallie  S.,  Frank  S.,  and 
Thomas  S.,  of  whom  only  Frank  S.  is  living. 

Francis  H.  Hamilton  is  a  native  of  Baltimore  City, 
and  is  a  constructing  and  consulting  engineer.  He 
was  apprenticed  in  early  life  in  the  locomotive-works 
of  Ross  Winans,  and  was  engaged  with  the  Messrs. 
Winans  in  the  building  of  their  cigar  steamships  in 


478 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


this  country  and  in  Europe,  and  in  tlieir  railroad 
work  in  Russia.  In  1870  he  returned  to  the  United 
States,  and  hsis  acted  in  the  construction  of  many 
works  whicli  have  required  the  highest  degree  of  en- 
gineering skill.  He  has  been  elected  an  associate 
member  of  the  London  Institute  of  Civil  Engineers, 
and  a  member  of  the  American  Institute  of  Civil 
Engineers.  He  is  in  the  front  rank  of  his  profession, 
and  is  engineer  of  the  Consolidated  Gas  Company  of 
Baltimore. 

J.  Douglass  Hambleton,  who  died  a  few  years  ago, 
was  a  lawyer  and  orator  who  enjoyed  a  very  large 
practice,  and  was  one  of  the  brightest  lights  of  the 
Maryland  bar.  In  court  he  was  a  powerful  advocate ; 
his  eloquence  was  pure  and  free,  and  he  was  ever 
ready  to  champion  a  righteous  cause.  It  falls  to  the 
lot  of  few  men  in  private  station  to  be  so  sincerely 
and  widely  mourned  as  he  was. 
.  The  Safe  Deposit  and  Trust  Company  of  Bal- 
timore was  chartered  M.arch  10,  18tj4,  with  Thomas 
Kflso,  Jacob  Bramdt,  J.  Alexander  Shriver,  and  Ro- 
bert Lehr  as  incorporators.  It  was  organized  .July  .5, 
1867,  by  the  election  of  Enoch  Pratt  as  its  first  pres- 
ident. Its  first  location  was  in  the  basement  of  the 
National  Farmers  and  Planters'  Bank,  northwest 
corner  of  German  and  South  Streets.  In  April,  1874, 
the  site  of  the  present  building,  No.  9  South  Street, 
was  purchased,  and  on  the  30th  of  November,  187fi, 
it  was  occupied  for  the  first  time.  This  company  was 
incorporated  only  two  years  after  the  first  company  in 
New  York  of  the  same  character.  The  original  name 
under  which  it  was  incorporated  was  the  "Safe  De- 
posit Company  of  Baltimore,"  but  by  the  supplemen- 
tal act  of  1876  the  name  of  the  corporation  was 
changed  to  the  "  Safe  Deposit  and  Trust  Company  of 
Baltimore,"  and  its  powers  considerably  enlarged. 

Its  original  capital  was  $200,000;  the  present  cash 
capital  of  the  company,  paid  up  in  full,  is  $500,000. 
Its  first  president  was  Enoch  Pratt,  who  served  from 
July  5,  1867,  to  July  10,  1868.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Benjamin  F.  Newcomer,  who  is  still  the  president  of 
the  company. 

By  its  charter  the  company  has  power  to  receive 
and  hold  in  deposit  and  in  trust,  and  as  security,  estate 
real,  personal,  and  mixed,  including  notes,  bonds,  and 
obligations  of  States,  companies,  corporations,  and 
individuals,  and  the  same  to  foreclose,  collect,  adjust, 
settle,  sell,  and  dispose  of,  and  upon  such  terms  as 
may  be  agreed  upon  between  them  and  the  parties 
contracting  with  them.  The  company  is  also  author- 
ized to  accept  and  execute  trusts  of  any  kind  which 
may  be  committed  to  it,  to  act  as  receiver,  trustee, 
administrator,  executor,  assignee,  guardian,  or  com- 
mittee, and  to  perform  all  the  functions  of  a  /rust  as 
well  as  of  a  deposit  company. 

The  Safe  Deposit  building  is  the  most  complete 
structure  of  its  character  in  the  country,  and  is  un- 
surpassed by  any  similar  building  anywhere  either  in 
security  or  finish.     It  fronts  forty-seven  feet  on  South 


Street,  with  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  one  feet,  to 
an  alley  ten  feet  wide  in  the  rear.  The  south  side  is 
also  bounded  by  an  alley  ten  feet  wide,  and  a  space  of 
three  feet  in  width  has  been  left  open  down  to  the 
foundation  between  it  and  the  property  on  the  north, 
thus  completely  isolating  it  from  all  neighboring 
buildings.  It  is  strictly  fire-proof,  not  a  particle  of 
wood  entering  into  its  construction.  The  foundations 
are  of  cement  concrete  four  feet  thick,  laid  below 
water  level,  thus  effectually  preventing  any  attack  by 
undermining,  and  -the  whole  basement  floor  is  formed 
of  concrete  eighteen  inches  thick,  finished  with  a  ce- 
ment pavement  two  inches  thick.  The  side  walls  are 
two  and  a  half  feet  thick,  and  the  front  wall  five  feet 
thick  at  ground  level.  The  main  floor  is  constructed 
with  heavy  rolled-iron  beams  filled  in  with  brick 
arches,  and  overlaid  with  marble  tiles  two  by  three 
and  a  half  feet,  and  two  inches  in  thickness  ;  the  roof 
is  constructed  of  elliptical  wrought-iron  trusses,  with 
wrought-iron  rafters,  filled  in  between  the  spaces  with 
fire-proof  hollow  blocks,  over  which  is  a  coating  of 
French  cement,  forming  a  bed  for  the  outer  covering 
of  slate,  which  is  secured  with  copper  nails.  Heavy 
iron  bars  extend  between  the  upper  part  of  the  build- 
ing and  the  Franklin  Bank  building,  which  is  a  few 
feet  higher,  to  prevent  the  walls  of  the  latter  from 
falling  towards  the  former  should  fire  occur  in  the 
bank. 

The  great  burglar  and  fire-proof  vault  is  the  main 
and  striking  feature  of  the  building,  and  is  a  master- 
piece of  strength  and  beauty.  It  occupies  the  whole 
width  of  the  room  (allowing  a  passage  on  each  side 
and  in  the  rear),  and  has  a  depth  of  about  thirty-six 
feet.  The  front  is  of  iron,  painted  in  almost  perfect 
imitation  of  bronze.  The  massive  doors  are  elab- 
orately ornamented  with  plated  and  polished  bolt- 
work,  are  three  in  number,  and  five  feet  wide.  The 
outer  doors  are  fire-proof,  being  one  foot  thick,  filled 
in  with  fine  cement  concrete,  and  the  two  inner  doors 
are  burglar-proof,  consisting  of  eight  layers  of  welded 
and  hardened  steel  and  iron  measuring  four  inches 
thick,  secured  with  two-inch  steel  bolts  on  all  sides. 
The  vault  consists  of  inner  walls  of  steel  and  iron 
three  inches  thick  on  all  sides,  top  and  bottom, 
bolted  and  riveted  together  with  conical  twisted  steel 
and  iron  bolts,  with  square  ends  riveted  flush  on  the 
inside,  and  all  thoroughly  drill-proof.  This  is  en- 
i  cased  by  a  solid  brick  wall  two  feet  thick  on  all 
I  sides,  top  and  bottom,  with  a  space  between  of  one 
foot,  filled  in  with  fire-proof  concrete  made  of  pure 
cement. 

The  present  ofliccrs  of  the  company  are  B.  F.  New- 
comer, president;  Francis  T.  King,  vice-president; 
W.  A.  Wisong,  secretary  and  treasurer;  B.  F.  New- 
comer, Francis  T.  King,  William  F.  Burns,  W.  F. 
j  Walter,  Henry  S.  Shyrock,  S.  M.  Shoemaker,  and 
I  Hollins  McKim,  directors;  Counsel,  Edward  Otis 
Hinkley. 

Benjamin    Franklin    Newcomer,   president  of  the 


^^c^< 


BANKS   AND   BANKERS. 


Safe  Deposit  and  Trust  Company,  was  born  in  Wash- 
ington County,  Md.,  April  28,  1827,  and  is  the  son  of 
John  and  Catharine  Newcomer,  his  fatlier  having 
descended  from  a  Swiss  family  that  came  to  Phila- 
delphia in  the  first  quarter  of  the  last  century.  Some 
of  the  Newcomers  settled  in  Lancaster  County,  Pa., 
and  from  there  Christian,  Peter,  and  Henry  New- 
comer removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Hagerstowu,  Wash- 
ington Co.,  Md.,  where  they  became  the  owners  of 
large  estates.  Benjamin  F.,  who  is  a  great-grandson 
of  Henry,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead,  which  is 
still  in  the  possession  of  the  family,  and  is  the  resi- 
dence of  his  mother,  who  was  a  Newcomer  before  her 
marriage.  His  strongly  mathematical  turn  of  mind 
indicated  civil  engineering  as  his  future  profession, 
and  for  that  calling  he  was  educated  at  the  Hagers- 
towu Academy ;  but  in  1842  his  father,  in  conjunction 
with  Samuel  Stonebraker,  established  in  Baltimore 
the  wholesale  flour  and  grain  house  of  Newcomer  & 
Stonebreaker,  and  sent  his  son,  then  but  sixteen  years 
of  age,  to  take  charge  of  his  interest  in  the  business. 
The  young  man  speedily  won  his  spurs  as  an  acute 
and  driving  merchant,  and  the  house  prospered  so 
rapidly  that  for  many  years  its  sales  aggregated  one- 
tenth  of  all  the  flour  sold  in  Baltimore.  Feeling  that 
his  early  entry  into  commercial  pursuits  had  pre- 
vented him  from  obtaining  the  quality  and  quantity 
of  education  which  his  bright  mind  craved,  he  joined 
the  Mercantile  Library,  and  became  one  of  its  di- 
rectors, spending  his  evenings  in  reading,  study,  and 
attending  lectures,  including  several  courses  in  chem- 
istry, astronomy,  and  philosophy.  When  eighteen 
years  of  age  he  purchased  his  father's  interest  in  the 
house,  in  which  he  had  at  that  time  sole  charge  of 
its  financial  and  corresponding  department.  In  1862 
the  firm  of  Newcomer  &  Co.  succeeded  to  that  of 
Newcomer  &  Stonebraker.  With  B.  F.  Newcomer  at 
its  head  it  continues  to  the  present  day,  preserving  all 
its  old-time  prestige,  doing  a  very  extensive  business, 
and  holding  fast  its  honorable  reputation.  His  con- 
siderable surplus  capital  above  and  beyond  the  re- 
quirements of  the  house  has  been  diverted  into  rail- 
road and  banking  enterprises.  In  1854  he  was  elected 
a  director  in  the  Union  Bank  of  Maryland,  now  the 
National  Union  Bank,  and  during  his  whole  connec- 
tion with  it  he  was  the  youngest  member  of  the  board. 
When  the  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange  was  organized, 
in  the  year  1853,  he  earnestly  exerted  himself  to  es- 
tablish it  on  an  enduring  basis. 

In  1861  he  was  chosen  a  director  in  the  Northern 
Central  Railway  Company,  and  was  soon  afterwards 
made  chairman  of  the  finance  committee,  holding  that 
position  until  his  resignation  in  1875.  His  services 
were  so' highly  appreciated  that  at  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  stockholders  in  February,  1878,  he  was 
requested  to  again  become  a  member  of  the  board. 
Yielding  to  this  imperative  solicitation,  he  was  again 
elected  chairman  of  the  finance  committee,  and  was 
also  made  a  member  of  everv  committee  of  which  the 


board  is  composed.  From  1867  to  1869  he  was  one 
of  the  finance  commissioners  of  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
and  in  that  capacity  his  business  knowledge  and 
experience  inured  to  the  good  of  the  community. 
Since  1868  he  has  been  president  of  the'Safe  Deposit 
and  Trust  Company.  Mr.  Newcomer's  qualifica- 
tions as  a  financier,  and  his  intimate  acquaintance 
with  testamentary  and  other  laws  governing  busi- 
ness transactions,  render  him  peculiarly  fit  for  this 
important  position.  He  has  been  a  director  in  the 
National  Exchange  Bank,  and  is  now  a  director  in 
the  Third  National  Bank,  and  the  Savings-Bank  of 
Baltimore.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  acquired 
large  interests  in  various  railroads  in  North  and 
South  Carolina,  and  assisted  with  capital  and  energy 
in  the  establishment  of  the  railway  system  which  has 
opened  up  a  new  era  of  prosperity  in  the  South.  He 
is  vice-president  of  the  Wilmington  and  Weldon 
Railroad,  and  a  director  in  the  various  roads  consti- 
tuting the  Coa.st  Line,  the  control  of  which  is  held  by 
himself  and  his  associates.  Nearly  thirty  years  ago 
his  warmest  sympathies  were  enlisted  in  behalf  of  the 
blind,  and  in  1852  he  became  one  of  the  corporators  of 
the  Maryland  Institution  for  Instruction  of  the  Blind, 
the  others  being  Judge  John  Glenn,  Jacob  I.  Cohen, 
William  George  Baker,  J.  Smith  Hollins,  J.  N.  McJil- 
ton,  and  David  Langherty.  At  that  time  philanthropic 
and  scientific  effort  were  busily  devising  improved 
methods  for  the  education  of  the  sightless  unfortu- 
nates, and  there  was  no  really  good  principle  or  practice 
suggested  that  was  not  availed  of  at  the  Maryland 
Institution.  Its  system  is  now  unsurpassed  any- 
where, and  it  has  brought  happiness,  knowledge,  and 
ability  to  work  to  hundreds  of  the  helpless  blind. 
Mr.  Newcomer  is  now  its  president,  and  no  similar 
institution  is  more  successful  in  caring  for  and 
training  those  deprived  of  the  gift  of  vision.  He 
was  married  in  1848  to  Amelia,  a  daughter  of  John 
H.  Ehlen,  one  of  the  earliest  stockholders  and  di- 
rectors of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  con- 
nected with  banks  and  insurance  companies.  In  1870  ' 
he  and  Mrs.  Newcomer  and  their  eldest  daughter, 
who  was  being  educated  in  Paris,  made  the  tour  of 
Great  Britain  and  Southern  Europe.  In  1877,  with 
their  three  daughters,  they  made  a  much  more  exten- 
sive journey  through  England  and  Scotland,  and  on 
the  Continent.  Mr.  Newcomer  is  a  member  of  the 
Christian  Church. 

He  has  no  aspirations  for  political  life,  and  is  liberal 
in  his  opinions.  His  taste  in  art  is  excellent,  and 
he  owns  a  choice  collection  of  fine  paintings. 

Baltimore  Stock  Board.— Several  attempts  appear 
to  have  been  made  to  establish  a  stock  board  in  Bal- 
timore before  the  organization  of  the  present  board. 
Such  an  effort  seems  to  have  been  made  in  November, 
1830,  for  on  the  26th  of  that  month  the  Federal  Gazette 
published  "  a  new  stock-list,  furnished  by  the  board 
of  stock  brokers,"  and  announced  that  "  the  list 
heretofore  furnished  by  Messrs.  Cohen  &   Brothers 


480 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


will,  at  their  request,  give  place  to  that  which  will  be 
corrected  by  the  board  weekly.  The  formation  of  a 
Stock  Board  in  this  city,"  the  Gazelle  continues,  "will 
supply  a  heretofore  wanted  medium  to  our  capitalists 
of  investing  superabundant  funds.  Both  the  buyer 
and  seller  will  find  advantage  in  the  facility  afforded 
by  a  well-regulated  market."  This  first  board,  how- 
ever, would  seem  to  have  come  into  the  financial 
world  on  call,  and  to  have  been  called  for  at  a  very 
early  period  of  its  existence,  for  this  is  the  first  and 
only  reference  to  it  to  be  found.  In  1838  an  effort 
was  made  to  re-establish  the  Stock  Board,  and  on  the 
26th  of  February  of  that  year  a  meeting  was  held  for 
the  purpose  at  the  office  of  William  Woodville,  at 
which  the  following  gentlemen  were  present :  C.  C. 
Jamison,  John  Barnes,  Benjamin  I.  Cohen,  Townsend 
Scott,  Jesse  T.  Peters,  Richard  Emory,  and  William 
Woodville.  The  board  was  organized  by  the  adoption 
of  a  system  of  rules  and  regulations,  and  by  the  elec- 
tion of  C.  C.  Jamison,  president ;  John  Barney,  vice- 
president;  and  William  Woodville,  secretary  and 
treasurer.  The  record  of  sales  was  opened  on  the  8th 
of  March,  1838,  and  appears  to  have  been  stopped  on 
the  17th  of  December  of  the  same  year.  In  the  list 
of  stocks,  among  others,  we  find  "  Frenchtown  and 
New  Castle  Railroad  stock,"  "  Maryland,  Baltinaore, 
Neptune,  and  American  Marine  Insurance  stocks," 
"American  Life  and  Trust  Company,"  "Merchants' 
Fire  Insurance,"  "Screw-Dock  Company,"  "Balti- 
more and  Phrenix  Shot-Tower  Companies,"  "  Water 
Stock,"  "Maryland  and  Virginia  Steam  Navigation 
Company,"  "  Baltimore  and  Potomac  Navigation 
Company,"  "  Alexandria  and  Georgetown  Navigation 
Company,"  "  Rappahannock  Navigation  Company," 
"Steamboat '  Maryland,'  "  "  Treasury  Notes." 

There  appears  to  be  no  further  record  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  this  board,  which  for  want  of  members,  or 
from  the  small  business  then  doing,  languished  and 
soon  ceased  to  exist.'     On  Monday  evening,  Jan.  29, 
1844,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  office  of  Jesse  T.  Pe- 
ters, "  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  Stock  Board  in 
Baltimore."     There  were  present  at  this  meeting  Sam-  \ 
uel  Winchester,  Townsend  Scott,  David  I.  Cohen,  Is-  j 
rael  Cohen,  Thomas  C.  Harris,  William  Woodville,  ' 
and  Jesse  T.  Peters.     Mr.  Scott  presided,  and  a  system 
of  rules  and  regulations  was  submitted   by  Messrs. 
Woodville  and  Harris,  which  was  referred  to  a  com- 
mittee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Woodville,  D.  I.  Cohen, 
and  Peters,  to  be  revised,  and  presented  at  an  adjourned  j 
meeting  to  be  held  at  the  same  place  on  February  5th.  j 
The  second  meeting  was  held  at  the  appointed  time,  i 
with   Mr.  Scott   in   the  chair,  and   Messrs.  Samuel 
Winchester,  William  Woodville,  D.  I.  Cohen,  Israel 
Cohen,  Thomas  C.  Harris,  Josiah  Lee,  P.  H.  Coakley,  | 
and  Jesse  T.  Peters  present.     The  rules  and  regula-  : 
tions  were  adopted  and  signed,  and  entrance  fee  for 


new  members  fixed  at  twenty  dollars.  The  first  offi- 
cers of  the  board,  elected  at  this  meeting,  were  Wil- 
liam Woodville,  president,  and  Townsend  Scott,  vice- 
president,  who  were  chosen  to  serve  for  a  term  of  three 
months,  and  to  be  ineligible  for  re-election  for  the  suc- 
ceeding term,  and  Jesse  T.  Peters,  secretary  and  treas- 
urer for  the  period  of  twelve  months.  On  the  29th  of 
February  the  first  standing  committee  of  the  board 
was  elected;  it  consisted  of  Samuel  Winchester  and 
Thomas  C.  Harris,  and  the  president  as  chairman 
ex  officio,  and  its  members  were  chosen  for  twelve 
months  from  the  5th  of  February,  1844.  At  this 
meeting  Thomas  C.  Harris  proposed  John  S.  Gittings 
as  a  member  of  the  board,  and  on  March  1st  he  was 
duly  elected.  The  admission  fee  appears  at  this  date 
to  have  been  increased  to  fifty  dollars.  On  the  23d 
of  October  of  the  same  year  the  board  rented  and  oc- 
cupied rooms  in  the  Patapsco  Building,  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  North  and  Fayette  Streets.  On  the 
12th  of  August,  1845,  the  entrance  fee  was  raised  to 
one  hundred  dollars  for  individual  members,  and  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  firms  of  two  or  more 
persons;  and  on  the  11th  of  September  rooms  for  the 
use  of  the  board  were  taken  in  the  Franklin  Building 
for  two  years,  at  a  rent  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars per  annum.  On  the  8th  of  January,  1846,  the 
admission  fee  was  raised  to  three  hundred  dollars  for 
a  firm  of  two  or  more  members,  and  two  hundred  dol- 
lars for  every  individual  member. 

The  economical  principles  on  which  the  board  was 
conducted  in  those  days  is  illustrated  by  the  follow- 
ing incident.  On  the  16th  of  February,  1848,  Mr. 
Woodville  moved  that  five  dollars  should  be  appro- 
priated for  the  purchase  of  a  new  clock  in  place  of 
the  old  one,  which  was  worn  out.  Samuel  Win- 
chester opposed  the  appropriation  as  an  unnecessary 
expense,  and  said  that  it  would  be  a  very  easy  matter 
for  the  secretary  to  set  the  clock  every  day  at  eleven, 
for  he  was  satisfied  that  it  would  keep  time  until  five 
minutes  past  eleven  o'clock,  when  the  roll  was  called. 
Mr.  Woodville's  motion  was  lost  without  a  count.  The 
board  was,  however,  fully  as  "playful"  as  at  present, 
as  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  on  March  25,  1848,  it 
was  resolved  "  that  any  member  rolling  a  spittoon 
across  the  room  should  be  fined  fifty  cents ;"  and  on 
the  nth  of  January,  1849,  it  was  ordered  that  a  fine 
of  fifty  cents  should  be  imposed  on  any  member 
throwing  any  article  across  the  room.  On  the  9th  of 
August,  1849,  elections  for  president  and  vice-presi- 
dent were  abolished,  and  members  required  to  serve 
in  alphabetical  order.  Messrs.  Coakley  and  Cohen 
were  the  first  president  and  vice-president  under  this 
system.  On  the  14th  of  February,  1850,  the  entrance 
fee  for  new  members  was  fixed  at  five  hundred  dol- 
lars for  an  individual,  six  hundred  dollars  for  a  firm 
of  two,  and  one  hundred  dollars  for  each  additional 
member,  and  on  December  23d  of  the  same  year  the 
board  determined  to  hold  two  daily  sessions.  By  the 
act  of  1841 ,  ch.  282,  it  was  provided  that  "if  any  pereon 


BANKS   AND   BANKEKS. 


481 


or  persons  whosoever  shall  make  or  enter  into  any 
contract  or  agreement,  written  or  oral,  for  the  j)ur- 
chase,  receipt,  sale,  delivery,  or  transfer  of  any  public 
loan  or  stock,  or  the  stock  of  any  corporation  or  in- 
stitution, or  other  security  in  the  nature  thereof,  or 
any  bill,  notes,  or  other  obligations  of  any  corpora- 
tion, institution,  or  company  created  or  authorized, 
or  that  may  hereafter  be  created  or  authorized  as 
aforesaid,  in  which  contract  and  agreement  it  may  be 
stipulated  or  understood  between  the  parties  there- 
unto, his,  her,  or  their  agent  or  agents,  that  the 
same  may  be  executed  or  performed  at  any  future  pe- 
riod exceeding  five  judicial  days  next  ensuing  the  date 
of  such  contract  or  agreement,  then  and  in  every 
such  case  such  contract  or  agreement  shall  be  null 
and  void,"  and  the  person  or  persons  so  offending 
"  shall  upon  conviction  thereof  forfeit  and  pay  not 
less  than  three  hundred  nor  more  than  one  thousand 
dollars."  It  was  not  until  this  restriction  was  re- 
pealed by  the  act  of  1853,  ch.  353,  that  the  operations 
of  the  Stock  Board  assumed  any  extent  or  importance. 
On  the  18th  of  May,  1853,  a  room  in  the  Merchants' 
Exchange  (over  the  post-offlce)  was  leased  for  the 
use  of  the  board  for  five  years,  at  three  hundred 
dollars  per  annum,  and  on  the  13th  of  February, 
1854,  the  new  quarters  were  occupied.  June  2d  of 
the  same  year  it  was  determined  to  appoint  a  perma- 
nent president,  and  on  the  20th  of  February,  1855, 
the  admission  fee  was  raised  to  one  thousand  dollars. 
On  the  29th  of  July,  1856,  the  board  voted  unani- 
mously to  elect  on  the  1st  of  August  a  permanent 
president,  at  a  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars,  and 
accordingly  on  that  date  Samuel  Harris,  Jr.,  known 
to  the  members  of  the  Stock  Board  as  "  Judge" 
Harris,  was  chosen  for  that  position.  The  following 
were  the  members  of  the  board  June  8,  1857 :  Israel 
Cohen,  James  H.  Carter,  William  Fisher  &  Sons, 
John  S.  Gittings  &  Co.,  E.  M.  Greenway,  Jr.,  Thomas 
W.  Hall,  B.  F.  Harrison,  W.  Gilmor  Hoflman,  John 
Wells  Hanson,  Samuel  Harris  &  Sons,  Samuel 
Harris,  Jr.,  William  Key  Howard,  George  C.  Irwin 
&  Co.,  Johnston  Bros.  &  Co.,  Lawrason  &  Smith, 
Josiah  Lee  &  Co.,  McKim  &  Co.,  McGuan  &  Bouldin, 
Edward  Pittman  &  Son,  Purvis  &  Co.,  J.  &  H.  Pen- 
nington, P.  H.  Sullivan,  Joseph  A.  Sprigg,  T.  Scott 
&  Son,  Stokes  &  Lowndes,  J.  Marshall  Winchester, 
William  Woodville  &  Son,  Joseph  Wilkins,  William 
Woodville,  Jr.,  J.  W.  Zimmerman,  and  E.  Glenn  Fer- 
ine. Under  the  act  of  1842,  ch.  257,  stock  brokers  paid 
an  annual  license  of  seventy-five  dollars,  exchange 
brokers  one  hundred  dollars,  bill  brokers  fifty  dollars, 
and  brokers  whose  operations  required  it  paid  all  three 
licenses.  The  room  occupied  by  the  board  in  the 
Merchants'  Exchange  was  large,  with  a  lofty  ceiling, 
and  was  handsomely  fitted  up.  The  desks  occupied 
by  the  members  were  arranged  in  two  curved  rows  on 
each  side  of  the  raised  seats  for  the  president  and 
secretary.  On  the  7th  of  July,  1857,  a  committee, 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Cohen,  Scott,  and  Wilkins,  was 


appointed  to  select  a  suitable  building  or  site  for  the 
use  of  the  board,  and  on  May  27, 1858,  the  committee 
was  authorized  to  rent  the  rooms  formerly  occupied 
by  the  Baltimore  Club,  on  the  north  side  of  Fayette 
Street,  between  Calvert  and  North,  for  one  year,  with 
the  privilege  of  five.  On  the  1st  of  February,  1860, 
the  board  numbered  thirty-one  members.    On  July  2, 

1861,  the  president,  Mr.  Harris,  who  had  been  an- 
nually re-elected  since  August,  1856,  gave  notice  that 
he  would  resign  at  the  expiration  of  his  term,  and  on 
the  12th  of  July  the  standing  committee  recommended 
"  that  the  office  of  permanent  president  be  suspended 
for  the  present,  and  that  the  members  serve  alter- 
nately each  week,"  and  on  the  24th  this  recommenda- 
tion was  unanimously  adopted.    On  the  14th  of  April, 

1862,  Messrs.  William  Fisher,  Hoff"man,  and  Johns- 
ton, appointed  to  visit  Annapolis  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  the  more  speedy  transfer  of  State  stocks, 
offered  the  following  report : 

"  The  committee  beg  leave  to  report  that,  in  compliance  with  the  reso- 
lution of  the  board,  they  proceeded  to  Annapolis  on  Saturday,  sacrificing 
themselres  to  starting  at  the  early  hour  of  seven  in  the  morning,  and 
arriving  at  their  destination  after  a  pleasant  sail  of  two  and  a  half  hours. 
They  proceeded  at  once  to  the  well-reputed  house  of  Mrs.  Green,  where, 
having  ordered  dinner  at  three,  and  two  '  Sillery  Mosseau  Heidsicks'  to 
be  put  in  cool,  they  proceeded  to  the  office  of  the  comptroller,  where, 
after  an  interview  of  some  two  hours,  during  which  sundry  laws,  etc., 
were  overhauled,  they  obtained  the  necessary  forms  with  the  assurance 
that  every  facility  would  be  afforded,  etc.  Your  committee  were  well 
satisfied  by  their  interview  with  that  officer  that  he  was  all  right.  The 
treasurer  was  absent  from  the  capital,  which  your  committee  learned 
was  frequently  the  case,  but  the  treasurer's  clerk  was  there,  and  with  his 
assistance,  together  with  that  of  the  Governor  of  the  State  and  the 
three  brokers  present,  the  preliminary  arrangements  for  the  transfer  of 
a.  smaifamount  of  stock  were  made.  Your  committee  were  not  much 
impressed^with  the  way  of  doing  things  at  the  treasury  department;  the 
fault,  we  think,  rests  with  the  treasurer.  Your  committee  having  thus 
by  the  meridian  hour  executed  the  arduous  duties  confided  to  them  by 
your  body,  and  finding  time  to  hang  heavily  in  the*  Ancient  City,'  de- 
vised sundry  measures  for  killing  the  remaining  three  anti-prandial 
hours ;  finally  the  elder  member  went  off  with  the  fogies,  the  younger 
ones  taking  a  boat  and  visiting  the  English  corvette  '  Racer,'  lying  in 
the  Roads.  Of  the  distinguished  reception  and  hospitable  treatment  there 
received  your  committee  will  not  go  into  detail;  suffice  it  to  say  it  was 
jolhj,  as  also  was  the  remaining  time  up  to  :iJ4  p.m.,  when,  on  returning 
to  the  hospitable  liouse  of  Mrs.  Green,  we  found  our  elder  brother  anx- 
iously on  the  watch  for  us  and  eager  for  the  dinner  fray.  Your  commit- 
tee did  eat  too  much  dinner,  and  did  drink  the  two  bottles  of  *  Heidsick,' 
and  did  sleep  in  the  cars  on  the  way  home,  and  did  arrive  safe,  and  did 
take  a  carriage,  and  did  drive  to  their  respective  houses,  considering  it 
not  safe  to  perambulate  so  great  a  distance  after  so  great  a  dinner.  At- 
tached your  committee  submit  a  statement  of  the  cost  of  the  expedition, 
which  amounted  to  $13.  Your  committee  diffidently  would  hint  an  ex- 
pectation of  being  comfUmented  upon  the  very  moderate  expendUnre,  and 
would  beg  its  comparison  with  that  of  a  similar  committee  sent  down  by 
the  City  Council,  whose  expenses,  it  has  been  said,  amounted  to  $120." 

The  report  was  unanimously  adopted,  and  the 
treasurer  ordered  to  pay  expenses.  On  the  14th  of 
November,  1863,  telegraph  wire  was  introduced  into 
the  board-room  and  the  following  message  sent  to  the 
president  of  the  New  York  Stock  Board : 

"  We  greet  thee,  Wall  Street,  through  the  wire's  flash, 
.\nd  trust  good  tidings  it  will  e'er  convey : 
WTiether  our  business  be  for  time  or  cash. 
Through  your  assistance  let  us  hope  'twill  pay." 

March  31,  1864,  the  entrance  fee  was  raised  to  two 
thousand  dollars  for  full  membership,  and  one  thou- 


482 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


sand  dollars  for  an  alternate.  On  May  23d  of  the  same 
year  the  standing  committee  reported  that  the  prop- 
erty occupied  by  the  board  (45  Fayette  Street)  could 
be  bought,  and  the  purchase  was  directed  to  be  made. 
On  the  1st  of  August  the  committee  reported  that 
they  had  purcliased  tlie  building,  and  on  the  24th  the 
board  determined  to  establish  a  sinking  fund  for  the 
redemption  of  the  ground-rent  and  improvement  of 
the  property.  Jan.  11,  1865,  the  standing  committee  | 
recommended  the  appointment  of  a  permanent  presi- 
dent at  a  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars,  which  was 
adopted,  and  Jos.  A.  Sprigg  was  unanimously  elected 
to  serve  until  February  6th,  when  he  was  re-elected 
for  the  ensuing  year.  On  the  1st  of  March,  1865,  the 
building  committee  submitted  a  plan  for  a  new  room  , 
for  the  use  of  the  board,  and  on  June  22d  the  board 
assembled  in  its  new  quarters,  in  the  rear  of  No.  45 
West  Fayette  Street,  and  celebrated  the  occasion  with 
a  dinner  given  by  the  building  committee  to  the  mem- 
bers. At  that  date  the  names  of  but  three  of  those 
who  united  in  the  organization  of  the  board  appeared 
upon  its  roll.  From  the  location  on  Fayette  Street 
the  board  removed  to  rooms  over  the  Farmers  and 
Planters'  Bank,  South  and  German  Streets,  where  it  i 
remained  until  the  completion  of  the  present  Stock  1 
Exchange,  on  German  Street,  between  South  and  i 
Calvert  Streets,  which  was  formally  occupied  June  25,  ! 
1881,  when  the  old  Baltimore  Stock  Board  became  the 
Baltimore  Stock  Exchange.  The  building  was  tem-  | 
porarily  occupied  by  the  Stock  Board  on  June  18th,  for  i 
the  purpose  of  testing  the  acoustic  properties  of  the 
main  hall,  and  dealings  were  made  to  quite  a  large 
extent.  Previous  to  the  occupation  of  the  new  build-  ! 
ing  a  new  constitution  was  adopted,  and  on  the  6th 
of  June,  1881,  the  following  officers  were  elected  for 
the  ensuing  year:  President,  Hollins  McKim;  Treas- 
urer and  Secretary,  Wm.  B.  Oliver ;  Chairman,  Geoi-ge 
Gildersleve;  Governing  Committee,  First  Class,  Jos. 
A.  Sprigg,  J.  Harmanus  Fisher,  John  A.  Whitridge; 
Second  Class,  J.  A.  Hambleton,  Wm.  B.  Wilson,  J. 
Wilcox  Brown;  Third  Class,  D.  Fahnestock,  Alex- 
ander Frank,  J.  Henry  Ferguson,  Jr.  The  president 
and  treasurer  and  secretary  are  also  members  of  the 
governing  committee,  which  elects  a  vice-president 
and  clerk.  The  chairman  is  a  salaried  officer,  and  not 
interested  in  any  stock  transactions;  his  duty  is  to 
call  the  stocks  at  the  board.  The  new  building  was 
erected  by  the  Stock  Exchange  Improvement  Com- 
pany, and  was  leased  to  the  Stock  Exchange,  with  the 
privilege  of  investing  its  surplus  in  the  stock  of  the 
Improvement  Company. 


( '  II  A  V  T  !•:  11 
MARINE,   KIRK,  AND    I 


XXIX. 

IFE    IN.SURANCE. 


The  business  of  insurance  of  property  and  life  in 
Maryland  is  conducted  both  by  home  and  foreign 
companies.     Until  the  act  passed  by  the  General  As- 


sembly of  Maryland,  in  1787,  authorizing  the  incor- 
poration of  "  a  company  for  the  insurance  of  dwel- 
ling-houses and  other  buildings  from  loss  of  damage 
by  fire,"  to  be  known  as  the  Baltimore  Insurance 
Company,  marine  and  fire  insurance  was  effected  in 
Baltimore  tlirough  insurance  agents,  who  were  in- 
dorsed by  the  merchants  of  the  place  as  underwriters. 
The  following  advertisement  in  the  Maryland  Gazette 
will  convey  an  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  the  busi- 
ness was  transacted  at  that  time : 

"  Insurance  Office,  July  29, 1771. 
*'  I  take  thiB  method  to  acquaint  alt  gentlemen  merchautfi,  masters  of 
aliips  or  vessels,  traders,  and  others,  that  I  have  lately  opened  an  office 
for  insuring  ships,  vessels,  and  cargoes,  on  any  fair  risque  at  the  cus- 
tomary premium,  aud  supported  by  a  number  of  gentlemen  of  probity 
and  property  as  underwriters.  Any  orders  accompanied  with  the  pre- 
mium or  credit  shall  be  punctually  executed 

"By  their  very  humble  servant, 

"Thomas  Brereton." 

Similar  insurances  were  effected  in  policies  prepared 
by  Hercules  Courtney,  Capt.  Keeports,  Thomas  Bur- 
bing,  and  William  Knox.  Alexander  Dorsey  also 
advertises  in  1782  that  he  will  "  keep  accurate  marine 
lists  of  arrivals,  captures,  etc.,  at  his  insurance  office 
on  Market  Street,  for  the  benefit  of  the  public;"  he 
therefore  "  requests  the  assistance  of  merchants,  cap- 
tains, and  others,  to  furnish  him  with  articles,  well 
authenticated,  of  marine  intelligence." 

In  1787  the  following  advertisement  appeared  in  the 
Maryland  Gazette: 

"  The  Baltimore  Ensurance  Company  have  obtained  from  the  General 
Assembly  of  this  State  a  charter  by  virtue  of  which  they  will  ensure 
dwelling-houses  and  other  buildings  from  losses  by  fire,  on  certain  con- 
ditions.   Business  commenced  on  1st  day  of  September,  1787. 

"  Nathan  Levy,  Itegutey" 

This  was  the  first  regular  fire  insurance  company 
chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  Maryland.  On  August 
20th  of  the  following  year,  Mr.  Levy,  the  register  of 
the  company,  gave  notice  of  a  reduction  of  the  rates 
of  insurance  as  follows:  "The  first  class  on  risques 
at  the  low  rate  of  12  shillings  6  pence  per  annum ; 
the  second  class  on  risque  {o)  17s.  6d.  per  annum." 
In  this  year  the  office  of  the  company  was  removed 
to  the  front  room  of  Thomas  Hollingsworth's  house, 
in  Calvert  Street,  on  the  site  of  the  present  National 
Mechanics'  Bank.  In  1789  persons  desiring  to  insure 
were  requested  by  advertisement  to  apply  to  the  act- 
ing directors,  James  Calhoun,  Samuel  Owens,  and 
Nicholas  Rogers.  On  the  8th  of  February,  1796,  tlie 
first  payment  due  on  the  shares  of  the  Baltimore  In- 
surance Company  was  completed,  amounting  to  $100,- 
000,  notes  at  six  and  twelve  months  being  given  for 
the  remaining  $200,000.  Shares  were  extremely  high, 
ten  to  fifteen  per  cent,  advance  being  offered  for  any 
number  that  could  be  procured.  The  officers  of  the 
company  in  1796  were  James  Carey,  president ;  .Archi- 
bald MOncreif,  secretary.  The  directors  were  Adrian 
Valk,  James  Barry,  James  Carey,  William  Wilson, 
Stephen  Casenorc,  William  JlcCreery,  John  Carrere, 
John  P.  Plciusants,  Richard  Ciirea,  Jr.,  Aquila  Brown, 
Alexander  McKim,  David  Thoniburg.  and  Nicholas 


MAKINE,  FIKE,  AND   LIFE   INSURANCE. 


Slubey.  The  trustee?  were  James  Barry,  Richard 
Carson,  Jr.,  William  Wilson,  John  P.  Pleasants,  A. 
Brown,  Jr.,  William  McCreery,  and  Stephen  Case- 
nore.  A  supplement  to  the  original  act  was  passed 
by  the  Legislature  in  1796,  by  which  the  company 
was  authorized  to  insure  freights  on  ships  or  vessels, 
and  goods  or  merchandise  on  board  of  ships  or  vessels, 
in  addition  to  the  articles  allowed  to  be  insured  by  [ 
the  original  act. 

In  the  mean  time  another  insurance  company  had 
been  chartered,  called 

The  Baltimore  Equitable  Society,  incorporated 
by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  passed  the  26th  of 
December,  1794.  Its  charter,  which  was  a  very 
peculiar  one,  embodied  the  constitution  or  deed  of 
settlement  of  the  society,  which  authorized  it  to  be 
managed  by  twelve  directors  of  the  subscribers  to  the 
deed.  The  seventeenth  article  of  the  constitution  de- 
clared "that  the  directors  for  the  time  being  shall, 
with  all  convenient  speed,  on  all  alarms  of  fire,  repair 
to,  and  if  possible  convene  together  at,  some  conve- 
nient place  near  where  the  fire  shall  be,  to  consult 
and  determine  upon  such  methods  of  proceeding  as 
may  in  such  case  most  conduce  to  the  safety  of  the 
society  and  the  public."  At  a  general  meeting  of  this 
society  for  organization,  Feb.  17,  1794,  the  following 
persons  were  elected  directors  for  the  ensuing  year : 
Thomas  Lsher,  Jr.,  Joseph  Thornburg,  Jesse  Hollins- 
worth,  AVilliam  Wilson,  Thomas  McElderry,  Thomas 
Poultney,  Philip  Rogers,  George  Prestman,  Alexan- 
der McKim,  Nicholas  Slubey,  John  Brown,  Samuel 
Hollingsworth :  Treasurer,  Joseph  Townsend.  In  1796 
the  following  officers  were  elected :  Treasurer  and  Sec- 
retary, Joseph  Townsend ;  Directors,  Michael  Diffen- 
derffer,  Solomon  Etting,  John  Steele,  John  Brown, 
Richard  Lawson,  Thomas  McElderry,  John  Hillen, 
William  Cole,  John  McFadon,  Joseph  Biays,  Jesse 
Tyson,  and  Peter  Hofi'man.  The  oflBce  of  the  company 
was  first  situated  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Townsend, 
No.  18  West  Baltimore  Street,  near  the  Centre  Market. 
In  1842  it  was  removed  to  No.  19  North  Street,  to  a 
building  erected  by  the  company.  The  present  office 
is  at  No.  19  South  Street. 

The  first  policy  of  the  Equitable  Society  was  issued 
April  10,  1794,  on  a  house  on  the  south  side  of  Balti- 
more Street,  west  of  South  Street,  the  property  of 
Humphrey  Pierce.  It  is  entered  in  a  small  book 
made  by  Joseph  Townsend,  the  first  treasurer  of  the 
society,  in  the  following  words : 


To  Humphrey  Pierce  upon  his  three-story  brick  present 
dwelling-house,  fronting  on  Baltimore  Street,  between 
South  and  CaWert  Streets,  twenty-seven  feet,  and  nin- 
ning  back  eighty  feet,  including  the  brick  kitchen  ad- 
joining." 


Joseph  Townsend,  the  first  treasurer,  also  acted  as 
secretary.  William  R.  Jones  was  the  next  secretary, 
and  served  until  his  death  in  1857.  He  entered  the 
ofiice  in  1811,  and  the  only  time  during  his  life  that 
he  was  absent  from  the  ofiice  and  failed  to  discharge 


his  duties  in  it,  from  any  and  all  causes,  was  during 
the  bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry,  when  he  acted 
as  signal-master  on  Commodore  Barney's  flotilla. 
When  he  died,  Hugh  B.  Jones,  his  son,  was  elected 
secretary  in  'his  stead.  He  had  been  employed  in  a 
minor  capacity  from  May,  1839,  and  is  still  secretary 
of  the  society. 

When  the  first  treasurer,  Mr.  Townsend,  was  blown 
up  and  killed  on  the  steamer  "Medora,"  Andrew 
F.  Henderson  was  elected.  After  his  death  Joseph 
King,  Jr.,  became  treasurer,  and  he  was  succeeded  by 
Frances  J.  Dallam,  who  was  followed  by  the  present 
treasurer,  Francis  A.  Crook,  in  18.')6.  John  H.  Hill 
has  been  the  clerk  in  this  ofiice  for  fourteen  years. 

The  Baltimore  Fire  Insurance  Company  was 
organized  and  chartered  in  1807,  and  went  into  opera- 
tion in  1808.  The  first  president  was  David  William- 
son, and  the  first  secretary  Theophilus  F.  Dougherty, 
both  elected  in  1808.  In  the  same  year  Mr.  William- 
son resigned,  and  Charles  Ghequire  was  elected  presi- 
dent. David  Williamson  was  re-elected  in  1817,  and 
was  succeeded  by  William  A.  Tucker  in  1831.  Henry 
W.  Webster  became  secretary  in  1827,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1832  by  Augustus  L.  Jenkins.  In  1839,  O. 
P.  Wirgman  was  made  secretary,  and  in  1841,  Fred- 
erick Woodworth.  In  1850,  Jacob  I.  Cohen,  Jr.,  was 
elected  president,  and  in  1869  he  was  succeeded  by 
Dr.  Joshua  I.  Cohen.  In  1870,  William  G.  Harrison 
became  and  is  still  president  of  the  company,  and  in 
1877,  Marion  K.  Burch  was  elected  secretary.  The 
company  commenced  business  in  an  ofiice  on  South, 
between  Water  and  Baltimore  Streets,  from  which 
they  removed  to  their  own  building  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  South  and  Water  Streets.  The  building 
was  completed  in  1850,  and  cost  about  forty-eight 
thousand  dollars. 

The  first  board  of  directors,  in  1808,  were  Henry 
Payson,  Andrew  Ellicott,  Isaac  Tyson,  William  Lor- 
man,  Peter  Hoffman,  Jr.,  James  Armstrong,  William 
Jenkins,  Henry  Schroeder,  David  Williamson,  Levy 
Hollingsworth,  Robert  Carey  Long,  and  William 
Norris. 

The  present  board  are  David  S.  Wilson,  Francis  T. 
King,  William  H.  Brune,  Herman  Von  Kapfl',  T. 
Robert  Jenkins,  C.  Morton  Stewart,  B.  F.  Newcomer, 
Orville  Horwitz,  William  W.  Taylor,  George  L.  Har- 
rison, William  C.  Pennington,  B.  Albert  Vickers, 
Mendez  Cohen,  Samuel  K.  George,  Jr.,  Samuel  S. 
Carroll. 

The  Firemen's  Insurance  Company  was  origi- 
nally an  organization  of  active  and  honorary  members 
of  the  Volunteer  Fire  Department.  The  stock  could 
j  only  be  held  by  the  fire  companies  forming  the  insur- 
ance company  or  the  individual  members  of  these 
companies.  The  company  was  chartered  at  the  De- 
cember session  of  the  Legislature,  1825,  with  the 
following  incorporators:  William  Jessop  and  Isaac 
Hayward,  of  the  Liberty ;  George  Baxley  and  George 
Pouder,  of  the  New  Market ;  William  E.  George  and 


484 


HISTOllY   OP  BALTIMOKB   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Samuel  T.  Matlack,  of  the  First  Baltimore;  Thomas 
Tenant  and  Elisha  Tyson,  of  the  Union ;  Erasmus 
Uhler  and  F.  Scylcr,  of  the  United  ;  Jesse  Hunt  and 
David  U.  Brown,  of  the  Washington ;  Thomas  S.  Shep- 
pard  and  Hezekiah  Niles,  of  the  Mechanical ;  J.  I. 
Cohen,  Jr.,  and  Peter  Neff,  of  the  Patapsco ;  Samuel 
McKim  and  Richard  Reynell,  of  the  Friendship  ; 
Rossiter  Scott  and  James  Clark,  of  the  Independent; 
William  Stuart  and  William  McDonald,  of  the  Vigi- 
lant; James  B.  Stansbury  and  Isaac  Atkinson,  of  the 
Columbian ;  John  Wilson  and  David  R.  Wilson,  of 
the  Deptford  ;  and  James  Biays,  of  the  Franklin  Fire 
Companies. 

The'company  was  organized  and  went  into  business 
the  same  year  that  it  was  chartered.  Its  first  presi- 
dent was  John  Hewes ;  second,  John  Reese ;  third, 
Henry  P.  Duhurst;  fourth  and  present  president,  Gen. 
James  M.  Anderson,  who  was  elected  in  1877.  Its 
first  secretary  was  M.  N.  Forney ;  second,  Thomas  G. 
Rutter;  third,  Henry  P.  Duhurst;  fourth,  Francis  J. 
McGinniss;  fifth,  Marshall  Winchester;  sixth  and 
present  secretary,  R.  Emory  Warfleld,  who  was  elected 
in  1879.  Its  first  office  was  on  the  north  side  of  Sec- 
ond Street,  adjoining  the  savings-bank.  From  thence 
it  was  removed  in  1832  to  the  northeast  corner  of  South 
and  Second  Streets,  where  it  is  at  present  located. 
The  ground  upon  which  the  building  of  this  company 
stands  is  a  part  of  lot  No.  58  of  the  original  plat  of 
Baltimore  Town,  and  was  purchased  originally  from 
Nicholas  Jones  for  £5.  The  company  issued  its  first 
policy,  for  $20,000,  to  Jacob  Albert  on  the  2d  of  Au- 
gust, 1826,  on  a  stock  of  hardware,  and  the  policy  is 
still  in  force,  covering  personal  property  of  the  grand- 
son of  the  first  holder.  The  first  loss  sustained  by  it 
was  on  the  31st  of  March,  1827,  by  the  destruction  of 
a  lumber-yard  of  Cook  &  Randall's,  on  the  block 
bounded  by  Saratoga,  Mulberry,  Eutaw,  and  Paca 
Streets. 

Its  present  officers  are  James  M.  Anderson,  presi- 
dent; Board  of  Directors,  T.  W.  Levering,  Caleb 
Parks,  John  G.  Reaney,  J.  M.  Anderson,  Frederick 
Achey,  J.  Alex.  Shriver,  Jos.  Jas.  Taylor,  George 
Franck,  James  Myer,  Thos.  J.  Wilson,  Wm.  H. 
Brown,  Gustavus  Nicholson,  Gustavus  A.  Dorgan,  D. 
E.  Woodburn,  James  Bates,  Hugh  W.  Bolton,  Wm. 
H.  Vickery,  Edwin  F.  Abell,  Wm.  H.  Ford,  Wm. 
Whitelock,  A.  Jos.  Myers,  Edwin  L.  Jones,  Fr.  E.  S. 
Wolfe,  Wm.  A.  Boyd,  George  A.  Blake,  James  R. 
Clark,  James  Shuter,  Thomas  P.  Stran,  George  R. 
Berry  ;  R.  Emory  Warfield,  secretary. 

The  Merchants'  Mutual  Insurance  Company- 
was  organized  and  incorporated  Feb.  14,  1846,  with 
the  following  incorporators  :  Wm.  E.  Mayhew,  Johns 
Hopkins,  John  Dushane,  Wm.  H.  Beatty,  George  W. 
Richardson,  Solomon  Corner,  Thos.  P.  Williams,  Na- 
than Rogers,  and  Marcus  Denison,  the  charter  to  run 
for  thirty  years.  The  charter  was  several  times 
amended,  and  in  187r)  it  was  reissued.  The  first  pres- 
ident was  Capt.  Wm.  D.  Graham,  who  served  to  April, 


1863.  The  second  president,  Richard  Fisher,  was 
elected  in  1863,  and  served  one  year.  The  third  pres- 
ident, Allen  A.  Chapman,  was  elected  in  1864,  who 
was  succeeded  by  George  B.  Cole,  April,  1870,  wlio 
had  been  the  secretary  of  the  company  from  its  ori- 
gin, and  is  still  the  president.  The  handsome  pressed- 
brick  and  Ohio  stone  building,  No.  42  Second  Street, 
Baltimore,  was  erected  by  the  company  at  a  cost  of 
fifty  thousand  dollars.  It  was  finished  and  occupied 
by  the  company  April  1,  1876. 

The  assets  of  the  company  are  estimated  at  $340,- 
000.  Its  business  is  confined  to  coastwise  risks  and 
marine  insurance. 

The  present  board  of  directors  is  composed  of 
George  J.  Appold,  C.  L.  Gill,  S.  M.  Hoogewerff,  John 
T.  Brown,  George  B.  Coale,  Daniel  J.  Foley,  P.  T. 
George,  Joseph  W.  Jenkins,  P.  H.  Macgill,  D.  H. 
Miller,  John  W.  McCoy,  John  W.  Num.sen,  Faris  C. 
Pitt,  Wm.  H.  Perot,  Joseph  Rogers,  Jr.,  J.  Henry 
Stickney,  C.  Morton  Stewart,  Samuel  M.  Shoemaker, 
Henry  C.  Smith,  James  W.  Tyson,  George  A.  Von  Lin- 
gen,  Thos.  Whitridge,  Hiram ,  Woods,  Wm.  Wood- 
ward, Wm.  Whitelock.  George  B.  Coale,  president ; 
Wm.  E.  Morris,  secretary. 

The  Associated  Firemen's  Insurance  Company 
was  chartered  by  the  Legislature  in  March,  1847,  and 
went  into  operation  in  October  of  the  same  year.  The 
officers  first  elected  were:  President,  John  R.  Moore; 
Secretary,  John  Dukehart ;  and  William  A.  Hack, 
Robert  Starr,  George  Harman,  Daniel  Super,  Wil- 
liam H.  Stran,  Allen  Payne,  John  B.  Seidenstricker, 
Richard  Mason,  James  Wheden,  .lohn  Q.  Hewlett, 
James  Young,  George  C.  Addison,  G.  W.  Flack, 
John  Bingham,  H.  E.  Barton,  and  John  A.  Diffen- 
derffer,  directors.  In  January,  1865,  William  E. 
Hiick  was  elected  president.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Thomas  J.  Flack,  who  in  turn  was  followed  by  the 
present  president,  John  Cushing,  in  1872.  John  C. 
Boyd,  the  present  secretary,  succeeded  Mr.  Dukehart 
in  1872.  The  company's  first  place  of  business  was  at 
No.  12  South  Street.  It  subsequently  erected  the 
handsome  building  No.  4  South  Street,  to  which  it 
removed  in  1854,  and  which  it  still  occupies.  The 
present  board  of  directors  are  Jacob  Trust,  A.  Rie- 
man,  John  Cushing,  Edward  Connolly,  S.  H.  Caughy, 
James  Whiting,  Capt.  Alexander  Jones,  William 
H.  Perot,  G.  H.  Williams,  Joseph  Grinsfelder,  Wil- 
liam Baker,  Jr.,  Clinton  P.  Paine.  I.  S.  George, 
E.  K.  Shaeffer,  James  W.  Flack,  Benjamin  F.  Ben- 
nett, Frank  Frick,  William  J.  Hooper,  Michael  Jen- 
kins, L.  W.  Gunther.  This  company's  stock  was 
originally  held  only  by  active  and  honorary  members 
of  the  Volunteer  Fire  Department,  but  since  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  Paid  Fire  Department  this  restric- 
tion hiis  been  removed. 

The  National  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  or- 
ganized in  1849,  and  chartered  by  an  act  of  the  Leg- 
islature passed  Feb.  13,  1850,  with  the  following  in- 
corporators :  John  Pickell,  Nicholas  L.  Wood,  James 


MARINE,  FIRE,  AND   LIFE   INSURANCE. 


485 


Frazier,  Joseph  J.  Speed,  Job  Smith,  Z.  Collins  Lee, 
George  E.  Sangston,  Samuel  K.  George,  Henry  A. 
Thompson,  John  W.  Ross,  Coleman  Yellott,  G.  A.  B. 
Spreckelson,  and  William  H.  Conkling.  The  first 
president  was  Col.  John  P.  Pickell ;  William  Schroe- 
der,  secretary.  In  18.53,  John  B.  Seidenstricker  was 
elected  president,  and  Henry  C.  Landis  secretary  in 
1859,  with  William  C.  Jennep  clerk.  The  first  direc- 
tors of  the  company  were  William  H.  Conkling,  Al- 
len A.  Chapman,  Adam  Denmead,  Samuel  Fenby, 
Samuel  K.  George,  Zed.  Collins  Lee,  John  W.  Ross, 
George  E.  Sangston,  George  A.  B.  Spreckelson,  Jo- 
seph J.  Speed,  Job  Smith,  and  Nicholas  L.  Wood. 
The  first  building  occupied  by  the  company  was  on 
South  Street,  where  the  Safe  Deposit  Building  now 
stands,  from  which  it  removed  to  South  opposite 
Second  Street.  In  1869  the  ofiice  was  removed  to  its 
present  location  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Holliday 
and  Second  Streets,  where  the  company  had  erected 
a  handsome  building  at  a  cost,  for  ground  and  build- 
ing, of  sixty  thousand  dollars.  The  company  com- 
menced business  with  a  cash  capital  of  $70,000,  which 
was  increased  by  dividends  and  profits  to  $100,000, 
and  -subsequently  $100,000  was  added  by  subscription, 
making  its  present  assets  $310,395.  The  dividends 
when  the  cash  capital  was  $100,000  were  twenty  per 
cent,  per  annum,  and  when  .f  200,000  ten  per  cent,  per 
annum.  The  total  amount  paid  in  losses  by  fire 
since  the  organization  of  the  company  has  been 
11,023,065.68.  The  dividends  declared  amount  to 
$381,352.65,  and  the  premiums  received  to  $1,822,872.- 
60.  The  present  officers  are  John  B.  Seidenstricker, 
president ;  Board  of  Directors,  Henry  M.  Bash,  Wil- 
liam Woodward,  R.  J.  Church,  George  Small,  Hugh 
Sisson,  Robert  Lawson,  Oliver  A.  Parker,  Robert 
Lelir,  George  C.  Jenkins,  George  Sanders,  John  H. 
Heald,  Frank  P.  Clark  ;  H.  C.  Landis,  secretary. 

The  president  of  the  company,  John  Barnhart 
Seidenstricker,  was  born  in  Baltimore  on  the  12th  of 
December,  1809.  His  father,  Daniel  F.  Seidenstricker, 
emigrated  to  this  country  in  1765  from  the  Palatinate 
of  the  Rhine,  and  was  married  Jan.  14,  1795,  to  Eliz- 
abeth Barnhart,  whose  mother,  Anna  (Delterer)  Barn- 
hart,  was  born  Dec.  21,  1756,  and  died  in  1836,  aged 
eighty  years. 

Jlr.  Seideinstricker's  great-grandfather  on  the  ma- 
ternal side,  George  Philip  Delterer,  died  Aug.  23, 
1770.  Daniel  F.  Seidenstricker,  the  father  of  John 
Barnhart,  died  in  1810,  while  the  latter  was  an  infant, 
leaving  a  widow  with  five  children, — Frederick,  Mary, 
Ann,  Sophia,  and  John  B.  Seiden.stricker.  Mr.  Sei- 
denstricker's  grandmother  escaped  from  Wyoming  at 
the  time  of  the  slaughter  of  its  inhabitants  by  the 
Indians,  for  whom  she  entertained  great  hostility 
during  her  life. 

At  his  father's  death  Mr.  Seidenstricker  was  left  to 
the  care  of  his  uncle,  John  Barnhart,  who  discharged 
the  trust  in  such  a  manner  as  to  excite  the  lasting 
gratitude  of  the  object. 


John  B.  Seidenstricker  has  been  married  twice,  first 
to  Miss  Sarah  Reisinger,  at  Carlisle,  Pa.,  in  1831,  who 
died  in  1850,  aged  forty-one  years,  leaving  four  chil 
dren, — Albert  B.,  who  is  married  and  resides  in  Bal 
timore ;  Emily,  who  married  W.  A.  Leitch,  also  re 
siding  in  Baltimore ;  Henry,  who  is  married  and  re 
sides  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  and  Charles,  still  single, 
Mr.  Seidenstricker  married  the  second  time,  in  1851. 
Miss  Mary  H.  Cragg,  by  whom  he  has  had  four  chil- 
dren,— Lizzie,  married  to  Edward  Hartman ;  Annie 
L.,  married  to  the  Rev.  M.  F.  B.  Rice,  of  the  Metho- 
dist Church;  and  Mary  H.  and  John  B.  Seiden- 
stricker, Jr.  John  Barnhart  educated  John  B.  Sei- 
denstricker at  private  schools  in  Baltimore,  and  when 
about  thirteen  years  of  age  took  his  ward  under  his 
special  care  and  taught  him  his  own  craft,  that  of 
painting,  ornamental,  sign,  etc.  He  remained  with 
his  uncle  until  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age,  when 
the  teacher  installed  the  pupil  in  his  business  and  re- 
tired. John  Barnhart  was  a  fine  artist,  and  after 
turning  over  his' business  to  his  nephew  and  ward,  he 
amused  and  occupied  the  remainder  of  his  life  in 
various  mechanical  pursuits,  among  which  was  the 
manufacture  of  church  and  parlor  organs. 

j      Mr.  Seidenstricker  pursued  the  vocation  of  a  painter 

I  until  shortly  after  his  marriage,  when  he  purchased  a 
stock  of  drugs  and  conducted  a  drug  and  paint-store, 
which  he  continued  until  1841,  when  he  was  appointed 
collector  of  taxes  for  the  city  of  Baltimore  and  the 
State  of  Maryland.  He  held  this  position  until  1844, 
when  he  commenced  the  hardware  business,  and  con- 
tinued in  that  occupation  until  1853.  In  that  year  he 
was  elected  president  of  the  National  Fire  Insurance 
Company  of  Baltimore,  which  position  he  still  holds. 
In  his  youth  Mr.  Seidenstricker's  habits  were  stu- 
dious. His  leisure  was  employed  in  reading  history, 
and  he  claims  to  have  derived  great  advantage  from 
a  debating  society  to  which  he  was  attached,  fitting 
him  for  the  many  public  positions  he  has  since  held. 
In  1828  he  was  a  decided  supporter  of  Gen.  Jackson, 
although  not  old  enough  to  vote,  and  organized  a 
company  of  youths  of  his  own  age,  uniformed  in 
white,  known  as  the  "Jackson  Association,"  all  of 
whom  marched  in  a  body  in  the  great  mechanical 
procession  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad.  Of  that  association  but  eight 
are  now  living.  The  banner  of  this  association,  a 
very  handsome  one,  was  sent  to  France  to  Gen.  La- 
fayette. His  first  vote  was  cast  for  Gen.  Jackson  for 
the  Presidency  of  the  United  States  in  the  second 
race,  and  he  sustained  him  with  all  his  ability  in 
every  public  act  of  his  administration.  Mr.  Seiden- 
stricker voted  for  every  Democratic  candidate  for  the 
Presidency  thereafter,  including  John   C.  Brecken- 

i  ridge,  up  to  the  time  of  the  civil  war.  He  says,  "  I 
always  admired  and  held  closely  to  the  domination 

I  of  the  people,  and  hence  the  motto  then  printed  at 
the  head  of  one  of  the  party  papers  met  my  cordial 
approbation, — 


486 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


and  hence  when  I  found  the  Confederates  of  the 
South  were  intent  on  dissolving  the  Union,  that  their 
success  involved  the  utter  destruction  of  life-long 
opinions,  I  adhered  to  the  men  who  would  hazard 
everything  to  maintain  the  Union  sentiment,  and  who 
finally  succeeded  in  saving  our  Constitution  from  be- 
ing destroyed.  I  am  a  Democrat  of  the  Jackson 
school,  and  so  I  wish  it  distinctly  understood,  and 
exerted  every  power  and  influence  I  possessed  to  save 
our  country." 

Mr.  Seidenstrieker  was  a  member  of  the  First  Branch 
of  the  City  Council  in  the  years  1835,  1836,  1837,  and 
1838.  During  his  service  the  bank  riots  occurred. 
Jesse  Hunt,  the  mayor  of  the  city,  convened  a  number 
of  the  councilmen  and  influential  citizens,  among 
them  Mr.  Seidenstrieker,  to  consult  as  to  the  best  plan 
to  subdue  the  mob.  Mr.  Seidenstrieker,  in  speaking 
of  this  event,  says,  "  I  remember  well  the  general 
alarm  which  pervaded  the  entire  community.  At 
this  convention  William  George  Eeid,  Esq.,  urged 
that  the  convention  should  proceed,  each  with  a  mace, 
and  upon  its  exhibition  to  the  rioters  they  would  so 
respect  it  as  to  quietly  disperse.  Other  suggestions 
were  also  made,  among  them  by  Dr.  Thomas  Bond, 
sustained  by  J.  P.  Heath,  Esq.,  that  to  meet  the  mob 
with  muskets  would  more  likely  subdue  it.  The  mace- 
party  idea  wa-s  adopted.  The  rioters  and  their  sym- 
pathizers, of  which  there  were  many,  simply  laughed 
at  the  idea  of  being  put  down  with  '  rolling-pins.' 
Mr.  Hunt,  fearing  the  mob,  resigned  the  ofiice  of 
mayor,  wlien  Gen.  Samuel  Smith,  at  the  Exchange 
Rotunda,  called  upon  the  people  to  '  follow  me,'  and 
immediately  the  mob  vanished."  In  the  First  Branch 
of  the  Council,  Mr.  Seidenstrieker  was  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  Committee  of  Inter- 
nal Improvements,  and  many  other  committees,  and 
finally  president  of  the  Branch.  He  oft'ered  the  cel- 
ebrated ordinance  authorizing  the  subscription  by  the 
city  of  Baltimore  of  three  million  dollars  to  the 
capital  stock  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad. 
He  was  appointed  by  the  mayor  and  City  Council, 
together  with  F.  Lucas,  Jr.,  Col.  Samuel  Moore, 
David  Stewart,  A.  G.  Cole,  and  R.  J.  Cross,  to  issue 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  small  currency  to 
supply  the  people  with  change  during  the  suspen- 
sion of  the  banks,  and  prevent  the  circulation  of  spu- 
rious individual  notes.  This  currency,  of  the  denom- 
ination of  six  and  one-quarter,  twelve  and  one-half, 
twenty-five,  fifty,  seventy-five  cents,  and  one  and  two 
dollars,  was  a  great  relief  to  tirade  at  the  time.  It  was 
receivable  for  taxes,  and  for  awhile  the  banks  received 
and  circulated  it.  It  has  all  been  redeemed,  except 
such  as  is  held  as  mementoes. 

Mr.  Seidenstrieker  was  also  the  author  of  the  reso- 
lution which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the 
High  School.  He  always  took  groat  interest  in  every 
public  iini)rovement,  and  niilcd  inatcrially  in  obtain- 


ing a  loan  of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the 
Baltimore  and  Susquehanna  Railroad  Company.  In 
1853  and  1854,  and  again  in  1857  and  1858,  he  wa.s 
elected  to  lln-  Sec. hi. 1  r,raiicli  ..f  tin- f'ity  Council,  and 
during  th..-.'  -,  — i..ii~  »a~  Ih.    pr.-i-lmt  tlierccf. 

In  tli..>,-  >.ar,  !„■  ,,n-|.a,v.l  au.l  |.n  sriiled  the  ordi- 
nance authorizing  the  loan  by  the  city  of  five  million 
dollars  to  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  less  ten 
per  cent,  reserved  as  a  sinking  fund,  in  lieu  of  an 
ordinance  that  had  previously  been  pas.sed  which 
provided  for  the  indorsement  by  the  city  of  the  bonds 
of  the  company,  which  for  certain  reasons  the  com- 
pany did  not  accept. 

The  Paid  Fire  Department  of  Baltimore  was  the 
result  of  a  resolution  prepared  by  Mr.  Seidenstrieker, 
but  presented  to  the  Council  by  a  fellow-member,  it 
being  his  habit  to  originate  and  prepare  ordinances 
and  have  them  presented  by  a  member,  as  he  was 
generally  the  president  of  the  branch. 

He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  Maryland  in  the  fall  of  1839  and  1840,  and  served 
two  years  in  that  capacity. 

During  the  time  Mr.  Seidenstrieker  was  collector  of 
State  taxes,  in  1841,  1842,  and  1843,  there  was  a  dis- 
position in  several  counties  to  repudiate  the  State 
debt,  especially  in  Harford  and  Carroll  Counties. 
When  the  State  tax  bills  were  ready  for  distribution 
a  gentleman  with  whom  he  was  well  acquainted  came 
to  the  office  and  paid  his  city  bills,  and  then  remarked 
that  he  would  not  pay  his  State  tax  bill-  because  it 
was  unconstitutional  for  the  State  to  levy  and  collect 
a  tax  to  pay  for  internal  improvements.  Mr.  Seiden- 
strieker asked  him  if  he  had  the  means  to  pay  the 
State  tax  with  him.  He  replied,  "  Yes,  but  I  will 
not  do  it  for  the  reasons  I  have  stated."  Mr.  Seiden- 
strieker immediately  in  his  presence  ordered  a  bailifl" 
to  go  to  his  residence  and  levy  on  his  furniture  for 
the  bill  and  remove  the  goods.  The  gentleman 
looked  surprised,  and  said,  "Are  you  in  earnest?" 
Mr.  Seidenstriker  replied,  "As  you  are  a  personal 
friend,  I  will  levy  on  you  first,  and  before  you  get 
home  this  officer  will  be  there."  "  Oh,  well,"  said 
I  the  gentleman,  "  I  guess  I  will  pay  it  rather  than 
have  any  trouble."  "  And  this,"  Mr.  Seidenstrieker 
adds,  in  narrating  the  incident,  "  was  the  end  of  re- 
pudiation in  Baltimore." 

Mr.  Seidenstrieker  has  served  as  a  judge  of  the 
Appeal  Tax  Court,  assessor  of  property  several  times, 
and  visitor  to  the  jail  of  Baltimore  City  and  County. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  subscribers  and  directors  to 
the  House  of  Refuge  for  Boys  and  Girls.  He  is  a 
director  in  the  Central  Savings-Bank,  and  has  been 
since  its  commencement. 

He  was  one  of  the  first  commissioners  of  the  city 
of  Baltimore  to  execute  the  draft  for  the  Federal 
army  during  the  late  war.  He  acted  by  appointment 
of  Governor  Swann  as  pension  agent  for  Baltimore  of 
the  widows  of  the  soldiers  of  1812,  and  performed 
this  service  gratuitously. 


MAKINE,  FIRE,  AND   LIFE   INSURANCE. 


487 


Mr.  Seidenstricker  has  been  for  many  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  is  at- 
tached to  the  Madison  Square  Church  of  that  denomi- 
nation. He  has  devoted  much  of  his  time  and  at- 
tention to  the  Sunday-schools,  in  which  he  has  been 
for  years  a  teacher.  Since  his  election  to  the  presi- 
dency of  the  National  Fire  InsuranceCompany  of  Bal- 
timore, he  has  devoted  his  energies  solely  to  the  welfare 
of  that  company.  He  has  lived  through  a  long  and 
eventful  period  in  the  history  of  Baltimore,  and  has 
figured  conspicuously  in  the  most  important  epochs 
of  that  history,  always  trusted  on  account  of  his 
sound  judgment  and  disinterested  action.  He  has 
been  all  his  life  a  close  reader  of  history,  literature, 
and  the  current  topics  and  news  of  the  day.  With  a 
pleasing  address,  a  thorough  command  of  chaste  Eng- 
lish, large  experience,  and  genial  manners,  he  is  one 
of  the  most  agreeable  conversationalists  in  the  State. 
Thoroughly  versed  in  men  and  affairs,  of  liberal, 
comprehensive  sentiments  and  opinions,  it  is  not  a 
matter  of  wonder  that  his  fellow-citizens  have  so  often 
pushed  him  to  the  front  in  matters  of  moment. 
Deeply  attached  to  his  friends,  his  church,  city.  State, 
and  government,  in  easy  circumstances,  at  peace 
with  man  and  God,  he  can  look  back  on  a  useful  life, 
and  is  spending  a  green  and  hearty  old  age  with  a 
happiness  allotted  to  a  very  few.  He  is  still  in  the 
full  powers  of  mind  and  body,  and  attends  to  all 
his  duties  with  the  regularity  that  has  characterized 
him  through  life. 

The  Howard  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  char- 
tered in  February,  1856,  and  organized  under  the 
charter  in  June  of  the  same  year.  The  following 
gentlemen  composed  the  incorporators:  Andrew 
Eeese,  Benjamin  Price,  William  W.  Foss,  James  M. 
Ponder,  George  Sauerwein,  C.  Howard  Rogers,  Henry 
C.  Spilman,  J.  F.  Dix,  Henry  J.  Werdebaugh,  Charles 
W.  George,  Stephen  Tracy,  William  Shaeffer,  Philip 
B.  Rau,  John  Lawton,  John  L.  Reese,  Jr.,  George  T. 
Hadtler. 

Andrew  Reese  was  the  first,  and  has  been  the  only, 
president  of  the  company.  The  original  directors 
were  Mathias  Benzinger,  Aaron  Fenton,  William  Ort- 
wine,  Charles  W.  George,  James  M.  Pouder,  Samuel 
R.  Smith,  Augustus  Schriver,  Henry  J.  Werdebaugh, 
George  P.  Thomas,  C.  Howard  Rogers,  Otho  W.  Eich- 
elberger,  and  Charles  Hoffman.  Its  first  place  of 
business  was  at  the  corner  of  Howard  and  Clay  Streets. 
The  company  moved  from  there  to  its  own  building 
at  the  northwest  corner  of  South  and  Water  Streets 
in  1859.  In  1856,  G.  Harlan  Williams  was  elected 
secretary,  at  a  salary  of  five  hundred  dollars  per  an- 
num, and  the  same  year  the  salary  of  the  president 
was  fixed  at  one  thousand  dollars.  The  present  board 
of  directors  are  Andrew  Reese,  president;  James 
M.  Pouder,  H.  J.  Werdebaugh,  Dr.  E.  H.  Perkins, 
Samuel  Appold,  Samuel  T.  Hatch,  William  Ortwine, 
Dr.  C.  O'Donovan,  John  L.  Lawton,  John  S.  Morris, 
John  Ferry,  Walter  B.  Brooks,  Henrv  Smith,  and  J. 


H.  Katzenberger,  secretary.  The  company  com- 
menced business  with  a  cash  capital  of  $13,500,  which 
was  increased  in  1864  to  $100,000,  and  in  1866  to 
$200,000.  The  company  has  passed  but  one  dividend, 
that  of  1861.  With  this  exception,  it  has  declared  a 
dividend  of  twelve  per  cent,  every  year  since  its  for- 
mation. 

The  American  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  or- 
ganized and  chartered  in  February,  1858,  with  the 
following  gentlemen  as  incorporators:  James  S.  Arm- 
strong, William  Welsh,  David  Ball,  Augustus  P. 
Webb,  William  J.  Hiss,  Robert  C.  Armstrong,  Nich- 
olas L.  Wood,  William  H.  Welsh,  Eli  Ross  Horner, 
Richard  D.  Shields,  Edward  C.  Thomas,  John  E. 
Hobson,  Otho  W.  Eichelberger,  John  W.  Welsh,  and 
John  T.  Ford. 

The  first  president,  elected  in  1858,  was  James  L. 
Armstrong,  with  Victor  Clunet  secretary.  In  1880, 
A.  R.  Cathcartwas  elected  president,  and  the  present 
secretary,  D.  C.  Chapman,  in  1879.  The  first  office 
was  on  Second  Street,  and  the  second  No.  6  South 
Street.  The  company  is  at  present  temporarily  occu- 
pying an  office  at  No.  19  South  Street,  but  is  erecting 
a  building  at  No.  6  South  Street,  which  it  will  occupy 
when  completed.  The  present  board  of  directors 
are  A.  Roszel  Cathcart,  president ;  J.  J.  Turner,  Wil- 
liam J.  Rieman,  William  Buckler,  Charles  W.  Slagle, 
Edmond  Wolf,  Ernest  Knabe,  Frank  Burns,  Jr.,  Jo- 
seph Edmondson,  William  S.  Young,  William  Schloss, 
E.  Levering,  W.  H.  Baldwin,  Jr.,  L.  Sinsheimer,  Jo- 
seph Fink,  Bernhard  Clark,  James  A.  Gary,  George 
W.  Hildebrand,  Christian  Devries,  John  Q.  A.  Hol- 
loway,  E.  D.  Bigelovv,  John  J.  Rogers,  John  D. 
Kelley,  Jr.,  W.  Abrahams,  D.  D.  Mallory. 

The  Maryland  Fire  Insurance  Company  was 
formed  in  1859,  and  chartered  by  the  Legislature  the 
same  year,  with  James  S.  Gill,  Charles  L.  Oudisluys, 
Frederick  Fickey,  Jr.,  J.  J.  Turner,  Howard  Heald, 
Samuel  S.  Addison,  J.  J.  Abraham,  Jehel  Fisher, 
George  F.  Sloan,  Otis  Spear,  James  Lownds,  and 
Joseph  Matthews  as  incorporators.  The  first  presi- 
dent was  Thomas  E.  Hambleton,  who  was  succeeded 
in  1871  by  John  Stellmau,  who  was  followed  in  the 
same  year  by  Joseph  K.  Milnor.  William  R.  Barry 
was  elected  president  in  1879,  and  still  holds  that 
office.  The  first  secretary  was  Otis  Spear;  the  second, 
Joseph  K.  Milnor,  elected  in  1864 ;  third,  George  R. 
Musselman,  elected  in  1871 ;  fourth,  John  M.  Beck, 
present  secretary,  who  was  elected  in  1874.  The  first 
directors  were  Enoch  Pratt,  John  J.  Abrahams,  Ross 
Campbell,  William  Hopkins,  John  A.  Hambleton, 
Frederick  Fickey,  Jr.,  George  L.  Sloan,  James 
Hooper,  Jr.,  John  Stellman,  Jeremiah  Fisher,  F.  W. 
Bennett,  E.  W.  Robinson.  The  first  office  was  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  Second  Street  and  Tripolett's  Alley, 
from  whence  it  was  removed  to  its  present  location  at 
the  northeast  corner  of  Second  Street  and  Post-Office 
Avenue.  The  present  ofiicers  are  William  R.  Barry, 
president ;  Board  of    Directors,  Richard    J.    Baker, 


488 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Enoch  Pratt,  Solomon  King,  William  H.  Milliken, 
E.  W.  Robinson,  Washington  Booth,  C.  H.  Koons, 
William  M.  Buscy,  J.  B.  Brinkley,  Samuel  Snowden, 
Henry  Wilocix,  .I;uncs  K.  Tyson. 

The  Peabody  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  or- 
ganized in  1802,  and  chartered  at  the  January  session 
of  the  Legislature  in  the  same  year,  with  the  following 
incorporators:  Galloway  Clieston,  Enoch  Pratt,  Henry 
D.  Harvey,  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Thomas  Whitridge, 
William  Kennedy,  Austin  Dall,  James  Carey,  Jesse 
Tyson,  and  Peter  Mowell.  Its  first  president  was 
George  Carey ;  secretary,  James  McEvoy ;  second 
president,  Galloway  Che^ton ;  third,  Thomas  J. 
Carey ;  second  and  present  secretary,  Richard  B. 
Post.  The  office  of  the  company  is  situated  at  No. 
55  Second  Street.  Its  present  board  of  directors  are 
Enoch  Pratt,  Thomas  Whitridge,  Jesse  Tyson,  James 
Carey,  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Henry  D.  Harvey,  Francis 
T.  King,  Francis  Wliite,  Richard  Cromwell,  and 
James  Bates. 

The  Potomac  Fire  Insurance  Company  was 
chartered  by  the  Legislature  on  the  20th  of  March, 
1867,  and  organized  in  May  following  with  the  fol- 
lowing incorporators:  Samuel  Townshend,  Thomas 
Whelan,  Jr.,  John  Ahern,  Thomas  Ellis,  Samuel 
Black,  Benjamin  F.  Swayne,  Samuel  H.  Gover, 
James  Whiteford,  Michael  Roche,  Isaac  W.  Jewett, 
Benjamin  G.  Tubman,  William  Turner,  Edward 
Feinour,  John  B.  N.  Berry,  Charles  Goldsborough, 
John  Jewett,  Jr.,  William  McCann,  Joseph  W.  Dun- 
can, and  James  A.  Doyle. 

The  officers  elected  in  1867  were:  President,  Isaac 
W.  Jewett ;  Vice-President,  James  Whiteford  ;  Secre- 
tary, R.  Lewis  Whiteford.  Mr.  Jewett  is  still  presi- 
dent, with  James  M.  Girvin  vice-president,  and  Ed- 
ward A.  Schobban  secretary.  The  company  first 
occupied  an  office  on  South  Gay  Street,  but  subse- 
quently moved  to  its  own  building,  No.  15  Post-Office 
Avenue,  where  it  is  still  located.  The  present  board 
of  directors  are  E.  G.  Hipsley,  John  Moore,  Thomas 
Whelan,  Luke  Tiernan,  Joseph  C.  Townshend,  Isaac 
Albertson,  H.  Page  Dyer,  John  Jewett,  C.  Lewis 
Dunlap,  John  Boyd,  and  Henry  Page. 

The  Home  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  organ- 
ized in  January,  1807,  and  chartered  by  the  Legisla- 
ture March  1st  of  the  same  year,  with  the  following 
incorporators :  Hiram  Woods,  Jr.,  Hamilton  Easter, 
A.  Fenton,  Geo.  P.  Thomas,  R.  R.  Kirkland,  John 
Cugle,  James  Boyce,  O.  DiifenderfTer,  and  G.  H. 
Williams.  Its  first  president  was  G.  Harlan  Wil- 
liams, who  still  retains  that  position  ;  first  secretary, 
James  Owens,  deceased,  who  was  succeeded  by  the 
present  secretary,  Wm.  R.  Fluharty.  The  first  board 
of  directors  was  composed  of  Hiram  Woods,  Jr.,  Ham- 
ilton Easter,  R.  R.  Kirkland,  James  Boyce,  O.  Difien- 
derffer,  Geo.  P.  Thomas,  John  Cugle,  G.  Harlan  Wil- 
liams, W.  H.  Perkins,  M.  Wcisenfeld,  John  Cas- 
sard,  Lewis  Turner,  James  Webb,  Ferdinand  Meyer, 
and  James  L.  Barbour.     The  present  board  of  direc- 


tors is  cMiipo-iil  of  the  same  gentlemen,  with  the  ex- 
i(|'ii"ii  of  Ilaiiiilton  Easter,  R.  R.  Kirkland,  John 
C'uijlr,  .M.  W  risenfeld,  and  James  Webb,  who  have 
retired,  and  have  been  succeeded  by  John  Cassard, 
Jackson  C.  Gott,  Chas.  Markel,  Geo.  H.  Pagels,  Thos. 
Shields,  and  Joseph  Friedenwald.  The  office  of  the 
Home  Company  is  located  at  No.  10  South  Street. 

The  German-American  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany was  organized  on  the  10th  of  June,  188(1,  under 
the  general  incorporation  laws  of  the  State,  by  Ernest 
Hoen,  John  Rose,  John  F.  Nelker,  Peter  F.  Peters, 
Andrew  F.  Schroeder,  Clemens  Ostendorf,  Philip 
Sinsz,  and  Geo.  N.  Flack.  The  present  officers  of 
the  company  are :  President,  Ernest  Hoen ;  Vice-Presi- 
dent, Martin  Kesmodel ;  Secretary,  Henry  Vees.  The 
company  occupies  an  office  in  the  handsome  building 
on  the  southeast  corner  of  Baltimore  Street  and  Post- 
Office  Avenue. 

The  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company,  in  Balti- 
more County,  was  organized  and  chartered  in  1850. 
James  L.  Ridgely  w;is  the  first  president.  Dr.  Walter 
T.  Allender  the  second ;  when  again  James  L.  Ridgely 
was  made  president,  and  still  serves  in  that  capacity. 
George  W.  Niss  was  the  first  secretary,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Francis  Shriver,  the  present  secretary, 
treasurer,  and  agent.  The  office  of  the  company  is 
located  in  the  Knaff  Building,  No.  29  Holliday  Street, 
Baltimore. 

Policies  in  force  March  1, 1881 4100 

Itisks  in  force  Maicll  I,  1881 $10,766,138.00 

Piemium  notes  in  force  March  1, 1881 624,189.54 

Disbursements  during  the  year 11,345.45 

Losses  by  Are 15,161.75 

To  cash  balance  on  hand  March  1, 1881 2,019.08 

820,426.28 

Casli  and  invested  funds  of  the  company $38,493.77 

Deduct  for  liabilities  of  the  company 4,100.00 

Net  a^sests $34,393.77 

Add  premium  nolo  capital $624,189.54 

Whole  amount  applicable  to  meet  losses  by  fire  $658,583.31 

Directors  for  1881,  James  L.  Ridgely,  Pleasant  Hun- 
ter, John  L.  Turner,  Thomas  A.  Matthews,  Edward 
S.  W.  Choate,  John  E.  Bull,  Henry  L.  Fringer,  Dr. 
Isaac  N.  Dickson,  F.  H.  Orndorfl',  Joshua  Yingling, 
John  H.  Chew,  Dr.  Thomas  J.  Franklin,  Joshua 
Biggs.  Executive  Committee  for  1881 :  Thomas  H. 
Matthews,  Joshua  Biggs,  Edward  S.  W.  Choate, 
Joshua  Yingling. 

Washington  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Balti- 
more was  organized  and  chartered  in  1865,  with  the 
following  incorporators :  Thomas  Y.  Canby,  James 
Carey  Coale,  William  Whitelock,  Oliver  A.  Parker, 
William  A.  Crawford,  Philip  S.  Chappell,  Gerard  H. 
Reese,  James  D.  Mason,  Jacob  Tome,  Evans  Rogers, 
John  T.  Beacham,  Benjamin  F.  Cator,  Isaac  Coale, 
Jr.,  Benjamin  F.  Dix,  William  Davison,  Saml.  Town- 
send,  Columbus  S.  Crook,  Gerard  T.  Hopkins,  John 
Leary,  Geo.  I.  Kennard,  Samuel  S.  Woolston,  Allen 
A.  Perry,  Jeremiah  Wheelright,  Henry  C.  Smith, 
Dudlev  T.  Morton,  and  Charles  Humrichouse. 


t/^A,£^-ec_ 


MARINE,  FIEE,  AND   LIFE   INSURANCE. 


The  first  president  was  Thos.  Y.  Canby ;  the  second 
was  Isaac  Hartman,  who  is  still  serving.  The  first 
secretary  was  Henry  A.  Didier ;  the  second,  Francis 
J.  McGinnis ;  the  third  and  present  secretary,  B.  M. 
Greene.  The  first  board  of  directors  were  Wm.  White- 
lock,  0.  A.  Parker,  Wm.  C.  Crawford,  Philip  S.  Chap- 
pell,  G.  H.  Reese,  John  S.  Beacham,  J.  Franklin  Dix, 
J.  Leary,  A.  A.  Perry,  Henry  C.  Smith,  Robt.  M. 
Spiller,  Edward  Kiniberly,  Isaac  Hartman,  Samuel 
P.  Townsend,  B.  F.  Parlett,  James  S.  Forbes,  Wm.  T. 
Dixon,  Jacob  Tome,  Thos.  Y.  Canby,  Chas.  W.  Hum- 
richouse. 

The  present  board  of  directors  is  composed  of  Isaac 
Hartman,  Wm.  Whitelock,  Wm.  H.  Crawford,  Fred- 
erick Henkelman,  J.  Franklin  Dix,  Saml.  T.  Beacham, 
Samuel  P.  Townsend,  Benjamin  F.  Parlett,  Wm.  T. 
Dixon,  Wm.  E.  Woodyear,  Wm.  H.  Jones,  G.  A.  Ban- 
semer,  J.  Potts  Neer,  Goldsborough  S.  Griflith,  Ger- 
man H.  Hunt,  John  W.  Numsen,  Daniel  Donnelly, 
David  T.  Buzby,  James  D.  Mason,  and  B.  F.  Smith. 
The  company  was  organized  as  a  fire  insurance  com- 
pany, but  in  1870  retired  from  the  fire  insurance  busi- 
ness and  reinsured  its  outstanding  risks  in  the  Queen's 
Insurance  Company  of  England,  since  which  time  it 
has  been  doing  an  exclusively  loan  business  on  mort- 
gages on  real  estate.  The  capital  issued  in  stock  is 
$273,800.  The  company  is  buying  up  all  the  stock 
now  offered  in  order  to  reduce  the  capital.  The  total 
assets  amount  to  $284,082.01.  There  are  no  liabilities 
outside  of  the  capital  stock.  Its  office  was  first  located 
over  the  Third  National  Bank,  on  South  Street.  At 
present  the  office  is  at  the  northwest  corner  of  HoUi- 
day  and  Second  Streets. 

The  National  Protective  Union,  a  co-operative 
life  insurance  company,  was  organized  and  incor- 
porated in  1880,  with  the  following  officers :  Isaac 
Hartman,  president ;  George  McKendre  Teal,  vice- 
president;  George  W.  Burton,  secretary  and  general 
manager ;  Andrew  Jamison,  treasurer ;  Dr.  E.  W. 
Free,  medical  director  ;  and  the  following  directors : 
Isaac  Hartman,  J.  Wesley  Guest,  David  H.  Carroll, 
Andrew  Jamison,  George  McKendre  Teal,  Dr.  E.  W. 
Free,  George  W.  Burton  ;  Executive  Committee,  Isaac 
Hartman,  Andrew  Jamison,  and  George  McK.  Teal. 
The  board  of  directors  were  increased  in  March,  1881, 
and  in  September  of  that  year  the  following  officers 
were  elected:  George  McKendre  Teal,  president;  An- 
drew Jamison,  vice-president;  William  H.  Hoffman, 
treasurer ;  George  W.  Burton,  secretary ;  Dr.  E.  W. 
Free,  medical  director ;  and  John  F.  Williams,  David 
H.  Carroll,  and  E.  E.  Wenk,  all  of  whom  comprise 
the  present  board  of  directors.  The  office  of  the 
company  is  located  on  the  first  floor  of  the  Johnson 
Building,  opposite  the  Battle  Monument. 

The  German  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  or- 
ganized on  the  17th  of  March,  1865,  and  chartered  by 
the  Legislature  of  Maryland  the  same  year.  The 
building  in  which  it  is  now  operating  was  purchased 
by  the  company  in  1869,  and  is  located  on  the  north- 


east corner  of  Baltimore  and  Holliday  Streets.  Its 
first  and  only  president  is  Charles  Weber ;  Frederick 
Wehr,  vice-president;  and  Charles  Weber,  Jr.,  sec- 
retary. The  statement  of  the  company,  Jan.  1,  1880, 
shows : 

Cash  capital 8500,000.00 

Keservo  for  reinsuraoce 110,265.39 

Reserve  for  losses  under  adjustment '. 19,400.00 

Unpaid  dividends 41.50 

Net  surplus 222,935.05 

$8.52,641.94 

The  Maryland  Life  Insurance  Company  was  or- 
ganized in  July,  1865,  under  a  charter  granted  in  1864. 
George  P.  Thomas  was  its  first  president,  and  still 
holds  that  position,  having  been  annually  re-elected 
for  sixteen  successive  years.  The  company  has  assets 
amounting  in  value  to  $1,100,000  and  a  surplus  of  a 
quarter  of  a  million,  and  has  never  disputed  a  single 
death  loss.     Its  office  is  at  No.  10  South  Street. 

The  present  board  of  directors  of  the  Maryland 
Life  Insurance  Company  are  Hamilton  Easter,  George 
P.  Thomas,  Hugh  Sisson,  George  H.  Miller,  Douglas 
H.  Thomas,  Thomas  Cassard,  Christian  Devries,  Wil- 
liam H.  Perkins,  and  C.  Morton  Stewart. 

The  fifteenth  annual  statement,  issued  Jan.  1, 
1881,  shows  the  entire  assets  of  the  company, 
in  bonds,  stock,  cash,  etc.,  to  be  the  sum  of...  $1,133,594.49 

Liabilities 820,767,29 

Surplus,  as  regards  policy-holders $312,827.20 

Paid  up  guarautee  capital  pledged  to  secure  the 
policy-holders 100,000.00 

Net  surplus  over  capital,  according  to  the  legal 
standard  of  valuation $212,827.20 

William  H.  Blackford  is  the  manager  of  agencies, 
A.  K.  Foard  secretary,  and  Clayton  C.  Hall  actuary. 

Foreign  Insurance  Companies. — Besides  the  home 
insurance  companies,  I5altimore  has  the  benefit  of  the 
leading  fire,  marine,  and  life  insurance  companies  of 
the  world.  Most  of  these  have  agents  in  Baltimore, 
and  do  a  very  large  and  profitable  business.  The 
most  prominent  of  the  life  companies  is  the  Mutual 
Life  Insurance  Company  of  New  York,  which  is  rep- 
resented in  Baltimore  by  Oscar  F.  Bresee.  That  com- 
pany was  organized  in  New  York  in  1843,  and  has 
attained  the  foremost  rank  of  life  insurance  compa- 
nies. Its  accumulations  amount  to  about  $90,000,000, 
with  a  surplus  fund,  New  York  standard,  of  more 
than  $12,000,000.  The  average  amount  of  new  insur- 
ance for  five  years  exceeds  $35,000,000,  and  the  total 
sum  Sissured  under  its  one  hundred  thousand  policies 
is  over  $300,000,000.  When  Mr.  Bresee  undertook  the 
agency  in  Baltimore  its  business  in  Maryland  was 
quite  limited.  From  a  renewal-list  of  only  a  few 
thousand  dollars  a  year  he  has  in  the  brief  period 
which  has  intervened  swelled  the  amount  of  premium- 
lists  to  over  a  million  dollars  annually,  and  has  made 
his  general  agency,  in  point  of  new  business,  one  of  the 
most  profitable  general  agencies  of  the  Mutual  Life. 
The  extent  of  the  general  business  may  be  appreciated 
by  the  figures  given.  Mr.  Bresee  is  not  a  believer  in 
luck  or  blind  chance.  He  thinks  there  is  but  one  way 
to  success  in  the  insurance  or  anv  other  business,  and 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


that  is  by  hard,  constant,  uninterrupted  work,  which 
he  argues  will  always  be  crowned  with  success.  His 
success  is  attributable  to  three  prominent  things :  his 
natural  adaptation  to  the  business,  tireless  energy, 
and  the  judicious  selection  of  agents  and  colaborers. 
His  administrative  ability  is  manifested  not  only  in 
the  successful  direction  of  the  energies  of  his  subordi- 
nates in  a  large  territory,  but  in  the  smallest  detail  of 
the  business. 

Mr.  Bresce  was  born  March  26, 1825,  in  the  District  . 
of  Montreal,  Canada.  His  parents,  John  and  Ase-  I 
neth  Bresee,  were  both  of  French  Huguenot  descent. 
His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Barber.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  his  native  place  iu  the  ordinary  English 
branches.  He  is,  however,  a  self-educated  man, 
catching  more  from  association  in  the  active  business 
of  life  and  in  the  social  circle  than  many  men  ever 
learn  from  books.  The  death  of  his  father  threw 
him  on  his  own  resources,  which  rapidly  developed. 
He  at  once  removed  from  Canada  to  Hartford,  Conn., 
and  quite  naturally  entered  into  its  main  business, 
as  it  is  almost  as  well  known  for  its  insurance  charters 
as  it  is  for  its  Charter  Oak.  He  commenced  soliciting 
for  a  mutual  insurance  company  which  took  only 
country  risks.  In  this  business  he  canvassed  closely 
the  State  of  Rhode  Island ;  but  not  content  with  that 
"pent-up  Utica,"  and  desiring  to  expand  his  terri- 
tory, he  went  to  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  to  act  as  the  general 
agent  of  the  State  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company. 
This  company  profited  by  his  association,  and  soon 
floated  on  the  full  tide  of  prosperity.  Mr.  Bresee's 
reputation  as  a  successful  insurance  agent  meanwhile 
expanded,  and  he  was  invited  to  Richmond,  Va.,  where 
he  a*umed  the  general  agency  of  the  Insurance  Com- 
pany of  the  Valley  of  Virginia  of  Winchester.  He 
soon  gave  new  life  to  this  institution,  and  enlarged 
the  field  of  its  operations — marine  as  well  as  fire — until 
the  business  extended  from  New  York  to  New  Orleans, 
and  the  premiums,  all  of  which  passed  through  his 
hands,  amounted  to  half  a  million  dollars  annually. 
Mr.  Bresee  discharged  these  laborious  and  responsible 
duties  until  1858.  His  remarkable  knowledge  of  men 
and  keen  judgment  of  character  is  attested  by  the 
agents  that  he  selected  and  trained  during  this  period. 
Hundreds  of  them  now  stand  high  in  insurance  circles 
all  over  the  country,  while  among  the  departed  whose 
memories  are  cherished  were  such  men  as  William  D. 
Sherrerd,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Thomas  Jones,  the 
founder  of  the  Imurance  Monitnr.  Mr.  Bresee  organ- 
ized the  Insurance  Company  of  the  State  of  Virginia, 
for  which  he  acted  as  secretary  and  treasurer.  His 
tact,  judgment,  and  energy  were  rewarded  with  suc- 
cess, and  he  accumulated  a  large  fortune,  which  de- 
parted like  so  many  others  during  the  late  unfortunate 
civil  war,  and  he  had  to  take  a  new  start  after  its  con- 
clusion. He  resumed  the  general  agency  of  the 
Mutual  Life  in  Richmond  and  that  of  the  Security 
Fire,  of  New  York,  which  ])ositions  he  held  until  he  : 
removed  to  Baltimore  in  IXiUi.     In  Baltimore  he  has  ' 


devoted  his  entire  time,  energies,  and  large  experi- 
ence to  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  of  New 
York.  In  the  course  of  his  insurance  career  he  has 
been  surpassed  by  none  and  equaled  by  only  a  few 
in  the  country.  He  takes  natural  pride  in  asserting 
that  not  a  policy-holder  in  any  company  for  which 
he  has  been  agent  has  suffered  loss  by  the  failure  of 
the  company  while  the  policy  was  in  force,  nor  has 
he  ever  represented  a  company  for  which  he  did  not 
make  money. 

Mr.  Bresee  has  been  a  trustee  of  the  Brown  Memo- 
rial Presbyterian  Church  since  its  organization,  and 
was  its  first  treasurer.  He  has  been  a  Mason  for  more 
than  twenty  years.  He  is  fond  of  agricultural  pur- 
suits and  country  life,  and  purchased  some  years  ago 
the  "  Rose  Hill"  stock-farm,  upon  the  Rapidan  River, 
in  Orange  County,  Va.  It  contains  a  tliousand  acres 
of  gently  undulating,  rich  land,  finely  set  in  blue 
grass,  and  in  a  neighborhood  rarely  equaled  for  re- 
finement. In  this  delightful  retreat  Mr.  Bresee  passes 
his  summer  vacation  with  his  family. 

Mr.  Bresee  married  Miss  Louisa  Kleckner,  of  New 
Berlin,  Pa.,  daughter  of  Joseph  Kleckner,  a  merchant 
miller  of  that  town.  They  have  six  children, — Alfred 
A.,  Edward  L.,  May,  Winston,  Oscar  F.,  Jr.,  and 
Stuart.  The  two  eldest  sons  are  associated  with  their 
father  iu  business,  and  have  already  given  evidence 
of  ability.  Alfred  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Passano, 
daughter  of  Louis  Passano,  and  Edward  married 
Miss  Emma  Patterson,  daughter  of  S.  N.  Patterson, 
both  of  Baltimore. 

Insurance  Department. — For  the  better  protection 
of  the  people  of  Maryland  there  was  organized  in  1871 
an  Insurance  Department  for  the  examination  and 
supervision  of  all  companies  doing  the  business  of  in- 
surance in  the  State.  The  Hon.  Charles  A.  Wailes,  who 
as  chief  clerk  had  charge  of  the  taxation  of  insurance 
companies  in  the  comptroller's  department  of  the  State 
government,  was  appointed  insurance  commissioner. 
The  duties  of  the  office  are  to  preserve  in  a  perma- 
nent form  a  full  record  of  his  proceedings  and  a  con- 
cise statement  of  the  condition  of  each  company  or 
agency  visited  or  examined,  and  report  annually  to 
the  Governor  his  oflicial  acts,  the  fees  received  and 
expenses  of  his  department  for  the  year  then  to  end, 
the  condition  of  all  companies  doing  business  in  this 
State,  and  such  other  information  as  will  exhibit  the 
afl'airs  of  his  department.  The  law  establishes  a 
standard  of  solvency  for  each  department  of  the  in- 
surance business,  and  authorizes  oflicial  examination 
of  companies  doing  business  in  Maryland.  The 
standard  fixed  by  the  law  in  Maryland  for  regulating 
the  reserve  of  life  insurance  companies  is  the  same  as 
that  of  New  York  and  many  other  States.  While  not 
so  high  as  that  of  Massachusetts,  it  corresponds  with 
that  of  a  much  larger  number  of  States.  That  stand- 
ard requires  the  computation  of  interest  on  the  reserve 
of  life  companies  to  be  made  at  an  arbitrary  statutory 
rate  of  four  and  a  half  per  cent.  j)er  annum. 


POST-OFFICE,  CUSTOM-HOUSE,  GAS   COMPANIES. 


491 


The  working  of  the  insurance  department  of  Mary- 
land has  always  been  most  satisfactory,  and  never 
attended  with  any  of  those  charges  and  insinuations 
that  have  been  made  against  similar  departments  in 
other  States. 

Mr.  Wailes'  health  failing,  in  1875  he  visited  the 
West  Indies,  and  died  there  in  1876.  The  Hon.  John 
M.  Miller  was  appointed  in  1876,  and  was  succeeded 
in  1878  by  the  present  commissioner,  the  Hon.  Jesse 
K.  Hines.  Under  his  energetic  and  efficient  admin- 
istration the  character  of  the  department  has  reached 
a  most  enviable  standard,  and  the  practical  results 
have  been  of  a  highly  satisfactory  nature,  both  to  the 
public  and  to  all  sound  and  honest  insurance  organ- 


izations. The  duties  of  the  office  contemplate  the 
protection  of  the  public  from  speculative  and  fraudu- 
lent insurance  companies,  and  the  defense  of  the 
companies  against  improper  attempts  on  the  part  of 
interested  parties  to  break  them  down.  In  both  re- 
spects Mr.  Hines  has  ably  and  faithfully  carried  out 
the  intention  of  the  law,  and  with  judicial  impartial- 
ity has  interposed  against  the  violation  of  its  spirit 
in  any  manner  or  from  any  quarter. 

The  following  extract  from  the  annual  statement  of 
the  Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  Companies  of  Mary- 
land, furnished  by  the  Insurance  Department  of  the 
State,  Jesse  K.  Hines,  commissioner,  January,  1881, 
indicates  their  condition  at  that  date  : 


Baltimore  Companies. 


Howard 

Maryland 

Merchants'  Mutual.., 

National 

Peabody 

Potomac 


200,000 
127,500 
100,125 


824,344.4:! 
2.J2,725.1:i 
177,391.16 
303,387.07 
132,497.30 
329,933.86 
296,965.37 
376,059.72 
142,010.94 


116,801.02 
227,187.50 
271,799.48 
156,508.92 
108,515.25 


58,827.84 
79,573.36 
16,696  28 

102,746.36 
34,359.48 

216,560.80 
36,064.63 


105,694.94 
71,770.64 

211,827.68 

244,193.87 
9,921.46 
29,958.52 
48,571.42 
26,317.81 
64,217.80 

a25,109.58' 
52,287.01 
20,775.07 


1,468.71 
9,648.08 
1,911.12 


6,691.84 
6,768.70 
16,834.03 


Total8,Jan.l,1881.  82,692,380    $5,973,629.09    $3,852,892.76    $2,155,978.11    $1,086,164.41    $1,025,658.96    $434,740, 
Totals,  Jan.  1,1880.  $2,710,255    $5,699,90S,.38    $.1,746,477.06    $1,992,779.00       $988,666.62       $9 


23,616,030.00 
8,204,958.00 
18,991,268.00 
23,804,176.00 
1,231,860.33 
8,016,873.00 
7,516,041  00 
3,134,019.00 

4J.79,127!o6 
8,049,928.00 
2,523,656.00 


1,61  $117,180,137.33 


$435,786.35  $165,940.79 


TAX   ASSESSMENTS    (FEOM   THE   OFFICE  OF   STATE   TAX   COMMISSIONER  OF   MARYLAND)    FOR   1881. 


Insurance  Comp 


Associuteii  Firemen's  Insurance  Conjiany  df  Baltimore  City 

Baltine'ii,    I  ,       

Gerniaii  I  i      i  ■  ,: , 

Maryl;u.,l  I  ,  ,    li,-   '   h     •    ■  •'      '  I:,      ■,     ■     '■  i:-   .    .    " 

Marylar,  11,-,    I    ■■.:    ■    ,  i     ■  ,  i   ■  i         ,  i  ,:v 

Mercllajn,    ^l•,:,,„!  !.,■     .  i: :,.,  ;  ,.■  .  ll^  .    . 

Mutunl   l.il'    li,-i"..n,,    I  ,„Mi,,,  V   ,  t    \U< .,,„.■„_, ; 

National  Fire  Insurance  Comiiany  of  Baltimore  City 

Potomac  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Baltimore  City 

Peabody  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Baltimore  City 

■         *        "■      '  ?  Company  of  Baltimore  City... 


No.  of     Par  Val.  of  Assessed  Val.  Aggregate  Val. 

Shares  of  each  Share  of  each  Share  of  Shares 

Stock.       of  Stock,      of  Stock.  of  Stock. 

.  40,11011              $5.00              $6.60  $264,000.00 

',J-I                 5.00                5.00  181,405.00 

10.00              23.00  460,000.00 

'              18.00              26.00  546,000.00 


German-American  Fire  '. 


20,025 
5,100 
8,214 


20.00 
5.00 
60.00 

io.oi) 


30.00 
65J)0 

iiiso 


260,000.00 
15,933.00 

230,000.00 
80,100.00 

163,200.00 


Assessed  Val. 
of  Real 
Property. 

830,037.00 
40,188.00 
41,501.00 
61,876.00 
76,662.00 
16,(168.00 
14,419.00 


Amount  of 
Credits  al- 
lowed for  In- 
vestments 
PayingTaxes. 
$55,986.24 
22,357.48 
194,194.50 
200,722.13 

'61,70aOU 
24,875.00 
56,(»0.00 
2,706.00 
95,123.00 

M.Voaoo 


CHAPTEK    XXX. 

POST-OFFICE,  CU.STOM-HOUSE,   GAS    COMPANIES. 

The  first  protection  to  public  and  private  letters 
in  Maryland  was  given  by  an  act  of  Assembly  passed  ! 
at  the  session  of  1707,  by  which  the  opening  of  letters 
by  unauthorized  persons  was  made  a  penal  offense. 

Letters  at  that  time  were  generally,  in  the  absence  . 
of  post-roads  and  post-offices,  deposited  in  public- 
houses,  to  be  sent  by  the  first  conveyance  of  which 
the  landlord  could  avail.  There  was  very  little  cor- 
respondence at  the  time  between  the  towns  along  the 


coast,  as  most  of  the  trade  was  direct  with  England 
from  each  port.  Letters  on  business,  sometimes  con- 
taining bills  of  exchange  on  Liverpool  and  London 
merchants,  were  left  at  the  public-houses,  and  for- 
warded by  the  hands  of  the  captains  of  vessels  sailing 
from  the  particular  port  to  England,  but  were  accessi- 
ble, as  well  as  the  answers,  to  any  designing  person 
about  the  inn.  In  this  way  protests  to  bills  of  ex- 
change were  frequently  intercepted,  and  it  became 
necessary  to  protect  such  communications  by  law. 
This  act  was  repealed  and  re  enacted  at  the  session 
of  the  Assembly  in  1713 ;  the  protecting  clauses  and 


492 


HISTOKY   OF  BALTIMORE  CITY   AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


penalties  for  breaking  open  letters  by  unauthorized 
persons  were  re-enacteil,  and  additional  clauses  en- 
acted making  it  the  duty  of  the  sheriff  of  each  county 
to  convey  all  public  letters  to  their  destination  within 
his  county,  but  if  beyond,  to  the  sheriff  of  the  next 
county  on  the  route.  The  slieriff  of  each  county  was 
allowed  for  this  service  so  many  pounds  of  tobacco 
annually,  the  sheriff  of  Baltimore  County  to  be  com- 
pensated with  six  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco. 

The  first  regular  post-office  established  in  the  colo- 
nies was  by  an  act  of  the  Parliament  of  England 
passed  in  1710.  By  its  provisions  a  general  post- 
office  was  established  in  North  America  and  the  West 
Indies,  and  in  1717  a  settled  post  was  established 
from  Virginia  to  Maryland. 

It  was  not  until  1753  that  the  practice  of  delivering 
letters  by  the  penny-post  or  letter-carrier  and  of  ad- 
vertising letters  on  hand  commenced.  Newspapers 
were  carried  by  mail  free  of  charge  until  1758,  when, 
by  reason  of  their  great  increase,  they  were  charged 
with  postage  at  the  rate  of  ninepence  each  year  for 
fifty. miles,  and  one  shilling  and  sixpence  for  one 
hundred  miles. 

At  this  time  the  postal  routes  were  few  and  far 
between,  and  did  not  afford  sufficient  facilities  for 
the  convenience  of  the  public.  Gentlemen  of  a  town 
or  a  neighborhood  were  in  the  habit  of  making  up  a 
purse  to  supply  a  regular  mail-rider,  generally  going 
to  the  single  post-office  of  the  province,  as  in  Mary- 
land to  Annapolis,  and  depositing  all  letters  they 
■were  intrusted  with,  and  on  their  return  bringing 
letters  and  papers  to  remote  correspondents  and  sub- 
scribers. Stage-shallops  were  sometimes  used  between 
important  places  to  carry  passengers.  The  stage- 
shallop  resembled  a  dug-out  rigged  upon  wheels,  at 
that  time  a  very  essential  combination,  as  it  often 
became  necessary  on  these  routes  to  cross  streams 
that  were  not  fordable  and  without  a  ferry. 

In  1789  a  line  of  mail  stage-coaches  was  established 
in  Maryland,  to  connect  with  the  Virginia  stages  at 
Oeorgetown.  Three  trips  a  week  were  run  each  way 
by  this  line,  from  Baltimore  to  Georgetown,  thence 
connecting'  with  the  Virginia  stage  line,  by  way  of 
Dumfries  and  Bowling  Green,  to  Richmond.  In  1799 
this  became  a  daily  mail  and  passenger  coach  line, 
leaving  Baltimore  every  day,  Sunday  excepted,  from 
the  1st  of  April  to  the  1st  of  November,  at  4  o'clock 
A.M.,  and  arriving  at  Alexandria  the  same  day  at 
6  1>.M. ;  returning  leaving  Alexandria  daily  at  the 
same  hour,  arriving  in  Baltimore  at  6  p.m.  From 
November  1st  to  April  1st  the  stages  left  at  both  ends 
of  the  route  at  4  a.m.,  but  did  not  arrive  at  their 
destination  until  8  A.M.  the  next  morning.  Coaches 
also  left  Baltimore  daily,  except  Sunday,  at  4  A.M. 
for  Philadeli)hia,  and  arrived  there  at  10  A.M.  the 
next  day,  making  the  same  time  from  Philadelphia 
to  Baltimore.  At  this  time,  in  addition  to  the  regular 
line,  a  semi-weekly  line  ran  from  Baltimore  to  Alex- 
andria.    In  1800,  and  for  some  years  afterwards,  the 


Eastern  mail  closed  every  day,  Saturday  excepted,  at 
6  P.M.,  the  mail  arriving  every  day,  Monday  excepted, 
at  3  P.M. ;  the  Southern  mail  closed  every  day,  except 
Monday,  at  G.30  p.m.,  and  arrived  every  day,  Monday 
excepted,  at  4  p.m. 

In  1811  the  United  States  mail-coaches  were  ad- 
vertised to  leave  the  Fountain  Inn  daily  at  3  p.m., 
for  the  Shakespeare  Hotel,  Philadelphia,  arriving 
there  at  1  p.m.  the  following  day.  In  1814  the  mail- 
coaches  left  Gadsby's  Inn,  in  Baltimore,  for  York, 
Columbia,  Lancaster,  and  Philadelphia  daily  at  3 
A.M.,  the  passengers  lodging  that  night  at  Lancaster, 
and  arriving  at  Philadelphia  at  2  p.m.  the  next  day. 
Branch  lines  ran  generally  tri-weekly  from  points 
along  the  main  or  national  route.  A  stage  left  York 
three  times  a  week  for  Harrisburg,  thence  out  to  Mif- 
flin, Lewistown,  Sunbury,  and  Wilkesbarre;  another 
tri-weekly  for  Pittsburgh  via  Chambersburg,  and  from 
Lancaster  once  a  week  to  New  York.  Gadsby  was  the 
Baltimore  agent  of  this  line. 

In  1819  an  attempt  to  rob  the  mail  was  made 
between  the  office  in  Baltimore  and  Elkridge;  the 
postmaster,  Mr.  Skinner,  offered  a  reward  of  five 
hundred  dollars  for  the  apprehension  of  the  person 
or  persons  concerned  in  the  attempt,  to  be  paid  on 
conviction  in  any  court  of  law.  In  1820  an  express 
was  run  between  this  city  and  Washington  by  Messrs. 
Stockton  &  Stokes,  and  the  express-rider  for  that  firm 
in  November  brought  copies  of  the  President's  mes- 
sage from  Washington  for  all  the  Baltimore  papers  in 
two  hours  and  forty-five  minutes.  In  1826,  Gen. 
Barnard  made  a  survey  of  the  three  different  mail- 
routes  from  Baltimore  to  Philadelphia.  In  1835  the 
old  stage-coaches  gave  place  to  the  locomotive  in 
carrying  the  mails  between  Baltimore  and  Washing- 
ton, but  for  many  years  afterwards  the  stage-coach 
was  familiar  to  interior  towns  not  connected  by  rail 
with  the  great  routes. 

The  removal  of  Franklin  in  1774  from  the  office  of 
deputy  postmaster-general,  and  the  transfer  of  the 
postal  department  to  English  agents,  was  regarded  as 
an  act  of  oppression,  and  created  great  dissatisfaction 
in  the  colonies. 

In  this  condition  of  affairs  Wm.  Goddard,  proprie- 
tor of  the  Maryland  Journal,  who  shared  the  general 
sentiment  and  had  experienced  the  extortions  of  the 
postal  system  under  English  management,  proposed 
the  establishment  of  an  American  or  constitutional 
post-office,  in  contradistinction  to  an  unconstitutional 
or  British  ministerial  post-office.  The  suggestion  was 
generally  adopted,  and  Mr.  Goddard  appointed  per- 
sons to  serve  and  deliver  letters  at  thirty  different 
points,  two  in  Maryland, — one  in  Baltimore,  at  Mr. 
Goddard's  office,  and  one  at  Annapolis.  Mr.  God- 
dard, when  his  routes  were  superseded  by  the  Conti- 
nental Congress,  was  made  surveyor  of  post-roads, 
but  Congress  in  the  ensuing  year  restored  his  office 
to  Dr.  Franklin.  Mr.  Goddard  was  disappointed  and 
went  into  retirement,  makini;  his  sister  the  ostensible 


POST-OFFICE,  CUSTOM-HOUSE,  GAS   COMPANIES. 


493 


editor  of  his  paper.  The  paper  was  printed  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Baltimore  and  South  Streets, 
where  the  post-office,  tlie  first  in  Baltimore,  was  lo- 
cated. The  post-otfice  was  continued  at  the  same 
place  after  the  Post-office  Department  was  established 
in  1775,  with  Miss  Mary  K.  Goddard  as  postmistress, 
which  position  she  held  for  fifteen  years,  until  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  in  1789. 

Miss  Goddard  was  succeeded  by  John  White,  who 
was  appointed  under  protest  of  the  citizens,  and  re- 
tained the  office  only  a  short  time.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Alexander  Furnwal.  He  in  turn  was  succeeded 
by  Charles  Burrell,  who  had  for  many  years  been  en- 
gaged as  a  clerk  in  the  general  Post-office  Department. 
He  was  appointed  by  Gen.  Washington.  Mr.  Bur- 
rell was  a  fine-looking  gentleman  of  the  old  school, 
and,  as  was  the  custom  in  those  days,  wore  his  hair 
powdered.  He  was  an  active  Federalist,  and  after 
the  mobbing  of  the  Federal  Gazette  office,  became  very 
unpoi^ular.  Mr.  Burrell  was  removed  by  Mr.  Madison, 
and  John  S.  Skinner  was  appointed  in  his  place.  Mr. 
Skinner  took  an  active  part  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
was  on  board  the  British  ship  as  a  prisoner  with  Mr. 
Key  when  he  wrote  the  "  Star  Spangled  Ban"ner."  He 
also  during  his  term  of  office  originated  the  American 
Farmer  and  the  "  American  Turf  Register."  Mr. 
Skinner  remained  in  oflice  until  1839,  when  the  Hon. 
Joshua  Vansant  was  appointed.  Mr.  Vansant  was 
removed  by  President  Harrison,  and  Thomas  Finley 
succeeded  him.  Mr.  Finley  was  a  merchant,  and 
previous  to  his  appointment  had  been  marshal  of  the 
district  of  Maryland.  President  Polk  superseded 
Mr.  Finleyby  the  appointment  of  James  M.  Buchanan 
in  1845.  Mr.  Buchanan  was  a  leading  member  of  the 
Baltimore  bar,  and  an  active  politician.  He  was  af- 
terwards judge  of  the  Baltimore  County  Court,  and 
minister  to  Denmark.  On  the  1st  of  July,  1849,  Gen. 
Talyor  appointed  Charles  T.  Maddox  to  succeed  Mr. 
Buchanan.  Mr.  Maddox  had  been  acting  as  princi- 
pal assistant  in  the  office  for  fifteen  years,  and  was 
strongly  recommended  for  the  position  by  the  press, 
merchants,  and  citizens.  He  was  removed  by  Gen. 
Peirce,  and  Col.  Jacob  G.  Davies,  a  prominent  mer- 
chant and  citizen,  who  had  been  twice  mayor  of  Bal- 
timore, was  appointed  in  his  stead.  In  1857,  Dr.  John 
G.  Morris  received  the  appointment  of  postmaster,  and 
succeeded  Col.  Davies.  During  his  term  of  office  the 
riot  of  the  19th  of  April,  1861,  occurred,  which  ne- 
cessitated the  transportation  of  mails  by  wagons  for 
nearly  three  weeks.  This  was  done  under  the  man- 
agement of  Charles  H.  Mercer,  who  was  for  many 
years  connected  with  the  Post-office  Department.  Dr. 
Morris  was  succeeded  in  1861  by  Col.  Wm.  H.  Purnell. 
Col.  Purnell  was  followed  in  1868  by  Gen.  Edward 
Shriver,  who  in  turn  gave  place  to  Gen.  Andrew 
Denison,  who  was  appointed  by  Gen.  Grant,  and  had 
filled  the  office  nearly  eight  years  at  the  time  of  his 
death.  President  Hayes  appointed  as  his  successor 
Gen.  E.  B.  Tyler,  who  retained  the  position  until  1881, 
32 


when  he  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by  Col.  Harri- 
son Adreon,  the  present  incumbent.  Mr.  Burrell 
performed  the  duties  of  the  ofiice  with  one  assistant. 
It  is  stated  that  when  the  office  was  threatened  in 
1812  he  was  in  the  custom  of  carrying  a  brace  of 
pistols  for  the  protection  of  the  mails. 

The  post-office  under  Miss  Goddard,  as  has  already 
been  stated,  was  in  the  office  of  the  Maryland  Jour- 
nal, which  occupied  the  present  site  of  the  Sun  iron 
building.  Afterwards,  under  Postmaster  White,  it 
was  moved  to  the  north  side  of  Baltimore  Street,  five 
doors  west  of  Gay.  Under  Mr.  Burrell  it  was  situated 
on  Baltimore  Street  near  Light,  and  under  Mr.  Skin- 
ner the  office  was  removed  to  the  corner  of  Lexington 
and  St.  Paul  Streets,  from  whence  it  was  removed, 
about  1830,  to  rooms  in  Barnum's  Hotel.  A  few 
years  later  a  building  on  the  northeast  corner  of  North 
and  Fayette  Streets  was  fitted  up  for  the  purpose, 
and  here  the  oflBce  remained  until  1851,  when  the 
large  increase  in  the  business  of  the  department  de- 
manded better  accommodations,  and  the  buildings 
now  occupied  were  rented  from  the  Exchange  Com- 
pany. 

In  1850,  Messrs.  Stinger  &  Morton  established  in 
Baltimore  a  penny-post  system,  through  which  letters 
were  delivered  to  their  patrons  in  any  part  of  the  city 
They  also  had  boxes  at  convenient  stations,  where 
letters  were  deposited,  and  from  which  they  were  col- 
lected during  the  day  and  mailed. 

This  penny- postal  arrangement  was  superseded  by 
what  was  denominated  a  sub-postal  system  in  1851. 
This  arrangement  simply  consisted  in  the  adoption  of 
the  system  inaugurated  by  Messrs.  Stinger  &  Morton, 
with  a  charge  of  two  cents  instead  of  one  for  the  de- 
livery of  letters.  The  city  was  divided  into  fourteen 
districts,  with  a  carrier  for  each,  and  stations — gener- 
ally drug-stores — where  letters  were  deposited  and 
collected.  Local  letters  were  delivered  for  one  cent, 
and  for  this  purpose  carrier-stamps  were  used. 

On  the  30th  of  May,  1857,  the  government  pur- 
chased the  Exchange  Building  for  a  post-ofl[ice,  and 
on  the  15th  of  May,  1858,  the  letter  department  was 
removed  to  the  adjoining  building  to  make  room  for 
the  necessary  alteration  and  repairs,  where  it  remained 
until  January,  1854.  The  city-desjiatch  system,  which 
was  organized  by  Dr.  Morris,  went  into  effect  simul- 
taneously with  the  occupancy  of  the  new  office.  The 
post-office  was  kept  open  at  night  until  nine  o'clock 
P.M.  for  the  first  time  March  13,  1862. 
j  In  August,  1865,  the  general  government,  at  the 
instance  of  Col.  Purnell,  postmaster  of  Baltimore, 
provided  one  hundred  letter-post  boxes,  which  were 
I  located  at  convenient  points  throughout  the  difierent 
wards  and  precincts  of  the  city  for  the  reception  of 
letters  to  be  forwarded  by  the  United  States  mail. 

The  necessity  for  more  ample  accommodations  for 
the  rapidly-increasing  business  of  the  Baltimore  post- 
office  forced  itself  upon  the  attention  of  the  postmas- 
ter and  the  citizens  of  Baltimore. 


494 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


At  the  session  of  the  United  States  Congress  of 
1874-75,  the  Hon.  Thomas  Swann  introduced  a  bill 
providing  for  the  purchase  of  a  site  and  the  erection 
upon  it  of  a  new  post-office  building  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore.  The  only  action  taken  upon  the  subject 
at  this  time  was  the  appointment  of  a  commission, 
consisting  of  Postmaster-General  Jewell,  Secretary 
Bristow,  and  Supervising  Architect  Potter,  to  visit 
Baltimore,  inspect  the  old  post-office  building,  and  in- 
vestigate the  necessity  for  new  accommodations,  and 
also  to  examine  the  different  sites  offered,  and  report 
the  result  of  their  visit  of  investigation  to  Congress. 

In  accordance  with  this  resolution,  Messrs.  Jewell, 
Bristow,  and  Potter  visited  Baltimore  on  the  19th  of 
May,  1875,  had  an  interview  with  the  mayor,  the  presi- 
dents of  the  two  branches  of  the  City  Councils,  and 
a  number  of  business  men  of  Baltimore  at  the  City 
Hall,  and  obtained  the  general  views  on  the  subject. 
Eight  different  sites  were  offered  the  commissioners: 
No.  1.  Bounded  by  Fayette,  Calvert,  and  Lexington 
Streets  and  the  United  States  court-house;  estimated 
value,  $402,978.  No.  2.  Bounded  by  Fayette,  Holli- 
day,  and  Gay  Streets  and  Orange  Alley  ;  estimated 
value,  1302,807.88.  No.  3.  Bounded  by  Fayette,  Hol- 
liday,  Baltimore,  and  North  Streets ;  estimated  value, 
$329,000.  No.  4.  Situated  at  the  corner  of  Monument 
Square  and  Fayette  Streets ;  price,  $500,000.  No.  6. 
Bounded  by  Baltimore,  HoUiday,  and  Second  Streets 
and  Post-Office  Avenue;  estimated  value,  $750,000. 
No.  7.  Bounded  by  Charles,  Lexington,  and  St.  Paul 
Streets  and  an  alley ;  price,  $495,000.  No.  8.  Balti- 
more Female  College ;  price,  $45,000. 

Supervising  Architect  Potter  was  directed  to  visit 
Baltimore  and  examine  all  the  sites  offered,  which  he 
did  on  the  11th  of  August.  After  careful  examina- 
tion he  reported  in  favor  of  site  No.  1,  bounded  by 
Calvert,  Fayette,  and  Lexington  Streets  and  the 
United  States  court-house. 

Earnest  efforts  were  at  once  made  by  the  mayor  and 
City  Councils,  by  the  Board  of  Trade  and  prominent 
citizens,  to  obtain  from  Congress  an  immediate  appro- 
priation for  the  purchase  of  a  site  and  the  erection  of 
the  post-office  building.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Board 
of  Trade  on  the  19th  of  October,  1875,  a  committee 
consisting  of  Joseph  H.  Rieman,  Henry  C.  Smith, 
Israel  M.  Parr,  D.  H.  Miller,  and  Christian  Ax  were 
appointed  to  consider  the  subject  of  a  proper  site  for 
the  new  post-office. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  on  the  2d  of  November, 
a  resolution  was  adopted  by  which  the  board  declined 
to  interfere  in  the  selection  of  the  site. 

The  board  at  this  meeting  also  appointed  a  com- 
mittee, consisting  of  J.  H.  Pleasants,  president  of  the 
board ;  Henry  C.  Smith,  president  of  the  Shoe  and 
Leather  Exchange ;  Charles  D.  Fisher,  president  of 
the  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange ;  Hon.  W.  C.  Albert, 
Enoch  Pratt,  Joseph  H.  Rieman,  D.  H.  Miller,  Israel 
M.  Parr,  and  the  Hon.  J.  A.  J.  Cresswell,  to  collect 
statistics   and    present   before    the    commissioners   a 


statement  of  facts  showing  the  necessity  for  improved 
postal  facilities  in  Baltimore  worthy  of  the  govern- 
ment and  in  harmony  with  the  dignity  of  a  great 
commercial  city. 

The  City  Council  of  Baltimore,  on  the  15th  of  No- 
vember, 1875,  adopted  resolutions  favoring  as  the  site 
for  the  new  post-office  the  block  bounded  by  Balti- 
more, Fayette,  Holliday,  and  North  Streets.  A  com- 
mittee was  also  appointed,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Hogg, 
Donovan,  and  Hooper,  of  the  First  Branch,  and  Messrs. 
Bond,  Higgins,  and  Sellman,  of  the  Second  Branch, 
with  Mayor  F.  C.  Latrobe  as  chairman,  to  visit 
Washington  and  urge  the  subject  on  the  attention  of 
the  commissioners. 

On  the  15th  of  December,  1875,  Hon.  Thomas 
Swann  offered  a  resolution  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, which  was  adopted  without  a  division,  call- 
ing on  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  the  Post- 
master-General, and  the  Supervising  Architect,  the 
commissioners  on  the  Baltimore  post-office,  to  report 
on  the  public  improvements  required  by  the  com- 
mercial position  and  growing  trade  of  the  city  of  Bal- 
timore. The  commissioners  made  an  unfavorable 
report,  but  this  did  not  seem  to  dampen  the  zeal  of 
the  friends  of  the  measure,  who  kept  it  before  the 
government  by  frequent  memorials  and  committees. 

On  the  10th  of  December,  1877,  a  conference  of 
various  committees  was  held  at  the  City  Hall  to  de- 
vise the  best  means  of  united  action.  The  commit- 
tees represented  at  this  meeting  were  the  City  Council 
Committee,  Mayor  Kane,  Thom,  Ramsburg,  Lewis, 
Logan,  Robertson,  Stevens,  Schroeder,  Bullock, 
Young,  and  Hogg ;  the  Citizens'  Committee,  consisting 
of  Samuel  H.  Taggert,  F.  C.  Latrobe,  Collector  John 
L.  Thomas,  Postmaster  E.  B.  Tyler,  Enoch  Pratt, 
George  Appold,  Henry  James,  H.  Clay  Dallam,  Wil- 
liam Keyser,  and  Samuel  M.  Shoemaker;  Board  of 
Trade,  Decatur   H.   Miller,  Stephen   Bonsai,   I.  M. 

,  Parr,  W.  W.  Spence,  and  S.  P.  Thompson  ;  Corn  and 
Flour  Exchange,  R.  B.  Bayard,  D.  M.  Tate,  William 
S.  Young,  and  Robert  Tyson  ;  Merchants'  Exchange, 

I  Jame^  Carey  Coale,  Charles  Morton  Stewart,  Charles 

D.  Fisher,  and  Gilmor  Meredith.  A  sub-committee 
was  appointed,  consisting  of  R.  B.  Bayard,  represent- 

!  ing  the  Board  of  Trade,  Merchants'  Exchange,  and 
j  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange ;  Prof  Tonry,  represent- 
I  ing  the  Committee  of  Citizens,  and  Dr.  Charles  W. 
Chancellor,  representing  the  mayor  and  City  Coun- 
cil, assisted  by  Collector  John  L.  Thomas  and  Gen. 

E.  B.  Tyler,  postmaster.  The  sub-committee  met 
the  congressional  committees  and  presented  the  facts, 

'  but  received  no  particular  encouragement  that  any 
\  action  would  be  taken  on  the  subject  at  that  session. 
i      The  committees  again  met  Feb.  22,  1878,  and  ap- 
i  pointed  a  sub-committee  of  five,  consisting  of  John 
S.  Bullock,  on  the  part  of  the  City  Council ;  S.  P. 
Thompson,  of  the  Board  of  Trade;  Chas.  D.  Fisher, 
j  of  the  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange;    Gen.  F.  C.  La- 
trobe, of  the  Citizens'  Committee  ;  James  Carey  Coale, 


tMa^tM^6s^  u  d^^^^^o 


POST-OFFICE,  CUSTOM-HOUSE,  GAS   COMPANIES. 


of  the  Merchants'  Exchange ;  and,  by  special  invita-  j 
tion,  John  L.  Thomas,  collector  of  the  port,  and  Gen. 
E.  B.  Tyler,  postmaster,  to  visit  Washington.     The 
committee  repaired  to  the  capital  and  p-esented  sta-  j 
tistics  in  regard  to  the  mail  matter  received  at  the 
Baltimore  post-office,  the  commercial  importance  of 
the  city,  as  illustrated  by  her  foreign  and  internal  | 
trade,  and  such  other  facts  as  it  was  hoped  would  in-  I 
fluence  speedy  action. 

The  revenue  of  the  Baltimore  post-office  in  1776  . 
was  1415.161 ;  in  1841  it  was  .185,296.92 ;  in  1878  the  j 
total  income  of  the  office  was  $344,044.68.  In  1868,  j 
49  clerks  and  53  carriers  were  employed  at  the  post- 
office,  and  in  1881,  77  clerks  and  85  carriers.  In  1868 
the  whole  number  of  letters  dispatched  was  5,810,090, 
and  in  1879,  12,828,828.  The  number  of  letters  re- 
ceived in  1868  was  5,408,229,  and  in  1879,  10,149,600. 
The  number  of  registered  letters  received  in  1868  was 
17,676,  and  in  1878,  60,576  ;  the  number  dispatched 
in  1868  was  10,169,  and  in  1878,  28,202.  The  money 
order  system  was  adopted  in  1864.  In  1865,  $13,600 
was  transmitted  through  this  channel;  in  1868,  1161,- 
978.59,  and  in  1878,  $401,371.20.  Amount  of  money 
orders  paid  during  1878,  $1,409,558.47.  The  total 
number  of  letters  dispatched  to  foreign  countries  in 
1877  was  182,755 ;  and  in  1878,  241,053. 

At  the  next  session  of  Congress  (1878-8i))  the  sub- 
ject was  kept  before  the  Committee  of  Congress  on 
Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  by  frequent  interviews 
of  Baltimore  committees  representing  the  municipal- 
ity, the  various  trade  boards,  the  merchants  and  citi- 
zens, and  by  frequent  intercession  and  appeals  from 
private  citizens.  The  committees,  of  course,  by  the 
election  to  the  Council  in  some  instances  of  other  rep- 
resentatives, were  frequently  changed.  In  February, 
1879,  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  matter,  which 
had  frequent  interviews  with  the  congressional  com- 
mittee, was  composed  of  F.  C.  Latrobe,  mayor  and 
chairman ;  Otis  Keilholtz,  president  of  the  First 
Branch  of  the  City  Council,  with  members  of  that 
Branch,— Messrs.  A.  H.  Greenfield,  G.  Harlan  AVil- 
liams,  James  H.  Ives,  and  James  Logan,  Jr. ;  Dr.  C. 
W.  Chancellor,  president  of  the  Second  Branch,  with 
members  of  that  Branch, — F.  P.  Stevens,  Wm.  P. 
Tonry,  M.  W.  Donovan,  and  Andrew  F.  Schroeder,  to- 
gether with  Postmaster  Tyler,  Collector  Thomas,  J.  I. 
Middleton,  president  of  the  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange, 
and  James  Cary  Coale,  president  of  the  Merchants' 
Exchange,  and  Decatur  H.  Miller,  president  of  the 
Board  of  Trade.  Messrs.  John  T.  Ford  and  Henry 
McShane  were  added  to  the  committee.  The  ques- 
tion of  a  site  still  continued  to  be  discussed,  until,  at 
a  meeting  of  this  committee,  it  was  considered  ex- 
pedient, and  a  resolution  was  passed  to  that  effect, 
that  the  question  of  site  was  to  be  considered  as  closed 
by  the  recommendations  of  Secretary  Sherman. 

In  June,  1880,  Congress  made  an  appropriation  of 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  purchase  of  the 
site  bounded  by  Fayette  and  Lexington  Streets  and 


Monument  Square  and  the  United  States  court-house. 
This  sum  not  being  sufficient  for  the  purpose,  an  ad- 
ditional sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  was  appropri- 
ated to  enable  the  government  to  occupy  three  lots 
fronting  on  North  Street  at  the  corner  of  Lexington. 
The  owners  of  the  property  were  J.  Howard  Mc- 
Henry,  Robert  Rennert,  John  C.  White,  August 
Hoen,  Ernest  Hoen,  Simon  J.  Martinet,  estate  of 
Christopher  Kreutzer,  Henry  Taylor,  and  the  city  of 
Baltimore.  The  buildings  occupying  the  site  have 
nearly  all  been  removed,  and  Supervising  Architect 
Hill  is  now  engaged  in  building  a  magnificent  struc- 
ture which  will  be  a  great  ornament  to  the  city.  It 
is  estimated  to  cost  one  million  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

Officers  for  1881 :  Postmaster,  Col.  Harrison  Adreon ; 
Assistant  Postmaster,  Gen.  W.  E.  W.  Ross;  Chief 
Clerk,  R.  E.  Boyd ;  Cashier,  John  P.  Haas ;  Superin- 
tendent Money  Order  Department,  J.  J.  C.  Dougherty; 
Superintendent  Registry  Division,  Geo.  B.  Jean  ;  Su- 
perintendent City  Delivery,  W.  H.  H.  Sultzer  ;  Super- 
intendent of  Carriers,  M.  S.  Showacre. 

Col.  Harrison  Adreon,  the  postmaster  of  Baltimore, 
was  born  in  this  city,  Jan.  12,  1841.  He  is  the  son 
of  the  late  William  Adreon,  of  Baltimore,  and  the 
grandson  of  Capt.  Christian  Adreon,  who  com- 
manded the  Union  Volunteers,  a  company  in  the 
Fifth  Maryland  Infantry,  during  the  war  of  1812-14. 
The  memorable  charge  of  that  regiment  upon  the 
British  troops  at  the  battle  of  North  Point  is  pre- 
served in  a  bas-relief  on  the  "  Battle  Monument."  Col. 
Adreon  is  a  fair  exponent  of  the  excellence  of  the 
public  school  system  in  Baltimore.  His  early  mental 
training  was  received  at  these  schools,  and  his  educa- 
tion was  completed  with  a  course  of  instruction  in 
the  City  College.  At  the  close  of  his  school-days  the 
atmosphere  was  filled  with  the  discordant  sounds  of 
civil  strife,  the  sections  were  rapidly  arraying  them- 
selves for  a  suicidal  struggle,  and  his  impetuous 
nature  forbade  that  he  should  remain  silent  "amid 
war's  rude  alarms."  The  heroism  of  his  ancestor 
must  have  been  ever  present  to  him,  as  also  the  cause 
in  which  it  was  displayed,  and  his  feelings  were  nat- 
urally enlisted  on  the  side  which  bore  in  its  ranks 
the  standard  of  the  Union.  He  had  entered  himself 
as  a  student  of  law,  "  but  amidst  arms  laws  are  silent," 
and  probably  nothing  could  have  been  more  repug- 
nant to  his  feelings  than  the  precise  polished  periods 
of  Blackstone  when  the  drums  were  beating  up  recruits 
in  the  highways  and  the  paving-stones  echoed  the 
tread  of  plumed  battalions.  Mr.  Adreon  entered  the 
Fourth  Maryland  Infantry  as  a  lieutenant  in  Com- 
pany A,  and  with  his  regiment  was  at  once  brigaded 
in  the  Second  Division  of  the  Fifth  Army  Corps,  the 
left  wing  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  history 
of  this  corps  is  a  succession  of  desperate  encounters 
and  fiercely-contested  battles.  Such  names  as  the 
Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  Bethesda  Church,  Poplar 
Spring  Grove,  Cold  Harbor,  North  Anna,  Petersburg, 


496 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Weldon  Kailroad,  Hatcher's  Run,  White  Oak  Road, 
Five  Forks,  and  the  deadly  charge  at  the  "  Angle" 
are  inscribed  on  its  battle-flags.  Adreon,  no  longer  a 
lieutenant,  but  familiarly  known  to  his  comrades  as 
"the  fighting  major,"  was  present  in  every  engage- 
ment, and  this  portion  of  his  life  fairly  written  would 
epitomize  the  history  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
from  the  Rapidan  to  the  close  of  the  war.  For  his 
gallantry  at  Hatcher's  Run  he  was  bre vetted.  But 
Col.  Adreon  must  have  possessed  other  qualities  be- 
sides gallantry  to  have  become  so  general  a  favorite 
with  his  associates.  Pleasant  in  manner  and  unselfish 
in  nature,  he  won  the  hearts  of  the  men  with  whom 
he  bivouacked,  and  by  his  cheerfulness  under  diffi- 
culties cemented  ties  which  have  since  then  borne 
abundant  fruit.  He  was  not  only  a  brave  man,  but 
an  intelligent  soldier,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
he  was  summoned  during  the  summer  of  1881  before 
the  court  of  inquiry  over  which  Gen.  Hancock  pre- 
sided, to  testify  in  reference  to  the  engagement  at 
Five  Forks,  the  last  great  battle  of  the  war. 

At  the  end  of  the  war  Col.  Adreon  returned  to  bis 
native  city  and  completed  his  legal  studies.     He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1866,  and  evinced  a  lively 
interest  in  the  political  struggle  inaugurated  during 
that  year  for  the  control  of  the  State.     In  1867,  when 
the  new  constitution  went  into  effect,  the  Republican 
party  chose  him  as  their  candidate  for  clerk  of  the 
City   Court.     He   w^as   secretary   of  the   Republican 
State   Central   Committee   during   the   campaign   in 
which  Gen.  Grant  was  elected  President,  and  upon 
the  accession  of  the  latter  to  office,  Col.  Adreon  was 
appointed  United  States  pension  agent  for  Maryland. 
This  position  he  held  during  the  two  administrations 
of  Gen.  Grant  and  the  earlier  part  of  the  administra- 
tion of  President  Hayes,  until  June  30,  1877,  when  it 
was  consolidated  with  the  agencies  of  New  Jersey 
and  Delaware,  and  the  office  established  at  Washing- 
ton.    Col.  Adreon's  discharge  of  the  arduous  duties  ; 
of  the  pension-ofiice  deserves  all  praise.     The  com-  ! 
plicated  accounts  and   incessant   attempts   at   fraud  I 
require  for  their  solution  the  utmost  exercise  of  cool-  i 
ness,  judgment,  and  good  temper,  and  Col.  Adreon  ] 
displayed  these  in  an  eminent  degree  during  his  in- 
cumbency of  the  office,  and  when  he  rendered   bis  | 
final  account  to  the  department  he  was  highly  com- 
plimented for  his  efliciency,  a  fact  which  doubtless 
contributed  not  a  little  to  his  subsequent  appointment  i 
as  postmaster  of  this  city. 

In  1879,  Col.  Adreon  was  again  called  upon  by  bis  | 
party  to  lead  them  in  the  contest  for  State  officers, 
and  though  the  Republicans  were  greatly  in  the  mi-  j 
nority,  the  flattering  vote  he  received  for  the  clerkship 
of  the  Superior  Court  disclosed  the  high  esteem  enter-  | 
tained  for  him  by  his  fellow-citizens.  ; 

Col.  Adreon  has  always  exhibited  a  deep  interest  in  j 
his  fellow-soldiers,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  j 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  in  Maryland.  In  1869  ' 
he  was  made  inspector-general  of  the  order   in  the 


United  States,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  John  A. 
Logan. 

He  took  a  leading  part  in  the  recent  Presidential 
campaign,  having  been  called  by  acclamation  to  the 
command  of  the  "  Boys  in  Blue"  of  Maryland,  and 
was  one  of  the  chief  organizers  of  the  great  mass- 
meeting  held  at  Concordia  Opera-House,  Oct.  7, 1880, 
the  most  successful  political  gathering  in  behalf  of 
Garfield  and  Arthur  that  took  place  in  Maryland 
during  the  campaign. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  late  President  Garfield 
after  his  inauguration  was  the  appointment  of  Col. 
Adreon  to  the  postmastersbip  of  this  city.  He  could 
scarcely  have  made  a  better  selection,  or  one  more 
suitable  to  the  wishes  and  business  interests  of  the 
citizens  of  Baltimore.  Since  he  took  charge  of  the 
j  post-office  he  has  introduced  numerous  desirable  im- 
provements in  the  workings  of  the  department,  and 
has  brought  it  to  a  degree  of  perfection  never  before 
attained.  He  is  a  man  of  thorough  business  habits, 
free  from  unworthy  prejudices,  keenly  alive  to  the 
interests  of  his  native  city,  and  possessed  of  personal 
traits  which  cause  him  to  be  esteemed  by  all  who 
know  him. 

Tie  Baltimore  Custom-House.— In  another  chap- 
ter of  this  history  it  has  been  stated  that  the  earliest 
knowledge  of  the  old  Baltimore  Town  upon  the  Bush 
River  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  in  the  year  1682 
it  was  made  a  port  of  entry  by  act  of  the  General 
Assembly,  and  it  seems  that  duties  upon  imports  were 
collected  there  and  at  Joppa,  and  also  at  Baltimore 
Town  when  the  latter  arrived  at  the  dignity  of  being 
a  depot  and  entrepot  of  foreign  commerce.  It  is  known 
that  previous  to  the  Revolutionary  war  there  existed 
in  Baltimore  a  small  office  for  the  collection  of  reve- 
nue, but  the  custom-house  proper  of  those  days  was 
at  Annapolis,  which  was  then  a  much  more  important 
town.  Among  the  archives  of  the  Baltimore  custom- 
house the  earliest  book  of  record  is  dated  in  the  year 
1769,  and  relates  to  the  storage  of  flour.  The  next  in 
point  of  date  is  that  of  1780,  which  records  the  en- 
trance and  clearance  of  vessels  for  that  year  at  the 
port  of  Baltimore.  Some  two  hundred  and  fifty  ves- 
sels of  all  kinds,  engaged  in  the  foreign  and  coastwise 
trade,  were  then  entered  and  cleared.  The  aggregate 
tonnage  was  only  thirteen  thousand  tons,  and  the  ex- 
ports to  foreign  ports  consisted  almost  entirely  of  to- 
bacco. After  the  declaration  of  peace  and  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Federal  Constitution  the  commerce  of 
the  port  of  Baltimore  increased  so  greatly  that  it  was 
found  necessary  to  establish  a  regular  custom-house 
for  the  collection  of  commercial  revenue.  This  was 
done  by  act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1786,  which  cre- 
ated the  office  of  collector  of  customs,  and  prescribed 
the  duties  of  the  incumbent.  Prior  to  the  Revolution 
the  imposts  were  collected  by  the  naval  officer,  an  of- 
ficial appointed  by  the  crown,  who  visited  on  board 
of  a  war-ship  the  ports  of  the  province  on  stated  oc- 
casions, and  gathered  the  revenues  according  to  legal 


POST-OFFICE,  CUSTOM-HOUSE,  GAS   COMPANIES. 


497 


.  OTHO  H.  WILLIAS 


formula.  The  official  title  survives  to  this  day,  as 
designating  one  of  the  chiefs  of  departments  in  the  cus- 
tom-house, but  its  old- 
time  significance  has  of 
course  departed.  The 
first  collector  of  customs 
after  the  adoption  of  the 
Federal  Constitution  was 
Gen.  Otho  H.  Williams, 
the  valiant  soldier  of 
the  Eevolution,  who  was 
appointed  to  this  office 
by  President  Washing- 
ton. The  custom-house 
of  those  days  was  in  an 
edifice  which  stood  on 
the  site  of  the  present 
Commercial  Buildings,  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Gay 
and  Lombard  Streets,  and  it  was  continued  there 
until  the  Merchants'  Exchange  was  built,  which,  with 
some  additions,  is  now  the  custom-house  and  post- 
office.  The  Merchants'  Exchange  Company  was  es- 
tablished in  1815,  and  after  it  had  erected  its  build- 
ings the  United  States  government  rented  the  first 
floor  of  the  wing  on  the  Gay  Street  side,  and  located 
the  custom-house  therein.  It  remains  there  to  the 
present  time,  and  will  occupy  all  the  buildings  after 
the  removal  of  the  post-office  to  the  new  edifice  now 
being  erected  on  Monument  Square. 

Gen.  Williams  served  as  collector  of  customs  from 
1786  until  1794,  when  ill  health  forced  him  to  resign 
the  office,  and  he  died  the  next  year.  His  successor 
was  Robert  Purviance,  who  came  of  a  family  that 
were  among  the  first  citizens  of  Baltimore  Town,  and 
had  taken  a  very  active  part  in  the  war  of  indepen- 
dence. Mr.  Purviance  continued  as  collector  until 
1806,  when  he  gave  way  to  Gabriel  Christie,  who  was 
followed  by  James  H.  McCulloch  in  1808.  Mr.  Mc- 
CuUoch  held  the  office  for  twenty-eight  years,  and 
was  preceded  in  1836  by  William  Frick,  subsequently 
judge  of  the  Superior  Court.  Mr.  Prick's  immediate 
successors  were  Nathaniel  H.  Williams  and  Gen. 
AVilliam  H.  Marriott,  each  of  whom  held  the  office 
for  four  year.s.  In  1841,  Col.  George  P.  Kane  was 
appointed,  and  he  was  followed  in  1853  by  Philip 
Frank  Thomas,  who  is  the  oldest  of  the  ex-collectors 
now  living.  In  1857,  John  Thompson  Mason  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Thomas,  and  after  him  came  Henry  W. 
Hoffinan,  who  was  appointed  by  President  Lincoln 
in  1861.  He  remained  four  years,  and  in  1865  Ed- 
win H.  Webster  took  his  place.  John  L.  Thomas, 
Jr.,  was  appointed  by  President  Grant  in  1869,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Washington  Booth  in  1873.  Mr. 
Booth  was  a  merchant  in  the  South  American  trade, 
and  had  amassed  a  large  fortune.  Ill  health  com- 
pelled his  resignation  before  the  expiration  of  his 
term  of  office,  when  Col.  Edward  Wilkens  was  ap- 
pointed. The  latter  was  removed  in  November,  1877, 
by  President  Hayes,  who  reappointed  Mr.  Thomas. 


During  Mr.  Thomas'  administration  of  the  custom- 
house he  organized  the  official  system  which  has  been 
described  by  a  special  agent  of  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment as  a  model  for  all  the  other  custom-houses  of 
the  country.  A  comparative  statement  shows  that 
whereas  there  were  employed  in  the  Baltimore  cus- 
tom-house on  July  1,  1877,  two  hundred  and  twelve 
officials,  the  number  on  March  1,  1881,  was  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety -eight,  and  this  reduction  of  the  force 
had  been  efiected  without  impairing  the  efficiency  of 
the  service.  With  the  exception  of  three  incumbents, 
the  clerical  force  of  the  custom-house  remains  to 
this  day  precisely  as  it  was  constituted  by  Mr. 
Thomas  in  1869. 

Subsequent  to  the  Eevolution,  and  previous  to  1799, 
there  were  surveyors  and  naval  officers  at  th-e  port  of 
Baltimore,  but  the  act  of  Congress  of  March  2,  1799, 
established  their  departments,  and  their  duties  were 
further  defined  by  the  acts  of  March  1, 1823,  and  June 
26,  1848.  It  appears,  however,  that  as  far  back  as 
1794  there  was  an  assistant  to  the  collector,  who  was 
known  as  the  naval  officer.  In  that  year  Nathaniel 
Ramsay  was  the  incumbent,  and  he  was  succeeded  by 
William  H.  Barney  in  1817.  A  blank  occurs  between 
the  latter  date  and  1841,  and  when  the  authorities  at 
the  Treasury  Department  in  Washington  were  ap- 
plied to  for  the  names,  they  responded  that  they  could 
not  complete  the  list,  as  some  of  the  early  records  had 
been  destroyed  by  fire.  In  1841,  Dabney  S.  Carr,  who 
had  been  minister  to  Constantinople,  was  appointed. 
His  tenure  of  office  was  very  short,  and  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  Joshua  Vansant,  afterwards  a  member  of 
Congress,  mayor  of  Baltimore,  and  city  comptroller. 
After  Mr.  Vansant  came  Samuel  J.  K.  Handy  in  1844, 
James  Polk  in  1845,  Thomas  King  Carroll  in  1849, 
John  Kettlewell  in  1853,  Levi  K.  Brown  in  1857, 
Francis  S.  Corkran  in  1861,  William  S.  Reese  in  1866, 
John  Lee  Chapman  in  1869,  Adam  E.  King  in  1873, 
and  William  Corkran  in  1877.  Mr.  Chapman  had 
been  mayor  of  the  city  during  the  civil  war,  and  was 
one  of  the  most  prominent  Union  men  in  Maryland. 
He  died  in  March,  1881.  Gen.  Adam  E.  King  was 
an  officer  of  high  rank  in  the  Union  army,  and  had 
been  so  badly  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Monocacy,  on 
July  9,  1864,  that  for  a  long  while  his  life  was  de- 
spaired of.  William  Corkran  had  been  deputy  naval 
officer  for  fifteen  years  previous  to  his  appointment  as 
chief  of  the  department. 

The  first  surveyor  was  Daniel  Delozier,  who  was 
appointed  in  1793.  He  was  followed  by  William 
Lowry,  in  1813,  and  between  the  latter  date  and  1844 
the  officials  were  James  Mozier,  William  Pinkney, 
and  probably  others,  of  whose  incumbency  there  is 
no  record  preserved.  In  1844,  Thomas  Lloyd  was  ap- 
pointed, and  after  him  came  William  II.  Cole,  Jr., 
1845 ;  Elias  T.  Griffin,  1849 ;  John  0.  Wharton,  1853 ; 
Washington  Finley,  1857 ;  John  N.  McJilton,  1861 ; 
Edington  Fulton,  1865;  William  Wailes,  1866;  Robert 
Cathcart,  deputy  and  acting  surveyor,  1866  ;  Augustus 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


W.  Bradford,  1867  ;  Edington  Fulton,  1869  ;  Charles 
Gilpin,  1873 ;  and  George  W.  F.  Vernon,  1878.  Mr. 
McJilton  was  proprietor  and  editor  of  the  Baltimore 
Patriot.  Mr.  Fulton  was  managing  editor  of  the  Bal- 
timore American,  and  among  the  memoranda  made 
by  President  Lincoln  on  the  day  preceding  the  even- 
ing of  his  assa.ssination  was  a  card  on  which  he  had 
noted  down  that  Mr.  Fulton  should  be  appointed  to 
the  position.  The  actual  appointment,  however,  was 
made  by  President  .Johnson,  who  removed  Mr.  Fulton 
in  18G6  because  of  his  refusal  to  indorse  the  policy  of 
the  administration.  The  nominations  of  Mr.  Wales 
and  Mr.  Cathcart  were  rejected  by  the  Senate,  but 
that  of  Governor  Bradford  was  confirmed.  Col.  Gil- 
pin commanded  a  home-guard  regiment  during  the 
war,  and  Col.  Vernon,  the  present  incumbent,  was  a 
cavalry-officer,  rising  to  much  distinction  and  being 
severely  wounded. 

The  office  of  local  appraisers  of  merchandise  was 
created  by  the  act  of  Congress  of  March  1, 1823,  which 
provided  that  there  should  be  two  such  officials  at 
the  port  of  Baltimore.  The  first  appointees  were  Wil- 
liam Haslett  and  William  Dickinson,  whose  commis- 
sions bore  the  dale  of  1828.  Mr.  Dickinson  was  re- 
appointed in  1832,  and  his  colleague  was  Lyde  Good- 
win. They  held  their  offices  until  1851,  when  thej 
were  supplanted  by  William  M.  McBlair  and  Hugh 
W.  Evans.  The  line  of  succession  afterwards  was 
Lemuel  W.  Gosnell  and  Philip  Poultney,  1853; 
Beale  H.  Richardson  and  David  C.  Springer,  1858 ; 
William  I.  Nichols  and  James  F.  Wagner,  1861; 
Hooper  C.  Hicks  and  E.  F.  Anderson,  in  1865.  Col. 
Anderson  had  been  so  terribly  wounded  in  the  war 
that  his  recovery  is  still  considered  by  the  surgeons  a 
marvel.  Besides  having  three  bullets  in  his  body,  he 
carried  two  in  his  legs,  and  the  fingers  of  his  left  hand 
were  broken  by  a  sabre-cut.  He  was  displaced  in 
1869,  and  was  succeeded  by  Adam  E.  King,  who 
served  until  1873,  when  Col.  Anderson  was  reap- 
pointed. The  present  appraisers  are  John  Lewis  Lin- 
thicum  and  Henry  Holliday  Goldsborough.  Capt. 
Linthicum  was  appointed  on  Dec.  31,  1874,  and 
Judge  Goldsborough  on  Jan.  19,  1875. 

An  act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1855  created  the 
office  of  general  appraiser  of  merchandise.  The  dis- 
trict over  which  the  general  appraiser  presides  is  sub- 
ject to  change,  and  it  now  extends  as  far  south  as 
Charleston,  S.  C,  and  as  far  west  as  San  Francisco. 
The  first  general  appraiser  was  William  P.  Ponder. 
He  was  .succeeded  by  Lewis  Sutton  in  1859,  by  John 
W.  Baughman  in  1861,  and  by  John  F.  Meredith  a 
few  months  later.  Mr.  Meredith  is  still  the  general 
appraiser,  and  it  is  acknowledged  that  he  is  one  of  the 
leading  experts  of  the  United  States  in  the  calcula- 
tion of  dutiable  values  upon  goods. 

In  1780  the  receipts  at  this  port  were  a  few  cases 
of  foreign  goods.  The  business  for  1880,  the  first 
full  recorded  centennial  of  the  custom-house,  was  as 
follows : 


Duties  collected $3,101,855.53 

MiscellaDeous  ctlBtomti  receipts 212.872.52 

Total $3,314,728  05 

The  number  of  entries  of  vessels  engaged  in  foreign 
trade  was  1620,  with  an  aggregate  tonnage  of  1,418,519 
tons.  The  clearances  were  1631  ve.ssels,  with  an  ag- 
gregate tonnage  of  1,429,415  tons.  Coastwise  entries 
comprised  1416  vessels  and  1,627,842  tons,  and  coast- 
wise clearances  2189  ves-sels  and  1,555,644  tons.  The 
total  for  1880  was  6856  vessels,  and  a  tonnage  of 
5,431,420  tons.  The  following  list  of  collectors,  naval 
officers,  and  surveyors  of  customs  for  the  district  of 
Baltimore  since  the  formation  of  the  United  States 
government  was  furnished  by  H.  A.  Lockwood,  act- 
ing commissioner  of  customs,  who  says,  "  The  list  of 
naval  officers  and  surveyors  is  imperfect,  but  the  best 
I  can  furnish,  owing  to  the  destruction  of  some  of  the 
early  records  of  the  department  by  fire.  They  are 
as  follow.s,  with  date  of  commission  : 

"  Collectors,  Otlio  HoUaud  Williams, ;  Robert  Purviance,  Aug.  15, 

1794;  Gabriel  Christie,  Oct.  25, 1806 ;  James  H.McCullocli,  April  15,1808; 
William  Frick,  Nov.  24,  1836;  Nathaniel  H.  Williams,  March  25,1841; 
William  H.  Marriott,  Not.  21,  1844 ;  George  P.  Kane,  May  12, 1849;  P. 
r.  Thomas,  April  4, 1853;  J.  T.  Mason,  March  28, 1857;  H.  W.  HofTman, 
April  15, 1861;  E.  H.  Webster,  July  18, 1865;  John  L.  Thomas,  Jr.,  Feb. 
19, 1860;  Washington  Booth,  March  24, 1873;  Edward  Wilkilis,  Aug.  11, 
1876;  John  \j.  Thomas,  Jr.,  July  2,  1877.  Surveyors,  Daniel  Delojier, 
July,  1793;  William  Lowry,  Nov.  8, 1813;  James  Mosher,  Mar»;h  24, 1829; 
William  Pinkney,  March  16,  1841;  Thomas  Lloyd,  July  2,  1844-  Wil- 
liam H.  Cole,  Jr.,  March  22,  1845 ;  Elias  T.  Griffln,  May  12, 1849  ;  John 
0.  Wharton,  April  5, 1863 ;  Washington  Finley,  March  28, 1857 ;  John  S. 
McJilton,  May  3, 1861 ;  Edington  Fulton,  July  18, 1865 ;  William  Wales, 
Oct.  29, 1866;  R.  Cathcart,  deputy  and  acting;  Aug.  W.  Bradford,  April 
16,1867;  Edington  Fulton,  April  13,1869;  Charles  Gilpin,  April  9, 1873; 
George  W.  F.  Vernon,  Feb.  13,  1S78.  Naval  Olficere,  Nathaniel  Bamsay, 
September,  1704;  William  B.  Barney,  Dec.  1, 1817;  Dabncy  S.  Carr,  Jan. 

1, 1841 ;  Joshua  Vansant, . ;  Samuel  J.  K.  Handy,  July  1, 1844 ;  James 

Polk,  April  8,  1845 ;  Thomas  K.  Carroll,  May  12, 1-49;  John  Kettlewell, 
April  5, 1853 ;  Levi  K.  Bowen,  March  28, 1867 ;  Francis  S.  Corkran,  April 
16,1861;  William  Smith  Reese,  July  20, 1866 ;  John  L.  Chapman,  April 
13,  1869;  Adam  E.  King,  March  24,  1873;  William  Corkran,  .lune  22, 
1877." 

Hon.  John  L.  Thomas,  Jr.,  the  present  collector  of 
the  port  of  Baltimore,  was  born  in  Baltimore,  May  20, 
1835,  and  when  he  was  quite  young  his  parents  re- 
moved to  Cumberland,  Md.,  where  his  boyhood  days 
were  spent.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Lebanon, 
Pa.,  and  on  that  side  the  family  is  of  German  extrac- 
tion ;  on  his  mother's  side  it  is  French.  Her  maiden 
name  was  Matilda  L.  Seeley ;  she  was  a  native  of  Ver- 
gennes,  Vt.,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Col.  John  Wol- 
throp,  of  the  Revolutionary  army.  Mr.  Thomas  was 
educated  in  an  academy  at  Cumberland,  and  studied 
law  in  the  office  of  Gen.  Thomas  I.  McKaig,  a  leader 
at  the  Western  Maryland  bar.  After  his  admission  in 
1856  to  practice  he  was  chosen  counselor  of  the  town, 
but  removed  in  a  few  months  to  Baltimore  and  crossed 
the  threshold  of  professional  success.  Embarking 
in  politics  as  a  sturdy  friend  of  the  Whig  cause,  he 
took  the  stump  for  the  late  lion.  Thomas  Holliday 
Hicks  in  the  gubernatorial  campaign  of  1856,  and  was 
brought  into  intimate  relations  with  Henry  Winter 
Davis,  Anthony  Kennedy,  John  P.  Kennedy,  and 
other  leading  Native  Americans  and  Whigs  of  that 


POST-OFFICE,  CUSTOM-HOUSE,  GAS   COMPANIES. 


499 


period.  At  the  bar  his  forensic  ability  and  legal  acu- 
men were  noticed  and  commended  by  such  high  au- 
tliorities  as  John  V.  L.  McMahon,  T.  Yates  Walsh, 
Coleman  Yellot,  and  John  Nelson,  all  of  whom  have 
since  passed  away.  He  quickly  obtained  a  large 
criminal  practice  and  won  his  laurels  by  assisting  in 
the  prosecution  of  Joseph  Claggett  for  the  killing  of 
Jerome  White,  when  the  accused  was  convicted  of 
murder  in  the  second  degree,  notwithstanding  that  he 
was  defended  by  Severn  Teackle  Wallis  and  Henry 
Winter  Davis.  Mr.  Thomas  was  subsequently  coun- 
sel for  the  defense  in  the  Federal  Hill  riots  of  1858, 
and  in  the  murder  case  of  William  G.  Ford,  when  he 
was  associated  with  John  Nelson.  In  1859  he  man- 
aged for  Henry  Winter  Davis  the  contest  of  that  gen- 
tleman against  William  G.  Harrison  for  a  seat  in  Con- 
gress, and  the  House  of  Representatives  voted  the  sesit 
to  Mr.  Davis.  He  was  an  unflinching  Unionist  from 
the  first  indication  of  the  civil  troubles;  and  on  the 
night  of  April  18,  18G1,  he,  at  the  peril  of  his  life, 
spoke  for  the  Union  from  the  front  of  the  old  Foun- 
tain Hotel  to  the  angry  throng  that  filled  the  street, 
and  was  preparing  for  the  next  day's  assault  upon  the 
Sixth  Massachusetts  Regiment.  Intense  bitterness  of 
feeling  prevailed  among  the  Southern  party,  particu- 
larly against  Governor  Hicks,  who  was  at  the  hotel 
in  conference  with  other  leading  Unionists,  and  it 
was  believed  that  the  mob  had  gathered  with  the  in- 
tention of  doing  kim  personal  injury.  While  Mr. 
Thomas  was  engaging  the  attention  of  the  multitude 
the  Governor  was  conveyed  away  to  a  place  of  safety, 
and  when  the  incensed  crowd  discovered  that  they  had 
been  thus  cleverly  checkmated  they  turned  upon  Mr. 
Tliomas,  but  he  was  protected  from  their  fury  by  Capt. 
Boyd  at  the  head  of  a  detail  of  police. 

On  the  next  day  he  saw  the  fighting  on  Pratt  Street, 
and  helped  to  carry  to  an  adjacent  drug-store  the 
mortally-wounded  body  of  Needham,  one  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts soldiers.  Before  Gen.  Butler's  entry,  he  was 
several  times  warned  by  the  Volunteer  Association, 
an  organization  of  secessionists,  to  leave  town,  but  he 
stood  firm  and  defied  their  threats.  The  City  Council 
passed  an  act  forbidding  the  raising  of  an  American 
flag  within  the  municipal  limits,  and  a  number  of 
young  men  who  had  hoisted  the  national  colors  on 
Federal  Hill  were  arrested  for  a  violation  of  the  law. 
Mr.  Thomas  volunteered  as  their  counsel,  procured 
their  release  under  writs  of  habeas  corpus,  and  that 
same  night  delivered,  at  a  meeting  at  the  corner  of 
Broadway  and  Bank  Streets,  the  first  Union  speech 
heard  in  Baltimore  succeeding  the  eventful  19th  of 
April.  In  June,  1861,  Mayor  Chapman  appointed  him 
city  counselor,  and  in  1863  he  was  elected  State's 
attorney  by  a  highly  complimentary  majority.  In 
both  positions  he  had  to  defend  the  public  interests  in 
many  important  cases,  contending  before  courts  and 
juries  with  such  intellectual  giants  as  Reverdy  John- 
son, William  Schley,  and  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe.  In  1864, 
while  State's  attorney,  he  was  elected  to  the  Free 


State  Constitutional  Convention,  and  framed  the  ju- 
diciary system  that  was  embodied  in  the  new  consti- 
tution. He  was  a  radical  advocate  of  the  immediate 
emancipation  of  the  slaves  and  no  compensation  to 
slaveholders,  and  also  of  liberal  principles  in  general. 
He  had  the  satisfaction  of  witnessing  the  adoption  of 
his  theories.  In  1865  he  was  elected  by  the  Union 
Republican  party  to  Congress  from  the  Second  District 
of  Maryland,  embracing  Harford  County,  part  of 
Baltimore  County,  and  the  seven  lower  wards  of  the 
city.  In  the  House  of  Representatives,  which  was 
dealing  with  the  momentous  problem  of  reuniting  a 
nation  torn  asunder  in  the  throes  of  civil  war,  Mr. 
Thomas  made  a  record  fit  to  compare  with  that  of  any 
of  the  great  statesmen  of  that  stormy  epoch.  The 
reconstruction  and  reconciliation  policy  of  the  Re- 
publican party  had  no  more  loyal  supporter,  and  his 
votes  will  be  found  recorded  in  favor  of  the  Civil 
Rights  Bill,  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  Bill,  and  a  score 
of  other  measures  bearing  upon  the  rehabilitation  of 
the  Union.  As  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Com- 
merce, he  secured  the  passage  of  a  large  appropria- 
tion for  the  improvement  of  the  ship  channel  of 
Baltimore. 

He  was  nominated  for  Congress  in  1867,  but  the 
Democratic  party  had  by  that  time  gained  the  ascend- 
ancy in  Maryland,  and  he  was  not  re-elected.  In  the 
same  year  Mayor  Chapman  reappointed  him  city 
counselor,  but  upon  the  election  of  Mayor  Banks  he 
resigned  the  office.  In  1864  he  wa-s  appointed  by 
Governor  Bradford  to  enroll  the  militia  in  the  first 
four  wards  of  Baltimore.  In  1866  he  was  chairman 
of  the  Maryland  delegation  to  the  Southern  Loyalist 
Convention,  which  met  at  Philadelphia.  In  1868  he 
was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Republican  Conven- 
tion at  Chicago,  and  supported  Gen.  Grant  for  the 
Presidential  and  Benj.  F.  Wade  for  the  Vice-Presi- 
dential nomination.  When  President  Grant  was  in- 
augurated, the  appointment  of  Mr.  Thomas  as  collec- 

I  tor  of  the  port  of  Baltimore  was  suggested  to  him  by 

j  powerful  political  and  mercantile  influence,  em- 
bracing a  long  list  of  Republican  chieftains  who  had 

I  served  with  him  in  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress.     Mr. 

I  Hayes,  afterwards  President,  wrote  to  President 
Grant,  under  date  of  Feb.  3,  1869,  in  favor  of  the 

1  appointment  of  Mr.  Thoma.s,  saying  that  as  a  mem- 
ber he  "  was  throughout  a  firm  and  able  supporter  of 

I  the  Republican  measures  of  that  Congress  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  policy  of  Andrew  Johnson."  For  four 
years  Mr.  Thomas  filled  the  coUectorship  with  ac- 
ceptability to  the  public  and  honor-  to  himself,  and 
falling  seriously  ill  towards  the  end  of  his  term,  the 
President  failed  to  recommission  him.  In  1876,  Mr. 
Thomas  was  chairman  of  the  Maryland  delegation 
to  the  Republican  National  Convention  at  Cincinnati, 
and  in  the  long  succession  of  ballots  held  the  six- 
teen votes  of  the  State  for  Mr.  Blaine  for  the  Presi- 
dential nomination.  In  the  campaign  of  that  year  he 
officiated  as  chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Cen- 


500 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


tral  Committee,  and  organized  a  vigorous  canvass. 
President  Hayes  was  of  the  opinion  that  great  injus- 
tice had  been  done  Mr.  Thomas  in  his  removal  by 
President  Grant,  and,  in  accordance  witli  tliis  convic- 
tion, reinstated  him  as  collector  in  November,  1877. 
He  is  now  an  applicant  for  continuance  in  office,  and 
the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow-citizens 
received  a  signal  illu.stration  very  recently  when  a 
memorial  asking  his  retention,  and  signed  by  a  ma- 
jority of  the  great  merchants,  bankers,  and  manufac- 
turers of  the  city,  was  presented  to  the  late  President 
Garfield  by  a  delegation  of  these  gentlemen.  They 
represented  many  millions  of  dollars  and  all  the 
largest  commercial  interests,  and  they  gave  the  col- 
lector the  warmest  possible  indorsement,  although 
most  of  them  were  his  political  opponents.  Indeed, 
in  his  first  term  of  office  Mr.  Thomas  remodeled  the 
discipline  of  the  custom-house,  bringing  it  up  to  such 
a  standard  of  efficiency,  and  selecting  subordinates 
from  such  excellent  material,  that  no  considerable 
changes  were  made  by  his  successors.  The  late 
Special  Agent  Lobdell  spoke  of  it  in  an  official  re- 
port as  "  the  model  custom-house  of  the  country." 
The  credit  of  procuring  the  establishment  of  a 
United  States  sub-treasury  at  Baltimore,  thus  placing 
the  city  on  the  same  footing  as  New  York,  to  the 
vast  accommodation  of  our  merchants,  is  wholly  due 
to  Mr.  Thomas'  exertions  through  his  influence  at 
the  Treasury  Department  and  with  members  of  Con- 
gress. He  has  always  understood  and  fostered  the 
welfare  of  his  native  city,  and  claims  legions  of  sincere 
friends  among  all  classes  of  her  people.  He  is  a  forci- 
ble orator,  and  is  gifted  with  a  vein  of  humor  that 
enlivens  his  public  speeches  and  brightens  his  social 
circle.  Mr.  Thomas  married  Miss  Azalia  Hussey,  an 
accomplished  and  lovely  lady,  granddaughter  of  John 
Strobel,  one  of  the  defenders  of  Baltimore  in  1814. 
They  have  three  children  living. 

The  Gas-light  Company  of  Baltimore.— The 
subject  of  lighting  the  streets  of  Baltimore  Town 
was  agitated  as  early  as  1773,  when  a  correspondent 
of  the  Maryland  Journal  suggested  the  i)ropriety  of 
lighting  the  streets  by  lamps  to  be  erected  by  the 
householders,  a  lamp  to  be  placed  in  front  of  every 
sixth  house.  The  cost  to  each  householder  was  esti- 
mated at  tenpence  per  month.  The  first  public  lamp 
that  was  ever  placed  in  position  in  Baltimore  was 
suspended  in  the  centre  of  the  street  at  the  intersec- 
tion of  Baltimore  and  Howard  Streets.  It  could  be 
seen  from  four  directions,  and  was  meant  to  guide 
early  market-men  to  the  market-house.  Shortly  after 
this,  however,  the  suggestions  of  the  correspondent 
referred  to  were  adopted,  and  until  1817  the  streets 
were  lighted  by  oil-lamps.  In  the  mean  time  several 
efforts  were  made  by  scientific  men  to  introduce  an 
improved  light.  In  1802  much  attention  was  attracted 
to  what  was  termed  "  a  philosophical  exhibition"  by 
Benjamin  Henfrey,  who  proposed  to  the  mayor  and 
Citv  Council   of    Baltimore   "to   substitute   for   the 


street-lamps  one  or  more  Light  Houses,  to  be  lighted 
by  means  of  a  certain  inflammable  gas,  with  reflectors 
for  increasing  and  extending  the  rays  of  light,"  but 
the  practicability  of  the  scheme  was  not  demonstrated 
satisfactorily,  and  it  failed  to  receive  the  encourage- 
ment and  support  of  the  municipal  authorities.  Mr. 
Henfrey  then  attempted  to  secure  its  adoption  by 
private  citizens,  and  gave  exhibitions  of  its  capacity 
both  for  lighting  and  warming  rooms,  and  proposed 
for  the  modest  sum  of  five  dollars  to  give  the  right 
to  any  person  to  use  his  discovery  for  lighting  and 
warming  rooms  for  seven  years,  but  failed  in  this 
effort  also.  In  1802,  Mr.  Henfrey  succeeded  in  light- 
ing Richmond,  Va.,  with  gas,  before  it  had  ever  been 
successfully  used  elsewhere.' 

In  1816,  Rembrandt  Peale,  the  proprietor  of  the 
Baltimore  Museum  (old  City  Hall),  gave  exhibitions 
in  his  saloon  of  paintings,  of  the  manner  of  lighting 
houses  by  means  of  "  carburetted  hydrogen  gas,"  as 
discovered  by  Dr.  Benjamin  Kugler,  of  Philadelphia. 
Mr.  Peale  charged  a  small  sum  for  admission  to  see 
the  new  light,  and  it  suggested  to  him  and  others 
the  availability  of  gas  for  general  use,  and  especially 
as  a  substitute  for  oil  in  the  street-lamps.  The  use 
and  combination  of  gases  had  been  understood  by 
science  during  the  seventeenth  century,  but,  with  the 
single  exception  of  Richmond,  Va.,  gas  had  never 
been  availed  of  as  a  light  for  cities,  except  to  a  lim- 
ited extent  in  London.  A  company  was  accordingly 
formed,  entitled  "  The  Gas-light  Company  of  Balti- 
more," composed  of  Rembrandt  Peale,  Wm.  Lorman, 
James  Mosher,  Robert  Carey  Long,  Wm.  Gwynn, 
and  others,  by  whom  a  proposition  was  made  to  the 
mayor  and  City  Council  to  light  the  streets  of  Balti- 
more with  gas.  This  proposition  was  submitted  June 
13,  1816,  at  an  extra  session  called  by  the  mayor  for 
the  purpose.  A  committee  of  three  members  from 
each  Branch  was  appointed  to  examine  the  appar- 
atus erected  by  Mr.  Peale  for  the  manufacture  of  the 
gas,  and  to  make  all  necessary  inquiries  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  intended  to  light  the  streets. 
The  joint  committee  reported  favorably,  and  on  the 
17th  of  June  an  ordinance  was  passed  authorizing 
"The  Gas-light  Company  of  Baltimore"  to  lay  or 
cause  to  be  laid  along  and  under  the  streets,  squares, 
lanes,  and  alleys  of  the  city,  paved  or  unpaved,  such 
and  so  many  pipes  as  may  be  necessary  to  convey  the 
gas  from  their  manufactory  or  manufactories,  which 
they  were  also  by  the  ordinance  authorized  to  estab- 
lish and  carry  on  within  the  city. 

"  The  Gas-light  Company  of  Baltimore"  was  char- 
tered by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  by  an  act  passed 
Feb.  5,  1817,  with  the  original  members  of  the  com- 

1  The  followiug  advertisement  appeared  in  the  Federal  Oaxelie  July  1, 
1817: 

"  Tlie  sulwcriberB  inform  the  public  that  they  have  made  a  machine 
for  making  gas  from  stove  coal,  and  make  it  pure  of  the  very  disagree- 
able smell  said  to  arise  from  the  coal. 

"John  Bowie, 
"Macok  W.  Joii.>-8ox." 


POST-OFFICE,  CUSTOM-HOUSE,  GAS   COMPANIES. 


pany  as  incorporators.  The  act  of  incorporation,  de- 
claring tlie  manner  in  wliicli  the  capital  stock  of  the 
company  should  be  distributed,  set  apart  one  hundred 
shares  to  be  assigned  to  Rembrandt  Peale  over  and 
above  his  proportion  as  a  member  of  the  company,  as 
a  compensation  in  full  for  transferring  to  the  Gas-light 
Company  of  Baltimore  the  patent  right  assigned  to 
him  by  Dr.  Benjamin  Kugler,  of  Philadelphia.  The 
contract  was  made  with  the  city,  and  the  gas-works 
were  located  at  the  corner  of  North  and  Saratoga 
Streets.  The  company  got  fairly  under  way  in  1820, 
its  first  president  being  William  Lorman.  The  first 
public  building  lighted  by  gas  was  the  old  "Mud"  or 
Belvidere  Theatre,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  North 
and  Saratoga  Streets.  The  first  private  building  in 
Baltimore  lighted  by  gas  was  that  of  the  late  Jacob  | 
I.  Cohen,  on  North  Charles  Street;  the  second  that 
of  the  late  Hugh  Birckhead,  on  the  same  street.  To 
the  city  of  Baltimore  belongs  the  honor  of  first  adopt- 
ing gas  for  street  and  general  use,  and  the  Baltimore 
company  was  the  first  anywhere  organized  for  its 
manufacture.  The  first  gas-lamp  erected  and  lighted 
on  the  streets  of  Baltimore  was  on  the  corner  of 
Market  and  Lemon  Streets.  This  lamp  wiis  lighted 
for  the  first  time  Feb.  7,  1817,  and  it  is  stated  by  the 
newspapers  of  those  days  "  that  the  effect  produced 
was  highly  gratifying  to  those  who  had  an  opportunity 
of  witnessing  it,  among  whom  were  several  members 
of  the  Legislature  of  the  State."  Feb.  16,  1818,  only 
twenty-eight  lamps  were  lighted  with  gas.  From 
that  time  the  consumption  of  gas  steadily  increased, 
until,  instead  of  three  original  takers  in  1820,  there 
were,  in  1870,  15,301  consumers  of  gas  in  Baltimore. 
When  Gen.  Columbus  O'Donnell  was  elected  presi- 
dent and  took  charge  of  its  afiiurs  in  1831,  the  whole 
amount  of  capital  paid  in  amounted  to  $250,000,  and 
there  was  a  floating  debt  of  $195,000.  Two  years 
later  .$300,000  were  added  to  the  capital,  making  the 
entire  amount  paid  in  $550,000.  The  original  capital 
was  nearly  all  exhausted  in  experiments  and  by  tlie  use 
of  unsuitable  pipes,  etc.  It  became  necessary  to  pro- 
cure additional  funds  to  sustain  and  carry  on  the  I 
work,  and  to  canvass  the  city  for  new  subscribers,  ' 
many  of  the  old  stockholders  refusing  to  subscribe  for 
additional  stock.  The  directors  were  also  forced  to 
resort  to  loans  based  on  their  individual  credit.  The 
scale  of  charges  was  originally  regulated  by  the  num- 
ber of  burners  used,  but  in  1830  the  present  system 
of  measuring  the  gas  was  introduced. 

In  1846  the  company  had  only  four  gasometers, 
capable  of  holding  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand 
cubic  feet  of  gas,  and  in  that  year  they  erected  a  new 
one  at  the  corner  of  Franklin  and  Little  Davis  Street. 
It  was  not  until  1847  that  gas  was  employed  in  the 
city  markets.  In  that  year  gas-fixtures  were  put  into 
the  new  Belair  Market-house,  and  then  in  Centre 
or  Marsh  Market,  and  soon  afterwards  in  nearly  all  [ 
the  other  markets  of  the  city,  except  the  Lexington  1 
Market,  where  gas  was  not  introduced  until  1851. 


In  1865  the  Baltimore  Gas-light  Company  pur- 
chased from  the  Canton  Company  the  large  tract  of 
land  between  the  old  Kendall  race-course  and  the 
harbor,  north  of  the  old  candle-factory,  with  a  front 
of  over  four  hundred  feet,  and  nearly  as  much  in 
depth,  for  the  sum  of  thirty-five  thousand  dollars, 
and  erected  upon  it  a  large  gasometer,  for  the  purpose 
of  supplying  the  eastern  section  of  the  city. 

On  the  31st  of  November,  1870,  the  franchise-s  and 
property  of  the  Baltimore  Gas-light  Company  were 
sold  to  capitalists  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  for  three 
million  dollars.  The  real  estate  acquired  by  the 
purchase  on  the  part  of  the  Brooklyn  capitalists  con- 
sisted of  between  sixty-five  and  seventy  acres  of  land 
in  South  Baltimore,  near  Spring  Gardens,  valued, 
with  the  improvements  thereon,  at  seven  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  The  improvements  consisted  of  all 
the  necessary  apparatus  for  the  manufacture  of  gas, 
a  number  of  small  dwellings  occupied  by  the  em- 
ployes of  the  company,  the  building  occupied  for 
office  purposes,  fronting  twenty-four  feet  on  South 
Street,  with  a  depth  of  two  hundred  feet  to  Holliday 
Street,  valued  at  seventy  thousand  dollars,  about  five 
acres  of  land  at  Canton,  with  a  water-front  of  four 
hundred  feet,  twelve  brick  dwellings,  and  a  large  gas- 
ometer, and  the  extensive  property  on  North  Holli- 
day Street.  The  works  at  Spring  Gardens,  South  Bal- 
timore, are  said  to  be  the  most  complete  in  the  United 
States.  The  formal  transfer  and  the  last  payment 
were  made  on  the  26th  of  January,  1871.  Gen. 
Columbus  O'Donnell  served  as  the  president  of  the 
company  for  nearly  forty  years.  After  the  sale  and 
transfer  of  the  franchises  and  property  of  the  company 
to  the  Brooklyn  capitalists  the  company  was  reorgan- 
ized, with  S.  L.  Husted  as  president,  and  C.  Oliver 
O'Donnell  as  vice-president. 

"The  Gas-light  Company  of  Baltimore,"  "The 
People's,"  and  "The  Consumers'  Mutual  Gas-light 
Company"  on  July  1,  1880,  consolidated.  The  capi- 
tal stock  was  made  six  millions  of  dollars,  divided 
into  sixty  thousand  shares  of  the  par  value  of  one 
hundred  dollars  each.  Provision  was  made  for  the 
execution  to  trustees  of  a  mortgage  to  secure  the 
payment  of  three  million  six  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars of  the  bonds  of  the  company  or  such  parts  thereof 
in  excess  of  two  million  six  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars as  it  may  be  deemed  advisable  to  issue.  The  first 
board  of  directors  of  the  new  company  was  as  follows : 
William  Sinclair,  Lyman  L.  Husted,  Arthur  W.  Ben- 
son, Austin  Jenkins,  William  F.  Burns,  William  H. 
Graham,  Walter  B.  Brooks,  William  W.  Spence,  John 
W.  Hall,  .lames  A.  Gary,  Henry  James,  and  Bernard 
Carter.  The  presidents  at  this  time  were  William 
Sinclair,  of  the  Gas-light  Company;  William  F. 
Burns,  of  the  People's ;  and  John  W.  Hall,  of  the 
Consumers'  Company.  The  new  company,  under  the 
name  of  the  "  Consolidated  Gas  Company  of  Balti- 
more City,"  began  business  on  the  same  day  at  the 
office  of  the  old  company  on  South  Street. 


502 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  Equitable  Gas  Company  began  to  lay  down 
pipes  in  tlie  streets  of  Hiiltiniore  in  1881,  and  expect 
to  furnish  gas  to  tlie  publie  by  the  1st  of  November 
of  this  year.  It  lias  secured  an  office  in  the  magnifi- 
cent Hoen  Building,  on  the  nortliwcst  corner  of  Lex- 
ington and  Holliday  Streets. 

The  City  Gas  Company  of  Baltimore  was  incor- 
porated under  the  general  incorporation  laws  of  the 
State  on  May  2,  1881,  wilh  the  following  incorpora- 
tors: George  P.  Frick,  William  (i.  Atkinson,  J.  Izard 
Middleton,  John  Gill,  and  Henry  J.  Davidson. 

The  Brush  Electric  Light  Company  of  Balti- 
more was  incorporated  under  the  general  incorpora- 
tion laws  of  the  State  on  April  16,  1881,  with  the  fol- 
lowing incorporators:  Summerfield  Baldwin,  Edgar 
G.  Miller,  Oliver  C.  Zell,  Isaac  Brooks,  Jr.,  William 
T.  Levering,  Edmund  D.  Bigelow,  Dr.  William  Whit- 
ridge,  Jacob  B.  Waidner,  George  H.  Baer,  and  Charles 
D.  Fisher.  The  capital  stock  is  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  divided  into  two  thousand  shares  of  one  hun- 
dred dollars  each  par  value.  The  directors  are  twelve 
in  number,  and  comprise  the  incorporators  named, 
with  William  S.  Rayner  and  Henry  C.  Rinehart.  The 
company  organized  by  the  election  of  Summerfield 
Baldwin,  president;  R.  W.  L.  Rasin,  vice-president; 
Isaac  Brooks,  Jr.,  secretary ;  Oliver  C.  Zell,  treasurer ; 
and  J.  Frank  Morrison,  general  manager. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

THE    TELEGRAPH. 


Tbo  First  Experimente— Morse  Line— First  Alphabet  i 
District  Companies— Telephoue. 

The  first  electro-magnetic  recording  telegraph  line 
in  the  United  Slates  was  established  by  the  govern- 
ment between  Washington  and  Baltimore  in  1844. 
In  1837,  Prof.  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  petitioned  Con- 
gress for  assistance  to  enable  him  to  demonstrate  the 
value  of  his  invention  by  constructing  a  telegraph  line 
between  the  two  cities,  hut  our  incredulous  legislators 
ridiculed  his  invention  as  a  mere  chimera,  and  the 
bill  was  never  called  up.  At  the  session  of  1842, 
Prof.  Morse  renewed  his  application  with  success. 
Mainly  through  the  efforts  of  Hon.  John  P.  Ken- 
nedy, of  Baltimore,  chairman  of  the  House  committee 
to  which  the  bill  had  been  referred,  Congress  on  the 
3d  of  March,  on  the  last  day  of  the  session,  passed  an 
act  appropriating  thirty  thousand  dollars  "  to  test  the 
practicability  of  establishing  a  system  of  electro- 
magnetic telegraph  in  the  United  States."  The 
money  was  placed  under  the  direction  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury;  and  Prof.  Morse,  anxious  to 
prosecute  the  work,  about  the  10th  of  March  recom- 
mended to  the  Secretary  the  following  gentlemen  as 
his  assistants,  who  were  appointed :  Profs.  Leonard 
D.  Gale  and  Jas.  C.  Fisher,'  at  a  salary  of  fifteen 


hundred  dollars  each  per  annum,  and  Alfred  Vail  at 
a  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars.  It  was  the  original 
intention  of  Prof.  Morse  to  lay  the  wires  along  the 
sleepers  of  the  Washington  branch  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad,  encased  in  leaden  pipes  and  under 
ground.  This  mode  was  adopted  in  consequence  of 
its  economy,  but,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter,  it  proved 
a  failure,  and  an  impediment  in  the  tran.smission  of 
j  electricity. 

I      On  the  30th  of  March,  1843,  Prof.  Morse  advertised 
1  in  the  Baltimore  Sun  for  sealed  proposals  for  furnish- 
j  ing  141,500  pounds  of  lead  pipe  and  26,500  pounds  of 
I  Nos.  15,  16,  and  18  copper  wire.     The  contract  was 
awarded  to  parties  in  New  York,  where  the  material 
I  was  made  under  the  direction  of  Prof  L.  D.  Gale,  and 
i  shipped  to  Baltimore  about  October,  1843.     The  pipe 
j  was  about  an  inch  in  diameter,  with  an  internal  diam- 
eter of  half  an  inch.    The  wire  used  as  the  conductor 
was   covered    spirally    by    machinery    with    cotton- 
thread-like  bonnet  wire;  was  saturated  with  a  solu- 
tion of  shellac,  and  then  drawn  through  a  hot  com- 
position of  asphaltum,  beeswax,  rosin,  and  linseed 
oil,  for  the  purpose  of  insulating  it,  and  to  keep  it 
j  from  coming  in  contact  with  the  lead  tubing  through 
which  it  had  to  be  drawn  preparatory  to  laying  it 
under  ground.     At  that  time  gutta-percha  insulation 
was  unknown. 

Permission  having  been  obtained  from  the  presi- 
dent and  directors  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road to  lay  the  wires  alongside  its  track,  a  "signal- 
office"  was  established  at  Mount  Clare  Depot,  in  Me- 
Henry  near  Poppleton  Street,  and  in  November  the 
work  of  laying  the  wires  was  begun  from  this  point. 
The  lead  pipe,  with  four  insulated  copper  wires  in- 
closed, was  buried  some  ten  or  twelve  inches  under 
ground  for  a  distance  of  about  ten  miles  along  the 
line  of  the   Baltimore   and  Ohio  Railroad,  between 
!  Baltimore  and  the  Relay  House,  when  the  work  of 
!  testing  the  insulation  commenced.     The  tests  proved 
that  not  a  single  mile  of  the  wire  was  sufficiently 
insulated,  and  the   underground   mode  of  construc- 
I  tion  had  to  be  abandoned  after  the  expenditure  of 
I  over  fifteen   thousand   dollars  of  the  appropriation. 
This  was  a  great  disappointment  to  Prof.  Morse,  and 
j  his  failure  was  kept  as  quiet  as  possible  for  fear  that 
1  the  public  would  consider  his  invention  unsuccessful, 
and  that  the  Secretary  would  withhold  the  remainder 
of  the  appropriation,  which  was  sufficient  to  continue 
the  experiments.  The  work  was  immediately  stopped, 
and  Prof.  Morse,  on  December  28th,  announced  in  a 
card  that  "the  lateness  of  the  season  embarrasses  fur- 
ther operations  until  spring."     In  the  mean  time  con- 
sultations were  held,  the  apparatus  and  materials  were 
taken  to  Washington,  and  by  permission  of  Hon.  H. 
L.  Ellsworth,  then   commissioner  of  patents,  stored 
in  the  basement  of  the  Patent  Office.     Soon  afler- 

appuinted  mechanical  assistant  at  a  salaiy  of  one  thonsand  dollars  per 
year.    Siibsequeiitly  V.  C,  Avery  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  laboratory, 
'    and  U.  W.  Cleveland  as  line-repairer. 


THE  TELEGRAPH. 


503 


wards  a  portion  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  of 
insulated  wire  remaining  on  hand  was  applied  to  tlie 
construction  of  a  line  on  poles  between  Baltimore  and 
Washington,  under  the  supervision  of  Ezra  Cornell 
as  inspector.  The  poles,  which  were  of  chestnut,  were 
not  barked,  and  each  had  a  cross-arm,  about  four 
feet  long,  bolted  or  nailed  near  the  top,  and  notched 
so  as  to  sustain  four  wires  ;  only  two,  however,  were 
put  up,  and  were  known  as  the  east  and  west  wires. 
They  were  laid  on  a  piece  of  prepared  canvas  satu- 
rated with  a  composition,  a  wooden  wedge  similarly 
saturated  was  driven  in  the  notch  horizontally  to  se- 
cure the  wire,  the  canvas  was  then  drawn  over  the 
wedge,  so  as  to  form  an  insulation  at  the  cross-arm, 
and  a  strip  of  inch  board  properly  prepared  was  nailed 
over  the  top  of  the  cross-arm  as  a  finish.  This  mode 
01  insulating  the  wire  was  very  defective,  and  in  fact 
the  whole  line  was  indifferently  built,  as  Prof.  Morse 
and  his  assistants  had  neither  experience  nor  precedent 
to  follow  in  their  experiments.  To  establish  the  elec- 
tric current,  a  wire  connecting  with  the  pole  of  the 
battery  was  soldered  in  Baltimore  to  a  sheet  of  copper 
five  feet  long  and  two  and  a  half  feet  wide,  and  placed 
in  the  dock  at  the  corner  of  Light  and  Pratt  Streets ; 
in  Washington  the  copper  sheet  was  buried  under  the 
pavement  in  the  dry  dust  of  the  cellar  of  the  capitol. 
This  was  the  arrangement  of  the  circuit  until  the  ad- 
journment of  Congress  in  1844,  wlien  the  plan  was 
changed. 

The  construction  of  the  new  line  was  begun  from 
the  Washington  end,  and  when  six  miles  of  it  had 
been  completed.  Prof.  Morse  made  the  first  experi- 
ment, with  the  following  result,  as  stated  in  the  Na- 
tional Intelligencer  of  the  10th  of  April,  1844 :  "  The 
line  of  conductors  is  constructed  as  far  on  from 
Washington  as  to  a  point  on  the  line  of  the  railroad 
opposite  to  the  residence  of  Charles  B.  Calvert,  Esq. 
(six  miles),  and  the  work  is  making  progress  at  about 
the  rate  of  a  mile  a  day.  A  trial  of  it  was  made  yes- 
terday (April  9th)  as  the  cars  passed  Mr.  Calvert's  by 
communicating  the  fact  of  their  passage  to  this  point, 
at  which  the  line  begins,  in  Washington,  and  an 
answer  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  intelligence 
was  received  back  in  two  or  three  seconds."  On  the 
10th  of  April,  1844,  Prof.  Morse,  in  a  letter  to  Henry 
J.  Rogers,  afterwards  his  assistant  superintendent, 
gives  the  following  account  of  this  first  experiment: 
"  This  morning's  Intelligencer  and  this  evening's 
Madiaonian  have  each  a  notice  of  the  experiment 
made  six  miles  upon  the  telegraph,  which  has  proved 
successful.  ...  I  consider  the  experiment  already 
tried  demonstrates  the  practicability  of  the  plan." 
The  work  was  pushed  forward  rapidly  in  April  and 
May,  and  on  the  19th  of  April  it  was  tested  as  far  as 
Beltsville,  twelve  miles  from  Washington.  On  the 
7th  of  May  the  Baltimore  Sun  informed  its  readers 
that  "  Prof.  Morse's  electro-magnetic  telegraph,  in 
course  of  construction  between  Washington  and  Bal- 
timore, is  now  in  full  operation  a  distance  of  twenty- 


two  miles.  When  the  cars  from  this  city  on  their 
way  to  Washington  on  Wednesday  were  within 
twenty  miles  of  the  latter  city,  information  of  the 
Whig's  nominations  for  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent' was  communicated  by  means  of  the  telegraph. 
The  fluid  traversed  the  whole  twenty-two  miles  and 
back  again,  making  forty-four  miles,  in  no  perceptible 
part  of  a  second  of  time."  On  Friday,  May  24,  1844, 
the  line  was  completed,  and  magnets  and  recording 
instruments  were  attached  to  the  ends  of  the  wires  at 
the  depot  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  in 
Pratt  Street  near  Light,  Baltimore,  and  at  the  Su- 
preme Court  chamber  in  the  capitol  at  Washington. 
Everything  being  ready  for  communication,  Prof. 
Morse  sent  a  messenger  to  Miss  Annie  Ellsworth,  the 
daughter  of  the  commissioner  of  patents,  to  inform 
her  that  the  telegraph  awaited  her  message.  He  had 
promised  her  that  she  should  send  the  first  formal 
message  the  telegraph  conveyed,  as  a  reward  for 
having  given  him  the  earliest  intelligence  of  the  un- 
expected passage  of  the  bill  by  Congress  appropri- 
ating thirty  thousand  dollars  to  test  his  experiment. 
In  response  to  his  announcement  she  sent  for  trans- 
mission the  following  message,  which  was  the  first 
formal  dispatch  ever  sent  by  telegraph :  "  What 
HATH  God  WRotTGHT!"  The  practicability  and 
utility  of  the  invention  were  now  clearly  and  finally 
established,  and  on  Saturday,  May  25th,  messages 
were  exchanged  between  Washington  and  Baltimore. 
The  first  "  press  message"  was  sent  to  the  Baltimore 
Patriot  at  one  p.m.  of  the  same  day,  and  was  pub- 
lished as  follows :  "  One  o'clock. — There  has  just 
been  made  a  motion  in  the  House  to  go  into  com- 
mittee of  the  whole  on  the  Oregon  question.  Re- 
jected,—ayes  79,  nays  86." 

The  use  of  the  telegraph  gradually  grew  into  pub- 
lic favor,  and,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  sketch  of  the  Stcn, 
the  first  President's  message  ever  transmitted  over 
the  wires  was  exclusively  sent  to  that  paper  on  May 
11,  1846,  and  published  in  its  next  issue  on  the  12th. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention  and  the  Ty- 
ler National  Convention  met  in  Baltimore  on  the  27th 
of  May,  1844,  and  during  their  sessions  the  proceed- 
ings were  regularly  telegraphed  to  Washington.  The 
National  Intelligencer  of  the  29th,  in  referring  to  the 
operations  of  the  telegraph  on  the  day  before,  said, 
"  During  the  whole  day  a  crowd  of  persons,  including 
a  number  of  members  of  Congress,  were  in  attendance 
at  the  capitol  to  .receive  the  reports  by  the  telegraph 
of  the  news  from  Baltimore,  which  were  made  at  suc- 
cessive intervals  with  striking  dispatch  and  accuracy, 
and  were  received  by  the  auditors,  as  the  responses  of 
the  ancient  oracle  may  be  supposed  to  have  been, 
with  emotions  corresponding  to  the  various  and  op- 
posite sentiments  of  those  composing  the  assembly. 
Whatever  variety  of  impression  the  news  made  upon 
the  auditory,  however,  there  was  but  one  sentiment 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COLTNTY,  MARYLAND. 


concerning  the  telegraph  itself,  which  was  that  of 
mingled  delight  and  wonder."  The  Washington 
Standard  stated  that  the  north  front  of  the  capitol 
was  crowded  by  an  anxious  multitude,  to  whom  the 
proceedings  of  the  convention  were  announced  from 
the  telegraph-office  at  short  intervals  during  the  day. 
After  the  announcement  of  the  nominations,  which 
were  communicated  in  less  than  ten  minutes  after 
they  occurred,  tlie  persons  present  were  organized  into 
a  meeting,  and  the  following  resolution  adopted : 

"  Bwolred,  That  the  thanks  of  this  meeting  be  and  they  are  hereby 
tendered  to  Prof.  Morse,  for  the  promptitude  with  wliich  he  has  reported, 
via  his  electro-magnetic  tclcgrapli,  the  proceedings  of  tlie  several  Bal- 
timore convenlions,  and  that  we  consider  his  invention  as  worthy  of 
countenance  and  support  of  the  government."  ^ 

In  June,  1844,  Prof  Morse  submitted  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  a  detailed  report  of  his  opera- 
tions in  bringing  his  experiment  to  a  successful  issue, 
and  stated  that  although  it  was  estimated  that  the 
cost  of  the  conducting  wire  in  pipes  would  be  five 
hundred  and  eighty-three  dollars  per  mile,  and  on 
posts  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  the  actual  cost 
was  considerably  less,  and  that  of  the  thirty  thousand 
dollars  appropriated  by  Congress  three  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars  remained  unexpended,  and  would 
probably  suffice  for  current  expenses  until  Congress 
saw  fit  to  extend  the  experiment.  About  July  10th 
Prof.  Morse,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  appointed  Henry  J.  Rogers,  of  Balti- 
more, "the  inventor  of  the  American  telegraph,"  and 
one  of  his  practical  advisers,  "  assistant  superintend- 
ent of  the  line  of  electro-magnetic  telegraph  between 
Washington  and  Baltimore,"  and  he  took  charge  of  the 
office  in  the  latter  city.  Mr.  Rogers  made  many  im- 
provements in  the  telegraphic  system,  and  was  the  in- 
ventor and  owner  of  Rogers'  commercial  code  of 
signals,  which  has  been  adopted  by  the  United  States 
and  British  governments.  He  was  the  inventor  of 
several  telegraphic  instruments  and  improvements, 
and  was  the  first  superintendent  of  the  Bain  line  of 
telegraph  from  Boston  to  Baltimore;  also  superin- 
tendent of  the  North  America,  now  Western  Union 
line,  and  the  Bankers  and  Brokers'  line,  which  was 
subsequently  consolidated  with  the  latter  company. 


1  Uon.  Hendrick  B.  Wriglit,  of  Pennsylvania,  president  of  the  Demo- 
cratic National  Convention  which  nominated  James  K.  Polk  for  Presi- 
dent, in  a  letter  to  the  author  on  this  subject,  says,  "In  connection 
with  this  fact  I  wish  to  state  to  you  an  anecdote  concerning  the  telegraph. 
At  this  date,  May  29, 1844,  the  only  telegraph  iu  the  United  States  was  be- 
tween Baltinioi-e  and  Washington.  I  was  the  president  of  the  convention. 
We  nominated  Silas  Wright  for  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  convention  directed  me  to  notify  him  of  his  nomination  and  learn 
if  he  would  accept  it.  I  sent  a  dispatch,  and  he  answered  immediately 
that  he  declined  the  nomination,  Tiie  convention,  however,  refusetl  to 
consider  the  information  as  authentic.  They  could  not  be  made  to  un- 
derstand this  way  of  communication,  aud.adjourned  the  convention  over 
to  the  next  day  to  enable  a  committee  to  go  to  Washington  by  rail, 
where  Mr.  Wright  was,  and  get  at  the  truth  of  the  fact.  So  we  aiyourned 
over,  and  on  the  next  day  the  committee  came  back  with  the  same  an- 
«wer  we  had  received  by  the  wire.  And  so  incredulous  were  the  great 
mojority  of  the  body  that  after  the  final  adjournment  most  of  us  went 
to  the  telegraphH^fllce  to  see  the  wonderful  invention,  and  oven  when  the 
wires  were  put  in  motion  at  our  suggestion  many  of  the  delegates  shook 
their  heads  and  could  not  but  think  the  whole  tbiiig  a  deception." 


His  last  connection  was  with  the  Southern  and  At- 
lantic line,  as  general  superintendent.  He  died  in 
Baltimore,  Aug.  20,  1879.  During  October,  1844,  the 
line  of  telegraph  was  thrown  open  to  the  public  free 
of  charge  for  the  transmission  of  the  election  returns, 
and  the  following  order  was  issued  by  Prof.  Morse  on 
October  11th  to  his  assistants,  Mr.  Vail,  in  Washing- 
ton, and  Mr.  Rogers,  in  Baltimore,  in  relation  to  the 
subject : 

"  As  there  is  great  interest  taken  hy  the  citizens  generally  of  both 
political  parties  in  the  results  of  the  various  elections  occurring  at  this 
season,  you  will  be  wpecui//^  careful  not  to  give  a  parlimn  cAarocter  to 
any  informatiou  you  may  transmit.  If  you  give  a  result,  note  the  source 
from  which  you  obtain  it.  If  sent  by  any  one,  let  it  be  vouched  by  a 
respectable  name,  and  preserve  a  record  of  the  name.  Send  no  mere 
rumors,  and  as  far  as  practicable  give  only  official  results,  or  such  as  both 
parties  agree  in.  Let  no  one  announce  from  the  rooms  any  intelligence 
<M  «ent  by  tele/jraph,  except  such  an  one  as  you  shall  duly  authorize." 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  mails 
at  Baltimore  and  the  Great  Southern  mail  at  Wash- 
ington during  the  election  excitement  the  telegraph- 
offices  in  those  cities  were  besieged  by  crowds  of  per- 
sons day  and  night  awaiting  the  returns,  and  the  gain 
of  two  or  three  hours  by  the  use  of  the  telegraph 
fully  demonstrated  to  the  public  its  great  superiority 
over  all  other  modes  of  transmitting  intelligence. 
Indeed,  the  desire  to  obtain  information  at  Washing- 
ton was  so  great  that  members  of  the  cabinet  and 
other  prominent  men  frequently  remained  at  the  tele- 
graph-office late  at  night  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the 
telegraph  reports  brought  to  Baltimore  by  the  mails 
from  the  East  and  the  West.  The  first  election 
news  was  received  from  Baltimore  on  Oct.  2,  1844,  as 
follows:  "2  P.M. — Mr.  Vail:  Everything  goes  on 
quietly  except  at  the  Ninth  Ward,  where  the  high 
constable  was  assaulted  in  his  effort  to  arrest  dis- 
orderly persons  interfering  with  the  voters."  "  Mr. 
Rogers:  The  Postmaster-General  wishes  Mr.  Moor 
N.  Falls  to  send  by  the  telegraph  as  soon  as  known 
the  vote  of  Baltimore  City  for  Governor."  Mr.  Rogers 
having  made  arrangements  to  receive  the  returns, 
sent  them  in  detail,  by  wards,  and  these  were  the 
first  election  returns  sent  by  telegraph.  The  candi- 
dates for  Governor  in  Slaryland  were  James  Carroll, 
Democrat,  and  Thomas  G.  Pratt,  Whig.  The  Demo- 
crats carried  the  city  by  1222  majoritj',  but  the  Whigs 
elected  their  Governor  in  the  State  by  a  majority  of 
548.  Upon  receipt  of  these  election  returns,  Mr. 
Vail  sent  Mr.  Rogers  the  following  message:  "Prof. 
Morse  says  in  sending  returns  hereafter  don't  use 
partisan  words,  such  as  'swept,'  'carried,'  nor  send 
another's  opinion  in  regard  to  any  result  of  an  elec- 
tion." As  the  returns  from  the  various  States  were 
,  received  by  the  mails  they  were  sent  by  telegraph  to 
Washington  and  Baltimore,  and  free  bulletins  were 
posted  at  the  telegraph-offices,  which  contributed 
largely  towards  keeping  up  the  excitement  during 
the  campaign.'- 

2  About  this  time  Lewis  Zantzinger  eutered  as  a  pupil  at  tlie  Washing- 
ton office,  and  at  a  later  i)eriod  William  Wood,  who  subsequently  tilled 


THE  TELEGRAPH. 


505 


Previous  to  the  meeting  of  Congress  in  1811  15, 
Alfred  Vail,  the  indefatigable  Washington  superin- 
tendent of  the  telegraph,  prepared  a  dictionary  of 
abbreviated  words  and  phrases  to  be  used  in  trans- 
mitting the  proceedings  of  Congress  to  Baltimore. 
Mr.  Vail  discovered,  when  forwarding  the  election 
returns  of  October,  that  the  receiving  magnet  co'dd 
not  be  worked  so  as  to  transmit  over  twenty  words 
per  minute,  and  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  Balti- 
more afternoon  press  he  was  compelled  to  use  the 
dictionary  described.  A  copy  of  it  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Rogers  to  enable  him  to  decipher  the 
messages  for  the  reporters  of  the  Baltimore  news- 
papers, which  he  did  as  fast  as  they  were  received 
over  the  wire.  Each  phrase  was  indicated  by  a  word 
taken  from  an  ordinary  dictionary,  and  the  words 
were  arranged  alphabetically  and  placed  opposite  to 
the  phrase  to  be  transmitted.  The  phrases  were  also 
arranged  in  alphabetical  order  and  grouped  together 
under  appropriate  headings.  The  names  of  the  officers 
and  members  of  the  two  Houses  were  numbered,  and 
by  this  means  a  large  amount  of  congressional  busi- 
ness was  transmitted  in  a  brief  space  of  time.  This 
method  enabled  the  Baltimore  afternoon  journals  to 
publish  the  news  and  mail  the  papers  before  the  de- 
parture of  the  Eastern  and  Western  trains,  saving  at 
least  twelve  hours  of  time  and  largely  increasing  their 
circulation.  John  Wills,  of  the  Patriot,  and  Mr. 
Peregoy,  of  the  Argu-^,  were  the  reporters  who  re- 
ceived the  proceedings  of  Congress  for  the  afternoon 
papers  as  Mr.  Rogers  read  them  from  the  instrument, 
and  C.  C.  Fulton,  now  proprietor  of  the  Baltimore 
American,  received  the  news  for  the  Sun.  Shortly 
after  the  return  of  Prof.  Morse  from  Europe,  in  the 
winter  of  1811  15.  with  his  new  receiving  magnet,  he 
was  enabled  to  dispense  with  the  dictionary.' 

an  importaut  pogitiun  in  the  !nm>dnction  of  tlie  telegraph  in  Canada. 
At  Baltimore,  Louis  M.  Chateau,  John  H.  Witman,  J.  Hollius  BowIt, 
John  Heald,  and  James  Lindser  entered  the  office  as  pupils,  and  were 
the  earliest  ol«ratore.  All  of  these  gentlemen  snteeqnentlv  filled  im- 
portant posjiions  in  the  telegraphic  service.  J.  D.  Reid  and  C.  T.  Smith 
■were  also  among  the  earliest  operators,  and  upon  the  completion  of  the 
line  hnilt  by  the  Magnetic  Telegraph  Company  betveen  Sew  York  and 
Washington,  the  former  was  appointed  snperiutendent  of  that  company. 
1  The  first  congressional  report  of  any  length  was  transmitted  by 
telegraph  on  Dec.  17,  l&tL  The  first  death  reported  by  telegraph  was 
that  of  Benj.  Fowler,  who  lived  at  Annapolis,  bnt  died  at  Washington, 
Jan.  2,  IS4o.  The  first  mnnier  reported  by  telegraph  was  on  Jan.  11, 
ISlo,  being  that  of  Paul  Kons,  who  was  murdered  by  Henry  McCurij 
in  Baltimore.  An  original  poem,  "  On  the  Changes  of  the  World,"  which 
was  delivered  by  B.  B.  French,  clerk  of  the  House  of  Bepresentatives, 
at  the  C  Street  church,  in  Washington,  on  Jan.  23,  1S45,  was  the  first 
poem  sent  over  the  wires.  The  first  robbery  telegraphed  was  tiiat  of 
Arnold  A  Co.s  dry-goods  store,  on  Pennsylvania  Aveune,  'Washington, 
in  Febraaiy,  18«.  The  first  duel  reported  by  telegraph  was  that  be- 
tween Jno-  H.  Pleasants  and  Thomas  Ritchie,  Jr..  of  Richmoud,  Va. 
The  first  game  of  draughts  played  by  telegraph  was  between  John  Wills, 
of  Baltimore,  and  Alfred  Vail,  the  assistant  telegraph  superintendent  in 
Washington,  on  Nov.  16,  IS44.  Mr.  Wills  was  the  victor.  Washington 
having  challenged  Baltimore  to  the  first  game  of  chess  played  by  tele- 
graph, the  game  was  commenced  on  :Nov.  23,  and  finished  Nov.  25, 1&44, 
between  Mr.  Greene,  of  the  •  Western  Express,'  on  the  part  of  Baltimore, 
and  Dr.  Jones,  of  Washington.  Baltimore  was  again  victorious.  As 
great  anxiety  was  expressed  on  the  part  of  the  public  to  witness  the 
operations  of  the  telegraph,  the  office  in  the  building  of  the  Baltimore 


Prof.  Morse  was  exceedingly  anxious  that  the  in- 
augural proceedings  should  be  reported  in  the  pres- 
ence of  President  Polk  from  the  portico  of  the  capitol 
at  the  time  of  the  ceremonies,  and  to  enable  him  to 
do  this  an  abbreviated  alphabet  was  sent  to  Baltimore 
the  day  previous,  and  he  simply  used  the  key  on  the 
portico,  while  his  receiving  magnet  remained  in  one 
of  the  committee  rooms,  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Vail, 
at  least  fifty  yards  off.  This  enterprising  feat  was 
entirely  successful.  The  President's  message,  how- 
ever, was  sent  by  mail  to  Baltimore  and  distributed 
at  the  post-office,  but  the  composition  of  the  new 
cabinet  was  telegraphed.  In  consequence  of  the  ex- 
haustion of  the  appropriation,  it  was  anonunced  on 
Jan.  30,  1S45,  that  the  operations  of  the  line  would 
be  discontinued  on  February  1st,  but  fortunately  ar- 
rangements weri-  iiiaile  for  its  continuance.-  During 
the  session  of  Cnugre.-v«  an  appropriation  of  eight 
thousand  dollars  was  made  to  continue  the  operations 
of  the  line  under  the  direction  of  the  Postmaster- 
General,  and  this  was  thefirst  postal  telegraph  service. 
The  officers  appointed  by  him  were  Pr<jf.  Morse,  su- 
perintendent: and  Alfred  Vail  and  Henry  J.  Rogers, 
assistant  superintendents :  Henry  W.  Cleveland,  bat- 
tery-tender and  line-repairer.  The  following  is  the 
official  statement  of  the  receipts  of  the  line  between 
Washington  and  Baltimore  from  March  31st  to  Dec. 
31,  1845,  the  rates  charged  being  one  cent  for  two 
words,  the  address  and  signature  costing  the  same  as 
the  body  of  the  message : 

Washington    Baltimore 
Months.                           Terminus.     Terminus. 
April _ - S21J23  S24.« 


October.. 
December.. 


25.67  47J1 

3t.au  40.70 

28.28  30.70 

28.78  30.40 

50.72  51.00 

50.97  4«.95 

61.60  47.69 

51.ai  53.5S 


''The  above  a^^^gate  has  been  raised  by  me  in  different  payments  from 
Prof.  Morse,  Mr.  Tail,  and  Mr-  Rogers,  and  deposited  to  my  credit,  as  dis- 
bursing agent,  in  the  Bank  of  Washington, 


Certifl. 

cate 

J.: 

1S4« 

dated 

Deposits  in  Bank. 
July    S,  1845 $152.86 

„ 

' 

Sept   2;    "     __.    30.40 

Oct.     3,    "     _ 51.00 

"      3,    "     _ _..  10(7.78 

"ToH 
"  5th  Feb., 

Feb.    2,    »     46.95 

"      3,    "     50.4S 

S725.4S 
"  Joss  Mahsok,  Agail. 

and  Ohio  Bailroad,  in  Pratt  near  Ligbt  Street,  was  thrown  open  to  the 
public  on  the  morning  of  Dec.  7, 1844,  from  nine  to  twelve  o'clock,  and 
in  the  afternoon  from  four  to  five  o'clock. 

-  The  following  menage  was  transmitted  through  the  telegraph  on 
Friday.  February  14th,  from  Washington  by  Prof.  Morse  to  his  agent, 
Mr.  Bogers,  in  Baltimore :  "  Please  express  my  regrets  to  the  editors  of 
the  papers  for  whom  the  telegraph  has  reported,  that  the  appropriatioQ 
being  expended,  I  am  compelled  to  stop  operations.  We  shall  all  be 
without  pay  after  the  loth  insC 


506 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


From  this  statement  it  appears  that  the  receipts  of 
the  experimental  line  averaged  over  eighty  dollars 
per  month,  and  its  success  was  so  encouraging  that  pri- 
vate enterprise  soon  entered  this  nevf  field.  Through 
the  efforts  of  Amos  Kendall,  F.  0.  J.  Smith,  Henry 
O'Reilly,  H.  J.  Rogers,  and  others,  companies  were 
organized  and  telegraph  lines  constructed  in  all  parts 
of  the  United  States.' 

Other  cities  were  eager  to  share  the  benefits  of  the 
new  invention,  and  on  March  15,  1845,  the  first  tele- 
graph company  was  organized,  under  the  name  of 
"The  Magnetic  Telegraph  Company."  It  was  incor- 
porated on  Feb.  4,  1847,  with  the  following  incorpo- 
rators :  S.  F.  B.  Morse,  B.  B.  French,  George  C.  Pen- 
niman,  Henry  J.  Rogers,  John  S.  McKim,  I.  R.Trim- 
ble, William  M.  Swain,  John  O.  Stevens,  and  A.  Sid- 
ney Doane.  The  object  of  the  company  was  to  build 
a  line  from  Washington  to  New  York,  and  application 
was  made  to  the  New  Jersey  Railroad  for  permission 
to  locate  the  line  along  their  road  between  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  ;  but  permission  was  refused  on  the 
ground  that  the  telegraph  would  interfere  with  travel 


by  enabling  persons  to  tran.sact  busir 


i  by  its  means  | 
instead  of  using  the  railroad.  The  line,  however,  was  j 
built  over  the  old  stage-road  via  New  Hope  and  Som- 
erville,  N.  J.,  and  it  was  opened  for  business  between 
Philadelphia  and  Newark,  N.  J.,  Jan.  27,  1846.  The  ! 
first  subscribers  to  this  company  were  Corcoran  and 
Riggs,  -flOOO;  B.  B.  French,  $1000 ;  Eliphalet  Case, 
$1000;  Charles  Munroe,  $1000;  Peter  G.Washington, 
$200;  John  F.  Haley,  $1500;  John  E.  Kendall,  $300; 
James  E.  McLoughlin,  $350 ;  Amos  Kendall,  $500 ; 
Daniel  Gold,  $1000;  Simon  Brown,  $500 ;  A.J.Glass- 
brenner,  $500;  E.  Cornell,  $500;  Charles  G.  Page, 
$500;  George  Templeman,  $200;  Henry  J.  Rogers, 
$100;  J.  W.  Murphy,  $100;  A.  W.  Paine,  $.500; 
Francis  F.  J.  Smith,  $700 ;  Furman  Block,  $200 ;  T. 
L.  &  A.  Thomas  Smith,  $200 ;  Keller  &  Grenough, 
$500;  J.  C.  Broadhead,  $500 ;  A.  Thomas  Smith,  $100; 
and  John  W.  Norton,  $1000.  As  the  line  between 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  was  unfinished,  Mr.  Ken- 
dall, the  pre.sident  of  the  company,  made  application 
to  the  leading  journalists  of  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia for  aid  in  placing  about  five  thousand  dollars  of 
the  capital  stock  on  the  market  at  fifty  cents  on  the 
dollar  as  an  inducement  to  new  subscribers.  The 
scheme  failed,  and  application  was  then  made  by  Mr. 
Rogers  to  a  few  friends  in  Baltimore  for  assistance, 
when  Moor  N.  Falls,  John  S.  McKim,  A.  S.  Abell, 
Dr.  James  Hall,  and  George  C.  Penniman  came  for- 
ward and  generously  supplied  a  large  part  of  the 
money  to  build  the  section  between  Baltimore  and 
Philadelphia;  Messrs.  William  M.Swain  and  Sim- 
monds,  of  the  Philadelphia  Ledger,  in  which  Mr.  A. 
S.  Abell,  of  the  Baltimore  Sun,  was  a  partner,  George 


1  lly  reference  to  the  receipts  for  the  first  quarter  of  1846,  wo  find  that 
the  revenue  from  tlio  government  Hue  iucreased  fifty  per  cent,  over  the 
lost  quarter  of  184.'),  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  three  hundred  and 
sixty  dollars,  or  one  liundred  and  twenty  dollars  per  month. 


M.  Hart,  and  other  prominent  Philadelphians  also 
subscribing  liberally  to  further  the  enterprise.  The 
line  was  opened  between  Philadelphia  and  Wilming- 
ton on  April  13,  184(5,  and  between  the  latter  point 
and  Baltimore  on  April  21st  of  the  same  year. 

On  June  6th  the  whole  line  was  successfully  opene<l 
from  Washington  to  New  York,  though  it  was  not  of- 
ficially opened  to  the  public  until  some  days  after- 
wards.'- During  the  winter  frequent  embarrassments 
occurred  by  the  breaking  of  the  wires  by  sleet  and 
high  winds,  thereby  adding  to  the  expense  of  keeping 
the  line  in  repair.  Prof.  Morse  was  convinced  finally 
that  he  must  have  stronger  conductors  than  copper 
wires,  and,  as  an  experiment,  the  first  iron  wire  was 
stretched  during  the  summer  of  1846  from  Philadel- 
phia to  Baltimore,  and  was  found  to  answer  all  pur- 
poses as  well  as  (topper.  About  this  time  onr  relations 
with  Mexico  assumed  a  warlike  aspect,  and  the  news- 
paper proprietors  of  Baltimore  and  the  country  gener- 
ally began  to  make  arrangements  for  the  prompt 
transmission  of  news.  The  telegraph-office  was  the 
place  of  resort  in  Baltimore  every  evening  to  learn 
the  news  from  New  Orleans  by  the  Great  Southern 
Mail'in  regard  to  Texas  and  Mexico.  The  excitement 
at  times  was  intense,  and  as  it  began  to  grow  Prof. 
Morse  issued  the  following  order: 

"  TELEGRAPHIC   ARK.\SGEMENTS. 

"  Washinotos,  1846. 
'*  Sir, — For  the  purpose  of  preventing  any  misunderBtanding  or  jeal- 
ousies in  the  transmission  of  news  by  telegraph,  I  wish  you  to  roalce 
it  known  that  at  six  o'clock  p.m.  each  day,  or  as  soon  as  the  Southern 
mail  shall  arrive,  the  government  telegraph  will  send  to  Baltimore  any 
public  intelligence  which  shall  come  by  such  mail.  Each  person  at 
Baltimore  wishing  the  same  shall  be  allowed  to  come  into  the  oRice,  and 
by  paying  the  charges,  two  w.irds  for  one  cent,  can  take  a  copy.  But 
when  news  is  receiving  you  are  to  shut  your  doors ;  let  people  in  but  not 
out  till  all  is  completed.  If  news  arrives  here  before  the  mail,  it  must 
of  couree  have  precedence. 

"S.  F.  B.  MOKSE, 
"  Superintendent  Electro- Magnetic  Telegraphs." 

As  soon  as  the  war  began  the  Baltimore  Su?i,  to 
gain  time,  commenced  to  run  a  pony-express  from  the 
landing  of  the  Southern  mail-boat  to  the  telegraph- 
oflBce  over  the  city  post-office,  on  Seventh  Street 
near  F  Street,  Washington.  Their  dispatches  were 
prepared  on  board  the  boat  as  she  steamed  up  the 
Potomac,  and  upon  arrival  at  the  wharf  they  were 
placed  in  charge  of  the  express-rider  for  delivery  at 
the  telegraph-office,  to  be  transmitted  over  the  wires 

-  The  Baltimore  and  Wilmington  wires  passed  over  the  tops  of  the 
houses  from  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  city,  by  way  of  Pratt  Street,  to 
the  top  of  the  shot-tower  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Fayette  and  Front 
Streets,  and  thence  to  the  telegraphK)IHce  in  the  third  story  of  the  post- 
office  building,  then  situated  at  the  corner  of  North  and  Fayette  Streets. 
While  telegraph  lines  were  thus  extending  to  the  North,  the  people  of 
the  South  were  not  unmindful  ot  the  advantages  of  the  new  moflo  of 
communication,  and  as  early  as  April  8, 1845,  the  first  Southern  contract 
was  signed  by  Amos  Kendall,  the  agent  of  Prof.  Morse,  with  H.  H. 
O'Callaghan,  of  the  New  Orleans  Cre»cenl  Oily,  for  the  extension  of  the 
line  from  Washington  to  New  Orleans.  The  energy  and  enterprise  of 
Mr.  O'Callaghan  was  fully  demonstrated  during  the  winter  of  1844-.45 
in  the  estaldishment  of  an  exclusive  jirivate  express  on  a  portion  of  the 
Southern  route,  whereby  he  was  enabled  to  beat  the  United  States  mail 
twenty-four  hours  in  its  arrival  at  New  Orleans. 


THE   TELEGRAPH. 


507 


to  Baltimore  with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  By 
adopting  this  course  the  Sun  was  generally  ahead  of 
its  competitors.  Frequently  the  boat  failed  to  con- 
nect at  Washington  with  the  cars  leaving  for  Balti- 
more, and  in  that  case  the  "  war  news,"  as  received 
at  the  Sun  office  by  telegraph,  was  ready  for  trans- 
mission to  the  Eastern  papers  when  the  Washington 
train  arrived  in  Baltimore,  and  was  mailed  as  the 
train  passed  through  the  city  on  its  way  East.  By 
this  method  news  was  frequently  received  in  Balti- 
more and  the  North  and  East  from  twelve  to  twenty- 
four  hours  in  advance  of  the  delayed  Southern 
mails.  John  Wills,  of  the  Baltimore  Patriot,  and  C. 
C.  Fulton,  then  of  the  Baltimore  Sun,  but  now  pro- 
prietor of  the  American,  were  the  leading  reporters  of 
war  and  commercial  news  at  the  time  in  the  United 
States,  and  frequently  made  up  their  letters  for  the 
Eastern  and  Northern  papers  in  the  Baltimore  tele- 
graph-office. Mr.  Wills  was  the  first  to  prepare  a 
"  cipher-book"  of  commercial  phrases  adapted  to  his 
business.  It  was  alphabetically  arranged  for  the  con- 
venience of  newspaper  editors  and  correspondents. 
Messrs.  Wills  and  Fulton  always  availed  themselves 
of  the  use  of  the  telegraph  for  "  press  news,"  and  it 
was  mainly  through  their  foresight  and  efforts  that  a 
general  system  of  telegraphic  reporting  was  first  in- 
troduced in  this  country.  In  the  mean  time  new  tel- 
egraphic lines  were  stretching  out  in  all  sections.  In 
July,  1847,  Mr.  Rogers,  the  efficient  superintendent 
of  the  Baltimore  telegraph-office,  who  had  been  con- 
nected with  Prof.  Morse  from  the  inception  of  his 
invention,  resigned  his  position,  and  John  H.  Whit- 
man took  his  place.  Through  the  untiring  enterprise 
and  perseverance  of  Mr.  Rogers  a  new  company  was 
formed  in  Baltimore  called  "  The  American  Telegraph 
Company."  It  was  incorporated  on  Jan.  12,  1848, 
with  the  following  incorporatore  :  H.  McKim,  Zenus 
Barnum,  Moor  N.  Falls,  AVilliam  McKim,  D.  Paine, 
Josiah  Lee,  Henry  J.  Rogers,  and  George  C.  Penni- 
man.'  The  manager  of  this  new  company  was  Mr. 
O'Reilly,  and  the  office  was  in  the  depot  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Susquehanna  Railroad.  Shortly  afterwards 
the  office  was  removed  to  Carroll  Hall,  and  on  Jan.  1, 
1852,  to  the  Sun  iron  building.  The  line  was  open  to 
Mount  Vernon  Factory,  at  Woodberry,  Baltimore  Co., 
on  Jan.  11,  1848,  when  the  first  experiment  was  made. 
It  was  completed  to  York,  Pa.,  on  May  9th,  and  on  the 
20tb  of  October  the  telegraphic  apparatus  of  ilr.  Bain 
was  put  in  operation  on  the  line. 

The  Western  Telegraph  Company,  on  Nov.  11, 1848, 
was  permanently  organized  by  the  election  of  the  fol- 
lowing officers :  John  F.  Pickell,  president ;  Thomas 
J,  McKaig,  treasurer;  and  Howard  Kennedy,  secre- 
tary and  superintendent.  The  lines  of  thLs  company 
extended  from  Washington  to  Frederick,  Md.,  and 
from  thence  to  Wheeling,  Va.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  thence  to  the  South 


and  Southwest,  and  were  opened  to  Cumberland  on 
Aug.  25, 1848.  The  first  telegraphic  de-patch  received 
in  Baltimore  from  the  West  was  from  Cincinnati,  on 
Aug.  20,  1847,  by  way  of  Philadelphia.  The  Morse 
telegraphic  line  opened  communication  from  Rich- 
mond to  Washington  and  Baltimore  for  the  first 
time  on  July  24,  1847 ;  to  Petersburg,  Va.,  Sept.  4th  ; 
to  Charleston,  S.  C,  Feb.  16,  1848;  to  New  Orleans, 
Aug.  10, 1848 ;  to  Norfolk,  Va.,  Oct.  11, 1849 ;  to  Dan- 
ville, March  29,  1850;  to  Ellicott's  Mills,  Md.,  July 
15,  1850;  and  to  Westminster,  Carroll  Co.,  Md.,  May 
26,  1864.  On  April  1,  1847,  the  Magnetic  Telegraph 
Company  lor  the  Morse  line)  removed  from  the  post- 
office  building  to  Carroll  Hall,  at  the  southeast  corner 
of  Calvert  and  Baltimore  Streets.  On  April  1,  1848, 
it  removed  to  the  Exchange  Building,  and  on  .July 
12,  1851,  it  removed  to  a  fine  office  in  the  second 
story  of  the  Sun  iron  building,  on  the  South  Street 
side.  The  New  Orleans  Morse  line  and  the  Western 
Morse  line  also  had  offices  on  the  same  floor,  in  im- 
mediate connection  with  the  Magnetic  Company. 
During  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1848  all  the 
telegraph-offices  were  opened,  after  November  5th, 
for  the  first  time  night  and  day,  for  the  purpose  of 
transmitting  the  returns.  When  the  election  was 
over,  however,  they  were  only  kept  open  during  the 
day.  This  continued  to  be  the  case  until  April  23, 
1857,  when  the  oflSces  were  opened  at  all  hours,  day 
and  night,  for  the  transaction  of  business,  and  this 
rule  has  been  continued  ever  since.  From  the  first 
establishment  of  Morse's  telegraph  some  of  the  first 
scientific  minds  of  the  country  had  endeavored  to 
invent  a  plan  by  which  the  telegraphic  wire  could  be 
carried  under  water  without  interfering  with  the  pas- 
sage of  the  electric  current,  and  various  costly  ex- 
periments were  made  without  success ;  and  the  idea 
was  finally  almost  abandoned  as  impracticable.  The 
first  experiments  in  this  direction  were  made  on  Dec. 
28,  1844,  at  Washington,  by  Mr.  Colt,  an  inventor  of 
a  submarine  battery.  He  exploded  several  of  his 
"  combustible  substances"  at  a  considerable  distance 
under  water ;  and  proposed  to  the  government  to  per- 
manently fortify  any  harbor  by  this  means  at  a  cost 
not  exceeding  that  of  a  steamship  of  war.* 

Gutta-percha  first  became  an  article  of  commerce 
about  1845,  but  its  insulating  properties  were  not 
then  known.  In  that  year  Prof.  Morse  attempted 
to  insulate  a  wire  with  a  composition  of  beeswax, 
asphaltum,  and  cotton  yarn,  and  failed.  In  1848, 
Ezra  Cornell  and  Prof.  Morse  endeavored  to  lay  a 
cable  across  the  Hudson  River  to  Fort  Lee  by  the 
use  of  a  mixture  of  asphalt  and  hemp,  and  after- 
wards strung  the  wire  with  glass  beads  and  inclosed 
it  in  a  lead  pipe,  but  without  success  in  either  case. 
Finding  that  he  could  not  invent  a  submarine  cable 

-  The  line,  as  originally  conftrncted  l<etween  Baltimore  and  Fbiladel- 
phia,  on  reaching  Havre  de  Grace  vas  carried  up  the  banks  of  the 
Susquehanna  KiTer  to  the  Port  Deposit  bridge,  and  then  down  the 
Cecil  County  ^de  to  PerrymansTille. 


508 


HISTORV   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


capable  of  conducting  electricity,  the  wires  were  run 
by  Prof.  Morse  to  Jersey  City,  and  the  messages  con- 
veyed across  the  Hudson  to  New  York  on  a  steam- 
boat. Afterwards  the  wires  were  run  up  and  across 
the  Hudson  to  the  city,  and  on  Jan.  20,  1849,  the 
through  line  from  Baltimore  to  New  York  was  opened 
direct  to  the  latter  city.' 

Prof  Faraday  was  the  first  to  make  public  the  insu- 
lating properties  of  gutta-percha,  in  an  article  pub- 
lished in  England  in  March,  18-lS.  Before  this,  how- 
ever, Geo.  B.  Simpson  had  filed  an  application  for  a 
patent  in  the  United  States  Patent  Office  for  the  insu- 
lation of  telegraph  with  gutta-percha.  This  applica- 
tion, which  was  dated  the  22d  of  November,  1847,  was 
sworn  to  and  filed  in  January,  1848,  more  than  a  month 
before  Faraday's  announcement.  The  inventor  at  that 
time  was  too  poor  to  pay  the  fee  of  the  Patent  Office, 
and  remained  in  the  greatest  poverty  all  his  life.  He 
filed  a  second  or  amended  application  for  a  patent  in 
February,  1848,  and  a  third  in  April,  1849,  at  which 
time  he  succeeded  in  paying  the  Patent  Office  fee  of 
thirty  dollars  by  the  assistance  of  the  late  Horace 
H.  Day,  who  lent  him  the  money  on  condition  that  if 
the  application  for  a  patent  was  rejected  he  should 
return  it.  In  November,  1848,  he  e.xhibited  his  sub- 
marine telegraph  invention  at  the  Washington  Hall 
Fair  in  Baltimore,  where  it  was  tested  and  found  suc- 
cessful, and  he  received  the  unanimous  commendation 
of  the  press  of  the  city.-' 

He  also  as  early  as  December,  1847,  exhibited  his 
invention  to  the  late  Amos  Kendall  and  F.  O.  J. 
Smith,  in  Cincinnati.  In  1850  his  application  was  re- 
jected by  the  Patent  Office,  which  referred  him  to  the 
officers  of  the  Magnetic  Telegraph  Company,  which 
claimed  priority  in  the  invention.^ 

Their  know^ledge  on  the  subject  appears,  however, 
to  have  been  entirely  derived  from  him.  The  Patent 
Office  repulsed  his  repeated  applications,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  withdraw  his  fee  by  his  agreement  with 
Day.    He  then  worked  his  way  out  to  the  Pacific 


1  In  tlie  spriug  of  1848  a  man  named  Downing  built  an  aerial  line 
from  Philadelphia  to  New  York,  the  wires  of  which  were  covered  with 
India-rubber,  but  it  too  proved  a  failure. 

2"SUBHAEINE  Teleoraph.— Mr.  George  B.  Simpson,  who  ia  now  iii 
attendance  at  the  Fair  at  Washington  Hall,  haa  shown  us  a  plan  for  a 
submarine  telegraph  of  which  he  ia  the  inventor,  and  for  which  an  ap- 
plication for  a  patent  has  been  made.  The  design  is  to  form  some  mode 
by  which  electricity  may  be  conveyed  under  the  water  or  in  the  earth 
without  the  current  being  broken.  The  inventor  proposes  to  effect  the 
object  by  insulating  the  metallic  wire  by  covering  it  with  a  j-Ia^.-^  bead 
chain  socketed  and  cIm-i1\  iim-l  l-j.  il,.i      Tin-  ^],[^-  .li;uii  is  ty  be 

covered  with  an  iiiM'ln  I  :•    i  .i'    ,   ,.         m  ,;  .:,:,,■  ni:,  jninteil, 

banded,  and  cementi-ii  I  i  ■  i  i  m  i  i  (,,.i  ,.i  i.jnf  elec- 
tricity.     TIm'  IiloJecl   1j:i-    Hi.  1    \\  nil    -iml.    ,1  l,i\-i:il.K - 1 .  !-■  i  .itioii    from 

1  ■i.\;  '  I  I  I  I  i-il'ility.  If  successful,  and  we  see  but  tittle  objec- 
III  1  I  II  I  I  I  I  tnoet  important  invention,  the  result  of  which  in 
k.ihi.iiiil:  i  n  t  ■  1 1 1   i  ihl-  cau  scarcely  bo  estimated."— BaWmore  Sun,  Nov. 


3  H.  W.  Cleveland,  an  assistant  of  Prof.  Morse  in  the  Baltimore  oflice, 
ia  April,  1847,  invented  a  subnnirine  telegraph,  which  he  tested  across 
the  bed  of  the  stream  at  Gtiupowdor  River  draw-bridge  between  Balti- 
more and  Havre  de  Grace,  and  it  was  eminently 


coast  between  1852  and  1857,  in  the  hopes  of  obtain- 
ing money  to  renew  and  prosecute  his  application. 
He  returned  in  1858  to  find  his  invention  largely  in 
u.se.  He  had  accumulated  a  little  money,  and  promptly 
renewed  his  application  for  the  jiatent.  It  was  again 
rejected  by  the  Patent  Office,  the  commissioner  con- 
tVssiiiL'  tlial  the  ])revious  decision  had  been  erroneous, 
l>iii  :illc  jjirii;  that  it  was  now  too  late  to  obtaiua  patent. 
.Mr.  Siiiiiis.iii  persevered  from  1858  to  1866,  filing  re- 
peated applications  with  all  the  different  Commission- 
ers of  Patents  who  were  in  office  during  that  time. 
In  1862  he  presented  an  application  to  Congress  for 
relief,  and  received  a  most  favorable  report  upon  the 
originality  and  novelty  of  his  invention.  Finally,  in 
1867,  after  twenty  years'  litigation  in  the  Patent  Office, 
his  efforts  were  crowned  with  success,  and  a  patent  was 
issued  to  him  as  the  originator  of  the  first  practical 
method  of  constructing  an  ocean  telegraph.  Simpson, 
however,  died  within  a  few  months  after  the  grant  of 
the  patent,  being  then  a  paymaster  in  the  United 
States  army.  His  death  was  caused  by  yellow  fever, 
in  New  Orleans,  in  October,  1867.  The  patent  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Clinton  G.  Colgate,  the  a.ssignee  of 
the  late  Arthur  M.  Eastman,  who  began  suit  against 
the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  in  1872,  pray- 
ing for  an  account  of  profits  and  damages. 

Prof  Morse,  the  founder  of  telegraph  lines  in  Amer- 
ica, died  in  New  York  on  April  2,  1872,  and,  agree- 
ably to  the  call  of  the  Morse  Memorial  Committee  of 
Washington,  memorial  meetings  were  held  on  April 
16th  in  all  the  principal  cities  of  the  United  States. 
In  Baltimore  the  meeting  was  held  in  the  "  Morse 
Building,"  on  Fayette  Street  near  North,  which  had 
been  loaned  for  the  purpose  by  the  owner,  A.  S.  Abell, 
the  friend  and  early  associate  of  Prof.  Morse.  The 
telegraph  lines  were  run  into  the  building,  and  the 
meeting  placed  in  communication  with  all  the  prin- 
cipal cities  of  the  world.  It  was  presided  over  by 
Mayor  J.  Vansant,  with  the  following  vice-presidents : 
Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson,  C.  J.  M.  Gwinn,  A.  S.  Abell, 
C.  C.  Fulton,  William  H.  Carpenter,  F.  Raine,  E.  M. 
Yerger,  William  Schnautfer,  John  Wills,  William  R. 
Cole,  J.  E.  Anderson,  C.  J.  Fox,  Kennedy  Duff",  Jr., 
Roger  B.  Pearson,  and  A.  AVilson,  Jr. ;  Messrs.  R.  J. 
Kerr  and  Archibald  W^ilson  were  appointed  secretaries. 
An  appropriate  message  was  submitted  by  John  T. 
Crow,  and  ordered  by  tlie  lucetiiig  to  be  transmitted 
to  Washington  to  the  M..i-(  Mi  iiiorial  Association.  A 
series  of  resolutiou^  i.llnc.l  hy  Keverdy  Johnson  were 
adopted,  and  messages  were  sent  and  received  from  sev- 
eral imi)ortant  cities. 

The  American  Union  Telegraph  Company  was 
incorporated  under  the  general  incorporation  laws 
of  the  State  in  Baltimore  July  11,  1879,  with  the 
following  incorporators :  Robert  T.  Baldwin,  Fer- 
dinand C.  Latrobe,  William  F.  Frick,  Charles  A. 
Tinker,  Upshur  Johnson,  Robert  Garrett,  and  John 
Gill.  It  was  begun  as  an  auxiliary  to  the  Baltimore 
an<l  Ohi.)  Railroad,  but  earlv  in  1881  it  was  absorbed 


THE  TELEGRAPH. 


509 


by  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company.  The  In- 
sulated Lines  Telegraph  Company  was  opened  for 
business  between  Boston,  Providence,  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Washington  on  Jan.  9, 
1866.  The  office  was  at  No.  125  West  Baltimore 
Street,  with  Joseph  W.  Wightman  as  president;  S.  F. 
Van  Choate,  general  agent  and  superintendent;  Ed- 
ward Hamilton,  secretary  and  treasurer.  It  was 
also  absorbed  by  the  Western  Union,  together  with 
the  Franklin,  the  Independent,  the  Atlantic  and  Pa- 
cific, the  Bankers'  and  Brokers',  the  Continental,  and 
other  companies  which  once  existed  in  Baltimore. 

American  District  Telegraph  Company.— This 
company  was  chartered  July  24,  1874,  and  was  organ- 
ized July  29th  of  the  same  year.  It  has  offices  at  the 
Western  Union  office,  southwest  corner  Baltimore 
and  Calvert  Streets,  at  9J^  Eutaw  Street,  53  Rich- 
mond Street,  105  South  Broadway,  Gay  and  Lombard 
Streets,  32  South  Street,  and  at  Edmondson  Avenue 
and  Carey  Street.  It  furnishes  uniformed  messen- 
gers for  any  service  called  through  the  medium  of 
automatic  telegraph-boxes,  placed  in  residences  and 
business  houses.  It  also  has  connection  with  the 
City  Fire  Alarm,  Salvage  Corps,  and  Police  Depart- 
ments, any  of  which  can  be  instantly  commanded 
through  the  automatic  signals  by  turning  the  crank 
of  the  box. 

On  Oct.  1,  1881,  this  company  and  the  Union  Dis- 
trict Telegraph  Company,  and  the  Domestic  Tele- 
graph Company  (a  local  telegraph  organization  which 
was  owned  and  operated  by  the  Western  Union  Tele- 
graph Company),  consolidated  under  the  name  of 
"  The  American  District  Telegraph  Company."  The 
capital  stock  of  the  new  corporation  was  fixed  at 
$500,000,  in  100,000  shares  of  the  par  value  of  $5.00 
each.  The  officers  of  the  new  company  are  Harry 
Fisher,  president ;  Herman  F.  Meyer,  secretary ; 
James  Scott,  Jr.,  treasurer;  and  J.  B.  Teakle,  general 
manager.  Directors :  Decatur  H.  Miller,  Samuel  H. 
Adams,  Harry  Fisher  (who  had  been  president  of  the 


American  Telegraph  Company  from  its  organization), 
Robert  Garrett,  Thomas  T.  Eckert,  James  Sloan,  Jr., 
RobertT.  Baldwin,  David  A.  Bates,  Charles  A.  Tinker, 
F.  C.  Latrobe,  John  King,  Jr.,  Wm.  T.  Frick,  and 
Edward  Higgins. 

The  Union  District  Telegraph  Company  was  or- 
ganized in  May,  1880,  and  chartered  in  October  of  the 
same  year.  It  did  a  general  telegraph  business,  in- 
cluding messenger  service,  and  employed  sixty-five 
messenger-boys,  and  twenty  adults  in  the  capacity  of 
operators,  clerks,  etc.  C.  F.  McCulloh  was  superin- 
tendent; C.  A.  Tinker,  general  manager;  and  Robert 
Garrett,  president. 

The  Maryland  Telephone  Company  was  organ- 
ized in  1878,  and  chartered  August  30th  of  the  same 
year,  for  the  construction,  owning,  and  operating  of 
telephone  and  telegraph  lines  in  the  State  of  Maryland, 
including  Baltimore  City,  with  a  capital  of  $50,000, 
and  with  Augustus  G.  Davis,  John  H.  C.  Watts, 
Alan  P.  Smith,  Frederick  L.  Moale,  of  Baltimore 
City,  and  George  R.  Blanchard,  of  New  York,  as  in- 
corporators and  directors.  The  present  exchange  sys- 
tem was  organized  in  1879.  The  executive  officers 
and  the  Exchange  are  located  in  the  American  build- 
ing ;  the  former  on  the  basement  floor.  No.  121  West 
Baltimore  Street,  the  latter  occupying  a  portion  of 
the  third,  the  whole  of  the  fourth  story,  and  the  entire 
roof.  Branch  exchanges  are  located  in  the  principal 
towns  in  Maryland  and  contiguous  towns  of  West 
Virginia.  Private  lines  abound  throughout  the  city 
and  State,  some  connected,  others  not  connected,  with 
the  Exchanges.  Under  the  same  management  thereare 
Exchanges  in  Copenhagen,  Denmark ;  in  St.  Peters- 
burg, Russia ;  in  Madrid,  Spain ;  and  at  Demerara, 
South  America.  The  capacity  of  the  Baltimore  Ex- 
change is  for  one  thousand  wires;  it  has  more  than 
nine  hundred  subscribers,  employs  nearly  one  hun- 
dred persons,  and  is  in  constant  operation  night  and 
day.  A.  G.  Davis  is  president;  A.  Wilson,  Jr.,  super- 
intendent ;   F.  L.  Moale,  secretary  and  treasurer. 


Tax  Returns  of  Miscellaneous  Corporations  in  Baltimore  City. 

(FROM    THE   OFFICE   OF  THE   STATE   TAX   COMMISSIONER   OF   MARYLAND   FOR   1881.) 


No.  of 
Shaies. 

American  District  Telegraph  Company 6,000 

Allstou  Company I,'.i00 

Abbott  Iron  Uoujpany 5,000 

Atlantic  and  Geoifri-'-  Crr-U  r  .„..,M,l:it...l  rv,;il  fnnipniiv 100,000 

American  MKiiUlurl li,, ,   2,600 

American  Gas  C.i;iM  .  125,000 

Atlantic  Building  A-       i    i  

Astor  Mutual  Bui  him-    \--  .  i.. i 

Asbiiry  Building  A6.-,o*.i.iUv'ii,  .N._.,  .; 


Each  Sliare. 
S15.00 
28.121^ 


:t;i,750.00 
200,000.00 
100,000.00 
60,000.00 
62,500.00 
4,860.00 
32,924.02 
9,700.00 
7,730.76 
14,678.18 
16,200.00 
8,075.51 
2,803.75 
18,050.00 
22,600.00 
10,000.00 
36.172.00 
400,000.00 
59,710.00 
1,480,000.00 


'  Amount  of  credits  allowed  for  investments  paying  taxes,  ^000. 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


NaMK  or  COKTOBATIOS. 

Baltimore  and  Philailelpliia  Steamboat  Company 

Baltimore  Warehouso  Company 

Baltimore  Coal  Tar  and  Manufaoturing  Company 

Baltimore,  Chesnpeake,  and  Rlclinioud  Steamboat  Company. 

Baltimore  and  Harford  Turnpike  Company 

Baltimore  and  Havre  de  Grace  Turnpike  Company 

Baltiniore  City  Fertilizing  Manufacturing  Company 

Beaver  Dam  Marble  Company ■■ 

Baltimore  Butobers'  Hide  and  TmII   »    \,»,,  :  ,ii  ,i,   N.i.  1 

Baltimore  Gazette  Publishing  (  .  rni       i  

Broadway  and  Locust  Point  .Sti  mm i  I    .  i  >  i  mi  ,i  i 

Baltimore  Kkvotor  Conipanv 

Baltimore  K.|uil,iM-  Sn,  iety.     A-  i~  

Baltimon^  Kill,     l..!;;-!  M tin;;  ('.„,. |.;.iiy 


2,500 
2,000 
1,327 


100.00 

"siio 

60.00 
lOO.OO 


Border  state  Perpetual  BuiWir 
Balimore  and  Liberty  Turnpik 
Baltimore  Savings,  Loan,  and 
Baltimorn  I'.MiiuuR'iit  ISuil.lin. 

BallimiH'.  .mt  ''>-!'  '' '"  '•  '•' 

Ballinvnr  !■■■  !       '  ' 

Baltinj.ii.    11     i    . 
Baltini.M.    I 

Border  M.ii.    I    >    ■  :        '■■ 

Bochemi.   w    ■  i        i 

Baltim.Mv  -,  ,,  ,    i  . 

Bttltini.ii..  !■.  ,  ,  II       I  .    ■     ' 

Belviden    1,1 

Ballinioi'  ■"   ■  >■  i 

Baltinini.    .       II       '  I 

Baltimni.   1  I        I- 

Bee-Hiv.    i 

ButcbiT»'    I 

Baltimi.i-  I'      i'        '     "    '    > 

Baltim.'ir  I      

Baltim.M.   -  1  I  II 


100.00 

"i'oo.'ob 


S61,647.( 
"';i3,94'7.C 


4,500.00 
49,426.00 
7,:>44.0O 


75,217.00 
155,155.00 
194,291.00 


188,986.00        

56,694.00  303,099.60 

2,050.00        

37,779.00        

157,491.26 


18,438.00        

"46,206.06     '."'."."".v.... 
"iLSM.oo     "'.".""■.■.'.'.'.'. 


Citizens'   1: 

CariiaK''  "       ' 
Carrolltn,,  >,.>m.. 
Corner  Hill  and  ; 
Central  Union  1'. 
Caroline  Street  I' 

Chester  Biver  Steamboat  CoTiiii.  II,  

Commercial  Mutual  Building  Ai-i  i.ni-  n  

Clark  Combination  Lock  Conipitnj 

City  of  Baltimore  Building  Assocwtion,  No.  2 

Corn  Exchange  Buildings  Company 

Citizens'  Security  and  Land  Company 

Columbia  Building  Association,  No.  .i 

Consolidated  Real  Estate  and  Fire  Insurance  Company 

Chew  Street  Bocliemic  Building  Association,  No.  1 

Centennial  Building  Association,  No.  1 

Citizens'  Permanent  Building,  Savings,  and  Loan  Company.. 

Central  Mutual  Building  Association 

Canton  Ciiii|ii.iiy  ..f  r.i.Uimnre 

Cedar  Ui'll  1  ..n.i.i-  ■,„„,, any 

Cotton-1' -  I    iii|,ih.»         


Druid  Hill  Building  Association,  No.  3.. 
David  Reus  Permanent  Loan  and  Savings  Company.. 
Druid  Hill  Avnimo  Pernimienl  niiildinu  AbsoluiIiou. 
Druid  Hill    \>,iinr'  Vnti,,n:il  V.niMin--   \---."-lHtlo„  ... 


1,000.00 
20.00 
100.00 


100.00 
i',o66!66 


2,738  00 

1,657,408.00 

81,016.00 


6,433.41 

"'mw.oo 

'l3,766!66 


17,334.00 
10,800.00 
15,974.76 


8,643  20 
■18,842.66 


Eager  Strtet  Building  Aasu 
Exchange  Mutual  Perman< 
Kxcliango  Permanent  Savii 
Eagle  Loui,  and  HuiIdi,,K.s 


Fire-Pii. 
Fountain 


Fourth  German  Anieiican  J-iii! ■'   n 

FIftli  Geiniail  American  Hiiililiii:    \.,    iinn  

Fort  Avenue  Permanent  Biiildiu,.  -V.......  i.uiuo 

Federal  Hill  Perpetual  Building  AK»m;iHtion 

Friinklln  Square  Building  and  Loan  Associatioli. 


14,389,00 
19,600.00 
S4  06.S.45 
40,679.06 
1,175.50 
1,176.60 


THE  TELEGRAPH. 


Name  of  Cobpobatiox. 

FuUoD  Street  Permauent  Building  Association 

Firet  Monumental  Co-operative  Boot  and  Shoe  Manufacturing  Co.. 

Fayette  Association  of  Baltimore  City 

George's  Creek  Coal  and  Iron  Company , 

GuniwwderCi'pper  Wuiks , 

George  Scliwerin  Building  Association,  No.  2 

German  Building  and  Savings  Association,  No.  i 

Greenmount  Mutual  Building  Association 

George  Washington  Buildiifg  Association,  E 


German  Homestead  Ass<.>ciatioD 

Gerniania  Savings  Association,  No.  2 

Gemiania  Good  Will  Building  Association 

German  Building  and  Savings  Association,  No.  5.. 

Gray  MHUufacturiug  Company 

Grant  Building  Association..." 

German  Central  Building  Association.  No.  2 

Great  Eastern  Building  Association,  No.  6 , 

Granite  Roofing  Company 

Germania  Building  Association,  No.  15 

No.  16 

No.  17 - 

Gough  Street  Building  Association,  No.  6 

Gustar  Adolpfa  Building  and  Loan  Association 

Germania  Club-House  Association 

Harlem  Stage  Company 

Harmony  Perpetual  Loan  and  Savings  Company.. 

Hanover  Loan  and  Savings  Company 

Hampshire  and  Baltimore  Coal  Company 

Howard  Land  Company  of  the  City  of  Baltimore 

Howard  Relief  Building  Association,  No.  3 

Harlem  Permanent  Building  As 
Home  Building  Association,  No. 


No.i 


Harrison  Permanent  Building 

Harrison  Building  Association,  No.  9 

Hampstead  Building  Association,  No.  11 

No.  12 

Harmony  Building  Association,  No.  14 

No.  15 

Hollins  Land,  Homestead,  and  Loan  Company 

Homestead  Association 

Hyde  Turbine  Soap  Company.,  

Imperial  Land  and  LoauC'.iii[  i    .        

Independent  Building  AssvH.  I  r:    ■     \  

Industrial  Permanent  BuJl'imu  ^i-- ■  lo     [,,  \   . :; 

Jennings  Filter  Manufacturiug  *  ._.u.i..iii> 

Kenrick  Building  Associatiuu,  No.  -1 '. 

Light  Street  Building  Association.".....V..."""".V.V.V.V."V 

Liberal  Building  Association 

Lexington  Monumental  Building  Association 

Lloyd  Street  3Iutual  Building  Association 

Log  Cabin  Permanent  Building  Association. 

No.  2. 

Loyola  Perpetual  Building  Association 

Loyola  Permanent  Building  Association.  No.  5 

Monumental  Fire  Insurance  Company 

Maryland  White  Lead  Company 

Merchants'  Shot-Tuwer  Comp-tiiy 

Merchants"  and  Miners'  TransptiVtation  Company 

Maryland  Floating  Elevator  Company 

Marviand  Steamboat  Company 

Maryland  Fertilizing  and  Manufacturing  Company 

Maryland  Telephone  Company 

Merchants*  and  Mechanics*  Permanent  Buildingand  Loan  Company. 

Maryland  Permanent  Land  and  Building  Society 

Mount  Clare  Permanent  Loan  and  Building  Association 

Mechanics*  Lexington  Permanent  Building  and  Loan  Aeso'n,  No.  6.. 

Maryland  Mutual  Permanent  Building  and  Loan  Company 

Monumental  Perpetual  Building  and  Savings  Society,  No.  5 

Maryland  Beneficial  Association 

Maryland  Institute  Building  Association,  No.  3 

Sladison  Square  Building  Association,  No.  1 

Mount  Vernon  Building  Association,  No.  3 

Mechanics'  Hall  Perpetual  Loan  and  Savings  Society 

Madison  Avenue  Land  and  Building  Association 

Mount  Vernon  Company  of  Baltimore 

Maryland  Academy  of  Music 

Monumental  Gasoline  Street  Lamp  Manufacturing  Company 

Mount  Carroll  Land  C..w[m.y 


Marvla,,:   1  ^    : 

New  Vnrl,    ,       1.,  •   ::   n  LineCoDlpanT 

Natatoiiuu.  ......  1  ,,>,.. ...  ,  ...i^,^  A,»iMatiou 

Ninth  M  est  Ci>liinil'iii  Building  .\K30Ciation 

Newington  Laud  and  Loan  Company 

New  Michaels  Building  Association 

North  Howard  Building  Association,  No.  3 .............!!!!.. 


North  Bond  Street  ; 


lilding  Association,  I 


No.  of 

Par  Val. 

As-d  Val.  of 

Agg.  Val.  of 

AsM  Val.  of 

Mortgages, 

Shares. 

of  Each. 

Each  Share. 

Shares. 

Keal  Prop. 





812,331.00 

?l,621.00 

eiO,710.0(» 

600 

S12.00 

"si'i.'ix) 

7,200.00 

240 

100.00 

76.82M 

18,438.00 

"■i8,43«;«i 

...."..!!!...: 

10,972 

lOO.IKI 

95.00 

1,042,340.00 

684,078.00 

1,900 

20.00 

17.00 

32,300.00 

e50 

i&ioo 

128.07  Jl 

83,2i0.00 

""s'lSooiwi 

!"!!!!!"!!!! 

301 

50.25 

15,125.25 

6,979.7& 

25,704.00 

26,704.00' 





70,028.00 

5,478.00 

eiisscoa 

7,671.00 

29,292.55 

""6,4.V6:m 

^imss 

20,794.35 

3,891.00 

16,90:5.35 





17,539.80 

4,610.00 

12,929.80 

3,210.00 

3,210.00 

28,600.00 

28,600.00 

8,327.25 

8,327.25 

8,59200 

8,592.00 

"iVsw 

UJO.OO 

tii.oo 

84,500.00 
25,700.00 

7i,'266166 

"25^66:66 

8,680.00 

8,680.00 

7,571.75 

""soo 

5.00 

5.00 

4,000.00 
10,285.00 
10,388.00 

2,953.00 
12;611.25 

6,376.85 

::::•::;:::::: 

zEE 



29,420.00 

"29,426!66 

........'.....'. 

500 

""40.06 

""45.06 

22,500.00 

10,929.00 

13,894.75 

13,894!75 

:;;;;:;■• 

::;:;::;:;: 

:;:;;;;;; 

27,31505 
48,60i.00 

1,744'.66 
48  6W.00 

25,571.05 

93.611.00 

931611,00 

......... 

!!..!!!!!.! 

24,373.00 

24;J73.00 

!!!!!!!!!!!! 

26,017.00 

v"m>.M 

60 

100.00 

60.62 

3,637.50 

1,437 

92.50 

132,922.50 
4695.00 

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

i32,922'i6 

'iVeVi 

""75.M 

125,:i25.00 

i25','325.66 

29,400.00 

!.!...!! 

29,400.00 

15,049.73 

1,044.00 

14,005.73 

25,472.90 

25,472.90 

14,283.00 

14,283.00 







16,664  00 

."'.. 

51,287.50 

"siiSfso 

12,500.00 

12,500.00 

""iao 

■■io6:s 

100.00 

15,000.00. 

4,100.00 

10,900.00 

7,200.00 

7,200.00 

3,000  00 

............... 

38.176.00 

10,539.00 

"22',577.6i 

"•■:: 

":;;-;;;; 

■;;;;""" 

10,800.00 
2,840.00 

10,800.00 

"sso 

"loo'.oo 

l(j6 

580.00 

61,037.00 

!!....!!!!!!.." 

_ 

26,003.2.0 





3,56:105 



"'3,563'.(B 

43,100.00 

31,049(10 

31,049.00 

10,420.75 

26,47388 

10,187.(X) 

"l6,286ji8 

9,004  30 

9,004.30 

628 

:;;;;;;;;;; 

""16.56 

10,362.00 
14,602.00 

:;z::::::::. 

10,112.00 

i,'287 

"moo 

■"96:66 

115,830.00 

"■44,885.'S 

"56,'659'ii 

299^ 

1,000.00 

600.00 

179,700.00 

74,437.00 

1,697 

25.00 

35.00 

59;i95.00 

28,342.00 

6,000 

100  00 

65.00 

390,000.00 

.............. 

50 

100.00 

50.00 

2.50O.OO 

1.697 

100.00 

50.00 

84,850.00 

"i',ooo.h6 

1.050 

100.00 

116.00 

120.750.00 

20,173.00 

.............. 

2,000 

loo.uo 

17.00 

34,t00.00 

885 

250.00 

210.00 

185,850.00 
90,977.00 

"19,427:66 
90,977.00 

108','ll5.13 

:::::::: 

::::::::::. 

:;::::::::: 

ll^9.S 
330.13 

::;;::::::;: 

"h'sssm 

18,769.60 
330.13 

14,900.00 

14,900.00 

360.00 

........ 

........... 

........... 

3,172.50 

............... 

"iVssHJ'.w 

293 

72.50 

21,242.50 

10,65750 

::;;;;;;;;: 

5,871.00 
27,854.94 

3,444.25 

....... 

........... 

76,483.011 

"'76|483!66 

.............. 

'l,99'6 

50.00 

23000 

459.080.00 

291.024.00 

134,500.00 

134,500.00 

is 

moo 

3,690.00 

36.000.00 

........ 

.........." 

3,000.00 

................ 

.......".... 

6,578.00 

........ 

...'. 

35,658.00 

".".'.'. 

.............. 

00,000 

LOO 

3,000.00 

14,625 

20.00 

15.00 

219,375.00 

49,563.00 

300 

100.00 

114.97V4 

34,492  00 

34,492.00 

33,o8(f.56 

20,243.00 

"l3^7.56 

35,600.00 

10,442.00 

7,410.00 

.........'. 

"!!!!!!!!! 

5,000.00 

1,766;66 

.............. 

""353 

"ino.oo 

61.00 

2i.5a3.OO 

442 

100.00 

22.75 

10,055.50 

17,483.45 

""2,466.'66 

"i5;6a:45 

HISTORY   OF   BALTIMOBJ;   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Name  Of  Cobporation. 

North  Bond  Street  Building  Associatiou,  No.  8 

Nortl,  ll,u;,.hv„y  BuiMinK  A>«..c.alion   No.4......... 

\Miil.  I'lMn    li   ■^^:rMl'  f   vm  A^iocltttion,  No.i.. 
i^-'  ,,l    li/r,  ,,,  .,,   r,--,  I,     I  l;;iiUvay  Company 

,,'i'  ':     '  I       ,  >       '  '■•'^  Company 


I'alHiw,.. 
FoloJlliU: 

Patapsci) 
feabody 


7,760 
"2,000 


Par  Val.     As'd  Val.  of  Agg.  Val.  of 

of  Eath.    Each  Share.  Shares. 

$9,315.00 

"" 11,350.00 

5,6il2.00 


122.00 
3.00 
39.00 


4.00 

"iso.oo 


12,200.00 
450,000.00 

10,257.00 
388,070.00 

33,000.00 


56,000.00 
72,000.00 
1,302.25 


85,238.00  84,077.00 
3,600.00 


248^73.00 
"ufiiiiM 


1,302.25 
8,745.67 
16,302.69 
18,066.00 
6,640.00 


Railroad' Permanent  Building  Association 

Ridgely  Buildi'ng  Association.... .............. 

Koli^rt  Emmett  Perpetual  Building  Asaocmti" 

Relief  Building  Association 

Safe  Depcisit  an.l  Trust  Company^ 


Sycamnn 
Sixth  Gp 

South  Sli 




■i  7118  119 

3,847.76 

2,226.00 

4,974.00 

6(26  00 



'2:"o3:w 

2oO3  0O 

12,280.00 

38,875.00 

2  5j1  ij 

'Imom 



li;.54s.0ll 
19  7(1111111 

■■ 



184  000 

9,18.5.110 

90,720.00 

100.00 

100.00 

500,000.00 

239,250.00 

1 00.00 

100.00 

12.50 

5,000,00 



10.00 

10.00 

110,000.00 

■■■51,805.06 

40.00 
8.00 

100.00 

2,0110.00 

14,418.0(1 

100.00 

2.00 

24..i.-7.0il 

24,587.00 



lll-i,ll!>.00 

12,410.00 

89  70O00 

8,1.-A7.5 

.5,317.75 

1,496.00 

92;8'mG8 

9'  884  68 

;;; 



79,U79  04 

'         No.  5 ""• 

Thistle  Manufacturing  Company • 

Third  fienimii  Anieii.aii  Building  Association -^- 

Tv:,nMi-Kn:..VMir:'"v  .     -... ::z:::::z   oiimo- 

'  '''  "  1'-'";'  '■■'■'-<'' ■"!'■"'     107 

'  ■  '  ■ '  J;"^  *^  ^  '  2,103 

William  Tull  Uuildiiii;  As^ii.  iiilioii 

Washington  Fire  Insurance  ajiniiaiiy - ■•■  ■ 

Winana  I'erniaiient  Land  and  Loan  Company ■■;■■ 

West  End.Savings  Association 

1  Amount  of  credits  allowed  for  investnients  paying  taxes,  S400. 
3  Ibid.,  $36,000. 


100.00  75.00 

100.00  100.00 

100.00  110.00 


3,874.(10         

6',747!oo     !!!!!!;"" 

100,00000  71,350.00 

129,878.57  6,214.00        123,664.57 

137,500.00  30,385.00        .".... 

9,000.00        

12,525.00  5,763.00        

210,300.00        

06,000.00        •■■•■•■■■•" 

10(K)00  ijOOO.W 

4',aoo;(io     •'•S29-29 

288380.66    .      123,646.00        164,734.65 

64,197.86  1,918.00          52,279.86 

3,916.00         

!  Ibid.,  S550. 


INNS,  TAVERNS,  AND   HOTELS. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

INNS,  TAVERNS,  AND  HOTELS. 

B.\LTIM0RE  iuns  and  taverns,  old  and  new,  have 
always  been  famous.  Their  cuisine  has,  as  a  rule, 
never  been  excelled,  and  some  exceptional  qualities 
in  it  have  made  the  hotels  always  talked  about  very 
widely.  The  old-fashioned  vast  blue,  white-canvased 
Conestoga  wagons,  their  grand  Pennsylvania  horses, 
the  stage-coaches,  and  the  taverns  or  inns,  with  their 
conspicuous,  swinging  signs,  their  substantial  fare, 
wide  yards,  and  liberal  stables,  and  the  frocked  wag- 
oners and  teamsters  who  drove  or  tended  their  stalwart 
beasts  for  burthen  or  for  market,  are  fast  passing  away. 
These  taverns  and  their  signs  were  frequent  reminders 
to  Englishmen  of  the  country  inns  found  in  every  Bri- 
tish town  and  hamlet.  These  were  the  times  of  horse- 
back and  saddle-bag  traveling.  Most  of  our  citizens 
who  have  not  passed  far  beyond  middle  life  will 
still  remember  the  "  Golden  Horse"  which  swung  so 
gaudily  at  the  northwestern  corner  of  Franklin  and 
Howard  Streets,  and  the  "  White  Swan,"  which  still 
floats,  like  a  dim  ghost  of  its  former  self,  on  the  sign 
a  square  beyond,  at  the  southeastern  corner  of  Frank- 
lin and  Eutaw  Streets;  while  the  "Golden  Lamb" 
reclined  in  its  rich  yellow  fleece  until  a  few  years 
ago  at  the  northwestern  corner  of  Paca  and  Franklin 
Streets,  until  it  was  supplanted  by  a  confectionery ; 
or  the  "  Black  Bear"  and  some  other  couotry  inns 
beyond  the  turn  of  Franklin  Street  into  Pennsylvania 
Avenue.  Then  there  was  the  "Hand  Tavern"  and 
yard,  still  surviving,  on  Paca  near  Lexington  Street, 
giving  refuge  to  the  market-people  and  their  wagons 
and  cattle ;  and  the  chained  "  Black  Bear"  Inn, 
designed  for  the  same  purpose,  next  to  the  corner 
of  Howard,  on  Saratoga  Street,  where  the  Bevans 
now  cut  and  carve  their  marble  mantels  and  tombs. 
The  more  aristocratic  "  General  Wayne  Inn,"  Gugle 
&  Frost's  stylish  hostelry,  for  Western  travelers, 
horse-dealers,  and  cattle-drovers,  was  at  the  corner  of 
Paca  aind  Baltimore  Streets,  where  the  Revolutionary 
hero  still  faintly  survives  on  the  weather-beaten  sign 
which  was  raised  to  its  present  place  near  fifty  years 
ago.  The  "  May-Pole"  was  still  farther  south  of  this, 
on  Paca  and  German  Streets,  and  the  "  Three  Tuns 
Tavern"  yet  beyond,  at  the  corner  of  Paca  and  Pratt 
Streets.  These  were  the  main  houses  of  entertain- 
ment, cattle-yards,  and  stables  for  horse-dealers, 
wagoners,  and  cattle-men  west  of  the  Falls,  while 
Old  Town  had  its  famous  "  Bull's  Head,"  on  Front 
Street,  the  "  Rising  Sun,"  on  High  Street,  and  the 
well-known  "  Habbersett's,"  whose  hospitable  doors 
anjj  excellent  stables  are  always  open  to  dealers  and 
farmers  of  Harford  County  especially. 

The  old  "  Fountain  Inn,"  with  its  limpid,  gushing 
sign,  was  always  the  pet  of  the  Eastern  Shoremen  (so 
accessible  as  they  came  up  Light  Street  from  the 
Basin),  long  after  it  ceased  to  be  the  pet  of  the  Presi- 
dents, after  Jefferson's  day,  and  the  rise  of  the  "  In- 


dian Queen"  under  Gadsby's  auspices,  and  long  sub- 
sequently to  "  Barnum's,"  in  Monument  Square,  and 
to   the  "  Eutaw  House,"  which  were   the    two   first 

I  that  wholly  discarded  the  old-fashioned  index  of  a 
sign.     There  was  also  the  "  Globe  Inn,"   on    Balti- 

{  more  and  Howard  Streets.  At  most  of  these,  in  the 
days  of  turnpikes,  the  daily,  tri-weekly,  or  weekly 
stilge-cpach  called  regularly,  with  sounding  horn,  to 
take  up  the  passengers  "booked"  at  the  oflice.  The 
western  taverns  were  filled  with  stanch,  rough  team- 
sters and  drovers,  and  the  tavern-yards  generally  oc- 
cupied by  fat  cattle  for  the  shambles,  and  splendid 
horses  for  sale,  trade,  or  swap ;  while  westwardly  from 
Howard  Street,  along  Franklin  to  its  junction  with 
Pennsylvania  Avenue,  and  out  the  avenue  to  George 
Street,  and  often  beyond  it,  in  the  busy  season  one- 
half  of  this  great  highway  was  nightly  blocked  up  by 
the  ponderous  Conestoga  wagons,  and  their  superb 
teams  feeding  or  munching  in  a  trough  fastened  to 
the  wagon-poles.  Next  day  they  delivered  their  flour, 
whisky,  and  provisions  along  Howard  and  other 
streets,  and  quickly  reloaded  with  groceries,  dry  and 
fancy  goods  for  the  West,  and  speedily  set  forth  with 
their  four  or  six-in-hand  teams,  each  animal  tinkling 
his  jolly  crest  of  a  dozen  bells  along  the  narrow  de- 
files of  the  Alleghanies,  the  drivers  cracking  their 
huge,  savage  whips,  giving  notice  of  each  other's  ap- 

i  proach  in  the  many  passes  of  tlie  mountains  or 
valleys. 

The  early  directories  of  Baltimore  throw  a  great 
deal  of  light  upon  these  early  inns  and  taverns  of  the 
town.     In  the  first  directory  of  Baltimore,  published 

I  in  1796,  which  contains  only  3240  names,  there  are, 
including  two  coff'ee-houses  and  one  cook-shop,  the 
names  and  sites  of  ninety-eight  taverns  and  inns. 
These  taverns  were  mostly  small  ones,  what  would 
now  be  called  sailors'  boarding-houses  and  country 
taverns.      Of  the  entire  number  fifty-nine   were   in 

!  Old  Town  and  Fell's  Point,  eight  in  Thames  Street, 
and  twelve  in  Bond  Street,  or  more  than  half  as  many 

I  in  these  two  streets  as  in  the  whole  of  the  city  west 

I  of  the  Falls.  The  number  and  locality  of  these  tav- 
erns show  what  sort  of  travel  chiefly  came  to  Balti- 

!  more  at  that  time.     It  was  a  sea-faring  population, 

!  clustering  about  deep  water,  come  after  produce,  and 
the  drivers  and  attendants  of  country  teams,  frequent- 
ing the  wagon  taverns  on  the  great  public  roads,  come 
to  bring  flour,  hides,  bark,  provisions,  tobacco,  ashes, 
etc.,  for  barter  and  shipment.  Thebigup-town  hotels 
got  their  patronage  from  transient  travel,  from  West- 
ern Shore  planters  and  Eastern  Shore  farmers,  but  it 
was  the  taverns  about  the  wharves  and  on  the  roads 
which  did  the  largest  business.  These  taverns  on  the 
wharves,  however,  were  nearly  all  of  them  small,  and 
probably  Gadsby's  (Evans'  it  was  then)  "Indian 
Queen"  or  Beltzhoover's  (Bryden's  it  was  then) 
"  Fountain  Inn"  contained  each  of  them  a  larger 
number  of  rooms  and  beds  than  all  the  taverns  on 
Bond  Street  put  together. 


5U 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE  CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Our  Baltimore  tavern-keepers  began  to  get  their 
training  early.  There  are  already  two  inns  set  down 
in  John  Moale's  rude  sketch  of  the  town  in  1752,  one 
Rogers',  northeast  corner  of  Calvert  and  Baltimore 
Streets;  the  other  Payne's,  corner  of  Calvert  and 
Mercer  Streets  {which  latter  street  was  known  as  Bank 
Street  in  1796  and  1804). 

In  1757,  Jacob  Myers,  from  Pennsylvania,  estab- 
lished an  inn  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Baltimore 
and  Gay  Streets,  one  having  been  built  on  the  south- 
west corner  in  1753  by  Valentine  Larsh.  In  1761  two 
inns  were  built,  one  by  Amos  Fogg  on  the  corner  of 
Market  (now  Baltimore)  and  Hanover  Streets  {out  of 
which  grew  the  "Indian  Queen");  the  other,  called 
the  "  White  Horse,"  corner  of  Front  and  Low  Streets. 
In  1773  we  note  the  existence  of  a  coffee-house  on 
Fell's  Point,  and  in  1778,  Stenson,  who  had  kept  a 
sort  of  restaurant  before  on  the  corner  of  East  {Fay- 
ette) and  HoUiday  Streets,  opened  a  modern  coffee- 
house on  the  southwest  corner  of  South  and  Baltimore 
Streets.  Fogg's  tavern  was  probably  called  "  Indian 
Queen"  very  soon  after  he  took  it.  The  directory  of 
1796  shows  us  that  in  that  year  the  "  Golden  Horse," 
kept  by  W.  Forsyth,  was  in  existence,  and  also  the 
"Wheatfield  Inn,"  kept  by  Nathaniel  Hussey.  At 
this  time  Nowland  kept  the  tavern  southwest  corner 
of  Baltimore  and  Liberty  Streets,  opposite  Congress 
Hall,  which  was  originally  founded  by  George  Rein- 
icker. 

The  "Indian  ftueen"  Hotel.— The  old  "Indian 
Queen"  Hotel  was  situated  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
Hanover  and  Baltimore  Streets.  The  date  of  its  erec- 
tion is  uncertain,  but  it  was  probably  among  the  very 
earliest  public-houses  in  Baltimore  Town.  In  1782  it 
was  kept  by  Daniel  Grant,  who  in  December  of  that 
year  removed  "  to  his  large,  new,  and  elegant  house 
in  Light  Lane,  between  Market  Street  and  Ellicott's 
Wharf,  where  the  '  Fountain  Inn'  is  opened."  Grant's 
immediate  successor  at  the  "  Indian  Queen"  is  not 
known,  but  in  1794  the  hotel  was  kept  by  Jacob  Starck, 
who  died  on  the  3d  of  April,  1803.  In  1796  it  passed 
into  the  possession  of  William  Evans,  to  whom  Balti- 
more was  "indebted  for  her  first  regular  line  of  com- 
munication with  her  sister-cities  North  and  South. 
Evans  died  on  the  28th  of  June,  1807,  and  in  October, 
1808,  John  Gadsby,  the  founder  of  "  Gadsby's  Hotel," 
in  Washington,  took  charge  of  the  "  Indian  Queen." 

In  1819,  David  Barnum,  who  subsequently  built 
"Barnum's  City  Hotel,"  was  landlord  of  the  famous 
old  hostelry,  and  was  followed  by  King,  and  in  1826 
by  William  Beltzhoover,  who  introduced  many  changes 
in  the  management.  In  1832,  Mr.  Beltzhoover,  who 
had  removed  to  the  "Fountain  Inn,"  was  succeeded 
by  Capt.  Reuben  Newcombe,  who  was  the  lessee  at 
the  time  it  was  closed  preparatory  to  its  demolition. 
The  title  to  the  property  came  into  the  possession  of 
James  Piper  after  the  death  of  William  Evans,  and 
is  still  retained  in  his  family.  The  premises  extended 
from  Baltimore  to  German  Street,  and  the  building 


itself  was  a  place  of  great  celebrity  in  its  day,  and 
many  of  the  mo.st  distinguished  men  of  the  past  were 
entertained  within  its  walls. 

The  "Fountain  Inn."— The  "Fountain  Inn,"  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  Light  Street  and  Lovely  Lane 
(now  German  Street),  was  for  many  years  one  of  the 
historic   landmarks   of   the  city.     It   was    probably 


erected  during  the  Revolutiuu,  as  the  first  mention 
made  of  it  is  in  September,  1781,  when  Gen.  Wa.sh- 
ington,  accompanied  by  Adjt.-Gen.  Hand  and  other 
officers  of  distinction,  arrived  in  Baltimore  on  their 
way  to  Virginia,  and  found  accommodations  at  its 
refreshing  and  friendly  sign.  In  December,  1782, 
Daniel  Grant  removed  from  the  "  Indian  Queen" 
tavern  into  "  his  large,  new,  and  elegant  house  in 
Light  Lane,  between  Market  Street  and  Ellicott's 
Wharf,  where  the  'Fountain  Inn'  is  opened  for  the 
reception  and  entertainment  of  such  gentlemen  and 
ladies,  travelers  or  others,  as  shall  be  pleased  to  honor 
his  house  with  their  company."  James  Bryden  suc- 
ceeded Grant  in  the  management,  and  from  his  ad- 
vertisements in  the  journals  of  the  day  we  learn  that 
the  inn  "  cost  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  had  attached 
to  it  a  ball-room,  hair-dresser's  room,  stables  for 
eighty  horses,  and  various  outhouses."  In  the  great 
fire  of  Dec.  4,  1796,  the  inn,  which  stood  opposite  the 
Methodist  meeting-house,  was  with  difiiculty  saved 
from  the  flames,  and  owed  its  preservation  to  the 
exertions  of  a  traveler,  Mr.  Francis  Charlton,  of 
Yorktown,  Va.  In  1808,  John  H.  Barney  succeeded 
Bryden  at  the  "  Fountain  Inn,"  and  continued  to  be 
its  manager  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1832  the  old 
building  was  thoroughly  renovated  and  repaired,  and 
made  equal  to  the  demands  of  the  times.  It  passed 
into  the  hands  of  a  succession  of  landlords,  and  was 
closed  for.  a  time  previous  to  1843,  but  on  the  24th 
of  June  in  that  year  was  reopened  by  Messrs.  Dix 
and  Fogg.  At  length,  after  nearly  a  century  of  faith- 
ful service,  the  old  building  was  forced  to  give  way 


INNS,  TAVERNS,  AND   HOTELS. 


before  the  rivalry  of  the  hotels  of  to-day,  and  the  site 
upon  which  it  once  stood  is  now  occupied  by  a  mag- 
nificent successor  in  the  "  Carrollton  Hotel."  The 
historic  associations  connected  with  the  locality,  how- 
ever, still  survive,  and  in  spite  of  the  many  changes 
which  modern  progress  have  wrought,  recall  them- 
selves to  the  minds  of  those  familiar  with  the  history 
of  the  city.  It  was  the  favorite  stopping-place  of 
Gen.  Washington,  and  was  honored  with  the  presence 
of  Lafayette  during  his  visit  to  Baltimore  in  1824,  as 
well  as  on  several  previous  occasions. 

In  1871  a  number  of  enterprising  citizens  deter- 
mined to  form  a  stock  company  for  the  purpose  of 
building  a  new  hotel  upon  the  site  of  the  "  Fountain 
Inn."  The  old  hotel  was  torn  down,  and  the  present 
magnificent  "  Carrollton  Hotel"  was  erected  on  its  site 
in  1872.  It  is  six  stories  high,  with  a  Mansard  roof 
and  tower,  fronting  on  Light,  Baltimore,  and  German 
Streets.  It  was  named  after  the  distinguished  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton,  the  last  survivor  of  the  signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The  building 
contains  three  hundred  and  fifty  spacious  and  elegant 
apartments,  fitted  up  as  family  rooms,  special  guest 
and  bridal  chambers,  with  all  the  modern  conve- 
niences. Each  floor  is  provided  with  bath-rooms, 
water-closets,  hose,  fire-extinguishers,  fire-escapes, 
electric  call-bells,  and  a  large  elevator  constantly 
runs  from  office-floor  to  the  top  of  the  building. 
Telegraphs  and  telephones  connect  the  hotel  with 
the  outside  world.  The  hotel-office  is  the  finest  in 
the  city.  Col.  R.  B.  Coleman  was  selected  as  the 
first  manager  of  the  "  Carrollton,"  and  was  succeeded 
in  1879  by  his  sou,  Maj.  F.  W.  Coleman,  who  has 
had  considerable  experience  with  his  father  in  hotel 
management,  his  father  having  formerly  kept  the 
"Eutaw  House"  of  Baltimore,  the  "  Astor"  and  "St. 
Nicholas"  of  New  York,  and  the  "  International" 
of  Niagara  Falls.  S.  H.  &  J.  F.  Adams  were  the 
builders  of  the  Carrollton  Hotel. 

The  "General  Wayne  Inn."  —  The  "General 
Wayne  Inn,"  at  the  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Paca 
Streets,  was  built  shortly  after  the  close  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war  by  Col.  John  Eager  Howard,  and  is 
the  only  one  of  the  old  inns  left  standing,  the  weather- 
beaten  sign  still  swinging  before  the  house  with  a 
painting  of  Gen.  Wayne  standing  near  his  charger 
and  apparently  surveying  a  field  of  battle.  This  inn 
in  the  olden  time  was  kept  by  Mr.  Cugle,  and  during 
the  first  quarter  of  the  century  was  the  popular  resort 
of  the  citizens  of  Maryland  visiting  Baltimore,  and 
especially  the  place  where  politicians  were  wont  to 
meet  and  arrange  the  political  slates.  In  1789  it  was 
kept  by  Peter  Mitchell.  On  the  17th  of  October, 
1863,  the  heirs  of  John  E.  Howard  sold  at  private 
sale  to  Messrs.  Thomas  G.  Scharf,  Edward  Wheat, 
and  George  Scott  the  "General  Wayne  Inn"  and 
stables  for  thirty  thousand  dollars  cash.  In  1864, 
Mr.  Scharf  purchased  the  interest  of  the  other  gen- 
tlemen at  an  advance  of  three  thousand  dollars. 


The  "Howard  House." — The  "  Howard  House," 
which  was  originally  known  as  the  "  Wheatfield  Inn," 
was  built  in  1784  by  Melchior  Keener.  In  1841  it 
was  rebuilt  by  Samuel  Jones,  and  on  May  3,  1842,  it 
was  opened  to  the  public  by  John  Cockey.  On  Tues- 
day, April  2,  18.50,  the  "  Howard  House"  was  sold  by 
Messrs.  Gibson  &  Co.,  auctioneers,  and  was  purchased 
by  Robert  Garrett  &  Sons  for  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars.  On  March  11,  1863,  after  being  closed  for 
two  years,  the  house  was  opened  by  Col.  A.  C.  Reamer 
&  Co.  Mr.  Reamer  had  been  for  several  years  previ- 
ously at  the  "Railway  Dining  Hotel,"  at  Martinsburg, 
Va.  In  186.5,  John  Mcintosh,  who  had  conducted 
the  hotel  for  fifteen  years,  and  had  retired  in  1862, 
returned  to  the  management,  succeeding  Mr.  Reamer, 
who  retired  at  that  time  from  the  business.  In  the 
latter  part  of  1866  or  the  beginning  of  1867,  Messrs. 
Bull  &  Sewell,  proprietors  of  the  "  Grant  House,"  on 
North  Calvert  Street,  became  the  lessees.  On  Jan. 
22,  1878,  Messrs.  C.  P.  Barnard  and  Solon  Fisher,  late 
of  the  "  Belmont,"  Philadelphia,  took  charge  of  the 
place,  and  in  1881  Solon  Fisher  became  sole  pro- 
prietor. 

The  "Globe  Inn."— The  "  Globe  Inn"  was  a  large 
three-story  brick  building,  situated  on  the  corner  of 
Baltimore  and  Howard  Streets,  fronting  on  Baltimore 
Street  fifty-four  feet  and  three  inches,  and  extending 
back  to  German  Street  one  hundred  and  seventy-one 
feet.  In  1826  it  was  kept  by  J.  R.  Thomas,  who  was 
succeeded  in  the  proprietorship  in  1832  by  J.  W. 
Owings.  In  1843  it  was  thoroughly  repaired  and  re- 
furnished, and  kept  by  Jacob  Bohn.  In  18.51  it  passed 
into  the  hands  of  B.  J.  Bartholomew,  and  in  1856  G. 
A.  Newman  became  proprietor.  In  1854  this  prop- 
erty was  sold  at  auction  to  John  White  for  thirty- 
three  thousand  dollars.  It  had  been  a  famous  tavern 
in  the  day  of  stage,  carriage,  and  horseback  travel, 
and  was  only  succeeded  in  its  pretensions  by  the  finer 
buildings  made  necessary  by  railroads. 

The  "  Exchange  Hotel."— The  "  Exchange  Hotel," 
extending  from  Exchange  Place  through  to  Second 
Street,  and  near  Gay  Street,  the  property  of  the  Com- 
mercial Exchange  Company,  was  for  many  years  one 
of  the  most  popular  hotels  in  Baltimore.  It  occupied 
a  part  of  the  present  custom-house  building.  In  1835 
Mr.  Page  was  the  landlord,  but  in  1843  Erastus  Cole- 
man, the  former  proprietor  of  the  "  Pavilion  Hotel" 
in  Boston,  leased  the  hotel  building.  Shortly  after- 
wards Henry  F.  Jackson,  from  the  "  Astor  House," 
New  York,  became  a  partner  of  Mr.  Coleman.  In 
December,  1844,  the  hotel  passed  into  the  hands  of 
John  West,  formerly  of  "  Barnum's  Hotel."  The 
"  Exchange"  ranked  for  many  years  as  one  of  the 
leading  hotels  of  the  country. 

"Barnum's  City  Hotel."— The  foundation  of 
"  Barnum's  City  Hotel,"  on  the  southwest  corner  of 
Fayette  and  Calvert  Streets,  was  laid  in  1825  by 
Messrs.  D.  Barnum,  W.  Shipley,  and  J.  Philips,  Jr. 
In  the  Federal  Gazette  for  Sept.  11,  1826,  it  is  an- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


nouuced  "that  Mr.  Barnum  will  accommodate  the 
Philadelphia  volunteer  company  of  Washington 
Blues  at  his  hotel,  .although  it  is  not  quite  finished." 
On  the  27th  of  September,  1826,  Mr.  Barnum  was  in 
complete  possession,  and  was  enabled  to  render  his 
guests  so  comfortable  that  several  were  induced  to 
extend  their  stay  in  the  city  for  days  and  weeks  in- 
stead of  passing  rapidly  through  it.  The  basement 
is  of  granite  from  the  Susquehanna,  near  Port  De- 
posit, and  the  front  appointments  of  this  story  were 
originally  used  as  a  post-office.    On  Friday,  May  10, 

1844,  David  Barnum  died,  in  the  seventy-fourth  year 
of  his  age ;  the  funeral  took  place  from  the  hotel  on 
the  Monday  following.  In  the  spring  of  1848  an  im- 
portant addition  was  made,  extending  from  the  orig- 
inal termination  of  the  hotel  on  Fayette  Street  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  feet  westwardly.  In  1855, 
by  the  withdrawal  of  Zenus  Barnum  from  the  firm, 
Andrew  McLaughlin  became  sole  proprietor,  and  so 
remained  until  his  death,  on  the  29th  of  January, 
1863.  Mr.  Zenus  Barnum  then  for  a  short  time  re- 
sumed control  of  the  house  as  administrator,  but  in 
1865  was  succeeded  in  the  management  by  Daniel  and 
Joseph  Dorsey.  On  the  15th  of  December,  1870,  the 
property  was  sold  at  auction  by  Messrs.  F.  A.  Bennett 
&  Co.,  for  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  to  Robert 
E.  Fowler  and  others.  It  had  at  that  time  been  for 
about  ten  years  the  subject  of  litigation,  and  conse- 
quently somewhat  neglected,  though  apparently  with- 
out any  injury  to  its  reputation  as  a  house  of  enter- 
tainment.    The  present  proprietors  are  Barnum  &  Co. 

The  "Eutaw  House."— The  "Eutaw  House," 
situated  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Baltimore  and 
Eutaw  Streets,  was  opened  for  the  reception  of  guests 
by  the  proprietor,  William  Hussey,  in  July,  1835.  It 
is  built  of  brick,  and  covers  an  area  of  more  than 
nineteen  thousand  square  feet.  It  has  a  front  on 
Eutaw  Street  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet, 
and  on  Baltimore  Street  of  one  hundred  and  ten  feet. 
It  was  begun  in  1832,  and  completed  in  1835,  Samuel 
Harris,  Esq.,  being  the  architect,  and  Messrs.  John 
and  Valentine  Dushane  the  builders,  the  brick-work 
being  done  by  Jacob  Wolff.  Mr.  Hussey,  to  whom 
Baltimore  is  indebted  for  the  establishment  of  this 
hotel,  retired  from  the  proprietorship  of  the  house 
Feb.  28, 1846.  Mr.  Jackson,  of  New  York,  succeeded 
him   in   the   management.     On   Thursday,   Oct.   16, 

1845,  the  "  Eutaw  House"  was  sold  at  auction  for 
fifty-eight  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  exclusive  of 
the  furniture,  to  Messrs.  Robert  Garrett  &  Sons.  On 
Thursday,  Dec.  1,  1859,  R.  B.  Coleman,  of  the  firm  of 
Coleman  &  Stetson,  of  the  "  Astor  House"  of  New 
York,  succeeded  the  Messrs.  Carroll  in  the  manage- 
ment. Mr.  Coleman  having  managed  the  house  dur- 
ing the  war  period,  was  succeeded  by  James  D.  Gil- 
mour  &  Sons,  who  on  the  20th  of  February,  1874, 
relinquished  possession  to  assume  control  of  a  house 
in  Cincinnati.  On  June  1,  1874,  William  W.  Leland, 
of  New  York,  leased  tlie  house  for  ten   years  from 


Robert  Garrett  &  Sons.  On  May  1,  1876,  Messrs.  A. 
J.  Ford  &  Sons,  proprietors  of  "  Ford's  Hotel,"  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  took  charge  of  the  house,  with  the  option 
to  purchase  at  a  price  not  exceeding  three  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  dollars,  Maj.  Leland,  the  previous 
manager,  going  to  the  "  Belmont"  of  Philadelphia. 
In  1878,  Capt.  William  J.  Walsh,  who  had  been  asso- 
ciated with  Messrs.  Ford,  purchased  their  interest  in 
the  hotel,  which  since  its  foundation  in  18.35  by  Asha- 
bel  Hussey,  formerly  proprietor  of  the  "  Hussey 
House,"  near  the  same  spot,  has-been  one  of  the  most 
popular  houses  in  the  United  States.  It  was  one  of 
the  first  hotels  to  discard  the  sign  with  which  custom 
had  adorned  the  old  inns.  In  1880,  C.  S.  Wood 
assumed  the  management  for  Messrs.  Robert  Garrett 
&  Sons. 

"Guy's  Hotel."— The  "Gilmor  House,"  known 
afterwards  as  the  "  St.  Clair,"  and  now  known  as 
"  Guy's,"  on  the  west  side  of  Monument  Square,  was 
opened  to  the  public  by  J.  M.  Smith,  formerly  of  the 
"  American  Hotel,"  Richmond,  Va.,  who  had  leased 
it  from  the  owner.  Judge  Gilmor,  about  the  last  of  Sep- 
tember, 1855.  The  building  is  six  stories  high,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  story  below  the  main  floor,  and  contains 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  rooms.  The  front  is  an 
imitation  of  brownstone,  with  a  cast-iron  portico  ex- 
tending as  high  as  the  third  story,  and  containing 
three  separate  floors  capable  of  accommodating  two 
or  three  hundred  persons. 

In  1865,  the  house  having  been  closed  for  some 
time,  was  leased  to  the  Messrs.  Kirkland  &  Co.  and 
reopened.  In  1870  it  was  leased  to  Mr.  Samuel  Shoe- 
maker, to  be  used  as  an  office  for  the  Adams  Express 
Company. 

In  1871  the  hotel  was  leased  to  the  Messrs.  Gilmour 
&  Sons,  and  reopened  as  the  "St.  Clair  Hotel."  For 
several  years  previous  to  1881  the  "  St.  Clair  Hotel" 
remained  untenanted.  In  that  year  "  Guy's  Hotel," 
on  the  northeast  corner  of  Fayette  Street  and  Monu- 
ment Square,  having  been  torn  down  to  make  room 
for  the  new  post-office,  Thomas  Boylan,  the  pro- 
prietor, leased  the  "St.  Clair  Hotel,"  had  it  thor- 
oughly repaired  and  refurnished,  and  opened  it  as 
"  Guy's  Monument  House." 

The  "Maltby  House."— The  "Maltby  House," 
on  Pratt  near  Light  Street,  was  established  in  1854 
by  a  consolidation  of  Smith's  "  American  House" 
and  Guy's  "  United  States  Hotel,"  which  houses  in 
that  year  were  purchased  by  C.  S.  Maltby.  The 
"  Maltby  House"  was  first  conducted  by  Henry  M. 
Smith.  On  the  first  day  it  wa-s  opened  to  the  public, 
Sept.  30,  1854,  seventy  guests  were  registered.  In 
1865,  Mr.  A.  R.  Miller  was  the  proprietor.  It  was 
afterwards  corKhutcd  by  C.  R.  Stewart  and  J.  H. 
Jones. 

The  "  Mount  Vernon  Hotel."— Tlie  "  Mount  Ver- 
non Hotel"  is  situated  on  the  south  side  of  Monu- 
ment west  of  Cathedral  Street.  The  building  was 
formerly   the   mansion  of  Wm.  J.  Albert.     It   is   of 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


bV, 


brownstone,  sixty  feet  front  and  four  stories  high, 
and  in  1867,  when  it  was  converted  into  a  hotel,  sev- 
eral large  additions  were  made,  rendering  it  capable 
of  accommodating  seventy-five  guests.  In  addition 
to  the  elegant  furniture,  splendid  oil  paintings,  bronze 
statuettes,  and  articles  of  vertii  adorn  the  lower  hall 
and  many  of  the  chambers.  The  massive  stairways, 
oiled  wood  paneling,  velvet  carpeting,  and  wall  tap- 
estries present  a  rich  and  luxurious  appearance.  The 
design  of  the  undertaking  was  to  blend  the  best  fea- 
tures of  the  French  caf6  with  the  comforts  and  con- 
veniences of  the  leading  hotels  of  this  country. 

The  "  Continental  Hotel,"  onHolliday  Street  next 
door  to  the  Holliday  Street  Theatre,  was  completed 
in  1801  for  Wni.  EUinger,  and  was  originally  called 
the  "  Continental  Hotel."  It  fronted  forty-eight  feet, 
with  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  seventeen  feet,  and 
was  four  stories  high.  Its  general  arrangements  dif- 
fered from  other  hotels  in  Baltimore,  and  were  modeled 
after  hotels  in  German  cities.  The  first  floor  had  in 
front  the  saloon,  two  parlors,  and  a  broad  hall,  with 
a  concert-room  in  the  rear  capable  of  seating  four  hun- 
dred persons.  Ill  the  centre  of  the  audience-room  a 
fountain  played,  which  was  lighted  at  night  by  a  curi- 
ously wrought,  large  chandelier.  On  the  east  end  of 
the  room  the  walls  were  painted  with  scenery  repre- 
senting national  subjects.  Near  the  proscenium  were 
two  private  boxes,  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  room 
was  a  confectionery  department.  The  rooms  in  the 
stories  above  were  furnished  as  lodging-rooms.  Its 
name  was  afterwards  changed  to  the  "  St.  Nicholas 
Hotel."  The  building  was  seriously  injured  by  the 
fire  which  destroyed  the  Holliday  Street  Theatre  in 
September,  1873. 

The  "American  Hotel"  is  located  on  the  north- 
west corner  of  Franklin  and  Calvert  Streets,  opposite 
the  depot  of  the  Northern  Central  Railroad  Company. 
It  is  four  stories  high,  with  a  considerable  front  on 
Franklin  Street.  It  was  leased  by  N.  P.  Sewell,  and 
opened  for  the  reception  of  guests  about  the  1st  of 
November,  1865,  as  the  "  Grant  House."  In  1871,  Mrs. 
Fairchilds  became  the  proprietress,  refitted  and  fur- 
nished it,  and  changed  the  name  to  that  of  the 
"Americari  Hotel." 

The  "Rennert  House,"  formerly  situated  on  Fay- 
ette Street,  adjoining  the  United  States  court-house 
on  the  west,  was  built  by  Robert  Rennert  in  1871, 
and  kept  on  the  European  style.  The  first  floor 
contained  a  side  hall  on  the  right  front.  There  was 
another  entrance  immediately  from  the  street  into  the 
bar  and  eating-counter  room,  which  extended  about 
one-third  the  length  of  the  building  back.  In  the 
rear  of  this  the  clerk's  ofiice  and  clerks'  desks  were 
located,  behind  which  were  suites  of  dining-rooms. 
A  wide  stairway  running  up  from  the  hall  just  in  the 
rear  of  the  clerk's  office  communicated  with  the  first 
floor,  upon  which  in  front  were  the  handsome  parlors 
of  the  hotel,  with  bed-rooms  in  the  rear.  The  upper 
stories  were  also  used  for  the  accommodation  of  guests. 


The  kitchens  were  in  the  rear  basement.  This  was  one 
of  the  most  popular  eating-houses  in  Baltimore.  In 
1880,  Mr.  Rennert  sold  the  property,  among  others  on 
the  block,  to  the  United  States,  and  iii  1881  the  build- 
iilg  was  torn  down  to  make  room  for  the  new  post- 
office  site. 

• "  Mount  Clare  Hotel.'"— In  1842  the  "  Mount  Clare 
Hotel"  was  situated  a  short  distance  from  Mount 
Clare  Depot,  now  the  Western  Scheutzen  Park,  and 
was  one  of  the  most  pleasant  resorts  about  Balti- 
more. From  it  a  full  view  could  be  obtained  of  the 
city,  the  surrounding  country,  the  Patapsco  River, 
and  a  portion  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  It  had  around 
it  a  spacious  flower-garden  and  orchard,  and  a  con- 
servatory in  which  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel,  Mr. 
McPherson,  cultivated  oranges  and  lemons. 

"Mann's  Hotel,"  originally  erected  by  John  R. 
Giles,  on  Baltimore  near  North  Street,  was  kept  for 
some  years  by  J.  F.  Reeside,  son  of  Commodore  Ree- 
side,  and  before  the  days  of  railroads  was  known  as 
one  of  the  largest  stage-owners  in  the  United  States. 
In  1864  the  hotel  passed  into  the  hands  of  James  D. 
Gilmour. 

The  "  Calverton  Hotel"  was  situated  on  the  Cal- 
verton  road,  near  its  junction  with  Lexington  Street. 
It  had  a  commodious  front,  was  four  .stories  in  height, 
and  extended  back  about  one  hundred  and  ten  feet. 
The  building,  which  was  not  entirely  completed, 
caught  fire  on  the  4th  of  May,  1853,  and  was  entirely 
consumed,  leaving  the  walls  so  much  damaged  that 
they  had  to  be  taken  down.  It  was  afterwards  re- 
built. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 


RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 


PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL   CHURCHES. 

St.  Paul's  Parish. — This  parish  originally  ex- 
tended from  the  Patapsco  River  and  Falls  on  the 
south  to  the  Pennsylvania  line  on  the  north,  and 
from  the  Patapsco  Falls  and  the  then  county  line  on 
the  west  to  the  Chesapeake  Bay  on  the  east,  and  to 
Middle  River,  the  Big  Gunpowder  Falls,  the  Western 
Run,  Piney  Run,  etc.,  on  the  northeast,  by  which  it 
was  divided  from  St.  John's  parish.  Under  the  act 
of  1692,  the  several  parishes  having  been  determined 
or  defined,  the  freeholders  of  each  parish  were  di- 
rected to  meet  by  the  appointment  of  the  county 
justices  and  make  choice  of  six  vestrymen.  Such 
an  appointment  having  been  made,  the  freeholders 
of  Patapsco  Hundred,  as  it  was  then  called,  after- 
wards known  as  St.  Paul's  parish,  accordingly  met 
and  elected  a  vestry,  but  of  that  meeting  we  have 
no  record.  That  they,  however,  did  so  meet  and  elect 
vestrymen  is  shown  by  the  following  extract  from  the 


518 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


records  of  tlie  Baltimore  County  Court  for  1693 :  "  We, 
the  vestrymen  for  Patapsco  Hundred,  met  together  at 
the  house  of  Maj.  John  Thomas,"  where  it  was  de- 
termined "  that  at  Pettetes'  old  field  was  the  most 
convenient  place  to  erect  a  church,  and  also  appointed 
John  Gay  to  be  clerk  of  the  vestry,  Mr.  Walkings 
being  absent.  And  at  another  meeting  at  Master 
Demondidies',  did  confirm  the  above-mentioned  pro- 
ceedings, Mr.  Watkings  also  absent.  George  Ashman, 
Nicholas  Corban,  John  Terry,  Richard  Sampson, 
Francis  Watkings,  Richard  Cromwell."  St.  Paul's 
parish,  according  to  the  returns  for  1694  to  the  County 
Court,  contained  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  taxable 
Inhabitants,  paying  for  church  rates  8240  pounds  of 
tobacco,  equal  to  about  $226,  less  than  one  dollar 
church  tax  to  each  inhabitant. 

In  1702,  St.  Paul's  was  made  a  missionary  parish, 
mainly  under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  William  Tibbs, 
who  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  faithful  rector. 
He  was  from  Westmoreland,  England,  and  was  pre- 
sented to  this  parish,  where  he  remained  until  his 
death  in  1732.  During  1721-24  he  was  also  rector  of 
Copley  or  St.  John's  parish.  He  was  a  single  man, 
and  was  accused  of  intemperance.  Where  the  first 
church  was  situated  is  unknown,  but  it  was  probably 
only  a  temporary  structure  of  logs,  built  after  the  rude 
fashion  of  the  times.  After  several  unsuccessful  at- 
tempts to  build  a  permanent  church  edifice,  one  was 
finally  erected  in  1702,  and  according  to  the  testi- 
mony of  Gen.  Tobias  Stansbury,  stood  about  thirty 
or  forty  rods  west  of  where  the  SoUers'  Point  road 
leaves  the  North  Point  road,  on  the  left  side  as  you  go 
east.  It  was  built  of  brick,  but  in  1765  was  in  ruins, 
and  the  bones  of  the  dead  buried  there  were  removed 
to  Baltimore  Town. 

On  the  2d  of  January,  1728,  Thomas  Sheredine  and 
Richard  Gist,  who  had  been  appointed  a  committee 
by  the  vestry  to  purchase  a  site  for  a  new  church, 
bought  two  acres  of  land  of  Moses  Edwards,  on  the 
Old  York  road,  near  what  was  afterwards  known  as 
Walsh's  tan-yard.  The  vestry  subsequently,  on  the 
8th  of  July,  1729,  decided  to  build  "at  Edward 
Fell's,"  who,  as  we  have  seen,  lived  east  of  Jones' 
Falls.  On  the  16th  of  June,  1730,' an  act  was  passed 
by  the  General  Assembly  "  for  the  building  a  church 
in  Baltimore  County,  and  in  a  town  called  Baltimore 
Town,  in  St.  Paul's  parish."     Bacon  says, — 

"The  act  of  1727  having  empowered  the  vestrymen  and  church-war- 
dons  to  purchase  one  or  more  acres  of  land,  and  thereon  to  build  a  parish 
church,  in  pursuance  whereof  land  was  purchased,  hut  not  built  on, 
and  the  same  being  inconvenient,  the  present  act  empowers  the  vestry- 
men and  church-wardens  to  purchase  a  lot  in  Baltimore  Town,  and  to 
cause  a  church  to  be  built  thereon,  which  shall  be  the  parish  church  of 
the  said  parish,  and  be  called  St.  Paul's  Church,  and  directs  that  the  to- 
bacco to  be  raised  by  the  aforerecited  act  lie  apidied  to  the  building  a 
church  in  the  town  as  aforesaid." 

Under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  on  the  1st  of  July, 
1730,  the  vestry  having  abandoned  the  site  near  Mr. 
Fell's,  as  they  had  previously  done  that  on  the  old 
York  road,  purchased  lot  No.  19  on  the  town  plat. 


This  lot  was  the  most  elevated  point  on  the  plat, 
and  it  is  on  the  northwest  corner  of  that  lot  that  the 
present  St.  Paul's  now  stands.  The  original  lot  ex- 
tended south  below  Lexington  Street,  and  eastward 
to  St.  Paul  Street.  On  the  28th  of  July,  1730,  the 
vestry  again  met,  and  agreed  with  Thomas  Hart- 
well  to  build  the  walls  of  the  new  church,  which  were 
to  be  fifty  feet  by  twenty-three  feet  in  the  clear,  and 
eighteen  feet  high  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling,  for 
£40 ;  the  vestry  to  haul  the  bricks,  lime,  and  sand. 
They  also  agreed  with  Charles  Wells  to  make  one 
hundred  thousand  bricks,  to  be  delivered  at  or  upon 
the  last  days  of  October  and  May  following,  for  £90 
currency.  On  the  3d  of  November  the  vestry  agreed 
with  John  Moale  and  William  Hammond  to  procure 
the  rafters,  six  window-frames,  two  for  each  side  and 
one  for  each  end,  and  two  door-frames,  one  for  the 
southeast  side  and  the  other  for  the  end,  for  £59.5«. 
currency,  or  tobacco  at  105  per  hundred  at  the  same 
amount.  On  the  2d  of  February,  1731,  the  vestry 
agreed  with  William  Hammond  to  build  a  vestry- 
house  in  Baltimore  Town  sixteen  feet  by  twelve  feet 
and  seven  and  a  half  feet  in  height,  for  which  they 
were  to  pay  £6.  They  also  agreed  with  Charles 
Ridgely  to  draw  the  brick  for  £10,  and  Jonas  Robin- 
son to  furnish  fifteen  hundred  bushels  of  lime  at  the 
place  where  the  church  was  to  be  built  for  6rf.  cur- 
rency per  bushel.  On  the  9th  of  April  Hartwell 
failed  in  his  contract,  and  the  vestry  agreed  with  John 
Babcock  to  build  the  walls  of  the  church  for  £50  cur- 
rency. 

On  the  11th  of  October,  1732,  Rev.  William  Tibbs, 
the  pastor,  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Joseph 
Hooper.  Owing  to  the  failures  in  fulfilling  contracts 
and  other  delays,  the  church  was  not  completed  until 
1739,  or  eight  years  after  it  was  commenced.  Mr. 
Hooper  died  July  12,  1739,  and  was  buried  in  the 
church.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Benedict 
Bourdillon,  July  29,  1739. 

In  May,  1741,  Mr.  Bourdillon  proposed  to  the  vestry 
of  St.  Paul's  the  building,  by  free  subscription,  of  a 
chapel  of  ease  for  the  accommodation  of  the  forest 
inhabitants,  and  the  proposition  was  adopted.'  The 
rector  and  vestry  accordingly  drew  up  a  memorial 
to  the  Governor  and  General  Assembly,  stating  that 
the  parish  church  then  in  Baltimore  Town  was  found 
to  be  very  inconvenient  to  a  great  part  of  the  par- 
ishioners, especially  the  forest  inhabitants,  and  ask- 
ing that  an  act  might  be  passed  for  their  assistance. 
The  reason  of  this  application  is  found  in  the  fact 
that  in  the  charter  by  which  the  territory  and  gov- 


I  then  called,  aa 


1  The  forest  inhabitants  were  the  residents  of  what  v 
it  ever  since  has  been,  the  Garrlnon  Forfnt.  It  was  so  called  because  of  a 
fort  and  garrison  of  soldiers,  under  the  charge  of  Capt.  John  Risteau, 
sheriff  of  the  county,  sUitioued  there  for  the  defense  of  these  frontier 
inhabitants  against  the  Indians.  The  garrison  was  not  far  north  of  the 
site  formerly  occupied  by  the  United  States  areenal  at  Pikesville,  and 
was  on  Capt.  Risteau's  plantation.  This  forest  was  afterwards  errone- 
ously called  Garrctson's  through  ignorance  of  the  circumstance  from 
wliiih  it  hud  derived  its  iiiime. 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


519 


ernment  of  the  province  of  Maryland  were  given 
to  Lord  Baltimore  in  1632,  "  the  license  and  places 
of  worship,  in  suitable  and  convenient  places  within 
the  province,"  was  granted  to  the  proprietary.  The 
memorial  of  the  rector  and  vestry  of  St.  Paul's  hav- 
ing been  duly  presented  in  October,  1742,  an  act 
was  passed  by  the  General  Assembly,  by  which  Wil- 
liam Hamilton,  Christopher  Gist,  Samuel  Ovvings, 
Christopher  Kandall,  and  Nicholas  Haile  were  em- 
powered to  receive  voluntary  subscriptions  for  the 
purchase  of  two  acres  of  land  where  most  convenient, 
and  to  build  a  chapel  thereon  as  desired.  And  in  case 
such  contributions  should  not  prove  sufficient,  an  as- 
sessment on  the  parish  was  granted,  not  to  exceed 
£133  6s.  Sd.,  or  about  $354.70,  in  any  one  year,  or  be 
continued  for  more  than  three  years.  The  private 
and  voluntary  subscribers  to  the  chapel  of  ease  were 
Benedict  Bourdillon,  Joseph  Cromwell,  Edward  Fot- 
terall,  Christopher  Randall,  Charles  Ridgely,  Thomas 
Harrison,  John  Hamilton,  Francis  Dorsey,  John 
Bailey,  Stephen  Wilkinson,  William  Murphy,  Dorsey 
Petticoart,  William  Petticoart,  William  Hammond, 
Peter  Gosnell,  Thomas  Gist,  Samuel  Owings,  Na- 
thaniel Gist,  Mayherry  Helm,  Thomas  Wells,  George 
Ashman,  Darby  Lux,  John  Baker,  John  Risteau, 
George  Ogg,  Joshua  Sewall,  Richard  Treadway,  Ed- 
ward Choate,  John  Thomas,  A  nthony  Bradford,  Henry 
Seater,  Peter  Maigers,  Hector  Truley,  John  Stiuch- 
comb,  William  Lewis,  Peter  Bond,  John  Shippard, 
Stephen  Hart  Owings,  William  Brown,  John  Der- 
ample,  Nathaniel  Stinchcomb,  Benjamin  Bond,  Joseph 
Murray,  Jr.,  John  Hawkins,  Joshua  Owings,  John 
Bowen,  Christopher  Sewall,  Thomas  Bond,  Joseph 
Cornelius,  Edward  Howard,  Jonathan  Tipton,  Wil- 
liam Newell,  George  Bailey  Gar,  Stephen  Gill,  Wil- 
liam Tipton,  John  Bell,  John  Frasher,  Robert  Chap- 
man, Sr.,  Nicholas  Haile,  Penelope  Deye,  Neale 
Haile,  Thomas  Coale,  Jr.,  John  Wood,  Jonathan 
Plowman,  William  Cockey,  Richard  Wilmott,  and 
Capt.  Samuel  Gray.  The  subscriptions  amounted  to 
£64  10s.  currency  and  4400  pounds  of  tobacco.  These 
subscriptions,  it  should  be  remembered,  were  over  and 
above  what  the  members  of  the  parish  were  required 
by  the  act  of  Assembly  to  pay  annually  for  three  suc- 
cessive years.  The  amount  subscribed  by  the  rector 
was  double  that  of  any  other  subscriber.  In  the  act 
which  provided  for  the  building  of  the  chapel  it  was 
enacted  that  at  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bourdillon, 
Soldiers'  Delight  and  Back  River  Upper  Hundreds 
(being  all  of  St.  Paul's  parish  north  of  the  old  court 
road  leading  from  the  Patapsco  Falls  to  Joppa),  were 
to  be  forever  separated  from  St.  Paul's  parish  and 
erected  into  a  new  parish  to  be  called  St.  Thomas'. 
The  chapel  was  then  to  be  the  parish  church  of  the 
new  parish  thus  created.  Mr.  Bourdillon's  death  oc- 
curring on  Jan.  5, 1745,  the  contingency  was  satisfied, 
and  the  territory  embraced  within  the  limits  described 
was  erected  into  the  parish  of  St.  Thomas. 

On  the  nth  of  February,  1745,  Rev.  Thomas  Chase 


was  appointed  rector  of  St.  Paul's  parish  by  Governor 
Bladen.  At  a  meeting  of  the  vestry  on  the  30th  of 
June,  1753,  they  ordered  that  the  middle  portion  of 
the  front  gallery  should  be  taken  down  to  make  room 
for  the  first  organ  of  the  church  (and  perhaps  the  first 
in  the  county),  which  had  been  purchased  from  Adam 
Lynn.  At  this  period  the  church  also  had  a  bell. 
On  the  1st  of  June  the  vestry  ordered  a  brick  wall  to 
be  built  around  the  church.  After  an  eventful  and 
useful  ministry  of  thirty-four  years.  Rev.  Thomas 
Chase,  father  of  Samuel  Chase,  one  of  the  signers  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  died  on  the  4th  of 
April,  1779,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  William 
West,  D.D.,  who  became  rector  June  7,  1779.  On 
the  1st  of  November,  1779,  the  vestry  resolved  to 
build  a  new  church,  and  on  the  25th  of  April,  1780, 
the  corner-stone  was  laid  with  religious  services  by 
the  rector.  This  church  was  erected  with  the  assist- 
ance of  money  raised  by  a  lottery,  which  realized 
$33,443  currency.  It  was  originally  intended  to  raise 
1160,000  by  this  lottery;  there  were  12,000  tickets  at 
$40  each  ;  the  first  prize  was  $20,000,  and  the  man- 
agers were  the  vestry  of  St.  Paul's  parish, — Messrs. 
Hercules  Courtney,  William  Russell,  Daniel  Hughes, 
William  Buchanan,  Lloyd  Goodwin,  Walter  Roe, 
Thomas  Hollingsworth,  Nicholas  Buxton  Moore, 
Brittingham  Dickinson,  and  Capt.  John  Winning. 
The  new  church  was  finished  May  10,  1784,  the  pews, 
eighty-three  in  number,  being  distributed  "  by  ballot," 
and  was  opened  May  30th,  at  Whitsuntide,  Mr.  West 
preaching  from  the  text :  "  I  was  glad  when  they 
said  unto  me,  Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord." 
This  new  edifice  stood  a  little  to  the  south  of  the 
centre  of  the  square,  and  just  in  front  of  the  old  one. 
In  appearance  it  closely  resembled  old  St.  Peters', 
which  formerly  stood  on  the  southeast  corner  of 
Sharp  and  German  Streets,  except  that  it  was  not 
quite  so  large.  At  the  east  end  there  was  an  immense 
window  of  common  glass,  which  during  the  morning 
service  would  have  poured  an  intolerable  light  into 
the  church  but  for  the  protection  of  a  green  baize 
curtain.  It  had  three  large  doors,  more  imposing  than 
any  belonging  to  the  structure  to  which  it  has  been 
compared.  One  was  at  the  west  end,  and  was  seldom 
entirely  opened,  access  to  the  church  from  that  quar- 
ter being  afforded  by  a  sort  of  wicket  cut  in  one  side. 
The  other  two  doors  were  on  the  south  side;  one  of 
them  was  closed  and  plastered  on  the  inside,  but  on 
the  outside  it  appeared  as  a  door.  This  was  the  east- 
ern one  of  the  two;  the  western  was  the  principal 
entrance.  The  church  stood  on  very  high  ground, 
surrounded  on  three  sides  by  the  graveyard.  On  the 
south  side  was  a  terrace,  paved  with  brick  and  shaded 
by  sycamore -trees.  The  terrace  was  reached  by 
flights  of  rough  stone  steps,  three  or  four  steps  each, 
and  the  ground  descended  to  New  Church  Street 
(now  Lexington)  by  three  or  four  of  what  gardeners 
call  falls.  At  Lexington  Street  was  a  fence,  with  a 
gate  about  the  centre  of  the  street.     The  interior  ap- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


pearance  of  tlie  church  was  very  heavy.  The  gal- 
leries were  solid  wainscoting,  supported  by  large, 
solid  pillars,  and  were  reached  by  two  very  massive 
flights  of  stairs.  The  pews  were  the  old-fashioned 
square  boxes,  very  high.  In  the  original  plan  of  the 
church  there  were  five  aisles.  There  was  no  vestry- 
room;  the  minister  put  on  his  robe  behind  a  .stiff  red 
curtain  suspended  from  an  iron  rod.  The  bell  re- 
mained in  the  tower  built  in  the  time  of  the  former 
church.  The  organ  was  placed  in  the  west  gallery, 
in  front  of  which  was  a  deslc,  from  which  the  cleric 
made  the  responses.  There  was  no  choir,  and  the 
organ  was  generally  so  much  out  of  repair  as  to  be 
useless. 

In  April,  1785,  as  appears  by  the  records  of  this 
date,  the  communion  furniture  consisted  of  one  silver 
plate,  two  napkins,  one  table-cloth,  one  pewter  basin, 
and  one  green  cloth  cover  for  the  communion-table. 
In  the  same  year  the  old  church  was  used  for  a  school- 
house  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  Nixon.  In  November,  1786, 
the  old  church,  excepting  the  bell-tower,  was  ordered 
to  be  torn  down,  and  the  brick  to  be  used  in  a  wall 
to  be  placed  around  the  church  lot.  On  April  19, 
1788,  it  was  announced  by  advertisement  that  a  lot- 
tery would  be  held  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  par- 
sonage for  the  minister  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
congregation  in  Baltimore  Town.  Three  thousand 
tickets  were  to  be  distributed  at  $2  each,  and  prizes 
to  the  value  of  $4000  to  be  awarded,  leaving  $2000 
for  the  parsonage.  The  managers  of  the  lottery  were 
John  Moale,  John  Merryman,  Andrew  T.  Ennals, 
John  E.  Howard,  John  Weatherburn,  John  Ham- 
mond, Geo.  Grundy,  Dr.  Moses  Darling,  Jas.  Cal- 
houn, Englehard  Yeiser,  George  P.  Keeports,  Wm. 
Gibson,  Wm.  McCreery,  Thomas  Hollingsworth,  and 
Andrew  Buchanan.' 

In  1791  the  parsonage  was  finished  on  ground 
donated  by  John  Eager  Howard  at  the  head  of  Lib- 
erty Street,  on  Saratoga,  where  the  rectory  is  now 
situated.  The  house,  which  had  been  formerly  occu- 
pied as  a  parsonage,  and  in  which  Dr.  West  resided, 
was  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Charles  and  Lexing- 
ton Streets,  nearly  opposite  the  church.  It  was  a 
one-story  frame  building  with  a  "  hip-roof,"  painted 
red,  and  had  a  yard  in  front  ornamented  with  trees 
and  shrubbery.  Tliere  were  no  houses  then  between 
the  point  occupied  by  the  parsonage  and  the  south 
side  of  Baltimore  Street.  On  the  22d  of  June,  1783, 
the  first  convention  of  the  diocese  met  and  adopted  a 
new  constitution  in  consonance  with  the  new  state  of 
affairs  resulting  from  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  and  the  separation  of  church  and  State.  Dr. 
West  died  March  30, 1791,  and  on  June  17th  Rev.  Jo- 


1  Another  St.  Paul's  parish  lottery  was  advertised  in  April,  1805,  for 
the  purpose  of  erecting  a  parsonage.house.  There  were  18,000  tickets 
at  $5  cacli,  and  prizes  to  tlio  value  of  875,000,  leaving  $15,000  as  the 
sum  to  be  raised.  Tlie  managers  wore  John  Merryman,  Mark  Priiiglo, 
Jas.  Carroll,  Wm.  Lorman,  Geo.  Gruudy,  Join 
HolTman,  and  Govert  Gaskins. 


seph  J.  G.  Bend,  D.D.,  was  elected  rector.  This  min- 
istry was  signalized  by  a  violent  controversy  with  a 
Rev.  Mr.  Ralph.  Rev.  John  Ireland  was  made  asso- 
ciate rector  Dec.  8,  1796,  and  removed  Oct.  17,  1801. 
On  the  10th  of  June,  1797,  the  church  was  conse- 
crated by  Bishop  Claggett.  On  the  8th  of  April, 
1802,  Rev.  Elijah  Rattoone  was  elected  associate. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  James  Whitehead,  March 
24,  1806,  who  died  Aug.  24,  1808,  and  he  by  the  Rev. 
Frederick  Beasley,  D.D.,  Aug.  7,  1807.  Upon  the 
death  of  Rev.  Dr.  Bend,  Nov.  25.  1812,  Rev.  Dr. 
James  Kemp  was  elected  rector,  a  man  of  high  lit- 
erary and  scientific  culture,  and  an  author  of  much 
repute.  He  died  suddenly  from  injuries  received  by 
the  upsetting  of  a  stage-coach,  Oct.  28,  1827.  Revi 
William  Wyatt  was  elected  May  3,  1814,  associate 


ifl|lU!iL|t 


rector,  and  afterwards,  November,  1828,  rector ;  and 
after  a  most  useful  and  distinguished  ministry  of  fifty 
years,  died  universally  lamented,  June  24,  1864. 

In  1814  it  was  determined  to  erect  a  new  church, 
and  on  the  4th  of  May  in  that  year  the  corner-stone 
of  the  edifice  was  laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies. 
Rev.  Dr.  Kemp  delivering  the  address.  This  church 
was  situated  where  the  present  one  now  stands.  It 
was  a  spacious  and  noble  edifice  of  the  Grecian  Doric 
order,  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  feet  in  length  by 
eighty-four  feet  in  breadth.  Tire  portico  was  sup^ 
ported  by  four  fluted  marble  columns,  and  the  steeple 
was  considered  the  handsomest  in  the  United  States. 
Tlic  church  was  finished  in  1817,  R.  C.  Long,  archi- 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


tect,  and  cost  $126,140.'  On  Saturday  morning,  April 
29,  1854,  shortly  after  one  o'clock,  the  stately  edifice 
was  discovered  to  be  in  flames.  The  rain  was  falling 
heavily,  but  upon  forcing  the  doors  it  was  perceived 
tliat  the  flames  had  gained  great  headway  in  a  room 
in  the  back  part  of  the  building,  immediately  over 
the  altar,  and  in  a  place  most  certain  to  insure  the 
complete  destruction  of  the  building.  At  this  stage 
of  the  fire.  Dr.  Colburn,  the  secretary  of  the  Episco- 
pal Convention,  residing  directly  opposite,  assisted 
by  others,  succeeded,  after  great  exertions  and  no 
little  danger,  in  removing  from  the  church  the  iron 
safe  containing  the  records  and  other  valuable  papers 
of  the  Diocese  of  Maryland.  The  firemen  labored 
hard  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  flames,  but  this  was 
impossible  in  consequence  of  the  elevated  position  of 
the  building  and  the  scarcity  of  water. 

The  rebuilding  of  St.  Paul's  was  entered  upon  with- 
out the  indecision  of  an  hour  on  the  part  of  the  vestry 
or  the  congregation,  and  was  completed  in  about  two 
years,  when  the  new  edifice  was  dedicated,  on  the 
ioth  of  January,  1856,  by  Bishop  Whittingham,  as- 
sisted by  the  Eev.  Drs.  Wyatt,  Johns,  and  Balch, 
and  Rev.  Messrs.  Crane,  Rankin,  Leakin,  Stringfel- 
low,  Thomas  J.  Wyatt,  C.  C.  Adams,  McFarland, 
Piggot,  Read,  Rich,  Schroeder,  Bausman,  Cox,  Swope, 
Spoon,  Tuttle,  Harrison,  and  Allen.  The  building  is 
Norman  Gothic,  and  was  designed  by  Mr.  Upjohn,  of 
New  York.  The  walls  of  the  previous  structure  were 
not  destroyed,  and  were  used  in  the  construction  of 
the  present  church.  Dr.  Wyatt  was  succeeded  in  the 
rectorship  of  St.  Paul's  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Milo  Mahan, 
distinguished  for  his  learning  and  varied  attainnients, 
who  died  Sept.  4,  1870.  He  was  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  J.  S.  B.  Hodges,  S.T.D.,  the  present  very  learned 
and  eloquent  rector. 

Among  the  vestrymen  of  St.  Paul's  parish  in  the 
«arly  history  of  Baltimore  appear  the  names  of  many 
who  took  a  brave  and  honorable  part  in  the  stirring 
events  of  their  times.  Among  these  we  find  Richard 
Gist,  1726;  William  Hammond,  1730;  and  George 
Buchanan,  1731,  each  of  whom  was  one  of  the  com- 
mis.sioners  to  lay  out  Baltimore  Town;  Robert  North, 
1735;  John  Moale,  ZachariahMaccubbin,  and  Andrew 
Buchanan,  who  were  on  the  Committee  of  Observa- 
tion about  1774 ;  Robert  Alexander,  delegate  to  the 
Congress  in  1776 ;  Charles  Carroll,  one  of  the  framers 
of  the  State  Constitution  in  1776,  and  the  first  State 
senator ;  John  Dorsey,  one  of  the  committee  to  wel- 
come Washington  to  Baltimore  Town  in  1781;  Rich- 
ard Ridgely,  delegate  to  the  first  Diocesan  Conven- 
tion in  1784,  in  Congress,  1785,  and  in  1786  State 
senator,  and  one  of  the  Presidential  electors ;  Jere- 

I  On  Thursday  evening,  June  20,  1820,  an  oratorio  of  sacred  music 
was  performed  in  St.  Paul's  church  by  the  choir,  assisted  by  several  mu- 
sical professors  and  a  number  of  ladies  and  gentlemen.  The  church  was 
for  the  firet  time  brilliantly  illuminated,  and  "this  splendid  edifice  was 
nearly  filled  with  a  most  respectable  assemblage  of  beauty  and  fashion. 
3  for  the  benefit  of  the  Female  Charity  School,  under 
of  the  Benevolent  Society." 


miah  Yellott,  commander  of  the  "Antelope,"  and 
navy  agent  in  1794;  Nicholas  Rodgers,  one  of  the 
committee  to  prepare  the  defense  of  the  town  against 
Arnold  in  1781 ;  John  Eager  Howard,  who  received 
from  Congress  a  silver  medal  for  bravery,  member  of 
Congress  in  1787,  Governor  of  Maryland,  1788,  1789, 
and  1790,  United  States  senator  in  1791,  and  again 
in  1797,  the  donor  of  the  parsonage-ground  to  the 
parish,  and  to  the  city  of  ground  on  which  the  Wash- 
ington Monument  now  stands ;  and  Samuel  Chase, 
one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
a  son  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Chase,  rector  of  the  parish. 

Among  the  many  honored  names  on  the  roll  of  the 
parish  stand  those  of  Moale,  Luther  Martin,  Rogers, 
Merryman,  Claggett,  Ridgely,  Grundy,  Buchanan, 
Gibson,  Lindenberger,  Howard,  Hollingsworth,  Hoff"- 
man,  McKim,  Donnell,  Lorman,  Morris,  Cooke,  Hugh 
Davey  Evans,  Glenn,  Alexander,  Donaldson,  Brice, 
Pennington,  and  Reverdy  Johnson. 

The  first  Bishop  of  Blaryland  was  the  Right  Rev. 
Thomas  J.  Claggett,  D.D.,  some  time  rector  of  St. 
Paul's  Church,  Prince  George's  Co.,  Md.,  consecrated 
bishop  in  1792,  in  Trinity  church.  New  York ;  died 
in  1816.  The  second  Bishop  of  Maryland  was  the 
Right  Rev.  James  Kemp,  D.D.,  rector  of  St.  Paul's 
parish,  Baltimore,  consecrated  (suffragan)  in  1814; 
died  in  1827.  The  third  was  the  Right  Rev.  Murray 
Stone,  D.D.,  some  time  rector  of  Stepney  parish, 
Somerset  Co.,  Md.,  consecrated  in  1830,  and  died  in 
1838.  The  fourth  was  the  Right  Rev.  Wm.  RoUin- 
son  Whittingham,  D.D.,  some  time  Professor  of  Eccle- 
siastical History  in  the  General  Theological  Seminary, 
consecrated  in  1840;  died  Oct.  17,  1879.  He  was 
succeeded  by  William  Pinkney,  D.D.,  assistant  bishop 
of  the  diocese. 

Christ  (P.  E.)  Church.— The  original  site  of  Christ 
church  was  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Baltimore  and 
Front  Streets,  and  the  building  in  which  its  congre- 
gation worshiped  for  many  years  was  purchased  in 
1796  from  the  First  German  Reformed  congregation 
by  St.  Paul's  parish,  of  which  Christ  Church  formed 
a  part  until  1829.  On  the  28th  of  February,  1829,  an 
act  was  passed  by  which  "  the  congregation  of  Christ 
Church,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  now  forming  a  part 
of  St.  Paul's  parish  of  Baltimore  County,"  was  in- 
corporated as  a  separate  congregation  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church  of  the  United  States,  by  the 
name  and  style  of  the  vestry  of  Christ  Church,  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore."  The  first  minister  of  the  new 
congregation  was  the  Rev.  John  Johns,  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Virginia,  who  was  elected  rector  in  1828, 
and  resigned  his  charge  in  1842,  on  his  election  to  the 
episcopate.  In  the  year  1805  the  steeple  was  added 
to  the  church,  and  the  famous  chime  of  six  bells  were 
placed  in  it.  As  indicating  the  taste  of  that  day,  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  in  1831  or  1832  the  church 
was  "  painted  a  bright  red,  and  the  steeple  a  bright 
yellow."  In  December,  1834,  preparations  were  be- 
gun for  the  erection  of  a  new  church  at  the  corner  of 


522 


HISTOKY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Gay  and  Fayette  Streets,  wliich  was  completed  and 
occupied  not  long  afterwards.' 

Here  the  congregation  worshiped  until  the  erec- 
tion of  the  present  church  on  the  corner  of  St.  Paul 
and  Cha.se  Streets.  The  corner-stone  of  this  edifice 
was  laid  Tuesday,  May  24,  1870.  The  old  church 
was  purchased  through  the  efforts  of  the  General 
Church  Guild  of  Baltimore,  and  is  now  known  as  the 
Church  of  the  Messiah.  Rev.  Wilbur  F.  Watkins 
was  succeeded  in  the  rectorship  in  May,  1881,  by  Rev. 
Walter  W.  Williams. 

The  (P.  E.)  Church  of  the  Messiah,  comer  of 
Fayette  and  Gay  Streets,  is  the  edifice  formerly  oc- 
cupied by  the  congregation  of  Christ  Church.  After 
the  removal  of  the  latter  congregation  it  was  pur- 
chased by  the  Church  Guild  of  Baltimore  City,  and 
has  since  been  known  as  the  Church  of  the  Messiah. 
Its  rector  is  Rev.  Peregrine  Wroth. 

St.  Peter's  (P.  E.)  Church  parish  was  created  by 
the  act  of  1802,  ch.  10.5,  by  which  Jeremiah  Yellott, 
John  Scott,  William  Jolly,  Hezekiah  Waters,  Josias 
Pennington,  Simon  Wilmer,  of  Edward,  and  James 
Corrie,  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  were  authorized  and 
empowered  "  to  solicit  and  receive  subscriptions  and 
donations,  not  exceeding  twenty-five  thousand  dollars, 
for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  a  lot  of  land  in  the  city 
of  Baltimore,  not  exceeding  one  acre,  for  the  building 
thereon  a  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  to  be  called 
St.  Peter's  Church,  and  a  lot  of  land,  either  within  or 
without  the  said  city,  not  exceeding  two  acres,  for 
a  burial-ground  to  the  said  church."  These  same 
persons  were  further  authorized  to  receive  a  convey- 
ance of  the  lot  or  lots,  to  purchase  materials,  and 
contract  for  the  building  of  a  church,  and  they  were 
directed,  after  the  organization  of  the  church,  to  con- 
vey the  land  and  improvements  to  the  vestry  and 
their  successors.  Jeremiah  Yellott  was  authorized  on 
the  19th  of  July,  1803,  to  receive  proposals  for  the 
building  of  the  church,  which  was  accordingly  at 
once  commenced,  and  completed  in  the  early  part  of 
March,  1804.  It  was  consecrated  on  the  27th  of  May 
by  Bishop  Claggett.  It  was  erected  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  Sharp  and  German  Streets,  and  was  occupied 
by  the  congregation  of  St.  Peter's  until  1868.  The 
first  rector  of  the  church  was  the  Rev.  George  Dashiell, 
elected  on  the  15th  of  March,  1804,  and  the  second 
was  Rev.  John  P.  K.  Henshaw,  elected  on  the  21st  of 
April,  1817 ;  the  third  rector  was  Rev.  Thomas  At- 
kinson, D.D.,  elected  June  6,  1843 ;  the  fourth  was 
Rev.  James  H.  Morrison,  elected  in  May,  1853;  the 
fifth.  Rev.  George  D.  Cummins,  D.D.,  elected  in  June, 
1858 ;  and  the  sixth  and  present  rector  is  the  Rev. 
Julius  E.  Grammer,  elected  in  1864,  Rev.  Samuel 
McD.  Richardson,  assistant.  The  westward  growth 
of  the  city  necessitating  the  abandonment  of  the 
original  site,  the  property  was  sold,  and  the  last  ser- 


1  In  1840  the  old  church  wafl  t 
highest  bidder. 


1  down  SDd  the  materials  sold  to  the 


vices  were  held  in  the  old  church  on  the  28th  of 
June,  1868.  A  temporary  place  of  worship  was  pro- 
vided at  the  New  Assembly  Rooms  (at  the  corner  of 
Hanover  and  Lombard  Streets),  and  ground  was 
broken  for  the  new  church,  corner  of  Druid  Hill 
Avenue  and  Lanvale  Street,  Tuesday,  Sept.  15,  1868. 
The  corner-stone  of  the  new  church  was  laid  April 
29,  1869,  and  in  October,  1870,  the  opening  services 
were  held  in  the  completed  edifice.  The  general 
style  of  the  church  is  that  of  the  Norman  period  of 
English  Gothic,  and  the  building  fronts  ninety-three 
and  a  half  feet  on  Druid  Hill  Avenue,  with  a  depth 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  feet.  St.  Peter's  has 
given  to  the  church  four  bishops  and  more  than  sixty 
clergymen,  and  forty-five  thousand  children  have  re- 
ceived instruction  in  its  schools.  The  founders  of 
St.  Peter's  had  been  members  of  St.  Paul's,  and  their 
attachment  to  Rev.  George  Dashiell  and  the  church 
principles  represented  by  him  led  to  the  establish- 
ment of  St.  Peter's.  Upon  the  election  of  Bishop 
Kemp  as  suftragan  Bishop  of  Maryland,  Mr.  Dashiell, 
with  seven  or  eight  other  clergymen,  resolved  to  secede 
from  the  church  and  establish  an  "  Evangelical  Epis- 
copal Church."  He  afterwards  renounced  the  church 
and  was  deposed  by  the  bishop,  but  his  vestry  con- 
tinuing to  support  him,  the  courts  were  appealed  to, 
but  unsuccessfully.  He  left  St.  Peter's  shortly  after- 
wards, however,  and  harmony  was  restored. 

The  (P.E.)  Churchofthe  Ascension.— The  corner- 
stone of  the  old  Church  of  the  Ascension,  on  Lexing- 
ton Street  near  Pine,  was  laid  on  Monday  evening, 
June  15,  1840;  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  church, 
Lafayette  and  Arlington  Avenues,  was  laid  Thurs- 
day afternoon,  July  18, 1867,  and  the  opening  services 
were  held  Jan.  12,  1869.  May  12,  1873,  the  new 
church  was  almost  totally  destroyed  by  fire,  but  was 
rebuilt,  and  reopened  for  public  service  Jan.  4,  1874. 
The  old  church  on  Lexington  Street  was  sold,  and  is 
now  used  as  a  Hebrew  synagogue.  The  present 
rector  of  Ascension  is  Rev.  Campbell  Fair. 

Trinity  (P.  E.)  Church  had  its  origin  in  a  Sunday- 
school  established  by  Rev.  Geo.  A.  Leakin  in  Octo- 
ber, 1843,  in  Monkur's  Institute.  Mr.  Leakin  was 
assisted  in  his  work  by  Wm.  Newman,  Thomas  Ma- 
gee,  Miss  Alice  Dashiell,  Miss  Ann  Hubbard,  Miss 
Ellen  Busk,  Miss  Elizabeth  Searly,  and  Miss  Virginia 
Fish.  The  school  numbered  about  twenty  scholars. 
In  August,  1845,  the  bishop  laid  the  corner-stone  of 
the  first  Trinity  (now  St.  Matthew's),  on  Bank  Street, 
west  of  Broadway,  which  was  opened  for  service  on  the 
fifth  Sunday  in  Lent,  1846.  There  was  then  no  Epis- 
copal church  east  of  Jones'  Falls  except  St.  Andrew's. 
This  cliurcli  wns  nicupied  for  nine  years,  when  it  was 
sold  to  l'>i-lio|.  Wliiitiiigham.  The  corner-stone  of 
the  prescnl  cililicc,  llroadway  and  Pratt,  was  laid 
Thanksgiving  Day,  1854,  and  the  first  services  were 
held  on  the  sixteenth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  1855. 
Rev.  Geo.  Armistejid  Leakin  has  been  the  pastor  of 
the  chui-ch   from   its  organization  until  the  present 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


523 


time.  The  first  Trinity  (Episcopal)  church  in  Balti- 
more was  situated  between  High  and  Exeter  Streets, 
near  Wilkes,  and  was  consecrated  on  the  20th  of 
October,  1811. 

St.  Stephen's  (P.  E.)  Church  was  organized  on  the 
5th  of  July,  1843.  The  corner-stone  of  the  original 
church  edifice,  which  was  on  the  south  side  of  Lee 
Street,  between  Hanover  and  Sharp  Streets,  was  laid 
on  the  26th  of  July,  1843,  and  the  building  was  dedi- 
cated on  the  25th  of  December  following.  It  was 
consecrated  on  the  14th  of  May,  1846.  The  present 
church  is  on  the  east  side  of  Hanover  Street,  corner 
of  Welcome  Alley.  The  rectors  of  St.  Stephen's 
have  been  Rev.  J.  N.  McJilton,  from  28th  of  May, 
1843,  to  the  1st  of  January,  1853 ;  Rev.  Enoch  Reed, 
from  1854  to  1857 ;  Rev.  Dr.  James  D.  McCabe,  from 
May,  1857,  to  June,  1861 ;  Rev.  Nicholas  H.  Pridham, 
from  October,  1861,  to  October,  1863;  Rev.  J.  Pres- 
ton Fugitt,  from  October,  1863,  to  October,  1864;  Rev. 
Dr.  L.  Van  Bockelin,  from  November,  1864,  to  Decem- 
ber, 1865;  and  Rev.  Dr.  E.  A.  Dalrymple,  from  De- 
cember, 1865,  to  the  present  time.  When  the  Hanover 
Street  church  was  built  the  old  Lee  Street  edifice  was 
sold  to  the  Baptists. 

St.  Mark's  (P.  E.)  Church  was  organized  on  the 
11th  of  March,  1847,  at  the  residence  of  Rev.  Mal- 
colm MacFarland,  with  a  vestry  composed  of  Dr. 
Richard  Se.xton,  Richard  Kemp,  Daniel  Brunner, 
Joseph  H.  Bean,  Charles  Goodwin,  E.  M.  Bartholow, 
Dr.  J.  R.  U.  Dunbar,  and  Isaac  Krocsen.  Prior  to 
this,  however,  a  chapel  had  been  built,  which  was 
opened  for  service  on  the  14th  of  February,  1847.  On 
the  2d  of  August,  1850,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present 
church,  Lombard  and  Parkin  Streets,  was  laid,  and 
on  the  17th  of  July,  1851,  the  church  was  consecrated 
by  Bishop  Whittingham,  the  first  services  being  held 
in  it  on  the  27th  of  the  same  month.  Rev.  Malcolm 
MacFarland  was  the  first  rector,  and  served  from  March 
12,  1847,  to  Dec.  15, 1861,  on  which  day  he  was  seized 
with  a  fatal  illness  while  closing  the  services,  and 
died  in  a  few  hours.  To  his  liberality  and  zeal  the 
existence  of  St.  Mark's  is  largely  due.  The  cost  of 
its  construction  was  borne  by  him,  and  he  paid  nearly 
all  the  expenses  while  he  lived,  receiving  no  salary 
for  his  services.  Mr.  MacFarland  was  succeeded  on 
the  first  of  June,  1862,  by  Rev.  E.  H.  Harlow,  who 
resigned  Jan.  25,  1864.  He  was  followed  by  Rev. 
Horatio  H.  Hewitt,  who  assumed  pastoral  charge  in 
May,  1865,  and  resigned  Oct.  6,  1869.  His  successor 
was  Rev.  Flemming  James,  who  entered  upon  his 
duties  Jan.  1,  1870,  and  resigned  May  19,  1875,  to 
accept  the  assistant  rectorship  of  Calvary  Church, 
Louisville,  Ky.  Rev.  George  H.  Kinsolving  took 
charge  of  the  church  June  13,  1875,  and  resigned 
Nov.  25,  1878,  to  take  eflect  Jan.  1,  1879.  He  now 
has  charge  of  St.  John's  Church,  Cincinnati.  The 
present  rector.  Rev.  E.  L.  Kemp,  was  called  on  the 
9th  of  December,  1878,  and  assumed  pastoral  charge 
March  1,  1879. 


Mount  Calvary  (P.  E.)  Church.— The  corner- 
stone of  Mount  Calvary  Protestant  Episcopal  church, 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  Madison  and  Eutaw 
Streets,  was  laid  on  Sept.  10,  1844 ;  the  church  was 
dedicated  Thursday  morning,  Feb.  19,  1846,  and  was 
consecrated  Dec.  15,  1853.  Rev.  Alfred  A.  Miller 
was  the  first  rector  of  the  church.  The  present 
rector  is  Rev.  Robert  H.  Paine,  with  Revs.  Galbraith 
Perry,  Evelyn  Bartow,  and  Herbert  B.  Smythe,  assist- 
ants. 

The  guild  attached  to  this  church  was  organized 
May  17,  1880,  and  has  thirty-five  members.  The 
members  of  the  guild  perform  various  services  in  the 
church,  such  as  visiting  the  sick,  showing  persons  to 
seats,  organizing  social  entertainments  during  the 
winter,  etc.  The  members  are  all  men  over  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  The  officers  are :  Rev.  R.  H.  Paine, 
warden ;  John  H.  White,  guild-master ;  Lewis  S. 
Chenet,  clerk  ;  and  A.  G.  Snyder,  bursar. 

Grace  (P.  E.)  Church  was  originally  organized 
on  the  loth  of  February,  1850,  and  incorporated 
on  the  30th  of  May  of  the  same  year  under  an 
amended  charter,  Messrs.  William  Stevenson  and 
John  Duer,  Jr.,  being  church-wardens,  and  Messrs. 
G.  R.  Gaither,  J.  S.  Gittings,  J.  H.  Thomas  M.D., 
W.  Woodward,  A.  Aldridge,  A.  B.  Gordon,  W.  W. 
Taylor,  and  J.  M.  Campbell  the  original  vestry.  On 
Saturday,  the  20th  of  July,  1850,  the  corner-stone 
of  the  church,  northeast  corner  of  Monument  and 
Park  Streets,  was  laid  by  Rev.  Dr.  Atkinson,  rector 
of  St.  Peter's  Church,  under  whose  auspices  the  work 
had  been  undertaken.  The  church  was  first  opened 
for  divine  service  on  Sunday,  the  12th  of  December, 
1852.  It  was  consecrated  on  the  30th  of  October, 
1856,  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Whittingham,  assisted  by 
Bishop  Atkinson,  of  North  Carolina,  and  the  Bishop 
of  Mississippi.  The  church  is  built  in  the  decorated 
style  of  pointed  architecture,  of  brown  free-stone 
from  the  quarries  of  Portland,  Conn.  Rev.  Dr. 
Thomas  Atkinson  was  the  first  rector  of  the  church, 
and  entered  upon  his  duties  on  the  12th  of  December, 
1852.  On  the  17th  of  October,  1853,  Dr.  Atkinson 
was  consecrated  to  the  episcopate  of  North  Carolina, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  A.  Cleveland  Coxe,  who 
entered  upon  his  duties  on  the  2d  of  February,  1854. 
Rev.  George  Leeds,  D.D.,  is  the  present  pastor,  with 
Rev.  W.  R.  Pickman  assistant. 

St.  Luke's  (P.  E.)  Church.— The  comer-stone  of 
St.  Luke's  (P.  E.)  church,  on  the  east  side  of  Carey 
Street,  between  Saratoga  and  Lexington,  was  laid  on 
the  1st  of  November,  1851,  and,  though  not  com- 
pleted, the  edifice  was  opened  for  public  service  July 
10,  1853,  the  present  rector,  Rev.  Charles  W.  Rankin, 
ofiiciating.  Rev.  Francis  Asbury  Baker,  the  first 
rector  of  the  parish,  resigned  in  April,  1853,  and 
connected  himself  with  the  Catholic  Church.  Rev. 
Frederick  Gibson  is  Mr.  Rankin's  assistant. 

Emmanuel  i  P.  E. )  Church.— In  1851  a  large  portion 
of  the  congregation  of  Christ  Church  residing  in  the 


524 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE  CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


northwestern  section  of  the  city,  finding  it  inconve- 
nient to  attend  the  church  on  Gay  Street,  determined  , 
to  build  a  new   edifice  on  the  corner  of  Reed  and  j 
Cathedral  Streets.   The  congregation  was  accordingly 
incorporated,  and  the  erection  of  the  church  begun  in  ' 
the  early  part  of  1853.     The  opening  services  were  { 
held  in  it  Sunday,  Oct.  15,  1854,  Bishop  Mcllvaine 
preaching    the    dedicatory   sermon.    On  Thursday, 
March  8, 1855,  the  church  was  consecrated.  Rev.  John 
Johns,  Bishop  of  Virginia,   preaching   the   sermon. 
The  first  rector.  Rev.  H.  V.  D.  Johns,  died  April 
22,  1859,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  assistant  rector, 
Rev.  Charles   Ridgely   Howard,  who   was    followed 
by  Rev.  Dr.  Noah  Hunt  Schenck,  Jan.  8,  1860.     Dr. 
Schenck   was  succeeded   by  Rev.  A.  M.  Randolph, 
present  rector. 

Holy  Innocents  (P.  E.)  Church  was  organized  in 
Marion  Hall,  over  the  old  Independent  (now  No.  6) 
Ehgine-House,  at  the  corner  of  Gay  and  Ensor 
Streets,  by  the  Rev.  James  Stephenson.  After  a  ser- 
vice of  five  months  he  resigned,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  James  P.  Fugett  on  the  7th  of  February, 
1854,  who  leased  the  lot  on  the  corner  of  Eden  and 
Chase  Streets,  and  pledged  himself  personally  for  the 
construction  of  the  first  church,  which  was  opened 
Dec.  28,  1855.  The  church  was  paid  for  in  about 
nine  months,  and  in  a  few  montlis  more  the  lot  was 
purchased  in  fee.  The  church  wa."  incorporated  June 
16,  1857.  Mr.  Fugett  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  N.  C. 
Pridham  on  the  9th  of  March,  1864,  who  was  followed 
in  September,  1865,  by  Rev.  W.  Phillips.  Rev. 
George  F.  Morrison  followed  Mr.  Phillips,  July  7, 
1869,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  W.  H.  Harrison, 
Dec.  2,  1870.  On  the  28th  of  January,  1874,  the  con- 
gregation placed  themselves  under  the  care  of  Christ 
Church,  and  deeded  the  property  in  trust  to  the  vestry 
of  Christ  Church  to  secure  the  payment  of  a  mort- 
gage of  seven  thousand  dollars.  On  the  same  date. 
Rev.  P.  N.  Meade,  assistant  minister  of  Christ  Church, 
was  put  in  charge  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Inno- 
cents, and  was  succeeded  on  the  1st  of  July,  1877,  by 
Rev.  Charles  J.  Holt,  the  present  assistant  minister 
of  Christ  Church.  The  present  edifice,  on  the  site  of 
the  original  chapel,  was  commenced  in  1874,  and  the 
corner-stone  was  laid  on  the  24th  of  September  in 
that  year.  When  the  erection  of  the  church  was  be- 
gun the  frame  chapel  was  removed  to  a  lot  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Chase  Street  and  Collington  Avenue,  where  it 
was  re-erected  and  used  during  the  construction  of 
the  new  edifice.  It  was  then  sold,  together  with  the 
lot  on  which  it  stood,  and  is  now  used  as  the  mission 
chapel  of  the  Atonement. 

St.  John  the  Baptist  (P.  E.)  Church.— The  corner- 
stone of  the  Church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  Barre 
near  Eutaw  Streets,  wa.s  laid  Sept.  30, 1858.  Its  pres- 
ent rector  is  Rev.  James  Chipchasc. 

Memorial  (P.  E.)  Church.— The  corner-stone  of 
Memorial  P.  E.  church,  Bolton  and  Town.send  Streets, 
was  laid  Tuesday  afternoon,  July  3,  18()0,  and  the  first 


public  services  were  held  in  the  church  on  June  5, 
1864.  Memorial  church  was  erected  by  the  ladies  of 
Emmanuel,  in  memory  of  the  Rev.  H.  V.  D.  Johns. 
Rev.  Charles  Ridgely  Howard  w;w  its  first  pastor. 
The  present  rector  is  Rev.  William  M.  Dame. 

Holy  Comforter  (P.  E.)  Church.— This  church, 
corner  Pratt  and  Chester  Streets,  was  commenced  by 
the  congregation  of  Epiphany,  and  the  corner-stone 
was  laid  by  them  May  26,  1873,  but  afterwards  the 
property  was  transferred  by  the  vestry  of  Epiphany 
to  Grace  Church,  in  trust  for  Miss  Hannah  B.  Gaither, 
who,  in  memory  of  her  father,  erected  on  the  founda- 
tions already  laid  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Comforter, 
which  was  consecrated  by  that  name  Dec.  19,  1876. 
The  rector  of  the  parish  while  under  the  name  of 
Epiphany  was  Rev.  Hugh  Roy  Scott.  The  first  rec- 
tor of  the  Holy  Comforter  was  Rev.  T.  Lewis  Barris- 
ter; the  present  pastor  is  Rev.  F.  S.  Hipkins.  The 
congregation  wor-^hiped  in  St.  Matthew's  chapel,  on 
Bank  Street,  until  the  completion  of  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Comforter.  St.  Matthew's  is  now  used  as  a  col- 
ored mission. 

St.  Michael's  and  All  Angels'  iP.'E.)  Church.— 
The  corner-stone  of  the  Church  of  St.  Michael's  and 
All  Angels',  St.  Paul  and  Denmead  Streets,  was  laid 
Sept.  29, 1877.  The  ground  upon  which  it  stands  was 
donated  by  the  late  Talbott  Denmead.  It  is  a  fine 
stone  structure,  and  when  entirely  finished  will  cost 
between  eighty  and  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  edifice  has  been  occupied  for  some  time.  Pre- 
vious to  its  erection  the  congregation  worshiped  in  a 
small  frame  chapel  in  the  rear  of  the  lot  on  which 
the  church  now  stands.  The  chapel  was  originally  a 
mission  of  St.  John's  Church,  Waverly,  Baltimore 
Co.  The  rector  of  St.  Michael's  is  Rev.  William 
Kirkus,  D.D.,  LL.B. 

The  (P.  E.)  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  is  sit- 
uated on  the  corner  of  Gilmor  and  Tennant  Streets. 
It  was  built  under  the  auspices  of  Memorial  Church, 
and  was  dedicated  on  the  13th  of  February,  1876.  Its 
first  pastor  was  Rev.  Otis  E.  Glazebrook.  Its  present 
pastor  is  Rev.  Dr.  J.  J.  Sams. 

The  (P.  E.)  Church  of  Our  Saviour.— The  corner- 
stone of  the  Church  of  Our  Saviour,  Broadway  and 
McElderry  Streets,  was  laid  on  Thursday  afternoon, 
Nov.  18,  1869;  the  first  story  of  the  church  was  dedi- 
cated Sunday,  June  5,  1870,  and  the  church  itself 
opened  for  divine  service  Oct.  15,  1871.  Its  present 
rector  is  Rev.  J.  S.  Stringfellow. 

All  Saints'  (P.  E.)  Church,  at  the  corner  of  Balti- 
more and  Gilmor  Streets,  is  a  mission  of  the  Church 
of  the  Ascension,  and  was  originally  known  as  Zion 
Church.  The  corner-stone  of  the  edifice  was  laid  on 
the  22d  of  June,  1859,  and  the  first  services  were  held 
on  December  4th  of  the  same  year.  In  1878  it  be- 
came a  mission  of  the  Church  of  the  Ascension,  under 
the  name  of  All  Saints',  and  is  under  the  pastoral 
care  of  Rev.  Frederick  F.  Reese.  Among  the  pre- 
vious pastors  of  the  cliuroh  were  Rov.  M.  L.  Forbes, 


KELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


Eev.  Dr.  McJilton,  Rev.  George  Howell,  and  Rev.  B. 
F.  Browne. 

St.  Barnabas'  (P.  E.)  Church.— The  corner-stone 
of  St.  Barnabas'  church,  northeast  corner  of  Biddle 
Street  and  Argyle  Avenue,  was  laid  in  October,  1859. 
Previous  to  the  erection  of  the  church  the  congrega- 
tion had  worshiped  in  a  chapel  which  was  destroyed 
by  fire  on  the  26th  of  November,  1859.  The  church 
is  a  fine  edifice  of  pressed  brick  with  freestone  trim- ' 
mings,  and  has  a  handsome  parsonage  adjoining  it. 
The  present  pastor  is  Eev.  Augustus  P.  Strylvcr. 

St.  Andrew's  (P.  E.)  Church,  South  High  near 
Lombard  Street,  was  organized  Jan.  2,  1837,  by  Rev. 
H.  V.  D.  Johns,  and  the  present  edifice  was  conse- 
crated Nov.  17,  1839.  Its  present  rector  is  Eev.  J.  S. 
Miller. 

Epiphany  Mission,  Leadenhall  Street  near  Sharp, 
is  a  branch  of  the  Churcli  of  St.  Mary  the  Virgin.  It 
was  organized  in  1877,  and  is  under  the  charge  of 
Eev.  Galbraitli  Perry. 

The  (P.  E.)  Church  of  the  Holy  Evangelist.— 
The  Church  of  the  Holy  Evangelist  is  situated  at  the 
corner  of  Potomac  and  Dillon  Streets,  Canton.  The 
corner-stone  was  laid  on  the  17th  of  May,  1874.  It 
is  a  mission  station,  and  is  in  charge  of  a  lay  reader. 

St.  Matthew's  (P.  E.)  Mission  Chapel  is  situated 
on  Bank  Street,  west  of  Broadway.  It  was  formerly 
known  as  the  Church  of  the  Epiphany.  On  the  10th 
of  March,  1879,  it  was  formally  opened  as  a  colored 
mission  church.     The  pastor  is  Rev.  A.  A.  Roberts. 

Cummins'  Memorial  tP-  E.  Reformed)  Church 
was  organized  on  tlie  19th  of  December,  1875,  at  the 
hall  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  on 
Schroeder  Street.  Its  original  name  was  Church  of 
the  Rock  of  Ages,  which  was  changed  for  the  present 
title  after  the  death  of  Bishop  Cummins.  The  con- 
gregation was  incorporated  on  the  26th  of  September, 
1877,  and  the  corner-stone  of  the  church,  corner  of 
Carollton  Avenue  and  I^anvale  Street,  was  laid  May 
2,  1878.  The  church  was  formally  opened  on  the 
10th  of  the  same  year.  It  was  built  mainly  through 
the  munificence  of  Mrs.  Thomas  H.  Powers,  of  Phila- 
delphia, who  also  purchased  the  ground  upon  which 
it  stands.  The  pastors  were  Eev.  H.  H.  Washburn, 
and  Eight  Eev.  James  A.  Latane. 

Emmanuel  (P.  E.  Reformed)  Church  was  organ- 
ized on  the  20th  of  February,  1876,  at  Cunningham 
Hall,  northwest  corner  of  Forest  and  Monument 
Streets.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1876  the  vestry 
leased  a  lot  of  ground  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Hoff- 
man and  Eden  Streets,  and  began  the  erection  of  a 
chapel,  which  was  completed  and  ready  for  occupancy 
in  April,  1877.  The  first  sermon  was  preached  on  the 
8th  of  April,  1877,  by  Bishop  Wm.  E.  Nicholson,  of 
Philadelphia.  Eev.  F.  H.  Eeynolds  is  the  pastor  of 
the  church. 

Church  of  the  Redeemer  (P.  E.  Reformed).— The 
corner-stone  of  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer,  Bolton 
Street,  between  Lauvale  and  Townsend  Streets,  was 
34 


laid  on  the  21st  of  October,  1875,  by  Bishop  Cum- 
mins, and  the  edifice  was  dedicated  on  the  12th  of 
March,  1876,  by  the  same  bishop.  The  pastor  is 
Rev.  Wm.  M.  Postlethwaite.  The  Church  of  the  Re- 
deemer was  the  firs,t  Reformed  Episcopal  church 
built  in  Baltimore.  The  Sunday-school  chapel  in  the 
rear  of  the  church  wa.s  dedicated  June  20,  1881. 
The  building  committee  were  Rev.  Wm.  M.  Postle- 
thwaite, Wm.  A.  Tottle,  and  J.  S.  Johnson. 

The  Fourth  (P.  E.  Reformed  i  Church  is  situated 
at  the  coiner  of  HiiiioviT  and  ( ':iiii<h-n  Streets. 

Mount  Calvary  Chapel  of  St.  Mary  the  Virgin 
(Colored). — This  church  for  the  colored  people  (now 
by  far  the  largest  colored  congregation  of  the  Episco- 
pal Church  in  Baltimore,  if  not  in  the  country)  was 
established  in  1873  by  the  clergy  of  Mount  Calvary 
Church.  The  first  services  were  held  in  the  oratory 
of  the  All  Saints'  Sisters,  at  their  house  on  Preston 
Street.  Joined  by  the  majority  of  the  congregation 
of  a  mission  known  as  St.  Philip's,  St.  Mary's  was  re- 
moved to  a  small  hall  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  and 
a  few  months  later  to  the  white  marble  chapel  on 
Orchard  Street  near  Madison  Avenue,  which  had  been 
purchased  by  a  charitable  body  of  Baltimore  from 
the  Swedenborgian  Society,  and  given  to  the  Episco- 
pal Church  for  the  benefit  of  the  colored  people. 
This  chapel  has  since  been  enlarged  at  a  cost  of 
about  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  the  thirty  communi- 
cants of  the  congregation  in  1873  have  increased  to 
more  than  three  hundred.  Rev.  Galbraith  B.  Perry, 
associate  rector  of  Mount  Calvary,  has  had  charge  of 
the  mission  from  the  beginning.  In  connection  with 
the  chapel  there  is  a  colored  sisterhood,  under  the 
direction  of  the  All  Saints'  Sisters,  who  have  charge 
of  a  boarding  and  day  school  for  colored  girls,  and 
also  an  orphanage  for  colored  boys,  occupying  houses 
on  Biddle  and  Bolton  Streets  respectively.  There  is 
also  a  house  on  Biddle  Street,  occupied  by  a  day 
school  for  colored  boys,  to  which  it  is  proposed  to 
add  a  boarding  department  under  one  of  its  former 
pupils,  H.  C.  Bishop,  who  will  soon  complete  his 
theological  course  as  the  first  colored  student  in  the 
General  Theological  Seminary,  New  York. 

St.  James'  Church  (Colored).— St.  James'  First 
African  Church,  southeast  corner  of  North  and  Sara- 
toga Streets,  was  organized  on  the  8th  of  June,  1827, 
by  the  adoption  of  a  constitution,  which  was  acknowl- 
edged before  two  justices  of  the  peace.  The  adop- 
tion of  a  constitution  was  peculiar  to  this  particular 
congregation,  which  consisted  of  free  colored  persons, 
who  could  not  at  that  time  be  organized  in  accord- 
ance with  the  laws  which  governed  other  Protestant 
Episcopal  congregations.  The  corner-stone  of  the 
church  was  laid  on  the  10th  of  October,  1826,  and 
the  church  was  consecrated  on  the  31st  of  March, 
1827.  The  first  vestry,  elected  about  a  year  after  the 
consecration,  consisted  of  Thomas  Rose,  Philip  Myers, 
Wm.  Warrick,  Henry  Davis,  Levin  Brown,  Peter 
Dennis,  Henry  Dennis,  Henry  Johnson,  and   Wm. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE  CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Nelson.  Rev.  Wm.  Levingtoii  was  the  first  pastor, 
and  he  was  succeeded  in  tlie  order  named  by  Kev. 
Joshua  Peterkin,  Rev.  Thomas  Quinan,  Rev.  John 
N.  McJilton,  Kev.  Robt.  Pigott,  D.D.,  Rev.  Harrison 
H.  Webb,  and  Rev.  John  Rose.  In  1873  the  vestry 
placed  the  church  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Hodges,  of  St.  Paul's  parish,  who  appointed  Rev. 
Isaac  L.  Nicholson,  one  of  the  assistants  at  St. 
Paul's,  to  the  pastorate.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Custis  P.  Jones,  who  was  followed  by  Rev.  Henry  N. 
Wayne  and  Rev.  Frank  Hallam.  Rev.  George  B. 
John.son  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  Atonement  (P.  E.)  Chapel.— The  Protestant 
Episcopal  Mission  of  the  Chapel  of  the  Atonement,  on 
Chase  Street  extended,  was  organized  by  Rev.  Mr.  La- 
trobe  in  1873,  and  since  that  time  services  have  been 
conducted  in  a  frame  building  used  first  by  Mount 
Lebanon  M.  P.  Church,  and  afterwards  by  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Innocents.  Two  lay  readers,  Messrs.  W. 
L.  Reaney  and  Hy.  T.  Martin,  have  been  in  charge 
until  recently,  when  Rev.  S.  W.  Crampton  was  placed 
in  charge  of  the  Eastern  Boundary  Mission,  which 
includes  the  Chapel  of  the  Atonement  and  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Evangelists  at  Canton.  The  communion 
table  in  the  chapel  originally  belonged  to  old  Christ 
Church,  Choptauk  Parish,  Dorchester  County,  which 
was  built  in  1715.  The  table  was  obtained  through 
the  eftbrts  of  Mr.  Milo  W.  Locke,  one  of  the  vestry- 
men of  the  chapel.  In  1881  the  vestry  had  presented 
to  them,  through  John  Glenn,  a  lot  of  ground  belong- 
ing to  the  Glenn  estate.  It  is  situated  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  John  and  Chester  Streets,  with  a  front 
of  sixty  feet  on  John  Street  and  a  depth  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet  on  Chester  Street.  Work  on  a 
new  chapel  was  begun  in  September.  The  building 
will  be  of  the  Gothic  style  of  architecture,  of  pressed 
brick  and  stone,  with  a  handsome  belfry,  and  stained 
glass  windows  of  the  triune  design.  The  building 
committee  consists  of  Rev.  S.  W.  Crampton,  chair- 
man, and  Messrs.  M.  W.  Locke,  W.  L.  Reaney,  and 
George  Lycett.  The  average  attendance  at  services 
in  the  chapel  is  sixty,  and  a  Sunday-school  is  also 
held,  as  also  cottage  meetings  on  week-nights  during 
the  year. 

Besides  the  prominent  churches  we  have  mentioned, 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  denomination  in  Baltimore 
has  the  Advent  Mission  Chapel,  on  Battery  Avenue 
near  West  Street,  Rev.  Thomas  White,  pastor ;  Church 
Home  and  Infirmary,  Broadway,  north  of  Baltimore 
Street,  Rev.  John  S.  Miller,  chaplain  ;  Good  Shepherd 
Chapel,  on  the  corner  of  Mullikin  and  Spring  Streets, 
Rev.  S.  W.  Crampton,  pastor;  Church  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  on  Millington  Avenue  and  Ramsay  Street  ex- 
tended. Rev.  Benj.  B.  Griswold,  D.D.,  rector;  Hen- 
shaw  Memorial  Church,  corner  Sterett  and  St.  Peter 
Streets,  Rev.  David  Barr,  rector;  St.  Bartholomew's 
Church,  on  North  Avenue  near  Madison,  Rev.  John 
Y.  Gholson,  D.D.,  rector ;  St.  George's  Mission  Chapel, 
on  Fremont  Street  near  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  Rev. 


J.  Pinkney  Hammond,  rector;  and  St.  Luke's  Mission 
Chapel,  Pratt  near  Poppleton  Streets,  Rev.  Jas.  T. 
Briscoe  in  charge. 

THE  CATHOLIC  CHUBCHES. 

After  the  Protestant  revolution  of  1689,  Catholics 
were  forbidden  by  law  to  erect  houses  of  public  wor- 
ship. By  a  provision  of  the  act  of  1704,  however, 
.Catholic  priests  were  permitted  to  officiate  in  private 
families  of  the  Roman  Catholic  communion,  and  out 
of  this  privilege  grew  the  custom  of  providing  chapels 
in  private  families  and  under  the  common  roof.'  At 
a  later  period  stations  were  established  in  various 
parts  of  the  State,  Baltimore  being  one  of  them, 
which  received  periodical  visits  from  the  clergy.  The 
vestments,  sacred  vessels,  and  in'  fact  everything  per- 
taining to  Catholic  worship,  were  carried  from  station 
to  station.'' 

In  the  view  of  "  Baltimore  as  it  was  in  1752,"  which 
is  mentioned  elsewhere,  a  brick  house  with  stone  cor- 
ners is  represented.  Its  location,  as  well  as  can  be 
determined,  was  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Calvert 
and  Fayette  Streets,  on  or  near  the  lot  occupied  by 
the  Reverdy  Johnson  mansion.  This  building  was 
not  designed  for  a  church,  but  the  proprietor,  Mr. 
Edward  Fottrell,  having  returned  to  Ireland,  leaving 
it  untenanted,  a  room  in  the  lower  story  was  appro- 
priated to  the  purpose  of  Catholic  worship.  The 
nearest  Catholic  jiriest,  who  at  this  period  was  Rev. 
Mr.  Ashton,  resided  at  Doughoregan  (Carroll's) 
Manor,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Baltimore,  and  vis- 
ited the  town  once  a  month  to  celebrate  divine  ser- 
vice. A  temporary  altar  of  the  rudest  description  was 
erected  on  the  occasion  of  each  visit,  the  congregation 
consisting  sometimes  of  not  more  tiian  twenty,  and  sel- 

I  dom  exceeding  forty  persons.  It  was  composed  prin- 
cipally of  the  "neutral  French,"  or  Acadians,  who 
had  been  driven  from  Nova  Scotia  in  1755,  and  some 
few  Irish  Catholics,  among  whom  were  Messrs.  Pat- 

1  rick  Bennet,  Robert  Walsh,  and  William   Stenson. 

I  Mass  was  also  occasionally  celebrated  at  a  house  on 
South  Charles  Street,  a  section  of  Baltimore  then 


1  As  in  tiK'  old  residoiice  of  Cbalies  Carroll  of  CarroUton,  at  Annapo- 
lis, and  P.iii^I.i    -n,  ilii    I ,  Howard  Conntj-. 

-"Ill  IT  -  1:  I  ::  i  \' ale,  a  Catholic  priest,  officiated  and  said 
masBnt-ai   I'  ■  l      MiN..ieCo.    He  lived  on  a  farm  given  to  bini 

bv  Tlioniii-  Mill.;  \v  I.I  I  tMur  or  five  negroes.  Owing  to  the  great 
tippositioii  oi  till"  I*iott^laiit.s  in  the  neighborhood,  and  the  trouble  they 
gave  him,  be  way  compelled  to  leave  after  a  residence  of  two  or  three 
jears.  Daniel  Connelly  and  Patrick  Cavanagb  afterwards  estalilished  a, 
Catholic  school  near  '  My  Lady's  Manor,'  which  was  quite  successful.  In 
this  connection  it  may  be  mentioned  that  a  Catholic  school  was  opened 
in  Baltimore  in  17.57  by  Mary  Ann  March,  which  aroused  considerable 
opposition,  especially  among  the  Protestant  clergy.  Rev.  Thomas  Chase, 
of  St.  Paul's  parish,  complained  to  the  General  Assembly,  and  in  his  depo- 
sition, laid  before  that  body,  said  that  the  Protestant  schoolmaster  in 
the  town  had  told  liim  that  *  he  had  lost  many  of  his  scholars,  which 
were  immediately  put  to  the  Popish  school.'  Accordingly,  on  the  liSth  of 
April,  1757,  all  the  magistrates  in  the  province  were  ordered  to  'call  be- 
fore them  all  pei-sons  keeping  public  and  private  schools, and  administer 
to  them  the  oaths  to  the  government  required  by  law,  which  oaths,  if  any 
refused  to  take  and  afterwards  kept  school,  they  were  to  prosecute  them 
according  to  law.' " 


KELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


527 


called  Frenchtown,  from  the  fact  of  its  being  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Acadian  French, 

In  1784  an  ecclesiastical  superior  was  given  to  the 
church  in  the  United  States  in  the  person  of  Rev. 
John  Carroll,  who  was  made  vicar-general,  and  on 
Nov.  6,  1789,  Baltimore  was  constituted  an  Episcopal 
See,  with  Father  Carroll  as  its  first  bishop.  Bishop 
Carroll's  jurisdiction  extended  over  the  whole  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  extent  of  his  bishopric  com- 
pelled him  in  1800  to  ask  a  coadjutor.  By  the  brief  of 
April  8,  1808,  Baltimore  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of 
an  Archiepiscopal  See,  and  Bishop  Carroll  to  metro- 
politan rank,  and  four  suffragan  bishopries  were 
erected  at  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  and 
Bardstown  (Kentucky).  Archbishop  Carroll  died  on 
the  3d  of  December,  ISl^"),  in  the  eightieth  year  of 
his  age,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Right  Rev.  Leonard 
Neale,  coadjutor  Bishop  of  Baltimore.^ 

Archbishop  Neale  was  in  feeble  health  and  almost 
seventy  years  of  age  when  he  entered  upon  his  duties, 
and  died  on  the  15th  of  June,  1817,  at  the  Convent  of 
the  Visitation,  at  Georgetown.^    Some  time  before  his 

1  John  Carroll  wad  boru  in  1735  at  Upper  Marlborough,  Md.  His 
father,  Daniel  Carroll,  a  native  of  Ireland,  had  preferred  the  confisca- 
tion of  bis  property  to  the  renunciation  of  his  faith.  His  mother, 
Eleanora  Darnall,  was  the  daughter  of  a  rich  Maryland  planter,  who 
had  secured  her  a  very  careful  education  in  a  French  convent.  She 
availed  herself  of  it  to  direct  iu  person  the  tuition  of  hereon  until  it 
was  time  for  hini  to  go  to  college.  The  laws  of  Maryland  stricUy  pro- 
hibited the  Catholics  from  having  schools,  but  the  Jesuits  had  eluded 
this  prohibition  and  established  a  school  at  Bohemia  Manor.  Young 
Carroll  attended  this  school  for  some  years,  and  iu  1748  set  out  for  France 
in  order  to  finish  his  studies  with  the  fathers  of  St.  Omers.  There  he 
resolved  to  enter  a  society  so  identified  with  the  existence  of  Catholicity 
in  Maryland,  and  after  long  years  of  novitiate  and  study  at  Watten  and 
Liege,  he  was  ordained  in  1759,  and  took  his  last  vows  in  1771. 

The  following  year  Father  Carroll  traveled  over  many  parts  of  Eu- 
rope as  tutor  of  the  son  of  Lord  Stourton,  and  in  1773  repaired  to  Bruges, 
where  the  English  Jesuits  had  gathered  on  the  confiscation  of  St. 
Omers  and  of  Watten  by  a  decree  of  the  parliament  of  Paris,  issued  in 
August,  1762. 

In  that  city  the  bull  reached  him  which,  under  the  title  of  "Dominus 
ac  Redemptor,"  suppressed  the.  Society  of  Jesus.  He  then  retired  to 
England,  where  he  became  chaplain  to  Lord  Arundel ;  but  this  life  did 
not  suit  his  taste,  and  in  1774  he  returned  to  Maryland  to  devote  himself 
to  the  care  of  his  Catholic  countrymen. 

Arriving  in  Baltimore,  he  discovered  that  while  other  denominations 
were  favored  with  churches,  the  Catholics  did  not  possess  one,  St.  Peter's 
being  still  unfiiii^lie<I ;  lie  tln-refuie  pimeeiled  to  a  farm  belonging  to  his 
family  ill  K  I.  <!■■■..  li-  i.  m  k  n  .\'  M  ni  _  .mery)  Co.,  and  took  up 
hisre.-iil'   I      I'    I  :i      .      !  ^  illing  and^  afterwards  a 

small  \\-  :  :i-  ,.1  his  ministry.    Fre- 

quently III-  iinih  -  I  .■.|inir.i  iii[ii  I..  I  i.i..  iliii  1}  iuiIl-s  to  visit  the  sick,  and 
he  gradually  exienile-l  the  lieM  I'l"  his  lalx-is  l.y  visiting  a  congregation 
in  Stafford  County,  Va.,  sixty  miles  from  his  residence.  {Shea's  "  History 
of  the  Catholic  Church  iu  the  United  States.") 

2  Leonard  Neale  was  born  in  Maryland  on  the  15th  of  October,  1746, 
and  belonged  to  a  distinguished  family,  whose  ancestors  figure  among 
the  first  colonists  of  Lord  Baltimore.  His  mother,  a  pious  and  coumge- 
ous  widow,  who  had  already  parted  with  four  sons  to  send  them  to  the 
Jesuit  College  of  St.  Omers  to  be  educated,  resolved  to  give  little  Leonard 
the  same  advantages,  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  he  too  embarked  for 
France.  There  he  followed  the  example  of  his  brothers,  w'ho  had  all  en- 
tered the  Society  of  Jesus,  while  their  sister  Annie  became  a  Poor  Clare 
at  Aire,  in  Artois.  But  Father  Leaiiinl  ha. I  .  ,,i  .i\  ir.i.uunced  his 
vows  when  the  dispersion  of  the  society  <■..,■  \  ,  mim  ;  t  -tire  to  Eng- 
land.   In  1779  he  resolved  to  go  and  r\.    _     ,       ].:,,       ii,  iu  English 

Guiana,  and  there  he  preached  the  fuitli  ml iiili\  i  ■  ilir  luitiveB;  but 

the  persecutions  of  the  colonists  prevented  his  cuutiniiing  his  ministry, 


death  Archbishop  Neale  had  asked  the  appointment 
of  Father  Marechal  as  his  coadjutor,  and  on  the  24th 
of  July,  1817,  he  was  appointed  with  the  title  of  Bishop 
of  Stauropolis.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  14th  of 
December  of  the  same  year  by  Bishop  Cheverus,  of 
Boston.  In  1821  the  diocese  was  divided,  the  two  Caro- 
linas  and  Georgia  being  erected  into  a  separate  diocese 
and  Kichmond  into  another.  The  diocese  of  Rich- 
mond, thus  created,  continued  to  be  administered  by 
the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  for  twenty  years,  nor 
did  any  bishop  sit  in  Richmond  until  ]841,  when  the 
Bishop  of  Wheeling  was  appointed  to  the  See.  Arch- 
bishop Marechal  died  on  the  29th  of  January,  1828,^ 


even  in  that  deadly  climate,  and  in  1783  Father  Neale  set  out  for  Mary- 
land. After  having  been  attached  to  several  churches  in  that  State,  he 
was  sent  in  1793  to  Philadelphia,  where  the  yellow  fever  had  carried  off 
the  two  Jesuits  who  directed  that  mission.  Father  Neale  was  unwearied 
in  braving  the  pestilence  and  rescuing  its  victims  by  his  charitable  care. 
In  1797  and  1798  the  same  epidemic  renewed  ita  frightful  ravages  in 
Philadelphia,  and  found  the  missionary  in  the  breach,  ever  ready  to  bear 
the  consolations  of  his  ministry  to  the  sick  and  dying.  In  1799,  Bishop 
Carroll  called  him  to  preside  over  Georgetown  College,  where  he  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Dubourg,  and  he  was  still  at  that  post  when  the  episcopal 
dignity  surprised  him. 

3  Ambrose  Mnr^chal  was  born  at  Ingre,  near  Orleans,  France,  in  1768. 
"When  he  had  completed  his  classical  course  he  felt  a  vocation  for  the 
ecclesiastical  state,  but  his  family  opposed  his  designs  so  warmly  that 
he  at  first  yielded  to  their  desires  and  began  the  study  of  law,  intending 
to  practice  at  the  bar.  The  young  advocate  soon  found,  however,  that 
he  was  called  to  a  far  different  life,  and  after  having  shown  all  due 
deference  to  his  family's  wishes,  at  last  entered  the  Sulpitian  Seminary 
at  Orleans.  The  persecutions  of  revolutionary  France  did  not  shake  his 
resolution,  but  he  resolved  to  depart  from  a  land  that  martyred  its  faith- 
ful clergy,  and  he  eiubarked.at  Bordeaux  for  the  United  States,  with 
the  Abbes  Matignon,  Richard,  and  Ciquard.  It  was  on  the  very  eve  of 
his  embarkation  that  the  young  Abb6  Mareclial  was  privately  ordained ; 
and  such  were  the  horrors  of  those  unhappy  times  that  he  was  even  pre- 
vented from  saying  mass.  He  celebrated  the  Holy  Sacrifice  fur  the  first 
time  at  Baltimore,  where  he  arrived  with  his  companions  on  the  24th  of 
June,  1792.  It  was  Mr.  Emery's  intention  to  open  at  Baltimore  an 
academy*  for  mathematical  sciences,  and  Mr.  Marechal  was  thought  of 
as  one  of  the  professoi-s;  but  this  project  having  been  abandoned,  the 
young  priest  was  successively  sent  as  missionary  to  St.  Mary's  County 
and  to  Bohemia.  In  1799  he  was  called  to  functions  more  in  harmony 
with  his  vocation  as  a  Sulpitian,  and  became  Professor  of  Theology  at  the 
setuinary  in  Baltimore.  He  was  soon  after  sent  to  teach  philosophy  in 
tho  Jesuit  College  at  Georgetown,  and  then  returned  to  Baltimore  to 
continue  his  course  of  theology,  in  which  he  displayed  uo  less  science 
than  talent.  After  some  years,  however,  the  seminary  was  deprived  of 
the  servicesof  its  eloquent  professor.  Religious  affairs  in  France  having 
assumed  a  brighter  aspect,  the  superior  of  St.  Sulpice  recalled  the  Abb6 
Marechal  to  aid  him  in  reorganizing  and  directing  several  houses  of  the 
society.  Obedience  here  was  easy,  as  it  wafted  him  back  to  his  native 
shores.  Mr.  Marechal  accordingly  arrived  in  France  in  July,  1703,  and 
was  employed  with  distinction  in  several  ecclesiastical  institutions,  es- 
pecially at  St.  Flour,  Lyons,  and  Aix.  Those  who  studied  under  him 
always  preserved  the  deepest  veneration  for  him,  a  proof  of  which  exists 
in  the  rich  present  sent  him  by  the  priests  of  Marseilles  when  they  learned 
of  his  elevation  to  the  episcopacy.  It  consisted  of  a  superb  marble  altar, 
which  still  adorns  the  cathedral,  and  which  by  its  inscription  recalls  the 
gratitude  and  affection  of  scholars  for  their  master.  Meanwhile  his 
American  friends  wrote  constantly,  expressing  regret  for  his  absence, 
and  reminding  him  of  the  good  he  might  still  be  doing  in  Baltimore. 
When  the  imperial  government,  in  1812,  took  from  the  Sulpitians  the 
direction  of  the  seminaries,  the  learned  professor  yielded  to  the  en- 
treaties of  his  friends  and  re-embarked  for  the  United  States.  He  at 
once  resumed  his  old  functions  at  St.  Mary's  Senunary,  and  was  for  a 
time  president  of  the  college.  This  life  of  study,  so  akin  to  his  taste, 
was  not,  however,  to  last,  and  in  1816  he  was  informed  of  his  nomina- 
tion by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  to  the  See  of  Baltimore.  In  vain  did  he 
endeavor  to  escape  these  honors:  it  was  only  to  have  far  greater  im- 
posed upon  liim  by  pontificial  authority.     He  alleged  the  importance  of 


528 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE  CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


and  was  succeuded  by  Dr.  James  AVhitfield,  who  was  I 
consecrated  on  the  25tli  of  May,  1828,  by  Bishop 
riaget,  of  Bardstown.  Dr.  Wliitfield  had  been  ap- 
pointed coadjutor  by  a  brief  of  the  8th  of  January, 
1828,  but  it  did  not  arrive  until  after  the  death  of 
Archbishop  Marfichal. 

On  the  14th  of  September,  1834,  Rev.  Samuel  Eccle- 
ston,  president  of  St.  Mary's  College,  was  consecrated 
in  the  catliedral  by  Archbishop  Wliitfield  as  Bishop 
of  Thermia  in  partibus  and  coadjutor,  with  the  right 
of  succession,  and  on  the  19th  of  October  of  the  same 
year  Archbishop  Whitfield  expired,  in  the  sixty-fourth 
year  of  his  age.' 

It  was  during  the  administration  of  Archbishop 
Eccleston,  in  1849,  that  the  pope  was  invited  to  seek 
an  asylum  in  Baltimore.  By  the  pontifical  briefs  of 
Aug.  9, 1850,  the  diocese  was  again  divided,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Baltimore  retaining  as  his  suffragans  only 
the  Bishops  of  Philadelphia,  Richmond,  Wheeling, 
Savannah,  Charleston,  and  Pittsburgh.  The  Seventh 
Council  had  asked  that  the  primatial  dignity  should 
be  attached  to  the  See  of  Baltimore;  on  account  of 
the  priority  of  its  origin.    The  Holy  See  deemed 

leaving  him  at  his  studies,  at  least  till  the  completiou  of  a  theological 
work  adapted  to  the  religious  condition  of  the  United  States.  But  the 
church  chose  to  employ  his  merit  in  more  eminent  functions,  and  Mr. 
MarSchal  consented  to  become  Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 

I  James  Whitfield  was  born  at  Liverpool,  England,  on  the  3d  of  Novem- 
ber, 1770,  and  belonged  to  a  very  respectable  mercantile  family,  who 
gave  him  all  the  advantages  of  a  sound  education.  At  the  age  of  seven- 
teen he  lost  his  father,  and  became  the  sole  protector  of  his  mother.  In 
order  to  dissipate  her  melancholy  he  took  her  to  Italy,  and  after  spend- 
ing some  years  there  in  commercial  affairs  young  Whitfield  went  to 
France,  in  order  to  pass  over  to  England.  It  was  just  at  this  moment 
that  Napoleon  decreed  that  every  Englishman  discovered  on  French 
soil  should  be  retained  a  prisoner.  James  Whitfield  spent  most  of  the 
period  of  his  exile  at  Lyons,  and  there  formed  an  acquaintance  with  the 
Abl)6  Martchal,  the  future  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  tl: 
Divinity  in  the  Seminary  of  St.  Irena:us,  at  Lyons.  The  young 
piety  soon  disposed  him  to  embrace  tlie  ecclesiastical  state, 
the  seminary  under  the  direction  of  his  learned  friend,  and  was  soon 
distinguished  for  his  ardor  as  a  student  and  for  his  soUdity  of  judgment. 
He  was  ordained  at  Lyons  in  ISU'J,  and  on  liis  mother's  death  returned 
to  England,  where  he  was  for  some  time  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Crosby. 
Wlien  the  Abbe  Marechal  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore  he  wrote  to  his  friend,  begging  him  to  come  and  share  the 
cares  of  a  diocese  whose  wants  were  so  great.  Mr.  Whitfield  yielded  to 
the  desire  of  his  old  tutor,  and  he  landed  in  the  United  States  on  the  8th 
of  September,  1817.  He  was  at  first  stationed  at  St.  Peter's  Church, 
Baltimore,  and  then  became  one  of  the  vicars-general  of  the  diocese. 
In  1825,  by  a  special  indult  of  the  Court  of  Rome,  the  archbishop  sol- 
emnly conferred  on  Mr.  Whitfield  and  two  otlii 
Baltimore  the  grade  of  Doctor  of  Divinity ;  a 
interest  for  Catholics,  was  hailed  by  them  with  joy  as  the  commencement 
of  a  faculty  of  theology  in  America. 

Of  Archbishop  Whitfield  may  be  said  what  can  be  said  of  few,— that 
he  entered  the  career  of  honors  in  wealth  and  left  it  poor.  Prudence  and 
energy  were  traits  in  his  character  very  observable  to  those  who  had  an 
opportunity  of  duly  aiipreciating  it,  and  many  acts  of  his  adnii 
have  been  censured  ln'cuuse,  tlmmuh  ii  spirit  ul 

towards  1.1.  ,,.  1,1,1- i.  In    .:>■■< 1   1'-"  '^l"-ii.^  to  ptiblic  view 

grounds  111,;     .,  ■  ■       1-1    I     I     .-,i...f  proceeding 

therewiiMi    ;•                 >,,    .m     ,     -.    ;    .    i-    ,,!  .lia  not  prevent 
fromcb.'n-liinu  ■•iiL  I" .1  I.- In,,  ^, Mil  i„,,n.,.iiMi;  by  frequent 


Professor  of 


He  entered 


clergyn 


,  full  of 


nd  forbearance 


proper  to  defer  this  official  favor,  but  the  Archbishop 
of  Baltimore  nevertheless  preserved  a  sort  of  honor- 
able primacy,  and  he  was  specially  invested  in  1863 
with  the  functions  of  apostolical  legate  of  the  First 
National  Council  of  the  United  States.  Archbishop 
Eccleston  expired  at  the  Convent  of  the  Visitation,  at 
Georgetown,  after  a  brief  illness,  on  the  22d  of  April, 
1851.'^ 

The  See  of  Baltimore  did  not  remain  long  vacant, 
and  by  letters  apostolic  of  Aug.  3,  1851,  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Francis  P.  Kenrick  was  transferred  from  the  See  of 
Philadelphia  to  the  archbishopric  of  Baltimore.  By 
a  brief  of  the  19th  of  August  of  the  same  year  Arch- 
bishop Kenrick  was  appointed  apostolic  delegate  to 
preside  at  the  National  Council  of  the  entire  episco- 
pate of  the  United  States.  His  installation  at  the 
cathedral  occurred  on  the  12th  of  October,  1851.  By 
the  apostolic  letter  of  July  29,  1853,  the  new  diocese 
of  Erie,  a  dismemberment  of  that  of  Pittsburgh,  was 
founded  in  the  ecclesiastical  province  of  Baltimore. 
By  a  decree  of  the  Propaganda  of  July  25,  1858,  the 
prerogative  of  peace  was  granted  to  the  See  of  Balti- 
more, so  that  in  councils,  assemblies,  and  meetings  of 
every  kind  precedence  was  given  to  the  Archbishop 
of  Baltimore,  and  the  seat  of  honor  above  every  other 
archbishop,  without  regard  to  the  order  of  promotion 
or  consecration.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  July, 
1863,  Archbishop  Kenrick  was  found  dead  in  his  bed. 
His  funeral,  which  took  place  at  the  cathedral  a  few 
days  afterwards,  was  attended  by  two  hundred  priests 
and  fourteen  bishops.^    The  appointment  of  his  suc- 


.?e  111.'  ll.ll'l 


Fond  of 


retirement  and  indifferent  to  the  opinions  of  the  world,  he  seemed  par- 
ticularly solicitous  to  merit  the  favor  of  Him  '  who  seeth  in  secret,'  and 
is  always  prepared  to  award  the  crown  of  justice 


}  his  faithful  servants. 


2  Samuel  Eccleston  was  born  on  the  27lh  of  June,  1801,  in  Kent  County, 
on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland.  His  grandfather.  Sir  John  Eccleston, 
had  emigrated  thither  from  England  some  years  before  the  Kevolution- 
ary  war.  His  parents  occupied  an  honorable  position  in  society,  and  be- 
longed to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  in  which,  too,  young  Samuel 
was  educated.  But  while  still  young  his  mother  became  a  widow,  and 
married  a  Catholic.  Theyoung  man  was  placed  at  St.  Mary's  College,  Bal- 
timore, and  distiuguislied  himself  in  all  branches  of  study.  He  embraced 
the  Catholic  faith  while  still  at  college,  and  was  so  deeply  impressed  at 
the  death  of  one  of  his  venerable  professors  that  he  resolved  to  devote  him- 
self to  the  ecclesiastical  state.  He  entered  the  seminary  attached  to  the 
college  on  the  2ad  of  May,  1810,  but  was  scarcely  inclosed  in  this  retreat  of 
his  choice  when  he  was  beset  with  pressing  solicitations  from  his  kindred 
and  friends  to  abandon  a  career  in  their  eyes  contemptible  and  return 
to  the  world,  of  which  tliey  displayed  the  attractions.  No  consideration 
could  alter  Eccleston's  step ;  on  thecontrary,  temptations  confirmed  him 
in  his  pious  design,  and  he  received  the  tonsure  in  the  course  of  the 
year  1820.  While  pursuing  his  theological  studies  he  rendered  useful 
service  in  the  college  as  professor.  Deacon's  orders  were  conferred  on 
him  in  1823,  and  on  the  24th  of  April,  1825,  he  was  raised  to 
cal  dignity.  Five  months  after  his  ordination  the  Kev.  Mr 
repaired  to  France,  and  spent  almost  two  years  in  the  Sulpitian  solitude 
at  Issy.  Eeturning  home  in  1827,  after  visiting  Ireland  and  England, 
ho  brought  back  an  immense  fund  of  acquired  knowledge  and  ardent 
zeal  for  the  cause  of  religion.  Appointed  vice-president  of  St.  Mary's 
College,  then  president  of  that  institution,  he  discharged  with  remarka- 
ble success  these  important  functions,  when  the  confidence  of  the  Holy 
See  selected  him  for  the  episcopate. 

»  Francis  Patrick  Kenrick  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1797,  but  emigrated 
to  this  country  with  his  brother,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  St.  Louie. 
On  the  3(lth  of  June,  18.10,  ho  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Arath  and  coad- 
jutor to  the  Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  and  in  1842  became  Bishop  of  Phila- 
delphia. Archbishop  Kenrick,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  the  oldest 
Catholic  bishop  in  America,  having  occupied  the  episcopal  chair  for 
thirty-three  years. 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


529 


cesser  was   delayed   for  nearly   ten   months,  during 
which  period  Father  Coskery,  V.G.,  acted  as  admin- 
istrator serfe  vacanie.     Having  examined  the  claims  of  : 
three  prelates  whose  names  had  been  sent  to  Rome, —  ^ 
Bishops  Spalding,  Wheelan,  and  Lynch, — the  pope  j 
took  action  upon  the  matter  May  6,  1864,  and  trans- 
ferred  Kt.  Rev.  Martin   John   Spalding,  Bishop  of 
Louisville,  to  Baltimore.    On  the  22d  of  June,  1864,  he 
received  the  official  notification  of  his  appointment; 
July  24th  he  bade  farewell  to  his  flock  in  Louisville, 
and  on  Sunday,  July  31,  1864,  he  was  installed  at  the 
cathedral  as  Archbishop  of  Baltimore.     On  the  7th  . 
of  February,  1872,  Archbishop  Spalding  expired  at  J 
the  archiepiscopal  residence  after  a  painful  illness.^  | 
Archbishop  Spalding  was  succeeded  by  Archbishop  ; 
J.  Roosevelt  Bayley,  who  was  installed  at  the  cathe-  j 
dral,  Oct.  13,  1872.     On  the  19th  of  October,  1873, 
the  archdiocese  of  Baltimore  was  solemnly  consecrated 
to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus.     Archbishop  Bayley 
died  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  on  the  3d  of  October,  1877.^ 

Archbishop  Bayley  was  succeeded  by  Most  Rev.  Dr. 
James  Gibbons,  who  was  installed  at  the  cathedral 
on  the  10th  of  February,  1878,  as  Archbishop  of  the  j 
Metropolitan  See  of  Baltimore  and  primate  of  America.  [ 
Most  Rev.  James  Gibbons,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  | 
and  primate  of  the  church  in  America,  was  born  in  ; 
Baltimore  on  the  23d  of  July,  1834.  He  was  of  Irish  j 
parentage,  and  while  still  quite  young  was  taken  by  i 
his  father  to  Ireland,  where  he  received  the  substan-  I 

■  Martiu  John  Spalding  was  Ima  near  Lebanon, now  Marion  Co., Ky., 
on  the  23d  of  May,  1810.  Hi*  father,  Richard  Spalding,  was  born  near 
Leonardstown,  St.  Mary's  Co.,  Md.,and  his  mother,  Heniietta  Hamilton, 
was  a  native  of  Charles  County.  In  his  twelfth  year  young  Spalding 
was  sent  to  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  in  Marion  County,  Ky.,  where  he  grad- 
uated in  1S26.  Having  determined  to  devote  himself  to  the  priesthood, 
he  entered  St.  Joseph's  Seminary,  Bardstown,  Ky.,  where  he  remained 
four  years,  studying  theology  and  teaching  in  the  college.  In  April, 
18.10,  he  proceeded  to  Rome,  where  be  entered  the  famous  Urban  Col- 
lege of  the  Propaganda  on  the  7th  of  August.  Here  he  remained  for 
four  years,  and  left  the  institution  an  accomplished  scholar,  having  re- 
ceived at  his  ordination  the  degree  of  Doctorof  Divinity,  after  a  brilliant 
defense  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  theses,  covering  the  whole  ground  of 
theology  and  canon  law.  He  was  ordained  priest  on  the  13th  of  August, 
1834,  and  after  celebrating  his  fli-st  mass  in  St.  Peter's  Basilica,  returned  I 
to  America.  On  his  return  to  Kentucky  he  was  successively  appointed  j 
pastor  of  St.  Joseph's  Church,  Bardstown  ;  president  of  St.  Joseph's  Col-  1 
lege,  situated  at  the  same  place;  pastor  of  the  cathedral,  Louisville;  I 
vicar-geueral  of  Louisville;  Bishop  of  Louisville,  with  the  right  of  suc- 
cession ;  and  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Flaget,  Feb.  11, 1850,  he  was  made 
Bishop  of  Louisville,  and  retained  this  ofBce  until  transferred  to  Balti- 

-  James  Roosevelt  Bayley  was  born  in  New  York  in  1814.  Hisfamily 
were  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  faith,  and  be  was  ordained  a  priest  in 
that  clmrch.  He  was  rector  of  a  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  at  Har- 
lem, N.  Y.,  but  his  religious  opinions  having  undergone  a  change,  he 
became  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church.  He  then  went  to  Paris,  where 
he  prepared  for  the  Catholic  priesthood  at  St.  Sulpice,  and  was  ordained 
on  the  2d  of  March,  1842.  He  was  appointed  vice-president  of  St.  John's 
College,  Fordham,  and  afterwards  became  president  of  that  institution, 
but  resigned,  and  was  made  secretary  of  the  diocese  of  New  York.  On 
the  recommendation  of  Archbishop  Hughes,  he  was  made  the  firet 
Bishop  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  1858.  He  was  Bishop  ol  Newark  nineteen 
yeai-s,  and  was  conspicuous  for  his  advocacy  of  the  temperance  cause, 
and  for  his  active  promotion  of  parish  schools  and  religious  institutions. 
Dr.  Bayley  was  the  third  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  who  was  a  convert  to 
the  Catholic  Church,  Archbishop  Whitfield  having  been  the  first  and 
Archbishop  Eccleston  the  second. 


tial  ground-work  of  a  solid  education.  On  his  return 
to  America  he  entered  St.  Charles'  College,  Maryland, 
where  he  graduated  with  distinction  in  18.57.  He 
then  entered  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Baltimore,  and  after 
the  usual  course  of  philosophy  and  theology  was  or- 
dained priest  on  the  30th  of  June,  1861,  by  the  late  Most 
Rev.  Archbishop  Kenrick.  He  immediately  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  his  calling,  serving  first  as  assistant 
to  the  late  Rev.  James  Dolan,  rector  of  St.  Patrick's, 
and  afterwards  as  pastor  of  St.  Bridget's,  at  Canton. 
A  few  years  after  his  transfer  to  St.  Bridget's  he  was 
selected  by  Archbishop  Spalding  as  his  private  secre- 
tary, and  on  the  16th  of  August,  1868,  was  consecrated 
at  the  cathedral  Bishop  of  Adratmjfhum  in.  Partibun  In- 
fidelimn  and  vicar-apostolic  of  North  Carolina.  Here 
he  remained  for  about  four  years,  and  displayed  such 
remarkable  administrative  ability  that  on  the  death 
of  Right  Rev.  Bishop  McGill  he  was  translated  to 
Richmond,  Va.,  where  he  was  installed  by  Archbishop 
Bayley,  Oct.  20,  1872.  His  administration  in  Rich- 
mond was  marked  by  an  almost  immediate  revival 
of  religious  interest,  and  by  practical  results  of  the 
most  important  character.  In  the  course  of  five  years 
several  new  churches  were  erected,  and  St.  Peter's 
Cathedral  Male  Academy  and  Parochial  School  was 
founded.  By  his  energy  also  St.  Joseph's  Female 
Orphan  Asylum  was  enlarged,  a  parochial  school  for 
boys  and  girls  was  established  at  Petersburg,  and  one 
at  Portsmouth  for  girls.  On  the  20th  of  May,  1877, 
he  was  appointed  coadjutor  with  the  right  of  succes- 
sion to  the  Most  Rev.  James  Roosevelt  Bayley ,'Arch- 
bishop  of  Baltimore.  The  same  energy,  zeal,  and 
great  executive  ability  which  characterized  his  labors 
in  other  spheres  have  been  displayed  in  the  more 
exalted  and  responsible  office  which  he  fills  at  pres- 
ent, and  the  diocese  shows  in  every  quarter  the  stim- 
ulus of  his  active  brain  and  unerring  judgment.  The 
monuments  which  already  speak  of  his  zeal  and  de- 
votion are  of  the  most  enduring  character,  and'bear 
a  testimony  which  all  who  run  may  read.  New 
churches  are  rapidly  springing  up  in  all  parts  of  the 
diocese,  new  congregations  are  being  formed,  new 
religious  and  educational  enterprises  are  constantly 
projected,  while  all  the  hundred  agencies  of  Catholic 
work  have  been  strengthened  and  reinforced  by  his 
firm  hand  and  comprehensive  judgment.  Among  the 
recent  contributions  to  religious  literature,  his  "  Faith 
of  Our  Fathers"  deservedly  holds  a  most  exalted 
position,  and  is  regarded  by  eminent  scholars  and 
divines  of  every  creed  as  a  masterpiece  of  logic  and 
literary  excellence. 

Twelve  grand  councils  of  bishops  have  occurred  at 
the  cathedral,  of  which  ten  were  "  Provincial"  and 
two  "  Plenary."  The  former  are  always  attended  by 
the  bishops  of  a  province;  the  latter  by  the  whole 
United  States  hierarchy. 

The  First  Provincial  Council  met  in  the  cathe- 
dral Oct.  1,  1829,  under  Archbishop  Whitfield's  di- 
rection.    Bishop  England,  of  Charleston,  the  peerle-ss 


IIISTOllY    OF    BALTIMORE    CITY   AND    COUNTY,  MAllYLAND. 


orator,  preached  the  opening  sermon.  Five  prelates 
attended  in  porsdn,  and  tlircc  others  sent  procurators. 

The  Second  Provincial  Council  was  held  October, 
18.S3,  Arrhbi^hoji  WhitfHda  i.residing.  Ten  prelates 
assisted. 

The  Third  Provincial  Council  took  place  in  May, 
1837,  ArchbisliopEecleston  presiding.  Twelve  bishops 
attended  this  meeting. 

The  Fourth  Provincial  Council,  held  in  May, 
1840,  under  Arelibishop  Eccleston's  management,  was 
attended  by  lifteen  l)islio[is. 

The  Fifth  Provincial  Council  occurred  in  May, 
1843,  Arclibishoji  Ecelest<jn  presiding.  Fifteen  bishops 
participated  in  the  exercises. 

The  Sixth  Provincial  Council  was  convened  in 
May,  1846,  by  Archbishop  Eccleston.  Seventeen  jirel- 
ates  were  present. 

The  Seventh  Provincial  Council  transpired  in 
May,  1849.     Twenty-three  bishops  assisted. 

The  First  Plenary  Council  was  held  in  May,  1852, 
by  Archbishop  Kenrick.  It  was  composed  of  three 
archbishops  and  twenty-four  bishops. 

The  Eighth  f  rovincial  Council  met  in  May,  1855, 
Archbishop  Kenrick  presiding.  Seven  prelates  at- 
tended the  meeting. 

The  Ninth  Provincial  Council  assembled  in  May, 
1858,  under  Archbishop  Kenrick's  control.  Nine  prel- 
ates assisted  at  the  proceedings. 

The  Second  Plenary  Council,  held  under  Arch- 
bishop Sjialiliny's  direction,  in  October,  186(3,  is  the 
grandest  on  record.  Seven  archbishops,  forty-seven 
bishops,  three  mitred  abbots,  besides  leading  Jesuits, 
Redemptorists,  Dominicans,  Benedictines,  Capuchins, 
Trappists,  Paulists,  and  representatives  of  other  com- 
munities were  present. 

The  Tenth  Provincial  Council  was  held  in  May, 
1869.  Archbishop  Spalding  presided  for  the  last 
time.     Fourteen  bishops  attended. 

The  Cathedral.— The  first  Catholic  church  edi- 
fice in  Baltimore  was  erected  about  the  year  1770. 
A  lot  for  the  purpose,  fronting  on  Saratoga  and 
Charles  Streets,  was  donated  by  Charles  Carroll  of 
Carrollton,  and  on  the  northwest  side  of  it  a  very 
plain  brick  building  was  erected,  of  the  modest  di- 
mensions of  about  twenty-five  by  thirty  feet,  which 
was  known  as  St.  Peter's  church.'  John  McNabb 
erected  or  superintended  the  building  until  the  walls 
and  the  roof  were  completed.  It  is  probable  that  the 
church  was  then  used  for  the  purpose  of  worship,  al- 
though in  an  unfinished etate.  Before  its  completion 
the  superintendent  failed  in  business,  owing  a  debt, 
on  account  of  the  building,  of  two  hundred  pounds 
in  Maryland  currency.     The  principal  creditor,  Mr. 

P ,  locked  up  the  church,  and  kept  possession  of  the 

key  until  1774  or  1775.  Grifiith,  in  his  "  Annals  of 
Baltimore,"  says,  "  By  a  ludicrous  suit  against  Gan- 
ganelli.  Pope  of  Rome,  for  want  of  other  defendant. 


to  recover  the  advances  to  Mr.  McNabb,  who  became 
bankrupt,  the  church  was  some  time  closed.  This 
was  at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  and  the 
congregation  assembled  in  a  private  house  in  South 
Charles  Street  until  possession  was  recovered."  The 
manner  of  reopening  St.  Peter's  Was  somewhat  novel, 
and  partook  of  the  spirit  of  the  times.  A  volunteer 
company,  probably  in  1775,  which  was  part  of  a  mili- 
tary force  organized  to  repel  the  apprehended  attacks 
or  incursions  of  Lord  Dunmore,  Governor  of  Vir- 
ginia, was  in  Baltimore,  under  the  command  of 
Capt.  Galbraith.  On  Sunday  morning  some  of  the 
soldiers  asked  permission  of  the  captain  to  go  to 
church.  A  majority  of  them  decided  on  going  to  the 
Catholic  church,  and  on  learning  that  it  was  closed 

and  the  key  in  possession  of  Mr.  P ,  they  marched 

in  a  body,  with  their  captain  at  their  head,  to  the 
residence  of  this  gentleman,  and  Capt.  Galbraith 
demanded  the  key  of  the  church.     It  so  happened 

that  Mr.  P had  fallen  under  suspicion  of  being 

disaffected  to  the  cau.se  of  American  independence, 
and  on  seeing  a  body  of  soldiers  halted  in  front  of  his 
house,  he  apprehended  that  they  were  about  to  make 
him  prisoner ;  but  on  learning  their  object  he  was 
so  much  relieved  that  he  delivered  the  key  to  Capt. 
Galbraith  without  opposition.  The  company  then 
moved  oft",  opened  the  church,  and  thus  put  the  con- 
gregation in  possession  of  the  edifice,  which  they  re- 
tained until  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  when  Mr. 

P 's  debt  was  discharged.     There  was  no  resident 

pastor  at  the  church  before  the  year  1784.  The  Rev. 
Father  Phelan,  an  Irish  priest,  passed  rapidly  through 
Baltimore,  celebrated  mass,  and  preached  in  French 
for  the  Acadians,  who  understood  English  imperfectly. 
In  the  year  1782,  Count  Rochambeau,  returning  with 
his  army  from  Yorktown,  halted  in  Baltimore,  where 
some  of  his  troops  remained  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  and  mass  was  frequently  celebrated  by  the  chap- 
lains who  accompanied  the  French  forces.  On  one 
occasion  a  grand  mass  was  celebrated  with  great  mili- 
tary pomp,  the  celebrant  being  an  Irish  priest,  chap- 
lain to  Count  Rochambeau.  The  French  regimental 
bands  accompanied  the  sacred  service  with  solemn 
music,  the  otficers  and  soldiers  attended  in  full  uni- 
form, a  large  concourse  of  citizens  were  present,  so 
that  the  small  church  was  not  only  crowded,  but  the 
spacious  yard  in  front  was  also  filled.  St.  Peter's  re- 
mained in  an  unfinished  state  until  1783. 

In  the  following  year  the  Rev.  Charles  Sewell  came 
to  reside  in  Baltimore,  having  been  appointed  pastor 
of  St.  Peter's,  and  was  the  first  resident  Catholic 
priest.  The  congregation  having  increased  so  much 
as  to  make  a  larger  church  necessary,  an  addition  to 
St.  Peter's  was  built  of  larger  dimensions  than  the 
original  church.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Sewell  was  the  only 
pastor  for  two  or  three  years.  In  the  year  1786  the 
Rev.  John  Carroll  was  stationed  at  St.  Peter's,  and, 
in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Sewell,  performed  the  labori- 
ous duties  of  the  mission  for  several  vears.     His  first 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


531 


sermon  in  Baltimore  was  on  tlie  parable  of  the  ten 
virgins;  the  classical  purity  of  his  composition,  the 
sweetness  of  his  manner,  and  his  earnest  piety  made 
a  deep  impression  upon  his  audience,  and  he  soon 
became  a  general  favorite  among  Protestants  as  well 
as  Catholics.  Before  the  Revolution  the  Catholics 
of  America  were  subject  to  the  spiritual  jurisdiction 
of  the  bishop  (vicar-apostolic)  of  the  London  district, 
but  after  the  Revolution  there  was  very  little  communi- 
cation between  the  bishop  and  the  Catholics  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  Shortly  after  the  war  the  clergy 
of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  convinced  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  superior  on  the  spot,  requested  permission 
of  the  Holy  See  to  choose  a  superior  from  their  own 


Rt.  Rev.  Charles  Walmsley,  Bishop  of  Rama,  senior 
vicar-apostolic  of  England.  By  invitation  of  Thomas 
Weld,  Esq.,  the  consecration  of  the  new  bishop  was 
performed  during  a  solemn  high  mass  in  the  elegant 
chapel  of  Lulworth  Castle  on  Sunday,  the  15th  of 
August,  1790,  and  the  munificence  of  that  gentleman 
omitted  nothing  that  could  possibly  add  dignity  to  so 
imposing  a  ceremony.  It  was  during  his  short  stay 
in  England  that  Bishop  Carroll  met  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Nagot,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  superior-general  of 
the  Sulpitians  from  Paris  to  London  to  confer  with 
him  upon  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  theological 
seminary  in  America.  The  good  bishop  encouraged 
the  pious  design,  and  on  the  10th  of  July,  1791,  Rev. 


body ;  and  this  request  having  been  granted.  Rev. 
John  Carroll  was  unanimously  chosen,  and  his  nomi- 
nation approved  by  the  Holy  See,  which  invested 
him  with  the  power  of  administering  confirmation. 
In  the  year  1789  the  earliest  general  meeting  of  the 
Catholic  clergy  of  the  United  States  of  which  we  find 
any  account  was  held  at  Baltimore.  At  that  meet- 
ing it  was  decided  that  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  should 
be  requested  to  establish  an  Episcopal  See  in  Balti- 
more, and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Carroll  was  recommended  as 
a  suitable  person  for  the  office  of  chief  pastor.  It 
became  necessary  for  Dr.  Carroll  to  go  to  Europe  to 
receive  consecration  ;  he  accordingly  repaired  to  Eng- 
land, and  presented  himself  for  that  purpose  to  the 


Mr.  Nagot,  with  several  priests  of  the  society,  arrived 
in  Baltimore,  and  founded  the  Seminary  of  St.  Mary's. 
It  may  be  interesting  to  observe  that  at  this  time  the 
whole  thirteen  original  States  were  included  in  Bishop 
Carroll's  diocese.  There  were  nineteen  priests  in 
Maryland,  and  five  in  Pennsylvania.  In  1791  a  dio- 
cesan synod  was  held  by  Bishop  Carroll  in  Baltimore, 
at  which  several  decrees  of  discipline  were  enacted. 
This  synod  was  attended  by  twenty  priests. 

Ten  years  after  his  elevation  to  the  episcopate 
Bishop  Carroll's  duties  had  become  so  onerous  that 
he  petitioned  the  pope  to  grant  him  a  coadjutor-bishop. 
The  request  was  granted,  and  the  Rev.  Leonard  Neale, 
D.D.,   was   appointed,   and   was   consecrated   in   St. 


532 


IIISTOllV    OF    BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Peter's  on  Sunday,  December,  1800.  For  many  year.s 
St.  Peter's  wiis  the  cathedral  church  of  Baltimore, 
but  the  Catholics  became  so  numerous  that,  notwith- 
standing the  organization  of  St.  Patrick's  and  St. 
John's  congregations,  St.  Peter'.s  was  crowded  to  ex- 
cess on  Sundays  and  liolidays.  The  erection  of  a 
larger  cluircli  became  a  necessity,  and  on  the  7th  of 
July,  l.'^l»(^  llishop  Carroll  laid  the  corner-stone  of 
tlie  [ircsciit  catliodral.'  Attached  to  the  corner-stone 
was  a  coiiiiri-  plate  with  a  Latin  inscription,  w'hich 
may  be  thus  freely  translated :  "  The  first  stone  of 
the  cathedral  church  to  be  erected  to  the  honor  of 
Almighty  God,  under  the  title  of  Jesus  and  Mary, 
was  placed  this  7th  day  of  July,  1806,  by  the  Rt. 
Rev.  John  (Carroll),  Bishop  of  Baltimore."  The 
square  of  ground  occupied  by  the  edifice  was  obtained 
from  Col.  Howard  on  such  generous  terms  as  justly 
to  entitle  him  to  be  considered  as  a  large  contributor 
to  the  work.  The  construction  of  the  cathedral  was 
immediately  begun,  and  was  continued  until  1812, 
when  it  was  suspended  by  the  war  and  other  causes. 
In  1815  work  was  resumed,  and  proceeded  without  in- 
terruption until  the  completion  of  the  edifice  in  1821. 
The  building  was  constructed  of  porphyritic  granite, 
which  was  brought  from  near  Ellicott  City  on  wagons 
drawn  by  oxen.  Its  outward  length,  including  the  por- 
tico, isone  hundred  and  ninety  feet;  its  width,  including 
the  arms  of  the  cross,  is  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven 
feet ;  and  its  height,  from  the  floor  of  the  nave  to 
the  summit  of  the  cross  which  surmounts  the  dome,  is 
one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  feet.  Its  style  and 
decorations  are  of  the  Grecian  Ionic  order.  From 
the  intersection  of  the  arms  with  the  body  of  the 
cross,  and  supported  by  pillars  of  corresponding  size 
and  form,  springs  a  great  dome  of  two  hundred  and 
seven  feet  in  circumference  internally,  and  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-one  externally.  The  cathedral  was 
designed  by  the  distinguished  architect  and  civil  en- 
gineer, B.  H.  Latrobe,  Sr.,  and  was  built  under  his 
superintendence.  It  cost  two  hundred  and  twenty-  \ 
five  thousand  dollars.  The  funds  were  obtained  in 
part  from  the  sale  of  the  old  cemetery  on  Charles 
Street,  from  that  of  a  portion  of  the  ground  secured 
for  the  cathedral  itself  on  Franklin  Street,  from  a 
lottery,  and  from  subscriptions.'^ 

'  St.  Peter's  stood  until  1840,  wlien  it  wa8  removed.  The  first  Catliolic 
priest  ordained  in  the  United  States,  Rev.  Stephen  Theodore  Badiii,  was 
ordained  in  St.  Peter's  ou  the  25th  of  May,  1793.  j 

2  In  1803  it  wa«  proposed  to  hold  a  lottery  for  the  purpose  of  erecting 
a  catlieiiral.     Twenty-one  thousand  tii-kets  were  to  be  issued  at  ten 
dollars  each,  fifteen  per  r'-nt  ■■f  rvhi'li  w:is  the  amount  to  be  raised  for  I 
the  benefit  of  the  raili.  I     1     n,.    ,   n  innicr  was  to  be  distributi'd  in 
prizes.    Themanai;eis  !:■    I:    .    I,  In. |.  Carroll,  Uev.  Fiaucis  lioes- 

ton,  and  Messrs.  Diivnl  w  nn  mi,-,  n,  l;,-(.,it  Walsh,  Charles  Ghequiere, 
Patrick  Bennet,  Arnold  i.ivcib,  l.nUc  Tiernan,  and  Francis  I.  Mitchell. 
On  the  6ih  of  May,  1812,  it  was  announced  that  a  lottery  would  be 
held  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  calhedial;  two  thousand  five 
hundred  tickets  at  ten  dollars  each  were  to  bo  issmd,  an.l  fliteun  per 
cent,  of  the  amount  thus  raised  was  to  bf  nipt  ,[  i  i  ,i,  I  i  ,i  i  in  ,,lij,-ctof 
the  lottery,  while  the  renuiinder  was  to  be  In  i     i:     <i      ixl.ici-s  of 

fortunate  tickets.    The  managei-s  were  Ii.n  ii  ^^  "     huiijeu- 

ne,  Luke  Tiernau,  Basil  S.  Elder,  Philip  l.,vi    ,,     N,  .  I,,,:,,  Cairoll, 


The  debt  was  not  entirely  discharged,  however, 
until  many  years  later.  On  the  31st  of  May,  1821,  the 
cathedral,  although  not  entirely  completed,  was  sol- 
emnly dedicated  by  Archbishop  Marfichal.  Although 
the  doors  were  opened  at  nine  o'clock,  great  numbers 
of  people  assembled  in  the  vicinity  of  the  church 
several  hours  before,  and  thousands  were  obliged  to 
depart  without  witnessing  the  interesting  ceremonies. 
At  half-past  ten  the  procession  moved  from  the 
archbishop's  residence  to  the  church  in  the  following 
order : 

1.  The  trustees  of  the  church. 

2.  The  processional  cross-bearer,  between  two  aco- 
lytes with  candles. 

3.  Twenty-four  boys  in  white  dresses,  two  and  two. 

4.  The  ecclesiastical  students  of  Mount  St.  Mary's, 
Emmitsburg. 

5.  The  ecclesiastical  students  of  St.  Mary's,  Balti- 
more. 

6.  The  purifiers,  acolytes,  mitre-bearers,  and  crozier- 
bearers. 

7.  Twenty-four  clergymen,  in  surplices  and  stoles. 

8.  Four  archdeacons  in  copes. 

9.  The  Right  Rev.  Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  in  cope 
and  mitre,  attended  by  deacon  and  subdeacon. 

10.  The  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Cheverus,  Bishop  of  Bos- 
ton, in  cope  and  mitre,  attended  by  deacon  and  sub- 
deacon. 

11.  The  officiating  deacon  and  subdeacon,  in  their 
tunics  and  dalmatics. 

12.  Lastly  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Marechal,  Archbishop 
of  the  United  States,  chief  officiating  prelate,  in 
cope,  mitre,'  pallium,  and  crozier,*  attended  by  an 
archdeacon,  and  followed  by  a  full  band  of  music. 
The  procession  moved  down  the  centre  aisle,  while 
the  Fiftieth  Psalm  was  solemnly  chanted  by  the  clergy 
with  the  band  accompaniment.  Having  arrived  at 
the  door,  the  usual  prayer  was  repeated  by  the  arch- 
bishop, after  which  the  procession  again  moved,  the 
archbishop  sprinkling  the  walls  with'  water  blessed 
for  the  occasion.  On  entering  the  church  again,  the 
Litany  of  the  Saints  commenced  with  organ  accom- 
paniment. When  finished,  the  procession  in  the  in- 
terior took  place  with  the  usual  psalms  and  prayers 
for  the  benediction  of  a  church.     Upon  the  conclu- 

Jr,,  John  Walsh,  Abraham  White,  Jr.,  John  Carrere,  Dr.  Chatard,  Mat- 
thew Bennett,  Michael  Biddlemoser,  and  John  Hunter. 

On  the  I2tb  of  May,  1819,  another  "grand"  lottery  for  the  purpose  of 
completing  the  cathedral  watj  advertised.  Twelve  thousand  five  hun- 
dred tickets  were  to  be  issued  at  forty  dollars  each.  Seveuty-five  thou- 
sand dollars  of  the  amount  raised  was  to  be  reserved  for  the  benefit  of 
the  cathedral,  and  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  to  be 
distributed  in  prizes.  The  managers  were  David  Williamson,  Luke  Tier- 
liiiM,  William  Jinluns.Basn  S.Elder,  John  Carrere,  Philip  Lawrenaon, 
.lilin  «  il  !i,  Mi.iliuii  White,  Jr.,  Dr.  Chatard,  Michael  Riddlomoser, 
.1,,].:.  II    :  I   I     .     ,  1  !i,h1i-s  Carroll,  Jr. 

I  11  Catholic  Provincial  Council  was  helH  in  Balti- 

iiiiii  ,,,,i  ,,H  111,  1  ,M  liny  of  its  session  (October  27th)  ten  of  the  bishopa 
wore  mil  I  IS,  which  was  the  firet  time  that  so  large  a  number  had  been 
worn  at  one  assembly  in  the  United  States. 

*  The  crozier  was  that  which  had  been  used  by  Bishop  Carroll  in  lay- 
ing the  corner-stone  of  the  cathedral  in  1806. 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


533 


sion  of  these  ceremonies  pontifical  high  mass  was 
sung  by  the  archbishop,  and  an  eloquent  sermon  de- 
livered by  Kev.  Roger  Baxter,  S.J.'  The  cathedral 
was  soon  enriched  with  many  valuable  engravings, 
and  with  the  two  large  oil  paintings  on  either  side 
of  the  main  entrance,  which  latter  were  presented  to 
Dr.  Marechal  by  friends  in  France.  The  grand  high 
altar  was  also  a  gift  to  him,  as  appears  from  the  in- 
scription upon  it. 

Previous  to  the  dedication  on  the  13th  of  November, 
1820,  the  pews  of  the  cathedral  were  offered  at  auction, 
and  forty  thousand  dollars  were  realized  from  the  sale 
of  one-half  of  them.  Shortly  after  his  installation  in 
1828,  Archbishop  Whitfield  purchased  in  Marseilles, 
France,  the  cathedral  bell,  which  for  many  years  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  largest,  if  not  the  largest,  in  the 
country.  One  of  the  towers  was  also  completed,  and 
the  church  further  enriched  at  his  personal  expense.'^ 
During  the  closing  years  of  Dr.  Whitfield's  adminis- 
tration the  archiepiscopal  residence  at  106  North 
Charles  Street  was  commenced,  and  was  finished 
during  the  first  years  of  Dr.  Eccleston's  incumbency. 
Before  that  time  the  archiepiscopal  residence  had  been 
at  St.  Peter's.  Dr.  Eccleston's  episcopate  was  also 
distinguished  by  his  labors  for  the  completion  of  the 
cathedral.  It  is  indebted  to  him  for  the  second  tower, 
and  the  interior  and  exterior  decorations  of  a  portion 
of  the  pile.  During  the  summer  of  1865  the  ca- 
thedral was  tlioroughly  renovated  under  the  special 
superintendence  of  Archbishop  Spalding.  The  old 
.  pulpit  was  removed  from  its  original  position  opposite 
the  archiepiscopal  throne,  and  eight  black  marble 
tablets,  commemorative  of  the  deceased  archbishops, 
were  imbedded  in  the  wall.  The  gallery  over  the 
main  entrance,  for  years  occupied  by  the  Christian 
Brothers  and  their  pupils,  was  converted  into  a  pew- 
gallery  for  the  congregation.  The  present  portico, 
commenced  by  Archbishop  Kenrick,  was  completed, 
and  a  large  clock  of  French  manufacture  was  placed 
in  the  southern  tower  in  the  spring  of  1866.  On  the 
25th  of  May,  1876,  the  fifty-fifth  anniversary  of  its 
dedication,  the  cathedral  was  formally  consecrated. 
The  ceremonies  occupied  six  hours  and  a  half,  com- 
mencing at  8.30  A.M.  None  but  participants  were 
admitted  during  the  preliminary  services.  The  gates 
were  closed,  and  a  guard  of  seventy-five  members 
of  the  Young  Catholics'  Friends'  Society  were  on 
duty,  a.ssisted  by  a  detachment  of  police.  Cathe- 
dral and  Mulberry  Streets  were  thronged  with  an 
orderly  assemblage  of  people,  who  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  witnessing  the  procession  as  the  circuit  of 


1  On  the  3d  of  May,  1821,  Haydn's  grand  oratorio  of  "  The  Creation" 
was  performed  in  the  catliedral  to  one  of  the  most  hrilliant  audiences 
ever  assembled  in  Baltimore. 

-  The  value  and  richness  of  the  sacred  appointments  in  the  cathedral 
would  seem  about  this  time  to  have  excited  the  cnpidity  of  thieves,  for 
on  the  18th  of  April,  1833,  an  attempt  was  made  to  rob  it.  The  thieves, 
however,  only  succeeded  in  securing  a  few  candlesticks,  crucifixes,  etc. 
It  was  robbed  again  Feb.  10,  1840,  of  several  candlesticks,  crucifixes,  two 
gold  chalices,  and  a  monstrance  of  gold  and  silver. 


the  building  was  made  in  the  ceremony  of  sprinkling 
and  blessing  the  exterior  of  the  edifice.  At  half-past 
eight  o'clock  the  procession,  composed  of  semina- 
rians, priests,  followed  by  the  archbishop,  moved 
from  the  archiepiscopal  residence  to  the  cathedral, 
where  twelve  candles  before  the  twelve  crosses  in  the 
various  parts  of  the  church  were  lighted.  The  pro- 
cession then  returned  to  the  archiepiscopal  residence, 
where  in  the  oratory  relics  of  Sts.  Lawrence  and  Vic- 
tor had  been  kept  during  the  preceding  night  under  a 
guard  of  honor.  The  seven  penitential  psalms  having 
been  said  before  the  relics,  the  archbishop,  in  full 
canonicals,  with  mitre  and  crozier  borne  before  him, 
passed  three  times  around  the  church,  sprinkling 
the  walls  and  pavement,  while  benedictions  were  pro- 
nounced and  antiphons  were  sung.  The  archbishop 
then  knocked  with  his  crozier  at  the  main  entrance 
of  the  church,  crying,  "Lift  up  your  eternal  gates,  ye 
heavenly  princes,  and  let  the  King  of  glory  enter !" 
Rev.  Father  Curtis,  from  within,  responded,  "Who  is 
the  King  of  glory?"  to  which  came  from  the  clergy 
the  chanted  answer,  "The  Lord,  mighty  and  potent." 
The  archbishop  and  his  deacons  of  honor  then  entered, 
and  the  Veni  Creator  and  Litany  of  the  Saints  were 
chanted.  The  archbishop,  with  the  point  of  his  staff 
sprinkled  with  ashes,  wrote  in  Greek  and  Latin  charac- 
ters upon  the  walls,  in  lines  crossing  from  right  to  left 
and  from  left  to  right,  sentences  signifying  that  the 
Lord  is  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  beginning  and 
the  end.  Once  more  returning  to  the  archiepiscopal 
residence,  the  casket  of  relics  was  borne  in  procession 
to  the  cathedral,  where  it  was  deposited  on  the  main 
altar,  which  was  anointed  with  chrism  by  the  arch- 
bishop and  sealed  with  cement.  After  the  procession 
had  entered  with  the  relics,  the  gates  were  opened  and 
pew-holders  and  others  admitted.  The  altar  was  in- 
censed, and  the  archbishop  anointed  the  twelve  crosses 
and  the  crosses  on  the  altars,  the  seminarians  and 
priests  chanting  a  psalm.  The  front  of  the  altar  was 
anointed  and  incensed  three  times  with  the  sign  of  the 
cross.  The  consecration  services  were  concluded  with 
the  customary  prayers.  During  1879  extensive  changes 
and  improvements  were  made  in  the  interior  of  the 
cathedral,  under  the  supervision  of  Archbishop  Gib- 
bons, wliich  have  added  greatly  to  its  appearance. 
In  1822  the  remains  of  Archbishop  Carroll  were  re- 
moved to  the  cathedral  from  St.  Mary's  Seminary 
chapel,  where  they  had  reposed  seven  years,  and  con- 
signed to  their  present  sepulchre  beneath  the  archi- 
episcopal throne.  Since  that  period  five  successive 
archbishops  have  been  laid  beside  Archbishop  Car- 
roll, each  of  whom,  with  the  exception  of  Archbishop 
Spalding,  officiated  at  the  obsequies  of  his  immediate 
predecessor.  The  remains  of  Archbishop  Whitfield 
lie  directly  under  the  grand  altar,  those  of  Dr.  Ec- 
cleston  beneath  the  right  sacristy,  and  those  of  Drs. 
Kenrick  and  Spalding  beneath  the  memorial  tablets. 
The  mausoleums  have  a  depth  of  ten  feet,  a  breadth 
of  four  feet,  and  a  height  of  seven  feet. 


534 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Twelve  of  the  most  important  Councils  of  the 
church,  including  two  Plenary  Councils,  have  been 
held  in  the  cathedral,  and  twenty-seven  bishops  have 
been  consecrated  at  its  altars.  The  first  Catholic 
bishop  consecrated  and  the  first  Catholic  priest  or- 
dained in  the  United  States  received  their  consecra- 
tion and  ordination  in  tlie  cathedral. 

During  the  great  fire  of  1873  the  cathedral  wis  in 
imminent  danger,  but  was  saved  by  the  brave  exer- 
tions of  a  number  of  persons,  who  at  great  personal 
risk  ascended  to  the  dome  and  protected  the  roof  with 
wet  blankets. 

Among  the  many  priests  who  have  ministered  at 
the  cathedral  altars  may  be  mentioned  Rev.  James 
Whitfield,  Rev.  Roger  Smith,  Rev.  Charles  J.  White, 
Rev.  Alexius  J.  Elder,  Rev.  J.  Beeston,  Rev.  Henry 
B.  Coskery,  Rev.  John  Hickey,  Rev.  Thomas  Foley, 
Rev.  John  McNally,  Rev.  Thomas  A.  Becker,  and 
Rev.  James  Gibbons.  The  clergy  connected  with  the 
cathedral  at  present  are  Rev.  Edward  McColgan, 
vicar -general,  and  the  Reverends  Fathers  Thomas  S. 
Lee,  Alfred  A.  Curtis,  and  George  W.  Devine. 

The  cathedral  choir  has  been  acknowledged  for 
many  years  to  be  the  best  in  Baltimore,  and  some  of 
the  best  vocalists  of  the  city  are  enrolled  among  its 
members.  Joseph  Gegan  was  the  superintendent  of 
the  choir  from  1832  until  Sept.  1, 1876,  and  to  his  train- 
ing it  owesmuch  of  its  reputation.  Prof.  John  Lin- 
hard  was  the  organist  for  twenty-six  years,  and  until 
his  death,  Nov.  21,  1876.  The  present  organist  is 
John  Veith,  and  the  leader  of  the  choir  is  Frank  X. 
Hale.  The  organ  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  country, 
and  when  erected  in  1821  it  was  the  most  powerful. 
The  cathedral  has  had  five  sextons, — Alexander  Mc- 
Donald, William  Myers,  Jonathan  MuUan,  John  P. 
Mullan,  and  James  JlcCann. 

Cathedral  Cemetery. — The  Cathedral  Cemetery, 
situated  between  Winchester  and  Tenant  Streets,  at 
a  point  where  these  intersect  North  Carey  Street,  con- 
tains about  eighteen  acres,  divided  into  eighteen 
hundred  lots.  The  original  tract  of  twelve  acres  was 
purchased  in  1815,  and  consecrated  by  Archbishop 
Carroll.  On  the  28th  of  May,  1845,  at  a  large  meet- 
ing of  Catholic  residents,  presided  over  by  Rev.  H. 
B.  Coskery,  Dr.  E.  Chaisty,  secretary,  a  handsome 
amount  of  money  was  subscribed  for  the  purpose  of 
inclosing  the  grounds  with  a  high  substantial  fence 
or  wall,  and  for  building  near  the  entrance  a  porter's 
lodge.  On  the  2d  of  November,  1849,  an  addition 
of  six  or  seven  acres  on  the  north  was  consecrated  by 
Archbishop  Eccleston,  assisted  by  Rev.  Mr.  Coskery, 
Rev.  Edward  McColgan,  Rev.  Mr.  Parsons,  Rev.  Mr. 
Donelan,  Rev.  Mr.  Foley,  Rev.  Mr.  Griffin,  and  the 
Very  Rev.  Father  Barnard,  provincial  of  the  order  of 
Redemptorists,  with  a  number  of  students  from  the 
seminary.  Father  Coskery  delivered  the  address. 
In  1869  this  cemetery  had  become  so  crowded  that 
the  trustees  of  the  cathedral  purchased  the  tract  on 
the  old  Frederick  road,  about  three  miles  from  the  city. 


known  as  "  Bonnie  Brae."  It  contains  between  forty 
and  fifty  acres,  and  was  purchased  from  Capt.  Charles 
McBlair,  and  is  in  close  proximity  to  St.  Joseph's 
Passionist  Monastery.  It  was  consecrated  on  the  3d 
of  July,  1870,  by  the  Very  Rev.  Henry  Benedict 
Coskery,  under  the  direction  of  Bishop  Thomas 
Foley,  of  Chicago,  assisted  by  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Lee 
and  Rev.  John  Dougherty,  chancellor  of  the  diocese, 
who  acted  as  master  of  ceremonies.  Immediately 
after  the  consecration  the  grounds  were  laid  out  by 
Charles  P.  Kahler,  civil  engineer  and  city  surveyor, 
and  the  mortuary  chapel  of  solid  granite,  in  the  Gothic 
style,  was  begun.  Beneath  this  chapel  are  buried  the 
remains  of  the  venerable  Father  Coskery,  founder  of 
the  cemetery.  In  1872  the  remains  of  forty -seven  Car- 
melite nuns  were  removed  hither  from  their  old  in- 
stitution. No.  62  Aiscfuith  Street,  and  in  1877  removals 
from  the  old  cemetery  were  progressing  at  the  rate  of 
fifteen  a  day.  Among  the  remains  removed  are  those 
of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  which  were  origi- 
nally interred  in  the  family  chapel  at  Doughoregan 
Manor,  and  afterwards  transferred  to  the  old  cemetery. 
In  December,  1877,  the  remains  of  thirty-six  Sisters 
of  Charity  who  perished  while  ministering  to  the 
suflerers  from  cholera  in  1832  were  removed  from  the 
vault  which  had  been  presented  to  their  order  by  the 
mayor  and  City  Council  of  Baltimore  in  recognition 
of  their  services  and  transferred  to  "  Bonnie  Brae," 
where  the  vault  has  been  carefully  restored.  During 
these  disinterments  thirteen  bodies  in  one  lot  were 
found  petrified;  some  of  these  were  the  bodies  of. 
children,  and  were  as  perfect  as  when  interred. 

Calvary  Cemetery. — Calvary  Catholic  Cemetery, 
comprising  about  seven  acres,  was  established  shortly 
after  the  foundation  of  St.  Mary's  Theological  Semi- 
nary, July  31,  1791,  during  the  administration  of  the 
Rev.  Father  Noli,  first  superior  of  the  Sulpitians  in 
the  diocese,  and  was  consecrated  by  the  venerable 
Archbishop  Carroll.  It  extends  eastward  from  the 
east  wall  of  the  old  college  building  and  seminary 
chapel  to  Paca  Street,  and  northwardly  from  a  point 
eighty  feet  from  Franklin  Street  to  Druid  Hill 
Avenue.  It  contained  in  1874  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty  graves,  embracing  those  of  many  well-known 
Catholic  clergymen,  such  as  Fathers  Noli,  Tessier,  and 
L'Homme  (the  first,  second,  and  fourth  superiors  of 
St.  Mary's),  Rev.  James  Neator  Joubert  (founder  of 
the  Sisters  of  Providence),  Peter  S.  Schriver  (second 
pastor  of  St.  Vincent's  Church),  Charles  Wheeler, 
Alexius  J.  Elder,  John  F.  Hickey,  and  L.  L.  Rince. 

St.  Patrick's. — The  congregation  of  St.  Patrick's 
Church  was  formed  in  the  year  1792  by  the  Rev.  An- 
thony Garnier,  a  native  of  France,  and  at  the  time 
Professor  of  Theology  in  St.  Mary's  Seminary.  The 
first  mass  was  celebrated  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Car- 
roll in  the  third  story  of  the  house  still  standing  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  Bond  Street  and  Canton 
Avenue,  about  twenty  persons  attending.  It  was  not 
a  very  imposing  edifice,  and  with  its  unplastered  walls 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


must  have  struck  strangely,  and  perhaps  unpleasantly, 
upon  the  eye  accustomed  to  the  rich  appointments  that 
generally  surround  the  Catholic  worship,  but  it  was  a 
great  convenience  to  the  old  and  infirm,  who  were 
unable  to  reach  St.  Peter's  with  the  regularity  they 
desired.  From  the  small  attendance  at  the  opening 
mass  the  congregation  in  a  single  year  increased  so 
greatly  that  the  little  chapel  was  crowded  to  its  utmost 
capacity  at  every  service,  and  the  landlord  finally  be- 
coming concerned  for  the  safety  of  his  building,  or- 
dered the  room  to  be  vacated.  In  1793,  therefore, 
Father  Garnier  secured  a  more  commodious  room  on 
Thames  Street,  where  religious  services  were  held  for 
nearly  three  years.  The  accommodations,  however, 
were  still  insuflicient,  and  many  persons  were  com- 
pelled to  attend  St.  Peter's.  In  1796,  however,  the 
parishioners  took  the  matter  in  hand,  and  determined 
to  build  a  church  of  their  own.  The  head  of  each 
family  furnished  money  or  material  to  the  amount  of 
sixteen  dollars,  and  leasing  a  lot  sixty  by  one  hundred 
feet,  a  small  edifice  was  erected  on  Apple  Alley  (now 
Bethel  Street),  between  Eastern  and  Canton  Avenues. 
Many  members  of  the  congregation  assisted  personally 
in  the  construction  of  the  building,  which  was  forty- 
two  feet  long,  thirty-five  feet  wide,  and  fourteen  feet 
high.  Many  Protestants  contributed  liberally  towards 
its  completion.  After  the  opening  of  the  church  on 
June  5, 1797,  by  Bishop  Carroll,  who  delivered  on  the 
occasion  an  impressive  sermon.  Father  Garnier  at- 
tended the  spiritual  wants  of  the  church  until  he  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  John  Floyd.  Father  Floyd  was  a 
native  of  England,  a  convert  to  the  faith,  and  one  of 
the  first  students  of  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  which  he 
entered  in  1791,  and  where  he  was  ordained  priest  in 
1795.  While  yet  a  student  he  rendered  great  assistance 
to  Father  Garnier  in  the  formation  of  the  congrega- 
tion, of  which  he  assumed  the  charge  shortly  after  his 
ordination.  The  yellow  fever  having  visited  the  com- 
munity, he  found  ample  scope  for  the  exercise  of  the 
most  sacred  offices  of  charity  in  the  midst  of  pesti- 
lence and  in  the  face  of  death.  On  Sunday,  Sept.  8, 
1797,  while  celebrating  mass,  he  was  summoned  to 
attend  a  person  dying  with  the  yellow  fever.  He 
obeyed  the  call  without  hesitation,  and  contracting 
the  disease,  died  on  the  8th  of  the  same  month  at  the 
residence  of  Bishop  Carroll.  His  body  reposes  in  St. 
Patrick's  Cemetery,  on  the  Philadelphia  road.  He 
died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-nine  years.  Father 
Garnier,  who  during  Father  Floyd's  incumbency 
ministered  at  Carroll  Manor,  numbering  among  his 
flock  the  illustrious  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton, 
resumed  his  labors  at  the  Point,  and  continued  his 
visits  twice  a  week  until  the  appointment  of  Rev. 
Father  Michael  Cuddy,  in  May,  1803.  A  few  days 
after  the  arrival  of  the  new  pastor  Father  Garnier 
sailed  for  France,  and  became  Professor  of  Hebrew 
at  the  seminary  of  the  Sulpitians  in  Paris,  and  after- 
wards superior-general  of  the  order.  He  never  forgot 
the  field  of  his  former  labors,  and  often  sent  affec- 


tionate remembrances  to  his  friends  of  the  unpreten- 
tious little  church  on  Apple  Alley.  Father  Cuddy 
was  the  first  resident  pastor.  His  career  was  short 
but  edifying.  While  visiting  the  sick  he  was  attacked 
by  the  yellow  fever,  and  expired  Oct.  5,  1804.  His 
body  was  interred  within  the  former  church,  and  on 
the  completion  of  the  present  edifice  was  removed  to 
a  pldce  in  the  vestibule. 

Father  Cuddy  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  com- 
pleted his  studies  in  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  in  this  city. 
His  death  left  St.  Patrick's  without  a  pastor  at  a  most 
important  time, — that  of  the  general  jubilee, — but  for- 
tunately for  the  parishioners.  Rev.  J.  F.  Moranville, 
a  pious  priest  driven  from  France  by  the  revolution, 
arrived  in  Baltimore,  and  offering  his  services  to 
Bishop  Carroll,  was  allowed  to  conduct  the  jubilee 
services.  He  was  ably  assisted  in  both  pulpit  and 
confessional  by  Rev.  Fathers  Flaget  and  David,  whose 
zeal  and  piety  were  afterwards  rewarded  with  bishop- 
rics. Father  Moranville  leased  and  afterwards  pur- 
chased in  fee  simple  the  lot  at  the  northeast  corner  of 
Broadway  and  Bank  Street,  and  in  the  month  of  July, 
1806,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  edifice  was  laid 
by  Bishop  Carroll.  The  building  was  dedicated  to 
divine  worship  by  the  same  prelate,  Nov.  29,  1807. 
Rev.  Father  Dubourg,  afterwards  Bishop  of  New  Or- 
leans, and  late  Archbishop  of  Besanqon,  preached  the 
opening  sermon.  Never  was  priest  more  faithful  in 
the  discharge  of  his  sacred  duties  than  Father  Mo- 
ranville, as  was  shown  by  his  almost  superhuman 
labors  during  the  yellow  fever  scourge  of  1819  and  1821. 
He  was  twice  prostrated  by  the  dread  disease,  from  the 
effects  of  which  he  never  entirely  recovered.  On  the 
1st  of  October,  1823,  he  sailed  for  France  for  the  bene- 
fit of  his  health.  He  lingered  for  several  months, 
and  expired  at  Amiens,  May  27,  1824.  Observing 
with  regret  the  neglect  of  proper  provision  for  the 
education  of  poor  females.  Rev.  Mr.  Moranville  de- 
termined to  establish  a  school  to  supply  the  deficiency. 
He  organized  an  association  of  charitable  ladies,  under 
the  name  of  St.  Patrick's  Benevolent  Society,  who 
by  monthly  contributions  supplied  funds  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  school  and  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering 
poor.  This  society  was  founded  in  June,  1815,  and 
the  school  went  into  operation  the  same  year.  At 
this  period  public  schools  under  the  State  and  city 
authorities  had  not  yet  been  established,  nor  had  any 
of  those  admirable  schools  since  conducted  by  the 
Sisters  of  Charity,  been  instituted  in  Baltimore.  St. 
Patrick's  Free  School  admitted  poor  children  without 
distinction  of  creeds.  Mr.  Moranville  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Nicholas  Kearney,  of  Kildare,  Ireland,  who 
for  seventeen  years  was  the  friend,  the  model,  and 
the  faithful  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  congregation.  He 
died  on  the  27th  of  February,  1841,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Rev.  James  Dolan.  Father  Dolan  was 
born  in  Cashel,  Ireland,  July  1,  1814,  was  ordained 
priest  in  December,  1840,  and  was  pastor  of  St.  Pat- 
rick's for  twenty-nine  years.     He  was   a   model  of 


536 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


sacerdotal  virtue,  distinguished  for  simplicity  of 
manners,  zeal,  and  purity  of  life,  devoted  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  poor,  especially  the  orphan,  and  esteemed 
and  beloved  by  all  classes.  He  died  Jan.  12,  1870. 
During  his  long  pastorate  Father  Dolan  labored  un- 
ceasingly for  the  welfare  of  those  confided  to  his  care. 
He  enlarged  the  church  at  an  expense  of  fifteen 
thousand  dollars,  and  imported  from  Ireland  a  mag- 
nificent altar  of  green  marble,  which  still  stands  in 
the  spacious  sanctuary.  His  principal  work  was  the 
erection  of  an  orphan  asylum  to  shelter  the  children 
of  some  Irish  emigrants  who  died  of  ship  fever  in 
Baltimore  in  1847.  He  also  built  the  churches  of  St. 
Bridget,  Canton,  and  St.  Mary's,  Govanstown,  out  of 
liis  own  private  means.  The  Cemetery  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  on  the  Harford  road,  adjoining  Darley  Park, 
was  purchased  and  founded  by  him  in  18G5.  Imme- 
diately after  the  death  of  Father  Dolan,  the  present 
incumbent,  the  zealous,  pious,  and  learned  Father 
John  Gaitley,  was  intrusted  with  the  care  of  St.  Pat- 
rick's flock,  and  most  nobly  has  he  honored  the  trust. 
A  few  years  after  the  commencement  of  his  pastorate 
the  church  was  extensively  remodeled,  under  his  per- 
sonal superintendence,  at  a  cost  of  several  thousand 
dollars,  and  St.  Patrick's  will  now  compare  favorably 
with  any  church  edifice  in  the  city.  The  assistant 
priests  at  St.  Patrick's  are  N.  W.  Caughey  and  M.  J. 
Brennan.  Attached  to  the  church  are  the  following 
valuable  institutions:  Xaverian  Brothers'  school,  of 
three  hundred  pupils,  conducted  in  St.  Patrick's  Hall, 
a  handsome  building,  erected  in  1872;  the  Orphans' 
Home;  Dolan  Institute,  on  Gough  Street,  under 
charge  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross ;  and  the  fe- 
male school,  under  the  same  management.  The  female 
school  numbers  about  three  hundred  pupils,  and  has 
been  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  Xaverian 
Brothers  were  introduced  in  the  parish  by  the  present 
pastor.  The  church  was  consecrated  on  the  5th  of 
May,  1844,  by  Archbishop  Eccleston,  assisted  by 
Fathers  Delouel,  S.S.,  Ryder,  S.J.,  and  other  eminent 
divines. 

St.  Joseph's  Church,  northeast  corner  of  Barre 
and  Howard  Streets,  is  the  fourth  Catholic  Church 
in  Baltimore  in  point  of  age.  Previous  to  the  year 
1839  there  was  no  Catholic  Church  in  South  Balti- 
more, and  in  order  to  provide  for  the  growing  popu- 
lation of  that  section  Rev.  Father  J.  B.  L.  E.  Dam- 
phoux,  D.D.,  undertook  the  erection  of  a  suitable  edi- 
fice. Principally  through  his  active  exertions  and  gen- 
erous pecuniary  aid,  the  undertaking  proved  successful, 
and  on  Sunday  afternoon,  June  16,  1839,  the  corner- 
stone of  St.  Joseph's  was  laid  by  Archbishop  Eccleston. 
In  December  of  the  same  year  the  church  was  sel- 
emnly  dedicated  by  Bishop  Chance,  and  Father  Dam- 
phoux  took  immediate  charge  of  the  parish.  Father 
Damphoux  was  born  in  France  in  the  winter  of  1788. 
He  was  for  a  time  connected  with  St.  Mary's  Semi- 
nary and  the  cathedral,  and  after  a  service  of  ten 


I  years  at  St.  Joseph's  was  obliged  to  give  up  his  charge 
in  consequence  of  ill  health.  He  died  in  1860,  and 
his  remains  were  interred  in  the  old  Cathedral  Ceme- 
tery. After  Father  Damphoux's  resignation  in  1849 
the  Jesuits,  under  Rev.  William  F.  Clarke,  took  charge 
of  St.  Joseph's,  and  remained  until  1860.  During 
their  eleven  years'  connection  with  the  parish  many 
improvements  were  effected,  and  the  revenues  of  the 
church  were  largely  increased  under  Father  Clarke's 
judicious  management.     He  purchased    property  in 

[  the  immediate  vicinity,  which  subsequently  contrib- 
uted considerably  to  the  parochial  funds,  and  enabled 

I  him  to  make  various  improvements.  The  present 
pastoral  residence,  No.  93  Barre  Street,  adjoining  the 
church,  was  erected  through  Father  Clarke's  instru- 
mentality, as  were  also  the  male  and  female  acade- 
mies on  Barre  near  Sharp  Street.  In  1858,  Father 
Clarke  was  transferred  from  St.  Joseph's  to  Loyola 
College,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Bernard 
A.  Maguire,  S.J.,  and  the  Rev.  Burchard  Villiger, 
S.J.     In    1860   the   Jesuit   clergy   relinquished   the 

i  management  of  St.  Joseph's,  and  the  parish  was  for- 

I  mally  transferred  to  Archbishop  Kenrick  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  secular  priests.  Rev.  Father  Michael 
Slattery,  previously  pastor  of  the  church  in  Western- 
port,  was  appointed  to  the  parish,  and  assumed  charge 

t  in  June,  1860.  The  parish  prospered  greatly  under 
Father  Slattery,  and  the  church  wag  twice  improved 
during  his  pastorate,  first  in  1861,  and  again  in  1864. 
The  question  of  removing  the  church  to  the  site  of 
the  male  academy  and  erecting  a  new  edifice  on  the 
adjacent  lot  was  agitated  by  the  parishioners  in  1864. 
Ground  contiguous  to  the  school-house  was  secured, 
and  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  raised  by  the 

I  congregation  to  aid  in  the  enterprise,  but  after  con- 

!  siderable  discussion  it  was  determined  not  to  prose- 

j  cute  the  undertaking  at  that  time.  Father  Slattery 
died  on  the  3d  of  October,  1866,  and  his  remains  were 
interred  in  the  Cemetery  of  the  Holy  Cross,  on  the 
Harford  road.  Rev.  John  J.  Dougherty,  then  assist- 
ant pastor  of  St.  Vincent's  Church,  succeeded  Father 
Slattery,  and  remained  in  charge  of  the  parish  until 
January,  1870,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  cath- 
edral as  the  successor  of  Very  Rev.  Thomas  Foley, 
D.D.  The  seventh  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's,  Rev.  Ed- 
mund Didier,  was  appointed  in  January,  1870,  and 
served  the  congregation  until  Sept.  21,  1871,  when 
he  was  transferred  to  the  assistant  pastorship  of  St. 

1  Vincent's.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  present  pas- 
tor, Rev.  Father  P.  L.  Chapelle,  D.D.  Rev.  Peter 
Manning  is  the  assistant  pastor.  Many  improve- 
ments have  been  made  under  Father  Chapelle's  direc- 
tion. The  male  school  has  been  enlarged  and  re- 
modeled, a  hall  for  society  meetings  has  been  erected, 
and  the  church  has  been  thoroughly  renovated  at  a 
cost  of  two  thousand  dollars.  The  improvements  to 
the  sacred  edifice  consist  of  a  new  roof,  the  frescoing 
of  the  interior  by  Scattaglia,  the  building  of  another 
story  over  the  sacristy,  and  the  supplying  of  heat  by 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


537 


furnace  instead  of  the  old-style  stoves.     A  beautiful  j 
new  altar-piece,  painted  by  Costaggini,  adds  much  to  I 
the  interior  beauty  of  the  church.     Attached  to  St. 
Joseph's  are  two  flourishing  schools,  male  and  female,  I 
numbering  nearly  five  hundred  scholars.   The  female 
school  is  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  \ 
and  tlie  boys'  school  is  taught  by  efficient  lady  teachers.  ' 
Among  the  memorable  incidents  connected  with  the 
church  may  be  mentioned  the  fact  that  the  first  estab- 
lishment of  the  Sodality  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  the 
diocese  of  Baltimore  was  at  St.  Joseph's,  in  1840,  by  a 
special  brief  from  Pope  Gregory  XVI.,  and  with  the 
approbation  of  Archbishop  Eccleston.   The  congrega- 
tion of  St.  Joseph's  numbers  about  two  thousand  five 
hundred  persons.   The  number  would  be  larger  but  for 
the  division  of  the  parish  in  1867,  when  the  church  of 
St.  Mary's  Star  of  the  Sea  was  erected.    Prof.  Isaac  T. 
Stoddard  was  organist  for   more  than   forty   years. 
Several   societies   are  connected  with    the    church, 
among  which  is  a  temperance  organization  numbering 
some  three  hundred  active  members. 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul.— The  church  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul,  21  North  Front  Street,  stands  fifth  in  point 
of  age  among  the  Catholic  parishes  of  Baltimore. 
In  the  latter  part  of  1839,  Rev.  John  Baptist  Gildea 
conceived  the  idea  of  erecting  the  church  in  order  to 
accommodate  the  hundreds  of  Catholics  residing  in 
the  section  bounded  by  Central  Avenue,  Gay,  and 
Pratt  Streets.  His  design  having  received  the  warm 
approval  of  Archbishop  Eccleston,  an  eligible  lot  of 
ground  was  secured  on  the  west  .side  of  Front  Street, 
between  Fayette  and  Low,  and  the  corner-stone  of 
the  church  laid  on  the  21st  of  May,  1840,  by  Arch- 
bishop Eccleston,  assisted  by  the  bishops  and  clergy 
of  the  Catholic  Church  then  in  the  city,  Rt.  Rev.  John 
England,  Bishop  of  Charleston,  delivering  the  ad- 
dress. The  construction  of  the  building  was  pushed 
forward  with  rapidity,  and  the  church  was  dedicated 
by  the  archbishop  on  Nov.  7,  1841.  After  a  life  of 
devoted  self-sacrifice,  the  founder  and  first  pastor  of 
the  church,  Rev.  John  B.  Gildea,  died  on  the  14th  of 
February,  1845.  In  accordance  with  his  dying  re- 
quest, his  remains  were  interred  beneath  the  altar  of 
St.  Vincent's,  where  they  still  repose.  The  male 
orphan  asylum,  adjoining  the  church,  was  erected  by 
Father  Gildea,  and  the  Catholic  Tract  Society  of 
Baltimore,  and  several  other  societies  connected  with 
the  spiritual  and  temporal  interests  of  the  church, 
originated  with  him.  The  assistant  pastor,  Rev.  Peter 
Screiber,  succeeded  Father  Gildea,  but  died  on  the 
15th  of  September,  1845.  In  the  same  month  Rev. 
Charles  T.  White,  D.D.,  was  transferred  from  the 
cathedral  to  the  pastoral  charge,  and  filled  the  posi- 
tion during  twelve  months.  His  successor,  Rev.  John 
B.  Donelan,  was  installed  in  September,  1846,  and 
served  until  1851.  The  fifth  pastor  was  Rev.  Leonard 
Obermyer,  who  received  his  appointment  from  Arch- 
bishop Kenrick  in  December,  1851,  and  retained  the 
management  of  the  congregation  until  Ai)ril,  1860. 


At  that  date  Rev.  Henry  Myers,  then  pastor  at  Pikes- 
ville,  Baltimore  Co.,  was  transferred  to  St.  Vincent's 
as  its  sixth  incumbent.  He  assumed  the  reins  of 
authority  under  extremely  favorable  circumstances, 
the  revenues  of  the  church  being  in  excellent  con- 
dition, and  the  schools,  societies,  etc.,  in  a  state  of 
great  prosperity.  Father  Myers  ruled  the  parish  with 
remarkable  ability  until  the  beginning  of  1873,  when 
sickness  incapacitated  him  from  further  active  labor. 
His  death  occurred  July  21,  1873.  He  was  succeeded 
by  the  present  able  and  zealous  pastor.  Rev.  Edmund 
Didier.  Revs.  John  Ahren  and  James  Cunningham 
are  the  assistant  pastors.  The  church  was  consecrated 
on  the  2.5th  of  March,  1879,  by  Archbishop  Gib- 
bons. 

Adjoining  the  church  on  Front  Street  stands  a  male 
orphan  asylum,  under  the  management  of  the  Chris- 
tian Brothers,  which  shelters  eighty  children.  The 
male  and  female  parochial  schools,  governed  respect- 
ively by  the  Christian  Brothers  and  the  Sisters  of 
Charity,  comprise  an  aggregate  of  about  five  hundred 
and  fifty  pupils.  Several  flourishing  organizations 
are  attached  to  the  church,  among  them  St.  Vincent's 
Temperance  Society,  established  by  Rev.  Father  Did- 
ier, which  numbers  between  three  and  four  hundred 
active  members.  A  magnificent  new  organ  was  built 
for  the  church  in  1873.  The  parochial  cemetery  is  on 
the  Belair  road,  a  short  distance  from  the  city  limits. 
St.  Peter's  Church,  northeast  comer  of  Popple- 
ton  and  Hollins  Streets,  was  founded  by  Rev.  Edward 
McColgan,  who  has  retained  the  pastoral  charge  of 
the  church  to  the  present  time.  The  corner-stone  of 
the  church  was  laid  on  the  23d  of  May,  1843,  by  Rev. 
Bishop  Hughes,  of  New  York,  assisted  by  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Kenrick,  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  edifice  was 
dedicated  on  the  22d  of  September,  1844,  by  Arch- 
bishop Eccleston,  Bishops  J.  J.  Chance,  John  Hughes, 
and  others  participating  in  the  ceremonies. 

Since  that  period  the  limits  of  the  parish,  as  well  as 
the  city  boundaries,  have  been  extended.  In  1865 
the  number  of  worshipers  had  become  so  great  that  a 
second  church  (St.  Martin's)  was  commenced  for  their 
accommodation  on  the  corner  of  Fulton  and  Fayette 
Streets,  which  was  dedicated  in  1867.  St.  Peter's  has 
been  twice  enlarged  since  its  first  dedication.  In  the 
summer  of  1868  the  building  underwent  a  thorough 
renovation,  and  many  improvements  were  made. 
Fifty-four  pews  were  added,  the  church  was  extended 
eastwardly,  the  sanctuary  was  rebuilt,  the  gallery  re- 
constructed, windows  of  stained  glass  substituted,  the 
ceiling  frescoed,  and  the  interior  otherwise  orna- 
mented. On  the  4th  of  April,  1869,  it  was  rededicated 
by  Archbishop  Spalding.  Its  dimensions  are  now  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length,  and  seventy -three  feet 
in  width.  The  interior  is  neatly  finished  in  the  Corin- 
thian style  of  architecture,  while  the  exterior  is  Doric, 
presenting  a  range  of  six  columns  in  front.  R.  Carey 
Long  was  the  architect.  Shortly  after  assuming  con- 
trol of  the  parish.  Father  McColgan  was  instrumental 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


in  bringing  to  Baltimore  a  number  of  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy. 

These  Sisters  have  now  a  liandsome  residence  at 
No.  12  South  Popi^leton  Street,  adjoining  the  church, 
where  they  conduct  a  female  academy.  Rev.  Father 
JlcColgan  is  the  superior  of  the  order  in  Maryland. 
In  May,  1878,  Archbishop  Gibbons  appointed  Father 
McColgan  vicar-general  of  the  diocese  of  Baltimore, 
in  place  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Dubreul.  On  the  1st  of 
May,  1879,  St.  Peter's  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop 
Gibbons,  assisted  by  Bishops  Thomas  A.  Becker,  of 
Wilmington,  Del.,  and  J.  J.  Kain,  of  Wheeling,  W. 
Va.  Among  those  who  have  served  as  assistants  at 
St.  Peter's  are  Rev.  John  Hickey,  Rev.  William  D. 
Parsons,  Rev.  Mr.  O'Tool,  Rev.  Lawrence  McCauley, 
D.D.,  Rev.  John  S.  Foley,  D.D.,  Rev.  P.  McCoy, 
Rev.  Edmund  Didier,  Rev.  Henry  Reardon,  and  Rev. 
Gerard  H.  Nyssen.  The  assistant  pastors  of  the  church 
are  Revs.  Owen  Corrigan  and  G.  H.  Nyssen.  The 
parish  (•ciiictery  is  situated  on  the  Liberty  road. 
Through  tlie  exertions  of  Father  McColgan,  the  first 
Catholic  toiuperance  society  of  Baltimore  was  estab- 
lished in  184it.  The  scandalous  conduct  of  some  emi- 
grant nieat-packors,  located  in  the  western  section  of 
the  city,  induced  him  to  call  a  meeting,  which  the 
majority  of  them  attended,  and  at  his  invitation  took 
the  pledge  to  abstain  from  intoxicating  drinks.  Thus 
was  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  present  St.  Peter's 
Society,  the  largest  Catholic  temperance  association 
in  Baltimore. 

St.  Ignatius'  Church  and  Loyola  College.— Pre- 
vious to  1852  the  Jesuits  had  charge  of  only  one 
parish"  in  Baltimore,  St.  Joseph's,  corner  of  Barre  and 
Howard  Streets,  which  they  governed  from  1849  until 
1860,  when  the  .secular  clergy  assumed  its  manage- 
ment. On  Sept.  25, 1852,  Loyola  College  was  opened 
for  the  reception  of  students  by  Rev.  John  Early, 
S.J.,  and  during  the  subsequent  year. preparations 
were  begun  for  the  erection  of  a  church  contiguous 
to  the  college.  A  lot  was  secured  at  a  cost  of  several 
thousand  dollars,  and  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Ignatius' 
was  laid  on  Sunday,  Sept.  25,  1853,  by  Archbishop 
Kenrick,  exactly  twelve  months  after  the  establish- 
ment of  the  college.  Work  was  pushed  forward  as 
rapidly  as  possible  by  Rev.  Mr.  Early,  and  the  church 
was  dedicated  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  on  the  15th  of 
Avigust,  1856.  Loyola  College  was  raised  to  the  rank 
of  a  university  on  the  13th  of  April,  1853,  it  being 
then  located  upon  Holliday  Street,  a  short  distance 
from  Madison  S^trcet.  In  September,  1855,  the  col- 
lege was  transferred  to  its  present  site  on  North  Cal- 
vert Street,  adjoining  the  church,  where  the  institu- 
tion has  since  been  successfully  conducted.  As  the 
Jesuit  order,  like  those  of  the  Redemptorists,  Pas- 
sionists,  Dominicans,  etc.,  is  a  religious  community, 
not  subject  to  direct  episcopal  supervision,  but  gov- 
erned by  duly-commissioned  provincials,  the  church 
and  college  have  always  received  the  ministrations  of 
members  of  that  order.     Rev.  John  Early,  S.J.,  the 


founder  and  first  rector,  ruled  the  parish  until  1859, 
when  he  was  transferred  to  another  extensive  field  of 
labor.  He  died  suddenly  at  Georgetown  College  in 
1873.  Rev.  William  F.  Clarke,  S.J.,  pastor  of  St. 
Joseph's,  succeeded  him,  and  filled  the  office  for  one 
term,  during  which  the  congregation  rapidly  increased 
and  the  college  became  firmly  established.  Father 
Clarke's  successors  have  been  Revs.  A.  F.  Ciampi, 
S.J.,  Joseph  O'Callaghan,  S.J.,  John  Early,  S.J.  (re- 
appointed), Edward  Henchy,  S.J.,  and  Stephen  A. 
Kelly,  S.J.  The  priests  in  charge  of  St.  Ignatius' 
at  the  present  time  are  Rev.  E.  A.  McGurk,  S.J., 

E.  Sourin,  S.  J.,  Wm.  F.  Clarke,  S.  J.,  and  other  priests 
of  Loyola  College.  Many  priests  widely  known  for 
learning  and  eloquence  have  resided  at  St.  Ignatius' 
during  the  past  quarter  of  a  century,  among  the  num- 
ber Revs.  Michael  O'Connor,  Charles  F.  King,  Edward 
J.  Sourin,  Samuel  Mulledy,  P.  Forhan,  Peter  Kroes, 
Sivius  Vigilante,  Edward  B.  Boone,  John  S.  Sumner, 
Camillus  Vicinanza,  John  B.  Guida,  Charles  F.  Kelly, 
John  B.  Mullaly,  and  Peter  L.  Miller,  S.J.  The 
first-mentioned  divine  purchased  the  church  of  St. 
Francis  Xavier,  Calvert  and  Pleasant  Streets,  in 
1864,  and  opened  it  for  the  benefit  of  colored  Catho- 
lics, many  of  whom  had  formerly  worshiped  in  the 
basement  of  Loyola.  After  Father  Kelly's  installa- 
tion at  St.  Ignatius'  the  church  was  thoroughly  reno- 
vated and  beautifully  embellished.  Several  prosper- 
ous societies  are  attached  to  the  parish,  comprising  a 
very  large  membership;  one  of  these  is  the  Sodality 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

The  course  of  the  studies  in  the  college  is  that 
pursued  in  similar  institutions  of  the  order.  Seven 
years  are  usually  required  to  complete  the  course. 

St.  John's  Church  was  organized  in  a  small  house 
on  Valley  Street  near  Eager  in  November,  1853,  by 
Rev.  Bernard  J.  McManus.  The  first  services  were 
held  on  the  27th  of  November  of  that  year.  Rev.  John 

F.  Hickey  officiating,  and  Rev.  John  Early,  S.J.,  presi- 
dent of  Loyola  College,  preaching  the  dedicatory 
sermon.  Owing  to  the  r.Apid  increase  of  the  congre- 
gation, it  was  found  necessary  to  provide  larger  ac- 
commodations, and  on  the  13th  of  May,  1855,  the 
corner-stone  of  the  present  edifice,  southeast  corner 
of  Eager  and  Valley  Streets,  was  laid.  The  church 
was  dedicated  June  15,  1856.  The  church  has  had  as 
assistant  pastors  at  different  periods  Revs.  Father 
George  Flaut,  D.  E.  Lyman,  L.  S.  Malloy,  P.  Ryan, 
D.D.,  L.  A.  Morgan,  J.  McDevitt,  M.  Staunton, 
James  Cunningham,  H.  Volz,  and  E.  McKenzie. 
The  present  assistants  ai-e  Revs.  James  McDevitt  and 
M.  Foley.  The  original  church  edifice  is  now  em- 
ployed as  a  female  school,  conducted  by  thirteen  Sis- 
ters of  Charity  ;  it  has  an  average  attendance  of  about 
three  hundred  pupils.  The  male  parochial  school, 
which  has  been  in  existence  about  fifteen  years,  is  in 
charge  of  the  Christian  Brothers,  and  numbers  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  scholars.  Among  the  societies 
connected  with  the  church  are  a  temperance  society, 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


539 


two  Catholic  benevolent  societies  (Society  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul  and  Poor  Society,  managed  by  ladies 
of  the  parish),  Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  num- 
bering five  hundred  members,  Society  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus,  Society  of  the  Sanctuary,  Society  of 
the  Rosary,  St.  John's  Literary  Institute  for  young 
men,  and  Society  of  Children  of  Mary  for  young  girls. 
Several  building  societies  have  been  formed  by  the 
pastor  and  successfully  conducted,  and  closed  up 
without  loss  to  any  one,  and  with  benefit  to  many  of 
the  poorer  members  of  the  parish,  who  have  thus 
been  enabled  to  purchase  the  houses  in  which  they 
live.  At  the  present  time  there  are  two  building  so- 
cieties connected  with  the  church.  Twenty-eight 
years  ago  the  membership  of  the  parish  was  about 
five  hundred ;  at  present  it  is  about  five  thousand. 
♦St.  Ann's  Church,  St.  Andrew's,  and  St.  Bernard's 
were  all  built  within  the  original  boundsof  St.  John's 
parish,  and  the  members  of  these  parishes  were  for- 
merly under  the  care  of  the  pastor  of  St.  John's. 
Rev.  Bernard  J.  McManus  has  been  the  pastor  of  the 
church  from  its  organization.  Revs.  T.  J.  Foley  and 
James  McDevitt  are  his  assistants. 

Immaculate  Conception.— The  beautiful  church 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  situated  on  Mosher 
vStreet,  between  Division  Street  and  Druid  Hill 
Avenue,  is  a  monument  to  the  zeal  and  per.severance 
of  Rev.  Joseph  Giustiniani,  CM.  During  Septem- 
ber, 1850,  Rev.  Mark  Anthony,  a  Lazarist  clergyman, 
came  to  Baltimore  and  erected  the  first  Immaculate 
Conception  church,  on  the  corner  of  Ross  and  Mosher 
Streets,  which  was  dedicated  on  the  21st  of  Decem- 
ber, .1851.  This  building  is  now  used  as  the  female 
school  of  the  parish.  The  church  at  the  tinie  of  its 
erection  stood  three  squares  from  the  nearest  house, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  St.  Mary's  chapel,  was  the 
only  Catholic  edifice  in  Northwest  Baltimore.  Father 
Anthony  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Joseph  de  Marchi 
and  Rev.  A.  Ro§si.  In  March,  1854,  Father  Gius- 
tiniani succeeded  Father  Rossi.  As  early  as  Febru- 
ary, 1853,  the  necessity  of  a  larger  church  became 
apparent,  and  on  June  25,  1854,  the  corner-stone  of 
the  present  edifice  was  laid  by  Archbishop  Kenrick. 
On  the  8th  of  December,  1857,  the  church  was  conse- 
crated by  Archbishop  Kenrick,  assisted  by  Bishop 
Timon,  of  Buffalo,  and  Bishop  McGill,  of  Richmond. 
Many  important  improvements  have  been  made  to 
the  church  from  time  to  time.  Stained-glass  windows 
have  been  added,  the  sanctuary  adorned  with  some  of 
Costagiani's  paintings,  and  a  beautiful  marble  altar- 
rail  placed  in  position.  The  edifice  is  one, hundred 
and  thirty  feet  in  length,  seventy  feet  wide,  and  fifty- 
two  feet  high  from  floor  to  ceiling.  Rev.  Father 
Giustiniani  is  still  the  pastor. 

St.  Lawrence's  Chapel.— In  the  fall  of  1858  a  few 
laymen  of  the  Catholic  Church  residing  on  Locust 
Point  established  a  Sunday-school  in  a  private  house.' 
The  school  grew  so  rapidly  that  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  procure  larger  accommodations,  and  the  use 


of  a  room  in  the  unoccupied  St.  Charles'  Hotel  was 
given  by  Joseph  J.  Turner.  This  in  its  turn  be- 
came too  small,  and  it  was  determined  to  erect  a 
regular  place  of  worship.  Through  the  liberality  of 
John  W.  Ross  a  lot  at  a  very  moderate  ground-rent 
was  procured  on  the  east  side  of  Fort  Avenue,  be- 
tween Hull  and  Towson  Streets,  on  which  was  erected 
a  handsome  little  chapel  and  school-house.  The  first 
sermon  was  preached  in  the  chapel  on  Sunday,  Sept. 
4,  1859,  by  Rev.  J.  B.  McManus,  and  the  edifice  was 
formally  dedicated  on  the  following  Sunday.  St. 
Lawrence's  congregation  was  for  several  years  at- 
tended by  the  pastors  of  St.  Bridget's.  Subsequently 
it  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Peter  McCoy, 
who  afterwards  became  pastor  of  the  Star  of  the  Sea, 
but  continued  to  minister  to  the  congregation  of  St. 
Lawrence's. 

St.  Martin's  was  formed  from  the  parish  of  St. 
Peter's,  and  the  erection  of  the  church,  southeast 
corner  of  Fulton  and  Fayette  Streets,  was  begun  in 
1865.  On  the  9th  of  July  in  that  year  the  corner- 
stone of  the  church  was  laid  with  demonstrations  of 
the  most  imposing  character.  The  Most  Rev.  Arch- 
bishop Spalding  conducted  the  ceremonies,  and  was 
assisted  by  Rev.  John  Foley,  D.D.,  Rev.  Edward  Mc- 
Colgan,  and  others.  The  number  of  spectators  was 
probably  over  twenty  thousand,  and  a  procession 
numbering  from  six  to  eight  thousand  persons,  and 
extending  nearly  two  miles,  did  honor  to  the  occa- 
sion. The  church  was  dedicated  on  the  10th  of  No- 
vember, 1867,  by  Archbishop  Spalding,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  an  immense  congregation.  Rev.  Dr.  John 
Foley,  D.D.,  has  been  the  pastor  of  the  church  from 
its  organization  until  the  present  time.  Rev.  James 
F.  Mackin  is  his  assistant..  The  large  and  flourishing 
parochial  school  is  situated  in  a  house  adjoining  the 
church,  recently  donated  to  the  parish. 

St.  Mary's  Star  of  the  Sea.— In  1867,  Rev. 
Father  McCoy,  then  pastor  of  St.  Lawrence's,  by 
direction  of  the  archbishop,  leased  a  lot  of  ground  on 
the  corner  of  Johnson  and  Clement  Streets,  on  which 
a  chapel  was  erected,  which  was  dedicated  on  the 
21st  of  February,  1869,  by  Rev.  H.  B.  Coskery,  D.D., 
vicar-general,  assisted  by  Rev.  John  Dougherty  and 
Rev.  Peter  McCoy.  On  the  9th  of  May  of  the  same 
year  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  edifice,  corner  of 
Clement  and  Johnson  Streets,  was  laid  by  Archbishop 
Spalding,  and  on  the  26th  of  March,  1871,  the  church 
was  dedicated  by  the  same  archbishop,  assisted  by 
Bishop  O'Hara,  of  Scranton,  Pa.,  Bishop  Gibbons, 
and  other  ecclesiastical  dignitaries.  Incidental  to 
the  dedication  was  a  long  and  imposing  procession, 
composed  of  the  Catholic  societies  of  the  city.  The 
present  jjastor  is  Rev.  Peter  McCoy,  P.P.,  assisted  by 
Sebastian  Rabbia. 

St.  Andrew's  Church,  at  the  comer  of  Monu- 
ment and  Washington  Streets,  was  dedicated  Oct.  6, 
1878,  by  Archbishop  Gibbons.  The  pastor  is  Rev. 
Michael  Dausch. 


540 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE  CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Pins  Memorial  Church  was  projected  by  Arch- 
bishop Si)alding  in  1871  in  commemoration  of  the 
twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  pontificate  of  Pope 
Tins  IX.  His  death,  however,  delayed  the  execution 
of  the  design.  A  lot  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Ed- 
mondson  Avenue  and  Schroeder  Street  was  purchased 
by  Archbishop  Bayley  in  December,  1873,  but  was 
afterwards  e.xchanged  for  the  present  site  on  the  south- 
east corner  of  tlie  streets  named.  The  means  of  car- 
rying out  the  designs  were  furnished  by  C.  Oliver 
O'Donnell's  gift  of  forty  thousand  dollars  to  Arch- 
bishop Spalding  for  that  purpose.  The  corner-stone 
of  the  church,  however,  was  not  laid  until  the  5th  of 
May,  1878.  It  was  dedicated  Nov.  2,  1879,  by  Arch- 
bishop Gibbons,  assisted  by  Bishop  Gross,  of  Savan- 
nah. The  church  is  dedicated  to  Pope  Pius  V.,  and 
in  memory  of  Pius  IX.  Its  pastor  is  Rev.  Lawrence 
Malloy,  P.P.,  assisted  by  John  G.  Dougherty. 

St.  Bridget's  Church  was  founded  by  Eev.  James 
Dolan,  ])ast()r  of  Si.  Patrick's,  who  named  it  after 
his  deceased  mother.  Until  that  period  the  whole 
vicinity  of  Canton,  then  sparsely  settled,  but  rapidly 
increasing  in  population,  formed  a  part  of  St.  Pat- 
rick's parish.  Father  Dolan  possessed  resources,  and 
he  concluded  to  divide  his  large  parish,  and  thus  re- 
lieve a  portion  of  its  members  who  resided  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  the  church.  The  erection  of 
St.  Bridget's,  corner  of  Hudson  and  Canton  Streets, 
was  accordingly  commenced,  and  on  the  14th  of  May, 
1854,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Fathers  Dolan 
and  Early.  The  church  was  completed  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  and  dedicated  on  the  8th  of  July,  1855,  by 
Archbishop  Kenrick.  Thomas  Agnew  was  the  builder 
of  the  church.  The  first  pastor  of  St.  Bridget's  was 
Rev.  John  Constance,  who  ruled  the  congregation 
worthily  for  several  years.  Rev.  Michael  O'Reilly 
succeeded  him,  and  retained  the  parochial  manage- 
ment till  1862,  when  he  was  foUoweil  by  Rev.  John 
S.  Foley,  D.D.  Father  Foley's  successor  was  Rev. 
James  Gibbons,  who  assumed  charge  in  1863,  and  was 
removed  thence  to  the  cathedral  in  1865.  Rev.  John 
T.Oaitley  succeeded  Father  Gibbons,  occupying  the 
pastorate  until  1870,  when  the  rectorship  of  St. 
Patrick's  was  confided  to  him.  During  his  adminis- 
tration of  St.  Bridget's  a  serious  accident  occurred 
to  the  church.  On  the  26th  of  February,  1867,  the 
roof  gave  w  ay  under  a  heavy  pressure  of  snow,  entailing 
a  loss  of  two  thousand  dollars.  In  1875  the  church  was 
enlarged  and  improved,  and  was  rededicated  on  the 
6th  of  February,  1876,  by  Bishop  Gibbons.  Rev. 
William  L.  Jordan,  the  present  pastor,  took  charge  of 
the  congregation  in  1870,  being  appointed  by  the  late 
Vicar-General  Coskery.  The  parochial  schools  are  in 
a  prosperous  condition. 

St.  Alphonsus'  Church.— The  site  of  the  present 
St.  Alphonsus'  church,  corner  of  Saratoga  Street  and 
Park  Avenue,  was  first  occupied  by  a  frame  church 
of  sixty  by  forty  feet,  dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Evan- 
gelist.    This  structure  was   erected  in  1800  by  the 


German  Catholics  of  Baltimore.'  The  priests  succes- 
sively attached  to  it  were  Rev.  F.  Renter  (until  1806), 
Rev."F.  Brosiua  (1806-20),  Rev.  J.  W.  Beschter,  S.J. 
(1820-28),  Rev.  L.  Barth  (1828-38),  Rev.  B.  Bayer 
(1838^0).  In  1840  the  church  and  congregation 
were  placed  in  charge  of  the  Redemptorists,  a  relig- 
ious order  founded  in  Italy  by  St.  Alphonsus  de 
Signori,  a    Neapolitan    nobleman,  in    1732.     These 

'  fathers  first  came  to  this  country  June  21,  1832. 
Previous  to  their  arrival  in  Baltimore  they  had 
already  labored  for  several  years  in  the  northern  part 
of  Ohio  and  in  Michigan,  and  had  recently  estab- 
lished themselves  at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  Rev.  Jos.  Prost 
was  the  first  member  of  that  order  who  came  to  Bal- 
timore, and  subsequently  took  charge  of  St.  John's 
Church,  which  soon  became  too  small  for  the  number 
of  German  Catholics  who  attended  divine  service  in 
it.  Consequently  the  erection  of  a  more  spacious 
edifice  was  at  once  contemplated.  During  the  course 
of  the  year  1841  the  old  church  was  taken  down,  and 
preparations  were  made  for  the  new  building,  the 
corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  May  1,  1842,  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Salzbacher,  a  distinguished  canon  of  Vienna, 
Austria.  The  dimensions  of  the  building,  which  is 
of  the  Gothic  style  of  architecture,  are  one  hundred 
and  fifty-four  by  sixty-eight  feet,  with  a  height  of  fifty 
feet.     The  expenses  were  defrayed  partly  by  voluntary 

I  contributions  of  the  members  of  the  parish,  but  for  the 
greater  part  by  large  donations  from  divers  mission- 
ary aid  societies  in  Austria,  Bavaria,  and  France.^    On 

I  the  14lh  of  March,  1845,  the  church  was  blessed  and 

j  opened  for  divine  services  by  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop 
Eccleston.  Its  more  solemn  consecration  did  not  take 
place  until  Aug.  1,  1869,  the  Rt.  Rev.  V.  R.  Wheelan, 
Bishop  of  Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  officiating.^  The  names 
of  the  successive  superiors  or  rectors  of  St.  Alphonsus' 
Church  are  as  follows:  Rev.  Jos.  Prost  (1840),  Rev. 
Alexander  Czvitkovicz  (1841),  Rev.  Peter  Czackert 
(1845),  Rev.  John  N.  Neumann  (1847),  Rev.  Gabriel 
Rumpler  (1849),  Rev.  John  N.  Neumann  (1851),  re- 

1  The  organization  of  tlie  earlfest  German  Catholic  congregation  in 
Baltimore  appears  to  have  been  eSected  in  1792.  On  Friday,  the  nth 
of  February  of  tliat  year,  the  Maryland  Journal  contained  the  an- 
nouncement that  "Tlie  German  Roman  Catholics  will  open  next  Sun- 
day for  the  fiiut  time  Divine  Service  in  their  men  langutuji'  at  the  hoiue 
of  Julin  Brown,  near  the  Centre  Market.  On  Wednesdays  and  Fridays 
in  Lent  will  he  sung  the  Psalm  Miserere,  accompanied  with  a  sermon  in 
the  German  language,  delivered  by  Eev.  John  Baptist  Clouse,  beginning 
at  half  after  five  in  the  afternoon."  The  congregation  thus  organized 
probably  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  subsequent  church  of  St.  Jolin's. 

St.  John's  would  seem  not  to  have  been  entirely  finished  in  1803,  for 
on  the  2l8t  of  January  in  tliat  year  a  lottei-y  was  advertised  for  the  pur^ 
pose  of  "completing  St.  John's  church."  Eight  thousand  tickets  were 
to  be  issued  at  live  dollars  each  j  six  thousand  dollars  of  the  whole 
amount  was  to  be  appropriated  to  the  church,  and  thirty-four  thousand 
dollars  were  to  be  set  apart  for  prizes. 

s  The  King  of  Bavaria  is  said  to  liave  contributed  four  thousand  dollars 
out  of  liis  own  purse  towards  the  erection  of  the  church. 

3  Several  months  before  the  completion  of  the  church,  while  four  men 
were  engaged  in  painting  the  steeple,  the  scaffolding  gave  way  and  pre- 
cipitated them  to  the  earth,  a  distance  of  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet.  Three  of  them  were  mangled  almost  beyond  recognition,  while  the 
fourth,  though  terribly  injured  and  crippled  for  life,  recovered  and  be- 
came a  prominent  member  of  the  congregation. 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


appointed,  who  became  Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  and 
was  consecrated  in  this  church  by  Archbishop  Francis 
P.  Kenrick,  March  28,  1852;'  Rev.  George  Ruland 
(1852),  Kev.  Francis  X.  Seelos  (1854),  Rev.  Maxim 
Lei mgruber  (1857),  Rev.  George  Ruland,  again  ( 1860), 
Rev.  Leopold  Petsch  (1861),  Rev.  Robert  Kleineidam 
(1863),  Rev.  Michael  Miller  (1865), Rev.  Joseph  Wissel 
(1868),  Rev.  Nicholas  Jaeckel  (1871),  Rev.  L.  Petsch, 
again  (1872),  Rev.  M.  Leimgruber,  again  (1873),  Rev. 
George  Roesch  (1874),  Rev.  Andrew  Ziegler  (1877). 

Contemporaneously  with  the  erection  of  the  new 
church  a  parochial  school  was  established.  For  this 
purpose  a  house  was  first  rented  in  the  neighborhood, 
afterwards,  in  1847,  a  new  building  was  erected  oppo- 
site the  church,  called  St.  Alphonsus'  Hall.  This 
building  was,  however,  destroyed  by  the  great  con- 
flagration of  1873,  which  also  threatened  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  church.  Shortly  afterwards  the  present 
edifice  was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  hall.  The 
school  numbered  at  one  time  about  eight  hundred 
children,  but  at  present  the  number  is  not  more  than 
five  hundred.  The  children  are  taught  respectively 
by  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  and  the  Christian 
Brothers,  two  religious  bodies  especially  trained  for 
this  particular  vocation.  The  Brothers  belong  to  the 
community  of  Calvert  Hall.  Several  religious  and 
beneficial  societies  are  connected  with  the  church. 
The  former  are  solely  intended  for  the  promotion  of 
religious  fervor  among  their  members.  The  principal 
one,  however,  is  that  under  the  name  of  "  The  Arch- 
confraternity  of  the  Holy  Family."  Its  members  are 
divided  into  four  classes, — two  classes  of  married  per- 
sons and  young  men  and  young  ladies.  Each  divi- 
sion receives  proper  instructions  once  a  month.  Be- 
sides these,  there  are  several  beneficial  societies  con- 
nected with  the  parish,  one  of  which  was  recently 
established. 

The  Redemptorists. — The  pastoral  residence  of 
St.  Alphonsus'  Church  being  the  centre  of  the  order 
of  the  Redemptorists  in  the  United  States,  a  short 
notice  of  this  society  may  not  be  inappropriate  in 
this  connection.  The  Redemptorists  are  a  missionary 
society  established  for  home  missions.  Hence,  in 
this  country,  where,  on  account  of  special  circum- 
stances, they  have  charge  of  parishes,  they  give  also 
many  missions  in  different  dioceses,  according  to  the 
demands  of  bishop  or  parochial  clergy.  These  mis- 
sions, consisting  of  a  series  of  thorough,  clear,  and 
concise  instructions  and  powerful  sermons,  connected 
with  the  frequentation  of  the  sacraments,  are  a  great 
means  of  removing  ignorance  and  vice.  The  good 
done  by  such  missions  is  not  only  perceptible  in  re- 
ligious circles,  but  also  in  the  domestic  and  public 
life  in  general.  These  exercises  generally  last  from 
ten  to  fifteen  days,  and  in  large  parishes  are  given  to 
the   different  sexes   separately   in   succession.     The 


1  It  is  said  that  Kev.  Fs 
guages  with  facility.  Ue 
administrative  ability, 

3.5 


uld  speatc  twenty-two  lan- 


average  number  of  missions  during  the  year  is  about 
one  hundred.  The  Redemptorist  order  numbers  at 
present  (1881)  in  this  country  over  one  hundred  and 
fifty  priests,  and  has  twenty  establishments  in  the 
United  States  and  three  houses  in  Canada.  They  are 
chartered  in  Maryland,  as  in  other  States,  under  the 
title  of  "  The  Redemptorists."  The  American  prov- 
ince was  erected  in  1850,  Very  Rev.  Bernard  Haf  ken- 
scheid  being  appointed  first  provincial,  and  his  resi- 
dence being  St.  Alphonsus'.  He  was  succeeded  in 
1854  by  the  Very  Rev.  George  Ruland.  In  1859,  Very 
Rev.  John  De  Dycker  was  appointed,  and  in  1865 
Very  Rev.  Joseph  Helmpraecht,  whose  administra- 
tion lasted  twelve  years.  Very  Rev.  Elias  F.  Schauer, 
the  present  incumbent,  became  his  successor  in  1877. 
The  Redemptorists  recruit  their  forces  by  young  men, 
whom  they  train  from  their  very  boyhood  up  for  the 
vocation  of  the  order.  Postulants  receive  their  first 
or  classical  training  at  the  Preparatory  College.  This 
institution  was  commenced  at  Baltimore  in  1867, 
transferred  to  Uchester,  Md.,  in  1872,  thence,  in  1881, 
to  Northeast,  Erie  Co.,  Pa.  The  classical  course  em- 
braces a  period  of  six  years,  after  which  the  postu- 
lants enter  the  Novitiate  at  Annapolis,  where,  in 
1853,  through  the  pious  liberality  of  the  heirs  of 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  the  order  was  estab- 
lished. The  new  church  and  convent  were  built  in 
1868  and  1859.  Here  the  young  men  are  subject  to  a 
year's  probation.  During  this  time  they  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  duties  incumbent  upon  them  in 
their  religious  state.  If  at  the  end  of  this  period 
they  are  willing  and  considered  qualified  to  embrace 
the  rule  of  the  order  they  are  admitted  to  the  vows, 
after  which  they  immediately  enter  upon  their  course 
of  philosophy  and  theology  at  Uchester,  Howard  Co., 
Md.  Having  completed  this  higher  course  in  six 
years,  they  are  ordained  priests,  and  after  a  special 
preparation  of  six  months  they  enter  upon  their  full 
ministerial  duties. 

St.  James'  Church. — The  old  St.  James'  church, 
corner  of  Eager  and  Aisquith  Streets,  was  built  by 
Archbishop  Whitfield,  principally  at  his  own  expense. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Dr.  Whitfield,  May  1, 

1833,  and  it  was  dedicated  and  consecrated  May  1, 

1834.  It  was  used  by  the  English-speaking  Catholics 
of  that  section  of  the  city  until  the  erection  of  St. 
Alphonsus'  church  was  begun.  At  that  time  it  had 
become  too  small  for  the  English  congregation,  and 
St.  Vincent's  church,  on  Front  Street,  was  erected. 
As  the  Germans  needed  a  place  of  divine  worship 
during  the  erection  of  St.  Alphonsus'  church,  Arch- 
bishop Eccleston  granted  them  the  use  of  St.  James', 
which  from  that  time  remained  in  their  possession. 
The  Redemptorist  fathers  resided  at  this  church  from 
1841  until  1847,  when  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame 
purchased  the  property  of  the  fiithers  for  the  pur- 
pose of  erecting  there  a  mother-house  of  their  order, 
which  afterwards  became  an  academy  foryoung  ladies. 
The  fathers  of  St.  Alphonsus'  Church  took  charge  of 


542 


HISTORY  OF   BALTIMORE  CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


St.  James'  until  the  erection  of  the  present  St. Mich- 
ael's church.  When  St.  Michael's  was  established 
the  fathers  who  resided  there  attended  St.  James' 
Church  until  October,  1867.  On  account  of  the  rapid 
increase  of  the  congregation  a  new  and  larger  church 
had  become  necessary,  and  the  present  edifice  was 
erected  at  the  corner  of  Eager  and  Aisquith  Streets. 
It  was  designed  by  architect  George  Frederick,  and 
built  in  the  Romanesque  style.  The  corner-stone  was 
laid  on  the  22d  of  October,  1865,  by  the  Very  Rev. 
Vicar-General  H.  B.  Coskery.  On  the  22d  of  De- 
cember, 1867,  it  was  blessed  by  Archbishop  Martin  J. 
Spalding,  and  opened  for  divine  service.  The  dimen- 
sions of  the  church  are  one  hundred  and  eighty-four 
by  eighty  feet,  sixty  feet  high,  seating  capacity  1800, 
including  galleries. 

The  church  is  handsomely  decorated  in  the  inte- 
rior with  beautiful  frescoes,  which  were  executed  by 
Brother  Hilary  Froehlich,  a  member  of  the  Redemp- 
torist  order.  Two  magnificent  marble  altars  were 
erected  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Thaddeus  An- 
wander,  the  high  altar  by  Hugh  Sisson  &  Sons,  the 
other  by  Bevan  &  Son,  both  of  this  city.  On  the  lat- 
ter altar  there  is  a  picture  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary, 
which  is  a  copy  of  a  celebrated  miraculous  picture 
at  Rome.  The  richly-gilt  frame  is  the  workmanship 
of  Mr.  Joseph  Sadsbury,  of  Baltimore.  At  the  time 
when  this  new  church  was  building  a  house  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  Fathers  was  erected.  It  had, 
however,  become  necessary  for  this  purpose  to  repur- 
chase from  the  Sisters  part  of  the  property  which  they 
had  formerly  possessed.  The  superiors  of  St.  James' 
Church  were  respectively  Rev.  Lawrence  Holzer  until 
October,  1868,  Rev.  Thaddeus  Anwander  until  1871, 
Rev.  John  Hespelein  until  1877.  The  present  rector 
is  Rev.  Henry  Danenhauer. 

As  soon  as  the  Redemptorist  fathers  had  taken 
charge  of  the  old  church  a  parochial  school  was 
established  in  the  basement  of  the  church.  When 
the  priests  withdrew  in  1847  their  house  was  partly 
used  as  a  school.  Afterwards  a  part  of  the  children 
were  accommodated  in  the  orphan  asylum.  Before 
the  new  church  was  built  a  large  school  building  of 
eighty-six  by  fifty-six  feet  was  erected  on  Somerset 
Street  above  Eager,  which  contains  a  spacious  hall, 
where  divine  service  took  place  while  the  new  church 
was  building.  The  corner-stone  of  this  edifice  was 
laid  May  5,  1864,  by  the  Very  Rev.  H.  B.  Coskery, 
vicar-general.  Another  similar  building  became  ne- 
cessary, and  was  erected  in  1878  on  Aisquith  Street. 
The  children  arc  taught  respectively  by  the  Sisters 
of  Notre  Dame  and  the  Marian  Brothers.  The  latter 
took  charge  of  the  school  only  in  1872,  before  which 
time  lay  teachers  were  employed  for  the  boys.  The 
average  attendancp  is  nine  hundred. 

Of  societies  connected  with  St.  James'  Church  the 
Archconfraternity  of  the  Holy  Family  is  the  moist 
important.  Its  character  is  explained  under  St.  Al- 
phonsus'  Church.     Besides,  there  exist  several  bene- 


ficial societies.  Rev.  John  Baptist  Gildea,  D.D.,  was 
the  first  pastor  of  St.  James'. 

St.  Michael's  Church.— In  the  year  1851  a  church 
was  built  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Register  and 
Pratt  Streets  for  the  German  Catholic  population  of 
that  section  of  the  city.  The  corner-stone  was  laid 
by  Archbishop  Eccleston  on  the  30th  of  October, 
1850.  The  building  having  been  completed  in  1852, 
was  blessed  by  the  Very  Rev.  Bernard  Hafkenscheid, 
provincial  of  the  Redemptorists,  and  dedicated  to  St. 
Michael  the  Archangel  on  the  11th  of  January  in 
that  year.  The  church  was  attended  by  the  priests 
residing  at  St.  Alphonsus'  cliurch.  The  first  pastor 
was  Rev.  Thaddeus  Annander.  On  account  of  the 
rapid  increase  of  the  German  Catholic  population, 
which  was  swelled  by  the  heavy  immigration,  the 
erection  of  a  more  spacious  church  became  necessary. 
For  this  purpose  the  old  cemetery  of  St.  Patrick's 
congregation,  on  Wolfe  Street  between  Baltimore  and 
Lombard,  was  purchased,  from  which  the  dead  were 
removed  to  Holy  Cross  Cemetery,  on  Harford  road. 
The  corner-stone  of  the  new  edifice  was  laid  Aug.  2, 
1857,  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Neumann,  of  Phila- 
delphia. It  was  completed  in  1859,  and  blessed  by 
the  Very  Rev.  Father  Provincial  John  De  Dycker 
on  the  20th  of  December.  The  dimensions  of  the 
church  are  one  hundred  and  seventy  by  eighty  feet. 
At  the  same  time  a  pastoral  residence  was  established, 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Clauss  being  the  first  superior.  He 
was  succeeded  in  1865  by  Rev.  William  Luehrmann. 
In  1868,  Rev.  Joseph  Wirth  was  appointed  rector. 
His  successors  were  Rev.  Max .  Leimgruber,  in  1871; 
Rev.  Peter  Zimmer,  in  1873;  Rev.  Joseph  Helm- 
praecht,  in  1877  ;  and  Rev.  Joseph  Clauss,  in  1880. 

As  early  as  1845  a  school  was  established  in  that 
part  of  the  city  through  the  exertions  of  Rev.  Albert 
Schaeft'er.  This  school  increased  from  year  to  year. 
At  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  first  church  it 
numbered  three  hundred  pupils.  When  the  new 
church  was  built  a  new  school  building  was  also 
erected  adjoining  the  church,  on  Lombard  Street, 
which  was  enlarged  in  1865.  The  average  attendance 
of  children  is  now  about  thirteen  hundred.  They 
are  instructed  respectively  by  the  Marian  Brothers 
and  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  The  former  took  charge 
of  the  school  in  1870,  previous  to  which  time  lay 
teachers  were  employed.  The  Sisters  have  been  there 
since  1847. 

Of  the  religious  societies  connected  with  St.  Mi- 
chael's Church,  the  Archconfraternity  of  the  Holy 
Family  is  the  principal  one,  which  is  conducted  on 
the  same  plan  as  that  at  St.  Alphonsus'  Church.  A 
society  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  of  the  parish,  called 
"  St.  Vincent's  Conference,"  deserves  to  be  mentioned. 
It  consists  of  about  fifty  active  and  about  three  hun- 
dred honorary  members.  This  association  is  greatly 
appreciated,  especially  as  there  are  many  poor  in  the 
parish.  Besides  these  associations,  there  are  several 
beneficial  societies,  the  oldest  of  which  is  that  of  St. 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


Michael,  numbering  about  two  hundred  members  ; 
St.  Henry's  Society,  numbering  two  hundred  and 
thirty ;  St.  John's,  one  luindred  and  seventy ;  St. 
Joseph's,  one  hundred  and  forty ;  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul's, 
forty  members. 

Church  of  the  Holy  Cross.— The  German  Catho- 
lics of  South  Baltimore  needing  a  place  of  divine 
worship,  the  corner-stone  of  the  church  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  corner  West  and  Light  Streets,  was  laid  on  the 
18th  of  July,  1858,  and  the  edifice  was  dedicated  on 
the  9th  of  April,  1860.  Being  finished,  the  church 
and  congregation  were  attended  by  the  fathers  of  St. 
Alphonsus'  Church  until  December,  1869,  when  it  was 
placed  in  charge  of  Eev.  Mr.  Vogtmann.  His  assist- 
ant is  Rev.  Michael  Koenig.  A  flourishing  school  is 
attached  to  the  church  of  about  two  hundred  and 
seventy  pupils,  who  are  taught  by  lay  teachers. 

Church  of  the  Fourteen  Holy  Martyrs.— In  the 
year  1869  the  rector  of  St.  Alphonsus'  Church  inter- 
ested himself  in  the  erection  of  a  new  German  Cath- 
olic church  in  West  Baltimore.  A  building  site  was 
selected  corner  of  Mount  and  Pratt  Streets,  and  with 
the  sanction  of  the  ecclesiastical  authority  a  building 
was  erected  in  1870,  the  upper  part  of  which  ser.ved 
as  a  church,  the  lower  part  being  employed  for  school 
purposes.  The  corner-stone  of  the  building  was  laid 
July  10,  1870,  and  the  church  was  dedicated  Jan.  1, 

1871.  The  congregation  was  served  by  the  Redemp- 
torist  fathers  of  St.  Alphonsus'  Church  for  a  short 
time,  but  in  the  spring  of  1871  a  secular  priest  took 
charge  of  the  church,  and  on  the  1st  of  April,  1874, 
Rev.  Meinard  Jeggle,  of  the  Benedictine  order,  was 
appointed  pastor. 

St.  Venceslaus'  (Bohemian).— On  the  23d  of  Jan- 
uary, 1870,  a  meeting  of  the  Catholic  Bohemians  of 
Baltimore  was  held  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  Bo- 
hemian congregation,  and  the  consent  of  Archbishop 
Spalding  having  been  obtained,  the  church  was  or- 
ganized in  the  fall  of  1871  by  Rev.  V.  Vacula.  The 
congregation  at  fir.st  met  in  St.  Michael's  German 
Catholic  Hall,  in  Lombard  Street.  In  1872,  Rev. 
Father  Vacula  purchased  from  St.  Matthew's  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  congregation  their  church  building 
on  Canal  Street,  between  Baltimore  and  Fayette 
Streets,  which  was  dedicated  on  the  26th  of  May, 

1872,  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Gross,  of  Savannah,  in  the 
name  of  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore.  Father  Vacula 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  A.  Heller,  who  was  followed 
by  Eev.  A.  Koncz.  The  fourth  pastor  was  Rev.  J. 
Hojda,  who  abandoned  the  Catholic  faith.  The  fifth 
and  present  pastor  is  Rev.  John  Videnka,  who  as- 
sumed charge  of  the  jJarish  on  the  23d  of  October, 
1880.  Among  the  societies  connected  with  the  church 
are  St.  Venceslaus'  Beneficial  Society,  Knights  of  St. 
Venceslaus,  St.  Joseph's  Beneficial  Society,  St.  Ann's 
Ladies'  Beneficial  Society,  Ladies'  Altar  Society,  So- 
dality of  the  Immaculate  Conception  for  young  ladies, 
Literary  Society  for  young  men,  and  St.  Cyril  and 
Method   Beneficial   Society.      The   parochial   school 


numbers  about  one  hundred  pupils.  During  the  pas- 
torate of  Father  Videnka  the  church  has  undergone 
various  improvements,  a  steeple  has  been  added,  and 
the  pastoral  residence  refitted  and  repaired.  The 
congregation  is  in  a  nourishing  condition. 

St.  Stanislaus'  Church.— The  corner-stone  of  the 
Polish  Cliurch  of  St.  Stanislaus  Kostka,in  South  Ann 
Street,  between  Aliceanna  and  Lancaster  Streets,  was 
laid  on  the  16th  of  June,  1880,  with  imposing  cere- 
monies, by  Vicar-General  Edward  McColgan.  It  was 
dedicated  by  Archbi.shop  Gibbons  and  Vicar-General 
McColgan  on  June  26, 1881.  Much  of  the  credit  for 
the  erection  of  the  church  is  due  to  the  Rev.  P.  Koncz, 
its  pastor.  Before  the  completion  of  the  edifice  the 
church  services  of  the  congregation  were  conducted 
in  a  private  room  on  South  Bond  Street. 

St.  Leo's.— The  corner-stone  of  St.  Leo's  Italian 
Catholic  church,  at  the  corner  of  Stiles  and  Exeter 
Streets,  was  laid  Sept.  13,  1880,  by  Archbishop  Gib- 
bons. The  first  mass  was  celebrated  in  the  new 
church  on  Jan.  24,  1881,  by  Rev.  J.  L.  Andries,  the 
pastor,  and  it  was  dedicated  on  Sept.  18, 1881.  E.  F. 
Baldwin  was  the  architect  and  E.  J.  Brady  the 
builder. 

St.  Francis  Xavier  (Colored).— The  building  now 
occupied  by  the  congregation  of  St.  Francis  Xavier, 
northeast  corner  Calvert  and  Pleasant  Streets,  was 
erected  in  1836-37  by  the  Universalists,  and  was  ded- 
icated on  the  24th  of  September,  1837,  as  the  First 
Universalist  church.  Rev.  L.  S.  Everette,  the  first 
pastor  of  the  church,  was  installed  on  the  day  of  dedi- 
cation. In  1839  the  creditors  of  the  church  sold  it  for 
the  unpaid  debts  incurred  in  its  erection.  The  build- 
ing was  subsequently  frequently  used  as  a  lecture  hall 
and  place  for  public  meetings,  and  was  the  scene  of 
many  notable  assemblages.  On  the  1st  of  May,  1844, 
the  Whig  National  Convention  assembled  within  its 
walls  and  nominated  Henry  Clay  as  the  Whig  can- 
didate for  the  Presidency.  On  the  22d  of  May,  1848, 
the  Democratic  National  Convention  met  in  the 
church  to  nominate  candidates  for  President  and 
Vice-President.  On  the  24th,  during  the  proceed- 
ings, a  crashing  sound  was  heard  in  the  gallery, 
which  was  densely  crowded  with  spectators,  and  a 
scene  of  great  alarm  and  excitement  ensued.  Under 
the  impression  that  the  gallery  was  giving  way,  a 
wild  rush  was  made  for  the  doors,  while  cries  of  fire 
added  to  the  panic  and  confusion.  The  alarm,  how- 
ever, proved  to  be  without  foundation.  About  this 
period  Mrs.  Myra  Clark  Gaines  and  her  husband  de- 
livered lectures  in  the  church  on  the  subject  of  their 
property  rights  in  Louisiana,  Mrs.  Gaines  being  the 
first  woman  who  ever  lectured  in  Baltimore.  In  1861 
the  church  was  sold  to  the  German  Lutherans  for  ten 
thousand  dollars,  subject  to  an  annuity  of  two  hundred 
and  seventy  dollars.  In  1863  the  building  was  pur- 
chased for  the  use  of  the  colored  Catholics,  who  had 
previously  worshiped  in  the  basement  of  St.  Ignatius'. 
This  new  undertaking  originated  with  Rev.  Michael 


544 


HISTORY    OF    BALTIMORE    CITY    AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


O'Conner,  formerly  Bislioji  of  Pittsburgh,  who  liiid 
connected  himself  with  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and 
was  stationed  at  Loyola  College  during  the  greater 
portion  of  Dr.  Spalding's  administration.  On  the 
21st  of  February,  1864,  the  church  was  dedicated  by 
Rev.  H.  B.  Coskery,  administrator  of  the  diocese, 
assisted  by  Rev.  Fathers  McColgan,  O'Conner,  and 
Miller.  Rev.  Peter  L.  Miller,  S.J.,  of  Loyola  Col- 
lege, governed  the  congregation  until  1871,  when  four 
English  missionaries— Rev.  Fathers  C.  Dowling,  J. 
Gore,  J.  Noonan,  and  C.  Vignerout — came  from  Lon- 
don, and  the  church  was  relinquished  to  them.  In 
1874-75  the  church  was  thoroughly  renovated  and  j 
completely  remodeled.  The  ])resent  pastor  is  Rev.  1 
J.  Slattery.  1 

The  Catholics  of  Baltimore  also  hold  church  service 
at  St.  Mary's  chapel,  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  Rev. 
A.  Magnien,  S.S.,  pastor;  at  the  Carmelite  chapel,  j 
attended  from  St.  James'  church  ;  St.  Agnes  chapel,  j 
at  the  Hospital ;  St.  Francis'  chapel  and  colored  sis- 
ters of  Providence,  on  the  corner  of  Chase  and  Con- 
stitution Streets,  attended  from  St.  Ignatius'  church ; 
Chapel  of  Visitation  Convent,  corner  of  Park  Avenue 
and  Centre  Street,  attended  from  St.  Alphonsus' ;  and 
Mount  Hope  chapel,  on  Gibson  near  Mosher  Street, 
Rev.  Augustus  Aquaroni,  pastor. 

THE   PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH. 

The  early  history  (jf  tlic  Presliyterian  Church  in 
Baltimore  is  involved  in  some  oljsciirity.  As  early  as 
1715  it  would  seem  that  the  Presbyterians  of  the 
county  were  gathered  into  a  congregation  and  minis- 
tered to  by  the  Rev.  Hugh  Conn,  for  we  find  in  the 
minutes  of  the  mother  Presbytery  in  this  country,  un- 
der date  of  Sept.  21,  1715,  a  record  to  this  effect: 
"Mr.  Jar-.es  Gordon  having  presented  a  call  from  the 
people  of  Baltimore  County,  in  Maryland,  to  Mr. 
Hugh  Conn,  the  Presbytery  called  for,  considered, 
and  approved  the  said  Mr.  Conn's  credentials,  and 
made  arrangements  for  his  ordination  among  the  afore- 
said people."  It  is  probable,  however,  that  this  first 
congregation  was  composed  of  very  few  families,  im- 
perfectly organized,  and  worshiping,  like  the  primitive 
Christians,  in  private  houses  and  upper  rooms.  There 
seems  to  have  been  quite  early  a  small  band  of  Pres- 
byterians sparsely  scattered  over  this  region,  most  of 
whom  had  come  from  Pennsylvania  during  the  border 
troubles  between  that  colony  and  Maryland.  In  1740, 
Mr.  Whitefield  preached  to  Presbyterians  in  Baltimore 
County,  and  relates  that  he  found  a  close  opposition 
from  the  Presbyterians  in  Baltimore;  and  in  June, 
1751,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Davis,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Bel- 
lamy, of  New  England,  writes,  "  In  Maryland  also 
there  has  been  a  considerable  revival  (shall  I  call  it?) 
or  first  plantation  of  religion  in  Baltimore  County,  | 
where  I  am  informed  that  Mr.  Whittlesay  is  likely  to 
settle."  Dr.  William  Lyon,  and  at  least  some  others,  \ 
who  originally  formed  this  church,  had  then  resided  | 
here  (in  Baltimore)  some  years.     In  1760,  Donegal  I 


Presbytery  appointed  John  Steele  to  preach  one  Sun- 
day in  Baltimore.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the 
year  1761  that  a  regular  Presbyterian  congregation 
was  formed  in  the  town.  "In  that  year,"  says  Dr. 
Allison,  the  first  pastor,  "a  few  Presbyterian  families 
that  had  removed  from  Pennsylvania,  with  two  or 
three  of  the  same  persuasion  that  had  emigrated  di- 
rectly from  Europe,  formed  themselves  into  a  regular 
society,  and  had  occasional  supplies,  assembling  in 
private  houses,  though  liable  to  persecution  on  this 
account,  as  the  province  groaned  under  a  religious  es- 
tablishment." Among  those  said  to  have  come  from 
Pennsylvania  were  Messrs.  John  Smith  and  William 
Buchanan,  who  removed  to  Baltimore  from  Carlisle 
in  1760,  and  were  followed  the  next  year  by  Messrs. 
William  Smith  and  James  Sterett,  from  Lancaster 
County,  Pa.,  and  soon  after  by  Messrs.  Mark  Alexan- 
der, John  Brown,  Benjamin  Griffith,  and  Robert  Pur- 
viance,  from  Pennsylvania;  Drs.  John  and  Henry 
Stevenson,  from  Ireland ;  and  Jonathan  Plowman, 
from  England,  who  with  William  Lyon,  for  some 
years  a  resident  of  the  town,  were  the  foiinders  of  the 
church.  In  1761,  Rev.  Hector  Allison  preached  to  the 
congregation  several  Sabbaths,  and  application  was 
made  by  the  Presbyterians  of  Baltimore  Town  to  the 
Presbytery  of  New  Castle  in  his  behalf;  but  on  send- 
ing a  commission  to  Baltimore  in  November,  1761,  it 
was  judged  best  to  refuse  the  application.  In  May, 
1763,  and  again  in  August  following,  the  congregation 
requested  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  to  send  Rev. 
Patrick  Allison  to  preach  to  them, andalthough  invited 
at  the  same  time  to  become  the  pastor  of  what  was  then 
a  much  larger  church  in  New  Castle,  Del.,  he  accepted 
the  call  to  Baltimore,  where  he  remained  till  his 
death,  in  1802.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  the  congre- 
gation leased  (Dec.  5, 1763)  two  lots  on  Fayette  (then 
called  East)  Street,  in  the  rear  of  the  edifice  formerly 
occupied  by  Christ  (P.  E.)  Church,  on  the  southwest 
corner  of   Gay  and  Fayette  Streets.'    There  they 


1  The  erection  of  a  church  had  beeu  attempted  even  earlier  tlian  this, 
however,  as  appears  from  the  following  notice  in  the  Mur>iand  GaztUe 
ofJuly  16,1702: 

"  Bai.timoke,  July  8, 1762. 

"  The  managers  of  the  lottery  for  raising  three  hundred  pieces  of  eight 
to  be  applied  towards  Imyinp  a  lot  of  ground  in  Baltimore  Town,  and 
building  thereon  a  meeting-house  for  tiie  use  of  those  of  the  Presbyterian 
persuasion  in  and  near  the  said  town  (as  advertised  several  times  last 
year,  and  the  present  in  tlie  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  GitzflUt),  take 
this  method  of  informing  the  public  that  tliey  have  not  met  with  the 
success  they  expected  in  the  disposal  of  tlieir  ticliets,  owing  principally, 
as  they  are  informed  by  many  who  are  desirous  of  adventuring  in  said 
lottery,  and  as  tlie  managers  thereof  now  believe,  to  the  loo  great  num- 
ber of  low  prizes  in  the  sclieme  formerly  advertised  j  for  remedying, 
whereof,  aud  to  prevent  the  end  proposed  thereby  from  being  frus- 
trated, the  managers  beg  leave  to  propose  the  following  scheme,  which 
they  hope,  as  the  objections  are  removed,  will  prove  satisfactory  to  the 

3444  bhmks. 

5(XI0  tickets  at  $4  each  are  $20,000.     . 

By  this  scheme  there  are  not  quite  2%  blanks  to  a  prize. 

"  CondUi-mi.— That  the  lottery  shall  begin  to  be  drawn  in  Baltimore 
Town  on  the  Ist  day  of  September  next,  aud  continue  until  fiuialied,  in 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


erected  a  small  log  church,  which  they  sold  about  two 
years  afterwards  to  Mr.  Charles  Eidgely.     In  March, 

1765,  they  purchased  from  Alexander  Lawson  eighty 
feet  of  ground  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Fayette  and 
North  Streets,  adding  to  it  in  1772  another  lot  leased 
from  Andrew  Buchanan,  and  afterwards  purchased 
in  fee.  Here  they  erected  a  plain  brick  church,  forty- 
five  feet  long  by  thirty-five  feet  wide,  containing  thirty- 
six  pews.     The  building  was  completed  in  November, 

1766,  and  all  the  pews  rented  except  two ;  and  in 
1771  it  was  enlarged  one-third,  so  as  to  contain  more 
than  fifty  pews.  In  1781  the  following  entry  is  found 
in  the  records  of  the  committee : 

"The  peculiar  circumstances  af  our  society  at  its  first  forniation,  es- 
pecially the  small  number  able  and  willing  to  discharge"  trusts  therein, 
obliged  some  persons  to  fill  different  employments  in  the  capacity  of 
both  what  are  called  elders  and  deacons,  or  committee  men.  But  our 
respectable  establishment  and  happy  increase  now  furnish  the  means  of 
removing  this  inconvenience.  Be  it  therefore  remembered  that  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen.  Dr.  William  Lyon,  Messrs.  John  Smith,  William 
Buchanan,  aud  James  Steret,  who  originally  acted  in  these  two  charac- 
ters, being  previously  chosen  by  the  congregation,  agree  to  servo  under 
the  former  (that  of  elders)  alone."i 

Those  elected  under  this  resolution  were  not  or- 
dained. In  1789  the  congregation,  having  resolved 
three  or  four  years  before  to  erect  a  new  church  on 
the  old  site,  entered  upon  the  undertaking,  and  the 
edifice  was  ready  for  occupancy  in  1791.^     Here  they 


the  presence  of  a  majority  of  the  managers  and  such  of  the  adventurers 
SB  will  please  to  attend ;  that  a  deduction  of  fifteen  per  cent,  be  made 
from  a  prizeof  one  hundred  dollcrs,  and  so  in  proportion  for  any  greater 
or  lesser  prize,  thereby  to  raise  the  sum  of  three  thousand  dollars  (as 
formerly  advertised),  and  the  same  gentlemen  are  continued  managers, 
—viz.,  Messieurs  John  Smith,  William  Buchanan,  John  Stevenson,  Jon- 
athan Plowman,  William  Lyon,  and  N.  K  Gay,  of  Baltimore  Towu; 
Mr.  David  McCuUoch,  of  Joppa;  Mr.  George  Stevenson,  of  York;  Col. 
John  Armstrong,  of  Carlisle ;  Dr.  David  Boss,  of  Bladensburg ;  Mr.  Peter 
Hubliert,  of  Doi-set;  and  Mr.  Jonas  Green,  of  Annapolis;  who  have 
given  bond  and  are  upon  oath  faithfully  to  discharge  the  trust  reposed 
in  them." 

1  The  minutes  of  the  committee  contain  these  further  interesting  par- 
ticulars :  Mr.  Lee  was  chosen  the  first  precentor,  170.5,  at  £10  per  annum. 
In  January,  1706,  Mr.  Snjith  having  reported  that  Mr.  Lawson  was  will- 
ing to  dispose  of  a  lot  of  ground  fit  for  our  purpose,  eighty  feet  front, 
and  extending  from  the  alley  on  which  it  is  situated  to  Jones'  Falls,  for 
sixty  pounds,  Pennsylvania  currency,  Mr.  Lawson  was  invited  to  meet 
the  committee  at  its  next  meeting,  and  the  offer  was  accepted.  The 
deed  from  Alexander  Lawson  to  William  Smith  and  others  is  dated  Oct. 
21, 1765.  In  March,  1765,  Mr.  Buchanan  acquainted  the  committee  that 
Capt.  Charles  Bidgely  offered  for  the  (log)  meeting-honse  and  lot  one 
hundred  pounds,  and  all  the  ground-rent  due  on  Sidd  lot  from  the  date 
of  the  lease,  allowing  the  congregation  the  free  use  of  the  house  till 
May,  1706.  The  committee  accepted  this  proposal.  In  May,  1765,  the 
committee  agreed  to  purchase  from  Mr.  Lawson  forty  feet  additional 
grouud  adjoining  the  church  lot  for  a  parsonage.  In  1770  a  storm  of 
wiud  carried  away  a  part  of  the  roof.  In  1771  it  was  agreed  to  enlarge 
the  church  and  build  a  parsonage.  In  February,  1772,  forty  feet  more 
ground  was  leased  from  Mr.  Andrew  Buchanan ;  and  in  March,  1773,  the 
committee  obtained  a  release  of  the  reversion.  A  parsonage  was  erected 
on  what  is  now  the  bed  of  North  Street  in  1781.— JSJsl.  Sketch  Presbtj. 
CImrch. 

2  On  the  20th  of  July,  1789,  a  lottery  "for  the  purpose  of  building  a 
Presbyterian  Church"  was  advertised.  Seven  thousand  five  hundred 
tickets  were  to  be  issued  at  four  dollars  each.  Seven  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty  dollars  were  to  be  distributed  in  prizes,  and  two  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  eighty  dollars  to  be  approprialed  for  the  benefit  of  the 
church.  The  managers  were  Robert  Gilmor,  David  Stewart,  Stephen 
Wilson,  Samuel  Smith,  Christopher  Johnson,  David  Plunkett,  Samuel 
Sterett,  John  Swann,  William  Taylor,  John  Brown,  John  Strieker, 
Thomas  McElderry,  Hercules  Courtenay,  Andrew  Skinner  Eunals,  Wil- 


continued  to  worship  until  October,  1859.  The  por- 
tico and  towers  were  added  some  time  afterwards,' 
and  the  building  when  completed  was  one  of  the 
largest  and  finest  churches  in  the  country.  Before 
this,  however,  in  the  year  1784,  it  was  found  necessary 
to  secure  the  ground  around  the  chu"rch  with  a  brick 
wall.  The  front  of  the  lot  was  at  first  sloped  and 
graded,  and  inclosed  with  a  wooden  paling,  and  after- 
wards the  brick  wall  was  erected,  and  steps  and  paved 
walks  were  made.  After  the  erection  of  the  new 
church  (in  1789-91)  this  wall  was  still  retained,  and, 
surmounted  by  a  neat  iron  railing,  added  much  to  the 
appearance  of  the  grounds.  The  church  stood  on  an 
elevation,  and  was  reached  by  two  flights  of  steps, 
the  first  leading  to  a  piece  of  terraced  ground  run- 
ning along  the  side  of  the  edifice,  and  the  second  and 
shorter  flight  leading  from  this  point  up  to  the  large 
portico  in  front  of  the  building.  A  portion  of  the 
church  property  was  used  for  a  number  of  years  as  a 
burying-ground,  and  the  parsonage  stood  in  the  bed 
of  the  present  North  Street  until  1805. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1798,  the  church  com- 
mittee, consisting  of  Wm.  Smith,  Robert  Purviance, 
James  Calhoun,  David  Stewart,  Robt.  Gilmor,  Sam- 
uel Smith,  Wm.  Patterson,  Christopher  Johnston, 
George  Brown,  John  Swann,  William  Robb,  and 
James  A.  Buchanan,  were  incorporated  by  act  of  the 
Legislature,  under  the  title  of  the  "  Committee  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  City  of  Baltimore."  From 
a  review  of  the  operations  of  the  church  in  1792,  the 
visible  results  of  the  work  since  1764  may  be  thus 
summed  up  :  three  church  edifices  had  been  erected, 
one  had  been  enlarged,  a  parsonage  had  been  built, 
the  lots  for  these  buildings  had  been  bought,  one 
burial-ground  had  been  purchased,  two  inclosed,  the 
annual  salaries  had  been  collected  with  unusual  ac- 
curacy, and  the  inferior  expenses  defrayed  without 
applying  to  the  congregation  or  the  public  fund.  Dr. 
Allison  died  Aug.  21,  1802,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  James   Inglis,  of  New  York,*  who   continued 

liam  MacCreery,  William  Wilson,  William  McLoughlin,  Charles  Ghe- 
quiere,  Henry  Schroeder,  Cyprian  Wells,  Patrick  Bennett,  Peter  Hoff- 
man, Martin  Eichelberger,  Baltzer  Schueffer,  and  George  Lindenberger. 

3  The  towers  were  ordered  to  be  completed  in  1795. 

^  In  1814,  Messrs.  .Tames  Mosher,  Thomas  Finley,  David  Boisseau,  and 
Dr.  Maxwell  McDowell  were  ordained  elders.  About  1816  meetings  for 
I  social  prayer  began  to  he  held  for  the  first  time,  a  weekly  lecture  was 
established,  and  Sabbath-schools  were  commenced.  In  1817,  Dr.  Inglis 
applied  to  the  Presbytery  for  a  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation,  but 
the  congregation  oppiising  the  request,  it  was  refused.  At  the  same  time 
Dr.  McDowell,  Messrs.  Jlosher,  Finley,  and  Boisseau  retired.  In  the 
same  year  (1817)  the  congregation  resolved  to  elect  elders  annually. 
This,  however,  was  continued  only  one  or  two  years,  the  Synod  having 
condemned  it  as  a  departure  from  the  constitution  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States.     In  1819,  Messrs.  James  jjosher,  W.  W. 


Taylor,  and  James  P.-la.-..,, 

sons  united  Willi  11, ,■  .1,,,,. 

elected  to  the  el(l..isl,i|.,  ii 

Philadelphia.    Mr.  Taylor  r 

Col.  Mosher  continued  to  se 

age,  he  felt  constrained  by 

active  duties  of  the  office. 

Brown,  and  William  L.  Gil 

HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


pastor  of  the  cliurcli  until  his  death,  Aug.  15,  1819. 
During  the  ministry  of  Dr.  Inglis  we  find  tlie  follow- 
ing entry  in  the  records  of  the  committee  under  date 
of  1804:  "Be  it  known  that  Messrs.  Robert  Pur- 
viance,  David  Stewart,  Christopher  Johnston,  and 
(jeorge  Salmon  having  been  previously  elected  to  the 
office  of  thc'cldership  in  the  First  Presbyterian  con- 
gregation in  tlie  city  of  Ballinioie,  were,  on  the  first 


Z^SkI^W 


day  of  April,  1804,  solenmlj  oidaincd  and  set  apait 
to  said  office  according  to  the  provisions  in  Chapter 
XII.,  Form  of  Government  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States."  At  the  same  time 
Ebeuezer  Finley  (previously  an  elder  in  Pennsyl- 
vania) was  also  elected.  It  would  seem  that  this 
was  the  first  regular  organization  of  the  church  ac- 
cording to  the  provisions  of  the  "  Form  of  Govern- 
ment."   Robert  Purviance  died  on  the  9th  of  October, 


1806,  in  the  seventy-second  year  of  his  age,  leaving 
"an  example  ornamental  to  the  religion  he  professed 
and  worthy  of  general  imitation."  George  Salmon 
died  on  the  13th  of  September,  1807,  in  the  sixtieth 
year  of  his  age.  "  Seldom  is  it,"  says  his  biographer, 
"that  society,  civil  or  religious,  sustains  so  heavy  a 
loss,  or  the  domestic  circle  so  painful  a  bereavement, 
as  occurred  in  the  decease  of  this  estimable  man.  The 
church  will  long  have  reason  to  deplore  the  priva- 
tion of  his  faithful  services,  his  zealous  exertions, 
and  his  unremitted  devotion  to  its  interests." 

The  pastorate  remained  vacant  for  a  year,  when 
Rev.  Wm.  Nevins,  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  was  called 
to  the  church,  and  was  installed  in  October,  1820; 
he  remained  in  charge  of  it  until  he  was  removed 
by  death,  Sept.  14, 1835.'  The  fourth  pastor  of  the 
church  was  the  Rev.  John  C.  Backus,  of  Philadel- 
phia, who  was  unanimously  elected  April  11, 1836, 
and  was  duly  installed  the  following  September. 
In  1840,  Messrs.  John  Rodgers,  David  Stewart,  and 
John  Falconer  were  elected  elders ;  Messrs.  Henry 
C.  Turnbull,  John  H.  Haskell,  Moses  Hyde,  and 
Lancaster  Ould,  deacons.  Colonies  went  out  to  the 
Aisquith  Street  Church  in  1843,  to  the  Franklin 
Street  Church  in  1847,  to  the  Westminster  Church 
in  1852,  etc.  The  old  church  edifice  on  the  corner 
of  Fayette  and  North  Streets  was  remodeled  in 
1847.  In  1848,  Wm.  W.  Spence  and  Wm.  B.  Can- 
field  were  elected  elders.  This  year  witnessed  the 
commencement  of  the  new  mode  of  systematic  be- 
nevolence, which  has  been  so  useful  in  developing 
the  Christian  charities  of  the  congregation. 

As  early  as  1852  the  question  of  removal  began 
to  be  agitated,  and  in  October,  1853,  the  congrega- 
tion was  convened  to  consider  the  subject,  and  a  lo- 
cation was  agreed  upon.    In  July,  1854,  ground  was 
k(.n  for  the  present  edifice  on  the  north we.st  cor- 
lu  1  of  Madison  and  Park  Streets ;  in  June,  1859,  the 
old  ehurch  was  sold  to  the  United  States  govern- 
ment, and  subsequently  torn  down  to  give  place  to 
th(  present  United  States  court-house.    On  the  last 
\  in  September,  1859,  farewell  services  were 
n  the  old  edifice.     It  having  become  known 
lis  would  be  the  last  opportunity  to  engage  in 
1 1       11  red  services  of  that  house  of  God,  many  who 
!     I  I  )imerly  attended  there,  and  some  whose  ances- 
II    h  id  there  worshiped,  met  on  this  occasion  with 
I  111  u.Milii  n\eiiil)orsof  the  congregation,  filling  the 
ihiinlito  ivcrllowiiig.    At  the  morning  service,  in 
(imiKaioii  with  the  usual  exercises,  a  discourse, 
giving  I  biief  history  of  the  congregation,  was  deliv- 
ered    At  the  afternoon  service  the  Lord's  Supper  was 
administered  for  the  last  time  in  that  edifice.    The  pas- 
tor was  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Smith,  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Churcli ;  Rev.  Dr.  Dickson,  of  the  West- 
minster Church;  the  Rev.  G.  D.  Purviance,  recently 


I  111  \H'i'i  the  clmrch  was  thoroughly  repaired  and  the  ceiling  lowered 
three  feet.    IB  1837  gaa  was  introduced. 


KELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


the  pastor  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church,  himself 
born  and  brought  up  in  this  church,  and  descended 
from  ancestors  who  were  among  the  leading  founders 
of  the  church,  and  who  had,  during  the  whole  of  its 
past  history,  afforded  in  successive  generations  some  of 
its  most  valuable  officers ;  and  the  Rev.  Stephen  Wil- 
liams, the  oldest  Presbyterian  preacher  in  Baltimore, 
who  could  almost  look  back  to  the  opening  of  the 
building.  Many  former  members,  who  had  removed 
to  form  other  churches,  but  desired  to  worship  once 
more  amid  the  solemn  and  tender  associations  of  the 
past,  were  present. 

There  were  also  present,  with  the  single  excep- 
tion of  Henry  C.  Turnbull,  elder  in  the  Govanstown 
Presbyterian  Chapel,  who  was  detained  by  sickness, 
all  the  surviving  elders  and  deacons  who  had  served 
in  this  church,  viz. :  Messrs.  John  N.  Brown  and 
John  Falconer,  elders  in  the  Westminster  Church ; 
Messrs.  David  Courtenay  and  Lancaster  Ould,  elders 
in  the  FrankHn  Street  Church ;  Moses  Hyde,  elder  in 
the  Aisquith  Street  Church  ;  Dr.  David  Stewart,  elder 
in  the  Annapolis  Presbyterian  Church;  and  John 
H.  Haskell,  recently  an  elder  in  the  Franklin  Street 
Church.  These  a.ssisted  the  present  elders  of  the 
church  in  distributing  the  elements. 

The  service  was  opened  with  singing  and  prayer  by 
Mr.  Purviance.  Then  followed  the  reading  of  the 
words  of  institution,  and  an  address  by  the  pastor. 
The  bread  was  dispensed  by  Dr.  Dickson,  and  the  cup 
by  Dr.  Smith.  The  services  throughout  at  this  family 
reunion  of  the  oldest  Presbyterian  Church  in  Balti- 
more were  most  tender  and  solemn.  None  who  were 
present  will  soon  forget  them.  On  the  first  Sunday 
in  October  dedicatory  services  were  held  in  the  new 
church.  In  May,  1875,  Dr.  Backus,  in  view  of  his 
advancing  years,  requested  the  Session  to  permit  the 
dissolution  of  his  pastoral  relations  with  the  church, 
and  Oct.  10,  1875,  announced  his  intention  to  the  con- 
gregation. They  yielded  to  his  wishes  so  far  as  to 
consent  that  he  should  be  relieved  of  all  the  duties 
and  responsibilities  of  the  pastoral  office,  but  insisted 
that  he  should  retain  his  connection  with  the  church 
as  pastor  emeritus.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  pas- 
tors and  officers  of  the  church  from  1764  to  1881 :  Pas- 
tors, Rev.  Patrick  Allison,  D.D.,  1763  to  1802;  Rev. 
James  Inglis,  D.D.,  1802-19 ;  Rev.  Wm.  Nevins,  D.D., 
1820-35;  Rev.  John  C.  Backus,  D.D.,  1836-75;  Rev. 
J.  T.  Leftwich,  D.D.,  present  pastor;  with  Rev.  John 
C.  Backus,  D.D.,  as  pastor  emeritus. 


Name».          j 

When 

Ceased 

Names. 

When 

Ceased 

l<>cted. 

to  Serve. 

.  i-:t-2 

Dr.  G.  Brown 

1787 

1807 

Al.'v.    .Mm, 1,-1 

Stephen  Wilson.. 

17S9 

1821 

1838 

.John  Swan 

1790 

r,,-M.>.  ih!'   . 

18.52 

William  Robb 

1792 

1S04 

Fi.n.  ,-    1      

i  ^  ;r, 

1864 

George  Salmon.... 

1804 

1807 

18117 

1847 

.1807 

1822 

.bi.ii.h    l,i\  1  .1 

1-41 

Alexander  FriclEe 

.  18U 

lS:i9 

William  Harrison 

.  1849 

Alex.  McDonald. 

1816 

1836 

John  Armstrong 

.  1849 



Robert  Smith 

1821 

1828 

Robert  Gilmor,  Jr 

1822 

1848 

ls,-.4 

1859 

1822 

18.'>4 

JaiM.-~  1     Ki-l,..r. 

m<9 

Georce  Brown 

182.5 

18.59 

Hamilton  Easter 

Roswell  L..Colt... 

1828 

1836 

George  S.  Brown 

.  1869 

John  T.  Barr 

18.'9 

1835 

Samuel  Mactier. 

.  18.i9 

Andrew  Reid 

.  1860 

James  Armstrong 

.  1832 

1839 
KOLING 

EtnEBS. 

Names.          j 

When 

Ceased 

Names. 

When 

Ceased 

Hected. 

to  Serve. 

William  LvoD 

17.S1 

.I.,n,.~    M..-I,.- 

IMS 

1846 

.     . 

1830 

R.)bprt  Pnrviance 

.  1804 

1806 

Ge-rse  Salmon... 

1804 

1807 

1846 

1817 

]•    ~    '           ■ 

1-:14 

1840 

C.  Jolin8t,.n 

1804 

1817 

Ebenezer  Finley. 

1804 

1817 

1809 

1817 

l-M 

1817 

1-40 

1847 

James  Mosher 

1814 

1817 

Wm.  W  Spence. 

.  1848 

Thomas  Finley.... 

1814 

1817 

Wm.  B.  Caufield. 

..  1848 



Deacons. 

^-es.    ^,^:j. 

Ceased 
to  Se.-1-e. 

Names. 

When 
Elected. 

Ceased 
to  Serve. 

H.C.  Turnbull 

John  H.Haskell.. 

1840 
1840 

1847 
1847 

Lancaster  Ould... 

..  1840 

1847 

Committee. 


Names. 

When 
Elected. 

Ceased 
to  Serve. 

Names. 

When 

Elected. 

Ceased 
to  Serv 

John  Stephenson 

..  1704 

1765 

Samuel  Brown... 

..  1771 

1771 

John  Smith 

...  1704 

1780 

James  Calhoun.. 

..  1771 

1820 

William  Smith- 

...  1704 

1814 

Hngh  Young 

..  1779 

1784 

William  Spear.. 

...  1764 

1790 

1785 

...  1764 

1782 

Alex.  Stenhouse 

...  1765 

1775 

1783 

John  Boyd 

...  1765 

1789 

II 

7-1 

1822 

,.  Purviance 

•"ohn  Little 

...  1770 

1787 

...  1770 

1773 

1.  17H5 

1811 

Second  Presbyterian  Church.— Upon  the  election 
of  the  Rev.  James  Inglis  in  February,  1802,  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  First  Church  a  large  minority  of  the 
congregation  withdrew  and  formed  the  Second  Church. 
A  plain  but  very  ample  and  substantial  church  edifice 
was  erected  in  1804  on  Baltimore  and  Lloyd  Streets,' 
and  Dr.  John  Glendy  called  to  the  pastorate.  The 
church  was  fully  completed,  and  the  installation  ser- 
vices on  Dr.  Glendy's  induction  were  held  the  last  of 
March,  1805.  Dr.  Glendy  was  born  in  Londonderry, 
Ireland,  June  24, 1755.  In  1826  he  was  compelled  by 
the  infirmities  of  age  to  ask  for  an  assistant,  and  Rev. 
John  Breckenridge,  of  Kentucky,  was  chosen  as  his 
colleague.  After  a  short  time  Dr.  Glendy  gave  up  the 
charge  entirely.-  Dr.  John  Breckenridge,  his  assist- 
ant, succeeded  him,  and  he  in  turn  was  followed, 
Nov.  22,  1832,  by  his  brother,  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  J. 


1  On  the  Ist  of  January,  1805.  a  lottery  was  announced  for  the  purpose 
of  building  the  Second  Presbyterian  church.  Eleven  thousand  tickets 
were  to  be  issued  at  five  dollars  each,  prizes  to  the  amount  of  forty-two 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars  were  to  be  distributed,  and  the  remainder 
was  to  be  set  apart  for  the  building  fiiud  of  the  church.  The  managers 
were  Thomas  McElderry,  James  Biays,  James  Armstrong,  James  Sloan, 
Hugh  McCurdy,  John  McKim,  Jr.,  Thomas  Dickson,  and  Kennedy 
Long. 

!  After  his  resignation  Dr.  Glendy  removed  to  Philadelphia  to  live 
with  a  married  daughter,  and  there  died  after  a  protracted  and  painful 
illness,  Oct.  4, 1832,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two.  Dr.  Glendy  was  a  natural 
orator,  and  was  greatly  admired  by  Mr.  Jefferson.  It  is  said  that  he  was 
so  popular  with  the  various  denominations  that  whenever  he  was  an- 
nounced to  preach  in  their  pulpits  the  churches  were  invariably  crowded. 


548 


HISTOKY    OF   BALTIMORE    CITY   AND    COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Breckenridge.  The  latter  resigned  in  1845,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Dr.  Lewis  F.  Green,  who  remained 
only  one  year,  and  was  followed  by  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph 
T.Smith.  During  his  ministry,  in  1850,  the  old  church 
was  torn  down  and  the  present  structure  erected, 
which  was  dedicated  Jan.  11,  1852.  Dr.  Smith  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  (Jeorge  P.  Hays,  and  his  successor 
was  Rev.  Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards,  who  was  followed 
by  Rev.  Dr.  R.  H.  Fulton,  the  present  pastor.  The 
graveyard  of  the  church,  known  as  the  Glendy  Grave- 
yard, was  situated  at  the  head  of  Broadway,  fronting 
on  Gay  Street,  and  consisted  of  about  three  acres, 
which  were  purchased  in  1807.  Within  the  last  few 
years  tliis  city  of  the  dead  has  been  forced  to  give 
way  before  the  city  of  the  living,  and  the  remains  of 
those  interred  there  have  been  removed  to  other  rest- 
ing-places. 

The  Third  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized 
about  1819,  and  a  church  building  erected  on  Eutaw 
Street  above  Saratoga  not  long  afterwards.  In  1851 
a  new  edifice  was  erected,  which  was  sold  in  the  early 
part  of  1861  to  St.  Mark's  English  Lutheran  congre- 
gation. 

The  Franklin  Square  Presbyterian  Church  was 
originally  the  Fourth  Church,  which  occupied  for 
some  years  the  Winans'  chapel,  on  West  Baltimore 
Street,  between  Fremont  and  Poppleton,  and  began  as 
a  Sabbath-school  enterprise  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  1833.  The  first  p.-istor  was  the  late  Rev. 
James  Purviance,  who  was  succeeded  in  1856  by  the 
Rev.  J.  A.  Lefevre,  D.D.,  the  present  pastor.  In  1862 
the  present  church  edifice  on  Franklin  Square  was 
completed,  and  was  dedicated  on  the  16th  of  Feb- 
ruary in  that  year.  In  this  year  it  was  also  regularly 
incorporated  under  the  name  of  the  Franklin  Square 
Church. 

The  Fifth  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  in 
1833.  The  buililing,  on  Hanover  Street  near  Lom- 
bard, was  erected  in  1836,  and  sold  to  the  Hebrews  in 
1858.  and  is  now  used  as  a  synagogue.  Dr.  John  G. 
Hamner  was  its  first  pastor,  and  he  was  followed  by 
Rev.  BIr.  Washburne,  Rev.  R.  S.  Hitchcock,  and 
Rev.  J.  W.  Keer.  A  large  part  of  the  congregation 
formed  the  Greeu  Street  Church,  and  the  remainder 
became  members  of  the  Central  Church. 

Sixth  Presbyterian  Church.— The  Sixth  Presby- 
terian Church,  which  formerly 'stood  in  Cove  Street 
(now  Fremont),  a  few  doors  north  of  West  Baltimore, 
was  dedicated  JIarcli  2,  1845. 

The  Broadway  Presbyterian  Church  is  located 
on  the  southwest  corner  of  Gough  Street  and  Broad- 
way. In  1843  an  association  of  the  Second  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Baltimore,  Rev.  Robert  J.  Brecken- 
ridge, D.D.,  pastor,  was  formed,  called  "The  Evan- 
gelical Association."  Its  object  was  "  to  raise  funds 
for  the  purpose  of  building  Presbyterian  churches  in 
the  desolate  parts  of  the  city  and  the  State."  About 
the  close  of  the  first  year  of  its  operation  a  committee 
of  its  members,  appointed  for  the  purpose,  secured 


a  lot  on  Fell's  Point,  upon  which  it  was  intended  to 
build  a  church.  In  April,  1844,  a  committee  of  gen- 
eral supervisors  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Messrs. 
Peter  Fenby,  R.  D.  Millholland,  William  Gardner, 
John  A.  Robb,  William  H.  Conkling,  George  A.  Von 
Spreckelsen,  James  Slater,  and  Rev.  Robert  J.  Breck- 
enridge. To  this  committee  the  Evangelical  Associa- 
tion turned  over  what  had  been  collected  towards 
erecting  a  church.  A  building  committee  was  ap- 
I  pointed,  and  the  lot  that  had  been  bought  was  sold, 
and  a  more  desirable  one  secured  on  the  corner  of 
Gough  Street  and  Broadway.  On  this  it  was  resolved 
to  build.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  Aug.  13,  1844. 
The  exercises  were  participated  in  by  Revs.  John  C. 
Backus,  Robert  J.  Breckenridge,  Stephen  Williams, 
R.  W.  Dunlap,  and  E.  Thompson  Baird.  The  church 
was  opened  for  worship  on  the  second  Sabbath  of  Jan- 
uary, 1846.  Rev.  John  C.  Backus  conducted  the  ser- 
vice in  the  morning.  Rev.  J.  D.  Matthews  in  the 
afternoon,  and  Rev.  R.  W.  Dunlap  in  the  evening. 
The  pulpit  was  supplied  from  that  time  until  March 
20th  following,  when  a  church  was  regularly  or- 
ganized by  a  committee  of  the  Presbytery  of  Bal- 
timore. On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  Thomas 
E.  Peck,  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  Charleston, 
was  elected  pastor.  Mr.  Peck  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled first  pastor  of  the  church  Tuesday,  June  16, 
1846.  He  continued  in  that  relation  until  Feb.  9, 
1858,  when  he  became  pastor  of  the  Central  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Baltimore.  At  present  he  is  pro- 
fessor in  Hampden-Sydn°y  College,  Va.  Mr.  Peck 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  F.  W.  Braun,  who  served 
about  two  years,  and  was  followed  by  Rev.  H.  L. 
Singleton,  who  remained  six  months.  Rev.  J.  G. 
Hamner,  D.D.,  then  supplied  the  church  at  inter- 
vals. Through  Mr.  Hamner's  efforts  the  congrega- 
tion was  relieved  from  the  embarrassment  of  an 
annual  ground-rent.  Rev.  W.  H.  Cooke  was  the 
next  supply.  Jan.  28,  1867,  Rev.  James  J.  Coale  was 
elected  pastor.  After  a  pastorate  of  about  three  years 
he  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  McCoy, 
who  served  about  two  years,  and  was  followed  by 
Rev.  John  L.  Fulton.  Rev.  George  E.  Jones,  the 
present  pastor,  entered  on  his  labors  July  1,  1877. 
The  congregation  numbers  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  communicant  members.  The  church  edifice  is 
commodious  and  well  furnished.  There  are  base- 
ment, lecture,  and  Sabbath-school  rooms. 

The  Franklin  Street  Presbyterian  Church  was 
incorponiled  A]iiil.">,  1844.  The  church  edifice,  north- 
west corner  of  Franklin  and  Cathedral  Streets,  was 
dedicated  on  the  22d  of  February,  1847,  and  on  the 
25th  of  the  same  month  a  committee  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  Baltimore  formally  organized  the  new  church. 
On  the  10th  of  March,  1847,  Rev.  Dr.  William  S. 
Plummer,  of  Richmond,  Va.,  was  called  to  the  pastor- 
ate, which  he  retained  until  July,  1854,  when  he  re- 
signed, and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  N.  C.  Burt,  D.D., 
of  Springfield,  Ohio,  who  was  installed  July  18,  1855. 


KELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIOiNS. 


549 


During  his  pastorate  the  parsonage  was  erected,  and 
was  occupied  by  hiii>in  1859.  Dr.  Burt  resigned  Oc- 
tober, 1860,  and  on  the  8th  of  April,  1861,  Rev.' J.  J. 
Bullock,  D.D.,  of  Kentucky,  was  unanimously  elected 
pastor,  and  installed  in  July  following.  In  June,  1869, 
at  the  unanimous  request  of  the  congregation,  the 
Session  invited  Rev.  W.  U.  Murkland,  of  Virginia,  to  I 
become  assistant  pastor,  and  on  the  1st  of  January,  ! 
1870,  he  entered  upon  his  labors.  In  March,  1870, 
Dr.  Bullock  resigned  the  pastorate,  and  Mr.  Murk-  ' 
land  was  unanimously  chosen  as  his  successor,  and 
was  installed  on  the  4th  of  June  of  the  same  year. 
In  June,  1866,  the  congregation  severed  their  connec- 
tion with  the  Presbytery  of  Baltimore,  and  became 
attached  to  the  Presbytery  of  the  Patapsco,  which 
was  subsequently  united  with  the  Presbytery  of  the 
Rappahannock  to  form  the  Presbytery  of  the  Chesa- 
peake. Rev.  W.  U.  Murkland,  D.D.,  is  still  pastor  of 
tlie  church. 

The  First  United  Presbyterian  Church  was  or- 
ganized in  1826.  The  original  church  edifice  was 
erected  in  1828,  and  was  situated  in  Courtland  Street, 
between  Saratoga  and  Pleasant.  The  present  edifice, 
corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and  Biddle  Street,  was  ded- 
icated March  3,  1861'.  The  first  pastor,  in  1828,  was 
Rev.  Archibald  Whyte,  and  he  was  succeeded  in  1838 
by  Rev.  John  G.  Smart,  who  served  until  1850.  The 
pulpit  was  variously  supplied  until  April,  1855,  when 
Rev.  William  Bruce,  D.D.,  was  ordained  as  pastpr, 
and  served  until  July,  1873.  There  was  then  no  stated 
supply  until  the  1st  of  July,  1875,  when  Rev.  Wil- 
liam A.  Edie  was  elected  to  the  pastorate.  The  form 
of  worship  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  "  Covenan- 
ters" or  "  Caledonian"  Church.  Rev.  T.  W.  Ander- 
son is  pastor. 

Aisquith  Street  Preshyterian  Church. — The 
Aisquith  Street  Church,  corner  Aisquith  and  Ed- 
ward Streets,  was  colonized  from  the  First  and  Sec- 
ond Churches.  Steps  were  taken  for  its  organization 
in  November,  1842,  and  in  1844  the  edifice  was  com- 
jileted.  Among  its  pastors  have  been  Rev.  R.  W. 
Dunlap,  Rev.  James  S.  Ramsay,  and  Rev.  S.  D. 
Noyes.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  George  D.  Bu- 
chanan. 

Westminster  Presbyterian  Church.— The  erec- 
tion of  Westminster  church,  southeast  corner  of 
Fayette  and  Green  Streets,  was  first  contemplated  in 
the  autumn  of  1850,  when  the  matter  was  brought 
before  the  committee  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  had  the  legal  charge  of  the  property,  and  it 
was  agreed  that  the  privilege  of  erecting  such  a 
church  should  be  granted.  Among  those  associated 
in  the  execution  of  this  design  were  Rev.  J.  C. 
Backus,  D.D.,  Joseph  Taylor,  Alexander  Murdoch, 
Archibald  Stirling,.  Daniel  Holt,  W.  W.  Spence, 
and  W.  B.  Canfield,  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  Messrs.  Mathew  Clark,  John  Falconer,  Elijah 
H.  Perkins,  John  Bigham,  of  the  Franklin  Street 
Presbyterian    Church,    with    Aaron    Fenton.      The 


church  was  regularly  organized  by  a  committee  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Baltimore  on  the  16th  of  July, 
1852,  by  the  reception  of  sixty-one  communicants 
from  various  churches,  and  the  election  of  John  M. 
Brown  and  John  Falconer  as  ruling  elders,  who  were 
installed  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month.  The  church 
edifice  was  opened  for  public  worship  on  the  first 
Sabbath  in  July,  1852,  and  the  first  pastor.  Rev. 
William  J.  Hage,  was  elected  on  the  28th  of  August 
following.  His  pastorate  continued  until  July,  1856, 
when  he  became  a  professor  in  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary  of  Virginia.  His  death  occurred  on  the  5th 
of  July,  1864.  Rev.  Cyrus  Dickson,  of  Wheeling,  W. 
Va.,  was  elected  as  Dr.  Hage's  successor  on  the  11th 
of  August,  1856.  He  entered  on  his  duties  on  the 
1st  of  November,  and  was  installed  on  the  26th  of 
the  same  month.  His  pastoral  relations  continued 
until  the  1st  of  July,  1870.  Rev.  Dr.  Dickson  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  D.  C.  Marquis,  who  was  installed 
December,  1870.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  W.  J. 
Gill. 

The  graveyard  which  surrounds  the  edifice  was 
originally  the  burial-place  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  was  purchased  by  that  congregation  from 
Col.  John  Eager  Howard  in  January,  1787,  by  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  William  Smith,  John  Boyd,  and 
William  Patterson.  Subequent  sales  reduced  the 
lot  to  its  present  diniensidns. 

The  Twelfth  Presbyterian  Church  was  formed 
principally  from  the  Third  Churcli,  which  was  situ- 
ated on  Eutaw  near  Saratoga  Street.  The  corner- 
stone of  the  church  edifice,  on  Franklin  Street  near 
Fremont,  was  laid  on  the  19th  of  September,  1853, 
and  the  building  was  dedicated  on  the  2d  of  April, 
1854.  It  was  organized  on  the  18th  of  May  of  the 
same  year,  with  Prof.  D.  A.  Hollingshead  and  E.  R. 
Horner  as  elders.  Rev.  C.  B.  McKee  was  the  first 
pastor,  and  served  about  two  years.  The  pulpit  was 
variously  supplied  until  the  election  of  Rev.  James 
E.  Hughes,  Nov.  26, 1855,  who  resigned  in  December, 
1858,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Wm.  R.  Marshall, 
March  25,  1859.  He  resigned  in  January,  1865,  and 
was  succeeded  during  the  same  year  by  Rev.  James 
M.  Maxwell,  who  resigned  September,  1874.  Rev. 
Alexander  M.  Jelly  was  installed  on  the  5th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1875.     Rev.  S.  W.  Beach  is  the  pastor. 

The  Central  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized 
on  the  13th  of  April,  1853,  with  a  membership  of 
eighty-three,  chiefly  from  the  Associate  Reformed 
Church  on  Fayette  Street,  to  which  the  Rev.  John 
M.  Duncan  so  long  and  so  acceptably  ministered. 
Dr.  Baer  and  J.  McEldowney  were  chosen  as  elders, 
and  Dr.  Stuart  Robinson  pastor.  The  Assembly 
Rooms,  on  Hanover  Street,  were  secured  as  a  tempo- 
rary place  of  worship,  and  steps  were  taken  towards 
the  erection  of  a  church  on  the  corner  of  Liberty  and 
Saratoga  Streets,  which  was  completed  in  two  years 
at  a  cost  of  some  sixty-three  thousand  dollars.  It 
was  opened  for  service  March  25,  1855.     The  church 


HISTOllY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY    AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


at  tlie  time  of  its  erection  was  the  largest,  most  cen- 
tral, and  most  commodious  in  the  city,  and  under  the 
popular  ministry  of  Dr.  Robinson  increased  rapidly 
in  numbers  and  influence.  'In  1S.')(>,  after  a  pastorate 
of  a  little  more  than  three  years.  Dr.  Robinson  was 
released  to  accept  a  professorship  in  the  Danville 
Theological  Seminary.  Under  his  ministry,  the  num- 
ber of  communicants  having  increased  to  two  hundred 
and  fifty-seven,  J.  Harman  Brown,  John  Doane,  J. 
M.  Stevenson,  Sr.,  and  William  Hogg  were  added  to 
the  eldership.  The  trustees  were  George  M.  Gill, 
Joshua  Hartshorne,  Benjamin  Deford,  William  Mil- 
ler, G.  Armstrong,  E.  F.  Well,  and  William  Rey- 
nolds, Sr. 

The  removal  of  Dr.  Robinson  told  at  once  and 
most  disastrously  on  the  interests  of  the  congregation. 
After  a  vacancy  of  two  years  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas 
E.  Peck,  then  pastor  of  the  Broadway  Church,  was 
installed.  He  was  dismissed  after  a  service  of  some 
two  years,  and  in  May,  1860,  the  Rev.  Silas  G.  Dunlap 
was  called,  and  the  year  following  resigned.  All  this 
time,  from  numerous  causes,  the  congregation  had  been 
steadily  declining,  until  it  was  threatened  with  speedy 
extinction.  In  this  emergency  the  present  pastor, 
Rev.  Joseph  T.  Smith,  then  professor  in  Danville 
Theological  Seminary,  was  called,  and  entered  upon 
his  duties  on  the  first  Sabbath  in  January,  1862.  The 
congregation  at  once  entered  upon  a  career  of  great 
prosperity.  At  the  first  communion  fifty-three  were 
added,  with  large  accessions  following,  until  in  a  few 
years  the  number  of  communicants  increased  from 
one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  to  four  hundred  and 
twenty-five ;  the  pew-rents  from  one  thousand  four 
hundred  dollars  to  five  thousand  two  hundred  dollars ; 
the  contributions  to  all  objects  from  four  thousand 
dollars  to  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  1869. 

In  May  the  General  As.sembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  met  in  the  building.  In  July  it  was  destroyed 
by  the  great  fire  which  swept  over  that  section  of  the 
city.  Lehmanu's  Hall,  on  North  Howard  Street,  was 
immediately  secured  for  the  uses  of  the  congregation, 
and  steps  were  taken  to  rebuild  on  Eutaw  Place.  The 
chapel  was  completed  and  opened  for  worship  on  the 
20th  of  December,  1874.  The  foundations  of  the 
church  were  laid,  and  then  the  work  was  arrested,  for 
some  of  the  investments  on  which  the  trustees  de- 
pended were  lost  and  others  put  in  jeopardy  by  the 
great  commercial  crisis  which  fell  upon  the  country. 

In  1877  the  work  upon  the  church  was  resumed, 
and  it  was  opened  for  worship  in  March,  1879,  with 
services  protracted  through  two  weeks,  in  which  the 
pastor  was  assisted  by  Dr.  McCosh,  of  Princeton,  Dr. 
John  Hall,  of  New  York,  and  several  of  the  city  pas- 
tors. The  church  occupies  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  commanding  situations  in  the  city.  It  is  an  ar- 
chitectural gem,  and  adds  to  the  attractions  of  the  lo- 
cality. It  is  perfectly  adapted  in  all  its  arrangements 
to  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  designed,  and  has  al- 
ready served  as  a  model.   The  architects  were  Messrs. 


Dixon  &  Carson  ;  the  builder,  William  Fergu.son  ;  the 
building  committee,  Rev.  J.  T.  Smith,  D.D.,  William 
H.  Cole,  T.  K.  Miller,  and  William  Dugdale.  The 
present  officers  of  the  church  are  Rev.  J.T.Smith, 
D.D.,  pastor;  Elders,  William  H.  Cole,  Theodore  K. 
Miller,  George  H.  Beatson,  William  Dugdale,  and 
Dr.  Joseph  T.  Smith;  Deacons,  A.  McElmoyle,  R. 
H.  Milliken,  H.  Tyson,  Lewis  Deitch, George  Daily; 
Trustees,  Theodore  K.  Miller,  president;  William  H. 
Cole,  treasurer;  A.  McElmoyle,  Capt.  J.  AV.  Donn, 
William  Galloway,  H.  G.  Tyson,  R.  H.  Milliken,  Col. 
A.  W.  Russell,  William  McLean,  and  G.  H.  Beatson. 
Light  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  situated  on 
Light  Street  near  Montgomery,  was  formerly  known 
as  the  South  Church.  The  corner-stone  of  the  church 
edifice  was  laid  on  the  23d  of  November,  1854,  and 
the  church  was  dedicated  on  the  10th  of  June,  1855. 
Its  first  pastor  was  Rev.  J.  H.  Kaufman,  D.D.  Rev. 
David  J.  Ik'iile  is  the  present  pastor. 

Greene  Street  Presbyterian  Church. — This  church 
was  an  otlsliool  frmii  the  Fifth  Presbyterian,  and  was 
organized  in  1854  as  the  First  Constitutional  Presby- 
terian Church.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  May  2, 
1854,  and  the  church  was  dedicated  July  8,  18.55. 
The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Halsey  Dunning,  who  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  S.  D.  Noyes.  In  1870  it  took  the 
name  of  the  Greene  Street  Presbyterian  Church.  In 
January,  1875,  the  congregation  sold  the  "property 
(corner  of  Greene  and  German  Streets),  and  united 
with  the  Dolphin  Street  Church,  under  the  name  of 
the  Lafayette  Square  Church.  The  Dolphin  Street 
Church  had  been  in  the  beginning  a  mission  of  the 
First  Presbyterian,  and  was  organized  in  1869.  Its 
first  pastor  was  Dr.  S.  H.  Higgins,  who  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.  Wilson.  The  organization  arising 
from  the  consolidation  of  the  Greene  and  Dolphin 
Streets  Churches  was  afterwards  dissolved  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Baltimore ;  there  is  no  organic  con- 
nection between  this  and  the  present  Lafayette  Square 
Church. 

Brown  Memorial  Presbyterian  Church,  south- 
west corner  Park  Avenue  and  Townsend  Streets,  was 
erected  by  Mrs.  Isabella  Brown,  whose  name  is  asso- 
ciated with  so  many  noble  charities,  as  a  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  her  departed  husband,  George  Brown,  of 
the  firm  of  Alexander  Brown  &  Sons.     It  is  con- 

i  structed  of  Baltimore  County  marble,  and  built'  in 
thi>  (loihir  sivle  of  architecture,  and  is  one  of  the 
si  ciinii)].!!'  :ind  elegant  church  edifices  in  the  city. 

!  Its  (list  uus  (iii(>  iiundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
It  w;is  dedicated  on  Sunday,  Dec.  4,  1870,  with  cere- 
monies of  a  peculiarly  interesting  and  impressive 
character,  the  opening  services  having  been  arranged 
at  Mrs.  Brown's  particular  request  by  Me.ssrs.  Wil- 
liam B.  Canfield,  J.  Franklin  Dix,  and  Alexander  M. 
Carter.  The  Sabbath -school  was  organized  on  the 
nth  of  December,  1870,  Ale.xander  M.  Carter  super- 
intendent, with  twenty  teachers  and  forty  scholars. 
The  church  was  organized  Dec.  15,  1870,  with  Elders 


KELIGIOTJS  DENOMINATIONS. 


551 


Alexander  M.  Carter  and  J.  Franklin  Dix  and  sixty  j 
members,  by  a  committee  of  the  Presbytery  of  Balti-  j 
more,  consisting  of  Rev.  .John  C.  Backus,  D.D.,  Rev.  ! 
Tryon  Edwards,  D.D.,  Rev.  S.  D.  Noyes,  and  Elders  | 
David  S.  Courtenay  and  George  Schaeffer.     On  the 
20th  of  the  same  month  Rev.  John  S.  Jones,  D.D.,  was 
unanimously  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  church, 
which  he  still  retains,  and  on  the  10th  of  January, 
1871,  he  was  duly  ordained  as  a  minister  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  installed  as  pastor  of  the  church  by  a  com-  , 
mittee  appointed  by  the  Presbytery  for  that  purpose, 
consisting  of  Rev.  John  C.  Backus,  D.D.,  Rev.  Jona- 
than Edwards,  D.D.,  Rev.  D.  C.  Marquis,  D.l).,  and 
Rev.  Joseph  T.  Smith,  D.D.     The  present  member- 
ship of  the  church  is  about  three  hundred,  and  it  has 
alreadv  proved  itself  a  strong  power  for  good. 

Reformed  Presbyterian,  or  Church  of  the  Cove- 
nanters.—This  ehurch    of  the    Reformed    Presby- 
terians is  situated  at  the  junction  of  Aisquith  Street 
with  Harford  Avenue,  and  was  purchased  by  the  con- 
gregation in  1833.     The  Society  of  the  Covenanters 
of  Baltimore  was  organized  in  1818,  and  incorporated 
in  1821.     The  members  are  almost  exclusively  Scotch 
or   north   of   Ireland   people   or   their    descendants. 
They  are  connected  with  the  Philadelphia  Presby-  I 
tery.     Their  mode  of  worship  is  simple  to  severity ;  ! 
the  church  is  devoid  of  steeple,  bell,  or  organ,  no  in-  ■ 
strumental   music   is   tolerated   in  the  services,  and  ; 
only  the  psalms  of  David  are  sung.     The  pastor  is 
Rev.  A.  D.  Crowe.  ] 

Lafayette  Square  Presbyterian  Church,  on  the  | 
west  side  of  Lafayette  Square,  was  built  from  the  j 
contributions  of  Presbyterians  of  the  city  during  ' 
1878  and  1879.  It  was  opened  for  worship  on  the  1st 
of  February,  1880,  and  a  church  organization  was 
effected  on  the  23d  of  the  same  month,  with  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  members.  O.  F.  Day  and 
P.  B.  Small,  Jr.,  were  chosen  elders,  and  A.  D.  Keentr, 
A.  S.  Kerr,  A.  A.  Hasson,  and  Ernest  Robbins  were 
elected  deacons.  On  March  3,  1880,  Rev.  Samuel 
McLanahan  was  unanimously  selected  as  pastor,  and 
was  formally  installed  on  the  4th  of  May  of  the  same 
year.  There  is  no  organic  connection  between  this 
church  and  that  formerly  known  as  Lafayette  Square 
Church,  the  congregation  of  which  worshiped  at  the 
corner  of  Dolphin  and  Etting  Streets.  That  organi- 
zation was  dissolved  by  the  Presbytery  of  Baltimore 
.some  time  since,  and  although  many  of  its  members 
have  connected  themselves  with  the  present  Lafayette 
Square  Church,  they  form  a  minority  of  the  present 
membership. 

North  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church.— The  cor- 
ner-stone of  this  beautiful  edifice,  southeast  corner  of 
St.  Paul  Street  and  Boundary  Avenue,  was  laid  on 
the  23d  of  June,  1879,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Backus.  The  lot 
has  a  front  of  eighty  feet  on  Boundary  Avenue,  and  a 
depth  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  on  St. 
Paul  Street,  and  was  donated  by  Mrs.  Peyton  Har- 
rison.    The  pastor  is  Rev.  George  T.  Purves. 


The  Associate  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church 
was  organized  in  1797,  and  was  supplied  with  preach- 
ing by  the  nearest  Presbytery  of  the  Associate  Re- 
formed Presbyterian  CKurch.  In  1803,  having  in- 
creased in  numbers,  they  determined  to  build  a 
church,  aud  erected  a  place  of  worship  at  the  corner 
of  Pitt  (East  Fayette)  and  Aisquith  Streets,  and  ap- 
pointed the  Rev.  R.  Annan  as  their  pastor.  They 
adopted  a  constitution,  were  incorporated  under  the 
act  of  1802,  and  assumed  the  name  of  the  "  Associate 
Reformed  Congregation  of  Baltimore."  Rev.  R.  An- 
nan's pastorate  continued  until  1811,  when  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Philadelphia  (to  which  the  congregation 
was  attached),  in  the  exercise  of  its  powers  under  the 
constitution  and  laws  of  the  Associate  Reformed 
Church,  dissolved  the  connection  and  declared  the 
charge  vacant.  Rev.  John  Mason  Duncan  was  elected 
as  his  successor,  and  in  March,  1812,  entered  upon 
his  duties.  The  congregation  having  become  too 
large  for  the  small  edifice  on  Pitt  Street,  a  new 
church  was  erected  on  Tammany  (West  Fayette] 
Street,  between  Charles  and  Liberty,  in  1813-14. 
The  congregation  continued  its  connection  with  the 
"Associate  Reformed  Church  in  North  America" 
until  May,  1822,  when  a  union  took  place  between 
this  ehurch  and  the  "  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States,"  the  Rev.  Mr.  Duncan  and  James 
Marting  representing  the  Associate  Reformed  con- 
gregation of  Baltimore,  and  voting  for  the  union.  In 
182.5  the  Second  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  to  which 
Mr.  Duncan  was  attached,  was  dissolved,  and  he  ap- 
plied to  the  Baltimore  Presbytery  to  be  admitted  as  a 
member,  but  his  application  was  refu.sed  on  the  ground 
that  he  disowned  and  opposed  the  "  Confession  of 
Faith"  and  form  of  government  of  the  "  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States."  The  Baltimore  Pres- 
bytery referred  the  subject  to  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  by  them  it  was  re- 
mitted to  the  Synod  to  be  finally  disposed  of.  The 
Synod  met  on  the  27th  of  October,  1825,  in  Mr.  Dun- 
can's church,  when  he  aud  Rev.  Charles  G.  McLean 
both  formally  withdrew  "  from  all  connection  with 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States."  On 
the  1st  of  November  following  the  pastoral  connec- 
tion was  dissolved  by  the  Synod,  but  the  pastor  was 
supported  by  the  congregation,  which  has  ever  since 
maintained  its  independent  organization.  Mr.  Dun- 
can died  on  the  30th  of  April,  1851,  and,  after  some 
temporary  supplies,  was  succeeded  in  September,  1852, 
by  Rev.  Stuart  Robinson,  who  resigned  in  March, 
1853.  From  this  time  until  the  1st  of  October,  1856, 
the  congregation  was  served  by  Rev.  Thomas  H. 
Stockton,  who  was  succeeded  on  the  14th  of  October 
in  that  year  by  Rev.  Henry  Otis  Tiffany,  who  resigned 
on  the  29th  of  August,  1860.  He  was  followed  by  the 
Rev.  Fielder  Israel,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
(elected  March  11,  1861),  who  retained  the  pastorate 
until  the  autumn  of  1865.  On  the  4th  of  April,  1866, 
Rev.  John  Leyburn,  D.D.,  present  pastor,  was  called 


HISTORY    OF    BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


to  the  charge,  a  resolution  luiving  first  been  unani- 
mously adopieil  hy  the  congregation  "  that  the  church 

The  First  Congregational  Church  was  organized 
at  Red  Men's  Hall,  on  Paca  Street,  on  the  17th  of 
May,  1865.  On  the  14th  of  May,  1866,  the  corner- 
stone of  a  church  was  laid  on  Kutaw  Street,  between 
Hofiman  and  Dolphin,  and  the  edifice  was  dedicated 
on  the  30th  of  December  following.  The  church  has 
had  four  pastors,  as  follows:  Rev.  Edwin  Johnson, 
Rev.  L.  W.  Bacon,  Rev.  Cyrus  P.  Osborne,  and  Rev. 
Theodore  J.  Holmes.  The  latter  is  the  present 
pastor. 

Faith  Chapel,  on  Broadway  and  Gay  Streets,  in 
charge  of  Rev.  John  P.  Campbell.  This  chapel  grew 
out  of  a  Sunday-school  established  five  years  ago 
under  the  auspices  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. 
On  the  6th  of  February,  1876,  the  school  was  organ- 
ized with  six  officers,  twelve  teachers,  and  eighty-one 
scholars.  At  the  fifth  anniversary  the  report  showed 
sixteen  officers,  sixty-seven  teachers,  and  thirteen 
hundred  and  fourteen  scholars.  In  May  of  1880 
Faith  Chapel  Literary  Association  was  organized, 
which  now  has  one  hundred  members  and  four  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  volumes  in  its  library.  A 
Mothers'  Meeting,  in  care  of  ladies  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  has  a  membership  of  sixty, 
who  have  made  and  distributed  eight  hundred  gar- 
ments, and  the  sewing-school  has  an  average  attend- 
ance of  two  hundred.  A  Pastor's  Aid  Society  was 
formed  during  the  past  year  for  visitation  and  acts  of 
benevolence  ;  also  a  Flower  Mission  to  the  sick  of  the 
school.  A  systematic  plan  for  raising  funds  by  weekly 
contributions  in  envelopes  is  pursued,  and  last  year 
aggregated  twelve  hundred  dollars  in  the  congregation 
and  school.  During  the  three  years  of  the  existence 
of  the  chapel  there  have  been  received  eighty-seven 
members  on  profession  of  faith,  forty-seven  by  cer- 
tificates, and  eight  formerly  members  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church.  There  were  forty-one  baptisms, 
including  eight  adults.  One  member  of  the  church, 
Rev.  David  Laughlin,  has  been  ordained  a  preacher, 
and  is  now  supplying  a  church  in  Manalapan,  N.  J. 
Another  member,  Alford  Kelly,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Presbytery,  is  preparing  as  a  candidate  for  the 
ministry. 

In  addition  to  the  above  churches,  the  Presbyterians 
of  Baltimore  worship  in  Brown  Memorial  Mission 
chapel,  on  Cathedral  and  John  Streets ;  Central  Church 
Mission,  on  Ridgely  and  Hamburg  Streets;  Associated 
Reformed  chapel,  on  Columbia,  near  Poppleton  Street; 
Grace  (Colored)  church,  formally  opened  June  19, 
1881,  corner  Dolphin  and  Etting  Streets,  attended  by 
Rev.  C.  Hedges;  and  Knox  (Colored)  church,  on 
Baltimore  and  Aisquith  Streets,  attended  by  Rev. 
William  M.  Hargrave. 

Madison  Street  (Colored)  Presbyterian  Church. 
—This  church,  situated  on  Madison  Street,  near  Park 
Avenue,  originated  as  a  mi.ssion-school  in  1842;  its 


first  pastor  was  Rev.  John  Watts.  The  congregation 
met  for  .several  years  in  the  "  Warfield  church,"  in  the 
rear  of  City  Spring;  the  present  church  edifice  was 
purchased  of  the  Baptists  in  18-50  by  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  for  the  use  of  the  colored  congregation. 
Rev.  William  H.  Weaver  is  the  pastor. 
BAPTIST  CHURCHES. 

So  far  as  accessible  records  show,  the  first  resident 
Baptist  in  Maryland  was  Henry  Sater  (sometimes  called 
Sator),'  who  came  from  England  in  1709  and  settled  at 
Chestnut  Ridge,  about  ten  miles  north  of  the  present 
site  of  the  city  of  Baltimore.  Although  not  a  minister, 
he  was  an  active  and  zealous  Baptist  Christian,  and  so 
respected  by  his  neighbors  and  by  the  civil  authori- 
ties that  there  is  no  evidence  of  any  interference  on 
account  of  his  belief  or  worship.  He  was  pious,  lib- 
eral, loved,  and  long  remembered.  In  those  days 
most  of  the  Baptist  ministers  were  accustomed  to 
travel  and  preach  as  invited  or  permitted,  sometimes 
sending  appointments  in  advance,  and  sometimes 
using  providential  opportunities  on  the  spot.  Such 
ministers  Henry  Sater  was  wont  to  entertain  and  to 
ask  them  to  preach  at  his  house.  Among  those  so 
invited  was  George  Egglesfield,  from  Pennsylvania. 
Paul  Palmer  was  another  of  these.  He  was  a  native 
of  Maryland,  but  was  baptized  by  Rev.  Owen  Thomas 
at  Welsh  Tract,  in  Delaware,  and  ordained  in  Con- 
necticut, preaching  a  while  in  New  Jersey,  then  in 
Maryland,  and  closing  his  ministry  and  life  in  North 
Carolina,  where  he  founded  the  first  Baptist  Church  in 
that  State  at  Perquimans,  on  the  Chowan  River,  in 
1727.  Henry  Loveall  was  another  of  these  early 
preachers  of  Baltimore  County.  He  was  born  in  Cam- 
bridge, England,  about  1694,  and  baptized  in  New 
England,  probably  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  in  1725.  He 
was  in  Newport  in  1729,  and  had  then  begun  to 
preach.  About  that  year  he  went  to  Piscataqua, 
N.  J.,  where  he  preached  for  two  years  on  trial,  and 
was  there  ordained,  but  never  administered  the  ordi- 
nances, for  soon  after  his  ordination  he  behaved  in  so 
disorderly  a  fashion  that  he  was  excommunicated. 
He  was  accused  of  shameful  immorality,  and  it  was  dis- 
covered that  his  real  name  was  Desolate  Baker.  After 
causing  much  trouble  in  Piscataqua  he  came  to  Mary- 
land in  1742  and  became  the  minister  of  the  Chest- 
nut Ridge  Church.  In  1746  he  went  to  Mill  Creek,  in 
Berkeley  County,  at  Opeckon,  where  he  organized  a 
church  of  about  fifteen  members,  but  becoming  licen- 
tious in  his  life,  was  soon  excluded  and  the  church 
dissolved  to  form  another.  He  returned  to  Chestnut 
Ridge,  where  he  was  living  in  1772  in  the  seventy- 
eighth  year  of  his  age,  but  not  officiating  as  a  minister.' 

From  the  converts  of  this  preaching  the  Chestnut 
Ridge  Church  was  organized  in  1742.  Their  covenant 
is  dated  July  10,  1742,  and  as  presented,  according  to 

1  Benedict's  Hist.,  631 ;  or  Slator,  Spragiie's  Annuls,  xiii. 

2  Benedict's  Hist.,  631,  643;  Spriigue's  Annals,  69,70;  note,  Century 

Ministers  of  the  Pliilndolpliia  liaptist  Association,  1707-1807,  13. 


KELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


553 


the  law  of  Maryland  at  the  time,  to  the  Governor  and 
court  of  the  province  in  order  to  receive  protection 
from  tlie  toleration  laws  then  in  force,  was  as  follows: 

"  We,  the  humble  professors  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  baptized  upoo  a 
declaratiou  of  faith  aud  repentance,  believing  the  doctrine  of  general 
redemption  (or  tlie  free  grace  of  God  extended  to  all  mankind),  do  hereby 
seriously,  heartily,  and  solemnly,  in  the  presence  of  the  searcher  of  all 
hearts,  and  before  the  world,  covenant,  agree,  bind,  and  settle  ourselves 
into  a  ciuirch,  to  hold,  abide  by  and  contend  for  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  siiintti,  owned  by  the  best  reformed  churches  in  England,  Scotland, 
and  elsewhere,  especially  as  published  and  maintained  in  the  forms  and 
confessions  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  England  and  Scotland,  except  in 
infant  baptism,  modes  of  chuich  government,  the  doctrine  of  absolute 
reprobation,  and  some  ceremonies.  We  do  also  bind  ourselves  hereby  to 
defend  and  live  up  to  the  Protestant  religion,  and  oppose  and  abhor  the 
pope  of  Rome,  and  popery,  with  all  her  anti-Christian  ways.  We  do 
also  engage  with  our  lives  and  fortunes  to  defend  the  crown  and  dignity 
of  our  gracious  sovereign.  King  George,  to  him  and  his  issue  forever;  aud 
to  obey  all  his  laws,  humbly  submitting  oureelves  to  all  in  authority 
under  him,  and  giving  *  custom  to  whom  custom,  honor  to  whom  honor, 
tribute  to  whom  tribute  is  due.'  We  do  further  declare  that  we  are  not 
against  talking  oallis  nor  using  arms  in  defense  of  our  king  and  country 
when  legally  called  thereto;  and  that  we  do  approve  and  will  obey  the 
laws  of  this  province.  And  further,  we  bind  ourselves  to  follow  the  pat- 
terns of  our  brethren  in  England  to  maintain  order,  government,  and 
discipline  in  our  church,  especially  that  excellent  directory  of  Rev. 
Francis  Stanley,  entitled  '  The  Gospel  Honor  and  Church  Ornament,' 
dedicated  to  the  churches  in  the  counties  of  Lincoln,  Nottingham,  and 
Cambridge.  We  also  engage  tiiat  all  persons,  upon  joining  our  society, 
shall  yield,  consent  to,  and  subsciibe  this  our  solemn  league  aud  cove- 
nant. Subscribed  by  us  whose  names  are  underwritten  this  tenth  day 
of  July,  174-2."1 

Henry  Sater  was  a  "  General  Baptist,"  and  such 
was  Clicstnut  Kidge  Church.  The  church  grew  with 
.such  r:i])idity  that  in  four  years  it  increased  to  one 
hundred  and  eighty-one  members.  Some  of  these 
lived  or  removed  to  Opeckon  Creek,  Berkeley  Co., 
Va.,  near  where  Martinsburg  now  is,  and  formed  a 
br.anch  church  about  1746,  organized  under  Henry 
Loveall,  but  reorganized  as  Mill  Creek  "  Particular 
Baptist  Church"  in  1751.^ 

Tlie  second  Baptist  Church  formed  in  Maryland 
began  in  this  way :  In  1747,  or  five  years  after  Chestnut 
Ridge  Church  was  constituted,  some  of  its  members 
invited  "  Particular  Baptists"  to  preach  among  them, 
as  their  church  was  pastorless  and  supplies  were  only 
occasional.  Fourteen  of  these  Chestnut  Ridge  mem- 
bers became  "  Particular  Baptists."  Of  these  in  1754 
a  church  was  organized  at  Winter  Run,  which  was 
afterwards  called  Harford,  or  Hartford,  by  Benjamin 
Griffith  and  Peter  Pattersen  Vanhorn,  ministers  from 
the  Phihulelphia  Baptist  Association.  This  Harford 
Church,  "constituted  in  Baltimore  County,  Mary- 
land," was  received  into  the  Philadelphia  Associa- 
tion Oct.  7,  1755,  under  the  name  of  Baltimore,  and 
bears  that  name  in  the  minutes  until  1774.'  The 
church  grew  rapidly,  absorbing  the  Chestnut  Ridge 
Church,  and  was  for  a  long  time  regarded  as  one  of 
the  principal  churches  of  the  country.  In  1771  it 
had  four  meeting- places.  Besides  the  main  church 
at  Winter   Run,  one  branch   met  in   the   house   at 

1  Benedict's  History,  6:il,  632. 

-  Ben.,  64a  ;  Semple's  Hist.  Va.  Baptists,  2S8,  289  ;  Sprague's  Annals, 

3  Centurj-  Ministers,  72,  147. 


Chestnut  Ridge,  belonging  to  the  General  Baptists, 
another  was  at  Patapsco,  and  a  third  near  Winchester. 
The  next  year  a  fourth  branch  began  in  Baltimore 
Town.*  Who  was  the  'first  pastor  of  Winter  Run 
Church  is  not  now  known,  but  two  years  after  its 
organization  Rev.  John  Davis  became  pastor.  He 
was  born  in  Pennypack,  Pa.,  Sept.  10,  1721.  He  was 
ordained  in  1756,  at  Montgomery,  Pa.,  and  in  that 
year  became  the  minister  of  Winter  Run,  or  Harford, 
or  Baltimore  Church,  and  remained  pastor  for  fifty- 
three  years,  or  until  his  death  in  1809,  in  the  eighty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
usefulness  and  influence,  of  untiring  energy,  great 
piety,  enlightened  evangelical  views,  and  consistent 
character.  He  traveled  much,  preaching  in  the 
woods,  the  barn,  the  school-house,  the  cabin,  the 
parlor  as  well  as  in  the  meeting-house,  or  to  the 
traveler  alone.  The  law,  indeed,  guaranteed  pro- 
tection, but  Mr.  Davis  suffered  no  little  persecu- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  intimidation  from  "certain 
lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort,"  and  it  is  .stated  that 
even  the  magistrates  sometimes  lent  their  influence 
to  the  attempt  to  drive  him  from  his  field  of  labor. 
From  1799  to  1803,  Rev.  Abraham  Butler  was  joint 
pastor  with  Mr.  Davis,  and  under  their  combined 
labors  there  was  a  continuous  revival.  Mr.  Davis 
was  the  founder  of  the  First  Baltimore,  Taney  Town, 
Gunpowder,  Sater's,  and  probably  of  Frederick  City 
Churches.'*  He  was  also  pastor  of  Great  Valley 
Church,  or  TredyflTrin,  in  Chester  County,  Pa.,  from 
his  ordination  in  1756  to  1808.  In  1758  the  Phila- 
delphia Baptist  Association 

"ordered  that  a  testimonial  be  given  aud  signed  by  the  Rev.  .lenkins 
Jones,  minister  of  the  Baptist  meeting  or  congregation  in  Philadelphia, 
to  the  Rev.  John  Davis,  late  of  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  but  now  of  Baltimore 
County,  in  the  Province  of  Maryland,  certifying  his  regular  ordination 
according  to  the  rites,  ceremonies,  and  approved  forms  and  usages  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  and  also  his  purity  of  life,  manners,  and  conversation, 
aud  recommending  him  to  the  favor  of  all  Christian  people  where  he 
now  does  or  may  hereafter  dwell." 

This  document  was  as  follows : 

"  To  all  Christian  People  to  whom  these  presents  may  come :  I,  Jenkins 
Jones,  minister  of  the  Baptist  meeting  or  congregation  of  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  do  send  and  certify  that  the  bearer  hereof,  Mr.  John  Davis, 
late  of  Bucks  County,  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  but  now  residing 
and  dwelling  in  Baltimore  County,  in  the  Province  of  Maryland,  in  the 
month  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1756,  waa  regularly  admitted, 
ordnined,  and  received  holy  orders  to  preach  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ  to  all  people,  according  to  the  rites  and  ceremonies 
and  approved  forms  and  usages  of  the  Baptist  Church  ;  and  that  at  all 
times  before  and  since  his  ordination  aforesaid,  for  anytliiug  heard, 
known,  or  belifved  to  the  contrary,  he  lived  a  holy  and  unblemished  life, 
as  well  in  his  conversation  as  in  actions,  and  I  do  humbly  recommend  him 
to  the  notice,  esteem,  aud  regard  of  all  Christians,  wherever  he  does  now 
or  hereafter  may  reside,  or  with  whom  he  may  have  conversation  or  deal- 
ing. In  testimony  and  by  order  of  the  general  meeting  or  association 
aforesaid,  1  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  the 
6th  day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1768. 

"Jenkins  Jones." 


*  Ben. Hist.,  632;  Hist.  Balto.  Bapt.  Association,  Joseph  H.  Jones,  32, 33 ; 
Cent.  Min.  Phila.  Association. 

5  Benedict,  632;  Jones'  Hist.,  32;  Rev.  Rev.  G.  F.  Adams,  in  Sprague's 
Annals,  69,  77  ;  Cent.  Minutes,  Phila.  Association,  16,  77. 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Such  was  the  conimcndiition  of  the  father  of  Bal- 
timore Ha|itist  Churches. 

First  Baptist  Church.— The  first  Baptist  Church 
iu  Baltimore  County  of  which  we  have  any  certain 
account  is   that  of  Chestnut   Ridge    (now   Sater's), 
called  after  Henry  Sater,  who,  as  we  have  stated,  set- 
tled in  this  neighborhood  in  1709.     He  organized  a 
congregation  at  his  hou.se,  of  which  George  Eggles- 
fleld,  of  Pennsylvania,  was   pastor.     He   was   suc- 
ceeded by  Paul  Palmer  and  Henry  Loveall,  and  in  I 
1742  a  church  was  formed  with  fifty-seven  members,  \ 
who  subscribed  a  declaration  of  faith  laid  before  the  I 
Governor.     The  oldest  "  Particular  Baptist  Church" 
within  the  former  limits  of  Baltimore   County  was 
Winter's  Run,  afterwards  called  Harford.     It  is  said 
that 

"  about  the  year  1747  8omo  of  the  members  of  Chestnut  Ridge  being  in- 
clined to  the  sentiment  of  the  Particular  Baptists,  invited  their  niinistera 
to  prench  among  tliem,  who  continued  their  visits  until  fourteen  persons 
had  embraced  tliuir  sentiments, and  these  were  constituted  into  a  cliurch 
in  1754,  b.v  the  assistance  of  Benjamin  Griffith  and  Peter  P.  Vanhorn, 
and  it  was  the  same  year  received  into  the  Philadelphia  Association.  In 
1772,  besides  the  main  establishment  at  Winter's  Bun,  Harford  consisted 
of  three  other  branches,  one  near  Chestnut  llidge,  which  met  for  wor- 
sliip  in  the  house  belonging  to  tlie  General  Baptists,  the  second  at  Pa- 
tapsoo,  the  third  near  Winchester,  and  in  all  at  tliis  time  a  membership  j 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight."  j 

The  precise  date  at  which  a  Baptist  meeting  was  I 
first  held   in    Baltimore   is   unknown,  but  in   1773,  i 
Messrs.   Griffith,  Shields,    Lemmon,  Prestman,  Mc-  [ 
Kim,  Cox,  and  others  purchased  a  lot  and  erected  a  j 
meeting-house  on  the  corner  of  Front  and  Wapping  , 
(East  Fayette)  Streets,  in  Old  Town,  on  the  site  of  the  I 
present  shot-tower.      The   lot  was   purchased   from  i 
"  Thomas  Bailey,  executor  of  the  testament  and  last 
will  of  William  Towson  and  Ezekiel  Towson,"  and 
was  conveyed  to  Benjamin  Griffith,  Nathan  Griffith, 
David  Shields,  George  Prestman,  Richard  Lemmon, 
John  McKim,  James  Cox,  and  Alexander  McKim. 
It  was  described  as  lying  in  "  Jones'  addition  to  Bal- 
timore Town,"  and  was  purchased  for  "  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  current  money,"  "  for  a  house  of 
public  worship,  and  also  for  a  burying-place  for  the 
service  of  the  congregation  or  society  that  is  now  or 
may  hereafter  be  established  or  constituted  in  Balti- 
more Town,  known   by  the  name  or  appellation  of 
Baptists."    A  parsonage  and  a  school-house  were  also 
subsequently  erected  on  this  lot,  and  the  remainder 
was  long  used  as  a  burial-ground.     The  remains  of 
many  of  the  dead  were  afterwards  removed  to  a  piece 
of  ground  in  southwest  Baltimore,  which  is  at  present 
occupied  by  buildings.     Most  of  the  persons  thus  as- 
sociated together  in  Baltimore  were  members  of  the 
"Harford  Church,  and  received  the  monthly  minis- 
trations of  Rev.  John  Davis.     This  arrangement  con- 
tinued until  1784,  when  Rev.  Lewis  Richards  came  to 
this  city,  and  it  wtis  determined  to  erect  the  Baltimore 
mission  into  a  separate  church.     The  application  for 
letters  of  dismission  was  made  on  the  1st  of  January, 
1785,  which  were  at  once  granted,  and  the  loth  day 
of  the  month  appointed  for  constituting  a  regular 


Baptist  Church  in  Baltimore  Town."  In  accordance 
with  this  appointment,  on  the  15th  of  January,  1785, 
Lewis  Richards  (elected  their  minister  the  year  pre- 
vious), David  Shields,  George  Prestman,  Francis 
Prestman,  Jean  Shields,  Richard  Lemmon,  Alexan- 
der McKim,  Thomas  Coale,  Rachel  Coale,  William 
Hobby,  and  Eleanor  Thomas  were  constituted  a  reg- 
ular Baptist  Church  by  Rev.  John  Davis,  pastor  of 
the  Baptist  Church  in  Harford  County.  The  same 
day  on  which  the  churcli  was  thus  constituted  the 
first  baptism  took  place,  and  "John  Scott  was  bap- 
tized on  profession  of  his  faith  and  repentance,  and 
was  received  into  the  church  as  one  of  the  members." 
Very  .soon  after  its  organization,  probably  the  same 
year,  the  church  united  with  the  Philadelphia  Asso- 
ciation, as  in  September,  1787,  a  letter  was  sent  to 
that  body,  not  applying  for  admission,  but  in  the  tone 
of  those  already  members,  expressing  regret  that  they 
could  not  be  "  present  by  messengers."  The  number 
of  members  then  reported  was  twenty-eight.  Rev. 
Lewis  Richards,  the  first  pastor  of  the  church,  was 
born  in  1752,  in  Llanbardan-vowr,  Cardiganshire, 
South  Wales.  Becoming  acquainted  with  Lady  Hunt- 
ingdon, he  studied  for  a  short  time  at  the  college  en- 
dowed by  her,  and  then  came  to  America  to  study  in 
the  famous  Orphan  House,  in  Georgia.  He  was  bap- 
tized by  Rev.  Richard  Furman,  at  the  High  Hills  of 
Santee,  in  1777,  and  ordained  the  same  year  in 
Charleston,  S.  C,  by  Revs.  Oliver  Hart  and  John 
Cook.  He  traveled  in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina 
for  about  a  year,  and  then  settled  in  Northampton 
County,  in  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia,  where  he 
remained  until  1784,  when  he  came  to  Baltimore.  Mr. 
Richards  continued  pastor  of  the  First  Church  until 
1818,  when  he  resigned  on  account  of  the  infirmities 
of  age,  but  remained  a  member  of  the  congregation 
until  his  death,  Feb.  1,  1832.  During  the  last  three 
years  of  his  pastorate  4ie  was  assisted  by  Rev.  Edward 
J.  Reis,  a  gentleman  of  French  birth.  Mr.  Richards 
was  a  man  of  unaftected  piety  and  untiring  devotion, 
and  was  universally  respected  and  loved. 

While  the  spiritual  growth  of  the  church  was  satis- 
factory, it  would  seem  that  the  financial  affairs  were 
not  of  so  encouraging  a  character  in  the  earlier  years 
of  its  history.  So  limited  were  its  resources  that  in 
August,  1787,  the  clerk  was  directed  to  address  a  let- 
ter to  the  pastor,  declaring,  "  with  sensible  concern, 
that  they  saw  very  little  prosperity  in  the  church, 
notwithstanding  his  becoming  and  approved  zeal  and 
industry  in  the  service  of  our  gracious  Lord,"  and 
after  expressing  their  interest  in  him  and  his  family, 
they  "  fear  that  their  subscription  of  only  one  hundred 
and  thirty  pounds  will  be  insufficient  for  their  necessi- 
ties, especially  if  any  one  subscriber  should  fall  from 
us  by  death  or  otherwise."  They  therefore  frankly 
suggested  whether  it  would  not  be  better  for  him  to 
leave  them  and  seek  another  sphere  of  labor,  at  the 
same  time  assuring  him  that  "their  conclusion  was 
not  from  any  disrespect  or  want  of  esteem  and  love 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


to  him."  As  he  was  too  generous,  however,  to  take 
advantage  of  their  poverty,  "  they  agreed  to  pay  him 
at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  pounds  per 
annum  for  what  time  he  might  continue  with  them, 
provided  the  present  subscribers  reside  in  this  place." 
The  year  following  another  communication  was  sent 
to  him,  stating  that  their  "subscription  for  the  ensu- 
ing year  was  one  hundred  pounds,"  but  that  they 
"  would  allow  him  one  Sunday  in  each  month  at  his 
own  disposal,"  but  advising  him  at  the  same  time 
that  "  this  subscription  cannot  be  continued  longer 
than  the  ensuing  year."  The  church  was  regularly 
incorporated,  with  David  Shields,  George  Prestman, 
Alexander  McKim,  Wm.  Wilson,  and  Mathias  Maris 
as  trustees,  who  with  the  pastor  were  constituted  a 
body  corporate  by  the  name  "  The  Committee  of  the 
Baptist  Church  in  the  City  of  Baltimore."  On  the 
24th  of  February,  1818,  Mr.  Keis  was  formally  elected 
pastor  to  succeed  the  venerable  Mr.  Eichards,  and 
on  the  22d  of  March  a  new  church  edifice,  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  Sharp  and  Lombard  Streets, 
which  the  congregation  had  been  engaged  in  erecting 
during  the  past  year,  was  dedicated  and  occupied.  It 
cost  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  was  known  as  the 
Round  Top  Church.  In  1821,  Mr.  Reis  withdrew, 
with  quite  a  number  of  the  congregation,  and  formed 
the  Ebenezer  Church,  and  in  May  of  the  same  year 
Rev.  John  Finlay,  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  was  called  to 
the  pastorate,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  soon  after- 
wards. The  debt  incurred  in  the  erection  of  the  new 
church  proved  so  serious  a  burden  that  in  1823  a  res- 
olution was  passed  to  close  the  house  and  hand  the 
keys  to  the  creditor,  Wm.  Wilson,  and  but  for  his 
generous  spirit  the  church  would  have  been  lost  to 
the  denomination.  It  was  not  until  1852  that  the 
whole  debt  was  paid  and  the  ground-rent  greatly  re- 
duced. It  is  unknown  when  the  Sunday-school  of 
the  church  was  organized,  but  it  is  possible  that  it 
was  established  as  early  as  1814  or  1816. 

The  church  records,  however,  make  no  reference  to 
it  until  January,  1824,  when  the  elders  appointed 
Mrs.  Lucretia  E.  Clark  superintendent  of  the  female 
department.  Mr.  Finlay  resigned  the  charge  of  the 
church  April  1,  1834,  having  been  in  office  about 
thirteen  years.  After  Mr.  Finlay's  resignation.  Rev. 
William  F.  Broadus,  of  Virginia,  conducted  a  meet- 
ing which  revived  the  church  and  added  many  useful 
members.  The  form  of  the  church  government,  which 
had  been  essentially  Presbyterian,  was  remodeled,  and 
an  effort  was  made  to  secure  Dr.  Broadus  as  pastor, 
but  the  call  was  declined.  In  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  Rev.  Stephen  P.  Hill  was  elected  to  the  pastor- 
ate, and  continued  in  that  office  for  more  than  sixteen 
years.  In  October,  1839,  Elder  Jacob  Knajjp  held  a 
series  of  meetings  in  the  church,  which  resulted  in  the 
baptism  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  persons,  and 
the  admission  of  twenty-seven  by  letter.  The  whole 
community  was  stirred,  and  much  good  was  accom- 
plished.    The  church  was  greatly  strengthened,  and 


some  of  the  most  zealous,  generous,  and  useful  mem- 
bers of  the  denomination  in  the  city  joined  during 
this  revival.  The  pastorate  of  Mr.  Hill  continued 
until  Feb.  15,  1850,  when  he  tendered  his  resignation  ; 
and  on  the  2d  of  December  of  the  same  year.  Dr.  J. 
W.  M.  Williams,  the  present  pastor,  was  called  to  the 
church,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  in  January,  1851. 
As  has  already  been  said,  the  church  connected  itself 
with  the  Philadelphia  Association  in  1786,  but  joined 
the  Baltimore  Association  Aug.  8,  1795.  In  1824  the 
Baltimore  Association  resolved  that,  "  It  having  been 
made  fully  to  appear  to  this  Association  by  authentic 
and  respectable  testimony  of  Baptist  brethren  that 
the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Baltimore  (so  called),  of 
which  Mr.  John  Finlay  at  present  is  pastor,  has  de- 
parted from  the  faith  and  practice  on  which  she  was 
received  into  this  Association  ;  therefore,  with  sincere 
regrets  we  are  constrained  to  and  do  resolve,  with  the 
exception  of  one  neutral  vote,  that  we  have  no  fellow- 
ship with  said  church,  and  consider  it  no  longer  a 
regular  Baptist  church  of  our  order,  and  consequently 
the  union  formerly  subsisting  between  this  Associ- 
ation and  said  First  Church  be  and  the  same  is  hereby 
dissolved."  It  seems  that  this  action  was  caused  by 
the  organization  of  a  body  of  elders  within  the 
church  and  a  Presbyterian  form  of  church  govern- 
ment. This  was  corrected  in  1834,  and  in  1836  the 
church  was  a  constituent  member  of  the  then  organ- 
ized Maryland  Baptist  Union  Association.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1875,  it  was  determined,  after  a  long  and 
earnest  consultation,  to  erect  a  new  house  of  worship 
in  a  more  convenient  locality,  and  on  the  3d  of  May, 
1877,  ground  was  broken  for  the  present  edifice  on 
Townsend  Street  near  Fremont.  June  26th  of  the 
same  year  the  corner-stone  was  laid,  and  on  the  3d  of 
January,  1878,  the  church  was  formally  opened  for 
service.  The  site  of  the  former  meeting-house  is  now 
occupied  by  fine  warehouses. 

Besides  the  work  accomplished  in  its  own  name  and 
by  its  own  efforts,  the  First  Church  has  contributed 
forty  ministers  to  the  cause  of  the  gospel,  and  its  in- 
fluence and  power  for  good  have  been  many  times  mul- 
tiplied in  their  labors.  Among  these  were  William 
Clingham,  Daniel  Dodge,  John  Welsh,  Thomas  Bar- 
ton, James  Osbdrn,  Spencer  H.  Cone,  Bartholomew 
T.  Welsh,  John  Johnson,  G.  H.  Marcher,  William 
Curtis,  Samuel  Ward,  Franklin  Wilson,  Benjamin 
Griffith,  John  A..  McKean,  Charles  Parker,  J.  F. 
Stidham,  A.  J.  Bond,  J.  Q.  A.  Rohrer,  J.  H.  Phillips, 
J.  Marsters. 

A  missionary  society  was  organized  in  this  church 
as  early  as  1792,  and  in  1813  a  foreign  missionary 
society  was  formed  which  was  among  the  first  of  the 
kind  in  the  Baptist  denomination  in  this  country. 
Its  first  collection  amounted  to  forty-five  dollars  and 
twenty-five  cents.  In  the  same  year  a  Bible  society 
and  Sunday-school  society  were  formed.  The  first 
female  missionary  society  of  the  Baptist  denomination 
in  America  was  organized  in  this  church  to  educate  a 


556 


IIISTOllY    OF    BALTIMORE   CITY    AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


young  native  of  IJurmah,  who  was  named  Lewis  Rich- 
ards, after  the  first  pastor.  From  the  First  Church 
have  sprung  tlie  Ebene/.cr  Church,  the  Seventh  Bap- 
tist Church,  the  Lee  Street  Church,  the  Hill  Street 
Chapel,  and  a  church  in  Mifflin  County,  Pa.  There  have 
been  but  five  pastors, — Rev.  Lewis  Richards,  1785- 
1818;  Rev.  Edmund  J.  Reis,  1818-21;  Rev.  John  Fin- 
lay,  1821-34;  Rev.  Stephen  P.  Hill,  D.D.,  1834-r)0; 
Rev.  John  W.  M.  Williams,  D.D.,  1850  to  the  present 
time.  During  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Richards  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety-three  were  received  into  the  church  by 
baptism  and  one  hundred  and  fifteen  by  letter;  under 
that  of  Mr.  Reis,  thirty  by  baptism  and  six  by  letter; 
under  Mr.  Finlay,  one  hundred  and  forty  by  baptism 
and  six  by  letter;  under  Dr.  Hill,  four  hundred  and 
ten  by  baptism,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine  by 
letter;  and  under  Dr.  Williams,  one  hundred  and 
nine  by  baptism  and  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
by  letter.  Among  those  prominently  connected  with 
the  church  in  the  past  were  William  and  James  Wil- 
son (to  whose  forbearance  and  generosity  the  congre- 
gation were  indebted  Uiv  llic  |mc  >i'i\ ation  of  the  old 
Round  Top  Church),  Jaim  -  (  mi  iiijli:iii,  Thomas  May- 
bury,  Mrs.  Peter  Levcriiiu.  .\lr-.  TlioirLas  M.Locke, 
Mrs.  Wilson  Clark,  and  Mrs.  James  Wilson. 

Rev.  J.  W.  M.  Williams,  D.D.,  pastor  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  was  born  in  Portsmouth,  Va.,  April 
7,  1820.  He  is  the  sou  of  Edward  and  Catharine 
(Owen)  Williams.  His  parents  were  noted  for  their 
sterling  piety  and  active  interest  in  all  good  works. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  united  with  the  Baptist 
Church  in  Portsmouth,  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
Rev.  Thomas  Hume,  in  September,  1837.  His  early 
studies  were  pursued  in  the  academy  of  his  native 
town.  In  1838  he  entered  the  Richmond  Seminary 
(now  College)  to  study  for  the  ministry.  He  was 
graduated  at  the  Columbian  College  (now  University), 
District  of  Columbia,  in  1843.  This  institution  "in 
1866  conferred  on  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity.  At  both  of  these  institutions,  while 
pursuing  his  studies,  he  was  actively  engaged  in  Sun- 
day-school and  missionary  work,  and  his  first  effort  to 
preach  was  to  a  colored  congregation  in  Norfolk,  Va. 
It  was  a  failure,  but  the  cause  of  future  success,  as  it 
taught  him  the  valuable  lesson  never  to  attempt  to 
preach  without  thorough  preparation.  During  a  por- 
tion of  his  college  term  he  had  charge  of  the  prepar- 
atory department,  which  aided  him  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  his  education,  as  he  was  dependent  upon 
his  own  resources.  After  graduating  he  supplied  the 
Cumberland  Street  Baptist  Church,  Norfolk,  Va., 
about  one  year,  and  here  he  was  ordained  to  the 
gospel  ministry.  He  was  now  able  to  gratify  his  de- 
sire for  a  more  extended  course  of  theological  study, 
and  went  to  Newton  Theological  Seminary,  near 
Boston,  Mass.  Returning  to  Virgina,  he  labored  as 
a  missionary  in  Jerusalem,  Southampton  Co.,  and  at 
Smithfield,  Isle  of  Wight  Co.  While  on  this  field 
he  was  instrumental  in  the  erection  of  two  eligible 


houses  of  worship.  On  Dec.  22,  1846,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Corinthia  V.  J.  Read,  of  Northampton 
County,  Va.  She  is  the  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  Cal- 
vin H.  Read,  of  that  county,  who  was  great-grand- 
son of  Col.  Edmund  Scarburgh,  "Surveyor-General 
under  the  King  of  England."  Dr.  Read  was  repre- 
sentative to  the  House  of  Delegates  in  1827-28,  and 
was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Convention  of  Virginia 
in  1829,  which  assembled  in  Richmond  for  the  pur- 
pose of  revising  the  constitution,  thus  mentioned  in 
history:  "An  assembly  of  men  were  drawn  together 
which  has  scarcely  ever  been  surpassed  in  the  United 
States.  Much  of  what  was  venerable  for  years  and 
long  service;  many  of  those  most  respected  for  tbeir 
wisdom  and  their  eloquence;  two  of  the  ex-Presi- 
dents (Madison  and  Monroe) ;  the  chief  justice  of  the 
United  States ;  several  of  those  who  had  been  most 
distinguished  in  Congress,  or  the  State  Legislature, 
on  the  bench  or  at  the  bar,  were  brought  together  for 
the  momentous  purpose  of  laying  anew  the  funda- 
mental law  of  the  land."  His  colleagues  were 
Thomas  R.  Joynes,  Thomas  M.  Bayly,  and  Abel  P. 
Upshur.  Death  prevented  his  taking  his  seat  in  this 
convention.  Upon  motion  of  Thomas  R.  Joynes, 
complimentary  resolutions  expressing  the  universal 
high  opinion  of  his  character  were  adopted.  He  was 
amiable  and  upright,  gentle  yet  brave,  unwavering  in 
j)rinciple,  active  and  faithful  in  fulfilling  his  convic- 
tions of  duty.  Although  but  thirty-six  years  of  age 
when  he  died,  his  opinions  have  long  been  quoted  as 
authority  by  the  most  distinguished  men  of  Virginia, 
so  far  was  he  in  advance  of  his  day,  and  among  his 
papers  are  found  letters  from  the  greatest  statesmen 
committing  to  his  discretion  and  wisdom  matters  of 
vital  importance  to  the  country.  The  late  Governor 
Wise  said,  "  Dr.  Read's  death  was  a  loss  to  Virginia's 
highest  interests." 

In  1848,  Dr.  Williams  accepted  the  pastoral  care  of 
the  Baptist  Church  of  Lynchburg,  Va.,  and  on  Jan. 
1,  1851  (now  in  early  manhood),  he  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Balti- 
more, where  he  has  remained  till  the  present  time, 
preaching  with  remarkable  success  in  one  pulpit,  his 
contemporaries  during  the  entire  period  being  only 
three,  the  lamented  Dr.  Richard  Fuller,  of  the  Seventh 
Baptist  Church,  the  venerated  Dr.  J.  C.  Backus,  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  Dr.  Morris,  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  Dr.  Williams,  in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Frank- 
lin Wilson, originated  the  "Baptist  Church  Extension 
Society,"  and  through  its  agency  many  churches  have 
been  built  during  the  past  few  years.  Dr.  Williams 
is  eminently  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  never  having 
turned  aside  to  sensational  topics  or  pampered  to  a 
taste  for  novelty.  Yet  that  gospel,  presented  in  its 
simplicity,  has  had  power  to  draw  large  congregations 
during  all  of  these  years,  and  sometimes  for  months 
consecutively  his  church  has  been  crowded  to  its  ut- 
most capacity,  and  among  those  converted  through 
his  ministry  have  been  uuiny  over  the  age  usually 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


557 


moved  to  repentance.  Dr.  Williams  has  a  full,  rich  ! 
voice,  which  is  entirely  under  his  control.  His  style 
is  clear  and  concise,  and  he  always  speaks  with  great 
earnestness  and  force.  After  the  death  of  the  pious 
and  distinguished  Dr.  Johns,  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
he  was  elected  to  succeed  him  as  president  of  the 
Maryland  Tract  Society,  which  honored  position  he 
has  ever  since  filled  with  the  efficiency  that  charac- 
terizes his  work  in  every  department.  He  has  been  a 
great  advocate  for  missions  in  the  broadest  sense,  in- 
fusing the  spirit  of  the  gospel  into  the  hearts  of  his 
people,  leading  them  to  feel  not  only  for  the  lost  at  a 
distance  but  for  those  near ;  and  has  labored  not  only 
to  enlarge  his  own  church,  but  to  plant  churches  in  j 
every  favorable  locality.  He  was  superintendent  of 
his  own  Sunday-school  for  ten  years,  but  he  is  not  an 
advocate  of  all  pastors  becoming  superintendents,  any 
more  than  he  is  an  advocate  of  all  superintendents 
becoming  pastors.  Dr.  Williams  has  been  vice-presi-  , 
dent  of  the  Maryland  Sunday-School  Union  for  several 
years,  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  Baltimore,  and  for  many 
years  has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  Mary- 
land Baptist  Union  Association.  His  excessive  labors 
as  preacher,  pastor,  and  oiBcer  of  various  societies  of 
the  city  have  left  him  no  time  for  authorship,  yet  he  ' 
has  written  considerably  for  the  religious  press,  pub- 
lished several  sermons,  also  valuable  articles  on  the 
Sunday-school  work.  His  only  son,  E.  Calvin  Wil- 
liams, Esq.,  is  a  promising  and  very  successful  mem- 
ber of  the  Baltimore  bar,  and  for  several  years  the 
efficient  clerk  of  the  Maryland  Bible  Union  Associa- 
tion, and  clerk  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention. 

Second  Baptist  Church.— In  a  letter  from  the  late 
Elder  John  Healey  to  the  Eev.  Ira  M.  Allen,  we  find 
the  following  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Second 
Baptist  Church  : 

"The  origin  of  our  church  was  as  foUows:  In  the  year  1794  three 
families  of  us,  viz.,  John  Healey  and  wife,  Matthew  Hulse  and  wife, 
William  Lynes  and  wife,  all  niemhers  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Leicester, 
,  England,  which  was  called  '  the  New  Connexion,"  determined  to  emi- 
grate to  the  United  States,  and  reniain  together  as  a  religious  commu- 
nity. Wo  arrived  in  New  Toik  Octoher  5th,  and  remained  until  Fehru- 
ary  following,  when  we  embarked  for  Baltimore." 

The  vessel  in  which  these  emigrants  set  sail  was 
the  brig  "  Independence,"  and  the  date  of  their  de- 
parture July  4,  1794.  Besides  the  above  named  there 
were  twelve  children  and  a  young  lady,  a  sister  of 
Mrs.  Hulse,  belonging  to  the  party,  making  nineteen 
persons  in  the  "  community."  Before  leaving  Eng- 
land they  had  chosen  Jlr.  Healey  as  their  pastor,  and 
left  the  selection  of  their  place  of  abode  entirely  to 
him.  He  fixed  upon  Baltimore,  because,  as  he  more 
than  once  remarked,  he  had  read  in  Morse's  Geogra- 
phy that  in  religion  the  people  of  this  city  were 
"  Nothingarians,"  doubtless  supposing  that  people  of 
no  decided  religious  proclivities  would  be  more  apt 
to  listen  to  the  doctrines  he  proposed  to  advance  than 
those  whose  sentiments  were  of  a  stricter  character. 
The  little  party  of  emigrants  reached  Baltimore  in 


the  spring  of  1795,  and  located  at  once  at  Fell's 
Point,  where  they  obtained  for  their  religious  services 
the  use  of  a  sail  loft  which  had  been  fitted  up  as  a 
place  of  worship  by  a  small  Episcopal  congregation 
under  Dr.  Bend,  the  rector  of  St.  Paul's  parish.  Aa 
Dr.  Bend  held  service  there  but  once  a  month,  he 
very  generously  gave  the  use  of  the  room  to  Mr. 
Healy  three  Sundays  in  the  month  free  of  rent.  The 
congregation  met  with  so  much  encouragement  that 
they  soon  sought  a  more  eligible  place  of  worship, 
and  secured  the  use  of  a  large  room  that  was  em- 
ployed as  an  armory.  It  was  over  the  "  Watch- 
House,"  then  located  on  the  corner  of  Broadway 
(known  at  that  period  as  Market  Street  on  the  Point) 
and  Aliceanna  Streets.  Prayer-meetings  had  been 
held  in  a  private  house,  but  now  a  regular  weekly 
prayer-meeting  was  held  in  this  room.  The  progress 
of  the  church  was  checked,  however,  by  the  sickness 
of  the  pastor,  and  during  this  period  two  of  the  origi- 
nal members  became  disaffected,  and  the  congrega- 
tion was  much  reduced  in  numbers ;  but  a  loyal 
handful  held  together,  cheered  by  the  occasional  min- 
istrations of  Rev.  Mr.  Richards,  pastor  of  the  First 
Church.  On  the  11th  of  June,  1797,  they  held  a 
meeting  for  the  special  purpose  of  adopting  a  form  of 
constitution,  "  pledging  themselves  in  the  presence  of 
God  that  they  would  give  and  take  reproof  of  each 
other,  and  endeavor  through  grace  to  keep  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  delivered  to  them 
in  His  name."  At  the  same  meeting  "  it  was  con- 
cluded that  Brother  John  Healey  do  preach  the  gos- 
pel statedly  among  us  in  season  and  out  of  season, 
and  that  he  minister  the  ordinances  of  God  unto  us 
regularly  as  our  pastor."  In  1797  the  congregation 
built  their  first  meeting-house,  twenty-seven  by  forty 
feet,  with  a  vestry-room  of  ten  feet  square  attached. 
This  church  was  situated  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
Bank  and  Eden  Streets,  and  is  still  standing,  though 
not  used  for  religious  purposes.  The  Sunday-school 
connected  with  the  church  was  also  established  in 
this  year,  and  was  commenced  with  hired  teachers, 
the  kind-hearted  pastor  himself  bearing  the  chief 
part  of  the  expense.  Before  this  church  was  com- 
pleted the  yellow  fever  visited  the  portion  of  the  city 
in  which  it  was  situated,  and  about  half  of  the  con- 
gregation, including  every  male  member,  except  the 
pastor,  were  among  the  victims.  In  the  letter  already 
quoted  Mr.  Healey  says,  "  Being  the  only  male  mem- 
ber left,  I  went  through  great  tribulation,  laboring 
with  my  hands,  preaching  and  begging  to  finish  the 
house."  The  following  spring  the  congregation  re- 
ceived a  number  of  new  male  members,  among  whom 
was  the  late  Daniel  Dodge,  known  familiarly  as 
"  Father  Dodge."  He  commenced  his  ministry  in 
this  church,  as  we  find  from  the  following  resolution, 
under  date  of  Jan.  30,  1798:  "That  Brother  Daniel 
Dodge  do  preach  the  Word  of  God."  The  first  candi- 
date received  for  baptism  was  Henry  Sherwin.  The 
ordinance  was  administered  March  25, 1798.   The  first 


HISTOllY   OF   BALTIMOEB   CITY  AND   COUNTV,  MARYLAND. 


deacon  elected  was  Jolm  .Iiulen.  Their  "Bishop," 
however,  was  not  regularly  ordained  until  several 
months  afterwards.  Hy  the  record,  Feb.  27,  1798, 
it  appears  that  "  the  first  Lord's  Day  in  May  next" 
was  fixed  upon  for  the  ordination,  and  "  Mr.  Rich- 
ards, Mr.  Davis,  and  Mr.  Austin  were  solicited  to 
assist."  For  some  reason  neither  Mr.  Kichards  nor 
Mr.  Davis  took  part  in  this  service,  and  the  time  was 
postponed,  and  "  Brethren  Joshua  Jones  and  John 
Austin,  to  the  peace  and  comfort  of  the  church,  at- 
tended to  it  on  the  20th  of  July,  1798."  The  following 
is  a  co])y  of  the  unique  certificate  of  the  choice  of 
the  church  and  the  ordination  : 

"We,  the  Baptized  Church  of  .leaus  Christ,  meeting  ut  the  uew  meet- 
ing-house ut  ye  Point  Biilliulore,  liuve  tliis  day  chosen  and  ordained  of 
Elders  Davis,  Richards,  Moore,  and  I'arliinson  Bro.  John  Heuley  as  our 
Bishop,  Elder,  or  Pastor,  And  in  testimony  of  wlilch  we,  the  elders  of 
the  Baptist  Churches  of  the  city  of  Lincoln  and  Ucssels  Green  (Bethel 
Green),  near  Seven  Oaks,  Kent,  Great  Britain,  have  affixed  our  sigua- 

"  Joshua  Jones, 
"Jons  Austin. 
"  Baltimore,  July  20, 1798. 

"True  c<>py  from  ye  original,  signed  in  behalf  of  ye  church. 

"John  J  vbc}1.  Deacon." 

In  1811  a  second  church  edifice  was  erected  in  Fleet 
Street  (now  Canton  Avenue),  which  though  unfin- 
ished was  opened  for  public  worship  on  the  29th  of 
December  in-  that  year.  For  several  years  after  its 
organization  the  church  remained  unassociated,  but 
in  February,  1799,  it  was  resolved  unanimously  "  that 
a  letter  be  addressed  to  the  Baltimore  Baptist  Asso- 
ciation, to  request  them  to  admit  this  church  into 
their  connection."  Mr.  Healey  bore  the  letter,  and 
though  he  was  kindly  received  and  invited  to  preach, 
there  was  some  opposition  to  the  admission  of  his 
church,  and  the  reception  was  postponed,  and  the 
matter  referred  to  a  committee  consisting  of  Elders 
Davis,  Richards,  Moore,  and  Parkinson.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  action  of  the  committee,  the  church 
was  not  received  into  the  Association  for  some  time. 
An  angry  war  of  pamphlets  ensued,  in  which  many 
har.sh  things  were  said  on  both  sides.  At  the  meeting 
held  October,  1807,  with  Pleasant  Valley  Church, 
mutual  concessions  were  made,  and  the  congregation 
was  cordially  received  into  the  Association,  and 
continued  in  that  connection  until  183G.  In  conse- 
quence of  a  resolution  passed  in  that  year  by  the 
Association  at  Black  Rock  Church,  declaring  non- 
fellowship  with  the  churches  that  labored  and  con- 
tributed of  their  means  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel, 
this,  with  several  other  churches,  withdrew  from  that 
body.  The  congregation  remained  unassociated  until 
185-  when  it  was  received  into  the  Maryland  Union 
in  cordial  fellowship,  where  it  still  remains.  The 
church  continued  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Mr. 
Healey  until  a  few  months  belore  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  the  20th  of  June,  1848.  His  pastorate 
extended  over  a  period  of  nearly  fifty-four  years.' 

1  Among  the  many  striking  anecdotes  related  of  "Father"  Healey  Is 
the  following:  llaving  on  c)no  occasion  been  suinnioned  as  a  witness  in 


Father  Healey  was  a  silk-dyer,  and  he  not  only 
maintained  himself,  but  regularly  contributed  to  the 
support  of  the  church.  The  first  eflbrt  to  provide 
compensation  for  their  pastor  was  made  in  May,  1814, 
when  it  was  resolved  that  "  as  soon  as  the  funds  of 
the  church  would  admit"  a  "small  annual  salary" 
should  be  paid  to  the  pastor.  Father  Healey  was  not 
what  is  nowadays  called  a  popular  preacher.  • 

"His  sermons  were  not  distinguished  either  for  the  logical  or  the 
imnginulivo,— they  were  little  more  than  familiar  talks,— and  yet  they 
were  always  sensible,  and  always  embodied  mateiial  for  useful  reflection. 
His  manner  as  well  as  liis  matter  was  characterized  by  the  utmost  sim- 
plicity, and  iliiifornily  iiiipu-hned  you  Willi  the  idea  that  he  was  striving 

todoyou^ i      III      iIm\  W.I-  so  small  that  he  might  almost  bo  said  to 

have  renili-i.  I  I  !  i  :  iimtiuisly,  ami  the  necessity  of  conuectiDg 

with  hiK  III      I      .1.1 i.iits  a  secuiitr  occupation  as  a  means  of 

8upportit)(:  hi-  I  iniiK  i.  ill  t  j^reatly  lessened  Iheforco  and  attractive- 
ness of  his  pul.lii-  niinihtrati'ius.  In  pei-sonal  appearance  Father  Healey 
was  a  fine  specimen  of  an  Englishman.  He  was  rather  inclined  to  ple- 
thoric habit.  He  had  an  intelligent  face  and  keen  eye,  and  while  his 
countenance  readily  took  an  arch  expression,  it  was  always  aglow  with 
benevolence  and  good  wit.  Though  nobody  regarded  him  as,  in  the 
common  acceptation  of  the  word,  a  great  preacher  or  a  great  man,  yet 
everybody  esteemed,  loved,  and  honored  him,  ami  his  name  is  still  a 
household  word  in  the  scenes  of  Ills  former  labors,**- 

The  location  of  the  church  had  long  been  found 
inconvenient  and  unsuitable,  not  only  on  account  of 
the  removal  of  many  members  of  the  congregation 
from  its  vicinity,  but  also  because  the  track  of  the 
Philadelphia  and  Wilmington  Railroad  ran  immedi- 
ately in  front  of  the  church.  The  continual  passing 
of  trains  during  public  worship  was  a  source  of  much 
annoyance,  and  greatly  disturbed  the  devotions  of  the 
congregation,  and  it  was  determined  to  select  another 
location  and  erect  a  new  edifice.  The  present  site, 
Broadway  near  Pratt,  was  chosen,  and  the  corner-stone 
of  the  new  church  was  laid  on  the  8d  of  October,  1863. 
The  building  was  finished  and  ready  for  occupancy  in 
November  of  the  following  year.  Rev.  George  F. 
Adams  succeeded  Mr.  Healey,  and  retained  the  pas- 
torate until  the  autumn  of  i860,  when  he  resigned, 
and  was  followed  on  the  7th  of  April,  1861,  by  Rev. 
A.  G.  Thomas,  of  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Thomas  re- 
signed Aug.  27,  1862,  and  was  succeeded,  Dec.  26,  " 
1862,  by  Rev.  A.  H.  Latham,  who  was  followed  in 
December,  1863,  by  Rev.  E.  F.  Crane,  who  served 
until  August,  1865.  In  December  of  the  same  year 
Rev.  John  Berg  became  pastor  of  the  church,  and  re- 
mained in  charge  of  it  until  April  22,  1868,  when  he 
resigned.  His  pastorate  was  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful which  the  congregation  had  known,  and  his  resig- 
nation was  due  to  the  fact  that  he  was  opposed  on 
principle  to  the  provision  in  the  constitution  of  the 
church  which  required  the  formal  re-election  of  pas- 
tors every  two  years.  This  provision  has  since  been 
omitted.  The  church  was  without  a  regular  pastor 
until  Sept.  6,  186!),  when  Rev.  Joseph  E.  Chambliss 


;e,  during  a  recesaof  the  court,  and 
one  of  seiious  iuiiniiy,  "  Mr.  Healey,  what  is  the  gospel?" 
1,  judge?"  replied  the  venerable  preacher  with  ready  wit, 
is  a  general  jail  delivery  to  all  who  will  accept  it." 

Mge  F.  Adams. 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


■was  elected,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  in  October. 
In  .July,  1870,  the  church  was  renovated  and  refitted 
Ijy  the  liberality  of  Edward  M.  Onion,  at  a  cost  of 
twelve  hundred  and  nineteen  dollars  and  seventy-four 
cents.  After  a  brief  pastorate  of  little  more  than  a 
year,  Mr.  Chambliss  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  on 
the  28th  of  February,  1871,  by  Rev.  E.  N.  Harris, 
who  resigned  April  22,  1874,  and  was  followed  on  the 
6tli  of  April,  1875,  by  Rev.  A.  J.  Hires.  The  present 
pa.<tor  is  Rev.  George  McCullough. 

The  Third  Baptist  Church  of  Baltimore  was  con- 
stituted about  isi.s,  and  met  in  the  building  pre- 
viously occupied  by  the  First  Church,  corner  of 
Front  and  Fayette  Streets.  Rev.  James  Osbourne 
was  the  pastor.  In  1829  application  was  made  by 
the  Third  Church  for  admission  to  the  Baltimore 
Association,  and  the  application  was  referred  to  a  ' 
committee  who  reported  favorably.  The  church  was 
received,  and  her  messengers.  Elders  James  Osbourne 
and  John  Welch,  invited  to  seats.  In  the  rooms  of 
the  Maryland  Historical  Society  there  is  a  large  col- 
ored lithograph  picture  representing  a  baptism  by 
Eev.  James  Osbourne  in  Jones'  Falls,  near  the  "Hom- 
iny Mill.'"  In  18.^  Kev.  John  P.  Peckworth  is  re- 
ported pastor  of  the  Third  Church,  corner  of  Front  1 
and  Pitt  Streets,  Old  Town.  He  lived  on  "  King 
George  Street,  south  side  of  Exeter,  Old  Town." 
Pitt  Street  (East  Fayette),  on  which  the  Second 
Church  stood,  is  described  as  running  "  east  from  the 
Falls  to  Hampstead  Hill,  and  the  firet  north  of  Great 
York  Street." 

Ebenezer  Baptist  Chiirch  was  the  fourth  Baptist 
Church  formed  in  Baltimore.     In  1821  twenty-seven 
members  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  requested  letters 
of  dismission,  alleging  that  Mr.  Finlay,  the  pastor  of 
the  church,  had  departed  from  the  faith  and  practice  j 
of  the  Calvinistic  Baptists.    Their  request  was  granted,  < 
when  they   immediately   formed   themselves   into  a  i 
church,  and  called  Rev.  Edmund  J.  Reis  to  the  pa.s- 
torate.     Mr.  Reis,  who  was  then  a  member  of  the 
First  Church,  removed  his  fellowship  therefrom  and 
accepted  the  call.     Mr.  Reis  had  been  associate  pastor 
of  the  First  Church  from  1815  to  1818,  and  pastor 
from  that  time  until  1821,  when  Rev.  John  Finlay 
was  elected.     In  1822,  Ebenezer  Church  was  admitted 
to  the  Baltimore  Association,  and  that  body  met  with  ', 
the  church  in  1824.     In  May,  18.32,  at  a  meeting  of  j 
the  Baltimore  Association  at  Warren  Church,  Balti- 
more County,  it  was  proposed  that  after  adjournment 
the  members  form  themselves  into  a  meeting  to  con-  [ 
suit  "upon  the  present  state  of  the  cause  of  Christ, 
and  the  best  means  of  advancing  the  interests  of  the  | 
Baptist  cause,  etc."    At  this  meeting  the  pastor  of 
Ebenezer  Church,  Mr.  Reis,  in  a  short  address  "  de-  i 
nounced  missionary,  Bible,  and  tract  societies,  Sun- 


1 II  is  mid  that 


Ilie  house  was  a  small  one,  Imilt  of  bricks,  and  that 
slop'Stiop"  or  secoiiit-bHiid  clutliing.8ti>re,  and  was  very 
•  'piilar,  and  report&i  as  Kumelinies  whipping  his  wife, 
lall  in  numbers,  uniiiflueutlil,  and  did  nut  last  lung. 


day-schools,  etc."  In  1835  the  Association  again  met 
with  Ebenezer  Church.  It  then  reported  eighty-five 
members,  eight  less  than  it  had  in  1832.  It  would 
seem  that  the  sessions  of  this  Association  were  held  in 
the  Lutheran  meeting-house.  The  Ebenezer  Church 
had  before  this  time  commenced  and  completed  that 
edifice  noted  for  disasters  in  the  history  of  Baltimore 
Baptists,  called  the  "  Calvert  Street  house,"  which 
still  stands  on  the  west  side  of  Calvert  Street,  just 
below  Saratoga.  But  under  pressure  of  indebtedness 
the  church  had  sold  this  edifice  in  August,  1834,  to 
Messrs.  William  and  James  C.  Crane. 

The  next  and  last  meeting  of  the  Baltimore  Asso- 
ciation before  division  and  dissolution  was  the  famous 
session  with  the  Black  Rock  Church,  in  Baltimore 
County,  in  1836.  Here  was  passed  by  a  vote  of  sixteen 
to  nine  that  memorable  resolution  declaring  non- 
fellow.ship  with  the  churches  "encouraging  others  to 
unite  with  worldly  societies,"  meaning  thereby  mis- 
sionary, Bible,  tract,  and  Sunday-school  organiza- 
tions. Six  churches,  among  them  the  Second  and 
Mount  Zion  of  Baltimore,  immediately  withdrew,  and 
the  Maryland  Baptist  Union  Association  was  formed 
in  October  of  the  same  year. 

The  Ebenezer  pastor  and  church  cast  their  lot  with 
the  anti-mission  section,  and  soon  "departed  this 
life,"  all  records  of  either  pastor  or  people  ending 
with  this  period.  The  church  seems  never  to  have 
reached  a  membership  of  one  hundred,  ninety-three 
being  the  highest  number  ever  reported. 

After  their  removal  from  the  Calvert  Street  church 
the  congregation  occupied  a  hall  over  the  "  Bazaar," 
on  Harrison  Street. 

Mount  Zion  was  the  fifth  Baptist  Church  formed 
in  Baltimore,  and  was  organized  Feb.  2,  1830,  at  the 
house  of  William  Cook.  The  constituent  members 
were  William  Cook,  Samuel  Scribuer,  James  Bannis- 
ter, Samuel  Sands,  and  Alexander  Butcher,  all  dis- 
missed from  Ebenezer  Church,  and  Edmund  L.  Iron- 
monger, from  the  First  Baptist  Church,  Richmond, 
Va.  At  this  meeting  they  adopted  articles  of  faith 
and  rules  of  decorum,  and  were  regularly  constituted 
or  recognized  Feb.  8,  1830,  by  Elders  John  Healey, 
Edward  Choat,  and  William  Brinkett,  "in  the  court- 
room at  the  old  Masonic  Hall." 

At  this  meeting  Rev.  Daniel  Davis,  of  Virginia, 
was  called  as  pastor  for  one  year,  at  three  hundred 
dollars  per  annum,  and  it  was  resolved  "  that  he  also 
be  furnished  his  boarding  by  the  brethren  of  this 
church  without  charge,"  and,  "allowed  to  be  absent 
for  filling  his  engagement  in  Virginia,  on  the  fourth 
Sabbaths  of  February,  March,  April,  and  May."  The 
court-room  was  then  rented  "of  Mr.  Ephraim  Barker 
for  one  hundred  dollars  per  year,  payable  quarterly  in 
advance,"  "subject,  however,  to  no  interference  with 
the  court  while  it  is  in  session." 

April  12,  1830,  the  church  resolved  to  apply  for  ad- 
mission into  the  Baltimore  Association.  The  appli- 
cation was  made,  but  the  admission  was  postponed, 


560 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


and  the  church  received  in  1831.  On  April  14,  1830, 
the  delegates  reported  to  the  church  "that  this 
church  had  not  heen  received  into  the  Association  on 
account  of  the  opposition  made  by  the  pastor  of  tlie 
Ebenezer  Church."  The  Mount  Zion  Church  was 
active  and  enterprising.  One  of  its  first  movements 
was  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  directing  "that  a 
committee  be  appointed  to  prepare  a  letter  soliciting 
a  reconciliation,  brotherly  love,  and  union  of  fellow- 
ship for  the  Ebenezer,  Second,  and  Third  Baptist 
Churches  of  this  city."  Again,  Dec.  10,  1830,  they 
appointed  "  a  committee  to  provide  houses  of  worship 
in  different  parts  of  the  town,  and  to  appoint  preach- 
ing at  such  places,  provided  they  can  find  preachers 
to  supply  such  appointments." 

A  custom  of  the  day  is  brought  out  in  a  resolution 
of  this  latter  meeting,  "  That  Brothers  Joseph  Hughes 
and  Aaron  Bannister  are  hereby  appointed  to  give  out 
the  hymns  in  times  of  public  worship."  May  10, 1830, 
the  meeting-place  was  changed  to  the  Athenaeum,  on 
the  southwest  corner  of  St.  Paul  and  Lexington 
Streets.  Aug.  12,  1831,  the  church  rented  the  house 
occupied  by  the  New  Jerusalem  (Swedenborgian)  So- 
ciety, on  the  corner  of  Exeter  and  Baltimore  Streets, 
at  one  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  "  and  resolved  to 
rent  the  pews  to  the  best  advantage."  September  6th 
the  committee  reported  "  that  they  had  rented  pews  to 
the  amount  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  per 
annum."  Nov.  13,  1832,  they  returned  to  the  Athe- 
naeum, at  a  rent  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  dollars 
per  year,  but  after  an  interval  again  removed  to  Bal- 
timore and  Exeter  Streets.  Feb.  16,  1840,  a  commit- 
tee was  appointed  "to  rent  the  Traders'  Union  Hall," 
and  a  record  of  July,  1843,  says  that  they  had  "  been 
heretofore  meeting  at  the  corner  of  Madison  and 
Park  Streets."  March  13,  1843,  it  was  "Resolved, 
That  the  church  form  themselves  into  a  committee  of 
the  whole,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  money  to 
build  a  meeting-house."  In  April,  1841,  they  "  Re- 
solved, That  we,  as  a  church,  assume  the  name  of  the 
street  on  which  we  are  to  meet,  viz.,  the  Madison 
Street  Baptist  Church."  April  11,  1843,  it  was  "Re- 
solved, That  the  church  will  build  the  meeting-house 
forty-seven  by  sixty-one  feet,  covering  the  ground  on 
Madison  Street,  at  the  corner  of  Plover  Alley,  be- 
tween Park  and  Cathedral  Streets."  It  was  finished, 
and  has  sad  associations.  July  1, 1847,  the  congrega- 
tion, after  deliberating  upon  the  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ment of  the  church,  and  the  apparent  impossibility 
of  procuring  the  means  of  relief  and  sustaining  a  pro- 
fession of  honesty,  it  was  on  motion  "  Resolved  unani- 
mously. That  the  trustees  be  authorized  to  offer  for  sale 
our  meeting-house  at  the  corner  of  Madison  Street 
and  Plover  Alley,  trusting  that  the  Lord,  in  his  provi- 
dence, would  provide  us  a  place  where  we  may  wor- 
ship, his  name  may  be  honored,  and  our  souls  may  be 
fed."  Nov.  29, 1847, "  a  meeting  of  the  male  members 
was  held,"  at  which  it  was  "  Resolved,  That  as  the  debt 
for  the  payment  of  which  tiie  meeting-house  was  pro- 


posed to  be  sold  is  due  to  Brother  Alexander  Butcher, 
he  be  authorized  to  .  .  .  sell  the  meeting-house,  to  re- 
imburse to  himself  for  the  moneys  advanced  by  him 
for  the  church."  The  clerk  "  was  instructed  to  write 
letters  of  dismission  for  the  members  severally  upon 
their  application  to  such  churches  as  they  may  name," 
and  "  after  prayer  by  Brother  Butcher"  adjourned. 
The  struggle  of  nearly  eighteen  years  was  ended  in  dis- 
aster. Energy,  zeal,  denials,  and  generosity  were 
fruitlessly  expended,  so  far  as  the  planting  of  another 
Baptist  Church  in  Baltimore  was  concerned.  The 
loss  of  the  house,  the  crushed  hopes  of  the  little  flock, 
their  abortive  enterprise,  and  their  unavailing  contri- 
butions all  lay  in  one  wreck.  The  property  sold  for 
about  the  amount  of  their  debt,  some  four  thousand 
dollars.' 

The  church  had  severe  trials  about  pastors ;  the 
longest  pastorate  was  only  two  years,  and  at  one  time 
it  was  almost  two  years  without  a  regular  pastor.  Its 
first  pastor  was  Rev.  Daniel  Davis,  who  lived  during 
a  part  of  his  term  in  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  and  even 
when  in  Baltimore  preached  on  the  fourth  Sundays 
of  some  months  in  Virginia.  He  was  pastor  for  only 
about  fifteen  months.  Then  followed  an  interval  of 
correspondence  with  other  ministers  for  eighteen 
months.  They  invited  Revs.  Stevens  W.  Welford, 
of  Washington  ;  Thomas  J.  Kitts,  of  Philadelphia ; 
Levi  Tucker,  of  Beverly,  N.  J. ;  Stevens  W.  Welford, 
a  second  time;  Daniel  Eldridge;  Levi  Tucker,  a 
second  time ;  D.  M.  Woodson,  Charles  Tucker,  Enoch 
M.  Barker,  and  Daniel  Dodge,  and  were  unsuccessful 
with  all.  Rev.  Frederick  Clark  was  pastor  from  Feb- 
ruary, 1834,  to  December,  1835.  For  four  years  after 
this  the  church  was  served  only  by  supplies,  there 
being  no  regular  pastorate.  Rev.  Daniel  Dodge 
declined  their  invitation,  as  did  also  Rev.  Joseph 
Walker,  then  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia.  In 
February,  1840,  Rev.  William  Mathews,  a  native  of 
England,  became  pastor,  but  remained  only  until 
November  of  the  same  year.  This  was  the  second 
English-born  minister  who  had  served  the  church. 
Rev.  Thomas  Burchell  being  the  other.  The  next 
pastor,  and  the  one  who  served  the  longest  and  most 
successfully,  was  Rev.  Robert  Compton,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  became  pastor  in  April,  1842,  and  re- 
mained until  December,  1844^  adding  forty-six  to  the 
membership,  thirteen  by  baptism  and  thirty-three 
by  letter;  the  total,  the  largest  ever  reported,  being 
only  seventy-four.  In  January,  184.5,  Rev.  Charles 
R.  Hendrickson,  formerly  a  Methodist  minister,  then 
lately  baptized,  became  pastor,  but  in  November  fol- 
lowing left  to  take  charge  of  the  Navy- Yard  Church, 
Washington,  D.  C.  In  October,  1846,  Rev.  O.  W. 
Briggs,  a  member  formerly  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  and  ordained  there  Dec.  20,  1844,  became 
pastor,  and  witnessed  the  death  of  this  church,  as 
has  been  stated  before. 


It  was  bought  by  tho  Presbyterians,  and  la  I 


■  used  by  theli  colored 


KELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 


561 


Sixth  Baptist  Church. — The  remnaut  in  the  Cal- 
vert Street  liouse  occupied  it  but  a  short  time.  They 
organized  as  a  new  church,  called  the  Sixth  Baptist 
Church,  in  November,  1844,  with  fifty-three  members. 
Others,  in  all  sixty-one,  joined  them,  including  eleven 
persons  from  the  Fifth  or  Hollins  Street  Baptist  Cliurch, 
which  disbanded  in  June,  1846.  In  November,  1844, 
Rev.  John  A.  McKean,  then  a  young  man,  ordained 
in  1843  .at  the  First  Church,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber, was  elected  pastor.  The  Sixth  Church  joined  the 
Maryland  Baptist  Union  Association  Nov.  4,  1846, 
and  then  reported  fifty-seven  additions,  twenty-four 
of  whom  were  by  baptism,  and  a  total  membership 
of  ninety-three,  with  a  Sunday-school  numbering 
forty-nine.  Oct.  1,  1847,  Mr.  McKean  resigned,  and 
became  pastor  of  theSecond  Southwark  Baptist  Church 
of  Pliiladelphia,  and  the  church  elected  no  successor. 
Nov.  4,  184.5,  the  Seventh  Baptist  Church  was  consti- 
tuted, and  purchased  the  Calvert  Street  house,  which 
it  sold  in  1846  to  St.  John's  Dutch  Reformed  Church. 
The  Sixth  Church  then  selected  a  new  place  of  wor- 
ship in  a  hall  on  Lexington  Street.  After  disbanding 
the  members  of  the  Sixth  Church  were  absorbed  by 
tlie  First  and  the  Seventh  Churches,  mainly  by  the 
latter.  The  sixth  Baptist  Church,  in  the  order  of 
time,  formed  in  Baltimore,  but  called  the  Fifth  Bap- 
tist Church,  was  constituted  in  184-3  with  nine  mem- 
bers. For  a  time  some  brethren  had  conducted  a 
Sunday-school  in  a  small  chapel  on  the  north  side  of 
Hollins  Street,  between  Oregon  and  Schroeder  Streets. 
In  April,  1843,  at  the  request  of  these  brethren,  the  ex- 
ecutive board  of  the  Maryland  Baptist  Union  Associa- 
tion desired  Rev.  John  A.  McKean  "to  give  the  greater 
portion  of  his  time  to  that  place."  Mr.  McKean  was 
a  missionary  of  that  board,  employed  to  "  labor  part 
of  his  time  in  several  eligible  places  in  the  vicinity  of 
Baltimore."  He  was  a  member  of  the  First  Church, 
and  was  ordained  in  1843.  So  much  success  attended 
his  labors  in  Hollins  Street  that  it  was  "  thought 
judicious  to  organize  an  independent  church  there." 
Oct.  21, 1843,  this  church  was  admitted  to  the  Associa- 
tion with  ten  members.  The  next  year  the  church 
reported  eleven  additions,  seven  of  these  by  baptism, 
and  a  membership  of  eighteen,  but  in  November, 
1844,  Mr.  McKean  left  them  to  become  pastor  of  the 
Sixth  Baptist  Church,  constituted  at  that  time  in  the 
Calvert  Street  house  after  the  majority  had  gone  out 
to  High  Street.  In  1845,  Rev.  Elijah  S.  Durlin,  who 
had  left  college  to  recruit  his  health,  preached  for 
them  five  months.  For  some  months  they  were  de- 
pendent upon  various  supplies,  but  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  year  they  again  engaged  Mr.  McKean  "  to 
preach  for  them  once  every  Sabbath,  and  to  'act  as 
pastor  during  the  coming  year,"  1846.  In  1845  they 
report  eight  additions,  five  of  these  by  baptism,  and  a 
total  of  seventeen  members. 

The  chapel  on  Hollins  Street  in  which  they  met 
cost  originally  thirteen  hundred  dollars,  and  was  en- 
cumbered with  a  ground-rent.     Some  eight  hundred 


dollars  had  been  paid  on  the  building,  and  there  was 
still  a  debt  of  five  hundred  dollars,  the  interest  of 
which,  together  with  the  ground-rent  and  the  current 
expenses  of  the  house,  amounted  to  about  one  hun- 
dred dollars  per  year.  Even  this  small  sum  was  more 
than  the  few  members  could  pay,  and  the  congrega- 
tion was  forced  to  give  up  the  struggle  and  abandon 
the  effort  to  maintain  an  independent  organization. 

High  Street  Baptist  Church  was  first  organized 
under  the  name  of  Calvert  Street  Baptist  Church,  its 
first  meeting  being  held  in  a  building  on  Calvert 
Street,  near  Saratoga,  called  the  Ebenezer  church, 
which  was  purchased  by  Messrs.  William  and  James 
C.  Crane  as  a  place  of  worship  for  the  new  congrega- 
tion. These  gentlemen,  who  were  brothers,  were  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  pursuits  in  Richmond,  Va.,  and 
having  frequent  occasion  to  pass  through  Baltimore 
in  the  prosecution  of  their  business,  soon  became 
familiar  with  the  city  in  both  its  material  and  relig- 
ious aspects.  They  were  surprised  to  find  there  were 
but  four  Baptist  churches  in  Baltimore,  and  being 
zealous  members  of  that  denomination,  determined 
to  use  their  influence  for  its  advancement  in  this  city. 
It  was  in  pursuance  of  this  design  that  William 
Crane  came  to  Baltimore  and  purchased  for  four 
thousand  dollars  the  meeting-house  in  Calvert  Street, 
which  belonged  at  that  time  to  Joseph  France.  Pub- 
lic recognition  of  the  church  took  place  on  Sunday, 
Feb.  15, 1835,  Rev.  James  B.  Taylor,  Rev.  John  Kerr, 
and  Rev.  William  F.  Broaddus,  of  Virginia,  and  Rev. 
S.  P.  Hill,  of  Baltimore,  participating  in  the  exercises 
of  the  occasion.  Rev.  J.  G.  Binney  was  the  next  day 
elected  pastor  of  the  infant  church,  but  resigned  his 
charge  in  May  of  the  same  year.  The  pulpit  was 
supplied  by  Rev.  William  Richards  and  others  until 
January,  1836,  when  Rev.  George  F.  Adams  became 
pastor,  and  remained  until  the  close  of  1842.'  He 
was  succeeded  on  the  18th  of  June,  1843,  by  Rev. 
Jonathan  Aldrich,  who  resigned  on  the  5th  of  May, 
1846.  In  May,  1844,  the  congregation  resolved  to 
give  up  the  building  on  Calvert  Street  to  the  Messrs. 
Crane,  and  accordingly  removed  temporarily  to  the 
southwest  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Exeter  Streets, 
where  they  occupied  for  a  year  or  more  what  was 
known  as  "  Hargrove  church."  Shortly  afterwards  a 
lot  was  procured  on  High  Street,  between  Fayette 
and  Low,  where  the  corner-stone  was  laid  on  the  10th 
of  September,  1844,  and  the  construction  of  the  pres- 
ent edifice  commenced,  which  was  dedicated  on  the 
first  Sunday  in  November,  1845,  under  the  name  of 
the  High  Street  Baptist  Church.  The  debt  incurred 
in  its  erection,  however,  was  far  beyond  the  ability  of 
the  congregation  to  discharge,  and  the  church  was  at 
one  time  upon  the  point  of  being  sold.  While  thus 
weighed  down  with  a  heavy  load  of  debt,  Rev.  Frank- 

'  In  1839  the  church  was  enlarged  and  improved,  and  a  baptistry  in- 
troduced, which  was  the  first  known  in  Baltimore.  About  this  same 
time  the  church  property  was  transferred  by  the  Messrs.  Crane  to  a 
board  of  trustees. 


562 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


lin  Wilson  was  called  to  the  pastorate  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1847,  and  served  until  Oct.  5,  1852,  being  as- 
sisted from  April  3,  1851,  by  Rev.  H.  .J.  Chandler. 
Mr.  Wilson's  services  were  given  without  compensa- 
tion, and  by  his  careful  management  the  debt  was  re- 
duced in  three  years  from  eleven  thousand  dollars  to 
six  thousand  dollars.  A  plan  for  the  liquidation  of 
the  debt  suggested  by  Mr.  Chandler  resulted  in  its 
further  reduction  in  two  years  to  about  two  thousand 
dollars.  Mr.  Wilson  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John 
Berg,  who  was  called  June  4, 1853,  and  resigned  Feb. 
22,  1855.  Rev.  L.  W.  Seely  was  called  June  2.5,  1855, 
and  resigned  Sept.  24,  1857.  He  was  followed,  Jan. 
1,  1858,  by  Rev.  E.  R.  Hera,  who  resigned  Nov.  3, 
1859,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  George  P.  Nice,  who 
was  called  Jan.  12,  1860,  and  resigned  Nov.  30,  1866. 
About  this  time  the  church  was  renovated  at  a  cost 
of  over  two  thousand  dollars.  Rev.  R.  B.  Kelsay  was 
called  to  the  pastorate  April  24,  1867,  entering  upon 
his  duties  in  September  of  the  same  year,  and  resigned 
in  December,  1870.  He  was  succeeded  in  March,  1871, 
,by  Rev.  M.  R.  Watkinson,  who  resigned  in  Novem- 
ber, 1873,  and  was  followed  in  August,  1874,  by  Rev. 
John  T.  Craig,  who  served  until  the  1st  of  April,  1881. 
During  Mr.  Craig's  pastorate  over  six  thousand  dol- 
lars were  expended  in  improvements  to  the  church 
property,  and  the  membership  was  increased,  from 
two  hundred  and  forty  to  four  hundred  and  fifty-six. 
Shiloh  Church  is  an  offshoot  by  mission  work  from 
this  congregation,  which  has  also  a  flourishing  mis- 
sion-school in  its  chapel  on  Eager  Street.  During 
the  forty-five  years  of  its  existence  the  church  has 
sent  out  eighteen  ministers,  educated  and  licensed 
during  tlieir  connection  with  it. 

The  Seventh  Baptist  Church  was  organized  in 
1845,  with  ninety-two  members.  The  church  edifice, 
corner  of  Paca  and  Saratoga  Streets,  was  dedicated  on 
the  1st  of  August,  1847,  Rev.  Dr.  Richard  Fuller,  its 
first  pastor,  and  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  Baptist 
divines,  officiating  on  the  occasion.  In  the  spring  of 
1871,  Dr.  P'uller,  with  a  large  number  of  the  members 
of  the  congregation,  withdrew  to  constitute  the  present 
Eutaw  Place  Church,  and  Rev.  William  T.  Brantly, 
Jr.,  D.D.,  succeeded  to  the  pastorate.  Rev.  Dr. 
Brantly  is  the  son  of  the  distinguished  Rev.  William 
T.  Brantly,  D.D.,  and  was  born  in  Beaufort,  S.  C. 
He  removed  with  his  fiither,  at  the  age  of  nine  years, 
to  Philadelphia,  where,  in  1826,  the  father  became 
the  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church.  Under  a 
careful  home  culture,  supplemented  by  the  training 
of  the  best  schools,  young  Brantly  was  prepared  to 
enter  college  at  an  early  age.  While  thus  preparing, 
in  1834,  he  was  baptized  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
First  Church  of  Philadelphia,  the  baptism  being  in 
the  Delaware  River;  and  in  1838  he  was  licensed  by 
the  same  church  to  preach.  Having  entered  Brown 
University,  he  graduated  with  distinction  in  1840. 
The  same  year  he  was  invited  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  of  Augusta,  Ga.,  which  position 


he  accepted  and  held  witli  marked  success  for  eight 
years,  during  which  time  the  membership  was  doubled 
and  the  house  enlarged  to  accommodate  the  increasing 
congregation.     Dr.  Brantly's  varied  culture  and  pol- 


ished scholarship  attracted  to  his  ministrations  an 
unusual  number  of  the  more  intelligent  of  the  com- 
munity, and  soon  the  authorities  of  the  University 
of  Georgia  were  anxious  to  secure  his  services  as  one 
of  its  faculty  of  instruction.  Accordingly,  in  1848 
he  was  elected  Professor  of  Belles-Lettres  and  Evi- 
dences of  Christianity  and  History  in  that  institution, 
a  position  which  he  filled  with  distinguished  ability 
until  1856.  In  1853  he  was  elected  pastor  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  Philadelphia,  but  declined  the  invi- 
tation. 

In  1856  he  was  invited  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Tab- 
ernacle Church,  in  the  same  city,  and  anxious  to  be 
engaged  again  in  the  active  and  to  him  congenial 
duties  of  pastoral  life,  he  accepted  the  position.  He 
continued  to  serve  the  Tabernacle  Church  for  five 
years,  during  which  time  he  had  the  pleasure  of  see- 
ing the  membership  greatly  increase  in  number  and 
efficiency.  In  1861,  Dr.  Brantly  was  invited  to  take 
charge  of  the  Second  Baptist  Church  at  Atlanta,  Ga., 
where  he  remained,  with  the  exception  of  an  inter- 
ruption arising  from  the  troubles  of  the  war,  until 
1871,  in  which  year  he  became  the  paiitor  of  the 
Seventh  Baptist  Church.  Dr.  Brantly  still  remains 
pastor  of  the  Seventh  Church,  and  is  eminently  success- 
ful in  his  ministrations.  As  a  preacher,  he  is  earnest, 
graceful,  and  instructive;  as  a  pastor,  genial,  loving, 
and  companionable,  and  ever  a  welcome  guest  in  the 
homes  of  his  people.     He  is  an  overseer  of  the  Colum- 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


563 


bian  University,  and  no  one  is  more  heartily  wel- 
comed to  its  meetings  for  business  and  its  commence- 
ment exercises  tlian  liimself.  The  University  of 
Georgia  in  1854  conferred  on  him  the  honorary  de- 
gree of  D.D. 

Franklin  Square  Baptist  Church. — The  nucleus 
of  this  church  was  the  Western  Branch  Sunday- 
school  of  the  Seventh  Baptist  Church.  The  first 
meeting  for  the  formation  of  this  church  was  held 
Oct.  15,  1854,  in  a  room  on  West  Fayette  Street,  near 
Carey,  attended  by  members  of  four  churches.  A 
constitution,  articles  of  faith,  etc.,  were  reported  and 
adopted  October  26th,  and  the  organization  was  for- 
mally recognized  Nov.  9,  1854,  at  a  meeting  with  the 
First  Baptist  Church,  northeast  corner  of  Sharp  and 
Lombard  Streets,  with  thirty  constituent  members. 
At  that  meeting  more  than  one  thousand  dollars  was 
pledged  for  the  support  of  the  church  ;  and  from  the 
beginning,  besides  its  own  expenses,  the  body  has 
contributed  liberally  for  various  religious  and  chari- 
table purposes.  Rev.  Franklin  Wilson,  D.D.,  a  con- 
stituent member,  at  first  supplied  the  pulpit,  and  has 
continued  to  do  so  most  generously  and  faithfully  in 
all  intervals  between  pastorates,  his  aggregate  of  such 
intervals  exceeding  in  amount  of  time  any  single  pas- 
torate. This  church  originated  in  no  dissension  or 
spirit  of  rivalry,  but  with  the  approval  and  sympathy 
of  all  the  sister-churches  in  the  city.  Its  house  of 
worship  on  Calhoun  Street,  north  of  Lexington,  was 
erected  under  the  auspices  of  the  Baltimore  Baptist 
Church  Extension  Society,  at  a  cost  of  about  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  the  ground  costing  about  four  thou- 
sand four  hundred  dollars  additional.  The  lecture- 
room  improvements,  enlargements,  etc.,  have  since 
cost  about  thirteen  thousand  dollars,  paid  by  the  con- 
gregation. The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  George  B.  Tay- 
lor, D.D.,  now  the  superintendent  of  Italian  missions 
in  Rome,  Italy,'of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention. 
His  pastorate  extended  from  May,  1856,  to  Septem- 
ber, 1857,  during  which  time  two  series  of  special  ser- 
vices were  held,  in  which  the  pastor  was  aided  by  Rev. 
A.  E.  Dickinson,  D.D.,  of  Virginia,  and  Rev.  Jacob 
Knapp.  The  additions  were  thirty-one  by  baptism 
and  thirty-two  by  letter,  with  a  total  membership  of 
eighty-six.  Rev.  Francis  M.  Barker,  of  Virginia, 
was  the  next  pastor,  from  Oct.  15,  1858,  to  Sept.  23, 
1859.  A  revival  occurred  during  this  pastorate, — 
twenty-one  were  baptized,  fourteen  joined  by  letter; 
total,  one  hundred  and  seventeen.  The  church  was 
incorporated  Dec.  5,  1859.  The  acoustics  of  the 
edifice  were  very  bad,  but  were  remedied  in  1866  by 
inserting  between  the  walls  and  ceiling  an  arc  of 
seven  feet  span. 

Rev.  Thomas  H.  Pritchard,  D.D.,  now  president  of 
Wake  Forest  College,  N.  C,  was  the  third  pastor,  from 
Oct.  16, 1859,  to  Sept.  4, 1863.  During  the  convulsion 
of  civil  war  many  of  the  active  young  men  of  the 
church  entered  the  armies,  and  the  church  suffered 
not  a  little  from  the  withdrawal  of  strength  and  the 


general  confusion.  Thirteen  were  added  by  baptism, 
forty  by  letter;  total,  one  hundred  and  fifty. 

Rev.  Tiberius  G.  Jones,  D.D.,  now  of  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  was  fourth  pastor,  from  March  4,  1864,  to  Dec. 
1,  1865.  The  distractions  of  war  were  severely  felt. 
Baptism,  one;  letter,  five;  total,  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
three.  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson  supplied  for  sixteen  months, 
baptizing  twelve.  Eight  were  added  by  letter.  Ex- 
clusions, deaths,  and  dismissions  diminished  the  total 
to  one  hundred  and  eighteen. 

The  fifth  pastor  was  Rev.  William  E.  Hatcher, 
D.D.,  now  of  Richmond,  Va.,  from  April  1,  1867,  to 
July  5,  1868.  Baptized,  twenty-seven ;  by  letter, 
forty-one;  total,  one  hundred  and  eighty-one.  In 
1866  the  church  expended  about  three  thousand  dol- 
lars in  furnishing  the  interior.  This  increased  the 
interest  and  zeal  of  the  members,  as  they  assumed  ex- 
penses which  had  hitherto  been  borne  by  the  Church 
Extension  Society. 

Rev.  J.  B.  Hawthorne,  D.D.,  now  of  Richmond, 
Va.,  was  sixth  pastor,  from  Sept.  14,  1868,  to  June  3, 
1870.  Rev.  A.  B.  Earle  visited  the  city  in  1869,  and 
this  church  shared  in  the  awakening  that  followed. 
During  this  pastorate  seventy-two  were  baptized, 
twenty-five  were  added  by  letter  ;  total,  two  hundred 
and  forty.  January,  1868,  a  system  of  weekly  contri- 
butions was  adopted,  which  has  been  successfully  con- 
tinued to  this  time.  October,  1868,  a  parsonage  was 
purchased,  and  paid  for  in  small  weekly  installments. 
October,  1869,  a  mission  Sunday-school  was  organized 
near  Mount  Clare.  May,  1870,  the  lecture-room  was 
enlarged  at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dol- 
lars. W.  W.  Lawrason,  a  deacon,  Sunday-school  su- 
perintendent, treasurer,  and  leader  of  the  choir,  and 
most  exemplary  member,  died  during  this  year. 

Rev.  George  W.  Sunderlin,  of  North  Carolina,  was 
seventh  pastor,  from  March  1,  1871,  to  March,  1876, 
when  impaired  health  compelled  him  to  retire  from 
ministerial  work.  Cheering  revivals  occurred  in  1872, 
1873,  and  especially  in  1876,  when  Rev.  J.  E.  Hut- 
son,  of  Virginia,  aided.  During  this  pastorate  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  were  baptized,  one  hundred  and 
forty-six  joined  by  letter;  total,  three  hundred  and 
seventy-seven.  The  present  excellent  organ  was  pur- 
chased during  this  period,  at  a  cost  of  three  thousand 
dollars.  May  11,  1868,  a  pastoral  reunion  of  all  the 
pastors  of  the  church  (Mr.  Barker,  deceased,  ex- 
cepted) occurred.  Each  separation  of  pastor  and 
people  had  been  free  from  any  cause  in  want  of  har- 
mony or  affection,  and  the  season  was  one  of  peculiar 
and  mutual  pleasure.  Rev.  George  F.  Adams,  D.D., 
and  Rev.  J.  L.  Holmes,  missionary  in  China  from 
1858  to  1861  (murdered  in  the  Tae  Ping  insurrec- 
tion), were  members  of  this  church.  Rev.  Dr.  Wil- 
son has  been  one  of  its  most  generous  benefactors  and 
most  earnest  helpers. 

Rev.  C.  C.  Bitting,  D.D.,  from  Richmond,  Va.,  an 
earnest  and  eloquent  divine,  is  the  present  and  eighth 
pastor,  from  Sept.  1,  1876.     The  church  building  hai 


564 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE    CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


been  enlarged  and  improved  at  a  cost  of  about  five 
thousand  dollars.  The  additions  during  this  pastor- 
ate to  January,  1880,  have  been  about  one  hundred 
and  seventy-six, — baptized,  eighty-two ;  by  letter, 
eeventy-nine;  re.stored,  fifteen, — total,  five  hundred 
and  four.  Under  Dr.  IJitting's  pastorate  the  church 
has  made  great  progress  in  every  department,  and 
was  never  so  prosperou.s  as  at  the  present  time. 

Rev.  Dr.  Bitting  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
March,  1830 ;  was  graduated  from  the  Central  High 
School  in  1850 ;  baptized  at  the  age  of  seventeen  by 
the  Rev.  J.  L.  Burrows,  D.D.,  and  united  with  the 


Philadelpliia  Broad  Street  Baptist  Church.  After 
having  prosecuted  his  studies  at  Lewisburg  and  Madi- 
son Universities,  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  in  the 
Tennessee  Baptist  Female  College,  at  Nashville,  and 
after  its  removal,  at  Murfreesboro',  Tenn.  Having 
been  ordained  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  while  here, 
he  was  invited  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Mount  Olivet 
and  Hopeful  Baptist  Churches,  in  Hanover  County, 
Va.,  at  that  time  two  of  the  most  prominent  county 
churches  in  the  State  ;  he  accepted  the  position,  and 
after  a  period  of  the  most  successful  labor  in  this  field, 
he  was  chosen,  in  1859,  the  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
Church  in  Alexandria,  Va.  In  18GG,  Dr.  Bitting  was 
urged  to  accept  the  secretaryship  of  the  Sunday- 
school  Board  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention, 
located  in  Greenville,  S.  C,  which  he  did ;  but  on  the 
removal  of  the  board  to  Memphis,  Tenn.,  he  became 
pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Lynchburg,  Va.,  and 
removed  there  in  May,  1868.  His  labors  were  emi- 
nently successful.  More  than  three  hundred  united 
with  the  church  in  that  place  during  his  pastorate  of 
four  years,  and  thus  it  became  one  of  the  strongest 


and  most  effective  societies  in  the  State.  In  1872  he 
was  chosen  district  secretary  for  the  Southern  States 
of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  with 
headquarters  at  Richmond,  Va.,  but  in  the  following 
year  he  became  pastor  of  the  Second  Baptist  Church 
in  that  city.  While  in  Richmond  Dr.  Bitting's  labors 
were  manifold,  for  while  pressed  with  the  cares  of  a 
large  congregation,  he  was  also  acting  as  statistical 
secretary  of  the  Virginia  Baptist  General  Association 
and  chairman  of  the'  Memorial  Committee  of  the 
Virginia  Centennial  to  secure  an  endowment  for 
Richmond  College.  In  September,  1876,  he  became 
pastor  of  the  Franklin  Square  Baptist  Church,  Balti- 
more, Md.,  where  he  still  labors  with  marked  success. 
Dr.  Bitting  is  one  of  the  most  popular  preachers  in 
Maryland.  He  is  studious  in  his  pulpit  preparations, 
and  earnest  and  eloquent  in  his  preaching.  He  has 
also  made  valuable  additions  to  the  literature  of  the 
denomination.  In  1874,  Dr.  Bitting  visited  Europe, 
Palestine,  and  Egypt.  Furman  University  conferred 
upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 
Lee  Street  Baptist  Church  originated  in  a  mission 
Sunday-school  organized  on  the  26th  of  March,  1854, 
by  members  of  the  First  Church,  among  whom  were 
James  Wilson,  Mrs.  Nelson  Clark,  Miss  Eliza  M. 
Wilson,  Melville  Wilson,  Joseph  B.  Thomas,  and 
William  H.  Hamer,  the  last  mentioned  becoming 
superintendent  of  the  school.  The  school  was  held 
in  a  building  in  Hill  Street,  one  door  east  of  Han- 
over, which  had  previously  been  used  as  a  stable, 
and  on  the  30th  of  April,  1855,  the  church  was  organ- 
ized at  the  same  place.  The  constituent  members 
were  twenty-eight, — nine  males  and  nineteen  females, 
— most  of  whom  came  by  letter  from  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  John  H.  Phil- 
lips, chosen  May  14,  1855,  who  up  to  the  time  of  his 
election  had  been  a  Baptist  missionary  in  the  south- 
ern section  of  the  city.  About  this  time  the  Baptist 
Church  Extension  Society  bought  of  St.  Stephen's 
P.  E.  Church  their  house  of  worship  on  Lee  Street, 
between  Hanover  and  Sharpe,  and  invited  the  new 
congregation  in  Hill  Street  to  occupy  it,  which  they 
did  in  1855,  not  long  after  their  organization.  On 
the  18th  of  September,  1858,  Mr.  Phillips  resigned, 
and  was  succeeded  in  May,  1859,  by  Rev.  R.  J.  Wil- 
son, who  was  forced  by  ill  Jiealth  to  resign  on  the 
28th  of  March,  1860.  He  was  followed  on  the  4th 
of  April,  1860,  by  Rev.  Isaac  Cole,  who  served  until 
the  16th  of  June,  1865.  On  the  13th  of  February, 
1863,  a  subscription-book  was  opened  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  funds  for  the  erection  of  a  new  church, 
and  among  the  largest  subscribers  were  Hiram  Woods 
and  Rev.  Franklin  Wilson,  who  each  gave  two  thou- 
sand dollars  ;  Samuel  Bevan,  who  gave  one  thousand 
dollars;  and  Henry  Taylor,  who  gave  seven  hundred 
dollars.  Early  in  May,  1863,  the  old  church  was  torn 
down,  and  the  corner-stone  of  the  pre^sent  edifice, 
which  stands  on  the  site  of  the  old,  was  laid  on  the 
26th  of  the  same  month  by  Rev.  F.  Wilson,  D.D., 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


565 


assisted  by  Hiram  Woods,  Esq.  During  the  con- 
struction of  the  new  edifice  the  congregation  wor- 
shiped in  a  hall  over  No.  2  engine-house,  on  Barre 
Street.  In  October,  1863,  the  lecture-room  was  fin- 
ished and  occupied  by  the  congregation.  Nine 
months  later,  on  the  25th  of  June,  1864,  the  whole 
building  was  completed,  and  on  the  next  day  it  was 
dedicated.  Dr.  R.  Fuller  preaching  the  sermon  in  the 
morning,  Dr.  J.  W.  M.  Williams  in  the  afternoon, 
and  Dr.  F.  Wilson  at  night.  The  entire  actual  cost  of 
the  edifice  was  $15,206.46.  Dr.  Cole  was  succeeded  on 
the  25th  of  September,  1865,  by  Rev.  James  Debois, 
who  remained  until  Sept.  21,  i866.  Rev.  S.  C.  Bos- 
ton became  pastor  in  May,  1867,  serving  until  July 
23,  1869,  and  was  followed  in  December  of  the  same 
year  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Phillips,  first  pastor  of  the  church, 
who  preached  to  the  congregation  as  a  supply  till 
June  21,  1870.  Rev.  John  Pollard,  D.D.,  was  the 
next  pastor,  his  ministry  extending  from  Oct.  15, 
1870,  to  June  3,  1880.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev. 
M.  H.  Wharton,  who  was  elected  in  November,  1880, 
and  entered  u|ion  his  duties  Jan.  1,  1881. 

The  Eutaw  Place  Baptist  Church  was  reared  for 
a  colony  brou<rlit  by  the  kite  Dr.  Richard  Fuller  from 
the  Seventh  Baptist  Church,  of  which  he  was  pastor 
till  his  death.  It  is  built  of  white  marble,  and  is  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  and  commodious  in  Baltimore. 
The  Seventh  Baptist  congregation,  which  had  grown 
so  large,  determined  to  make  a  division  and  erect  a 
new  church  edifice  at  the  corner  of  Dolphin  Street  and 
Eutaw  Place.  The  corner-stone  of  this  new  structure 
was  laid  on  the  22d  of  April,  1869,  and  it  was  com- 
pleted early  in  1871.  It  is  seventy-five  feet  front 
and  one  hundred  feet  deep,  with  a  tower  one  hundred 
and  ninety  feet  high.  The  church  and  lot,  counting 
the  cash  value  of  the  site,  which  was  donated,  cost  one 
hundred  and  twenty-two  thousand  dollars.  Rev.  Dr. 
Fuller,  up  to  that  time  pastor  of  the  Seventh  Baptist 
Church,  resigned  the  pastorate  of  that  congregation 
to  take  charge  of  the  Eutaw  Place  Church.  Rev. 
Richard  Fuller,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Beaufort,  S.  C, 
in  April,  1804.  His  early  education  was  conducted 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brantly,  father  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  T. 
Brantly,  of  the  Seventh  Baptist  Church  of  this  city. 
In  1820  he  entered  Harvard  University,  Massachu- 
setts, and  in  his  class,  consisting  of  more  than  eighty, 
stood  among  the  first  for  proficiency  in  his  studies, 
for  general  culture,  and  for  skill  in  debate.  In  con- 
sequence of  ill  health  he  was  obliged  to  leave  Harvard 
while  still  in  the  junior  year.  On  his  return  to 
Beaufort  he  entered  upon  a  course  of  legal  studies, 
and  after  being  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  became,  by 
his  talents,  diligence,  and  force  of  character,  one  of 
the  most  accomplished  and  successful  lawyers  in  the 
State.  While  thus  in  the  full  flush  of  professional 
distinction,  Beaufort  was  visited  by  the  celebrated 
revivalist,  the  Rev.  Daniel  Barker.  During  the  meet- 
ings held  at  that  time,  and  which  were  of  remarkable 
interest  and  power,  some  of  the  most  prominent  and 


intellectual  individuals  of  the  place  were  brought  to 

a  consecration  of  themselves  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 

'  among  whom  were  Stephen  Elliott,  afterwards  Bishop 

I  of  Georgia,  and  Richard  Fuller.     He  had  been  up  to 


REV.  KKHAKU    FILLER,  D.l). 

this  time  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church.     He 
I  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  give  himself  entirely  to  the 
work  of  the  Christian  ministry,  and  in   connection 
j  with  the  Baptist  denomination.     He  had  been  previ- 
j  ously  immersed  by  the  rector  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
but  was  rebaptized  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wyer,  then  pas- 
tor of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Savannah,  Ga.     He  at 
once  entered  upon  the  congenial  work  of  preaching 
the  gospel.     He  was  soon  chosen  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Beaufort,  where  he  labored  for  some  fifteen  years, 
during  which  time  the  church  was  greatly  strength- 
ened    in     membership,     character,    and     influence. 
Through  his   eflbrts,  also,  a    handsome  new  church 
edifice  was  built.     While  in  Beaufort  he  engaged  in 
j  a  memorable  controversy  with  Bishop  England,  of 
;  Charleston,  S.  C,  on  the  Scriptural  principles  and 
I  claims  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy,  and  won,  from  all 
I  who  read  the  able  and  polished  arguments,  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  thoroughly  equipped  and  skillful  controver- 
sialist.   Then  came  that  still  more  memorable  dialectic 
contest  between  himself  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wayland  on 
the  subject  of  slavery,  in  the  conduct  of  which,  what- 
ever may  be  thought  of  the  claims  of  the  friends  of 
either  to  a  decided  victory  in  the  issue  of  the  argu- 
ment, there  was  such  a  uniform  display  of  courtesy, 
kindness,  and  Christian  manliness  as  is  rarely  wit- 
nessed in  the  discussion  of  such  exciting  questions. 
In  the  midst  of  these  labors  Dr.  Fuller,  in  consequence 
of  ill   health,  was  obliged  to  suspend   his  pastoral 
labors,  and,  guided  by  the  advice  of  his  physician  and 


HISTORY    OF    BALTIMORE   CITY   AND    COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


friends,  he,  in  tlie  year  1836,  made  a  visit  to  Europe. 
On  his  return  he  gave  himself,  with  increased  zeal 
and  energy,  to  the  one  great  work  of  his  life, — 
preaching  the  gospel.  His  reputation  had  now  be- 
come national,  and  many  prominent  churches  in 
different  parts  of  the  country  were  anxious  to  secure 
his  services. 

In  1846  he  received  and  accepted  a  call  to  become 
pastor  in  Baltimore,  where  the  remainder  of  his  life 
was  spent  in  pastoral  duties.  One  of  the  conditions 
of  his  rpmoving  to  Baltimore  was  that  a  new  church 
edifice  should  be  built,  and  accordingly  a  house  of 
worship  was  erected  on  Paca  and  Saratoga  Streets, 
where  thronged  congregations  listened  for  so  many 
years  to  his  eloquent  and  impressive  preaching,  and 
where  such  large  numbers  were  added  to  the  church. 
After  years  of  eminent  success  here,  and  partially  in 
consequence  of  the  very  large  number  of  members, 
the  Eutaw  Place  church  was  erected.  The  same  emi- 
nent success  characterized  his  labors  in  this  new  field 
that  had  crowned  his  efforts  in  the  old,  and  here  he 
closed  his  useful  life.  Thorough  Baptist  as  Dr.  Fuller 
was  in  every  fibre  of  his  nature,  his  influence  for  good 
was  felt  through  the  entire  Christian  community,  and 
his  labors  were  abundant  in  all  departments  of  Chris- 
tian beneficence.  No  pastor  in  the  denomination 
was  more  highly  esteemed  by  the  representative  men 
of  other  churches  than  he,  and  none  was  more  fre- 
quently urged  to  lend  the  influence  of  his  name  and 
counsel  to  those  larger  and  more  comprehensive  be- 
nevolent organizations  which  embrace  within  their 
scope  great  communities  and  groups  of  churches. 
Though  a  slaveholder  like  Whitefield,  he  was  a  de- 
voted master,  as  he  lived  among  servants  for  whose 
religious  .and  physical  welfare  he  made  the  most 
ample  provision,  and  who  were  strongly  attached  to 
him.     Dr.  Fuller  died  in  Baltimore,  Oct.  20,  1876. 

Dr.  Fuller  as  a  preacher  had  but  few  peers.  Gifted 
with  a  rare,  manly,  and  commanding  presence ;  free 
in  every  movement  from  those  restraints  fatal  to  the 
orator  which  necessarily  arise  from  the  use  of  manu- 
script; with  a  legal  acumen  that  discriminated  be- 
tween the  delicate  shades  of  correlated  yet  of  preg- 
nant truths;  with  an  imagination  that  embodied  in 
forms  of  living  beauty  the  personages,  and  places,  and 
deeds  of  the  far-off  times  and  lands  of  the  Saviour's 
earthly  labors;  and  a  voice  whose  tones  could  thrill 
the  soul  with  heroic  resolutions  or  melt  it  into  tender 
pity, — he  has  taken  his  place  among  the  few  great 
pulpit  orators  whose  names  are  embalmed  in  the 
memories  of  men.  As  a  writer,  too,  Dr.  Fuller  had 
his  excellencies.  His  style  was  tinctured  by  the  in- 
fluences of  the  past  rather  than  by  those  of  the  pres- 
ent. The  tendency  of  eminent  living  clergymen  is  to 
a  scientific  instead  of  a  classical  style, — scientific  in 
form,  in  phraseology,  and  in  illustration;  wherea.s  the 
style  of  Dr.  Fuller's  writings  was  saturated  with  the 
classic  spirit,  as  seen  in  the  well-balanced  structure 
of  his  sentences,  as  well  as  in  the  affluence  of  his 


illustrations  and  allusions.  The  ennobling  thoughts 
of  the  old  Greek  and  Roman  poets,  hi.storians,  and 
orators,  rather  than  the  uncongenial  dogmas  of  the 
present  guiding  lights  of  the  scientific  world,  pulsate 
through  all  his  sentences ;  and  he  has  left  us,  in  some 
of  the  latest  articles  he  penned,  examples  of  that 
chaste,  symmetrical,  and  statue-like  style  of  which 
Everett  and  Legare  were  such  masters,  but  which  is 
rapidly  fading  into  an  accomplishment  peculiar  to 
the  past. 

Rev.  Dr.  Fuller  was  succeeded  in  the  pastorate  of 
the  Eutaw  Place  Baptist  Church  by  Rev  F.  H.  Ker- 
foot,  D.D.,  the  present  pastor,  in  November,  1877.  Dr. 
Kerfoot  was  born  in  Clark  County,  Va.,  Aug.  29, 1847. 
Until  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  educated  at  schools 
in  Berryville,  and  was  in  the  Confederate  service  dur- 
ing the  civil  war.  In  1866  he  entered  the  Columbian 
University,  graduating  in  the  college  with  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy,  and  in  the  law-school  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Law  in  1869.  After  study- 
ing a  year  in  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Semi- 
nary, he  entered  the  Crozer  Theological  Seminary, 
and  graduated  in  1872.  After  an  extended  tour  of 
Europe  and  Asia,  he  spent  a  year  at  the  University  of 
Leipsic.     On  his  return  he  became  pastor  of  the  Mid- 

1  way  and  Forks  of  Elkhorn  Church  in  Kentucky  until 
he  was  elected  the  successor  of  Rev.  Dr.  Fuller. 
While  in  Kentucky  he  held  for  one  session  the  pro- 
fessorship of  German  in  Georgetown  College,  Ken- 
tucky. He  has  also  contributed  a  number  of  articles 
to  the  religious  press.     The  Columbian  College  con- 

l  ferred  upon  him  in  1872  the  honorary  degree  of  A.M. 

j  He  is  an  indefatigable  worker,  and  a  learned  and 
highly-cst.-iMiuMl  minister. 

!  The  German  Baptist  Church  was  organized  under 
the  auspices  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  on  the  17th 
of  January,  1859  ;  its  first  pastor  was  Rev.  John  Mer- 
vic.  April  28,  1867,  the  present  structure,  corner  of 
Caroline  and  Hampstead  Streets,  was  consecrated. 
Rev.  E.  J.  Deckman  is  the  pastor. 

Bethany  Chapel. — The  corner-stone  of  this  chapel, 
on  Eager,  between  Broadway  and  Ann  Streets,  was 
laid  April  30, 1873.  The  chapel  is  a  mission  of  High 
Street  Church. 

Primitive  Baptists. — This  church,  near  the  cor- 
ner of  Madison  and  Calvert  Streets,  was  dedicated 
May  13,  1877  ;  the  lot  was  secured  in  1873,  and  the 
edifice  commenced  in  1875. 

Shiloh  Baptist  Church.— The  corner-stone  of  this 
church,  Aisquith  and  John  Streets,  was  laid  March 
26,  1874.  The  congregation  was  an  offshoot  from 
High  Street  Church.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev. 
Charles  D.  Parker,  missionary. 

Fuller  Memorial  Church,  on  Patterson  Avenue, 
near  Calhoun  Street,  was  organized  on  the  2d  of  July, 
1880,  by  Rev.  J.  F.  Rapson,  with  nineteen  members 
from  Eutaw  Place  Church,  one  from  the  First,  and 
one  from  Franklin  Square.  The  work  was  com- 
menced by  Mr.  Rapson   in  October,  1879,  when  his 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


567 


missionary  labors  in  this  section  began.  A  new  bap- 
tistry has  been  built  and  stained-glass  windows  put 
in  the  church,  at  a  total  cost  of  over  four  hundred 
dollars.  A  flourishing  Sunday-school  is  connected 
with  the  church.  The  church  was  recognized  by  a 
Council  on  the  21st  of  September,  1880. 

Madison  Square  Church,  on  Chase,  between  Eden 
and  Caroline  Streets,  was  erected  in  1854  by  the  Bap- 
tist Church  Extension  Society,  mainly  through  the 


RE\      1I!\NKIIN    WILbON,   D  I) 

active  agency  of  Rev.  Franklin  Wilson,  D.D.  Rev. 
Dr.  Wilson  was  born  in  this  city,  Dec.  8,  1822.  His 
father,  Thomas  Wilson,  was  a  member  of  the  eminent 
firm  of  William  Wilson  &  Sons.  In  1854  he  was 
largely  instrumental,  with  Rev.  Dr.  Williams,  in 
forming  the  Baltimore  Baptist  Church  Extension  So- 
ciety ;  was  its  first  secretary  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  a  large  contributor  to  its  funds.  Under  its 
auspices  were  erected  the  Lee  Street,  the  Franklin 
Square,  the  Leadenhall  Street,  and  the  Madison 
Square  meeting-houses.  The  last  was  built  entirely 
at  the  expense  of  Dr.  Wilson,  as  was  also  the  Rock- 
dale Chapel,  near  Baltimore.  He  has  also  given  lib- 
erally to  the  erection  of  nearly  every  other  Baptist 
meeting-house  in  Maryland. 

The  Seventh  Baptist  Church  (Colored).— The 
seventh  in  time  in  the  order  of  organization  of  the 
Baptist  Churches  in  Baltimore  was  the  First  Colored 
Baptist  Church,  formed  in  1836.  The  history  of  this 
beginning  and  the  success  of  the  work  among  the 
colored  Baptists  of  Baltimore  and  of  the  State  is  full 
of  interest.  Here  and  there,  scattered  among  the 
other  churches  of  the  Baptist  faith,  were  a  few  col- 
ored members,  whose  position  was  not  without  its  dif- 
ficulties and  embarrassments.     Most  of  the  pastors  of 


the  existing  churches  preached  occasionally,  and  some 
of  them  frequently,  to  the  colored  people.  But  as  a 
race  they  were  without  religious  instructors  or  pastoral 
access.  Their  time  was  not  their  own.  They  were 
ignorant,  and,  with  few  exceptions,  unable  to  read, 
and  incapable  of  intelligent  understanding  of  the 
usual  discourses.  They  could  not,  in  the  churches  of 
the  whites,  speak  to  general  edification  nor  profitably 
cultivate  the  exercise  of  their  gifts.  The  denomina- 
tion, however,  was  not  indifferent  to  nor  neglectful 
of  their  welfare.  The  Baptists  of  the  South  espe- 
cially labored  to  carry  to  them  "  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God,"  and  more  of  them  belonged  to  Baptist 
churches  than  to  all  other  denominations  combined. 
Some  of  the  most  honored  ministers  of  the  Baptist 
denomination  served  them  as  instructors  in  the  gospel. 
Rev.  Robert  Ryland,  D.D.,  the  first  president  of 
Richmond  College,  Richmond,  Va.,  was  for  many 
years  the  pastor  and  preached  for  the  First  Colored 
Baptist  Church  of  that  city,  then  as  now  the  largest 
in  membership  in  the  country.  Rev.  Richard  Fuller, 
D.D.,  was  also  the  pastor  of  the  very  large  colored 
Baptist  Church  in  Beaufort,  S.  C,  and  Drs.  Manly, 
Brantly,  Dagg,  and  hosts  of  less  renowned  ministers 
devoted  much  time,  attention,  and  labor  to  this  work. 
Still  the  greatest  success  could  not  be  attained  until 
this  race  could  be  reached  through  their  own  sepa- 
rate churches  by  intelligent  ministers  from  their  own 
people,  and  the  opportunities  of  pastoral  instruction 
among  them.  Of  the  persons  most  prominent  in  the 
early  history  of  this  work  Rev.  George  F.  Adams, 
D.D.,  has  furnished  a  most  interesting  record.  He 
says :' 

"  Wheu  Wniiam  Crane  lemoved  from  New  Jersey  to  Richmond,  Va., 
in  October,  1812,  he  joined  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  the  latter  city, 
and  took  a  special  interest  in  the  large  numhor  of  colored  people  who 
were  members  of  that  church,  and  labored  much  for  their  benefit.  Con- 
sulting with  Rev.  David  Roper,  of  the  same  church,  they  concluded  to 
open  a  school  for  the  gratuitous  instruction  of  colored  people  three  even- 
ings in  each  week.  About  twenty  young  men  came  under  their  teach- 
ings. This  school  continued  uninterruptedly  about  three  years,  much 
of  that  time  under  the  exclusive  care  of  Mr.  Crane,  and  without  any 
known  objection  from  any  of  the  citizens  of  Richmond. 

••  Among  the  pupils  of  this  school  were  Lett  Carey,  afterwards  gov- 
ernor of  the  colony  of  Liberia,  Africa,  and  Hillary  Teague,  father  and 
son,  the  latter  a  minister  and  a  pastor  of  a  church  in  Monrovia,  Africa, 
editor  of  the  Liberui  Herald,  secrettry  of  the  Republic,  and  the  author 
of  several  of  its  ablest  State  papers;  John  Lewis,  afterwards  pastor  of 
the  Baptist  Church  at  Treeborn,  Sierra  Leone,  and  many  others  of  less 

"In  1813  the  Richmond  African  Baptist  Missionary  Society  was 
formed,  with  Robert  Semple,  D.D.,  one  of  Virginia's  most  honored  and 
influential  Baptist  ministers  and  the  Baptist  historian  of  the  State,  as 
president.  Of  tliis,  Mr.  Crane  was  awhile  corresponding  secretary,  after- 
wards the  president,  and  for  Ihree  successive  years  its  delegate  to  the 
Baptist  General  Convention,  to  which  the  socieiy  was  auxiliary.  Lott 
Carey,  universally  respected,  was  the  recording  secretary. 

"In  his  school  it  was  a  custom  of  Mr.  Crane  to  read  to  his  pupils  any 
book  or  newspnper  sketch  which  he  supposed  would  interest  or  be  use- 
ful to  them,  and  to  lend  them  good  books.  On  one  occasion  he  showed 
them  the  report  of  Messrs.  Burgess  and  Mills,  who  in  1818  had  been  sent 
to  Africa  by  the  American  Colonization  Society.  Carey  and  Teague  then 
expressed  a  wish  to  go  to  Africa.  Finding  their  purpose  fixed,  Mr.  Crane, 
after  time  and  reflection,  wrote  to  Kev.  Obadiah  B.  Brown 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


toil.  I>.  ('.,  a  ltii|>ti8t  iiiiiiigtcr,  and  one  of  the  Board  of  Managerv  of  tlie 
('''!■  lii/  'II'  1'  >  ■  !■  ty.  When  acquainted  of  the  facts  through  tliese 
rt'.!M    I     '!  rv  .it  once  agreed  to  receive  anil  Bend  out  Carey  and  I 

'!■  The  same  Utter,  witii  information  of  the  action  of  : 

tli'  t  -I  1,1/  ,1)  i  I  v,„  i,.ty^  was  laid  before  tlie  Board  of  the  Baptist  Gen- 
eral Cuiivfiiliijii,  nhtch  met  in  Ballimore  in  1819,  and  there  these  two  ex- 
cellent men  were  appointed  Baptist  missionaries  to  the  land  of  their  an- 
cestors. Before  they  sailed  for  Afiica  five  other  colored  Baptists  of 
Richmond  decided  to  go  along,  and  in  Mr.  Crane's  house  they  signed  a 
covenant,  and  wore  constituted  into  a  Baptist  Church  of  seven  members 
by  Rev.  David  Roper.  This  was  the  germ  of  the  First  Baptist  Churdi  in 
Monrovia,  Africa,  and  out  of  it  developed  the  twenty  Baptist  Churches 
of  Monrovia  and  Liberia,  and  the  Providence  Baptist  Association. 

"  In  1825,  Mr.  Crane  wrote  a  biography  of  Lolt  Carey,  and  often  spoke 
of  him  as  'among  the  best  preaciiers  he  ever  heard.'  From  the  time  of 
the  sailing  of  lliese  missionaries  Mr.  Crane  never  abated  his  interest  in 
them  or  their  race  Files  of  newspapers,  carefully  preserved  by  him. 
Bibles,  Testaments,  spelling-books,  dictionaries,  grammars,  and  other 
books  were  sent  out  whenever  an  emigrant  ship  left  for  the  African 

Mr.  Crane  removed  to  Baltimore  in  October,  1834. 
Tlie  first  colored  Baptist  Church  was  formed  in  1830, 
but  did  not  unite  with  the  Association  until  Oct.  21, 
1841,  when  Moses  Clayton  was  pastor.  The  church 
then  reported  eight  baptisms  and  fifty-two  members. 
In  1849  the  pastor,  Moses  Clayton,  resigned,  after  a  ser- 
vice of  over  nine  years,  having  ninety-nine  additions, 
sixty-five  of  which  were  by  baptism,  and  a  member- 
ship which  had  increased  from  fifty-two  to  one  hun- 
dred and  five.  Their  debt  had  been  troublesome,  but 
had  been  removed.  In  1849,  John  Carey,  formerly  of 
Petersburg,  was  elected  pastor.  He  remained  two 
years,  during  which  time  the  church  reported  no  addi- 
tions and  serious  difficulties.  Their  number  was  re- 
duced to  sixty-seven,  and  Moses  C.  Clayton  was  elected 
pastor  the  second  time.  April  3,  1861,  the  pastor  | 
died,  aged  seventy-eight  years.  He  was  the  founder 
of  the  First  Colored  Baptist  Church  in  Maryland,  and 
was  its  pastor  for  twenty  years,  and  baptized  nearly 
one  hundred  and  fifty  persons.  He  was  a  faithful, 
indu.strious,  pious,  and  useful  man.  For  two  years 
the  church  was  without  a  pastor,  and  its  membership 
was  reduced  to  fifty.  In  1863,  John  Whey  became 
pa.stor,  but  in  1864,  James  Underdue  was  elected,  and  [ 
in  1866  he  was  succeeded  by  Lewis  Hicks,  under  j 
whose  care  their  number  increased  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven.  He  remained  pastor  until  1870, 
when  he  resigned.  Meanwhile  a  new  meeting-house 
had  been  built,  costing  about  four  thousapd  dollars,  i 
and  the  congregation  was  nearly  out  of  debt.  In  May, 
1871,  Rev.  J.  C.  Allen,  an  intelligent,  discreet,  pious,  j 
and  active  pastor,  was  elected,  and  a  new  era  of  | 
prosperity  opened. 

The  First  Colored  Baptist  Church  was  organized 
about  1850  by  Rev.  Noah  Davis,  who  had  obtained 
his  freedom  in  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  and  who  soon  I 
after  began  to  labor  as  a  missionary  among  the  col- 
ored people  in  this  city.  The  church  was  originally 
formed  with  but  five  members,  but  soon  increased, 
many  white  persons  assisting  the  minister  in  the  Sun- 
day-school. In  1855,  through  the  liberality  of  Wm, 
Crane,  Rev.  Franklin  Wil.«on,  and  other.^,  the  congre- 
gation w.is  provided  with  a  place  of  worshi|i  in  thi 


second  story  of  a  building  on  the  northeast  corner  of 
Saratoga  and  Calvert  Streets,  and  which  was  subse- 
quently occupied  as  the  Sixth  Regiment  armory. 
On  the  7th  of  April,  1867,  the  corner-stone  of  a  house 
of  worship  was  laid  at  the  corner  of  Young  and  Thomp- 
son Streets,  the  basement  of  which  was  occupied  and 
dedicated  on  the  14th  of  July  following.  On  the 
26th  of  April,  1880,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present 
edifice,  northeast  corner  of  Caroline  and  McElderry 
Streets,  was  laid,  and  on  Feb.  20,  1881,  the  church 
was  dedicated.     The  pastor  is  Rev.  J.  C.  Allen. 

Leadenhall  Street  Church  (Colored),  on  Leaden- 
hall  Street,  near  West,  was  built  by  the  Baptist  Church 
Extension  Society  of  Baltimore,  and,  with  the  lot, 
cost  about  twenty  thousand  dollars.  The  corner-stone 
was  laid  on  the  15th  of  July,  1872,  and  the  edifice 
was  dedicated  on  the  10th  of  January,  1873.  Rev. 
A.  Brown  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  Shiloh  (Colored)  Church  was  a  missionary 
enterprise,  the  congregation  first  worshiping  on  Ra- 
borg  Street.  In  April,  1881,  the  pastor.  Rev.  John 
H.  Gaines,  purchased  the  church  building  formerly 
owned  by  Cavalry  M.  E.  Church  South,  on  Hill  Street, 
between  Hanover  and  Sharp,  for  six  thousand  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  took  po.ssession  of  it 
on  April  15th. 

Union  Baptist  Church  (Colored),  North  Street, 
near  Lexington,  was  dedicated  on  the  23d  of  January, 
1876.     Rev.  Harvey  E.  Johnson  is  the  pastor. 

LUTHERAN    CHURCHES. 

The  first  congregation  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
Baltimore  was  organized  about  IToO.  It  had  in  the 
beginning  no  house  of  worship  exclusively  its  own, 
for  from  the  early  records  of  the  first  Lutheran  con- 
gregation in  this  city  we  learn  that  "  up  to  the  year 
1758  both  Lutherans  and  German  Reformed  wor- 
shiped together,  and  great  friendship  and  harmony 
prevailed.  In  that  year  they  resolved  to  erect  a  house 
of  worship  in  common,  as  each  party  was  too  weak  to 
build  alone ;  and  it  was  at  the  same  time  determined 
that  a  pastor  should  be  called  by  either  church  as 
might  best  suit."  Before  this  time  they  were  occa- 
sionally visited  by  ministers  of  both  churches  from 
Pennsylvania  and  elsewhere.  It  was  usual  in  the 
beginning  (and  even  now  in  many  cases)  for  the 
Lutheran  and  Reformed  Churches  to  worship  together 
in  the  same  place,  while  maintaining  at  the  same 
time  separate  organizations.  In  1773,  Messrs.  Lin- 
denberger,  Weishler,  Hartwig,  Hoecke,  Rock,  Gras- 
muck,  Levely,  Barnetz,  Dr.  Wiesenthall,  and  others, 
by  the  aid  of  a  lottery,  erected  a  new  church  on  the 
site  of  the  original  one,  which  had  been  built  in  1758, 
in  Fish  (Saratoga)  Street,  now  occupied  by  the  African 
Bethel  meeting-house.  The  pastor  of  the  congrega- 
tion. Rev.  Mr.  Gerock,  died  Oct.  25,  1778,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Daniel  Kurtz,  his  former  assistant." 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


569 


In  1808  the  church  on  Fish  Street  was  sold,  and 
Zion  church  erected  on  Gay  Street,  where  it  now 
stands.  On  the  30th  of  March,  1840,  the  building 
was  nearly  destroyed  by  fire,  but  it  was  immediately 
rebuilt  as  it  stands  at  present,  being  consecrated  Nov. 
8,  1840,  and,  with  its  extensive  lot  and  capacious 
school-house,  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  valuable 
church  properties  in  the  city.  After  a  pastorate  of 
more  than  fifty  years,  Mr.  Kurtz  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  John  Uhlhorn,  a  brilliant  German  orator,  who 
had  been  his  assistant  for  some  years  before  his  retire- 
ment. Dr.  Uhlhorn  died  during  a  visit  to  Bremen, 
Germany,  March  22,  18.34,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
John  Haesbaerdth ;  after  a  time  Mr.  Haesbaerdth  re- 
signed, and  established  a  distinct  German  congrega- 
tion in  a  church  built  by  the  Baptists,  which  stood  at 
the  corner  of  Saratoga  and  Holliday  Streets,  the  site 
of  which  is  now  occupied  by  a  large  machine-factory. 
Mr.  Haesbaerdth  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Domeier,  and 
he  was  followed  by  Rev.  Henry  Scheib,  the  present 
pastor. 

First  English  Lutheran  Church.— Until  1823,  Zion 
Church,  on  Gay  Street,  w:is  the  only  Lutheran  organi- 
zation in  the  city.  On  the  27th  of  October  in  that 
year  the  fir.st  meeting  of  a  distinct  English  Lutheran 
Church  was  held  at  the  house  of  David  Bixler,  on 
Howard  Street.  The  original  corporators  were  John 
Reese,  David  Bixler,  George  Stonebraker,  Joshua 
Medtart,  Frederick  Segler,  Philip  Uhler,  and  Andrew 
Hack.  Aug.  30,  1824,  Rev.  Mr.  Kranch  became  the 
pastor,  and  a  permanent  organization  was  effected. 
The  congregation  met  in  a  school-house  near  the  cor- 
ner of  Howard  and  Pratt  Streets.  Mr.  Kranch  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Jacob  Medtart,  who  left  in  the  fall 
of  1825,  and  ministers  from  other  churches  preached 
to  the  congregation.  Ground  for  a  church  building, 
on  Lexington  Street,  between  Park  and  Howard,  was 
purchased,  and  the  corner-stone  of  the  First  English 
Lutheran  church  was  laid  in  November,  1825,  and  the 
church  was  dedicated  May  28,  1826.  On  the  11th  of 
December,  1826,  Rev.  Dr.  .John  G.  Morris  was  elected 
pastor,  and  on  the  10th  of  April,  1827,  the  church  was 
reincorporated.  During  his  ministry  the  church  was 
twice  enlarged,  two  Sunday-school  rooms  and  the  par- 
sonage were  erected.  In  1860,  Dr.  Morris  resigned  to 
take  charge- of  the  Peabody  Institute,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  Dr.  J.  McCron.  Dr.  McCron  resigned 
in  1872,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Barclay, 
D.D.,  the  present  pastor.    The  first  communion  of  the 

raised  was  $2118,  the  amount  of  the  prizes  to  be  given  was  $5882,  and 
tlie  number  of  tickets  to  be  issued  was  four  thousand  at  two  dollars  each. 
The  managers  were  Charles  Garts,  Philip  Graybell,  Bobert  Walsh,  John 
Hammond,  Peter  Diffenderffer,  Samuel  Messersmith.  John  Schaltz, 
Adam  Gantz,  Christian  Meyer,  John  Mackenheimer,  Nicholas  Konecke, 
Henry  Schroeder,  Christopher  Raborg,  George  Leightner,  William  Ra- 
borg,  James  Allen,  John  Shrim,  Jr.,  David  Poe,  John  Hasselbach,  Fred- 
erick Price,  John  Strieker,  William  Lorman,  Archibald  Stewart,  Martin 
Eichelberger.  Isaac  Solomon,  Frederick  Yeiser,  Jacob  Brown,  Richard 
Burland,  George  Decker,  Daniel  Diffenderflfer,  George  Dowig,  Engelhard 
Yeiser,  Peter  Frick,  Erasmus  Uhler,  James  Sloan,  Ludwick  Hening, 
Frederick  Heoflich,  Jacob  Deiter,  Henry  Dukehart,  and  Frederick  Eeese. 


church  embraced  only  twenty-eight  persons,  but  it 
grew  strong  enough  to  endure  the  separation  of  three 
organizations  from  the  mother  body, — the  Second 
and  Third  Churches  and  St.  Mark's.  The  church  on 
Lexington  Street  was  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of 
July  25, 1873.  The  corner-stone  of  the  present  edifice, 
Lanvale  and  Fremont  Streets,  was  laid  April  6,  1874, 
and  the  building  was  dedicated  Sept.  19,  1875.  The 
total  cost  of  the  new  church  and  the  adjoining  par- 
sonage and  church  furniture  was  one  hundred  and 
two  thousand  dollars.  The  church  has  had  but  three 
pastors  in  more  than  fifty  years. 

Second  English  Lutheran  Church.— The  corner- 
stone of  the  Second  English  Lutheran  church,  on 
Lombard  Street,  west  of  Greene,  was  laid  May  11, 

1841,  and  the  edifice  was  opened  for  worship  Oct.  8, 

1842.  This  church  is  one  of  the  old  landmarks  in  the 
section  of  the  city.in  which  it  is  located,  there  having 
been  but  few  houses  in  the  neighborhood  when  it  was 
built.  Rev.  Charles  P.  Kranch  was  the  fir.st  pastor  of 
the  church,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Charles 
Ewing,  Charles  Hersch,  I.  A.  Heiss,  J.  Schwartz,  E. 
I.  Wolf,  and  George  Scholl,  present  pastor. 

The  Third  English  Lutheran  Evangelical 
Church. — The  mission  out  of  which  this  church 
grew  was  organized  in  1841,  at  a  private  house  on 
Hillen  Street.  Mr.  Charles  D.  Hincks,  the  two  Misses 
Morry,  the  two  Misses  Altvaters,  Miss  Mary  Dobler, 
Mrs.  Middleton,  Miss  Jackson,  and  Mrs.  Adams 
formed  the  head  and  heart  of  this  new  entei'prise. 
Mr.  Hincks  was  succeeded  by  W.  A.  Wisong  as 
superintendent.  The  corner-stone  of  Luther  chapel. 
Monument  Street,  near  Gay,  was  laid  May  26,  1842, 
and  the  chapel  was  opened  for  worship  October  16th 
of  the  same  year.  The  corner-stone  of  the  present 
edifice,  which  occupies  the  site  of  the  former  chapel, 
was  laid  July  2,  1852,  and  the  church  was  dedicated 
Sept.  18,  1853.  Its  pastors  have  been  Revs.  W.  A. 
Passavant,  I.  A.  Brown,  D.D.,  B.  Appleby,  P.  Ans- 

tadt,  A.  W.  Lilly,  J.  McCron,   D.D.,  Sprecher, 

H.  Bishop,  J.  G.  Morris,  D.D.,  Uriel  Graves,  and  I. 
C.  Burke,  the  present  pastor. 

St.  Mark's  English  Lutheran  Church  was  organ- 
ized Oct.  23,  1860,  by  a  body  of  ninety-six  members 
from  the  First  Church.  T.  Stork  was  elected  pastor, 
and  took  charge  December  1st.  The  Third  Presby- 
terian Church,  on  Eutaw  Street,  was  at  once  rented, 
and  in  February,  1861,  purchased  for  ten  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars.  Dr.  Stork  resigned  May  25,  1865, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Rev.  Charles  A.  Stork. 
In  1873  the  old  church  building  was  remodeled  at  a 
cost  of  eighteen  thousand  dollars,  and  reconsecrated 
March  8,  1874.  The  total  cost  of  the  property  be- 
longing to  this  organization,  including  the  old  build- 
ing and  ground,  the  expense  of  the  remodeling  and 
the  purchase  of  the  parsonage,  has  been  thirty-eight 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  Rev.  Charles  A. 
Stork,  D.D.,  who  had  been  pastor  for  twenty  years, 
dissolved  his  connection  with  the  church  to  accept 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


the  presidency  of  the  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  Lutheran  Theo- 
logical Seminary. 
St.  Paul's  English  Lutheran  Church  is  tlie  fifth 


English  Lutheran  Church  in  the  city,  and  is  located  ' 
on  Druid  Hill  Avenue,  at  its  intersection  with  Mc- 
Mechiu  Street.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  July  1, 
1871,  and  the  building  dedicated  Dec.  14,  1873.  The 
congregation  was  organized  April  21,  1873,  with 
thirty-one  members,  and  during  the  summer  called 
Rev.  Jacob  A.  Clutz,  who  took  charge  Nov.  1,  1873. 
The  church  ha.s  made  rapid  i)rogri>ss.  Mr.  Clutz  is  ' 
.still  the  pastor. 

St.  Matthew's  German  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church   is   a   brancli  of  old   Trinity  Church,  from 
which  it  separated  in  1852.     May  5,  1853,  the  corner-  , 
stone  of  a  house  of  worship,  on  Canal  Street,  near 
Fayette,  was  laid,  and  the  edifice  was  dedicated  April 
2,  1854.     On  the  12th  of  May,  1S7»,  the  corner-stone 
of  the  present  church,  Favnu-  Sinrt;  near  Central  I 
Avenue,  was  laid,  and  tin'  l.iiil.lin^  ^Icdicated  April  i 
27,  1873.     The  bells  in  the  >tc.iilc  ..I  the  church  are  \ 
cast  from  cannon  captured  by  tlie  Germans  from  the 
French  in  the  late  war,  and  were  presented  to  the 
congregation  upon  their  application  by  the  emperor 
of  Germany.     The  pastors  have  been  Rev.  Charles 
Weyl  and  Rev.  Mr.  Lublcert.     Rev.  L.  D.  Maier  is 
present  pastor. 

St.  John's  German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church 
is  situated  on  Biddle  Street,  near  Pennsylvania  Ave- 
nue.    The  late  Rev.  Father  Heier,  about  the  year 
1847,  began  to  preach  in  a  small  frame  chapel  located  j 
in  the  rear  of  the  lot   on  which  St.  John's  church 
now  stands.     About  nine  months  after  this  beginning,  j 
Rev.  G.  H.  Brandan  was  called  as  the  pastor  of  the  j 
congregation.     In  the  year  1853  the  present  edifice 
was  built,  and  was  dedicated  December  18th.     Mr. 
Brandan  remained  pastor  of  St.  John's  until  July  4, 
1869,  when  he  resigned,  and  Rev.  J.  Muller  became 
his  successor.     He  was  succeeded,  June  1,  1873,   by 
Rev.  B.  Sickel,  who  was  followed,  in  September,  1874, 
by  Rev.  N.  Burkhart,  present  pastor  of  the  congrega- 
tion. 

St.  Marcus'  German  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church,  situated  corner  Broadway  and  Beaumont 
Avenue,  was  organized  Nov.  3,  1867,  in  Broadway 
Institute,  by  .about  si.xty  heads  of  families.  The  con- 
gregation first  worshiped  in  Powhatan  Hall,  on  the 
corner  of  Bond  and  Pratt  Streets.  The  corner-stone 
of  the  present  edifice  was  laid  Nov.  7,  1869,  and  the 
church  was  dedicated  Aug.  14,  1870.  The  first  pas- 
tor was  W.  F.  Seeger,  who  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Hermann  Veith.  The  latter  resigned  Aug.  4,  1873, 
when  the  present  incumbent,  John  Hoerr,  was  called, 
and  installed  Dec.  2,  1872.  The  congregation  was 
connected  with  the  Maryland  Synod  until  Nov.  2, 
1873,  when  it  connected  itself  with  the  Joint  Synod 
of  Oliio  ;ui(l  adjnccnt  States. 

Trinity  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  is  one  of 
the  oldest  German  churches  in  the  city.    It  is  situated 


on  Trinity  Street,  east  of  High.  The  congregation  is 
quite  large,  but  neither  it  nor  their  pastor  are  in  any 
synodical  connection,  though  they  still  claim  to  be 
Lutherans.  They  were  formerly  connected  with  the 
old  Pennsylvania  Synod.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev. 
J.  i'ister. 

St.  Paul's  German  Evangelical  Church,  corner 
of  Fremont  and  Saratoga  Streets,  was  consecrated 
Dec.  16,  1867.  Its  membership  is  large.  The  con- 
gregations of  St.  Paul's,  Emmanuel,  and  St.  Martin's 
originally  formed  the  Second  German  Evangelical 
Lutiieran  Cliurch,  which  was  organized  Nov.  1, 1835, 
and  situated  at  the  corner  of  Holliday  and  Saratoga 
Streets.  The  first  pastor  of  the  Second  German  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  Church  was  J.  P.  C.  Haesbaert;  the 
second,  from  1851  to  1867,  was  Rev.  G.  W.  Keyl.  The 
old  church  building  was  torn  down  in  1868.  It  had 
originally  been  purchased  from  another  Protestant 
denomination,  and  its  congregation  had  previously 
been  connected  with  the  Zion's  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church,  on  Gay  Street,  and  separated  from  it  when 
Mr.  Scheib  became  its  pastor.  In  1867  the  congre- 
gation sold  their  old  church  property,  divided  the 
amount  and  other  moneys  collected  for  that  purpose, 
and  formed  three  distinct  congregations,  all  of  which 
belong  to  the  Missouri  Synod.  The  present  pastor  of 
St.  Paul's  is  Rev.  H.  Hauser. 

Emmanuel  German  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church,  South  Caroline  Street,  near  Baltimore,  was 
organized  in  1866,  and  the  church  was  dedicated  May 
6,  1867.     The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  Claus  Stuerken. 

St.  Martin's  German  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  is  situated  on  the  corner  of  Sharpe  and  Hen- 
rietta Streets.  It  was  incorporated  May  18,  1867. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  Sept.  l5,  1867,  and  the 
church  was  dedicated  May  10,  1868.  Its  first  and  its 
present  pastor  is  Rev.  Charles  H.  F.  Frincke.  The 
church  was  organized  by  former  members  of  the  Sec- 
ond German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  which  in 
1857  was  divided  into  three  separate  congregations, — 
St.  Paul's,  Emmanuel,  and  St.  Martin's.  The  congre- 
gation belongs  to  the  German  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Synod  of  Jlissouri,  Ohio,  and  other  States. 
j  St.  Peter's  German  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  is  situated  on  Bond  Street,  near  Eastern 
Avenue.  Its  present  pastor  is  Rev.  C.  A.  Schloegle. 
St.  Peter's  English  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  is  situated  on  the  corner  of  Fayette  and  East 
Streets.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  March  28,  1875. 
Its  present  pastor  is  Rev.  E.  L.  S.  Tre-ssel. 

St.  Luke's  German  Evangelical  Church  was  an 
offshoot  from  St.  Stephen's,  and  was  organized  in 
1864  by  the  Rev.  L.  F.  Zimmerman.  For  two  years 
the  congregation  worshiped  in  the  chapel  on  Hen- 
rietta Street,  near  Eutaw.  The  corner-stone  of  the 
present  edifice,  Henrietta  and  Eutaw  Streets,  was  laid 
May  27,  1866,  and  the  church  was  dedicated  Decem- 
ber 26th  of  the  same  year.  Rev.  John  Keller  is  its 
present  pastor. 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


571 


Lutheran  Chapel,  at  Canton.— The  corner-stone 
of  an  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  was  laid  at  Can- 
ton, Nov.  8,  1843,  and  the  building  was  dedicated 
.Sept.  29,  1844. 

The  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  on  Chesa- 
peake Street,  Cantim,  was  dedicated  in  April,  1860. 

St.  Peter's  Mission  meets  at  the  southwest  corner 
of  Baltimore  and  Poppleton  Streets.  Rev.  George  T. 
Cooppenider,  pastor. 

St.  Stephen's  German  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  was  founded  by  Rev.  Mr.  Schieth  in  1850, 
and  shortly  afterwards  was  formally  organized  by  Rev. 
Arthur  0.  Brioknian.  The  congregation  worshiped 
for  a  time  on  Light  Street,  between  West  and  Ostend 
Streets.  On  the  5th  of  February,  1852,  they  bought  a 
building  erected  by  the  "  Good  Samaritan  Congrega- 
tion" (which  had  been  organized  but  a  few  weeks 
before  St.  Stephen's  by  Rev.  Charles  Meister)  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  Hanover  and  Hamburg  Streets 
■during  1850.  The  Good  Samaritan  congregation  dis- 
-solved  its  organization,  a  majority  of  its  members  con- 
necting themselves  with  St.  Stephen's.  About  this 
time  the  congregation  joined  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Synod  of  Maryland,  in  connection  with  the  General 
Synod  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  the 
United  States.  In  September,  1852,  Rev.  T.  H.  Men- 
gert  became  the  pastor  of  St.  Stephen's,  and  served 
until  September,  1854,  when  Rev.  C.  F.  W.  Hoppe 
succeeded  him.  In  October,  1861,  Mr.  Hoppe  re- 
signed, and  early  in  1862,  Rev.  L.  F.  Zimmermann 
became  the  pastor.  In  October,  1864,'  the  present 
pastor,  Rev.  F.  Ph.  Hennighausen,  took  charge  of  the 
church. 

The  First  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  at  the 
corner  of  Greene  Street  and  Cider  Alley,  is  under  the 
charge  of  Rev.  John  Koehl,  and  the  Second  Church, 
at  the  corner  of  McElderry  and  Short  Streets,  is 
under  Rev.  Daniel  Schnebel. 

GERMAN  REFORMED   CHURCH. 

The  precise  date  of  the  origin  of  the  First  German 
Heformed  congregation  in  this  city  is  not  known. 
There  is,  however,  good  reason  to  believe  that  it  was 
established  in  or  about  the  year  1750.  An  old  Ger- 
man manuscript,  found  a  few  years  since  among  the 
.archives  of  this  church,  states,  among  other  things, 
that  "  in  the  year  1756  or  1757  the  congregation  pur- 
chased a  lot  on  which  to  erect  a  church  of  Mr.  Crox- 
all  for  nine  pounds,  besides  making  him  a  present. 
.  .  .  After  this  the  congregation  appointed  a  commit- 
tee to  superintend  the  building  of  a  church,  which 
consisted  of  Andrew  Steiger,  Frederick  Meyer,  Jacob 
Kuhbord,  John  Soller,  Valentine  Loersh,  and  Con- 
rad Smith.  These  men  made  preparation  to  build, 
and  with  the  means  they  had  they  built  the  best 
church  they  could.  We  then  called  tiie  Rev.  John 
Christian  Faber  to  become  our  pastor,  and  we  are  all  in 
peace  and  love."  Previous  to  the  year  1756  the  con- 
gregation was  occasionally  visited  by  several  German 


Reformed  minister.?,  among  whom  was  Rev.  Mr. 
Lacliey.  In  the  early  records  of  the  first  Lutheran 
congregation  in  this  city,  on  Gay  Street,  we  find  "up 
to  the  year  1758  both  Lutherans  and  German  Re- 
form worshiped  together,  and  great  friendship  and 
harmony  prevailed.  In  that  year  they  resolved  to 
erect  a  house  of  worship  in  common,  as  each  party 
was  too  weak  to  build  alone;  and  it  was  at  the  same 
time  determined  that  a  pastor  should  be  called  by 
either  church,  as  might  best  suit."  Previous  to  this 
time  they  were  occasionally  visited  by  ministers  of 
both  churches.  Although  the  Reformed  account 
makes  no  mention  of  the  two  denominations  worship- 
ing together  up  to  a  certain  period,  yet  there  can 
scarcely  be  a  doubt  of  the  fact  as  stated  by  the 
Lutheran  records.  It  was  usual  in  the  beginning 
{and  even  now  in  very  many  instances)  for  the  Lu- 
theran and  Reformed  to  worship  together  in  the  same 
place,  but  maintaining  for  the  most  part  separate  or- 
ganizations. The  first  church  building  owned  by  the 
German  Reformed  congregation  was  built,  as  it  would 
seem,  about  1756-58.  It  was  located  on  North  Charles 
Street,  nearly  opposite  to  and  south  of  the  present 
St.  Paul's  Episcopal  church.  A  deceased  member  of 
this  congregation  for  more  than  forty  years,  and  who, 
when  a  boy,  used  to  worship  with  his  parents  in  the 
old  church  on  Charles  Street,  once  wrote  to  a  friend 
as  follows : 

"  Our  first  cliurch  was  located  up  North  Charles  Street,  and  was  ap- 
proached witli  difficulty,  especially  by  the  aged  and  infirm,  on  account 
of  the  steep  hill  of  sand  Ihey  were  obliged  to  climb  every  Sabbath  in 
order  to  reach  their  hunible  place  of  worship.  At  that  time  we  had  no 
cushioned  s^-ats,  no  carpeted  aisles,  no  sweet-toned  orpan  to  aid  in  the 
musical  exercises;  no,  not  even  a  sto\e  to  warm  the  body.  The  cold 
northwest  wind  wonld  pierce  through  the  tender  weather-boarding,  and 
almost  blow  the  light  fabric  off." 

Mr.  Faber  was  pastor  of  this  church  about  fourteen 
years.  Towards  the  close  of  his  ministry  he  met  with 
great  opposition  from  a  portion  of  his  congregation, 
who  charged  him,  it  is  said,  with  coldness  and  lan- 
guor in  his  ministrations.  They  wished  him  to  give 
place  to  a  warm-hearted  young  preacher,  a  Rev.  Mr. 
Swope,  who  had  recently  come  from  Germany.  In 
this  they  did  not  succeed.  Mr.  Faber  continued  in 
his  place,  and  the  consequence  was  a  division  of  the 
congregation  in  the  year  1770.  The  opposition  mem- 
bers withdrew,  built  a  second  Reformed  church,  and 
elected  Mr.  Swope  as  their  pastor.  Mr.  Faber  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  George  Wallauer,  and  Mr.  Wal- 
lauer  by  Rev.  Charles  Boehme,  who  was  followed  in 
September,  1783,  by  Rev.  Nicholas  Pomp.  At  this 
period  Jacob  Coberts,  Frederick  Meyer,  Jacob  Meyer, 
and  Henry  Zorah  were  the  elders  of  the  church,  and 
Philip  Cousins,  Andrew  Granget,  and  Philip  Miller 
the  deacons.  Under  the  administration  of  Mr.  Pomp 
the  congregation  resolved  to  build  a  new  church  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Front  Streets, 
and  after  considerable  difficulty  and  opposition  the 
corner-stone  was  laid  on  the  1st  of  September,  1785, 


572 


HISTOKY    OF    BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


and  on  the  20th  of  June,  1787,  the  first  service  was 
held  in  the  church.' 

In  December,  1788,  the  church  was  incorporated. 
Mr.  Pomp  re-signed  in  November,  1789,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  George  Troldenier  on  the  13th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1791.  In  1796  the  church  edifice  was  sold  to 
St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  and  was  subsequently- 
known  as  Old  Christ  church.  The  ground  selected 
as  a  site  for  a  new  church  was  situated  on  the  north 
side  of  Second  Street,  nearly  in  the  present  bed  of 
Holliday  Street.  The  corner-stone  of  this  building 
was  laid  on  the  28th  of  April,  179G,  and  on  the  24th 
of  September,  1797,  the  edifice  was  dedicated.  The 
dimensions  of  the  church  were  fifty  by  eighty  feet, 
and  the  architect  and  builder  wiis  Lewis  Hening.  The 
steeple  was  erected  in  1805,  and  was  nearly  two  hundred 
feet  high.  Mr.  Troldenier  died  on  the  12th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1800.  He  was  succeeded  in  1802  by  Rev.  John  H. 
Dryer,  who  was  followed  in  July,  1806,  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Christian  L.  Becker.  In  February,  1818,  a  petition 
drawn  up  by  Dr.  M.  Diffenderft'er,  and  signed  by  him 
and  thirty-five  other  members,  was  presented  to  the 
Consistory,  respectfully  soliciting  permission  to  have 
English  preaching  in  the  church  on  every  Sabbath 
afternoon.  This  subject  seems  to  have  caused  a  great 
deal  of  excitement,  and  gave  the  pastor  no  little  trouble 
and  uneasiness.  On  the  12th  of  July,  1818,  Dr.  Becker 
suddenly  died,  and  his  death  for  a  time  put  an  end  to 
further  proceedings  about  English  preaching.  The 
Synod  having  granted  the  petition  presented  by  a 
.committee  consisting  of  Peter  Difl'enderfFer  and  Jacob 
Hoffman,  they  invited  the  Rev.  Lewis  Mayer  to  pay 
them  a  visit  and  preach  in  German  and  English. 
On  Sabbath  morning,  Sept.  27,  1818,  Dr.  Mayer 
preached  a  discourse  in  the  German  language  to  a 
very  large  congregation,  and  in  the  afternoon  he 
preached  another  in  the  English  language  (which 
was  the  first  sermon  ever  delivered  in  this  church  in 
English)  to  an  immense  concourse  of  people.  The 
excitement  was  intense.  Some  of  the  members,  re- 
garding English  preaching  as  an  innovation  that 
ought  not  to  be  tolerated,  threatened  violence  to  the 
minister,  and  said  and  did  many  things  that  they 
afterwards  regretted.  On  the  10th  of  February,  1819, 
the  Rev.  Albert  Helft'enstein,  Sr.,  then  pastor  of  the 
German  Reformed  congregation  of  Carlisle,  Pa.,  was 
unanimously  invited  to  the  psistorate  of  this  church, 
and  about  the  1st  of  July  in  the   same  year  he 


iiringaset 


1  Jan.  6, 1789,  a  lottei-j'  was  advertised  for  the  |)iir|) 
of  bells  for  the  use  of  tlie"  German  Ecfoinj.Ml  ri,,,,,  i,  .i,  it,,„  ,,!•»  Hill,'" 
opposite  St.  Paul's  cliurch.  The  iiiaiiagcrB  «.  I  I  ;  -,  i  I,  William 
Gibson,  Alexauder  McKim,  Wui.  M(;I,«ii,l:Ii  I       i.  I        u.ls,  I'eler 

Flick,  James  MeCannon,  Peter  Boose,  .l.-lni  ^  Iml!,,  ,  r,  i,  [  llnfiman, 
Martin  Eichelborger,  and  .Incob  Meyer.  And  in  tlic  same  jear  $;ifi8(i  was 
raised  by  lottery  to  complete  the  "High  German  Reformed  Presbyterian 
church  on  Jones*  Kails  near  Philpot's  bridge."  The  managers  were 
Wm.  McLoughliu,  Samuel  Street,  Ileiiry  Schroeder,  Adam  Gantz,  George 
Frauciscus.Charles.Sw;.!  I. ,  l.lii,  w  n,  n,  i  vprlau  Wells,  Frederick  Yeiser, 
JacobKotbrock.ChiiBi   1         i  ^h   I  el  DilTenderOer,  Jacob  Miller, 

Erasmus  Ubler,  Geui^'    I..  i    ;       l>il1'underffer,  Jobu  Hasseback, 

Nicholas  Tschudy,  and  J.i.,,1,  llu;;m..;.. 


preached  his  introductory  discourse.  As  years  rolled 
away  German  preaching  became  less  and  less  fre- 
quent, and  in  the  year  1827  it  was  abandoned  by  the 
pastor  altogether.  Mr.  Helffenstein  tendered  his 
resignation  to  the  Consistory  in  April,  1835,  which 
was  accepted,  and  in  September  following  he  preached 
his  valedictory  discourse,  and  immediately  left  with 
his  family  for  Ohio.  In  November,  1835,  Rev.  Elias 
Heiner,  the  last  pastor  of  this  church,  received  a 
unanimous  call,  and  on  the  first  Sabbath  in  January, 
1836,  he  delivered  his  introductory  discourse,  from 
Genesis  Iv.  24,  "See  that  ye  fall  not  out  by  the  way." 
On  the  8th  of  December,  1850,  Mr.  Heiner  delivered 
in  the  Second  Street  church  a  centenary  sermon  on 
the  occasion  of  the  centenary  celebration.  After  a 
pastorate  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  Dr. 
Heiner  died  on  the  20th  of  October,  1863,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  E.  R.  Eschbach.  The  opening  of 
Holliday  Street  necessitated  the  removal  of  the  ven- 
erable edifice,  and  the  closing  services  were  held  in  it 
on  the  8th  of  July,  1866.     On  the  29th  of  October, 

1866,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  edifice,  on  the 
west  side  of  Calvert  Street,  south  of  Read,  was  laid, 
and  the  church  was  dedicated  on  the  6th  of  October, 

1867.  The  present  jiastor  is  Rev.  Joel  T.  Kossiter. 
Aisquith  Street   German)  Reformed  Church. — 

When  tlie  First  (iernian  Reformed  church  on  Second 
Street  was  removed  to  make  way  for  the  extension  of 
Holliday  Street,  the  congregation  determined  to  build 
two  new  churches,  one  in  the  northeastern  and  the 
other  in  the  western  section  of  the  city.  In  pursu- 
ance of  this  determination  the  congregation  divided, 
and  while  one  part  proceeded  to  build  the  First  Re- 
formed church  on  Calvert  near  Read  Street,  the  other 
erected  a  church  on  Aisquith  Street  near  McElderry. 
The  corner-stone  of  the  Aisquith  Street  church  was 
laid  Sept.  24,  1876,  and  the  edifice  was  dedicated  Oct. 
13,  1867.     Its  present  pastor  is  Rev.  Gustave  Facius. 

The  Third  Reformed  Church,  northeast  comer  of 
Paca  and  Saratoga  Streets,  was  an  offshoot  from  the 
Second  Street  Church.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  on 
the  9th  of  April,  1844,  and  the  church  was  dedicated 
on  the  2d  of  February,  1845.  Rev.  Dr.  Wolff"  was 
the  first  pastor.    The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  C.  Clever. 

St.  Paul's  (English)  Reformed  Church  was  an 
offshoot  from  the  Third  Reformed  Church,  corner  of 
Paca  and  Saratoga  Streets.  In  August,  1879,  St. 
Paul's  coiiL'i-egatioii  pureliased  the  Northwest  Mission 
chiiirh,  on  Lexiiiutou  Sticc-t  near  ( 'annllton  Avenue. 

St.  Johannes'  (German)  Reformed  Church,  on 
Calvert  Street  near  Saniloga,  was  organized  in  June, 
1845.     Tlie  pa-stor  is  Rev.  C.  Borchers. 

Fifth  German  Reformed  Church.— The  first 
church  edifice  of  the  Fifth  German  Reformed  con- 
gregation, situated  on  Canton  Avenue,  east  of  Broad- 
way, was  dedicated  on  the  3d  of  October,  1858.  On 
the  8th  of  November,  1866,  the  church  was  seriously 
damaged  by  fire.  The  corner-stone  of  the  present 
structure.  Canton  Avenue  east  of  Broadway,  was  laid 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


573 


on  the  17th  of  March,  1867,  and  the  building  was 
dedicated  on  the  21st  of  July  in  the  same  year.  The 
pastor  is  Rev.  Marcus  Bachman. 

The  Emmanuel  or  Sixth  German  Reformed 
Church  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  old  Second  Street 
CInirch.  The  congregation  worshiped  for  some  time 
in  China  Hall,  West  Baltimore  Street,  but  on  the  22d 
of  September,  1867,  the  corner-stone  of  the  edifice, 
northwest  corner  of  Saratoga  and  Schroeder  Streets, 
was  laid,  and  on  the  21st  of  June,  1868,  the  building 
was  dedicated.  Kev.  John  Voegeling  was  the  first 
pastor.    The  present  pastor  is  Eev.  J.  Conrad  Hauser. 

TJNITED   BRETHREN. 

The  denomination  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ 
had  its  origin  and  organization  more  than  a  century 
ago  under  Rev.  William  Otterbein,  a  learned  and  de- 
voted German  divine,  who  had  formerly  been  a  minister 
in  the  Lutheran  Church.  Mr.  Otterbein  came  to  Balti- 
more in  1770,  and  in  1774  he  organized  what  he  called 
an  Evangelical  Reformed  Church,  which  became  the 
centre  of  a  considerable  conference  of  churches  under 
the  name  of  United  Brethren,  of  which  he  and  the 
Rev.  Martin  Boehm  were  the  first  superintendents  or 
bishops. 

The  congregation  of  this  church  was  composed  of 
those  who  had  seceded  from  the  First  German  Re- 
formed Church  a  few  years  before,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Rev.  Mr.  Swope.  In  1775  the  lot  on  Conway 
Street  near  Sharpe  was  purchased,  and  a  wooden 
structure  erected  on  the  site  of  the  present  church. 
In  1784  the  present  edifice  was  built,  and  bells  which 
were  cast  in  Bremen  were  placed  in  position  in  the 
belfry.  Mr.  Otterbein  remained  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Conway  Street  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on 
the  17th  of  November,  1813.  He  has  been  succeeded 
in  the  pastorate  of  Otterbein  Church  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Schaetfer,  Rev.  Mr.  Snyder,  Rev.  Mr.  Neidig,  Rev. 
William  Brown,  Rev.  John  Krack,  Rev.  John  Miller, 
Rev.  John  Russel,  Rev.  Mr.  Hermann,  Bishop  John 
Russel  (second  term).  Bishop  Erb,  Rev.  Henry  Schrob, 
Rev.  John  A.  Sand,  Rev.  Charles  Snyder,  Rev.  Nehe- 
miah  Altman,  and  Rev.  Jacob  Doerkson.  In  1874 
the  church  was  renovated  and  improved  both  inter- 
nally and  externally.  Rev.  A.  Kraus  is  the  present 
pastor;  Rev.  J.  J.  Grosbenner  is  the  bishop. 

Otterbein  Chapel,  corner  of  Scott  and  St.  Peter 
Streets,  is  a  branch  of  Otterbein  Church.  The  cor- 
ner-stone was  laid  on  the  30th  of  June,  1857,  and  the 
basement  of  the  edifice  was  dedicated  on  the  27th  of 
December  of  the  same  year.  The  building  was  en- 
tirely completed  and  dedicated  on  the  27th  of  March, 
1859.     The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  J.  P.  Anthony. 

Third  Church  of  the  United  Brethren.— The 
corner-stone  of  the  Third  Church  of  the  United 
Brethren,  southwest  corner  of  Lombard  and  Fulton 
Streets,  was  laid  on  the  21st  of  October,  1866,  and  the 
edifice  was  dedicated  on  the  21st  of  March,  1869. 
The  pastor  is  Rev.  Job  Light. 


Fifth  Church  of  the  United  Brethren.— The  Fifth 
Church  of  the  United  Brethren,  George  Street  and 
Clinton  Avenue,  was  dedicated  on  the  7th  of  July, 
1872.     The  pastor  is  Rev.  J.  P.  Smith. 

Salem  Mission. — Salem  Mission  was  organized  on 
the  22d  of  February,  1871,  with  Rev.  H.  Sclichter  as 
pastor.  .A  temporary  chapel  was  at  once  erected, 
and  July  25,  J872,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present 
brick  church,  near  the  corner  of  Francis  and  Retreat 
Streets,  was  laid.  The  lower  part  of  the  building 
was  dedicated  Jan.  13, 1873,  and  the  upper  part  June 
21, 1874.  Mr.  Sclichter  was  succeeded  in  1875  by  Rev. 
S.  A.  Mowers,  and  he  was  succeeded  in  1879  by  Rev. 
J.  W.  Etter,  the  present  pastor.  Salem  Mission  was 
declared  self-sustaining  in  March,  1880. 

METHODISM.i 

The  first  Methodist  society  in  Maryland,  or  indeed 
in  America  (except  that  at  Savannah,  Ga.),  was 
formed  in  1760,  near  Sam's  or  Pipe  Creek,  in  Fred- 
erick County,  by  Robert  Strawbridge,  a  Wesleyan  lay 
preacher  from  Ire- 
land. In  1769,  Mr. 
Wesley,  in  answer 
to  repeated  requests, 
sent  his  first  mis- 
sionaries to  Amer- 
ica, and  among  theiu 
John  King,  who  in 
1770  preached  the 
first  Methodist  ser- 
mon  ever  delivered 

in  Baltimore.  His  first  sermon  was  deliveied  from  a 
blacksmith's  block  at  the  corner  of  Front  and  French 
(Bath)  Streets,  where  he  met  with  great  success.  He 
next  took  his  stand  on  a  table  on  the  corner  of  Balti- 
more and  Calvert  Streets.  It  is  related  that  on  one 
occasion,  "  it  being  a  general  training-day  of  the 
militia,  many  of  whom  were  intoxicated,  —  this 
drunken  rabble  being  among  the  congregation, — took 
it  into  their  heads  to  annoy  the  preacher,  upset  the 
table,  and  landed  the  speaker  on  the  ground."  The 
captain  of  the  company  saved  the  preacher  from 
further  insult.  He  was  afterwards  invited  to  preach 
in  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  church,  where,  it  is  said,  "  he 
made  the  dust  fly  from  the  old  velvet  cushion"  of 
the  pulpit.  John  King  was  the  man  to  whom  Mr. 
Wesley  gave  the  advice:  "Scream  no  more  at  the 
peril  of  your  soul.  It  is  said  of  our  Lord,  '  He  shall 
not  cry ;'  the   word  properly  means   '  He  shall  not 

1  The  sketches  of  the  churches  of  B;iltiniore  would  have  been  more 
complefe  had  the  interest  showu  by  their  pastors  been  greater.  Every 
effort  was  made  to  cbtaiu  full  and  accurate  accounts  from  official  sources, 
but  scarcely  more  than  a  dozen  replies  were  received  to  nearly  four  hun- 
dred communications  addressed  personally  to  the  ministers  in  charge. 
The  various  church  histories  bad,  therefore,  to  be  compiled  from  sucb 
materials  as  could  be  obtained  witliout  tlie  co-operation  of  those  who 
should  have  been  the  first  to  render  aid.  To  this  tliere  were  several  ex- 
ceptions, among  them  notably  Rev.  Dr.  Bitting,  to  whom  the  author  is 
greatly  indebted  for  important  material  in  connection  with  the  Baptist 
Churches. 


574 


HISTORY   OP  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


scream.'"  He  asked  for  the  use  of  St.  Paul's  a 
second  time,  but  being  refused,  he  preached  to  the 
people  from  the  sidewalk  as  they  came  out  of  the 
church.'  It  would  seem  that  the  first  to  open  his 
house  to  the  new  preaclier  was  "  an  Irishman  called 
Capt.  Patton,  at  Fell's  Point,"  in  1772.  When  his 
"  house  was  too  small  to  hold  the  hearers,  a  sail-loft 
at  the  corner  of  Mills  and  Block  Streets,  was  occupied. 
The  same  year  Mr.  William  Moore,  of  Baltimore 
Town,  opened  his  house,  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
AVater  and  South  Streets,  for  preaching ;  also  Mrs. 
Triplett,  a  member  of  the  German  Reformed  Church, 
opened  her  dwelling,  at  the  corner  of  Baltimore  Street 
and  Triplett's  Alley"  (now  Post-Office  Avenue).  Mr. 
Asbury's  first  visit  to  Baltimore  was  about  the  middle 
of  November,  1772.  He  came  in  company  with  John 
King,  and  stayed  all  night,  but  says  nothing  of 
preaching  by  either  of  them.  On  Saturday,  28th  of 
the  same  month,  he  says,  "  I  preached  at  the  Point, 
the  first  time.  Lord's  day,  30th.  I  rode  to  the  Point, 
and  after  preaching  to  a  large  congregation,  returned 
to  town  and  dined  with  William  Moore.  I  preached 
in  town  both  at  three  and  six  o'clock."  About  No- 
vember, 1773,  Mr.  Asbury,  assisted  by  Jesse  Holling.s- 
worth,  George  Wells,  Richard  Moale,  George  Robin- 
son, and  John  Woodward,  purchased  (at  five  shil- 
lings) the  lot  sixty  feet  on  Strawberry  Alley  (now  Dal- 
las Street),  and  seventy-five  feet  on  Fleet  Street,  for 
a  house  of  worship,  and  erected  a  brick  church,  Mr. 
Asbury  laying  the  corner-stone.  The  date  of  its 
completion  is  not  known,  but  when  finished  it  was  at- 
tended by  people  from  all  parts  of  the  town,  as  far  as 
Light  Street,  and  from  the  country  round  about.  The 
church  was  in  what  was  then  the  court  section  of  the 
town,  and  near  there,  on  Block  Street,  it  is  said,  the 
nuptials  of  the  young  Bonaparte  and  the  beautiful 
Baltimorean,  Miss  Patterson,  were  celebrated.  The 
people  attending  the  church  brought  provisions  and 
stayed  all  day,  even  in  winter,  though  there  was  then 
no  fire  in  the  church  to  heat  it.  This  edifice  was  a 
large,  low  building  of  brick,  with  an  old-fashioned 
tub  pulpit  and  a  "sounding-board"  above  it.  On  the 
wall  behind  the  pulpit  was  a  wide  half-circle  of  blue, 
on  which,  in  letters  of  gold,  appeared  the  words, 
"Thou,  God,  seest  me."  In  1802  the  church  was 
given  to  a  colored  congregation,  by  which  it  was  oc- 
cupied until  1877,  the  white  congregation  removing 
to  the  Wilks  Street  church,  now  called  the  Eastern 
Avenue  church.  The  building  is  now  used  as  a 
colored  society  liall,  and  has  been  modified  within 
and  without. 

Lovely  Lane  Chapel  and  Light  Street  Church. 
— The  following  year  William  Moore  and  Philip 
Rogers  took  up  two  lots  of  ground  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  church  on  Lovely  Lane,  which   ran   imme- 


I  William  Walters,  born  in  Baltimore  County.  Oct  10,  1751,  was  tho 
first  native  American  who  became  a  regnlar  itinerant  Methodist 
preacher.  Kiclmrd  Owings,  also  of  Maryland,  wm  the  flrst  local  Metho- 
dist ijreaclier  of  American  birth  in  tliis  country. 


diately  south  of  Baltimore  Street,  near  the  present 
bed  of  German  Street,  extending   from  Calvert  to 
I  South   Street.     The   foundations    were   laid   on   the 
I  18th  of  April,  1774,  and  in   October  it  was  so  far 
completed  that  Capt.  Webb,  the  British  officer  and 
I  local  preacher,  delivered  the  first  sermon  in  it.     On 
the   21st  of  May,  1776,  the   fourth  Methodist   Con- 
ference held  in  the  country,  and  the  first  held  in  Bal- 
timore, met  in  the  Lovely  Lane  chapel,  and  it  is  said 
on   good   authority   was    composed   of    twenty-three 
itinerants.^      On   the   27th  of  December,   1784,  the 
thirteenth  Conference  of  the  Methodist  societies  of  the 
United  States  met  in  the  Lovely  Lane  meeting-house 
and  organized  the  "  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America;"  and  here  Rev.  Thomas 
Coke,  LL.D.,  ordained  Rev.  Francis  Asbury,  the  first 
bishop  of  the  church  in  America.     It  appears  that 
the  chapel  was  "  refitted  up  for  this  important  convo- 
cation ;   some  of  the  seats,  which  before  were  only 
common  benches,  had  backs  put  to  them,  a  gallery 
was  put  in,  and  for  the  first  time  it  had  a  stove  in  it 
to  warm  it."     While  this  Conference  was  in  ses.sion 
Rev.  Dr.  John  Andrews,  rector  of  St.  Thomas'  P.  E. 
parish,  in  Baltimore  County,  and  Rev.  Dr.  William 
West,  rector  of  St.  Paul's  P.  E.  parish  of  Baltimore, 
undertook    to    effect  a   reconciliation    between    the 
Methodist  and  Episcopal  bodies.     With  this  object 
Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  were  invited  by  Mr.  West 
to  tea,  and  they  came,  bringing  with  them  Mr.  Gough. 
"I  took  occasion,"  writes  Mr.  Andrews,  "to  observe 
that  we  had  seen  Mr.  Wesley's  letter  to  Dr.  Coke  and 
Mr.  Asbury,  as  also  a  book  entitled  '  The  Sunday  Ser- 
vice of  the  Methodists.'  "   Dr.  Andrews  then  followed 
this  remark  with  statements  respecting  the  hopes  en- 
tertained with  regard  to  these  gentlemen, — there  being 
"  no  real  difference  between  us," — and  the  plan  of 
church  government  recently  adopted  by  the  Episco- 
pal Convention  at  Annapolis,  and  asked  "what  oc- 
casion there  could  be  for  a  separation  from  us  on  the 
score  of  church  government?"     Mr.  Asbury  replied 
that  "  the  difference  between  us  lay  not  so  much  in 
I  doctrines  and  forms  of  worship,  as  in   experience  and 
'  practice."     But  neither  of  them  would  accede  to  the 
suggestions  there  made.   A  day  or  two  afterwards  Dr. 
'  Andrews  called  on  Dr.  Coke  at  his  lodgings  to  urge 
1  on  him  once  more  the  union  of  the  two  churches, 
but  found   that  "  the   contempt   and   aversion  with 
i  which   the   Methodists  had  always  been  treated  in 
.  England"  and  in  this  country  was  an  effectual  bar  in 
the  way  of   the  accomplishment  of   his   purposes. 
Thus  ended  this  effort  to  effect  a  reconciliation  be- 
I  tween  the  Methodist  and  Episcopal  Churches.     The 
I  rapid  growth  of  Methodism  soon  rendered  the  Lovely 
!  Lane  chapel  too  small  to  accommodate  its  congrega- 

2  The  Annual  Conferences  of  1773, 1774,  aud.1775  were  held  in  Phila- 
delphia, but  from  that  period  onward,  until  the  organization  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the  Conferences  wore  held  in  Baltimore, 
and  it  was  recognized  aa  the  central  point  of  Methodism.  Alter  the 
General  "  OhriBlmas  Conference"  of  1784  every  General  Conference  mot 
in  Baltimore  until  1811!. 


KELIGIGUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


575 


tion,  aud  arrangements  were  made  to  erect  the  first 
Light  Street  church  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Light 
Street  and  Wine  Alley.  The  building  was  accord- 
ingly commenced  in  August,  1785,  being  forty-six 
feet  front  by  seventy  deep.  On  May  21,  1786,  the 
church  was  dedicated  to  worship  by  Bishop  Asbury. 
There  was  a  sort  of  parsonage  or  preacher's  house 
adjoining  the  church,  which  Bishop  Asbury  and 
others  frequently  occupied.  The  subject  of  liberal 
education  engaged  the  attention  of  Bishops  Coke  and 
Asbury  and  their  early  fellow-laborers,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  Conference  in  1785  "  a  plan  for  erecting 
a  college,  intended  to  advance  religion  in  America, 
to  be  presented  to  the  principal  members  and  friends 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  was  decided  on 
and  signed  by  the  two  superintendents.  A  site  was 
selected  in  Abingdon,  Harford  Co.,  Md.,  and  the  two 
superintendents  called  the  college  when  finished, 
after  their  own  names,  "  Cokesbury  College."  On 
the  8th,  9th,  and  10th  of  December,  1787,  the  college 
was  opened,  and  Mr.  Asbury  preached  each  day.  On 
the  4th  of  December,  1795,  the  college  was  destroyed 
by  fire.  The  Methodists  of  Baltimore  rallied  to  the 
relief  of  the  church,  and  a  large  assembly  or  ball- 
room on  the  corner  opposite  the  first  Light  Street 
church  was  purchased  and  the  college  reopened 
under  favorable  auspices.  A  sad 'trial,  however, 
awaited  both  the  church  and  college. 

On  the  4th  of  December,  1796,  while  the  pastor, 
Eev.  Henry  Willis,  was  conducting  the  funeral  ser- 
vices of  Patrick  Calvin,  a  fire,  originating  in  a  neigh- 
boring building,  spread  to  the  church,  which  with 
the  college  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  was 
totally  destroyed.  The  erection  of  a  new  church  was 
at  once  determined  upon,  aud  a  lot  was  obtained 
from  Daniel  Grant  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Light 
Street  and  Wine  Alley,  and  on  the  29th  of  October, 
1797,  the  new  Light  Street  church  was  dedicated  by 
Bishop  Asbury.  In  1787-88  Methodism  greatly  in- 
creased in  Baltimore,  and  a  plan  was  adopted  of 
preaching  in  the  Lexington  Market,  on  Howard's 
Hill,  every  Sunday  afternoon  after  the  services  in  the 
churches  were  over.  Kev.  Jesse  Lee  preached  at 
these  places  as  well  as  on  the  Point  frequently  at  this 
period,  and  his  labors  were  crowned  with  marked 
success.  According  to  the  "  minutes  of  the  Methodist 
Conferences,"  the  preachers  stationed  in  Baltimore 
during  the  period  between  1773  and  1775  were  the 
following:  1773,  Francis  Asbury,  Robert  Strawbridge, 
Abraham  Whitworth,  Joseph  Yearley  ;  1774,  George 
Shadford,  Edward  Drumgole,  Richard  Webster, 
Robert  Lindsay ;  1775,  Martin  Rodder,  Richard 
Owings,  John  Wade. 

Charles  Street  M.  E.  Church.— In  1869  it  was  found 
necessary  to  remove  Light  Street  church  to  make  way 
for  the  extension  of  German  Street,  and  on  the  23d 
■of  September  a  series  of  closing  services  were  held  in 
the  old  building.  Shortly  afterwards  the  congregation 
purchased  the  Charles   Street  Methodist    Episcopal 


church,  northeast  corner  of  Charles  and  Fayette 
Streets,  and  the  parsonage  on  Eutaw  Street,  for  the 
sum  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars. 
The  pastor  of  the  former  is  Rev.  J.  B.  Stitt. 

The  presiding  elders  of  the  church  in  Baltimore 
in  1881  are:  Baltimore  District,  W.  S.  Edwards;  East 
Baltimore  District,  W.  H.  Chapman  ;  and  West  Bal- 
timore District,  Job  A.  Price. 

Exeter  Street  M.  E.  Church  was  organized  in  1789, 
and  a  place  of  worship  erected  on  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent edifice  in  the  same  year.  It  was  originally  known 
as  the  Green  Street  church,  Exeter  Street  formerly 
bearing  the  name  of  Green  Street.  In  1850  it  was 
determined  to  replace  the  old  structure  with  one  of  a 
more  commodious  and  modern  character,  and  on  the 
16th  of  July  of  that  year  the  corner-stone  of  the  pres- 
ent edifice,  Exeter  Street  near  Gay,  was  laid.  On  the 
5th  of  October,  1851,  the  building  was  dedicated,  the 
pulpit  during  the  day  and  evening  being  occupied  by 
Bishop  James,  Eev.  Dr.  Durhin,  and  Rev.  Henry 
Slicer.  In  1876  the  church  had  a  membership  of 
three  hundred  and  eleven,  and  a  Sunday-school  of 

i  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  scholars.    Rev.  A.  S.  Hank 
is  the  present  pastor. 
East  Baltimore  M.  E.  Church,  on  Eastern  Avenue, 

j  east  of  Bond  Street,  was  built  in  1802  by  the  congre- 

!  gation  of  the  old  Dallas  Street  church,  and  was  for 
many  years  known  as  Wilks  Street  church.  In  1861 
it  was  remodeled  and  improved  and  its  name  changed 
to  the  Eastern  Aveuue  church,  under  which  title  it  was 
reopened  on  the  25tli  of  April  of  that  year.    Rev.  J.  R. 

i  Wheeler  is  the  present  pastor. 

Madison  Square  M.  E.  Church.— The  corner-stone 
of  Madison  Square  church,  northeast  corner  of  Caro- 
line and  Eager  Streets,  was  laid  on  the  13th  of  June, 
1866,  and  the  building  was  dedicated  June  9,  1867. 
Rev.  Richard  Norris  is  the  present  pastor. 

Eutaw  Street  M.  E.  Church,  on  Eutaw  above  Mul- 
berry Street,  was  commenced  in  1807,  and  the  following 
persons  were  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions:  Owen 
Dorsey,  N.  Hussey,  Walter  Simpson,  John  Baxley, 
William  Hawkins,  Isaac  Burneston,  Jesse  Hollings- 
worth,  Rev.  George  Roberts,  and  Rev.  Michael  Coats. 
The  building  was  completed  in  1808,  and  dedicated 
by  Bishop  Asbury.  The  building  stood  on  the  present 
site,  but  in  the  rear  of  the  lot,  with  a  large  yard  in 
front.  In  1853  the  present  large  front  was  added  to 
the  rear  building,  giving  ample  space  below  on  the 
ground-floor  for  class-rooms,  and  a  large  lecture-room, 
with  a  fine  Sunday-school  room,  over  these.  This  im- 
provement made  Eutaw  Street  church  at  that  time 
the  most  complete  ecclesiastical  edifice  in  the  city  in 
its  appointments  and  arrangements.  Beneath  its  pul- 
pit for  years  rested  the  remains  of  Bishops  Asbury 
and  Emory,  and  though  they  have  been  removed  to 
the  preachers'  lot  in  Mount  Olivet  Cemetery,  the 
tablet  with  its  dates  and  inscriptions  still  occupies  its 
place  in  the  rear  of  the  church.  A  marble  pulpit 
has  replaced  the  original  pulpit,  which,  however,  is 


576 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


still  retained  in  tlie  possession  of  the  church  as  a  val- 
uable relic,  and  is  a  splendid  specimen  of  woodwork 
and  upholstery.  Up  to  1869  the  church  was  part  of 
the  old  city  station,  but  in  that  year  was  made  a  sepa- 
rate charge,  with  Rev.  John  S.  Inskip  as  pastor,  who 
served  until  1871.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Dr.  A. 
H.  Ames,  who  was  followed  in  1874  by  Rev.  Dr.  W. 
H.  HoUiday,  who  served  until  1877.  Rev.  Dr.  J. 
McReiily  succeeded  Dr.  Holliday,  and  was  followed 
in  1879  by  the  present  pastor.  Rev.  Dr.  W.  B.  Edwards. 
15cfore  1809  the  cliurch  was  served  by  the  pastors  of 
the  city  station. 

Whatcoat  M.  E.  Church.— The  congregation  of 
this  cliurch  was  organized  in  1833,  and  Whatcoat 
chaiiel,  North  Fremont  Street,  near  Pennsylvania 
Avenue,  was  built  the  same  year.  April  4,  1870,  the 
corner-stone  of  Whatcoat  church,  corner  Strieker 
and  Presstman  Streets,  was  laid.  Among  other  things 
placed  in  the  corner-stone  was  a  piece  of  Bishop 
Whalcdat's  coffin,  the  fragment  having  been  brought 
frciin  Havre  de  Grace,  where  he  is  buried.  On  the 
14th  of  May,  1871,  the  church  was  dedicated  by 
Bishop  Ames,  assisted  by  a  number  of  other  minis- 
ters. On  the  21st  of  March,  1872,  the  chapel  was 
o|)Pned  as  a  mission  of  St.  Peter's  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.     Rev.  A.  E.  Gibson  is  the  pastor. 

Mount  Vernon  M.  E.  Church.— The  congregation 
of  this  church  was  an  offshoot  from  the  old  Light 
Street  Church,  the  younger  members  of  which  de- 
siring more  commodious  quarters  a  separation  took 
place,  and  a  new  church  was  organized  on  the  13th 
of  April,  1843.  At  this  meeting  the  following  per- 
sons were  chosen  trustees :  Comfort  Tiffany,  Joshua 
Dryden,  Wm.  McConkey,  Thomas  E.  Bond,  Joseph 
C.  Wilson,  Chapin  A.  Harris,  and  Joshua  Royston. 
A  charter  was  obtained  shortly  afterwards,  and  the 
erection  of  the  church,  northeast  corner  of  Charles 
and  Fayette  Streets,  was  begun,  the  lot  having  been 
purchased  in  1840.  On  the  Itith  of  May,  1843,  the 
corner-stone  was  laid  by  Bishop  Waugh,  and  on  the 
2r)th  of  March,  1844,  the  church  was  dedicated  by 
Rev.  Joshua  Soule,  senior  bishop  of  the  denomination. 
The  building  committee  were  Comfort  Tiffany,  Job 
Smith,  Joshua  Dryden,  James  Williams,  and  John 
Hurst.  Jacob  Woll  was  architect  and  builder.  The 
sale  of  pews  took  place  on  March  21,  1844,  when  the 
first  choice  was  purchased  at  a  premium  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars  by  Col.  Cowles,  who  selected 
pew  47.  In  1869  the  Light  Street  congregation  made 
an  offer  of  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  dollars  for 
the  church  and  parsonage,  and  on  the  6th  of  July 
this  offer  was  accepted.  Among  the  pastors  were 
Rev.  Edwin  Dorsey,  John  M.  Jones,  W.  B.  Edwards, 
G.  A.  Coffin,  Thomas  B.  Sargent,  Wm.  Hurst,  Jr., 
Littleton  J.  Morgan,  B.  F.  Brooke,  R.  L.  Dashiell, 
John  S.  Martin,  W.  T.  Ward,  Thomas  Sewell,  An- 
drew Longacre,  and  Thomas  M.  Eddy.  The  Sunday- 
school  was  commenced  May  26,  1844,  and  formally 
opened  Sunday,  June  2d,  with  thirty-nine  boys  and 


thirty -one  girls.  Alfred  Cookraan  was  the  first  teacher 
enrolled,  and  among  the  other  teachers  were  Mrs.  A. 
Childs,  Miss  Elizabeth  McConkey,  Miss  Childs,  Miss 
Longston,  James  A.  Longston,  A.  Childs,  Edward  T. 
Owens,  John  O.  Reid,  John  Howard,  and  F.  G.  Waters. 
The  first  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school  was 
George  Boughman,  and  he  was  followed  by  Joshua 
Royston,  C.  R.  Fite,  R.  M.  Lockwood,  John  Thomas 
Smith,  and  B.  F.  Parlett.  After  the  sale  of  the  edi- 
fice, northeast  corner  of  Charles  and  Fayette  Streets, 
a  fine  site  was  purchased  on  the  northeast  corner  of 
Charles  and  Monument  Streets,  and  preparations 
commenced  for  the  erection  of  a  new  church.  On 
the  26th  of  September,  1870,  the  corner-stone  of  the 
present  Mount  Vernon  church  was  laid,  and  on  the 
21st  of  November,  1872,  the  magnificent  structure 
was  formally  dedicated.  The  building  committee 
under  whose  supervision  the  church  was  erected 
were  Dr.  Eddy,  chairman;  John  Hurst,  senior 
member,  by  whom  the  delivery  to  the  trustees  was 
made  at  the  dedication ;  Edward  Roberts,  Henry  C. 
Smith,  Jacob  H.  Taylor,  Dr.  H.  M.  Wilson,  W.  H. 
Heald,  J.  S.  Berry,  and  B.  F.  Parlett.  The  trustees 
of  the  church  at  that  time  were  L.  L.  Parker,  W.  B. 
Hill,  W.  G.  Goslin,  E.  W.  Roberts,  Alexander  Rob- 
inson, James  Owens,  Dr.  B.  H.  Bull,  C.  P.  Stevens, 
and  R.  Stocket  Matthews.  The  value  of  the  church 
property  is  about  $350,000.  Rev.  Thomas  Guard  is 
the  present  pastor. 

Causeway  Mission  M.  E.  Church,  on  Eastern 
Avenue,  was  built  by  the  Causeway  Mission  Society, 
and  was  dedicated  on  the  30th  of  January,  1853. 

Emory  M.  E.  Church. — The  corner-stone  of  Emory 
M.  E.  Church,  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  north  of  Hoff- 
man Street,  was  laid  on  the  2d  of  September,  1844.  by 
Rev.  J.  P.  Durwin,  assisted  by  Rev.  J.  A.  Collins. 
The  ground  on  which  the  church  stands  was  donated 
by  John  Zimmerman.  The  architect  was  Jacob  Wall, 
and  the  building  committee  were  Messrs.  Comfort 
Tiffany,  C.  Abell,  Aaron  Hoffman,  R.  Brunt,  J.  Craft, 
A.  B.  Conine,  E.  Tucker,  John  Zimmerman,  and 
John  Scott.     The  pastor  is  Rev.  Samuel  Shannon. 

Broadway  M.  E.  Church  (German)  was  organ- 
ized in  1844  by  Rev.  A.  Miller.  The  first  location  of 
the  church  edifice  was  on  the  corner  of  Lombard  and 
Bond  Streets.  The  corner-stone  of  that  building  was 
laid  on  the  10th  of  October,  1844,  and  the  edifice 
dedicated  by  Bishop  Waugh  on  the  26th  of  January, 
1845.  In  September,  1849,  the  board  of  trustees  sold 
the  building  to  Rev.  Robert  Piggott  for  the  purpose 
of  an  Episcopal  Church,  and  removed  to  Ann  Street, 
south  of  Eastern  Avenue.  On  the  5th  of  June,  1S54, 
the  corner-stone  of  the  present  church,  Broadway, 
near  Bank  Street,  was  laid,  and  the  lecture-room  was 
dedicated  in  the  latter  part  of  November  of  the  same 
year.  The  completed  edifice  was  dedicated  on  the 
22d  of  April,  1855. 

Fayette  Street  M.  E.  Church.— The  corner-stone 
of  Fayette  Street  church,  on  Fayette  Street,  east  of 


11,  Everts,  PnbliBhor. 


MOUNT   VERNON    PLACE    M.    E.    CHURCH, 
BALTIMORE,    MD. 


EELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


Fremont,  was  laid  Sept.  3,  1833,  and  the  edifice  was 
completed  and  dedicated  in  October,  1834.  Rev. 
John  Lanahan  is  the  present  pastor. 

Madison  Avenue  M.  E.  Church.— The  corner- 
stone of  Madison  Avenue  church,  southeast  corner  of 
Madison  Avenue  and  Townsend  Streets,  was  laid  on 
the  1st  of  July,  1857,  by  Bishop  Waugh.  The  base- 
ment was  occupied  in  December,  1858,  and  the  church 
dedicated  by  Bishop  Simpson  on  the  22d  of  May, 
1859.  The  building  committee  was  composed  of 
Messrs.  Charles  J.  Baker,  Samuel  Harris,  David  Tay- 
lor, Francis  A.  Crook,  David  E.  Thomas,  John  Bran- 
nan,  Siilomon  Allen,  and  Philip  Hiss.  The  pastor 
is  licv.  H.  R.  Naylor. 

Seamen's  Union  Bethel.— The  first  meeting  to  or- 
ganize a  Seamen's  Bethel  was  held  in  1823,  when  the 
following  officers  were  elected  :  James  H.  McCuUoh, 
president;  Thomas  Tenant,  captain;  Arch.  Kerr, 
Alexander  Fridge,  and  Capt.  James  Gibson,  vice- 
jiresidents;  James  Brundige,  treasurer;  O.  Kellogg, 
secretary ;  Capt.  William  Graham,  Talbot  Jones,  John 
Clark,  Isaiah  Mankin,  James  Corner,  and  others,  di- 
rectors. The  first  chaplain  was  Rev.  Stephen  Wil- 
liams, who  served  from  1823  to  1836.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  Rev.  John  Smith,  Rev.  Hezekiah  Best,  Rev. 
E.  E.  Allen,  Rev.  Reuben  Sewal,  Rev.  Gideon  Day, 
Rev.  Henry  Furlong,  Rev.  Henry  Slicer,  and  Rev. 
Francis  Macatney.  Rev.  C.  McElfresh  is  the  present 
chaplain.  The  first  regular  meeting,  by  Rev.  Stephen 
Williams,  was  held  in  a  sail-loft  on  Pratt  Street. 
Afterwards  services  were  held  in  a  room  belonging  to 
Capt.  Frazier,  on  Fell's  Point.  The  first  Bethel 
church  was  built  in  182(5  in  Philpot  (now  Block) 
Street,  not  far  from  the  bridge.  The  corner-stone  of 
the  present  church,  corner  of  Aliceanna  and  Bethel 
Streets,  was  laid  July  22,  1844,  Rev.  H.  Best,  chap- 
lain, through  whose  efforts  it  was  erected.  It  was 
dedicated  Feb.  23,  1845.  The  old  church  in  Philpot 
Street  was  torn  down,  and  other  edifices  erected  on 
its  site.  The  first  Sunday-school  and  Bible  class  were 
organized  in  1829,  and  still  form  an  important  part  of 
the  work.  Mr.  James  Brundige  was  treasurer  for 
thirty-nine  years.  Its  present  officers  are  Capt.  Alex- 
ander Jones,  president ;  C.  Morton  Stewart,  George 
Corner,  Charles  H.  Mercer,  vice-presidents ;  George 
Sanders,  secretary ;  Thomas  V.  Brundige,  treasurer. 
Among  its  directors  are  Thomas  Whitridge,  Charles 
J.  Baker,  Charles  H.  Mercer,  Benjamin  F.  Parlett, 
Grenville  Lord,  E.  D.  Bigelow,  C.  Morton  Stewart, 
Rev.  George  J.  Zimmerman,  F.  W.  Heath,  Lewis 
Cassard,  Capt.  L.  P.  Baldwin,  and  William  H.  Craw- 
ford. 

Connected  with  the  work  is  a  "Society  for  the  Re- 
lief of  Widows  and  Orphans  of  Seamen,"  which  was 
organized  almost  as  early  as  the  Bethel  itself.  It 
consists  of  a  board  of  twenty  ladies  of  the  different 
religious  denominations,  and  has  on  its  rolls  the 
names  of  about  forty  beneficiaries.  Mrs.  Capt.  Cof- 
fin is  the  president  of  the  society. 


Columbia  Street  M.  E.  Church.— The  first  church 
edifice  was  erected  in  1840.     On  the  24th  of  April, 
1843,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  edifice,  on  Co- 
lumbia Street,  east  of  Fremont,  was  laid  by  Bishop 
Waugh,  and  on  the  11th  of  February,  1844,  the  build- 
ing was  dedicated  by  the  same  bishop.     Rev.  J.  St.  C. 
O'Neale  is  the  pastor. 
Harford  Avenue  M.  E.  German  Chapel  is  a 
[  mission  of  the  Broadway  German  Church,  and  is  sit- 
I  uated  on  the  corner  of  Harford  Avenue  and  Federal 
j  Street.     The  corner-stone  of  the  chapel  was  laid  Aug. 
5,  1873,  and  it  was  dedicated  on  the  5th  of  October  of 
'  the  same  year. 

The  Sailors'  City  Bethel  had  its  origin  in  the  Sea- 
men's Floating  Bethel,  established  on  the  time-hon- 
ored old  ship  "William  Penn"  in  1846,  which  was 
specially  fitted  up  for  its  new  purpose,  and  dedicated 
on  the  11th  of  October  in  that  year.  Rev.  D.  H. 
Switzer  was  its  first  pastor.  In  1852  the  Floating 
Bethel  was  abandoned,  and  a  Sailors'  Bethel  was 
j  erected  on  Lee  Street,  near  Light.  This  building  be- 
coming unavailable,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present 
Bethel,  on  Hill  Street,  between  Charles  and  Light 
Streets,  was  laid  on  the  29th  of  October,  1868,  and  the 
lecture-room  was  dedicated  on  the  18th  of  April,  1869. 
Franklin  Street  M.  E.  Church,  on  Franklin  Street, 
near  Fremont,  was  dedicated  on  the  14th  of  November, 
1841.  On  the  24th  of  March,  1851,  the  corner-stone 
of  the  present  edifice,  Franklin  and  Poppleton  Streets, 
was  laid,  the  chapel  having  been  sold  to  the  school 
commissioners  for  a  primary  school.  On  the  24th  of 
August,  1851,  the  basement  was  dedicated,  and  on  the 
18th  of  June,  1854,  the  whole  building  was  dedicated 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Tiffany,  of  Dickinson  College.  The 
building  committee  was  composed  of  Messrs.  Benja- 
min Darby,  James  Peregoy,  David  Carson,  Jr.,  Isaac 
Mules,  S.  T.  W.  Daily,  Elijah  Hughes,  and  Benjamin 
Bigham.  Rev.  G.  W.  Cooper  is  the  pastor. 
Chester  Street  M.  E.  Church,  corner  Chester  and 
j  Orleans  Streets,  was  organized  in  May,  1857.  A  lot 
was  donated  by  William  Patterson,  and  a  chapel, 
called  Fairmount  Chapel,  was  built  and  dedicated, 
October,  1857,  by  Rev.  H.  Slicer,  D.D.  This  chapel 
was  removed  in  1871  and  a  larger  one  erected,  called 
"Patterson  Chapel,"  which  was  dedicated  on  the  11th 
of  June  in  that  year.  In  1877  the  chapel  was  en- 
larged and  an  addition  erected,  the  corner-stone  of 
which  was  laid  in  September  of  that  year.  The 
church  was  incorporated  April  24,  1878.  It  has  a 
membership  of  over  four  hundred.  The  first  pastor 
was  Rev.  S.  L.  M.  Couser,  who  was  followed  by  Rev. 
I  P.  B.  Reese,  Rev.  C.  H.  Smith,  Rev.  H.  France,  and 
j  Rev.  J.  P.  Wilson.     Rev.  Henry  Nice  is  its  present 

pastor. 
j     Light  Street  German  M.  E.  Church,  on  Light 
I  Street,  above  West,  was  dedicated  on  the  3d  of  August, 
I  1873.     The  congregation  was  organized  in  1868. 

Union  Square  M.  E.  Church.— The  site  of  Union 
'  Square  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  southwest  corner 


578 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  Lombard  and  Calhoun  Streets,  was  donated  in  1853 
by  the  Messrs.  Donnell  to  the  Fayette  Street  station 
for  the  erection  of  a  church,  and  on  the  26th  of  Sep- 
tember of  that  year  the  corner-stone  of  the  edifice 
was  laid  by  Rev.  John  A.  Gere,  assisted  by  Rev.  J. 
McKendree  Reilly  and  Rev.  Isaac  P.  Cook.  The 
basement  of  the  churcli  was  dedicated  on  the  28th  of 
May,  1854,  and  the  completed  edifice  was  dedicated 
on  Sunday,  March  4,  18.55,  Bishop  Waugh  conducting  1 
prayer,  with  sermons  by  Bishop  Janes,  Rev.  John  I 
Baer,  and  Rev.  Tliomas  B.  Sergeant.  The  stationed 
preachers.  Rev.  John  A.  Gere  and  Rev.  Thomas  M. 
Reese,  also  assisted  in  the  exercises.  The  church  was 
built  under  the  auspices  of  the  Fayette  Street  station. 
The  building  committee  were  Messrs.  James  Peregoy, 
John  M.  Buck,  Matthew  Gault,  Benjamin  F.  Darby, 
and  Thomas  Harvey.  Before  the  erection  of  the 
church  the  congregation  had  worshiped  in  a  small 
school-house  in  Republican  Street.  The  first  pastor 
was  Rev.  Thomas  Sevvell.  Under  the  pastorate  of 
Rev.  Joseph  France  the  most  noted  revival  ever  held 
in  Baltimore  occurred  in  the  church,  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  the  celebrated  revivalist,  Rev.  Thomas 
Harrison.  The  revival  continued  for  more  than  five 
months,  and  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  a  thousand 
persons,  about  five  hundred  of  whom  connected  tliem- 
selves  with  the  Union  Square  Church.  The  edifice 
will  seat  about  nine  hundred  persons,  but  is  not  large 
enough  for  the  present  congregation.  The  present 
pastor  is  Rev.  G.  G.  Baker. 

Strawbridge  M.  E.  Church.— The  corner-stone  of 
Strawbridge  churcli,  northeast  corner  of  Riddle  Street 
and  Linden  Avenue,  was  laid  Sept.  4, 1845.  The  edi- 
fice was  completed  and  dedicated  in  November,  1848. 
It  was  erected  under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  society  formerly  known  as  the  "  Howard 
Street  Station."     Rev.  J.  F.  Goucher  is  the  pastor. 

High  Street  M.  E.  Church.— The  corner-stone  of 
High  Street  church,  corner  of  High  and  Stiles  Streets, 
was  laid  June  12,  1843,  and  the  building  was  dedi- 
cated June  2,  1844.     Rev.  E.  D.  Owen  is  the  pastor. 

WiUiam  Street  M.  E.  Church.— The  first  church 
edifice  was  purchased  in  1834.  On  the  11th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1850,  tlie  corner-stone  of  the  present  edifice, 
on  the  site, of  the  old,  southwest  corner  of  William 
and  Little  Church  Streets,  was  laid,  and  the  building 
was  dedicated  on  the  22d  of  June,  1851.  Rev.  R.  W. 
Black  is  the  present  pastor. 

Pennsylvania  Avenue  M.  E.  Church  (German). 
— This  church,  southeast  corner  of  Pennsylvania  Ave- 
nue and  Mosher  Street,  was  founded  in  1847  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Brenner,  and  the  erection  of  the  church 
building  was  begun  in  1848.  On  the  26th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1848,  the  basement  was  dedicated,  and  on  Dec. 
9,  1849,  the  entire  edifice  was  dedicated.  It  was 
formerly  known  as  the  Western  German  Mission.  In 
1873  the  old  building  was  removed,  and  on  August  4th 
of  that  year  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  structure 
was  laid.     The  edifice  was  dedicated  March  1,  1874.      1 


Eutaw  Zion's  M.  E.  Chapel.— The  corner  stone  of 
this  chapel,  Fremont  and  Eutaw  Streets,  was  laid  on 
the  19th  of  April,  1874,  and  the  chapel  was  dedi- 
cated on  the  7th  of  June  of  the  same  year.  The 
congregation  formed  a  part  of  the  old  Zion  Church, 
corner  of  Howard  and  Hill  Streets. 

Greenmount  Avenue  M.  E.  Church,  on  the  north- 
west corner  of  Greenmount  Avenue  and  Eager  Street, 
was  dedicated  on  the  l!)th  of  February,  1860.  Rev. 
Win.  E.  Bird  is  the  jiiistor. 

Monument  Street  M.  E.  Church,  at  the  corner  of 
Monument  and  Stirling  Streets,  was  built  in  1834. 
Tlie  pastor  is  Rev.  Wm.  T.  L.  Weech. 

Jefferson  Street  M.  E.  Church  was  originally  a 
branch  of  the  Caroline  Street  station.  Jefferson  Street 
chapel,  on  Jefferson  Street,  a  short  distance  east  of 
Caroline,  was  built  in  1844,  and  dedicated  on  the  23d 
of  June  of  that  year  by  Rev.  Henry  Slicer.  On  the 
31st  of  August,  1854,  the  corner-stone  of  I  lie  edifice, 
southeast  corner  of  Bond  and  Jefferson  Srru.'ts,  was 
laid  by  Bishop  Waugli,  and  a  portion  of  it  dedicated 
in  December  of  the  same  year  by  Bishop  Simpson. 
Rev.  B.  G.  W.  Reid  is  the  present  pastor. 

Huntingdon  Avenue  M.  E.  Church.- Tlie  erec- 
tion of  this  church,  corner  of  Huntingdon  and  Mary- 
land Avenues,  was  begun  in  1860,  and  the  lecture- 
room  vva.s  dedicated  on  the  14th  of  April,  1861.  The 
church  proper  was  not  dedicated  until  Oct.  7,  1866. 
The  ground  on  which  the  church  stands  was  donated 
by  Messrs.  Robert  G.  Ware  and  Samuel  Sumwalt. 
The  building  committee  was  composed  of  Messrs. 
Henry  Bell,  Philip  Hanson  Hiss,  Henry  Shirk,  Samuel 
Bratt,  Wm.  A.  Monroe,  and  Joseph  Merryman.  Rev. 
C.  W.  Baldwin  is  the  present  pastor. 

Fort  McHenry  M.  E.  Church.— In  18.50  a  soldiers' 
chapel  was  built  at  Fort  McHenry,  which  was  dedi- 
cated on  the  17th  of  November  of  that  year.  Within 
the  last  few  years  a  church  has  taken  the  place  of 
the  chapel. 

Harford  Avenue  M.  E.  Church  had  its  origin  in 
a  Sunday-school  room  and  chapel,  the  corner-stone 
of  which  was  laid  on  the  18th  of  May,  1843.  On  the 
29th  of  May,  18.50,  the  corner-stone  of  the  church,  on 
the  corner  of  Harford  Avenue  and  Biddle  Streets, 
was  laid  by  Rev.  Joshua  Wills,  then  in  the  eighty- 
sixth  year  of  his  age  and  the  sixty-first  year  of  his 
ministry,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Smith,  then  in 
the  eighty -second  year  of  his  age  and  the  fifty-eighth 
year  of  his  ministry.  The  building  was  dedicated  on 
the  5th  of  January,  1851.  The  building  committee 
was  composed  of  Messrs.  Sterling  Thomas,  James  F. 
Purvis,  Samuel  McVey,  Abraham  Slicer,  and  E.  I. 
Church.  In  1874  the  building  was  remodeled  and 
the  corner-stone  taken  up  and  relaid.  Rev.  J.  J.  G. 
Webster  is  the  pastor. 

Hanover  Street  M.  E.  Church,  northwest  comer 
of  Hanover  and  Hamburg  Streets,  was  organized  in 
1857.  The  conici-stonc  was  laid  Dec.  31,  1857,  and 
the  church  was  dedicated  on  the  18th  of  April,  1858. 


KELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


In  1880  the  church  was  remodeled  and  enlarged  by 
the  addition  of  another  story.     Its  first  pastor  was  | 
Rev.  Thomas  M.  Carson,  and  he  was  followed  sue-  I 
cessively  by  Bevs.  Jno.  R.  Effingen,  W.  L.  Ward,  H. 
Macnamar,  J.  Sargant,  R.  R.  Murphy,  S.  H.  Cum-  1 
mings,  B.  G.  W.  Reid,  J.  Arnold,  Geo.  W.  Hyde,  J.  ' 
D.  Moore,  and  T.  L.  Poulson.     W.  Hirst  Reed  is  the 
present  pastor. 

Gilmor  Street  M.  E.  Church,  a  frame  structure, 
northeast  corner  of  Gilmor  and  Mulberry  Streets,  was 
dedicated  on  the  19th  of  December,  1875,  by  Bishops 
Ames.  In  1880  it  was  sold  to  a  colored  congregation, 
and  torn  down  in  the  early  part  of  1881. 

Appold  M.  E.  Chapel,  corner  of  Chase  and  Wash- 
ington Streets,  was  dedicated  Dec.  1, 1872,  by  Bishops 
Harris  and  Ames.  The  ground  on  which  the  chapel 
stands  was  donated  by  the  Messrs.  Appold.  Present 
pastor  is  Rev.  C.  E.  Young. 

Caroline  Street  M.  E.  Church,  Fell's  Point,  was 
completed  in  1819,  and  was  dedicated  on  the  11th  of 
April  of  that  year.  On  the  20th  of  September,  1857, 
the  corner-stone  of  the  Sunday-school  building  in 
the  rear  of  the  church  was  laid,  and  on  Sunday,  Jan. 
10,  1858,  the  edifice  was  formally  dedicated.  The 
sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  O.  H.  Tiffany.  Sunday 
afternoon,  April  22,  1860,  services  were  held  in  com- 
memoration of  the  recent  payment  of  the  church 
debt,  which  had  oppressed  the  congregation  for  many 
years.     Rev.  Joseph  France  is  the  present  pastor. 

Baltimore  City  Mission  M.  E.  Church,  under  the 
supervision  of  Rev.  S.  H.  Cummings,  is  designed  to 
reach  those  classes  who,  from  various  causes,  are  sel- 
dom or  never  brought  within  the  range  of  the  ordi- 
nary methods  of  church-work.  Its  object  is  to  gather 
into  Sunday-schools  and  churches  those  who  may  be 
willing  to  attend,  and  to  extend  assistance,  both  tem- 
poral and  s|iiiitii:il,  to  the  destitute  and  distressed.        j 

Wesley  Chapel  was  originally  part  of  what  was  | 
known  as  "  the  city  station,"  consisting  of  several 
churches,  of  which  Light  Street  was  the  head.     The 
exact  state  of  the  organization  of  the  congregation 
is  not  known.     The  first  church  building  was  on  the 
corner  of  Sharpe  and  Montgomery  Streets.     A  new 
church  was  built  in  1833  on  the  corner  of  Sharpe  and 
Barre  Streets,  and  the  old  building  given  to  a  colored 
congregation.     The  General  Conference  of  1840  was 
held  in  the  new  church,  which  in  1860  was  separated  | 
from  the  city  station  and  made  a  distinct  charge.     In  { 
1870   Wesley  chapel   was   rebuilt.     Since   1860  the  j 
church  has  had  as  its  pastors  Rev.  S.  V.  Blake,  I.  A. 
McCauley,  W.  H.  Chapman,  S.  A.  AVilson,  W.  Krebs, 
Edward  Kinsey,  W.  F.  Ward,  and  G.  W.  Cooper. 
Rev.  J.  F.  Ockerman  is  the  pastor. 

Grace  M.  E.  Church  was  organized  at  a  meeting 
held  Saturday  evening,  Oct.  10,  1868,  at  the  residence 
of  James  S.  Hagerty,  at  which  the  following  persons 
were  present :  J.  S.  Hagerty,  William  J.  Hooper, 
George  V.  Keene,  V.  V.  Klinefelter,  J.  Wesley  Krebs, 
Edward  F.  Brooks,  T.  S.  Clark,  Theodore  Mottu,  H. 


P.  Chandlee,  Rev.  Samuel  A.  Wilson,  Henry  W. 
Griffin,  Thomas  J.  Fluharty,  George  H.  Matthews, 
Rev.  William  H.  Loney,  Rev.  Mr.  Chaney,  Isaac 
Matthews,  and  Benjamin  W.  Corkran.  After  several 
further  meetings  a  lot  was  purchased  on  the  north- 
west corner  of  Townsend  (Lafayette  Avenue)  and 
Carrollton  Avenues,  and  the  erection  of  a  wooden 
chapel  commenced  on  the  26th  of  October,  which 
was  dedicated  on  the  31st  of  January,  1869.  The 
Sunday-school  was  organized  on  Sunday,  February 
7th,  with  James  S.  Hagerty  and  V.  V.  Klinefelter  as 
superintendents,  assisted  by  J.  Wesley  Krebs,  with 
thirty  teachers  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  scholars.  In 
the  spring  of  1869,  Rev.  W.  F.  Ward,  by  appointment 
of  the  Conference,  took  charge  of  the  chapel.  Sub- 
sequently another  lot  was  obtained  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  Lanvale  Street  and  Carrollton  Avenue,  and 
an  exchange  made  of  the  old  lot  as  a  part  of  the  pur- 
chase consideration.  A  new  stone  chapel  was  com- 
menced about  the  1st  of  August,  1871,  and  was  opened 
for  worship  on  the  16th  of  June,  1872,  under  the 
supervision  of  Rev.  E.  J.  Gray,  who  had  succeeded 
Mr.  Ward  in  the  spring  of  1872.  The  church  was 
formally  dedicated  on  the  following  Sunday,  Rev. 
William  F.  Ward  preaching  the  sermon.  The  build- 
ing committee  were  William  J.  Hooper,  chairman; 
J.  S.  Hagerty,  Thomas  J.  Fluharty,  Benjamin  W. 
Corkran,  and  V.  V.  Klinefelter.  In  the  spring  of 
1874,  Rev.  L.  B.  Carpenter  was  called  to  succeed  Mr. 
Gray.  On  October  26th  of  the  same  year  the  sum  of 
forty-five  thousand  dollars  was  subscribed  by  the 
congregation  for  the  erection  of  a  church,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  16th  of  November  following  John  A. 
Moss,  Baltis  H.  Kennard,  John  O.  Sheekells,  Robert 
Wilson,  V.  V.  Klinefelter,  William  J.  Hooper,  Ed- 
ward L.  Clark,  Thomas  J.  Fluharty,  and  Samuel  F. 
Sanders  were  elected  trustees.  A  form  of  incorpora- 
tion was  then  adopted,  and  at  a  meeting  on  the  23d  of 
November  plans  for  a  church  edifice  were  submitted 
and  approved,  and  Mr.  Frank  E.  Davis  selected  as 
architect,  with  a  building  committee  composed  of 
Messrs.  Fluharty,  Moss,  Allen,  Flack,  and  Kline- 
felter. Ground  was  broken  for  the  church  building 
Wednesday,  Dec.  23,  1874,  and  on  Oct.  17,  1875,  the 
congregation  assembled  for  worship  for  the  first  time 
in  the  parlor  of  the  new  church.  On  the  20th  of 
February,  1876,  the  church  was  opened  for  service  for 
the  first  time,  and  formally  and  solemnly  dedicated. 
Bishop  Ames  delivering  the  dedicatory  address.  The 
church  is  one  of  the  handsomest  ecclesiastical  edifices 
in  the  city,  and  cost,  with  the  lot  and  all  the  improve- 
ments, about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
Mr.  Carpenter  served  three  years,  and  at  his  death 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  E.  A.  Gibson.  The  present 
pastor  is  Rev.  Lewis  C.  Muller.  Grace  is  a  pew 
church,  and  was  the  second  church  of  the  denomina- 
tion in  Baltimore  to  adopt  the  system. 

Monroe  M.  E.  Church  had  Its  organic  origin  in 
October,  1856,  and  was  an  offshoot  of  Union  Square 


580 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Church.  The  first  building  was  erected  on  Ramsay 
Street,  some  distance  back  from  Monroe  Street,  and 
was  dedicated  on  the  14th  of  October,  1856,  under 
the  name  of  Chenowith  chapel.  This  structure  was 
subsequently  enlarged,  and  was  dedicated  as  Parlett 
chapel  on  the  2r)th  of  November,  1866.  The  corner- 
stone of  the  present  edifice,  Monroe  and  Ramsay 
Streets,  was  laid  on  the  12th  of  September,  1877,  and 
the  building  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Ames  on  the 
13th  of  October,  1878,  under  its  present  name.  The 
pastors  of  the  church  since  it  has  been  a  self-support-  [ 
ing  charge  have  been  Rev.  A.  A.  Reese,  D.D.,  Rev.  | 
■\V.  Hirst   lleed,  and  Rev.  Thomas  L.  Poulson,  D.D., 

The  Fort  Avenue  M.  E.  Chapel,  comer  of  Fort  | 
and  P.altery  Avenues,  was  dedicated  Sept.  11,  1870.  , 
Rev.  William  M.  O.sborn  is  the  pastor. 

Mount  Pisgah  Mission,  in  Lombard  Street,  east 
of  Washington,  was  an  oilshoot  from  Caroline  Street 
station,  and  was  organized  in  1854. 

St.  John's  Methodist  Church,  northwest  corner 
of  Bank  and  Wolf  Streets,  was  built  in  1869.  The 
church  was  founded  in  1816. 

Canton  M.  E.  Church.— Canton  chapel  was  dedi- 
cated on  the  20th  of  September,  1846.  A  church  has 
since  been  built,  the  present  pastor  of  which  is  Rev. 
H.  JI.  Lenimon. 

Hollins  Street  M.  E.  Church  was  dedicated  on  the 
16th  of  September,  1877.  It  is  situated  between 
Oregon  and  Scliroeder  Streets.  It  was  built  by  the 
Sunday-school  Society  of  Fayette  Street  Church,  and 
occupies  the  site  on  which  the  old  Hollins  Street 
chapel  stood. 

Broadway  M.  E.  Church,  on  Broadway,  south  of 
Pratt,  was  dedicated  on  the  27th  of  February,  1848, 
Bishop  Waugh  and  other  ministers  officiating.  The 
congregation  had  previously  worshiped  on  Eastern 
Avenue.  The  building  committee  was  composed  of 
Messrs.  F.  Littig  Schaetter,  John  W.  Randolph,  James 
Donohue,  Lewis  Audoun,  and  George  W.  Corner. 
The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  A.  M.  Courtenay. 

Cross  Street  M.  E.  Church  is  situated  ou  the  cor- 
ner of  Cross  and  Warner  Streets.  Rev.  E.  H.  Smith 
is  the  pastor. 

Jackson  Square  M.  E.  Church,  southeast  corner 
of  Register  and  lliimpstead  Streets,  originated  in  a 
Sunday-school  started  at  Jackson  Square  iu  1866  for 
the  exclusive  benefit  of  neglected  children.  A  frame 
structure  was  erected  for  the  purpose  of  the  work, 
and  on  the  25th  of  September,  1866,  the  corner-stone 
of  the  present  edifice  was  laid.  After  a  period  of 
financial  difficulty  the  church  was  completed,  and 
dedicated  on  the  3d  of  October,  1860.  Rev.  John  W. 
Hedges  was  its  first  pastor.  Rev.  Thomas  Daugherty 
is  its  present  pastor. 

Centennial  M.  E.  Church.— The  congregation  of 
Centennial  Church  formerly  worshiped  in  the  old 
Dallas  Street  church,  on  Dallas  Street  l)etween  Canton 
Avenue  and  Aliceanna  Street,  originally  known  as 


Strawberry  Alley  church.  The  Dallas  Street  church 
was  the  oldest  Methodist  church  in  Baltimore,  having 
been  built  by  Mr.  Asbury  and  others  in  1774,  and 
was  given  to  the  colored  congregation  as  a  place  of 
worship  in  1802,  when  Wilks  Street  church  was  built. 
It  was  occupied  by  them  continuously  from  that  time 
until  the  erection  of  the  present  edifice,  and  in  1874 
the  centennial  of  the  church  was  celebrated  in  the 
old  building,  the  walls  of  which  were  still  sound  and 
strong  when  it  was  abandoned.  In  October,  1876, 
ground  was  broken  for  the  present  edifice  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  Caroline  and  Bank  Streets,  and  the 
corner-stone  was  laid  May  6,  1877.  The  church  was 
dedicated  Dec.  2,  1877,  by  Bishop  Ames.  Rev.  J.  H. 
Riddick  is  the  pastor. 

Ashury  M.  E.  Church. — The  first  church  edifice, 
southeast  corner  of  East  and  Douglas  Streets,  was 
built  in  1824.  The  corner-stone  of  the  present  church, 
which  is  erected  upon  the  site  of  the  old  building, 
was  laid  on  the  28th  of  July,  1867,  by  the  pastor. 
Rev.  P.  G.  Walker.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  N. 
M.  Ciirroll. 

Sharpe  Street  M.  E.  Church,  on  Sharpe,  north  of 
Pratt,  was  built  in  1802,  and  rebuilt  iu  1860.  Rev. 
John  A.  Holmes  is  the  pastor. 

John  Wesley  M.  E.  Church.— The  congregation 
of  John  Wesley  Church  at  first  worshiped  in  old 
Wesley  chapel,  on  Sharpe,  near  Montgomery  Street, 
which  was  given  them  in  1833  by  the  white  congre- 
gation formerly  occupying  it.  The  corner-stone  of 
the  present  building,  on  Sharpe  Street,  near  Montgom- 
ery, was  laid  on  the  13th  of  October,  1847.  Rev. 
Robert  Steele  is  pastor. 

Ames  M.  E.  Church.— The  corner-.stone  of  West- 
ern chapel,  on  Division  Street,  near  Baker,  was  laid 
on  the  30th  of  August,  1857.  The  corner-stone  of 
the  present  edifice,  which  occupies  the  site  of  the  old 
one,  was  laid  Aug.  19, 1877,  and  the  building  was  dedi- 
cated on  the  2d  of  ilarch,  1.S79,  under  the  name  of 
Ames  Climch.     liev.  C.  \V.  Walker  is  the  pastor. 

Union  Bethel  Methodist  Church  is  situated  at 
Canton,  near  the  car  stables.  The  corner-stone  was 
laid  Aug.  12,  1877.  It  was  organized  as  a  mission  of 
Bethel  Church. 

Zion  Tabernacle,  on  Scott  Street,  near  Paca,  was 
dedicated  Jan.  16,  1S70. 

Asbury  M.  E.  ChapeL— The  corner-.stoue  of  As- 
bury chapel,  Patterson  Park  Avenue  and  McElderry 
Street,  was  laid  Oct.  10,  1875.  Rev.  William  O. 
Cooper  is  the  pastor. 

Western  M.  E.  Chapel,  on  the  south  side  of  Sara- 
toga Street,  between  Carrollton  Avenue  and  Oregon 
Street,  is  occupied  by  the  congregation  of  Baltimore 
Mission,  formerly  worshiping  at  the  Sarah  Ann  Street 
Methodist  church.  The  corner-stone  of  Western 
chapel  was  laid  on  the  26th  of  October,  1873. 

Orchard  Street  M.  E.  Church  was  founded  by 
Trueman  Pratt  (colored),  who  died  Dec.  1,  1877,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  one  hundred  and  two  vears.    He 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


was  early  given  to  religious  exhortation  among  the 
colored  people,  and  began  to  hold  regular  prayer- 
meetings  in  1825.  Several  years  afterwards  these 
meetings  were  held  in  Pratt's  house,  in  Biddle  Street, 
near  Ross.  Tn  1837  a  church  was  erected  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Orchard  Street  and  Elder  Allej',  Pratt  sub- 
scribing the  first  twenty  dollars  towards  its  construc- 
tion. He  continued  to  be  a  class-leader  in  the  church 
until  1868,  and  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
until  his  death.  In  1853  the  present  house  of  wor- 
ship was  erected  in  Orchard  Street,  near  Koss,  which 
'  was  dedicated  on  the  4th  of  December  of  that  year. 
I  Jacob  Gruber  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  church.  Rev. 
James  Thomas  is  the  pastor. 

'      AFRICAN   METHODIST  CHURCH. 

This  organization  was  formed  in  Philadelphia  in 
April,  1816,  by  a  convention  composed  of  seventeen 
members,  of  whom  Stephen  Hill,  an  intelligent  lay- 
man of  Baltimore,  was  one  of  the  most  prominent. 
"To  the  counsels  and  wisdom  of  Mr.  Hill,  more  than 
to  any  other  man,  the  church  is  indebted  for  the  form 
it  took."  It  was  composed  of  members  who  withdrew 
from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  differs  from 
the  latter  only  in  the  matter  of  the  presiding  elder- 
ship.    The  bishop  is  Rev.  D.  A.  Payne. 

COLORED  CHURCHES. 

Bethel  Methodist  Church,  on  Saratoga  Street,  west 
of  Gay,  was  built  by  the  German  Lutherans  in  1773, 
and  occupied  the  site  of  a  previous  church  of  the 
same  denomination,  built  in  1758.  It  was  sold  by  the 
Lutheran  congregation  in  1808,  apd  was  rebuilt  in 
1816.  On  the  2d  of  August,  1847,  the  corner-stone 
of  the  present  building,  which  is  on  the  site  of  the 
original  edifice,  was  laid  by  Bishop  Lee,  of  the  African 
Methodist  Church,  and  it  was  dedicated  on  the  9th  of 
July,  1848,  by  the  pastor.  Rev.  D.  A.  Payne,  now 
bishop.     The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  J.  W.  Becket. 

Ebenezer  Methodist  Church.— The  first  church 
edifice,  Montgomery  Street,  east  of  Hanover,  was  built 
in  1848,  and  was  dedicated  on  the  17th  of  September 
of  that  year.  On  the  20th  of  August,  1865,  the  corner- 
stone of  the  present  edifice,  which  occupies  the  site 
of  the  former  one,  was  laid  by  Bishop  Weyman,  and 
the  church  was  dedicated  on  the  5th  of  April,  1868, 
by  the  same  bishop.  Rev.  Francis  Peck  is  the  present, 
pastor. 

Waters'  Chapel,  on  Spring  Street,  between  Jeffer- 
son and  McElderry,  was  built  in  1859,  and  dedicated 
on  the  24th  of  April  of  that  year.  In  1872  it  was 
rebuilt,  and  dedicated  on  the  29th  of  December.  The 
pastor  is  Rev.  John  F.  Lane. 

Tessier  Street  Chapel.— The  corner-stone  of  this 
chapel,  corner  of  Orchard  and  Tessier  Streets,  was  laid 
by  Bishop  Weyman,  on  the  31st  of  October,  1869,  and 
the  lecture-room  was  dedicated  on  the  19th  of  July, 
1870.     Rev.  William  R.  Arnold  is  the  present  pastor. 

Mount  Zion  Methodist  Church  is  situated  on  Sar- 


atoga, near  Republican  Street.     Rev.  Richard  Miles 
is  the  pastor. 

Allen  Mission,  on  Stockton  Alley,  near  Baltimore 
Street,  was  erected  in  1860,  and  was  rebuilt  in  1876. 
Rev.  John  M.  Cargill  is  the  pastor. 

METHODIST   PROTESTANTS. 

The  economy  of  the  parent  church  (Methodist 
Episcopal),  adopted  in  1784,  having  placed  the  legis- 
lative power  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the  itinerant 
members,  there  arose  from  time  to  time  discussion 
and  dissatisfaction.  This  manifested  itself  first  among 
the  local  ministry,  and  spread  from  them  to  the  mem- 
bership. There  was  also  some  dissatisfaction  occa- 
sionally expressed  at  the  mode  of  making  the  appoint- 
ments and  the  power  vested  in  the  episcopacy.  The 
subject  of  an  elective  presiding  eldership  had  been 
much  agitated  from  the  year  1800  until  the  death  of 
Mr.  Asbury  in  1816,  and  after  that  event  the  discus- 
sion became  more  serious  and  exciting.  At  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
held  in  Biltimore  in  1820,  the  question  assumed  so 
serious  an  aspect  as  to  induce  the  belief  that  a  sepa- 
ration would  be  the  inevitable  result.  The  agitation 
for  a  change  in  church  government  was  continued  dur- 
ing the  next  four  years,  and  at  the  meeting  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Baltimore,  on  the  1st  of  May,  1824,  many  memorials 
and  petitions  praying  for  reform  were  presented. 
The  Conference,  however,  declared  such  charges  in- 
expedient, and  the  petitions  were  rejected  by  a  decided 
majority. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  General  Conference 
a  meeting  of  reformers  was  held  in  Baltimore,  on  the 
21st  of  May,  1824,  for  the  purjiose  of  adopting  such 
measures  as  seemed  to  be  demanded  by  the  situation 
Dr.  S.  K.  Jennings  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Dr. 
Francis  Waters  appointed  secretary.  At  this  meet- 
ing it  was  resolved  to  institute  a  periodical  publica- 
tion to  be  entitled  the  "  Mutual  Rights  of  the  Min 
isters  and  Members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,"  to  form  societies  in  all  parts  of  the  country, 
to  disseminate  the  principles  of  a  well-balanced 
church  government,  and  to  draft  a  circular  to  the 
ministers  and  members  of  the  church  throughout  the 
United  States.  Dr.  S.  K.  Jennings,  of  Baltimore,  was 
ajjpointed  one  of  the  committee  to  perform  this  ser- 
vice. In  accordance  with  these  resolutions,  an  asso- 
ciation entitled  the  "  Union  Society  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  City  of  Baltimore"  was 
formed  by  those  in  favor  of  reform,  and  the  publica- 
tion of  their  organ,  the  Mutual  Bights,  begun.  The 
articles  published  and  the  formation  of  societies 
aroused  much  feeling,  and  was  followed  by  the  ex- 
pulsion of  many  members  from  the  church,  the  ap- 
peals taken  to  the  Annual  Conferences  resulting  in 
the  confirmations  of  the  various  sentences.  In  the 
Baltimore  Conference,  Rev.  Dennis  B.  Dorsey  was 
arraigned  for  having  recommended  the  circulation  of 


582 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY    AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


the  Mutual  Rights,  which,  it  was  alleged,  contained 
false  and  injurious  statements  in  reference  to  certain 
ministers  and  to  the  character  of  the  church,  while 
the  reformers  claimed  that  the  only  point  at  issue  was 
the  right  to  organize  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  de- 
sired changes.  On  the  ISth  of  May,  1827,  the  Balti- 
more Union  Society  ordered  a  statement  of  the  facts 
in  Mr.  Dorsey's  case  to  be  publi.shed,  and  adopted  a 
resolution  declaring  that  "  the  conduct  of  the  late 
Baltimore  Annual  Conference  in  the  case  of  Rev. 
Dennis  B.  Dorsey  was  oppressive  in  its  character, 
and  not  warranted  by  the  Scriptures  or  the  discipline 
of  thechurch."  This  action  on  the  partof  the  society 
resulted  in  the  immediate  exclusion  by  the  Revs. 
James  M.  Hanson  and  Beverly  Waugh,  preachers  in 
charge  of  the  city  and  Point  stations,  of  fourteen 
local  preachers  from  all  the  Methodist  pulpits  in  the 
city.  Measures  were  taken  to  expel  the  principal 
members  of  the  Baltimore  Union  Society,  and  formal 
charges  having  been  preferred  against  them,  the  trials 
were  commenced  on  the  17th  of  September,  1827,  at 
the  old  Conference  room.  Rev.  J.  M.  Hanson  pre- 
sided, and  Revs.  Samuel  Williams,  John  W.  Harris, 
and  Thomas  Basford  were  the  committee  to  try  the 
preachers.  The  committee  appointed  to  try  the  lay- 
men consisted  of  Baltzell  Schaeffer,  Alexander  Russell, 
John  W.  Berry,  William  McConkey,  Thomas  Kelso, 
and  T.  Armstrong.  The  accused  persons,  ten  of 
whom  were  preachers  and  twenty-two  laymen,  were 
all  condemned.  The  preachers  carried  up  their  cases 
to  the  District  Conference,  but  the  Conference  was  dis- 
solved without  hearing  their  appeal,  and  they  were 
ordered  to  appear  at  the  Quarterly  Conference  and 
stand  their  trials.  The  reformers  protested  against 
this  action,  on  the  ground  that  the  District  Conference 
had  been  dissolved  by  a  minority  of  the  white  mem- 
bers, aided  by  the  votes  of  nine  colored  men,  who,  it 
was  charged,  were  not  entitled  to  vote. 

They  accordingly  presented  to  the  presiding  elder 
of  the  Baltimore  District,  Rev.  Joseph  Frye,  a  protest 
against  his  right  to  bring  the  charges  before  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  Conference,  which  was  signed  by 
Samuel  K.  Jennings,  Daniel  E.  Reese,  James  R.  Wil- 
liams, John  C.  French,  William  Kesley,  Thomas  Mc- 
Cormick,  Luther  J.  Cox,  John  S.  Reese,  John  Val- 
iant, and  Reuben  T.  Boyd.  A  memorial  was  also 
sent  up,  signed  by  all  who  were  expelled  in  Balti- 
more, to  the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference,  which 
a.ssembled  at  Carlisle  in  April,  1828.  The  Conference 
having  declined  to  interfere  in  the  matter,  the  ex- 
pelled members  united  under  the  following  instru- 
ment of  association  : 


"  Wo,  tlie  undersigned,  f<HTUorIy  members  of  the  Metliodist  Episcopal 
Clnircli  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  having  been  excluded  from  the  fellow, 
ship  of  that  body  by  what  wo  conceive  to  be  au  unjustifiable  process, 
based  upon  insufflciont  charges,  and  those  charges  not  sustained  by  com- 
petent testimony,  have,  for  the  present,  agreed  to  unite  together  as  a 
society  of  oiigiual  Methodists,  under  the 'General  Rules  of  the  United 
Soeietiea'  prepared  by  the  Revs.  John  and  Charles  Wesley.  Our  olijert 
is  to  wnit  and  see  wliether  the  present  a))nses  in  the  administration  of 


the  government  will  be  corrected.  If  ihey  should,  and  freedom  of  in- 
quiry and  public  discussion  be  permitted  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  it  will  afford  us  pleasure  to  return,  provided  we  can  do  so  with- 
out relinquishing  the  opinions  fur  w)ii<'li  we  hiivi-bLH-n  excluded,  namely, 

an  honest,  and,  as  wo  believe,  '-ijlul.t I  .  .h\i  ii..ii  that  the  preseut 

form  of  government  in  the  Mct)>    1 1  i  I  ,        |  n  ih,  so  far  as  it  pre- 

cludes the  grand  principle  of  r*-i't  -        'i  i  '   I      [iliiii'sall  legislative, 

executive,  and  judicial  powers  t.- II rHimi  miDi-try,  is  unscriptural 

and  anti-Christian,  and  that  reform  in  tlie  government  of  said  church  is 
necessary  in  order  to  its  essential  and  permanent  prosperity.  With  these 
views,  we  solemnly  unite  in  the  name  of  the  Great  Head  of  the  church, 

i  onr  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  receiving  the  Holy  Scriptnrcs  a^  our 
guide  ;  and  for  prudential  purposes,  adopting  as  an  instrument  of  anion 

I  the  -General  Rules'  of  Messrs.  John  and  Charles  Wesley,  with  such 
subsequent  regulations  as  our  peculiar  circumstances  may  from  time  to  * 


"JohlH-lliipp.-ll. 

Samuel  Jarrett. 

Thomas  Jarrctt. 

Ebenezer  Stralian. 

John  J.  Harrod. 

James  R.  Forman. 

John  Oephart,  Jr. 

John  H.  W.  Hawkins. 

Wesley  Starr. 

George  Northerman. 

John  P.  Howard. 

Thomas  Patterson. 

John  Kennard. 

Samuel  Thompson. 

Levi  K.  Reese. 

Samuel  Krebs. 

William  K.  Boyle. 

Samuel  Guest. 

Lambert  Thomas. 

Thomas  Parsons. 

Artliur  Emerson. 

John  P.  Paul. 

"Baltimoke.  f;w.23,1827. 

"We,  the  undersigned  ciders. 

deacons,  and  licensed  preachers, 

scribe  our  names  respectively  to 

the  foregoing  instrument,  appro 

"Samuel  K.  Jennings. 

John  C.  French. 

Luther  J.  Cox. 

William  Kesley. 

Daniel  E.  Reese. 

Reuben  T.  Boyd. 

John  S.  Reese. 

Thomas  McCormick. 

James  R.Williams. 

John  Valiant. 

"  BALTmonE,  Jan.,  1828." 

On  the  31st  of  December,  1827,  a  meeting  of  the 
female  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
was 

"  convened  at  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jennings'  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into 
consideratiou  the  most  advisable  course  to  be  pursued  by  the  wives  and 
friends  of  those  members  of  said  church  who  have  been  expelled,  and  of 
those  ministei-s  who  are  suspended  by  the  official  niembere  of  the  Bal- 
timore station  for  the  sake  of  reform." 

Mrs.  Rebecca  Hall  was  called  to  the  chair,  and 
Mrs.  Wesley  Woods  was  appointed  secretary.  On 
motion,  it  was  resolved  to  withdraw  from  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  and  a  committee,  consisting 
of  Mrs.  Mummey,  Mrs.  Jennings,  Mrs.  Harrod,  Mrs. 
Woods,  Mrs.  French,  Mrs.  Kennard,  Mrs.  Reese, 
Miss  L.  Martin,  and  Mrs.  Owings,  was  appointed  to 
report  such  measures  as  might  be  deemed  advisable. 
On  the  7th  of  January,  1828,  the  committee  made 
a  report  reciting  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and 
containing  a  resolution  to  dissolve  their  connection 
with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  was 
adopted,  and  on  the  2Gth  of  January  a  formal  letter 
of  withdrawal  was  sent  to  Rev.  James  M.  Ilan.son, 
signed  by  the  following  ladies; 


inah  L.  Harrod,    1-v  .1,    \ 

1      ni  .„,  Catherine  Mummey,  Anna 

Jarrett,  Guinil.l..    >l 

i:  .>e,  Mary  Kennard,  Rebecca 

R.  Reese,  Eli/-„1.        i 

1        urt  Reese.  Sarah  Krebs,  Mary 

Reese,  Jane  Tl.ntn  ,     M 

r     !   ...in,  Elizabeth  Williams, Mary 

French.  Saroh   W  ,              - 

r  <  .1,  Elizabeth  Taylor,  Rebecca 

Jane    Roberts,    M          ^^ 

1  1.  y    Fore,  Frances    Williams, 

Mary  Jane  Tb..i.,„-,  '  ..m,,  , 

.     w  ill.uns,  Hannah  Jennings,  Mary 

Owings,  El>™l.i.tl, .1,, 

1......   CM-phart,  Maria  Paul,  Elizabeth 

Formau,   Pbillippa  Starr,   J 

.a   Jones,   Rachel    Hawkins,  Han- 

RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


583 


nail  Martin,  Elizabeth  Baxley,  Letitia  M.  Martin,  Susan  Guest, 
Sarah  Emerson,  Maria  M.  Martin,  Maria  Cox,  Mary  Mentis,  Mary 
Ann  Woods,  Catliarine  Wallace,  Elizabeth  Brit,  Mary  Ann  Valiant, 
Elizabeth  Valiant. 

The  expelled  laymen  associated  on  the  23d  of  De- 
cember, 1827  ;  the  preachers  united  with  them  on  the 
26tli  of  January,  1828,  and  the  female  members  joined 
the  association  a  few  days  afterwards.  The  associa- 
tion elected  the  preachers  and  ministers  to  serve  in  the 
same  relations  and  offices  they  respectively  held  pre- 
vious to  their  expulsion,  and  the  instrument  declaring 
this  fact  was  recorded  in  the  clerk's  office  in  Baltimore. 
The  society  embraced  in  the  beginning  about  two  hun- 
dred members  and  fourteen  preachers.  Prior,  however, 
to  the  organization  of  the  society  a  general  convention 
of  reformers  had  assembled  in  Baltimore,  in  November, 

1827,  and  had  prepared  a  memorial  setting  forth  their 
grievances,  which  was  presented  to  the  General  Con- 
ference at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  in  May,  1828.  The  Con- 
ference proposed  the  restoration  of  the  expelled  and 
suspended  parties  to  membership  on  condition  that 
the  Mutual  Rights  should  be  discontinued,  and  that 
the  union  societies  within  the  church  should  be  dis- 
solved. The  reformers  declined  to  accept  this  pro- 
posal, and  called  a  general  convention  to  meet  in  St. 
John's  church,  Baltimore,  on  the  12th  of  November, 

1828.  The  convention  assembled  at  the  appointed 
time,  iMul  remained  in  session  ten  days,  eleven  of  the 
States  and  th#  District  of  Columbia  being  represented. 
Nicholas  Snethen  presided,  and  Wm.  S.  Stockton 
acted  as  secretary.  Articles  of  association  were  agreed 
upon,  and  a  provisional  church  was  organized  under 
the  name  of  the  "  Associated  Methodist  Churches." 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution 
and  discipline,  and  they  adjourned  to  meet  in  general 
convention,  Nov.  2,  1830,  at  the  same  place.  "The 
convention  met  in  1830,  in  St.  John's  church,  Balti- 
more, and  adopted  a  constitution  and  provision  for 
the  regulation  and  government  of  the  church.  After 
full  deliberation  the  title  of  the  church  was  agreed 
upon  as  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  comprising 
the  Associated  Methodist  Churches."  In  1858,  owing 
to  the  slavery  agitation,  the  Northern  and  Western 
Conferences  separated  from  the  Methodist  Protestant 
Church,  and  organized  as  a  separate  denomination 
under  the  title  of  the  Methodist  Church.  In  May, 
1877,  a  reunion  of  the  Methodist  and  Methodist 
Protestant  Churches  was  effected  in  Baltimore.  The 
Methodist  Convention  met  in  the  Methodist  Protest- 
ant church  on  Greene  Street,  with  eighty-five  dele- 
gates from  the  North  and  West  in  attendance.  The 
Methodist  Protestant  Convention  assembled  in  the 
church  on  Fayette  Street.  About  seventy-five  dele- 
gates were  in  attendance.  L.  W.  Bates,  D.D.,  was 
elected  president,  and  L.  M.  Barnet  and  R.  H.  Wills 
secretaries.  After  several  days  spent  in  separate  dis- 
cussions, a  basis  of  union  was  agreed  upon,  and  on 
the  16th  of  May  the  two  conventions  met  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Lombard  and  Fremont  Streets,  and  the  mem- 


bers marched  arm-in-arm  to  "  Starr"  church,  where 
on  the  following  day  they  organized  as  the  United 
Protestant  Methodist  Convention,  electing  L.  W. 
Bates  as  president,  J.  J.  Smith  as  vice-president,  and 
Rev.  G.  McElroy  and  Rev.  R.  H.  Wills  as  secretaries. 
The  distinctive  feature  of  the  economy  of  the  Meth- 
odist Protestant  Church  is  its  principle  of  equal  rep- 
resentation, dividing  equally  between  the  ministers 
and  laymen  the  entire  authority  to  make  rules  and 
regulations  for  the  government  of  the  whole  body. 

Starr  M.  P.  Church.— This  church  is  called  after 
Wesley  Starr,  who  being  ardently  attached  to  old 
Methodist  u.sages,  and  finding  that  they  were  being 
abandoned  by  most  of  the  Methodist  Churches,  de- 
termined to  perpetuate  them  as  far  as  he  could  by  the 
erection  of  a  church,  the  charter  of  which  should  re- 
quire their  observance.  Accordingly,  in  the  spring  of 
1863  he  commenced  the  erection  of  the  present  edifice, 
at  the  corner  of  Poppleton  and  Lemmon  Streets,  but 
after  having  made  considerable  progress  the  work  was 
suspended.  In  March,  1864,  the  property  was  for- 
mally donated  in  its  unfinished  condition  to  the  Mary- 
land Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Protestant 
Church,  with  the  understanding  that  the  recipients 
should  finish  and  furnish  the  basement,  which  was 
completed  and  dedicated  June  12,  1864.  Mr.  Starr 
completed  the  audience-room  at  his  own  cost,  and  it 
was  dedicated  Dec.  11,  1864.  The  ground  on  which 
the  church  and  parsonage  stand  was  the  gift  of  Mr. 
Starr,  who  also  left  the  church  an  annuity.  In  1865 
Starr  Church  was  made  a  separate  charge,  and  Rev. 
W.  H.  Hopkins  became  its  pastor.  The  Union  Con- 
vention, composed  of  representatives  from  the  Meth- 
odist and  the  Methodist  Protestant  Churches,  met  in 
the  church  in  May,  1877,  when  a  union  of  the  two 
denominations  was  effected.  The  pastors  of  the  church 
have  been  Revs.  W.  M.  Strayer,  John  R.  Nichols,  M. 
E.  Hysore,  R.  S.  Norris,  S.  B.  Southerland,  D.D. 
Rev.  William  S.  Hammond  is  the  present  pastor. 

Washington  Street  Station  M.  P.  Church  was 
organized  in  IS.'iS,  the  congregation  at  first  meeting 
for  worship  in  the  rooms  of  the  Columbian  Fire  Com- 
pany. On  the  18th  of  March,  1858,  the  corner-stone  of 
the  church,  southwest  corner  of  Lombard  and  Wash- 
ington Streets,  was  laid,  and  on  the  20th  of  June  of 
the  same  year  the  basement  was  dedicated.  The 
j  church  was  completed  and  dedicated  on  the  19th  of 
I  June,  1859.  Rev.  William  J.  Floyd  is  the  present 
pastor. 

Lexington  Street  M.  P.  Mission. — The  corner- 
stone of  this  mission  was  laid  Oct.  13,  1863,  and  the 
building  sufficiently  completed  for  occupation  March 
6,  1864.  The  edifice  was  dedicated  on  the  26th  of 
February,  1865. 

Locust  Point  Union  Mission  Chapel.— The  cor- 
ner-stone of  this  chapel,  corner  of  Hull  Street  and 
Fort  Avenue,  was  laid  May  9,  1871,  and  the  chapel 
was  dedicated  October  8th  of  the  same  year. 

East  Baltimore  M.  P.  Church.- The  first  church 


584 


HISTORY  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


edifice,  at  the  corner  of  Fayette  and  Aisquith  Streets, 
was  torn  down  in  1842  to  malce  way  for  the  present 
structure,  whicli  was  dedicated  on  the  2d  of  April, 
1843. 

Broadway  M.  P.  Church,  corner  of  Broadway  and 
Monument  Street,  was  erected  in  1860,  and  dedicated 
on  the  22d  of  November,  1863.  In  April,  1877,  the 
church  was  sold  to  St.  John's  English  Evangelical 
Lutheran  congregation.  The  pastor  is  Rev.  S.  J. 
Smith. 

South  Baltimore  M.  P.  Church,  Light  Street,  south 
of  West,  was  organized  in  ]8.j;{.  The  church  edifice 
was  built  in  1846  by  the  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  in  1850  had  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Evangelical  Lutherans,  and  came  into 
the  possession  of  the  South  Baltimore  congregation 
in  1853.  The  parsonage  adjoining  the  church  was 
built  in  1854. '  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  J.  R.  Nich- 
ols, from  1853  to  1855 ;  the  second,  Rev.  D.  A.  Sher- 
mer,  from  1855  to  1857 ;  the  third.  Rev.  H.  J.  Day, 
from  1857  to  1858 ;  the  fourth.  Rev.  John  Roberts, 
from  1858  to  1859 ;  the  fifth,  Rev.  B.  F.  Benson,  from 
1859  to  1861 ;  the  sixth.  Rev.  D.  W.  Bates,  from  1861 
to  1862;  the  seventh,  Rev.  J.  M.  Elderdice,  from  1862 
to  1863;  the  eighth.  Rev.  H.  J.  Day,  from  1863  to 
1864;  the  ninth.  Rev.  R.  S.  Rowe,  from  1864  to  1866; 
the  tenth.  Rev.  W.  M.  Poisal,  from  1866  to  1867 ;  the 
eleventh,  Rev.  J.  M.  Holmes,  from  1867  to  1869 ;  the 
twelfth.  Rev.  James  Thompson,  from  1869  to  1870; 
the  thirteenth,  Rev.  J.  E.  T.  Ewell,  from  1870  to 
1871 ;  the  fourteenth.  Rev.  R.  S.  Rowe,  from  1871  to 
1875 ;  the  fifteenth,  Rev.  L.  W.  Bates,  from  1875  to 
1877 ;  the  sixteenth,  Rev.  J.  W.  Charlton,  from  1877 
to  1878 ;  and  the  seventeenth.  Rev.  R.  Scott  Norris, 
from  1878  to  the  present  time. 

Henry  Chapel  (Colored)  was  organized  as  West 
Street  Chapel  in  May,  1874,  by  Rev.  Thomas  Wells, 
and  in  October  of  the  same  year  Rev.  J.  V.  D.  Henry 
was  placed  in  charge  of  it.  In  July,  1875,  a  lot  was 
leased  for  the  erection  of  a  church  edifice.  On  the 
25th  of  the  month  the  corner-stone  was  laid,  and  the 
building  was  completed  and  dedicated  on  the  29th  of 
August,  1875.     Rev.  J.  V.  D.  Henry  is  the  pastor. 

Memorial  Chapel,  corner  of  Gilmor  Street  and 
Lafayette  Avenue,  was  built  by  the  Mission  Board  of 
the  Maryland  Annual  Conference  of  the  M.  P.  Church, 
and  was  dedicated  on  the  28th  of  September,  1879. 
Rev.  J.  D.  Kinzer  is  the  pastor. 

St.  Thomas'  (Colored)  Church,  on  Chestnut,  near 
Front  Street,  was  composed  of  seceding  members  of 
the  African  M.  E.  Church,  and  was  organized  on  the 
7th  of  March,  1849,  under  the  name  of  the  Colored 
Methodist  Protestant  Israel  Church.  The  congrega- 
tion worshiped  for  a  time  at  the  residence  of  Mrs. 
Rebecca  Permylia,  on  North  Street,  but  afterwards 
rented  the  basement  of  Warfield's  church,  on  Court- 
land  Street,  where  they  remained  for  two  years.  The 
corner-stone  of  St.  Thomas'  church  was  laid  in  July, 
18.50,  and  w:w  (K'diratcd  .March  7,  1852.     It  was  called 


Israel  Church  until  April,  1858,  when  it  was  sold. 
Rev.  Nathaniel  Peck  was  the  first  minister  of  the 
church,  and  Rev.  Thimias  Wells  is  its  present  pastor. 

First  Colored  Church.— The  corner-stone  of  the 
First  Coloicil  ^[c'thodist  Protestant  church,  corner 
of  Chew  and  MiDonogh  Streets,  was  laid  on  the  19th 
of  July,  1874. 

Colored  M.  P.  Church,  on  Durham  Street,  between 
Eager  and  Chase,  was  dedicated  Jan.  9,  1876. 

INDEPENDENT  METHODISTS. 

The  Independent  Methodists  are  composed  of  those 
congregations  which  at  diflf'erent  ])eriods  and  in  differ- 
ent locations  have  seceded  from  the  i)arent  body  and 
assumed  an  independent  attitude.  They  are  without 
connectional  union,  and  are  chiefly  found  in  Balti- 
more and  its  vicinity.  About  the  time  of  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  civil  war  the  Baltimore  Conference 
was  greatly  agitated,  and  at  its  session  in  1861  the 
majority  resolved  not  to  "  submit  to  the  authority  of 
the  General .  Conference,"  and  declared  themselves 
"independent  of  it."  The  Baltimore  Conference  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  met  in  1862,  but 
those  in  Baltimore  who  sympathized  with  the  position 
which  had  been  taken  by  the  Southern  element  of  the 
Conference  declined  to  recognize  its  authority.  Some 
of  these  congregations  afterwards  joined  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  South,  and  others  determined 
to  maintain  an  attitude  of  permanent  independence. 
Chatsworth  Independent  Methodist  Church.— 
In  March,  1859,  the  site  of  Chatsworth  church,  .south- 
west corner  of  Pine  and  Franklin  Streets,  was  pur- 
chased, and  the  second-story  rooms  of  the  "  Old 
Frame  House"  (called  at  one  time  the  Adreon 
House),  that  stood  upon  the  corner,  were  converted 
into  a  Sunday-school  room.  Sunday,  April  22,  1859, 
the  school  was  organized  with  twenty-two  scholars. 
"  Chatsworth"  was  adopted  as  an  appropriate  appel- 
lation for  the  school  in  view  of  its  location  upon  part 
of  a  large  tract  of  land  originally  bearing  that  name, 
j  which  is  still  retained  by  the  hill  upon  which  the 
I  church  is  situated.  The  work  prospering,  it  was  de- 
termined to  organize  a  mission  church,  and  the  Balti- 
more Annual  Conference  at  its  session  in  1861  was 
j  asked  to  appoint  a  minister  to  Chatsworth  as  a  sepa- 
<  rate  charge.  Rev.  John  A.  Williams  was  appointed, 
i  and  entered  upon  his  duties  April  7,  1861,  with  a 
church  membership  of  seventeen  persons.  In  March, 
1862,  the  congregation,  in  accordance  with  the  resolu- 
tion of  the  Staunton  Conference  of  1861,  refused  to 
recognize  the  authority  of  the  M.  E.  Conference,  and 
in  October,  1863,  it  was  determined  to  assume  a  sepa- 
rate position  as  a  church  on  the  1st  of  March,  1864, 
and  the  Rev.  John  A.  Williams  was  elected  pastor. 
I  The  corner-stone  of  the  building  was  laid  May  12, 
j  1863.  the  lecture  and  Sunday-school  rooms  were  dedi- 
cated November  1st  of  the  same  year,  and  the  whole 
church  finished  and  dedicated  March  27,  1864.  Rev. 
Henry  E.  Johnson  is  the  pastor. 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 


585 


William  Street  Church.— William  Street  Inde- 
pendent Methodist  Church  was  organized  in  1875  by 
Eev.  Thomas  Lowe,  who  commenced  his  work  in  a 
tent  at  the  corner  of  William 'and  Gittings  Streets, 
and  four  months  afterwards  began  the  erection  of  the 
present  church.  Oct.  31, 1875,  the  corner-stone  of  the 
building  on  William  Street,  near  Gittings,  was  laid, 
and  on  the  6th  of  February,  1876,  the  edifice  was 
dedicated  by  Rev.  H.  E.  Johnson.  It  is  a  plain  brick 
structure,  sixty -three  feet  long  by  forty-one  feet  wide, 
and  will  seat  five  hundred  and  forty  persons.  The 
church  was  incorporated  Aug.  19,  1875  ;  its  corporate 
title  is  South  Baltimore  Free  Methodist  Society.  Rev. 
Tliomas  Lowe  is  the  pastor. 

Bethany  Church. — The  corner-stone  of  Bethany 
chapel,  corner  of  Lexington  and  Calhoun  Streets, 
was  laid  April  25,  1867,  and  the  chapel  was  dedicated 
on  the  12th  of  April,  1868.  Ground  was  broken  for 
the  church  adjoining  the  chapel  on  the  10th  of  June, 
1872,  and  the  corner-stone  was  laid  on  the  8th  of  July 
of  the  same  year.  The  church  was  dedicated  on  the 
4th  of  May,  1873.  It  is  constructed  of  iron.  The 
building  committee  was  composed  of  Charles  J.  Baker, 
D.  C.  Fulton,  R.  G.  Tompkins,  F.  F.  Horner,  and  J. 
W.  Childs.  Upon  its  organization  Bethany  Church 
adopted  the  rules  of  Chatsworth  Church,  and  in  1872 
adopted  a  discipline  and  ritual  under  the  title  of  the 
"  Bethany  Independent  Methodist  Church."  Rev. 
William  H.  McAllister  is  the  present  pastor. 

Olive  Branch  Church. — The  corner-stone  of  Olive 
Branch  (I.  M.)  church,  southwest  corner  of  South 
Charles  Street  and  Fort  Avenue,  was  laid  on  the  21st 
of  December,  1879;  the  church  was  incorporated  in 
April,  1880,  and  was  dedicated  on  the  29th  of  Feb- 
ruary of  the  same  year.  Rev.  Arthur  H.  Thompson 
is  the  pastor. 

St.  John's  Church,  on  Liberty,  north  of  Fayette 
Street,  was  originally  an  Episcopal  church,  and  was 
consecrated  in  1818.  The  pastor  is  Rev.  Dr.  A.  Webs- 
ter; Rev.  T.  H.  Lewis,  assistant. 

St.  John's  M.  E.  Chapel,  comer  of  Madison  Avenue 
and  Wilson  Street,  was  dedicated  April  29,  1877.  The 
chapel  was  an  offshoot  of  St.  John's  Independent 
Methodist  Church,  and  was  built  by  that  congrega- 
tion.    Rev.  C.  M.  Griffin  is  the  pastor. 

METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH   SOUTH. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  was  not 
represented  by  any  congregation  in  this  city  before 
the  year  1861.  According  to  the  "plan  of  separa- 
tion" adopted  by  the  General  Conference  of  1844,  and 
under  which  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South 
was  organized,  the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference 
"adhered"  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The 
Baltimore  Conference  continued  in  this  relation  until 
the  session  of  the  General  Conference  held  at  Buffalo 
May,  1860.  This  General  Conference  so  changed  the 
book  of  discipline  that  the  Baltimore  Conference,  at 
the  session  held  in  Staunton,  Va.,  March,  1861,  deter- 


mined not  to  submit  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The 
action  taken  by  the  Baltimore  Conference  is  summa- 
rily expressed  in  the  subjoined  resolution,  which  was 
adopted  by  a  vote  as  follows :  ayes  87,  nays  1,  de- 
clined to  vote  41,  reserved  their  votes  3. 

"  Firet.  Be  it  resolued  by  the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference^  in  Conference 
assetnbted.  That  we  hereby  declare  that  the  General  Conference  of  the 
Melhociist  Episcopal  Church,  held  at  Buffalo  in  May,  1860,  by  its  unconsti- 
tutional action  has  sundered  the  ecclesiastioil  relatfon  which  has  hitherto 
bound  us  together  as  one  church,  so  far  as  any  act  of  theirs  could  do  so. 
That  we  will  not  longer  hubmii  Co  the  jnrisdiction  of  Raid  General  Conference^ 
but  hereby  declare  ourseluee  separate  and  independent  of  it,  still  claiming  to 
be,  notwUhstanding,  an  iiitfgral  pari  of  t?ie  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,^* 

The  war  succeeded  almost  immediately  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  Conference.  During  the  four  years  of  its 
continuance  the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference  main- 
tained an  independent  position.  Meanwhile,  how- 
ever, several  congregations  were  organized  in  Balti- 
more, independent  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  which  at  a  later  day  became 
identified  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South. 
Of  these  particulars  are  given  hereafter.  In  the 
month  of  February,  1866,  the  Baltimore  Conference 
met  in  Alexandria,  Va.  From  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee on  the  state  of  the  church  the  following  extract 
is  made : 

"  Wfiereas,  Certain  brethren,  formerly  in  connection  with  this  body,  did 
not  answer  to  the  call  of  their  names  by  the  secretary  of  the  Conference ; 
and  whereas,  information  h.is  been  received  tlmt  saiil  brethren  have 
taken  appointment  under  the  jurisdiction  of  tlie  General  Conference  of 
I860,  from  which  the  Conference  did,  by  formal  vote  in  1861,  declare  itself 
separated;  Eesolvd,  That  the  names  of  ...  be  omitted  from  the  roll  of 
the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference,  tliey  having  withdrawn ;  provided, 
nevertheless,  that  should  any  of  the  said  brptiiren  appear  in  person  or 
communicate  with  this  Conference  during  its  preseut  session  or  here- 
after their  names  may,  at  the  option  of  the  Conference,  be  reinstated." 

February  8th  the  following  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions were  adopted  by  unanimous  vote : 

"  Whereas,  The  regular  annual  sessions  (in  the  strictest  sense  thereof) 
of  this  Conference  were  prevented  for  several  yeare  by  the  existence  of 
civil  war  in  the  country,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  us  earlier  to  have 
completed  the  course  of  action  inaugurated  by  this  body  at  its  session 
held  in  Stannton  in  1861;  and  preferring,  as  we  do,  the  connectional 
principle  of  Church  Government,  including  Episcopacy  as  an  element 
thereof,  aud  believing  any  further  continuance  of  Conference  independ- 
ency would  be  prejudicial  to  the  efficient  working  of  our  itinerant  sys- 
tem ;  and  whereas  the  animus  and  practice  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  is  such  as  to  make  it  improper  for  us  to  resume  our  submission 
to  the  juritdiction  of  said  church,  and  the  organization,  doctiine,  and 
discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  fully  according 
with  our  views  of  what  constitutes  a  Scriptural  branch  of  the  Church  of 
Christ;  therefore, 

'*  liesolved.  By  the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference,  in  Conference  assem- 
bled, tliat,  ill  pursuance  of  the  action  of  this  body  in  1861,  we  do  hereby 
unite  with  and  adhere  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  and  do 
now,  through  the  President  of  this  Conference,  invite  Bishop  Early  to 
recognize  us  oliicially,  and  preside  over  us  at  our  present  session. 

"  liesolved,  That  in  taking  this  action  wo  adhere  to  no  dead  political 
institutions,  questions,  or  issues,  being  actuated  by  sentiments  of  sincere 
loyalty  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  that  of  the  States 
respectively  within  which  we  may  be  assigned  to  labor,  butare  influenced 
by  motives  of  a  far  higher  and  holier  nature,  such  as  usefulness  among 
the  people  whom  we  serve,  and  the  best  interests  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ,  whose  headship  alone  we  ackuuwledge  in  things  pertaining  to 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Cliristiau  affection  nnd  fraturnnl  sj^mpathy,  and  shall  do  all  we  can,  con- 
Histently,  to  prevent  strife  between  tlicm  and  us,  and  to  promote  good 
will  and  brotherly  kindness  toward  them,  and  do  most  sincerely  cherish 
the  hope  that  the  day  may  speedily  come  when,  nt  least,  a  hearty  and 
universal  fraternal  fellowship  sliuil  be  eKtablished  between  the  two  co- 
onllnate  branches  of  the  great  Methodist  Family  of  this  Continent." 

Nerval  Wilson,  the  president,  then  resigned  the 
chair  to  Bishop  Early,  who  presided  over  the  Confer- 
ence during  the  remainder  of  the  session.  j 

The  following  appointments  were  made  to  Balti-  1 
more  City  at  this  the  first  session  of  the  Conference, 
iu  connection  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South :  Central  Church,  S.  S.  Roszell,  W.  J.  Perry,  | 
John  Poisal,  supernumerary;  Winans  Chapel,  G.  H. 
Zimmerman,  T.  E.  Carson;  North  Baltimore,  D. 
Thomas;  East  Baltimore,  W.  H.  Wilson,  J.  N.  Span- 
gli'r,  --ii|M  rniniicrary.  The  presiding  elders  of  the 
Jlnln.JiM  i;piM(ipal  Church  South  in  Baltimore  at 
)in'.-i  ill  :irc  Kiv .  Samuel  Rogers  and  Rev.  S.  Regester. 

Frederick  Avenue  M.  E.  Chapel  South.— The 
lecture-room  of  this  chapel  was  dedicated  Nov.  12, 
1871.     Rev.  J.  F.  Haggs  is  the  pastor. 

St.  Paul's  M.  E.  Church  South.— The  congrega- 
tion of  this  church  was  organized  in  the  latter  part  of 
1861,  and  met  at  first  in  Scharf's  Hall,  southeast 
corner  of  Booth  and  Carey  Streets.  They  subse- 
quently secured  what  was  known  as  Winans'  Soup 
House,  on  West  Baltimore  Street,  opposite  the  Winans 
residence,  and  christened  it  Winans'  chapel.  Hollins 
Hall  was  afterwards  temporarily  occupied  by  the  con- 
gregation. In  1868  the  site  of  the  present  edifice,  on 
the  south  side  of  Fayette  Street,  east  of  Republican, 
was  purchased,  and  the  erection  of  a  church  com- 
menced, the  corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  Jan.  1, 
1869,  and  the  building  dedicated  on  the  3d  of  Decem- 
ber, 1871.  Its  cost  was  about  forty-five  thousand  dol-  i 
lars.  The  first  three  pastors  of  the  church  were  Rev.  j 
J.  E.  Carson,  Rev.  E.  F.  Busey,  and  Rev.  G.  H.  Zim-  j 
merman.  They  have  been  followed  by  Rev.  L.  D.  i 
Huston,  Rev.  W.  G.  Eggleston,  Rev.  R.R.  S.  Hough, 
Rev.  S.  K.  Cox,  and  Rev.  W.  Carter.  The  church 
membership  is  between  four  and  five  hundred,  and 
the  Sunday-school  numbers  about  four  hundred  schol- 
ars.    The  present  jiastor  is  Rev.  Isaac  W.  Canter. 

Central  M.  E.  Church  South  was  organized  in 
March,  1862,  by  a  large  number  of  members,  under 
the  pastoral  charge  of  Rev.  E.  F.  Busey  and  other 
ministers  of  the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference,  which 
had  previously  declared  itself  independent  of  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  M.  E. 
Church.  The  congregation  at  first  met  for  worship 
in  the  New  Assembly  Rooms,  and  continued  to  meet 
there  for  nearly  twelve  months,  until  military  inter-  j 
ference  compelled  their  removal  to  a  hall  on  Paca 
Street.  Subsequently  they  met  in  a  room  over  the 
Eutaw  Savings-Bank,  which  they  occupied  until  1867. 
In  that  year  they  purchased  the  Church  of  the  Ascen- 
sion, on  Lexington  Street,  near  Pine,  but  sold  it  in 
1873,  and  removed  temporarily  to  a  hall  on  North 
Schroeder  Street,  pending  the  erection  of  a  new  church. 


In  1874  a  lot  was  purchased  on  the  southeast  corner 
of  Edmondson  Avenue  and  Strieker  Street,  and  on 
the  7th  of  July  of  the  same  year  the  corner-.stone  of 
the  present  church  edifice  was  laid.  The  building 
committee  were  S.  M.  Wilson,  J.  M.  Buck,  P.  Sim- 
mont,  C,  F.  Biggs,  and  F.  L.  Lawrence.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1874,  the  congregation  occupied  the  lower  or 
school-room  of  the  new  edifice.  The  upj)er  portion, 
or  main  auditorium,  was  not  completed  until  Oct.  21, 
1877,  on  which  day  the  church  was  formally  dedicated 
by  the  pastor.  Rev.  John  A.  Kern.  Total  cost  of 
building,  furniture,  etc.,  about  twenty-three  thousand 
dollars.     The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  J.  A.  Regester. 

Trinity  M.  E.  Church  South,  northea.st  comer  of 
Madison  Avenue  and  Preston  Street,  wa.s  dedicated 
Jan.  29,  1865.  The  lecture-room  was  opened  for  ser- 
vice on  the  2d  of  October,  1864.  Rev.  Wm.  H.  D. 
Harper  is  the  present  pastor. 

Emmanuel  M.  E.  Church  was  an  offshoot  of 
Trinity  Cliureh.  The  corner-stone  of  the  chapel,  on 
Moslicr  Street,  near  Myrtle  Avenue,  was  laid  in  July, 
1869,  and  the  building  was  dedicated  on  the  24th  of 
October  of  the  same  year.  Its  pastors  have  been 
Rev.  A.  W.  Wilson,  D.D.,  Rev.  I.  W.  Canter,  Rev.  J. 
Lester  Shipley,  Rev.  John  Hannon,  Rev.  J.  S.  Gard- 
ner, and  Rev.  B.  R.  Wilburn.  A  new  church  for  the 
congregation  is  in  contemplation  of  erection.  The 
present  pastor  is  Rev.  B.  R.  Wilburn. 

The  North  Baltimore  M.  E.  Church  South,  on 
Holland  Street,  near  Aisquith,  was  erected  in  1866. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  Aug.  16,  1866,  and  the 
church  was  dedicated  on  the  6th  of  January,  1867,  by 
Bishop  Daggett.  Rev.  A,  K.  Bradenbaugh  is  the 
present  pastor. 

Calvary  M.  E.  Church  South.— In  the  early 
part  of  the  year  1867  the  Sunday-school  society  of 
Central  M.  E.  Church  South,  then  located  on  Lex- 
ington Street,  appointed  a  committee  of  three,  con- 
sisting of  William  Williams,  F.  G.  Maxwell,  and 
Caldwell  C.  Calvert,  to  procure  a  hall  and  organize  a 
school  in  South  Baltiinore,  and  Ingraham  chapel,  a 
small  building  on  Hill  Street,  near  Hanover,  wtis  rented 
for  the  purpose.  A  Sunday-school  was  formed,  and 
religious  services  held  on  the  Sabbath.  In  March 
of  the  same  year  the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference, 
holding  its  session  at  Trinity  Church,  Baltimore,  as- 
signed Rev.  Samuel  H.  Parrish  to  the  pastoral  charge 
of  the  infant  society,  which  he  organized  into  a  church. 
Mr.  Parrish  continued  in  charge  two  years,  and  Wivs 
succeeded  by  Rev.  George  G.  Brooke.  During  the 
latter  part  of  Mr.  Brooke's  pastorate,  which  continued 
until  March,  1871,  plans  were  set  on  foot  for  the 
erection  of  a  house  of  worship.  The  official  boards 
of  the  several  Snuthern  Methodist  Churches  in  tlie 
city  subscribed  liberally  to  the  object,  and  the  ladies 
united  in  a  festival  held  in  Masonic  Hall  in  May, 
1871,  which  netted  two  thousand  three  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  with  the  subscriptions  procured  justified  the 
commencement  of  the  building. 


RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


587 


Rev.  Win.  H.  D.  Harper  was  appointed  pastor  in 
March,  1871.  A  lot  was  purcliased  on  Hill  Street, 
near  Hanover,  and  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  build- 
ing laid  Oct.  22,  1871.  In  February,  1872,  the 
church  edifice,  thirty-ftve  by  sixty-five  feet,  with  a 
basement,  was  completed,  and  dedicated  February 
11th  by  Bishop  D.  S.  Daggett.  The  entire  cost  of 
l)uilding  and  finishing  the  church  was  provided  for,  a 
small  balance  of  indebtedness  being  raised  on  the  day 
of  dedication.  The  building  committee  were  T.  J. 
Magruder  and  J.  Edward  Bird,  of  Trinity ;  Young 
O.  Wilson,  of  Central ;  Charles  Shipley,  of  St.  Paul's; 
Jeremiah  Spraight,  Charles  L.  Woods,  and  Dr.  M. 
W.  Donovan,  of  South  Baltimore.  In  March,  1872, 
Itev.  J.  W.  Carter  was  appointed  pastor,  and  continued 
in  that  relation  until  the  spring  of  1874,  and  during 
this  time  the  membership  increased  from  about  seventy 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty.  Rev.  Dabney  Ball  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  charge  in  March,  1874,  and  during  his 
pastorate  the  congregation  purchased  of  the  Presby- 
terians the  church  building  on  the  soutlieast  corner 
of  German  and  Greene  Streets.  Rev.  H.  H.  Kennedy 
succeeded  Dr.  Ball  in  1875,  and  continued  in  charge 
till  1877.  The  church  was  largely  increased  under 
his  ministry.  Rev.  A.  W.  Wilson,  D.D.,  was  ap- 
pointed pastor  March,  1877,  and  continued  in  charge 
of  the  church  till  the  summer  of  1878,  when,  on  ac- 
count of  his  election  by  the  General  Conference  to 
the  office  of  missionary  secretary,  lie  resigned  his 
pastorate,  and  Rev.  A.  A.  P.  Neel  was  appointed  in 
his  stead.  Rev.  Mr.  Neel  continued  in  charge  till 
the  following  spring.  Meantime,  the  embarrassed 
condition  of  the  church  made  it  necessary  to  sell  the 
property,  which  was  done  at  the  expiration  of  Mr. 
Keel's  term.  In  March,  1879,  Rev.  S.  K.  Cox,  D.D., 
was  appointed  pastor,  and  is  still  in  charge.  Through 
the  courtesy  of  the  Second  Lutheran  congregation, 
Lombard  Street,  Rev.  Mr.  Schall  pastor,  the  members 
of  Calvary  Church  worshiped  with  that  congregation, 
the  two  pastors  alternately  occupying  the  pulpit. 
This  arrangement  continued  till  June,  1878,  when  a 
tabei'nacle  was  built  on  the  corner  of  Greene  and 
King  Streets,  and  occupied  by  the  Calvary  congrega- 
tion. In  the  interval  of  occupancy  they  purchased 
of  the  Methodist  Protestants  the  church  building  on 
the  southeast  corner  of  Greene  and  Lombard  Streets, 
with  the  parsonage  adjoining,  which  they  have  since 
occupied,  and  now  hold  free  of  debt.  The  Sunday- 
school,  under  the  efficient  management  of  F.  G.  Max- 
well, superintendent,  has  nearly  doubled  since  the 
last  change,  and  the  membership  of  the  church  has 
largely  increased.  The  present  number  is  about 
three  hundred  and  twenty. 

East  Baltimore  M.  E.  Church  South.— Ground 
was  broken  for  East  Baltimore  M.  E.  Church  South 
on  the  17th  of  June,  1868,  on  the  east  side  of  Bond, 
a  short  distance  north  of  Baltimore  Street.  The  cor- 
ner-stone was  laid  Sept.  21, 18C8,  and  the  basement  of 
the  church  was  dedicated  on  the  24th  of  January, 


1869,  by  Bishop  Daggett.  In  1873  the  church  was 
entirely  remodeled,  and  rededicated  on  the  2d  of 
March  of  that  year.  Rev.  J.  W.  Grubb  is  the  pas- 
tor. 

FRIENDS. 
The  general  meetings  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in 
Maryland  were  held  at  West  River  and  Thirdhaven 
alternately  from  1672  until  the  4th  of  the  sixth  month 
of  1785,  when,  in  accordance  with  a  minute  of  ad- 
journment of  the  previous  Yearly  Meeting  at  Third- 
haven,  it  was  for  the  first  time  held  in  Baltimore 
Town.'  In  the  sixth  month  of  1789  it  was  held  for 
the  third  time  at  Baltimore,  and  from  that  period  has 
continued  to  be  held  here.  Mr.  John  Giles,  the  first 
of  the  family  of  that  name,  who  have  since  occupied 
a  conspicuous  place  in  the  history  of  the  State,  set- 
tled near  the  present  site  of  Baltimore  about  1700, 
and  at  his  house  the  Friends  of  the  neighborhood  at 
first  held  their  meetings.  This  meeting  was  called 
Patapsco  Station,  and  is  first  mentioned  in  the  old 
manuscripts  in  1703.  It  was  situated  on  the  Harford 
turnpike,  a  short  distance  beyond  the  present  city 
limits,  and  the  site  was  given  to  the  society  by  Joseph 
Taylor.  A  frame  meeting-house  was  built  at  Pa- 
tapsco Station  about  1730  or  1731,  and  was  used  until 
the  completion  of  the  meeting-house  at  Fayette  and 
Aisquith  Streets.  No  vestige  of  Patapsco  meeting- 
house now  remains ;  but  the  ground  on  which  it  was 
located  is  still  used  as  a  cemetery  by  both  sections  of 
the  society.  In  1780,  John  Cornthwait,  Gerard  Hop- 
kins, George  Mathews,  John  and  David  Brown,  and 
other  members  of  Patapsco  Station  were  deputed  to 
buy  a  spacious  lot  between  Baltimore  and  Pitt  Streets 
for  the  purpose  of  a  meeting-house  and  burial-ground. 
The  ground  was  purchased,  and  the  construction  of 
the  edifice  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Fayette  and 
Aisquith  Streets  was  immediately  begun,  and  was 
pushed  forward  so  rapidly  that  on  the  22d  of  Febru- 


>  The  records  of  the  West  River  Monthly  Meeting  contain  an  account 
of  what  was  probably  the  earliest  effort  to  suppress  the  liquor  traffic  to 
be  found  in  the  annals  of  the  State.  The  minutes  on  the  subject  are  as 
follows:  "  At  a  Monthly  Man's  Meeting  at  the  house  of  Willium  Rich- 
ardson, at  West  river,  y  19th  day  of  the  fourth  month,  1702,  it  was 
taken  into  mighty  consideration  by  this  meeting  the  evil  and  wicked 
consequences  of  the  resort  of  divers  persons  proposed  to  sell  strong 
drink  at  ye  time  of  our  yearly  meeting,  and  inasmuch  as  the  complaints 
to  the  authorities  which  Friends  have  hitherto  made  have  had  y«  de- 
sired effect,  it  is  y«  advice  of  this  meeting  that  Mordecai  Moore,  and 
Samuel  Chew,  Richard  Harilson  and  Samuel  Galloway,  in  behalf  of  ye 
body  of  Friends  of  this  province,  address  the  Governor  and  Council,  lay- 
ing before  them  the  evil  and  dangerous  consequences  thereof,  and  re- 
quest y'  y"  same  may  for  the  future  be  suppressed,  that  so  we  may 
enjoy  our  religious  meetings  without  disturbance."  • 

"  At  a  Monthly  Meeting  held  at  the  house  of  William  Richardson  the 
4th  day  of  y»  tenth  month,  1702,  Those  Friends  appointed  to  address  Ui« 
Governor  and  Council  in  behalf  of  the  body  of  Friends  of  the  province 
for  suppressing  those  wicked  and  evil  practices  of  divers  people  selling 
strong  driuk  at  y  time  of  our  yearly  meetings  give  account  that  they 
have  accordingly  done  it ;  had  obtained  an  order  directed  to  the  sherifls 
of  Ann  Arundell  and  Talbot  Counties  for  them  to  see  there  be  no  such 
doings  for  the  future;  and  this  meeting  doth  appoint  Samuel  Galloway 
and  Mordecai  Moore  to  take  a  convenient  time  to  deliver  the  said  order 
to  the  Sheriff  of  this  county,  and  to  put  him  in  mindof  his  duty  in  seeing 
the  said  order  duly  complied  with." 


538 


HISTORY  OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


ary,  1781,  the  first  meeting  was  held  within  its  walls. 
The  building,  a  plain  but  comfortable  brick  struc- 
ture, is  surrounded  by  a  high  brick  wall  inclosing 
the  burial-ground,  in  which  are  the  graves  of  many 
whose  names  figure  prominently  in  the  history  of  the 
city.  Among  the  prominent  members  of  the  Society 
of  Friends  once  connected  with  the  meeting-house 
were  Philip  E.  Thomas,  first  president  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad,  Johns  Hopkins,  the  Gor- 
such  family,  the  Needles  family,  the  Giles  family,  the 
Brookes,  Stablers,  Snowdens,  Campbells,  Dicksons, 
Bartletts,  Moores,  and  many  others  well  known 
through  the  State.  On  the  22d  of  February,  1881, 
the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  meeting-house  was 
celebrated  in  the  venerable  building  with  religious 
and  commemorative  exercises  of  a  peculiarly  interest- 
ing character.  The  throngs  attending  the  earliest 
Yearly  Meetings  in  Baltimore  were  so  great  that  a 
large  tent  was  erected  for  their  accommodation  on 
the  then  green  lots  south  of  the  present  site  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  church,  at  the  corner  of  East 
Baltimore  and  Lloyd  Streets.  The  meeting-house  on 
the  south  side  of  Lombard  Street,  between  Howard 
and  Eutaw  Streets,  was  erected  in  1805,  and  that  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  Courtland  and  Saratoga 
Streets  in  1830.  There  is  also  a  meeting-house  of 
Orthodox  Friends  at  the  corner  of  Eutaw  and  Monu- 
ment Streets. 

The  Friends  have  a  meeting-house  at  the  corner  of 
Eutaw  and  Monument  Streets ;  the  eastern  district 
meeting-house  is  at  the  corner  of  Aisquith  and  Fay- 
ette Streets,  and  the  western  district  on  Lombard 
Street,  east  of  Eutaw. 

NEW  JERUSALEM  CHURCH. 
The  doctrines  of  the  New  Jerusalem  Church  appear 
to  have  been  preached  for  the  first  time  in  Baltimore 
in  1792.  On  the  l.st  of  April  in  that  year  permission 
was  given  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wilnier  to  explain  the  doc- 
trines of  his  church  at  the  court-house,  which  he  did 
in  the  presence  of  a  large  number  of  hearers  of  all 
denominations,  Judge  Cha,se  and  other  members  of 
the  bar  being  present.  Shortly  afterwards  the  "  Old 
Theatre"  was  obtained  for  the  purpose  of  holding 
divine  worship,  and  services  were  inaugurated  on  the 
15th  of  April,  1792.  In  1799,  Rev.  John  Hargrove 
and  others  erected  the  New  Jerusalem  temple,  at  the 
corner  of  Baltimore  and  Exeter  Streets,  and  the 
building  was  dedicated  during  the  ensuing  year.  In 
this  building,  which  was  known  as  the  old  "  Har- 
grove church,"  the  congregation  worshiped  for  many 
years.  In  1865  they  began  the  erection  of  a  new 
church  on  North  Exeter  Street,  near  the  bend,  the 
corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  on  the  12th  of  October 
in  that  year,  and  the  edifice  dedicated  on  the  8th  of 
April,  1866.  This  congregation  was  known  as  the 
First  Society  of  the  New  Jerusalem  Church.  The 
congregation  of  the  Third  New  Jerusalem  Church 
worshiped  for  a  time  in  a  liall  at  the  corner  of  Eutaw 


and  Madison  Streets.    On  the  24th  of  August,  1860, 
I  the  corner-stone  of  a  church  was  laid  on  the  south 
side  of  Orchard  Street,  near  Madison  Avenue,  which 
was  dedicated  on  the  1st  of  January,  1861.   The  mem- 
bers of  the  First  and  Third  Churches  having  subse- 
quently agreed  to  unite  and  form  a  single  congrega- 
I  tion,  the  churches  on  Orchard  and  Exeter  Streets 
!  were  disposed  of,  and  the  erection  of  the  present  edi- 
fice on  the  west  side  of  Calvert  Street,  north  of  Chase, 
was  begun.     The  corner-stone  of  this  edifice  was  laid 
on  the  20th  of  August,  1874,  and  the  cliurch  was  dedi- 
cated on  the  21st  of  March,  1876.     Its  pastor  is  Rev. 
Thomas  A.  King. 

First  German  New  Jerusalem  Church,  situated 
on  Lombard  Street,  near  Lloyd  Street,  was  organized 
in  1854.  The  congregation,  under  the  charge  of  Rev. 
A.  O.  Brickman,  at  first  worshiped  in  the  church  of 
the  English  New  Jerusalem  Society,  then  situated  at 
the  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Exeter  Streets.  In  a 
few  years  the  congregation  became  strong  enough  to 
erect  a  building  of  their  own,  and  the  corner-stone  of 
the  church  was  accordingly  laid  on  the  4th  of  July, 
1857,  and  the  edifice  was  dedicated  on  the  4th  of  Oc- 
tober of  the  same  year.  In  1801,  Mr.  Brickman  re- 
signed, and  was  succeeded  in  the  pastorate  by  Rev. 
L.  Carriere.  Mr.  Brickman  resumed  the  charge  in 
1864,  and  after  a  considerable  interregnum  was  fol- 
lowed by  Rev.  P.  J.  Faber,  in  1875.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  January,  1880,  by  the  present  pastor,  Rev. 
A.  Roeder. 

HEBREW  SYNAGOGUES. 
First  Synagogue. — This  is  the  oldest  Hebrew  con- 
gregation in  the  city.     The  present  place  of  worship, 
corner  of  Lloyd  and  Watson  Streets,  was  begun  in 

1844,  and  was  dedicated  on  the  26th  of  September, 

1845.  This  was  the  first  synagogue  built  in  Balti- 
more. In  1871  the  synagogue  underwent  a  thorough 
renovation,  and  was  rededicated  on  the  25th  of  August 
in  that  year.     Rev.  Dr.  Kraus  is  the  present  rabbi. 

Eden  Street  Sjmagogue.— The  congregation  of 
Eden  Street  synagogue  was  organized  July  8,  1843, 
and  at  first  worshiped  at  the  corner  of  Bond  and 
Fleet  Streets.  In  1847  the  erection  of  the  present 
edifice,  on  Eden  Street,  north  of  Lombard,  was  begun, 
which  was  dedicated  on  the  loth  of  September,  1848. 
In  1865  the  synagogue  was  thoroughly  renovated  and 
enlarged,  and  rededicated  on  the  1st  of  September  of 

!  that  year.  On  the  18th  of  August,  1871,  the  syna- 
gogue was   consecrated   with    imposing   ceremonies. 

!  Rev.  A.  Gunzburg  was  the  rabbi  from  Oct.  1,  184S, 

I  until  Oct.  1.  1858,  and  Rev.  H.   Hocklieimcr  from 

I  that  period  until  the  present  time. 

Third  Synagogue. — In  1849  the  members  of  the 
Har  Sltiai  Verein  determined  to  erect  a  new  temple 
for  Hebrew  worship,  and  in  June  of  that  year  com- 
menced the  erection  of  a  synagogue  on  North  High 

!  Street,  near  the  bend,  adjoining  the  Baptist  church. 
The  edifice  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  Septem- 
ber, 1849.    In  1856  the  synagogue  underwent  extensive 


RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 


589 


improvements  and  alterations,  and  was  rededicated  in 
October  of  that  year.  In  the  course  of  time  the  con- 
gregation became  too  large  for  this  edifice,  and  the 
present  building,  formerly  P.  E.  Church  of  the  As- 
cension, on  the  north  side  of  Lexington  Street,  be- 
tween Pearl  and  Pine,  was  purchased,  and  was  dedi- 
cated as  a  synagogue  on  the  4th  of  April,  1873.  The 
Eev.  Dr.  Sale  is  rabbi. 

The  synagogue  attached  to  the  Hebrew  Hospital,  on 
Monument  Street,  was  dedicated  on  the  Kith  of  Sep- 
tember, 1870.  The  Eighth  Synagogue  is  situated  on 
Hill  Street,  near  Hanover,  and  the  Sixth  is  on  Harri- 
son, near  Baltimore  Street.     It  has  no  local  pastor. 

Chazik  Amuno. — This  orthodox  congregation  was 
organized  April  2,  1871,  at  the  suggestion  of  Jonas 
Friedenwald.     The  first  officers  were  J.  Rosewald, 
president;    Jonas    Friedenwald,    vice-president;    T. 
Hartz,  treasurer;  Simon  Altmayer,  H.  Oppenheimer, 
trustees;  H.  S.  Hartogensis,  secretary;  Rev.  L.  Heil- 
ner,  cantor  and  reader.    The  congregation  met  at  first 
in  E.xeter  Hall,  but  subsequently   purchased   three 
lots,  the  site  of  the  present  synagogue,  on   Lloyd 
Street,  near  Lombard.     The  building  was  dedicated  [ 
Aug.  18,  1876.     Since  its  consecration  the  Rev.  Dr.  j 
Henry  W.  Schneeberger  has  been  preacher  and  prin-  1 
cipal  of  the  congregational  school.     The  school  has 
an  average  attendance  of  from  seventy-five  to  eighty 
scholars.     The  officers  of  the  congregation  at  present 
are   Jonas   Friedenwald,   president ;    H.   Nussbaum, 
vice-president ;  P.  Herzberg,  treasurer ;   H.  Oppen-  j 
heimer  and  J.  Weil,  trustees ;  H.  S.  Hartogensis,  sec-  i 
retary ;  Dr.  H.  W.  Schneeberger,  rabbi  and  preacher ; 
Rev.  H.  Glass,  cantor  and  assistant  teacher.     This  I 
congregation  was  formed  by  seceding  members  from 
the  Lloyd  Street  synagogue,  who  objected  to  a  de- 
parture from  the  orthodox  style  of  worship.' 

Polish    Synagogue.— The    congregation    of   this 
synagogue  was  organized  in  1865,  and  worshiped  for 
a  time  in  a  hall  on  Gay  Street,  near  the  bridge.     In  I 
1868  a  school-house  on  Exeter  Street,  north  of  Fayette,  ; 
was  purchased  for  the  use  of  the  congregation,  and  ' 
the  building  was  dedicated  on  the  11th  of  September 
of  that  year.     In  1878  the  construction  of  the  present 
edifice,  on  North  High  Street,  above  Fayette,  was 
begun,  which  was  dedicated  on  the  20th  of  September 
of  the  same  year. 

Hanover  Street  Synagogue.— The  Fourth,  or 
Hanover  Street  synagogue,  on  Hanover  Street,  be- 
tween Lombard  and  Pratt,  was  formerly  occupied  by 
the  congregation  of  the  Fifth  Presbyterian  Church. 
It  was  purchased  by  its  present  congregation  in  1858, 
and  was  dedicated  as  a  synagogue  on  the  14th  of 
August  in  the  same  year.  Extensive  alterations  and 
improvements  were  made  in  the  synagogue  in  1870, 
and  it  was  rededicated  on  the  23d  of  September. 
Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin  Szold  is  the  rabbi. 

Shearith  Israel  Synagogue. — This  congregation 
was  incorporated  in  1879,  and  is  composed  of  the  re- 
maining members  of  the  former  Howard  and  Eutaw 


Street  congregations,  the  word  "  Shearith"  meaning 
survivors.  The  place  of  worship.  Green  and  German 
Streets,  was  formerly  occupied  by  the  congregation 
of  Calvary  M.  E.  Church  South,  and  was  dedicated 
as  a  synagogue  on  the  4th  of  July,  1879.  Eev.  Dr. 
M.  Lilienthal  is  the  present  rabbi. 

The  sixth  synagogue  is  situated  on  Harrison  Street, 
near  Baltimore. 

UNITARIAN  CHURCH. 

The  First  Independent  Unitarian  Church,  north- 
west corner  of  Franklin  and  Charles  Streets,  was  or- 
ganized at  the  house  of  Henry  Payson  on  the  10th  of 
February,  1817.  The  present  site  was  soon  afterwards 
purchased,  and  Maximilian  Godefroy,  a  distinguished 
architect  of  the  day,  was  employed  to  design  and 
build  the  church.'  The  corner-stone  of  the  present 
noble  edifice  was  accordingly  laid  with  due  ceremony 
on  June  5,  1817,  and,  the  building  having  been  suffi- 
ciently advanced  for  public  wor.ship,  it  was  dedicated 
on  the  29th  of  October,  1818.  On  November  1st  of  the 
same  year  the  first  Sunday  services  were  held  in  it,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Colman  officiating  in  the  morning,  and  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Freeman  in  the  evening.  Rev.  Jared  Sparks, 
of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  was  engaged  to  preach  for  some 
weeks,  and  on  the  31st  of  January,  1819,  he  was 
unanimously  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  church. 
He  accepted  the  invitation,  and  was  ordained  accord- 
ingly on  May  5th.  The  sermon  on  this  occasion  was 
preached  by  the  celebrated  Dr.  William  Ellery  Chan- 
ning,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  the  most  distinguished  cham- 
pion of  the  Unitarian  faith,  and  it  was  regarded  as 
one  of  the  most  powerful  efforts  of  his  life.  Mr. 
Sparks  was  a  man  of  much  ability  as  a  writer  and 
thinker,  and  greatly  beloved  for  his  fine  social  quali- 
ties. During  his  ministry  he  entered  into  a  contro- 
versy with  Rev.  Dr.  William  E.  Wyatt,  of  St.  Paul's 
Church,  who  had  warmly  attacked  the  principles  of 
the  Unitarian  faith;  and  Mr.  Sparks  replied  in  a 
series  of  articles  defending  Unitarianism  with  signal 
skill.  His  pastorate  lasted  until  July,  1823,  when  he 
resigned  his  charge,  partly  on  account  of  ill  health 
and  a  desire  of  change  of  pursuits.  He  left  the  min- 
istry altogether,  although  he  alwa}^  remained  a  Uni- 
tarian, and  henceforth  devoted  himself  to  literary 
labors.  He  became  widely  known  as  one  of  the  fore- 
most of  American  historians  by  his  "  Life  and  Letters 
of  George  Washington,"  "Life  and  Letters  of  Frank- 
lin," and  "  Correspondence  of  the  Revolution."  He 
was  editor  of  the  North  American  Review,  and  of 
"  Sparks'  American  Biography"  for  three  years.  Pro- 
fessor of  History  in  Harvard  University,  and  became 
also  its  president.  He  died,  universally  respected  and 
beloved,  on  March  14,  1866,  in  the  seventy-seventh 
year  of  his  age.  He  retained  always  an  affectionate 
interest  in  the  city  and  people  of  Baltimore.     "  The 


1  The  trustees  of  the  church  in  1820  w( 
WUIiam  ChilJ.Koliert  H.  OsgooJ,  Willii 
Nathaniel  WillianiB. 


590 


HISTORY  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


amount  of  Mr.  Sparks'  literary  labor  and  its  popular 
estimation  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  more 
than  six  hundred  thousand  volumes  of  his  various 
publications  have  been  published  and  disposed  of."       ' 

After  the   retirement   of  Mr.  Sparks   the   church 
struggled  on  for  .some  years  without  a  settled  minis-  | 
ter,  various  clergymen  supplying  the  pulpit  from  time  1 
to  time,  until  April  23,  1828,  when  the  Rev.  George 
W.  Burnap,  who  had  for  nearly  a  year  i)revious  been 
l)reaching  in  the  church,  was  ordained  as  its  pastor. 
Mr.  Burnap  was  a  young  man  when  he  entered  on  his 
ministry,  and  he  continued  to  be  the   devoted  and 
zealous  shepherd  of  his  flock  for  a  period  of  nearly 
thirty-two  years.      During    this   period   he    became 
widely  known  iis  a  writer  in  controversial  theology, 
and  also  published  a  number  of   volumes,  such  as 
"  Lectures    to   Young   Men,"    "  Lectures   to   Young 
Women,"  etc.,  which  gave  him  a  deserved  and  hand-  i 
some  reputation  in  literature.    He  was  universally 
beloved  for  his   pure    and   unselfish   character,  and 
was  on  terms  of  cordial  friendship  with  many  of  the  ; 
orthodox  clergymen  of  Baltimore.     During  the  latter  ! 
j)art  of  his  ministry  some  persons  seceded  from  the  j 
church  and  established  another  congregation  under 
charge  of  Rev.  Mr.  Bowen,  preaching  at  the  old  Ma- 
sonic Hall.     Mr.  Bowen  continued  the  pastor  of  this 
second  society  until  some  time  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  civil  war,  when  he  entered  the  Federal  army  as 
chaplain.     Dr.  Burnap  died  suddenly  on  Sept.  8, 1859, 
to  the  grief  of  his  congregation.  i 

The  Rev.  N.  H.  Chamberlain,  of  Canton,  Mass.,  | 
was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  | 
Dr.  Burnap,  and  he  was  duly  installed  on  March  28, 
18()0.     About  a  year  after  he  was  settled  the  civil  war 
broke  out,  and  a  number  of  persons   left  the  church 
on  account  of  politics.     Mr.  Chamberlain  continued 
in  charge  until  Jan.  1,  1863,  when  he  resigned  the 
pastorate,  chiefly  on   account  of  a  change  in  his  re- 
ligious views.     His  resignation  was  accepted,  and  he  ] 
subsequently  united  himself  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  i 
and  was  ordained  to  its  ministry.     During  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain's ministry  the   church  was   injured   by  fire,  1 
burning  a  number  of  pews,  etc.,  caused  by  a  defect 
in  the  furnace. 

The  Rev.  John  F.  W.  Ware,  of  Cambridge,  Mass., 
was  invited  on  Jan.  12,  1864,  to  become  the  pastor  of 
the  church,  and  accepting  the  call,  he,  without  any 
formal  installation,  began  duty  on  May  15,  1864.  He  ' 
wiis  a  forcible  and  able  pulpit  orator,  but  becoming 
dissatisfied  with  his  situation,  he  resigned  his  charge  , 
on  June  29,  1867.  He  continued  for  some  time,  how- 
ever, to  preach  elsewhere  in  the  city,  and  his  Sunday 
evening  discourses  at  Ford's  Opera-House  attracted 
much  attention.  After  Mr.  Ware's  departure  there 
was  another  interregnum  for  some  time  in  the  affairs 
of  the  church,  various  ministers  conducting  the  ser- 
vices, and  among  them  the  Rev.  Orville  Dewey,  D.D. 
A  choice  v/aa  at  length  made  of  the  Rev.  Edward  C. 
(iuild,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  who  entered  upon  his  duties 


on  Sept.  19, 1869.  He  continued  in  charge  until  May 
27,  1872,  when,  greatly  to  the  regret  of  his  flock,  he 
sent  in  his  resignation,  remaining,  however,  as  the 
pastor  until  September  1st.  The  Rev.  Charles  R. 
Weld,  B.D.,  who  had  just  graduated  at  the  Divinity 
School  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  was  invited  to  become 
the  minister  in  place  of  Mr.  Guild  on  Oct.  27,  1872. 
He  accepted  the  position  thus  tendered,  and  was  ac- 
cordingly ordained  as  the  pastor  of  the  church  on 
Thursday,  Jan.  2,  1873.  Mr.  Weld  is  a  descendant 
of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards,  of  North- 
ampton, Mass.,  and  is  still  pastor  of  the  church. 

ASSOCIATED    EVANGELICAL  CHURCHES. 

The  First  Evangelical  Church  was  originally  situ- 
ated on  the  southeast  corner  of  Eutaw  and  Camden 
Streets.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  in  June,  1841, 
and  it  was  consecrated  on  the  12th  of  December,  1841, 
as  the  German  Evangelical  Emmanuel  church.  On 
the  night  of  the  14th  of  December,  1851,  the  church 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  its  reconstruction  was  begun 
in  the  following  spring,  and  it  was  under  roof  when 
the  property  was  purchased  by  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  Company,  in  July,  1852.  A  lot  corner 
of  Greene  Street  and  Cider  Alley  was  immediately  pro- 
cured and  the  present  church  erected,  which  was  dedi- 
cated in  the  latter  \>aTt  of  1852.  The  pastor  is  Rev. 
John  Koehl. 

Second  Evangelical  Church.— The  corner-stone 
of  this  church,  corner  of  McElderry  and  Short  Streets, 
was  laid  on  the  11th  of  September,  1848,  and  the  edi- 
fice was  completed  in  February,  1849.  After  having 
been  considerably  improved,  it  was  rededicated  on  the 
5th  of  September,  1869.  Its  pastor  is  Rev.  Daniel 
Schnebel. 

The  Third  Evangelical  Church,  on  Clark  Street, 
near  Fremont,  was  dedicated  on  the  14th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1873. 

The  German  United  Evangelical  Church,  be- 
tween 234  and  23(i  Eastern  Avenue,  was  dedicated 
April  12,  1874.     Its  pastor  is  Kcv.  F.  A.  Conradi. 

Bethlehem  Greene  (Welsh  Independent)  Church 
is  situated  on  Toone  Street,  east  of  Clinton,  Canton. 

TJNIVERSAIIST   CHURCH. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  Univcrsalist  church,  on 
Baltimore  Street,  near  Ceutral  Avenue,  was  laid  on 
the  19th  of  June,  1860,  and  the  edifice  was  dedicated 
on  Sunday,  March  24, 1861,  by  Rev.  J.  R.  Johnson, 
pastor,  assisted  by  Rev.  B.  M.  Tillotson,  Rev.  Moses 
Ballou,  and  Rev.  A.  Basserman.  The  congregation 
had  previously  worshiped  in  the  old  Univcrsalist 
church,  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Calvert  and  Pleas- 
ant Streets,  the  history  of  which  is  given  elsewhere. 
The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  R.  H.  Pullman. 

The  Third  Univcrsalist  Church  is  situated  on  the 
east  side  of  Nc.rlli  tirci'ne  Street,  near  Lexington 
Market.  It  was  dediiatod  Dec.  16,  1877.  Its  pastor 
is  Rev.  George  W.  Powell. 


KELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 

Paca  Street  Christian  Church.— This  church  wa-s 
organized  July  26,  1.840,  with  thirty-seven  members. 
The  congregation  met  for  a  short  time  in  the  Traders' 
Union  Hall,  Gay  and  Baltimore  Streets,  afterwards 
in  the  Assembly  Rooms  Building,  then  situated  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  Fayette  and  Holliday  Streets, 
and  in  November,  1840,  rented  and  occupied  War- 
field's  mgeting-house. 

The  present  hou.se  of  worship,  on  the  west  side  of 
South  Paca  Street,  near  Lombard,  was  dedicated  May 
26,  1850,  President  Alexander  Camjjbell,  of  Bethany 
College,  officiating  at  the  opening  services.  The  origi- 
nal building  was  enlarged  in  1873  by  the  addition  of 
the  present  vestibule  and  gallery.  There  are  now 
upon  the  church  register  about  six  hundred  commu- 
nicants. The  longest  and  perhaps  most  important 
pastorates  in  the  history  of  the  church  were  those  of 
Eev.  D.  S.  Burnet  and  his  immediate  successor.  Rev. 
A.  N.  Gilbert.  Rev.  H.  D.  Clark  is  the  present  pastor. 
The  site  occupied  by  the  church  and  the  graveyard 
which  surrounds  the  edifice  are  connected  with  asso- 
ciations of  considerable  historic  interest.  The  prop- 
erty a  century  ago  belonged  to  John  Eager  Howard, 
who  in  1787,  in  consideration  of  one  hundred  pounds 
specie,  conveyed  it  to  Abraham  Sitler  and  others  and 
their  successors,  as  "  trustees  for  the  society  of  Ger- 
man Baptists,  commonly  called  '  Dunkers,'  for  the  use 
of  the  society  forever."  On  the  17th  day  of  No- 
vember, 1808,  John  Eager  Howard  executed  another 
deed  of  the  same  lot  to  trustees,  some  of  whom  are 
named  as  trustees  in  the  deed  of  1787,  and  others  are 
different  persons.  The  last  deed  recites  parts  of  the 
first  deed,  and  states  that  it  vested  only  a  life  estate 
in  the  trustees  by  reason  of  the  omission  of  legal 
words  of  perpetuity,  whereas  it  was  the  intention  of 
Howard  that  the  lot  of  ground  should  at  all  times 
thereafter  be  used  as  a  burial-ground  or  place  of  de- 
posit for  the  remains  of  the  members  of  the  society  of 
German  Baptists  or  "  Dunkers,"  and  such  other  per- 
sons as  a  majority  of  the  trustees,  residing  in  Balti- 
more City  or  precincts,  might  give  permission  to  be 
buried  therein,  and  that  any  house  there  erected 
should  be  used  as  a  place  of  worship  for  the  society. 
To  give  full  effect  to  the  original  grant,  he  conveyed 
the  lot  to  the  trustees  and  their  heirs  or  assigns  as 
tenants  in  common, — "  in  trust  nevertheless,  and  to 
and  for  the  uses  heretofore  mentioned,  and  for  no 
other  purpose  whatever."  In  1849,  John  Stoufter, 
said  to  be  the  only  surviving  trustee,  and  heir  of  the 
others  named  in  the  deed  of  1808,  executed  a  deed  of 
license  to  the  "  trustees  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  city  and  precincts  of  Baltimore"  to 
erect  a  house  of  public  worship  on  the  lot.  The 
Christian  church  was  accordingly  erected  there,  as 
has  been  stated  in  the  first  part  of  the  sketch,  and  a 
dispute  arose  between  the  two  religious  bodies  as  to 
the  exclusive  right  to  worship  therein,  and  a  suit  was 


instituted  and  taken  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  in 
which  it  was  decided  that  the  license  was  valid  and 
binding  upon  the  parties;  that  Howard's  deed  of 
1787  was  in  direct  violation  of  the  thirty- fourth  article 
of  the  declaration  of  rights  and  therefore  void,  and 
that  his  deed  of  1808  was  the  first  valid  and  effective 
grant. 

In  November,  1874,  a  certificate  of  incorporation 
alleged  to  be  of  the  Society  of  Baptists  referred  to 
in  the  deed  of  1808  was  recorded,  and  on  Dec.  3, 
1874,  the  trustees  of  the  German  Baptist  brethren 
filed  a  bill  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  Baltimore  City 
alleging  that  they  represented  tlie  real  persons  for 
whom  the  lot  was  purchased  and  held  in  trust,  and 
that  having  become  incorporated  they  were  entitled  to 
have  a  conveyance  of  the  legal  title  to  the  lot.  An- 
swers were  filed  by  some  of  the  heirs  of  the  trustees 
named  in  the  deed  of  1808  denying  that  the  German 
Baptist  brethren  were  beneficiaries  or  entitled  to  the 
lot.  In  January,  1875,  Charles  F.  and  George  T. 
Stouffer,  heirs  of  trustees  under  that  deed,  filed  their 
bill  in  the  same  court,  in  which  they  allege  that  in 
consequence  of  the  growth  of  the  city  the  lot  had 
become  unsuitable  for  burial  purposes,  and  it  would 
be  for  the  advantage  of  all  parties  that  it  should  be 
sold  and  the  proceeds  distributed  among  them,  the 
remains  interred  being  carefully  removed.  The  tru.s- 
tees  of  the  German  Baptist  brethren  answered,  in- 
sisting on  their  right  to  a  conveyance  of  the  lot  and 
denying  that  the  others  had  any  beneficial  interest. 
Answers  were  filed  by  other  parties,  and  evidence  was 
taken  to  prove  the  identity  of  the  German  Baptist 
brothers  and  the  society  of  German  Baptists  called 
"  Dunkers,"  and  that  the  lot  is  not  now  used  as  a 
burial-place.  On  Oct.  23,  1877,  an  agreement  of  the 
parties  was  filed  consenting  to  a  sale  of  the  lot,  and 
that  the  proceeds  be  brought  into  court  for  distribu- 
tion, and  a  decree  was  passed  accordingly,  but  after- 
wards rescinded  by  agreement  of  the  parties  to  the 
cause.  An  amended  bill  was  filed  alleging  that  the 
trustees  were  notified  by  the  heirs  of  John  Eager 
Howard  that  in  case  the  property  should  be  diverted 
from  its  uses  as  a  burial-ground  by  a  sale  thereof  they 
would  claim  the  same,  and  that  a  cloud  had  been 
thrown  over  the  title  of  the  property  by  the  Howards' 
claim.  The  trustees  of  the  church  of  the  German 
Baptist  brethren  denied  the  claim  of  the  Howard 
heirs.  The  Circuit  Court  decided  that  the  decree  for 
the  sale  of  the  property  had  been  rightfully  passed, 
and  that  a  purchaser  under  that  decree  would  take 
title.  Another-  decree  ordered  the  sale,  reserving  the 
question  of  the  distribution  of  the  proceeds.  From 
this  decree  the  Howard  heirs  appealed,  the  main 
question  presented  being  whether  the  property  could 
be  sold,  or  whether  it  must  continue  to  be  held  as  a 
place  of  burial  of  deceased  members  of  the  society 
of  German  Baptists,  and  of  others  permitted  by  the 
trustees  of  that  denomination.  After  fully  reviewing 
the  case  the  Court  of  Appeals  said, — 


592 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


"  It  in  manifest  tlmt  neitlier  tlie  orifrinal  tnislccs  iinnied  in  the  deed 
of  1808,  nor  their  heire,  nor  the  lotlioldera  have  any  right  to  liave  tlie 
lut  sold  and  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  ditttnbuted  among  them  or  any  of 
them.  It  must  be  held  and  used  in  strict  conformity  to  the  terms  of  t!ie 
deed  by  which  it  was  conveyed  and  for  the  purposes  tliorein  specifically 
declared.  Should  it  he  diverted  from  tliose  uses  tlie  terms  of  the  deed 
under  wtiicli  alone  it  is  now  held  would  be  violated,  and  the  lieirs  of 
Gen.  Howard  would  immediately  become  reiuvested  with  title  to  tlie  lot. 
The  only  remaining  question  is  whether  *  the  trustees  of  the  church 
of  the  German  Baptist  brethren*  have  a  right  of  conveyance  of  the  lot 
from  the  heirs  of  the  ti-ustees  to  whom  it  was  conveyed  by  the  deed  of  1808. 
.  .  .  In  effecting  their  incorporation  the  requirements  of  the  code,  article 
40,  sections  1.^7  to  1G8,  seem  to  have  been  satisfactorily  complied  with, 
and  the  society  has  been  legally  incorporated.  The  corporation  is  there- 
fore entitled  to  a  couveyauce  of  the  lot,  to  be  held  by  it,  however,  subject 
to  the  tuea  declared  by  the  deed  o/  1808." 

The  property  must  therefore  be  used  for  burial 
purposes,  and  if  it  is  diverted  from  this  use  it  will 
revert  to  the  heirs  of  John  Eager  Howard. 

The  Christian  Church,  corner  of  Dolphin  and 
Ettiiig  ^^treets,  was  dedicated  on  the  11th  of  April, 
18G1I. 

SPIRITUALISTS. 

The  First  Spiritualist  Congregation  has  been 
regularly  incorporated  since  1865.  Their  place  of 
meeting  is  the  Law  Building,  southwest  corner  of 
Lexington  and  St.  Paul  Streets.  Wash.  A.  Danskin 
is  the  president. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

CHARITABLE,    BENEVOLENT,    AND    RELIGIOUS    IN- 
STITUTION,S  AND  ASSOCIATIONS. 

Charitable  Marine  Society.— This  institution  was 
incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  Maryland  in  1796, 
for  the  relief  of  the  distressed  widows  and  orphans  of 
the  members.  Thomas  Elliott  was  selected  as  the 
first  president,  and  Levin  Hall  as  the  first  secretary. 
During  its  existence  relief  has  been  extended  to  a  vast 
number  of  widows  and  orphans,  the  widows  receiving 
their  dividends  during  life,  and  the  orphans  until  ten 
years  of  age.  A  number  of  bequests  have  been  made 
to  the  institution  during  its  long  life,  and  as  the  funds 
are  carefully  .invested,  the  beneficiaries  receive  the  full 
benefits  of  the  society.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the 
original  members  of  the  association : 

Tliomas  Elliott,  David   Porter,  Thomas  Cole,  Levin  Hall,  Daniel  How- 
laii'i,  .lohri  Si)y<lrr,  .Tames  Stewart,  Thnothy  Gardner,  John  Stevens, 
Wi  ii.iii   l.(\.i.ii,  .John  Grant,  John  Towers,  Richard  Smith,  Clau- 
I  \\         :ij  Montgomery, WiilianiThompson,Jame8Duncan, 

\^  I  I   hn  Murphy,  George  Stiles.  Oboditth  Gaiduer, 

*i<    : -'■    Kiiiil,.),  .l.liii  Cunnin^liiuii.   Francis  Parker,  .Iiinics  Heed, 

topherLushuer,  William  Rush.-ll.  \   i  I        ,    l       i,     i  my, 

William  Kurlong,  Thomas  Mai,"  ;,  M,   :   i   .  I  w  ;:,  a.,.Iit- 

Bon,  Mildmay  Smith,  John  UmL.L,  I.Ii,i...  Ui^^,!..,,  .~>u,.,ii  Uliite, 
James  Boyd,  Robert  F,  Story,  Leonard  Yundt,  Matthew  Brown, 
Philip  Kdwards,  John  Smith,  John  Hall,  Simon  Deagle,  Stephen 
Ylckery,  Paul  Gould,  Matthew  Rawson,  Williiuu  C.  Smitli,  Mons, 
8,  Bunbnry,Milyor  Miller,  James  Donaldson,  Richard  Sisson,  Rich- 
ard Lawrence,  Richard  Todd,  Peter  Cloppcr,  John  Smith,  Jr., 
Hubert  Oliver,  John  O'Donnol,  Walter  Bell,  Willinm  Matthews, 
Samuel  H.  Gatchell,  Amos  Fislier,  George  L.  Story,  James  Beeuiau, 
John  McCoy,  Jesse  Phearson,  Louis  Toucas,  James  \V.  Latotiche. 


Peter  Gould,  John  Fisk,  George  F.  Trnitt,  Philip  Gtaybell,  William 
Robinson,  Thorndick  Chase,  John  E.  Howard,  William  Van  Wyck, 
George  Grundy,  Archibald  Robinson,  Conrad  Eiscleu,  William  Lip- 
sey,  William  Dawson,  Jacob  Reese,  William  Fields,  John  Hamilton, 
Thomas  Norman,  Ephraim  Merchant,  Samuel  Knapp,  John  Clarke, 
Peter  Sharp,  William  Williamson,  Guy  Rogers,  Christopher  Wil- 
liams, George  Martin,  George  Hunter,  Joseph  Wliite,  Jr,  John  Dil- 
lon, William  Patterson,  Diivid  McMechen,  Philip  Littig,  James  A, 
Buchanan,  William  B.  Smith,  Jacob  Meyers.  John  McMeyers, 
Abraham  Smith,  James  Simpson,  William  Peterkin,  Christopher 
Deshon,  Peter  Gesse,  James  Parker,  James  Coulthard,  John  Paunel, 
James  Williams.  Paul  Beiitalou,  Jacob  F.  Levy,  William  Jacobs, 
William  Hughes,  James  Frazier,  Robert  Stanley,  John  HolliDs, 
Caleb  Green,  Joseph  Hubbard,  John  Fry,  James  Philips,  William  T. 
Peachey,  James  Benson,  Levin  Dashiell,  Joseph  Smith. 

St.  Peter's  School  and  Orphan  Asylum. — St. 

Peter's  School  was  incorporated  on  the  2.')th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1806,  with  Rev.  George  Dashiell,  Edward  John- 
son, Thomas  Rutter,  Josias  Pennington,  William  Jes- 
sop,  Hezekiali  Waters,  and  Henry  Dorsey  Gough  as 
trustees.  It  was  provided  by  the  act  that  when 
parents,  guardians,  or  Orplians'  Courts  should  place 
any  poor  child  or  children  in  the  school,  they  should 
thenceforth  be  under  the  control  and  management  of 
the  institution  until  it  should  be  thought  proper  by 
the  trustees  to  bind  them  out.  The  school  w^as 
founded  by  the  liberal  endowments  of  Jeremiah  Yel- 
lott  and  James  Corry.  It  has  passed  through  many 
vicissitudes,  and  was  at  one  period  held  over  a  watch- 
house.  The  corner-stone  of  the  asylum,  which  is 
situated  on  Myrtle  Avenue,  near  Lanvale  Street,  was 
laid  July  1,  1872,  and  the  building  was  formally 
opened  on  the  .30th  of  January,  1873. 

Soup-houses. — There  is  no  record  of  the  first  soup- 
house  established  in  Baltimore,  but  it  would  seem 
that  charity  in  this  city,  as  elsewhere,  took  the  form 
of  soup  at  a  comparatively  early  day.  During  the 
winter  of  1804-.5,  which  was  one  of  extraordinary 
severity,  the  sufferings  of  the  poor  were  so  great  that 
it  became  necessary  to  hold  a  public  meeting,  and  to 
appoint  visitors  to  solicit  contributions,  and  to  dis- 
tribute the  charities  of  the  citizens.  To  their  alarm 
these  contributions  were  soon  almost  exhausted,  and 
upon  the  solicitations  of  the  then  mayor,  Thorogood 
Smitli,  the  visitors  consented  to  appropriate  one  hun- 
dred dollars  to  the  establishment  of  a  soup-house, 
and  appointed  Messrs.  Richardson  Stewart,  James 
Mosher,  and  George  F.  Kerforts  a  committee  to  put 
the  plan  into  execution.  The  soup-house  was  opened 
on  the  23d  of  January,  1805,  and  was  located  back  of 
No.  27  Harrison  Street,  near  the  Centre  Market,  and 
in  time  was  mainly  supplied  by  donations  from  the 
market-people.  A  thousand  quarts  of  soup  and  the 
same  number  of  loaves  of  bread  were  distributed 
from  this  house.  Tickets  were  given,  upon  which  the 
holders  received  the  quantity  to  which  the  size  of 
their  families  entitled  them. 

In  1819  the  severe  winter  and  the  dullne-ss  of  busi- 
ness made  it  necessary  to  resort  to  the  same  method 
to  relieve  the  poor ;  and  a  letter  was  addressed  to  the 
mayor,  Edward  Johnson,  calling  his  attention  to  the 
benefit  that  had  been  derived  from  the  soup-house  in 


CHARITABLE,  BENEVOLENT,  AND   RELIGIOUS   INSTITUTIONS. 


593 


1805,  and  suggesting  a  similar  plan.  The  mayor 
called  a  public  meeting,  at  which  it  was  determined 
to  establish  a  regular  society,  to  be  called  the  "  Bal- 
timore Economical  Soup  Society;"  and  at  a  meeting 
of  this  society  at  the  mayor's  office  on  the  6th  of  No- 
vember, 1819,  by-laws  were  adopted,  and  the  follow- 
ing officers  were  elected:  Col.  James  Mosher,  presi- 
dent ;  Edward  J.  Coale,  secretary ;  Randall  H.  Moale, 
assistant  secretary  ;  Isaac  McPherson,  treasurer.  Su- 
perintending Committee,  Abner  Neale,  Peter  Hoffman, 
Samuel  Harden.  Provision  Committee,  John  Schunck, 
Arch.  Sterling,  Charles  Diffenderffer,  William  Stans- 
bury,  James  Piper,  Peter  Gait,  Alexander  Yearly, 
Nathaniel  Knight,  John  Dukehart,  John  Franciscus, 
Samuel  Young,  George  A.  Hughes.  Bread  Commit- 
tee, George  Greer,  John  Barney,  William  Tyson, 
Evan  T.  Ellicott,  Randall  H.  Moale,  Edward  Palmer. 
Visiting  Committee,  Richard  Carroll,  William  Jen- 
kins, Robert  Watson,  George  Warner,  Frederick 
Getz,  Philip  Lawrenson,  Upton  Bruce,  James  Belt, 
Jr.,  John  Hewes,  William  Norris,  Daniel  Hoffman, 
and  Lambert  Thomas.  The  superintending  commit- 
tee was  authorized  to  establish  a  soup-house  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Centre  Market  and  elsewhere,  as  Uliey 
might  think  best.  In  January,  1820,  the  managers 
of  the  society  established  a  pay  soup-house  in  addi- 
tion to  the  free  ones  in  operation,  in  a  part  of  an  old 
auction-store  on  the  corner  of  Frederick  and  Second 
Streets,  where  those  who  would  not  make  use  of  the 
free  houses  could  satisfy  their  laudable  independence 
by  procuring  soup  and  bread  at  a  more  moderate 
price  than  elsewhere.  During  this  winter  the  distress 
of  the  poor  was  greatly  alleviated  in  this  manner. 

Again  in  1861,  when  provisions  rose  to  a  high  price, 
it  was  found  necessary  to  establish  soup-houses.  For 
several  winters  previous  Mrs.  Thomas  Winans  had 
supplied  the  poor  in  the  western  section  of  the  city 
with  soup,  but  in  1861  she  enlarged  her  charity  by 
purchasing  the  Presbyterian  church  on  Baltimore 
Street,  opposite  her  residence,  above  Fremont  Street, 
and  had  it  arranged  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  a 
soup-house.  The  cooking  apparatus  was  arranged  on 
the  outside  of  the  west  wall  of  the  building,  and  con- 
sisted of  ten  caldrons  with  a  capacity  of  eight  hun- 
dred gallons.  The  basement  and  audience-floor  of 
the  building  were  fitted  up  as  dining-rooms,  where 
those  who  did  not  not  desire  to  take  the  soup  home 
were  served.  The  soup  and  bread  were  only  given 
on  the  presentation  of  tickets  furnished  by  persons 
employed  to  examine  into  and  supply  those  who  were 
worthy  to  receive  them.  This  generous  charity  was 
not  closed  until  May,  1862.  In  that  time  1960  fami- 
lies were  relieved,  and  1,246,000  rations  were  issued, 
the  cost  amounting  to  over  $70,000.  In  the  same 
year  Mrs.  George  Brown  generously  established  a 
similar  place  at  her  residence,  at  the  southwest  corner 
of  Cathedral  and  Madison  Streets,  where  large  num- 
bers of  the  poor  were  daily  supplied  with  soup.  The 
same  year  private  citizens  established  a  soup-house 


on  Biddle  Street,  near  Madison,  which  was  reopened 
in  December,  1863.  In  1873  the  Ladies'  Relief  Asso- 
ciation established  and  successfully  conducted  three 
central  soup-houses,  one  at  27  North  Calvert  Street, 
one  at  76  South  Bond  Street,  and  another  at  172  Lee 
Street.  In  November  a  soup-house  was  also  opened 
at  97  Pennsylvania  Aveniie,  in  a  room  offered  by  the 
managers  of  St.  Peter's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
Home.  The  managing  committee  of  this  enterprise 
were  Charles  F.  Taylor,  chairman ;  John  E.  Hurst, 
W.  B.  Bansemer,  Joshua  Walker,  Henry  Snowden, 
Joseph  H.  England,  John  S.  Mills,  and  S.  E.  Hill. 
In  1877  four  different  soup-houses  were  in  operation 
in  different  sections  of  the  city,  among  them  a  soup- 
house  conducted  by  the  German  Ladies'  Relief  Asso- 
ciation at  No.  10  North  Caroline  Street,  and  the  La- 
fayette soup-house,  in  the  northwestern  section  of  the 
city,  in  the  basement  of  the  old  Patterson  mansion, 
near  Lafayette  Market,  established  by  Thomas  Brid- 
dell,  Joel  Miller,  W.  G.  Wills,  and  John  W.  Lee,  and 
sustained  by  large  contributions  from  John  T.  Ford 
and  others.  The  latter  soup-house  supplied  daily  a 
thousand  or  twelve  hundred  people  with  bread  and 
soup. 

The  Baltimore  Association  for  the  Improvement 
of  the  Condition  of  the  Poor  had  its  origin  in  1819, 
when  Mayor  Elijali  Stansbury  recommended  that  a 
convention  of  representatives  from  each  ward  in  the 
city  should  be  held  to  organize  a  permanent  associa- 
tion for  the  more  efficient  relief  of  the  worthy  poor. 
This  convention  was  held  in  the  chamber  of  the  First 
Branch  of  the  City  Council,  Mayor  Stansbury  acting 
as  chairman  and  Charles  L.  Lucas  as  secretary,  and 
after  several  subsequent  meetings  the  association  was 
regularly  organized. 

The  officers  of  the  association  consist  of  a  presi- 
dent, ten  vice-presidents,  a  treasurer,  corresponding 
secretary,  chairman  of  the  special  collection  com- 
mittee, recording  secretary,  complimentary  managers, 
six  managers  for  each  ward  in  the  city,  and  four 
agents,  located  in  the  First,  Second,  Third,  and  Fourth 
Districts.  The  city  is  divided  into  fourteen  districts, 
with  special  collectors  in  each  district.  The  affairs  of 
the  association  are  conducted  on  strict  business  prin- 
ciples, in  order  that  the  worthy  poor  may  secure  im- 
mediate relief  and  the  association  be  protected  against 
imposition. 

The  permanent  organization  of  the^association  was 
not  effected  until  Dec.  17,  1849,  although  the  record 
of  its  original  constitution  bears  date  May  17,  1850. 
John  Wilson  served  as  its  first  president,  Jesse  Hunt 
as  its  first  treasurer,  and  Chas.  L.  Lucas  as  its  first 
recording  secretary.  After  the  death  of  John  Wilson, 
in  1851,  the  late  Thos.  Wilson  was  elected  president, 
and  served  until  1853,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
Wm.  George  Baker.  At  his  death  the  late  Geo. 
Brown,  whose  venerable  widow  still  survives  and  is 
a  munificent  contributor  to  the  association,  was 
elected  its  fourth  president,  and  when   he  died,  in 


HISTOKY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUiNTY,  MARYLAND. 


1858,  John  C.  Brune  was  chosen  as  his  successor,  and 
ivniained  president  until  1862,  when  Jesse  Hunt,  who 
had  been  its  treasurer  since  its  organization,  was 
elected.  He  served  for  ten  years,  until  his  death  in 
1872,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  present  efficient  ex- 
ecutive, Edward  Otis  Hinkley,  who  is  the  seventh 
president  of  the  association.  During  the  first  five 
years  the  collections  amounted  to  $52,897  ;  during  the 
five  years  from  1875  to  1879  they  amounted  to  S136,- 
439.  During  1880,  15,032  persons  were  relieved  by 
the  association.  In  addition  to  material  relief,  the 
agents  of  the  association  pay  particular  attention  to 
the  religious  instruction  of  the  poor. 

The  central  office  of  the  association  is  situated  at 
No.  122  West  Fayette  Street.  The  agents  also  have 
oHicers  in  each  district :  First  District,  I.  L.  Beran, 
Jr.,  32  South  Eden  Street ;  Second  District,  Nicholas 
Vansant,  318  Aisquith  Street;  Third  District, Richard 
Hunt,  «0  Piiic  Street;  Fourth  District,  Joseph  K. 
Love,  170  South  I'aca  Street. 

The  (inly  salariecl  officers  of  the  association  are  the 
secretary  and  the  four  district  aLaMits,  whose  aggregate 
compensation  amounts  to  s;]»'X)  per  annum. 

The  Baltimore  Orphan  Asylum  is  one  of  the 
oldest  charitable  institutions  in  this  city.  It  was 
first  incorporated  on  the  31st  of  December,  1801,  as 
the  Female  Humane  Association  Charity  School,  but 
it  had  probably  been  organized  several  years  before 
it  was  chartered.  On  the  20th  of  January,  1808,  a 
second  act  of  incorporation  was  passed,  by  which  the 
name  of  the  institution  Was  changed  to  theOrphaline 
Charity  School,  and  in  which  the  Rt.  Rev.  John  Car- 
roll, Rev.  T.  Daniel  Kurtz,  Rev.  James  Inglis,  Charles 
liidgely,  of  Hampton ;  Christian  Keener,  Peter  Hoff- 
man, and  other  contributors  to  the  charity  were 
named  as  incorporators.  It  was  further  provided 
that  the  school  should  be  under  the  management  of 
nine  "discreet  female  characters,"  to  be  annually 
elected  by  the  contributors  and  subscribers.  Accord- 
ing to  the  statement  of  the  managers  published  in 
1819,  it  would  seem  that  up  to  1817  one  hundred  and 
eleven  children  had  been  provided  with  homes,  and 
that  in  the  latter  year  twenty-five  children  were  ed- 
ucated at  the  school,  four  of  whom  were  entirely  sup- 
ported by  the  funds  of  the  institution.  In  1819  the 
school  numbered  twenty-eight  pupils,  twenty-two  of 
whom  were  clothed  and  boarded  gratuitously.  At 
the  annual  election,  on  the  13tli  of  April,  in  this  year, 
Mrs.  Luke  Tiernan  was  chosen  president ;  Mrs.  Ken- 
nedy Owen,  secretary  ;  and  Mrs.  John  Hollins,  Mrs. 
H.  Schroeder,  Jr.,  Mrs.  John  Brice,  Mrs.  N.  Nelms, 
Mrs.  T.  Luca.s,  Miss  Bond,  and  Miss  Gill,  mana- 
gers. The  institution  was  originally  empowered  to 
continue  its  control  of  the  children  committed  to  its 
care  only  to  the  age  of  sixteen,  but  by  the  act  of  Feb. 
5,  1822,  the  "directresses"  of  the  school  were  author- 
ized to  "bind  out  female  children  until  they  should 
attain  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  or  be  married."  On 
the  25th  of  January,  1827,  the  name  was  changed  to 


the  "  Baltimore  Female  Orphan  Asylum,"  and  on  the 
20th  of  December  of  the  same  year  a  fair  was  held 
for  the  benefit  of  the  institution  at  the  Dancing  A.s- 
sembly  Rooms,  in  Eiist  Fayette  Street.  The  officers 
of  the  asylum  elected  April  19,  1831,  were  Mrs.  John 
Hollins,  president;  Mrs.  H.  Boyle,  treasurer ;  Mrs. 
Raymond,  secretary  ;  and  Mrs.  Lucas,  Mrs.  McClure, 
Mrs.  Taylor,  Mrs.  Nelms,  and  Mrs.  Nevins,  managers. 
The  following  ladies  were  elected  managers  on  the 
12th  of  April,  1836 :  Mrs.  Boyle,  Mrs.  Lucas,  Mrs. 
Tiernan,  Mrs.  McClure,  Mrs.  J.  S.  Hollins,  Mrs. 
McCuUoh,  Mrs.  Henry  Myers,  Miss  Lemmon,  Mrs. 
Raymond,  Mrs.  Joseph  King,  Mrs.  Edward  Williams. 
Mrs.  Raymond  was  elected  president  of  the  board; 
Mrs.  Boyle,  treasurer;  and  Miss  Lemmon,  secretary. 
By  the  act  of  1846,  ch.  54,  the  .institution  was  au- 
thorized to  take  charge  of  destitute  male  as  well  as 
female  children,  and  in  accordance  with  this  enlarge- 
ment of  its  powers  its  name  was  changed,  by  act  of 
the  Legislature,  on  the  28th  of  January,  lS.')(t,  to  the 
Baltimore  Orphan  Asylum.  The  first  location  ol  the 
institution  was  on  North  Calvert  Street,  adjoining  the 
City  Spring,  but  in  1823  the  trustees  erected  a  sub- 
staiAial  building  for  its  use  in  Mulberry  Street,  near 
the  cathedral.  On  the  10th  of  June,  1852,  the  corner- 
stone of  the  present  asylum,  on  the  east  side  of 
Strieker  Street,  between.  Le.\ington  and  Saratoga 
Streets,  was  laid,  and  on  the  10th  of  November, 
1853,  the  building  was  dedicated.  The  edifice  has  a 
front  of  one  hundred  and  five  feet  on  Strieker  Street, 
with  a  depth  of  eighty-five  feet,  is  constructed  of 
plain  pressed  brick,  and  affords  accommodations  for 
about  three  hundred  inmates. 

The  children  enter  the  institution  at  an  early  age, 
receive  a  plain  but  substantial  education,  and  are 
trained  to  habits  of  good  order  and  industry.  Mrs. 
Eliza  Baynard  is  president  of  the  asylum. 

'  St.  Mary's  Female  Orphan  Asylum  was  organ- 
ized Feb.  5,  1818,  and  was  chartered  Jan.  27,  1819,  as 
St.  Mary's  Orphaline' Female  School,  with  the  Most 
Rev.  Ambrose  Marfichal,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore, 
Rev;  Enoch  Fenwick,  Luke  Tiernan,  David  William- 
son, John  White,  and  John  Scott,  members  of  the 
Catholic  Church  of  Baltimore,  as  incorporators.  Mrs. 
L.  Ann  Tiernan,  Mrs.  P.  Ann  S.  Tiernan,  Mrs.  Eliza 
M.  Scott,  Mrs.  Jane  Chatard,  Mrs.  Juliana  William- 

!  son,  Mrs.  Sarah  White,  Mrs.  Ann  Groe,  Mrs.  Harriett 
Ghequiere,  and  Mrs.  Letitia  Bayle  were  named  by  the 

j  act  of  incorporation  as  the  first  managers  of  the  insti- 
tution.   The  corner-stone  of  the  edifice.  No.  70  Frank- 

i  lin  Street,  wa,s  laid  on  Sept.  11,  1828.    On  the  parch- 

j  ment  placed  in  a  slab  in  the  corner-stone  was  the 
following  inscription : 

"  To  tlie  glory  of  Alniiglity  God,  under  tlio  auspices  of  tlie  Blessod 
j  Virgin,  the  conior.»toiie  of  this  ediflce,  St.  Mary's  Cuthollc  Female  Oi^ 
I  plialiiie  Asylum,  estuklistied  liy  the  Most  Rcverenil  Ambrose  MarOchal, 
AD.  1819,  mid  of  which  he  was  ci  most  lllwrallwliofactor,  deeUned  fur  the 
education  of  orphans,  poor  children,  and  others  who  may  be  entrusted 
to  its  prntoclion,  was  laiil  liy  the  Most  Uevoroud  Janus  WliillleM,  the 
fonrlh  Archhishop  of  Bultilnore,  ussistod  by  the  liidy  nmimgolK,  Mre.  I.. 


CHARITABLE,  BENEVOLENT,  AND   RELIGIOUS   INSTITUTIONS, 


Tiernan,  Chatard,  Williamson,  Elder,  White,  Meyers,  P.  Tiernan,  E. 
Jenkins,  Walter,  Brand,  ilickley,  J.  Jenkins,  Jason  Jenkins,  J.  Scott, 
Ghequiere,  Stewart,  Claxton,  P.  Scott,  Campbell,  and  Miss  Spalding; 
the  gentlemen  protectors,  Lnke  Tiernan,  Edward  Jenkins,  John  White, 
and  John  Scott ;  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  to  whose  care  the  scliool  is  now 
coniniitted,  Felicita,  Marcellina,  Mary  Rose,  Mary  Frances,  Mary  Aloy- 
sia,  whose  names  are  liere  recorded  that  posterity  nmy  admire  their  zeal  * 
and  eninlate  their  example/* 

The  institution  has  also  an  edifice  and  grounds ' 
ou  the  Yorl£  Road,  near  Waverly,  Baltimore  Co.,  in- 
tended especially  for  the  use  of  the  children  during 
the  summer  months,  but  occupied  all  the  3'ear  by  some 
of  the  Sisters  and  their  wards.  Among  other  gifts 
made  to  the  institution  by  Archbishop  Marechal  were 
the  two  spacious  galleries  in  the  cathedral,  located 
above  the  southern  transept,  which  the  children  of 
St.  Mary's  Asylum  have  occupied  for  more  than  half 
a  century.  Since  the  construction  of  the  edifice  on 
Franklin  Street  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  en- 
large and  otherwise  improve  it  from  time  to  time 
to  meet  the  increased  demand  for  admission.  The 
present  superior  is  Sister  Gertrude ;  her  predecessors 
were  Sisters  Mary  Stella,  Maurice,  Matilda,  Valen- 
tine, Euphemia,  Julia,  Aiiacaria,  and  Louise. 

Aged  Men's  Home.— As  early  as  1860  the  lady 
managers  of  the  Aged  Women's  Home  contemplated 
the  erection  of  a  home  for  aged  men,  but  it  was  not 
until  May  19, 1863,  that  the  funds  in  hand  were  suffi- 
cient to  warrant  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the 
building.  On  the  10th  of  March,  1864,  an  act  was 
passed  by  the  Legislature  enlarging  the  powers  of 
the  Humane  Impartial  Society  of  Baltimore,  and  au- 
thorizing it  to  relieve  and  provide  for  indigent  men, 
and  on  the  19th  of  January,  1865,  the  home  was  for- 
mally opened.  The  building  is  situated  on  the  north- 
west corner  of  Lexington  and  Calhoun  Streets,  imme- 
diately adjoining  the  Aged  Women's  Home.  It  is 
untler  the  same  management  as  the  latter,  is  seventy- 
eight  feet  by  sixty  square,  three  stories  high,  with  a 
capacious  basement,  and  is  capable  of  accommodating 
forty-six  inmates. 

Aged  Women's  Home. — This  institution  was  origi- 
nally incorporated  Dec.  27,  1811,  as  the  Humane  Im- 
partial Society,  but  the  society  itself  existed  as  early 
as  1802,  on  the  7th  of  January  in  which  year  the 
first  regular  meeting  of  the  "  Female  Humane  Asso- 
ciation" for  the  relief  of  indigent  women  was  held  at 
the  residence  of  Bishop  Carroll.'  Its  purpose,  as  ex- 
pressed in  the  act  of  incorporation,  was  the  employ- 
ment and  relief  of  widows  and  the  education  of 
orphans,  and  it  was  provided  that  each  of  the  religi- 
ous denominations  in  the  city  should  be  represented  ! 
in  the  society  by  a  trustee.  Jan.  28,  1850,  the  mem-  j 
bers  of  the  society  desiring  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of 

1  A  free  male  school  was  among  the  first  enterprises  of  the  society,  and 
in  November  of  that  year  the  managers  reported  that  they  had  admitted 
thirty-three  scholars  to  the  institution,  and  had  in  part  clothed  twenty 
of  the  most  destitute.  In  1810  the  society  announced  that  it  had  en- 
gaged a  '•master  taylor"  to  superintend  a  department  in  their  ware- 
house, No.  25  Calvert  Street,  and  that  gentlemen  could  be  accommodated 
with  ready-made  clothes.  The  society  had  also  an  "  intelligence  office" 
at  this  period. 


their  benevolent  operations,  a  further  act  of  incorpo- 
ration was  passed  by  which  the  name  was  changed  to 
the  "  Baltimore  Humane  Impartial  Society  and  Aged 
Women's  Home,"  and  its  purposes  declared  to  be  the 
employment  and  relief  of  indigent  women,  the  pro- 
viding of  a  suitable  home  for  the  aged,  and  the  main- 
tenance and  education  of  orphans.  At  the  passage 
of  the  first  act  of  incorporation  Mrs.  Mary  Coulter 
was  declared  president,  and  Mrs.  Keziah  Morris,  Mrs. 
Sarah  McDonald,  Mrs.  McPherson,  Mrs.  Liddle,  Mrs. 
Peterkin,  Mrs.  Hartshorn,  and  Mrs.  Hagerty  man- 
agers of  the  institution  until  the'  first  election  under 
the  charter.  The  trustees  appointed  by  the  act  were 
Alexander  McKira,  Rev.  John  Glendy,  Rev.  Frederick 
Beasly,  Rev.  John  Hargrove,  Philip  Lawrenson,  Dr. 
Joseph  Brevitt,  and  the  Rev.  Alexander  McCaine. 
The  corner-stone  of  the  Aged  Women's  Home,  on 
West  Lexington  Street,  near  Franklin  Square,  was 
laid  Sept.  17,  1849,  and  the  building  was  formally 
opened  Oct.  28,  1851.  The  lot  was  the  gift  of  James 
Canby,  of  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  William  G.  Thomas, 
of  Baltimore.  The  officers  and  managers  of  the  home 
at  its  opening  were  Miss  Margaret  Purviance,  presi- 
dent; Mrs.  Ninde,  vice-president;  Mrs.  Dr.  Plummer, 
recording  secretary ;  Miss  King,  corresponding  secre- 
tary ;  Mrs.  William  G.  Harrison,  treasurer ;  and  the 
following  lady  managers :  Mrs.  Capt.  Leslie,  Mrs. 
Pickersgill,  Mrs.  Purdy,  Mrs.  Ridgely,  Mrs.  Kirk- 
land,  Mrs.  Corner,  Mrs.  Henderson,  Mrs.  Thomas 
Swann,  Mrs.  T.  H.  Wilson,  Mrs.  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe, 
Mrs.  Dr.  Johns,  Mrs.  T.  Wilson,  Mrs.  H.  Baker, 
Mrs.  W.  S.  Appleton,  Mrs.  Taney,  Mrs.  G.  H.  Wil- 
liams, Mrs.  William  Graham  Dunbar,  and  Misses 
Sprigg,  Wilkins,  E.  Wilson,  and  Miss  Monroe.  The 
trustees  were  Rev.  William  Hamilton,  Robert  P. 
Brown,  Hugh  D.  Evans,  N.  Monsarat,  Roger  B. 
Taney,  Joseph  King,  George  Brown,  William  G. 
Thomas,  William  G.  Baker,  J.  S.  Gittings.  Physi- 
cians, Dr.  A.  Robinson,  Dr.  R.  Stewart.  Wednesday, 
May  19,  1874,  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  addition 
to  the  building  was  laid,  and  it  was  completed  shortly 
afterwards.  This  addition  is  forty-seven  feet  in  length 
and  sixty-five  in  width,  and  contains  thirty-six  rooms. 
To  the  late  Miss  Margaret  S.  Purviance  belongs  the 
honor  of  first  suggesting  the  idea  of  a  "  Home  for 
Aged  Women,"  and  to  her  unwearying  efforts  this  as 
well  as  many  other  of  our  most  practical  and  useful 
charities  owe  much  of  their  present  efficiency  and 
success.     The  present  officers  of  the  institution  are : 

Mrs.  Henry  Patterson,  president;  Mrs.  A.  Fuller  Crane,  vice-president ; 
Miss  Alice  Armstrong,  recording  secretary;  Mrs.  Com.  Purviauce, 
corresponding  secretary ;  Mrs.  William  G.  Hoffman,  treasurer.  Man- 
agers, Miss.  C.  J.  Baker,  Miss  J.  Henderson,  Mrs.  Hammer,  Mrs.  Com. 
Purviance,  Mrs.  Patterson,  Miss  Grafflin,  Miss  Waesche,  Miss  Bright, 
Miss  Maund,  Miss  E.  Wilson,  Mrs.  A.  F.  Crane,  Mrs.  William  G. 
Hoffman,  Mrs.  J.  S.  Gittings,  Miss  Wilkins,  Miss  Meredith,  Miss 
Alice  Armstrong,  Mrs.  Pouder,  Mi-s.  Charles  Inglis,  Mis.  W.  W. 
Spence,  Mrs.  John  A.  English,  Mrs.  George  H.  Williams.  Trustees, 
Dr.  E.  Perkins,  Presbyterians;  William  G.  Thomas,  Friends;  C.J. 
Baker,  Methodists;  Hon.  T.  Swann,  Episcopalians.  Attending  Phy- 
sicians, Dr.  H.  M.  Wilson,  Dr.  Eyster.  Attorney,  George  H.  Wil- 
liams.   Matron,  Miss  Mcllhaney. 


596 


.HISTORY    OF   BALTIMOllE   CITY    AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  terms  of  admission  are,  for  a  native  of  Balti- 
more or  resident  tor  twenty  years,  three  hundred 
dollars  if  the  applicant  is  between  the  ages  of  sixty 
and  sixty-five,  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  from 
sixty-five  to  seventy,  two  hundred  dollars  from  seventy 
upwards.  If  the  applicant  be  from  one  of  the  counties 
of  Maryland,  the  rates  are  the  same  as  above,  with  the 
addition  of  a  thirty  dollars  annuity.  If  the  appli- 
cant be  from  another  State,  the  rates  are  the  same  as 
for  a  city  resident,  with  five  hundred  dollars  addi- 
tional. 

Home  of  the  Friendless  was  incorporated  under 
the  general  incorporation  law  of  1852,  and  was  opened 
on  Thanksgiving  Day,  Nov.  23, 1854,  at  No.  17  Neigh- 
bor Street,  East  Baltimore.  Two  months  afterwards 
it  was  removed  to  a  larger  house  on  Buren  Street,  near 
by.  In  October  following  it  was  removed  to  Eutaw 
Street,  near  Saratoga.  Shortly  afterwards  it  occupied 
two  houses  on  Paca  Street,  where  it  remained  until  it 
removed  to  its  present  location,  corner  Druid  Hill 
Avenue  and  Townsend  Street.  The  corner-stone  of 
the  present  "  Home"  was  laid  May  28,  1860,  and  the 
building  was  formally  opened  and  dedicated  April  2, 
18(il.  On  the  23d  of  February,  1871,  the  new  build- 
ing designu;l  for  the  use  of  male  inmates  was  for- 
mally opened.  This  addition  is  forty  five  by  fifty-five  ( 
feet,  and  i.s  four  stories  high  independent  of  Mansard 
roof,  which  furnishes  another  story.  It  is  divided  j 
into  twenty-seven  rooms,  including  one  wash  and 
four  bath-rooms  and  two  kitchens,  is  fitted  up  with 
the  various  modern  conveniences,  and  will  accommo- 
date about  one  hundred  boys.  It  cost  about  twenty- 
seven  thousand  dollars. 

Since  the  formation  of  the  Home  of  the  Friendless 
it  has  received  and  sheltered  nearly  sixteen  hundred 
children.  At  the  time  of  its  organization  there  were 
only  female  orphan  asylums.  The  Home  of  the 
I'Viendless  was  the  first  institution  in  the  State  to  pro- 
vide for  youn(j  boys,  and  was  the  first  to  include  a 
child's  hospital  in  its  work,  which  is  now  fully  or- 
ganized and  accomplishing  a  commendable  mission. 
The  institution  is  non-sectarian.  Its  first  officers 
were  Mrs.  James  E.  Atkinson,  president;  Mrs.  Mary 
C.  Towtie,  first  vice-president;  Mrs.  James  H.  Wil- 
son, secoiiil  vi(i-|iiisii|.iil  ;  .Mrs.  'i'liomas  Whitridge, 
treasurer;  .Mi-  I;,!..-,,;,  .M,(niik,'>  , -.mi  ,tary.  Mi's. 
Atkinson  and  .Mis>  .\l,('M]ikc\  h:i\c  Ik'I.I  their  respec- 
tive positions  of  jjrcsident  and  secretary  from  the  or- 
ganization of  the  "Home,"  in  1854,  to  the  present 
time.  The  first  managers  were  Mrs.  Charles  F.  Mayer, 
Mrs.  John  M.  Smith,  Mrs.  John  Fonerden,  Mrs.  Ann 
Sherrod,  Mrs.  Joseph  H.  Meredith,  Mrs.  Basil  B. 
Gordon,  Mrs.  Milton  Whitney,  Mrs.  Henry  Stock- 
bridge,  Jliss  J.  S.  CheflfeUe,  Miss  May  Keller,  Miss 
Kachel  Brown,  Mrs.  William  Ellicott.  The  first 
counselors  were  Mrs.  Dr.  Buckler,  Mrs.  Galloway 
Che-ston,  Mrs.  J.  Saurin  Norris,  Mrs.  J.  S.  Gittings, 
Mrs.  P.  II.  Sullivan,  Mrs.  Enoch  Pratt,  Mrs.  Samuel 
G.   Wyman,  Mrs.  John  P.  Stanley,  Mrs.  J.  Harmon 


Brown,  Mrs.  Sophia  Clark,  Miss  Isabella  Tyson,  Miss 
Mary  Frick,  Miss  Shaw,  and  Me-ssrs.  Thomas  Whit- 
ridge, J.  S.  Norris,  C.  F.  Mayer,  R.  M.  Lockwood, 
J.  D.  Pratt,  William  E.  Mayhew,  William  H.  Keigh- 
ler,  John  Williams,  Johns  Hopkins,  Joseph  Gushing, 
Milton  Whitney,  William  P.  Coles,  Charles  Grinnell, 
and  Jesse  Hunt.  The  physicians  were  Dr.  Charles 
Frick  and  Dr.  W.  C.  Van  Bibber.  The  present  offi- 
cers are  Mrs.  James  E.  Atkinson,  president ;  Mrs.  F. 
A.  Crook,  first  vice-president ;  Miss  Melissa  Boker, 
second  vice-president ;  Miss  Mary  L.  Frick,  treasurer ; 
Mrs.  Robert  Tyson,  recording  secretary ;  Miss  Rebecca 
McConkey,  corresponding  secretary.  Managers,  Mrs. 
Charles  F.  Mayer,  Mrs.  Josej)!!  H.  Meredith,  Mrs. 
Frank  White,  Miss  Anna  V.  Woodward,  Miss  Judith 
Cheffelle,  Mi.ss  Helen  Whitridge,  Miss  Mary  King, 
Mrs.  Dr.  Warfield,  Miss  Christina  Bond,  Mrs.  David 
T.  Busby,  Mrs.  Samuel  Landstreet,  Miss  Mary  Ensey, 
Mrs.  John  A.  Tompkins,  Mrs.  Andrew  G.  Waters, 
Mrs.  Hiram  Woods,  Mrs.  John  S.  Berry,  Mrs.  Horace 
W.  Robbins,  Miss  Anne  Armstrong,  Miss  Hester  Styles, 
Miss  Eliza  E.  Berry,  Mrs.  J.  Wesley  Wright,  Mrs. 
Mifflin  Coulter,  Mrs.  Lewis  Kalbfu.s,  Miss  Eliza 
George,  Mrs.  Charles  E.  Waters,  Mrs.  Eugene  Lever- 
ing, Miss  Jane  Bradford,  and  Miss  Emily  G.  Waters. 
Trustees,  Francis  T.  King,  Hiram  Woods,  Jr.,  Charles 
J.  Baker,  John  S.  Berry,  Francis  A.  Crook,  William 
Woodward,  William  F.  Frick,  Thomas  M.  Johnson. 
Physicians,  Dr.  P.  C.  Williams,  Dr.  W.  C.  Van  Bib- 
ber, Dr.  T.  Edmonson  Atkinson,  Dr.  William  G. 
Harrison,  Dr.  L.  McL.  Tiffimy,  Dr.  John  Van  Bibber. 
Girls'  Matron,  Mrs.  Johnson.  Boys'  Matron,  Miss 
Ensey.    Teacher,  Miss  Isaacs. 

The  House  of  the  Good  Shepherd  was  organized 
in  1844,  and  was  incorporated  in  August  of  that  year.' 
The  grounds  embrace  the  entire  block  bounded  by 
Mount,  Gilmor,  Hollius,  and  Lombard  Streets,  and 
when  first  occupied  the  buildings  consisted  only  of 
the  old  Donnell  mansion,  which  was  presented  to  the 
institution  by  the  late  Mrs.  Emily  MacTavish.  The 
site  is  one  of  the  most  elevated  in  Baltimore,  afford- 
ing an  extensive  view  of  the  city,  the  surrounding 
country,  and  the  river  and  bay.  The  property  has 
been  greatly  enlarged  and  improved  since  the  inaug- 
uration of  the  institution,  no  less  than  three  additions 
having  been  made  to  the  original  building.  The 
corner-stone  of  the  first  addition,  which  included  the 
chapel,  was  laid  by  Rev.  Thomas  Foley,  late  Bishop 
of  Chicago,  on  the  16th  of  July,  1866,  and  the  new 
building  was  dedicated  on  the  21st  of  November, 
1867.  On  the  7th  of  March,  1876,  Dr.  John  Foley 
laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  second  addition,  which 
was  dedicated  on  the  2Sth  of  August  of  the  same 
year ;  the  third  and  last  addition  was  dedicated  Nov. 
9,  1880.  The  object  of  the  institution  is  the  recla- 
mation and  reformation  of   fallen   and  unfortunate 

1  The  Sistei-s  commoncod  thuir  work  in  a  Iiutine  on  West  I*ratt  Street, 
wiiero  Father  ThoniM  Foley  said  the  first  miuis  on  the  Clli  of  August. 
This  luculiun,  liiiwover,  wiu*  soon  iibiuidoni'il  for  liie  one  now  occupied. 


CHARITABLE,  BENEVOLENT,  AND   RELIGIOUS   INSTITUTIONS. 


597 


women,  and  the  preservation  of  young  girls  and 
children  in  danger  of  being  led  to  ruin.  Since  its 
establishment  the  institution  has  received  nine  hun- 
dred and  sixty-nine  women  and  girls,  of  whom  five 
hundred  and  fifty-seven  have  returned  to  their  friends, 
one  hundred  and  eighty-three  have  left  of  their  own 
accord,  fifty-six  have  died  happily,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-three  are  still  inmates.  By  the 
act  of  1878  additional  corporate  powers  were  granted  , 
to  the  institution,  by  which  justices  of  the  peace 
in  the  city  or  counties,  the  judge  of  the  Criminal  j 
Court  of  Baltimore,  and  the  judges  of  the  Circuit 
Courts  of  the  counties  were  authorized  to  commit  to 
it  incorrigible  and  vicious  white  females  under  the 
age  of  eighteen  years.  Since  the  passage  of  this  act  I 
one  hundred  and  twenty  persons  have  been  committed  [ 
under  its  provisions,  of  whom  fifty-nine  have  been 
released,  and  sixty-one  are  still  inmates.  The  House 
of  the  Good  Shepherd  is  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of 
the  Good  Shepherd,  with  Sister  Mary  Joseph  as  su- 
perior. Rev.  Thomas  Foley,  late  Bishop  of  Chicago, 
was  the  first  president,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Dr.  John  Foley,  pastor  of  St.  Martin's  Church. 

The  Home  for  Fallen  Women  was  organized  in 
March,  1869.  It  was  first  situated  on  Frederick  Street, 
in  a  house  rented  for  the  purpose.  On  the  27th  of 
November,  1874,  it  was  removed  to  the  house  at  pres- 
ent occupied.  No.  1  North  Exeter  Street,  which  was 
purchased  for  a  permanent  home.  Its  object  is  to 
rescue  fallen  women,  and.  by  the  invitations  and  en- 
couragements of  the  gospel  to  endeavor  to  raise  them 
to  lives  of  virtue  and  usefulness.  Its  first  president 
was  Mrs.  G.  R.  Dodge.  Mrs.  E.  B.  Murdoch  is  her 
successor  in  that  office.  Mrs.  E.  W.  Anderson  is 
secretary.  Dr.  G.  G.  Child  is  the  superintendent, 
and  Mrs.  Child  is  matron  of  the  institution.  | 

Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor. — The  work  of  the  Little 
Sisters  of  the  Poor  in  Baltimore  was  commenced  in  ! 
1869.  In  April  of  that  year  they  rented  Nos.  160  and  [ 
162  North  Calvert  Street,  two  doors  south  of  Centre  [ 
Street,  where  they  began  their  work  of  noble  and  self- 
sacrificing  labors  for  the  poor.  Their  efibrts  met 
with  a  warm  and  ready  response,  and  on  the  21st  of 
April,  1870,  one  wing  of  the  spacious  buildings  now 
occupied  by  them,  at  the  corner  of  John  and  Valley 
Streets,  was  dedicated  by  the  Very  Rev.  H.  B.  Cos- 
kery.  On  the  26th  of  April,  1874,  the  corner-stone  of 
the  chapel  and  central  portion  of  the  edifice  was  laid 
by  Father  McManus,  pastor  of  St.  John's  Church, 
and  on  the  25th  of  October  of  the  same  year  this  ad- 
dition was  dedicated  by  Archbishop  Bayley.  The 
hospital  wing  was  completed  subsequently,  and  adds 
greatly  to  the  practical  usefulness  of  the  institution. 
The  buildings  occupy  one  of  the  finest  sites  in  the 
city,  are  admirably  planned  and  constructed,  and 
form  a  fitting  monument  to  the  devoted  zeal  which  in 
so  short  a  time  called  them  into  existence.  The  in- 
mates consist  of  the  aged  poor,  who  are  entirely  sup- 
ported by  the  daily  charities  solicited  by  the  Sisters. 


German  Orphan  Asylum. — This  institution  was  or- 
ganized in  1863  as  the  Lutheran  Orphan  Asylum,  and 
occupied  a  building  at  No.  69  East  Pratt  Street, 
which  was  dedicated  on  November  8th  in  that  year. 
It  was  founded  by  Rev.  Martin  Kratt,  and  among 
those  prominently  connected  with  its  organization 
were  Prof  Krapp,  Prof.  Facius,  and  E.  C.  Linden. 
In  1867  the  asylum  was  removed  from  Pratt  Street 
to  the  large  three-story  building  No.  69  North  Cal- 
vert, which  was  dedicated  to  the  puriwses  of  the  in- 
stitution on  the  7t.h  of  July  in  that  year.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  the  managers  of  the  institution  on  the  16th  of 
May,  1872,  it  was  determined  to  purchase  the  old 
Carmelite  Convent  property,  corner  of  Aisquith  and 
Orleans  Streets,  which  was  accordingly  done,  and  on 
the  30th  of  March,  1873,  the  work  of  tearing  down 
the  convent  building  to  make  room  for  the  present 
asylum  was  commenced.  On  the  22d  of  June  of  the 
same  year  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  building  was 
laid  with  imposing  ceremonies.  A  procession,  which 
preceded  the  ceremony  proper,  was  composed  of  most 
if  not  all  of  the  German  lodges  and  societies  in  the 
city,  and  was  one  of  the  finest  and  largest  demonstra- 
tions of  its  kind  which  ever  took  place  in  Baltimore. 
The  procession  was  under  the  command  of  Chief  Mar- 
shal Otto  Duker,  with  Charles  Seipp  and  H.  Wehr  as 
assistants,  and  the  following  stafl":  Adjutant-in-Chief, 
C.  F.  Winter ;  George  Strohmeyer,  A.  Prey,  G.  Rauth, 

B.  Stolt,  August  Kiel,  D.  F.  Kohl,  George  Robinson  ,H. 
Mooyer,  C.  Edlemann,  L.  Strassburger,  John  Scharz, 

C.  Sauer,  F.  Everett,  Jacob  Edlemann,  J.  Drechler, 
H.  E.  Valentine,  F.   Plitz,  E.  Sibirt,  F.  Meyer,  H. 
Lehr,  J.  Guenther,  S.  Newhan,  H.  Best,  P.  Otto,  F.  ■ 
Schwear,  and  H.  Noss.     The  first  division  was  mar- 
shaled by  Charles  Blumhardt,  who  was  assisted  by 

A.  Beck  and  G.  Schwerder  as  adjutants.  The  second 
division  was  marshaled  by  Charles  Schwarzhaupt, 
and  Lewis  H.  Robinson  and  John  Vonderhorst  as 
adjutants.  The  third  division  was  under  the  com- 
mand of  H.  Eckes,  with  H.  Drokenbrot  and  H.  Men- 
ger  as  adjutants.  The  fourth  division  was  under  the 
marshalship  of  C.  Lotz,  with  H.  Schuckhardt  and 
William  Burkheimer  as  adjutants.  The  fifth  division 
was  under  the  command  of  C.  Knoeft".  The  opening 
address  was  delivered  by  Prof  Facius,  the  president 
of  the  German  Orphan  Asylum.  The  building  was 
dedicated  on  the  22d  of  June,  1874.  It  is  constructed 
of  brick,  with  Ohio  stone  trimmings,  and  consists  of 
a  main  building  and  two  wings,  and  has  a  front  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet.  Its  cost  was  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  and  the  cost  of  the  lot,  which  is  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  front  by  two  hundred  deep, 
was  thirty  thousand  dollars.  The  convent  chapel  was 
not  torn  down,  and  its  first  floor  is  now  used  as  a 
directors'  room,  and  the  second  floor  for  hospital  pur- 
poses. The  ofiicers  are  John  Ulrich,  president;  P. 
L.  Keyser,  treasurer ;  Wm.  Eckhardt,  secretary ;  Lewis 

B.  Schaeffer,  superintendent. 

St.  Joseph's  House  of  Industry  wius  founded  in 


598 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


18()5,  and  was  originally  situated  at  84  North  Greene 
Street.  Its  purpose  is  to  provide  a  home  for  girls  who 
have  grown  too  old  to  remain  in  the  infant  orphan 
asylums  of  the  Catholic  Church,  but  who  are  still  too 
young  to  be  thrown  upon  the  world  without  guidance 
or  direction.  The  beneficiaries  of  the  institution  are 
trained  to  useful  and  practical  employments,  and  are 
fitted  when  they  leave  it  to  earn  a  comfortable  sup- 
port. It  is  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity;  its 
present  loi'iition  is  iit  Waverly  Terrace,  southeast 
corner  of  Carey  and  lycxirigtoii  Streets. 

The  Society  for  the  Education  of  Hebrew  Poor 
and  Orphan  Children  was  organized  Feb.  8,  1852, 
for  the  piiri)ose  of  providing  for  the  education  of  poor 
and  orphan  Hebrew  children.  The  society  is  now 
educating  about  thirty  children,  and  numbers  about 
one  hundred  members.  Its  first  president  was  Louis 
Hamnierslough,  who  was  sucoeeded  by  Jacob  Gazan 
and  Jonas  Friedenwald.  .Jacob  Rose  is  the  present 
presiding  officer;  Jonas  Goldsmith,  secretary. 

The  P.  E.  Brotherhood  of  Baltimore  wa-s  organ- 
ized December,  18r>l,  and  chartered  in  1856.  The 
objects  of  the  brotherliood  are,  first,  the  mutual  care 
and  relief  of  its  members  when  sick  or  physically 
disabled,  to  secure  its  deceased  Christian  burial,  to 
succor  their  widows  or  orphans,  and  to  promote 
among  its  members  Christian  fellowship  and  love; 
and  secondly,  to  minister  according  to  its  ability  to 
the  relief  of  the  sick  stranger  and  destitute  of  their 
own  communion  other  than  members  of  the  brother- 
hood. Its  successive  presidents  were,  first,  William 
Woodward;  second,  Enoch  S.  Courtney;  third,  Robert 
M.  Proud;  fourth,  Henry  W.  Rogers;  fifth,  Marion 
K.  Burch.  Its  history  has  been  marked  by  a  quiet 
but  steady  adherence  to  the  benevolent  objects  of  its 
formation. 

The  Protestant  Infant  Asylum  was  organized  in 
1875,  and  was  at  first  located  at  163  West  Lombard 
Street,  but  was  afterwards  removed  to  the  old  Bar- 
num  place,  on  the  Harford  road.  The  first  officers 
were  Mrs.  Wm.  H.  Brune,  president ;  Mrs.  D.  H.  Gor- 
don, Mrs.  Dr.  H.  M.  Wilson,  Mrs.  Geo.  W.  Brown, 
Mrs.  Kennard  Chandler,  Miss  Kate  McClellan,  and 
Mi.ss  Eliza  Berry,  vice-presidents;  Mrs.  A.  M.  Gordon, 
treasurer;  Mrs.  C.  B.  Murdoch,  corresponding  secre- 
tary ;  and  Mrs.  C.  C.  Brooks,  recording  secretary. 
The  board  of  directors  was  composed  of  Messrs. 
Woodward  Abrahams,  T.  Harrison  Garrett,  Eugene 
Levering,  Joseph  Merrifield,  Charles  Slagle,  Rev.  Dr. 
Grammer,  Judge  John  A.  Inglis,  Dr.  Thomas  Lati- 
mer, Dr.  C.  F.  Bevan,  Mr.  Phillii»s,  Wm.  Canby,  and 
Wm.  Whitridge. 

St.  Anthony's  Orphan  Asylum.— This  institution 
is  intended  for  the  children  of  German  Catholic  pa- 
rents. The  present  building,  on  Central  Avenue,  near 
Eager  Street,  was  commenced  in  1852,  the  corner- 
stone being  laid  October  24th  of  that  year.  It  was 
dedicated  on  the  25th  of  May,  1854.  In  1860  the  in- 
stitution was  chartcre<l  under  the  name  of  "St.  An- 


thony's Orphan  Asylum  in  Baltimore  City."  The 
'  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  have  charge  of  the  orphans, 
who  number  from  eighty  to  one  hundred.  The  rector 
of  St.  Alphonsus'  Church  is  e.r  officio  the  prt«ident  of 
the  board. 

The  Convent  of  the  Visitation  was  founded  in 
November,  1838,  by  several  Sisters  from  the  convent 
at  Georgetown,  who  came  to  Baltimore  upon  the  invi- 
tation of  the  archbishop,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  ex- 
perienced friends.  The  first  superioress  was  Sister 
Mary  Juliana  Mathews,  who  has  since  been  followed 
in  that  office  by  Sisters  Michaella  Jenkins,  Pauline 
Millard,  and  Mary  Leonard  Neale.  The  first  location 
of  the  convent  was  at  the  corner  of  Greene  .imiI  Mul- 
berry Streets.  The  present  location  is  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  Park  Avenue  and  Centre  Street,  where 
the  convent  property  occupies  half  a  square,  bounded 
on  the  east  by  Park  Avenue,  south  by  Centre  Street, 
and  west  by  Howard  Street.  Here  the  Sisters  have 
long  conducted  a  female  academy,  which  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  best  of  its  kind  in  the  country.  The 
institution  is  attended  by  the  Redemptorist  Fathers 
from  St.  .\lplionsus'. 
i  The  Oblate  Sisters  of  Providence  were  founded 
on  the  5th  of  June,  1825,  by  Rev.  James  Neator  Jou- 
bert,  a  French  priest,  who  had  been  driven  from  San 
Domingo  by  the  negro  insurrection,  in  which  his  rela- 
tives had  fallen  victims  to  the  ferocity  of  the  blacks. 
In  a  noble  spirit  of  revenge  he  determined  to  dedi- 
cate the  remainder  of  his  life  to  the  amelioration  of 
the  colored  race,  and  with  the  approval  and  »ncour- 
agement  of  Archbishop  Whitfield,  organized  the  new 
colored  sisterhood.  The  proposal  at  first  met  with 
opposition,  but  it  finally  prevailed,  and  three  colored 
Sisters  were  brought  from  San  Domingo  to  control  and 
direct  the  management.  In  1829  the  organization  of 
the  order  was  completed,  and  in  1831  the  sisterhood 
in  America  was  acknowledged  by  the  Holy  See.  The 
sisterhood  was  located  for  many  years  in  Richmond 
Street,  opposite  Park,  but  was  at  last  forced  to  select 
another  location.  The  corner-stone  of  the  structure. 
Chase  Street  and  Forrest  Place,  at  present  occupied 
by  them,  was  laid  in  1870  by  Archbishop  Spalding, 
and  the  building  was  so  far  completed  as  to  admit  of 
occupancy  in  August,  1871,  when  the  sisterhood,  after 
having  spent  more  than  forty  years  in  the  old  building 
on  Richmond  Street,  removed  to  their  new  quarters. 
Among  the  members  of  the  sisterhood  at  this  time 
was  Sister  Mary  Lange,  one  of  the  three  Sisters  who 
had  come  over  to  found  the  order  in  1829.  Although 
more  than  ninety  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  re- 
moval from  Richmond  Street,  she  still  retained  her 
mental  faculties  unimpaired.  The  institution  is  at 
present  known  as  St.  Francis'  Convent  and  Academy. 
Carmelite  Convent. — The  community  of  the  Car- 
melites or  Tcresian  Nuns,  whose  convent  is  situated 
at  the  corner  of  Biddle  and  Caroline  Streets,  is  the 
oldest  in  the  United  States  except  the  Ursuline  Con- 
vent in   New  Orleans.     During  the  eighteenth  ecu- 


CHAKITABLE,  BENEVOLENT,  AND   RELIGIOUS   INSTITUTIONS. 


tury  an  aunt  of  the  late  Father  Matthews,  of  Wash- 
ington, went  from  her  home  in  Charles  County  to 
join  the  order  at  one  of  their  houses  in  Belgium. 
Two  sisters  of  the  same  clergyman,  together  with  a 
Miss  Brent,  joined  this  lady  in  her  retreat.  Miss 
Brent  died  in  Belgium,  but  in  1790  the  three  ladies,' 
with  a  lady  who  had  joined  them  in  England,  re- 
turned to  Maryland,  and  established  a  community  in 
Charles  County.  They  were  accompanied  by  Rev. 
Charles  Neale,  who  built  them  a  house  at  Port  To- 
bacco at  his  own  expense.  In  1831  they  left  their 
home  in  Port  Tobacco,  and  with  Mother  Angela  Mudd 
as  superior,  and  a  membership  of  twenty-four,  came 
to  Baltimore.  At  one  time  the  Sisters  had  a  very 
respectable  school  for  girls,  which  was  liberally 
patronized,  but  at  the  suggestion  of  Archbishop  Ken- 
rick  the  academy  was  closed,  as  not  being  altogether 
in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  order,  which  re- 
quires absolute  retirement.  The  fir.st  location  of  the 
convent  was  on  Aisquith  Street,  near  Orleans,  which 
was  occupied  by  the  Sisters  for  forty-two  years.  The 
corner-stone  of  the  present  convent,  southwest  corner 
of  Caroline  and  Biddle  Streets,  was  laid  on  the  21st 
of  July,  1872,  by  Bishop  Lynch,  and  the  building  was 
dedicated  on  the  28th  of  JUJarch,  1873.  The  old  con- 
vent was  sold  t(i  the  trustees  of  tlie  German  Orphan 
Asyhini,  and  the  site  is  now  occupied  by  that  institu- 
tion. 

Henry  Watson  Aid  Society.— The  (irst  meeting 
for  the  purpose  of  forming,  this  society  was  held  in 
the  Central  Presbyterian  church,  corner  of  Saratoga 
and  Liberty  Streets,  on  Sept.  18,  1860.  It  was  incor- 
porated on  the  14th  of  February,  1862,  under  the 
name  of  the  Children's  Aid  Society  of  Baltimore, 
with  William  B.  Canfield,  Isaac  P.  Cook,  John  Cur- 
lett,  J.  Dean  Smith,  Edward  Otis  Hinkley,  Charles 
Hoffman,  Telfair  Marriott,  and  G.  S.  Griffith  as  in- 
corporators. By  the  act  of  March  1,  1864,  it  was 
provided  that  the  judges  of  the  Orphans'  Court  of 
Baltimore,  the  judge  of  the  Criminal  Court,  any  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  the  trustees  of  the  poor,  and  the 
ward  managers  of  the  poor  might  commit  to  the 
president  and  board  of  managers  of  the  society  any 
minor,  whether  male  or  female,  in  the  same  manner  j 
and  under  the  same  circumstances  as  they  are  author- 
ized to  deal  with  and  commit  female  minors  to  the  ' 
Home  of  the  Friendless.  The  president  and  board  of  j 
managers  were  also  vested  with  all  the  rights  and 
authority  possessed  by  the  Home  of  the  Friendless, 
and  were  empowered  to  bind  out  male  minors  until  I 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  In  consequence  of  the 
handsome  endowment  of  Henry  Watson,  on  the  12th 
of  February,  1872,  the  name  was  changed  to  the 
Henry  Watson  Children's  Aid  Society  of  Baltimore. 
The  present  "  Home"  of  the  society  is  situated  at  Nos. 
70  and  72  North  Calvert  Street.    The  first  home  was  a 


Aluysiusand  Eleanor  Mm 
superiur  inlsdo,  umi  reiiu 


Bernadine  Matthewe,  superior,  her  i 
V8,  and  Sister  Mary  DicUineon,  who  h 
1  so  until  her  deatli,  Mareh  27,  1830. 


rented  dwelling.  No.  7  Courtland  Street,  near  Lexing- 
ton, which  was  occupied  Jan.  21,  1861.  The  second 
home  was  also  a  rented  dwelling.  No.  166  West 
Lombard  Street,  near  Howard.  The  present  home 
was  occupied  and  dedicated  to  its  use  Feb.  1,  1866. 
The  Girls'  Home  Department,  which  occupies  No.  70 
North  Calvert  Street,  was  first  occupied  and  dedi- 
cated to  its  present  purposes  June  19,  1872.  It  is  de- 
signed as  a  home  for  respectable  working-girls  unable 
to  pay  over  two  dollars  a  week  for  their  board,  and 
for  apprentices  unable  to  pay  anything.  The  Free 
Sewing-Schools  are  also  located  at  No.  70,  and  are 
designed  to  furnish  gratuitous  instructions  to  depend- 
ent girls  in  the  use  of  sewing-machines,  so  as  to 
qualify  them  to  earn  a  living  by  their  use.  This  de- 
partment is  always  crowded  with  pupils,  and  the 
number  instructed  is  equal  to  the  full  capacity  of  the 
rooms,  there  being,  in  fact,  more  applicants  than  space 
for  instruction.     The  average  daily  attendance  is  66. 

The  present  ofiicers  of  the  society  are  William  B. 
Canfield,  president ;  John  Curlett,  Edward  Otis  Hink- 
ley, vice-presidents ;  William  A.  Wysong,  corre- 
sponding secretary;  F.  G.  Brown,  recording  secretary ; 
Jesse  Tyson,  treasurer;  W.  C.  Palmer,  agent;  Mrs. 
W.  C.  Palmer,  matron. 

The  Industrial  Home  was  established  in  1874  by 
the  Ladies'  Relief  Association,  and  is  situated  at  No. 
49  North  Calvert  Street.  The  building  was  formerly 
occupied  by  the  German  Orphan  Asylum.  The  In- 
dustrial Home  provides  daily  employment  for  a  large 
number  of  persons,  principally  females,  and  is  the 
source  of  many  practical  charities.  Connected  with 
the  home  is  a  nursery,  where  the  women  wlio  are 
employed  at  the  institution  may  leave  their  young 
children  during  the  hours  of  labor. 

Home  for  the  Aged  of  the  M.  E.  Church.— The 
movement  for  the  establishment  of  a  Home  for  the 
Aged  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  begun 
on  the  14th  of  October,  1867,  and  on  the  evening  of 
the  21st  of  January,  1868,  a  largely-attended  meeting 
was  held  by  the  Methodists  of  the  city  at  the  Mary- 
land Institute,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  aid  and  en- 
couragement to  the  enterprise.  Able  addresses  were 
delivered  by  Bishop  Simpson,  Rev.  Henry  Slicer,  Rev. 
John  Lanahan,  and  others,  and  about  five  thousand 
dollars  were  contributed  before  the  close  of  the  meet- 
ing. An  association  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  for- 
warding the  design,  and  a  board  of  lady  managers  of 
families  was  organized,  who  at  once  proceeded  to  push 
the  work  with  great  energy.  The  project  was  so  far 
advanced  in  November,  1868,  as  to  justify  the  fitting 
up  of  the  old  parsonage  in  the  rear  of  Light  Street 
church  for  temporary  use,  and  it  was  formally  occu- 
pied on  the  17th  of  that  month.  The  institution  com- 
menced with  fifteen  aged  ladies  as  members  of  its 
household,  and  was  incorporated  on  the  30th  of  No- 
vember, 1868.  The  corner-stone  of  the  present  ele- 
gant and  commodious  structure,  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  Fulton  and  Franklin  Streets,  was  laid  in  the 


600 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE  CITY   AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


spring  of  1871,  and  the  building  was  dedicated  on  the 
KJtli  of  October,  1872.  The  idea  of  establishing  a 
Home  for  Aged  Women  of  the  Methodist  Church  was 
suggested  by  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Roberts,  but  the  suc- 
cessful execution  of  the  design  was  principally  due 
to  the  energy  of  the  lady  managers  to  whom  the  work 
\v;js  committed.  The  building  is  constructed  of  fine 
ISaltimore  i)ressed  brick,  with  a  granite  base  four  feet 
liigh,  and  fronts  one  hundred  and  eight  feet  on  Fulton 
Street,  running  back  ninety-six  feet  on  Franklin.  It 
is  three  full  stories  high,  with  a  Mansard  story  above, 
and  cost  with  the  ground  about  ninety  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  otiiccrs  of  the  institution  are  Mrs.  Frances 
A.  Crook,  president ;  Mrs.  .1.  Hart,  secretary. 

Society  for  the  Protection  of  Children  from 
Cruelty  and  Immorality.— This  society  was  incor- 
jioratcd  on  the  18tli  of  June,  1S7S,  by  McJisrs.  Andrew 
Held,  G.  S.  Griffith,  H.  E.  Johnson, "s.  W.  T.  Hopper, 
William  H.  Whitty,  J.  B.  Schontz,  William  C.  Palmer, 
William  A.  Gault,  William  R.  Barry,  Samuel  D. 
Schmucker,  Dr.  John  Morris,  Enoch  Pratt,  William 
M.  Boone,  Edward  M.  Greenway,  John  A.  Armstrong, 
Joshua  Levering,  Richard  J.  Hoi  lings  worth,  Joseph 
Merrifield,  Robert  A.  Taylor,  William  H.  Perkins, 
Pierre  C.  Dugan,  William  A.  Wisong,  James  McMil- 
lan, and  Chas.  Oudesluys.  The  object  of  the  society 
is  "  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  children,  whether  in- 
flicted by  those  having  a  natural  or  acquired  author- 
ity over  them  or  by  others ;  to  prevent  children  from 
begging  in  the  streets,  and  from  attending  variety 
theatres  or  dance-houses ;  to  rescue  girls  from  evil 
lives;  and  to  prevent  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks 
to  minors."  The  officers  are  William  R.  Barry,  presi- 
dent; G.S.  Griffith,  Rev.  H.  E.Johnson,  Dr.  John  Mor- 
ris, Rev.  W.  F.  Watkins,  Enoch  Pratt,  E.  M.  Green- 
way,  Jr.,  E.  D.  Merolla,  Andrew  Reid,  vice-presidents ; 
Rev.  J.  B.  Shontz,  secretary ;  Joshua  Levering,  treas- 
urer ;  Samuel  D.  Schmucker,  attorney ;  R.  S.  Rodg- 
ers,  assistant  attorney ;  James  McMillan,  agent.  The 
office  of  the  society  is  at  the  corner  of  Post-Office 
Avenue  and  Second  Street. 

St.  Vincent's  Infant  Asylum.— About  the  year 
1855  the  Sisicis  oldiarity  hcirau  in  an  unpretentious 
way  at  I'li.'!  I'latt  Street,  near  Eutaw,  the  charity 
which  is  now  known  as  St.  Vincent's  Infant  Asylum. 
In  1857,  however,  they  secured  on  very  reasonable 
terms  from  Mrs.  Emily  Harper,  granddaughter  of 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  a  spacious  lot  on  Di- 
vision Street,  near  Townsend,  and  began  their  present 
commodious  building.  In  February,  1860,  they  re- 
moved to  the  new  location,  having  at  that  time  forty- 
seven  infants  in  charge.  Messrs.  Long  &  Powell  were 
the  architects,  and  J.  M.  Foley,  Dr.  Chatard,  and  Rev. 
Joseph  Giustiniani  the  committee  under  whose  su- 
pervision the  building  was  erected. 

The  Boys'  Home  Society  was  organized  in  1866 
by  James  M.  Drill  and  William  B.  Hill,  and  was  in- 
corporated on  the  7th  of  October,  1867,  bv  Messrs. 
James  M.  Drill,  ( i.  S.  Griffith,  Francis  T.  King,  James 


Beatty,  Samuel  McD.  Richardson,  Talbott  Denmead, 
:  William  R.  Hurst,  and  William  B.  Hill.  The  home 
was  at  first  situated  on  Holliday  Street,  near  the  old 
City  Hall,  in  the  upper  story  of  a  blacksmith-shop, 
and  was  removed  in  1872  to  its  present  location,  on 
the  northwest  corner  of  Calvert  and  Pleasant  Streets. 
Its  first  president  was  William  B.  Hill ;  its  second, 
Thomas  R.  Crane,  and  its  third,  J.  Q.  A.  Herring. 
The  object  of  the  institution  is 


"to  furnish  shelter,  care,  aud  protecttoD  to  every  humelc 
Iwy  who  is  willing  to  work;  to  get  for  liioi  steady  work  and  fair  wages 
at  some  honest  business;  to  furnish  him  a  clean  bed,  wholesome  food, 
and  plain  clothing,  allowing  him  to  contribute  what  he  can  out  of  his 
earnings  towards  the  cost  of  his  maintenance;  to  teach  him  the  rudi- 
ments of  an  English  education ;  tu  help  him  in  acquiring  habits  of  or- 
der, cleanliness,  and  virtue  ;  and  to  stimulate  him  to  become  a  self-reli- 
ant, self-sustaining  character." 

Any  destitute  or  homeless  boy  between  the  ages  of 
ten  and  twenty  years  may  be  admitted  if  he  express 
a  willingness  to  become  an  obedient  member  of  the 
household,  to  work  for  his  living  at  any  employment 
or  occupation  to  which  the  superintendent  may  assign 
him,  and  to  contribute  out  of  his  wages  the  weekly 
sum  of  Ssi.75  towards  the  maintenance  and  support 
of  the  home;  or,  if  earning  four  dollars  and  over' per 
week,  to  coutribute  $2.50  per  week  towards  its  main- 
tenance.    Connected  with  the  home  is  a  Ladies'  Aid 
Society,  of  which  Mrs.  Richard  Price  is  president; 
Mrs.  Martin  Hawley,  Mrs.  Charles  J.  Baker,  Mrs.  C. 
C.  Brooks,  Mrs.  F.  P.  Stevens  are   vice-presidents; 
Mrs.  F.  W.  Bennett,  treasurer;    Mrs.  A.  G.  Stabler, 
secretary.    The  officers  of  the  Boys'  Home  Society 
are  J.  Q.  A.  Herring,  president;    Martin   Hawley, 
vice-president;  Secretary,  Charles  J.  Meyer;  Treas- 
urer,  James   Beatty  ;    Directors,  Messrs.   James   M. 
Drill,  Francis  White,  G.  S.  GriflSth,  James  Beatty, 
Thomas  Hill,  Charles  J.  Meyer,  D.  D.  Mallory,  Mar- 
tin Hawley,  Charles  F.  Taylor,  Charles  H.  Mercer, 
William   G.  Bansemer,  George   R.  Skillman,  E.  D. 
Bigelow,  Charles  Marshall,  J.  Q.  A.  Herring,  Joshua 
Levering,  A.  F.  Murdoch,  J.  F.  Bradenbaugh,  Henry 
Taylor,  A.  Fuller   Crane,  Jr.,  and   Samuel    E.  Hill. 
The  superintendent  is  J.  II.  Lynch,  and  the  matron 
Mrs.  J.  H.  Lynch. 
j     The  Maryland  Inebriate  Asylum  was  organized 
in  December,  1859,  and  was  incorporated  on  the  5tli 
of  March,  1860,  with  the  following  board  of  trustees: 
i  John    Thomson    Mason,    William    Webber,    Daniel 
[  Weisel,   Richard   Potts,.  Washington   Duvall,   Jesse 
!  Warfield,  J.  Edward  Reynolds,  John  H.  Price,  Nich- 
i  olas   Brewer,  T.   Watkins  Ligon,  C*.  C.   Magruder, 
Thomas  J.  Graham,  W.  B.  Stone,  James  T.  Blackis- 
[  tone,  John  C.  Groome,  B.  J.  Eccleston,  Richard   B. 
Carmichael,   H.   Fountain,  C.  C.  Cox,  Thomas   H. 
I  Hicks,  J.  W.  Crisfield,  Aza  Spence,  Alexander  Ran- 
1  dall,  Richard  Lee,  A.  J.  Myers,  Jacob  Reese,  Thomas 
!  A.  Roberts,  George  Gale,  Stephen  J.  Bradley,  Thomas 
J.  McKaig,  B.  Goldsborough,  Stephenson  Archer,  W. 
V.  Bouic,  R.  A.  Marshall,  G.  C.  M.  Roberus,  J.  R.W. 
Dunbar,  C.  Dickson,  Joseph  T.  Smith.  N.  J.  B.  Mor- 


CHARITABLE,  BENEVOLENT,  AND   RELIGIOUS   INSTITUTIONS. 


gan,  J.  N.   McJilton,   J.  W.  N.   Williams,  Stewart 
Brown,  Charles   Corkran,   Robert   Leslie,  Goldsbor-  } 
ough  S.  Griffith,  John   Fonerdan,  Charles  J.  BaJcer,  ] 
John  Kettlewell,  Samuel  J.  Mills,  Dr.  P.  C.  Williams, 
and  William  Colton.    The  institution  was  located  for  1 
a  time  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Fulton  and  Harlem  | 
Avenues,  and  afterwards  at  Catonsville.  It  is  no  longer 
in  existence. 

Dolan's  Orphans'  Home  was  founded  by  Father  ; 
James  Dolan,  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Catholic  Church, 
in  1847,  for  the  relief  of  the  children  of  Irish  emi- 
grants who  had  died  of  the  ship  fever  in  that  year  on 
their  way  to  this  country.  A  farm  was  accordingly 
purchased  about  three  miles  from  the  city,  between 
the  Falls  and  York  turnpike,  and  suitable  accommo- 
dations provided.  The  house  was  transferred  to  Bal- 
timore on  the  1st  of  March,  1859.  It  is  situated  at 
113  Gough  Street. 

The  Children's  Aid  Society,  situated  at  115  Gough 
Street,  was  also  louiidid  by  Father  Dolan,  who  left 
one-third  of  his  estate  tdtlic  Young  Catholics' Friends' 
Society  in  trust  for  this  object.  It  was  formally 
ojjened  on  the  31st  of  August,  1874.  1 

Institution  for  the  Colored  Blind  and  Deaf  j 
Mutes. — In  1872  application  was  made  to  the  Legis- 
lature for  an  appropriation  to  establish  an  institution 
for  the  instruction  of  the  colored  blind  and  deaf  mutes 
in  this  State,  and  an  appropriation  of  ten  thousand 
dollars  was  made  for  the  year  1872,  and  ten  thousand 
dollars  for  the  year  1873.  Three  directors  from  the 
Maryland  Institution  for  the  Education  of  the  Deaf 
and  Dumb  and  three  from  the  Maryland  Institution 
for  the  Instruction  of  the  Blind  were  delegated  to 
organize  the  new  institution,  and  purchase  the  house 
at  92  Broadway.  The  school  was  opened  in  October, 
1872 ;  the  total  number  of  pupils  the  first  year  was 
eighteen.  In  July,  1879,  the  institution  was  removed 
to  2.58  Saratoga  Street,  to  meet  the  growing  number 
of  applications  for  admission.  The  number  of  pupils 
in  attendance  Dec.  1,  1879,  was  thirty.  The  joint 
committee  of  managers  is  composed  of  Isaac  D.  Jones, 
Joseph  B.  Brinckley,  Wm.  R.  Barry,  Francis  T.  King, 
Charles  E.  Wethered,  and  John  T.  Morris.  The  su- 
perintendent is  F.  D.  Morrison,  also  superintendent 
of  the  institution  for  the  blind.  The  State  makes  an 
annual  appropriation  of  eight  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  for  its  support. 

Episcopal  Church  Home.— The  Church  Home 
originated  in  1854,  in  the  necessity  for  providing  for 
the  destitute  and  afflicted  members  of  the  church. 
After  some  informal  consideration  of  the  subject,  a 
meeting  was  held,  when  it  was  determined  to  raise  six 
thousand  dollars  as  the  fund  necessary  to  consummate 
the  object.  The  work  was  then  commenced  in  a  house 
on  Biddle  Street,  and  put  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev. 
E.  B.  Tuttle,  the  church  missionary  in  the  northwest 
section  of  the  city,  and  under  the  superintendence  of 
a  committee  of  ladies  from  Grace,  Mount  Calvary, 
and  Emmanuel   Churches,  who  supplied  the  means 


of  maintaining  it.     It  was  soon  discovered  that  the 
building  was  too  small  for  the  demands  upon  it,  and 
it  was  determined  to  purchase  the  Washington  Col- 
lege property  on  Broadway,  which  was  accordingly 
done  in  1857.     In  February,  1858,  the  Church  Home 
and  the  St.  Andrew's  Infirmary  were  merged  into  one. 
The  Union  Orphan  Asylum.— The  pressing  neces- 
sity for  a  home  for  the  orphan  children  of  the  Federal 
soldiers  from  the  8tate  of  Maryland  became  obvious 
during  and  after  the  late  civil  war.     In  obedience  to 
this  silent  appeal  of  the  soldiers'  orphans  a  number 
of  benevolent  ladies  of  this  city  determined  to  estab- 
lish such  a  home,  and  in  1865  they  organized  a  board 
and  made  an  appeal  to  the  generosity  of  Marylanders  to 
aid  them  in  this  object.   Miss  Margaret  Purviance,  the 
president  of  this  institution,  was  cheered  in  her  efforts 
by  liberal  donations  from  the  citizens  of  Baltimore 
and  the  State  of  Maryland.     On  the  8th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1865,  Miss  Purviance  obtained  three  donations, — 
one  of  five  hundred  dollars  from  Wm.  McKim,  five 
hundred  dollars  from  Mrs.  Susan  McKim,  widow  of 
the  late  Wm.  McKim,  Sr.,  and  five  hundred  dollars 
from  John  W.  Garrett, — and  aided  by  these  and  other 
liberal  contributions  the  board  at  once  secured  the 
old  Hyatt  mansion,  situated  on  the  southwest  corner 
of  Schroeder  and  Franklin  Streets,  as  a  home  for  the 
orphans.   It  was  purchased  at  an  outlay  of  fifty-seven 
thousand  dollars,  and  was  formally  opened  July  6, 
1866,  at  which  time  there  were  thirty-six  children 
under  the  care  of  the  lady  managers  of  the  institu- 
tion.    The  ceremonies  were  opened  with  prayer  by 
the  Rev.  G.  D.  Purviance.    Short  addresses  were  de- 
livered by  Rev.  Mr.  Longacre,  Governor  Swann,  and 
A.  M.  Carter.     The  highest  number  of  children  at 
any  one  time  residing  at  the  asylum  was  ninety-one. 
The  children  were  educated  at  the  public  schools. 
Four  girls  of  their  number  graduated  at  the  Western 
Female  High   School,  and   three  of  them  are  now 
teachers  in  the  public  schools  of  Baltimore.     Two  of 
the  boys  graduated  at  the  High  School,  and  one  of 
)  them  afterwards  at  West  Point,  and  is  now  second 
1  lieutenant   in   the   United   States    army.      As    only 
I  thirty-two  thousand  dollars  of  the  purchase  money 
had  been  paid,  the  debt  upon  the  institution  in  1878 
amounted  to  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  and  an  act 
;  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  in  that  year  authorizing 
the  sale  of  the  building  and  the  distribution  of  the 
proceeds,  after  the  payment  of  the  debt,  at  the  dis- 
i  cretion  of  the  directors.     The  children  in  the  mean 
I  time  having  grown  old  enough  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves, it  was  determined  by  the  managers  to  close  the 
institution.     The  lady  managers,  however,  saw  the 
necessity  for  an  infant  asylum  in  Baltimore,  and  at  a 
I  meeting  in  September,  1878,  determined  to  transfer 
!  the  property  to  the  trustees  of  the  Protestant  Infant 
1  Asylum  on  condition  that  the  trustees  of  that  institu- 
I  tion  would  assume  the  debt  of  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars,  and  thus,  after  thirteen  years  of  usefulness, 
'  the  Union  Orphan  Asylum  closed  its  labors. 


602 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CHT  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  institution  is  now  known  as  the  Nursery  and 
C'liild's  Hospital,  and  has  filly  children  under  its 
charge.  The  directors  of  the  asylum  at  the  present 
time  are  Messrs.  Eugene  Levering,  Charles  F.  Slagle, 
Dr.  Thomas  Opie,  Wm.  Canby,  T.  H.  Garrett,  and 
C.  J.  Baker,  Mrs.  C.  F.  Bevaus,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Brune, 
Miss  Kate  McClellan,  Mrs.  E.  B.  Murdoch,  Mrs. 
Hamilton  Easier,  Jlrs.  Woodward  Abrahams. 

Maryland  Prisoners'  Aid  Association.  —  This 
association  was  organized  March  23,  1869,  and  was 
incorporated  in  March,  1873.  Although  the  associa- 
tion has  been  in  existence  for  a  comparatively  brief 
period,  it  has  been  recognized  ever  since  its  eslablishr 
ment  as  a  power  for  moral  good,  and  as  a  mo.st  effi- 
cient agency  for  practical  usefulness.  Since  its  or- 
ganization the  association  has  furnished  material  aid 
in  money,  clothing,  etc.,  to  6338  discharged  prison- 
ers ;  and  of  this  number  1612  have  been  provided  with 
the  means  of  reaching  llicir  limiu's,  or  points  at  which 
employment  miiilit  \n-  .i1.i:um(i|.  The  funds  of  the 
association  are  r:iiMM  i'ihutIv  \<\  voluntary  contribu- 
tions, no  appropriations  ever  having  been  asked  either 
of  the  city  or  State ;  the  amount  collected  and  ex- 
pended in  its  general  work  since  its  organization 
lias  nevertheless  reached  the  handsome  sum  of  $32,- 
270.10. 

The  philanthropic  operations  of  this  society,  how- 
ever, antedate  its  organization  many  years.  Promi- 
nent and  foremost  in  the  work  of  criminal  reformation 
in  the  State  has  been  Goldsborough  S.  Griflitli,  to 
whose  untiring  efforts  the  present  association  owes 
much  of  its  success.  His  visits  to  the  Maryland 
Penitentiary,  county  jails,  and  almshouses  began  in 
1850,  and  neither  increasing  years  nor  multiplying 
duties  have  lessened  or  abated  his  zeal.  Among  Mr. 
Griffith's  most  active  workers  in  this  good  work  may 
he  mentioned  John  Needles,  Ira  C.  Canfield,  and  J. 
Harmon  Brown,  now  deceased,  and  Joseph  Merrifield, 
Dr.  John  Morris,  llev.  H.  E.  Johnson,  William  A. 
Wisong,  Rev.  Penfield  Doll  and  wife,  Eev.  J.  B. 
Shontz,  Mrs.  Beckley,  Charles  L.  Oudesluys,  L.  Lee 
Johnson,  and  others  of  prominence,  influence,  and 
character  in  the  city  and  State.  Preaching  and  Sun- 
day-school services  in  the  Maryland  Penitentiary 
were  commenced  in  January,  1859,  and  in  March  of 
the  same  year  a  "  Relief  Association  of  the  Maryland 
Penitentiary"  was  formed  as  auxiliary  to  the  Sun- 
day-school work,  with  Hon.  S.  Owings  Hoffman  as 
president;  R.  M.  Janney,  vice-president;  William  A. 
Wisong,  recording  secretary ;  E.  M.  Greeuway,  Jr., 
corresponding  secretary  ;  and  J.  L.  Johnson,  treas- 
urer. The  members  of  the  various  committees  were 
Messrs.  R.  M.  Janney,  J.  H.  Brown,  A.  D.  Evans, 
AVilliam  A.  Wisong,  H.  J.  Michael,  G.  S.  Griffith,  W. 
H.  Harrison,  and  J.  Morfett.  The  ofllcers  for  1860 of 
this  prison  association  were  Samuel  G.  Wyman,  presi- 
dent; R.  M.  Janney,  vice-president;  E.  M.  Green- 
way,  Jr.,  corresponding  secretary ;  William  A.  Wi- 
song, recording  secretary  and  prison  agent;  and  J. 


Lee  Johnson,  treasurer.  The  operations  of  this  so- 
ciety were  suspended  by  the  war,  and  it  was  suc- 
ceeded afterwards,  as  we  have  seen,  by  the  present 
Prisoners'  Aid  Association.  Tlie  legitimate  work  and 
policy  of  this  association  is  not  to  lessen  the  punish- 
ment of  prisoners,  nor  to  seek  their  release  or  pardon, 
except  in  special  cases  of  unquestioned  merit  and  im- 
portance, but  to  reconcile  criminals  with  their  pun- 
ishment, visit  them  during  their  incarceration,  and 
hold  out  the  encouragement  of  a  better  life,  assuring 
them  of  the  friendship  and  assistance  of  the  associa- 
tion in  their  efforts  to  reform  and  lead  honest  and  in- 
dustrious lives. 

The  Prisoners'  Aid  Association  has  not  only  been 
useful  in  assisting  prisoners  and  correcting  evils  in 
prison  discipline  and  prison  buildings,  but,  through 
the  ever-watchful  eye  of  its  president,  it  lias  become 
the  parent  of  a  group  of  reforms  and  auxiliary  so- 
cieties that  have  crystallized  themselves  around  it, 
making  it  one  of  the  most  important  benevolent 
societies  in  Maryland.  Among  these  auxiliaries 
may  be  mentioned  the  "  Henry  Watson's  Child- 
ren's Aid  Society,"  the  "House  of  Reformation  and 
Instruction  for  Colored  Children,"  the  "  Reformed 
Magistrate  System,"  the  "  Maryland  House  of  Cor- 
rection," and  the  "Society  for  the  Protection  of 
Children  from  Cruelty  and  Immorality."  In  the 
origin  and  establishment  of  all  these  indispensable 
ijistitutions  the  Prison  Association  has  been  the  prime 
mover  and  faithful  advocate.  The  association  holds 
itself  responsible,  in  a  large  measure,  for  all  the  re- 
ligious services  held  in  the  State  and  county  prisons 
of  Maryland.  This  task  it  seeks  to  accomplish  by  the 
appointment  of  local  committees  and  arrangements 
with  pastors  of  churches.  It  also  supplies  all  the  in- 
stitutions with  Bibles,  hymn-books,  religious  papers, 
and  tracts.  The  principal  work,  however,  has  been 
performed  in  the  Maryland  Penitentiary,  which  is 
visited  almost  every  day  by  the  agent  or  president 
Each  discharged  inmate  is  met  by  the  agent  in  the 
office  of  the  prison,  some  assistance  is  given  in  the 
form  of  clothing,  the  plans  and  intentions  of  the  dis- 
charged person  are  inquired  into,  and,  if  willing  and 
worthy,  they  may  resign  themselves  into  the  care  and 
l)r()ti(ti(iM  iil'ilic  association.     The  unworthy  ones  are 

The  a~s(,iialiiiii  has  been  represented  by  its  presi- 
dent and  other  delegates  at  the  different  National  and 
International  Prison  Congresses.  The  first  was  held 
at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Oct.  12-18,  1870;  the  second  at 
Baltimore,  Jan.  21-23,  1872;  the  third  at  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  May  13-16,  1874;  and  the  fourth  at  New  York, 
June  6-9,  1876.  Mr.  Griffith  was  also  present  as 
delegate  from  the  State  of  Maryland  at  the  Inter- 
national Penitentiary  Congress  held  in  the  city  of 
London,  England,  on  July  3-13,  1872.  His  report 
upon  the  operations  of  the  Maryland  Prisoners'  Aid 
Association,  read  upon  this  occasion,  received  the 
hearty  approval  of  the  congress,  and  was  printed  in 


CHARITABLE,  BENEVOLENT,  AND  RELIGIOUS  INSTITUTIONS. 


G03 


its  elaborate  proceedings.  On  the  organization  of  the 
Maryland  Prisoners'  Aid  Association  in  1869,  Golds- 
borough  S.  Griffith  was  elected  its  first  president,  and 
has  been  re-elected  annually  ever  since.  Rev.  Pen- 
field  Doll,  the  first  agent  of  the  association,  having 
resigned,  Rev.  T.  B.  Shontz  was  appointed  in  his 
jilace  in  April,  1877,  and  has  since  faithfully  dis- 
charged his  responsible  duties  by  almost  daily  visits 
to  the  penitentiary,  jail,  and  Bay  View  Asylum, 
praying  with  the  prisoners,  attending  to  their  physi- 
cal and  spiritual  needs,  watching  over  them  whilst 
they  are  serving  out  sentences,  giving  them  clothing, 
sending  them  to  their  homes  when  discharged,  and  in 
many  cases  he  has  procured  employment  for  them. 

The  Hebrew  Ladies'  Sewing  Society  was  organ- 
ized in  April,  1850,  with  the  following  ladies  as  officers : 
President,  Mrs.  H.  Hecht ;  Vice-President,  Miss  H. 
Benjamin ;  Secretary,  Mrs.  F.  Schloss ;  Treasurer,  Mrs. 
J.  Behrens ;  Managers  and  Cutters,  Mrs.  H.  Frieden- 
rick,  Miss  H.  Benjamin,  Miss  I.  L.  Eunis,  Miss  S. 
Behrens,  and  Miss  S.  Hecht.  It  was  chartered  June 
1,  1860.  It  is  now  located  on  the  corner  of  Howard 
and  Lexington  Streets.  The  purpose  of  the  society 
was  to  supply  the  poor  and  needy  with  all  kinds  of 
wearing  apparel,  bedding,  and  many  other  necessary 
household  goods.  Its  subsequent  presidents  have  been 
respectively  Mrs.  E.  Arnold,  Mrs.  B.  Weisenfeld,  who 
has  been  president  twenty  years;  Vice-President,  Mrs. 
V.  Hammerslaugh ;  Treasurer,  Mrs.  B.  F.  Ulman  ; 
Secretary,  Mrs.  Goody  Rosenfeld.  The  society  meets 
every  Wednesday  evening,  and  goods  are  distributed 
to  the  worthy  poor  at  the  hall,  and  none  are  sent  away 
without  their  necessary  wants  being  supplied. 

House  of  Reformation  and  Instruction  for 
Colored  Children. — This  institution,  which  is  similar 
to  the  House  of  Refuge  for  white  children,  was  in- 
corporated by  the  Legislature  of  1870,  with  a  dona- 
tion of  $10,000,  on  condition  of  $30,000  being  secured 
by  private  subscription.  The  incorporators  were  John 
R.  Cox,  John  C.  Bridges,  Edward  Stabler,  Jr.,  Henry 
W.  Drakeley,  William  M.  Boone,  G.  S.Griflith,  George 
A.  Pope,  Benjamin  Deford,  James  Baynes,  William 
E.  Hooper,  Isaac  Coale,  Jr.,  and  Cyrus  Blackburn. 
It  is  under  the  direction  and  control  of  sixteen  man- 
agers, twelve  elected  by  members  of  the  association, 
two  appointed  by  the  mayor  and  City  Council  of 
Baltimore,  and  two  by  the  Governor.  The  object  of 
this  institution  is  the  reformation  of  its  colored  in- 
mates, who  are  committed  to  it  by  the  authority  of 
magistrates  or  judges  of  the  courts.  To  enable  the 
institution  to  avail  itself  of  the  donation  from  the 
State,  Enoch  Pratt,  one  of  the  most  useful  and  public- 
spirited  citizens  of  Baltimore,  gave  it  his  handsome 
farm,  "Cheltenham,"  containing  seven  hundred  and 
fifty -two  acres,  valued  at  twenty-two  thousand  six 
hundred  dollars.  It  is  situated  in  Prince  George's 
County,  forty-five  miles  from  Baltimore,  on  the  line 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac  Railroad,  which  passes 
through  it  about  half  a  mile  from  the  buildings.     In 


1872  and  1873  the  city  and  State  together  gave  forty 
thousand  dollars,  and  the  State  at  a  later  period  gave 
an  additional  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  for  the 
erection  of  a  building,  and  with  these  amounts,  with 
private  donations  amounting  to  about  ninety  thousand 
dollars,  the  buildings  were  commenced  in  1872,  and 
completed  about  the  close  of  the  year.  The  institu- 
tion was  put  into  successful  operation  on  Feb.  4,  1873, 
when  two  boys  were  received;  there  are  now  about 
one  hundred  boys  on  the  farm.  In  May,  1881,  the 
managers  purchased  property  on  Baker  Street  near 
Newington  Park,  with  the  intention  of  removing  the 
institution  from  its  present  location  at  Mount  Zepher 
to  the  city,  so  that  the  girls  can  be  under  lady  mana- 
gers. The  present  officers  are  Enoch  Pratt,  president ; 
G.  S.  Griffith,  vice-president;  William  E.  Woodyear, 
treasurer;  John  W.  Horn,  superintendent. 

The  Friendly  Inn  is  a  branch  of  the  work  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  was  estab- 
lished in  December,  1874,  and  placed  in  charge  of  a 
regular  standing  committee  of  the  association.  A 
three-story  double  dwelling,  fifty  feet  front,  was  rented 
on  the  south  side  of  Lombard  Street,  between  Han- 
over and  Sharpe,  and  made  self-supporting  from  the 
first.  It  was  filled  up  with  beds,  etc.,  and  rendered 
capable  of  accommodating  forty  men.  The  inn  was 
afterwards  enlarged,  and  contained  eiglity  beds ;  there 
were  also  bath  and  wash-rooms,  which  were  well 
patronized.  During  the  first  year  twenty  thousand 
meals  and  eleven  thousand  lodgings  were  furnished 
free,  and  three  hundred  and  sixty  of  the  inmates  were 
provided  with  employment.  The  design  of  the  insti- 
tution was  to  furnish  at  low  rates  a  temporary  place 
for  boarding  and  lodging  destitute  men  and  those  of 
limited  means,  especially  during  the  winter  season. 
In  1881  this  building  was  torn  down  and  a  warehouse 
erected  on  its  site. 

Free  Summer  Excursion  Society.— Among  the 
many  excellent  practical  charities  for  which  Balti- 
more is  noted  none  deserves  more  unalloyed  com- 
mendation than  the  Free  Summer  Excursion  Society. 
It  was  incorporated  May  29, 1875,  by  Dr.  Caleb  Wins- 
low,  John  Q.  A.  Herring,  John  T.  Ford,  Charles  H. 
Mercer,  Charles  J.  Meyer,  Thomas  W.  Lawford,  Geo. 
S.  Brown,  Alexander  F.  Murdoch,  Jacob  F.  Braden- 
baugh,  James  A.  Henderson,  Andrew  F.  Crane,  Jr., 
and  James  M.  Drill,  and  has  since  then  pursued  a 
systematic  course  of  relief  during  the  summer  months 
of  each  year,  which  has  doubtless  been  instrumental 
in  saving  the  lives  of  many  deserving  persons,  and 
which  has  enabled  thousands  of  over-worked  and  in- 
digent inhabitants  to  enjoy  for  a  brief  space  the  pure 
air  and  bracing  breezes  of  the  Chesapeake,  who  would 
otherwise  have  been  condemned  to  the  contracted 
limits  and  mephitic  vajjors  of  the  alleys  and  cellars 
of  the  city.  In  nine  years,  at  a  cost  not  exceeding 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  they  have  furnished  a  day's 
enjoyment  and  a  day's  food  to  nearly  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  persons.     During  that  period  they 


604 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


have  provided  nearly  half  a  million  meals  of  good 
bread,  meat,  country  milk,  wholesome  tea  and  coiTee, 
and  have  also  dispensed  medicines  and  medical  atten- 
tion to  thousands.  Chesterwood,  situated  on  one  of 
the  estuaries  of  the  Chesapeake,  a  grove  of  si.xtcen 
and  a  half  acres,  has  been  donated  to  the  society,  and 
has  been  fitted  up  with  admirable  taste  as  an  objective- 
point  for  the  excursions  of  the  association.  The 
society  has  met  with  marked  favor  in  the  community, 
and  has  received  the  aid  and  encouragement  of  all 
chisses.  The  following  is  a  list  of  officers  and  com- 
mittees for  the  year  1881 : 

PrMiiient,  John  T.  Ford;  Vice-President,  J.  M.  Drill;  Secretary,  C.  B. 
Kloibacker;  Treasurer,  Alexander  Brown  &  Sons;  Committee  on 
Finances,  J.  F.  Brudenbaugh,  Robert  Keiid,  A.  F.  Murdoch,  William 
Dugdalo,  J.  G.  Wilson,  A.  G.  Gilpin;  Committee  on  Grounds  and 
otlior  Property,  J.  M.  Drill,  William  Fraser,  J.  G.  Wilson,  A.  L. 
Black,  George  T.  Ford,  James  Pentlaud  j  Provision  Committees,  A. 
F.  Ciane,  Jr.,  J.  II.  Lynch,  0.  H.  Bodgers,  T.  P.  Periue,  George  T. 
Ford,  A.  G.  Gilpin,  Mrs.  E.  Levering,  and  other  ladies;  Mnsic  and 
Diversion  Committee,  Wiley  E.  Gushing,  J.  H.  Lynch,  F.  Chapman  : 
Physiciiins'  Conimiltee,  Prof.  T.  S.  Latimer,  Prof.  J.  E.  Michael,  Dr. 
C.  H.  Jun'-s,  I>r.  j\.  II,  I'nw.-ll,  Dr.  E.  R.  Baer;  Committee  on  Trans- 
portation. .11  !i  1  111,  II  ni.v  Williams,  John  W.  Davis,  Reuben 
Foster.  I>  I  ii  I  ,1  I  InuLtors,  John  T.  Ford,  A.  F.Murdoch, 
Robert  Ii.  .  Ni  III  1'  i  l,il.-,  J.  Harry  Lee,  J.  F.  Bradeubaugb, 
J.G.Wils.h,  \  1  M  ui  ,  ,lr  ,(;,  II.  Rodgers,  J.  M.  Drill.Thomas  P. 
Perine,  Wiley  I'ualiiiif  ;  Kxeculive  Committee,  J.  T.  Ford,  William 
Dugdale,  Dr.  T.  S.  Latimer,  A.  F.  Crane,  Jr.,  J.  M.  Drill,  J.  G.  Wil- 
son, J.  F.  Bradenbaugh,  Wiley  E.  Cushing. 

The  Kelso  Home  for  Orphan  Children  of  the 
M.  E.  Church  is  om-  of  the  iiKiny  charities  of  the  late 
Tliomas  Kelso,  who  was  for  many  years  one  of  the 
most  prominent  and  influential  citizens  of  Baltimore. 
He  was  born  in  Clovis,  a  market-town  in  the  north  of 
Ireland,  Aug.  28,  1784,  and  died  at  his  residence  on 
East  Baltimore  Street,  where  he  had  lived  for  many 
years,  on  the  morning  of  July  26, 1878,  having  nearly 
completed  his  ninety-fourth  year.  The  Kelso  Home 
for  Orphan  Children  of  the  M.  E.  Church  was  the 
only  charity  he  ever  individually  established,  but  the 
recipients  of  his  benevolence  were  numbered  by  thou- 
sands. The  entire  endowment  of  the  Kelso  Home 
was  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and 
the  institution  is  intended  for  the  destitute  orphans 
of  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  It  is  situated  at 
No.  87  East  Baltimore  Street,  and  was  formally 
opened  on  the  1st  of  January,  1874.  Mr.  Kelso  was 
especially  liberal  to  the  denomination  of  ivhich  he 
was  a  member,  and,  among  other  generous  gifts,  gave 
fourteen  thousand  dollars  to  the  Metropolitan  M.  E. 
Church  at  Washington,  twelve  thousand  dollars  to 
the  Church  E.Ktension  Society,  besides  numerous  be- 
<|uests  to  charitable  institutions,  among  which  are  the 
following:  to  the  Kelso  Home  or  Orphan  Asylum, 
in  addition  to  the  projjcrty  occupied  by  it,  annuities 
aggregating  five  tlioiis;ind  dollars  per  annum. 

The  Thomas  Wilson  Sanitarium  for  Children 
was  founded  by  the  endowment  of  Thoma.s  Wilson, 
who  by  will  bciiueathed  the  sum  of  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars  for  its  establishment.  In  his  will 
Mr.  Wilson  says, — 


"  I  have  observed  for  many  years  with  much  concern  the  great  and 
alarming  mortality  which  occurs  each  summer  among  yonng  children 
deprived  by  misfortune  of  their  i)arent8  and  of  all  opportunity  of  ra- 
moval  from  the  heated  and  fatal  atmosphere  of  the  city.  God  in  his 
providence  did  not  spare  to  nie  my  children  to  be  the  Kolace  of  my  de- 
clining years,  but  my  pity  for  the  sufferings  of  little  children  and  of 
their  parents  is  none  the  less,  and  I  do  not  think  1  can  make  betirr  use 
of  some  of  the  means  of  which  God  has  made  mo  steward  than  in  the 
alleviation  of  the  pains  and  the  prolongation  of  the  lives  of  those  of 
vihom  our  Saviour  said, '  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  for  of 
such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  " 

The  sanitarium  is  located  in  Baltimore  County,  on 
the  line  of  the  Western  Maryland  Railroad,  about 
ten  miles  from  the  city.  The  officers  of  the  institu- 
tion are  Francis  T.  King,  president;  William  A. 
Fisher,  secretary;  William  H.  Graham,  treasurer; 
and  Col.  John  A.  Tompkins,  recording  secretary.  The 
sanitarium  is  regularly  incorporated,  and  the  trustees 
are  Francis  T.  King,  William  A.  Fisher,  George  W. 
Corner,  Dr.  James  Carey  Thomas,  William  H.  Gra- 
ham, John  Curlett,  and  Wilson  Procter. 

Indigent  Sick  Society.— This  organization,  hav- 
ing for  its  object  the  care  of  the  sick,  irrespective  of 
creed  or  color,  w:is  organized  in  1824  by  Mrs.  Harnly, 
Mrs.  Robert  Garrett,  mother  of  John  W.  Garrett, 
and  Mrs.  Eades.  The  charter,  which  was  obtained 
for  fifty  years,  expired  in  1874.  The  late  Chauncey 
Brooks  bequeathed  five  hundred  dollars  to  the  or- 
ganization, and  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the 
Brooks  estate,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  renew  the 
charter  in  June,  ISSl. 

The  Shelter  for  Aged  and  Infirm  Colored  Per- 
sons of  Baltimore  City  was  incorporated  Feb.  12, 
1881,  with  Messrs.  J.  Saurin  Norris,  Richard  D. 
Fisher,  John  H.  Thomas,  Francis  A.  Crook,  Wash- 
ington K.  Carson,  Isaac  Brooks,  Jr.,  and  James 
Carey,  Jr.  The  object  of  the  society  is  to  relieve 
worthy  colored  persons  who  from  various  causes  are 
finally  dependent  upon  the  charity  of  others.  It  is 
not  intended  that  the  "Shelter"  shall  be  a  mere  refuge 
for  outcast  jjaupers,  for  whom  almshouses  are  already 
provided,  but  it  is  to  provide  for  those  whose  lives 
have  been  spent  in  honest  ettbrt  to  obtain  livelihoods. 
The  managers  of  the  society  for  the  first  year  are 
Miss  Isabella  Tyson,  Mrs.  Miles  White,  Jlrs.  Wm.  J. 
Albert,  Miss  M.  Alice  Brooks,  Mrs.  Francis  A.  Crook, 
Mrs.  Dr.  C.  Winslow,  Mrs.  Cyrus  Blackburn,  Mrs. 
Thomas  I.  Carey,  Mrs.  M.  N.  Perry,  Mrs.  Robert  Ty- 
son, Mrs.  Charles  Reese,  and  Mrs.  Joseph  P.  Elliott. 
Among  those  interested  in  the  project  are : 


James  Carey. 

Mrs.  Alexander  Turnbull. 

M.  McCulloh. 

"     George  N.  Eaton. 

J.  Morrison  Harris. 

"     W.K.Carson. 

J.  Savage  Williams. 

'•     George  F.  Webb. 

John  II.  Thomas. 

John  B.  Morris. 

'•     Judge  T.  J.  Morris. 

Gaston  Manly. 

"     Cliarles  D.  Fisher. 

J.  J.  Thomsen. 

••     Daniel  Pope. 

Thomas  P.  Handy. 

"      R.  T.  Brooke. 

Frauds  White. 

"      Henry  Janney. 

Richard  D.  Fisher. 

"     K   N.  Wylie. 

Ellz.  S.  Hopkins. 

••     Summerlield  Baldwin. 

John  RoborU. 

•'     James  Carey  Thomas. 

I»u.cCoale,Jr. 

"     Thomas  Y.  Canby. 

Sarah  Tudor. 

"     Mary  B.  Rustiell. 

THE   PRESS  OP  BALTIMORE. 


605 


Mrs.  J.  B.  Rnmeey. 

Miss  M.  L.  Russell. 

"     B.  A.  Macpheraon. 

"    Isabella  Morris. 

"     Henry  Stockbridge. 

"    A.T.King. 

•■     John  Nicholson. 

"    E.Irwin. 

"     Edwaid  G.  McDowell. 

"     K.  Kiddle. 

"     Henry  Janes, 

"    A.  N.  Scbofleld. 

■•     J.  J.  Hopkins. 

"    AnuaEeed. 

"     James  E.  Atkinson. 

"     Annie  Sears. 

The  German  Aged  Men's  Home  \va.s  organized  in 
1881,  at  a  meetingof  ciek-gater*  ofthe  various  German 
societies,  held  at  Mechanics'  Hall  on  March  24th.  The 
meeting  organized /iro  tern,  by  the  election  of  President 
Cliristopher  Bartell ;  Vice-Pre.sident,  Louis  Hennig- 
hausen ;  Secretary,  Julius  Conrad ;  Treasurer,  John  E. 
Fellmann.  The  following  societies  were  represented 
by  delegates:  German  Workingmen's  Sick  Relief 
Union,  Chr.  Bartell,  Herman  Windolf,  Ferd.  Guerke, 
Julius  Conrad ;  Powhatan  Tribe,  No.  30,  U.  O.  E.  M., 
Fred.  Falkerstein  ;  Jackson  Lodge,  No.  55, 1.  O.  0.  F., 
George  Deibel ;  Baltimore  Liederkranz,  Dr.  Wagner, 
Joseph  Eaiber,  Charles  Kaiser,  J.  Hemmeter;  Dr. 
Martin  Luther,  B.S.,  George  Klein,  Adam  Silberzahn, 
Casp.  Schneider;  Germania  Lodge,  No.  31,  U.  O.  i 
Mech.,  Hy.  Hennings,  End.  Vabbe,  Hy.  Deibel ; 
Gustav  Adolph  Bund,  D.O.S.E.,  John  Dolch,  Franz 
Grothe,  John  Bauer;  Schuetzen  Ges.  von  Baltimore  ' 
County,  Hy.  Schmitz,  Carl  Schreiner,  Franz  Dibelius; 
Steuben  Lodge,  No.  41,  U.  O.  G.  B.,  Catonsville,  Bal- 
timore Co.,  and  Patapsco  Lodge,  No.  5,  U.  0.  G.  B., 
Catonsville,  Baltimore  Co.,  Jolin  B.  Pilert ;  Baltimore 
Turngemeinde,  John  E.  Fellman,  Carl  Zahrand,  F. 
List,  Jr.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  con- 
stitution, and  at  a  subsequent  meeting,  held  on  April 
20th,  it  was  adopted.  The  institution  will  be  started 
as  soon  as  ten  thousand  dollars  are  subscribed,  and 
an  annual  income  of  one  thousand  five  hundred  dol- 
lars secured.  Any  German  may  become  a  subscriber 
by  paying  ftve  dollars  annually,  with  the  privilege  of 
becoming  an  inmate  of  the  Homein  old  age  without 
paying  an  entrance  fee.  Nobody  will  be  admitted 
unless  sixty  years  of  age  or  over  and  free  from  any 
chronic  disease.  The  entrance  fee  will  be  from  one 
hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  dollars,  at  the 
discretion  of  the  board  of  managers.  The  incorpo- 
rators are  Eev.  G.  Facius,  Julius  Conrad,  A.  V.  De- 
gen,  Eev.  Mr.  Bachmann,  H.  Engelhardt,  George 
Bunnicke,  and  F.  L.  C.  Hennighausen.  The  follow- 
ing directors  were  elected  to  serve  for  the  ensuing 
year:  Charles  Weber,  Sr.,H.  H.  Graue,  Ernest  Knabe, 
Eev.  N.  Burkhardt,  Eev.  Pister,  F.  L.  C.  Hennig- 
hausen, Christopher  Bartell,  F.  E.  Fellmann,  Fred. 
Wehr,  Ernest  Hoeii,  and  Joel  Gutman. 


CHAPTEE   XXXV. 

THE   PRES.S   OF   BALTIMORE. 

Up  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  Balti- 
more was  entirely  dependent  on  Philadelphia  and 
Annapolis  for  the  current  news   of  the   day  and   a 


medium  for  advertising  their  merchandise  or  wants. 
As  early  as  1727  William  Parks  issued  at  Annapolis  ' 
the  first  number  of  the  Maryland  Gazette,  the  first 
paper  published  in  the  province.  It  had  but  a  short 
existence,  and  was  followed  by  a  paper  of  the  same 
name,  published  by  Jonas  Green,  the  first  number  of 
which  was  issued  on  Jan.  27,  1745.  The  Oazette  was 
published  weekly  by  Mr.  Green  and  his  descendants 
until  1839,  when  it  was  discontinued.  Up  to  1773 
this  was  the  only  newspaper  published  in  the  province, 
and,  with  the  Philadelphia  journals,  was  the  sole 
medium  of  information  for  Baltimoreans.  The  first 
and  only  practical  printer  in  Baltimore  before  1773 
was  Nicholas  Hasselboct,  a  Pennsylvania  German. 
He  was  taught  printing  by  Christopher  Sower  at 
Germantown,  Pa.,  where  he  also  acquired  a  knowl- 
edge of  paper-making.  He  followed  paper-making 
for  some  time  near  Germantown,  but  finally  removed 
to  Baltimore,  where  he  made  paper  and  established  a 
printing-press.  He  had  a  complete  outfit  of  printing 
materials  for  printing  both  in  the  English  and  German 
languages,  and  was  the  first  practical  printer  in  the 
town.  He  printed  a  number  of  school  and  other 
small  books  in  both  languages,  and  contemplated 
publishing  a  German  translation  of  the  Bible.  He 
lived  in  Baltimore  a  number  of  years,  and  possessing 
great  enterprise,  he  acquired  a  comfortable  fortune. 
To  facilitate  some  plan  of  business  which  he  had  in 
contemplation  he  went  abroad,  and  was  lost  at  sea. 
In  1770  Eobert  Hodge,  a  native  of  Scotland,  came  to 
America,  and  was  employed  in  the  printing-house  of 
John  Dunlap,  at  Philadelphia.  He  was  industrious, 
prudent,  and  a  good  workman,  and  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  Frederick  Shober,  a  young  German 
printer  in  Philadelphia,  possessing  similar  qualifica- 
tions, they  formed  a  partnership,  and  purchasing  a 
small  lot  of  printing  materials,  they  opened  in  1772  a 
printing-house  in  Baltimore.  They  issued  proposals 
for  publishing  a  newspaper  in  Baltimore,  but  not  re- 
ceiving sufficient  encouragement,  before  the  end  of 
the  year  they  removed  to  New  York.  The  next 
printer  in  Baltimore  was  Enoch  Story,  Jr.,  who  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  and  served  his  apprenticeship 
with  Messrs.  Hall  &  Sellers,  the  celebrated  printers, 
in  Philadelphia.  He  began  business  in  Baltimore 
before  1773,  but  being  unsuccessful,  he  sold  his  types 
to  William  Goddard  and  returned  to  Philadelphia. 

William  Goddard  was  the  son  of  Giles  Goddard, 
physician  and  postmaster  at  New  London,  Connecti- 
cut, and  was  born  in  1740.  On  Oct.  20,  1762,  he  es- 
tablished the  first  printing-press  at  Providence,  E.  I., 
where  he  commenced  the  Gazette.  Not  meeting  with 
suflacient  encouragement,  he  went  to  New  York  and 
connected  himself  with  John  Holt  in  publishing  the 
iVejo  York  Gazette  and  Post-Boy.  In  1766  he  removed 
to  Philadelphia  and  became  the  partner  of  Galloway 
&  Wharton,  and  on  Jan.  6,  1767,  issued  the  first 
number  of  the  Pennsylvania  Chronicle  and  Universal 
Advertiser.     This  was  the  fourth  newspaper  published 


6U6 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


in  the  English  hinguage  in  Pliiladelphia,  and  the  first 
with  four  columns  to  a  page  printod  in  the  colonies. 
In  1770,  after  many  disputes,  Benjamin  Towne  was 
admitted  into  the  firm,  and  Goddard  becoming  dis- 
satisfied, the  paper  suspended  publication  in  February, 
1773,  when  he  left  Philadelphia  in  great  embarrass- 
ment and  came  to  Baltimore,  to  begin  "  anew,"  as  he 
relates,  "on  the  small  capital  of  a  single  guinea." 
He  managed  to  secure  the  materials  in  the  printing 
establishment  of  the  widow  of  Hasselboct,  and  added 
to  it  the  small  stock  owned  by  Enoch  Story.  The 
first  mention  we  have  of  Goddard  in  Baltimore,  is 
found  in  a  card  of  his,  dated  Baltimore  Town,  Oct. 
20,  1772,  published  in  the  Maryland  Gazette,  in  which 
he  says,  "  Encouraged  by  the  polite,  candid,  and 
^ri  luidus  invitation  I  some  time  since  received  from 
iiKiiiy  L'ontlemen  of  the  most  respectable  characters 
tdcstalilish  my  business  in  tiiistovvn,  and  affected  with 
a  lively  gratitude  for  past  kindnesses,'  as  well  as  for 
this  instance  of  their  favorable  opinion  of  me,  I  have 
determined  to  comply  with  their  wishes,  so  very  oblig- 
ingly manifested  ;  for  which  purpose  I  have  engaged 
u  suitable  printing  apparatus,  which  will  be  speedily 
here,  and  under  favor  of  the  public  I  intend  to  prose- 
cute the  printing  business  in  this  place  in  all  its 
branches,  both  in  the  English  and  other  languages.^ 
In  particular  I  now  propose  to  publish  by  subscrip- 
tion with  all  possible  expedition  a  weekly  newspaper, 
under  the  title  of  The  Maryland  Journal  and  Baltimore 
Advertiser,  at  the  moderate  price  of  ten  shillings  cur- 
rent money  per  annum,  one-half  to  be  paid  at  the 
time  of  subscribing,  and  the  remainder  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  year,  to  be  published  regularly  every  Sat- 
urday morning."  In  the  mean  time  he  came  to  Balti- 
more, insolvent  and  helpless,  and  in  May,  1773,  opened 
a  printing-oflice  corner  of  South  and  Baltimore  Streets, 
"nearly  opposite  Mrs.  Chilton's,"  where  "printing 
was  done  in  all  its  branches."  He  was  encouraged  to 
publish  his  paper,  and  on  July  15, 1773,  he  issued  his 
prospectus  of  The  Maryland  Journal  and  Baltimore 
Advertiser,  and  on  Friday,  Aug.  20,  1773,  the  first 
number  appeared  and  was  distributed  throughout  the 
town.  It  was  handsomely  printed  on  stout  paper, 
eighteen  inches  by  twenty-four,  in  good  clear  type, 
and  contained  twelve  broad  columns.  Of  these  four 
columns    and  a  half   consisted    of   advertisements. 


'  In  liis  PenmulBatiia  ChronVle,  under  date  of  Feb.  10, 1772,  he  published 
a  communication,  written  b.v  hiniKoir,  about  the  prospects  of  llallimore  08 
compared  witli  tlioso  of  Pliiladelpliia.  As  regards  tlie  tbrmer  place,  Mr, 
Ooddard'a  paper  was  lialf  Jereniiali,  half  libel.  Baltimore,  he  said,  had 
already  reached  her  tie  plus  ultra ;  its  roads  were  80  bad  they  afforded  no 
access  to  the  back  settlenionts;  it  was  badly  located;  the  Basin  was 
tilling  up;  it  never  could  liave  any  foreign  trade;  the  laws  were  un- 
friendly  to  commerce;  It  was  dropping  to  ruin  in  everyway;  and,  lu 
slioii,  Baltimore,  wiut  the  best  town  on  the  continent  to  get  away  from. 
In  less  than  a  year  Mr.  Goddard  was  getting  away  from  Philadelphia 
and  seeking  a  maintenance  in  tbo  place  which  ho  had  so  recently  been 
tntdnclng. 

•  In  the  early  days  of  Biiltimoro  it  was  no  unusual  thing,  owing  to  the 
large  number  or  Geruum  inhabitants,  for  udvortisemcDts  in  the  German 
language  to  appear  In  the  EngllMli  papers. 


Newspapers  were  not  edited  at  this  time,  but  only 
printed,  and  all  comments  upon  affairs  came  from  the 
outside,  in  the  shape  of  communications,  or,  as  they 
were  styled,  "letters,"  to  the  printer,  signed  "Manlius," 
"Junius,"  "Sempronius,"  "Brutus,"  and  the  like. 
In  his  salutatory-address  "To  the  Reader,"  Mr.  God- 
dard, in  the  first  number  of  his  paper,  quaintly  outlines 
the  scope  and  province  of  his  journal,  with  the  course 
he  had  determined  to  pursue.  In  regard  to  politics, 
he  said  that  his  paper  shall  be  "Fuee  and  of  No 
P.4UTY."  It  "  shall  contain  not  only  the  public  news, 
which  I  shall  collect  and  compile  with  the  greatest  care, 
but  on  failure  of  anecdotes  of  that  sort,  I  will  supply 
the  room  with  such  moral  pieces  from  the  best  writers 
as  will  conduce  most  to  indicate  good  principles." 
Special  attention  would  be  paid,  he  promised,  to  "ag- 
riculture and  every  branch  of  husbandry,"  while 
"  the  arrival  and  departure  of  ships,  the  course  of 
exchange,  the  prices  current  of  goods,"  etc.,  would 
be  regularly  chronicled.  The  motto  of  the  Journal 
was  the  familiar  couplet  from  Horace, — 

*'  Onttie  ttitil  pnnctum  qui  miecuU  ^tU<  dulci, 
Lectorem  dclectaiido,  pariterque  mouendo," 

which,  translated,  means: 


The  imprintof  the  journal  was  "Baltimore,  Printed 
by  Wm.  Goddard,  at  the  Printing-Oflice  in  Market 
Street,  opposite  the  Coffee  House,  where  subscrip- 
tions, at  Ten  Shillings  per  Annum,  Advertisements 
and  Letters  of  Intelligence,  are  gratefully  received 
for  this  Paper,  and  where  all  Manner  of  Printing 
Work  is  performed  with  Care,  Fidelity,  and  Expedi- 
tion." The  original  office  was  in  a  house  situated  on 
the  present  site  of  the  Stin  Iron  Building,  at  the  south- 
east corner  of  Baltimore  and  South  Streets. 

Goddard  made  a  success  of  his  new  enterprise  at 
the  start.  He  was  full  of  work,  and  at  once  estab- 
lished a  special  post  to  Philadelphia.  This  encour- 
aged him  to  establish  "  an  American  post-oflice  on 
constitutional  principles,"  and  leaving  his  sister, 
Mary  Katharine  Goddard,  in  full  charge  of  the 
paiper,  in  February,  1774,  he  started  northward,  and 
within  six  months  he  had  a  comi)lete  mail  system  at 
work  from  Maine  to  Georgia.  The  mails  were  re- 
ceived and  distributed  from  his  oftice  in  Baltimore, 
and  his  sister  having  been  appointed  postmistress, 
held  the  position  for  fifteen  years.  On  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  post-office  system,  the  Continental  Congress 
appointed  Benjamin  Franklin  as  its  chief  officer,  and 
Goddard  "Surveyor  of  the  Roads  and  Comptroller  of 
the  Offices."  On  the  retirement  of  Franklin  he  ex- 
pected to  succeed  him  as  Postmaster-General,  but,  to 
his  great  disappointment,  Richard  Bache,  the  son-in- 
law  of  Franklin,  received  the  place,  and  Goddard  re- 
signed his  situation  in  disgust.  It  is  charged  that 
from  this  period  he  not  only  suffered  his  ardor  in  the 
Revolutionarv  cause  to  abate,  but    that   he  actually 


THE   PRESS   OF   BALTIMORE. 


607 


abandoned  his  political  principles.  He  resumed  his  |  we  have  shown  elsewhere,  for  having  published  Gen. 
residence  in  Baltimore,  where  the  Maryland  Journal  i  Charles  Lee's  "  Queries,  Political  and  Military,"  ani- 
had  been  and  was  still  continued  by  and  in  the  name  !  madverting  on  Washington.  He  was  indicted  for 
of  his  sister,  but  in  which  it  was  known  that  he  had  !  publishing  a  libel  of  Leonard  Harbough's  on  "Kit" 


IA„ 


T,    M.DCC.tXXlIlJ 


MARYLAND 

AND 

BALTIMORE 


the  Fresuest  Advices, 


.      Ik 


JOURNAL, 

THE 

ADVERTISER. 

both  FouicN  ind  DouEsTic 

ItHtttis  3t!iaet>it,  f^ttrfu  amtMit,    Hsi. 


FRIDAY.    August   2p,    1773 


an  interest,  and  over  which,  it  was  believed,  he  main- 
tained entire  control.  Paper  getting  scarce,  in  No- 
vember, 1775,  he  set  up  a  paper-mill  of  his  own.  He 
was  twice  mobbed,  once  by  the  Whig  Club,  in  1777, 
and  by  the  townspeople  in  1779,  in  the  latter  case,  as 


Hughes,  a  goldsmith,  but  was  acquitted.  On  Feb.  1 9, 
1783,  the  Journal  published  an  extra,  "  The  Olive," 
announcing  in  advance  of  any  paper  in  the  country 
the.  signing  of  the  preliminary  articles  of  peace  at 
Paris,  the  news  coming  direct  by  a  Baltimore  clipper. 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


On  the  8th  of  June,  1779,  Col.  Eteazer  Oswald,  a  gal- 
lant and  distinguished  Revolutionary  officer,  formed 
a  partnership  with  Goddard,  but  it  was  of  very  short 
duration.  Goddard's  sister  continued  to  publish  the 
Journal  untW  Jan.  1,  1784,  when  he  resumed  his  con- 
nection with  the  paper.  It  was  jointly  published  by 
William  and  Mary  K.  Goddard  until  Jan.  25,  1785, 
when  Edward  Langworthy,  who  afterwards  became  a 
very  distinguished  scholar,  purchased  Mary  Goddard's 
interest.  On  Jan.  1,  1787,  Mr.  Langworthy  retired, 
and  the  paper  was  continued  in  a  sickly  way  by  Mr. 
Goddard.  On  the  7tli  of  August,  1789,  Goddard  sold' 
an  interest  in  his  paper  to  his  brother-in-law,  James 
Angell,  and  they  continued  in  partnership  until  Aug. 
14,  1792,  when  Goddard  sold  his  entire  interest  in  the 
establishment  to  him.  He  published  in  the  Journal 
of  Aug.  14,  1792,  a  valedictory  address  to  the  citizens 
of  Baltimore,  whom  he  left  in  friendship,  and  bidding 
adieu  to  the  cares  and  turmoils  of  party  and  political 
strifes,  retired  to  a  farm  in  Johnston,  R.  I.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature  of  that  State  in  1795,  and 
subsequetitly  changing  his  abode  to  Providence,  he 
continued  to  reside  there  until  his  decease,  in  1817, 
aged  seventy-seven  years.  Gen.  Charles  Lee  con- 
tinued his  friend  during  life,  and  he  bequeathed  him 
a  portion  of  his  extensive  landed  estate  in  Virginia. 
Miss  Mary  K.  Goddard  remained  in  Baltimore,  where 
she  kept  a  book-store,  until  1802.  She  died  on  Aug. 
12,  1816,  aged  eighty  years. 

On  the  1st  of  November,  1793,  Paul  James  Sullivan 
purchased  an  interest  in  the  Journal,  and  it  became  a 
tri-weekly,  and  so  continued  until  it  became  a  daily  a 
year  later.  Mr.  Sullivan  retired  on  the  11th  of  June, 
and  Mr.  Angell  alone  carried  on  its  publication  until 
Oct.  24, 1794,  when  Francis  Blumfield  purchased  and 
published  it  until  Jan.  1,  1795,  at  which  time  Philip 
Ivhvaids,  proprietor  of  the  lialtimore  Baihj  Advertiser, 
jnircliasetl  an  interest,  and  consolidating  the  two 
papers,  the  Journal  was  issued  daily.  On  June  18, 
1795,  Mr.  lilumfield  retired  from  The  Maryland  Jour- 
nal and  Baltimore  Universal  Dailij  Advertiser,  and 
John  W.  Allen  took  his  place.  Philip  Edwards  and 
Mr.  Allen  remained  but  a  short  time  in  partnership, 
for  on  the  18th  of  June,  1796,  their  connection  was 
dissolved,  and  the  Journal  was  continued  by  Mr.  Ed- 
wards. On  the  2d  of  August,  1796,  Mr.  Edwards 
formed  a  partnership  with  W.  C.  Smith,  under  the 
firm-name  of  Edwards  &  Smith,  but  it  continued  only 
a  short  time,  for  on  the  8th  of  September  in  the 
same  year  the  Journal  was  published  by  P.  Edwards. 
After  a  good  many  ups  and  downs  of  various  kinds 
the  Journal,  on  the  4th  of  December,  1796,  was  partly 
burnt  out  in  a  large  fire  on  the  west  side  of  Light 
Street,  which  consumed  the  Baltimore  Academy  and 
the  Light  Street  meeting-house,  and  came  near  burn- 
ing the  Fountain  Hotel,  opposite.  The  JouruaFso&ce, 
which  at  that  time  was  at  No.  1  Light  Street,  must 
have  been  badly  damaged.  The  [japer  was  suspended 
until  the  2d  of  January,  1797,  when  its  publication 


was  resumed  by  D.  Finchete  Freebairu.  On  the  28th 
of  February  he  announced  that  its  publication  would 
"  terminate  with  this  month,"  and  in  the  same  issue 
P.  Edwards  stated  that  the  Journal  "  is  necessarily 
suspended  for  a  short  time,"  but  that  arrangements 
had  been  made  to  resume  its  publication  "  in  a  few 
days."  On  March  21,  1797,  Mr.  Edwards,  "  solicited 
bj'  some  of  his  friends,  and  influenced  by  other  pri- 
vate considerations,"  determined  once  more  "  to  at- 
tempt an  establishment  of  this  truly  valuable  paper." 
It  was  issued  as  the  Maryland  Journal,  and  continued 
to  be  published  as  such  until  June  30,  1797,  when  it 
finally  expired. 

Dunlap's  Maryland  Gazette,  or  the  Baltimore  General 
Advertiser,  was  first  issued  on  Tuesday,  May  2,  1775, 
by  AVilliam  Dunlap,  at  his  printing-office  on  Market 
Street.  It  was  sold  at  ten  shillings  per  annum.  On 
Sept.  15,  1778,  Mr.  Dunlap  sold  his  interest  in  the 
paper  to  James  Hays,  Jr.,  who  changed  the  name  to 
the  Maryland  Gazette  and  Baltimore  General  Advertiser. 
It  was  discontinued  on  Jan.  5, 1779.  On  the  7th  of 
December,  1795,  Henry  Gird,  Jr.,  announced  that  he 
"  proposed  to  issue  a  new  evening  newspaper  in  Balti- 
more, called  the  Baltimore  Evening  Star."  For  "  want 
of  a  sufficient  number  of  subscribers"  he  relinquished 
the  project  in  February,  1796. 

The  Maryland  Gazette,  or  the  Baltimore  General  Ad- 
vertiser, was  first  published  Friday,  May  16,  1783,  by 
John  Hays,  on  Market  Street,  at  fifteen  shillings  per 
annum.  On  Feb.  27,  1787,  it  wiis  published  semi- 
weekly, — Tuesdays  and  Fridays.  On  June  14,  1786, 
Henry  Dulhauer  commenced  the  publication  of  his 
German  newspaper  at  his  printing-office  on  Market 
Street,  nearly  opposite  the  Green  Tree.  The  paper 
was  published  weekly  at  ten  shillings  per  annum, 
five  shillings  in  advance, — "  All  kinds  of  printing  in 
German  performed." 

The  Baltimore  Daily  Repository,  the  first  daily  paper 
published  in  Baltimore,  was  first  issued  on  Monday, 
Oct.  24,  1791,  by  David  Graham,  at  his  office  on  Cal- 
vert Street,  between  Market  (now  Baltimore  Street) 
and  the  court-house.  On  April  29, 1793,  Mr.  Graham 
formed  a  partne-ship  with  Z.  Yundt  and  W.  Patten, 
and  on  the  28th  of  October  in  the  same  year  he  re- 
tired, and  the  paper  was  published  under  the  name 
of  The  Baltimore  Daily  Jnlelligencer  by  Jlessrs.  Yundt 
&  Patton,  at  $4.00  per  annum,  or  twopence  for  a 
single  copy.  On  Oct.  30,  1794,  Mr.  Patton  sold  his 
interest  in  the  paper,  and  it  was  continued  by  Messrs. 
Yundt  &  Brown  as  the  Federal  Intelligencer  and  Bal- 
timore Daily  Gazette.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1796, 
the  name  was  changed  to  the  Federal  Gazette  and  Bal- 
timore Daily  Advertiser.  Messrs.  Yundt  &  Brown 
dissolved  partnership  on  Jan.  1, 1807,  the  paper  being 
continued  by  John  Hewes.  Mr.  Hewes  previous  to 
this  had  been  engaged  in  the  publication  of  a  paper 
in  Baltimore,  called  the  Companion,  which  he  sold  to 
Joseph  Robinson,  with  his  printing-office.  On  Jan. 
12,    1808,    Mr.    Hewes,    for   the   convenience  of  his 


THE    AMERICAN"     BUILDING, 

BALTIMORE,   MD. 


THE   PRESS  OF  BALTIMORE. 


609 


country  patrons,  issued  three  times  a  week  a  country 
edition.  Having  sold  all  his  interest  in  the  Gazette 
toWm.  Gwynn,  Mr.  Hewes,  on  Dec.  31,  1812,  retired 
from  the  paper.  During  the  stirring  times  in  August, 
September,  and  October  of  1814  the  editors  of  the 
Baltimore  papers,  by  mutual  agreement,  temporarily 
suspended  the  publication  of  their  papers.  The  Ga- 
zette was  continued  with  success  by  Mr.  Gwynn  until 
July  21,  1834,  when  he  sold  it  to  Wm.  Gwynn  Jones, 
who  continued  its  publication  from  the  office  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  St.  Paul  Street  and  Bank  Lane. 
The  subscription  price  of  the  daily  at  this  time  was 
$8.00  per  annum,  and  the  tri-weekly  $5.00.  On  May 
24,  1835,  Mr.  Jones  having  gotten  into  difficulty,  the 
publication  of  the  Gazette  was  resumed  by  Mr.  Gwynn. 
In  December,  1837,  Mr.  Gwynn  announced  that  he 
would  dispose  of  an  interest  or  the  whole  of  his  paper 
to  a  purchaser,  but  not  finding  one  he  continued  to 
publish  it  until  March  31,  1838,  when  it  was  merged 
in  the  Baltimore  Patriot.  Mr.  Gwynn  continued  the 
practice  of  law  and  died  in  August,  1854,  aged  seven ty- 


ine  years. 


FeU's  Point  Telegraph.— On  the  2d  of  March, 
1795,  John  W.  Allen  issued  the  first  number  of  this 
paper,  at  $2.50  per  annum.  It  was  tri-weekly,  Mon- 
day, Wednesday,  and  Friday.  I 

The  Baltimore  Telegraph  was  first  issued  March  \ 
23,  1795,  by  Messrs.  Clayland,  Dobbin  &  Co.,  at  their 
office,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Market  (now  Balti- 
more) and  Frederick  Streets.     It  was  afterwards  pub- 
lished by  Thomas  Dobbin,  in  the  rear  of  No.  1  Light 
Street,  under  the  title  of  The   Telegraph  and  Daily 
Advertiser.     The  Eagle  of  Freedom,  by  William  Pechiu 
and  James  J.  Wilmer,  was  issued  in  April,  1796.     It  I 
was  a  tri-weekly,  and  was  to  contain  "  a  well-written,  \ 
beneficial,  and  original  essay  once  a  week."  | 

The  Baltimore  American  and  Daily  Advertiser 
was  first  published  by  Alexander  Martin,  a  native  of  I 
Boston,  on  May  14,  1799,  at  No.  39  Bond  Street,  Fell's 
Point,  with  a  branch  oflSce  for  the  receipt  of  subscrip- 
tions and  advertisements  at  No.  15  Baltimore  Street. 
From  that  time  to  the  present  the  publication  of  this 
valuable  journal  has  been  continued  without  change  i 
of  name  or  interruption,  with  the  exception  of  a  short 
period  in  1814,  when  the  patriotic  proprietors  and  ! 
employes  dropped  pen  and  type,  and  taking  up  the 
sword  and  musket,  met  the  enemy  on  the  battle-field 
at  North  Point.     The  American  is  the  oldest  news- 
paper in  Maryland,  being,  it  is  said,  the  regular  de- 
scendant of  the  Maryland  Journal,  the  first  news- 
paper published  in  Baltimore  m  1773. 

A  short  time  after  The  American -vnishB^nn  in  1799, 
the  oflice  was  removed  to  Second  Street,  near  South, 
and  on  the  1st  of  January,  1803,  Mr.  Martin  sold  his 
interest  in  the  paper  to  William  Pechin  and  Leonard 
Frailey,  who  removed  the  office  to  No.  31  South  Gay 
Street,  near  the  custom-house.  After  Mr.  Martin  dis- 
posed of  his  interest  in  the  American  he  opened  a 
printing-office  in  Baltimore,  and  on  Jan.  1, 1804,  began 


the  publication  of  a  satirical  political  and  literary 
weekly  journal,  which  was  soon  discontinued.  He 
died  in  New  York  in  October,  1810,  aged  thirty-three 
years.  On  Aug.  10,  1805,  Mr.  Frailey  withdrew  from 
the  American,  and  Mr.  Pechin  became  sole  proprietor. 
Mr.  Pechin  soon  formed  a  partnership,  and  on  July 
1,  1810,  the  paper  was  issued  by  Messrs.  "  W.  Pechin, 
G.  Dobbin  &  Murphy."  On  September  23d  Mr. 
Pechin  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  as  one  of 
their  candidates  for  the  Legislature,  and  after  an 
active  canvass  he  was  elected  on  October  7th  by  a 
large  majority.  George  Dobbin,  one  of  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  American,  died  on  Dec.  3,  1811,  in  the 
thirty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  leaving  a  wife  and  three 
children  ;  but  the  name  of  the  firm  remained  un- 
changed. The  share  owned  by  Mr.  Dobbin  was  re- 
tained in  the  business  for  the  benefit  of  his  widow, 
and  when  his  son,  Robert  A.  Dobbin,  arrived  at  man- 
hood he  took  his  father's  place  as  a  partner.  Early 
in  1812  the  office  of  the  paper  was  removed  to  No.  4 
Harrison  Street,  and  there  remained  for  some  years. 
On  the  10th  of  September,  1814,  the  American  sus- 
pended publication  to  enable  the  employes  to  enroll 
themselves  with  the  volunteers  in  defense  of  the  city, 
but  resumed  publication  on  the  20th  of  September, 
after  the  death  of  Gen.  Ross.  It  is  said  the  number 
for  Sept.  21,  1814,  gave  to  the  people  of  America  their 
national  song,  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  written 
only  a  week  before.  Mr.  Samuel  Sands,  afterwards 
the  editor  of  the  American  Farmer,  was  an  apprentice- 
boy  in  the  American  office  at  that  time,  and  had  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  person  who  set  the  song  in 
type.  In  1815,  William  Bose  purchased  an  interest  in 
the  paper,  and  on  July  4,  1815,  it  was  issued  by 
Pechin,  Dobbin,  Murphy  &  Bose.  On  May  3,  1832, 
Peter  H.  Cruse,  "an  editor  of  distinguished  talents, 
and  an  accomplished  scholar  and  a  gentleman  of  great 
personal  worth,"  who  had  been  associated  with  the 
American  for  several  years,  severed  his  connection 
with  it,  and  joined  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Patriot. 
He  was  succeeded  on  the  American  by  S.  F.  Wilson, 
"  a  gentleman  of  talents  and  acquirements,  for  more 
than  two  years  editor  of  another  morning  paper." 
On  Aug.  18,  18.36,  George  H.  Calvert,  a  very  distin- 
guished writer,  and  one  of  the  editors  of  the  paper, 
also  resigned.  Francis  H.  Davidge  took  his  place. 
On  Sept.  1, 1848,  William  Stevenson  Brunner,  a  printer 
by  profession,  but  one  of  the  editors  of  the  American, 
died  in  his  twenty-eighth  year.  He  was  a  very  tal- 
ented young  man,  and  a  member  of  the  Monumental 
Lyceum.  In  accordance  with  a  resolution  adopted 
by  this  association,  John  W.  McCoy,  then  one  of  the 
editors  of  the  American,  delivered  a  eulogy  upon  his 
life  and  character  on  Nov.  20,  1848,  at  the  Univer- 
salist  church,  corner  of  Calvert  and  Pleasant  Streets. 
On  the  17th  of  June,  1840,  the  American  removed 
from  the  building  it  had  occupied  for  nearly  forty 
years,  at  No.  2  South  Gay  Street,  to  its  new  building, 
at  Nos.  126  and  128  West   Baltimore  Street,  a  few 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


doors  west  of  North  Street,  on  tbe  north  side.  This 
buildinj;  was  the  design  of  Robert  Carey  Long,  and 
was  erected  in  the  "  Elizabethian"  style  of  archi- 
tecture. At  the  time  of  its  erection  it  was  not  equaled 
by  any  publication-office  in  the  city.  On  Saturday, 
March  9,  1850,  the  fii-st  number  of  the  Wert!;/  Ameri- 
can was  issued,  which  has  been  continued  with  great 
success  ever  since.  On  Dec.  14, 1852,  John  L.  Carey, 
who  had  been  for  many  years  one  of  the  associate 
editors  of  the  American,  died  in  New  Orleans  of  the 
cholera.  He  had  just  entered  on  his  duties  as  associ- 
ate editor  of  the  New  Orleans  Crescent.  The  old  firm 
of  Dobbin,  Murphy  &  Bose,  which  had  been  in  ex- 
istence for  nearly  half  a  century,  was  dissolved  on 
the  30th  of  June,  1853.  Robert  A.  Dobbin  purchased 
the  interest  of  Mr.  Murphy,  and  Charles  C.  Fulton, 
who  had  formerly  been  the  managing  editor  of  the 
Baltimore  Sun,  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Bose. 
Col.  William  Pechin,  one  of  the  early  proprietors, 
died  near  Philadelphia,  early  in  August,  1849,  in  the 
seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age.  Thomas  Murphy  sur- 
vived his  retirement  from  active  business  seven  years, 
dying  May  15,  1860,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  The 
cotemporary  newspapers  pay  many  tributes  to  his 
worth,  his  business  enterprise,  and  his  social  qualities. 
He  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1780,  and  came  to  this 
country  in  his  infancy.  After  serving  an  apprentice- 
ship in  the  office  of  Thomas  Dobbin,  one  of  the  early 
printers  of  Baltimore,  he  assisted  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Baltimore  Telegraph,  one  of  the  first 
daily  papers  published  in  the  city.  Its  life  was  short, 
and  in  1809  he  bought  an  interest  in  the  American, 
so  that  his  connection  with  it  extended  over  forty-four 
years.  In  1814  he  joined  the  First  Baltimore  Sharp- 
shooters for  the  defense  of  the  city  at  North  Point, 
and  retained  his  association  with  that  corps  for  many 
years  after  the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Murphy  never 
married,  but  in  his  later  years  he  was  surrounded  by 
the  children  and  grandchildren  of  his  sisters,  who 
always  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  his  home  and 
fortune. 

Robert  A.  Dobbin  continued  as  one  of  the  proprie- 
tary firm  until  his  death,  which  occurred  Aug.  15, 
1862.  He  was  then  in  the  fifty-sixth  year  of  his  age, 
and  having  succeeded  to  his  father's  interest  when  he 
was  but  twenty  years  old,  he  had  been  for  more  than 
thirty-three  years  connected  with  the  paper.  He  was 
a  man  of  remarkably  amiable  temperament,  and  suf- 
fered with  wonderful  fortitude  the  pangs  of  the  cruel 
disease  that  carried  him  off.  It  is  worthy  of  men- 
tion in  connection  with  Mr.  Dobbin  that  his  malady 
was  undoubtedly  aggravated  by  the  mental  anguish 
which  the  civil  war  cost  him.  Probably  few  men  of 
liis  day  more  deeply  regretted  the  appeal  to  arms,  and 
he  always  insisted  that  with  proper  eflbrt  peace  could 
have  been  preserved.  He  would  weep  over  the  news 
of  battles,  no  matter  which  side  was  victorious,  and 
as  he  neared  his  grave  all  such  intelligence  was  ob- 
served to  hiistcn  his  steps  thereto.     His  interest  in 


the  American  was  inherited  by  his  only  surviving 
child,  Joseph  T.  Dobbin,  but  that  gentleman  soon 
followed  him  to  the  grave,  dying  on  Dec.  7,  1864, 
when  but  twenty-nine  years  of  age.  He  was  a  young 
man  of  much  intellectual  force  and  a  strongly 
humorous  turn  of  mind,  but  a  feeble  constitution 
prevented  him  from  doing  a  large  amount  of  work 
upon  the  paper. 

William  Bose  survived  all  his  former  partners,  and 
lived  until  Dec.  22,  1875,  reaching  his  seventy-ninth 
year.  He  was  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  and  became 
connected  with  the  American  in  1815,  not  retiring 
until  1853.  For  many  years  he  was  the  active  man- 
ager of  the  paper,  and  his  health  was  much  broken 
by  his  laborious  duties.  Among  others  who  held 
prominent  positions  on  the  paper  were  J.  H.  Chabot, 
the  cashier,  who  died  Oct.  2, 1863;  and  the  pressman, 
Abraham  Lefevre,  whose  death  occurred  June  4, 1860. 
Charles  W.  Kimberly,  the  best-known  reporter  in 
Baltimore,  died  June  1,  1870.  John  F.  Cook,  who 
was  pressman  of  the  American  ait  the  time  of  the  war 
with  England,  died  March  30,  1866. 

Edington  Fulton,  a  younger  brother  of  C.  C.  Ful- 
ton, and  for  over  twenty  years  managing  editor  of  the 
paper,  died  May  13,  1878,  aged  sixty  years.  He  was 
one  of  five  brothers  who  were  born  in  Philadelphia, 
and  lost  father  and  mother  within  a  single  year. 
After  learning  printing,  he  came  to  Baltimore  in 
1845  as  a  reporter  upon  the  American,  and  worked  his 
way  upward.  During  tlie  war  he  saw  much  service 
as  correspondent  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and 
with  the  fleet  at  the  siege  of  Charleston.  In  July, 
1865,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Johnson  surveyor 
of  the  port  of  Baltimore,  but  was  removed  a  few 
months  later  on  account  of  political  differences.  In 
March,  1869,  President  Grant  commissioned  him  to 
the  same  position,  which  he  filled  for  four  years.  In 
1877  he  was  appointed  chief  store-keeper  at  the  cus- 
tom-house, and  held  that  office  until  his  death.  To 
his  vigorous  administration  much  of  the  growing  im- 
portance and  prosperity  of  the  American  was  due. 

On  July  1,  1864,  C.  C.  Fulton  purchased  from 
Joseph  T.  Dobbin  his  interest  in  the  paper,  and 
united  with  himself  in  the  proprietorship  his  son, 
Albert  Kimberly  Fulton,  the  .style  of  the  firm  being 
changed  to  that  of  Charles  C.  Fulton  &  Son.  From 
Mr.  Fulton's  earliest  connection  with  the  paper  he 
had  projected  great  improvements  in  it,  but  it  was  not 
until  he  became  senior  proprietor  that  he  was  able  to 
fully  carry  his  plans  into  effect.  Previously  to  this 
time  he  had,  as  Baltimore  agent  of  the  Associated 
Press,  shown  great  judgment,  skill,  and  diligence  as  a 
collector  of  news.  While  the  American  had  almost 
from  its  birth  enjoyed  a  high  standing  as  a  commercial 
paper,  it  did  not  aspire  to  .step  far  beyond  that  limited 
field  of  enterprise,  but  Mr.  Fulton  determined  to 
make  it  a  newspaper  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word, 
and  to  that  end  he  revolutionized  all  its  departments. 
The  editorial  force  was  augmented,  and  special  atten- 


THE   FKESS  OF   BALTIMORE. 


611 


tion  was  paid  to  the  gathering  of  the  news  of  the  city. 
Money  was  liberally  expended,  and  the  result  was 
soon  evident  in  a  large  increase  of  circulation.  Mr. 
Fulton  had  been  an  apprentice  in  the  National  Gazette 
at  Philadelphia,  and  before  removing  to  Baltimore 
had  for  five  years  been  proprietor  and  editor  of  the 
Georgetown  (D.  C.)  Advocate,  so  that  his  whole  life 
may  be  said  to  have  been  spent  in  journalism.  The 
American  was  a  firm  ally  of  the  Whig  party,  and  in 
1860  it  supported  Bell  and  Everett,  and  afterwards 
became  prominently  identified  with  the  Union  cause 
and  the  Republican  party.  When  hostilities  com- 
menced it  jumped  to  a  very  large  circulation  among 
the  armies  on  the  Potomac  and  along  the  sea-board, 
because  of  its  support  of  the  government  and  the  fact 
that  it  reached  the  camps  and  headquarters  a  day  in 
advance  of  the  New  York  and  Philadelphia  papers. 
When  Gen.  McClellan  started  oti  the  march  across 
the  peninsula  from  the  York  to  the  James  Rivers,  in 
June,  1862,  Mr.  Fulton  accompanied  the  army,  and 
on  his  return  to  Baltimore  was  arrested,  on  June  30th, 
and  confined  in  Fort  McHenry  on  the  charge  of  offer- 
ing to  prepare  for  publication  through  the  Associated 
Press  an  account  of  military  operations,  including 
matters  obtained  in  an  interview  with  President  Lin- 
coln. Mr.  Fulton  immediately  explained  that  the 
dispatch  which  provoked  his  arrest  was  a  private  one 
and  had  been  published  in  error,  and  the  President 
thereupon  ordered  his  unconditional  release  after  he 
had  been  confined  two  days. 

Mr.  Fulton  was  subsequently  with  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  in  the  campaigns  of  1863  and  1864,  and  ac- 
companied the  first  expedition  of  the  ironclads 
against  Fort  Sumter.  His  free  criticisms  of  what  he 
regarded  as  the  premature  withdrawal  of  the  fleet 
from  the  attack  caused  a  sharp  discussion  between 
himself  and  the  officer  in  command  and  the  Navy 
Department,  which  Wiis  only  terminated  upon  the 
death  of  the  oflicer.  He  was  very  active  in  sending 
supplies  of  provisions  and  clothing  to  the  Federal 
prisoners  at  Richmond,  and  for  these  humane  efforts 
the  Maryland  House  of  Delegates  voted  him  a  reso- 
lution of  thanks.  Mr.  Fulton  has  been  a  great  trav- 
eler. He  spent  the  summers  of  1859,  1872,  1873,  and 
1878  in  Europe,  and  a  collection  of  his  letters  pub- 
lished in  book-form,  under  the  title  of"  Europe  Seen 
Through  American  Spectacles,"  has  gone  through 
three  editions,  and  has  been  widely  read.  His  letters 
upon  the  Vienna  Exhibition  of  1873  and  the  Paris 
Exhibition  of  1878  were  very  copious  and  interest- 
ing, and  at  Paris  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  official 
jurors.  He  accompanied  the  commission  sent  to 
San  Domingo  in  1871  by  President  Grant  to  report 
upon  the  advisability  of  its  annexation  to  the  United 
States,  and  in  his  letters  took  strong  ground  in  favor 
of  the  project.  He  has  also  made  other  trips  to  the 
West  Indies,  traversed  every  section  of  the  United 
States,  spent  some  time  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  on 
all  occasions  has  been  an  indefatigable  correspondent. 


In  three  rambles  in  Texas  he  has  written  extensively 
upon  the  marvelous  resources  of  that  great  State. 
In  Republican  politics  he  has  been  quite  prominent, 
and  for  many  years  he  was  the  Maryland  representa- 
tive upon  the  National  Executive  Committee.  He 
has  been  a  delegate  to  several  of  the  Presidential 
nominating  conventions,  but  of  late  years  his  paper 
has  become  more  independent  in  its  tone,  and  has 
cast  off  the  character  of  a  party  organ.  It  has  at  all 
times  been  identified  with  local  progress,  and  has 
urged  a  liberal  system  of  public  improvements.  The 
fearlessness  of  its  management  is  attested  by  the 
large  number  of  libel  suits  that  have  been  brought 
against  it,  while  the  fact  that  it  had  the  right  on  its 
side  is  shown  by  the  further  circumstance  that  in  but 
one  case  has  a  verdict  been  rendered  against  it,  and 
that  was  for  a  trivial  sum. 

On  Monday,  Jan.  31, 1876,  the  American  was  issued 
for  the  first  time  from  its  new  building,  at  the  corner 
of  Baltimore  and  South  Streets,  which  is  one  of  the 
largest  and  handsomest  business  edifices  in  the  city, 
and  one  of  the  finest  newspaper-offices  in  the  country. 
It  is  of  iron,  six  stories  in  height,  with  three  towers, 
and  is  of  an  elaborate  and  graceful  style  of  architec- 
ture. The  ground  and  building  are  entirely  the  prop- 
erty of  C.  C.  Fulton,  while  this  splendid  improvement 
has  given  rise  to  many  others  in  the  same  neighbor- 
hood. 

The  American  to-day  is  one  of  the  best  and  most 
enterprising  journals  in  the  country.  During  the  last 
few  years,  under  the  business  management  of  Gen. 
Felix  Agnus,  a  gallant  soldier  of  the  late  war, 
it  has  been  brought  to  the  highest  condition  of 
journalistic  efficiency  in  all  its  departments,  and 
is  justly  regarded  as  a  model  newspaper.  Bright, 
able,  and  progi-essive,  it  keej^s  pace  with  the  most 
rapid  developments  of  events,  and  in  a  swiftly-moving 
age  is  never  behind  the  times.  The  editorial  depart- 
ment is  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Hazleton,  a 
brilliant  and  able  young  journalist,  who  has  fully  sus- 
tained its  reputation  for  literary  and  editorial  ability. 

On  Sunday,  March  2,  1879,  the  publication  of  the 
American  every  day  in  the  year  was  commenced.  The 
Sunday  edition  at  once  sprung  into  populiir  favor, 
as  it  had  never  been  previously  attempted  by  any  of 
the  Baltimore  morning  dailies.  In  1880,  Albert  K. 
Fulton  retired  from  the  firm,  leaving  C.  C.  Fulton 
as  the  sole  proprietor.  He  continues  to  control  the 
general  policy  of  the  paper,  and  is  still  advancing 
its  healthy  and  prosperous  career.  Besides  Eding- 
tou  Fulton,  the  managing  editors  have  in  succes- 
sion been  Messrs.  John  McGarigle,  James  P.  Mat- 
thews, and  Henry  J.  Ford,  the  latter  of  whom  was 
followed  by  W.  B.  Hazelton,  now  ably  holding  the 
position.  On  the  present  staff  are  Messrs.  Edward 
Spencer,  Innes  Randolph,  W.  B.  Clarke,  and  Alex- 
ander Fulton,  the  latter  commercial  editor.  A  few 
years  ago  the  position  of  manager  was  created,  and 
is  ably  filled  by  Gen.  Felix   Agnus,  son-in-law  of 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


C.  C.  Fulton.  It  is  universally  admitted  that  under 
this  administration  the  American  ha.-i  been  made  in 
every  respect  a  first-class  newspaper,  able  and  even 
brilliant  iu  its  editorial  and  critical  departments,  un- 
surpassed as  an  organ  of  information,  and  calm  and 
fair  in  its  expressions  of  opinion. 

The  Patriot  was  first  issued  Sept.  28,  1812.  After 
the  Whiff  abandoned  President  Madison  in  the  fall  of 
1811,  the  influential  members  of  the  administration 
l)arty  in  Baltimore  induced  Isaac  Monroe  and  Ebene- 
zer  French,  then  connected  with  the  Boston  Patriot, 
to  come  to  Baltimore  and  establish  a  new  paper  in 
support  of  Mr.  Madison.  This  was  the  origin  of  the 
Patriot.  In  1814  the  name  was  changed  to  the  Balli- 
mnre  Patriot  and  Evening  Advertiser,  published  in  the 
alternoons  by  Monroe  &  French.  Samuel  Brazer, 
who  had  been  for  many  years  one  of  the  editors  of 
the  Patriot,  died  on  Feb.  24,  1823,  in  the  fortieth  year 
of  his  age.  On  the  evening  of  the  7th  of  November, 
1848,  the  office  of  the  Patriot  was  considerably  dam- 
aged by  a  mob.  On  Jan.  1,  1849,  Messrs.  Josliua 
Jones  and  John  F.  MeJilton,  who  had  been  long 
connected  with  the  business  and  editorial  departments 
of  the  Patriot,  purchased  an  interest  of  Col.  Monroe. 
On  Jan.  22,  1854,  John  Wills  was  associated  with  the 
editorial  department  of  the  paper,  and  on  April  24th, 
Wm.  M.  Burwell,  formerly  of  the  Washington  Repub- 
lic, and  more  recently  of  the  Baltimore  American, 
.assumed  the  "  editorial  responsibilities."  Mr.  Me- 
Jilton became  the  sole  owner  of  the  Patriot  about 
18.'i4,  but  on  Jan.  1,  18.56,  it  changed  proprietorship. 
Wm.  H.  Carpenter,  "  a  graceful  writer,  and  who  has 
contributed  some  stirring  lyrics  and  entertaining  and 
valuable  works  in  prose  to  the  literature  of  our 
country,"  assumed  the  general  editorial  management, 
with  John  Wills  as  commercial  editor.  These  gen- 
tlemen, who  had  been  associated  with  the  paper  sev- 
eral years  previously,  continued  the  partnership  until 
July  22,  1857,  when  Mr.  Carpenter  retired.  On  the 
1st  of  January,  1857,  the  Patriot,  together  with  the 
American,  changed  its  mode  of  publication  to  the 
cash  system  which  had  been  adopted  by  the  Sun,  by 
transferring  the  subscribers  to  the  carriers.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1858,  the  Patriot  reduced  its  dimensions  from 
seven  columns  on  a  page  to  si.x.  Mr.  Monroe,  the 
founder  of  the  Patriot,  died  Dec.  22,  1859,  aged 
seventy-five  years.  He  left  a  widow,  but  was  child- 
less. On  April  15,  1861,  Moses  Small,  the  venerable 
colored  carrier  of  the  Patriot,  also  expired  at  his  resi- 
dence, in  the  court  in  the  rear  of  the  Charles  Street 
M.  E.  church,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty  years. 
Moses  commenced  carrying  papers  for  the  Evening 
Post  in  1806;  from  1807  to  1811  he  was  carrier  for 
the  ^hrth  American,  and  from  1811  to  1838  for  the 
Federal  Gazette,  and  when  that  paper  was  merged  in 
the  Patriot  he  continued  to  serve  its  subscribers  up 
to  1857,  when  sickness  and  old  age  compelled  him  to 
abandon  his  route.  During  all  this  long  period  of 
over  half  a  century  it  is  said  he  never  missed  a  single 


day.  The  Sun  said,  "  He  has  averaged  in  his  walks 
sixteen  miles  each  day,  which  for  forty-nine  years 
foot  up  a  total  of  245,392  miles;  this  is  nearly  to  the  ex- 
tent of  nine  times  around  the  world."  Moses  was  dis- 
tinguished all  his  life  for  the  excellence  of  his  morals 
and  manners.  He  was  a  well-bred,  polite,  urbane 
gentleman.  In  his  early  life  he  was  the  object  of 
great  respect  and  confidence  on  the  part  of  his  mas- 
ter, Wm.  Gwynn,  whose  servant  he  was  for  more 
than  fifty  years.  He  stood  high  in  the  regard  of  the 
members  of  the  old  "  Delphian  Club,"  whose  meetings 
were  held  first  in  the  rooms  over  the  old  Federal 
Gazette  oflice,  and  afterwards  at  the  "  Tusculum,"  in 
rear  of  that  office.  It  was  in  its  day  a  famous  resort 
for  men  of  wit  and  leisure,  and  few  strangers  so- 
journed for  many  days  in  Baltimore  without  finding 
their  way  to  the  Tusculum,  where  Moses  was  an  im- 
portant personage,  valued  and  reipected  by  all. 
When  the  fortune  of  his  former  patron  waned  and 
he  was  n)  longer  able  to  pay  Moses  his  accii-t>med 
wages,  the  faithful  fellow,  mindful  only  ofpa.-<t  favors, 
continued  to  attend  upon  his  benefactor  with  as 
much  assiduity  and  respect  as  if  he  had  been  abund- 
antly compensated,  exhibiting  a  rare  example  of 
fidelity  and  gratitude.  Some  years  before  his  death 
a  leading  merchant  of  Baltimore  had  his  portrait 
painted  by  Wood,  which  was  afterwards  lithographed 
with  great  force  and  fidelity.  It  represented  him 
with  his  bundle  of  papers  under  his  arm,  his  hat  raised 
from  his  head  in  courteous  return  to  a  salutation,  and 
upon  his  countenance  that  expression  of  urbanity  so 
characteristic  of  the  man. 

The  Fell's  Point  Daily  Commercial  Advertiser 
was  published  by  John  Wane  and  Alexander  Lucas 
in  1807. 

The  Republican,  or  Anti-Democrat,  was  first  is- 
sued Vv\k  1,  IsiiL',  l,y  Messrs.  Pivntiss  &  Cole,  at  No. 
14  .Siiutli  Charles  Street,  on  ^Monday,  Wednesday,  and 
Friday.  It  ceased  Dec.  30,  1803.  George  L.  Gray, 
the  editor,  died  at  St.  Helena  on  the  24th  of  March, 
1808. 

Baltimore  Weekly  Messenger,  by  Messrs.  Edes 
Si  T.enkin,  at  $;i,(MI  per  amiuni,  in  1809.  They  also 
published  a  separate  sheet,  called  {he  Baltimore  Adver- 
tiser and  Price  Current,  which  was  a  commercial 
paper,  given  free  to  the  subscribers  of  the  Messenffcr. 

National  Museum  and  Weekly  Gazette,  by  Dr. 
Camill  .M.  Mann,  at  No.  13  Baltimore  Street,  on  Sat- 
urday, Nov.  20,  1813,  at  $5.00  per  year. 

The  Portico,  by  Messrs.  Neal,  Wills  &  Coale,  No. 
174  Market  Street,  in  1816. 

The  Whig  in  1811  was  edited  by  Baptist  Irvine 
and  Samuel  Barnes,  and  was  the  leading  Democratic 
paper.  In  1808,  Irvine  was  tried  for  libel,  and  the 
Whiff  suspended  a  short  time,  but  recommenced  pub- 
lication on  May  9th.  When  the  Presidential  election 
came  off  the  Whiff  became  the  organ  of  De  Witt 
Clinton  against  Mr.  Madison,  which  greatly  displeased 
Mr.  Barnes,  who  sold  his  interest  in  the  paper  and 


THE   PKESS  OF   BALTIMORE. 


retired  to  Frederick,  where  he  established  a  Demo- 
cratic paper,  called  the  Political  Examine)-.  Messrs. 
Cone  &  Norvell  assumed  the  editorship  of  the  Whig, 
and  after  the  election  of  Mr.  Madison  endeavored  to 
reconcile  it  to  the  party,  but  without  effect,  and  it 
soon  merged  in  the  American.  Norvell  was  an  able 
editor,  and  was  afterwards  elected  one  of  the  first 
congressmen  from  Michigan.  Spencer  H.  Cone, 
whose  sister  Norvell  married,  had  been  on  the  stage 
before  becoming  an  editor,  but  after  his  retirement 
from  the  Whig  he  became  a  minister  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  pastor  of 
one  of  the  largest  churches  of  that  denomination  in 
New  York,  and  one  of  its  most  eloquent  and  respected 
members. 

The  eommercial  Calendar  was  published  by  E. 
P.  Coak'  in  1.S2.-1. 

The  Mount  Hope  Literary  Gazette,  conducted  by 
one  of  tlie  students  of  that  institution,  was  published 
in  1830. 

The  Chronicle  of  the  Times,  edited  by  Julius  T. 
Ducatel,  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  Maryland 
University,  and  published  by  C.  V.  Nickerson,  was 
issued  on  Oct.  2,  1830.  On  October  30th,  George  H. 
Calvert,  Professor  of  Moral  and  Intellectual  Philoso- 
phy in  the  University  of  Maryland,  was  associated  as 
editor.  It  was  devoted  to  mechanics,  manufactures, 
internal  improvements,  and  general  information.  The 
first  eight  numbers  were  issued  as  an  octavo,  after 
which  as  a  newspaper.  At  the  expiration  of  the  first 
year  it  was  changed  to  quarto  form,  and  called  The 
Baltimore  Times. 

The  Sunday  Messenger,  the  first  Sunday  paper 
published  in  the  United  States,  was  issued  in  Balti- 
more on  July  18,  1819,  by  Ebenezer  French.  It  was 
of  royal  size,  and  contained  a  large  amount  of  literary 
matter,  including  the  ordinary  topics  of  the  day.  It 
was  sold  at  six  cents  per  copy,  at  the  office,  corner  of 
Market  and  South  Streets. 

The  Gospel  Advocate,  "conducted  by  a  society  of 
gentlemen,"  was  published  by  E.  J.  Coale  &  Co.  on 
Calvert  Street,  opposite  the  post-oflice.  It  was  an 
octavo,  issued  monthly,  of  about  thirty-two  pages,  at 
$2.00  per  year. 

The  Morning'  Post  was  issued  by  Paul  Allen  on 
Monday,  8e|.t.  (i,  1824. 

The  Mechanic's  Press,  a  weekly,  published  by 
Eobert  Geddes,  at  $3.00  per  annum,  was  issued  in 
August,  1825. 

The  Red  Book  was  published  by  Joseph  Kobin- 
son,  Oct.  23,  1819.  It  was  edited  by  members  of  the 
"  Delphian  Club." 

The  Emerald  and  Baltimore  Literary  Gazette 
made  its  first  appearance  on  Saturday,  March  29, 
1828.  In  May,  1829,  a  new  paper,  called  the  Minerva, 
was  started,  and  the  two  combined  under  the  title 
of  Baltimore  Minerva  and  Emerald.  It  was  edited 
by  Rufus  Dawes,  who  had  acquired  considerable 
reputation  as  a  poet,  and  was  formerly  editor  of  the 


Emerald,  and  John  H.  Hewett.  It  was  published  every 
Saturday  at  Benjamin  Edes'  printing-office,  northeast 
corner  of  Calvert  and  Market  Streets,  at  $2.50  per 
year.  It  was  devoted  to  news,  commerce,  agriculture, 
and  general  literature.  The  commercial  department 
was  under  the  management  of  H.  H.  Walsh.  In 
July,  1830,  it  was  called  the  Minerva  and  Saturday 
Post,  and  under  the  editorship  of  Mr.  Hewett  "  had 
more  subscribers  in  Baltimore  than  any  newspaper." 

The  Metropolitan,  or  Catholic  Monthly  Maga- 
zine, was  first'  published  in  January,  1830,  by  P. 
Blenkinsop.  It  was  published  for  one  j'ear,  and  then 
ceased. 

The  Freeman's  Banner,  a  weekly  Whig  paper, 
was  published  June  15,  1831,  by  Messrs.  Sands  & 
Neilson. 

National  Magazine,  or  Ladies'  Companion,  a 
political  and  literary  monthly,  was  issued  in  Novem- 
ber, 1831,  by  Mrs.  Mary  Chase  Barney,  daughter  of 
Samuel  Chase. 

The  Guardian  and  Temperance  Intelligencer, 
a  weekly,  published  on  Saturday,  and  edited  by  Fran- 
cis H.  Davidge,  in  1832. 

The  Statesman  and  Maryland  Advertiser,  a 
semi-weekly  paper,  edited  by  Jas.  Johnson,  and  pub- 
lished by  C.  V.  Nickerson,  No.  4  South  Gay  Street, 
in  April,  1832. 

Baltimore  Medical-Surgical  Journal  and  Re- 
view, edited  by  Prof  Geddings,  of  the  Maryland 
University,  in  January,  1834. 

Baltimore  Young  Men's  Paper,  a  weekly,  pub- 
lished under  the  auspices  of  the  Young  Men's  So- 
ciety, at  $3.00  per  year,  was  issued  in  June,  1834. 
On  Nov.'  21,  1835,  the  name  was  changed  to  the  Bal- 
timore Athenceum.. 

The  Maryland  Colonization  Journal,  a  quarterly, 
was  issued  by  the  Society  for  the  Purpose  of  Diffusing 
Information  concerning  the  Principles  and  Progress 
of  the  Maryland  Plan  of  Colonization  in  May,  1835. 
The  Committee  on  Publication  was  Drs.  John  Foner- 
den,  J.  H.  Briscoe,  and  Philip  Rogers  Hoffman.  It 
was  printed  by  John  D.  Toy. 

The  North  American  and  Mercantile  Daily  Ad- 
vertiser was  first  issued  on  Jan.  11,  1808,  by  Jacob 
Wagner,  from  an  old  frame  building  that  stood  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  Gay  and  Second  Streets.  It  was 
consolidated  with  the  Federal  Pepublican  on  Oct.  4, 
1809,  and  issued  as  the  Federal  Republican  and  Com- 
mercial Advertiser  by  A.  C.  Hanson  and  Jacob  Wag- 
ner. The  Republican  was  a  very  violent  Federal  paper, 
and  on  the  22d  of  June,  1812,  the  office  was  destroyed 
by  a  mob,  as  will  be  seen  elsewhere  under  the  head 
of  "  Mobs  and  Riots."  The  publishers  reissued  the 
paper  from  Georgetown,  D.  C,  and  forwarded  it  by 
mail  to  this  city.  As  soon  as  this  was  ascertained  the 
people  collected  in  front  of  the  post-office,  then  at  the 
corner  of  St.  Paul  Street  and  Bank  Lane,  and  de- 
manded of  Charles  Barrall,  the  postmaster,  the  copies 
of  the  obnoxious  paper.     The  mob,  however,  was  dis- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


persed  by  the  town  cavalry.  Soon  after  tliis  tlie  pro- 
prietors resumed  the  publication  of  the  liepubUntn  at 
a  liouse  on  South  Ciiarles  Street,  which  caused  a  ter- 
rible riot.  It  was  soon  revived  as  the  Federal  liepub- 
lican  and  Baltimore  Telegraph,  and  the  politics  of  the 
city  having  changed,  Hanson  was  sent  to  Congress  in 
1813-16,  and  finally  elected  United  States  senator  in 
1816-19.  He  was  the  grandson  of  John  Hanson,  pres- 
ident of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  son  of  Alexan- 
der Contee  Hanson,  chancellor  of  Maryland.  He  was 
born  in  this  State,  and  died  at  Belmonf,  Frederick  Co., 
April  23,  1819.  He  retained  a  one-third  interest  in 
the  liepiiblicaii  up  to  January,  1819,  when  he  sold  it 
to  James  P.  Heath,  the  paper  being  continued  by 
Benjamin  Edes  and  Heath. 

The  Porcupine  was  established  in  August,  1804, 
and  al-ii  aljmit  Ilie  same  time  the  Journal  of  the  Times, 
by  Scluu-ller  &  Miumd,  No.  214  Market  Street. 

Mechanics'  Gazette  and  Merchants'  Daily  Ad- 
vertiser was  lirst  issued  i>y  Tliomas  Wilson  &  Co.  in 
March,  LSI.",,  from  .No.  28  South  Gay  Street. 

The  American  Patriot  was  first  issued  on  Satur- 
day, Sept.  25,  1SU2,  by  S.  McCrea,  at  No.  67  South 
Street.  The  olHce  was  removed  to  Fell's  Point,  and 
the  name  chaiii.'ed  to  the  American  Patriot  and  Fell's 
Point  Ailvertiser,  S.  Kennedy,  publisher. 

Baltimore  Evening:  Post  and  Mercantile  Daily 
Advertiser  was  first  issued  Monday  afternoon,  March 
25,  1805,  by  J.  Cook  &  Co.,  at  the  corner  of  South 
and  Water  Streets.  They  sold  their  interest  in  a 
.short  time  to  Hezekiali  Niles  and  George  Bourne, 
and  on  June  10,  1811,  Mr.  Niles  sold  his  interest  to 
Thomas  Wilson,  who  formerly  edited  a  paper  called 
tlie  Sun. 

Niles'  Register  was  first  published  by  Hezekiah 
Niles  on  Saturday,  Sept.  7,  1811,  at  $5  per  year.  It 
was  in  some  respects  the  best  newspaper  of  its  day, 
and  is  still  a  valuable  mine  of  historical  facts.  Wil- 
liam Ogden  Niles  became  associated  with  his  father 
in  1827,  and  on  the  latter's  retirement,  Sept.  3,  1836, 
he  became  sole  manager  of  the  Begister.  On  the  2d 
of  September,  1837,  he  removed  his  publication-otBce 
to  Washington,  D.  C,  and  published  his  weekly  there, 
under  the  name  of  Nilea'  National  Register.  Heze- 
kiah Niles,  the  founder  of  the  Register,  died  at  Wil- 
mington, Del.,  on  April  2,  1839,  in  the  sixty-third 
year  of  his  age.  His  son  Ogden  died  in  Philadel- 
phia on  the  Sth  of  July,  1858,  being  stricken  down 
with  paralysis  and  apoplexy.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  held  an  official  position  in  the  Pension 
Bureau  at  Wasiiington,  although  he  was  nearly  all 
his  life  connected  with  the  press.  On  the  4th  of  May, 
1839,  the  office  of  the  Register  was  removed  to  Balti- 
more, and  on  the  19th  of  October  Mrs.  Sally  Ann 
Niles,  the  widow  of  Hezekiah  Niles,  sold  the  paper 
to  Jeremiah  Hughes,  who  continued  to  publish  it 
until  Feb.  26,  1848,  when  it  ceased  to  exist.  Niles' 
National  Register  was  resumed  in  Philadelphia  in 
July,  1849,  under  the  charge  of  George  Bealty,  but 


it  was  not  a  success.  Its  motto  was  "The  Past— the 
Present— for  the  Future." 

The  Maryland  Censor  was  first  published  by  Wil- 
liam Iledding  on  Aug.  20,  1818.  It  was  a  Democratic 
weekly.  On  April  2,  1819,  it  changed  its  name  to 
the  American  Farmer,  and  was  under  the  manage- 
ment of  John  S.  Skinner,  postmaster  of  Baltimore, 
who  Wiis  so  well  known  in  connection  with  the  farm 
and  the  turf  and  their  surroundings.  It  was  printed 
weekly  by  William  Redding,  in  quarto  form,  the 
office  being  located  at  the  corner  of  South  and  Market 
Streets,  at  S4  per  annum.  This  was  the  pioneer  agri- 
cultural publication,  and  took  with  the  public,  for 
whose  interests  it  was  commenced,  and  in  a  few  days 
had  a  large  subscription-list.  Mr.  Skinner,  after  a 
few  years,  in  September,  1830,  sold  a  half-interest  in 
the  paper  to  J.  Irving  Hitchcock,  who  in  a  short 
time  purchased  the  entire  journal.  He  published 
the  Farmer,  with  Gideon  B.  Smith  as  editor,  for  about 
a  year  after  his  purchase,  when  it  .suspended.  He 
resumed  the  publication  in  a  short  time,  under  the 
name  of  The  Farmer  and  Gardener,  but  before  the 
end  of  a  year  sold  his  interest  to  Mr.  Moore,  of  the 
firm  of  Lindan  &  Moore.  Mr.  Moore  subsequently 
sold  it  to  the  editor,  E.  P.  Roberts,  and  he  afterwards 
disposed  of  it  to  Samuel  Sands,  who  commenced 
its  publication  with  John  S.  Skinner,  the  original 
founder,  as  editor.  Mr.  Skinner  having  been  ap- 
pointed assistant  postmaster-general,  removed  to 
Washington,  and  E.  P.  Roberts  resumed  the  editor- 
ship, which  he  continued  to  the  close  of  his  life.  la 
December,  1855,  Mr.  Sands,  who  was  both  proprietor 
and  publisher,  sold  part  of  his  interest  to  N.  B.  Worth- 
ington,  of  Anne  Arundel  County,  and  subsequently 
the  whole  of  it  to  the  same  gentleman.  In  the  en- 
suing year  Mr.  Sands  commenced  a  new  paper,  called 
the  Rural  Register,  which  was  published  four  years, 
or  until  about  two  years  after  the  civil  war  com- 
menced, when  it  ceased.  The  Farmer,  on  account  of 
the  interruption  of  intercourse  with  the  South,  sus- 
pended in  February,  1862.  In  June,  1866,  Messrs. 
Worthington  &  Lewis  resumed  the  publication  of 
the  Farmer,  but  in  a  few  years,  after  changing  hands 
several  times,  it  was  discontinued.  After  a  suspen- 
sion of  about  eighteen  months,  the  former  proprietor, 
Samuel  Sands,  and  his  son,  recommenced  its  publica- 
tion on  Jan.  1,  1872,  :us  the  American  Farmer  and 
Rural  Register,  and  it  is  now  in  a  very  prosperous  con- 
dition. 

The  Saturday  Herald  was  started  by  Richard 
Matchett  on  May  20,  1824,  and  edited  by  Paul  Allen, 
formerly  editor  of  the  Morning  Chronicle.  It  was  a 
weekly  literary  pa|)er,  printed  by  Mr.  Sands,  at  the 
corner  of  Gay  and  Water  Streets,  and  Mr.  Allen  used 
it  in  defense  of  Rev.  John  M.  Duncan,  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  during  his  remarkable  trial.  After 
Mr.  Allen's  death  the  name  of  the  Herald  was  changed 
by  Mr.  Sands,  on  May  20,  1827,  to  the  North  Ameri- 
can, or  Weekly  Journal  of  Politics,  Science,  and  Lilera- 


THE   PRESS   OF   BALTIMORE. 


615 


ture,  with  Dr.  Patrick  Maccauley  as  editor.  The 
paper  was  to  be  issued  upon  the  plan  of  the  Albion 
of  New  York,  with  the  exception  tliat,  as  tlie  latter 
was  devoted  to  British  interests,  Mr.  Sands'  was  to  be 
American.  Tliis  new  enterprise  had  but  a  short  ex- 
istence. 

The  Marylander  was  issued  on  Wednesday,  Dec. 
3,  1827,  by  Edward  P.  Roberts,  publisher,  Edward  C. 
Pinkney,  editor,  and  Samuel  Sands,  printer.  It  was 
])ublished  every  Wednesday  and  Saturday,  as  a  po- 
litical paper,  in  support  of  John  Q.  Adams  for  Presi- 
dent. The  editor  was  the  son  of  Hon.  William  Pink- 
ney, the  celebrated  Maryland  lawyer  and  statesman, 
and  was  an  elegant  poet,  some  of  his  lyrics  being 
among  the  choicest  in  the  English  language.  When 
the  .election  was  over  and  Mr.  Adams  was  defeated, 
the  paper,  on  Jan.  14,  1829,  was  consolidated  with  the 
Chronicle. 

The  Morning  Chronicle,  a  daily  paper,  was  pub- 
lished by  Schacti'er  &  Maund,  with  Paul  Allen  as 
editor,  in  September,  1818.  In  May,  1824,  Allen 
retired  from  the  Chronicle,  and  assumed  the  man- 
agement of  the  Saturday  Evening  Herald.  William 
Pecbin  having  become  the  proprietor  of  the  Chroni- 
cle, on  July  1,  1825,  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Gen.  S.  C.  Leakin,  and  the  title  of  the  paper  was 
changed  to  the  Commercial  Chronicle.  On  Jan.  1, 
1827,  Col.  William  Pechin  sold  his  interest  in  the 
paper,  and  it  was  issued  by  Gen.  S.  C.  Leakin,  Fran- 
cis H.  Davidge,  and  William  Ogden  Niles.  On  Jan. 
14,  1829,  Messrs.  Leakin  &  Davidge,  the  then  pro- 
prietors, dissolved  partnership,  and  the  proprietor  of 
the  Marylander,  Mr.  Sands,  having  purchased  the  in- 
terest of  Mr.  Davidge,  the  two  papers  were  consoli- 
dated, the  title  of  the  journal  bein^  the  Commercial 
Chronicle  and  Daily  Marylander,  and  the  organ  of  the 
Whig  party.  In  August,  1829,  W.  G.  Lyford,  the 
commercial  editor,  resigned  his  position,  and  having 
leased  the  Fountain  Inn,  began  hotel-keeping.  Before 
this  time  the  Chronicle  was  an  independent  paper,  de- 
voted almost  entirely  to  commercial  matters.  On 
Jan.  1,  1830,  Samuel  Barnes,  late  proprietor  of  The 
Political  Examiner  at  Frederick,  bought  out  the  in- 
terest of  Mr.  Sands,  and  for  several  years  was  the 
editor.  A  Mr.  Cole  purchased  an  interest  in  the 
paper,  and  in  January,  1835,  Messrs.  Leakin  &  Cole 
sold  their  shares  to  Samuel  Barnes.  On  Oct.  12,  1836,  i 
Mr.  Barnes  sold  the  establishment  to  Nelson  Poe,  who  | 
became  sole  proprietor  and  editor.  On  the  1st  of  i 
May,  1839,  Nathan  Parker  purchased  an  interest  in  | 
the  Chronicle  and  became  associated  with  Mr.  Poe 
in  its  management.  The  paper,  however,  finally 
shared  the  fate  of  many  of  its  predecessors  and  ; 
ceased  to  exist.  The  subscription-list  was  transferred 
to  the  American. 

The  Baltimore  Republican  was  first  published  by 
E.  W.  Rcinhart  &  Co.  on  Monday,  May  21,  1827. 
Samuel  Barker  having  become  proprietor,  on  Nov.  1, 
1837,  he  sold  an  interest  to  Messrs.  John  Busk  and 


James  H.  Cox.  In  August,  1840,  Mr.  Busk  retired 
from  the  Republican,  and  Brook  W.  Lower,  Jr.,  took 
his  place,  the  firm  being  Harker  &  Lower.'  On  Sep- 
tember 7th,  Mr.  Harker  retired,  and  Mr.  Lower 
became  sole  proprietor.  Mr.  Harker  died  in  Novem- 
ber, 1850.  His  brother,  John  Newton  Harker,  who  was 
also  at  one  time  associate  editor  and  proprietor  of  the 
Republican,  died  at  Wilmington,  Del.,  on  Oct.  27, 
1851.  In  1840,  Messrs.  Charles  F.  and  R.  M.  Cloud 
issued  the  first  number  of  The  Daily  Aryus,  an  after- 
noon paper,  and  on  Feb.  15,  1842,  it  was  united  with 
the  Republican,  under  the  title  of  Republican  and  Ar- 
gus, and  issued  as  a  morning  paper.  The  publishers 
were  Messrs.  Pratt,  Cloud  &  Brother.  On  April  25, 
1842,  the  paper  was  reduced  in  size  and  price,  and 
changed  from  a  morning  to  an  evening  paper.  On 
Nov.  19,  1845,  R.  Horace  Pratt  sold  his  interest  in 
the  paper  to  Messrs.  Cloud  &  Brother,  his  former 
partners.  He  died  on  April  10,  1855,  after  a  short 
illness,  in  his  forty-eighth  year.  His  only  brother, 
Joseph  Long  Pratt,  died  on  Jan.  26,  1845,  in  his 
thirty-eighth  year.  R.  Horace  Pratt  was  at  one  time 
part  proprietor  of  the  Baltimore  Hnfurdjy  Visitor,  and 
subsequently  of  the  Republican,  and  was  occasionally 
associated  with  other  papers.  His  contributions  were 
always  characterized  by  a  spirit  of  native  humor 
which  made  his  writings  exceedingly  popular.  He 
was  extensively  known  and  esteemed  by  a  large  num- 
ber of  acquaintances  for  his  social  and  genial  quali- 
ties. The  Argus  office  was  removed  from  Gay  Street, 
near  Baltimore,  to  the  northwest  corner  of  these  two 
streets  on  July  16,  1849.  On  November  20th  in  the 
same  year  Charles  F.  Cloud  disposed  of  his  interest 
in  the  paper  to  Beale  H.  Richardson,  who  assumed 
the  editorial  management.  On  Feb.  19,  1850,  the 
Argus  changed  again  from  a  morning  to  an  afternoon 
paper. 

On  March  20,  1852,  William  H.  Hope,  the  junior 
editor  and  part  proprietor  of  the  Argus,  retired  from 
the  paper  to  accept  a  position  on  the  Philadelphia 
Pennsylvanian.  His  interest  was  purchased  by  Charles 
F.  Cloud,  who  resumed  his  former  connection  with 
tlie  journal.  In  April,  1853,  Messrs.  C.  F.  &  R.  M. 
Cloud  ceased  their  connection  with  the  paper,  which 
was  under  the  sole  control  and  editorship  of  B.  H. 
Richardson.  William  H.  Turner  purchased  an  in- 
terest in  the  journal,  and  on  May  1,  1854,  sold  it  to 
Joseph  M.  Peregoy.  On  April  3,  1855,  A.  G.  Allen 
and  William  H.  Hope  obtained  control  of  the  paper, 
and  changed  its  name  to  the  Daily  Republican.  On 
Feb.  2,  1858,  Robert  M.  Cloud,  formerly  one  of  the 
proprietors,  died  in  his  forty-fourth  year;  and  on  the 
27th,  Mr.  Allen  disposed  of  his  interest  and  retired 
from  the  concern.  On  Sept.  11,  1863,  the  paper  was 
suppressed  by  order  of  Gen.  Schenck,  and  Beale  H. 
Richardson,  the  editor  and  proprietor,  and  his  son, 
Francis  A.  Richardson,  and  Stephen  J.  Joyce,  asso- 

1  Samuel  Lower  >t  Co.  kept  the  liiiltiniore  Tjpe  Foundry  iu  tS12. 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE  CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARi'LAND. 


ciate  editors,  were  taken  into  custody  and  ordered  to 
be  sent  South.  Tlie  alleged  ground  for  the  suppres; 
sion  of  the  Republican  was  the  publication  of  a  piece 
of  poetry  called  "The  Southern  Cross,"  which  was 
attributed  to  .Mrs.  Kllcii  Key  Blunt. 

The  American  Turf  Register  and  Sporting  Mag- 
azine, a  monthly  journal,  was  first  issued  in  Septem- 
ber, 1829,  by  John  S.  Skinner,  editor  and  publisher, 
iind  J.  D.  Toy,  printer.  In  August,  1835,  Mr.  Skin- 
ner retired  from  its  management,  and  Gideon  B. 
Smith  became  manager,  and  Allen  J.  Davie  editor. 
Mr.  Skinner  subsequently  published  the  Plough,  Loom,  I 
and  Anvil.  He  died  on  March  21,  1851,  caused  by  his 
falling  accidentally  into  the  basement  of  the  post- 
office  building  headforemost  down  a  flight  of  stairs, 
having  mistaken  the  door.  He  was  about  sixty-four 
years  of  age  when  the  accident  occurred.  In  a  short 
time  these  gentlemen  were  succeeded  by  others,  and 
not  long  afterwards  the  office  was  removed  to  New- 
York,  and  the  pai)er  went  nut  of  existence. 

The  Companion  and  Weekly  Miscellany  was 
issued   Nov.  3,  1804,  by  Edward   Ivisy,  and   Messrs.  i 
Cole  &  Hewes,  printers  aM<l  ]uililis]iers. 

The  Itinerant,  or  Wesleyau  Methodist  Visitor, 
w.as  published  Wednesday,  Nov.  12,  1828,  by  Melville 
B.  Cox,  editor.     It  wa.s  issued  every  two  weeks. 

The  Jefferson  Reformer,  a  daily,  was  first  pub- 
lished by  Dr.  Edward  J.  Alcock,  on  Jan.  14,  1836.  I 
John  H.  Hewett  was  one  of  the  editors,  but  he  with-  ; 
drew  on  the  issuing  of  the  second  number. 

The  Monument,  a  weekly,  was  issued  on  Saturday, 
Oct.  8,  1836,  by  David  Creamer  and  John  N.  Mc- 
Jiltoii.  In  1S3S  it  was  edited  and  published  by  T.  S. 
.\rtliur  and  J.  N.  McJilton,  and  issued  monthly.  ! 

The  Baltimore  Spy  was  issued  June  25,  1836.  | 

Daily  Intelligencer,  by  Cloud  &  Pouder,  in  18.36. 

The  Merchant,  a  daily  paper,  published  and  edited 
by  (ien.  Dull'Creen,  lateof  the  Washington  Telegraph, 
made  its  first  a[ipearanco  May  24,  1837,  and  ceased  to 
exist  on  the  11th  of  November  in  the  same  year. 

The  Baltimore  Price-Current  and  Counterfeit 
Detector  was  published  in  June,  1837*  by  Messrs. 
ICiMcry  \-  Co. 

The  Sunday-School  and  Family  Gazette,  pub- 
lished weekly,  was  started  in  December,  1837,  by 
Samuel  Sands,  and  was  devoted  to  the  Sunday-school 
cause. 

The  Baltimore  Daily  Transcript  was  the  first  penny 
I)ai)er  published  in  lialtimorc.     The  first  number  was  | 
i-ssucd  on  Thursday  afternoon,  March   10,  1836,  by 
Messrs.  S.  P.  Skinner  and  A.  G.  Tenney,  editors  and 
proprietors.   It  was  afterwards  enlarged  and  flourished 
for  a  while   a-s   the   lialtimort   Pod  and  IVamcript.  ' 
Thomas  J.  Beach   and  John  H.  Hewett  were   con-  ' 
nected  with  the  editorial  department  of  the  Post  and  \ 
Tramcript.     It  wa.s  sold  at  public  auction  on  April 
22,   1840.      The   Citizen,  a  Democratic    penny   paper, 
was  first  issued  July  2,  1837. 

The  People's  Friend,  a  political  jiaper,  was  first 


issued  May  25,  1816.  The  Experiment  was  tried  in 
1834  by  Messrs.  J.  F.  Weishampel,  Sr.,  and  T.  J. 
Beach,  afterwards  the  managing  editor  of  the  Sun. 
In  1829  or  later  we  had  in  Baltimore,  besides  those 
mentioned,  the  following  newspapers:  Itinerant 
Weekly,  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  Hiintrew, 
Amethyst,  American  Museum,  Difipatch,  Freeman's 
Banner,  American  Whig^  Temperance  Herald,  Odd- 
Fellows'  Magazine,  Log  Cabin,  Wreath,  Baltimore  Intel- 
ligencer (ceased  Jan.  5,  1835),  Wanderer  (by  R.  J. 
Matchett),  Baltimore  Iris,  Columbian  Democrat,  Penny 
Magazine  (in  1839). 

The  Portico  was  published  by  Edward  J.  Coale 
about  1827,  and  had  many  able  contributors  to  its 
columns,  among  others  Edward  C.  Pinkney,  the 
poet,  and  Francis  S.  Key. 

The  Wesleyan  Repository  and  Religious  Intel- 
ligencer was  first  published  by  Wni.  S.  Stockton,  at 
Trenton,  N.  J.,  on  April  12,  1821.  It  was  published 
bi-monthly,  in  large  octavo  form  of  sixteen  pages. 
The  second  volume  was  issued  at  Philadelphia 
monthly,  and  contained  forty  pages.  It  suspended 
in  April,  1824,  and  wa-s  succeeded  by  The  Mutual 
Rights,  which  began  publication  in  Baltimore  in  Au- 
gust, 1828.  The  subscription-list  of  The  Repository 
passed  to  the  Mutual  Rights,  which  was  published 
monthly,  in  octavo  size  and  forty  pages.  It  was 
printed  by  John  D.  Toy,  at  the  northwest  corner  of 
Baltimore  and  St.  Paul  Streets,  and  edited  by  a  com- 
mittee of  ministers  and  laymen,  with  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel 
K.  Jennings  as  chairman.  On  Sept.  6,  1828,  No.  1  of 
vol.  i.  of  The  Mutual  Rights  and  Christian  Intelligencer 
was  edited  and  published  by  Rev.  D.  B.  Dorsey.  It 
was  continued  to  Nov.  1,  1830.  Vol.  I.,  No.  1  of  the 
Mutual  Rights  and  Methodist  Protestant  was  issued  on 
Jan.  7,  1831,  by  J.  J.  Harrod,  and  edited  by  Dr.  Ga- 
maliel Baily.  It  was  a  quarto  of  eight  pages.  Dr. 
Baily  resigned  the  editorship  at  the  close  of  the  vol- 
ume, and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Harrod  as  editor  and 
publisher,  who  continued  to  publish  the  paper  until 
May  30,  1834.  On  June  11, 1834,  No.  1  of  vol.  i.  of  a 
new  series  began  under  the  editorship  of  Nicholas 
Snethen  and  Asa  Shinn.  Fnmi  June  10,  1835,  to 
June  1,  1836,  the  paper  was  edited  by  Asa  Shinn, 
assisted  by  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church  Book 
Committee,  John  R.  Williams  chairman.  On  June  7, 
1836,  Rev.  Daniel  Davies,  M.D.,  assumed  the  editorial 
chair,  but  on  Aug.  4, 1837,  it  was  published  by  the  book 
committee.  The  General  Conference  of  May,  1838, 
elected  Rev.  T.  H.  Stockton,  the  son  of  the  founder 
of  The  Wesleyan  Repository,  the  editor,  but  owing 
to  some  disagreement  between  himself  and  the  book 
committee  as  to  the  manner  of  conducting  the  paper 
he  never  took  practical  charge  of  it,  and  it  was  run  by 
the  book  committee  as  before.  On  Oct.  13,  1838,  E. 
Yates  Reese,  who  was  then  only  twenty-three  years 
old,  was  elected  editor,  and  took  charge  a  week  after- 
wards under  the  following  Book  Committee:  Beale  H. 
Richardson,  A.  A.  Lipscomb,  and    P.  S.  Chappell. 


^-^^^^A^..^^ 


THE  PRESS  OF  BALTIMORE. 


617 


Under  the  able  editorship  of  Mr.  Reese  the  paper  in- 
creased in  circulation  and  was  enlarged  to  a  folio,  j 
and  so  continued  to  1874,  when  it  was  again  made  an 
eight-page  quarto.     The  words  "  Mutual  Rights"  were  , 
dropped  from  the  title  in  June,  1834.     On  July  22, 
1843,  Mr.  Reese  retired  from  the  paper,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Augustus  Webster.     E.  Yates  Reese,  D.D.,  1 
resumed  the  editorial  management  on  July  25,  1846, 
and  was  continued  by  successive  General  Conferences, 
and  filled  the  position  with  great  learning  and  ability 
down  to  Sept.  14,  1861,  when  he  was  removed  by  1 
death.     His  two  terms  of  service  covered  nineteen 
years.     Dr.  Rees^  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Jan.  18, 
1816,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  in  his  forty- 
sixth  year.     In  his  youth  he  showed  a  decided  liter-  i 
ary  turn,  and  his  poetical  tendencies  were  early  devel-  | 
oped.     At  twelve  years  of  age  he  completed  a  poem  i 
of  some  three  hundred  lines;  at  fourteen  he  was  a 
frequent  contributor  to  the  literary  journals  of  the 
country.     He  united  very  early  with  the  Methodist 
Protestant  Church,  of  which  his  three  brothers  were 
ministers,  and  began  school-teaching  before  he  was 
of  age.     He  began  preaching  very  early  in  life,  and 
when  about  forty  years  of  age  he  took  the  lecture 
field,  and  was  eminently  popular  and  successful.     A 
poet  himself  of  no   ordinary   ability,  he  generally 
selected   his   subjects    from   this   class.     He   was   a 
.school  commissioner  for  a  number  of  years,  and  at 
one  time  a  member  of  the  First  Branch  of  the  City 
Council. 

On  Sept.  26,  1861,  the  directory  of  the  Methodist 
Protestant  Church  in  Baltimore  elected  T.  W.  Ewing 
editor  and  book  agent,  to  succeed  Mr.  Reese,  and  at 
his  suggestion  the  paper  was  jilaced  in  charge  of  an 
editorial  committee,  consisting  of  Dr.  E.  G.  Waters, 
D.  A.  Shermer,  and  David  Wilson.  Mr.  Ewing  con- 
tinued the  management  of  the  paper  until  July  18, 
1874,  when  he  retired,  alter  a  continuous  service  of 
nearly  thirty-eight  years  in  connection  with  the  paper 
as  office-boy,  clerk,  editor,  and  publisher.  On  July 
4,  1874,  E.  J.  Drinkhouse,  M.D.,  D.D.,  became  the 
editor  and  publisher,  and  on  November  7th  following 
the  paper  was  enlarged  to  an  eight-page  folio.  Under 
the  able  management  of  Rev.  Dr.  Drinkhouse,  The 
Mi-thodist  Protestant  has  become  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful religious  journals  in  the  country.  On  the  1st  of 
January,  1881,  it  celebrated  its  sixtieth  anniversary, 
being  perhaps  the  oldest  religious  newspaper  in  the 
United  States.  >     '  ■     >         '  ♦ 

The  Athenaeum  in  October,  1837,  was  edited  by 
T.  S.  Arthur,  with  George  Brewster,  formerly  editor 
of  the  Pittsburgh  Satnrddij  Eneiiiiif/  Visitor,  as  assistant. 

The  Saturday  Morning  Visitor  was  first  brought 
before  the  reading  public  in  February,  1832.  It  was 
published  by  Messrs.  Charles  Cloud  and  William  P. 
Ponder;  for  a  while  Lambert  Wilmer  had  charge  of 
the  editorial  department.  John  H.  Hewitt,  formerly 
editor  of  the  Minerva  and  Emerald,  became  editor. 
Some  of  our  best  writers  contributed  to  its  columns,— 


Edgar  A.  Poe  and  his  brother,  William  Poe,  Rev.  S. 
S.  Rozzell,  Brantz  Mayer,  Rev.  John  C.  McCabe, 
James  Hungerford,  John  B.  Jones  (editor  in  1841), 
Miss  Modna,  Mrs.  Dr.  Annan  (a  very  bright  writer). 
Miss  E.  Bogart,  of  New  York,  Mrs.  Mary  Hewitt,  and 
others.  The  paper  had  a  wide  circulation,  and  brought 
out  a  good  deal  of  Baltimore's  latent  talent.  R.  Hor- 
ace Pratt,  in  February,  1835,  after  Mr.  Ponder  had 
retired  on  account  of  ill  health,  bought  an  interest 
in  it.  He,  jointly  with  Mr.  Hewitt,  conducted  the 
paper  until  it  passed  into  the  possession  of  Dr.  Snod- 
grass,  who  as  soon  as  he  got  control  of  its  columns 
turned  it  into  an  abolition  paper.  Finding  that  the 
Visitor  had  lost  its  ancient  prestige,  he  merged  it 
with  the  New  Era,  the  anti-slavery  organ,  published 
in  Washington,  D.  C,  and  nothing  more  was  heard 
of  it. 

The  Baltimore  Express  was  printed  weekly  at 
Fell's  Point,  but  in  October,  1837,  it  removed  to  the 
southeast  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Gay  Streets.  L.  A. 
Wilmer,  whose  talents  as  a  humorous  writer  were  of 
a  high  order,  purchased  an  interest  in  the  paper  and 
became  its  editor,  its  name  being  changed  to  the 
Baltimore  Kaleidoscope  and  Weekly  Express. 

The  Sunday-School  Friend,  a  weekly,  first  ap- 
peared March  8,  1838,  and  the  Democratic  Herald,  a 
penny  daily,  by  R.  Cloud,  on  June  1,  1838. 

The  Musical  Olio  was  published  by  W.  H.  Harri- 
son in  October,  1838. 

The  Baltimore  Literary  and  Religious  Magazine 
was  begun  about  18.36,  with  Revs.  Robert  J.  Brecken- 
ridge  and  Andrew  B.  Cross,of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
as  editors.  In  the  same  year  T.  A.  Richards  &  Bro. 
published  the  Familij  Magazine. 

The  Sun,  the  leading  daily  pa])er  of  Baltimore, 
was  founded  in  1837  by  A.  S.  Abell,  its  present  pro- 
prietor, at  that  time  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Swain, 
Abell  &  Simmons,  which  little  more  than  a  year 
before  had  established  the  Public  Ledger  in  Philadel- 
phia. Although  the  entire  firm  was  pecuniarily  in- 
terested in  the  new  venture,  the  establishment  of  the 
Sun  was  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Abell,  who  believed 
that  Baltimore  presented  a  field  for  just  such  a  jour- 
nal as  he  proposed  to  offer  to  the  people  of  this  city. 
His  partners  were  not  so  sanguine;  but  they  con- 
sented that  he  should  try  the  experiment  on  condi- 
tion that  he  would  assume  the  immediate  responsi- 
bility and  personal  control.  To  this  proposition  he 
consented  without  hesitation;  type  and  materials 
were  at  once  ordered,  a  Napier  cylinder-press  pur- 
chased, and  on  the  17th  of  May,  1837,  the  first  num- 
ber of  The  Sun  was  issued  from  its  ofiice  on  Light 
Street,  and  a  copy  left  at  the  door  of  nearly  every 
house  in  Baltimore. 

The  year  1837  was  not  a  period  of  prosperity,  nor 
was  the  country  enjoying  even  a  normal  condition  of 
well-being.  Financial  distress  and  depression  existed 
throughout  the  land,  and  men  were  engaged  faroftener 
in  winding  up  old  affairs  than  in  laying  the  foundations 


618 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  new  business.  Newspapers  were  not  at  that  time 
the  mediums  of  fortune  that  some  of  them  have  since 
become ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  tliey  were  generally 
vehicles  of  party,  filled  with  tirades  of  personal  and 
political  abuse,  embarrassed  very  often  in  their  finan- 
cial affairs,  and  dull  with  long  essays,  homilies,  and 
"  communications."  It  required  more  than  ordinary 
. ourage  and  determination  to  start  an  experiment  at 
such  a  time  and  under  such  conditions,  and  the  intel- 
ligence that  could  mark  out  a  line  of  journalism  en- 
tirely different  from  that  anywhere  existing  was  of  no 
ordinary  kind.  The  "  penny  press"  had  in  this  coun- 
try at  that  time  but  three  representatives,  two  in 
New  York  City  and  one  in  Philadelphia.  Penny 
newspapers  were  still  an  experiment,  were  looked 
upon  as  unfashionable,  and  were  even  regarded  in 
some  quarters  as  rather  low.  The  Sun  was  of  the 
"  penny  tribe  of  newspapers,"  as  the  then  Baltimore 
Gazette  expressed  it,  and  "  the  address  to  the  public 
in  the  first  number,  which  is  a  favorable  specimen  of 
editorial  ability,  announces  the  determination  to  con- 
tinue the  publication  for  one  year  at  least." 

It  was  Mr.  Abell's  design  that  The  Sun  should  be  a 
newspaper  entirely  different  from  the  journals  of  that 
day.  It  was  to  be  the  organ  of  neither  party  in 
politics,  to  know  no  sect  in  religion,  and  to  rely  en- 
tirely upon  its  devotion  to  the  common  good.  In 
its  salutatory  it  laid  down  the  principles  by  which  it 
was  to  be  guided  in  the  following  words :  "  We  shall 
give  no  place  to  religious  controversy  nor  to  political 
discussions  of  merely  partisan  character.  On  politi- 
cal principles  and  questions  involving  the  honor  or 
interest  of  the  whole  country  we  shall  be  firm  and 
temperate.  Our  object  will  be  the  common  good, 
without  regard  to  .sections,  factions,  or  parties,  and  for 
this  object  we  shall  labor  without  fear  or  partiality." 

While  the  enterprise  was  begun  under  the  auspices 
of  the  firm  of  which  the  present  proprietor  of  Thr 
Sun  was  then  a  member,  Arunali  S.  Alnll  was  tlir  s.iU- 
manager,  and  from  the  first  nuinl"  r  ~i:iiii|ir(l  ii|">ii 
the  paper  the  imprint  of  his  intrlliLirruc,  |irii(l(nic, 
independence,  and  courage,  and  the  direction  he  thus 
gave  has  been  held  by  the  paper  without  wavering, 
through  every  change  in  parties,  and  without  "  varia- 
bleness or  shadow  of  turning,"  even  through  the  dark 
hours  of  civil  war.  Individuality  had  no  place  about 
The  Sun;  it  was  to  be  the  public  voice,  announcing 
the  public  opinion,  guiding  the  public  judgment,  and 
giving  expression  to  the  public  will.  Relying  upon 
the  value  and  importance  of  what  The  Sun  said,  the 
l>eople  of  Baltimore  soon  came  to  understand  that 
here  was  a  journal  which  could  neither  be  purchased 
nor  intimidated,  which  had  opinions  of  its  own, 
formed  upon  facts  collected  by  its  agencies,  and  de- 
voted solely  to  the  best  interests  of  the  people  as  a 
community.  This  was  the  first  element  of  its  subse- 
quent success. 

Independence  and  veracity,  guided  by  great  judg- 
ment and  marked  intelligence,  soon  made  their  im- 


j  pression  upon  the  public  attention,  and  the  little  Sun 
is  found  on  Nov.  17,  1837,  just  six  months  after  its 
start,  with  "8500  circulation,  and  with  good  adver- 
tising patronage,"  having  begun  the  experiment  with 
a  free  issue  of  15,000  as  "  a  specimen."  This  circula- 
tion among  a  population  of  80,000,  obtained  within 
six  months,  with  six  well-established  rival  papers  in 
the  field,  waa  not  only  a  remarkable  result,  but  was 
also  an  important  testimonial  to  the  personal  worth 
of  the  proprietor,  who  had  given  to  The  Sun  the  char- 
acter which  thus  won  upon  the  public.  At  the  first 
anniversary.  May  17,  1838,  the  circulation  was  12,000. 
The  first  year,  which  established  the  character  of 
the  paper,  was  also  the  beginning  of  that  wonderful 
enterprise  in  procuring  news  in  which  The  Sun  has  no 
superior  even  among  the  great  papers  of  New  York. 
When  the  publication  of  The  Sun  was  commenced  it 
employed  but  one  reporter,  no  regular  local  reports 
being  given  by  any  of  the  city  papers  till  the  custom 
]  was  established  by  The  Sun.  Not  even  the  proceedings 
j  of  the  courts  or  of  the  Legislature  were  then  reported 
{  by  the  Baltimore  press,  nor  those  of  Congress,  the 
journals  here  relying  upon  the  Washington  papers  to 
furnish  them  the  following  day  with  whatever  oc- 
curred of  interest  in  Congress.  The  year  1837-38  was 
the  period  when  journalism  was  in  its  transition  state, 
or  what  has  been  called  the  "  beginning  of  the  news- 
paper revolution."  In  the  conflict  for  public  support 
between  the  penny  and  the  sixpmnies  the  latter  would 
certainly  have  won  if  the  weight  of  metal  had  not 
been  counterpoised  with  ceaseless  activity  in  pro- 
curing the  news.  Where  one  editor,  one  reporter,  a 
half-dozen  printers,  and  two  or  three  press-hands  then 
sufficed  there  is  now  found  necessary  a  large  corps  of 
editors,  a  still  larger  number  of  regular  reporters,  to 
say  nothing  of  those  occasionally  employed,  a  regu- 
larly established  corps  of  correspondents  at  every 
point  of  importance  throughout  the  country,  besides 
lli.i^c  .,|,(  I  iiilly  engaged  for  conventions,  public  dem- 
.11-1  niiinii-.  tiials,  and  other  public  occasions  of  in- 
1(11^1 :  s,  \(  r.il  hundreds  of  printers  and  proof-readers, 
press-hands,  stereotypers,  mail-clerks,  etc.,  are  regu- 
larly engaged  ;  hundreds  of  carriers  and  agents,  with 
a  host  of  news-boys  and  booksellers  in  the  city,  besides 
numerous  other  employfe  in  various  departments. 

The  President's  message  of  December,  1838,  offered 
the  first  opportunity  to  The  Sun  of  displaying  its  en- 
terprise. The  other  Baltimore  journals  were  at  that 
time  accustomed  to  obtain  their  supplcmeiitg  with  the 
President's  message  from  AVashington,  printed  with 
the  headlines  of  the  Baltimore  papers,  transmitted  by 
mail,  and  delivered  to  Baltimore  readers  the  next  day, 
and  perhaps  later.  That  style  of  journalism  would 
not  answer  for  The  Sun.  Posting  "  a  friend  mounted 
on  a  Canadian  pony,  nimble  as  a  goat  and  fleet  as  the 
wind,"  at  the  "  outer  depot,"  the  printed  copy  of  the 
message  wsis  brought  by  this  friend  to  the  office  on 
i  Light  Street,  and  in  "five  minutes  after  its  arrival 
forty-nine  compositors  were  at  work  upon  it,  and  in 


"THE    SUN"    IRON    BUILDING, 
S.  E.  COE.  BALTIMOKE  AND  SOUTH  STSEETS,  BALTIMORE,  MD. 


THE   PRESS  OF  BALTIMORE. 


two  hours  the  first  copy  printed  in  Baltimore"  was 
handed  to  the  awaiting  crowd  with  which  the  office 
was  thronged.  Thus  The  Sun  anticipated  all  its  con- 
temporaries by  two  days.  Such  energy  and  enterprise 
found  their  reward,  and  the  6th  of  May,  1839,  The 
Sun  announced  "15,000  patrons  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and 
conditions." 

The  zeal  of  journalism  and  the  spirit  of  enterprise 
had  so  much  developed  the  business  of  The  Sun  that 
(March  30,  1840)  the  second  enlargement  was  rendered 
necessary  by  "  the  increase  of  advertising  custom." 
And  thus  encouraged,  another  display  of  astonishing 
enterprise  was  made  in  spreading  President  Harrison's 
inaugural  before  its  Baltimore  readers  on  the  same  day 
it  was  delivered,  and  winning  from  one  of  its  Western 
contemporaries  (the  Louisville  Gazette)  the  compli- 
mentary remark  that  "  in  the  enterprise  of  the  worthy 
proprietors  of  The  Sun  we  have  an  example  worthy  of 
all  praise  ;  they  have  on  this  occasion  of  their  prompt 
and  untiring  energy  placed  the  whole  Western  and 
nearly  all  the  Southern  part  in  possession  of  this  im- 
portant document  at  least  twenty-four  hours  in  ad- 
vance of  all  its  contemporaries ;"  and  of  the  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  papers  only  those  in  exchange  with 
The  Sun  received  the  early  copy.  Nor  were  these  mere 
spurts  of  enterprise ;  the  pace  was  kept  up,  and  the 
death  of  Gen.  Harrison,  the  address  of  President  Ty- 
ler, the  message  to  the  extra  session  followed  in  the 
same  prompt  and  rapid  manner.  Enterprise  was  the 
rule  and  not  the  exception,  and  among  the  acknowl- 
edgments of  its  contemporaries  the  thanks  of  the  Co- 
lumbus (Ohio)  Statesman  are  returned  to  "our  little 
favorite,  the  Baltimore  Sun,  for  foreign  news  in  our 
columns  to-day.  The  Sun  ran  an  express  from  Boston 
to  Baltimore,  a  distance  of  about  four  hundred  miles, 
and  beat  all  the  other  Baltimore  papers."  This  was 
the  beginning  of  the  "pony-expresses,"  which,  until 
the  telegraph  had  taken  its  present  wide  reach  all  over 
the  country,  enabled  The  Sun  to  be  always  ahead  of  all 
its  contemporaries.  The  fate  of  the  Fiscal  Bank  Bill 
in  1841  was  first  made  known  in  Baltimore  through 
The  Sunhy  "horse-express,"  notwithstanding  the  rail- 
road was  running  between  the  two  cities.  The  trial 
of  MacLeod  in  the  affair  of  the  "Caroline,"  which  took 
place  at  Utica,  N.  Y.,  in  October,  1841,  was  reported 
especially  for  The  Sun,  and  transmitted  partly  by  rail 
and  partly  by  express.  The  trial  lasted  several  days, 
and  as  it  was  thought  to  involve  the  issue  of  war  with 
England,  excited  the  greatest  interest  throughout  the 
whole  country.  The  Sun  was  fully  equal  to  the  great 
occasion,  and,  far  in  advance  of  all  its  contemporaries, 
reported  the  trial  and  published  the  proceedings  at 
great  length  from  day  to  day  until  the  verdict  ended 
the  public  expectation. 

The  New  York  papers  experienced  a  revival  in 
1844,  '45,  and  '46,  and  extensive  expresses  were  run 
with  European  news  from  Halifax  and  Boston,  and 
into  all  these  enterprises  The  Sun  entered  with  alacrity. 
The  relations  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 


growing  out  of  the  Oregon  matter  gave  very  great 
interest  all  over  the  country  to  European  news  at  this 
period.  Halifax  and  Boston  were  the  chief  points  of 
reception,  and  as  the  time  of  the  steamers  from  thence 
to  New  York  was  very  slow,  the  individual  enterprise 
of  newspapers  was  called  into  service.     The  Sun  en- 

j  tered  the  combination,  and  "  exclusive  extras"  were 
issued  from  its  ofiice  and  sent  by  express-trains  to 
Washington,  thus  conveying  the  earliest  intelligence 
for  the  use  of  the  President  and  cabinet.  The  news  of 
the  ship  "  Liberty"  and  the  steamer  "  Cambria"  was 
thus  received  by  the  citizens  of  Baltimore  and  Wash- 
ington, the  West,  and  the  South  twenty-four  hours 
ahead  of  the  "  blanket-sheet"  contemporaries.  The 
expresses  from  Halifax  were  "  planned  on  an  exten- 
sive scale,  and  considered  to  be  the  most  extraordinary 
evidence  of  newspaper  enterprise  ever  brought  before 
the  American  people."  A  relay  of  horses  extending 
from  Halifax  to  Annapolis,  on  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
(across  Nova  Scotia),  a  distance  of  over  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles,  connected  at  the  latter  place  with  a 

!  steamer,  which  carried  the  news  to  Portland,  Me., 
from  thence  by  locomotive  to  Boston,  thence,  ria  New 

j  York  and  Philadelphia,  to  Baltimore.  The  whole 
distance  was  over  one  thousand  miles,  and  the  time 
about  fifty  hours.    The  "Cambria's"  news  was  awaited 

I  with  more  interest  than  that  of  almost  any  steamer 

'  that  ever  arrived  in  the  country.     The  railroad  and 

j  steamboat  lines  between  New  York  and  Boston  were 
under  contract  to  run  expresses  with  her  advices. 
The  enterprising  newspapers  of  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia arranged  to  express  the  news  from  Boston, 
and  into  this  combination  of  live  newspapers  The  Sun 
was  the  only  Baltimore  paper  that  entered,  and  the 
important  news  received  through  this  source  was  the 

I  sole  property  of  The  Sun.  The  news  of  the  "Hiber- 
nia"  was  received  by   The  Sun  on  March  20,  1846, 

I  from  Halifax  in  sixty-two  hours  and  forty-five  min- 

I  utes,  and  immediately  published  in  an  extra.  The 
Sun  was  the  only  Baltimore  paper  that  joined  in  the 
charterof  the  pilot-boat  "Eomer"  to  run  to  Liverpool 

j  and  return  with  foreign  news. 

When  the  war  with  Mexico  turned  the  news-point 
of  the  compass  to  the  South,  The  Sun  stepped  immedi- 
ately into  the  very  front  rank  of  enterprise  in  pro- 
curing early  and  reliable  news  from  the  seat  of  war, 
and,  indeed,  excelled  in  this  respect  any  newspaper 
in  the  United  States.  To  meet  the  demand  for  such 
intelligence,  Mr.  A.  S.  Abell,  early  in  1846,  established 
exciusivehj  for  the  Baltimore  Sun,  "  without  consulta- 
tion or  previous  arrangement  or  agreement  with  any 

I  other  paper,"  an  overland  express  from  New  Orleans, 
"  comprising  about  sixty  blooded  horses."     Notwith- 

j  standing  the  obstructions  which  were  tiirown  in  the 
way  of  the  success  of  this  express  by  the  post-office 
authorities,  it  almost  invariably  beat  the  great  South- 
ern mail  from  New  Orleans  to  Baltimore  over  thirty 
hours.  As  the  war  progressed  these  expresses  became 
a  public  necessity,  and  in  view  of  the  great  satisfac- 


620 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  iMARYLAND. 


tion  with  which  The  Sun's  exertions  were  received,  | 
several  Northern  jiapers  joined  it  in  the  advantages 
of  its  enterprise.  The  trip  was  usually  made  from 
New  Orleans  to  Baltimore  in  six  days,  at  an  expense 
at  this  time  to  The  Sun  of  about  one  thousand  dollars 
per  mon.'h.  The  Sun  on  Oct.  17,  1846,  laid  before  its 
readers  an  engraved  representation  of  Monterey,  its 
vicinity,  and  its  fortifications,  and  the  advance  of  the 
American  troops,  drawn  for  the  War  Department  by 
Capt.  Eaton.  This  was  followed  on  November  6th  by  j 
a  "  view  of  Monterey  and  the  American  army  prior 
to  the  battle."  By  this  view  the  readers  of  The  Sim 
were  able  to  distinguish  not  only  the  principal  forts, 
but  the  main  buildings  in  tiie  city,  and  the  position 
of  the  camp  of  the  American  army,  and  the  place 
assigned  to  each  division,  brigade,  and  regiment  be- 
fore the  battle.  On  the  3d  of  April  The  Sun  presented 
to  its  readers  a  map  of  the  battle-field  of  Buena  Vista, 
with  the  topography  of  the  country,  drawn  by  a  dis- 
tinguished topographical  engineer  on  the  staff  of  Gen. 
Wool.        •  I 

The  Sun  on  the  10th  of  April,  1847,  was  the  first  to  | 
announce  to  the  President  and  his  cabinet  at  Wash- 
ington and  the  citizens  of  Baltimore  the  "fall,  sur- 
render, and  unconditional  capitulation  of  the  city  of  i 
Vera  Cruz  and  the  castle  of  San  Juan  d'UlIoa."  This 
unparalleled  effort  of  newspaper  enterprise  was  her- 
alded in  all  sections  of  the  United  States,  and  upon 
the  reception  of  the  news  at  Washington,  on  Satur- 
day morning,  April  10th,  in  the  columns  of  the  Balti- 
more Sun,  it  caused  universal  rejoicing.  The  Wash- 
ington Union  of  the  same  afternoon  said,  "  The  whole 
city  was  filled  with  enthusiasm  to-day  by  the  ac-  | 
counts,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  the  Baltimore 
<S'"»,  through  the  extraordinary  express  from  Pensa- 
(1)1:1.  Tlir  Sun  must  have  run  an  express  through 
this  city  hi.~t  iiijrlit.  It  shows  what  enterprise  can  do, 
aij.l  III)  press  has  done  more  experiments  of  this  na- 
ture than  Thi-  Sun."  Thus  its  "  punctual  and  never- 
failing  team  of  ponies"  kept  the  paper  always  at  the 
front,  with  news  far  in  advance  of  all  other  sources. 
Nor  was  the  news  thus  obtained  ever  used  for  per- 
sonal or  improper  purposes.  The  practice  of  the  1 
jiaper  on  the  arrival  of  European  news  was  to  issue  a 
bulletin  or  slip  synopsis  of  the  markets  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment  at  which  it  could  be  obtained,  thus 
placing  at  the  disposal  of  the  whole  community  val- 
uable information  which  could  not  have  been  obtained 
in  any  other  way.  The  government  at  Washington 
was  also  kept  advised  through  the  columns  of  The  Sun  | 
of  every  important  event  transpiring  at  the  seat  of  i 
war.  The  Sun  wiis  particularly  instrumental  at  this  i 
time  in  serving  government  interests.  It  was  "gen- 
erally admitted  that  the  news  of  the  capture  of  Vera 
Cruz,  arriving  by  our  express  on  the  very  day  ap- 
pointed for  the  close  of  a  national  loan,  was  directly 
favorable  to  the  national  interest.s  in  the  final  nego- 
tiations." 

Before  tlie  i>ublication  of  this  intelligence  even  in 


his  own  columns,  Mr.  Abell  sent  a  private  telegraphic 
dispatch  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  com- 
municating the  information  brought  by  The  Sun's 
exjjre.ss  of  the  fall  of  Vera  Cruz,  and  received  an  ac- 
knowledgment in  which  the  "  zeal  and  enterprise"  of 
the  paper  were  recognized  in  fitting  terms. 

The  "ponies"  of  I'he  Sun  on  September  1.5th  again 
performed  their  task,  and  "distancing  stages,  rail- 
roads, steamboats,  and  magnetic  telegraphs,"  The 
Sun  announced  the  brilliant  victories  at  Contreras 
and  Cherubusco  in  advance  of  all  its  contemporaries. 
These  feats  of  enterprise  culminated  in  the  receipt  of 
the  news  of  the  operations  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Halls 
of  the  Montezumas,  which  was  announced  thus  on 
October  4th  :  "  Our  pony-team,  :is  if  in  anticipation  of 
the  great  excitement  prevailing  in  the  city  on  Satur- 
day evening  (October  2d),  came  flying  up  to  the  stop- 
ping-post with  the  most  thrilling  and  important  in- 
telligence yet  received  from  the  seat  of  war,  full 
twenty-four  hours  ahead  of  steamboats,  railroads, 
and  even  telegraphs.  The  news  brought  by  them 
twenty-four  hours  in  advance  of  the  mail  being  of 
such  exciting  and  thrilling  interest,  we  put  to  press 
at  a  late  hour  on  Saturday  night  an  '  Extra  Sun,'  with 
full  details,  which  were  sought  after  by  our  citizens 
during  yesterday  morning." 

On  Nov.  29,  1847,  the  addition  of  "  The  Southern 
Daily  Pony  Express"  completed  the  enterprising  ar- 
rangements of  The  Sun  for  obtaining  news  from  the 
seat  of  war,  and  thereafter  until  the  close  of  hostilities 
the  readers  of  The  Sun  received  every  morning  the 
very  latest  intelligence  from  the  contending  armies. 

In  the  same  spirit  of  sagacious  enterprise,  Mr.  Abell 
organized  a  carrier-pigeon  express  for  the  transmis- 
sion of  news  between  the  cities  of  New  York,  Phila- 
delphia, Baltimore,  and  Washington.  The  pigeons 
for  this  service,  about  four  or  five  humlred  in  number, 
were  kept  in  a  house  on  Hampstead  Hill,  near  the  old 
Maryland  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  and  were  care- 
fully trained.  Foreign  steamer  news  was  frequently 
obtained  in  this  way,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion 
a  synopsis  of  the  President's  message  was  brought  by 
the  pigeons  to  Baltimore  immediately  after  the  de- 
livery to  Congress,  and  published  in  extras,  to  the 
great  surprise  of  the  public.  This  was  the  first 
pigeon-express  organized  in  this  country,  and  was 
regularly  continued  until  superseded  by  the  magnetic 
telegraph. 

The  telegraph-wires  were  being  rapidly  stretched 
over  the  country,  and  horses  and  locomotives  and 
carrier-pigeons  were  as  rapidly  going  out  of  use. 
Prof.  Morse  found  in  Mr.  Abell  a  most  zealous  friend 
to  the  magnetic  telegraph ;  all  the  influence  of  The 
Sun  was  exerted  in  behalf  of  the  invention,  and  for 
an  appropriation  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  from  Con- 
gress for  the  construction  of  an  experimental  line 
from  Washington  to  Baltimore.  After  the  line  was 
constructed  The  Sun  was  one  of  its  constant  patrons, 
and  the  first  Presidential  message  ever  transmitted 


THE   PRESS   OF   BALTIMORE. 


621 


over  the  wires  was  sent  exclusively  to  The  Sun  on 
May  11,  1846,  and  published  in  its  issue  of  the  next 
day.  As  a  matter  of  scientific  history,  it  may  be 
added  that  The  Sun's  telegraphic  copy  of  the  message 
was  reprinted  by  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Paris, 
side  by  side  with  an  authenticated  transcript  of  tlie 
original.  The  Paris  correspondent  of  the  National 
Intelligence);  speaking  of  this  event  in  the  French 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  says, — 

"  Prof.  Morse  had  the  goodness  to  send  me  an  account  of  the  recent 
achievements  of  the  electrical  telegrapli,  with  a  copy  of  the  Baltimore 
Sun  containing  the  President's  message  on  the  Mexican  war,  as  it  was 
magically  transmitted  to  thiit  paper.  1  sent  the  communications  to 
Ponillet,  the  deputy  author  of  the  report  heretofore  mentioned  to  you, 
and  he  placed  tliem  in  the  hands  of  Arago,  who  suhmitted  their  very 
interesting  and  decisive  contents  to  the  Academy  of  Science  and  the 
Chamherof  Deputies.  In  the  Chamher,  on  the  18th  instant,  when  the 
proposed  appropriation  for  an  electrical  telegraph  from  this  capital  to 
tlie  Belgian  frontier  came  under  consideration,  Berryer  opposed  it  on 
the  ground  that  the  experiments  of  the  new  system  were  incomplete; 
that  it  would  he  well  to  wait  for  the  full  trial  of  what  was  undertaken 
between  Paris  and  Rouen.  Arago  answered,  'The  experiment  is  con- 
summated ;  in  the  United  States  the  matter  is  settled  irresistibly.  I  re- 
ceived three  days  ago  Tlie  Sun  of  Baltimore,  with  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Morse,  one  of  the  most  honorable  men  of  his  country,  and  here  is  the 
President's  message,  printed  from  the  telegraph  in  two  or  three  hours; 
the  message  would  fill  four  columns  of  the  Monitevr ;  it  could  not  have 
been  copied  by  tlie  most  rapid  penman  in  a  shorter  time  than  it  was 
transmitted.  The  galvanic  fluid  travels  seventy  thousand  leagues  per 
minute.'  The  appropriation  of  nearly  a  half-million  of  francs  passed 
with  only  a  few  dissenting  voices." 

Thus  is  found  another  spontaneous  witness  to  the 
diffusive  advantages  of  individual  enterprise.  In  this 
instance  it  was  the  longest  document  that  had  ever 
been  transmitted  by  telegraph  for  any  paper  in  the 
world,  and  thus  presented  a  peculiarly  appropriate 
climax  as  well  as  an  illustration  to  the  remarks  of  M. 
Arago. 

The  short-lived  Atlantic  cable  of  1858  was  made  to 
do  service  to  The  Sun  even  in  the  very  few  moments 
of  its  serviceable  existence  by  sending  a  special  dis- 
patch exclusively  to  The  Sun,  which  was  the  first  news 
telegram  from  London  over  the  Atlantic  cable  received 
and  made  public  in  Baltimore. 

The  interest  taken  in  election  returns  is  always  very 
great,  and  the  outlying  points  are  so  numerous  that 
until  the  present  system  of  telegraphic  communica- 
tion was  established  several  days  would  elapse  before 
the  definite  result  could  be  ascertained.  To  obviate 
this  difficulty  The  Sun  extended  at  an  early  date  its 
system  of  "  horse-express,"  and  by  "  nag,  rail,  and 
otherwise"  collected  the  news,  and  laid  the  returns 
before  its  readers.  The  result  of  the  gubernatorial 
election  in  1850,  and  of  that  upon  the  reform  consti- 
tution in  1851,  were  by  these  means  collected  and 
published.  The  "  pony-express"  was  again  made  to 
do  service  on  March  9, 1860,  when  it  brought  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Legislature  on  the  last  night  of  the 
session  up  to  ten  o'clock,  arriving  in  Baltimore  at  two 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  10th,  conveying  the 
intelligence  of  the  defeat  of  the  "  Brock  City  Passen- 
ger Railway  Bill."  Since  the  wide  extension  of  rail 
and  telegraph  facilities,  there  are  many  interior  points 


of.  the  State  from  which  the  same  enterprise  collects 
the  returns  almost  always  in  time  for  the  morning 
Sun  of  the  day  after  the  election. 

In  June,  1876,  The  Sun  united  with  the  New  York 
Herald,  and  sent  copies  of  both  the  daily  and  weekly 
to  the  Pacific  coast  by  Jarrett  &  Palmer's  trans-con- 
tinental train  in  eighty-four  hours.  An  extra  train 
from  Calvert  Station  was  chartered,  and  made  con- 
nection at  Harrisburg  on  time,  where  The  Sun's  mail 
was  transferred  to  this  lightning  express  as  it  speeded 
along. 

Enlargement  after  enlargement  has  been  rendered 
necessary  by  the  continued  growth  of  the  business  of 
The  Sun,  and  the  change  and  improvements  in  its 
plant  and  machinery  are  scarcely  less  striking  than 
the  progress  of  the  paper  itself  In  the  beginning  a 
single-cylinder  Napier  press,  rated  at  the  capacity  of 
one  thousand  copies  per  hour,  and  worked  by  hand, 
was  employed;  in  1840  a  double-cylinder  Napier, 
rated  at  three  thousand  copies  per  hour,  was  substi- 
tuted, and  steam-power  introduced;  in  1843  a  newly- 
invented  double-cylinder  Hoe,  rated  at  four  thousand 
copies  per  hour,  was  obtained,  and  in  1847  The  Sun  put 
up  two  pony  presses,  rated  at  six  thousand  copies  per 
hour;  in  1863  it  commenced  using  two  of  "Hoe's 
last  fast"  type-revolving  cylinder-presses,  each  rated 
at  ten  thousand  copies  per  hour,  which  were  the  first 
type-revolving  presses  successfully  used  in  this  or  any 
other  country ;  in  December,  1867,  two  double  type- 
revolving  presses,  with  a  capacity  of  twenty  thousand 
each  per  hour,  were  introduced,  which,  together  with 
the  stereotyping  process  adopted  at  the  same  time, 
has  enabled  The  Sun  to  respond  with  promptness  to 
the  demands  which  its  increasing  circulation  has  re- 
quired. 

The  Sun  was  first  published  at  No.  21  Light  Street, 
the  second  door  from  Mercer,  but  on  the  16th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1839,  its  office  was  removed  to  the  southeast 
corner  of  Gay  and  Baltimore  Streets.  In  1850  the 
proprietors  of  The  Sun  purchased  the  lot  at  the  south- 
east corner  of  Baltimore  and  South  Streets,  and  on 
the  1st  of  April  began  the  erection  of  the  present 
Sun  Iron  Building,  the  first  iron  building  erected  in 
the  United  States,  and  the  printing  and  publication- 
offices  were  removed  to  the  new  edifice  on  the  13th  of 
September,  1851.  Messrs.  Bogardus  &  Hoppin,  of 
New  York,  were  the  contractors  for  the  erection  ol 
the  building,  and  Mr.  Hatfield  the  architect.  The 
structure  has  a  front  of  fifty-six  feet  on  Baltimore 
Street,  and  of  seventy-four  feet  on  South  Street,  with 
a  height  of  five  well-pitched  stories.  Each  story  pre- 
sents lines  of  windows  extending  from  floor  to  ceiling, 
separated  by  fluted  columns,  with  proper  bases  and 
caps,  the  bases  of  the  second  story  ornamented  with 
medallion  busts  of  historical  characters,  and  the  caps 
on  the  fifth  story  surmounted  with  full-length  figures 
i  in  relief,  all  part  and  parcel  of  the  material  of  the 
structure.  Upon  the  death  of  one  of  Mr.  Abell's 
partners  in  Philadelphia  the  property  was  sold,  on 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Dec.  22,  1860,  to  divide  the  estate,  and  was  purchased 
by  A.  S.  Abell  in  fee  simple  for  eighty  thousand 
dolhirs. 

On  Dec.  19, 1864,  the  price  of  The  Sun  was  increased 
to  two  cents  per  single  copy  and  twelve  and  a  half 
cents  a  week  to  subscribers  receiving  it  by  carriers. 
This  advance  was  necessitated  by  the  increased  cost 
of  labor,  material,  correspondence,  telegraphic  mat- 
ter, and  otiier  indispensable  requisites  of  a  first-class 
newspaper. 

The  publication  of  the  Baltimore  Weekli/  Sun'was 
commenced  on  the  14th  of  April,  1838,  and  it  is  now 
recognized  as  one  of  the  best  family  newspapers  in 
the  country.  The  same  energy  and  enterprise  that 
have  marked  the  growth  and  career  of  the  Daily  Sun 
have  been  illustrated  in  the  conduct  and  success  of  the 
weekly.  On  four  several  occasions  prizes  of  $300, 
$400,  $500,  and  $1200  have  been  awarded  for  original 
stories  for  publication  in  the  Weekly  Sun,  and  such 
stimulants  to  talent  have  never  failed  to  draw  out  most 
creditable  literary  productions. 

The  Sun  was  the  first  to  introduce  in  Baltimore  the 
"carrier  system"  for  the  distribution  of  newspapers, 
which  has  since  been  found  so  convenient  to  both  pub- 
lishers and  subscribers,  as  well  as  remunerative  to  the 
carriers  themselves, — who  own  their  routes  and  make 
their  own  collections, — that  it  has  been  adopted  by  all 
the  papers  of  the  city.  The  Sun  also  inaugurated  the 
"  cash  system."  Not  an  advertisement  is  inserted  for 
a  longer  time  than  is  agreed  upon  and  paid  for  in  ad- 
vance. Not  a  paper  leaves  the  office  beyond  its  term 
of  subscription. 

The  stafl'  of  The  Sun  is  large,  and  its  corps  of  special 
correspondents  is  represented  in  almost  every  quarter 
of  the  world.  Its  Washington,  California,  and  Eu- 
ropean correspondence  especially  are  noted  for  relia- 
bility and  accuracy. 

One  of  the  most  strongly-marked  features  in  the 
management  of  The  Sun  is  the  spirit  of  moderation 
which  always  characterizes  its  utterances,  and  which 
only  the  impersonality  of  its  editorial  management 
could  have  secured.  This  dignity  of  tone  and  char- 
acter has  been  maintained  by  The  Stm  under  the  most 
trj'ing  circumstances.  During  the  civil  war,  when 
military  despotism  entered  the  back-door  of  Baltimore 
and  placed  its  interdict  upon  free  discussion.  The  Sun 
became  silent  and  uttered  not  a  word  editorially  ;  pub- 
lic opinion  was  under  military  domination,  and  its 
great  exponent  could  give  no  voice  to  it.  Chronicling 
simply  daily  events  for  its  thousands  of  readers,  it 
maintained  a  silence  more  impressive  than  any  voice 
it  would  have  been  permitted  to  utter.  When  peace 
returned,  with  free  discussion,  The  Sun  found  in  as- 
sisting to  rebuild  the  waste  places  desolated  by  the 
war  steady  employment  for  its  great  energies,  and  all 
the  magnificent  charities  which  were  then  inaugurated 
were  sustained  and  promoted  by  its  efforts. 

Arunah  S.  Abell,  the  founder  and  proprietor  of  The 
Sun,  was  born  in  Eiist  Providence,  R.  I.,  Aug.  10, 1806, 


and  came  of  a  sturdy  English  ancestry,  whcse  de- 
scendants were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  town 
of  Seekonk,  then  known  as  Rehoboth.  His  grand- 
father, Robert  Abell,  served  with  distinction  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  and  his  father,  Caleb  Abell, 
was  a  quartermaster  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  after  his 
return  to  civil  life  occupied  several  positions  of  honor 
and  trust. 

Mr.  Abell's  education  was  received  in  his  native 
town,  where  he  began  his  business  career  as  a  clerk 
in  the  store  of  Mr.  Bishop,  a  merchant  of  the  place, 
with  whom  he  remained  until  1822,  when  he  became 
an  apprentice  in  the  office  of  the  Providence  Patriot. 
He  addressed  himself  with  so  much  earnestness  to 
the  mastery  of  the  business  that  when  his  appren- 
ticeship was  ended  he  readily  obtained  employment 
as  foreman  in  one  of  the  best  printing-offices  in  Bos- 
ton, where  his  value  was  soon  fully  appreciated,  and 
where  he  might  have  remained  indefinitely  had  he 
desired.  But  with  that  characteristic  foresight  which 
has  since  been  so  signally  displayed  in  all  the  opera- 
tions of  his  business  life,  he  saw  that  there  were  better 
and  wider  opportunities  elsewhere  for  the  realization 
of  the  honorable  ambition  which  had  already  as- 
sumed a  definite  shape,  and  which  was  destined  in 
after-years  to  cry.stallize  into  such  splendid  results, 
and  he  therefore  proceeded  to  New  York,  where  he  at 
once  obtained  employment,  and  from  which  he  began 
to  study  the  field  of  journalism.  In  New  York  he 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  two  fellow-printers,  Wil- 
liam M.  Swain  and  Azariah  H.  Simmons,  and  with 
them  freely  discussed  the  subject  of  their  common 
ambition,  which  was  to  establish  a  newspaper  as  joint 
owners.  Messrs.  Swain  and  Simmons  were  in  favor 
of  attempting  the  enterprise  in  New  York,  but  Mr. 
Abell,  feeling  that  the  field  there  was  already  fully 
occu|)ied  by  the  Sun,  Trameript,  and  Herald,  sug- 
gested Philadelphia  as  offering  better  chances  of  suc- 
cess. His  associates  were  persuaded  to  adopt  his  sug- 
gestion, and  articles  of  agreement  having  been  duly 
signed,  on  the  29th  of  April,  1836,  the  Philadelphia 
Ledger  was  boldly  launched  upon  the  sea  of  journal- 
ism. The  new  venture  did  not  at  first  meet  with  the 
success  which  had  been  hoped,  and  in  a  few  months 
Messrs.  Swain  and  Simmons  were  ready  to  abandon  the 
enterprise.  But  Mr.  Abell  was  not  easily  discouraged, 
and  the  blood  of  his  Revolutionary  ancestors  in  his 
veins  gave  him  a  patient  tenacity  of  purpose  which 
served  him  well  in  this  emergency.  He  cheered  the 
sinking  hearts  of  his  a.ssociates,  inspired  them  with 
fresh  courage  and  determination,  and  persuaded  them 
to  persevere.  In  a  short  time  his  judgment  was  fully 
vindicated  by  results.  Imbued  with  fresh  life  and 
vigor,  the  Ledger  began  to  be  a  power,  and  at  the  end 
of  a  year  had  so  strongly  intrenched  itself  in  the 
public  support  and  confidence  that  its  proprietors 
began  to  look  about  for  a  point  where  they  might 
establish  a  similar  paper.  The  hi-story  of  that  enter- 
prise has  already  been  given  in  the  sketch  of  The  Sun, 


THE   PRESS   OP   BALTIMORE. 


623 


and  need  not  be  further  adverted  to  in  this  connec-  I 
tion.   Mr.  Abell  continued  a  part  owner  of  the  Ledger  I 
until  1864,  when  he  sold  his  interest  in  it,  and  in 
1808  became  the  sole  proprietor  of  the  Baltimore  »Sm?i. 

In  presenting  the  history  of  The  Sun,  it  has  been 
impossible  not  to  present'  also  in  large  measure  the 
character  and  career  of  its  founder  and  proprietor. 
A  life  may  be  read  from  its  life-work  even  better  than 
irom  the  written  record,  even  as  a  monument  pro- 
claims the  skill  and  intellect  of  the  builder  more  im- 
pressively than  any  inscription  which  could  be  cut 
into  the  living  stone.  The  tendency  of  the  age  is  to 
crush  out  individuality,  but  it  only  succeeds  where 
no  great  and  marked  individuality  exists.  If  the 
reverse  be  true,  the  times  are  moulded  and  not  the 
individual.  Thus  the  history  of  The  Sun,  its  policy, 
its  spirit,  its  aims,  properly  understood,  open  the 
door  to  a  true  apprehension  of  the  character  of  its 
founder.  For  though  the  highest  type  of  journalism 
has  been  reached  in  the  elimination  of  personality 
from  its  direction,  it  bears  nevertheless  the  impress 
of  the  individual  traits  and  characteristics  which  have 
made  it  what  "it  is.  What  is  important  to  be  known 
in  lives  that  are  worth  the  writing  or  the  reading  is 
not  so  much  when  or  where  the  person  was  born,  or 
what  were  the  human  branches  by  which  he  was  con- 
nected with  other  branches  in  which  the  reader  is 
but  little  interested,  but  what  the  person  did,  what  he 
acccmiplished,  how  the  battles  of  life  were  fought, 
and  how  and  by  what  means  they  were  won.  The 
world  nowadays  demands  a  practical  moral  in  all 
the  lives  that  the  historian  presents  for  its  considera- 
tion, and  its  demand  is  better  satisfied  by  pointing 
to  the  "  arduous  greatness  of  things  done"  than  by  a 
mere  recital  of  barren  dates- and  genealogical  records 
which  throw  no  light  upon  the  subject  in  hand. 
What  has  already  been  said  of  The  Sun,  therefore, 
contains  a  true  presentation,  though  not  so  perfect  or 
complete  as  could  have  been  wished,  of  the  energy, 
the  wisdom,  and  the  intellectual  breadth  which  laid 
the  foundations  of  that  journal  so  deep  and  strong, 
and  which  have  reared  its  superstructure  so  broad 
and  high. 

Successful  as  Mr.  Abell  has  been,  he  is  not  among 
those  whom  prosperity  has  hardened.  A  quiet  man 
in  everything,  he  follows  in  his  large  but  unaflTected 
charities  the  same  golden  rule  of  silence,  aiming  not 
at  display  or  ostentation,  but  at  the  practical  relief 
and  assistance  of  the  objects  of  his  bounty.  So  while 
other  men  have  locked  up  their  capital  in  securities 
which  bring  no  practical  benefit  to  any  one  but  them- 
selves, Mr.  Abell  has  largely  employed  his  means  in 
the  erection  of  warehouses,  business  structures,  and 
private  residences,  the  construction  of  which  has 
given  employment  to  many  mechanics  and  laborers, 
and  has  added  largely  to  the  convenience,  wealth, 
and  beauty  of  the  city. 

Among  the  most  conspicuous  improvements  erected 
by  Mr.  Abell  is  the  "  Abell  Block,"  situated  at  the 


■southeast  corner  of  Eutaw  and  Baltimore  Streets. 
This  magnificent  edifice  is  five  stories  high,  built  of 
Baltimore  pressed  brick,  with  white  marble  trimmings, 
relieved  with  terra-cotta  mouldings  and  bluestoue. 
There  are  two  handsome  warehouses  fronting  fifty- 
two  feet  on  Baltimore  Street,  with  a  depth  of  one 
hundred  and  seventy-two  feet  to  German  Street.  The 
first  story  is  of  iron,  and  the  upper  stories  of  brick. 
The  store-rooms,  offices,  etc.,  are  finished  in  elegant 
style  with  hard  wood,  and  the  entire  building  is  fur- 
nished with  all  the  modern  conveniences  and  comforts. 
In  each  store  there  are  two  hydraulic  elevators  and 
four  fire  and  burglar-proof  vaults.  A  dry,  paved 
basement  extends  under  botli  warehouses  and  the  ad- 
joining sidewalks,  being  thirteen  thousand  square  feet 
in  extent. 

Mr.  Abell  is  also  a  large  landholder  in  the  county, 
and  his  suburban  residence  at  "  Guilford"  is  one  of 
the  most  splendid  estates  in  this  country.  Occupying 
many  different  positions  of  trust,  he  has  exercised  a 
large  and  important  influence  upon  every  department 
of  local  activity,  and  in  his  capacity  as  a  journalist  has 
given  in  his  day  and  generation  a  direction  and  char- 
acter to  the  current  of  local  events  the  value  of 
which  it  is  difficult  to  overestimate.  Although  he 
has  recently  celebrated  his  seventy-fifth  birthday,  he 
looks  and  seems  fully  a  .score  of  years  younger,  and 
still  gives  to  all  departments  of  his  business  the  bene- 
fit of  his  long  experience  and  careful  oversight. 

Mr.  Abell  is  courteous  and  kindly  in  his  personal 
intercourse  with  his  employfe  and  with  all  with  whom 
he  is  brought  into  contact,  and  while  firm  in  the 
discharge  of  all  his  business  responsibilities  tempers 
his  justice  with  a  generosity  and  consideration  that 
are  rarely  exhibited  by  persons  in  his  position.  In  a 
green  and  vigorous  old  age,  which  can  look  back  upon 
a  life  well  and  usefully  spent,  Mr.  Abell  forms  one  of 
the  central  figures  upon  the  local  canvas  of  a  city 
towards  whose  prosperity,  welfare,  and  advancement 
he  has  so  signally  contributed. 

Mr.  Abell  married,  in  1838,  Mary,  the  daughter  of 
John  Fox,  a  worthy  and  good  citizen  of  Peekskill, 
N.  Y.,  where  Mrs.  Abell  was  born,  but  her  parents  re- 
moved to  Baltimore  when  she  was  quite  young.  She 
was  an  excellent  Christian  woman,  and  devoted  much 
of  her  time  and  means  to  the  relief  of  the  unfortunate 
and  deserving  poor,  without  reference  to  their  creed 
or  color.  She  died,  universally  beloved  by  all  who 
knew  her,  in  1859,  leaving  a  large  family  of  children, 
eight  of  whom  are  living, — five  daughters  and  three 
sons.  The  three  latter,  Edwin  F.,  George  W.,  and 
Walter  R.  Abell,  are  connected  with  the  editorial  and 
business  departments  of  T/ie  Sun.  They  have  inher- 
ited in  various  ways  the  father's  business  talent  and 
sagacity,  as  well  as  his  innate  tact  and  journalistic 
capacity.  Breathing  the  atmosphere  of  journalism 
from  their  youth  up,  educated  in  a  school  which  has 
achieved  such  splendid  results,  and  by  training  as  well 
as  inheritance  in  perfect  sympathy  and  understanding 


HISTORY  OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


with  the  spirit,  the  policy,  and  aims  of  The  Sun,  they 
are  specially  qualified  for  the  delicate  and  responsible 
offices  of  assisting  in  conducting  a  great  and  influen- 
tial journal,  and  the  other  business  connected  with 
such  an  enterprise.  Mr.  Abell  had  the  faculty  and 
good  judgment  to  select  for  his  assistants  the  best 
men  to  be  found,  all  of  whom  became  warmly  at- 
tached to  him,  and  seldom  left  him  except  to  become  , 
engaged  in  business  for  themselves  or  separated  bj' 
death.  He  has  now  the  best  corps  of  editors,  report- 
ers, and  business  men  connected  with  The  Sun  of  any 
newspaper  in  the  country. 

The  Maryland  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal, 
a  quarterly,  wiis  published  on  Jan.  1,  1840,  by  John  ' 
Murphy,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Medical  and  Clii- 
rurgical  Faculty  of  the  State.  '  The  editors  were  Drs. 
G.  C.  M.  Roberts,  chairnuin,  Nathaniel  Potter,  James 
H.  Miller,  Robert  A.  Durkee,  J.  R.  W.  Dunbar,  and  j 
Samuel  George  Baker.  It  was  adopted  by  the  med- 
ical departments  of  the  United  States  army  and  navy 
as  their  official  organ. 

The  Trades  Union  was  edited  in  1837  by  Frank 
Gallagher,  but  he  having  been  elected  to  the  Legis- 
lature, he  re-signed  on  October  14th,  and  the  paper 
was  subsequently  published  and  edited  by  Messrs. 
Bull  &  Tattle.     "  I 

The  Journal  of  the  American  Silk  Society  was  | 
published  in  1889,  with  Gideon  B.  Smith  as  editor.       | 

The  Pilot,  a  two-penny  Whig  paper,  was  first  issued  | 
April  2,  1840,  by  Gen.  Duff'  Green.     The  Whigs  of  | 
Maryland    repudiated   the   paper,   and  it   ceased   in 
January,  1841.  [ 

The  Baltimore  Clipper  was  first  issued  on  Saturday 


morning,  Sept. 


),  from  the  office  No.  10  North 


Gay  Street,  John  H.  Hewitt  &  Co.  editors  and  pro-  : 
prietors.  Mr.  Hewitt  having  disposed  of  his  interest  I 
to  Messrs.  Edmund  Bull  and  William  N.  Tuttle,  retired 
from  the  paper  on  May  19,  1840.  On  Saturday,  June 
27, 1840,  the  Clipper  issued  its  first  weekly,  entitled  the 
Ocean.  On  Monday,  Nov.  11,  1844,  the  name  of  the 
Baltimore  Clipper  was  changed  to  that  of  the  American 
Republican,  but  it  resumed  the  former  name  on  Jan. 
1,  1847. 

Mr.  Tuttle  died  on  June  17,  1864,  in  the  fifty-fifth 
year  of  his  age,  and  on  July  11th  of  the  same  year 
William  Wailes  became  the  sole  proprietor.  Mr.  Ed- 
mund Bull  died  on  Dec.  21, 1875,  aged  sixty-five  years.  I 
He  was  one  of  five  of  the  surviving  founders  of  the 
Baltimore  Typographical  Union,  which  was  organized 
Nov.  26,  1831.  Mr.  Wailes  continued  to  publish  the 
Clipper  until  it  ceased,  on  Saturday,  Sept.  30, 1865.  He 
then  entered  into  a  partnership  with  William  R.  Coale, 
Dr.  C.  C.  Cox,  and  R.  N.  Newport,  and  issued  on  the 
following  Monday,  October  2d,  the  first  number  of 
the  Baltimore  Daily  Commercial.  On  Nov.  20,  1866,  j 
Dr.  C.  C.  Cox  retired  from  the  Commercial,  and  Mr. 
Wailes  continued  it  upon  his  own  account.  It  was 
published  as  a  morning  paper,  but  on  March  18, 1868,  , 
it  was  changed  to  an  evening  jovirual.     In  1860,  Mr.  ' 


Wailes  retired  from  the  paper,  and  on  June  24th  the 
e-stablishment,  with  the  good  will,  fixtures,  type, 
presses,  etc.,  were  sold  at  public  auction  for  four 
thousand  two  hundred  dollars  to  the  "  Democratic 
Association."  Dr.  William  H.  Cole  and  Col.  E.  M. 
Verger,  of  Mississippi,  purchased  the  concern,  and 
started  the  Evening  Journal  on  Sept.  4,  1871,  under 
the  firm-name  of  E.  M.  Verger  &  Co.  Late  in  1871, 
Dr.  Cole  withdrew  from  the  concern,  and  the  Journal 
was  continued  by  Col.  Verger  until  it  was  sold  at 
auction  to  Col.  Frederick  Raine  for  two  thousand 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  who  discontinued  it. 
Col.  Verger  died  suddenlyon  the  22d  of  April,  187-5. 
H(!  was  formerly  a  resident  of  Jackson,  Miss.,  where 
he  became  involved  in  a  quarrel  with  Col.  Crane, 
military  mayor  of  the  city,  in  which  the  latter  lost 
his  life.  He  was  tried  by  a  court-martial,  but  the 
Supreme  Court  decided  that  the  civil  court  was  above 
the  military,  and  he  was  acquitted.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  he  was  in  his  forty-ninth  year. 

At  the  time  of  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Wailes  from 
the  Commercial,  the  title  of  the  paper  was  changed  to 
the  Ereiiing  Bulletin,  and  on  Sunday  a  Sunday  Bulletin 
was  issued.  In  1870,  William  R.  Coale  and  William 
M.  Laffan,  two  gentlemen  of  marked  literary  attain- 
ments who  were  formerly  connected  with  the  Com- 
mercial, purchased  the  Sunday  Bulletin,  and  made  it 
a  separate  establishment.  They  issued  the  first  num- 
ber of  their  new  journal  on  Aug.  14,  1870,  and  being 
opposed  to  the  word  "  Sunday"  in  the  title,  it  was 
changed  to  the  Baltimore  Bulletin  on  May  11,  1872. 
On  the  3d  of  September,  1872,  Mr.  Coale  retired  from 
the  firm,  and  his  interest  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Laffan 
and  Samuel  S.  Early,  under  the  firm-name  of  William 
M.  Laff'an  &  Co.  These  gentlemen  published  the 
Baltimore  Bulletin  for  several  years  with  marked  suc- 
cess, until  finally  a  company  was  incorporated  on  Aug. 
31,  1876,  composed  of  S.  feackle  Wallis,  Thomas  W. 
Hall,  Charles  G.  Kerr,  William  M.  Laffan,  and  Law- 
rence Turnbull,  with  a  capital  stock  of  sixty  thousand 
dollars,  who  purchased  the  Bulletin,  and  published  it 
as  an  afternoon  paper,  commencing  on  October  2d  ol 
the  same  year.  It  was  strongly  Democratic,  and  con- 
ducted with  remarkable  ability.  In  1880  it  was  merged 
into  the  Evening  News.  At  various  times  the  Evening 
Bulletin  was  ably  edited  by  Edward  Spencer,  Frederick 
Emory,  and  0.  P.  Baldwin,  Jr. 

The  Spy,  an  evening  paper,  edited  by  J.  McCor- 
mick,  wa.s  first  issued  Aug.  1,  1840. 

The  Saturday  Evening  Express  was  first  issued 
by  L.  Williams  &  Co.  on  Aug.  7,  1840,  at  three  oent.s 
per  copy. 

The  Magician  was  first  issued  by  Carr,  Horner  it 
Co.  on  Sept.  10,  18411.  It  suiq)orted  Mr.  Van  Buren 
for  President. 

The  Baltimore  Monthly  Budget,  editetl  by  J. 
Austin  Sperry,  made  its  first  appearance  in  January, 
1841.  It  was  devoted  to  science,  literature,  and  art, 
and  published  at  two  dollars  per  annum.     This  wa& 


^^.^. 


THE   PRESS   OF  BALTIMORE. 


625 


followed  in  April  of  the  same  year  by  the  Baltimore 
Pheeidx  and  Budget,  issued  by  Sherwood  &  Co.  from 
tlie  office  of  the  Saturda;/  Visitor.  It  was  afterwards, 
on  April  1,  1842,  called  the  Monfhhj  Victor.  The 
contributors  to  the  Phceni.r  and  Budget  were  John  N. 
McJilton,  Dr.  J.  E.  Snodgrass,  M.  S.  Lovett,  N.  C. 
Brooks,  A.M.,  Prof.  Ingraham,  Dr.  C.  C.  Cox,  T.  S. 
Arthur,  George  Yellott,  Dr.  John  W.  Geyer,  William 
H.  Carpenter,  James  H.  Napear,  Thomas  R.  Holland, 
T.  S.  Fay,  S.  F.  Glenn,  E.  Yates  Reese,  Lewis  T. 
Voight,  Mrs.  A.  M.  F.  Annan,  E.  Tudor  Horton, 
Esther  Wetherald,  and  other  literary  characters  of 
the  day.  On  Jan.  1.5,  1842,  Messrs.  Sherwood  &  Co. 
sold  all  their  interest  in  the  magazine  to  their  former 
partner.  Dr.  J.  Evans  Snodgrass,  and  he  assumed  en- 
tire ownership  of  it. 

Youths'  Athenaeum  was  first  issued  in  November, 

1841,  as  an  auxiliary  to  the  Apprentices'  Library 
Association. 

Daily  Evening  Gazette,  a  Whig  penny  sheet,  was 
first  published  in  August,  1840,  by  William  Ogden 
Niles.  In  January,  1841,  the  Juvenile  Mirror  was  is- 
sued by  George  H.  Hickman  ;  in  April  the  Independent 
Press,  a  tri-weekly ;  in  August  the  Clayite,  a  weekly 
penny  paper,  and  the  Baltimore  Counterfeit  Detector, 
by  H.  Wigman ;  in  November  the  Christian  Familg 
Magazine,  Rev.  Dr.  Newell  editor,  and  the  Baltimore 
Printteer. 

Maryland  Temperance  Herald,   in  September, 

1842,  enlarged  and  changed  its  form. 

The  Hibernian  Advocate,  a  small  weekly  paper, 
was  published  by  G.  W.  Hopkins  in  February,  1842, 
as  an  advocate  of  the  cause  of  Ireland  and  Irishmen. 

Baltimore  Daily  Whig,  a  penny  paper,  was  first 
issued  by  J.  S.  Earl  Rochester  and  J.  Austin  Sperry 
on  the  6th  of  June,  1842.  It  was  afterwards  made  a 
weekly,  under  the  title  of  American  ^Vhig,  and  again 
in  July,  1844,  to  a  daily  penny  paper,  with  Samuel  | 
Sands  as  editor. 

Der  Deutsche  Correspondent.— Among  the  suc- 
cessful enterprises  of  Baltimore  Der  Deutsche  Corres- 
pondent takes  prominent  rank.  Abreast  of  its  con- 
temporaries in  ability,  energy,  and  enterprise,  the 
Correspondent  exerts  an  influence  among  the  very 
large  German  population  which  has  made  the  paper  a 
recognized  factor  in  the  direction  and  formatiou  of 
public  opinion.  In  its  birth  and  growth  it  reflects, 
like  a  mirror,  the  mental  vigor,  the  peculiar  energy, 
and  the  indefatigable  enterprise  of  its  founder,  owner, 
and  editor.  Col.  Frederick  Raine.  The  Correspondent, 
in  the  German  language,  is  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
the  American  press,  active  and  enterprising  in  col- 
lecting and  arranging  the  news,  accurate  in  detail, 
vigilant  in  observation,  and  consistent  in  the  politi- 
cal principles  it  advocates.  It  has  risen  from  a  weekly 
to  a  bi-weekly,  and  lastly  to  a  well-printed  daily,  cir- 
culating, we  may  say  without  exaggeration,  "where'er 
the  German  tongue  is  spoken,"  and  always  welcomed, 
because  it  is  firm  in  purpose,  honest  in  expression,  and 


reliable  in  its  contents.  The  Correspondent  of  to-day 
is  no  more  the  newspaper  of  1841  than  the  matured 
and  vigorous  man  that  edits  it  is  the  boy  of  hardly 
nineteen  years  that  started  it,  and  yet  both  paper  and 
editor  have  grown  in  power  and  influence  in  the  ap- 
preciation and  confidence  of  the  people  of  Baltimore 
until  the  Correspondent  has  become  recognized  as  one 
of  the  institutions  of  the  city,  and  its  editor  one  of 
her  most  esteemed  citizens. 

Col.  Raine  comes  by  direct  descent  from  ancestors 
well  known  in  literature  and  theology.  On  his  father's 
side  his  ancestors  were  English.  Dr.  James  Raine, 
librarian  of  the  cathedral  of  Durham,  and  rector  of 
an  English  church,  is  buried  in  the  graveyard  of  the 
sanctuary  of  Durham,  while  others  of  his  relations  up  to 
this  day  occupy  prominent  positions  in  the  Church  of 
England  (at  Durham  and  York).  Col.  Raine's  great- 
grandfather was  an  English  officer,  who  came,  in  1743, 
with  the  English  army  to  Germany,  and  fought  under 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  George  II.,  in  the 
memorable  battle  of  Dettingen.  Retiring  from  the 
army  he  settled  in  Hanoveria,  and  married  Ida  von 
Decrecg,  at  that  time  attached  to  the  Court  of  Bruns- 
wick. From  this  union  sprang  Frederick  Raine,  the 
grandfather  of  the  editor,  who  married  Johan  Caro- 
line Martini  von  Hagen,  and  from  this  marriage  came 
William  Raine,  father  of  Frederick.  William  Raine 
emigrated  to  this  country  several  years  in  advance  of 
his  son,  and  revived  here  his  former  business  of  pub- 
lisher. Die  Geschaeftige  Martha,  a  religious  paper, 
and  Der  DemoJcrafische  Whig  were  newspaper  ventures 
of  the  father  upon  which  the  son  found  employment 
upon  his  arrival  in  this  country. 

On  the  mother's  side  Col.  Raine  descends  from  a 
well-known  Westphalian  family,  being  himself  born 
in  Minden,  Prussia,  May  13,  1823.  His  grandfather 
was  John  Philipp  Wundermann,  publisher  and  mu- 
sical composer.  Two  uncles,  Gottleib  August,  and 
Frederick,  were  also  publishers,  and  occupied  promi- 
nent positions  in  the  literary  world.  Gottleib  was  a 
member  of  the  City  Council  of  Hamm,  Westphalia, 
and  prominent  in  the  Revolution  of  1848.  He  died 
in  Antwerp,  Belgium,  refusing  to  ask  pardon  for  his 
participation  in  the  patriotic  movement  of  the  people 
in  1848.  Frederick  Wundermann  died  in  Munsfcer, 
Westphalia,  and  is  buried  in  Minden.  Thus  by  both 
lines  of  descent  Col.  Raine  comes  from  literary  and 
letter-loving  ancestors.  From  his  uucle,  Frederick 
Wundermann,  Col.  Raine  received  his  first  instruc- 
tion in  journalism,  and  after  a  fair  school  education, 
at  the  age  of  barely  fourteen,  he  was  apprenticed  to  the 
publishing  and  printing-house  of  his  uncle  at  Mun- 
ster,  where  he  became  familiar  with  the  different 
branches  of  the  business,  and  acquired  a  knowledge  of 
newspaper  life  as  assistant  editor  of  the  Westphaelische 
Zeitung,  applying  all  his  leisure  to  the  study  of  an- 
cient and  modern  languages  under  Profs.  Guilleaume 
and  Mohlmann.  The  severe  apprenticeship  ended  in 
1840,  and  young  Raine  joined  his  father  in  Baltimore 


626 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


toward  the  close  of  that  year,  and  found  employment 
in  the  office  of  tlie  Whig,  as  already  stated.  The 
career  of  the  Demokratkche  Whig  was  brief,  and  on 
Feb.  6,  1841,  Dcr  Deutsche  Correspondent  was  started 
by  the  boy  editor  as  a  weekly  of  four  columns  to  the 
page,  and  with  a  very  moderate  subscription  list. 
Observing  the  difference  between  European  and 
American  journalism,  young  Raine  immediately 
adopted  the  latter  style;  the  mannerism  of  European 
journalism  was  discarded,  and  the  Correspondent  was 
the  first  German  paper  which  made  important  foreign 
and  domestic  news  its  chief  aim.  Within  one  year 
the  Correspondent  was  a  bi-weekly,  and  in  1843  a  tri- 
weekly. In  1844,  tlie  ambitious  young  editor  em- 
barked upon  a  daily  experiment,  which  after  a  short 
trial  was  abandoned  until,  in  1845,  his  ambition  to 
give  the  German-speaking  element  of  our  population 
a  first-class  daily  paper  in  the  German  language  was 
crowned  with  complete  success. 

The  great  flood  of  German  emigration  was  setting 
towards  this  country  and  swelling  stronger  and 
stronger,  and  creating  an  increasing  demand  for  the 
kind  of  paper  which  young  Raine  was  publishing, 
and  stimulated  by  success  the  Correspondent  grew  in 
public  favor,  and  assumed  its  present  position  among 
the  very  front  rank  of  German-American  newspapers. 
The  Mexican  war,  the  Revolution  of  1848  in  Europe, 
the  wars  in  the  Orient,  in  Italy  and  Austria,  the 
Franco-German  war  in  1871,  civil  war  of  1860,  and 
the  political  campaigns,  all  constituted  occasions  for 
the  journalistic  tact  and  talents,  the  energy  and  en- 
terprise exhibited  in  the  make-up  and  management 
of  the  Correspondent,  and  brought  that  recognition  of 
power  and  influence  which  frequent  extracts  and  ex- 
tensive copying  of  editorials  and  news  always  attests. 

The  career  of  the  Correspondent  commenced  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Holliday  Streets, 
and  after  changing  to  75  West  Baltimore,  thence  to 
Baltimore  Street  opposite  the  Old  Museum,  to  Gay 
Street  opposite  Christ  church,  and  in  1851  to  Baltimore 
and  Gay  Streets,  in  July,  1869,  it  took  up  its  perma- 
nent abode  in  its  present  capacious  quarters  in  Col. 
Raine's  building,  on  the  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Post- 
Office  Avenue.  This  very  handsome  edifice  is  a  con- 
spicuous ornament  to  Baltimore  Street,  and  there  at  the 
time  of  opening  the  building,  in  one  of  the  spacious 
halls.  Col.  Raine  entertained  several  hundred  of  his 
friends  in  a  manner  which  made  the  occasion  a  mem- 
orable one  in  the  annals  of  Baltimore  journalism. 

Keeping  step  with  tjie  progress  of  journalism,  the 
Correspondent  has  promptly  recognized  and  adopted 
those  improvements  in  machinery  which  have  enabled 
the  press  to  achieve  those  remarkable  successes  of 
recent  years.  The  Washington  hand-press  of  1841 
gave  place  in  1848  to  the  Adams  press,  the  single  and 
then  the  double-cylinder  were  supplanted  by  the  ro- 
tary cylinder,  a  "lightning"  press  of  Hoe,  until  the 
office  W!is  equal  to  any  exertion  which  necessity  may 
demand  or  enterprise  require. 


The  publication  in  full  in  the  German  language  of 
important  official  documents,  municipal.  State,  or 
national,  has  always  been  a  peculiar  feature  of  the 
Correspondent.  The  production  of  President  Tyler's 
message  in  the  German  language,  simultaneously 
with  its  publication  by  the  American  newspapers, 
was  a  feat  of  energy  and  industry  never  surpassed  in 
this  country.  The  hard  work  of  translating  over 
seventeen  columns  of  English  into  German  was  per- 
formed by  Col.  Raine  in  the  office  of  Col.  Mann,  the 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State ;  a  ride  at  breakneck  speed 
on  a  butcher's  cart  enabled  him  to  board  the  depart- 
ing train  for  Baltimore  and  put  in  type  the  message 
and  deliver  it  to  his  German  readers  equally  as  early 
as  the  English  papers.  This  little  episode  of  industry 
and  enterprise  was  illu.strative  of  the  character  which 
Col.  Raine  had  stamped  upon  the  Correspondent :  it 
was  to  be  first  among  the  peers  of  the  jircs,  whether 
English  or  Gorman. 

In  politics  the  Correspondent  has  always  been  Dem- 
ocratic, without  ever  sacrificing  its  independence  or 
its  self-respect, — a  paper  of  the  party,  without  being 
the  organ  of  any  man  or  set  of  men.  Such  a  paper 
could  not  fail  to  bring  the  editor  into  deserved  prom- 
inence, and,  if  desired,  into  official  position.  In  1851, 
Col.  Raine  was  appointed  by  the  mayor  of  Baltimore 
as  one  of  the  representatives  of  the  city  to  receive  in 
New  York  and  escort  to  Baltimore  the  Hungarian 
patriot  Kossuth;  in  1868  he  was  elected  to  the  City 
Council  from  the  Ninth  Ward,  and  was  made  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  the  arrival  of  the  pioneer 
vessels  of  the  German  line  of  steamers  between  Bal- 
timore and  Bremen,  one  of  the  most  memorable 
events  in  the  history  of  the  city.  As  member  of  the 
Council,  he  anticipated  many  measures  which  have 
since  been  adopted,  and  have  contributed  greatly  to 
promote  the  prosperity  of  the  city.  As  director  of 
the  Western  Maryland  Railroad,  he  was  useful  in  ex- 
tricating that  improvement  from  difficulties  and  em- 
barrassments which  surrounded  it.  His  party  recog- 
nized his  faithful  and  efficient  services  with  the  high 
compliment  of  elector  at  large, on  the  Greeley  ticket 
in  1872,  when  alone,  by  his  individual  exertions 
and  popularity,  he  carried  the  State  for  the  philoso- 
pher of  Printing-House  Square,  and  again  upon  the 
I  Tilden  ticket  in  1876.  He  presided  in  the  Electoral 
College  in  1872,  and  delivered  the  eulogy  on  Greeley 
while  casting  the  vote  of  the  State  for  Hendricks. 
Mayor  Latrobe  in  1877  appointed  Col.  Raine  on  the 
commission  of  five  to  inquire  into  the  public  school 
system  of  Baltimore,  thus  recognizing  the  zealous 
advocacy  that  has  at  all  times  marked  the  course  of 
the  Correspondent  upon  all  educational  subjects,  and 
particularly  upon  the  introduction  of  the  German 
language  into  the  course  of  instruction  of  the  public 
schools.  Ilis  unremitting  efforts  to  encourage  immi- 
gration to  Maryland  are  further  proofs  of  his  devo- 
tion to  the  home  of  his  adoption,  and  have  materially 
aided  the  development  of  our  State.    Thoroughly  and 


THE   PRESS   OF    BALTIMORE. 


zealously  naturalized  in  his  sentiments  and  principles, 
Col.  Eaine  has  disproven  the  idea  that  the  knowledge 
of  foreign  languages  would  retard  the  great  process  of 
Americanization.  It  may  be  of  interest  here  to  state 
that  in  1872,  as  well  as  in  1876,  the  Correspondent  on 
the  day  of  the  national  election  was  published  in 
thirteen  different  languages, — English,  German,  Low- 
German,  Dutch,  French,  Italian,  Spanish,  Polish, 
Danish,  Bohemian,  Hebrew,  Latin,  and  Anglo-Afri- 
can,— a  feat  in  journalism  seldom  excelled.  The  title 
of  Colonel  was  bestowed  upon  Mr.  Raine  in  1868  by 
Governor  Bowie,  in  recognition  of  his  public  spirit  and 
services  rendered  to  the  State.  Notwithstanding  the 
exacting  duties  of  his  position  as  editor  of  an  influ- 
ential newspaper,  Col.  Raine  has  traveled  extensively 
throughout  the  United  States  and  Europe.  After 
visiting  Europe  in  1857,  he  visited  the  Eastern  States 
and  the  Canadas  in  1873,  the  Western  States  and  the 
Pacific  coast  in  1875,  the  Southern  States  in  1876, 
and  Ireland,  Scotland,  England,  France,  Italy,  Spain, 
Egypt,  Palestine,  Syria,  Asia  Minor,  Constantinople, 
Greece,  Austria,  Germany,  in  1878-79,  writing  letters 
of  his  observations  and  study  to  the  Correspondent, 
extracts  from  which  appeared  in  nearly  all  of  the 
German  newspapers  of  this  country.  In  August, 
1854,  he  married  Miss  Pamelia  Bull,  of  Harford 
County,  Md.,  who  accompanied  him  throughout,  as- 
sisting him  upon  all  of  his  travels  in  gathering  ma- 
terial for  his  letters.  His  father  died  in  Baltimore  in 
.  1879,  but  his  mother  still  lives  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-four,  in  the  possession  of  all  her  faculties 
and  in  the  enjoyment  of  excellent  health. 

The  sesqui-centennial  of  Baltimore  found  in  Col. 
Raine  a  zealous  and  industrious  laborer,  who  exerted 
great  influence  in  harmonizing  conflicting  elements 
and  contributing  to  that  extraordinary  success  which 
made  October,  1880,  the  most  memorable  month  in 
the  annals  of  the  city.  As  one  of  the  orators  of  the 
occasion,  he  has  added  his  name  to  the  many  others 
which  are  indissolubly  connected  with  that  great 
occasion,  and  under  the  appointment  of  Mayor  La- 
trobe  was  made  one  of  the  six  commissioners  to  prepare 
the  memorial  volume,  a  work  which  in  its  complete- 
ness forms  one  of  the  brightest  souvenirs  of  that 
never-to-be-forgotten  event. 

Two  brothers,  Edward  (the  well-known  notary  pub- 
lic) and  William  Raine,  are  both  connected  with  the 
Correspondent,  and  W.  Polmyer,  a  nephew,  is  the 
business  manager  of  the  paper.  A  sister,  the  widow 
of  J.  T.  Heyen,  whose  poetic  efforts  are  familiar  to 
Baltimoreans,  survives  the  latter. 

The  success  which  Col.  Raine  has  attained  was 
not  aided  with  capital,  but  is  the  result  of  his  own 
brains,  and  has  rewarded  him  with  large  pecuniary  re- 
turns, and  made  him  one  of  the  most  "solid  men,"  as 
well  as  one  of  the  most  useful  citizens,  of  Baltimore. 

The  Baltimore  Messenger,  a  Democratic  daily 
journal,  edited  by  George  B.  Riddle,  was  first  issued 
on  Dec.  22,  1842. 


The  True  Catholic. — The  first  number  of  this 
monthly  magazine,  devoted  to  the  cause  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church,  was  issued  by  Joseph  Rob- 
inson on  the  1st  of  May,  1843,  with  Hugh  Davey 
Evans,  LL.D.,  as  editor.  This  series  ran  from  this 
time  to  May,  1852,  nine  volumes.  In  May,  1852,  be- 
gan the  "  new  series"  under  the  same  name  and  pub- 
lisher. This  was  succeeded  in  January,  1857,  by  a 
monthly  published  by  Edward  P.  Allen  in  New  York, 
called  The  American  Church  Monthly.  The  editor 
was  Rev.  Henry  N.  Hudson,  M.A.,  and  Hugh  Davey 
Evans,  LL.D.,  regular  and  independent  contributor. 
Mr.  Robinson,  after  having  disposed  of  his  interest  in 
the  True  Catholic,  published  a  weekly  church  paper 
called  the  Monitor. 

Democratic  Sentinel,  a  weekly  paper,  published 
by  Messrs.  Pratt,  Cloud  &  Bro.,  was  first  issued  on 
the  6th  of  April,  1844;  it  lived  but  a  short  time,  and 
was  again  revived  in  December,  1845. 

The  Ray,  a  weekly,  published  by  Henry  Vander- 
ford,  Jr.,  now  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  West- 
minster (Carroll  Co.)  Advocate,  made  its  first  ap- 
pearance in  May,  1845.  It  was  edited  by  Dr.  Snod- 
grass,  but  it  expired  in  December  of  the  same  year, 
the  subscription-list  being  transferred  to  the  iSaturday 
Visitor.  The  Odd-Fellows'  Mirror  was  started  about 
the  same  time. 

The  Baltimore  Mechanic  and  Literary  Gazette 
was  issued  l>y  Solon  Beale  in  October,  1845. 

The  Light-Ship,  intended  for  sailors  and  "  all  who 
followed  the  sea,"  was  issued  in  November,  1845, 
simultaneously  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Bal- 
timore. Rev.  Charles  W.  Denison  was  the  editor, 
but  he  could  not  keep  it  aflo.at. 

The  Washington  Constitution  was  transferred  on 
Dec.  1,  1845,  from  Washington  to  Baltimore  by  its 
proprietors,  Messrs.  Heat  &  Harris,  and  the  title 
changed  to  the  Baltimore  Constitution.  It  was  a  two- 
cent  Democratic  morning  paper,  and  died  on  the  26th 
of  the  same  month  it  was  transplanted. 

The  Religious  Cabinet,  a  monthly  periodical, 
was  undertaken  by  the  late  Rev.  Charles  J.  White 
and  Rev.  James  Dolan,  of  the  Catholic  Church,  upon 
their  own  responsibility,  the  latter  having  suggested 
the  utility  of  such  a  work  and  assumed  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  labor  connected  with  it,  and  the  former 
yielding  to  the  principal  onus  of  the  editorial  depart- 
ment. The  first  number  was  issued  in  January,  1842, 
and  was  printed  by  John  Murphy.  After  the  publica- 
tion of  the  first  volume  the  proprietorship  of  the 
Cabinet  was  vested  in  Mr.  Murphy,  and  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1843,  he  changed  its  name  to  the  United 
States  Catholic  Magazine,  and  Rev.  Charles  J.  White 
was  retained  as  editor.  The  Very  Rev.  M.  J.  Spal- 
ding, D.D.,  was  for  three  years  assistant  editor.  It 
numbered  among  its  learned  contributors  such  names 
as  Rev.  J.  P.  Donelan,  Rev.  E.  Knight,  Rev.  E.  Sourin, 
Rev.  J.  Cummings,  D.D.,  William  George  Read,  M.  C. 
Jenkins,  William  A.  Stokes,  Bernard  U.  Campbell, 


628 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Prof.  William  Joseph  Walter,  James  McSlierry,  Prof. 
Ducatel,  John  Augustus  Shea,  Francis  Dimond,  Dr. 
James  Wynne,  Richard  J.  Price,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Fernandis,  Miss  Abby  Meaher,  Mrs.  Anna  H.  Dorsey, 
Mrs.  Annie  P.  Dinnies,  and  others.  The  last  number 
of  this  magazine  was  published  in  December,  1848. 

The  Culturist,  an  agricultural  paper,  was  estab- 
lislicil  ill  .lanimry,  lS4(i,  Ijy  William  J.  A.  Bradford. 

The  Western  Continent,  a  fine  literary  paper,  folio 
in  form,  was  first  issued  by  Messrs.  Taylor,  Wilde  & 
Co.,  on  Jan.  7, 1846.  It  was  edited  by  Park  Benjamin, 
assisted  by  William  T.  Thompson,  at  present  (1881) 
the  venerable  editor  of  the  •Sriviiniiah  Daily  Newn.  In 
May,  Mr.  Henjamin  retired  from  its  editorial  manage- 
ment, and  William  H.  Carpenter,  now  (1881)  one  of 
the  editors  of  the  Baltimore  Sun,  took  editorial  charge. 
At  this  time  fine  literary  talent  graced  its  columns, 
and  it  was  handsomely  printed.  In  1854,  Park  Ben- 
jamin began  a  lecturing  tour,  and  on  the  7th  of  July, 
1848,  the  Western  Continent  passed  into  the  hands  of 
H.  M.  Garland,  Jr.,  and  John  M.  Donaldson. 

The  Flag  of  the  Union,  another  literary  paper, 
was  published  in  January,  1840,  by  W.  Bennet. 

The  People's  Gift  and  Temperance  Advertiser, 
an  advertising  medium  of  free  circulation,  was  started 
in  February,  1846,  by  Messrs.  Keegcr  Ik  Mahan. 

During  1845-46,  V.  B.  Palmer  established  in  Balti- 
more a  newspaper  agency  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
Baltimore  and  Calvert  Streets.  It  was  the  first  of  the 
kind  in  the  city. 

The  Maryland  Statesman,  a  weekly  Democratic 
journal,  was  issued  for  the  first  time  on  Jan.  7,  1847, 
by  Messrs.  Adams  &  Vanderford. 

The  Baltimore  Daily  News,  a  Democratic  paper, 
published  by  J.  Adams,  made  its  first  appearance  on 
April  24,  1847,  with  Messrs.  Adams,  Vanderford,  and 
Brown  as  editors. 

The  Morning  Star,  devoted  to  religious  and  moral 
reforms,  began  to  shine  May  1,  1847,  under  the  man- 
agement of  James  Creamer  Ott. 

The  Enterprise,  a  miscellaneous  Sunday  paper, 
was  first  issued  on  Jan.  23,  1848,  by  William  Taylor 
&  Co.  It  was  edited  by  John  H.  Hewitt,  who  had 
William  Prescott  Smith  associated  with  him.  Con- 
siderable objection  was  made  by  the  pastors  of  the 
Lutheran  and  Methodist  Protestant  Churches  on  ac- 
count of  the  paper  being  issued  on  Sunday,  and  the 
day  of  publication  was  changed  to  Saturday.  It  ex- 
pired in  April  of  the  same  year.  In  1847,  William 
Taylor  and  N.  Sardo  had  started  a  paper  of  the  same 
name,  which  republished  the  Baltimore  letters  printed 
in  the  Aristocratic  Monitor,  published  by  William 
Chase  Barney  in  New  York.  The  editorials  of  the 
Ariitooratic  Monitor  were  bitter  in  the  extreme,  and 
its  Baltimore  letters  on  "  Mushroom  Hill"  and  the 
environs  of  "  My  Lady  Fashionable,"  "  The  Prince 
of  Morocco,"  "  My  Lords  of  the  Yard-Stick  and 
other  distinguished  Aristocrats,"  gave  great  oflcnse  to 
the  "  upper  crust"  of  society.     It  expired  in  1848. 


The  Maryland  Democrat,  a  daily  German  paper, 

made  its  appearanrc  in  Jon.-,  1848.  , 

The  Baltimore  Pathfinder  wiis  started  by  Messrs. 
Uanlon  li  Buchanan  in  March,  1849,  and  was  devoted 
to  the  traveling  and  mercantile  community.  It  was 
a  free  circulating  medium  of  advertising.  The  Buena 
Vinta  was  also  published  this  year. 

The  Emerald,  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Ireland, 
first  appeared  in  May,  1849,  and  was  published  by 
Francis  !McNerhany. 

The  Inventors'  Journal,  a  weekly  paper,  edited 
by  J.  F.  Woishample,  commenced  in  June,  1849.  It 
was  the  organ  of  the  Inventors'  National  Institute. 
At  this  time  Baltimore  had  four  morning  and  one 
afternoon  paper. 

The  Parlor  Gazette  was  issued  on  Oct.  1, 1849, 
but  in  November  its  name  was  changed  to  the  Ladiea' 
Seu'xpiijirr.  It  susjiended  in  a  short  time,  and  was 
succeeded  by  the  Far/or  Journal,  H.  M.  Garland,  Jr., 
publisher.  The  Temperance  Banner,  published  by 
James  Young,  at  the  same  time  changed  its  name  to 
the  Monumental  Fountain.  It  was  also  taken  charge 
of  by  the  Grand  Division  of  Maryland,  and  F.  W. 
Thomas,  a  fine  author  and  poet,  was  chosen  editor. 
It  suspended  in  January,  1852. 

The  True  Union,  a  religious  paper,  was  first  issued 
in  December,  1849,  by  a  committee  under  the  sanction 
of  the  ■'  Maryland  Baptist  Union  Association."  On 
Jan.  7,  1858,  the  Union  was  enlarged,  and  Rev.  John 
Berg  became  its  editor  and  proprietor.  It  suspended  • 
in  December,  1861.  The  Rev.  Franklin  Wilson,  who 
had  been  its  original  editor,  in  January,  1857,  re- 
signed the  chair,  but  continued  to  contribute.  J. 
F.  Weishample  was  the  publisher.  About  this  time 
The  Bankers'  Magazine  and  State  Financial  Beffister 
was  published  in  Baltimore  by  J.  Smith  Homands ; 
also  the  Temperance  Herald.  In  January,  1849,  N. 
Sardo  published  the  Paul  Pry,  and  at  the  same  time 
H.  M.  Garland  published  the  Young  America.  On 
the  SOth  of  October,  1849,  Messrs.  Martin  &  Co.  issued 
the  first  number  of  The  Daily  City  Item.  In  the 
same  month  John  S.  Skinner  issued  The  Plough,  the 
Loom,  and  the  Anvil.  At  the  same  time  the  Baltimore 
Bank-Nofe  Reporter  was  published. 

The  German  Baltimore  Herald,  a  weekly,  com- 
menced in  Auiiust,  IsriO,  a  tri-weekly  iniblication. 

The  Baltimore  County  Advocate,  published  in 
the  city,  was  removed  to  Cockeysville,  in  the  county, 
in  August,  1850. 

The  Maryland  Reformer,  a  Democratic  campaign 
paper,  was  first  issued  June  22,  1850,  by  D.  H.  Han- 
Ion  and  Charles  F.  Stoufler. 

The  Baltimore  Olio  and  American  Musical  Ga- 
zette was  first  published  in  July,  18.50,  by  William 
C.  Peters,  a  popular  composer  and  dealer  in  music. 
It  was  discontinued  in  November  on  account  of  the 
illness  of  the  proprietor.  Mr.  Peters  was  the  com- 
poser of  a  very  popular  mass,  besides  many  very 
popular  piano-forte  pieces  as  well  as  ballads. 


THE  PRESS   OP   BALTIMORE. 


629 


The  Sunday  Morning  Dispatch,  an  independent 
folio  weelily,  was  first  issued  by  Messrs.  Robert 
Gaddes  and  J.  Campbell  Cooper,  on  Feb.  23,  1851. 

The  Constitution,  a  Democratic  campaign  paper, 
was  first  issued  in  August,  IS51,  by  Messrs.  Haulon  & 
Stouffer. 

The  Daily  Morning  News,  devoted  to  Whig  prin- 
ciples, was  first  published  on  Sept.  27, 1851,  by  Messrs. 
Peake,  Walker  &  Co.,  practical  printers.  It  ceased 
May  10,  1852.  In  October,  1851,  J.  Newton  &  Co. 
issued  the  Baltimore  Pathfinder,  etc. 

During  1851  the  number  of  papers  in  Maryland 
and  their  object  was  as  follows  :  Whig,  23  ;  Demo- 
cratic, 17;  independent,  13;  literary  and  miscella- 
neous, 4 ;  religious,  5 ;  not  specified,  2 ;  total,  64  ;  with 
a  circulation  ,.f  114,587. 

The  Flag  of  Liberty,  a  weekly  Whig  paper,  was  j 
begun  on  the  KUh  of  September,  1851. 

The  Evening  Picayune  and  Baltimore  Daily  Ad- 
vertiser, published  liy  an  assoriatioii  of  printers, 
under  the  finn-uanie  of  liyde,  Bruce  &  Co.,  was  first 
issued  Feb.  2,  1852,  and  on  the  same  day  The  Father- 
land, a  German  paper,  was  first  published.  At  this 
time  we  had  four  German  papers  in  Baltimore.  The 
Picaijune  discontinued  March  2,  1852. 

The  Times,  a  daily  penny  journal,  made  its  first 
appearance  April  26,  1852.  It  was  published  by  F. 
X.  Lipp  &  Co.,  and  on  October  18th  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  printers. 

The  Parthenian,  or  Young  Ladies'  Magazine, 
published  monthly,  and  nuide  up  from  the  literary 
contributions  of  the  ])upils  of  the  Baltimore  Female 
College,  first  appeared  in  May,  1852.  It  was  printed 
by  Gobright,  Thorne  &  Co. 

The  Old  Defender,  a  weekly  Whig  campaign  paper, 
was  first  issued  Aug.  21,  1852,  by  Mills,  Troxall  & 
Co.,  publishers.  In  the  same  year  The  American 
Whig  Review  was  published. 

The  Novelleu  Zeitung,  a  German  weekly,  was 
issued  from  the  office  of  the  German  Correspondent  in 
March,  1853. 

The  Catholic  Mirror,  the  leading  Catholic  news- 
paper in  the  United  States,  was  established  in  1850  by 
P.  J.  Hedian,  and  commenced  publication  on  the  5th 
of  January  in  that  year,  with  Rev.  C.  J.  White,  D.D., 
as  its  editor.  On  the  15th  of  October  following 
Owen  O'Brien  became  associated  in  its  publication, 
and  on  the  15th  of  January,  1852,  it  was  recognized 
by  Archbishop  Kenrick  as  his  oflicial  organ,  and  is 
now  not  only  the  official  organ  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore,  but  of  the  Bishops  of  Richmond,  Wheel- 
ing, Wilmington,  and  the  Vicar- Apostolic  of  North 
Carolina.  On  the  29th  of  August,  1857,  Mr.  O'Brien 
disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  Mirror  to  Mr.  Hedian, 
by  whom  it  was  subsequently  sold  to  Messrs.  M.  J. 
Kelly  and  John  B.  Piet,  general  publishers.  Both  of 
these  gentlemen  were  arrested  on  the  29th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1863,  for  the  publication  of  a  pamphlet  entitled 
"  Fourteen  Months   in   an    American    Bastile,"  and 


though  speedily  released,  were  rearrested  on  May  23, 
1864,  and  their  entire  establishment,  including  the 
Mirror,  seized  by  the  government.  The  publication 
of  the  Mirror  was  soon  resumed  by  Mr.  Kelly's  son, 
who,  however,  was  first  required  by  the  military  au- 
thorities to  give  bonds  for  its  proper  conduct.  Mr. 
Kelly  maintained  his  connection  with  the  Mirror  un- 
til his  death,  Jan.  9,  1879,  since  which  time  it  has 
been  conducted  by  the  surviving  partner,  John  B. 
Piet,  alone. 

The  Mirror  is  published  every  Saturday,  and  is  one 
of  the  best  family  newspapers  in  the  United  States. 
It  has  a  larger  circulation  than  any  other  religious 
journal  in  the  country,  and  is  growing  in  general 
popularity  every  year.  Its  proprietor,  John  B.  Piet, 
is  the  head  of  one  of  the  best-known  publishing- 
houses  in  the  Union,  and  the  Mirror,  in  both  its  con- 
duct and  typographical  appearance,  shows  evidence 
of  the  liberal  facilities  and  long  experience  of  its 
manager  and  owner. 

The  Metropol  tan,  a  Catholic  monthly  magazine, 
was  first  publi  bed  in  February,  1853,  by  John 
Murphy  &  Co.  It  was  at  first  edited  by  a  clergy- 
man, but  in  1855  it  was  edited  by  a  "  committee  of 
literary  gentlemen."  They  continued  to  edit  the 
Metropolitan  until  February,  1858,  when  M.  J.  Ker- 
ney,  A.M.,  one  of  their  number,  assumed  the  editorial 
management,  with  vol.  i.  of  the  "  new  series,"  but  he 
retired  at  the  close  of  the  year  on  account  of  ill 
'  health. 

The  Sunday  Morning  Atlas  was  first  issued  by 
Hoftmau  &  Co.  on  Feb.  6,  1853. 
i      The  Industrial  School  Advocate,  a  monthly  sheet, 
first  appeared  in  May,  1853. 

The  Daily  Press  ceased  to  exist  on  July  15,  1853. 

The  Daily  American  Times  was  commenced  Aug. 
8,  1853,  by  C.  G.  Baylor  &  Co.,  publishers,  and  edited 
by  Francis  H.  Davidge.  In  September  the  publishers 
were  Charles  G.  Baylor,  Boswell  S.  Ripley,  and 
Charles  W.  Brush.  In  March,  1854,  the  two  latter 
gentlemen  retired  from  the  concern,  and  it  was  con- 
tinued as  an  afternoon  journal  by  C.  G.  Baylor. 
During  the  night  of  the  21st  of  April,  1854,  the 
office  was  mobbed  by  a  lawle.ss  crowd,  and  the  press, 
type,  etc.,  destroyed.  Mr.  Baylor  immediately  issued 
a  card  to  the  public,  in  which  he  stated  his  grievances, 
and  promised  a  continuation  of  the  journal  as  soon 
as  he  could  repair  damages.  In  June  following  the 
Times  came  out  fully  Democratic,  and  soon  after,  in 
July,  united  with  the  Public  Led;/er,  and  was  pub- 
lished under  the  name  of  Times  and  Ledger.  On  July 
4th  it  ceased  to  exist. 

Commercial  Register. — On  the  1st  of  March, 
1798,  James  Stewart  established  a  marine  list  and 
Commercial  Register,  on  the  plan  of  Lloyd's  London 
list.  It  was  afterwards  conducted  by  Mr.  Escavaille 
as  the  Price- Current.  He  died  in  1828,  and  his  widow 
employed  AVm.  G.  Lyford  to  superintend  both  the 
news-rooms  and  Price- Current.     The  latter  was  dis- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


continued  for  a  sliort  time,  but  on  March  3, 1850,  Mr. 
Lyford  began  the  publication  of  his  Baltimore  Price- 
Current,  whicli  was  printed  by  Messrs.  Bull  &  Tuttle. 
In  February,  1847,  this  commercial  journal,  for  want 
of  sufficient  support,  suspended  publication,  but  Mr. 
Lyford  still  continued  to  issue  his  "weekly  letter- 
sheet."  On  the  29th  of  June,  18.50,  the  Baltimore 
Price- Current  and  Weekly  Journal  of  Commerce  made 
its  first  appearance,  published  and  edited  by  George 
N.  Porter  and  Thomas  W.  Torbin,  and  edited  by 
James  Young.  In  the  early  part  of  the  civil  war  Mr. 
Torbin  died,  and  the  Price- Current  has  ever  since  ' 
been  ably  published  by  George  N.  Porter.  In  July, 
1862,  Mr.  Porter  was  arrested  without  cause  by  the  i 
military  authorities  and  placed  in  Fort  McHenry.  I 
After  being  confined  for  fifteen  days  he  was  taken  to 
Fort  Lafayette,  in  New  York  Harbor,  and  there  de- 
tained for  three  months  longer.  There  was,  however, 
no  interruption  in  the  regular  issue  of  the  paper. 
Mr.  Porter  has  been  connected  with  the  Merchants' 
E.xchange  since  the  14th  of  August,  1841,  and  for 
many  years  was  commercial  editor  of  The  Sun,  also 
for  about  five  years  filled  the  same  position  on  The 
Gazette,  retiring  from  the  latter  when  it  passed  into 
the  hands  of  W.  W.  Glenn.  The  Journal  of  Com- 
merce is  to-day  one  of  the  best-conducted  commercial 
papers  in  the  United  States,  and  is  highly  prosperous. 
We  are  greatly  indebted  to  this  valuable  journal  for 
material  assistance  in  the  preparation  of  our  commer- 
cial tables. 

The  Baltimore  Wecker,  a  daily  German  paper,  \ 
was  begun  in  October,  1851,  by  Charles  Henry  I 
SchnaufTer.  Mr.  Schnauffer  had  been  One  of  the 
editors  of  the  Journal,  published  in  the  city  of  Mann-  j 
heim,  Baden  (Germany),  but  on  account  of  taking 
part  in  the  German  revolution  of  1848-49  was  com- 
pelled to  abandon  his  country.  On  Sept.  4,  18.54,  Mr. 
Schnauffer  died,  but  his  widow  continued  the  Wecker 
without  interruption.  In  1856  the  Wecker  was  the 
only  Republican  paper  in  Maryland,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence, shortly  after  the  Presidential  election,  the 
office  was  mobbed.  About  this  time  the  Wecker 
came  into  the  hands  of  William  Schnauffer,  the  son 
of  the  founder,  and  he  soon  added  a  weekly  edition 
to  the  paper.  The  Wecker  continued  its  course  until 
the  19th  of  April,  1861,  when  the  office  on  Frederick 
Street  was  completely  wrecked,  and  the  building 
seriously  injured.  The  paper  was  suspended,  and  the 
proprietor  and  his  editors  fled  from  the  city.  As 
soon  as  the  military  took  possession  of  the  city  Mr. 
Schnauffer  returned  and  resumed  the  publication  of 
the  Wecker.  The  Wecker  was  a  warm  supporter  of 
the  Union  cause  throughout  the  war,  and  at  its 
close,  in  May,  1865,  Gen.  I'>ancis  Sigel  entered  into 
partnership  with  Mr.  Schnauffer,  which  continued 
for  two  years,  when  the  former  went  to  New  York, 
Mr.  Rapp  becoming  his  successor.  In  January,  1872, 
Mr.  Rapp  retired,  and  George  Blumenthal  became 
his   successor.     In    July,    187(5,   William  Schnauffer 


disposed  of  the  paper  to  Messrs.  Blumenthal  &  Ck)., 
who  continued  it  for  several  years  as  a  daily,  but  dis- 
posed of  it  to  Capt.  J.  R.  Fellman,  who  sold  it  in 
September,  1877,  to  William  Schnauffer,  who  re- 
sumed its  publication  as  a  weekly  and  suspended  the 
daily  issue.  The  weekly  had  been  published,  together 
with  the  daily,  from  January,  1874. 

In  18.53  the  following  papers  were  put  in  circula- 
tion in  Baltimore :  Daily  Republic,  Daily  Globe,  Liter- 
ary Bnlldiii,  and  Monnmrntal  Literary  Gazette,  in 
December,  l>y  Messrs.  Fiiilcy,  Johnson  &  Co. 

The  Sunday  Dispatch,  the  second  of  the  name, 
began  a  short  career  Jan.  15,  18.54.  It  was  published 
by  Charles  F.  and  Robert  M.  Cloud.  In  November, 
1855,  these  gentlemen  sold  the  Di-yjalch  to  William 
H.  Gol)ri-lit  :in(l.l.  Cloud  Xorris. 

The  Baltimore  Public  Ledger,  a  penny  paper, 
first  api)careil  Jlarcli  2,  1854;  publishers,  William 
Parkhill  &  Co.  In  a  few  weeks  it  was  suspended, 
but  appeared  again  on  May  1st,  in  a  spring  dress.  It 
was  finally  united  with  the  Daily  American.  Times, 
and  in  July  was  issued  under  the  double  head  of  the 
Times  and  Ledger.     On  July  4th  the  paper  ceased. 

The  Literary  Journal,  a  monthly  publication, 
edited  by  Ella  Wentworth,  and  the  types  set  by 
females,  was  published  simultaneously  in  both  Balti- 
more and  Philadelphia  in  March,  1854. 

The  Huntress,  a  sharp  weekly,  published  simul- 
taneously in  Washington  and  Baltimore  by  Mrs.  Ann 
Royall,  suspended  in  June,  1854. 

The  True  American,  a  weekly  campaign  paper  in 
opposition  to  the  Know-Nothing  party,  was  begun  in " 
September,  1854.  In  the  same  year  the  True  Union, 
a  Baptist  weekly,  edited  by  Rev.  Franklin  Wilson, 
was  published.  Mr.  Wilson  retired  in  January,  1857, 
J.  F.  Weishampel,  Jr.,  assuming  its  business  manage- 
ment. In  January,  1858,  Rev.  John  Berg  became  editor 
and  proprietor.     It  suspended  in  December,  1861. 

The  Daily  Register,  containing  the  hotel  arrivals, 
wa.s  ])ublished  by  Messrs.  Peake  &  Co.  in  September, 
1855. 

The  Elevator  was  the  appropriate  title  given  a 
nioiitlily  journal  devoted  to  literature,  science,  and 
art,  issued  in  July,  1856.  It  was  edited  by  Rev.  John 
N.  McJilton  and  Dr.  Henry  S.  Hunt,  and  published 
by  Sherwood  &  Co. 

The  American  Democrat,  started  in  June  as  a 
campaign  paper  in  favor  of  Mr.  Fillmore  for  the  Pres- 
idency, was  discontinued  in  November,  18.55. 

The  Christian  Review,  a  time-honored  quarterly 
in  the  interests  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  for  many 
years  published  in  New  York,  was  in  December,  1855, 
purchased  by  Revs.  Franklin  Wilson  and  George  B. 
Taylor,  of  Baltimore,  and  transferred  to  the  latter  city. 
The  two  divines  were  the  editors  and  proprietors. 

The  Monitor,  a  weekly  journal  in  the  interests  of 
the  Protesant  Episcopal  Church,  and  edited  by  Hugh 
Davey  Evans,  made  its  first  appearance  in  January, 
1857.     It  wa-s  published  by  Joseph  Robinson. 


THE   PKESS   OF  BALTIMORE. 


631 


The  Baltimore  Stethoscope,  a  handsome  medical 
journal,  appeared  on  June  2,  1857.  It  was  issued  by 
Henry  Taylor,  and  edited  by  Dr.  J.  B.  Williams,  after- 
wards a  popular  story  writer,  assisted  by  Dr.  Hunter. 

The  Lutheran  Observer.— After  an  editorial  ser- 
vice of  about  a  quarter  of  a  century,  Rev.  Benjamin 
Kurtz  retired  from  the  editorial  chair  of  the  journal. 
Messrs.  Diehl  &  Anspach  assumed  its  management, 
and  joined  T.  Newton  Kurtz,  the  son  of  the  former 
proprietor,  in  its  publication.  The  office  of  publica- 
tion was  removed  to  Philadelphia  on  Jan.  1,  18<)7. 
T.  Newton  Kurtz  died  in  1880. 

Baltimore  Christian  Advocate,  in  the  interests 
of  the  Methodist  Episrojial  Cluirch,  was  first  issued 
on  May  :!I,  ISr.S,  iMlited  by  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Bond.  In 
Februin-y,  ix.-).!,  (he  first  number  of  The  Presbyterian 
Crilir  mill  Mniillilij  Review  was  issued ;  also,  in  thesame 
year,  tlic  JSnlfnimn-  Flag;  in  April,  1856,  The  Bible 
Times,  and  in  the  same  year  The  Evangelical  Lutheran. 
The  City  Agent  first  appeared  April  17,  1857,  and  in 
the  same  year  the  Traveller.  Our  Opinion  was  first 
published  on  Aug.  15,  1857,  by  John  T.  Ford,  the 
present  popular  theatrical  manager,  edited  by  Clifton 
W.  Tayleure,  now  the  distinguished  dramatist. 

The  Baltimore  Illustrated  Times  aui  Local  Ga- 
zette was  published  in  1857  by  J.  C.  Gobrioht  and 
Jolin  W,  Tor.eh. 

The  Gazette. — The  Gazette  has  for  more  than 
twenty-tliree  years  been  identified  in  the  closest  man- 
ner with  nearly  all  the  most  stirring  events  in  the  an- 
nals of  Baltimore.  It  has  always  been  a  journal  of  the 
people,  and  one  ever  faithful  to  the  interests  of  the 
city.  In  its  early  struggles,  its  noble  fights  for  inde- 
pendence and  liberty  of  thought  and  action,  it  has  a 
made  history,  and  has  been  recognized  as  bearing  its 
part  in  the  settlement  of  all  great  questions  which 
have  arisen  for  discussion  since  the  first  number  was 
issued,  and  in  making  its  distinct  and  decided  impress 
upon  the  current  of  events. 

In  the  beginning  of  1858,  Baltimore  was  under  the 
rule  of  one  of  the  worst  mobs  that  ever  infested  any 
city.  They  were  organized  into  political  clubs,  under 
such  names  as  Plug-Uglies,  Rip-Raps,  Blood-Tubs, 
Regulators,  Rough-Skins,  Double-Pumps,  etc.,  and 
they  ruled  supreme.  It  is  true  they  delegated  a  por- 
tion of  their  power  to  some  city  officers  and  public 
men  who  subsidized  them,  and  there  were  also  the 
police  force  and  the  courts.  But  the  jurisdiction  of 
these  was  limited  by  the  assassin's  bullet  and  the 
straw  bondsman,  and  the  delegates  of  the  Plug-Uglies 
(who  had  their  newspapers  also,  their  orators,  and 
their  eulogists)  were  careful  not  to  offend  their  mas- 
ters. These  controlled  the  city  by  the  simple  process 
of  controlling  the  ballot-box.  They  would  let  none 
vote  but  such  as  they  chose.  They  had  their  striped 
tickets,  and  they  guarded  the  approaches  to  the  polls 
with  pistols,  bludgeons,  and  awls,  so  that  few  were  so 
daring  as  to  dispute  their  control  of  affairs,  and  those 
who  attempted  to  do  so  were  shot  without  mercy.   At 


the  municipal  election  in  October,  1857,  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket  received  only  2792  votes,  to  11,808  votes 
recorded  for  the  Know-Nothing  ticket,  and  the  elec- 
tion was  conceded  to  be  a  farce.  Even  the  most  con- 
servative and  mild-tempered  citizens  had  begun  to 
accustom  themselves  to  talk  of  a  vigilance  committee, 
and  such  was  the  general  insecurity  of  things  that 
property  suffered  a  very  marked  depreciation,  even 
far  below  the  average  decline  of  values  consequent 
upon  the  financial  crisis  of  1857. 

It  was  under  such  circumstances  that,  on  Feb.  22, 

j  1858,  the  first  number  of  tlie  Daily  Exchange  appeared 
from  its  office  in  the  Carroll  Hall  building,  on  the 
southeast  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Calvert  Streets. 
The  E-cchange  was  a  noticeably  handsome  paper  in 
its  make-up,  with  clear,  bright  pages,  large,  distinct 
type,  and  seven  columns  to  a  page.  Its  editorial 
articles  were  printed  in  leaded  brevier  type,  and,  in 
imitation  of  the  English  journals,  were  without  titles. 

1  The  paper  started  with  eleven  columns  of  advertise- 
ments in  the  first  number,  and  it  may  be  said  to  have 
been  a  success  from  the  beginning.  In  May,  1858,  it 
was  moved  into  the  old  Franklin  Bank  building, 
northeast  corner  of  Baltimore  and  North  Streets,  and 
in  August  of  the  same  year  it  began  to  publish  a  tri- 
weekly edition. 

The  original  editors  and  proprietors  of  the  paper 
were  Messrs.  Charles  G.  Kerr  and  Thomas  W.  Hall, 
Jr.  In  January,  1859,  Henry  M.  Fitzhugh  bought  a 
third  interest  in  the  paper  and  became  the  associate 
of  Messrs.  Kerr  &  Hall.  Later  in  the  year  Messrs. 
William  H.  Carpenter  and  Frank  Key  Howard  also 
became  partners  by  purchase,  the  latter  being  soon 
recognized  as  the  leading  editorial  writer  of  the  staff, 
and  the  paper  now  attained  a  front  rank  among  the 
leading  journals  of  the  country.  The  editorial  corps 
was  iurther  reinforced  by  the  versatile  and  able  pen 
of  Severn  Teackle  Wallis,  who  frequently  contributed 
to  the  columns  of  the  Exchange.  Especially  during 
the  hand-to-hand  conflict  with  the  violent,  prescrip- 
tive, and  corrupt  Know-Nothing  faction  and  its  satel- 
lites, minions,  and  bullies,  upon  which  the  Ecc/uinge 
almost  immediately  entered,  Mr.  Wallis  did  yeoman 
service.  The  ruffians  of  the  mob  and  their  deputies 
and  agents  in  office  were  too  insolently  confident  of 
their  control  of  affairs  to  brook  assaults  so  powerful 
as  some  of  these  articles  embodied,  and  they  deputized 
some  of  their  tools  to  resent  it  in  the  way  with  which 
they  were  most  familiar.  They  began  to  make  omin- 
ous threats  of  mobbing  the  paper,  and  those  who 
knew  them  best  felt  sure  that  these  threats  would  be 
carried  out  if  the  warfare  of  the  Exchange  continued, 
as  it  did,  still  more  fearlessly  than  ever.  At  last  the 
attack  came.  On  the  12th  of  August,  1858,  at  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  in  the  business  part  of  the 
day  and  city,  the  office  of  the  Exchange  was  invaded 
by  a  gang  of  notorious  roughs  and  outlaws,  all  armed, 
who  forced  their  way  into  the  counting-room,  where 
the  leader  put  a  pistol  to  the  head  of  the  chief  clerk 


632 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


and  threatened  to  shoot  him,  while  his  comrades  com- 
menced their  worlv  of  destruction.  The  windows  and 
furniture  were  smashed,  the  books  and  papers  scat- 
tered, and  the  employes  brutally  assaulted.  Appre- 
hending that  the  attack  would  be  renewed  at  night,  a 
body-guard  of  citizens  volunteered  to  defend  the 
office,  ami  assembled  for  that  purpose  for  several 
nights  in  succession,  but  no  further  demonstration 
was  made,  although  there  were  many  threats,  and  the 
editors  were  sometimes  dogged  in  the  daj'time,  and 
gangs  of  roughs  gathered  often  upon  the  sidewalk  in 
front  of  the  office  at  night.  Just  in  proportion,  how- 
ever, as  the  vindictive  malice  of  the  mob  and  their 
abettors  pursued  the  Exchange  did  its  popularity  in- 
crease, until  it  had  the  support  of  all  good  citizens. 
There  were  speedy,  substantial,  and  gratifying  proofs 
of  this.  The  tri-weekly,  as  has  been  said,  was  begun 
on  the  4th  of  August^  and  on  Sept.  23,  1858,  it  was 
found  necessary  to  enlarge  the  daily.  The  Exchange 
was  accepted  at  once  as  the  voice  of  the  law-and- 
order  element  of  the  conservative  citizens  of  all  de- 
nominations and  parties,  and  when,  finally,  all  these 
crystallized  and  took  shape  in  the  Reform  movement, 
the  Exchange  was  its  accredited  and  official  organ,  as 
it  had  long  been  the  vehicle  through  which  the  dead- 
liest blows  had  been  inflicted  upon  the  party  of  mis- 
rule, and  the  Exchange  was  fully  entitled  to  the 
popular  recognition  and  gratitude,  for  from  the  day 
of  its  birth,  through  all  that  dark  and  bitter  Know- 
Nothing  period,  until  the  passage  of  the  reform  bills 
by  the  Legislature  (Feb.  2,  1860),  their  testing  in  the 
courts,  the  establishment  of  the  new  police,  and  the 
election  of  the  reform  mayor  and  City  Council  (Oct. 
10,  1860),  the  paper  never  ceased  its  exposures  and 
denunciations  of  the  infamous  system  foisted  upon 
the  community  by  force  and  fraud.  Its  facts  were  in- 
controvertible, its  arguments  unanswerable,  and  it 
could  neither  be  intimidated  nor  silenced.  Each  day 
it  renewed  its  appearance  in  the  community  with  the 
severity  and  the  persistence  of  Cato  in  the  Roman 
Senate,  and  every  morning  repeated  its  demand,  "  Dc- 
lenda  est  Carthago,"  until  the  Know-Nothing  citadel 
was  destroyed. 

The  Exchange  in  the  fall  of  1859  and  in  the  spring 
of  1860  began  to  give  conspicuous  attention  to  na- 
tional politics  and  the  great  questions  then  looming 
upon  the  horizon.  The  John  Brown  raid  at  Harper's 
Ferry  in  October,  1859,  caused  great  excitement,  and 
the  division  in  the  Democratic  party  gave  rise  to 
much  discussion.  About  January,  1860,  in  conse- 
quence of  some  disagreement  between  the  partners  as 
to  the  political  course  of  the  Exchange,  Mr.  Fitzhugh 
bought  out  Messrs.  Kerr  and  Hall,  and  subsequently 
disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  paper  to  William  Wil- 
kins  Glenn,  son  of  Judge  John  Glenn.  The  proprie- 
torship was  now  vested  in  the  firm  of  Glenn  &  Co., 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Glenn,  Howard,  and  Carpenter, 
and  after  the  battle  of  the  national  convention  of 
1860  began  the  pajier  ardently  espoused  the  candi- 


dacy of  John  C.  Breckenridge  for  the  Presidency,  and 
became  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  Southern  Rights 
and  States'  Rights  journals  in  the  country.  The  Ex- 
change, though  never  in  favor  of  disunion,  took  posi- 
tive and  emphatic  ground  for  States'  Rights  and 
against  the  policy  of  coercion.  It  severely  censured 
Governor  Hicks  for  refusing  to  call  the  Legislature 
together  for  consultation  until  after  the  excitements 
and  riots  of  April,  1861,  when  the  war  had  actually 
begun.  It  maintained  that  the  position  of  the  State 
would  be  materially  strengthened  by  a  convention  of 
the  people,  and  that  such  a  convention  would  be  able 
to  render  material  support  to  the  cause  and  the  friends 
of  constitutional  union. 

On  May  13,  1861,  Gen.  Butler  occupied  the  city, 
and  a  military  r'eghiu  began  in  Baltimore  which  was 
scarcely  relaxed  until  June,  1865.  Against  this  the 
Exchange  protested  first,  last,  and  all  the  time.  It 
was  harassed  on  all  sides.  The  Postmaster-General 
denied  it  the  use  of  the  mails.  The  little  provost- 
marshals  of  the  day  vexed  it  with  prohibitory  orders 
and  seizures.  Its  editors  were  arrested  and  confined 
in  prison.  Its  type  was  seized,  and  finally  an  order 
was  issued  suppressing  it  for  good  and  all. 

On  the  night  of  the  1st  of  July,  simultaneously 
with  the  arrest  of  the  Police  Board,  the  Exchange  was 
"  warned."  Early  in  September  the  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral excluded  the  Exchange  from  the  United  States 
mails.  The  paper  announced  this  fact  in  its  issue  of 
September  Uth  in  a  very  severe  article,  and  that 
night  and  the  next  day  the  members  of  the  Mary- 
land Legislature  were  arrested,  and  along  with  them 
Mr.  Howard,  of  the  Exchange,  as  well  as  Mr.  Hall,  of 
the  South.  Mr.  Glenn  was  arrested  on  the  Uth.  All 
these  prisoners  of  state  were  committed  to  Fort  Mc- 
Henry,  and  it  was  the  purpose  of  Gen.  Banks  to  .send 
them  to  the  Dry  Tortugas,  a  purpose  only  defeated 
by  the  fact  that  there  was  no  fit  vessel  in  Hampton 
Roads  to  make  the  voyage,  so  that  they  had  to  be 
transferred  to  Fort  Lafayette,  and  afterwards  to  Fort 
Warren.  Mr.  Carpenter  was  thus  the  only  one  of  the 
editors  and  proprietors  of  the  Exchange  who  was  left 
at  liberty.  He  testified  to  this  fact  by  a  very  severe 
article  published  on  the  14th  of  September,  which 
was  the  last  editorial  of  the  Exchange.  The  number 
containing  it  was  suppressed,  and  with  it  the  paper 
also,  which  was  peremptorily  forbidden  to  be  re- 
sumed. No  other  number  of  The  Daily  Exchange  was 
ever  published. 

Mr.  Glenn  was  soon  set  free,  but  Mr.  Howard  was 
destined  to  spend  many  weary  months  in  confine- 
ment, chiefly  at  Fort  Warren,  in  company  with  the 
other  political  prisoners  from  Maryland. 

1  For  five  days  the  presses  of  the  Exchange  were 
silent  and  the  type  idle,  but  on  September  19th  the 
first  number  of  the  Maryland  Times  appeared.     The 

I  new  journal  was  identical  in  appearance  with  the 
Exchange,  bad  the  same  advertisements,  and,  in  fact, 
was  printoil  from  the  same  cases  and  with  the  same 


THE   PRP]SS   OF  BALTIMORE. 


type.  The  publishers  were  Edward  F.  Carter,  busi- 
ness manager  of  the  defunct  Exchange,  and  William 
H.  Neilson,  foreman  of  the  press-room.  The  firm- 
name  was  Carter  &  Neilson,  and  there  was  some  ar- 
rangement by  which  Glenn  &  Co.  might  secure  their 
share  in  the  profits  of  the  new  enterprise.  Mr.  Car- 
penter was  editor  of  the  new  issue,  of  which,  how- 
ever, there  were  only  four  numbers  published,  and 
these  of  a  smaller  size  than  the  original  Exchange. 
On  Sept.  24,  ISin,  th,"  Minjhi,,,}  Times  was  super- 
seded by  the  Mu;jlninl  .V.  ir,-S/,r,f.  by  Carter  &  Neil- 
son. The  Miiri//ii)iil  X  irx-sl,,it  i-xpressed  no  opinions 
of  its  own,  but  it  published  the  opinions  of  other  jour- 
nals and  other  people,  and  these  were  sometimes  in- 
tensely offensive  to  the  military  authorities  of  the 
Middle  Department.  The  consequence  was  that  the 
paper  soon  became  obnoxious  to  the  authorities,  and 
they  sought  every  opportunity  to  oppress  and  to  injure 
it.  Still  it  prospered,  although  the  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral excluded  it  from  the  mails,  and  such  was  the  de- 
mand for  it  and  for  news  in  those  exciting  times  that 
in  May,  1862,  it  commenced  to  publish  a  two  o'clock 
afternoon  edition.  An  original  poem,  published  in 
its  columns  on  April  5,  1862,  called  "  A  Mother's 
Prayer,"  was  so  full  of  the  sweet  sorrow  that  swells 
women's  hearts  in  times  of  war  that  it  was  univer- 
sally praised  and  copied,  and  it  was  read  with  great 
effect  by  Henry  Ward  Beecher  in  his  pulpit.  This 
pathetic  lyric  was  set  to  music  in  July,  1862,  by  Otto 
Sutro,  and  became  a  great  favorite.  It  was  written 
by  Miss  Jessie  Wannall,  of  St.  Louis,  who  inscribed 
it  to  her  friend,  Mrs.  J.  E.  Elder,  of  Baltimore. 

On  the  14th  of  August,  by  order  from  Washington, 
the  paper  was  suppressed  finally.  A  squad  of  sol- 
diers invaded  the  office  and  destroyed  the  types  and 
materials.  Mr.  Carter  was  absent  in  Canada,  but  Mr. 
Neilson  and  Mr.  Carpenter  were  arrested  and  taken 
to  Fort  McHenry  at  midnight.  Mr.  Neilson  was 
speedily  set  free,  but  Mr.  Carpenter  was  sent  to  Fort 
Delaware,  and  confined  there  several  months.  The 
order  for  Mr.  Carter's  arrest  having  been  revoked, 
he  returned  to  the  city,  and  in  October  he  and  Mr. 
Neilson  regained  possession  of  the  newspaper,  which 
they  held  for  Glenn  &  Co.  On  the  7th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1862,  Vol.  I.,  No.  1  of  the  Baltimore  Daily  Ga- 
zette appeared,  with  the  same  type  and  general  ap- 
pearance as  the  News-Skeet.  It  was  published  by 
Carter  &  Co.,  but  not  with  the  consent  of  the  military 
authorities,  and  they  began  to  harass  it  from  the 
first.  For  instance,  on  June  20, 1863,  the  Gazette  was 
"warned"  by  Provost-Marshal  Fish  not  to  make  any 
extracts  or  quotations  from  the  New  York  World  and 
Express,  Cincinnati  Enquirer,  Chicago  Times,  or  the 
Caucasia}i.  September  23d,  Col.  Fish  had  a  fight  with 
a  fellow-officer,  of  which  the  Gazette  was  "  warned" 
to  make  no  mention.  Nov.  2,  1863,  the  Gazette  was 
notified  by  Gen.  Schenck  not  to  publish  Governor 
Bradford's  proclamation.  On  the  15th  of  June,  1864, 
Col.  Lawrence,  bv  order  of  Gen.  Wallace,  ordered  the 


Gazette  not  to  attach  the  letters  C.S..'^.  to  the  names 
of  Confederate  soldiers  whose  obituaries  were  pub- 
lished. On  the  29th  of  September,  1863,  the  Gazette 
was  again  suspended  by  force,  the  office  occupied  by 
a  squad  of  soldiers,  and  Mr.  Carter  locked  up  in 
Donovan's  "nigger  jail,"  then  used  as  a  military 
prison.  Mr.  Carter  was  released  after  a  week's  con- 
finement, and  the  Gazette  resumed  publication  on  Oc- 
tober 7th,  and  was  never  again  interrupted,  though 
the  petty  annoyances  of  the  military  power  continued 
throughout  the  war,  and  the  paper  never  ventured  to 
express  an  editorial  opinion  on  any  subject.  In  the 
early  part  of  186.5,  Carter  &  Co.  having  faithfully  dis- 
charged their  trust,  restored  the  property  to  Glenn  & 
Co.,  and  Glenn,  Howard,  and  Carpenter  were  once 
more  the  real,  as  they  had  always  been  the  nominal, 
proprietors.  On  the  21st  of  June,  1865,  for  the  first 
time  since  the  suppression  of  the  Exchange  in  Sep- 
tember, 1861,  the  Gazette  ventured  upon  an  editorial 
article,  a  short  one,  about  "The  Tribune  and  Negro 
SuflTrage." 

On  Jan.  3,  1868,  the  publication  of  the  WeeU;/  Ga- 
zette was  begun,  and  it  has  ever  since  been  one  of  the 
greatest  favorites  in  the  South.  In  September  Frank 
Key  Howard  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  Gazette  to 
his  partner,  Mr.  Glenn,  and  went  abroad,  dying  in 
London  on  May  29,  1872,  regretted  by  all,  as  he  had 
been  esteemed  by  all.  In  1870  the  paper  was  enlarged, 
and  in  the  fall,  to  assist  in  determining  the  important 
congressional  elections  of  that  year,  it  published  a 
campaign  edition.  In  December,  1871,  the  Gazette 
office  was  removed  from  the  corner  of  North  and  Bal- 
timore Streets  to  No.  134  West  Baltimore  Street,  and 
thence  to  No.  106,  near  Holliday  Street.  On  March 
20, 1872,  the  firm  of  Glenn  &  Carpenter  was  dissolved 
by  mutual  consent,  Mr.  Glenn  having  sold  his  interest 
to  Messrs.  Wm.  H.  Welsh  and  Henry  Taylor,  the  new 
firm  consisting  of  Messrs.  Welsh,  Taylor,  and  Carpen- 
ter. On  May  3,  1873,  Henry  Taylor  sold  his  interest 
to  Charles  J.  Baker,  and  the  firm-name  was  altered 
to  that  of  Welsh,  Baker  &  Co.  On  May  19th  the 
paper  was  changed  to  a  quarto,  but  in  a  little  more 
than  a  year  the  Gazette  returned  to  the  old  blanket- 
sheet  form,  with  eight  columns  to  a  page.  "  The 
Baltimore  Gazette  Publishing  Company"  was  char- 
tered by  act  of  Assembly  on  the  31st  of  March,  1874, 
with  the  following  incorporators :  Charles  J.  Baker, 
Wm.  H.  Carpenter,  Wm.  H.  Welsh,  Lawrence  Sang- 
ston,  and  Charles  H.  Pitts.  The  capital  stock  was 
$100,000,  divided  into  two  hundred  shares  of  $500 
each.  Mr.  Welsh  was  at  this  time  a  large  owner  of 
the  stock  of  the  company,  but  on  May  6th  he  disposed 
of  his  interest,  and  temporarily  retired  from  the  es- 
tablishment. On  Dec.  7,  1875,  he  secured  by  pur- 
chase the  controlling  interest  in  the  stock,  and  be- 
came the  sole  manager  and  editor-in-chief.  On  the 
15th  of  the  same  month  Wm.  H.  Carpenter  sold  his 
entire  interest  in  the  paper  to  Mr.  Welsh,  leaving  the 
latter  the  sole  editor  and  proprietor.     * 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE  CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


On  Jan.  1,  1876,  the  name  of  the  paper  was  simpli- 
fied to  the  Gazette,  and  it  finally  assumed  its  present 
familiar  and  handsome  form,  at  the  same  time  re- 
ducing the  price  to  two  cents.  In  1878  the  office  was 
removed  to  its  present  location,  No.  142  West  Balti- 
more Street,  which  it  occupied  for  the  first  time  on 
Saturday,  June  22d,  and  on  the  24th  published  its 
first  issue  therefrom.  In  January,  1880,  the  Gazette 
reduced  its  price  to  one  cent  per  copy,  but  after  a 
trial  of  several  months,  on  May  1st,  it  returned  to  the 
old  price. 

On  May  1, 1881,  George  Colton,  the  editor  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  Maryland  Republican,  published  at  An- 
napolis, became  the  proprietor  of  the  Gazette,  retain- 
ing Mr.  Welsh  as  editor.  The  advantages  of  Mr. 
Colton's  business  tact  and  large  experience,  the  ample 
means  at  his  command,  and  his  thorough  apprecia- 
tion of  the  mission  and  influence  of  the  public  press 
should  be  a  guarantee  to  the  citizens  of  Baltimore 
that  he  will  strive  to  make  the  Gazette  worthy  of  their 
support.  Under  its  new  management  it  is  already 
giving  earnest  of  its  determination  to  keep  more  than 
abreast  of  the  tide  of  progress,  and  to  secure  at  any 
cost  all  the  facilities  and  resources,  intellectual  and 
material,  which  are  requisite  to  make  it  one  of  the 
leading  newspapers  of  the  country. 

While  the  Gazette  has  always  been  firm  and  con- 
sistent in  its  support  of  Democratic  principles,  it  has 
inherited  too  much  of  the  bold  and  manly  spirit  of 
the  Exchange  to  be  otherwise  than  independent  and 
fearless  in  all  its  utterances.  Its  political  opinions 
are  shaped  by  none  of  the  petty  necessities  which  too 
often  influence  the  course  of  journalism,  and  it  never 
hesitates  to  speak  its  whole  mind  on  every  subject  of 
public  interest.  Mr.  Colton,  the  proprietor  of  the 
Gazette,  was  born  in  Portsmouth,  England,  Oct.  31, 
1817,  and  was  the  son  of  John  Colton  and  Elizabeth 
Moore.  They  had  a  family  of  eleven  children,  of 
whom  George  Colton  is  the  only  survivor.  John  Col- 
ton wa.s  a  soldier  in  the  British  army,  and  was  one  of 
those  who  stood  for  the  draft  to  go  to  the  battle  of 
Waterloo,  but  was  not  drawn.  After  having  been 
honorably  discharged  from  the  service,  he  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  in  1819  with  his  family,  and  set- 
tled at  Leonardstown,  St.  Mary's  Co.,  Md.  George 
Colton  enjoyed  few  opportunities  of  education,  hav- 
ing been  left  an  orphan  when  twelve  years  of  age  and 
thrown  upon  his  own  resources.  Until  he  was  twenty 
years  old  he  was  an  apprentice  to  a  tailor,  devoting 
all  his  spare  moments  to  reading. '  Study  was  his 
master-pa.ssion,  and  a  nice  literary  taste  and  a  reten- 
tive memory  made  the  young  tailor  an  authority  in 
English  literature  even  before  the  expiration  of  his 
indentures.  As  soon  as  he  had  mastered  his  trade  he 
commenced  business  for  himself,  at  first  in  Leonards- 
town,  and  afterwards  in  West  River,  Anne  Arundel 
Co.,  Md.  But  this  pursuit  was  too  irksome  for  his 
energy  and  ambition,  and  he  opened  a  general  mer- 
chandising store.     He  was  doing  an  exccFlcnt  busi- 


ness up  to  the  year  1847,  when  a  fire  swept  away  the 
accumulations  of  years  of  patient  labor,  and  placed 
him  again  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder.  He  compromised 
with  his  creditors  by  paying  them  sixty  cents  on  the 
dollar,  obtaining  receipts  in  full,  but  he  also  notified 
them  that  at  some  future  day  they  should  receive  the 
balance  in  full.  For  fourteen  years  the  burden  that 
he  had  voluntarily  taken  upon  himself  was  carried; 
dollar  by  dollar  the  necessary  sum  wa.s  heaped  up, 
and  in  1861  Mr.  Colton  handed  over  to  his  creditors 
every  cent  of  their  dues  with  interest  added.  To  this 
day  his  course  in  this  matter  is  alluded  to  with  pride 
by  all  his  friends  and  associates,  and  it  became  the 
corner-stone  of  a  reputation  that  shines  the  brightest 
where  Mr.  Colton  is  best  known.  In  1852,  President 
I'lilk  :i]i|iiiiritci|  Mr.  ('niton  |i<)stinaster  at  West  River, 

ami  fiMiii  is,",_'  t..  iv.'.'i  li,- upied  a  position  in  one 

of  the  Stale  toliuccu  wairliou-rs  in  Baltimore,  where 
he  was  brought  into  contact  with  many  of  the  leading 
public  men  of  the  State,  and  it  was  in  this  association 
that  his  already  developed  predilection  for  politics 
was  stimulated.  In  January,  1860,  he  was  appointed 
purveyor  of  the  Baltimore  City  and  County  Alms- 
house, and  in  1865  he  bought  the  Maryland  Republi- 
can, published  at  Annapolis,  one  of  the  oldest  news- 
papers in  the  State,  it  having  first  been  published  in 
1809.  Here  at  last  he  had  the  privilege  of  employ- 
ing the  store  of  learning  that  he  had  acquired  through 
long  hours  spent  over  books  more  fully  than  he  could 
possibly  do  in  his  former  contributions  to  newspapers. 
He  had  that  earnest  love  for  journalism  which  is  one 
of  the  best  qualifications  for  success  in  its  unremit- 
ting labors,  and  by  his  pen  he  made  the  Republican 
an  influential  journal  and  a  clever  newspaper.  His 
power  in  politics  increased,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
civil  war  he  was  one  of  the  recognized  leaders  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  Maryland.  His  extensive  infor- 
mation, penetration  of  character,  fertility  of  resource, 
and  shrewd  prescience  equipped  him  for  the  indomi- 
table service  of  his  party,  and  removed  stumbling- 
blocks  in  its  road  to  ascendency.  He  was  in  the 
House  of  Delegates  of  the  Legislatures  of  1868  and 
1872  as  a  representative  of  the  Third  District  of  Bal- 
timore City,  and  the  legislation  of  that  period  bears 
the  deep  impress  of  his  labors  in  committee  and  on 
the  floor  of  the  House.  For  the  last  thirteen  years 
he  has  been,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  printer  to 
the  State.  He  has  several  years  been  a  member  of 
the  Democratic  City  Convention,  but  his  position  has 
been  more  especially  that  of  an  adviser  in  the  coun- 
cils of  the  leaders  of  the  party.  Always  determined, 
but  never  rash ;  fixing  a  goal  to  be  attained,  and  then 
moving  towards  it  with  a  steady  inflexibility  of  pur- 
pose ;  forecasting  just  what  tactics  and  eflbrt  arc  de- 
manded in  each  particular  instance;  never  underra- 
ting the  difficulties  to  be  overcome,  and  making  no 
miscalculations  in  the  value  of  men, — with  this  as  his 
system  it  is  inevitable  that  Mr.  Colton  should  know 
very  little  of  fiiilure  in  the  execution  of  his  plans. 


9^'^tnL 


'x2jU  aJ/0 


THE   PRESS   OF   BALTIMORE. 


635 


Among  the  positions  that  he  has  held  are  those  of 
<lirector  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Com- 
pany, visitor  to  the  Industrial  School  for  Orphan 
(iirls,  and  trustee  of  Bay  View  Asylum.  Although 
.so  much  engrossed  in  public  affairs,  he  has  given  a 
fraction  of  his  time  to  agriculture,  and  his  farm  in 
Howard  County,  Md.,  is  under  the  highest  state  of 
cultivation.  His  blooded  cattle  and  sheep  are  of  the 
niost  noted  stocks,  while  his  collection  of  fowls  is 
equaled  by  but  very  few  in  the  United  States,  ancj 
is  not  inferior  to  any.  Breeders  and  fanciers  have 
traveled  long  distances  to  visit  his  poultry-yards,  and 
the  mere  fact  of  a  specimen  coming  from  them  is  a 
certificate  of  excellence.  At  the  Maryland  State 
Fair  in  1878  he  took  over  fifty  first  premiums  on  his 
different  varieties.  Mr.  Colton  is  a  ready,  cogent, 
and  witty  writer  and  speaker,  always  having  an  apt 
(juotation  from  the  great  masters  of  poetry  and  prose 
to  illustrate  a  point  or  press  home  an  axiom.  In 
1880-81  he  made  a  tour  of  Europe,  the  Holy  Land, 
and  Egypt,  writing  home  to  the  Baltimore  American 
a  succession  of  most  interesting  letters.  Beaten  as 
the  field  was  over  which  he  traveled,  this  correspond- 
ence was  fresh  and  crisp,  bringing  to  the  observation 
of  readers  the  interesting,  quaint,  aud  curiou^  traits. of 
people  and  characteristics  of  towns  and  cities  in  a 
series  of  clearly-drawn  pen-pictures.  These  letters 
were  widely  read,  and  were  copied  into  many  news- 
papers ;  and  yielding  to  the  wishes  of  his  friends, 
Mr.  Colton  consented  to  publish  them  in  book  form. 
He  is  generous  in  his  charities,  and  although  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  his  good 
deeds  are  not  confined  within  sectarian  bounds.  As 
an  eloquent  lecturer,  he  is  frequently  called  to  the 
platform  when  a  struggling  church  needs  aid  or  an 
association  of  young  people  asks  for  wise  counsel.  At 
the  session  of  the  Maryland  Legislature  in  1880,  Mr. 
Colton  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Police 
Commissioners  of  Baltimore  for  six  years  from  the 
1st  of  March,  1881,  and  his  colleagues  insisted  upon 
making  him  president  of  the  board,  although  he  pre- 
ferred that  that  position  should  be  filled  by  one  of 
the  older  members.  Under  his  administration  the 
I)olice  force  maintains  the  discipline  aud  efficiency 
and  retains  the  public  confidence  that  are  of  twenty 
years'  existence.  He  has  infused  new  life  and  vigor 
into  the  Oazette,  improved  its  tone  and  enlarged  its 
circulation,  so  that  it  is  not  now  outranked  by  any 
paper  in  the  city.  He  was  married,  Sept.  27,  1842,  to 
Lydia  Jane  Hamilton.  Their  five  children  are  Wes- 
ley Hamilton,  Luther  F.,  Hannah  More,  Carrie  Lee, 
and  George,  Jr.  Luther  F.  is  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  management  of  the  Gazette;  Hannah 
More  married  Charles  A.  Wailes,  State  commissioner 
of  insurance,  and  died  in  1873 ;  and  George,  Jr.,  died 
in  early  childhood. 

The  Evening  Star  was  first  issued  on  the  2d  of 
April,  ls.")it,  and  in  the  same  year  the  following  papers 
were  published  :    The  Real  Estate  Register  (published 


by  Samuel  Sands),  Weekly  Bulletin,  Weekly  Freeman, 
The  Lily  of  the  Vallei/,  The  American  Nautical  Gazette, 
and  in  September  Our  Newspaper,  by  Henry  E.  Hoyt 
&  Co.  as  editors  and  proprietors. 

The  Rural  Register,  published  semi-monthly  by 
Samuel  Sands  and  S.  Sands  Mills,  editors  and  propri- 
etors, was  first  issued  on  July  1,  1859. 

The  South,  an  afternoon  penny  paper,  "devoted  to 
the  South,  Southern  Rights,  and  Secession,"  was  first 
published  on  Monday,  April  22,  1861,  Thomas  W. 
Hall,  Jr.,  editor.  The  South  successfully  flourished 
until  Friday,  Sept.  13,  1861,  when  the  printer  an- 
nounced that  Mr.  Hall  had  been  arrested  by  the  mili- 
tary authorities  and  confined  in  Fort  McHenry.  The 
South,  after  a  suspension  of  six  days,  was  resumed  on 
September  19th  by  John  M.  Mills  &  Co.  on  a  half- 
sheet.  On  the  l:5th  of  February,  1862,  The  South  was 
enlarged  to  a  full  sheet  by  S.  S.  Mills  4  Bro.,  who 
published  it  four  days,  when  it  was  finally  suppressed 
by  the  military  authorities,  on  Feb.  17,  1862. 

The  Sunday  Morning  Times,  published  by  Messrs. 
Gordon  &  Barton,  made  its  first  appearance  on  Aug. 
4,  1861. 

The  Retrospect,  a  weekly  journal,  jjublished  by 
T.  S.  Piggot  &  Co.,  made  its  first  appearance  in 
August,  1862. 

The  Sunday  Telegram.— The  first  number  of  this 
well-known  and  popular  weekly  paper  was  issued  on 
Sunday,  Oct.  16, 1862,  by  Messrs  J.  Cloud  Norris  and 
William  R.  Coale  as  publishers  and  proprietors.  At 
the  end  of  three  months  Mr.  Norris  purchased  the  in- 
terest of  Mr.  Coale  and  took  sole  control.  It  was  suc- 
cessful from  thecommencement  of  its  career.  Its  first 
editor  was  William  H.  Gobright,  who  was  succeeded 
by  James  R.  Brewer,  at  present  one  of  the  proprietors 
and  editor  of  the  Evening  News.  He  was  succeeded 
by  J.  Thomas  Scharf,  the  author  of  this  work.  At 
one  time  John  Wills  was  connected  with  the  edi- 
torial department,  as  also  Dr.  John  B.  Williams.  A. 
F.  Crutchfield,  the  present  able  editor  and  founder  of 
the  Baltimorean,  became  editor  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  war,  and  upon  leaving  established  his  popular 
journal.  In  March,  1877,  Mr.  Norris  sold  the  Tele- 
gram to  J.  T.  Ringgold  and  E.  K.  Canby,  and  after 
running  the  paper  for  some  time  in  partnership  Mr. 
Canby  retired.  In  1881,  Mr.  Ringgold  joined  in  part- 
nership with  James  Young,  and  on  April  2,  1881,  Mr. 
Young  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Ringgold,  and 
is  now  the  sole  proprietor. 

The  Southern  Herald,  published  by  Messrs.  Beach, 
Young  &  Beach,  was  first  issued  on  Feb.  9,  1863. 

The  Evening  Transcript,  published  by  William 
H.  Neilson  on  Oct.  26,  1863,  was  suppressed  by  the 
military  authorities  on  November  10th.  It  was  re- 
sumed shortly  afterwards,  but  was  finally  suppressed 
by  the  military  on  May  18,  1864.  The  Transcript  re- 
appeared after  the  war  on  Nov.  20,  1865,  but  it  did 
not  live  very  long. 

The  Convalescent  was  the  title  of  a  small  semi- 


636 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


monthly  journal,  issued  from  the  Camden  Street 
Military  Hospital,  in  Baltimore,  and  devoted  to  the 
interests  of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers.  It  first 
appeared  in  May,  18(54.  Joseph  F.  Clarke  was  the 
editor-in-chief,  aided  by  Rev.  C.  J.  Bowen,  the  chap- 
lain of  the  institution. 

The  Evening  Post,  an  afternoon  two-cent  paper, 
published  by  Messrs.  Joshua  M.  Bosley  and  James  R. 
Brewer,  made  its  first  appearance  on  June  8,  1864. 
It  was  suppressed  by  the  military  authorities  on  Sept. 
30,  1864.  It  resumed  publication  after  the  war,  but 
finally  suspended  on  April  6,  1868. 

The  Lyceum  Observer  was  the  first  paper  pub- 
lished by  and  devoted  exclusively  to  the  colored  race 
in  Baltimore.  It  was  issued  early  in  1864  by  J.  Wil- 
lis Menard,  but  was  short-lived.  The  next  paper 
published  by  the  colored  race  was  the  Communicatur. 
It  was  issiued  semi-monthly,  the  first  number  making 
its  appearance  in  June,  1864.  It  was  conducted  by  a 
publishing  committee,  the  president  of  which  was 
George  T.  Cook.  The  general  agent  was  James  E. 
Thompson,  and  the  office  at  No.  50  Holliday  Street. 
A  similar  paper,  called  the  Daily  Evening  Chronotype, 
was  published  in  1867  by  Mansfield,  Hobbs  &  Co. 

The  Evening  Loyalist,  a  daily  paper,  published 
by  D.  B.  Schafer  &  Co.,  was  first  issued  in  August, 
1864.  In  less  than  three  months,  on  November  1st,  it 
was  suppressed  liy  ihe  military  authorities. 

The  Baltimore  Advertiser,  published  by  Simp- 
son K.  Donovan  and  Charles  W.  Kimberly,  first  ap- 
peared in  May,  1864. 

The  Baltimore  Evening  Bulletin,  published  by 
Charles  J.  Stewart  &  Co.,  made  its  first  appearance 
on  May  30,  1864.  It  was  suppressed  by  the  military 
authorities  on  Aug.  6,  1864. 

The  Evening  Times,  published  by  Charles  J. 
Stewart  &  Co.,  made  its  appearance  on  Sept.  21, 1863. 
On  April  13, 1868,  it  changed  to  a  morning  paper  and 
advocated  the  Democratic  party.  Another  paper  of 
the  same  name  w;is  pulilished  in  1854. 

The  Episcopal  Methodist  was  begun  in  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  in  July,  1865,  by  Rev.  D.  S.  Doggett, 
D.D.  (now  bishop  of  the  M.  E.  Church  South),  and 
Rev.  J.  E.  Edwards,  D.D.,  a  leading  member  of  the 
Virginia  Annual  Conference.  The  office  was  re- 
moved to  Baltimore,  and  the  first  number  issued  there 
on  the  first  Saturday  of  July,  1866,  under  the  title  of 
liiiUiniorr  Ejiixcapnl  Mithodht.  It  was  owned  and 
pul)lislied  liy  Rev.  Jolm  I'oisal,  D.D.,  and  edited  by 
Rev.  Thomas  E.  Bond,  .M.D.,  D.D.,  and  S.  S.  Rozzell. 
In  September,  1869,  Dr.  Bond  resigned  his  position  as 
editor,  and  the  editorial  as  well  as  the  business  de- 
partment was  managed  by  Dr.  Poisal  and  Rev.  S.  S.' 
Rozzell,  assisted  by  the  editorial  services  of  Oliver  P. 
Baldwin,  Sr.,  Rev.  Dr.  John  H.  Linn,  Rev.  Dr.  L.  D. 
Huston,  Rev.  A.  W.  Wilson,  Rev.  Dr.  Lipscomb,  and 
Rev.  Dr.  Munsey.  In  June,  1870,  Dr.  A.  T.  Bledsoe, 
of  the  Southern  Review,  became  co-editor  of  the  Metho- 
dist;  at  the  same  time  the  Reriexc  was  adopted  as  the 


quarterly  review  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South,  Dr.  Bledsoe  at  the  same  time  remaining  as  its 
editor.  On  the  1st  of  May,  1872,  Rev.  Dr.  Poisal 
sold  out  half  his  interest  to  Rev.  William  S.  Baird, 
A.M.,  who  became  joint  editor  and  proprietor  with 
Dr.  Poisal.  On  the  1st  of  October,  1872,  Dr.  Poisal 
sold  all  his  interest  in  the  paper  to  his  partner.  Rev. 
Mr.  Baird,  who  associated  with  him  in  the  business 
department  J.  Everett  Martin.  The  pai)er  was  then 
issued  under  the  firm-name  of  William  S.  Baird  and  J. 
Everett  Martin,  proprietors  and  publishers,  and  Rev. 
AVilliam  S.  Baird,  A.M.,  editor.  In  the  summer  of 
1874,  Rev.  William  S.  Baird  died,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing December  Mr.  Martin  sold  out  to  W.  H.  Johnson, 
and  Dr.  Poisal  resumed  the  editorial  control  of  the 
paper.  In  March,  1876,  a  company  of  gentlemen, 
under  the  corporate  name  ot  J.  B.  Wilson  &  Co.,  pur- 
chased the  paper  of  W.  H.  Johnson.  Mr.  Wilson  veas 
chosen  business  manager,  and  Rev.  Samuel  K.  Cox, 
D  D.,  editor,  which  relation  he  still  sustains.  In 
September,  1879,  Dr.  Cox  purchased  the  paper  of  J. 
B.  Wilson  &  Co.,  and  became  exclusive  proprietor,  as 
well  as  editor. 
I  The  Young  Men's  Journal,  published  by  the 
1  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  first  appeared  in 
August,  1865. 

The  Cosmopolite,  a  military  magazine,  was  an- 
nounced to  appear  on  Jan.  1,  1866,  by  Messrs.  De 
Leon  &  Co. 

The  Baltimore  Underwriter,  published  and  edited 
by  Dr.  C.  C.  Bombaugh,  a  gentleman  of  fine  literary 
attainments,  was  first  issued  in  July,  1865.  It  was 
continued  as  a  monthly  to  Jan.  1,  1873,  since  which 
time  it  has  been  published  weekly.  It  is  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  fire  and  life  insurance,  and  is  one  of 
the  ablest  and  best-conducted  journals  of  its  class  in 
the  United  States. 

The  Home  Circle,  a  weekly  quarto,  published  by 
H.  Miller,  first  ajipeared  in  August,  1866. 

The  Chronotype,  a  small  Republican  afternoon 
paper,  )iul>lislieil  liy  J.  B.  Mansfield,  was  first  issued 
on  Oct.  30,  1 866. 

The  Evening  Times,  published  and  edited  by  Wm. 
D.  Hughes,  was  first  issued  in  April,  1866.  It  .sus- 
pended in  1S()S,  and  reappeared  in  Washington,  Jan. 
1,  1869. 

Maryland  Educational  Journal,  a  monthly,  pub- 
lished in  Baltimore,  and  edited  by  E.  S.  Zevely,  was 
issue<l  ill  July,  IsCi?. 

The  Daily  Laborer,  a  penny  morning  paper,  pub- 
lished and  idited  by  Gen.  Duff  Green,  issued  its  first 
number  on  ,\iis.   19,  1S()7. 

The  Southern  Home  Journal,  published  by  John 
Y.  Slater  &  Co.,  and  handsomely  illustrated,  was  first 
issued  in  September,  1867. 

The  Southern  Society,  a  fine  weekly  literary  paper, 
was  first  published  on  Oct.  5,  1867.  It  suspended 
in  March,  1868,  and  reappeared  as  The  Leader  on 
April  ISth  of  the  same  year.     It  was  finally  merged 


THE   PRESS   OF   BALTIMORE. 


637 


into  the  Statesman,  an  able  Democratic  journal  of  six- 
teen pages,  which  appeared  on  Oct.  16,  1868,  edited 
by  Thomas  W.  Hall,  John  Blair  Hodge,  and  Henry 
Ward.  In  April,  1869,  it  was  enlarged  to  a  folio,  and 
Messrs.  Hall  and  Hodge  retired. 

The  People's  Weekly,  published  by  Messrs.  Tal- 
bott  &  Ajipleby,  first  appeared  on  Jan.  11,  1868. 

The  Temperance  Advocate,  published  weekly  si- 
multaneously in  Baltimore  and  Washington  by  J.  B. 
Rose  &  Co.,  and  edited  by  A.  Hawkins,  made  its  first 
ap|)earance  in  June,  1868. 

The  Baltimore  Law  Transcript,  edited  by  Allen 
B.  Magruder,  and  published  by  Eaton  &  Co.,  made 
its  first  appearance  in  October,  1868.  In  April,  1869, 
it  was  changed  from  a  weekly  to  a  daily. 

The  Southern  Magazine,  a  monthly  periodical, 
was  founded  in  .January,  1868.  Its  proprietors, 
Messrs.  TiirMbuU  i*c  Murdoch,  having  purchased  the 
i?/r/,,»-,»-/ /•;•/,  ,7,V,  published  by  Drs.  Hodge  &  Browne, 
in  RirliiiiiiMd.  \':i.,  lliey  gave  the  new  journal  the  title 
of  T/ir  y<'ir  h'r/r, ■/!,■,  and  in  March,  1869,  it  was  united 
with  The  Land  We  Love,  a  monthly  magazine,  pub- 
lished at  Charlotte,  N.  C,  by  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill.  At  the 
close  of  1870,  Mr.  TurnbuU  retired,  and  the  maga- 
zine became  the  property  of  Mr.  Murdoch,  Dr.  Wm. 
Hand  Browne,  a  writer  of  distinguished  ability,  and 
W.  S.  Hill,  formerly  its  general  iigent.  The  title  was 
then  changed  to  T/ie  Southern  Magazine,  and  in  1873 
the  house  of  TurnbuU  Bros.,  Baltimore,  became  the 
publishers.  Dr.  Browne  remaining  the  editor. 

The  Saturday  Night,  a  weekly,  published  by  Tal- 
bott  &  Wood,  and  edited  by  John  Wills,  issued  its 
first  number  on  Jan.  9,  1869.  Dr.  Palmer,  A.  J. 
Bowen,  and  D.  Pre.ston  Parr,  Jr.,  at  times  conducted 
this  paper,  which  ceased  to  exist  about  1874. 

The  Southern  Metropolis  and  Catholic  Miscel- 
lany, a  weekly  journal,  ]iulilished  and  edited  by  John 


IX  McLauo 


sued  its  first  number  on  Feb. 


27,  1869. 

The  Evening  Star,  published  by  the  Crutchfield 
Bros.,  first  appeared  on  Feb.  16,  1869. 

The  Young  Men's  Friend,  a  monthly  journal,  and 
th(j  organ  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
made  its  first  up|jearanee  in  March,  1869. 

The  Baltimore  Journal  of  Commerce,  published 
by  Richards  &   Winter,  first   appeared   on   May   6, 

The  Saturday  Bulletin,  a  weekly  paper,  published 
by  N.  Tyler  &  Co.,  first  appeared  Jan.  9,  1869. 

Baltimore  Christian  Advocate,  published  and 
edited  by  Rev.  Thomas  E.  Bond  and  Rev.  A.  Holland, 
in  December,  1869,  i.ssued  a  gratuitous  number. 

The  Olio,  a  monthly  journal,  published  by  George 
W.  Daily,  made  its  first  appearance  Jan.  1,  1870. 

The  Baltimore  Medical  Journal,  edited  and  pub- 
lished by  Drs.  E.  Lloyd  Howard  and  T.  S.  Latimer, 
made  its  appearance  in  January,  1870. 

The  Southern  Review,  a  monthly  periodical,  pub- 
lished and  edited  by  A.  T.  Bledsoe  and  Dr.  Wm. 
41 


Hand  Browne,  was  first  issued  at  Baltimore  in  Jan- 
uary, 1867.  Dr.  Browne  retired  in  1868,  and  it  was 
continued  by  Albert  Taylor  Bledsoe,  LL.D.,  in  Jan- 
uary, 1869.  The  oiBce  of  publication  was  removed 
to  St.  Louis  in  May,  1871. 

The  Enquirer,  a  weekly  paper,  edited  and  pub- 
lished by  Nathaniel  Tyler,  a  gentleman  of  fine  liter- 
ary attainments,  and  Frank  Markoe,  Lssued  the  first 
number  on  Dec.  14,  1872. 

The  Parish  Record,  published  by  St.  Bartholo- 
mew's parish  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
Baltimore,  made  its  first  appearance  on  April  1,  1872. 

The  Baltimore  Dispatch,  a  weekly  paper,  pub- 
lished by  James  E.  Anderson,  and  edited  by  D.  Pres- 
ton Parr,  Jr.,  made  its  first  appearance  on  March  29, 
1872.     It  suspended  November  9th  of  the  same  year. 

The  Law  Reporter,  edited  and  published  by  Allen 
E.  Forrester,  appeared  in  May,  1872. 

The  Monitor  and  Sentinel,  a  weekly  temperance 
journal,  published  simultaneously  in  Baltimore  and 
Wilmington,  was  issued  in  1872. 
I  Good  News,  published  in  the  interest  of  the  Young 
I  Men's  Christian  Association  by  Rev.  H.  L.  Singleton 
I  simultaneously  in  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  Rich- 
'  mond,  and  St.  Louis,  made  its  first  appearance  in  June, 
:  1872. 

I  The  Southern  Educational  Monthly,  edited  and 
published  by  Dr.  J.  C.  M.  Merillet,  appeared  for  the 
first  time  in  June,  1872. 

Our  American  Youth,  edited  by  John  F.  Nichol- 
son and  George  W.  Raynor  (two  youths),  made  its 
first  appearance  in  July,  1872. 

The  Physician  and  Surgeon,  a  monthly,  pub- 
lished under  the  auspices  of  the  Baltimore  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  began  its  career  in  Septem- 
ber, 1872. 

The  Monthly  Argus,  published  by  Dartmouth, 
Nelson  &  Co.,  made  its  appearance  in  December, 
1872. 

The  Young  Idea,  a  monthly  literary  paper,  edited 
and  published  by  youths,  issued  its  first  number  in 
August,  1872. 

The  Herald,  the  only  penny  paper  in  Baltimore, 
had  its  origin  in  1875  as  the  Baltimore  Bee,  the  first 
number  of  which  was  issued  on  the  10th  of  December, 
1876,  at  No.  16.V  North  Street,  by  Col.  Joel  Miller  and 
William  Montague  Connelly,  with  Charles  Vedderas 
business  manager.  The  paper  soon  obtained  a  flatter- 
ing circulation,  and  began  to  wield  considerable  in- 
fluence by  its  bold  and  independent  course. 

In  January,  1876,  Col.  Miller  sold  his  interest  in 
the  Bee  to  L.  P.  D.  Newman,  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Baltimore  bar  and  the  present  proprietor,  and 
in  a  few  months  Mr.  Vedder  also  withdrew,  and  J. 
D.  Sauerberg  became  business  manager.  The  office 
was  removed  to  122  West  Baltimore  Street,  the  paper 
enlarged,  and  on  the  1st  of  January,  1877,  Mr.  Con- 
nelly also  sold  his  interest  to  Mr.  Newman,  under 
whose  proprietorship  the  name  was  changed  to  the 


HISTOllY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY    AND   COUiN'TY,  MARYLAND. 


Herald,  the  editorial  direction  being  assumed  by  F.  R. 
Ludlam,  wlio  was  succeeded  by  D.  Preston  Parr,  Jr. 
In  August,  1877,  Col.  Joel  Miller  was  eniiiloyed  to 
take  editorial  charge  of  the  paper,  and  Jehu  Askew 
Wiis  made  business  manager.  Thomas  Wilson  after- 
wards became  managing  editor,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Prof.  Bushell,  who  in  September,  1878,  was  followed  by 
Col.  J.  Thomas  Scharf.  On  the  18th  of  August,  1879, 
F.  A.  Saviu  became  business  and  editorial  manager, 
and  in  October  Col.  Scharf  resigned,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Col.  Joel  Miller.  Under  Mr.  Savin's  man- 
agement, an  evening  edition  was  commenced  on  the 
19th  of  November,  1879,  and  a  Sunday  edition  on 
the  16th  of  May,  1880,  both  of  which  are  still  regu- 
larly published.  The  first  editor  of  the  Evening  Herald 
was  A.  L.  Richardson,  who  was  succeeded  by  Col. 
Joel  Miller,  James  P.  Matthews  becoming  managing 
editor  of  the  morning  edition.  In  November,  1880, 
Messrs.  Matthews,  Forrester,  and  Miller  withdrew  from 
the  editorial  department,  and  were  succeeded  by 
Stanley  Day,  of  New  York,  who  was  followed  by  the 
present  able  managing  editor  of  the  paper.  Col.  A.  W. 
Sheldon. 

The  Herald  has  won  a  leading  position  among  the 
journals  of  Baltimore,  and  has  a  wide  and  increasing 
circulation  both  in  and  out  of  the  city.  Its  manage- 
ment is  progressive  and  enterprising,  and  it  has  had 
the  honor  of  originating  many  valuable  suggestions 
in  both  State  and  city  affairs,  which  have  subsequently 
been  adopted  with  benefit  to  the  public.  Under  the 
able  management  of  F.  A.  Savin  it  is  already  giving 
earnest  of  its  determination  to  keep  more  than  abreast 
of  the  tide  of  progress,  and  to  secure  at  any  cost  all 
the  facilities  and  resources,  intellectual  and  material, 
which  are  requisite  to  make  it  one  of  the  leading 
newspapers  of  the  country.  Its  political  opinions 
are  shaped  by  none  of  the  petty  necessities  which  too 
often  influence  the  course  of  journal!  m,  and  it  never 
hesitates  to  speak  its  whole  mind  on  every  subject 
of  public  interest.  The  honor  of  first  suggesting  the 
sesqui-centennial  celebration  of  1880  belongs  to  the 
Herald,  which  as  early  as  tlie  30th  of  August,  1879, 
called  public  attention  to  the  municipal  anniversary 
in  an  article  written  by  Col.  J.  Thomas  Scharf,  who 
was  at  that  time  its  managing  editor. 

The  Commercial  is  a  weekly  journal  of  force  and 
aggressiveness,  and  is  edited  and  owned  by  William 
Montague  Connelly.  Mr.  Connelly  was  born  in 
Western  Pennsylvania  ;  was  a  student  of  the  Wesitern 
Pennsylvania  University,  subsequently  graduated  at 
the  Indiana  University,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
practicing  his  profession  in  Indiaua,  and  afterwards 
in  Tennessee.  Mr.  Connelly  has  been  editor,  con- 
tributor, and  correspondent  during  many  years  of  the 
leading  papers  in  New  York,  Chicago,  Pittsburgh,  Cin- 
cinnati, Louisville,  Memphis,  and  other  cities,  and 
has  been  part  or  sole  proprietor  of  journals  in  New 
York,  Cincinnati,  Louisville,  Paducah,  Memphis,  and 
Chattanooga.     He  has  held  official  positions  in  New 


York  and  Tennessee,  and  was  a  Federal  official  during 
the  war.  He  was  a  school-teacher  for  several  years 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  a  farmer  for  more  than  four 
years  in  Indiana.  In  Baltimore  he  was  one  of  the 
founders  as  well  as  the  editor  of  the  now  widely-cir- 
culated Herald,  but  his  connection  with  it  continued 
only  a  year  and  a  half,  when  he  sold  out  his  interest, 
subsequently  establishing  the  Standard,  which  he 
continued  for  eighteen  months,  and  then  sold  to  the 
proprietors  of  the  Telegram,  with  which  it  became 
merged.  He  has  since  published  and  edited  the  Com- 
mercial, and  in  addition  has  recently  assumed  the 
editorship  of  an  illustrated  paper  called  ^sop. 

Mr.  Connelly  has  been  a  prolific  writer,  and  besides 
his  contributions  to  journalism  has  published  several 
works  on  "  Biblical  Philosophy,"  one  on  the  "  Phe- 
nomena and  Philosophy  of  Modern  Spiritualism," 
the  "  Elements  of  Legal  Science,"  "  The  Rights  of 
Labor,"  and  several  others  on  social,  medical,  and 
humanitarian  subjects. 

In  politics  Mr.  Connelly  is  a  vigorous  supporter  of 
Democratic  principles,  but  was  always  in  favor  of 
carrying  those  principles  to  their  logical  extent,  and 
was  the  last  man  in  the  United  States  prosecuted 
under  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  His  financial  views 
are  in  some  respect-s  in  accordance  with  those  of  what 
is  popularly  known  as  the  Greenback  party,  and  he 
believes  that  the  volume  of  currency  should  be  con- 
trolled by  the  government  and  not  by  individuals. 
In  religion  Mr.  Connelly  is  an  avowed  Spiritualist. 
The  Commercial  under  his  management  has  been 
conducted  with  a  boldness  which  has  won  it  some 
enemies  as  well  as  many  friends ;  but  without  refer- 
ence to  results  it  has  held  on  its  course,  and  has  stead- 
ily enlarged  its  circle  of  readers. 

The  Baltimore  Item  is  a  weekly  paper,  the  initial 
number  of  which  appeared  on  the  4th  of  December, 
1880.  Its  typography  is  excellent,  and  its  selected 
matter  varied  and  interesting,  art,  music,  and  society 
topics  all  receiving  a  fair  share  of  attention.  It  i» 
conducted  with  ability,  and  promises  to  reach  a  high 
rank  in  popularity  as  a  society  and  family  journaL 
Its  publisher  is  Maurice  I.  Lobe ;  W.  I.  Cook,  a  vetejan 
journalist,  being  the  editor. 

The  Baltimorean  is  an  illustrated  journal  of  great 
merit,  the  first  number  of  which  was  issued  on  the 
8th  of  June,  1872.  From  its  inception  the  Baltimorean 
has  received  the  most  flattering  and  generous  sup- 
port, and  it  is  now  not  only  one  of  the  best  but 
one  of  the  most  widely-circulated  weeklies  in  the 
country.  Its  success  is  largely  attributable  to  the 
high  moral  standard  which  it  has  always  observed, 
and  to  the  bold  and  independent  tone  of  all  its  utter- 
ances. It  promised  in  its  first  issue  that  "  whatever 
shall  elevate  the  standard  of  public  morals,  whatever 
shall  contribute  to  the  material  prosperity  of  our  al- 
ready great  and  growing  city  and  country,  whatever 
shall  augment  tiie  happiness  and  thriftiness  of  the 
people  will  ever  find  a  ready  and  zealous  advocate  in 


THE    PRESS   OF   BALTIMORE. 


these  columns;"  and  this  promise  has  been  carefully 
and  conscientiously  redeemed.  As  a  family  news- 
pa[)er,  the  Baltimorean  is  one  of  the  best  and  most 
popular  published,  and  as  a  society  journal  has  few 
e(iuals.  Its  illustrations  are  remarkable  for  their 
fidelity  and  excellence  of  execution,  and  since  the  date 
of  its  first  publication  have  included  portraits  of  the 
most  distinguished,  and  prominent  men  and  women 
of  every  section  of  the  country,  and  in  every  depart- 
ment of  life.  A  happy  judgment  has  given  its  col- 
umns an  "  infinite  variety,"  which  neither  age  seems 
to  wither  nor  time  to  stale,  and  which  has  added 
largely  to  the  elements  of  its  popularity.  Under  these 
circumstances  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  Baltimorean 
should  have  won  the  success  which  it  has  so  justly 
deserved,  and  that  its  prosperity  should  be  yearly  in- 
creasing with  that  of  the  great  city  after  which  it  has 
been  called.  The  editors  and  proprietors  of  the  Bal- 
timorean are  Messrs.  A.  F.  Crutchfield  and  Isaac  C. 
Haas,  both  of  whom  are  practical  journalists  of  long 
experience. 

The  Evening  and  Sunday  News.— On  Nov.  2, 
1872,  E.  V.  Hermange,  present  senior  member  of 
the  firm  of  Hermange  &  Brewer,  issued  the  first 
number  of  the  Baltimore  Evening  News,  a  penny 
pujier.  Although  previous  to  the  war  several  even- 
ing newspapers  had  prospered  and  had  had  a  long 
existence  in  Baltimore,  they  had  all  died  out,  and 
subsequent  ventures  of  the  same  nature  had  proved 
almost  phenomenal  failures.  It  remained  for  the 
News  to  break  the  record  of  disaster,  and  it  was 
only  a  few  months  old  before  it  became  established 
on  the  firm  foundation  of  merited  popularity.  From 
the  beginning  it  was  conducted  with  energy  and  good 
judgment ;  sales,  circulation,  and  advertising  patron- 
age steadily  increased,  and  the  printing  facilities  were 
enlarged  to  meet  the  constantly-growing  demand. 
Mr.  Hermange  had  been  connected  with  the  Balti- 
more San  for  sixteen  years,  and  so  brought  to  his  new 
field  of  labor  the  experience  of  a  graduate  of  a  most 
excellent  school  of  journalism.  In  1874  the  firm  be- 
came that  of  Hermange  &  Brewer  by  the  admission 
of  James  Rawlings  Brewer,  who  assumed  charge  of 
the  paper  as  editor-in-chief,  Mr.  Hermange  remain- 
ing at  the  head  of  the  business  department.  Mr. 
Brewer  was  born  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  Dec.  28,  1840. 
His  father  was  James  B.  Brewer,  born  Nov.  19,  1806, 
at  Annapolis,  and  his  mother  Eliza  A.  Rawlings,  born 
in  Baltimore,  Sept.  13,  1811.  The  first  of  the  Brewer 
family  who  emigrated  to  America  was  John  Brewer, 
one  of  the  Puritan  settlers  of  Maryland.  He  was 
born  in  the  south  of  Wales  at  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  emigrated  to  Massachusetts  in 
1645,  and  moved  to  Virginia  upon  the  solicitation  of 
William  Ducand.  Rev.  Ethan  Allen's  "Historical 
Notes  of  St.  Anne's  Parish,  Anne  Arundel  County," 
states  that  the  first  Puritans  appeared  in  Virginia 
about  the  year  1641,  and  that  to  prevent  theif  coming 
severe  laws  had  been  enacted  against  them  under  the 


administration  of  Sir  William  Berkeley.  These  meas- 
ures, however,  failed  to  accomplish  their  purpose,  and 
some  years  later  one  hundred  Puritans  were  found  to 
be  in  the  colony,  one  of  whom  was  John  Brewer. 
Governor  Berkeley  at  length  putting  the  laws  into 
rigid  execution,  they  "at  once,"  in  1649,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  their  own  historian,  "  removed  themselves, 
their  families,  and  estates  into  the  Province  of  Mary- 
land, being  thereunto  invited  by  Capt.  William  Stone, 
then  Governor  for  Lord  Baltimore,  with  the  promise 
of  liberty  of  religion  and  the  privileges  of  Eng- 
lish subjects."  John  Brewer  was  one  of  that  com- 
pany. They  settled  in  part  on  the  site  of  the  present 
city  of  Annapolis,  naming  the  town  Providence. 
Mr.  Brewer  took  up  his  residence  on  South  River, 
on  a  tract  of  land  which  soon  came  to  be  called 
Brcwerton,  which  he  patented  in  1659.  In  1664  an- 
other property  called  Larkington  wa.s  patented  by 
him.  He  was  one  of  the  county  justices  commis- 
sioned by  Leonard  Calvert.  He  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Henry  Ridgely,  and  at  his  death,  April 
5,  1690,  left  three  children,  John,  Eke,  and  Joseph. 
He  was  one  of  the  few  wealthy  men  of  that  period 
who  adhered  to  the  law  of  primogeniture,  and  he  left 
a  large  estate  in  entail,  which  finally  falling  to  Joseph 
Brewer,  the  fifth  in  descent,  he  had  the  entail  dis- 
solved. The  descendants  of  John  Brewer  now  number 
over  one  thousand,  many  of  them  settled  in  the  West, 
the  larger  number  in  Indiana.  The  generations  in 
succession  were  John,  son  of  the  settler;  John,  his 
son,  whose  daughter  Rachel  became  the  wife  of 
Charles  Wilson  Peale,  the  famous  painter,  and 
mother  of  the  late  Rembrandt  Peale ;  William,  son 
of  the  third  John  ;  Joseph,  his  son ;  and  John,  grand- 
father of  James  Rawlings  Brewer.  The  latter  was 
educated  at  St.  John's  College,  Annapolis,  and  at 
fourteen  years  of  age  began  to  write  for  the  local 
newspaper  prose  and  poetry  which  marked  him  out 
for  a  future  journalistic  career.  On  quitting  col- 
lege he  learned  printing,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years  was  made  editor  of  the  Maryland  Republican, 
the  State  capital  organ  of  the  Democratic  party. 
Domestic  considerations  induced  his  removal  to  Bal- 
timore in  1862,  when  he  became  editorially  connected 
with  the  Southern  Herald.  Its  Southern  proclivities 
brought  down  upon  it  the  arm  of  the  Federal  mili- 
tary power,  and  it  was  suppressed.  Mr.  Brewer  was 
afterwards  connected  with  the  JSveninr;  Transcript  and 
the  Evening  Post,  but  they  were  also  suppressed  by 
the  same  authority  and  for  the  same  cause.  His  per- 
severance, however,  in  thus  endeavoring  to'maintain 
a  Southern  journal  in  the  face  of  danger  had  made 
him  very  popular  with  the  majority  of  Baltimore 
Democrats,  and  he  was  chosen  president  of  the 
Democratic  City  Convention,  which  in  the  war  days 
was  a  hazardous  position. 

He  was  nominated  for  the  State  Senate  in  1864  on 
the  McClellan  ticket,  but  was  not  returned  as  elected. 
In  this  year  he  accepted  a  position  on  the  New  York 


640 


HISTOllY   OF   BALTIMORE    CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


World,  tendered  him  by  Manton  Marble,  then  editor 
and  proprietor,  and  after  serving  that  paper  with 
ability  and  fidelity  for  twelve  months  he  returned 
to  Baltimore,  afterwards  taking  charge  of  the  Sunday 
Telegram.  He  continued  its  editor  for  several  years, 
during  which  time  he  wrote  for  it  "The  Buried  Se- 
cret," "Woman's  Devotion,"  "Disobedience,"  "The 
Uncle's  Legacy,"  and  other  romances,  besides  a  num- 
ber of  poems,  all  of  which  spread  his  literary  fame 
abroad  and  popularized  the  paper  in  whose  columns 
they  appeared.  He  did  not  relinquish  politics,  but 
continued  president  of  the  Democratic  City  Conven- 
tion, and  was  made  chairman  of  the  Democratic  Ex- 
ecutive Committee.  He  was  mainly  instrumental  in 
originating  the  Anti-Registry  Convention,  and  was 
appointed  by  that  convention  a  committee  of  one, 
with  i)ower  to  name  assistants,  to  prepare  a  memorial 
to  the  Legislature  of  1866  and  obtain  signatures 
praying  a  modification  of  the  registry  law,  which  dis- 
franchised all  citizens  who  could  not  take  the  "  iron- 
clad" oath  of  loyalty  to  the  Federal  government.  In 
1867  he  called  the  first  Democratic  City  Convention 
held  after  the  fusion  of  the  Democratic  and  Conserva- 
tive parties,  and  was  made  chairman  of  the  executive 
committee.  By  authority  of  the  convention  he  pre- 
pared an  address  to  the  people  of  Baltimore,  and  out 
of  these  movements  grew  the  re-enfranchisement  of 
all  the  people  and  the  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1867,  which  formulated  the  present  constitution  of 
Maryland.  The  Democratic  party  acknowledged  his 
gallant  and  important  services  by  electing  him  to  the 
position  of  clerk  of  the  Baltimore  Circuit  Court.  He 
was  re-elected  in  1873,  and  again  in  1879,  each  time 
for  a  term  of  six  years.  His  official,  political,  and 
editorial  duties  now  absorb  Mr.  Brewer's  working 
hours.  The  Evening  News  was  first  published  at  No. 
205  West  Baltimore  Street;  thence  it  removed  to  the 
Jarvis  Building,  on  North  Street,  and  is  now  located 
in  fine  quarters  at  No.  131  West  Baltimore  Street.  On 
the  9th  of  February,  1875,  the  paper  was  enlarged  and 
the  price  raised  to  two  cents,  changes  that  were  ne- 
cessitated by  the  growth  of  its  circulation  and  the 
popular  demand  for  a  fuller  paper.  The  firm  also 
purchased  a  splendid  Bullock  press,  the  acme  of  print- 
ing-machines, and  this  was  one  of  the  first  journals  in 
the  country  to  be  supplied  with  an  improvement  that 
combines  the  great  requisites  of  speedy  and  economical 
work.  The  rapid  success  of  the  Evening  News  as  a 
daily  paper,  and  the  obvious  need  of  a  Sunday  paper 
in  Baltimore  to  bridge  the  wide  chasm  between  Sat- 
urday afternoon  and  Monday  morning,  and  to  com- 
pletely occupy  a  field  left  open  to  the  Washington  and 
Philadelphia  Sunday  journals,  induced  the  proprietors 
to  publish  a  Sunday  edition,  the  first  number  of  which 
was  issued  on  Oct.  4,  1875.  Its  news  and  miscella- 
neous departments  met  with  the  public  approbation, 
and  it  is  a  welcome  visitor  to  thousands  of  city  homes 
and  in  every  quarter  of  the  State  and  the  District  of 
Columbia  accessible  by  the  mails.    Both  editions  of 


the  paper  are  ably  managed,  and  are  in  a  thoroughly 
thriving  condition.  While  consistently  Democratic, 
the  News  is  no  mere  mouth-piece  of  party  or  faction, 
but  holds  itself  free  to  criticise  wherever  criticism  is 
deserved.  Besides  his  newspaper  labors  and  the 
literary  work  already  spoken  of,  Mr.  Brewer  wrote, 
at  the  request  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Odd-Fellows 
of  Maryland,  the  odes  which  were  read  and  sung 
at  the  dedication  of  the  Wildey  Monument  in  Balti- 
more. He  was  also  the  author  of  a  poem  which  was 
recited  at  the  Poe  Memorial  Celebration  in  this  city, 
and  which  elicited  numerous  complimentary  letters 
from  men  of  letters  and  critics  in  all  sections  of  the 
country.  At  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  burn- 
ing of  the  "  Peggy  Stewart"  at  Annapolis  on  Oct.  19, 
1873,  the  municipal  authorities  of  that  city  recog- 
nizing the  poetical  genius  of  Mr.  Brewer,  invited  him 
to  deliver  a  poem  upon  the  occasion,  which  he  was 
forced  to  decline  on  account  of  pressing  engagements. 
Mr.  Brewer  has  much  of  the  poet's  power,  a  dainty 
sense  of  melody  in  words,  a  daring  and  inventive 
fancy  and  subtlety  of  thought.  When  connected  with 
the  Sunday  Telegram,  he  made  it  the  first  journal  to 
speak  out  in  favor  of  running  the  street-cars  on  Sun- 
day, and  aided  in  securing  the  popular  vote  in  behalf 
of  the  project.  Mr.  Brewer  is  a  strong  and  terse  writer, 
very  sarcastic  when  the  occasion  calls,  and  pleasantly 
humorous  in  his  lighter  work.  He  was  married  June 
11,  1868,  to  Anne  W.  Dorsey,  daughter  of  the  late 
Edward  Dorsey,  of  Richard,  of  Anne  Arundel  County, 
an  immense  land-owner.  Her  mother  was  Miss  Re- 
becca Worthington,  daughter  of  Dr.  Beale  Worthing- 
ton,  and  granddaughter  of  John  Bicketts,  a  very 
prominent  officer  of  the  Revolutionary  army.  She 
afterwards  married  Dr.  James  S.  Owens,  a  gentleman 
once  prominent  in  the  politics  of  Maryland,  he  having 
held  several  responsible  positions,  among  them  treas- 
urer of  the  State  and  surveyor  of  the  port  of  Baltimore 
under  President  Buchanan.  Mr.  Brewer's  living  chil- 
dren are  Bessie  Worthington,  Eliza  R.,  and  James  R., 
Jr.  One  child,  Edward  D.,  is  dead.  Mr.  Brewer  is  a 
member  of  Mount  Vernon  Lodge  and  Druid  Chapter 
of  the  Masonic  order,  of  Iris  Lodge  of  Odd-Fellows, 
and  of  the  Order  of  St.  Lawrence.  He  is  a  Protestant 
Episcopalian  in  his  religious  belief. 

The  Maryland  Farmer,  devoted  to  agriculture, 

j  horticulture,  rural  economy,  and  the  mechanic  arts,  is 

a  monthly  journal,  published  by  Ezra  Whitman,  141 

West  Pratt  Street.    Its  publication  was  commenced  on 

the  1st  of  January,  1864,  by  the  present  proprietor. 

The  Amateur  Journal,  published  monthly  by  R. 
Emory  Waitiild,  C.  Taylor  Jenkins,  and  John  F. 
Nichols,  issued  its  first  number  in  January,  1872.  On 
Jan.  1, 1873,  it  was  continued  by  Warfield  &  Jenkins. 
On  July  5,  1873,  the  name  was  changed  to  The  Monu- 
mental Jowrnnl,  and  edited  by  the  following  youths: 
H.  F.  Powell,  W.  Laridstroet,  Joseph  H.  Rieman,  Jr., 
and  Gcori^i-  V .  I^ortcr,  .Tr. 

Die  Katholische  Volks-Zeitung,  a  most  success- 


THE   PRESS   OF   BALTIMORE. 


641 


ful  German  Catholic  weekly  paper,  published  by 
Kreuzer  Bros.,  and  edited  by  John  Schmidt,  was 
first  issued  on  Saturday,  May  8,  1860.  It  i?  now  one 
of  the  widest-circulated  papers  in  the  United  States.  | 
Joseph  Kreuzer,  the  senior  member  of  the  firm,  died 
on  March  4,  1874.  { 

The  American  Engineer,  a  monthly  paper,  pub- 
lished simultmieously  in  Baltimore  and  Washington 
by  E.  H.  &  W.  T.  H(.w:H-d,  was  first  issued  in  No- 
vember, IS'.'j. 

The  Baltimore  Elocutionist,  a  monthly  journal, 
published  by  Rice,  Hayden  &  Co.,  was  issued  in  June, 
1873. 

The  People's  Appeal  made  its  appearance  on  July 
17,  1873.  In  March  of  the  same  year  the  Baltimore 
Herald,  published  by  Tom  Walsh  Smith,  was  first 
issued  ;  also,  in  January,  The  Southern  Star,  published 
monthly  by  James  S.  Calwell  and  George  D.  Fawcett. 

The  Inebriate's  Record,  the  organ  of  the  Mary- 
land Inebriate  Asylum,  appeared  in  April,  1874. 

The  Bench  and  Bar  Review,  a  law  periodical, 
edited  by  Atkinson  Schaumberg,  first  appeared  in 
January,'  1874. 

The  Enterprise,  published  monthly  in  the  interest 
of  the  "Hibernian  Literary  Association,"  and  edited 
by  the  "  Eiiterjirise  Company"  of  East  Baltimore, 
made  its  ajipearanee  in  May,  1874. 

The  Catholic  Register  was  changed  to  a  quarto 
and  otherwise  improved  in  June,  1874.  Dr.  E.  P. 
Gibbons  became  associated  with  A.  Stewart  in  the 
publication.  In  January,  1875,  it  became  entangled 
in  the  meshes  of  the  law  and  suspended. 

The  Maryland  School  Journal,  a  monthly  period- 
ical, edited  by  Profs.  M.  A.  Newell  and  William  R. 
Creory,  was  begun  in  Sejitember,  1874. 

The  Evening  Record,  published  and  edited  by 
William  I).  Hughes,  made  its  appearance  on  Oct.  27, 
1874.  During  the  Know-Nothing  reign  he  published 
a  Democratic  paper  in  Baltimore,  called  The  Freeman, 
and  fought  nobly  for  foreign  rights.  He  afterwards 
published  The  Times. 

The  North  Baltimore,  a  monthly  temperance  jour- 
nal, published  by  Stewart  Bros.,  and  edited  by  La- 
fayette Stewart,  fir-st  appeared  in  December,  1874. 

The  Monthly  Chronicle  of  Religion  and  Learn- 
ing, edited  by  Rev.  Galbraith  B.  Perry  and  the  "St. 
Mary's  Social  and  Literary  Association,"  and  devoted 
to  the  elevation  of  the  colored  race,  first  appeared  in 
February,  187-5. 

The  True  Christian,  a  monthly  paper,  published 
under  the  auspices  of  Bethany  Baptist  Church,  and 
edited  by  D.  D.  Read,  was  first  issued  in  August, 
1875. 

The  Times,  a  small  evening  penny  paper,  edited 
by  Innes  Randolph, a  ripe  scholar  and  enlightened  and 
impartial  critic,  made  its  first  appearance  on  Saturday, 
Aug.  7,  1875.  Owing  to  irreconcilable  ditferences  in 
opinion  by  the  proprietors,  it  suspended  on  October 
liitli  of  the  same  year. 


The  Conservative  Churchman,  a  Protestant  Epis- 
copal journal,  edited  by  Rev.  Campbell  Fair,  the 
present  learned  pastor  of  the  Ascension  Church,  and 
published  by  Wm.  P.  Hamilton,  made  its  first  ap- 
pearance in  September,  1875. 

The  Sunday  Herald,  which  succeeded  the  Satur- 
day Night,  made  its  first  appearance  on  Sept.  19, 1875. 

The  True  Democrat,  a  campaign  paper  in  the  in- 
terest of  reform  in  Maryland  politics,  commenced 
publication  in  Octolicr,  1S75. 

The  Maryland  Medical  Journal,  a  monthly  mag- 
azine, edited  by  Drs.  II.  E.  Manning  and  P.  A.  Ashby, 
first  appeared  in  May,  1877,  and  is  still  published  with 
considerable  success. 

The  Pulpit  of  Baltimore,  a  monthly  magazine, 
started  liy  W.  H.  Fentress,  w^as  published  in  May, 
1877. 

The  Sunday  Times  changed  its  name  to  the  WeeMy 
Times  in  July,  1877. 

The  Daily  Workingman,  an  afternoon  paper,  first 
appeared  on  Sept.  7,  1877. 

Every  Saturday  is  the  title  of  a  weekly  journal, 
commenced  on  Saturday,  Oct.  6,  1877,  by  Charles  M. 
Caughey  as  editor  and  proprietor,  with  George  A. 
Gardner  as  business  manager.  This  bright  and  spicy 
family  paper  is  still  under  the  same  able  management, 
and  is  devoted  to  literature,  art,  music,  and  general 
information,  and  is  very  neat  in  appearance. 

The  Saturday  Post,  a  weekly  paper,  published 
and  edited  by  Messrs.  Wirt  &  Emory,  took  the  place 
of  the  Sunday  Bulletin,  and  was"  first  issued  on  Nov. 
10,  1877.  ' 

Our  National-  Pulpit,  edited  and  published  by 
Rev.  S.  H.  Cummings,  was  published  in  December, 
1877. 

The  Spectator,  an  illustrated  weekly,  made  its 
first  appearance  on  Dec.  7,  1878. 

The  Photographic  Rays  of  Light,  published  by 
Mr.  Waltz,  was  issued  in  June,  1878. 

The  Tidal  Wave,  a  weekly  temperance  paper, 
published  by  Henry  Bolton,  and  edited  by  A.  A. 
Townsend,  was  first  issued  on  April  13,  1878. 

The  Stone  Owl,  the  offspring  of  a  discreditable  and 
anonymously  edited  paper  called  the  Owl,  which  was 
suppressed  by  the  Criminal  Court,  was  published  by 
William  Bissell,  and  edited  by  Mrs.  Jerningham,  an 
English  lady  and  a  poetess,  on  Jan.  7,  1878. 

The  Butchers'  and  Drovers'  Gazette,  a  monthly 
and  semi-monthly  paper,  published  by  J.  W.  Fedden 
&  Co.,  and  edited  by  L.  B.  Roberts,  was  first  com- 
menced on  March  2,  1878. 

The  Irish-American  Citizen,  a  weekly  paper, 
made  its  first  appearance  on  Oct.  5,  1878.  It  was 
edited  by  Charles  O'Connor,  who  left  the  city  in  a 
short  time,  and  the  paper  ceased  to  appear  after  a 
very  short  career. 

The  Maryland  Law  Record,  edited  by  Wm.  Allen 
Mitchener  and  Robert  H.  Hooper,  appeared  in  Sep- 
tember, 1878. 


64:: 


HISTOKV   OF    BALTIMORE   CITr  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


The  Baltimore  Volks-Freund,  a  German  daily 
morning  |)aper,  ijublished  and  edited  by  Signumd 
Junger,  first  appeared  on  April  14,  1S79.  It  was  en- 
larged two  months  after  it  started. 

The  Baltimore  Market  Journal  wa.s  first  pub- 
lished by  Andrew  .-^mith  about  tlie  year  1873.  He 
died  on  .Alareh  8,  187!». 

The  Biene  von  Baltimore,  a  German  Sunday 
paper,  was  first  published  by  S.  Junger  and  M. 
Muller.  It  is  now  published  with  great  success  by 
Sigmund  Junger,  and  is  a  live,  progressive  paper. 

The  German  press  of  Baltimore  dates  from  a  very 
early  period.  The  first  jirinters  of  the  town  were 
German,  and  the  first  newspapers  printed  in  the  Eng- 
lish language  often  contained  advertisements  printed 
in  the  German  text.  Such  was  the  increase  of  the 
German  population  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution- 
ary war  that  it  was  determined  to  print  a  newspaper 
in  the  German  language  to  supply  their  wants.  Suf- 
ficient encouragement  having  been  received,  Henry 
Dulhaier,  on  June  14,  1786,  began  the  publication  of 
a  weekly  newspaper  at  his  printing-office  "on  Market 
Street,  nearly  opposite  the  Green  Tree,  at  the  small 
price  of  ten  shillings  per  annum." 

Maryland  Farmer. — The  Maryland  Farmer,  de- 
voted to  agriculture,  horticulture,  rural  economy,  and 
the  mechanic  arts,  is  a  monthly  journal,  published  by 
Ezra  Whitman,  141  West  Pratt  Street.  Its  publica- 
tion was  commenced  on  the  1st  of  January,  1864,  by  I 
the  present  i>roprietor. 

The  Progressive  World,  Jacob  Rosenfeld,  editor, 
is  a  neat  weekly  paper,  published  at  50  West  Fayette  1 
Street. 

The  Independent  Practitioner.— This  medical 
journal  was  started  in  January,  1880,  and  is  owned 
and  published  by  Drs.  Basil  M.  Wilkinson  and  Har- 
vey L.  Byrd.  The  Independent  Practitioaer  is  issued 
monthly,  and  has  already  acquired  a  position  among 
medical  journals. 

Maryland  Law  Record. — The  first  number  of  the 
Maryland  Law  lieeard  appeared  Aug.  31,  1878;  its 
ofllce  is  25  Lexington  Street,  and  its  editors  are  Wm. 
Allen  Mitchener  and  Robert  H.  Hooper. 

Baltimore  Church  News.— The  first  number  of 
this  weekly  appeared  Oct.  2,  1879;  it  is  a  four-page 
paper,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church;  its  publisher  and  proprietor  is  Ben- 
jamin Baker,  and  its  editor  is  Rev.  Campbell  Fair,  i 
D.O.,  rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Ascension ;  its  office 
is  48  North  Charles  Street. 


CHAPTER    XXXVL 

LITERATURE    AND    LITERARY    MEN. 

The  history  of  literature  in  Baltimore,  as  distin- 
guished from  that  of  Maryland,  may  be  begun  with 
the  present  century.     Up  to  that  time  -Vnnapolis  was 


the  seat  of  learning  and  culture,  and  the  scattered 
gleams  of  literary  light  of  the  village  days  of  Balti- 
more are  hardly  worth  collecting  in  so  restricted  a 
space  as  this  chapter.  Eminent  lawyers,  physicians, 
divines,  and  orators  there  were,  devoting  their  leisure 
to  letters,  but  until  about  the  time  of  the  formation 
of  the  Delphian  Club  there  was  no  class  of  profes- 
sional writers,  historians,  novelists,  and  poets.  In  the 
rear  of  Barnum's  Hotel,  quite  suffocated  by  it,  there 
faces  on  Bank  Lane  a  shabby  but  pretentious  little 
house,  all  portico  and  stucco,  yet  still  dignified  by 
five  stately  elms.  This  was  the  house  called  by  the 
liierali  "  Tusculum,"  and  by  the  rabble  "  Gwynn'a 
Folly,"  where  assembled  the  earliest  literary  club 
that  has  left  behind  it  any  good  work.  The  papers 
of  the  Delphian  Club,  such  as  are  still  extant  and  to 
be  found  in  the  Jied  Book,  a  periodical  published  in 
Baltimore,  1818-19,  may  be  compared  favorably  with 
the  best  of  their  kind  in  the  language.  Among  the 
members  of  this  club  were  John  Neal,  a  brilliant  and 
erratic  writer,  who  subsequently  was  drawn  from  Bal- 
timore by  the  greater  attractions  of  London  ;  William 
Gwynn,  editor  and  author,  who  presided  at  the  club  ; 
Paul  Allen,  the  historian ;  Jared  Sparks,  the  histo- 
rian ;  Robert  Goodloe  Harper ;  John  Pierpont,  author 
of  "  Airs  of  Palestine ;"  Francis  S.  Key,  author  of 
"  The  Star  Spangled  Banner ;"  Samuel  Woodworth, 
author  of  "  The  Old  Oaken  Bucket ;"  William  Wirt, 
the  eminent  lawyer  and  orator  and  biographer  of 
Patrick  Henry,  and  other  eminent  men.  Here,  also, 
John  Howard  Payne,  author  of  "  Home,  Sweet 
Home,"  was  hidden  and  protected  from  a  mob.  Here, 
also,  Rembrandt  Peale,  the  well-known  American 
artist,  who  painted  in  Baltimore  his  famous  picture 
"The  Court  of  Death  ;"  and  Peter  Hoffiiian  Cruse, 
the  editor  and  author ;  and  John  Pendleton  Kennedy, 
the  favorite  Baltimore  author,  often  assembled  and 
entertained  the  wits  of  the  day. 

Of  this  group,  Francis  Scott  Key  has  had  the  good 
fortune  to  be  best  known.  "The 'Star  Spangled 
Banner,"  the  national  hymn  of  America,  written 
during  the  bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry,  has  won 
for  him  an  immortality.  Key  had  gone  with  a  flag  of 
truce  on  board  the  ship  of  Admiral  Cockburn,  then 
advancing  to  the  attack  of  Baltimore,  and  was  de- 
tained in  the  fleet  and  compelled  to  witness  the  bom- 
bardment of  the  fort.  All  the  afternoon  of  the  13th 
of  September,  1814,  the  bombshells  were  poured  upon 
the  fort,  and  all  during  the  night,  giving  proof  that 
the  flag  was  still  flying.  Just  before  dawn  the  firing 
ceased.  Had  the  fort  surrendered?  Key  must  wait 
until  daybreak  to  know.  The  dawn  comes,  and  the 
mists  along  the  harbor  break  away.  The  flag  is  still 
there.  On  the  back  of  a  letter,  resting  on  the  head  of 
a  barrel,  that  ballad  was  scrawled  with  a  pencil.  Who 
does  not  love  this  offsjjring  of  a  thrilling  monient  all 
the  better  because  it  shows  the  marks  of  haste  in  its 
composition  ? 

Key  was  born  in  Frederick  Countv,  and  was  edu- 


FRANCIS    SCOTT    KEY. 


LITERATURE  AND   LITERARY   MEN. 


cated  at  St.  John's  College,  Annapolis,  and  having 
studied  law,  entered  the  bar  in  1801,  and  soon  rose  to 
eminence.  He  was  district  attorney  under  Andrew 
Jackson.  He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  John  Ran- 
dolph, and  some  of  his  correspondence  is  published  in 
Garland's  life  of  that  celebrated  Virginia  statesman. 
He  wrote  many  poems,  but  published  only  a  few.  It 
was  not  until  1863  that  they  were  collected  into  a  sin- 
gle volume  and  edited  by  Rev.  H.  V.  D.  Johns.  One 
of  them  is  the  beautiful  hymn  beginning, — 

"  Lord,  with  glowiug  heart  I'd  praise  Thee 
For  the  bliss  Thy  love  bestows." 

He  died  in  Baltimore,  Jan.  11,  1848,  and  is  buried 
near  Pipe  Creels,  Frederick  Co.,  where  also  sleeps  his 
brother-in-law,  Chief  Justice  Roger  B.  Taney. 

William  Pinkney,  the  great  advocate  and  orator, 
though  he  never  appeared  as  a  writer  of  belles-lettres, 
had  a  fiery  dash  of  poetry  in  his  blood,  which  showed 
itself  in  his  descendants,  Edward  Coates  Pinkney,  his 
seventh  son,  one  of  the  most  graceful  writers  of  Eng- 
lish verse  that  America  has  produced  ;  the  late  Fred- 
erick Pinkney,  of  the  Baltimore  bar,  who  published 
little  but  wrote  with  singular  power  and  sweetness; 
and  the  Rev.  William  Pinkney,  now  Bishop  of  Mary- 
land, whose  pulpit  oratory  overflows  with  poetic 
imagery,  and  who  is  the  author  of  many  fine  poems. 
Bishop  Pinkney  has  written  the  life  of  the  celebrated 
William  Pinkney,  who  wrote  a  number  of  fine  essays 
on  international  law  during  the  war  times  of  1812 
under  the  name  of  "Publius."  His  fiime,  however, 
rests  chiefly  upon  his  forensic  oratory. 

Jared  Sparks,  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  was  called 
to  take  charge  of  the  First  Unitarian  Church  in  Bal- 
timore in  1819,  and  remained  here  until  near  the  close 
of  1823,  when  he  was  made  Professor  of  History  in 
Harvard  University.  He  was  a  vei-y  careful  and  in- 
dustrious literary  worker,  as  is  shown  by  his  "  Life 
and  Letters  of  George  Washington,"  "  Life  and  Let- 
ters of  Franklin,"  "  Correspondence  of  the  Revo- 
lution," and  other  contributions  to  Revolutionary 
liistory. 

John  Neal,  who  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy-three 
published,  in  1869,  the  "Wandering  Recollections  of 
a  Somewhat  Busy  Life,"  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Delphian  Club.  He  was  a  poet,  novelist,  his- 
torian, and  editor.  His  prose  style  in  his  youth  was 
overloaded  with  metaphor,  full  of  breaches  of  good 
taste,  yet  undeniably  the  work  of  genius.  He  was 
born  of  Quaker  parents  at  Portland,  Me.,  in  1793,  and 
on  account  of  the  mutations  of  business  in  Boston  in 
1S16  came  to  Baltimore  and  opened  a  dry-goods  estab- 
lishment at  No.  12  South  Calvert  Street,  in  partner- 
ship with  John  Pierpont,  afterwards  a  distinguished 
author  and  Unitarian  clergyman  in  New  England. 
Another  member  of  the  firm  was  Joseph  L.  Lord,  who 
subsequently  established  in  this  country  the  mutual 
life  insurance  system,  and  was  the  first  president  of 
tlie  famous  Mutual  Benefit  Life  Company  of  New  Jer- 
sey, still  in  existence.     Within  a  year  the  firm  failed. 


not  from  any  fault  of  Neal's,  but  through  the  indis- 
creet liberality  and  speculations  of  others.  Pierpont, 
a  man  of  family,  was  thrown  into  the  city  jail  for 
debt,  and  Neal,  then  but  twenty-three  and  unmarried, 
cast  upon  his  own  resources.  He  at  once  turned  his 
attention  to  law  and  literature,  going  through  the  then 
necessary  course  of  four  years  of  law  study,  relying 
upon  his  literary  jiroductions  meantime  for  a  living. 

While  residing  in  Baltimore,  in  1817,  he  published 
his  first  novel,  and  wrote  the  greater  part  of  Paul 
Allen's  "  American  Revolution."  A  collection  of 
poems  followed  ;  none  of  these  are  now  known  ex- 
cept some  patriotic  verses  on  the  "  American  Eagle," 
which  are  still  occasionally  to  be  found  in  school 
"  Readers."  He  wrote  also  a  variety  of  magazine 
and  editorial  articles, — all  these  whilst  preparing 
himself  for  the  bar.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  marvel- 
ous facility  with  which  he  threw  ofi"  his  works 
(writing  sometimes  for  sixteen  hours  a  day),  he  states 
in  his  autobiography  that  he  wrote  his  novel  of 
"  Logan"  in  six  or  eight  weeks,  ending  Nov.  17, 
1821  ;  he  began  "  Randolph"  Nov.  26,  1821,  and  fin- 
ished it  in  thirty-six  days;  "Seventy-six,"  his  best 
novel,  in  twenty-seven  days ;  and  "  Errata"  in 
thirty-nine  days.  Each  novel  was  in  two  volumes. 
So  that  between  October,  1821,  and  March,  1822,  he 
wrote  and  published  "  no  less  than  eight  large  duo- 
decimos, besides  writing  for  the  Telegraph  newspaper 
and  the  Portico  magazine,  and  studying,  after  a  desul- 
tory fashion,  four  or  five  languages."  He  assailed, 
even  at  that  early  day,  both  lotteries  and  imprison- 
ment for  debt,  which  he  lived  to  see  overthrown.  He 
had  the  miscliievous  habit  of  introducing  descriptions 
of  his  acquaintances  and  associates  into  his  anony- 
mous novels.  In  his  novel  of  "  Randolph"  he 
sketched  with  trenchant  and  caustic  pen  some  of  the 
notables  of  the  time.  Under  the  shelter  of  his  in- 
cognito he  spared  no  one,  and  yet  his  satires  have 
the  fullness  of  detail  and  the  picturesque  realism 
which  carry  conviction  with  them.  In  this  work 
"  Randolph,"  which  is  written  in  epistolary  form,  he 
takes  pains  to  abuse  himself  very  soundly  in  order  to 
cover  up  his  tracks.  But  it  was  a  little  overdone. 
He  took  up  too  much  space  and  occupied  too  much 
of  the  reader's  attention  in  proving  that  John  Neal, 
"though  full  of  genius,  was  either  a  madman  or  a 
fool."  Among  those  whose  portrait  was  depicted 
was  the  eminent  William  Pinkney.  It  recognized 
the  greatness  of  Pinkney,  but  ridiculed  his  pom- 
posity, and  accused  him  of  some  abominable  coarse- 
nesses, vulgarities,  and  petty  vanities.  Edward  Coate 
Pinkney,  the  brilliant  young  poet,  called  John  Neal 
to  account  for  this  assault  in  a  letter  demanding 
that  he  would  avow  or  disavow  the  authorship  of 
"  Randolph"  and  its  attack  on  his  father,  Mr.  Pink- 
ney. Neal  refused  to  comply  with  his  request,  and 
a  peremptory  challenge  to  a  duel  was  immediately 
handed  to  him.  Neal,  who  still  wore  the  Quaker 
garb,  declined  to  fight,  and  was  posted  by  the  young 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


poet  in  the  following  terras,  as  was  the  fashion  in 
those  days : 

"  The  undereigned  linviug  entered  into  some  correspondence  with  the 
reputed  author  of  '  Uiiudolph,'  who  U  or  is  not  eufllciently  described  as 
John  Nkai^  a  gentleman,  by  indulgent  courtesy,  informs  honorable  men 
that  he  hns  found  him  unpossessed  of  courage  to  make  satisfaction  In 
the  Insolence  of  his  folly. 

"Stating  this  much,  the  undersigned  commits  this  craven  to  hisinfamy. 
•'  Kdwakd  C.  Pinkney. 

"Baltijiobe,  Oct.  11, 1823." 

Neal  declared  that  he  was  more  re.spected  for  the 
stand  he  had  taken  than  if  he  had  exchanged  shots 
with  the  fiery  young  midshipman,  whose  early  death 
he  deplored.  But  Neal,  in  spite  of  his  peace  prin- 
ciples, was  the  most  belligerent  of  men,  although 
there  was  something  hearty  in  his  belligerency.  He 
remained  in  Baltimore  for  six  years,  and  was  then 
drawn  away  to  the  literary  focus  of  London.  He 
lived  there  some  years,  and  died  in  New  England  in 
1876,  at  an  advanced  age.  With  a  number  of  the 
best  citizens  of  Baltimore,  he  belonged  to  the  old  Del- 
phian Club,  each  having  a  characteristic  club  cogno- 
men, Neal's  being  Jehu  O'Cataract. 

John  Pierpont,  a  poet  of  greater  refinement  but  of 
less  originality  than  Neal,  was,  as  we  have  stated,  his 
partner  in  business  at  Baltimore.  Pierpont,  whose 
genius  had  a  devotional  cant,  studied  theology  at 
Harvard  University,  and  afterwards  became  a  distin- 
guished Unitarian  clergyman  in  New  England.  He 
was  born  in  Connecticut  on  April  6,  1785,  and  grad- 
uated at  Yale  College  in  1804.  He  spent  several 
years  as  a  tutor  in  South  Carolina,  and  in  1816  entered 
business  as  a  merchant  in  Baltimore,  as  above  stated. 
After  the  failure  he  wrote  in  Baltimore  his  best  work, 
"Airs  of  Palestine,"  which  contains  some  excellent 
poetry.  Some  of  his  fugitive  pieces,  such  as  "  Pass- 
ing Away,"  "Jerusalem,"  "The  Pilgrim  Fathers," 
"  My  Child,"  "  The  Two  Incendiaries,"  "  The  License 
Laws,"  "  The  Sparkling  Bowl,"  "  Not  on  the  Battle- 
Field,"  and  the  "  Exile  at  Eest,"  have  retained  their 
popularity  even  to  this  day.  He  died  in  Massachu- 
setts, Aug.  27,  1866.  It  would  seem  that  at  about 
1820  Baltimore  was  a  literary  centre,  to  which  such 
men  as  Jared  Sparks,  Paul  Allen,  John  Neal,  John 
E.  Hall,  and  John  Pierpont  were  drawn,  and  though 
their  coming  was  perhaps  fortuitous,  still  they  began 
here  their  literary  careers,  and  gave  tone  to  the  cul- 
ture of  the  place. 

Another  of  this  circle  was  the  distinguished  John 
E.  Hall,  who  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Baltimore 
about  1805,  and  while  living  here  was'  elected  to  the 
responsible  post  of  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Belles- 
Lettres  in  the  University  of  Maryland.  From  1808  to 
1817  he  published  the  American  Law  Journal,  and 
in  1816  became  editor  of  the  Port-Folio,  and  largely 
contributed  to  its  pages.  He  also  wrote  a  life  of  Dr. 
John  Shaw,  prefi.xed  to  the  poems  of  the  latter,  pub- 
lished in  Baltimore  in  1810;  collected,  arranged,  and 
contributed  to  an  edition  of  "  The  British  Spy ;" 
edited  the  Philadelphia  Souvenir  in  1827,  and  in  the 


same  year  published  "  Memoirs  of  Eminent  Persons," 
etc.  Mr.  Hall  also  published  in  Baltimore  in  1809 
"  The  Practice  and  Jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Ad- 
miralty," an  English  edition  of  Emerigon  on  mari- 
time loans,  in  1811,  and  other  fine  literary  works. 

William  Gwynn,  the  presiding  genius  of  the  Tus- 
culum  and  the  Delphian  Club,  was  a  literary  man,  and 
the  cause  of  literature  in  others.  He  was  born  in 
Ireland,  but  came  to  Baltimore  at  an  early  period, 
and  became  editor  of  the  Federal  Gazette,  subse- 
quently known  as  the  Baltimore  Gazette,  and  after- 
wards merged  in  The  Patriot.  He  was  a  man  of  wit 
and  genial  temper,  and  his  house  was  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  literati,  the  artists,  actors,  and  Bohemians 
of  the  time  extending  from  about  1815  to  1830.  About 
that  time  the  improvements  of  that  part  of  tow^n  shut 
in  and  hid  the  Tusculum,  and  converted  Bank  Lane 
into  a  malodorous  alley.  Its  owner  full  into  financial 
embarrassment.s,  and  it  was  sold  by  his  creditors.  A 
subscription  was  taken  up  for  Gwynn's  bcm-lit,  and 
he  died  in  August,  1854,  aged  seventy-nine  years. 

William  Wirt,  the  great  advocate,  was  also  one  of 
the  habitues  of  the  Tusculum.  He  was  born  at  Bla- 
densburg  in  1772,  and  spent  the  earlier  part  of  his 
professional  life  in  Virginia.  It  was  in  Richmond 
that  he  wrote  "  The  British  Spy."  It  was  as  an  ora- 
tor, however,  rather  than  as  a  novelist  that  his  fame 
was  established.  This  was  the  great  speech  in  the 
trial  of  Aaron  Burr.  In  1817,  while  still  in  Rich- 
mond, he  wrote  the  "Life  of  Patrick  Henry."  It  was 
not  until  he  had  closed  his  literary  activity  that  he 
came  back  to  his  native  State  and  settled  in  Balti- 
more, in  1830. 

But  by  far  the  most  brilliant  of  that  group  who 
were  young  men  in  1820  was  Edward  Coate  Pinkney, 
already  mentioned  in  the  sketch  of  John  Neal.  He 
was  born  in  London  in  1802,  while  his  father  was  min- 
ister at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  and  lived  there  until 
his  ninth  year.  Soon  after  the  return  of  the  family 
to  Baltimore,  in  1811,  he  entered  St.  Mary's  College, 
and  remained  in  that  institution  until  1816,  when  he 
was  appointed  a  midshipman  in  the  United  States 
navy.  He  remained  in  the  service  until  his  twenty- 
second  year,  and  then  resigned,  studied  hiw,  and  was 
admitted  a  member  of  the  Baltimore  bar  in  1824,  and 
during  the  same  year  was  married  to  a  daughter  of 
Marcus  McCausland.  In  1826  he  was  chosen  Profes- 
sor of  Rhetoric  and  Belles-Lettres  in  the  Maryland 
University.  His  voyages  had,  however,  given  him 
abundant  opportunities  of  seeing  the  world,  particu- 
larly the  ports  of  the  Mediterranean.  His  close  ob- 
servation of  men  and  of  nature  show  themselves  in 
his  writings.  His  poems  attracted  attention  in  the 
Old  World.  Though  his  first  volume  of  poems  ap- 
peared in  1825,  they  were  marked  not  only  by  fire  and 
imagination,  but  by  refinement  and  finish.  It  was 
very  favorably  discussed  in  the  North  American  Re- 
view, and  a  few  years  afterwards  a  request  was  for- 
'  warded  to  him   from  London,  asking  that  his  minia- 


LITERATURE   AND  LITERARY   MEN. 


645 


ture  might  be  taken  to  be  engraved  in  a  volume 
entitled  "  The  Five  Best  Poets  of  America."  He,  how- 
ever, for  the  while  abjured  poetry  and  devoted  him- 
self to  the  law,  but  poetry  rather  repelled  than  won 
clients,  and  his  practice  was  not  very  successful.  So 
much  discouraged  did  lie  become  that  he  abandoned 
the  law  and  applied  for  a  commission  in  the  Mexican 
navy,  but  failed  to  obtain  it.  He  returned  to  Balti- 
more broken  in  health  and  hope,  and  again  attempted 
the  practice  of  the  law,  yet  again  failed.  His  bodily 
infirmities  gained  upon  him,  his  ambition  failed. 
Poetry,  which  had  been  his  pleasure  in  youth,  became 
his  solace  in  his  decline.  His  life  at  this  epoch  could 
hardly  be  so  well  depicted  as  in  his  own  exquisitely 
pathetic  lines, — 

"  A  sense  it  was  that  I  could  see 

My  angel  leave  nij'  side, 
That  hencefortli  my  prosperity 

Mnst  be  a  faUing  tide; 
A  strange  and  ominous  belief. 
That  in  spring'tinie  the  yellnw  leaf 

Had  fiilleii  un  my  houre, 
And  that  all  hope  mnst  be  most  vain 
Of  finding  on  my  path  again 

Its  former  vanished  flowers." 

In  1827  he  wa.s  chosen  as  editor  of  The  Mnri/lander. 
He  showed  the  highest  capacity  for  journalism,  and 
had  his  lie.ilth  permitted  would  doubtless  have  made 
his  mark  in  this  field.  But  a  complication  of  diseases 
unfitted  him  for  protracted  effort,  and  his  sensitive 
frame  gave  way.  He  died  slowly, — as  he  said,  by 
"piece-meal," — the  loss  of  breath  being  only  the 
last  state  of  a  long  death.  He  was  only  twenty-six 
years  old  when  he  died,  April  11,  1828.  His  nature 
was  highly  strung  and  chivalrous,  and  he  had  the 
temperament  as  well  as  the  genius  of  the  true 
poet.  Edgar  Poe  rated  him  first  among  American 
poets,  and  some  of  his  contemporaries  declared  that 
he  was  equal  to  Lord  Byron. 

Charles,  another  gifted  son  of  the  celebrated  Wil- 
liam Pinkney,  died  on  March  25,  1835,  while  editing 
a  Washington  paper.  He  also  inherited  the  enlarged 
views  and  chivalrous  spirit  of  his  father,  and  possessed 
a  mind  ennobled  by  every  virtue  that  adorns  a  man. 
His  cultivated  talents  shed  a  lustre  on  the  diplomatic 
character  of  our  country  while  abroad,  and  his  talents 
as  an  editor  were  of  the  highest  order.  He  left  an 
affectionate  wife  and  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  ad- 
mirers. 

Frederick  Pinkney,  the  fourth  son  of  William,  and 
the  younger  brother  of  Edward  Coate  Pinkney, 
though  known  chiefly  as  a  learned  lawyer,  was  also  a 
poet  and  a  finished  classical  scholar.  He  was  born 
on  the  14th  of  October,  1804,  at  sea,  on  the  coast  of 
America,  on  the  passage  home  from  England,  where 
his  father  had  been  residing  as  commissioner  under 
the  Jay  treaty.  In  1806  he  returned  to  England  with 
his  parents,  and  remained  abroad  until  1810,  when  he 
returned  to  Baltimore  and  received  his  scholarly  edu- 
cation.    In  1816   he  accompanied  his  father  on  his 


successive  missions  to  the  Courts  of  Naples  and  of 
Russia.  In  1825  he  was  admitted  to  the  Baltimore 
bar,  and  in  1827-28  was  associated  with  his  brother 
Edward  in  editing  The  Marylander.  At  one  time  he 
was  associated  in  the  practice  of  the  law  with  William 
Schley,  and  for  many  years  was  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  High  Court  of  Chancery,  and  after  the 
abolition  of  that  court  and  the  establishment  of  the 
local  Courts  of  Equity  he  was  one  of  the  commission- 
ers of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Baltimore  City,  which  office 
he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  identified 
with  the  Criminal  Court  of  Baltimore  City  for  over 
thirty  years,  first  as  deputy  attorney-general  under 
Mr.  Richardson,  then  as  deputy  State's  attorney 
under  the  successive  State's  attorneys.  At  his  death 
the  Baltimore  Sun  said,  "  He  was  perhaps  the  most 
learned  man  in  the  State.  .  .  .  His  knowledge  of 
criminal  law  excelled  that  of  every  contemporary,  and 
his  criminal  pleadings  were  the  wonder  of  bench 
and  bar.  He  read  everything  that  came  in  his  way, 
from  the  Police  Gazette  to  the  best  known  of  the  an- 
cient writers.  His  talent  for  drawing  was  consider- 
able, and  for  caricature  it  was  remarkable.  He  was 
skilled  in  the  art  of  engineering,  and  he  was  a  beau- 
tiful poet."  Mr.  Pinkney  published  but  little  of  his 
poetry,  probably  deterred  by  the  unhappy  literary 
fate  of  his  brilliant  brother ;  but  all  that  he  wrote  had 
melodious  flow,  a  refinement  of  literary  workmanship, 
and  a  purity  that  gave  them  the  stamp  of  high  merit. 
He  was  very  fond  of  taking  dainty  bits  from  the  lesser 
Greek  poets  and  translating  them  iuto  pure  and  grace- 
ful English.  It  was,  however,  by  his  critical  faculty 
that  he  exerted  the  greatest  influence  on  the  literary 
taste  of  his  day.  He  printed  but  little,  and  his  poems 
in  manuscript  were  seen  only  by  a  limited  circle. 
But  he  was  one  of  the  recognized  authorities  on  all 
subjects  of  scholarly  culture.  In  later  life  he  wore 
his  beard  very  long  and  white,  and  walked  always 
with  his  head  bowed  down,  as  if  in  profound  thought. 
He  died  at  the  residence  of  John  E.  Owens,  in  Balti- 
I  more  County,  on  June  13,  1873. 

The  sad  life  of  Edgar  A.  Poe  is  inseparably  bound 
up  with  the  history  of  Baltimore.  Here  his  father, 
while  a  law  student  with  William  Gwynn,  married 
Elizabeth  Arnold,  the  pretty  English  actress ;  it  was 
here  that  he  began  his  career  as  a  man  of  letters,  and 
it  was  here  that,  after  his  unhappy  life  was  wrecked, 
Fate  brought  him  to  die.  A  monument  covers  his 
grave  in  Westminster  churchyard,  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  Greene  and  Fayette  Streets.  His  recent 
biographers  have  rescued  his  memory  from  the  load 
of  calumny  that  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  passed  for 
history,  and  all  that  needs  to  be  given  here  is  that  part 
of  his  life  which  is  entwined  with  the  literary  recol- 
lections of  this  city. 

After  the  severance  of  his  relations  with  Mr.  Allen, 
of  Richmond,  Poe  determined  to  live  by  his  pen.  A 
prize  was  oflered  by  the  Saturday  Visitor,  a  weekly 
literary  paper  then  published  in  this  city  by  John 


646 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


H.  Hewitt,  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  the  best  story, 
and  fifty  dollars  for  the  best  poem.  Poe  competed 
for  both.  The  .judge.s  appointed  were  John  P.  Ken- 
nedy, John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  and  James  H.  Miller,  i 
The  committee  had  no  difficulty  in  awarding  the  first  1 
prize  to  Poe  for  the  "  Manuscript  found  in  a  Bottle." 
There  was  a  hesitation  as  to  the  jjoem,  the  committee, 
however,  deciding  against  Poe  and  in  favor  of  John 
H.  Hewitt.  The  genius  shown  in  these  works  won 
for  Poe  the  valuable  friend.ship  and  esteem  of  John 
P.  Kennedy,  through  whose  kind  offices  Poe  obtained 
regular  employment  on  the  Southern  Literanj  Mes- 
senger, in  Richmond.  Thence  he  was  drawn  to  the 
greater  attractions  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 
His  death  in  this  city  was  harrowingly  sad.  Arriving 
in  this  city  from  Philadelphia,  he  met  a  friend  at  the 
depot  who  invited  him  to  drink.  He  accepted,  and  the 
single  glass  bewildered  his  mind.  He  was  while  in  this 
condition  captured  by  a  party  of  political  roughs  and 
"cooped," — that  is,  drugged  to  insensibility, — and  then 
carried  from  ward  to  ward  and  voted  at  the  election. 
The  drugs,  the  rough  handling,  and  the  exposure  were 
fatal  to  him.  He  was  carried  in  an  unconscious  con- 
dition to  the  hospital  on  Broadway,  west  of  Baltimore 
Street,  where  be  died  on  Oct.  7,  1849.  In  November, 
1875,  the  handsome  gravestone  which  now  covers  his 
grave  was  erected  with  much  ceremony.  On  one  side 
is  sculptured  a  portrait  of  Poe,  on  the  other  the  raven 
and  other  suggestions  from  his  poems. 

William  Henry  Poe,  elder  brother  of  Edgar  Poe, 
was,  after  the  death  of  his  parents  in  Richmond, 
adopted  by  David  Poe,  of  Baltimore.  He  early 
showed  the  same  strong  bent  towards  poetry  that  de- 
termined the  career  of  Edgar,  and  but  for  his  "irreg- 
ular habits"  and  early  death  he  might  have  achieved 
greatness.  Some  of  his  poems,  contributed  to  the 
Minerva,  then  edited  by  John  H.  Hewitt,  have  the 
promise  that  marked  the  early  works  of  his  more 
famous  brother.  His  life  has  an  additional  interest 
in  the  fact  that  some  of  the  irregularities  attributed 
by  Griswold  to  Edgar  Poe  are  chargeable  against 
William  Henry.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned 
the  alleged  adventures  in  St.  Petersburg.  Edgar  Poe 
never  was  in  Russia,  while  his  brother  William  did 
go  there  in  one  of  his  erratic  fancies.  He  was  a  re- 
markably handsome  man,  and  hi.s  early  death  is  at- 
tributable to  the  headlong  propensities  which  he  in- 
herited from  his  father  in  a  stronger  degree  than  his 
brother  Edgar. 

John  H.  Hewitt,  whose  name  has  already  been 
mentioned  in  the  sketches  of  Poe  and  others,  came 
to  Baltimore  in  1829.  He  is  the  son  of  a  musician, 
and  early  showed  a  leaning  towards  the  profession  of 
his  father.  In  1818  he  entered  West  Point  as  a  cadet, 
and  was  in  the  .same  class  as  Gen.  Walter  Gwynn, 
Gen.  Isaac  Trimble,  and  John  H.  B.  Latrobe.  He 
resigned  soon  after  completing  his  course  in  1821,  and 
went  to  South  Carolina,  where  lie  taught  music,  read 
law,  and  courted  the  inuse>.     While  there  he  wrote 


the  words  and  the  music  of  "  The  Minstrel's  Return 
from  the  War,"  which  achieved  a  sudden  popularity, 
and  was  one  of  the  mo.st  admired  ballads  of  the  day. 
While  in  the  fresh  enjoyment  of  the  prestige  won  by 
this  song  he  came  to  Baltimore,  in  1825,  and  began 
his  literary  and  musical  career  by  contributing  to  the 
various  papers,  and  composing  songs  and  ballads, 
which  were  received  with  great  favor.  He  was  also 
identified  with  several  literary  ventures,  such  as  the 
Emerald,  the  Minerva,  the  Visitor.  It  was  while  he 
was  editor  of  the  Visitor  that  its  proprietors  offered 
the  prizes  for  the  best  poem  and  the  best  story,  which 
has  already  been  related  in  the  sketch  of  Edgar  Poe. 
The  prize  for  the  poem  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Hewitt 
by  the  committee,  his  "  Song  of  the  Winds"  having 
been  preferred  to  "The  Coliseum,"  by  Poe.  Mr. 
Hewitt  went  South  during  the  late  civil  war,  and  was 
in  Richmond  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  where  he 
wrote  a  number  of  ballads,  which  were  popular  in 
camp,  of  which  "Rock  Me  to  Sleep,  Mother,"  is  best 
known.  He  subsequently  returned  to  Baltimore, 
where  he  still  lives,  hale  and  strong  at  the  age  of 
eighty  years,  one  of  the  few  links  that  still  connect 
the  old  days  of  letters  with  the  present.  The  most 
successful  of  his  musical  works  were  the  oratorio  of 
"Jephtha's  Daughter,"  which  he  boldly  composed, 
unawed  by  the  fact  that  Handel  had  treated  the  same 
subject;  "Flora's  Festival,"  "The  Seasons,"  and 
"The  Fairy  Bridal."  "Jephtha's  Daughter"  was 
successful  in  Baltimore  and  Washington,  and  was 
produced  in  New  York  by  the  Sacred  Musical 
Society,  with  two  hundred  voices  and  an  orchestra  of 
seventy  instruments.  Several  of  his  dramas  have 
been  brought  out  on  'the  boards  with  considerable 
success.  Among  them  were  the  melodrama  of  "  Rip 
Van  Winkle,"  the  military  opera  of  the  "  Vivandiere," 
the  comedy  of  the  "  Governess,"  and  the  allegorical 
drama  of  "Washington."  Mr.  Hewitt  hjis  been  mar- 
ried twice. 

James  Hungerford  was  bnrii  of  an  old  Maryland 
family,  in  Calvert  County,  Md.,  in  1814.  His  ances- 
try dates  from  the  early  colonial  days  of  the  Lord 
Proprietor.  He  was  educated  at  Asbury  College,  and 
graduated  with  the  highest  honors.  He  read  law,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1835,  but  his  health  fail- 
ing, he  was  obliged  to  enter  upon  an  active  outdoor 
life,  and  he  became  an  engineer  in  the  surveys  that 
were  then  carrying  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
through  the  Allegheny  Mountains.  Recovering  his 
health,  he  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Leonardstown 
in  1837,  where  he  married  Miss  Emma  Burbridge. 
He  took  charge  of  Franklin  Seminary  for  boys  in 
Baltimore,  and  subsequently  was  connected  with  the 
Franklin  Academy  at  Reisterstown.  He  soon  after 
started  the  Baltimore  County  Whiff.  Later  he  be- 
came the  editor  of  the  Southern  Home  Journal, 
published  in  Baltimore  by  John  Y.  Slater.  Not- 
withstanding this  busy  and  varied  life,  Mr.  Hunger- 
ford    has   been   a   [irolilic  writer  of  fiction.     Among 


LITERATURE   AND   LITERARY    MEN. 


647 


those  best  known  are  "  The  Old  Plantation,"  a  story 
of  dramatic  Southern  life,  published  by  the  Harpers 
of  New  York  ;  "  Master  Heredon,"  a  novel  of  Ameri- 
can life;  "Leon  Manor,"  "  The  Mystery  of  Eldan," 
"  John  Alvan  Coe."  These  works  were  popular,  and 
profitable  to  the  author.  Mr.  Hungerford  has  also 
written  some  fine  pieces  of  poetry  and  ballads.  He 
is  still  living  in  Baltimore. 

Rufus  Dawes,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  came  to 
Baltimore  about  1827  and  began  the  practice  of  law. 
He  had  early  shown  a  strong  partiality  for  poetry 
and  literature.  He  became  the  editor  of  the  Emerald, 
a  handsome  quarto  published  by  Benjamin  Edes,  and 
conducted  it  with  ability  ;  yet  the  life  of  the  Emerald 
was  short.  While  editor  of  the  Emerald  he  published 
a  serial  satirical  poem  in  the  verse  of  "  Don  Juan," 
which  was  much  admired.  The  cessation  of  his  edi- 
torial career  caused  the  cessation  of  the  satire.  He 
had  three  brothers  established  in  business  on  Hanover 
Street,  and  he  withdrew  from  letters  and  applied  him- 
self solely  to  the  law.  He  was  very  witty  and  bril- 
liant in  conversation,  and  left  upon  his  contempo- 
raries an  impression  of  genius  which  the  published 
works  hardly  justify.  He  married  in  1836  a  daughter 
of  Judge  Cranch,  and  removed  to  Washington,  where 
he  became  engrossed  in  the  practice  of  law,  and  re- 
nounced literature.  He  published  "Nashua,  and 
Minor  Poems"  in  1830 ;  "  Athenia  of  Damascus," 
"  Geraldine,"  and  his  miscellaneous  poetical  works  in 
1839;  and  "Nick's  Mate,"  a  historical  romance,  in 
1840.     He  died  in  Washington  City. 

One  of  the  most  eminent  of  Baltimore  authors  is 
George  Henry  Calvert,  who  was  born  in  this  city  Jan. 
2, 1803,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  University  in  1823. 
His  father  was  of  the  family  of  Lord  Baltimore,  and 
his  motlier,  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  painter  Rubens, 
was  a  native  of  Antwerp.  After  studying  at  Got- 
tingen,  he  edited  for  several  years  the  Baltimore 
American.  In  1832  he  published  "  Illustrations  of 
Phrenology,"  the  first  American  treatise  on  the  sub- 
ject; in  1833,  "Life  of  Robert  Barclay;"  in  1836, 
metrical  version  of  Schiller's  "  Don  Carlos;"  in  1840, 
a  fragment  on  "  Arnold  and  Andrfi,"  two  cantos  of 
"Cabiro,"  a  poem,  and  "Count  Julian,"  a  tragedy; 
in  1845,  a  portion  of  the  correspondence  of  Goethe 
and  Schiller,  and  in  1846  and  1852  two  series  of 
"  Scenes  and  Thoughts  in  Europe ;"  in  1856,  "  An  In- 
troduction to  Social  Science;"  "The  Gentleman,"  in 
1863 ;  two  additional  cantos  of  "  Cabiro,"  in  1864  ; 
a  new  edition  of  his  "Scenes  and  Thoughts  in  Eu- 
rope," in  1865  ;  and  "  Comedies,"  in  1866  ;  "  Thoughts 
of  Joseph  Joubert,  with  a  Biographical  Notice."  Since 
1843  he  has  resided  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  of  which  city 
he  was  mayor  in  1853,  and  was  the  orator  at  the  cele- 
bration of  the  fortieth  anniversary  of  the  battle  of 
Lake  Erie.  He  has  contributed  to  the  periodicals  of 
the  day,  besides  writing  a  number  of  addresses  and 
other  literary  works.  Mr.  Calvert  is  a  scholar  of 
refined  tastes  and  susceptibilities. 


Hugh  Davy  Evans,  LL.D.,  was  born  in  Baltimore 
in  1792,  and  died  there  July  16, 1868.  As  is  stated  in 
the  chapter  on  the  Baltimore  bar,  lie  ranked  with  the 
best  lawyers  of  his  day.  He  was  the  author  of  "  Es- 
say on  Pleading,"  published  in  1827  ;  "  Maryland  Com- 
mon Law  Practice,"  in  1839;  "Essay  to  Prove  the 
Validity  of  Anglican  Ordinations,"  in  1844;  "Essay 
on  the  Episcopate,"  in  1855.  He  also  edited  and  con- 
tributed to  several  Episcopal  journals  and  periodicals, 
among  them  The  ('hurch  Thnex,  in  1852;  The  Monitor, 
in  1858 ;  and  The  True  Catholic.  David  Hoffman,  an- 
other eminent  author  and  lawyer,  is  mentioned  among 
the  "  Bar  of  Baltimore." 

Archbishop  Patrick  Kenrick,  who  succeeded  Arch- 
bishop Eccleston  in  1851,  was  a  very  eminent  author  of 
church  literature.  In  1828  he  published  "  Letters  of 
Omicron  to  Omega,"  in  reply  to  Rev.  Dr.  Blackburn's 
attack  on  the  Roman  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  Eucha- 
rist. In  1839-40  he  published  "Theologia  Dograa- 
tica,"  four  volumes;  in  1841-43,  "  Theologia  Moralis," 
three  volumes;  in  1837,  a  series  of  letters  "On  the 
Primacy  of  the  Holy  See,"  subsequently  enlarged  and 
reprinted  as  "The  Primacy  of  the  Apostolic  See  Vin- 
dicated," in  1845  ;  "  Four  Sermons  Preached  in  the 
Cathedral  at  Bardstown,"  in  1829;  "The  Catholic 
Doctrine  on  Justification  Explained  and  Vindicated," 
1841  ;  "Treatise  on  Baptism,"  in  1843;  "Vindication 
of  the  Catholic  Church,"  in  reply  to  Bishop  Hop- 
kins ;  "  End  of  Controversy  Controverted,"  in  1855. 
He  also  wrote  the  article  "  Roman  Catholic  Church" 
in  Appleton's  Cyclopaedia,  and  was  before  his  death 
— in  Baltimore,  July  8, 1863 — engaged  upon  a  revised 
English  translation  of  the  Bible,  to  .supersede  the 
Douay  version,  and  had  already  published  the  New 
Testament  and  several  portions  of  the  Old. 

Archbishop  Martin  John  Spalding,  who  succeeded 
Archbishop  Kenrick  to  the  See  of  Baltimore,  was 
known  in  the  higher  walks  of  literature  as  one  of  the 
ablest  and  most  comprehensive  writers  in  the  Catholic 
Church.  His  literary  style  is  vigorous,  while  there  is 
such  candor  and  moderation  in  its  tone  as  is  not 
always  found  in  such  books  as  he  wrote.  He  was  the 
author  of  "  Miscellanies,"  published  in  1855;  "Early 
Catholic  Missions  of  Kentucky,"  in  1844;  "Lectures 
on  the  Evidences  of  Catholicity,"  in  1847 ;  "  Life  of 
Rt.  Rev.  B.  J.  Flaget,"  in  1852;  "History  of  the 
Protestant  Reformation,"  in  1860.  He  also  edited  the 
Abbfi  Daras'  "  History  of  the  Catholic  Church,"  four 
volumes,  1865-66.  The  most  of  his  works  have  been 
revised  and  greatly  enlarged  and  republished  in  sev- 
eral editions.     He  died  Feb.  7,  1872. 

Rev.  George  W.  Burnap,  D.D.,  who  was  ordained 
pastor  of  the  First  Unitarian  or  Independent  Church 
in  Baltimore  on  April  23,  1828,  as  the  successor  of 
Jared  Sparks,  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  theolo- 
gians of  his  denomination,  and  among  the  most  dis- 
tinguished men  of  letters  of  the  South,  contributing 
occasionally  to  the  best  reviews,  magazines,  and  liter- 
ary journals,  as  well  as  to  the  daily  press,  and  fre- 


648 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


quently  delivered  lectures  in  Baltimore,  Charleston, 
Boston,  and  other  cities,  where  he  was  highly  esteemed. 
In  1835  he  began  authorship  by  publishing  a  volume 
of  "  Lectures  on  the  Doctrines  of  Controversy  between 
Unitarians  and  Other  Denominations  of  Christians." 
In  1840  he  published  his  "  Lectures  to  Young  Men," 
and  in  the  same  year,  "  Lectures  on  the  Sphere  and 
Duty  of  Woman  ;"  in  1842,  "  Lectures  on  the  History 
of  Christianity  ;"  in  1844,  "  Memoir  of  Leonard  Cal- 
vert ;"  in  1845,  "  Lectures  on  the  Principal  Texts  of  the 
Bible  which  Relate  to  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity ;" 
a  volume  of  "  Miscellanies"  and  a  "  Biography  of 
Henry  A.  Ingalls,"  in  1845.  He  published  a  small  work 
in  1848,  entitled  "  Popular  Objections  to  Unitarian 
Christianity  Considered  and  Answered,"  and  in  1850 
twenty  discourses  "  On  the  Rectitude  of  Human  Na- 
ture." In  1855  he  published  "  Christianity,  its  Essence 
and  Evidence,"  the  most  compendious  statement  of  the 
biblical  theology  of  the  author's  school  of  Unitarian- 
ism.  On  Dec.  20,  1853,  be  delivered  a  discourse  at 
the  eighth  anniversary  of  the  Maryland  Historical  So- 
ciety upon  the  "  Origin  and  Causes  of  Democracy  in 
America,"  which  was  published  by  the  society  in  the 
following  year.  Dr.  Burnap  died  suddenly  on  Sept. 
8, 1859,  after  a  ministry  in  Baltimore  of  nearly  thirty- 
two  years. 

Martin  J.  Kerney,  author  and  editor,  was  born  in 
Frederick  County  in  1819,  and  after  conducting  an 
academy  in  Baltimore  he  became  a  lawyer,  and  con- 
tinued in  practice  till  his  death,  on  March  16,  1861. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  in  1852,  and  by 
his  able  advocacy  of  a  bill  which  he  introduced, 
providing  for  a  division  of  the  school  fund  to  Cath- 
olic schools,  he  created  considerable  excitement 
and  controversy  at  the  time,  which  did  much  to 
strengthen  the  Know-Nothing  party,  wliirli  was  then 
coming  into  power.  He  edited  ihc  .lA//',y, ,,///,(«  Mag- 
azine four  years,  compiled  the  ('allinlic  Almanac  for 
1860-61,  and  wrote  a  number  of  school-books,  among 
them  a  "  Compendium  of  Ancient  and  Modern  His- 
tory" and  "Catechism  of  the  History  of  the  United 
States." 

Dr.  Jolin  Shaw,  a  poet,  was  born  at  Annapolis,  May 
4,  1778,  but  removed  to  Baltimore  in  1807  and  began 
the  practice  of  medicine.  He  was  a  contributor  to 
the  Philadelphia  Port-Folio,  and  after  his  death  his 
poems,  with  a  memoir  containing  extracts  from  his 
foreign  correspondence  and  journals,  were  published  in 
1810.     He  died  Jan.  9,  1809. 

Robert  Walsh,  LL.D.,  was  born  in  Baltimore  in 
1784  of  Irish  parentage,  studied  at  St.  Mary's  College, 
Baltimore,  and  Georgetown,  and  completed  his  col- 
legiate education  in  Europe.  Returning  from  a  visit 
to  Europe  in  1808,  he  studied  law  under  Robert  Good- 
loe  Harper,  marrieil,  and  began  practice,  but  owing  in 
part  to  deafness  he  abandoned  the  law  for  literature. 
In  1811  he  commenced  the  publication  of  the  first 
quarterly  in  the  United  States,  The  American  Review  of 
Jlintory  and  Politics,  which  he  continued  for  two  years. 


In  1813  he  published  his  "  Correspondence  with  R.  6. 
Harper  respecting  Russia,"  and  "Essay  on  the  Future 
State  of  Europe."  He  also  furnished  several  biograph- 
ical prefaces  to  an  edition  of  the  English  poets  then 
being  published  in  Philadelphia.  In  1817-18  he  edited 
the  American  Register,  ])ublished  a  biogra|)hy  of  Frank- 
lin in  Delaplaine's  "  Repository"  in  1818,  and  in  1819 
he  wrote  the  best  defense  of  the  country  against  the  as- 
saults of  the  British  Tories  that  had  ever  been  penned, 
entitled  "An  Appeal  from  the  Judgments  of  Great 
Britain  respecting  the  United  States."  In  the  same 
year,  as  a  recognition  of  his  literary  talents,  Harvard 
University  conferred  upon  him  the  honorary  degree 
of  LL.D.  In  1820  he  published  the  National  Gazette, 
with  which  he  was  connected  till  1836.  He  also  edited 
the  American  Mugazvie  of  Foreign  Literature,  but  re- 
suscitated his  American  Review  in  March,  1827,  con- 
tinuing it  with  great  ability  ten  years.  In  1836  he 
publi.shed  two  volumes  of  "  Didactics,"  and  about  the 
same  time  went  to  Europe,  where  he  spent  the  residue 
of  his  life,  and  was  in  1845-51  United  States  consul 
at  Paris,  and  there  became  the  best  foreign  corres- 
pondent (writing  for  the  National  Intelligencer  and  the 
New  York  Journal  of  Commerce)  that  American  news- 
papers ever  had.  For  the  "  Encyclopjedia  Ameri- 
cana," edited  by  Dr.  F.  Lieber,  he  furnished  the  arti- 
cles on  American  biography.  He  was  member  of  the 
Philosophical  Society  and  the  Royal  Spanish  Academy 
of  History.     He  died  in  Paris,  Feb.  7,  1859. 

John  H.  Alexander,  LL.D.,  chemist,  physicist,  and 
poet,  was  born  at  Annapolis  in  1812,  and  after  taking 
his  degree  at  college  studied  law,  but  did  not  prose- 
cute it.  He  removed  to  Baltimore  early  in  life,  and 
chose  the  path  of  science  and  literature,  in  which  he 
acquired  deathless  fame.  He  was  a  i)rofound  nuithe- 
matician,  a  most  thorough  linguist,  an  accomplished 
theologian,  a  poet,  a  ripe  and  varied  scholar,  a  labor- 
ious and  successful  writer,  and  a  punctual  man  of 
business.  He  possessed  every  quality  of  mind  that  con- 
stitutes true  mental  greatness,— judgment,  memory, 
imagination,  quickness  of  comprehension,  an  indus- 
try that  never  flagged,  and  a  system  that  nothing  dis- 
turbed. He  commenced  his  professional  life  as  an 
engineer  on  the  Baltimore  and  Susquehanna  Railroad. 
He  was  then  appointed  topographical  engineer  of  the 
State,  and  made  the  surveys  for  a  new  map  of  Mary- 
land, and  afterwards  served  as  commissioner  to  report 
on  the  standard  of  wfeights  and  measures,  in  which  he 
prepared  an  elaborate  report.  In  1857  he  was  com- 
missioner to  England  on  international  coinage,  and 
in  the  summer  of  1866  was  appointed  by  President 
Johnson  a  commissioner  to  the  Paris  Exhibition,  but 
was  taken  fatally  ill  just  before  he  was  about  to  set 
sail.  He  had  held  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust, 
and  was  the  most  learned  man  in  America  on  the 
subject  of  weights  and  measures  and  coins.  His  friend 
and  biographer.  Bishop  Wra.  Pinkney,  says  of  him, — 

"  As  a  scholar,  it  is  with  more  caimbility  of  appreciation  I  can  speak 
of  tliui,     A  ilt'bniist,  deeply  versed  ia  Greek  and  Latin,  as  deeply  skillod 


LITERATURE   AND   LITERARY    MEN. 


G49 


in  modern  tongues,  ho  waa  without  question  tlie  first  linguist  of  this 
hemisphere.  He  wrote  Latin  as  readily  as  he  wrote  English,  witli  the 
same  beautiful  command  of  words  and  skill  iu  construction.  Wheit  go- 
ing aliroad  he  prepared  his  passports  in  seven  different  languages,  and 
for  penmanship  and  Altic  purity  they  were  splendid  specimens,  w.irthy 
of  the  most  accomplished  masters  iu  either.  It  was  really  wonderful  to 
see  with  what  facility  he  could  dash  off  at  a  sitting  Latin  veree  as  flu- 
ently as  though  it  were  his  native  tongue,  and  he  a  poet  of  the  fair  Ital- 
ian clime.  He  was  as  exact  as  lie  was  varied  in  his  gift  of  tongues.  He 
understood  the  niles  of  grammar,  the  principles  of  construction,  the 
philology  of  words,  and  consequently  he  was  never  betrayed  into  an 
error  of  either  interpretation  or  constniction.  His  life,  though  one  of 
intense  activity,  was  for  the  most  part  spent  In  retirement,  and  to  that  is 
attributable  the  fact  that  but  comparatively  few  knew  who  he  was  or 
what  he  was.  But  to  the  world  of  science  he  was  well  known,  and  to  the 
more  prominent  statesmen  of  the  country.  The  coast  surveys  were 
submitted  to  his  inspection,  and  all  disputed  questions  of  geography  were 
referred  to  him  for  settlement.  On  the  questions  of  coinage,  which  have 
of  late  exercised  many  of  the  Enropean  governments,  he  was  probably  the 
best-informed  man  in  the  country.  He  went  abroad,  and  was  brought  into 
close  contact  with  the  masters  of  the  mintin  England.  The  triumphs  of 
his  genius  were  signally  displayed  befure  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Rela- 
tions on  the  Federal  currency.  They  sent  for  him  to  explain  it  to  them, 
avowing  their  ignorance  of  it  and  their  impression  that  it  was  of  little  prac- 
tical importance.  Without  preparalion,  he  gave  them  an  extended  and 
lucid  exposition,  and  soou  convinced  them  that  it  was  of  vital  concern- 
ment to  the  conmiercial  interests  of  the  country.  He  was  consulted  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  on  the  finances,  and  was  about  to  be  placed 
at  the  bead  of  the  mint  in  Philadelphia  when  death  closed  his  career." 

Prof.  Alexander  in  1838  published  a  "  Treatise  on 
Levelling;"  in  1839,  "  Treatise  on  Mathematical  In- 
struments used  in  Surveying,  Levelling,  and  Astron- 
omy ;"  in  1840,  "Contributions  to  a  History  of  the 
Metallurgy  of  Iron;"  in  1842,  "Contributions,  etc.;" 
in  1844,  "  Introits,  or  Anti-Communion  Psalms  for 
the  Sundays  and  Holidays  throughout  the  Year ;" 
1846,  "  Report  on  Standard  cf  Weights  and  Measures 
for  the  State  of  Maryland  ;"  in  1856,  "  Universal 
Dictionary  of  Weights  and  Measures,  Ancient  and 
Modern  ;"  "  Catena  Domica ;"  "  Reports  on  the  New 
Map  of  Maryland  ;"  "  Annual  from  1838  to  1840 ;" 
"  Index  to  Maryland  Papers  ;"  besides  various  papers 
published  in  the  scientific  journals  of  America,  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Germany.  He  also  left  in  manu- 
script "  A  Dictionary  of  English  Surnames,"  twelve 
volumes  ;  "  Ancient  Roman  Surnames,"  one  volume ; 
"  Greek  Onomatology,"  one  volume  ;  "  A  Dictionary 
of  the  Language  of  the  Lenni-Lenape,  or  Delaware 
Indians,"  quarto;  "A  Concordance  and  Analytic  In- 
dex of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,"  two  volumes; 
"  A  Handy  Book  of  Parliamentary  Practice,"  octavo  ; 
"The  Hymns  of  Martin  Luther,  Translated  into 
English,  with  Notes,"  octavo  ;  "  Suspiria  Sanctorum," 
octavo;  "  Introitus,  sive  Psalm!  Davidici,"  octavo. 

Prof.  Alexander  died  in  Baltimore  on  March  2, 
1867,  and  in  accordance  with  his  wishes  his  burial, 
like  Sir  John  Moore's,  took  place  a{  midnight  on  the 
4lh,  at  St.  Paul's  Cemetery,  on  the  corner  of  Fremont 
and  German  Streets.  The  .scene  at  the  burial  was  of 
an  exceedingly  solemn  character;  the  intense  dark- 
ness, the  late  hour,  the  lurid  torches  illuminating  the 
faces  of  the  attendants,  and  the  solemn  ritual  for  the 
dead  all  adding  to  the  impressive  eflect. 

In  1839  was  published  the  "Baltimore  Book," 
which  groups  together  the  literary  men  of  that  epoch, 


just  as  the  Delphian  Club  had  grouped  those  of  a 
score  of  years  earlier.  It  was  a  book  gotten  up  for  a 
Christmas  present,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  ven- 
tures in  the  publication  of  "holiday"  books,  which 
has  since  grown  to  such  large  proportions.  It  was 
edited  by  William  H.  Carpenter  and  T.  S.  Arthur, 
and  was  published  by  Bayley  &  Burns,  of  Baltimore, 
and  was  embellished  with  steel  engravings  of  Balti- 
more workmanship.  The  printers,  as  distinguished 
from  the  publishers,  were  Murphy  &  Spalding,  at 
No.  1  Light  Street.  Among  the  contributors  to  the 
volume  were  Edgar  A.  Poe,  Nathan  C.  Brooks,  W. 
Henry  Carpenter,  S.  Teackle  Wallis,  T.  S.  Arthur,  J. 
N.  McJilton,  J.  Saurin  Norris,  John  G.  Morris,  Miss 
H.  L.  Beasley,  J.  H.  Hewitt,  E.  Yates  Reese,  Andrew 
Adgate  Lipscomb,  Mrs.  Anna  Dorsey,  and  T.  C.  At- 
kinson. 

William  Henry  Carpenter,  the  chief  editor  of  this 
volume,  and  one  of  its  largest  contributors,  and  who 
has  been  ever  since  that  time  an  author  and  jour- 
nalist, is  now  the  senior  editorial  writer  of  the  Balti- 
more Sim.  He  was  then  a  young  man,  a  poet  and 
writer  of  history  and  fiction.  Several  of  the  un- 
signed articles  of  the  "  Baltimore  Book"  appear  to  be 
from  his  graceful  pen ;  but  the  poem  "  To  lanthe" 
and  the  verses  on  "  Love"  bear  his  signature.  "  The 
Merchant's  Daughter"  is  a  short  story  of  city  life  by 
the  same  hand. 

Mr.  Carpenter  was  born  in  London  on  the  6th  of 
February,  1814.  His  lather,  Win.  Carpenter,  was  of 
a  Hampshire  family  of  the  yeoman  class,  and  was 
an  extensive  cloth  merchant  of  London.  He  was  a 
large  exporter  of  broadcloths  to  America,  and  his 
house  was  the  resort  of  prominent  American  buyers. 
His  son's  education  was  received  at  Shaftsbury  Acad- 
emy, "London,  which  was  conducted  by  Mr.  Groome, 
a  famous  Oxford  scholar  and  mathematician.  Young 
Carpenter,  however,  left  the  academy  before  gradu- 
ating, and  in  1831  came  to  Baltimore,  where  he  en- 
tered the  cloth-importing  house  of  John  Gibson  & 
Co.,  and  subsequently  was  connected  with  that  of 
Bowen,  Sellers  &  Co.,  of  this  city. 

Mr.  Carpenter  early  displayed  a  taste  for  literature, 
and  in  1836-87,  in  addition  to  his  mercantile  duties^ 
he  became  dramatic  critic  for  the  Evening  Transcript. 
He  soon  became  also  a  frequent  contributor  to  the 
Athcnceum,  the  Monument,  Western  Continent,  New 
York  Mirror,  and  various  other  journals  and  maga- 
zines. In  conjunction  with  T.  S.  Arthur,  he  edited 
the  "  Baltimore  Book,"  and  wrote  for  the  Western 
Continent  a  series  of  colonial  sketches  entitled  "  Ro- 
mance of  American  History,"  together  with  many 
ballads  and  lyrics.  In  1840  he  removed  from  Balti- 
more, in  consequence  of  ill  health,  and  purchased 
a  farm  near  Catonsville,  Baltimore  Co.,  where  he 
devoted  himself  principally  to  literary  labors.  Be- 
sides sketches  for  the  press  and  contributions  to 
magazines,  he  wrote  at  this  period  his  first  novel, 
"Claiborne  the  Rebel,"  founded  on  events  in  Ameri- 


650 


HISTORY   OF    BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


can  history,  which  was  soon  followed  by  the  novel- 
ette entitled  "  The  Regicide's  Daughter,"  published 
by  Lippincott  &  Co.,  "  Ruth  Enisley,  a  Story  of  the  I 
Virginia  Ma.ssacre,"  and  "John  the  Bold,"  founded 
on  an  event  in  French  history.  His  literary  reputa- 
tion had  by  this  time  become  fully  established,  and 
in  connection  with  T.  S.  Arthur,  he  wrote  for  Lippin- 
cott  &  Co.  eleven  volumes  of  State  histories,  designed 
for  schools  and  school  libraries,  and  not  long  after-  j 
wards  a  history  of  the  operations  of  Gens.  Taylor  and 
AVool's  divisions  of  the  American  armies  in  Mexico, 
which  was  published  in  Brooks'  History  of  the  Mex- 
ican War.  About  1845,  Mr.  Carpenter  became  pro- 
prietor of  the  Western  Continent,  then  edited  by  Park 
Benjamin,  and  associated  with  himself  as  a  partner 
W.  T.  Thompson,  author  of  "Major  Jones'  Court- 
ship." Soon  after  the  sale  of  the  Western  Continent 
he  became  editor  of  the  Baltimore  Patriot,  and  in 
1858  purchased  an  interest  in  the  Exchange,  now  the 
Gazette,  of  which  he  continued  one  of  the  editors  and 
proprietors  until  December,  1875,  when  the  paper 
was  sold  to  William  H.  Welsh,  and  Mr.  Carpenter 
became  a  member  of  the  editorial  staft"  of  the  Stin,  i 
with  which  he  is  still  connecte,d.  Mr.  Carpenter  pos-  | 
sesses  a  graceful  and  attractive  style,  and  as  an  edi- 
torial writer  is  forcible  and  impressive.  His  literary 
career,  commencing  in  1835,  and  extending  without 
interruption  to  the  present  time,  covers  a  period  of 
forty-six  years,  and  has  been  crowded  with  the  fruits 
of  constant  intellectual  effort.  His  long  connection 
with  the  press  of  the  State  and  the  extent  and  char- 
acter of  his  literary  work  have  given  him  a  standing 
greatly  to  be  envied  but  not  easily  attained. 

Timothy  Shay  Arthur,  co-editor  of  the  "  Baltimore 
Book,"  was  born  in  New  York  in  1809.     While  he 
was  a  youth  his  parents  came  to  Baltimore  td  live, 
and  here  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  trade  of  a  tailor. 
But  his  talents  for  literature  would  not  permit  him  to 
remain  in  this  calling,  and  he  soon  renounced  all  of 
the  goose  except   the   quill.     He  began  by  writing  ! 
poems  for  the  poet's  corner  of  the  weeklies,  but  he 
soon  developed  a  more  decided  faculty  for  moral  tales,  ! 
which  were  exceedingly  popular  at  that  time.     His  I 
first  work  was  "  Subordination,"  which  brought  him  j 
quickly  into  notice.     "  Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar-Room"  ' 
portrayed  the  evils  of  intemperance  with  remarkable  I 
power.     This  was  subsequently  dramatized  and  made  I 
a  very  impressive  play.     Among  his  later  novels  are  I 
"Out  in  the  World,"    "Nothing  but  Money,"  and 
"  Our  Neighbor."     He  did  much  towards  encouraging  I 
literary   development   in   the   city,   and   assisted    in  [ 
founding  a  number  of  literary  publications,  among  t 
which  may  bo  mentioned   The   Young  Men's  Paper, 
The  Athenaeum,  and  the   Monument.     In   connection 
with  William  H.  Carpenter,  he  prepared  a  series  of 
school    histories   of  several   of  the  States.     He  is  a 
wholly  self-educated  man,  having  enjoyed  in  his  early 
life  but  few  educational  advantages.     He  taught  him- 
self by  reading,  observing,  and  liy  working  at  poetry 


and  stories  of  home-life.  In  1841  he  wjw  induced  to 
leave  Baltimore  and  settle  in  Philadelphia,  where  he 
established  Arthur's  Home  Journal,  and  where  he  still 
resides.  He  is  now  almost  totally  blind,  but  still  is 
able  to  write  by  amanuensis  the  kind  of  articles  that 
have  made  his  magazine  poi)ular. 

John  N.  McJilton  was  born  in  Baltimore  in  1805, 
and  died  in  New  York,  April  13,  1875.  He  was 
originally  a  cabinet-maker,  but,  like  T.  S.  Arthur,  he 
had  talents  that  lifted  him  ahoye  his  vocation.  He 
wrote  a  great  deal  for  the  journals  of  the  day,  his 
favorite  nom  de  plume  being  "Giles  McQuiggin." 
His  style  was  racy  but  unstudied.  He  collected  a 
number  of  his  fugitive  pieces,  poems  and  stories,  and 
published  them  in  a  volume  under  his  own  name,  but 
this  did  not  secure  him  very  much  fame.  He  tried  to  es- 
tablish a  periodical  called  the  Monument,  which  failed, 
as  so  many  other  efforts  of  the  same  kind  had  failed. 
He  then  studied  for  the  ministry,  and  took  orders  in 
the  Episcopal  Church,  and  became  a  very  able  pulpit 
orator.  He  was  called  to  a  large  church  in  New  York 
City,  and  died  while  pjistor  of  it.  At  one  time  he  was 
one  of  the  editors  of  The  Patriot,  and  at  different 
times  was  editor  of  several  semi-religious  newspapers. 
One  of  his  best-known  poems  was  "  Beech  Hill,"  at 
that  time  the  country  residence  of  Robert  Gilmor,  on 
what  was  at  that  time  the  western  limits  of  Saratoga 
Street.  It  describes  a  rural  scene.  "The  Tomb  of 
Bozzaris"  was  also  much  admired  in  its  day.  "  Balti- 
more in  the  Olden  Time"  and  "  Romance  of  American 
History"  show  the  author's  bent  towards  the  pic- 
turesque side  of  historical  studies.  He  was  also  a 
critic  and  reviewer. 

Lucy  Seymour  was  a  very  prolific  writer  of  maga- 
zine poetry  at  that  time,  and  a  constant  contributor  to 
the  Monument,  Emerald,  and  Phoenix  and  Budget.  It 
was,  however,  of  an  ephemeral  nature,  and  had  not 
the  enduring  qualities.  She  wrote  poetry  of  the 
goody-goody  sort,  combining  sentiment  and  piety. 
Miss  E.  H.  Stockton,  Mrs.  Anna  Dorsey,  Mrs.  Dr. 
Annan,  and  others  were  also  poetesses  of  the  epoch. 
One  of  the  pronounced  literary  Bohemians  of  the 
time  was  "The  Milford  Bard,"  for  so  he  always 
called  himself.  He  had  on  one  occasion  a  poetry 
match  with  Edgar  A.  Poe  on  a  wager,  in  which  the 
Bard  was  victorious,  having  written  the  greatest 
quantity  of  verse  in  the  stated  time.  The  difference 
in  quality  was  not  taken  in  account,  so  Poe  lost  the 
whimsical  wager.  The  Bard  suffered  from  some  of 
the  infirmities  of  poetic  genius,  and  was  irregular  in 
his  ways  of  life.,  Brantz  Mayer,  Jame.s  Hungerford, 
David  Creamer,  William  H.  Carpenter,  J.  H.  Hewitt, 
and  T.  S.  Arthur  were  among  the  frequent  contribu- 
tors to  the  magazines  in  and  about  1837,  '38,  and  '39. 

One  of  the  ablest  of  the  writers  whose  names  are  to 
be  found  in  the  "  Baltimore  Book"  was  Brantz  Mayer. 
He  was  born  in  Baltimore  on  the  27th  of  September, 
1809,  and  was  educated  at  St.  Mary's  College,  and 
by  private  instruction.     After  finishing  his  education 


LITERATURE   AND   LITERARY    MEN. 


651 


he  traveled  extensively  in  Europe  and  in  the  East  as 
far  as  China  and  the  islands  of  the  Indian  Sea.  On 
his  return  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  the  law  until 
1841,  when  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  Lega- 
tion to  Mexico.  He  was  recalled  from  Mexico  by  the 
death  of  his  father,  Christian  Mayer,  a  prominent 
merchant  of  Baltimore.  He  resumed  law  practice, 
but  became  a  literary  worker  also,  and  for  a  while 
edited  the  Baltimore  American.  He  published 
"  Mexico  as  it  Was  and  as  it  Is ;"  "  Journal  of  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton  during  his  journey  to  Canada  in 
1775 ;"  "  Mexico :  Aztec,  Spanish,  and  Republican  ;" 
"Captain  Canot,  or  Twenty  Years  of  the  Life  of  an 
African  Slaver;"  "Observations  on  Mexican  His- 
tory;" "Mexican  Antiquities;"  "  Tahgahjnte,  or 
Logan,  the  Indian,  and  Captain  Michael  Cresap ;" 
and  "A  Memoir  of  Jared  Sparks."  Besides  these 
■valuable  books,  he  contributed  largely  to  the  periodi- 
cal press,  daily,  monthly,  and  quarterly,  of  the  Union, 
to  the  extent  of  two  additional  volumes  of  miscella- 
neous articles,  addresses,  and  speeches.  He  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society, 
and  upon  the  death  of  Gen.  John  Spear  Smith,  its 
first  president,  he  was  very  properly  elected  his  suc- 
cessor, and  contributed  largely  to  the  interests  and 
possessions  of  the  society. 

He  was  president  of  the  old  Baltimore  Library  Com- 
pany, and  upon  the  inauguration  of  the  Athenoeum 
Building,  the  home  of  the  Library  Company,  the  His- 
torical Society,  and  the  Mercantile  Library  Associa- 
tion, in  October,  1848,  he  delivered  the  inaugural  ad- 
dress, which  was  afterwards  published.  He  was  one 
of  the  chosen  executors  of  the  estate  of  John  Mc- 
Donogh,  of  New  Orleans,  and  subsequently  appointed 
one  of  the  commissioners  of  Baltimore  City  to  manage 
and  liquidate  the  city's  share  of  the  eccentric  million- 
aire's property.  In  1861,  '62,  '63  he  was  president  of 
the  Union  State  Central  Committee  of  Maryland,  a 
position  he  maintained  until  he  was  appointed  a  pay- 
master in  the  United  States  army.  In  1875,  having 
passed  the  age  of  sixty-two  years,  he  was  retired  from 
the  army,  and  returned  to  his  residence  in  Baltimore. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  United  States  Centennial 
Commissioners  in  1876.  Mr.  Mayer's  writings  are  easy 
and  graceful,  and  show  that  he  was  a  close  observer 
and  thinker.  He  was  a  scholarly  man  of  the  world, 
and  died  Feb.  23,  1879,  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy 
years. 

Dr.  A.  Snowden  Piggott,  a  graduate  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Virginia,  and  a  chemist  of  distinguished  abili- 
ties, was  also  an  accomplished  belles-lettres  scholar 
and  a  brilliant  magazine  writer.  He  was  best  known, 
however,  as  a  man  of  science,  and  was  a  contributor 
to  technical  periodicals  on  subjects  of  physics  and 
chemistry.  He  was  born  in  1822,  and  died  suddenly 
in  Virginia  in  1869.  He  was  Professor  of  Anatomy 
and  Physiology  in  Washington  Medical  College,  and 
of  Chemistry  in  Maryland  Institute,  Baltimore.  He 
published  in  1854  "  Chemistry  and  Metallurgy  as  Ap- 


plied to  Dental  Surgery,"  "The  Chemistry  and  Met- 
allurgy of  Copper"  in  1858,  and  was  co-editor  of  the 
Americnn  Journal  of  Dental  Science,  and  contributed 
to  the  best  magazines  of  the  day. 

Dr.  J.  E.  Snodgrass  combined  literature  with  the 
practice  of  medicine.  He  was  connected  with  various 
magazines,  and  was  the  editor  of  one  of  them.  His 
"  Ode  to  My  Spring  Lancet,"  published  in  1837,  shows 
his  pride  in  both  professions.  At  his  death,  which 
took  place  in  Virginia  in  1880,  he  left  a  bundle  of  un- 
published letters  from  Edgar  A.  Poe.  Among  these 
was  a  note  from  a  printer  named  Walker,  which 
showed  that  Poe  had  sent  for  Snodgrass  in  his  distress 
a  few  days  before  his  death.  It  appears  thus  that 
Poe  had  been  able  to  communicate  the  fact  that  he 
was  ill,  and  to  send  for  his  friend,  and  this  goes  far  to 
contradict  the  received  stories  of  his  death.  He  was 
already  suffering  with  the  brain  disease  that  carried 
him  oft'  at  a  time  that  it  was  supposed  to  be  intoxica- 
tion. 

Rev.  Edward  Yates  Reese,  at  one  time  editor  of  the 
Methodist  Protestant,  wrote  poetry  and  romance  for 
the  magazines,  but  a  sketch  of  him  will  be  found 
under  the  head  of  the  newspaper  with  which  he  was 
associated.  Miss  Medina,  subsequently  Mrs.  Ham- 
blin,  was  a  clever  contributor  to  the  Saturday  Visitor 
and  other  periodicals.  She  also  wrote  two  dramas. 
Miss  Buchanan  wrote  also  for  these  publications,  her 
most  admired  work  being  "  The  Glen  of  the  Butter- 
flies." Fanny  Wright,  a  strong-minded  woman,  con- 
tributed to  the  columns  of  several  of  the  Baltimore 
journals  in  1834,  and  delivered  several  lectures. 

Park  Benjamin,  who  has  given  many  pieces  both 
in  prose  and  verse  to  the  world,  was  born  in  1809,  and 
came  to  Baltimore  and  projected  in  1846  the  Western 
Continent,  a.week]y  literary  paper,  which  he  continued 
for  several  years.  He  was  connected  editorially  with 
the  American  Monthly  Magazine,  and  for  several  years 
published  The  Wurld,  a  literary  journal  in  New 
York,  with  Epes  Sergeant  and  Rufus  W.  Griswold. 
At  one  time  be  was  connected  with  Horace  Greeley 
in  the  publication  of  the  New  Yorker.  He  died  in 
New  York,  Sept.  12, 1864. 

R.  Horace  Pratt  was  a  practical  printer,  editor, 
poet,  and  composer  of  ballads.  His  poetry  was  smooth 
and  flowing,  and  as  a  ballad-writer  he  scarcely  had 
his  equal  in  this  country.  In  epigram  or  satiric  verse 
he  was  particularly  happy,  and  many  of  his  hits  are 
repeated  to  this  day. 

Charles  Loran,  for  a  long  time  connected  with  the 
press  of  Baltimore,  but  afterwards  a  clerk  in  one  of 
the  government  departments  at  Washington,  died  in 
the  latter  city  May  2,  1857,  in  the  forty-sixth  year  of 
his  age.  Mr.  Loran  was  the  author  of  several  poetic 
effusions  of  merit.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
First  Branch  of  the  City  Council  during  his  resi- 
dence in  this  city,  and  an  active  politician. 

George  L.  L.  Davis,  a  member  of  the  Baltimore  bar, 
■died  in  this  citv  Dec.  24, 1869.     Mr.  Davis  was  at  one 


652 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


time  librarian  of  the  Law  Library,  and  was  conspicu- 
ous for  iiis  literary  and  historical  research.  He  paid 
great  attention  to  tlie  early  reminiscences  and  records 
of  Maryland,  and  had  collected,  collated,  and  pre- 
served much  that  was  of  value  and  interest,  some  of 
which  has  been  published.  He  died  during  the  vaca- 
tion of  the  courts.  Upon  their  convening,  proper  notice 
of  his  death  and  an  adjournment  of  the  courts  were 
made  in  respect  to  his  memory.  In  the  City  Court 
Levin  Gale,  in  announcing  his  death,  spoke  of  him  as 
a  gentleman  and  scholar  who  formed  a  marked  con- 
trast and  exception  to  what,  the  speaker  regretted  to 
say,  is  now  fashionable.  He  said  the  deceased  "  was 
not  a  utilitarian ;  on  the  contrary,  his  life  was  a  protest 
against  the  mercenary  views  which  now  so  generally 
prevail  among  us."  Mr.  Gale  added  that  Mr.  Davis 
had  "an  excellent  knowledge  of  his  profession,  large 
attainment  in  scholastic  learning,  and  notwithstand- 
ing his  eccentricities  a  gentle  and  loving  heart. 
Maryland  owes  to  him  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  her  historical  fame,  and  especially  as 
being  the  pioneer  of  religious  toleration  in  this  coun- 
try."    His  remains  were  interred  at  Frederick,  Md. 

John  P.  Kennedy,  LL.D.,  was  born  on  the  25th  of 
October,  1795,  in  Baltimore,  where  his  father,  William 
Kennedy,  was  then  a  prosperous  merchant,  and  died 
at  Newport  on  the  18th  of  August,  1870.  He  was  the 
eldest  of  four  children,  Hon.  Anthony  Kennedy,  of 
Baltimore  County,  being  the  youngest.  His  father  was 
a  native  of  Ireland,  who  had  emigrated  to  America 
with  his  brothers  while  still  a  boy,  and  his  mother, 
who  lived  to  see  her  son  famous  in  the  world  and 
crowned  with  political  honors,  was  a  daughter  of 
Philip  Pendleton,  of  Berkeley  County,  Va.,  of  a  fam- 
ily in  which  talent  and  worth  seem  to  be  a  common 
inheritance.  After  graduating  at  Baltimore  College 
in  1812,  Mr.  Kennedy  enlisted  as  a  volunteer  in  the 
ranks  of  the  war  of  1812-14,  and  took  part  in  the 
battles  of  Bladensburg  and  North  Point,  serving  as  a 
member  of  Capt.  Warfield's  company  of  Maryland 
militia.' 

Adopting  the  law  as  his  profession,  he  pursued  his 
studies  under  the  celebrated  William  Wirt,  and  in 
1816  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Baltimore,  which 
was  then  illuminated  by  rare  constellations  of  legal 
talent,  in  which  Pinkney,  Wirt,  and  Taney  shone- 
with  especial  brilliancy.  His  literary  tastes,  however, 
soon  manifested  themselves,  and  in  1818,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Peter  Hoffman  Cruse,  he  became  joint  editor 
of  a  fortnightly  serial  called  The,  Red  Book,  the  publi- 
cation of  which  was  continued  for  two  years,  and 
which  was  afterwards  collected  into  two  volumes.  In 
1820  he  was  elected  to  the  Maryland  House  of  Dele- 
gates, and  speedily  won  recognition  as  a  member  of 


•  The  bounty  land-warrant  awanled  for  tliis  service  was  iseued  to  liim 
in  Hay,  IMT,  and  ihe  property  mm  licquentheU  in  Ilia  will  to  "my  young 
cousin,  Nathaniel  Pendleton,  son  of  Boyd  Pendleton,  of  MartiusUnrn,  a 
fine,  gallant  Iwy,  who  rendered  a  most  Important  service  to  Gen.  Kelly 
at  the  time  of  Lee's  invasion  of  Berkeley." 


unusual  promise  and  ability.  In  1823  he  accepted  an 
appointment  from  President  Monroe  as  Secretary  of 
Legation  to  Chili,  but  afterwards  declined  the  position 
because  of  its  merely  nominal  duties.  He  continued, 
however,  warmly  interested  in  public  affairs,  and  found 
time  in  the  midst  of  professional  work  for  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  number  of  political  essays,  which  were  re- 
garded as  exceedingly  valuable  contributions  to  the 
political  literature  of  the  day,  and  which  may  still  be 
read  with  profit.  His  masterly  reply  to  Mr.  Cambre- 
leng's  famous  Report  on  Commerce  and  Manufactures, 
though  written  in  1830,  has  a  practical  value  and  in- 
terest even  at  the  present  time,  and  in  spite  of  the 
lapse  of  years  is  as  complete  and  convincing  a  pre- 
sentation of  his  side  of  the  question  as  has  yet  been 
made. 

In  1832  the  literary  talent  which  had  been  kept  so 
long  in  abeyance  upon  the  more  exciting  calls  of  poli- 

j  tics  and  the  more  serious  duties  of  his  profession 
found  voice  in  the  novel  of  "Swallow  Barn,  or  a  So- 

[  journ  in  the  Old  Dominion,"  and  continued  in  the 

1  ascendant  until  he  was  recalled  to  the  arena  of  public 
life.  His  second  novel,  "  Horse-Shoe  Robinson,  a  Tale 
of  the  Tory  Ascendency,"  was  published  in  1835,  and 
was  followed  in  1838  by  "Rob  of  the  Bowl,  a  Legend 
of  St.  Inig<ics,"  and  in  1840  by  a  volume  entitled  "The 
Annals  of  Quodlibet." 

In  1838  he  was  chosen  to  represent  Baltimore  in 
the  Lower  House  of  Congress,  and  was  re-elected  in 
1841  and  1843.  He  rendered  valuable  and  important 
service  in  this  new  sphere,  both  upon  the  floor  of  the 
House  and  in  committee,  and  was  the  author  of  several 
reports  which  attained  a  national  celebrity,  among 
others,  of  one  on  the  "  Commerce  and  Navigation  of 
the  United  States,"  and  another  on  the  "  Warehouse 
System."    He  also  gave  able  and  eflicient  support  to 

j  the  effort  made  by  Mr.  Morse  to  secure  the  appropri- 
ation for  his  experiments  with  the  magnetic  telegraph, 
and  the  necessary  legislation  was  secured  largely 
through  his  influence. 

In  1844  he  published  a  volume  entitled  "A  Defense 
of  the  Whigs,"  which,  says  Mr.  Winthrop,  "became 
almost  a  hand-book  of  politicians,  and  which  con- 
tains an  admirable  vindication  of  the  party  with 
which  he  was  always  connected  as  long  as  it  existed. 
But  that  party  had  but  a  precarious  and  fitful  su- 
premacy in  Baltimore,  and  at  the  next  election,  in 
1845,  he  failed  of  a  majority,  and  was  never  again 
returned  to  Congress."  Nevertheless,  in  the  following 
year  he  was  elected  to  the  Maryland  House  of  Dele- 
gates, of  which  he  was  made  Speaker,  and  where  he 
took  an  active  part  in  the  measure  which  was  then 
adopted  to  resume  the  payment  of  the  State  debt  and 
effect  the  restoration  of  the  public  credit. 

Retiring  quietly  to  private  life,  he  resumed  the 
labors  which  he  loved  so  well,  and  in  1849  published 
a  biography  of  William  Wirt,  which  was  worthy  both 
of  the  writer  and  the  subject,  and  which,  in  its  ad- 
mirable simplicity  and  excellence,  is  a  notable  excep- 


.y^'^.n    '.J^^/te^,^^  e  fl<. 


rew  TOFE .  e.B  FHTSiW  S,  s  OFE 


LITERATURE    AND   LITERARY   MEN. 


tion  to  Mr.  Carlyle's  caustic  criticism  that  "  a  well- 
written  life  is  almost  as  rare  as  a  well-spent  one."  In 
1852,  Mr.  Kennedy  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  as  the  successor  of  Governor  Graham,  of  North 
Carolina,  and  continued  a  member  of  the  cabinet 
until  March,  1853.  In  1856  he  was  enlisted  by  Mr. 
Peabody  as  his  chief  adviser  and  assistant  in  the  de- 
velopment and  execution  of  his  plans  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Peabody  Institute,  and  entered  upon  this 
service  with  a  zeal  and  earnestness  which  were  grate- 
fully appreciated  and  never  forgotten  by  the  founder 
of  the  noble  charity.  Speaking  of  his  position  upon 
the  issues  which  divided  the  country  in  1861,  Hon. 
Kobert  C.  Winthrop  says  of  him, — 

"  Blr.  Kennedy  was  never,  1  believe,  an  owner  of  slaves,  nor  even  a 
supporter  or  apologist  for  slavery.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  he  had  uever 
co-operated  or  flympathized  with  the  extreme  Abolitionists  of  the  North, 
and  had  always  united  in  measures  for  securing  to  his  own  and  the  other 
Southern  States  the  rights  in  regard  to  this  institution  which  were  ex- 
pressed or  implied  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  as  he  under- 
stood its  provisions.  No  Northern  man,  however,  could  have  been  more 
averee  than  he  was  to  the  extension  of  slavery  into  new  territories.  Pie 
was,  moreover,  a  devoted  lover  of  the  Union,  and  held  in  abhorrence  all 
ideas  either  of  peaceable  or  forcible  secession  or  nullification.  Living 
in  a  Border  State,  where  the  personal  and  party  feuds  which  preceded 
and  followed  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion  were  so  violent  and  bitter, 
and  upon  which  at  one  time  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole  brunt  of  the  battle 
might  fall,  his  first  hopes  undoubtedly  were,  as  were  those  of  many  of 
his  friends  farther  North,  that  some  arrangement  or  adjustment  might 
be  devised  with  a  view  to  prevent  the  fratricidal  strife  and  avert  the  full 
horrors  of  civil  war.  In  this  spirit  he  published  a  few  weeks  before  the 
first  fatal  blow  had  been  struck  a  pamphlet  entitled  '  The  Border  States, 
Their  Power  and  Duty,'  which  presented  the  great  questions  before  the 
country  with  boldness  and  signal  ability,  and  appealed  to  the  Border 
States  to  interpose,  by  some  separate  concerted  action,  for  the  settlement 
of  all  issues  in  dispute,  and  for  the  ultimate  preservation  of  the  Union." 

During  the  war  he  published  in  the  National  Intel- 
ligencer, under  the  nom  de  plume  of  "  Paul. Ambrose," 
a  series  of  letters,  in  which  he  discussed  "  the  princi- 
ples and  incidents  of  the  Rebellion  as  these  rose  to 
view  in  the  rapid  transit  of  events,"  which  were  repub- 
lished in  book-form  in  1865  under  his  own  name. 
This  was  his  last  completed  literary  work,  and  soon 
after  its  publication  failing  health  demanded  the  ces- 
sation of  labor  and  compelled  a  voyage  to  Europe. 
While  abroad  he  was  appointed  by  Mr.  Seward  as  one 
of  the  United  States  commissioners  at  the  Paris  Ex- 
position, and  in  this  capacity,  as  well  as  in  connection 
with  the  select  commission  on  the  subject  of  a  uniform 
decimal  currency,  rendered  valuable  service.  Mr. 
Kennedy  returned  home  in  October,  1868,  and  made 
his  last  public  appearance  at  a  large  Republican  mass 
meeting  in  Baltimore,  where  he  "made  an  earnest  and 
eloquent  appeal  to  the  South  to  acquiesce  cordially 
in  the  results  of  the  war,"  and  to  unite  "in  that  new 
pathway  which  "Providence  has  ordained  to  be  the  line 
of  our  future  march  to  the  highest  destiny  of  nations." 
Mr.  Kennedy  left  no  children.  His  wife  was  a 
daugliter  of  Edward  Gray,  one  of  the  worthiest  and 
most  respected  merchants  of  Baltimore,  and  who  was 
a  particular  friend  of  Washington  Irving. 

In  our  limited  space  it  is  impossible  to  do  justice  to 
Mr.  Kennedv  either  as  a  statesman  or  as  an  author. 


"  In  looking  back  on  the  life  which  has  been  thus 
rapidly  sketched,"  says  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop, 
in  his  appreciative  tribute  before  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society,  of  which  Mr.  Kennedy  was  a  cor- 
responding member,  "  and  comparing  his  capacities 
for  usefulness  with  his  actual  career,  one  cannot  but 
feel  how  much  has  been  lost  to  the  best  service  of  the 
country,  in  his  case  as  in  too  many  others,  by  the  ac- 
cidents of  politics  and  the  caprices  of  parties.  As  a 
senator  or  as  a  diplomatist  he  would  have  done  emi- 
nent honor  to  the  nation  at  home  or  abroad,  and  he 
seemed  particularly  suited  by  his  abilities,  his  accom- 
plishments, and  his  tastes  for  prolonged  and  continu- 
ous service  in  spheres  like  these.  But  it  was  not  in 
his  nature  to  seek  them,  and  it  was  not  his  fortune 
to  enjoy  them.  I  may  be  pardoned  for  recalling  in 
such  a  connection  those  striking  lines  of  Coleridge  : 

"  '  How  seldom,  Friend,  a  good  great  man  inherits 
Honor  or  wealth,  with  all  his  worth  and  pains! 

It  sounds  like  stories  from  the  world  of  spirits 

If  any  man  obtain  that  which  he  merits. 
Or  any  merit  that  which  he  obtains.' " 

Though  the  "  accidents  of  politics  and  the  caprices 
of  parties"  did  not  allow  him  that  fullness  of  oppor- 
tunity which  is  necessary  to  great  and  enduring 
achievements  in  the  fields  of  diplomacy  and  states- 
manship, his  whole  public  career  was  marked  by  a 
breadth  of  intellect,  a  comprehensiveness  of  mental 
grasp,  and  an  enlightened  and  fervent  patriotism  that 
would  have  adorned  the  highest  official  spheres,  and 
have  left  a  deep  impress  for  good  upon  the  history  of 
the  country.  But  great  as  were  Mr.  Kennedy's  talents 
and  aptitude  for  public  aifairs,  his  strongest  inclina- 
tions were  for  literature,  and  it  is  dcmbtful  whether 
he  was  not  thankful  to  political  fortune  for  the  fickle- 
ness which  enabled  him  to  gratify  his  tastes  in  this 
direction.  Certainly  American  literature  has  reason 
to  rejoice  that  his  genius  found  time  and  opportunity 
for  expression  in  works  whose  charm  and  freshness 
are  perennial,  and  which,  in  spite  of  such  high  au- 
thority as  James  Russell  Lowell,  have  proved  their 
"blue  blood"  and  their  title  to  a  place  in  the  aris- 
tocracy of  merit  to  the  full  satisfaction  of  all  true 
literary  "  heralds." 

But,  as  has  been  well  said,  "  Mr.  Kennedy,  as  a 
man,  was  greater  and  better  than  all  his  books.  One 
certainly  looks  in  vain  in  all  that  he  wrote  or  did  for 
the  full  measure  of  those  gifts  and  acquirements  of 
mind  and  heart,  that  learning  and  wisdom,  that  wit 
and  humor,  that  whole-souled  cordiality  and  gayety 
and  kindness  which  shone  out  so  conspicuously  in 
daily  intercourse.  A  truer  friend  or  more  charming 
companion  has  rarely  been  found  or  lost  by  those  who 
have  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  his  companionship  and 
friendship." 

"  One  could  not  be  in  his  company  for  never  so 
short  a  time,"  says  Mr.  Lowell,  "  without  being 
touched  by  that  gentle  consideration  for  others  which 
is  the  root  of  all  good  breeding.    His  courtesy  was 


654 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


not  the  formal  discipline  of  elegant  manners.     There  [ 
was  a  sense  of  benefaction  in  it.   Whoever  came  near 
him  felt  the  friendly  charm  which  his  nature  radiated, 
so  that  his  very  house  seemed  steeped  in  it  and  wel- 
comed you  no  less  heartily  than  he." 

Such  a  combination  of  intellectual  and  moral  qual- 
ities as  met  together  in  Mr.  Kennedy  are  rarely 
found  united.  i 

In  the  words  of  his   biographer  and  friend,  Mr. 
Tuckerman,  "the  versatility  of  his  usefulness  and  his 
sympathies  may  be  inferred  from  the  many  and  widely- 
distant  associations   that  endear  his  memory.      His  j 
name  gratefully  designates  a  channel  of  the  lonely 
Arctic  Sea,  and  is  identified  with  the  initiative  ex-  ; 
periment  which   established  the  electric  telegraph ;  | 
with  the  opening  of  Japan  to  the  commerce  of  the  ! 
world  ;  with  the  exploration  of  the  Amazon  and  the 
China  Sea ;  with  the  benefactions  of  Peabody  and 
the  loyalty  of  Maryland;  with  the  cause  of  education 
and  the  old  genial  life  of  Virginia;    with  what  is 
graceful  and  gracious  in  American  letters,  and  useful 
and  honorable  in  American  statesmanship ;  with  the 
pleasures  of  society  and   the  duties  of  patriotism; 
with  the  fondest  recollections  of  friendship  and  the 
tenderest  memories  of  domestic  love." 

One  of  the  oldest  of  Mr.  Kennedy's  friends  has  I 
said  of  him,  "All  wholesome,  glad  influences  flowed 
out  from  his  daily  life,  strong  as  the  strongest  of  men 
and  sw^eet  as  the  sweetest  of  women.  Such  men  as 
he,  at  once  so  genial  and  so  intellectual,  with  a  fasci- 
nation alike  for  young  and  old,  ought  never  to  die." 
And  they  do  not.  Such  lives  do  not  pass  away  with 
the  mortal  breath,  but,  infused  into  the  very  spirit  and 
body  of  the  times,  pass  to  succeeding  generations,  a 
rich  heritage  in  their  wealth  of  moral  worth  and  in- 
tellectual greatness. 

Bishop  William  Rollinson  Whittingham,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  late  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of 
Maryland,  was  widely  known  both  in  this  country 
and  in  Europe  as  a  profound  and  accurate  divine,  an 
accomplished  scholar,  and  a  clear  and  forcible  writer. 
He  edited  The  Family  VinHor,  Children's  Magazine, 
tlie  Churchman,  and  also  the  "  Parish  Library,"  thir- 
teen volumes,  a  collection  of  standard  works  for 
families.  At  a  later  period  Palmer's  "  Treatise  on  the 
Church"  was  issued  under  his  supervision.  He  has 
also  published  occasional  sermons. 

Rev.  E.  A.   Dalrymple,  S.T.D.,  secretary  of   the 
Diocesan  Episcopal   Convention,  and  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  Maryland   Historical  Society,  is  a  ' 
gentleman  of  fine  literary  attainments,  and  perhaps 
the  ablest  archieologist  in  the  State.      He  has  de- 
livered many  addresses  and  discourses,  and  has  edited 
"  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  to  Maryland,"  and   "  E.x- 
tracts  from  letters  of  Missionaries"  in  Maryland  from  ] 
1638  to  1677,  Maryland  Historical  Society  publica-  | 
tions. 

Cornelius  A.  Logan,  the  poet  and  dramatist,  was 
born  in   Raltimcire  in   1800,  and  died  in  Cincinnati, 


Feb.  22,  1853.  He  was  educated  at  St.  Mary's  Col- 
lege, and  assisted  Paul  Allen  in  the  editorial  manage- 
ment of  the  Baltimore  Chronicle.  He  next  turned 
theatrical  critic,  and  was  afterwards  a  comedian.  In 
1840  he  removed  to  Cincinnati,  and  became  a  bold 
defender  of  the  stage  against  pulpit  attacks.  He 
wrote  many  plays,  among  them  "  The  Wag  of  Maine," 
in  1835 ;  "  The  Wool-Dealer,"  a  farce  written  for  Dan 
Marble;  "Yankee-Land,"  a  comedy,  in  1834;  "  Re- 
moving the  Deposits;"  "Astarte,"  an  adaptation  of 
Shelley's  "Cenci;"  and  "A  Hundred  Yeara  Hence." 
His  poem,  "  The  Mississippi,"  was  copied  in  the  Edin- 
burgh Review,  with  a  handsome  tribute  to  the  author. 
His  daughters,  Eliza,  Olive,  and  Cecilia,  have  achieved 
distinction  on  the  stage. 

Rev.  John  Frederick  Schroeder,  clergyman  and 
author,  was  born  in  Baltimore,  of  an  old  and  distin- 
guished Baltimore  family,  on  April  8,  1800,  and  died 
at  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  26, 1857.  He  studied  at  the 
Epi.scopal  Theological  Seminary  at  New  Haven  ;  was 
admitted  to  Holy  Orders  in  182.3,  and  had  charge  of  a 
parish  on  the  Eastern  Shore.  Besides  being  a  popu- 
lar preacher,  he  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  on  Ori- 
ental literature  before  the  New  York  Athena>um  ;  con- 
tributed a  treatise  on  the  "Authenticity  and  Canonical 
Authority  of  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament"  and 
a  treatise  on  the  "Use  of  the  Syriac  Language"  to  a 
volumeof  essays  and  dissertations  on  "  Biblical  Litera- 
ture," edited  by  himself;  published  a  memorial  volume 
on  the  death  of  Bishop  Hobart  in  1830.  He  published 
in  1855  "  Maxims  of  Washington,  Political,  Social, 
Moral,  and  Religious ;"  "Memoir  of  Mrs.  Mary  Anna 
Boardman,  etc.,"  by  her  son-in-law,  in  1849;  and  at 
the  time  of  his  death  he  was  engaged  on  "The  Life 
and  Times  of  Washington,"  a  serial  work  of  two 
volumes,  of  which  he  lived  only  to  complete  four 
numbers. 

J.  T.  Heyen,  poet  and  linguist,  was  a  liberal  con- 
tributor to  many  of  the  German  and  English  literary 
journals  of  the  United  States.  He  was  born  in  Jever, 
Oldenburg,  Germany,  March  2,  1810,  and  came  to  this 
country  about  1831,  and  after  engaging  in  mercantile 
pursuits,  abandoned  it  for  the  more  congenial  pursuits 
of  literature.  For  many  years  he  filled  a  responsible 
position  in  the  Baltimore  post-office,  and  employed 
his  leisure  moments  in  the  translation  of  his  favorite 
German,  French,  Spanish,  and  Italian  poets.  His 
own  poems  are  brilliant,  and  evince  a  beautiful  com- 
mand of  the  English  language,  which  he  spoke  with 
the  most  astonishing  fluency.  Among  his  best  efforts 
was  the  poem  entitled  "The  Suicide,"  published  in 
the  Baltimorean  several  years  after  his  death,  which 
occurred  Dec.  22,  1875,  in  his  sixty-fifth  year.  After 
leaving  the  i)ost-office  he  was  appointed  hy  his  brother- 
in-law,  Col.  Frederick  Raine,  a  position  on  the  edi- 
torial staff"  of  the  Correspondent,  where  he  remained 
until  his  death. 

Edward  Leyh  was  for  many  years  connected  with 
the  Correspondent,  first  as  an  editorial  writer  and  after- 


LITERATUKE   AND   LITERARY    MEN. 


wards  as  managing  editor.  Mr.  Leyh's  earliest  news- 
paper experience  in  Baltimore  was  on  the  editorial 
staff  of  the  Wecker,  and  he  subsequently  established 
the  New  Correspondent.  He  left  the  city  in  May,  1881, 
to  accept  the  position  of  editor-in-chief  of  the  West- 
liche  Pod  of  St.  Louis.  As  a  terse,  brilliant,  and  \ 
logical  writer,  Mr.  Leyh  has  no  superior  on  the  Ger- 
man-American press.  His  information  on  political, 
historical,  and  scientific  subjects  is  thorough  and  ac- 
curate. He  corresponded  with  several  of  the  leading 
papers  of  Berlin,  including  Die  Gartenlaube.  He  has 
done  much  literary  work,  among  it  a  translation  into 
German  of  Joaquin  Miller's  poems  that  possesses  all 
the  fire  and  spirit  of  the  original.  The  translation 
was  published  in  Berlin,  and  has  been  greatly  ad-  ' 
mired  and  had  an  exten.sive  sale  in  Germany.  i 

Rev.  John  G.  Morris,  D.D.,  was  born  in  York,  Pa.,  | 
in  180.3,  and  graduated  at  Dickinson  College  in  1823.  j 
He  studied  theology  at  Princeton  College,  and  was  j 
licensed  as  a  preacher  in  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
1826,  and  immediately  called  to  Baltimore,  where  he  | 
has  remained  until  the  present  time.     This  learned 
divine  and  scientist,  during  his  ministry  in  Baltimore, 
has   published   a   number   of  addresses,  theological 
treatises,  and  translations  from  the  German.    Among 
the  most  important  of  his  works  are  "  Popular  Ex-  ■ 
position  of  the  Gospels,"  published  in  Baltimore  in 
two  volumes  in  1840;  "Life  of  John  Arndt,"  in  1853; 
"  The  Blind  Girl  of  Wirtenberg"  and  "  Catharine  De 
Bora,"  in  1856  ;  "  Martin  Behaim,"  a  discourse  before  I 
the  Maryland  Historical  Society,  in  1855 ;  and  "  The 
Lords  Baltimore,"  published  by  the  same  society  in 
1874.      Dr.  Morris  edited  the  Lutheran  Observer  in 
1831-32,  and  was  co-editor  of  the  "  Year- Book  of  the 
Reformation"  in  1844.     He  has  devoted  considerable 
attention  to  the  natural  sciences,  particularly  ento- 
mology, and  has  acquired  considerable  reputation  as  1 
a  lecturer  before  the  Smithsonian  Institute  and  other 
associations.     He  has  written  on  the  lepidoptera  of 
North  America,  which  was  published  in  the  Smith- 
sonian "Miscellaneous  Collections."     Upon  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Peabody  Institute  Library  he  was 
elected  the  first  librarian,  and  made  the  first  collec- 
tion of  books  for  it.     He  was  for  many  years  pastor 
of  the  First  Lutheran  Church  in  Baltimore,  and  es- 
tablished  a   literary   institute   for  young    ladies    at 
Lutherville,  Baltimore  County. 

S.  Teackle  Wallis,  an  eminent  la\vyer,  has  made 
literature  rather  a  recreation  than  a  labor,  but  has 
nevertheless  produced  some  work  of  a  high  grade. 
His  oratory  is  elegant  in  diction,  clear,  polished,  and 
abounding  in  keen  strokes  of  satire,  and  with  brilliant 
epigram.  His  poetry  is  imaginative,  and  flows  with 
a  scholarly  grace  and  melody  that  show  great  facility 
in  writing  verse.  His  poems  are  all  fugitive  pieces, 
called  out  by  special  epochs  of  interest,  such  as  the 
late  civil  war.  No  collected  volume  of  his  poems  has 
been  made.  The  book  by  which  Mr.  Wallis  is  best  ] 
known  as  a  man  of  letters  is  his  "  Glimpses  of  Spain,"  ' 


he  having  spent  some  time  in  that  country  upon 
diplomatic  service.  Mr.  Wallis  possessed  the  Spanish 
language  very  perfectly  from  early  life,  and  was  thus 
advantageously  placed  to  study  that  country  as  it  was 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  The  arduous  practice  of 
thelawhasof  late  withdrawn  Mr.  Wallis  from  literary 
labor,  except  an  occasional  address,  contributing  to  a 
journal  or  review. 

Sidney  Lanier  was  born  in  Macon,  Ga.,  on  Feb.  3, 
1842,  of  parents  de-scended  on  the  one  side  from  Hu- 
guenot refugees,  and  on  the  other  from  a  Scottish 
family,  the  Andersons  of  Virginia.  After  graduating 
with  the  highest  honors  at  Oglethorpe  College,  Geor- 
gia, he  enlisted  at  the  outbreak  of  the  late  war  in  the 
Georgia  Battalion,  afterwards  forming  a  part  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  in  which  he  served  as  a 
private  for  a  year,  and  was  then  transferred  to  the  Sig- 
nal Corps.  In  1864,  while  he  was  serving  as  signal-offi- 
cer on  the  steamer  "  Annie,"  the  vessel  was  captured 
by  a  Federal  blockader.  Mr.  Lanier  was  urged  by  the 
English  captain  of  the  "Annie"  to  pass  him.self  oft' as 
an  Englishman,  but  refused  to  disguise  his  nationality 
or  rank,  and  was  taken  a  prisoner  to  Fort  Lookout, 
where  he  remained  a  prisoner  until  the  end  of  the 
war,  and  where  he  contracted  the  seeds  of  the  malady 
which  never  afterwards  quitted  him.  After  his  re- 
lease he  studied  law  in  Macon,  and  became  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Anderson  &  Lanier.  He  soon  found, 
however,  that  the  exertion  of  pleading  was  too  severe 
for  him,  bringing  on  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  and 
he  therefore  was  compelled  to  quit  the  bar  and  devote 
himself  to  literature,  which  had  always  been  his 
passion.  From  his  childhood  Mr.  Lanier  had  been 
devoted  to  music,  and  he  attained  great  proficiency 
on  the  flute.  In  1873,  when  stopping  in  Baltimore 
on  his  way  to  New  Y'ork,  his  performance  was  heard 
by  Mr.  Hamerik,  of  the  Peabody  Orchestra,  who  at 
once  oflfered  him  the  position  of  first  flute,  which  he 
retained  for  several  seasons.  In  1876,  at  the  invita- 
tion of  the  managers  of  the  Centennial  Exhibition, 
he  wrote  the  cantata  which  was  sung  at  the  opening 
ceremonies  by  a  chorus  of  eight  hundred  voices,  sup- 
ported by  an  orchestra  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  in- 
struments. In  the  winter  of  1879-80  he  delivered  a 
course  of  lectures  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  University 
on  "  English  Verse,  Especially  Shakspeare's,"  and 
soon  after  embodied  the  principles  here  partly  laid 
down  in  a  book  called  "  The  Science  of  English 
Verse."  Subsequent  to  this  he  published  "The 
Boys'  Froissart"  and  "  The  Boys'  King  Arthur."  In 
the  winter  of  1880-81  he  again  lectured  at  the  uni- 
versity on  English  literature,  but  his  weakness  had  so 
increased  that  he  was  obliged  to  remain  seated  during 
the  delivery  of  his  lectures.  In  the  following  spring 
he  was  advised  to  try  a  trip  to  the  hill  country  of 
North  Carolina  as  the  only  means  of  saving  his  life. 
He  steadily  declined,  however,  and  on  the  7th  of  Sep- 
tember died  at  the  village  of  Lynn.  He  left  a  widow 
[nee  Miss  Mary  Day,  of  Macon)  and  four  children. 


656 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


He  had  the  true  poetic  temperament,  a  rich  and  glow- 
ing imagination  at  once  analytic  and  creative,  a  deep 
love  of  trutli  and  beauty,  a  taste  cultivated  by  pro- 
found study  of  tiie  master-works  of  the  classic  and 
modern  tongues,  a  close  observation  of  nature,  and 
mind  and  moral  nature  of  exquisite  refinement  and 
sensibility, — these  make  up  a  nature  attuned  to  poetry. 
In  person  he  was  tall,  slender,  delicate  of  feature,  fully 
bearded,  and  looked  the  man  that  he  was.  His  poetry 
is  original  to  the  verge  of  eccentricity,  abounding  in 
passages  of  exceeding  beauty,  but  sometimes  as  ob- 
scure as  Browning.  Like  Browning,  he  wrote  for 
poets,  and  his  images  are  at  times  vividly  suggested 
by  a  single  stroke,  but  rarely  fully  wrought  out. 

Edward  Spencer,  a  well-known  journalist,  has  been 
a  very  successful  man  of  letters  in  more  enduring 
work.  He  has  a  profound  acquaintance  with  Ameri- 
can history,  particularly  with  the  early  history  of 
Maryland  and  Baltimore.  His  papers,  addresses,  and 
magazine  articles  on  these  subjects  are  full  of  quaint 
and  curious  information,  and  appear  to  be  written 
from  exhaustless  stores  of  historic  fact.  Besides  being 
a  man  of  letters,  Mr.  Spencer  has  rare  poetical  powers, 
and  has  written  several  excellent  dramas,  the  best 
known  of  which  is  "Kit,  the  Arkansas  Traveler," 
which  Mr.  Chanfrau  has  made  so  brilliant  a  success. 
Mr.  Spencer's  "  History  of  the  Sesqui-Centennial  Cele- 
bration" of  Baltimore^  published  in  1881,  is  one  of  the 
brightest  souvenirs  of  that  interesting  event.  la  as- 
sociation with  Wm.  Hand  Browne,  he  also  wrote  a  life 
of  Hon.  Thomas  F.  Bayard,  of  Delaware.  Mr.  Spencer 
has  been  connected  with  several  different  journals  in 
Baltimore,  first  with  the  Evening  Bulletin,  then  with 
the  Sun,  and  more  recently  with  the  American,  to 
which  he  contributes  over  his  own  signature  very 
characteristic  and  brilliant  articles.  Mr.  Spencer's 
style  is  easy  and  natural,  sometimes  playful  to  the 
point  of  verbal  quips,  and  sometimes  sarcastic.  Its 
chief  value  is  its  power  of  taking  up  a  mass  of  dry 
facts  and  statistics  and  working  them  up  into  an  in- 
teresting and  effective  article.  His  manuscript  is 
clear  and  elegant,  almost  free  from  erasures  and  inter- 
lineations, showing  that  he  does  his  work  right  from 
the  first  and  saves  the  labor  of  revision.  It  is  in  this 
that  he  accomplishes  so  much. 

Thomas  M.  Griffith  was  born  in  Baltimore  in  the 
year  1766.  Though  too  young  at  the  breaking  out  of 
the  Revolutionary  war  to  be  actively  engaged  in  it, 
he  doubtless  watched  its  progress  with  anxious  solici- 
tude, and  greeted  its  successful  close  with  all  the 
ardor  of  the  most  devoted  patriot.  His  life  was  a 
compendium  of  unostentatious  goodness  and  useful- 
ness. For  many  years  he  was  a  magistrate,  and  his 
decisions  were  always  characterized  by  probity  and 
justice.  He  held  many  lucrative  offices,  and  acted 
often  in  a  fiduciary  capacity,  but  at  liis  death,  which 
occurred  June  9, 1838,  so  complete  had  been  his  faith- 
fulness to  obligations,  he  left  little  for  posterity  save 
the  inestimable  treasure  of  a  good  name.     Mr.  Grif- 


fith was  the  author  of  the  "  History  of  Maryland"  and 
"  Annals  of  Baltimore,"  to  which  the  present  work  is 
indebted  for  many  of  its  most  valuable  and  interest- 
ing incidents.  He  was  a  pioneer  in  that  species  of 
literature  which  is  destined  to  furnish  the  future  his- 
torian the  materials  for  a  philosophic  and  compre- 
hensive treati.se  upon  the  institutions  of  this  country, 
and  iis  such  is  deserving  of  all  praise. 

Pliilip  Reese  Uhler,  who  has  largely  contributed 
to  the  scientific  productions  of  the  country,  was  born 
in  Baltimore,  June  3,  1835,  the  eldest  son  of  a  dry- 
goods  merchant,  George  H.  Uhler,  who  was  the  first 

j  to  introduce  into  this  city  the  "  one  price"  system  of 
selling  goods.  His  mother,  Anna  Maria  Uhler,  is 
the  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Reese,  one  of  the  de- 
fenders of  Baltimore  in  1814,  who  was  wounded  at 

j  the  battle  of  North  Point.    Mr.  Uhler  passed  his 

j  childhood  and  early  youth  in  Baltimore  City  and 
County,  where  he  attended  the  private  schools  chosen 
by  his  father.  His  classical  education  was  acquired 
in  the  Latin  school  of  Daniel  Jones,  on  Eutaw  Street. 
After  leaving  school  he  was  for  several  years  an  as- 

1  sistant  in  his  father's  store.  Not  having  a  great 
fondness  for  business,  and  being  ardently  fond  of  the 
study  of  nature,  he  embraced  the  first  opportunity  to 

:  secure  intellectual  occupation.     The  Rev.  John  G. 


Morris  secured  for  him  a  situation  as  his  assistant  in 
the  Peabody  Library.  After  remaining  there  for 
about  two  years,  in  1863,  he  joined  Prof.  Louis  Agas- 


siz  as  entomologist  in  his  Museum  of  Comparative 
Zoology  at  Harvard  College.  In  accordance  with  the 
plan  of  that  profe-ssor,  he  made  a  natural  history  ex- 
ploring trip  to  the  island  of  San  Domingo,  and  col- 
lected many  curious  specimens  from  all  parts  of  the 
animal  kingdom  in  various  sections  of  that  country. 
He  was  also  enabled  to  observe  the  geological  struc- 
ture of  that  region,  and  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of 
the  way  in  which  coral  islands  are  now  built  up  in 
the  ocean.  He  is  a  member  of  most  of  the  learned 
societies  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  has 
extensive  relations  with  naturalists  in  Europe  and 
the  West  Indies.  His  writings  consist  chiefly  of 
special  memoirs  on  insects,  Crustacea,  and  geology, 
published  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  surveys  of  Prof. 
Hayden  and  of  Lieut.  Wheeler.  His  original  me- 
moirs on  special  topics  are  contained  in  the  publi- 

1  cations  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences,  the  American  Entomological  Society,  etc. 
After  an  interval  of  about  three  years  he  was  offiered 
a  more  advanced  place  in  the  Peabody  Institute, 
which  he  accepted,  and  now  fills  the  position  of 
librarian.  His  most  extensive  labor  in  that  capacity 
has  been  the  development  of  a  catalogue  of  the  books 
in  such  a  simple,  practical  manner  as  to  be  most  use- 

I  ful  to  the  readers  who  use  that  library.  By  direction 
of  the  provost,  who  determined  with  the  library  com- 
mittee what  kind  of  catalogue  was  to  be  prepared 
for  the  press,  and  the  decision  being  in  favor  of  an 

'  alphabetical    one  with  short   titles,    he  has  worked 


BALTIMORE   LIBRARIES   AND   MISCELLANEOUS   SOCIETIES. 


for  more  than  twelve  years  in  bringing  it  to  perfec- 
tion. Being  ably  seconded  by  a  staff  of  his  own 
training,  the  work  is  finished,  and  is  now  being  ar- 
ranged for  the  printer. 

William  Hand  Browne,  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished scholars  and  liUlTotcvn  of  Baltimore,  is  the 
descendant  of  an  old  family  of  Queen  Anne's  County, 
Md.  His  paternal  grandfather  was  an  officer  in  the 
war  of  independence,  his  father  a  merchant  of  Balti- 
more, in  which  city  he  was  born.  In  1850  he  took 
the  degree  of  M.D.  at  the  University  of  Maryland,  but 
never  practiced  the  medical  profession.  In  1866  he 
joined  Prof.  A.  T.  Bledsoe  in  founding  the  Sovthern 
Review,  of  which  he  continued  joint  editor  and  pro- 
prietor for  the  two  years  following.  He  then  became 
editor  of  the  New  Eclectic,  afterwards  the  Southern 
Magazine,  and  occupied  this  position  until  the  discon- 
tinuance of  that  journal  in  December,  1874.  Both 
the  Review  and  Mar/azine  were  established  with  the 
view  of  providing  an  adequate  organ  of  expression 
for  the  intellect  and  culture  of  the  Southern  people, 
and  most  of  the  leading  writers  of  the  South  were 
contributors  to  their  pages.  In  1879,  Dr.  Browne 
was  appointed  associate  and  librarian  of  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  which  position  he  still  holds. 

Beside  a  large  number  of  papers  in  the  journals  he 
conducted,  and  in  others.  Dr.  Browne  has  published, 
in  association  with  Prof.  R.  M.  Johnston,  a  "His- 
torical Sketch  of  English  Literature"  and  the  "  Life 
of  Alexander  H.  Stephens,"  and  in  association  with 
Col.  J.  T.  Scharf,  a  "  School  History  of  Maryland." 
He  has  also  published  several  translations  from  the 
French  and  German,  the  most  considerable  of  which, 
a  version  of  Von  Falke's  "  Hellas  and  Rom,"  is  now 
in  the  press.  Mr.  Browne's  literary  work  is  character- 
ized by  great  refinement  of  style  and  delicate  percep- 
tion of  beauty  and  harmony,  both  in  form  and  matter. 

George  H.  Miles,  the  poet  and  playwright,  was 
born  in  Baltimore,  his  father,  William  Miles,  being 
a  much-esteemed  and  honorable  merchant,  who  at 
one  time  held  the  position  of  consul  to  one  of  the 
South  American  States.  Mr.  Miles  graduated  at 
Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  Emmittsburg,  Md.,  in  1843, 
with  the  highest  honors;  studied  law  under  J.  H.  B. 
Latrobe,  and  for  several  years  practiced  at  the  Balti- 
more bar.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Edward  Tiers, 
a  prominent  merchant  of  New  York,  but  at  his  death, 
near  Emmittsburg,  on  July  24,  1871,  left  no  children. 
Giving  up  the  practice  of  law,  Mr.  Miles  returned 
to  "  Thornton,"  his  country  residence  in  Frederick 
County,  to  follow  the  more  congenial  pursuit  of  lit- 
erture,  in  which  he  was  afterwards  distinguished.  He 
became  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Belles-Lettres  at 
Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  and  continued  to  fill  this 
position  with  great  acceptability  for  several  years, 
when  he  devoted  the  rest  of  his  life  to  literature. 
Even  as  a  youth  at  college  he  showed  remarkable 
literary  ability,  and  it  was  at  this  time  that  he  wrote 
one  of  his  most  admirable  stories,  "  Loretto,"  a  book 


still  deservedly  popular  with  the  young.  His  ripest 
and  most  scholarly  effort  was  his  review  of  "  Hamlet." 
Mr.  Miles  is  best  known  to  the  public,  however,  for 
his  magnificent  prize  play  of  "  Mohammed,"  which 
he  wrote  for  Edwin  Forrest,  then  in  the  zenith  of  his 
historic  success,  and  for  which  he  paid  him  one  thou- 
sand dollars.  Mr.  Miles  wrote  a  great  deal  for  the 
stage.  "Signor  Valiente"  was  one  of  his  best-known 
plays.  "Mary's  Birthday,"  the  comic  opera  of 
"  Abou  Hassan,"  and  other  plays  are  also  among  his 
works.  Among  his  poems,  one  on  "  Raphael's  Trans- 
figuration" is  classed  his  best.  "  God  Save  the  South," 
"  Christine,"  and  quite  a  number  of  similar  produc- 
tions have  come  from  his  pen  from  time  to  time,  and 
just  before  his  death  his  poems  were  collected  and 
published  in  Baltimore.  Socially  Mr.  Miles  was  very 
entertaining,  possessing  charming  conversational 
powers  and  fascinating  address. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

BALTIMORE     LIBRARIES,     MISCELLANEOUS    SOCIE- 
TIES AND  ASSOCIATIONS,  AND    MILITIA. 

The  first  public  libraries  in  the  province  of  Mary- 
j  land  were  those  of  the  parish,  and  were  under  the 
I  control  of  the  clergy.  In  1696  the  General  Assembly 
passed  an  act  "  securing  the  parochial  libraries  of  this 
province,"  and  directing  "  that  the  care  and  ^harge 
thereof  be  committed  to  some  worthy  and  learned  per- 
1  son."  Three  years  later  the  Legislature  repealed  the 
{  act  of  1696,  and  appointed  "  the  learned  and  worthy 
Dr.  Thomas  Bray,  or  his  successor  (viz.,  as  the  Bishop 
of  London's  Commissary),  to  be  chief  visitor  of  all 
and  every  the  said  libraries  within  the  said  province." 
This  act  in  its  turn  was  also  repealed  and  amended 
j  by  the  Legislature  in  1704,  when  it  was  provided 
"that  the  libraries  of  the  several  and  respective 
parishes  within  this  province  shall  be  and  remain  in 
the  hands  and  possession  of  the  minister  of  the  parish 
(if  there  be  any  minister  actually  inducted  into  and 
incumbent  to  the  said  parish)  during  his  residence  in 
the  said  parish,  who  is  by  this  act  obliged  to  keep  and 
preserve  the  said  library  from  waste  or  embezzlement, 
and  to  be  accountable  for  the  same  to  the  Governor, 
Council,  and  vestry  as  often  as  required.  The  vestry 
were  also  required  to  visit  and  inspect  the  parish 
library  once  every  year,  and  in  case  of  failure  to  do 
so,  were  made  liable  to  a  fine  of  fourteen  hundred 
pounds  of  tobacco,  "  one  moiety  to  her  majesty  (Queen 
Anne),  for  the  support  of  the  government,  and  the 
other  moiety  to  the  informer." 

The  Governor  was  also  authorized  by  the  act  to 
examine  and  report  annually  the  condition  of  these 
libraries. 

The  first  public  circulating  library  in  the  province 
of  Maryland,  "  for  diffusing  a  spirit  of  science  through 


658 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


the  country,"  us  the  advertisement  in  the  Maryland 
Gazette  expressed  it,  was  established  at  Annapolis  by 
William  Hind  in  September,  1762,  but  for  want  of 
patronage  he  sold  his  books  at  auction,  April  17, 1764. 
Other  circulating  libraries  were,  however,  established 
at  Annapolis,  from  which  the  inhabitants  of  Baltimore 
Town  were  supplied  with  books.  This  fact  is  attested 
by  a  circular  issued  by  Joseph  Rathel  in  1773,  in  which 
be  solicits  subscribers  to  a  circulating  library  that  he 
proposes  to  establish  in  Baltimore  Town,  "at  the  rate 
of  one  dollar  a  quarter,"  adding  that  "  the  sub.scrip- 
tion  to  the  library  at  Annapolis  is  one  guinea  per 
annum,  besides  the  expense  of  a  dollar  a  year  for  car- 
riage of  books  from  thence  to  this  place."  Whether 
Mr.  Rathel,  who  calls  himself  the  "International 
proprietor,"  succeeded  with  his  library  the  early 
records  do  not  state,  but  it  is  certain  that  up  to  this 
period  libraries  were  very  scarce  and  rarely  to  be 
found  except  at  the  private  residences  of  gentlemen 
of  wealth.  There  were  booksellers  in  the  town  long 
before  this  time,  however,  who  imported  from  London 
and  also,  purchased  private  libraries.  The  literary 
matter  of  the  town  was  materially  increased  by  the 
sale  at  the  Lodge,  near  the  Ferry  House,  opposite  Alex- 
andria, Va.,  of  the  library  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan 
Boucher,  which  contained  a  large  number  of  valuable 
standard  works.  From  this  and  other  sources  Wil- 
liam Murphy,  who  kept  a  book-store  on  Market  (now 
Baltimore)  Street,  one  door  from  Calvert,  succeeded 
in  establishing  a  circulating  library,  which  was  pur- 
chased and  continued  by  Hugh  Barkley  in  1784. 
This,  with  one  or  two  other  circulating  libraries,  fur- 
nished the  only  supply  to  the  reading  population  of 
the  town  for  ten  or  eleven  years. 

In  December,  1795,  a  number  of  gentlemen,  feeling 
the  necessity  for  a  library  more  general  in  its  charac- 
ter and  within  the  means  of  all  classes  of  citizens, 
formed  a  stock  company  for  the  purpose  of  supplying 
this  want.  It  was  provided  that  each  stockholder 
should  be  entitled  to  one  twenty-dollar  share,  and 
every  regular  member  should  contribute  four  dollars 
per  annum  for  each  share  held  by  him.  The  books  and 
effects  of  the  company  constituted  the  joint  proi)erty. 
Any  member  was  at  liberty  to  transfer  his  share,  with 
the  restriction  that,  except  in  case  of  will  or  descent, 
the  name  of  the  person  in  whose  favor  the  transfer  was 
made  should  be  approved  by  the  board  of  directors. 
No  person  was  allowed  to  subscribe  more  than  one 
share,  or  if  he  acquired  others  by  inheritance,  he  was 
still  entitloil  to  but  one  vote.  In  a  very  few  days  tifty- 
ninc  persons  subscrilicd,  and  proceeded  to  organize 

The  Library  Company  of  Baltimore,  under  whose 
auspices  the  first  public  library  of  the  city  was  estab- 
lished. The  subscribers  to  the  library  fund  met  at 
Bryden's  Inn  on  the  13th  of  January,  1796,  adopted 
a  constitution  and  elected  a  board  of  directors,  con- 
sisting of  Right  Rev.  Dr.  John  Carroll,  Rev.  Joseph  \ 
G.  J.  Bend,  Richard  Caton,  Thomas  Poultney,  James 
Carey,  George  W.  Field,  James  Carroll,  Robert  D. 


Allison,  Dr.  George  Brown,  Robert  Gilmor,  David 
Brice,  and  Nicholiis  Harris. 

On  the  22d  of  January  George  W.  Field  advertised 
for  a  room  for  the  library  in  the  central  part  of  the 
city,  preference  being  given  to  a  private  house,  where 
the  owner  would  act  as  librarian  "  for  three  hours 
in  the  day  for  three  days  in  the  week."  The  desired 
accommodations  were  obtained  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
Williams,  on  Lemon  Street,  where  the  library  was 
opened  for  the  use  of  members  in  October,  1796. 
The  company  was  incorporated  by  an  act  of  the 
Legislature  on  the  20th  of  January,  1798.  The  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  John  Carroll  was  the  first  president,  and 
George  W.  Field  the  first  secretary.  In  1798  the 
library  was  moved  to  more  commodious  apartments 
in  Grant's  Assembly-Rooms,  on  Lovely  Lane,  now 
German  Street. 

From  the  librarian's  annual  report  of  the  association, 
it  appears  that  in  April,  1799,  the  library  contained 
three  thousand  three  hundred  volumes,  that  three 
hundred  pounds  sterling  had  been  forwarded  to  Lon- 
don for  the  purchase  of  additional  books,  and  that  the 
membership  had  increased  in  one  year  to  eighty-eight 
persons.  In  1799  the  shares  were  advanced  to  twenty- 
five  dollars  each,  and  the  Right  Rev.  John  Carroll, 
Rev.  Mr.  Bend,  Rev.  Mr.  Beaston,  Col.  Nicholas 
Rogers,  Dr.  George  Brown,  James  Priestley,  David 
Harris,  Wm.  Cooke,  Richard  Caton,  Zebulon  HoUins- 
worth,  Henry  Nicols,  and  James  Winchester  were 
elected  a  board  of  directors,  with  Francis  Beaston  sec- 
retary. In  1800  the  library  contained  four  thousand 
volumes.  In  1802,  Dr.  Carroll  was  elected  president ; 
Rev.  Mr.  Bend,  vice-president ;  James  Priestley,  sec- 
retary ;  George  de  Perrigny,  treasurer.  In  1824  the 
library  was  removed  to  rooms  provided  for  it  in  the 
Athenaeum  Building,  which  had  just  been  erected  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  St.  Paul  and  Lexington 
Streets. 

In  1856  the  Library  Company  transferred  the  eleven 
thousand  volumes  then  contained  in  its  library  to  the 
Maryland  Historical  Society,  on  condition  that  they 
should  be  added  to  the  three  thousand  belonging  to 
the  latter  society,  and  the  whole  maintained  as  a  free 
library  of  consultatio])  and   reference  for  the  use  of 

Maryland  Historical  Society.~ln  January,  1844, 
about  twenty  gentlemen  interested  in  the  history  of 
Maryland  assembled  in  a  room  in  the  old  post-office 
building  for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  organization 
to  collect  and  arrange  the  data  and  scattered  materials 
of  the  early  history  of  Maryland. 

The  organization  was  effected  at  this  meeting,  and 
at  the  next  meeting  John  Spear  Smith  was  elected 
president,  John  Van  Lear  McMahon  vice-president, 
and  Stephen  Collins  librarian.  On  the  8th  of  March, 
1844,  the  association  was  incorporated  jis  the  Mary- 
land Historical  Society,  with  Brantz  Mayer,  John  P. 
Kennedy,  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Robert  Gilmor,  John 
Van  Lear  McMahon,  Charle-s   F.  Mayer,  Frederick 


BALTIMORE   LIBRARIES   AND   MISCELLANEOUS   SOCIETIES. 


William  Brune,  Jr.,  Sebastian  F.  Streeter,  John  L. 
Carey,  George  W.  Dobbin,  John  Spear  Smith,  Ber- 
nard W.  Campbell,  William  G.  Lyford,  Stephen  Col- 
lins, Fielding  Lucas,  John  J.  Donaldson,  Robert 
Carey  Long,  William  A.  Latbot,  Severn  Teackle 
Wallis,  Charles  J.  W.  Gwinn,  Joshua  I.  Cohen,  and 
John  S.  Sumner  as  incorporators. 

The  officers  for  1844  were :  President,  Gen.  John 
Spear  Smith ;  Vice-President,  John  Van  Lear  Mc- 
Mahon ;  Corresponding  Secretary,  Brantz  Mayer; 
Recording  Secretary,  Sebastian  F.  Streeter ;  Treasurer, 
John  J.  Donaldson ;   Librarian,  Dr.  Stephen  Collins. 

The  formation  of  this  society  gave  a  stimulus  to 
literary  pursuits,  and  excited  a  laudable  interest  on 
the  subject  of  Maryland  history.  In  the  spring  of 
1848  the  society  moved  into  the  Athenieum  Building, 
which  is  held  for  it  in  perpetuity  by  trustees  under  a 
charter  granted  by  the  Legislature  of  Maryland  Feb. 
17,  1846.  The  lot  was  purchased,  and  the  building 
erected  by  subscriptions  obtained  by  the  Maryland 
Historical  Society  and  the  Baltimore  Library  Com- 
pany. The  library  of  the  Historical  Society,  in  the 
Athenaeum  Building,  was  opened  to  the  members  and 
the  public  on  the  29th  of  May,  1848.  The  building 
was  occupied  by  three  societies.  The  first  floor  was 
appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  Mercantile  Library  As- 
sociation, the  second  floor  by  the  Baltimore  Library 
Association,  and  the  third  floor  by  the  Maryland  His- 
torical Society.  Now  the  latter  society  occupies  the 
second  floor,  the  third  floor  being  appropriated  to  the 
Historical  Art  Gallery. 

In  1855  the  Library  Company  donated  its  library 
to  the  Historical  Society,  on  conditioii  lliat  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  the  Hist(irir:il  Smiiiy  should  be 
extended  in  perpetuity  to  tlie  stocklidldcrs  of  the 
Library  Company.  The  gallery  of  the  fine  arts  of 
the  Maryland  Historical  Society  was  opened  to  the 
public  on  the  22d  of  October,  1848.  The  collection 
of  paintings  consisted  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
specimens,  comprising  a  great  number  of  very  valu- 
able productions.  There  were  several  originals  by 
old  masters,  and  many  admirable  copies  from  ap- 
proved works.  There  were  also  numerous  originals 
from  the  pencils  of  modern  artists.  The  duty  of  se- 
lecting this  gallery  of  paintings  was  performed  by  a 
committee  consisting  of  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Benja- 
min C.  Ward,  and  Wm.  McKim,  assisted  by  Dr. 
Thomas  H.  Edmondson.  The  society  also  gave  an- 
nual exhibitions  of  such  works  of  art  as  could  be  ob- 
tained from  eminent  artists  and  art  galleries.  With 
the  profits  arising  from  these  exhibitions  a  number  of 
copies  of  masterpieces  of  the  Italian  school  were 
purchased,  and  from  time  to  time  the  gallery  has  been 
supplied  with  pojiular  works  of  art.  The  library 
proper  of  the  Historical  Society,  exclusive  of  the 
books  donated  by  the  Baltimore  Library  Company, 
contains  about  fifteen  thousand  volumes,  and  one 
hundred  and  forty-six  volumes  of  pamphlets  ar- 
ranged and  classified,  and  about  seven  hundred  not 


so  arranged.  It  contains  a  great  number  of  manu- 
scripts, and  one  of  the  most  complete  sets  of  Federal 
documents  in  existence,  and  by  far  the  largest  collec- 
tion of  Maryland  newspapers  to  be  found  anywhere. 
The  library  was  originally  a  circulating,  but  has 
gradually  become  a  reference,  library ;  and  since  the 
transfer  of  the  Baltimore  Library  Company's  books 
the  members  only  are  allowed  to  use  the  books.  Not 
more  than  fifty  books  a  year  are  withdrawn.  In  1867 
the  library  received  from  Mr.  Peabody  a  gift  of 
twenty  thousand  dollars. 

There  are  about  two  hundred  members,  and  the 
annual  subscription  fee  is  five  dollars.  The  average 
yearly  number  who  use  the  library  is  about  a  thou- 
sand. The  collection  includes  a  set  of  United  States 
patents,  a  very  small  biographical  collection,  and  a 
manuscript  catalogue  arranged  alphabetically,  ac- 
cording to  authors.  It  was  exempted  from  taxation 
by  a  clause  in  the  act  of  incorporation.  John  H.  B. 
Latrobe  is  the  president,  John  W.  M.  Lee  librarian, 
and  John  G.  Gatehel  assistant  librarian. 

The  Mercantile  Library  Association  was  formed 
in  November,  1839,  by  a  number  of  young  men  of 
literary  taste  who  felt  the  necessity  for  greater  facili- 
ties for  mental  improvement  than  the  city  then 
afforded.  The  only  public  library  in  Baltimore  at 
that  time  was  the  old  Baltimore  Library,  which  did 
not  meet  the  wants  of  the  particular  class,  composed 
principally  of  clerks  and  young  merchants,  interested 
in  the  new  enterprise.  Several  years  after  its  forma- 
tion, on  the  17th  of  January,  1842,  the  organization  was 
incorporated  as  the  "Mercantile  Library  Association 
of  Baltimore,"  with  J.  Morrison  Harris,  George  L. 
Wight,  Geo.  R.  W.  Alnutt,  T.  Dunnington,  Wm.  W. 
Latimer,  John  Steel  Sumner,  Josiah  N.  Jones,  Henry 
T.  Rodgers,  Laurence  Thomsen,  Wm.  A.  Dunnington, 
George  Cliffe,  and  Oliver  B.  Wright  as  incorporators. 

Success  beyond  the  hopes  of  the  most  sanguine  was 
at  once  assured.  The  plan  of  receiving  books  on  spe- 
cial deposit  was  adopted  for  a  short  time,  but  finally 
abandoned  in  1844,  and  the  books  returned  to  their 
owners.  The  first  officers  of  the  association,  elected 
in  1839,  were :  President,  J.  Morrison  Harris ;  Vice- 
President,  George  L.  Wight ;  Secretary,  George  R.  W. 
Alnutt;  Treasurer,  F.  Dunnington ;  Directors,  John 
S.  Sumner,  Wm.  W.  Latimer,  Henry  J.  Rogers,  Josiah 
N.  Jones,  George  Cliffe,  Wm.  A.  Dunnington,  and 
Laurence  Thomsen. 

One  means  by  which  the  association  proposed  to 
elevate  the  tastes  and  improve  the  general  knowledge 
of  its  members  and  the  public  was  by  a  course  of  lec- 
tures, to  be  delivered  under  its  auspices  by  distin- 
guished and  scientific  men.  The  course  was  inaugu- 
rated on  the  1st  of  December,  1840,  with  a  lecture  on 
"Society  and  Civilization"  by  the  Hon.  John  Quincy 
Adams.  During  the  same  season  lectures  were  deliv- 
ered before  the  society  by  Rev.  Dr.  Wyatt,  John  H. 
B.  Latrobe,  C.  F.  Mayer,  Rev.  Dr.  Morris,  Dr.  Aiken, 
Brantz  Mayer,  David  Hofl'man,  N.  C.  Brooks,  R.  Ca- 


660 


HISTORY  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


rey  Long,  John  P.  Kennedy,  David  Stewart,  Dr.  Dun- 
bar, Prof.  Ducatel,  Rev.  Dr.  Jcrfins,  and  F.  H.Davidge. 
This  course,  which  proved  to  be  a  pecuniary  success, 
was  followed  by  others,  and  the  association  has  con- 
tinued to  provide  lectures  and  readings  of  a  high 
character  for  its  members  and  the  citizens  of  Balti- 
more. At  its  organization  the  association  occupied 
rooms  at  the  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Holliday  Streets, 
and  after  several  changes  of  location  removed  in  1848 
to  the  Athenieum  Building. 

The  library  is  open  during  the  summer  months 
from  nine  A.M.  to  ten  P.M.,  and  during  the  winter 
from  ten  a.m.  to  ten  p.m.  In  '1873  it  was  opened  on 
Sundays  from  two  to  ten  p.m.,  but  the  attendance 
was  so  small  it  was  soon  discontinued.  A  subscriber 
may  take  a  book  or  books  home  under  certain  regu- 
lations. Though  there  are  but  sixteen  hundred  and 
forty-eight  subscribers,  the  number  of  visitors  annu- 
ally averages  from  fifteen  thousand  to  twenty  thou- 
sand, and  the  circulation  of  books  about  thirty-five 
thousand  annually.  The  library  contains  thirty-one 
thousand  and  thirty-two  volumes,  exclusive  of  two 
thousand'five  hundred  duplicates;  of  these  four  hun- 
dred contain  six  thousand  pamphlets  bound  in  classes. 
About  twelve  hundred  foreign  and  American  books 
and  five  hundred  pamphlets  are  added  to  the  collec- 
tion annually.  Of  the  thirty-one  thousand  and  thirty- 
two  volumes,  six  hundred  are  in  foreign  and  five 
hundred  and  ninety  in  modern  European  languages. 
There  are  twelve  hundred  volumes  on  scientific  sub- 
jects. Seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  books  borrowed 
are  English  prose  fiction.  The  biographical  collec- 
tion is  very  small.  The  library  is  exempt  from  taxa- 
tion. John  W.  M.  Lee  is  the  librarian,  with  three 
assistants.  The  cost  of  its  annual  administration  is 
two  thousand  four  hundred  dollars.  The  terms  of 
membership  are  as  follows :  perpetual  membership, 
transferable,  one  hundred  dollars;  life  membership, 
fifty  dollars ;  annual  honorary,  five  dollars ;  annual 
proprietary,  five  dollars;  annual  employ^,  three  dol- 
lars. The  following  is  a  tabular  statement  showing 
what  the  association  has  done  since  its  foundation,  as 
nearly  as  could  be  ascertained  from  the  records : 


In  spite  of  the  valuable  work  accomplished  in  the 
past  by  the  library,  its  usefulness  has  been  somewhat 
impaired  of  late  years  by  its  location  at  a  point  which 
was  inconvenient  to  the  general  public,  and  unsuit- 
able from  its  surroundings  to  a  high  degree  of  de- 
velopment or  popularity.  Feeling  that  a  change  in 
this  respect  was  necessary  to  the  restoration  of  the 
library  to  its  former  place  in  the  esteem  of  the  com- 
munity, John  W.  McCoy,  the  president  of  the  asso- 
ciation, came  to  its  assistance,  and  in  November, 
1880,  made  an  otfer  which  practically  insures  the 
future  succe-ss  and  standing  of  the  library.  After 
referring  to  its  condition  and  prospects,  and  the  ne- 
cessity for  a  change  in  its  location,  Mr.  McCoy  pro- 
posed that  it  should  be  removed  to  a  new  building  in 
course  of  erection  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Charles 
and  Saratoga  Streets,  and  pledged  himself  for  the 
rent  of  the  new  quarters  for  the  library  for  five  years, 
at  the  rate  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  d')llars  per 
annum.  Mr.  .McCoy  also  offered  to  convert  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  of  this  advance,  which  under  no  circum- 
stances is  to  draw  interest,  into  an  absolute  gift,  if 
the  public  of  Baltimore  will  raise  for  the  library  such 
a  fund  as  will  produce  when  invested  three  thousand 
dollars  per  annum.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say 
that  this  offer  was  gratefully  accepted,  and  that  the 
library  will  occupy  its  new  quarters  as  soon  as  they 
are  completed. 

As  a  life-long  public  helper  in  many  ways,  and  as 
always  serving  gratuitously,  John  W.  McCoy  is  hon- 
orably prominent  in  Baltimore.  His  generosity  to 
the  Mercantile  Library,  and  his  rescue  thereby  of 
that  most  useful  institution  from  threatened  ruin, 
have  justly  added  to  his  wide  regard  among  his  fel- 
low-citizens. He  was  born  in  Baltimore,  April  2, 
1821.  His  family  has  been  identified  with  the  city 
from  the  close  of  the  last  century,  his  mother,  Sarah 
Williamson,  having  been  born  in  Baltimore,  Dec.  20, 
1800,  when  the  city  had  but  twenty-six  thousand  in 
habitants.  His  father,  Stephen  McCoy,  born  at  Bask- 
ing Ridge,  N.  J.,  Feb.  25,  1787,  marched,  in  his 
twenty-seventh  year,  from  Lancaster,  Pa.,  as  a  volun- 
teer soldier  for  the  defense  of  Baltimore  when  assailed 


Teaeb. 

Ueubebs. 

Income. 

Yolnmee 
Bought. 

VolumeB 
Donated. 

Volumes 
in  the 
Library. 

Cost  of 
Build- 
ing. 

Lec- 
tures. 

1 

Active. 

Honor-j     Six 
ary.     Months. 

Money 
Donated. 

l,ensee. ,  Library. 

phletl. 

126 

509 
592 
764 
1229 

132     1      

203     !          3 
334             28 
541     :      1U4 
308     ■        77 

$1430.00 
6681,65 
4445.01 
6169.19 
8792.82 

415 
No  record. 

1693 

985 

No  record. 

No  record. 

71 

105 

1,400 

No  record. 

16,663 

3u',231 

$442.72 
1814.70 
1796.41 
2742.88 
3131.66 



S145.00 

3806.51  1  No  record.'  | 

fdtll 



$4%.'ii 



6000 

By  which  it  will  be  seen  that  the  volumes  in  the  by  the  British  in  1814.     He  married,  and  remained 

library  increased   in   number  from   1400  in   1840  to  i  here  until  his  death,  Feb.  12,  1873,  his  wife,  Sarah 

80,231  volumes  in  1873-74,  that  the  income  increa.sed  :  Williamson  McCoy,  surviving  him  «  short  time,  and 

from  $1430  in  the  same  year  to  $8792.82  in  1873-74,  |  dying  May  26, 1874.     John  W.  McCoy  has  been  iden- 

and  the  readers  from  2314  in  1840  to  88,528  in  1873.     i  tified  with  Baltimore  from  his  birth.     Here  he  was 


C/^^...    /r    77t^'^^'y 


BALTIMORE   LIARARIES   AND   MISCELLANEOUS  SOCIETIES. 


educated,  completing  his  course  at  B;iliiiiiurc  <  'ollciic, 
a  department  of  the  University  of  M:ir\  l:iii<l.  Wiili- 
out  the  benefit  of  fortune,  but  with  ;i  solid  idu.-atioii, 
quick  faculties,  and  an  acute  insight  into  men  and 
affairs,  coupled  with  untiring  energy,  he  entered  the 
working  world  at  an  early  age,  commencing  his  ca- 
reer in  the  office  of  a  popular  weekly  newspaper. 
For  many  years  he  retained  that  kind  of  connection, 
having  through  boyhood  and  up  to  middle  man- 
hood grown  through  all  the  grades  of  newspaper 
work,  from  that  of  a  junior  clerk  to  a  writer  of  edi- 
torials. During  the  many  years  of  this  career,  amid 
a  taxing  occupation,  he  found,  or  rather  took  time, 
for  a  continuous  and  systematic  study,  devoting  some 
hours  of  every  day  or  every  night,  without  fail,  to  en- 
larging his  acquaintance  with  history,  philosophy, 
natural  science,  and  belles-lettres.  The  history  of 
art,  and  of  the  fine  arts  in  all  their  manifestations, 
have  long  been  with  him  attractive  subjects  of  con- 
tinuous observation  and  study.  For  nearly  forty 
years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Mercantile  Li- 
brary Association,  and  was  for  twelve  years  contin- 
uously elected  to  its  board  of  government.  After 
he  was  prevailed  upon  to  accept  t'.ie  presidency  of 
this  excellent  institution,  he  at  once  set  about  to 
strengthen  its  finances  and  enlarge  the  sphere  of  its 
usefulness.  To  this  end  he  arranged,  as  we  have 
stated,  far  more  popular  and  commodious  quarters 
for  its  establishment,  besides  advancing  the  institu- 
tion a  large  sum  for  its  current  needs.  Having 
always  been  an  earnest  thinker  on  our  social  life,  es- 
pecially on  the  various  fortune  of  the  several  social 
ranks  in  great  cities,  Mr.  McCoy  was  among  the  ear- 
liest members  and  officers  of  the  "  Baltimore  Associa- 
tion for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor."  Be- 
fore the  time  when  paid  agents  were  employed  to  do 
its  work,  Mr.  McCoy  was  for  several  years  a  volun- 
tary unpaid  visitor  to  the  poor,  devoting  personally 
five  or  six  hours  every  day  during  the  winter  months 
to  visiting  thousands  of  them  at  their  homes,  where 
he  was  brought  face  to  face  with  every  form  of  dis- 
tress and  destitution.  At  this  time  no  man  knew  the 
poor  of  Baltimore  individually  more  thoroughly  or  in 
greater  numbers  than  he  did.  No  part  of  hi.s  life, 
he  has  often  said,  is  remembered  by  him  with  the  j 
same  gladness  as  the  years  he  devoted  to  sympathetic 
counsel  with  the  unfortunate,  and  as  a  careful  dis-  ' 
tributor  of  what  a  generous  public  had  provided  for  ! 
their  help.  Mr.  McCoy  has  long  been  known  as  a  ' 
liberal  helper  to  all  good  causes,  and  there  is  scarcely  j 
any  organization  in  the  city  for  generous,  helpful,  or 
charitable  ends  but  finds  him  a  full  contributor. 

Some  years  ago  the  "  Poor  Association"  was  being 
crippled  in  its  funds,  and  consequently  in  its  charity, 
by  the  popular  device  of  another  organization  that 
published  daily  the  names  of  all  contributors  and  also 
the  names  and  residences  of  all  who  were  helped. 
This  was  simply  ruinous  to  all  the  worthy  among  the 
poor,  as  it  stigmatized  them  publicly  as  paupers. 


Mr.  -AlcCdv  at  once  assailed  this  pernicious  and 
liiuu^jlillcss  scheme  by  articles  day  after  day  in  the 
rirusjiniHTs,  and  by  the  publication  year  after  year  of 
earnest  pamphlets  in  explanation  and  defense  of  the 
Poor  Association's  method  of  ])rivate  help,  whereby 
the  self-respect  of  thousands  of  unfortunate  but 
worthy  people  is  sustained.  Common  humanity  and 
common  sense  soon  united  under  these  intelligent 
and  forcible  appeals;  the  funds  of  the  association 
were  bountifully  replenished,  until  now  its  treasury 
is  the  stay  in  winter  of  hosts  of  worthy  but  suffering 
people,  while  the  institution  has  the  permanent  favor 
of  the  whole  community,  who  supply  it  liberally  as 
the  chief  means  of  the  city's  charitable  work. 

In  1859,  Mr.  McCoy  was  made  president  of  two 
mining  companies  working  for  metals  in  North  Caro- 
lina, and  having  their  business  offices  in  Baltimore. 
When  the  war  broke  out  he  had  the  option  of  staying 
quietly  at  home  and  abandoning  the  property  of  his 
companies,  or  of  leaving  home  to  develop  and  protect 
upon  the  spot,  in  North  Carolina,  the  interests  of  his 
friends.  His  decision  was  made  at  once ;  and  severing 
himself  four  years  from  home,  he  did  his  simple  duty 
in  standing  by  his  work  and  taking  the  fortunes  of - 
the  Confederacy.  Without  funds,  and  with  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  r^en  in  his  employ,  with  the  market 
closed  against  the  product  of  his  mines,  he  yet  went 
through  the  four  years  and  more  of  war,  kept  the 
mines  actively  alive  until  its  close,  paid  all  his  com- 
pany's debts,  and  for  one  of  them  brought  to  Balti- 
more, after  the  war  was  over,  a  material  surplus  for 
its  treasury.  To  do  this  Mr.  McCoy  had  to  really 
create  all  his  means.  He  made  all  the  iron,  of  which 
his  need  was  large,  from  the  ore ;  built  a  dam  on 
Deep  River  for  a  water-power,  working  himself  day 
and  night  in  the  water,  guiding  his  negro  laborers ; 
established  furnaces,  and  trained  his  simple  workmen 
to  make  wrought  iron  directly  from  the  ore,  which 
they  did  in  large  quantities,  both  for  mine  consump- 
tion and  for  sale.  In  the  mines  gunpowder  in  large 
quantities  was  a  daily  necessity  for  blasting,  but  when 
the  war  had  gone  on  a  few  months  powder  could  not 
be  had  at  any  price.  Mr.  McCoy,  without  money 
resources,  at  once  determined  not  to  stop  the  mine, 
but  to  make  the  necessary  powder.  To  do  this  he  liad 
the  dry  earth  hauled  from  under  every  human  habi- 
tation for  miles  around  ;  from  it,  by  rude  but  effective 
apparatus,  he  leached  the  nitrous  salts,  and  crystal- 
lized them  into  pure  saltpetre.  He  excavated  furnace- 
chambers  in  the  solid  rock,  and  here,  with  the  rudest 
utensils,  distilled  sulphur  by  the  ton  from  the  ores 
of  the  region ;  burnt  charcoal,  and  built  a  simple 
powder-mill,  that,  with  negro  hands  to  manage  it 
under  his  guidance,  made  blasting-powder  that 
throughout  the  war  tore  down  thousands  of  tons  of 
rock  and  ore.  When  the  war  ended  this  was  the 
only  copper-mine  alive  within  the  limits  of  the  Con- 
federacy. Without  experienced  help,  with  no  money 
capital,  he  forged  bolts,  bars,  wheel-tires,  and  the  innu- 


HISTORY   OP   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


raerable  formsof  iron  necessary  toa  mine,  made  blooms 
and  other  iron  for  the  market,  made  copperas  and 
bluestone  from  the  same  ore  that  yielded  him  sulphur 
and  metallic  copper.  It  was  from  the  barter  of  these 
products,  necessary  all  over  the  South,  that  he  got 
food  for  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  and  thirty 
horses  that  depended  on  him  for  sustenance.  He  had 
no  expert  to  help  him  in  any  of  these  manufactures; 
he  had  never  even  seen  any  of  these  products  made. 
His  sole  guide  was  his  previously-acquired  practical 
scientific  knowledge  that  his  determined  energy  ap- 
plied with  complete  success  under  most  unpromising 
conditions. 

When  the  war  ended  in  1865,  Mr.  McCoy  returned 
to  Baltimore,  closed  his  mining  connection,  and  be- 
came a  partner  in  the  well-known  commercial  house  of 
W.  T.  Walters  &  Co.  From  this  firm  he  has  recently 
retired  witli  an  easy  fortune,  which  he  uses  liberally. 
Since  its  origin  in  1876,  Mr.  McCoy  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Harbor  Board  of  Baltimore;  took  the  lead- 
ing part  in  organizing  it,  and  is  chairman  of  its  only 
standing  committee.  He  has  thus  had  a  special  share 
in  the  guidance  of  the  work  that,  under  the  immedi- 
ate direction  of  a  scientific  engineer,  has,  by  the  re- 
moval of  millions  of  cubic  yards  of  sediment,  con- 
verted what  was  hitherto  a  shallow  .estuary,  fit  only 
for  a  decaying  village,  into  the  deep  and  spacious 
harbor  of  a  great  commercial  city.  Without  this 
immense  work  the  recent  enormous  growth  of  sea- 
borne trade  in  breadstuffs,  etc.,  from  Baltimore  would 
have  been  simply  impossible.  This  work  has  been 
done  at  less  than  one-third  the  cost  the  city  previously 
paid.  Mr.  McCoy  is  in  the  administration  of  the 
State  Insane  Asylum  at  Spring  Grove,  having  been 
appointed  some  years  ago  by  Governor  Carroll  to 
that  important  trust.  His  colleagues  there  have  made 
him  chairman  of  its  chief  committee. 

In  a  life  of  almost  incessant  labor,  Mr.  McCoy  has 
found  time  to  keep  active  and  cultivate  an  inborn 
love  of  art.  Previously  familiar  in  detail  with  all 
worthy  art  productions  of  our  country,  and  also  with 
the  best  foreign  work  that  has  been  brought  here, 
Mr.  McCoy  in  1871  made  an  extended  tour  in  Eu- 
rope, carefully  studying  all  the  great  collections  at 
the  chief  European  centres,  from  London  to  Rome. 
He  has  long  been  known  as  the  special  friend,  de- 
fender, and  helper  of  our  home  artists,  who,  amid 
neglect  and  overborne  by  unobservant  and  unreason- 
ing fashion,  had  struggled  unrewarded  and  almost 
unknown  year  after  year  in  honest  and  able  endeavors, 
most  of  them,  to  produce  work  that  should  compel  the 
admiration  of  their  careless  fellow-citizens.  It  is  now 
a  settled  fact  and  common  knowledge  that  Hovenden, 
Quartley  Jones,  and  a  number  of  others  are  artists  of 
high  rank,  and  steadily  rising  to  still  higherplaces.  Mr. 
McCoy hasforyears been  ihcsUadriist  Iriendofall  these 
gentlemen,  and  has  of  iln  ir  Ik  ^t  works  and  those  of 
many  other  artists,  prim  ipall\  AiMiiiraii,  an  excellent 
collection  of  nearly  a  liLiiiclreil  pictures.     Of  the   late 


Nathan  H.  Rinehart,  the  distinguished  sculptor,  Mr. 
McCoy  was  a  serviceable  friend  for  more  tlian  twenty 
years.  In  1858  he  wrote  for  a  daily  newspaper  in 
Baltimore  the  first  article  of  editorial  commendation 
Rinehart's  work  ever  received  anywhere.  This  earn- 
est notice  brought  the  sculptor  and  his  work  before 
the  public,  and  as  year  after  year  added  fresh  proofs 
of  Rinehart's  genius,  it  was  the  pen  of  Mr.  McCoy 
that  uniformly  and  continually  introduced  them  to 
the  intelligent  favor  of  his  fellow-citizens.  Rinehart's 
incomparable  chef-d'ceuvre,  the  marble  statue  of 
"  Clytie,"  sweetheart  of  the  sun,  having  been  brought 
by  him  to  Baltimore,  where  he  earnestly  wished  it  to 
remain  as  the  very  best  work  he  had  made  or  was 
capable  of,  the  figure  was  about  to  leave  the  city  as 
the  property  of  an  owner  living  out  of  Maryland, 
when  Mr.  McCoy  promptly  stepped  forward,  bought  it 
at  the  sculptor's  own  price,  and  presented  it  in  an  ap- 
propriate setting  to  the  perpetual  care  of  the  Peabody 
Institute  as  a  noble  work  of  art  for  free  exhibition  in 
Baltimore  forever.  Mr.  McCoy  has  since  bought  and 
shown  freely  to  the  public  the  sculptor  Ezekiel's  ad- 
mirable bust  of  "  Christ  Bound  for  Crucifixion,"  and 
also  the  same  artist's  lovely  statue  of"  Faith."  Both 
these  works  are  distinguished  by  the  highest  proof  of 
genius.  Amid  a  pressing  mass  of  business  every  day, 
Mr.  McCoy  has  given  all  his  time  not  otherwise  em- 
ployed for  many  years  past  to  the  building  up  of  his 
private  library,  which  is  now  the  foremost  in  Balti- 
more, not  in  the  number  of  volumes  merely,  but  for 
thoroughness  in  its  leading  departments,  and  for  its  ex- 
cellence in  all.  It  is  made  up  mainly  of  the  original 
I  elements  of  English  history,  of  early  American  his- 
tory, of  natural  science,  general  philosophy,  travel 
in  obscure  countries,  illustrated  topography,  and  es- 
pecially in  the  history  and  engraved  productions  of  the 
fine  arts.  In  this  latter  department  it  is  without  any 
i  local  equal,  and  indeed  is  more  complete  than  that 
of  any  government  collection  in  America  or  the 
library  of  any  of  our  universities. 

Mr.  McCoy  is  descended  on  his  mother's  side  from 
John  Williamson  and  Jane  Parker,  his  wife,  both  of 
families  long  seated  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  whence 
the  Williamsons  came  to  America  during  the  Irish 
political  troubles  of  1795,  and  settled  in  Baltimore  in 
;  1797.     On   his   father's  side   he   is   descended   from 
j  Duncan  McCoy,  a  Scotsman,  who  with  a  colony  of 
I  his  Highland  neighbors  settled  in  1709  in  Northern 
New  Jersey,  then  a  wilderness.    The  son  of  Duncan 
was  Gowan  McCoy,  who  commanded  a  troop  of  horse 
in  the  army  of  the  Revolution,  his  son  Thomas  at  the 
same  time  serving  as  a  soldier  of  the  line.    The  names 
of  both,  and  of  seven  others  of  the  family,  are  recorded 
in  the  published  Revolutionary  Archives  of  New  Jer- 
sey, issued  recently  by  the  government  of  that  State. 
A  son  of  Thomas  was  Stephen  McCoy,  who  in  1814 
marched  to  the  defense  of  Baltimore,  and  he  was  the 
father  of  John  W.  McCoy. 
Peabody  Institute.— This  noble  and  unique  insti- 


BALTIMOKE  LIBKARIES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  SOCIETIES. 


663 


GEORCE    PEABODY. 


tution,  intended  to  aid  in  spreading  the  liigher  culture 
of  letters  and  the  refining  influences  of  music  and  art 
over  the  city,  was  founded  by  George  Peabody,  the 
London  banker,  who  had  spent  more  than  twenty 
years  of  his  early  manhood,  from  ISlf)  to  1836,  as  a 
merchant  in  Baltimore,  and  had  become  deeply  at- 
tached to  its  people.  He  was  born  of  poor  but  most 
respectable  parents  at  South  Danvers,  now  Peabody, 
Mass.,  on  the  18th  of  February,  1795,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  that  town.  He  entered 
a  grocery-store  in  his 
native  village  at  eleven, 
where  he  remained  four 
years,  and  then  went  to 
Thetford,  Vt.,  to  his 
maternal  grandfather, 
for  a  year.  In  1811  he 
became  a  clerk  in  the 
dry-goods  store  of  his 
brother  at  Newbury- 
port,  Mass.,  and  finished 
his  apprenticeship  in 
business  by  two  years  of 
service  in  the  dry-goods 
store  of  his  uncle  in 
Georgetown,  D.  C.  In 
1814  he  served  with  credit'  in  an  artillery  company 
ordered  out  to  protect  Washington  from  the  British,' 
and  during  the  same  year,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  es- 
tablished in  Georgetown  the  house  of  Peabody,  Riggs 
&  Co.,  which  removed  to  Baltimore  in  the  following 
year,  and  found  a  location  in  Old  Congress  Hall,  on 
the  southwest  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Sharpe  Streets. 
Here  he  remained  until  18.36,  enlarging  his  business, 
and  making  frequent  trips  to  London  in  the  interest 
of  his  firm ;  and  finally,  in  1836,  he  established  him- 
self permanently  in  that  city,  making  it  the  head- 
quarters of  his  house,  with  a  branch  still  in  Balti- 
more. He  was  soon  after  appointed  the  financial 
agent  of  Maryland  to  negotiate  a  loan  of  eight  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  the  commissions  on  which  would 
have  amounted  to  sixty  thousand  dollars,  but  he 
made  no  charge  whatever  for  this  service. 

During  the  financial  panic  of  1837  he  upheld  the 
credit  of  the  State  with  advances  and  pledges  amount- 
ing to  more  than  his  entire  fortune  at  that  time.  In 
1843  he  dissolved  his  connections  with  his  old  firm  and 
established  himself  as  a  banker  in  London,  under  the 
firm-name  of  George  Peabody  &  Co.  His  business,  his 
reputation  as  a  banker,  and  his  fortune  grew  rapidly, 
and  he  was  as  generous  in  the  use  of  money  as  he  was 
honorable  in  its  acquisition.  His  first  important  gift 
was  made  in  1851,  when  he  gave  fifteen  thousand  dollars 

1  The  records  of  the  war  of  181'2,  on  file  in  the  Third  Auditor's  office, 
show  that  Mr.  Peabody  enlisted  twice  during  the  war  of  1812,  first  in 
Capt.  George  Peter's  company  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  while  lie  was 
a  resident  of  Georgetown,  and  the  second  time  in  Capt.  Pike's  compauy 
of  Massachusetts  militia.  Desiring  to  possess  some  memento  of  his  ser- 
vices, Mr.  Peabody  in  1857  applied  for  a  bounty  land-warrant,  whicli  he 
received  and  prized  so  highly  that  he  retained  it  until  the  end  of  bis  life. 


towards  fitting  up  in  a  creditable  manner  the  American 
department  in  the  great  London  exhibition  of  that 
year.  This  was  followed  in  the  next  year  by  a  gift  of 
ten  thousand  dollars  towards  the  Kane  Arctic  Expe- 
dition in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  and  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  afterwards  incresised  to  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  to  establish  a  library  and 
courses  of  lectures  in  his  native  town.  In  1857  he 
established  his  institute  in  Baltimore  with  an  endow- 
ment which  in  the  end  amounted  to  one  million  two 
hundred  and  forty  thousand  dollars,  and  from  that 
time  to  the  end  of  his  life,  Nov.  4,  1869,  his  gifts, 
mostly  for  educational  purposes,  were  numerous  and 
most  generou.s,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  about 
six  million  dollars.  Besides  those  above  enumerated, 
he  gave  to  Thetford,  Vt.,  for  a  library  and  lectures, 
$5500;  to  Newbury  port,  Mass.,  for  a  library,  $15,000; 
to  Peabody,  Mass.,  a  city  named  for  him,  $50,000 
for  a  library  and  lectures;  to  Yale  College,  $150,- 
000;  to  Harvard  College,  $150,000;  to  the  Peabody 
Academy  of  Sciences,  Salem,  Mass.,  $140,000;  to  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  $20,000;  to  the 
Maryland  Historical  Society,  $20,000;  to  Kenyon 
College,  Ohio,  $25,000;  to  Phillips  Academy,  at  An- 
dover,  Mass.,  $25,000 ;  to  the  Peabody  Southern  Edu- 
cational Fund,  $2,000,000  in  cash,  and  $1,100,000  in 
Mississippi  bonds ;  to  the  London  poor,  $2,500,000;  to 
build  a  church  in  memory  of  his  mother  at  George- 
town, Mass.,  $100,000 ;  to  the  United  States  Sanitary 
Commission,  $10,000 ;  and  to  the  Washington  and 
Lee  University  at  Lexington,  Va.,  a  considerable 
sum.  Besides  these  gifts,  his  uncharged  commissions 
to  Maryland  for  negotiating  her  bonds  would  have 
amounted  to  $60,000,  and  he  advanced  about  $40,000 
to  uphold  the  credit  of  States  which  never  paid  him. 

In  December,  1854,  William  E.  Mayhew  received  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Peabody,  in  London,  asking  him  to 
consult  with  John  P.  Kennedy  and  other  friends  in 
regard  to  an  institution  which  he  thought  of  founding 
in  Baltimore. 

Mr.  Peabody,  on  meeting  Mr.  Kennedy  in  London, 
in  the  spring  of'1850,  said  to  him,  "  I  suppose  you 
Baltimore  people  do  not  care  to  have  an  institution 
established  among  you,  as  I  have  heard  nothing  of  the 
suggestion  I  made  through  Mr.  Mayhew  some  years 
ago."  Mr.  Kennedy  said  it  was  not  want  of  interest 
in  the  project,  but  delicacy  and  the  want  of  informa- 
tion as  to  the  sum  he  expected  to  devote  to  it.  The 
plans  were  prepared,  and  when  Mr.  Peabody  came  to 
Baltimore  they  were  signed,  on  Feb.  12,  1857,  and 
ratified  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  in  1867.  The 
institute  thus  established  consists  of  five  separate 
departments:  1,  a  reference  library;  2,  courses  of  lec- 
tures ;  3,  an  academy  of  music  ;  4,  a  gallery  of  art ; 
5,  to  encourage  merit. 

The  original  sum  given  by  Mr.  Peabody  in  1857 
was  a  credit  of  $300,000,  which  was  to  be  drawn  upon 
as  needed  in  building.  This  fund  was  increased  in 
1858  to  $.500,000,  to  which  was  added,  in  1866,  $500,- 


664 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


000,  and  in  1869,  $400,000  in  Virginia  and  Tennessee 
bonds,  valued  at  $240,000,  making  the  entire  endow- 
ment $1,240,000.  As  the  first  gift  was  only  a  credit, 
the  entire  cost  of  the  first  building  and  lot  came  out 
of  the  endowment  fund. 

Immediati'ly  after  this  gift  was  announced,  much 
discussion  arose  among  the  trustees  and  the  citizens 
generally  as  to  the  site  on  which  the  new  institution 
should  be  placed.  Several  sites  were  discussed,  but  a 
few  earnestly  advocated  the  selection  of  a  lot  on 
Mount  Vernon  Place,  and  it  soon  became  known 
that,  while  Mr.  Peabody,  who  was  still  in  the  country, 
did  not  wish  to  interfere  with  the  choice  of  his  trus- 
tees, he  preferred  this  last  location.  As  its  great 
expense  was  one  of  the  chief  objections  to  its  selec- 
tion, he  cut  this  argument  short  by  adding  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  to  this  gift  to  cover  the  additional  cost  of 
the  lot.  Accordingly,  one  hundred  and  fifty-two 
feet  of  ground,  including  two  dwellings,  were  pur- 
chased on  the  corner  of  Mount  Vernon  and  Wash- 
ington Places,  at  a  cost  of  one  hundred  and  six  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  forty-seven  dollars. 

Plans  were  immediately  prepared,  and  the  Tvest 
wing  of  the  building  was  begun  in  the  summer  of 
1857,'  and  completed  in  1861,  at  a  cost  of  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy  thousand  dollars.  Lind  &  Mur- 
doch were  the  architects,  and  Charles  J.  W.  Eaton 
was  chairman  of  the  building  committee.  The  por- 
tion of  the  building  first  constructed  was  only  de- 
signed to  accommodate  the  historical  society,  the 
library,  and  the  lecture  department.  Soon  after  the 
completion  of  the  building  it  became  necessary  for 
the  trustees  to  have  a  distinct  understanding  with  the 
Historical  Society  as  to  the  separate  functions  of  the 
two  bodies  in  the  management  of  the  institution. 
This  question  gave  rise  to  some  feeling  between  them, 
and  the  discussion  that  followed  showed  conclusively 
that  the  institute  could  not  be  carried  on  harmoni- 
ously with  this  dual  management.  After  much  dis- 
cussion, many  conferences,  and  the  development  of  a 
good  deal  of  bitterness,  the  difficulties  of  the  case 
were  laid  before  Mr.  Peabody,  who  carefully  exam- 
ined the  whole  subject,  and  came  to  the  determination 
most  reluctantly  to  request  the  Historical  Society  to 
resign  all  connection  with  the  institute.  This  re- 
quest was  readily  complied  with.  He  showed  his 
interest  in  the  society,  however,  which  had  so  cheer- 
fully withdrawn  from  the  management  of  the  insti- 
tute at  his  request,  by  soon  after  presenting  it  with 
twenty  thousand  dollars  as '  a  perpetual  fund  for 
publication  and  other  purposes.  The  final  settlement 
of  this  vexed  question  took  place  in  1866,  and  was 
ratified  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  in  1867. 

The  Institute  Building  was  finished  in  the  fall  of 
1861,  andwas  to  have  been  opened  for  courses  of  lec- 
tures immediately,  but  the  civil  war  intervened  to  put 
a  stop  to  all  further  proceedings  on  the  part  of  the 


J  The  cornur-stone 


1  llie  IMh  of  April,  ISnO. 


trustees.  It  was  determined,  however,  to  begin  the 
collection  of  a  library,  and  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  were  appropriated  for  the  gradual  purcha.se  of 
books.  In  1861  the  Rev.  John  G.  Morris,  D.D.,  re- 
signed his  position  on  the  board  of  trustees  (to  which 
he  had  been  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Geo.  W.  Burnap)  to  accept  the 
office  of  librarian.  He  immediately  began  the  prepa- 
ration of  an  extensive  list  of  books  for  purchase. 
This  list,  forming  a  volume  of  four  hundred  and  fif- 
teen pages,  was  printed  in  1861,  and  distributed 
among  booksellers  for  bids,  but  few  books  were  pur- 
chased from  it.  A  second  and  smaller  catalogue,  but 
containing  a  higher  grade  of  selections,  was  also  pre- 
pared and  printed  by  the  librarian  in  1863.  It  was 
from  this  list  that  most  of  the  purchases  were  made 
previous  to  1867,  when  a  change  took  place  in  the 
administration  of  the  library.  In  1866,  after  the  ex- 
citement consequent  upon  the  war  had  materially 
subsided,  the  trustees  determined  to  open  the  insti- 
tute to  the  public  by  an  address  and  a  few  formal  ex- 
ercises. This  event  took  place  in  the  large  hall  of  the 
new  building  on  Thursday,  the  25th  of  October.  The 
opening  had  been  arranged  for  the  preceding  May, 
but  was  deferred  till  October  to  accommodate  Mr. 
Peabody,  who  was  expected  to  be  present.  Mr.  Ken- 
nedy, the  president  of  th"e  board  of  trustees,  at  that 
time  in  England,  had  prepared  an  address  for  the  May 
opening,  which  was  read  by  Judge  Dobbin,  one  of  the 
trustees.  Mr.  Peabody,  who  was  present,  replied  in 
an  address,  in  which  he  informed  the  public  that  he 
had  added  another  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  to 
the  endowment  of  the  institute ;  Thomas  Swann, 
Governor  of  the  State,  made  an  address,  and  the  en- 
terprise was  fully  inaugurated.  A  course  of  thirty- 
four  lectures  was  begun  by  Prof.  Henry,  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  on  the  20th  of  November  of  the 
same  year,  and  the  library,  consisting  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand volumes,  was  opened  to  readers  in  December. 
As  no  general  superintendent  of  the  institute  had  yet 
been  appointed,  this  first  course  of  lectures  was  man- 
aged entirely  by  the  lecture  committee.  The  day 
after  the  inauguration  the  children  of  the  public 
schools  of  the  city,  with  the  teachers  at  their  head, 
came  up  to  the  institute  to  pay  their  respects  to  Mr. 
Peabody.  As  their  numbers  were  too  great  to  permit 
them  to  enter  the  building,  he  received  and  greeted 
them  on  the  steps.  This  was  a  proud  and  happy  day 
in  the  life  of  a  great  and  good  man.  Before  him 
passed  in  double  file,  with  bright  and  smiling  faces, 
more  than  twenty  thousand  children  of  all  ages,  from 
the  tottering  infant  of  four  to  the  full-grown  youth 
and  maiden.  On  Saturday,  the  27th,  he  received  the 
citizens  at  large  in  the  New  Assembly-Rooms,  at  the 
corner  of  Hanover  and  German  Streets.  In  the  win- 
ter of  1867,  Dr.  Morris  resigned  his  po.sition  as  libra- 
rian. In  February  of  the  same  year  P.  R.  llhler 
was  appointed  assistant  librarian,  and  has  proved  a 
most  intelligent,  faithful,  efficient  ofiiccr.     In  April 


///,.  //. 


7<7/y^^ 


BALTIMORE   LIBRARIES    AND    MISCELLANEOUS   SOCIETIES. 


Nathaniel  Holmes  Morison,  LCD.,  was  elected  provost 
of  the  institute,  not  simply  to  fill  the  place  of  Dr. 
Morris  as  librarian,  but  to  be  the  chief  e.Kecutive  offi- 
cer of  the  institute,  and  to  direct  and  control  all  its 
departments,  subject  to  the  committees  in  charge. 
He  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  in  September, 
1867,  and  gave  his  attention  at  once  to  the  increase  of 
the  library  and  the  improvement  of  its  character. 
Dr.  Morison  was  born  in  Peterborough,  N.  H.,  Dec. 
14,  1815,  the  third  son  and  fifth  child  of  parents 
wliose  ancestors  had  emigrated  from  Scotland  to  the 
north  of  Ireland  during  the  time  of  Cromwell,  and 
from  Ireland  to  Londonderry,  N.  H.,  in  1718.  These 
emigrants  to  America  were  all  Presbyterians,  and 
spoke  the  Scotch  language.  The  family  originated  in 
the  island  of  Lewis,  on  the  western  coast  of  Scotland. 
His  father,  Nathaniel  Morison,  died  when  his  son 
was  three  years  old,  at  Natchez,  Miss.,  where  he  had  a 
contract  for  introducing  water  into  the  city.  His 
mother,  Mary  Ann  Hopkins,  of  the  same  Scotch-Irish 
race,  was  a  woman  of  remarkable  spirit,  energy,  and 
perseverance,  with  more  than  ordinary  intellect,  abil- 
ity, and  great  common  sense.  She  and  her  father  be- 
fore her  were  noted  for  their  fondness  for  music  and 
their  skill  in  singing  Scotch  songs  and  ballads. 

Nathaniel  was  educated  first  at  the  common  coun- 
try schools,  and  afterwards  at  Phillips  Exeter  Acad- 
emy, then  under  the  celebrated  Dr.  Abbot.  He  en- 
tered Harvard  College  as  a  sophomore  in  1836,  and 
graduated  in  1839,  the  third  scholar  in  his  class,  the 
first  being  Samuel  Eliot,  LL.D.,  and  the  second,  Ed- 
ward Everett  Hale,  D.D.,  both  marked  men.  His 
Baltimore  classmates  were  George  Hawkins  Williams, 
Joshua  B.  Williams,  Edmund  Law  Rogers,  Henry  C. 
Mayer,  and  John  Donaldson.  From  college  he  came 
directly  to  Baltimore  as  principal  assistant  in  F.  H. 
Davidge's  school  for  young  ladies,  on  the  corner  of  St. 
Paul  Street  and  Bank  Lane.  After  nearly  three  years 
of  service  there  he  opened  a  school  of  his  own  in  1842, 
which  gradually  increased  from  the  two  pupils  with 
which  it  began  till  it  reached  one  hundred  and  forty. 
In  1867  he  was  invited  by  the  trustees  of  the  Peabody 
Institute  to  take  charge  of  that  institution,  then  just 
coming  into  use.  His  first  impulse  was  to  decline  the 
place,  but  after  due  consideration  and  many  inter- 
views with  different  members  of  the  board  he  deter- 
mined to  accept  it.  He  was  moved  to  this  decision 
solely  by  the  desire  of  bringing  together  a  library  that 
should  be  a  credit  to  himself,  to  the  founder  of  the 
institute,  and  to  the  great  and  growing  city  in  which 
it  is  placed.  A  new  office  was  created  for  him,  which 
made  him  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the  institution, 
and  gave  him  authority  over  all  its  departments, 
which  he  was  expected  to  organize  and  direct ;  but 
he  accepted  the  position  of  provost  with  the  under- 
standing that  his  first  and  chief  concern  should  be 
the  formation  of  a  library  which  should  meet  all  the 
requirements  of  Mr.  Peabody's  letter  of  endowment. 

He  had  one  great  advantage  over  most  librarians 


in  being  able  to  secure  lists  of  books  in  .special  de- 
partments of  knowledge  from  professors  and  experts 
in  these  departments  who  came  to  the  institute  to 
lecture.  Every  such  source  of  information  was  util- 
ized to  the  utmost,  and  many  lists  were  procured  in 
this  way  from  those  best  able  to  make  the  selections. 
P.  R.  Uhler,  the  assistant  librarian,  .supplied  valuable 
information  in  selecting  books  in  science,  and  espe- 
cially in  natural  history.     He  was  educated  under  the 

I  great  Agassiz,  and  was  well  acquainted  with  all  the 
best  works  in  his  own  department  of  knowledge. 
The  library  now  contains  seventy-one  thousand  vol- 

j  umes,   and   has   cost   more   than   two    hundred   and 

I  twenty  thousand  dollars,  probably  the  most  expen- 

j  sive  and  the  best  library  of  its  size  on  this  continent. 
Dr.  Morison  has  endeavored  to  carry  out  fully  and  to 
the  letter  the  expressed  wish  of  the  founder. — to  make 
this  not  a  popular  but  a  reference  library  of  the 
highest  grade,  so  as  to  "satisfy  the  researches  of 
students.'' 

For  some  years  before  the  new  wing  was  added  to 
the  institute  Dr.  Morison  was  occupied  with  plans 
for  its  construction.  He  also  devised  the  system  of 
shelf-marks,  which  instantly  shows  to  the  attendant, 
by  the  use  of  four  figures,  the  exact  place  of  every 
book  in  the  library.  Besides  his  work  on  the  build- 
ing and  in  the  conduct  of  the  various  departments  of 
the  institute.  Dr.  Morison  has  had  the  general  super- 
vision of  the  new  catalogue,  which  has  occupied 
twelve  years  in  its  preparation,  and  is  now  ready  for 
the  printer.  The  plan  of  this  catalogue,  and  the  ex- 
tent to  which  the  analysis  of  books  and  periodicals 
should  be  carried,  has  been  for  him  to  decide  upon ; 
but  the  execution  of  the  work  has  been  entirely  under 
the  direction  of  the  able  librarian,  P.  R.  Uhler.  He 
has  also  prepared  a  catalogue  of  the  statues,  busts, 
baa-reliefs,  and  other  objects  in  the  art  gallery,  giv- 
ing a  description  and  history  of  each  piece,  with  the 
annotations  of  eminent  critics  upon  it. 

In  1842,  Dr.  Morison  married  Sidney  Buchanan 
Brown,  daughter  of  George  I.  Brown,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Patrick  Allison,  first  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Baltimore,  and  of  Dr.  George 

!  Brown,  the  leading  physician  of  the  city  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  century,  both  cultivated,  active, 
public-spirited,  patriotic,  and  leading  citizens  of  their 

I  time.  Her  grandmother  was  the  si.ster  of  Alexander 
Brown,  the  founder  of  the  great  banking-house  of 
Alexander  Brown  &  Sons.  She  is  the  sister  of  Judge 
George  William  Brown,  former  mayor  of  the  city,  and 

I  belongs  to  the  same  Scotch-Irish   race  from  which 

j  her  husband  is  descended.  They  have  had  eight  chil- 
dren, seven  sons  and  one  daughter,  of  whom  five 

I  sons  and  the  daughter  survive.  The  oldest  son, 
Frank,  is  a  successful  lawyer  in  Boston  ;  the  second, 
George  Brown,  died  in  childhood  ;  the  third,  Earnest 
Nathaniel,  is  the  Baltimore  manager  of  the  Equitable 
Life  Insurance  Company  ;    and   the  fourth,  Robert 

'  Brown,  is  a  physician  in  the  city.     These  three  sons 


666 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUxNTY,  MARYLAND. 


are  married,  and  the  oldest  has  been  married  twice, 
both  times  in  Boston.  The  fifth  son,  William  George, 
died  in  his  seventeenth  year,  while  at  school  in 
Exeter,  N.  H.,  preparing  for  Harvard  College  ;  the 
sixth,  John  Holmes,  is  a  lawyer  in  Baltimore;  and 
the  seventh,  George  Burnap,  is  at  Harvard  College. 
Four  ofl  his  sons  have  been  students  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege, and  two  of  them  graduated  there.  Dr.  Morison, 
with  two  of  his  brothers  and  four  of  his  nephews, 
graduated  at  the  same  institution,  and  he  is  now  one 
of  the  vice-presidents  of  it.s  alumni  association.  Dr. 
Morison  has  for  forty  years  been  a  member  of  the 
First  Independent  Church,  and  was  for  many  years 
one  of  its  board  of  trustees.  He  was  for  twenty- 
seven  years  a  teacher  in  its  Sunday-school,  and  nearly 
all  that  time  its  superintendent.  He  is  one  of  the 
board  of  visitors  and  governors  of  St.  John's  College, 
at  Annapolis,  and  received  from  that  institution  in 
1871  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  In  1879,  with 
his  wife,  daughter,  and  son,  he  made  an  extended 
tour  in  Enrope,  visiting  all  the  principal  libraries, 
art  galleries,  educational  institutions,  and  historical 
places  in  Great  Britain  and  on  the  continent.  In 
1857  he  purchased  and  fitted  up  a  country-place  in 
Peterborough,  N.  H.,  where  his  family  have'since 
spent  three  months  of  every  summer.  During  the 
fourteen  years  of  his  charge  at  the  institute  he  has 
been  absent  from  only  one  lecture,  and  from  none  of 
the  public  concerts,  and  he  has  lost  but  one  day  from 
sickne.ss.  In  1845  he  prepared  and  published  a  series 
of  "  Questions  in  Geography,"  which  passed  through 
three  editions,  and  he  afterwards  printed  a  small  book 
on  punctuation  and  solecisms,  which  reached  a  second 
edition  in  18fi9.  In  1871  he  wrote  a  pamphlet  on  the 
objects  and  management  of  the  Peabody  Institute. 
Beside  these,  his  thirteen  annual  reports,  and  nu- 
merous newspaper  articles,  he  has  printed  nothing. 

On  the  15th  of  October,  1868,  the  Conservatory  of 
Music  was  opened  for  the  instruction  of  pupils  and 
for  the  production  of  symphony  concerts,  with  L.  H. 
Southard,  an  accomplished  musician  and  a  cultivated 
man,  as  director.  Musical  lectures  with  illustrative 
concerts  had  been  given  during  the  winter  of  1866-67, 
chiefly  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Szemelenyi,  and 
twelve  concerts  with  a  single  rehearsal,  under  the  di- 
rection of  James  M.  Deems,  were  given  during  1867- 
68,  but  no  musical  instruction  had  been  undertaken. 
From  October,  1868,  dates  the  beginning  of  regular 
musical  instruction  under  a  body  of  accomplished 
teachers,  and  the  beginning  of  the  symphony  con- 
certs under  an  able  director  with  a  full  orchestra  and 
numerous  rehearsals.  Dr.  Southard  remained  at  the 
head  of  the  Conservatory  three  years,  and  resigned  in 
1871.  Asger  Hamerick,  of  Copenhagen,  Denmark, 
an  accomplished  musician  and  able  composer,  who 
had  been  the  favorite  pupil  of  some  of  the  most  cele- 
brated teachers  and  composers  in  Europe,  and  who 
was  practically  acquainted  with  all  the  great  music- 
schools    of   Germany,   France,  and    Italy,   was   ap- 


pointed director  of  the -Conservatory  in  the  spring  of 
1871,  and  took  charge  of  it  in  the  following  Septem- 
ber. The  school,  and  especially  the  concerts,  have 
greatly  improved  under  his  management. 
I  In  1873,  John  W.  McCoy,  with  his  characteristic 
liberality,  presented  to  the  institute  Rinehart's  statue 
of  "Clytie"  in  marble,  the  first  acquisition  of  its  gal- 
lery of  art;  and  in  187C,  John  W.  Garrett,  one  of 
the  trustees,  gave  it  a  credit  of  $15,000  to  purchase 
plaster  casts  of  the  best  sculptures  in  the  European 
galleries.  A  large  portion  of  this  fund  has  been  ex- 
pended, and  the  institute  now  possesses  a  choice  col- 
i  lection  of  the  most  perfect  casts  that  are  made,  every 
piece  having  been  selected  by  experienced  artists. 
The  gallery  still  contains  few  pictures,  but,  imperfect 
as  it  is,  was  opened  to  the  public  in  the  spring  of  1881. 
The  institute  wjjs  then  complete,  and  all  of  its  de- 
partments in  active  operation  for  the  benefit  of  the 
public.  The  failure  of  Tennessee  to  pay  the  interest 
on  her  bonds  has  seriously  crippled  all  the  depart- 
'ments,  and  if  continued  must  not  simply  dwarf  but 
annihilate  the  art  gallery  or  throw  it  upon  i)rivate 
munificence  for  the  means  of  filling  it  with  works  of 
merit.  In  March,  1879,  a  loan  exhibition,  conducted 
by  a  committee  of  public-spirited  citizens,  was  held 
in  the  gallery,  and  yielded  to  the  institute  fifteen 
thousand  dollars.  This  .sum  has  been  s])ent  in  the 
purchase  of  two  American  pictures. 

Mr.  Peabody's  last  gift  to  the  institute,  in  1869,  was 
made"  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  building,  but 
I  his  own  death,  in  November  of  that  year,  and  the 
I  financial  crisis  of  1873  delayed  the  undertaking  till 
j  1875,  when  work  was  begun  in  earnest  on  the  exten- 
sion. Two  additional  houses  were  purchased  and 
demolished,  and  a  lot  thus  obtained  fronting  two 
hundred  and  six  feet  on  Mount  Vernon  and  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  on  Washington  Place.  The  new  wing 
added  ninety-eight  feet  to  the  north  front,  and  has  a 
depth  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  feet.  It  is  fire- 
proof throughout,  and  is  built  in  tlie  most  thorough 
and  substantial  manner,  with  all  the  latest  improve- 
ments in  heating  and  ventilation.  It  contains  two 
lecture-rooms  in  the  basement,  a  reading-room  with 
accommodations  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  readers,  a 
library  hall  with  alcoves  for  three  hundred  thousand 
volumes  of  books,  two  large  sculpture  galleries,  and 
the  necessary  work-rooms  and  offices.  The  old  wing 
contains  the  large  lecture  and  concert  hall,  the  pic- 
ture-gallery, the  class-rooms,  and  the  necessary  offices 
of  the  conservatory. 

The  entire  building  has  a  front  of  one  hundred  and 
seventy-four  feet  nine  inches,  and  a  dei)th,  in  two 
wings  twenty-four  feet  apart,  of  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
two  feet.  It  is  built  of  white  marble  in  tlie  Grecian 
style  of  architecture,  simple,  but  classic  and  elegant. 
Mr.  Peabody  desired  that  it  should  be  an  ornament  to 
the  city,  that  it  should  be  furnished  simply,  but  in 
the  most  substantial  manner,  and  that  it  should  al- 
ways be  kept  in  an  attractive  condition  of  neatness 


BALTIMORE   LIBRARIES   AND   MISCELLANEOUS   SOCIETIES. 


and  comfort,  and  his  wishes  have  been  carried  out  to 
the  letter.  The  entire  lot  cost  $167,000,  and  the  entire 
building  $517,000,  making  the  entire  expenditure  for 
the  plant  of  the  institute  1684,000.  The  income  of 
the  institute  is  at  present  (1881)  about  $34,000  a  year, 
and  it  owns  $364,000  of  Tennessee  six  per  cent,  bonds, 
on  which  it  has  received  no  interest  for  five  years. 

After  twelve  years  of  assiduous  labor,  a  catalogue 
of  the  library,  now  (1881)  containing  seventy-one 
thousand  volumes,  has  been  completed,  and  is  now 
being  printed.  It  consists  of  an  author,  a  title,  and 
a  subject-catalogue,  all  combined  in  one  alphabet, 
and  it  will  probably  fill  four  thousand  royal  octavo 
printed  pages  in  double  columns.  It  is  expected  that 
it  will  require  about  four  years  to  print  it. 

The  officers  of  the  in.stitution  are :  President,  Charles 
J.  M.  Eaton  ;  Vice-President,  George  William  Brown; 
Secretary,  George  B.  TiflFany ;  Treasurer,  Enoch  Pratt; 
Provost,  N.  H.  Morison,  LL.D. ;  Librarian,  P.  R. 
Uhler;  Director  of  the  Conservatory  of  Music,  Asger 
Hamerick. 

Among  the  other  libraries  of  the  city  containing 
over  five  hundred  volumes  are 


,oy..hiC'.ll.-L'.. 

t'.ii'i'"    .'  \  '.  .    ■    1  ''''.  \.M  ,ii.'',V,''.V.''.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.' 

iil,500 

111,000 

L^nOD 

10(H)0 

4;i78 

Ball"'       .    1      '    'i     '       .                         3,875 

'.'11'     3,600 

3.'i.i'."     ^"                1      '   1    '■           2,0()0 

li' -    ^1          '       ■> 111"" 1,600 

I'll '■'      1     ■""-    1   "i"ii 1,370 

!Hlt.i'    "    '      i    _.      ;    J  I'litiil  Surgery 

1,000 

1,«00 

1,200 

1,000 

3,000 

n.ixw 

3,000 

M'l-I'll    '.                                 

'li'i'.'  -  1 1  ".  "1 '  >  ''''riiigKsciiooi'.'.'.'.""."!!" 

26,000 

1,800 

3,000 

fill    l;     "        '    1'       I'l'i.iv 460 

B">-    -     '              -      r.'  1  -   l'."'.i'  760 

lull  :  .'       il                 :        .         i       .                                                            500 

t. ■'.    .  .   1             

600 

Maryland  Institute  for  the  Promotion  of  Me- 
chanic Arts. — This  name  has  been  applied  to  two 
different  associations  which  have  existed  in  this  city. 
The  first  was  founded  November,  1825,  by  Fielding 
Lucas,  Jr.,  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Hezekiah  Niles, 
Thomas  Kelso,  and  other  prominent  citizens  of  Bal- 
timore, of  whom  Mr.  Latrobe  is  the  only  survivor. 
It  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  in  1826,  and 
in  November,  1826  and  1827,  exhibitions  of  articles 
of  American  manufacture  were  held  in  "  Concert 
Hall,"  South  Charles  Street.  A  course  of  lectures 
on  subjects  connected  with  the  mechanic  arts  was  in- 
augurated, and  a  library  of  works  on  mechanics  and 
the  sciences  collected. 


"^7 


'ILLLLI"- 

MilyiiLL 


^^irtllffiU(;if;,rrt,iiiiiii\iiL 


On  Feb.  7,  1835,  the  Athenaeum,  then  located  at 
the  southwest  corner  of  Lexington  and  St.  Paul 
Streets,  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  institute,  which 
had  been  situated  in  that  building,  lost  all  of  its  out- 
fit and  property,  and  was  virtually  dissolved. 

The  first  oflScers  of  the  institute  were  William 
Stewart,  president ;  George  Warner  and  Fielding  Lu- 
cas, Jr.,  vice-presidents;  John  Mowton,  recording 
secretary ;  Dr.  William  Howard,  corresponding  sec- 
retary ;  Managers,  Messrs.  James  H.  Clarke,  D.  P. 
McCoy,  Solomon  Etting,  B.  C.  Howard,  William 
Hubbard,  Thomas  Kelso,  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe,  William 
Meeter,  Hezekiah  Niles,  William  Boney  (Rouey), 
William  F.  Small,  S. 
D.  Walker,  John  D. 
Craig,  Jacob  Deems, 
William  H.  Free- 
man, Moses  Hand, 
William  Krebs,  Rob- 
ert C.  Long,  Peter 
Leary,  James  Mosh- 
er,  Henry  Payson,  P. 
K.  Stapleton,  James 
Syke.s,andP.B.Wil-  m.uivi  vmi  inmihh. 

Hams.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1847,  Benjamin  S.  Benson  and  sixty-nine  others, 
among  whom  were  a  large  number  of  the  original 
founders  of  the  former  institution,  issued  a  call  for  a 
meeting  of  those  favorable  to  the  formation  of  a  me- 
chanics' institute.  This  resulted  in  the  organization 
of  the  present  institute,  Jan.  12,  1848. 

The  first  exhibition  was  held  at  Washington  Hall, 
in  October,  1848,  and  the  second  and  third  at  the  same 
place,  October,  1849  and  1850,  all  of  which  were  re- 
markably successful. 

The  ofiicers  for  1848  were  John  A.  Rodgers,  presi- 
dent; Adam  Denmead,  first,  and  James  Milholland, 
second    vice-president ;    John   B.   Easter,   recording 
secretary;   Samuel   Smith,  corresponding   secretary; 
and  Samuel  Boyd,  treasurer.     The  institute  was  in- 
corporated at  the  December  session  of  the  Legislature, 
1849,  and  was  endowed  with  an  annual  appropriation 
of  five  hundred  dollars.     The  City  Council  of  Balti- 
more, in  the  summer  of  1850,  passed  an  ordinance 
granting  the  institute  permission  to  erect  a  building 
over  the  Centre  Market.     The  corner-stone  was  laid 
on  the  13th  of  March,  1851,  and  on  the  21st  of  Octo- 
ber of  the  same  year  the  first  exhibition  was  held  in 
the  new  hall  of  the  institute.     The  first  lecture  of 
I  the  course  in  the  Maryland  Institute  was  delivered 
Tuesday  evening,  December  16th,  by  Hon.  Joseph  R. 
I  Chandler,  of  Philadelphia.     In  1849   the   board   of 
I  managers  extended  the  usefulness  of  the  in,stitution 
I  by  opening  a  School  of  Design,  and  the  Night  School 
j  of  Design  was  first  opened  in  the  present  building  in 
1851,  with  William  Minifie  as  principal.    In  1856,  Mr. 
Peabody  made  arrangements  to  leave  five  hundred  dol- 
lars per  annum  to  the  school,  to  be  distributed  in  pre- 
'  miums  among  its  graduates.     The  same  year  a  day 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


school  was  established  for  women  aud  girls,  and  a 
school  of  book-keeping  and  writing  has  been  in  suc- 
cessful operation  for  a  number  of  years.  A  well-se- 
lected library  of  nearly  nineteen  thousand  volumes  is 
one  of  the  greatest  attractions  of  the  institution.  The 
institut*  is  supported  by  fees  from  its  members,  and 
by  a  small  annual  appropriation  from  the  State.  The 
last  e.xhibition  was  held  there  in  1878.  The  first  ex- 
hibition of  the  Maryland  Institute  wa.s  held  Tuesday, 
Nov.  7,  ISliC,  at  a  hall  in  South  Charles  Street. 

Miscellaneous  Societies,  Associations,  Clubs, 
and  Institutions.— Among  the  prominent  mi.scella- 
ueous  societies,  associations,  etc.,  in  Baltimore  which 
we  have  not  the  space  to  treat  at  length  are  the 
following:  Baltimore  Institute  of  Architects,  organ- 
ized in  1870;  Maryland  Institute  School  of  Design, 
organized  in  1849;  Hebrew  Benevolent  Society,  or- 
ganized in  1846  ;  Maryland  Bible  Society,  formed  in 
1810;  Maryland  Piljrrini-  A--.irialion,  instituted  in 
1846  ;  General  Workiiu.-M  n^  m^  k  Kelief  Union,  or- 
ganized in  1851 ;  Maryhiu'l  SMririy  for  the  Prevention 
of  Cruelty  to  Animals,  incorporated  in  1862;  Balti- 
more Scheutzen  Society,  organized  in  1851;  Young 
Catholics'  Friends'  Society,  founded  in  1842 ;  Mary- 
land Sunday-School  Union,  incorporated  in  1846;  St. 
George's  Society,  organized  in  1867 ;  Society  of  the 
Army  and  Navy  of  the  Confederate  States,  organized 
in  1871 ;  The  Maryland  Line  in  the  Confederate 
States,  organized  in  1881  ;  Society  of  the  Cincinnati, 
organized  in  1783  ;  German  Mannerchor,  organized  in 
1856;  Germania  Club,  organized  in  1840;  Improved 
Order  of  Heptasophs,  formed  in  1878 ;  Maryland 
Colonization  Society,  formed  in  1817 ;  Maryland 
Club,  organized  in  1857;  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation, formed  in  1852;  St.  Andrew's  Society, 
founded  in  l.soii;  M:ir\lanil  Academy  of  Sciences,  or- 
ganized inl8i;;; :  1 1  ilni  iii  III  Soc'iety,  organized  in  1816  ; 
German  Society  ..I  Ma.yland,  formed  in  1817;  Wed- 
nesday Club,  formed  in  1869;  Athenaeum  Club, 
formed  in  1877. 

Militia. — The  militia  of  Baltimore  has  an  excep- 
tionally honorable  record,  gained  not  only  by  soldierly 
conduct  and  manly  deeds  in  four  wars,  but  by  re- 
peated important  services  in  quelling  disorder  and 
preserving  the  peace  of  the  city  and  State.  To  give 
this  record  in  full  would  take  a  volume,  yet  some 
mention  of  salient  points  in  the  history  of  our  local 
militia  seems  to  be  required.  Our  military  originated 
with  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  Previous  to  that  time 
what  troops  were  required  for  frontier  or  foreign  service 
were  either  British  contingents  or  levies  made  by  the 
Provincial  Assembly.  The  jealousies  of  both  the 
home  and  provincial  governments  frowned  upon  all 
local  organizations.  The  troubles  growing  out  of  the 
opposition  to  the  stamp-tax  induced  the  "Sons  of 
Liberty"  to  procure  arms  and  uniforms  and  organize 
as  independent  companies,  and  when  the  war  finally 
broke  out  they  volunteered.  Maryland  at  the  end  of 
the  Revolution  had  five  full  regiments  in  the  regular 


service,  besides  several  companies  of  artillery,  five 
companies  in  the  German  battalion  (Pulaski's  Legion), 
four  companies  of  riflemen,  a  battalion  of  seven  in- 
dependent companies,  a  company  of  "  matrosses,"  or 
cannoneers,  and  some  other  organizations.  The  State 
furnished,  in  all,  20,636  men  to  that  war,  and  of  these 
at  least  a  fourth  part  came  from  Baltimore. 

When  the  Revolutionary  war  ended  a  good  many 
of  the  old  Baltimore  companies  were  kept  together  as 
citizen-soldiery  in  one  .shape  or  another,  and  under 
various  names.  The  militia  of  the  State  was  organized 
and  formed  into  divisions,  brigades,  and  regiments,  in 
compliance  with  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  volunteer  uniformed  companies  of  Baltimore 
were  enrolled  under  this  organization.  The  Fifth 
Regiment,  then  as  now,  was  assigned  to  Baltimore, 
and  the  right  of  the  line  of  the  First  Battalion  was 
held  by  Capt.  Mackenheimer's  company,  the  First 
Baltimore  Light  Infantry,  raised  in  1792.  The  caj)- 
tain  had  been  in  the  Continental  army,  and  his 
company  volunteered  and  went  to  the  front  as  soon 
as  the  "  Whisky  Insurrection"  broke  out,  serving  as 
Washington's  body-guard.  Its  uniform  was  light 
blue,  faced  with  white.  This  same  year  several  other 
companies  were  raised, — -the  Independents,  Capt. 
Strieker;  the  Mechanical,  Capt.  Coulson ;  the  Rifle 
Company,  Capt.  Jessup ;  and  the  Baltimore  Sans- 
Culottes,  Capt.  Buchanan.  The  latter  company,  afler 
the  French  Revolution  became  so  atrocious  for  its 
barbarities,  changed  its  name  to  the  Independent 
Blues,  and  was  a  famous  company  down  to  quite  a 
recent  period,  being  notable  for  its  natty  dress  and 
excellent  drill.  The  First  Baltimore  Battalion,  Maj. 
Lowry,  organized  at  the  same  time,  comprised  a  com- 
pany of  grenadiers,  two  of  "  batmen,"  and  one  of 
light  infantry  ;  their  uniform  was  beautiful,  in  the 
French  style.  There  was  also  a  troop  of  horse,  Capt. 
Bowen,  in  green  coats  faced  with  red,  and  a  rifle 
company,  in  fringed  hunting-shirts.  The  Whisky  In- 
surrection, the  brief  war  with  France,  and  the  steadily 
deepening  troubles  with  Great  Britain  tended  to  keep 
up  the  spirit  of  these  organizations  and  maintain 
their  strength. 

When  the  war  of  1812  broke  out  Baltimore  had  a 
good  force  of  well-equipped  volunteers,  the  nucleus 
of  which  exissted  in  the  companies  which  have  been 
named  and  others  mentioned  in  the  chapter  on  the 
war  of  1812-14.  We  have  before  us  manuscript 
sketches  of  the  following  old  volunteer  militia  com- 
panies, but  owing  to  the  crowded  pages  of  the  work 
we  are  compelled  to  content  ourselves  by  simply  men- 
tioning them:  The  Law  Grays,  organized  in  1850; 
First  Rifle  Regiment,  organized  in  1846;  Maryland 
Cadets,  organized  in  1836 ;  Columbian  Riflemen,  or- 
ganized in  1846;  Baltimore  City  Guards,  formed  in 
1830;  Baltimore  Independent  Blues,  organized  in 
1798;  Shields  Guards,  organized  in  1856;  Baltimore 
City  Rifles,  organized  in  1860 ;  Mount  Vernon  Guards, 
organized  in   1854;  First  Baltimore  Light  Infantry, 


C-C-'C^?^ 


/^--r^>~-tt^^^ 


BALTIMORE  LIBRARIES   AND   MISCELLANEOUS  SOCIETIES. 


669 


organized  in  1787 ;  Wells  and  McComas  Riflemen, 
organized  about  1853 ;  German  Guards,  organized  in 
1846;  American  Riflemen,  organized  in  1855;  Mary- 
land Guards,  organized  in  1855 ;  Lafayette  Guards, 
organized  in  1853;  Baltimore  Invincibles,  organized 
in  1838 ;  Hibernian  Corps  of  Union  Greens,  organized 
about  1807;  Hibernian  Infantry,  organized  in  1796; 
Chesapeake  Riflemen,  organized  in  June,  1845 ;  Junior 
Artillerists,  organized  about  1837 ;  Fifth  Regiment, 
formed  in  1792 ;  Independent  Grays,  organized  in 
1833  ;  Fell's  Point  Eagle  Artillery,  organized  in  1789 ; 
Monumental  Rifles,  organized  in  1853;  Montgomery 
Guards,  organized  in  1853  ;  Jackson  Guards,  organized 
in  1850 ;  and  the  Marion  Rifle  Corps,  organized  in 
1823.  During  the  late  civil  war  our  Baltimore  citizen- 
soldiery  were  enrolled  and  fought  bravely  on  both 
sides  in  that  terrible  strife.  Among  those  from  Balti- 
more who  were  distinguished  for  gallantry  and  good 
conduct  on  the  Confederate  side  we  may  mention 
Lieut.-Col.  Richard  Snowden  Andrews. 

Col.  Richard  Snowden  Andrews  is  the  .son  of  Col. 
T.  P.  Andrews,  of  the  LTnited  States  army,  who  was 
born  in  Ireland  in  1794,  and  was  distinguished  for 
bravery  at  the  battle  of  El  Molino,  in  Mexico,  in 
1847,  and  breveted  brigadier-general  for  gallantry  at 
Cliapultepec.  He  was  appointed  paymaster-general 
of  the  army  in  September,  1862.  He  married  Emily 
Roseville,  fourth  daughter  of  Richard  and  Eliza 
(Warfleld)  Snowden. 

Richard  Snowden,  of  Wales,  the  progenitor  of  the 
Snowdens  of  Maryland,  is  said  to  have  held  a  major's 
commission  under  Oliver  Cromwell.  He  came  to 
Maryland  in  the  seventeenth  century.  His  son  Rich- 
ard was  a  well-known  owner  of  land  near  South 
River,  in  a  deed  dated  Oct.  13,  1679.  Aug.  1,  1686, 
Robin  Hood's  Forest,  containing  10,600  acres  of 
land,  was  granted  to  him.  He  was  living  Oct.  13, 
1688,  when  William  Parker  deeded  to  him  certain 
land  for  a  consideration  of  £306.  He  died  soon  after 
1704.  His  son,  Richard  Snowden,  Jr.,  married,  and 
was  living  as  late  as  1717.  Richard,  apparently 
the  only  son  of  this  last-mentioned  marriage,  was 
born  about  1691,  and  is  believed  to  have  died  in  1719. 
His  son  was  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  on 
the  Patuxent  River,  and  became  the  sole  owner  of 
the  "  Patuxent  Iron- Works  Company."  Thomas,  the 
third  son  of  Richard,  married  Ann  Ridgely ;  their 
oldest  child  was  Richard,  who  married  Eliza,  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Charles  Alexander  Warfield.  Of  this 
marriage,  Emily  Roseville  was  the  wife  of  Col. 
T.  P.  Andrews,  and  the  mother  of  the  subject  of 
our  sketch.  Col.  R.  Snowden  Andrews  was  born  in 
Washington,  D.  C,  Oct.  29,  1830,  and  was  educated 
at  private  schools  in  Washington  and  Georgetown. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was  apprenticed  to  the 
carpentering  trade,  as  preliminary  to  the  study  of 
architecture,  which  was  to  be  his  profession.  In  1852 
he  graduated  as  an  architect  from  the  office  of  Niern- 
see  &  Neilson,  the  leading  architects  of  Baltimore. 


In  his  profession  as  an  architect  he  was  eminently 
successful.  Among  the  achievements  of  his  art  are  the 
Hospital  for  the  Insane  in  Weston  County,  W.  Va.,  the 
Governor's  mansion  at  Annapolis,  the  superintendency 
of  the  south  wing  of  the  Treasury  Department  at 
Washington,  also  of  the  United  States  court-house 

j  at  Baltimore,  the  enlargement  of  the  custom-house, 
architect  of  the  Eastern  Female  High  School,  as  well 
as  churches  and   public  buildings.     He  is  now  en- 

I  gaged  on  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  building,  for 
which  he  furnished  the  granite,  as  well  as  that  for 
the  piers  and  new  elevator  at  Locust  Point  for  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad.  He  is  the  principal 
owner  of  the  Westham  Granite  Quarries,  upon  the 
James  River,  about  seven  miles  above  Richmond, 
Va.,  from  whence  was  taken  the  granite  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  Army  and  Navy  Department  at 
Washington,  which  is  regarded  as  the  finest  piece  of 
granite  work  in  the  world.     He  works  from  two  to 

j  four  hundred  hands  in  the  quarries  and  works  con- 
nected therewith. 

In  politics  Col.  Andrews  has  always  been  a  firm 
and  uncompromising  Democrat,  but  never  seeking  or 
desiring  office.  His  sympathies  and  convictions  of 
duty  in  1861  drew  him  to  espouse  the  cau.se  of  the 
Southern  States,  and  in  April  of  that  year  he  went  to 
Virginia  and  offered  his  services  to  the  authorities  of 

[  that  State.  Governor  Letcher  immediately  commis- 
sioned him  a  major  of  Virginia  cavalry,  which  position 

I  he  accepted,  reserving  the  privilege  of  transfer  to  the 
artillery  whenever  a  battery  could  be  provided  for  him. 
With  authority  to  organize  a  company  of  light  artil- 

j  lery,  to  be  known  as  the  First  Maryland  Artillery,  and 
with  the  aid  of  the  Ordnance  Department  of  Vir- 
ginia, then  under  the  charge  of  Col.  Dinioch,  he  pro- 
ceeded with  that  industry  and  energy  for  which  he 
has  always  been  remarkable  to  construct  and  equip 
with  guns,  caissons,  horses,  and  harness,  as  well  as 
enroll,  organize,  and  drill  the  men.  From  designs 
of  his  own  the  first  three  brass  12-pound  Napoleon 
guns  made  in  the  Confederate  States  and  three 
12-pound  brass  howitzers  were  cast  by  Col.  Dim- 
och.  These  were  the  models  for  all  other  Napoleons 
cast  in  the  Confederacy.  While  constructing  the 
battery  and  equipments  he  enlisted  and  organized 
one  hundred  and  forty-seven  Marylanders,  by  whom 
he  was  elected  captain,  with  William  F.  Dement,  first 
lieutenant;  Charles  Snowden  Contee,  first  lieutenant; 
Frederick  Dabney,  second  lieutenant;  and  Dr.  De- 
Wilton  Snowden,  orderly  sergeant.  The  company 
was  mustered  into  the  Virginia  service  in  June, 
1861,  and  the  next  day  transferred  with  the  other 
Virginia  forces  to  the  Confederate  army.  The  com- 
pany was  mustered  into  the  Virginia  service  by  the 
request  of  Governor  Letcher,  in  order  that  he  might 
supply  the  Marylanders  with  this  celebrated  battery. 
These  guns  were  cast  at  the  Tredegar  Works  in 
June  and  July,  1861,  and  used  in  all  the  battles  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  during  the  fall  and  winter 


670 


HISTORY  OF  BALTIMORE  CITY   AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  1861  and  1862.     The  great  success  of  these  guns  ' 
induced  the  Confederate  authorities  to  recast  all  of  ' 
their  6-  and  12-pound  liowitzcrs  into  Napoleon  guns  ' 
of  Andrews'  pattern.     The  first  service  of  this  bat- 
tery was  in  the  blockade  of  the  Potomac  at  Evans-  j 
port,  Va.     From  Evansport  it  was  transferred  to  Ma-  1 
gruder's  lines  at  Yorktown,  and  took  part  in  all  the  ; 
engagements  from  Yorktown  to  the  relief  of  Richmond 
from  the  army  of  McClellan.    The  battery  was  at- 
tached to  the  division  commanded  by  Maj.-Gen.  A. 
P.  Hill.     The  siege  of  Richmond  being  raised,  the 
battery  was  detached  and  sent  to  the  line  of  the  Rap- 
pahannock, and  attached  to  the  command   of  Gen. 
"Stonewall"   Jackson,   with   which  command  it  re- 
mained until  his  death. 

At  the  battle  of  Mechanicsville  tlie  Maryland  Ar- 
tillery, under  Capt.  Andrews,  had  the  honor  of  firing 
the  "  first  gun,"  and  was  hotly  engaged  from  three  to 
ten  o'clock.  During  this  engagement  Capt.  Andrews 
was  wounded  in  the  leg  by  a  ball  from  a  spherical 
shell,  but  he  did  not  leave  his  command  until  after 
the  action ;  and  notwithstanding  this  severe  wound 
he  remained  with  the  company  during  all  the  Seven 
Days'  fights  around  Richmond,  and  for  the  gallantry 
displayed  was  promoted,  by  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee's  recom- 
mendation, to  the  rank  of  major.  At  Frazier's  Farm, 
Gen.  Lee  having  been  informed  that  there  was  no 
place  from  which  artillery  could  be  used,  directed 
Capt.  Andrews  to  examine  the  ground  and  report  its 
condition  as  to  the  use  of  artillery.  After  a  thorough 
examination  Capt.  Andrews  reported  that  he  could 
use  his  battery,  and  was  ordered  in  position,  and  did 
such  service  as  to  merit  the  distinguished  approval  of 
Gen.  Lee. 

On  the  march  to  the  Rappahannock,  and  before 
the  battle  of  Cedar  Run,  Gen.  "Stonewall"  Jack- 
son discussed  with  Maj.  Andrews  the  artillery  ser- 
vice of  his  command  and  the  best  means  of  making 
it  more  effective.  In  these  discussions  Maj.  Andrews 
suggested  to  Gen.  Jackson  the  propriety  of  separating 
the  artillery  companies  from  the  brigades  to  which 
they  were  then  attached,  and  the  formation  of  artil- 
lery battalions  of  four  companies  each,  every  com- 
pany to  have  guns  of  the  same  character,  so  that  in 
ordering  a  company  into  action  the  particular  class 
of  guns  could  be  ordered  in  without  dividing  a  com- 
pany. This  suggestion  struck  Gen.  Jackson  with 
great  force,  which  was  subsequently  improved  and 
made  effectual  by  a  board  of  officers,  composed  of 
Gen.  Jackson,  Col.  Crutchfield,  and  Maj.  Andrews, 
at  "  Moss  Neck,"  below  Fredericksburg,  the  result  of 
which  was  the  battalion  organization  of  all  the  artil- 
lery companies  in  the  Second  Corps  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  and  which  wa.s  afterwards  adopted 
by  the  entire  army. 

At  the  battle  of  Cedar  Run,  Maj.  Andrews  com- 
manded the  division  artillery,  composed  of  nine  bat- 
teries, and,  iis  expressed  in  the  official  report  of  Gen. 
Pender,  "the  section   of  Andrews'    Battery  (Mary- 


land) was  under  Lieut.  Dement,  who  also  did  fine 
service.  Capt.  Andrews,  as  usual,  was  present,  chaf- 
ing for  a  fight."  This  battle  was  remarkable  for  the 
extraordinary  "  artillery  duel,"  which  raged  for  more 
than  three  hours,  opposing  batteries  unlimbering  so 
close  to  each  other  that  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
time  they  used  grape  and  canister.  Maj.  Andrews' 
artillery  was  attached  to  Gen.  Charles  S.  Winder's 
division.  Of  its  service  on  that  great  battle-field.  Col. 
Crutchfield,  chief  of  artillery  of  the  Second  Corps,  in 
his  ofBcial  report,  "  calls  esi)ecial  attention  to  the  gal- 
lantry displayed  by  Maj.  R.  S.  Andrews  in  this  ac- 
tion," who,  he  says,  "  was  severely  wounded,  and  in 
our  withdrawal  fell  a  prisoner  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy."  Gen.  Jackson  also  says,  "  Especial  credit  is 
due  Maj.  Andrews  for  the  success  and  gallantry  with 
which  his  guns  were  directed  until  he  was  severely 
wounded  and  taken  from  the  field."  The  wound  thus 
mentioned  by  these  officers  was  from  a  Parrott  shell, 
and  almost  disemboweled  Maj.  Andrews.  The  "grit" 
of  the  man  was  now  as  conspicuous  as  the  courage  of 
the  officer.  Every  surgeon  who  said  he  could  not  sur- 
vive he  waived  away  :  no  man  should  treat  his  wound 
who  had  no  hope  of  his  recovery.  Even  the  surgeons 
of  the  enemy  had  so  little  hope  of  his  ever  being  again 
"fit  for  duty"  that  they  paroled  him  instead  of  hold- 
ing him  a  close  prisoner.  Months  of  pain  and  suffer- 
ing ensued,  and  life  was  many  times  nearly  gone,  but 
the  man  was  superior  to  the  wound. 

During  this  "  sick  leave"  he  prepared  and  had 
published  by  Evans  &  Cogswell,  of  Charleston,  S.  C, 
that  excellent  manual,  "  Andrews'  Mounted  Artillery 
Drill,"  by  which  the  splendid  corps  of  artillery  in  the 
Confederate  States  army  were  drilled  and  educated. 
By  permission  this  work  was  dedicated  to  "The  Chris- 
tian Soldier,  Lieutenant-General  T.  J.  Jackson,  by 
his  late  Chief  of  Division  Artillery,  as  a  slight  token 
of  appreciation  of  the  kindness  of  the  following  com- 
plimentary language  :  '  For  Major  Andrews'  gallant 
and  meritorious  conduct  in  the  battle  of  Cedar  Run 
I  respectftilly  recommend  that  his  appointment 
date  from  that  battle.'  However  worthless  this  work 
in  itself  may  be,  it  assumes  something  of  value  in  the 
author's  eyes  when  thus  rendered  as  a  tribute  of  respect 
to  'Old  Stonewall,'  R.  Suowden  Andrews,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Commanding  Battalion  Artillery,  Milford, 
April  11, 1863."  By  Special  Order  No.  94,  Headquar- 
ters Department  Northern  Virginia,  April  4,  1863, 
a  board,  to  consist  of  Col.  S.  Crutchfield,  Lieut.- 
Col.  R.  Snowden  Andrews,  and  Maj.  H.  P.  Jones,  waa 
appointed  "  to  meet  at  the  camp  of  artillery  of  the 
Second  Corps  on  the  10th  instant,  or  as  soon  thereafter 
as  practicable,  to  express  an  opinion  as  to  the  proper 
proportion  of  projectiles  to  accompany  the  12-pounder 
Napoleon,  the  16-pounder  Parrott,  and  3-inch  rifle- 
guns;  also  whether  the  efficiency  of  artillery  will  be 
impaired  by  omitting  the  prolonge  with  the  gun-car- 
riage, and  extra  wheel  and  axle  with  the  caisson." 
This  board  Maj.  Andrews  attended  on  crutches,  and 


MUSIC   AND   MUSICIANS,  ART  AND   ARTISTS. 


671 


while  concurring  in  the  rejMrt  as  to  some  of  the  prin- 
cipal improvements  recommended,  did  not  concur 
with  others.  His  appointment  on  tliis  board  was  due 
to  the  impression  made  on  Gen.  Jackson  by  his  views, 
expressed  in  the  march  to  the  battle  of  Cedar  Run, 
on  the  improvement  of  the  artillery. 

Tlie  Second  Corps  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia was  commanded  by  Gen.  T.  J.  Jackson,  with 
Col.  Crutchfield  as  chief  of  artillery  of  the  corps, 
Lieut.-Col.  Andrews  as  chief  of  artillery  of  the  "  Stone- 
wall" Division.  Col.  Andrews  was  on  parole  until 
October,  1862,  when  he  was  exchanged  and  put  in 
charge  of  the  Bureau  of  the  Ordnance  Department 
by  Col.  Gorgas.  He  returned  to  duty  April,  1863, 
and  reached  Fredericksburg  on  the  eve  of  the  bat- 
tle of  Chancellorsville,  and  was  placed  in  command 
by  Gen.  Jackson  of  his  division  artillery  and  three 
other  batteries,  and  fought  Sedgwick  at  Fredericks- 
burg and  Hamilton's  Crossing.  Following  the  move- 
ments of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  he  partici- 
pated in  the  engagements  that  led  to  the  capture  of 
Gen.  Milroy's  command  at  Winchester,  where  he 
was  again  wounded,  being  the  third  serious  and 
severe  wound  received  in  eleven  months.  This  wound 
of  the  15th  of  June,  1863,  was  very  severe  and  dan- 
gerous, severing  the  large  artery  and  veins  of  the 
right  arm.  Of  the  conduct  of  the  Maryland  Artillery 
at  this  fight  Gen.  Evvell  remarks,  in  his  report  of 
operations  of  the  Second  Army  Corps,  "  that  Lieut- 
Col.  Andrews,  of  the  artillery,  not  fully  recovered 
from  his  serious  wound  at  Cedar  Run,  was  again 
wounded  at  Winchester,  and  while  suffering  from 
his  wound  appeared  on  the  field  at  Hagerstown  and 
reported  for  duty."  And  in  his  official  report  Gen. 
Ewell  says,  "  Lieut.-Col.  Andrews,  who  had  handled 
his  artillery  with  great  skill  and  effect  in  the  engage- 
ment on  the  15th,  was  -wounded  just  as  the  action 
closed."  Col.  Andrews  joined  his  command  at  Ha- 
gerstown on  the  6th  of  July,  1863,  and  at  the  battle 
of  Mine  Run  his  artillery  was  the  only  artillery  en- 
gaged, and  suffered  severely. 

In  December,  1863,  after  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  was  in  winter-quarters.  Col.  Andrews  was, 
at  the  request  of  Col.  Gorgas,  appointed  on  a  board 
of  officers  at  Richmond  to  designate  what  guns  should 
be  used  in  the  campaign  of  1864,  and  was  made  presi- 
dent of  the  board.  Having  performed  that  duty,  he 
was  ordered  to  proceed  to  Europe  and  examine  the 
artillery  of  England,  France,  Prussia,  and  Austria. 
He  proceeded  in  February,  1864,  to  Europe,  and  ac- 
companied Lieut.-Gen.  Falkenstein  through  Schles- 
wig  and  Holstein  to  the  north  of  Jutland  on  an  expe- 
dition against  the  Danes.  He  was  received  with  the 
utmost  courtesy  and  attention  by  Gen.  Von  Moltke, 
then  acting  as  chief  of  staff  of  Prince  Frederick  Carl's 
combined  army.  He  inspected  the  arsenals  of  Europe, 
and  had  some  guns  built  and  tested  at  Newcastle- 
upon-Tyne  and  shipped  to  the  Confederacy,  but 
which   arrived   at    Bermuda  too  late.     At  Bermuda 


Col.  Andrews  learned  of  the  fall  of  Wilmington  and 
I  the  closing  of  the  last  port  of  the  Confederacy.  He 
proceeded  to  Havana  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to 
return  to  duty  by  way  of  the  coast  of  Florida, 
but  at  Havana  he  heard  of  the  surrender  of  Gens. 
j  Lee  and  Johnston.  From  Havana  he  proceeded  to 
Mexico,  and  was  engaged  for  two  years  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  Imperial  Railroad  between  Vera 
Cruz  and  the  City  of  Mexico.  Returning  to  Balti- 
more in  January,  1867,  he  resumed  the  practice  of 
his  profession  as  an  architect. 

Col.  Andrews  married  Mary  C.  Lee,  a  daughter  of 
Josiah  Lee,  a  leading  banker  of  Baltimore,  who  was 
a  descendant  of  the  Virginia  Lees,  who  settled  in 
Southern  Maryland.  Her  mother  was  a  daughter  of 
the  Hon.  James  Sewell,  representative  in  the  Twenty- 
seventh  Congress  from  Harford  County. 

After  the  war  the  Maryland  militia  were  entirely 
reorganized  under  a  new  militia  law  creating  the 
Maryland  National  Guards.  This  law,  modified  in 
many  material  regards,  is  still  in  force.  Under  it  nine 
regiments  were  raised  and  uniformed  in  Baltimore, 
the  Fifth,  as  of  old,  having  the  right  of  the  line.  Of 
these  regiments  only  the  Fifth  remains  in  existence, 
and  our  citizens  need  no  information  a-s  to  its  quali- 
ties and  performances.  Its  services  in  the  strike  riots 
of  1877  will  not  speedily  be  forgotten. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

MUSIC    AND    MUSICIANS,  ART  AND    ARTISTS. 

If  the  progressive  history  of  music  in  Baltimore 
could  be  written  in  detail  it  would  form  an  exceed- 
ingly interesting  chapter  of  this  volume,  how  from 
feeble  attempts  upon  the  spinet  and  harpsichord  in 
the  eighteenth  century  the  people  gradually  advanced 
to  the  far  more  complete  and  comprehensive  instru- 
ment, the  piano,  and  how  from  small  coteries  endeav- 
oring to  give  voice  to  their  love  for  melody  through 
the  primitive  instructions  of  the  old  time  music-mas- 
ter there  have  been  developed  grand  choral  societies 
capable  of  interpreting  the  magnificent  productions  of 
Mozart,  Beethoven,  Haydn,  and  Handel,  and  a  race 
of  professors  whose  scientific  knowledge  is  supple- 
mented by  perfection  of  taste  and  accuracy  of  judg- 
ment. But  the  early  musical  history  of  a  people  is 
always  involved  in  obscurity, — the  first  rude  begin- 
nings from  whence  sprang  those  melodies  which 
fashioned  the  tastes  of  the  people.  In  July,  1765, 
Hugh  Maguire  opened  a  singing-school  in  St.  Ann's 
church,  Annapolis,  where  he  proposed  to  teach  "  the 
new  version  of  the  psalms  with  all  the  tunes,  both  of 
particular  and  common  measure ;  and  if  agreeable  to 
young  ladies,  will  attend  them  at  their  own  houses, 
where  such  as  play  on  the  spinet  may  in  a  short  time 
and  with  the  greatest  ease  learn  the  different  psalm 


672 


HISTORY  OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


tunes ;  and  in  order  that  those  youths  who  are  en- 
gaged in  other  studies  may  not  lose  time  from  them, 
I  have  appointed  the  hours  of  attendance  at  church 
on  Thursday  and  Friday,  from  five  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing till  eight,  and  from  five  to  seven  in  the  afternoon, 
and  on  Saturday  the  above-mentioned  time  in  the 
morning,  and  in  the  afternoon  from  two  to  six.  Price, 
15».  per  quarter,  and  one  dollar  entrance."  Doubtless 
Mr.  Maguire  extended  his  services  to  Baltimore,  and 
if  his  rates  were  no  higher  than  in  Annapolis,  the  in- 
habit^mts  had  little  complaint  to  make  ou  the  score  of 
charges.  In  January,  1796,  J.  Carr  had  a  music-store 
at  No.  6  Gay  Street,  an  indication  that  the  people  at 
that  time  were  considerably  advanced  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  art  or  .such  an  establishment  could  not 
have  been  sustained.  A  concert  was  performed  on 
Thursday,  April  9,  1789,  at  John  Starck's  tavern, 
Mr.  Boyer,  who  had  been  giving  musical-  instructions 
in  the  polite  circles  of  Baltimore,  being  the- manager 
and  conductor,  and  in  all  probability  the  sole  bene- 
ficiary. 

Sacred  music  appears  to  have  been  the  most  popu- 
lar during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
On  Friday,  Nov.  6,  1789,  Ishmael  Spicer  offers  his 
services  to  the  citizens  as  a  teacher  of  psalmody,  and 
"flatters  himself  that  he  shall  meet  with  general  en- 
couragement." "  The  price  for  tuition,  fire- wood,  and 
candles  is  two  dollars  and  a  half  a  quarter  for  each 
scholar,"  cheap  enough  apparently  even  when  the 
difference  in  the  value  of  money  then  and  now  is  con- 
sidered. Under  date  of  Nov.  13,  1789,  a  gentleman 
advertises  to  give  instructions  on  the  harpsichord, 
showing  that  the  piano  had  not  yet  supplanted  that 
mild  but  plaintive  instrument  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  There  is  a  long  interval  of  which  there  is  no 
authentic  record,  save  that  a  fine  building,  known  as 
the  "  Assembly-Rooms,"  was  erected  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  Fayette  and  Holliday  Streets,  and  devoted 
to  dancing  and  the  fine  arts.  It  is  not  difficult  to 
imagine  that  its  spacious  chambers  at  times  re-echoed 
floods  of  melody,  and  that  there  were  laid  the  founda- 
tions for  those  more  ambitious  efforts  of  recent  years. 
It  is  announced  on  Thursday,  Feb.  25,  1819,  "that 
the  Harmonic  Society  of  Baltimore  will  give  their  first 
concert  of  vocal  and  instrumental  music  in  their  hall 
on  Charles  Street,  Mr.  J.  Nenijiger  conductor.  Per- 
formance at  7  o'clock.  Tickets  to  be  had  at  F.  Lucas' 
and  E.  J.  Coale's  book-stores  and  Robinson's  Li- 
brary." Many  persons  will  recognize  the  depositaries 
of  tickets  from  the  imprint  of  their  firm-names  upon 
old  pieces  of  music,  such  as  the  "  Captive  Knight," 
"  The  Danube  River,"  and  many  other  ballads  that 
were  greeted  with  enthusiasm  long  years  ago. 

About  two  years  from  this  date  it  is  learned  that 
"  the  composition  of  the  celebrated  Haydn,  the  sacred 
oratorio  entitled  '  The  Creation,'  is  to  be  performed 
on  Thursday  evening.  May  3,  1821,  in  the  new  cathe- 
dral of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Baltimore,  by 
the  Baltimore  Harmonic  Society,  with  the  assistance 


of  professors  present  and  upwards  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  ladies  and  gentlemen  amateurs;"  further 
on  there  is  a  meagre  account  of  the  great  performance. 
There  was  assembled  to  hear  it  "  the  most  splendid 
audience  of  beauty  and  fa.shion  that  we  have  ever 
witnessed.  Notwithstanding  a  severe  rain,  the  citi- 
zens repaired  to  the  church  at  an  early  hour,  and  the 
seats  approximating  the  orchestra  were  filled  to  over- 
flowing in  a  few  minutes." 

The  manufacture  of  musical  instruments  had  evi- 
dently been  making  headway  in  the  country.  In 
April,  1821,  it  is  noted  that  "the  artist,  Mr.  Thomas 
Hall,'  of  New  York,  is  already  well  known  in  Balti- 
more as  the  builder  of  the  two  finest  organs  that  had 
ever  been  seen  in  Baltimore  until  the  completion  of 
the  cathedral  organ, — I  mean  the  one  in  St.  Paul's 
and  that  in  the  First  Independent  church.  This  im- 
mense organ  is  incomparably  the  largest  in  America." 

A  grand  concert  by  the  Baltimore  Harmonic  So- 
ciety is  advertised  to  take  place  at  the  Masonic  Hall, 
March  6,  1823. 

In  1827  another  step  in  advance  was  noted.  On 
Friday,  May  25th  of  that  year,  the  Musical  Associa- 
tion was  organized  at  the  Athenseum,  in  this  city, 
with  the  following  list  of  oflScers :  President,  Fielding 
Lucas ;  Vice-President,  B.  I.  Cohen  ;  Treasurer,  Wil- 
liam H.  Murray;  Secretary,  William  Neal;  Directors, 
Benjamin  C.  Howard,  Justus  Hoppe,  J.  J.  Cohen,  Jr., 
David  Hoifman,  J.  Pennington,  James  Gibson,  John 
Cole,  and  William  Bose.  A  constitution  was  adopted 
for  the  government  of  the  society,  and  subscriptions 
collected  suflicient  to  defray  its  expenses. 

In  the  following  year  the  Baltimore  Choral  Society 
was  formed,  and  a  meeting  held  May  26th  in  the 
saloon  of  the  Athenaeum.  Under  the  auspices  of  the 
Musical  Association,  a  series  of  delightful  concerts 
were  given  for  the  benefit  t)f  the  poor  of  the  city, 
which  netted  a  handsome  sum  for  charity,  and  doubt- 
less contributed  much  to  the  development  of  correct 
musical  taste,  now  a  distinct  characteristic  of  the 
people.  The  first  mircc  of  the  Musical  Association 
took  place  Jan.  17,  1833,  and  was  attended  by  a 
"gifted  and  brilliant"  assemblage  of  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen. The  same  association  rendered  an  oratorio 
Feb.  25,  1836,  at  Rev.  Dr.  Duncan's  church,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Sunday-schools  of  the  city. 

From  this  time  onward  the  progress  of  music  was 
very  rapid.  The  great  influx  6f  Germans  contrib- 
uted much  to  this  result.  They  brought  with  them 
their  knowledge  of  music  and  their  enthusiasm.  The 
Leiderkrantz,  the  German  Music  Society,  the  Ger- 
niania  Mannerchor,  and  many  other  kindred  associa- 
tions were  formed  in  Baltimore.  A  grand  oratorio  of 
"  The  Seasons"  was  performed  Jan.  13,  1842,  at  the 
Assembly-Rooms  by  the  Leiderkrantz  and  the  Ger- 
man Jlusic  Society.  In  December,  1849,  the  Balti- 
more Musical  Association  was  dissolved,  and  reor- 
ganized on  a  better  basis. 

A  grand  musical  festival  was  given  in  this  city  June 


MUSIC   AND   MUSICIANS,  ART   AND   ARTISTS. 


9,  1851.  It  was  a  combination  of  the  German  vocal 
associations  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States,  num- 
bering six  hundred  voices.  The  festival  took  place 
at  the  Front  Street  Theatre,  and  the  compositions  of 
the  most  celebrated  German  composers  were  rendered 
with  great  skill  and  splendid  effect.  In  December  of 
the  same  year  the  Lenschow  Musical  Association,  a 
select  organization,  consisting  of  nineteen  young  gen- 
tlemen, who  had  been  in  constant  practice  for  a  year, 
gave  a  very  enjoyable  concert  of  classic  music. 

Jenny  Lind  reached  Baltimore  Dec.  8,  1850.  The 
same  enthusiasm,  in  kind  if  not  in  degree,  was  exhib- 
ited here  as  elsewhere.  Tickets  to  her  concerts  sold 
at  fabulous  prices,  and  her  eiforts  on  the  stage  were 
received  with  a  storm  of  applause.  It  would  not  be 
fair  to  say  that  Baltimore  had  never  before  welcomed 
a  great  artiste,  but  assuredly  nowhere  in  America, 
prior  to  her  advent,  had  the  people  heard  a  singer  of 
such  cultivation  combined  with  such  extraordinary 
power.  She  showed  the  people  of  what  the  human 
voice  was  capable  under  certain  conditions,  and  from 
her  coming  may  be  dated  a  new  era  in  the  history  of 
vocal  music.  An  impetus  was  given  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  voice,  after  all  the  truest  and  most  perfect 
medium  that  music  possesses.  Skillful  and  scientific 
teachers  were  secured,  many  of  the  church  choirs 
were  remodeled,  and  the  taste  for  vocal  music  of  a 
high  order  became  general  among  the  people. 
Many  citizens  remember  with  pleasure  the  operatic 
renditions  of  the  Pyne  &  Harrison  opera  troupe,  but 
perhaps  the  most  genuine  enthusiasm  was  created  in 
1860,  when  Strakosch  presented  to  the  opera-going 
public  the  combination  of  Adelina  Patti,  Madame 
Coulson,  Brignoli,  Stigelli,  and  Amodio.  The  prima 
donnas  and  tenors  sang  on  alternate  nights,  Coulson 
with  Stigelli,  and  Patti  with  Brignoli,  and  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  determine  on  which  side  ranged  the  greater 
number  of  partisans.  Since  that  time  many  of  the 
most  famous  singers  of  Europe  have  visited  the  city, 
— Piccolomini,  Parepa,  Nilsson,  Lucca,  and  Titiens, — 
but  none  have  produced  the  enthusiasm  and  excite- 
ment caused  by  Jenny  Lind  and  the  troupe  above 
mentioned. 

In  1854,  and  again  in  18-59,  the  Grand  National 
Sangerbund  assembled  in  Baltimore,  and  for  days  the 
inhabitants  were  fairly  saturated  with  song.  Several 
thousand  voices  supplied  the  chorus  on  each  occasion, 
and  the  choicest  music  was  rendered. 

The  general  convention  of  the  American  St.  Csecil- 
ian  Societies  convened  at  St.  Alphonsus'  Hall,  Aug. 
22,  1876.  A  grand  concert  was  given  in  St.  Alphon- 
sus' church,  at  which  music  selected  in  accordance 
with  the  severe  views  of  the  organization  was  ele- 
gantly rendered.  It  was  an  interesting  occasion,  but 
the  societies  have  not  yet  succeeded  to  any  extent  in 
imparting  their  cla.ssical  severity  to  the  church  music 
of  Baltimore  City.  Some  of  the  churches  adopted 
the  Gregorian  chant,  but,  with  rare  exceptions,  they 
have  allowed  it  to  fall  into  disuse,  the  tastes  of  the 


congregations  plainly  tending  in  the  other  direc- 
tions. 

The  Maryland  Musical  Festival  began  at  the  Acad- 
emy of  Music,  May  27,  1878,  under  the  direction  of 
Prof.  Asger  Hamerick,  director  of  the  Conservatory 
of  Music  of  the  Peabody  Institute,  and  lasted  three 
days.  The  festival  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  cultured 
taste  for  music  which  had  gradually  grown  up  among 
the  citizens.  It  was  the  culmination  of  many  previ- 
ous efforts  in  the  same  direction,  and  was  in  every  re- 
spect a  credit  to  the  city.  Admirable  taste  was  dis- 
played in  the  selections,  embracing  many  of  the  most 
remarkable  works  of  the  great  masters,  and  the  finished 
manner  in  which  they  were  executed  and  the  evident 
delight  with  which  they  were  received  bespoke  a  corps 
of  trained  musicians  of  great  excellence  in  the  com- 
munity, and  an  audience  thoroughly  capable  of  ap- 
preciating the  loftiest  efforts  of  musical  genius. 

The  numerous  musical  organizations  in  the  city  and 
the  Conservatory  of  Music  of  the  Peabody  Institute, 
through  its  annual  concerts,  have  done  much  to  de- 
velop and  educate  the  tastes  of  the  people,  and  will 
doubtless  continue  to  be  a  potent  influence  in  Balti- 
more. 

Of  the  popular  teachers  of  music  in  old  times  in 
Baltimore  City  were  the  Gilles  brothers,  Italians. 
The  elder  Gilles  was  the  most  celebrated  hautboy 
player  of  his  day,  and  the  younger  fingered  and 
bowed  the  violoncello  with  great  ease  and  dexterity. 
They  came  to  this  country  to  give  a  series  of  concerts, 
and  finally  settled  in  Baltimore,  where  they  taught 
vocal  music  according  to  the  Italian  system.  Two 
brothers  named  Neninger,  one  of  whom  has  already 
been  mentioned  in  connection  with  a  concert  given 
by  the  Harmonic  Society  in  1819,  both  violinists, 
taught  instrumental  music  in  Baltimore  for  many 
years.  Messrs.  Dielman,  Lucchesi,  and  Gosden  were 
noted  flutenists.  Charles  Meineke,  a  German,  was  a 
skillful  pianist  and  organist,  and  amassed  by  industry 
and  frugality  a  large  fortune,  but  left  no  heir  to  in- 
herit his  wealth,  he  being  a  bachelor.  Among  the 
prominent  performers  and  composers  of  music  in 
Baltimore,  past  and  present,  may  be  mentioned  An- 
thony Philip  Heinrich,  Thomas  Statford  Damer, 
Julius  E.  Muller,  Arthur  Clifton,  John  Cole,  Sual 
Shaw,  Charles  Meineke,  George  W.  Mennick,  Fred- 
erick Lucchesi,  Levi  Wilder,  E.  Higenbotham,  Henry 
M.  Jungernickel,  Ernest  Szemelengi,  A.  J,  Cleve- 
land, Henry  Dielman,  Henry  Schwing,  Frank  Bar- 
rington,  Frederick  Eversman,  Jennie  Busk,  J.  H. 
Hewitt,  Joseph  Gegan,  William  Harman,  C.  S.  Per- 
cival,  Alexander  Jamieson,  James  M.  Deems,  Francis 
and  George  Walter,  J.  T.  Stoddard,  Vincent  Schmidt, 
a  celebrated  guitarist,  Augustus  Metz,  Albert  and  Mrs. 
Holland,  James  and  Dominic  May,  Charles  Gola,  G. 
J.  Conradt,  John  F.  Petri,  Louis  Eobuck,  Mr.  De 
Bonceray,  and  Otto  Sutro. 

Mr.  Sutro  is  widely  known  and  esteemed.  He  was 
born  in  Aix-la-Chapelle,  Rhenish  Prussia,  on  the  24th 


674 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  February,  1833.  His  father  was  Emanuel  Sutro, 
and  his  mother,  Rosa  Warendorf  In  business  his 
father  was  an  extensive  clotli  manufacturer,  employ- 
ing many  hundred  hands.  He  was  a  man  of  fine 
natural  gifts,  highly  cultivated,  refined,  and  improved 
by  extensive  travel.  At  an  early  age  Otto  Sutro 
evinced  a  decided  talent  for  music,  which  was  encour- 
aged and  promoted  by  his  parents,  themselves  es- 
pecially devoted  to  the  "  divine  art."  After  instruc- 
tion by  tiie  best  masters  of  liis  native  city,  his  father 
took  him  to  the  renowned  Mendelssohn  in  1845,  who 
advised  his  being  sent  to  the  Conservatory  of  Music. 
But,  owing  to  the  death  of  his  father  in  1847,  his 
mother  ciianged  his  destination  to  the  Conservatory 
of  Music  at  Brussels,  where  his  musical  studies  were 
begun  in  real  earnest.  Making  rapid  progress,  lie 
soon  took  higli  position  in  his  classes  for  composition 
of  music  for  piano  and  organ,  and  so  proficient  did  he 
become  on  the  latter  instrument  that  the  famous 
organist.  Prof  I.  Lemmeus,  appointed  him  his  as- 
sistant. His  mother  having,  with  all  the  children 
but  one,  migrated  to  America,  Otto,  drawn  by  his 
strong  affection  for  her,  followed,  and  arrived  in  New 
York,  from  whence  he  came  directly  to  Baltimore,  in 
1851,  where  he  obtained  the  position  of  organist  to 
the  Trinity  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  Overtaken 
by  the  "  California  fever,"  he  sought  his  fortune  in 
the  El  Dorada  of  the  Pacific,  along  with  thousands 
of  other  young  and  energetic  men  who  made  the 
Argonauts  of  California.  In  California  he  gave  in- 
structions in  music  for  a  short  time,  but  the  fever  of 
"gold-digging"  carried  him  to  the  mines,  where, 
alternately  digging  and  playing,  merchant  and  mus- 
ician, he  passed  an  eventful  life.  In  concert  companies 
traveling  over  the  State  from  mining  districts  to 
country  towns  his  life  was  replete  with  adventure, 
hardship,  and  hairbreadth  escapes  from  all  kinds  of 
dangers,  which  matured  without  hardening  his  char- 
acter. While  in  San  Francisco  he  was  organist  of 
the  Catholic  cathedral,  in  Vallejo  Street;  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Scott's  church,  on  Bush  Street ;  and  lastly  of 
Bishop  Kipp's  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  on  Row- 
ell  Street ;  and  in  San  Francisco,  as  elsewhere,  he  was 
considered  a  most  proficient  and  excellent  instructor 
of  music. 

The  same  affection  for  his  mother  that  imiielled  his 
coming  to  America  drew  him  back  to  the  Atlantic 
States,  and  lie  returned  to  Baltimore  in  February, 
1858,  and  has  made  it  his  permanent  home.  And 
here  he  has  had  charge  of  most  of  the  music  of  the 
great  charity  engagements  during  the  war,  and  in  ap- 
preciation of  his  valuable  services  the  "  Southern 
Educational  Society"  presented  him  with  a  handsome 
silver  set.  "  Wednesday  evenings  at  Sutro's"  have  a 
history  of  music,  pleasure,  and  entertainment  that 
will  long  be  cheri.shed  by  some  of  the  best  people  of 
Baltimore,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  "  Wednes- 
day Club,"  since  become  famous  in  Baltimore  for  mu- 
sical and  dramatic  entertainments  by  non-professionals. 


Upon  Mr.  Sutro's  marriage  with  Miss  Handy,  of  Mis- 
sissippi, the  Bachelors'  Club  of  Wednesday  evening 
was  dissolved,  and  those  who  have  so  long  enjoyed 
the  pleasure  of  these  delightful  enterUiinments  united 
in  presenting,  through  William  Preseott  Smith,  a 
silver  pitcher  of  unique  design,  commemorative  of 
the  "good  times"  they  had  had  under  the  hospitable 
roof  of  Baltimore's  great  musician. 

Mr.  Sutro  is  the  .agent  for  the  celebrated  Chickering 
pianos,  also  George  Wood's  organs,  Kranich  & 
Bach,  Haines'  Bros.,  Dunham  &  Sons'  pianos,  and 
Wilcox  &  White's  organs,  and  is  engaged  in  the 
business  of  sheet-music  upon  a  very  large  scale.  En- 
terprise like  tliat  of  Mr.  Sutro  deserves  to  be,  and  has 
been,  rewarded  with  the  countenance  and  full  support 
of  the  peoi)le  of  Baltimore. 

Art  and  Artists.— The  earliest  indication  of  a 
taste  for  art  which  the  records  of  Maryland  show  is 
the  resolution  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  in  1766 
to  erect  at  Annapolis  a  marble  statue  to  William 
Pitt,  and  the  provision  therein  made  for  the  painting 
of  his  portrait.  The  portrait-painters  of  Maryland 
include  Charles  Wilson  Peale  in  1773,  who  com- 
pleted in  the  next  year  in  London  the  portrait  of  the 
Earl  of  Chatham,  the  "first  fruit  of  his  science,"  and 
which  he  gave  to  the  province,  to  be  placed  in  the 
State-House,  with  the  hope  that  it  would  "  redound 
to  his  reputation"  and  confer  an  honor  upon  him. 
In  1788,  Mr.  Peale,  "expecting  to  leave  Baltimore 
shortly,"  announced  that  his  portraits  may  be  seen 
every  day  at  his  room  in  Daniel  Bowley's  buildings, 
on  Water  Street,  between  South  and  Commerce.  In 
February,  1799,  Rembrandt  Peale  was  painting  por- 
traits in  Annapolis  at  forty  dollars  each.  In  1807,  C. 
Boyle,  portrait-painter,  was  located  at  No.  6  Calvert 
Street.  In  1811,  Francis  Guy,  the  landscape-painter, 
advertised  his  invention  of  a  paper  carpet,  and  that 
it  was  on  exhibition  at  Robert  Elliott's  paper-hang- 
ing warehouse.  In  the  same  year  James  McGibbon, 
portrait-painter,  had  his  studio  at  No.  6  Gay  Street. 

The  growth  of  the  taste  for  works  of  art  in  Balti- 
more had  been  gradual  and  without  any  important 
manifestations  in  the  way  of  organization  until  the 
formation  of  the  Maryland  Art  Association,  March  5, 
1847,  which  was  designed   to  be  an   association  of 
artists  and  amateurs  of  the  city  for  promoting  the 
knowledge  and  practice  of  fine  arts  in  Maryland ;  a 
committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  S.  Smith,  R.  Carey 
Long,  and  O.  Tiftany,  Jr.,  was  authorized  to  solicit 
from  patrons  of  art  contributions  towards  forming  a 
collection  of  studies.     How  long  the  Maryland  Art 
I  Association  continued  there  are  no  records  to  show. 
I  It  was  but  the  beginning  of  that  development  in  the 
study  and  encouragement  of  fine  arts  which  has  since 
that  time  had  such  success  in  this  city. 
I       In  1870  the  Maryland  Academy  of  Art  was  organ- 
!  ized  at  Knabe's  Hall,  on  May  20th,  with  Dr.  Archibald 
George  as  temporary  president,  and  A.  J.  H.  Way  as 
secretary.     The  i>resident  gave  an  exposition  of  the 


:^r  Z9fa/r^^^^f-^ 


MUSIC   AND   MUSICIANS,  ART   AND    ARTISTS. 


objects  contemplated  by  the  academy,  and  of  a  con- 
stitution for  its  government.  It  was  composed  of 
artists,  amateur  artists,  and  lovers  of  art  generally, 
including  ladies.' 

It  was  thought  that  as  Baltimore  was  then  "  begin- 
ning to  assume  a  metropolitan  character,"  and  giving 
"  indications  of  a  growing  interest  in  art,  that  it  was 
a  propitious  moment  for  the  formation  of  this  acad- 
emy." It  was  not  only  the  aim  of  the  founders  to 
promote  the  appreciation  of  the  fine  arts  in  this  city, 
but  also  to  aid  the  progress  and  a.ssist  the  interests  of 
artists  by  art  exhibitions,  discourses  and  lectures  on 
art,  etc.,  and  to  establish  an  art  centre  and  rendezvous 
for  foreign  and  native  talent,  and  to  concentrate  in  an 
organized  form  the  congenial  art  elements  of  the  com- 
munity. The  following  officers  were  elected  at  the 
meeting  June  2,  1870 :  Hon.  George  W.  Dobbin, 
president;  A.  J.  H.  Way,  vice-president;  William  H. 
Graham,  treasurer;  George  H.  Coale,  recording  sec- 
retary ;  Allan  H.  Redwood,  corresponding  secretary  ; 
Directors,  S.  Teackle  Wallis,  Louis  McLane,  William 
Prescott  Smith,  Israel  Cohen,  W.  H.  Carpenter,  A.  K. 
Fulton,  Joseph  H.  Meredith,  Albert  T.  Bledsoe,  Au- 
gustus George,  A.  J.  Volck,  Col.  J.  R.  Johnson, 
J.  Crawford  Neilson,  E.  G.  Lind,  E.  F.  Baldwin,  John 
W.  Torsch,  and  Leonce  Rabillon.  The  academy  was 
located  on  Mulberry  Street,  near  Cathedral,  and  by 
Oct.  30,  1871,  had  taken  such  a  start  and  firm  hold 
upon  society  as  to  give  a  promise  of  permanence. 
The  studies  for  the  antique  school  had  arrived, 
and  were  set  up  in  the  Hall  of  Sculpture.  These 
studies  were  casts  of  nearly  all  the  masterpieces  of 
antiquity. 

In  1873  the  works  of  art  belonging  to  the  Maryland 
Academy  of  Art  were  transferred  to  the  Peabody  In- 
stitute, and  afterwards  to  the  Maryland  Historical 
Society,  where  they  now  form  part  of  that  splendid 
art  gallery,  and  the  academy  was  dissolved.  The 
gallery  of  art  of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society  also 
contains  many  valuable  paintings. 

The  Decorative  Art  Society  of  Baltimore  was  or- 
ganized in  May,  1878,  for  the  formation  and  diffusion 
of  a  knowledge  of  decorative  art,  training  in  artis- 
tic industries,  and  the  exhibition  and  sale  of  artistic 
work,  and  had  its  first  public  exhibition  in  October, 
1878,  in  which  nearly  every  mode  of  artistic  decora- 

1  We  find  the  following  account  in  the  Sun  of  May  23, 1838,  of  an  earlier 
organization,  but  there  exists  no  other  information  aa  to  its  work  or 
duration  :  "  The  following  are  elected  officers  of  the  Maryland  Academy 
of  Fine  Arts  for  the  ensuing  twelve  months:  William  Frick,  president; 
James  H.  Miller,  M.D.,  first  vice-president;  William  Gwynn,  Esq.,  second 
vice-president;  Samuel  Jones,  Jr.,  treasurer;  F.  H.  Davidge, correspond- 
ing secretary ;  J.  N.  McJilton,  recording  secretary  ;  Directors,  Dr.  H.  H. ' 
Hayilen,  T.  S.  Arthur,  Dr.  C.  A.  Harris,  John  Needles,  Martin  Lewis. 

"The  following  were  elected  professore  for  the  ensuing  seven  years: 
James  Jackson,  artist,  professor  of  painting ;  Henry  Stout,  professor  of 
sculpture;  S.  K.  Jennings,  M.D.,  professor  of  anatomy;  Cliristopher  C. 
Cox,  M.D.,  professor  of  chemistry;  R.  C.  Long,  artist,  professor  of  archi- 
tecture; E.  Wellmore,  artist,  professor  of  engraving." 

The  first  public  exhibition  of  paintings  in  Baltimore  took  place  in 
1822,  at  the  Museum,  but  the  catalogue  has  been  lost;  that  of  1823,  at 
the  same  place,  presented  a  large  number  of   valuable  paintings. 


tion  was  exhibited.  The  possibility  of  household 
adornment,  rather  than  the  cultivation  of  high  art, 
is  the  province  of  this  society,  and  its  work  is  chiefly 
done  by  amateurs.  Paintings  on  china  plaques, 
etchings  on  sepia,  on  wood  chevals,  and  embroideries, 
panels  for  cabinets,  pen-and-ink  sketches  on  silk, 
water-color  sketches,  painting  on  ivory,  satin,  slate, 
and  leather,  delicate  laces,  lambrequins,  various  kinds 
of  pottery,  illuminated  missals,  and  vases  of  majolica 
were  among  the  collections  exhibited  by  the  society 
at  various  times.  Mrs.  Allan  P.  Smith  is  president, 
Isaac  Brooks  treasurer,  and  J.  J.  Jackson  secretary. 

Justly  distinguished  in  many  ways  as  a  citizen  of 
Baltimore,  William  T.  Walters  is  beyond  all  question 
the  city's  foremost,  most  liberal,  and  most  discrimin- 
ating friend  of  art.  His  collection,  at  his  home  in 
Mount  Vernon  Place,  is  not  only  the  pride  of  all 
Baltimoreans,  but  is  known  and  valued  throughout 
the  United  States  and  in  foreign  capitals.  It  is  no  frag- 
mentary assemblage  of  simply  pretty  things,  picked 
up  here  and  there,  nor  yet  the  limited  collection  of  a 
specialist,  but,  as  representing  the  highest  art,  it  is  so 
full,  so  varied  in  its  character,  so  noble  in  all  its  de- 
tails, so  valuable  in  even  its  smallest  object,  so  inter- 
esting in  its  associations,  and  grouped  with  such  true 
judgment  that  it  is  incomparably  the  finest  collection 
in  America,  and  persons  fully  familiar  with  art 
abroad  will  find  it  difficult  to  recall  any  private  col- 
lection in  Europe  of  wider  scope  or  of  as  equally 
high  average  of  excellence. 

His  early  fondness  for  art  induced  Mr.  Walters, 
more  than  forty  years  ago,  to  devote  a  part  of  his  first 
year's  business  profit  in  Baltimore  to  the  purchase  of 
the  best  pictures  he  could  then  procure,  and  no  year 
in  all  the  intervening  time  has  passed  without  fresh 
additions  to  his  collection,  until,  by  constant  pruning 
and  repruning,  and  the  addition  of  works  of  greater 
and  still  greater  excellence,  the  array  is  now  so  ad- 
mirable that  it  seems  impossible  that  he  should  im- 
prove upon  his  present  art  possessions.  Mr.  Walters 
has  explored  the  whole  domain  of  art,  and  brought 
treasures  from  its  most  secret  works.  Painting,  sculp- 
ture, bronzes,  ceramics,  bric-a-brac,  rare  historic  metal, 
wood,  and  glass-work  catch  the  glance  on  every  side 
from  the  moment  one  enters  Mr.  Walters'  house.  His 
most  famous  picture  is  Paul  Delaroche's  "  Hemicy- 
cle,"  which  was  procured  at  great  hazard  when  the 
Commune  reigned  in  Paris.  It  lay  for  a  long  time  at 
Marseilles,  before  it  became  safe  to  ship  it  to  America ; 
and  now,  if  Mr.  Walters  were  willing  to  send  it  back 
to  France,  he  could  name  his  own  price  for  it.  Paris 
possesses  a  copy  of  it  only,  and  that  not  by  the  mas- 
ter's hand,  but  by  his  pupil's,  under  Delaroche's  su- 
pervision. Besides  this  world-renowned  work,  Mr. 
Walters  has  upon  the  walla  of  his  gallery  GSrome's 
"  Duel  after  the  Masquerade,"  and  his  "  Diogenes ;" 
Jules  Breton's  "  Close  of  Day ;"  Gleyre's  "  Lost  Illu- 
sions;" Millet's  "  Potato  Harvest;"  Horace  Vernet's 
"  Brigands  Surprised  by  Papal  Troops ;"  Achenbach's 


676 


HISTORY  OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


"  Sea-coast  of  Sicily ;"  Cabanel's  "  Pandora ;"  Knauss' 
"Children  Making  Dirt  Pies;"  Vautier's  " Consult- 
ing His  Lawyers;"  Merle's  "Scarlet  Letter;"  Gal- 
lait's  "  Oblivion  of  Sorrow ;"  De  Neuville's  "  In  the 
Trenches,"  and  "  Surprised  at  Dawn  ;"  Ary  Scheffer's 
"  Christ  Weeping  Over  Jerusalem,"  together  with 
admirable  works  by  Boughton,  Fr6re,  and  Hidde- 
man.  There  arc  more  than  a  hundred  other  paint- 
ings, not  one  of  which  but  is  a  celebrity. 

The  partisan  of  no  especial  school,  Mr.  AValters  has 
brought  together  the  finest  works  of  the  very  best 
French,  Belgian,  German,  English,  and  American 
artists.  Personally  familiar  with  the  most  distin- 
guished European  painters,  from  many  years'  resi- 
dence among  them,  he  has  obtained,  from  time  to 
time,  their  best  productions.  The  Paris  Expositions 
of  1867  and  1878  and  the  Vienna  Exposition  of  1873 
were  closely  studied  by  him,  and  yielded  many  noble 
works  to  his  collection.  These  treasures  have  won  a 
wide  celebrity,  especially  with  the  truest  critics  and 
people  of  naturally  cultivated  taste.  They  are  freely 
accessible  to  his  friends,  to  all  artists,  all  serious  stu- 
dents of  art,  and  throughout  a  part  of  each  year  to 
the  general  public. 

There  are  also  in  Mr.  Walters'  collection  two  cases 
of  Japanese  lacquer-work,  which  include  some  of  the 
finest  pieces  in  existence,  and  this  collection  is  said 
by  very  high  authority  to  be  as  complete  as  any  in  the 
world,  and  not  likely  ever  to  be  excelled,  for  the  art 
in  its  perfectness  is  a  lost  one.   Here  are  also  Japanese 
swords,  silk  knots,  glass,  ivory,  stone,  and  metal  ob- 
jects in  the  most  curious  and  beautiful  workman.ship 
of  the  East.     The  porcelain  room  has  been  described 
as  being  "like  a  picture  taken  out  of  the  Arabian  J 
Nights."     The  collection  is  historically  perfect,  from  I 
the  old  Corean,  through  all  the  Japanese,  Chinese,  ; 
and   other  Oriental    |)oriods,  down  to  the  daintiest 
modern  Sevres. 

Among  others  of  Mr.  Walters'  treasures  may  be 
mentioned  the  Angelica  Kaufman  cabinet  and  a  su- 
perb collection  of  Viennese  porcelain  vases  and  plates  j 
and  glass  pieces,  the  delicate  lines  of  the  engraving  on 
which  can  only  be  seen  when  they  are  held  in  a  strong  \ 
light ;  but  no  mere  sketch  can  do  justice  to  this  palace  j 
of  art.  It  would  fill  a  volume  to  give  even  the  names 
of  all  the  specimens,  much  less  the  interesting  his- 
torical associations  connected  with  them  and  the  sep- 
arate histories  of  very  many  pieces  of  extraordinary 
interest.  In  the  Louis  XVI.  room  are  the  bedstead 
and  hangings,  tapestry,  dressing-table,  and  other  per- 
sonal belongings  of  the  court  of  Marie  Antoinette, — 
a  charming  combination  of  blue,  white,  and  gold. 
Then  there  is  the  Nuremberg  room,  full  of  antique 
furniture  and  rare  old  plaques,  and  another  room 
which  contains  nothing  but  Oriental  embroideries. 

Mr.  Walters  was  one  of  the  first  to  detect  the  genius 
of  the  sculptor  Rinehart,  and  urged  him  to  go  to 
Rome  for  study,  freely  opening  his  purse  to  him.  In 
Mr.  Walters'  gallery  is  "The  Woman  of  Samaria,"  a 


grand  work  of  Rinehart's  chisel,  whilst  over  the  grave 
of  Mrs.  Walters,  iti  Greenmount  Cemetery,  is  a  bronze 
monumental  figure,  in  which  the  sculptor  has  most 
pathetically  expressed  his  grief  at  the  loss  of  the 
gentle  and  gracious  lady,  of  whom  he  could  say  that 
she  was  his  steadfast  friend. 

Rinehart  left  his  estate  of  some  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars to  art  uses  in  Baltimore,  making  Mr.  Walters  and 
B.  F.  Newcomer  the  trustees  of  the  fund.  It  was 
through  the  zealous  endeavors  of  Mr.  Walters  and  S. 
Teackle  Wallis  that  the  State  of  Maryland  was  in- 
duced to  commission  Rinehart  to  make  the  heroic 
statue  of  Chief  Justice  Taney,  which  in  majestic 
dignity  sits  in  front  of  the  State-House  at  Annapolis. 
Mr.  Walters  is  one  of  the  permanent  trustees  of  the 
Corcoran  Art  Museum  at  Washington,  and  chairman 
of  the  purchasing  committee ;  he  is  aUo  a  trustee  of  the 
Peabody  Institute  of  Baltimore,  and  cli;iirman  of  its 
committee  on  art. 

_Mr.  Walters  is  sprung  from  a  hardy  St-otili- Irish 
ancestry,  who  settled,  more  than  a  century  ago,  in 
Pennsylvania,  on  the  Juniata  River,  from  its  mouth 
to  forty  miles  above  it,  that  region  being  then  an  un- 
broken wilderness.  The  descendants  of  this  stock,  by 
their  labor  and  shrewd  enterprise,  steadily  pushing 
their  fortunes  in  other  places,  have  left  their  kindred 
still  in  possession  of  a  large  part  of  their  primitive 
domain.  It  was  here  that,  in  1820,  Mr.  Walters  was 
born.  His  father,  Henry  Walters,  was  a  merchant  and 
banker  in  this  vicinity.  His  mother's  maiden  name 
was  Jane  Thompson. 

In  1845,  Mr.  Walters  married  Ellen,  daughter  of 
Charles  A.  and  Anna  D.  Harper,  of  Philadelphia. 
Mrs.  Walters  died  in  London  in  1862,  leaving  two 
children,— a  son,  who  graduated  at  Georgetown  Col- 
lege, and  afterwards  took  a  special  course  of  practical 
science  at  Harvard  University,  and  a  daughter,  who 
was  educated  at  the  Convent  of  the  Visitation,  George- 
town, D.  C. 

As  the  subject  of  this  sketch  grew  into  boyhood 
the  mineral  interests  of  Pennsylvania,  which  have 
since  grown  so  great,  began  to  claim  marked  attention, 
and  improved  means  of  intercourse  by  canal  and 
railway  between  the  mountain-severed  sections  of 
the  State  were  matters  of  constant  and  general  dis- 
cussion. Foreseeing  the  public  need  of  educated 
energy  in  this  direction,  his  parents  educated  him  as 
a  raining  engineer.  Although  even  in  his  early  man- 
hood he  settled  to  a  different  pursuit,  yet  much  of  the 
leading  power  of  his  character  was  strengthened  and 
intensified  in  his  youth  by  the  laborious  and  hazard- 
ous field-practice  of  his  profession.  In  severe  journeys 
on  horseback  or  on  foot  through  the  rugged  moun- 
tain regions  of  his  State,  where  for  hundreds  of  miles 
along  the  ridges  there  was  a  wilderness,  without  road 
or  bridle-path,  long  before  the  eastward-flowing  and 
the  westward-flowing  waters  were  united  by  human 
energy  and  art,  and  before  the  locomotive  sent  its 
eclioes,  as  it  now  does  hourly,  from  the  summits  of  the 


MUSIC   AND   MUSICIANS,  ART   AND  ARTISTS. 


677 


Blue  Ridge  and  the  Alleghenies,  he  grew  personally 
familiar  with  the  whole  rough  region,  which  has  since 
yielded  to  the  country  such  incalculable  stores  of  coal 
and  iron.  The  physical  and  mental  invigoration  of 
this  hardy  life  marks  him  notably  now,  while  the 
openness  of  nature,  in  all  her  aspects  of  savagery  and 
tenderness,  powerfully  nourished  that  love  of  the  vig- 
orous, the  grand,  and  the  beautiful  which  has  distin- 
guished him  throughout  life.  In  his  early  manhood, 
indeed  before  he  was  twenty-one,  such  was  the  abso- 
lute reliance  of  his  friends  on  his  sense,  energy,  vigi- 
lance, and  power  to  command  men,  that  he  was  put 
in  charge  of  an  extensive  smelting  establishment  in 
Lycoming  County,  Pa.,  where  under  his  management 
was  made  the  first  iron  ever  made  from  mineral  coal 
in  the  United  States.  In  1841,  then  twenty-one  years 
oi'  age,  he  came  to  Baltimore,  established  a  commis- 
sion business,  and  soon  won  the  lead  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania produce  trade.  A  few  years  later  he  established 
the  we  1-known  house  of  W.  T.  Walters  &  Co.,  which 
has  a  commercial  credit  without  limit,  and  rank^  with 
the  strongest  houses  in  the  country.  Outside  of  his 
special  business,  Mr.  Walters  has  been  prominent  in 
the  organization  of  nearly  every  line  of  steamers  sail- 
ing from  Baltimore.  He  was  president  of  the  first 
line  to  Savannah,  and  at  an  early  day  was  a  director  in 
the  Northern  Central  Railway.  Here,  largely  through 
his  energetic  action,  in  connection  with  his  life-long 
friend,  the  late  Col.  Thomas  A.  Scott,  a  dilapidated 
local  railroad  was  thoroughly  rebuilt,  re-equipped,  re- 
organized, and  made  of  conspicuous  importance  by 
its  union  with  the  vast  and  admirable  system  known 
as  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  This  imperial  corpor- 
ation has  for  years  past  been  a  leading  force  in  bind- 
ing Baltimore  to  the  North  and  West  by  a  great  trade 
that  has  been  of  incalculable  power  in  giving  wealth 
to  the  city. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  insisted  on  the  advan- 
tages of  immediately  organizing  Baltimore  and 
Southern  steamship  lines,  and  all  the  companies  have 
received  from  him  co-operation  in  their  undertakings. 
In  the  vast  Southern  and  Southwestern  railroad  com- 
binations of  recent  years  he  has  been  one  of  the  lead- 
ers, who  by  their  foresight,  energy,  and  willingness 
to  venture  large  sums  of  money  have  assumed  the 
control  of  interests  imperial  in  their  magnitude.  For 
many  years  he  held  that  it  would  be  profitable  and 
practicable  to  unite  the  great  lakes  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  by  one  continuous  line  of  railroad,  of  straight 
line  and  easy  grades,  east  of  the  Alleghenies,  and  for 
himself,  his  firm,  and  as  a  trustee  for  others,  he  pur- 
chased many  hundred  miles  of  continuous  and  tribu- 
tary Southern  railroads.  The  combination  is  now  an 
accomplished  fact,  and,  with  thetitle  of  the  Coast  Line, 
is  controlled  by  himself  and  his  associates.  They 
have  the  majority  interest  in  the  roads  from  Balti- 
more through  Washington,  Alexandria,  Richmond, 
Petersburg,  Weldon,  Wilmington,  Florence,  Charles- 
ton, Savannah,  and  Jacksonville,  Fla.,  fully  one  thou- 


sand miles.  They  control  in  the  same  way  lateral  rail- 
roads tributary  to  the  Coast  Line  of  over  five  hundred 
miles,  and  also  vast  Western  and  Southwestern  roads, 

!  penetrating  to  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Memphis,  Tenn.,  and  to  the 
Mississippi  River  opposite  St.  Louis.  All  these  roads 
reach  the  sea  at  Norfolk  by  continuous  lines.  This 
great  network  of  railways,  sweeping  all  the  Southern, 

I  Western,  and  midland  country,  comprises  more  than 

I  two  thousand  miles  of  track,  the  highways  by  which 
our  commerce  to  the  extent  of  many  millions  is  car- 

I  ried  on,  concentrating  from  vast  areas  the  products  of 
our  soil  for  home  consumption  and  shipment  abroad, 
and  taking  to  all  the  points  of  nearly  a  score  of  great 
States  the  products  of  the  sea-board  and  of  the  whole 
producing  world.  This  railway  combination  is  made 
up  of  thirteen  distinct  corporations,  in  each  of  which 
Mr.  Walters  is  a  managing  director.  Though  they 
have  separate  administrations,  they  are  practically 
under  one  control. 

These  investments  in  Southern  property  have,  with 
clear  foresight,  been  based  on  the  firmest  conviction 
that  there  would  soon  come  that  era  of  splendid  pros- 
perity now  manifest  in  that  section ;  and  no  temporary 
disaster  could  ever  shake  his  belief  in  the  speedy  and 

i  stable  prosperity  of  the  South.     Mr.  Walters'  faith 

;  was  notably  shown  in  this  regard  when  the  panic  of 
1873  threatened  with  ruin  the  vast  enterprise  of  the 
Texas  Pacific  Railroad.  His  judgment  held  firmly 
to  this  great  work,  and  to  the  heavy  investments  in  it 
of  himself  and  friends.  He  was  unflagging  in  his 
energy  to  push  the  great  road  ahead,  plainly  foreseeing 
its  power  in  opening  up  the  new  world  of  Mexico  to 

1  our  trade  and  travel.  That  consummation  is  now 
near  achievement,  and  so  is  the  road's  'Completion 
westward,  which  will  establish  the  shortest  line  of 
continual  road  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  bring  to  Atlantic  waters  the  harvests  of 
California.  Mr.  Walters  has  been  throughout  this 
enterprise,  and  is  now,  chairman  of  the  company's 
executive  committee.  It  is  his  force  that  has  with  tire- 
less vigor  pushed  on  this  great  work  to  its  completion. 
Mr.  Walters'  faculty  for  leadership  and  government, 
based  on  his  broad  sense,  his  absolutely  tireless  energy, 
his  probity,  his  knowledge  of  men,  his  quick  appre- 
ciation of  capacity  in  any  calling,  and  his  power  to  in- 
spire personal  attachments,  have  had  much  to  do  with 
the  steady  growth  of  his  fortune,  which  is  now  one  of 
the  largest  of  the  time.  Bold  and  aggressive,  but  cool 
and  prudent;  wide-reaching  but  exact;  prompt  to 
the  moment  in  all  engagements;  holding  his  verbal 
promise  in  all  things  as  of  absolute  obligation ;  never 
repining;  instant  in  his  intuition  of  character;  a 
natural  negotiator,  but  more  a  keen  listener  and 
looker  than  a  talker;  at  work  early  and  late  ;  always 
on  his  feet;  always  coming  out  right  in  practical 
results,  he  won  early  a  leader's  place,  and  com- 
manded for  his  house  a  solid  financial  credit  that 
has  never  been  shaken  for  a  moment  even  in  times 
of  the  greatest  commercial  disaster. 


678 


HISTORY  OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Notwithstanding  a  life  of  severe  work,  which  with 
unabated  vigor  he  still  continues,  Mr.  Walters  is 
yet  in  his  prime;  while  from  his  high  position,  his 
liberal  conduct  and  controlling  character,  he  must 
have  much  yet  to  do  for  himself  and  for  the  general 
benefit. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

AMUSEMENTS. 


In  its  early  days  Baltimore,  like  other  large  towns 
of  the  province,  had  its  "  assembly-room,"  where  pub- 
lic meetings  and  especially  balls  were  held.  Taverns 
and  coffee-houses  were  also  numerous,  and  the  latter, 
which  have  now  entirely  gone  out  of  vogue,  were 
much  frequented  by  all  classes  of  the  townsfolk,  while 
they  supplied  to  thecommonalty  at  once  a  club-house 
and  an  assembly-room.  In  the  popular  balls  held  at 
these  places  the  people  drank  rum  and  Madeira  wine, 
and  danced  jigs  and  hipsaws.  The  most  fashionable 
dances  were  simple  "  contra  dances,"  with  which  the 
ball  was  both  opened  and  closed, — "  la  minuet  ordi- 
naire, with  pas  grave,"  "  la  minuet  de  la  cour,  with 
the  gavet,"  "allemand,"  "  perigourdine,"  hornpipe, 
cotillions,  reels,  etc.  As  yet  the  waltz,  the  polka, 
and  gallop  were  not,  on  this  continent  at  least. 

The  polka  and  gallop  were  introduced  into  this  city, 
and  in  Washington  at  a  later  period,  by  a  Pole  named 
Corponi,  who  turned  the  heads  of  the  girls  with  his 
fine  military  figure  and  graceful  movements.  The 
music  at  these  assemblies  comprised  two  or  three 
violins,  with  maybe  a  flageolet,  a  flute,  or  a  clarionet, 
and,  for  the  end  sought,  was  nearly  always  good. 
Card-parties  were  a  regular  feature  at  these  enter- 
tainments, and  the  game  usually  played  (always  for 
money)  was  the  now  obsolete  one  of  long  whist.  In- 
toxication was  not  tolerated,  and  all  persons  who 
showed  signs  of  it  were  promptly  removed  from  the 
presence  of  the  company.  The  managers  were  always 
present,  and  did  their  duty  faithfully.  The  manners 
of  the  getitlemen  at  these  assemblies  were  generally 
refined  and  elegant,  courteous,  and  somewhat  pom- 
pous and  ceremonious.  They  dressed  in  short  breeches, 
wore  handsome  knee-buckles,  silk  stockings,  buckled 
pumps,  waistcoat  of  any  color,  coming  nearly  down 
to  the  knee,  and  bound  with  gold  or  silver  lace,  with 
immense  flap-pockets  and  great  hanging  cuffs,  from 
beneath  which  appeared  the  gentleman's  indispen- 
.sable  lace  ruffles.  About  their  necks  was  a  white 
cravat  of  great  amplitude,  with  abundant  hanging 
ends  of  lace.  Elaborate  powdered  wigs,  small  three- 
cornered  cocked  hats  of  felt  or  beaver,  laced  with 
gold  or  silver  galloon,  and  small  swords  completed 
the  costume  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  olden  time. 
The  ladies  wore  jeweled  stomachers  and  tight-laced 


I  stays,  with  trails  of  taffeta  fifteen  yards  long;  their 
'  heads  were  pyramids  of  pasted  hair,  surmounted  by 
turbans  or  great  feather  head-dresses.  It  wsis  one 
of  the  features  of  the  times  that  guests  often  rode  to 
balls  in  full  dress  on  horseback.  The  aristocracy  were 
fully  represented  upon  these  occasions ;  the  best  of 
manners  prevailed,  the  suppers  were  sumptuous  and 
i  elegant,  and  it  was  en  rh/le  for  gentlemen  subscribers 
to  contribute  partridges,  woodcock,  canvas-backs, 
etc.,  out  of  their  private  game-bags.  Many  ladies 
and  gentlemen  came  in  their  handsome  and  costly 
carriages  and  chariots,  with  postilions  and  outriders 
;  in  livery,  from  Alexandria,  Elkridge,  Annapolis,  and 
other  places.  The  assembly  balls  were  very  exclu- 
sive, and  were  founded  upon  and  supported  by  the 
subscriptions  of  gentlemen,  renewed  every  season. 
The  subscription  to  the  Baltimore  assembly-rooms 
immediately  after  the  war  was  £3  lOs.,  equal  to  about 
twelve  dollars  in  the  money  of  these  degenerate  days. 
The  assemblies  were  held  every  fortnight  during  "  the 
seasop,"  and  began  at  six  o'clock,  and  were  officially 
over  at  10  p.m.,  though  there  is  evidence  that  some  of 
the  young  and  reckless  people  kept  them  up  much 
later. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  now  that  we  have  such  ele- 
1  gant  devices  in  the  form  of  visiting  and  admission 
cards,  that  nearly  all  the  cards  of  those  early  days 
!  were  written  or  printed  upon  common  playing  cards. 
This  was  owing,  perhaps,  to  the  circumstance  that 
1  blank  cards  were  not  then  manufactured  in  the  United 
:  States,  and  none  but  playing  cards  were  imported  for 
sale.     Several  specimens  of  these  assembly  cards  are 
still  extant.    One  of  these,  from  a  leading  gentleman 
i  of  the  town,  requesting  Miss  Cox's  company,  is  writ- 
ten on  the  back  of  the  queen  of  hearts, — perhaps  in- 
tended as  a  compliment  to  a  charming  belle  of  the 
past.     Another  invitation  to  the  same  lady  from  the 
"  Juvenile  Amicable  Society"  is  printed  on  the  back 
of  the  deuce  of  diamonds,   requesting  her  company 
"  at  a  ball  to  be  held  at  six  o'clock  p.m.  at  the  room 
formerly  occupied  by  the  Sociable  Society,  in  Lovely 
Lane"  (now  German  Street,  between  South  and  Cal- 
vert), signed  by  E.  Towson  and  T.  Fisher,  managers, 
and  dated  March    22,  1793.     On  Nov.  22,   1792,  she 
I  received  an  invitation  "to   Mr.  Curley's   ball   at  6 
P.M.,"  printed  on  the  back  of  the  four  of  spades.    The 
!  •'  honor  of  Miss  Cox's  company"  was  also  requested 
in  red-letter  printing  and  border  on  the  back  of  the 
six  of  diamonds,  date  not  specified.     On   April  30, 
1794,  she  is  invited  to   Mr.   Mansell's  ball   by  J. 
Nichols,  J.  Scott,  J.  Whittington,  and  J.  Ringgold, 
j  printed  in  black  on  the  nine  of  hearts.    One  of  the 
I  invitations  of  the  Baltimore  Dancing  Assembly,  in 
November,  1797,  is  printed  on  plain  card-board,  from 
which  it  appears  that  Miss  Cox  was  "  requested  for 
the  season  at  Mr.  Bryden's  Fountain  Inn."     This  in- 
vitation was  signed  by  M.  Pringle,  C.  Ridgely,  of  H., 
W.  Van  Wyck,   R.  Curson,  Jr..  S.  Walker,  J.  Car- 
ruthcrs,  J.  Storctt,  and  .1.  S.  iJuclianan,  managers. 


AMUSEMENTS. 


679 


The  Baltimore  Dancing  Assembly,  organized 
shortly  after  the  Revohition,  usually  met  at  the  In- 
dian Queen  Hotel,  then  situated  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  Baltimore  and  Hanover  Streets ;  and  the  Ami- 
cable Society  (composed  of  bachelors),  formed  about 
1789,  met  at  Daniel  Grant's,  Fountain  Inn,  on  the 
site  of  the  present  Carrollton  Hotel,  Light  Street. 
In  April,  1790,  Mr.  Grant  proposed  to  Otlio  H.  Wil- 
liams, Robert  Gilmor,  Wm.  Van  Wyck,  Wm.  Robb, 
David  Sterett,  and  Richard  Curson,  the  managers  of 
the  Baltimore  Dancing  Assembly,  to  build  a  house 
on  the  southwest  corner  of  Light  Street  and  Pine  Alley 
suitable  "for  an  assembly-room,  with  a  commodious 
supper-room,  card-room,  closets,  etc."  He  proposed 
to  give  bonds  for  the  completion  of  the  building  in 
accordance  with  the  plan  submitted,  for  the  use  of  { 
the  assembly  for  three  years,  beginning  on  the  1st  of  j 
October,  "  and  to  provide  every  winter  during  said 
term  complete  entertainment  for  the  assemblies,  con- 
sisting of  music,  supper,  wines,  and  all  customary  re- 
freshments and  attendance,  upon  condition  that  one 
hundred  persons  subscribe  thirty  dollars  each,  paya- 
ble in  two,  four,  and  six  months."  The  managers 
considered  the  proposition  a  reasonable  one,  and  ac- 
cepted the  terms  proposed.  Mr.  Grant  immediately 
began  the  erection  of  the  building,  which  was  one 
hundred  and  twenty-three  feet  long  and  thirty-five  feet 
wide,  on  a  lot  fronting  sixty  feet  on  Light  Street,  with 
a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  to  an  alley. 
Adjoining  this  lot  was  another,  on  which  a  shed  was 
erected  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  long,  suitable  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  horses  and  carriages  of  those 
attending  the  assembly.  The  house  was  one  story 
high,  with  a  cellar  under  it. 

The  enterprise,  however,  proved  unprofitable,  and 
Mr.  Grant,  at  the  close  of  his  lease,  offered  the  build- 
ing for  sale.  At  this  time  the  Light  Street  Methodist 
church  occupied  the  opposite  corner  of  the  alley,  on 
the  west  side  of  Light  Street,  and  frequently  the  gay 
people  of  the  world  and  the  austere  men  and  women 
of  religion  held  assemblies  on  the  same  evening,  and 
the  songs  of  praise  and  the  growl  of  the  bass  viol,  in- 
termingling in  curious  discord,  gave  great  offense  to 
the  members  of  the  church.  Accordingly,  when  the 
Cokesbury  College,  at  Abingdon,  Harford  Co.,  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  on  Dec.  4, 1796,  the  Methodists  pur- 
chased the  property  as  the  site  for  a  new  college,  which 
was  again  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  year  following. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Baltimore  Dancing  Assem- 
bly gave  their  entertainments  at  the  Indian  Queen 
Hotel,  then  under  the  management  of  Wm.  Evans. 
The  season  of  1796  began  on  January  18th,  and  con- 
tinued every  second  Wednesday  during  the  winter, 
with  Richard  Curson,  Wm.  Robb,  Wm.  MacCreery, 
Joseph  Sterett,  Andrew  Buchanan,  and  Samuel 
Walker  as  managers.  The  assembly  in  1797  met  at 
the  Fountain  Inn,  with  the  same  managers  as  the 
year  previous.  In  February,  1796,  a  number  of  gen- 
tlemen met  at  the  house  of  John  O'Donnell,  in  Gay 


Street,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  subscriptions  and 
organizing  an  association  to  erect  a  new  dancing  as- 
sembly. Measures  were  adopted  to  build  a  hall,  and 
a  lot  was  shortly  afterwards  secured  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  Fayette  and  Holliday  Streets,  upon  which 
a  spacious  and  handsome  structure  two  stories  in 
height  was  erected.  A  third  story  was  added  in  after- 
years,  making  it  at  the  time  the  finest  building  of  the 
character  in  the  United  States.  The  structure  was 
erected  by  subscription,  after  the  design  of  Col.  Nich- 
olas Rogers,  and  cost  originally  $30,000.  It  was 
opened  for  the  reception  of  the  Dancing  Assembly  on 
Jan.  17,  1798,  which  continued  to  meet  every  second 
Thursday  during  the  season.  The  managers  were 
Robert  Gilmor,  Nicholas  Rogers,  Thorogood  Smith, 
Zebulon  Hollingsworth,  Mark  Pringle,  and  David 
Harris.  The  New  Assembly-Rooms  comprised  several 
large  and  elegant  i 


loons,  with  dressing- 
rooms  for  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  and  were 
exclusively  devoted 
to  the  entertain- 
ments of  fashionable 
life.  Regular  assem- 
blies were  held  here  _  _  _ 
for  many  years  in  ,„,,  jssk\iiii.v-hi..i)is. 
succession,  and  prob- 
ably the  most  expensive  and  elegant,  as  it  certainly 
was  the  most  distinguished,  was  the  renowned  "Silver 
Supper,"  spread  therein  after  the  ball  given  in  the 
adjoining  and  connected  theatre  in  honor  of  Lafay- 
ette when  he  last  visited  Baltimore,  in  October,  1824. 
The  splendor  of  this  fete  was  long  remembered  by  the 
fashionable  society  of  the  city. 

Besides  the  dancing-saloon,  there  were  conversa- 
tion and  card-rooms,  as  well  as  a  large  supper- 
room.  The  third  floor,  added  many  years  after  the 
first  plan  of  the  building  was  completed,  formed  a 
very  large  hall,  and  for  a  long  series  of  years  was 
used  for  lectures,  concerts,  etc.  J.  S.  Buckingham, 
the  celebrated  English  traveler,  gave  an  extensive 
series  of  lectures  there  upon  the  Oriental  countries, 
and  many  distinguished  singers  appeared  there  in 
concerts.  The  lower  floor  was  occupied  for  a  long  time 
by  the  Baltimore  Library  Company,  which  comprised 
many  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Baltimore,  including 
such  men  as  Wm.  Pinkney,  Wm.  Wirt,  Archbishop 
Carroll,  Robert  Goodloe  Harper,  Robert  Gilmor,  Jon- 
athan Meredith,  Wm.  Gwynn,  John  P.  Kennedy,  etc. 
In  1802  the  managers  of  the  Baltimore  Dancing 
Assembly  were  Henry  Nichols,  Charles  Ridgely,  of 
Hampton,  Jas.  McHenry,  Mark  Pringle,  Charles 
Carroll,  Jr.,  and  Samuel  Sterett.  In  1810  the  assem- 
blies began  on  December  13th,  instead  of  January, 
as  heretofore,  and  the  managers  were  Hugh  Thomp- 
son, Samuel  Sterett,  Jonathan  Meredith,  Robert 
Goodloe  Harper,  John  Sherlock,  and  Charles  Ridgely, 
Jr.,  of  Hampton,  followed  in  1815  by  Charles  Ridgely, 


680 


HISTORY  OF   BALTIMORE  CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


of  Hampton,  J.  Meredith,  J.  S.  Smith,  J.  E.  Howard, 
Jr.,  J.  W.  Patterson,  and  George  H.  Steuart. 

At  this  period  tlio  interest  in  the  assemblies  began 
to  decline,  principally  on  account  of  the  war,  and  on 
Jan.  30, 1817,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  authorizing 
the  sale  of  the  property.  The  Assembly-Rooms  were 
sold  in  May,  and  were  purchased  by  a  number  of  sub- 
scribers of  the  old  Baltimore  Dancing  Assembly,  who 
each  contributed  two  hundred  dollars  to  the  object. 
The  assemblies  were  continued  each  season  as  formerly, 
the  managers  in  1822  being  William  Gilmor,  David 
Hoflinan,  E.  G.  Williams,  Francis  U.  Davidge,  N.  G. 
Eidgely,  R.  B.  Magruder,  Jacob  G.  Davies,  and  R.  S. 
Hollins.  In  January,  1826,  the  managers  were  D.  Hoff- 
man, Charles  Howard,  W.  R.  Adair,  J.  G.  Davies,  C.  S. 
Walsh,  and  Peter  H.  Cruse.  At  an  assembly  held  at 
the  rooms  on  Dec.  7,  1826,  the  following  gentlemen 
were  managers :  Samuel  Sterett,  John  Hoffman, 
Samuel  Moore,  John  Merryman,  E.  J.  Coale,  P.  H. 
Cruse,  B.  I.  Cohen,  John  S.  Donnell,  R.  M.  Gibbes, 
Charles  Tiernan,  C.  R.  Carroll,  J.  P.  Kennedy,  J.  C. 
Moale,  and  Charles  C.  Harper.  The  season  of  1829 
began  on  the  29th  of  January,  and  was  distinguished 
by  a  fancy  dress  ball  on  Washington's  birthday  with 
the  following  managers:  J.  S.  Hollins,  H.  W.  Evans, 
J.  G.  Davies,  C.  C.  Harper,  John  Merryman,  T.  Rus- 
sell, J.  P.  Kennedy,  Capt.  H.  E.  Ballard,  William 
Frick,  R.  M.  Gibbes,  Solomon  Etting,  John  Thomas, 
John  S.  Donnell,  and  William  Hindman.  In  the 
next  year  Messrs.  Hollins,  Davies,  C.  C.  Carroll, 
Russell,  Hindman,  and  Donnell  were  again  ap- 
pointed managers,  with  the  addition  of  S.  W.  Smith, 
Josias  Pennington,  Charles  Carroll,  J.  N.  Bonaparte, 
and  Charles  Tiernan. 

Popular  interest  at  length  declined,  both  in  regard 
to  the  Assembly-Rooms  and  the  library,  and  on  May 
30,  1835,  the  building  was  sold  at  auction  to  B.  I. 
Cohen  for  ten  thousand  dollars.  The  elegant  gather- 
ings were  given  up  or  were  held  at  other  places,  and 
the  library  gradually  dwindled  in  importance.  At 
length,  when  the  new  Athenseum,  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  St.  Paul  and  Saratoga  Streets,  was  finished, 
in  1848,  the  Baltimore  Library  was  transferred  to  its 
walls,  and  thenceforth  all  public  interest  in  the  old 
building  seemed  to  cease.  The  old  Assembly-Rooms 
continued  to  be  occupied  by  the  Baltimore  City  Col- 
lege, but  its  prestige  as  a  place  of  literary  and  fash- 
ionable resort  died  out  some  forty  years  before  its 
destruction  by  fire  on  Sept.  10,  1873,  when  it  was 
swept  away  by  the  flames  that  consumed  the  HoUiday 
Street  Theatre.  The  site  has  since  been  improved 
by  a  large  number  of  handsome  stores. 

Besides  the  assembly-rooms  already  mentioned  there 
was  one  on  Commerce  Street,  near  E.xchange  Place, 
which  was  neatly  and  conveniently  arranged,  and 
which  in  its  day  was  frequented  by  many  of  the 
fashionable  people  of  the  city.  In  1812  it  was  known 
as  Bruelot's  Assembly-Rooms,  and  Mr.  Duffy's  concert 
was  held  there,  and  on   Dec.  16,  1830,  Mr.  Carusi's 


cotillion-party.  In  1802,  Mr.  Bier's  Assembly-Room 
contained  a  small  theatre,  which  accommodated  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  persons.   John  Howard  Payne, 

I  then  known  as  the  "Infant  Roscius,"  performed  on 

i  Jan.  12, 1809,  at  Mr.  Barnet's  Assembly-Room.  "  The 
first  cotillion-party"  was  held  at  Mallett's  Ball-Koom 
on  Dec.  9,  1813,  with  J.  Meredith,  J.  E.  Howard,  Jr., 
C.  Ridgely,  Jr.,  of  Hampton,  Jos.  W.  Patterson,  C. 
Hughes,  Jr.,  and  George  H.  Steuart  a.s  managers. 
On  Oct.  13,  1814,  there  was  a  "  Baltimore  Museum" 
at  the  corner  of  Howard  and  Le-xington  Streets.   The 

i  "Concert  Hall"  was  situated  on  South  Charles  Street, 
and  contained  a  very  excellent  dancing-room ;  and 
below  it  was  another  but  smaller  apartment  used  as  a 
dancing-school.     Apollo  Hall,  or  Metropolitan  Hall, 

j  was  situated  on  the  north  side  of  Baltimore  Street, 
nearly  opposite  Post-Office  Avenue,  and  was  formally 
opened  Dec.  17, 1852.     The  New  Assembly-Rooms,  at 

I  the  northeast  corner  of  Hanover  and  Lombard  Streets, 
were  finished  in  February,  1851,   for  Col.  John  E. 

I  Howard,  Jr.,  and  were  opened  on  the  5th  of  March 
by  Madame  Anna  Bishop  with  her  excellent  concert 
troupe. 

Theatres.— There  is  the  best  reason  to  believe  that 
the  earliest  dramatic  representations  in  the  United 
States  were  held  in  the  city  of  Annapolis.  There  a 
theatre  wiis  erected  and  plays  performed  with  a  regu- 
lar company  of  actors  as  early  as  July,  1752.  It  is, 
however,  in  Baltimore,  which,  rising  into  importance, 
soon  far  surpassed  Annapolis  in  wealth  and  popula- 
tion, that  the  true  history  of  Maryland  theatricals 
must  be  sought.  Although  there  is  no  absolute  evi- 
dence of  regular  theatrical  performances  in  Balti- 
more before  1773,  it  is  probable  that  Ilallam's  com- 
pany visited  the  town  before  that  date,  as  it  is  not 
likely  that  twenty  years  elapsed  between  their  first 
appearance  at  Annapolis  and  their  earliest  perform- 
ance in  Baltimore.  Between  1751  and  1763  a  market- 
house  was  erected  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Gay  and 
Baltimore  Streets,  with  a  large  room  over  it,  in  which 
traveling  .shows  were  accu.stomed  to  exhibit;  and  in 
this  primitive  "town  hall"  the  earliest  dramatic  per-- 
formances  in  Baltimore  were  doubtless  given.'  In 
1773  a  large  warehouse  which  stood  at  the  corner  of 
Baltimore  and  Frederick  Streets  was  occasionally 
converted  into  a  theatre,  on  the  boards  of  which  the 
company  of  Messrs.  Douglas  &  Hallam  performed 
plays  from  time  to  time  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
townsfolk.  The  theatre-going  spirit  appears  to  have 
been  active  in  those  days,  for  we  are  told  that  the  en- 
couragement received  by  the  company  was  sufficient 
to  induce  them  to  erect  a  small  theatre  at  the  inter- 
section of  King  George's  (now  Lombard)  and  Albe- 


1  In  July,  1764,  William  Johneou  gave  a  course  of  two  lectured  "at 
the  Market-house  in  Baltimore  Town,"  "for  the  entertainment  of  the 
curiouH,"  upon  "that  iustructive  and  entertaining  branch  of  natural 
philosophy  called  '  electricity.' "  Notice  of  the  days  of  the  exhibition 
and  tickotn  wore  to  he  hod  at  the  puWic-housc  of  Mrs.  Owlcks,  nt  the 
"Ki„K'«Arm»." 


AMUSEMENTS. 


marie  Streets,  where  they  performed  until  the  Revo- 
lution commenced,  when,  all  amusements  of  the  kind 
being  prohibited,  they  removed  to  the  British  West 
India  Islands.  In  1781  the  first  theatre  built  of  brick 
in  Baltimore  was  erected  on  East  Baltimore  Street, 
nearly  opposite  Lloyd  Street.  The  announcement  of 
its  completion  was  published  during  Christmas  week, 
and  on  the  15th  of  January,  1782,  it  was  formally 
opened  with  the  following  programme,  as  published 
in  the  papers  of  the  day : 

"  (By  Permission) 
THE   NEW   THEATRE   IN    BALTIMORE 
Will  Opes,  This  Evening,  being  ttie  lf>th  of  January,  1782, 
With  an  Histoeical  Teaqedv,  called 
KING   RICHARD    III. 
Containing— Tlie  Distresses  and  deatli  of  King  Henry  VI.  in  tlie 
Tower;  Tlie  inhuman  Murder  of  the  youug  Princes;  Tlie  Usurpation 
of  the  Tlirone  by  Richard;  The  Fall  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham;  The 
landing  of  Richmond  at  MilforJs  Haven;    The  Battle  of   Bosworth 
Field,  and  Death  of  Richard,  which  put  an  end  to  the  Contention  be- 
tween the  Houses  of  York  aud  Lancaster;  with  many  other  Historical 
Passages. 
King  Richard,  by  Mr.  Wall. 
Earl  of  Richmond 

And  Trcssel, 

King  Henry,  by  Mr.  Tillyard;  Duke  of  Buckingham,  by  Mr.  Shake- 
speare ;  Prince  Edward,  by  a  young  Gentleman  ;  Duke  of  York,  by  Miss 
Wall;  Lord  Stanley,  Mr.  Lindsay;  Catesby,  by  Mr.  Killgour;  Katcliff, 
by  Mr.  Atherton;  Lady  Anne,  by  Mr.  Bartholomew;  Queen  Elizabeth, 
by  Mrs.  Wall. 

An  Occasional  Prologue  by  Mr.  Wall,  to  which  will  be  added 

a  Farce,  called 

MISS   IN   HER   TEENS; 


'}By 


Gentlen 


on 


j'clock. 


Boxes  one  Dollar;  Pit  Five  ShilUngs;  Galleries  9d 
The  Dooi-s  to  be  open  at  Half-past  Four,  and  will  begin 
No  persons  can  be  admitted  without  Tickets,  which  may  be  had  at  the 
Coffee-House  in  Baltimore,  and  at  Lindlay's  Coffee-House  on  Fells  Point. 
***  No  Person  will  on  any  pretence  be  admitted  behind  the  Scenes." 


Occasionally  play-bills  would  contain  such  notices 
as  the  following :  "  Any  gentlemen  possessed  of  good 
Farces,  and  will  lend  or  dispose  of  them  to  the  Man- 
agers, will  greatly  oblige  them ;"  "  Some  Tunes  having 
been  called  for  by  persons  in  the  Gallery,  which  have 
given  ofl'ense  to  others,  the  Managers  have  resolved 
that  no  Music  will  be  played  but  such  as  they  will 
order  the  Day  before  the  Representation."  Among 
the  plays  performed  during  the  season  were : 

Tragedies.  Farces. 
Orphan,  or  the  Unhappy  Marriage.     The  King  and  the  Miller  of  Mans- 

Gamester.  field. 

Venice  Preserved,  or  a  Plot  Dis-     The  Citizen. 

covered.  Beaux'  Stratagem. 

The  Revenge.  The  Contrivances. 

Tamerlane  the  Great.  The"Busy-Body. 

Gustavus  Vasa.  Thomas  and  Sally. 

Mahomet  the  Impostor.  The  Ghost. 

Jane  Shore.  The  Mayor  of  Garratt. 

Hamlet,  Prince  of  Denmark.  Tlie  Devil  Upon  Two  Sticks. 

Romeo  and  Juliet.  The  Wapping  Landlady. 

The  following  prologue  was  spoken  by  Mr.  Wall  on 
the  opening  of  the  theatre : 

"  Before  you  see  oue  of  your  Stage-Directors, 
Or,  if  you  please,  one  of  those  strange  projectors 
Whose  heated  brain,  in  fatal  magic  tiouud. 
Seeks  for  tliat  Stone  which  never  can  be  found  ; 


But  in  projection  comes  the  dreadful  stroke, 

The  glasses  burst,  aud  all  is  bounce  and  smoke! 

Tho'  doubtful  still  our  fate,— I  bite  my  thumbs. 

And  my  heart  fails  me,  for  projection  comes, — 

Your  smiles  wou'd  cease  our  feai-s,  still  I  cou'd  dream, 

Rich  as  a  Nabob,  with  my  golden  scheme ! 

That  all  the  World's  a  SUge  you  can't  deny  ; 

And  what's  our  stage?    A  shop.    I'll  tell  you  why  : 

You  are  the  customers,  the  tradesmen  we, 

And,  well  for  us,  you  pay  before  you  see. 

We  give  no  trust, — a  ready-money  trade ; 

Shou'd  you  stop  payment  we  are  bankrupts  made. 

To  feast  your  minds  and  soothe  each  wordly  care 

We  largely  traffic  in  dramatic  ware ; 

Then  swells  our  shop,  a  warehouse  to  your  eyes. 

And  we  from  small  retailers  merchants  rise. 

From  Shakespeare's  golden  mines  we'll  fetch  the  ore 

And  land  his  riches  here  in  Baltimore, 

For  we.  Theatric  merchants,  never  quit 

His  boundless  shores  of  univei-sal  wit. 

But  we  in  vain  shall  richly  laden  come 

Unless  deep  water  brings  us  safely  home: 

Unless  your  favor  in  full  tides  will  flow 

Ship,  crew,  and  cargo  to  the  bottom  go  I 

Indulge  us  then,  and  from  our  he^irts  receive 

Our  warmest  wishes,  all  we  have  to  give. 

May  iionored  commerce,  with  her  sails  unfurled. 

Still  bring  you  treasures  from  each  distant  world. 

From  East  to  West  extend  this  country's  name. 

Still  to  her  sons'  increasing  wealth  with  fame  I 

A  nd  may  this  merit  be  our  honest  boast : 

To  give  you  pleasure,  and  no  virtue  lost !" 

The  enterprise  would  appear  to  have  met  with  diffi- 
culties, for  on  the  23d  of  August,  1785,  D.  Ryan 
announces  the  reopening  of  the  "  Baltimore  Theatre," 
which  had  been  closed  for  eighteen  months,  and  the 
fact  that  "  he  has  not  obtained  full  possession  of  his 
theatre  and  property."  It  must  have  been  a  building 
of  considerable  size  for  those  times,  for  he  tells  the 
public  that  it  has  cost  him  "  near  two  thousand  pounds, 
money  which  has  been  paid  and  circulated  in  this 
town,  and  money  which  he  did  not  receive  here  but 
remitted  from  New  York." 

In  August,  1785,  Messrs.  Hallam  &  Henry,  of  "  the 
old  American  company  of  comedians,  landed  at  An- 
napolis from  the  island  of  Jamaica,  where  they  had 
been  playing  for  the  last  ten  years  with  great  reputa- 
tion." They  arrived  in  Baltimore  in  the  latter  part 
of  August,  and  opened  the  theatre  on  September  7th 
with  the  tragedy  of  "  Venice  Preserved"  and  a  musical 
afterpiece  called  "  The  Padlock."  The  prices  of  ad- 
mission were :  boxes,  7s.  6rf. ;  pit,  5s.  The  doors 
opened  at  five  o'clock,  and  the  performance  began  at 
six.  On  the  12th  the  company  played  the  "  Beggar's 
Opera,"  followed  by  the  dramatic  satire  "  Lethe,  or 
Alsop  in  the  Shades." 

From  Baltimore  Messrs.  Hallam  &  Henry  proceeded 
to  Philadelphia,  and  from  thence  after  a  short  stay 
they  removed  to  New  York.  The  company  was  so 
much  encouraged  by  its  success  in  Baltimore  that, 
while  playing  in  New  York,  the  managers  caused  a 
"  new  theatre"  to  be  erected  near  the  intersection  of 
Pratt  and  Albemarle  Streets,  on  the  lot  where  the  old 
Trinity  church  now  stands.  The  locality  of  this 
theatre  was  then  known  as  Philpot's  Hill.  On  the 
17th  of  August,  1786,  the  theatre  was  opened,  and  the 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


company  reaped  quite  a  barreat.      The  Maryland 
Journal  of  Aug.  22,  1786,  says,— 

"  Ou  Thureilny  lost  was  opened  tlio  hot  Tliealre,  on  Philpot's  IIIII,  be- 
longing to  Messrs.  Ilallam  and  Henry,  wbere  the  Old  American  Company 
performed  that  celebrated  Comedy,  The  Scliool  for  Scandal.  The  princi- 
pal characters  were  so  admirably  well  suetaiued  ajs  to  give  entire  satis- 
faction to  the  audience,  and,  indeed,  the  exertions  of  the  whole  company 
were  such,  that  we  have  never  before  seen  any  Theatrical  Exhibition  in 
this  town  nearly  equal  to  it.  The  new  Theatre  is  very  commodiously 
built ;  the  scenery  and  other  decorations  truly  elegant,  and  well-designed, 
expressive  of  the  just  taste  of  the  managers,  who  have  been  at  a  great 
expense  in  forwarding  the  completion  of  their  plan  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  the  public,  whose  indulgence  and  approbation  we  are  persuaded 
will  adequately  reward  them  for  their  labor  and  ingenuity.  As  their 
stay  will  be  short,  they  continue  to  perform  four  limes  a  week." 

Messrs.  Hallam  &  Henry  showed  great  enterprise 
in  producing  the  best  plays  of  the  period  as  well  as 
the  old  sterling  English  dramas  in  this  "  new  theatre," 
which  served  the  recreative  jjurposes  of  our  ancestors 
for  several  years,  until  1793,  when  it  passed  into  the 
management  of  Messrs.  McGrath  &  Godwin.  On 
April  30th  the  opening  of  the  theatre  under  the  new 
management  was  announced  as  follows : 

"At  the  new  Theatre  (near  the  Centre  Market,  between  Philpot's  and 
the  lower  bridge)  will  be  presented  by  the  Marylund  Company,  Dr. 
Goldsmith's  celebrated  comedy  '  She  Stoops  to  Conquer,  or  The  Mistakes 
of  a  Night.'  To  which  will  be  added  a  farce  called  'The  King  and 
Miller  of  Mansfield.'  Singing  between  the  play  and  farce  by  Messrs. 
Smith  &  Kelly.  The  whole  to  conclude  with  a  song  by  a  gentleman  for 
his  own  amusement.  Doors  opeu  at  six,  and  curtain  to  be  raised  at  I 
seven.  No  person,  upoti  any  account  whatever^  admitted  behind  the 
scenes.  Tickets  to  be  hod  at  Mr.  Hammond's  Green  House,  at  the  ticket- 
office  adjoining  the  theatre,  and  at  Mre.  Angell's  and  Mr.  Edward's 
.printing-office.  Boxes,  one  dollar;  tickets,  three-quarters  of  a  dollar. 
No  money  to  be  taken  by  the  door-keeper." 

In  August  the  managers  closed  the  theatre  and 
rented  that  in  Annapolis. 

In  1792  an  important  division  took  place  in  the 
"Old  American  Company"  of  Hallam  &  Henry. 
Mr.  Wignell,  one  of  the  most  important  members  of 
the  company,  resigned  his  position,  and  entered  into  ! 
partnership  with  Mr.  Reinaglc,  a  professor  of  music 
in  Philadelphia.  Their  friends  furnished  the  means,  I 
and  with  the  assistance  of  a  Mr.  Anderson,  who  asso- 
ciated himself  with  them,  and  afterwards  acted  as  their 
treasurer,  they  began  the  erection  of  an  elegant  theatre 
in  Philadelphia.  Before  its  completion  they  also  be- 
gan the  construction  of  one  in  Baltimore  on  the  site 
of  the  present  HoUiday  Street  Theatre.  On  the  19th 
of  August,  1794,  we  find  the  following  reference  to 
this  new  enterprise : 

"  New  Th  batre. — Pei-sons  desirous  of  becoming  subscribers  to  the  New 
Theatre  of  Messi-s.  Wignell  &  Roinagle,  are  respectfully  informed  that 
thereare  live  shares  unappropriated  of  One  Hundred  Dollars  each.  Sub- 
scribers to  draw  interest  at  six  per  cent,  till  the  money  is  repaid,  and  to 
he  entitled  to  a  free  ticket  for  the  first  season  for  each  share.  Applica- 
tion to  be  speedily  made  to  Thorogood  Smith  and  Robert  Gilnior,  Esqs." 


■  the  Marvland 


Of  this  "New  Theatre"  the  editi 
Journal  says, — 

"The  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  and  its  vicinity  will  soou  have  the  op- 
portunity of  being  gratified  with  the  most  refined  ond  rational  amuse- 
ment which  a  liberal  mind  is  capable  of  enjoying.  The  ingenious  con- 
duct of  Messrs.  Wignell  &  Keinaglo,  the  peculiar  taste  displayed  in  their 


selectjons,  and  the  shf  i 

itod  and  received  the  loudest  applauses  of  a  distinguished  part  of  our 
country  ;  and  from  the  convenient  situation  and  accommodations  of  our 
Neu>  Theatre,  but  particularly  from  the  address  of  its  managers,  the 
public  have  everything  that  is  pleasing  to  expect." 

A  few  days  after  the  appearance  of  this  flattering 
notice,  Messrs.  Wignell  &  Reinagle  laid  before  the 
public  the  following  programnre  of  the  opening  night 
of  the  new  theatre,  the  "rude  forefather"  of  the  pres- 
ent "  Old  Holliday"  : 

"NEW  THEATRE. 
The  Public  are  respectfully  acquainted  that  the  Entertainment  for  the 
Season  commences  on  Wednesday,  the  24th  instant  (August],  with  the 
Comic  Opera  of 

LOVE   IN  A  VILLAGE, 
And  a  Comedy  in  two  Acts,  called 
WHO  IS  THE  DUPE? 
.ftfiF*  Places  for  the  Boxes  to  be  taken  on  Tuesday,  at  the  office  in  the 
front  of  the  Theatre  from  the  Hour  of  10  till  2,  and  on  the  Day  of  Per- 
formance—Boxes 7s.  Cd.— Pit  5s.  7J^d. 

Floreat  Reepiiblica" 

The  theatre  not  being  ready,  the  opening  night  was 
unavoidably  postponed  until  the  25th  of  September,  as 
will  be  seen  by  the  following  card : 


Is  unavoidably  postponed  until  Thursday,  tlie  25th  instant,  when  a  favors 
ite  Comedy  will  be  performed  (for  the  first  time  here)  called 
EVERY  ONE  HAS  HIS  FAULT, 
With  an  occasional  Overture,  composed  by  Mr.  Reinagle. 
End  of  the  Comedy, 
A  SCOTS  PASTORAL  DANCE, 
In  which  will  be  introduced  a  New  Highland  Reel  composed  by  Mr. 
Francis  called 
THE  CALEDO.N'IAN  FROLIC. 
To  which  will  be  added  A  Comic  Opera  in  two  Acts  called 
THE  FLITCH  OF  BACON  ; 
Or,  DuNMORE  Priory. 
JSfS'  Love  in  a  Village  is  obliged  to  be  postponed  on  account  of  the  indis- 
position of  Mrs.  Warrell,  <Sc. 
Subscribers  to  the  New  Theatre  are  requested  to  send  for  their  tickets 
of  admission  to  the  store  of  Mr.  Clarke,  bookseller  on  Market  Street,  on 
Thursday  morning. 

«®»  Places  for  the  Boxes  to  be  taken  on  Tuesday  at  the  office  in  front 
of  the  Theatre,  &c.,  &c. 

Floreat  Uespublica." 

The  Old  Holliday  was  opened  at  the  time  appointed, 
the  performance  commencing  at  a  quarter  past  six  in 
the  evening,  when  a  large  and  brilliant  audience  as- 
sembled, and  "  deservedly  bestowed  their  reiterated 
plaudits  on  the  very  skillful  performance  of  the  com- 
pany." A  curious  feature  of  the  times  consisted  in 
the  requests  mentioned  in  the  play-bills,  that  persons 
would  bring  the  exact  change  with  them,  and  also 
that  ladies  and  gentlemen  would  send  their  servants 
by  a  quarter  before  five  o'clock  to  keep  places  for 
them,  the  servants  to  withdraw  on  the  arrival  of  their 
masters.  The  late  Hon.  John  P.  Kennedy  speaking 
of  this  old  play-house,  says, — 


t  Wignell  &  Reinagle's  company  consisted  of  the 
tors  and  actresses,  viz. :  Fciinel,  chuhuL-iv,  Moretoii. 
Whitlock,  Green,  Hat].  •  ,.i-  i  -  'i,  I  n,,  i^  i;.,i.  -,  i; 
Whitlock,daughi.r    I  ;  I  i 

Marshall,  Mrs.  Bn.ii  n,       :    <l       \i  M       " 

Green),  Miss  Oldlii-M,  ,.n  i   Mi     ,.,.1  Mi-    Mm,      .i 
defied  opposition. 


Miii>liall,  Uarwood, 


AMUSEMENTS. 


"What  a  superb  thiug  it  was!  speaking  now  as  my  fancy  imagined 
it  then.  It  had  sometliing  of  the  splendor  of  a  great  ham,  weather- 
boarded,  milk-white,  with  many  windows,  and  to  my  conception  looked 
with ahospitable,  patronizing,  tragic-comicgreetingdown  upon  thestreet. 
It  nevei-  occurred  to  me  to  think  of  it  as  a  piece  of  architecture.  It  was 
something  above  that,— a  huge,  mystical  Aladdin  lamp  that  had  a  magic 
to  repel  criticism,  and  filled  with  wonderful  histories.  Therp  Blue  Beard 
strangled  his  wives  and  hung  them  on  pegs  in  the  blue  chamber;  and  ! 
the  glorious  Valentine  overcame  his  brother  Orson  by  the  clever  trick  of  I 
showing  him  his  own  image  in  a  wonderful  shield  of  looking-glass, 
which,  of  course,  we  believed  to  be  pure  burnished  silver;  and  there 
Babes  in  the  "Wood  went  to  sleep  under  the  coverlet  provided  for  them  by 
the  charitable  robins  that  swung  down  upon  wires,  which  we  thought  | 
was  even  superior  to  the  ordinary  manner  of  flying;  and  the  ghost  of  | 
Gaffer  Thumb  came  up  through  the  floor,  as  white  as  a  dredge-box  of  I 
flour  could  make  him,  much  more  natural  than  any  common  ghost  we 
had  seen.  Alas!  what  has  become  of  Orcobrand's  Cave  and  the  Wood  I 
Demon  and  the  Castle  Spectre,  and  all  the  rest  of  those  delightful  old  j 
horrors  which  used  to  make  our  hair  stand  on  end  in  delicious  ecstasy  in 
those  days?  This  reflection  gives  me  rather  a  poor  opinion  of  the  modern 
drama,  and  so  I  do  not  look  much  after  it.  In  fact,  I  suspect  this  age  to 
be  greatly  behind  ours  in  these  terrible  fascinations.  Young  America  is 
evidently  not  so  easily  scared  as  old  America  was.  It  has  a  tiad  propen- 
sity  towards  fast  trotters,  ami  to  that  wretched  business  of  driving  buggies 
which  has  spoiled  tlie  whole  generation  of  young  gentlemen,  and  made  I 
a  good  cavalry -officer  just  now  an  impossibility,  or  at  least  a  virtuous  ! 
exception  in  one-half  of  the  country.  The  age  is  too  fast  for  the  old 
illusions,  and  the  theatre  now  deals  in  respectable  swindlers,  burglars, 
and  improper  young  ladies,  as  more  consonant  with  public  favor  than  our 
old  devils,  ghosts,  and  assassins,  which  were  always  shown  in  their  true 
colors,  and  were  sure  to  be  severely  punished  when  they  persecuted  in- 
nocence. The  players  were  part  and  parcel  of  the  play-house,  and  there- 
fore shared  in  the  juvenile  admiration  with  which  it  waa  regarded.  In 
fact,  there  was  a  misty  confusion  of  the  two  which  destroyed  the  sepa-  I 
rate  identity  of  either.  The  play-house  was  a  compound  idea  of  a  house 
filled  with  mountains,  old  castles,  and  cities,  and  elderly  gentlemen  in 
wigs,  brigands,  fairies,  and  demons,  the  whole  making  a  little  cosmos 
that  was  only  connected  with  the  world  by  certain  rows  of  benches  sym- 
metrically arranged  into  boxes,  pit,  and  gallery,  where  mankind  were 
drawn  by  certain  irresistible  affinities  to  laugh  and  weep  and  clap  their 
hands,  just  as  the  magicians  within  should  choose  to  have  them  do.  Of 
course  there  was  but  one  play-house  and  one  company  of  actors.  Two  or 
mpre  would  have  destroyed  that  impression  of  the  supernatural,  or 
rather  the  extranatural,  which  gives  to  the  show  its  indescribable  charm. 
A  cheap  and  common  illusion  soon  grows  stale.  Christy's  Minstrels  may 
be  repeated  every  night,  and  people  will  only  get  tired  of  the  bad  jokes 
and  cease  to  laugh;  but  Cinderella  and  her  glass  slipper  would  never 
endure  it.  The  fairy  bubbles  would  burst,  and  there  would  be  no  more 
sparkling  of  the  eyes  of  the  young  folks  with  the  delight  of  wonder. 
Even  Lady  Macbeth,  I  believe,  would  become  an  ordinary  sort  of  person 
in  a* run,' such  as  is  common  now.  The  players  understood  this,  and 
therefore  did*  not  allow  themselves  to  grow  too  familiar.  One  company 
sei-ved  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  and  they  had  their  appointed  seasons, 
— a  few  months  or  even  weeks  at  a  time,— and  they  played  only  three 
times  a  week.  '  The  actors  are  coming  hither,  my  lord,'  would  seem  to 
intimate  that  this  was  the  condition  of  thingsat  Elsinore,— one  company 
and  a  periodical  visit.  There  was  a  universal  gladness  in  this  old  Balti- 
more when  the  word  was  passed  round,  *The  players  are  come.'  It 
instantly  became  everybody's  business  to  give  them  a  good  reception. 
They  were  strange  creatures  in  our  school -boy  reckoning,  quite  out  of 
the  common  order  of  humanity.  We  ran  after  them  in  the  streets  as 
something  very  notable  to  be  looked  at.  It  was  odd  to  see  them  dressed 
like  gentlemen  and  ladies,  almost  incongruous,  we  sometimes  thought, 
as  if  we  expected  to  see  them  in  slashed  doublet  and  hose,  with  embroid- 
ered mantles  and  a  feather  in  their  caps.  '  There  goes  Old  Francis !' 
was  our  phrase  ;  not  that  he  was  old,  for  he  was  far  from  it,  but  because 
we  loved  him.  It  was  a  term  of  endearment.  And  as  to  JeflTerson  !  Is 
there  anybody  now  who  remembers  that  imp  of  ancient  fame  ?  I  cannot 
even  now  think  definitely  of  him  as  a  man,  except  in  one  particular, 
that  he  had  a  prominent  and  rather  arching  nose.  In  regard  to  every- 
thing else  he  was  a  proteus,  the  nose  always  being  the  same.  He 
played  everything  that  was  comic,  and  always  made  people  laugh  till 
tears  came  to  their  eyes.  Laugh  !  Why,  I  don't  believe  he  ever  saw  the 
world  doing  anything  else.  Whomsoever  he  looked  at  laughed.  Before 
he  came  through  the  side  scenes,  when  he  was  about  to  enter  0.  P.  or 
P.  S.,  he  would  pronounce  the  first  words  of  his  part  to  herald  his  appear- 
ance, and  instantly  the  whole  audience  set  up  a  shout.    It  was  only  the 


sound  of  his  voice.  He  had  a  patent  riglit  to  shake  the  world's  dia- 
phragm which  seemed  to  be  infallible.  No  player  comes  to  that  perfec- 
tion now.  Actors  are  too  cheap,  and  all  the  liallucination  is  gone.  When 
our  playerscame,  with  their  short  seasons,  their  three  nights  in  the  week, 
and  their  single  company,  they  were  received  as  public  benefactors,  and 
their  stay  was  a  period  of  carnival.  The  boxes  were  engaged  for  every 
night.  Families  all  went  together,  young  and  old.  Smiles  were  on 
every  face :  the  town  was  happy.  The  elders  did  not  frown  ou  the 
drama,  the  clergy  leveled  no  canon  against  it,  the  critics  were  amiable. 
The  chief  actors  were  invited  into  the  best  company,  aod  I  believe  their 
personal  merits  entitled  them  to  all  the  esteem  that  was  felt  for  them. 
But  ftmong  the  young  folks  tlie  appreciation  was  far  above  all  this. 
With  them  it  was  a  kind  of  hero-worship,  prompted  by  a  conviction  that 
the  player  was  that  manifold  creature  which  every  night  assumed  a  new 
shape,  and  only  accidentally  fell  into  the  category  of  a  common  mortal. 
And  therefore  itseermed  so  interesting  to  us  to  catch  oneof  them  saunter- 
ing on  tho  street  looking  like  other  people.  That  was  his  exceptional  char- 
acter, and  we  were  curious  to  see  how  he  behaved  in  it,  and,  indeed, 
thought  him  a  little  awkward  and  not  quite  at  his  ease  in  that  guise.  How 
could  Old  Francis  be  expected  to  walk  comfortably  in  Suwarrow  boots  and 
a  stove-pipe  hat,  he  who  had  last  night  been  pursuing  Columbine  in  his 
light  suit  of  triangular  patchwork,  with  his  wooden  sword,  and  who  so 
deftly  dodged  the  police  by  making  a  somersault  through  the  face  of  a 
clock  and  disappearing  in  a  chest  of  drawers,  or  who  the  night  before 
that  was  a  French  dancing-master,  and  ran  away  with  a  pretty  ward  of 
a  cross  old  gentleman  who  wanted  to  marry  her  himself!" 

In  1794,  Messrs.  Wignell  &  Keinagle  became  the 
managers  of  the  Chestnut  Street  Theatre  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  in  1800  of  the  National  Theatre  in 
Washington,  the  first  at  the  national  capital.  They 
at  times  played  also  at  Alexandria  and  Annapolis. 
While  conducting  the  Philadelphia  theatre  Thomas 
Wignell  died,  on  the  18th  of  February,  1803,  and  the 
management  of  his  theatrical  enterprises  devolved 
upon  his  widow,  Mrs.  Merry,  and  Alexander  Eein- 
agle,  the  original  joint  proprietor  with  Wignell.  For 
several  years  previous  to  his  death  Mr.  Wignell  rarely 
appeared  on  the  stage,  the  labors  and  cares  of  man- 
agement absorbing  his  whole  attention.  In  his  earlier 
days,  however,  he  was  a  general  favorite.  His  Darby 
was  held  in  such  estimation  that  Bernard,  Harwood, 
Twaits,  and  other  celebrated  actors  declined  appear- 
ing in  it.  Blissett  alone  ventured  the  experiment  with 
but  moderate  success.  As  Faulkland,  Joseph  Surface, 
and  Lord  Norland,  Wignell  was  ranked  far  beyond 
any  of  his  successors.  He  was  born  in  England,  and 
his  father  was  an  actor  in  Garrick's  company.  After 
the  dearth  of  Wignell  the  musical  department  fell,  of 
course,  to  the  charge  of  Reinagle,  whose  compositions 
and  adaptions  were  deserved  favorites  with  the  public. 
The  new  management  opened  under  the  nominal  stage 
direction  of  AVm.  Warren,  though  the  labors  of  the 
office  fell  to  the  share  of  Wm.  B.  Wood.  Warren 
was  born  in  England,  and  made  his  first  appearance  at 
Baltimore  in  1796,  and  in  1806  married  Wignell's 
widow.^  Wood  was  born  in  Montreal,  and  made  his 
debut  with  Wignell's  company  at  Annapolis  in  1798, 
in  "  George  Barnwell,"  and  soon  became  a  favorite. 
On  the  21st  of  September,  1809,  Reinagle  died,  when 
Warren  and  Wood  formed  a  copartnership  and  be- 
came the  joint  proprietors  of  the  theatres  in  Balti- 
more and  Philadelphia. 

His  professional  labors  having  somewhat  impaired 


She  died  suddenly  in  the  t 


1808  at  Alexandria 


684 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


his  health,  Mr.  Wood  made  a  voyage  to  England,  and 
on  his  return  to  the  United  States,  in  October,  1809, 
found  Jolin  Howard  Payne,  then  known  as  Master 
Payne,  "The  Young  Roscius,"  in  the  full  tide  of 
popular  favor  in  Baltimore,  where  the  enthusiasm 
for  his  acting  was  perhaps  more  intense  than  in  any 
other  city.  He  appeared  at  the  Holliday  as  Young  | 
Korval,  Hamlet,  Romeo,  Tancred,  Octavian,  Fred-  | 
eric,  RoUa,  Achmet,  and  Zaphna  to  large  and  bril-  j 
liant  audiences.  His  benefit  proved  a  crowning  tri- 
umph. On  this  night  the  receipts  touched  the  (for 
that  time)  extraordinary  amount  of  $1160.  The 
house,  when  filled  at  other  times  to  its  utmost  ca- 
pacity, had  never  produced  more  than  $800.  Great 
numbers  of  tickets  were  purchased  at  high  prices  and 
without  the  intention  of  being  used.  "  One  gentle- 
man I  know,"  says  Mr.  Wood,  "  gave  his  check  of 
fifty  dollars  for  a  single  ticket,  besides  paying  liberally 
for  the  box  occupied  by  his  family.  Many  others  paid 
sums  varying  from  five  to  twenty  dollars  for  single 
tickets,  and  the  large  gallery. was  filled  with  box 
tickets,  failing  to  obtain  seats  below." 

In  the  autumn  of  1809,  Mr.  Wood  purchased  one- 
half  of  Warren's  interest  in  the  Philadelphia,  Balti- 
more, and  Washington  theatres.  The  company  at 
this  time  consisted  of  Warren,  Wood,  Jefferson,  Bar- 
rett, Cone,  Francis,  McKenzie,  Blissett,  Wilmot,  Har- 
dinge,  Robins,  Mrs.  Wilmot,  Mrs.  Wood,  Mrs.  Jeffer- 
son, Mrs.  Francis,  Mrs.  McKenzie,  Mrs.  Seymour, 
Mrs.  Twaits,  and  the  Misses  White,  and  it  was  being 
rapidly  enlarged  and  strengthened. 

It  was  decided  that  the  new  management  should  ! 
open  in  Baltimore  in  the  autumn  of  1810  with  Fen- 
nell  for  nine  nights  as  the  "  star."  ^  It  was  his  first 
appearance  in  the  city  for  fourteen  years,  and  he 
played  Othello,  Lear,  Orestes,  Lord  Hastings,  Zanga, 
Macbeth,  Richard  III.,  Hamlet,  Hotspur,  and  Beverly 
to  very  large  audiences.  Mrs.  Twaits  appeared  as  ' 
Hermione  and  Lady  Macbeth  with  general  appro- 
bation. Dwyer  followed  Fennell,  and  was  much 
admired.  Mrs.  Beaumont,  after  appearing  with  some 
favor  in  London,  visited  Baltimore,  and  proved  an 
important  feature  in  the  variety.  A  Mr.  Galbraith, 
an  amateur,  made  a  very  successful  debCd  as  Shylock, 
and  Blissett  added  greatly  to  his  reputation  by  an  ex- 
cellent performance  of  "  Dennis  Bulgruddery."  Mr. 
Cooper  having  now  arrived  from  England,  closed  the 
season  with  Cooke,  the  receipts  being  as  follows: 
Richard  III.,  Cooke,  $825.75;  Othello,  Cooke  and 
Cooper,  $773.50 ;  Man  of  the  World,  Cooke,  $801.72 ; 
Hamlet,  Cooper,  $326;^   Venice  Preserved,  Cooke 

owas  in  great  vogue  and  daily  gaining  ground. 

I  England  as  early  as  tlie  time  of  Mrs.  Oldfield, 
795,  when  FonnoU  received  thirty 
dollara  per  night  for  two  weeks. 

2  Mr.  Wood  says,  '*  This  falling  off  was  caused  by  a  change  of  tiie  play. 
Cooke  had  been  invited  to  dine  in  the  country  by  a  company  of  persons, 
who,  knowing  the  failing  to  which  ho  was  subject,  so  far  forgot  what 
was  due  to  themselves  and  Mr.  Cooke  and  tlie  public  as  to  play  upon  it 
by  a  disreputable  and  scandalt>UB  effort.  This  disreputabl 
cost  the  managers  of  the  theatre  five  hundred  dollars." 


and  Cooper,  $938;  Merchant  of  Venice,  Shylock 
(Cooke),  Antonio  (Cooper),  $858 ;  Man  of  the  World, 
Sir  Pertinax,  Cooke,  $774;  Henry  IV.,  Falstaff 
(Cooke),  Hotspur  (Cooper),  $901.  The  season  at  the 
Holliday  was  a  splendid  one,  and  thus  far  the  new 
management  sailed  before  the  wind.  But  the  storm 
of  war  was  now  threatening  the  country,  and  its 
effects  were  soon  felt  in  the  theatres.  The  season  of 
1811  was  throughout  a  discouraging  one,  although 
the  Baltimore  company  was  strengthened  by  the  en- 
gagement of  Fennell  and  Payne,  by  the  "  Lady  ot 
the  Lake,"  and  other  attractions.  Fennell  acted 
three  nights  to  houses  representing  $228,  $218,  and 
(his  benefit,  Douglas,  with  the  aid  of  Payne)  to  $427. 
Payne  performed  six  nights  to  sadly-diminished 
houses,  representing  only  $355,  $315,  $246,  $244,  $255, 
and  (benefit)  $656.  This  benefit,  by  the  advice  of 
some  friends,  he  threw  up  as  insufficient,  taking  in- 
stead another,  which  reached  only  $587.  The  "Lady 
of  the  Lake"  averaged  $419,  the  largest  receipts  for 
any  one  night  being  $711,  an  increase  which  was  due 
to  the  happy  introduction  of  an  elephant.  Mrs.  Mason 
and  Duff  also  appeared  here,  the  latter,  for  the  first 
time,  to  $270,  $2-57,  $255,  $300,  and  $143  houses,  the 
benefit  only  reaching  $229.  On  this  occasion  he  gave 
some  excellent  imitations  of  Kemble,  Cooke,  Elliston, 
and  Mundeii.  With  nightly  expenses  exceeding  three 
hundred  dollars,  a  large  loss  was  sustained  by  the  man- 
agers, and  as  a  consequence,  and  owing  to  the  excited 
war  feeling  prevailing  in  Baltimore,  the  autumn  sea- 
son of  1812  was  omitted. 

In  the  mean  time  the  liberality  of  the  Baltimore 
public  had  induced  the  managers  to  remove  the  old 
wooden  structure,  with  its  quaint  scenery  and  cheap 
"  properties,"  and  erect  a  building  more  convenient 
and  worthy  of  their  patronage.  Notwithstanding  the 
unfavorable  state  of  the  times,  it  became  necessary 
to  proceed  with  the  enterprise,  and  accordingly  the 
following  prospectus  of  a  new  theatre  was  issued  on 
Sept.  4,  1811  : 

"  New  Theatbi!.— The  subscribers,  managers  and  proprietors  of  the 
Weic  Theatre  of  Hallimore,  propose  to  build  a  new  edifice  on  the  site  of  the 
present  theatre,  on  an  elegant,  improved,  and  enlarged  plan.  To  effect 
this  object,  equally  desirable  to  themselves  and  the  public,  il  is  proposed 
to  raise  a  sum  of  money  on  the  security  of  the  property  by  subscription. 
Those  who  feci  disposed  to  assist  and  patronize  the  undertaking  are  in- 
vited to  examine  the  proposed  terms  of  subscription,  which  are  left  at 
the  office  of  William  Gwynn,  Esq.,  in  Chatham  Street,  and  will  be  found 
to  be  highly  udvantageuus  to  subscribers. 

"  Warren  *  Wood." 


Notwithstanding  the  public  wish  for  the  erection 
of  the  new  theatre,  the  enterprise  was  not  unattended 
with  opposition.  On  this,  as  well  as  on  other  occa- 
sions, petitions  were  circulated  to  induce  the  Leg- 
islature, as  well  as  the  City  Councils,  to  interdict 
the  theatre  wholly.  "Among  others,"  says  Mr. 
Wood,  "the  venerable  Bishop  Carroll  was  strenu- 
ously urged,  without  success,  to  join  the  crusade 
against  an  establishment  not  only  patronized,  but 
owned,  by  the   most  infiuential  and  grave-thinking 


AMUSEMENTS. 


members  of  the  community."  "  Our  opponents,"  he 
continues,  "  were  generally  amiable  persons,  and 
probably  their  hostile  efforts  were  among  the  causes 
of  theatrical  success  in  that  city.  They  excited  a 
constant  watchfulness  and  mental  control  over  the 
establishment,  and  kept  it  constantly  in  public  view. 
A  tax  of  five,  and  since  ten,  dollars  per  night  was 
levied,  but  it  was  never  felt  as  oppressive,"  and  the 
following  city  ordinance  shows  its  judicious  appro- 
priation : 

"  Be  it  enacted  and  ordained.  That  all  moneys  nrieing  from  license  for 
theatrical  exhibitions  within  said  city  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  applied 
to  relieve  the  distresses  of  such  of  the  citizens  of  Baltimore  aa  were 
wounded,  or  of  the  families  of  those  who  were  killed,  in  the  battles  of 
Bladensburg  and  North  Point  and  bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry,  in 
the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  fourteen." 

An  ordinance  was  also  enforced  requiring  theatres 
to  be  closed  from  the  10th  of  June  to  the  1st  of  Oc- 
tober, a  regulation  which  seems  to  have  been  due  to 
an  impression  on  the  part  of  the  City  Council  that 
the  assemblage  of  large  audiences  in  close  buildings 
during  the  summer  was  unhealthy. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  1813,  the  new  structure,  which 
was  a  fine  brick  edifice,  on  the  site  of  the  old  wooden 
one,  was  opened  to  the  public,  its  fa(;ad*  being  almost 
similar  to  that  of  the  present  theatre.  It  was  built 
for  a  joint-stock  company  by  Col.  James  Mosher, 
after  a  design  of  Robert  Carey  Long,  architect,  at  a 
cost  of  about  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  was  called 
the  "  Baltimore  Theatre."  The  programme  of  the 
opening  performance  was  as  follows : 

"  BALTIMOBB  THBATKE. 
On  Monday,  the  lOtli  of  May, 
The   Theatre  will    open   with  an  occasional  Patriotic   Address,  com- 
memorative of  the  late  brilliant  Naval  victories,  to  bespoken  by 
Mr.  Wood. 
After  which,  Cumberland's  Comedy  of 
THE  WEST  INDIAN. 

Belcour Mr.  Wood. 

Captain  Dudley Jlr.  Doyle. 

His  first  appearance  here. 

To  which  will  be  added,  a  new  farce,  never  acted  here,  called 

THE  SLEEP  WALKER,  OR,  WHICH  IS  THE  LADY? 

Somno  (the  Sleep  Walker),  Mr.  Jefferson. 

Doors  will  be  opened  at  half  past  6,  and  performance  commence  at  7 

Some  beautiful  scenery  had  been  prepared  at  Phil- 
adelphia, and  carefully  packed  for  transportation  to 
Baltimore,  there  to  be  framed  and  adjusted.  Two  ex- 
pensive green  curtains  accompanied  the  scenery  as 
far  as  Havre  de  Grace,  and  one  of  them  was  forwarded 
to  Baltimore,  but  before  transportation  could  be  se- 
cured the  British  landed  and  destroyed  the  warehouse 
in  which  the  remainder  of  the  scenery  was  stored. 
Warren  was  extremely  chagrined  and  vexed  at  his 
loss,  as  it  made  his  opening  very  embarrassing.  The 
painters  were  all  summoned  from  Philadelphia,  and 
by  incessant  labor,  day  and  night,  the  managers  were 
enabled  to  present  a  few  plays  creditably.  For  the 
first  night  and  several  succeeding  ones  the  accommo- 
dations for  the  audience  were  confined  to  the  lower 
boxes  and  the  pit,  the  staircases  leading  to  the  upper 


boxes  and  gallery  being  unfinished.  In  spite  of  these 
disadvantages  the  house  was  well  filled,  the  receipts 
for  the  opening  night  being  three  hundred  and  fifty- 
five  dollars. 

Before  the  autumn  the  theatre  had  been  completed, 
and  the  season  was  heralded  in  October  by  this 

"ANNOUNCEMENT. 
"The  managers  respectfully  inform  the  public  that  the  interior  of  the 
building  is  now  completed,  and  the  htbbies,  coJ}'ee-room,  passages,  and  dis- 
charging doors  fitted  up  in  the  best  manner,  the  whole  offering  to  the 
public  a  degree  of  accommodation  not  exceeded  by  any  theatre  in  the 
United  Slates." 

This  was  followed  by  a  benefit  for  the  defense  of 
the  city,  which  was  well  attended.  "The  Ethiop" 
and  "The  Exile"  proved  very  successful,  and  the 
season  closed  to  an  average  of  four  hundred  and  ten 
dollars  a  night. 

Soon  after  the  opening  of  the  New  HoUiday  (or 
"Baltimore  Theatre"),  in  October,  1814,  it  was  dis- 
tinguished by  the  production  of  "  The  Star  Spangled 
Banner,"  the  immortal  war-song  of  the  republic, 
written  by  Francis  Scott  Key  under  the  inspiration 
of  the  sight  of  the  bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry. 
It  has  hitherto  been  generally  supposed  that  "  The 
Star  Spangled  Banner"  was  sung  for  the  first  time 
by  the  Durang  Brothers,  but  this  is  not  the  case.  It 
was  sung  at  the  Holliday  Street  Theatre  for  the  first 
time  on  Oct.  19, 1819,  by  Mr.  Hardinge.  The  Federal 
Gazette  and  the  play-bills  of  the  day  contain  the  fol- 
lowing announcement  with  reference  to  it:  "After 
the  play  Mr.  Hardinge  will  sing  a  much-admired  new 
song,  written  by  a  gentleman  of  Maryland  in  com- 
memoration of  the  gallant  defense  of  Fort  McHenry, 
called  "  The  Star  Spangled  Banner."  In  November 
the  Federal  Gazette  announced  that 

"at  the  Baltimore  Theatre,  Saturday  evening,  will  be  presented  a  per- 
formance in  commemoration  of  the  gallant  repulse  of  the  enemy  from 
Baltimore.  After  the  drama  and  farce  there  will  be  a  grand  military 
and  naval  entertainment,  the  conclusion  of  which  will  be  as  follows: 

A  New  Soxo,  ■ 
written  by  a  gentleman  of  Maryland,  the  second  time  here — '  The  Star 
Spangled  Banner,'  by  Mr.  Hardinge.  An  entire  new  scene,  representing 
the  bombardment  of  Baltimore  tlie  night  previous  to  the  retreat  of  the 
enemy  by  land  and  water.  The  vie^t  is  taken  from  Hampstead  Hill,  and 
exhibits  Fort  McHenry  illuminated  by  the  fire  fiom  the  enemy's  bomb 
vessels,  which  di>chargo  a  rapid  succession  of  shells  (accurately  repre- 
sented by  machinery),  some  bursting  in  the  air,  etc.;  to  the  right  a  de- 
tachment of  the  enemy's  force  under  the  fire  of  Fort  Covington ;  on  the 
left  the  gun-boats,  hulks,  and  Lazaretto;  in  the  distance  the  main  body 
of  the  British  frigates.  The  scene  painted  by  Mr.  Grain,  mariiie  painter. 
To  conclude  with  a  dance  in  honor  of  the  commander  and  defender  of 
the  fort." 

On  November  19th,  Mr.  Hardinge  substituted  for 
the  "  Star  Spangled  Banner"  the  following  "  new  pa- 
triotic song,"  called  "Freedom,  Home,  and  Beauty:" 

"  High  o'er  Patapsco's  tide 
Swelled  Albion's  naval  pride, 

Advancing  on  the  gale  ; 
As  fierce  the  embodied  train 
Form'd  on  the  embattl'd  plain — 

Yet  not  a  cheek  was  pale. 
Our  yeomen  marked  their  strong  array, 
Saw  proud  the  Lion's  streamers  play. 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITF  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Anil  llioiiglit  of  Home  and  Beauty^ 
While  many  maidous*  anxious  sighs 
And  many  mothers'  i)rayer8  ariao 

Tliat  each  might  do  his  duly. 
And  now  the  miirshurd  train 
Rush  o'er  t)ie  omhattled  plain  ; 

Amid  the  cannon's  roar 
The  hostile  fronts  roliound, 
And  many  strewed  the  ground 

Ere  battle's  rago  was  o'er. 
Ah  !  nniny  a  gallant  soul  expired, 
Too  well  with  patriot  feeling  fired, 

For  Freedom,  Home,  and  Beauty. 
Yet  who  for  country  lighting  dies 
Kver  with  the  blest  must  rise. 


duty. 


Till)  land  tliat  gave  such  birtU 
Well  mourns  their  pai'ted  worth. 

And  mourns  them  not  in  vain. 
For  ne'er  sliall  Freedom's  hallowed  n 
Die  while  there  lives  but  yet  the  nan 

Of  Country,  Home,  and  Beauty. 
And  who  for  these  are  lighting  slain 
In  the  next  world  sliall  meet  again, 

For  they  have  done  their  duty. 
Nor  yet  the  struggle's  o'er. 
That,  fiercer  than  before. 

The  midnight's  gloom  assail; 
Such  desolating  shocks 
As  when  the  mountain's  rocks 

Are  tumbling  to  the  vale. 
The  shores  re-echo'd  with  the  blast. 
Firm  stood  each  freeman  to  the  last 

For  Freedom,  Home,  and  Beauty, 
'Till  dimmer  flash  and  fainter  roar 
Mark'd  th'  invader'd  quit  that  shore 

Where  each  had  done  his  duty." 


The  new  song  did  not  excite  the  same  feeling  as  the 
"  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  which  was  received  with 
universal  enthusiasm,  and  at  once  gave  its  author  a 
national  reputation,  and  the  theatre  so  wide  a  celebrity 
that  the  best  actors  thenceforth  sought  it  eagerly. 
For  many  years  afterwards  the  most  eminent  players 
of  the  day,  whether  native  or  foreign,  never  failed  to 
appear  upon  the  boards  of  the  Holliday  Street  Thea- 
tre, and  lovers  of  the  classic  drama  in  after-days  were 
accustomed  to  recall  with  delight  the  scenes  they  had 
witnessed  there. 

In  1816  the  "Magpie  and  Maid"  was  (ilayed  at 
the  Holliday  with  a  good  cast,  and  repaid  the  man- 
agers by  nightly  receipts  which  averaged  $621.  The 
"Forest  of  Bondy"  reached  $600  nightly,  and  a  ben- 
efit given  in  aid  of  the  widows  and  families  of  those 
who  perished  in  defense  of  the  city  was  liberally  pa- 
tronized. A  pleasant  comedy,  called  "  Jean  de  Paris," 
anticipalid  >ii(  i  (»liilly  the  favorite  opera.  C.  Young 
and  hi>  li.:iuiiliil  uiii-  appeared  for  a  few  nights  as 
Osmund  :iii.l  Aiii;i  la,  lugoand  Dcsdcmona,  and  other 
characters.  Young  F.  .Iillir-ciii  iiiailc  rapid  progress 
this  season,  which  closcil  i.,  s.iij  |  niulitly.  In  the  au- 
tumn Mrs.  Gilfert,  fornurly  .Mi~.  Ilolman,  gave  great 
satisfaction  in  a  round  of  licr  best  characters,  her 
seven  nights  averaging  $4;)0,  and  the  benefit  $799. 
Cooper  followed  to  $618  nightly,  with  a  benefit  of 
$788.     The   season  closed  with   "  Woodman's  Hut," 


$701  and  $840  houses.  These  figures  indicate  that 
the  Baltimore  public  had  not  suffered  materially 
either  in  spirits  or  purse  from  the  near  approach  of 
hostile  armies  or  navies. 

Messrs.  Warren  &  Wood  now  first  introduced  gas 
into  their  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  theatres,  ia 
which  extensive  private  works  were  erected  to  supply 
their  own  needs.  During  the  production  of  "Alad- 
din," on  May  8, 1817,  at  the  Holliday  the  gas-lamps  un- 
expectedly went  out,  in  consequence  of  an  omission  to 
open  one  of  the  gasometers,  and  put  an  abrupt  end  to 
the  performance.  In  1821  the  theatre  was  supplied 
with  gas  by  the  Baltimore  Gas-light  Company.  Dur- 
ing the  season  of  1818,  James  Wallack  made  his  first 
appearance  at  the  Holliday  in  the  roli's  of  Macbeth, 
Pizarro,  Hamlet,  Coriolanus,  and  Octavian,  to  houses 
averaging  $441;  Richard,  which  he  took  for  his 
benefit,  brought  $654.  Cooper  followed  in  four  nights, 
averaging  $485  each  ;  benefit,  $875.  Henry  Wallack 
also  first  appeared  in  America  during  this  season  as 
Othello,  and  made  an  unfavorable  impression  in  Bal- 
timore, which  required  some  little  time  to  efface. 
His  after-performances  in  melodramatic  parts,  as 
Darian,  Roderic  Dhu,  Rob  Roy,  Ethiop,  and  Don 
Juan,  obtained  him  the  fovorable  estimate  not  se- 
cured by  his  first  attempt.  Cooper  and  Bartley  in 
the  fall  season  at  the  Holliday  were  each  well  re- 
ceived as  the  "  Green  Man  ;"  and  Jefiferson,  following 
them,  gained  favor  by  giving  a  totally  different  man- 
ner and  character.  Mrs:  Entwistle,  after  au  absence 
of  two  years,  now  appeared  as  Beatrice  ;  Blissett  and 
Herbert,  as  Richard  and  Richmond,  for  their  benefit, 
to  a  $472  house ;  while  Payne's  "  Brutus"  proved 
eminently  successful,  and,  with  the  "  Heart  of  Mid- 
Lothian,"  strengthened  a  feeble  season  materially. 
Cooper  played  seven  nights  to  receipts  of  $532 ;  Mar- 
mion,  on  his  first  appearance  in  Baltimore,  to  $969, 
his  benefit  falling  to  $575.  Mr.  Keene,  a  singer  of 
some  reputation,  appeared  as  Belino,  Paul,  Henry 
Bertram,  and  Carlos,  in  "  Duenna,"  with  partial  suc- 
cess ;  and  the  Bartleys,  after  seven  nights  of  moderate 
attractions,  closed  a  languid  season. 

The  season  of  1820  commenced  on  the  iid  of  April 
with  "  Wild  Oats"  and  "  Ruflian  Boy,"  and  on  the 
following  morning  Mr.  Wood  received  intelligence 
that  his  theatre  in  Philadelphia  had  been  destroyed 
by  fire  the  night  before.  His  season  in  Baltimore  was 
also  unfortunate,  for  the  gross  receipts  of  three  favor- 
ite nights  only  realized  $97,  $76,  and  $74,  and  the 
season  closed  to  an  average  of  only  $264. 

The  season  of  1821  was  begun  at  the  Holliday  on 
the  24th  of  April  by  the  first  appearance  in  this  city 
of  Edmund  Kean,  in  the  character  of  Richard  III. 
The  audience  was  much  larger  than  had  attended  on 
the  finst  night  for  many  years,  and  during  his  per- 
formances here  he  drew  the  largest  audiences  that 
had  ever  been  seen  in  a  Baltimore  theatre.  His  re- 
ceipts were:  Richard,  $789;  Othello,  $611 ;  Merchant 
of  Venice,  $799;  New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts,  $696; 


AMUSEMENTS. 


687 


King  Lear,  $929;  Macbeth,  $630;  Iron  Chest,  $602; 
Brutus,  $430;  Hamlet,  $652;  Town  and  Country, 
$633;  Bertram,  $570;  Eiches,  $495;  Richard,  $654; 
and  benefit  (Othello),  $785.'  His  profits  in  Baltimore 
were  $3243.  The  short  autumn  season  of  1821  pre- 
sented nothing  interesting,  except  the  first  appearance 
of  the  elder  Booth.  He  first  acted,  on  the  2d  of  Novem- 
ber, Richard  III.,  and  created  an  unusual  sensation. 
His  receipts  were:  Richard,  $383;  Iron  Chest,  $315; 
Othello,  $303;  King  Lear,  $360;  Town  and  Country, 
$194;  and  his  benefit  (Mountaineers),  $525.  In  the 
spring  of  1822,  Lebasse  and  Sautin  (the  first  French 
dancers  ever  engaged  in  America)  appeared  at  the 
Holliday  to  moderate  houses.  Dwyer,  who  appeared 
about  the  same  time,  was  hardly  more  attractive ;  his 
receipts  were  $287  and  $220.  A  new  American  ope- 
ratic drama  by  a  Baltimore  author,  with  music  by 
Mr.  Clifton,  was  produced  for  one  night ;  and  Pelby 
first  acted  here  during  this  season  as  Rolla,  Octavian, 
and  Hamlet.  Cooper  made  his  first  appearance  for 
two  years  to  houses  of  $255  and  $336.  In  the  course 
of  this  engagement  Miss  Tilden  (afterwards  Mrs. 
Bernard)  made  a  very  successful  attempt  as  Virginia. 
"  Marion,"  by  Noah,  closed  a  feeble  season.  Charles 
Matthews  first  appeared  on  the  American  stage  at 
the  Holliday,  on  the  23d  of  September,  1822,  in  the 
"Trip  to  Paris,"  and  continued  for  nine  nights,  with 
the  following  financial  results:  Trip  to  Pari.s,  $752; 
same,  $385 ;  Country  Cousins,  $468 ;  Earth,  Air,  and 
Water,  $489;  Poor  Gentleman,  and  the  Diligence, 
$471 ;  Heir-at-Law,  and  Polly  Packet,  $431 ;  Road  to 
Ruin,  and  Christmas  at  Brighton,  $222 ;  Youthful 
Days,  and  Mons.  Touson  (first  time),  $579.50;  Ways 
and  Means,  and  Mons.  Tonson,  $309 ;  Road  to  Ruin, 
and  Sleep-Wallcer  (for  his  benefit),  $1001.  He  also  on 
this  night  gave  his  incomparable  imitations  of  Kemble, 
Braham,  Cooke,  Kean,  Incledon,  Bannister,  Blanchard, 
Fawcett,  and  Munden.  The  smallness  of  the  receipts 
during  the  engagement  were  materially  affected  by 
the  prevalence  of  yellow  fever  at  Fell's  Point.  This 
panic,  added  to  the  depressed  state  of  the  times,  ren- 
dered the  season  one  of  the  most  distressing  which 
the  managers  had  yet  encountered.  Booth  followed 
to  $237,  $188,  $123,  $207,  $147,  $222,  $124,  and  $237 
houses;  his  benefit  (Hamlet)  came  to  $269.  From 
this  time  until  a  very  late  period  the  receipts  at  the 
Holliday  dwindled  down  to  nearly  total  neglect. 
Stars  of  all  degrees  and  magnificent  spectacles  were 
produced  at  unsparing  cost  by  powerful  companies, 
but  all  in  vain.  The  season  of  1824  first  introduced 
Conway,  to  an  average  of  $240.  His  benefit  was 
strengthened  by  Booth,  and  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Duff, 
producing  $738.  Mrs.  Duft"  (as  a  star)  only  reached 
$1 16  per  night,  and  a  benefit  of  $408.  "  Lafayette," 
a  drama  by  Wordsworth,  was  acted  twice,  and  was 
soon  followed,  on  the  25th  of  November,  by  a  visit 


1  Tlie  advent  of  Kean  introduced  the  absurd  custom  of  calling  out 
performera  in  an  exlmusted  state,  "  dead  or  alire,"  after  the  curtain  has 
dropped,  to  receive  a  tribute  of  extra  applause. 


I  from. the  "nation's  guest."     The  entertainments  were 
I  "  School  for  Scandal"  and  "  Romp" ;  the  receipts  only 
$454.     Several  other  novelties  were  offered,  the  most 
successful  of  which  was  the  "  Bride  of  Abydos,"  for 
i  seven  nights,  to  houses  of   $349.     This  proved  the 
only  striking  feature  of  the  sea.son,  which  averaged 
but  $252.     The  season  of  1825  proved  ruinously  un- 
productive.    "  Der  Freyschutz"  was  played  to  poor 
I  houses,  the  receipts  being  $228,  $130,  and  $73.     Duft" 
I  continued  ill,  and  T.  Burke  died  here,  June  6,  1825. 
The  receipts  of  the  season  averaged  only  $225.     Bur- 
roughs and  a  pretended  Greek  conjurer  failed  even 
on  their  benefit  nights.    "  William  Tell"  was  the  only 
popular  piece  of  the  season,  and  was  played  to  a  total 
of  $910  in  three  nights.     Fielding  and  Garner  were 
now  added  to  the  company,  and  Cooper  acted  two 
nigjits  to  $322  and  $558  houses. 

The  season  of  1826  began  cheerfully  at  the  Holliday 
in  May  with  Miss  Kelly  acting  eight  nights  to  houses 
of  $384,  and  a  benefit  (as  Juliet)  of  $631.  Charles 
Kean  now  arrived  from  Boston  to  fulfill  a  contract  of 
eight  nights.  His  first  appearance  in  Baltimore  was 
in  the  character  of  Richard  III.  The  curtain  rose, 
and  the  play  proceeded  quietly  as  usual  until  the  ap- 
pearance of  Gloster,  when  a  violent  opposition  from 
persons  stationed  in  various  parts  of  the  house  ren- 
dered all  Kean's  attempts  to  be  heard  hopeless.  Some 
ill-managed  efforts  were  made  to  address  the  audience, 
but  he  was  not  allowed  to  speak.  The  greatest  por- 
tion of  the  female  auditors  retired  in  disgust  from  the 
disgraceful  scene,  and  the  play  at  length  ended  in 
noise  and  confusion.  Warren  conducted  the  ladies 
of  the  company  through  the  crowd  without  molesta- 
tion. Kean  was  conveyed  through  the  adjoining 
house  to  his  lodgings  safely,  but  in  extreme  terror,  as 
[  might  well  be  expected,  for  from  some  expressions 
I  uttered  by  the  rioters  it  was  fairly  inferred  that  per- 
sonal violence  would  be  attempted.  The  next  morn- 
ing a  council  of  friends  was  called  to  deliberate  on 
I  the  course  to  be  pursued,  and  finally,  to  prevent  a  riot, 
through  the  advice  of  William  Wirt,  the  theatre  was 
closed  for  the  season,  and  the  company  immediately 
returned  to  Philadelphia. 

Messrs.  Warren  &  Wood  had  now  been  managers 
of  their  theatres  for  sixteen  years,  but  in  1826,  Mr. 
Wood  determined  to  retire.  For  a  stipulated  sum  he 
transferred  all  his  share  of  property  in  the  different 
theatres  to  Mr.  Warren,  who  conducted  them  for  a 
time  upon  his  own  account  with  indifferent  success.' 
In  November,  1827,  the  stockholders  of  the  Holliday 
Street  Theatre  rented  the  establishment  to  Joseph 
!  Cowell,  and  it  was  opened  during  the  winter  season 
I  under  his  direction. 

I       The  Holliday  was  built  originally  by  subscription, 
j  126  shares  being  sold  at  $200  each,  which  it  appears 
was  not  sufficient  to  complete  the  building,  and  con- 
sequently liens  were  held  against  it  for  work  done. 


688 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUiNTY,  MARYLAND. 


It  met  with  a  great  many  "  ups  and  downs"  after  the 
dissolution  of  the  firm  of  AVarren  &  Wood,  and  on 
Dec.  2, 1840,  wa.s  sold  at  auction  to  Benjamin  I.  Cohen 
for  twenty  thousand  dollars.     This  sale  was  not  rati- 
fied, and  on  Sept.  10,  1846,  the  theatre  was  closed  ; 
by  an  injunction  granted  by  the  chancellor  of  the  | 
State  on  the  application  of  Mr.  Cohen,  who  was  one  ! 
of  the  original  stockholders.    It  was  again  offered  for  j 
sale  by  Jolin  H.  B.  Latrobe,  trustee,  in  1846,  and  pur- 
chased by  James  V.  Wagner  for  thirteen  thousand 
dollars,  which  was  the  only  bid  made.    Mr.  Cohen  | 
immediately  took  exception  to  the  sale,  on  the  ground 
that  there  was  but  one  bid,  and  that  the  sale  had  taken 
place  on  Saturday,  which,  as  he  was  a  Hebrew,  pre- 
vented his  attendance.     The  chancellor,  however,  in 
October  ratified  and  confirmed  the  sale.     In  Decem-  I 
ber,  1847,  the  Sun,  speaking  of  the  recent  publication  j 
of  the  President's  message  in  advance  of  its  cotem- 
poraries,  alludes  to  the  fact  that  it  had  pressed  into 
service  several  members  of  the  excellent  stock  com- 
pany of  the  Holliday  who  had  formerly  been  mem- 
bers of  the  "  craft."     "  We  received,"  it  says,  "  most  ; 
efficient  aid  from  some  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  '  bus-  ! 
kin,'  and  shall  endeavor  to  return  the  favor.    Indeed,  | 
we  had  one  of  the  largest  and  most  efficient  corps  of 
compositors  that  ever  stood  to  case  at  one  time  in  an 
office  in  Baltimore."  | 

For  several  years  after  the  sale  of  1846  the  "  Old  j 
Drury"  was  closed  entirely.     Effisrts  were  made  from  | 
time  to  time  to  continue  it  regularly,  but  these  at- 
tempts invariably  resulted  disastrously.     On  Dec.  20, 
1852,  it  was  again  sold  at  auction,  together  with  all 
the  scenery,  wardrobes,  etc.,  to  Heron  Murray  for 
twenty-three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars, "  for  a  company  of  enterprising  gentlemen  who 
intend  to  remodel  and  improve  the  house  and  con-  ^ 
tinue  it  as  a  theatre."     In  September,  1853,  it  was  ; 
leased  to  E.  A.  Marshall,  the  manager  of  the  Broad-  ! 
way  Theatre  in  New  York,  and  the  Walnut  Street 
Theatre,  Philadelphia.    The  season  was  an  unfortu-  j 
nate  one,  and  in  the  fall  of  1854  it  was  purchased  by 
an  association  of  liberal  and  wealthy  gentlemen,  who  | 
refitted  and  magnificently  refurnished  it  at  a  cost  of 
twelve  thousand  dollars,  and  determined  to  leave  no 
effort  untried  to  restore  the  old  house  to  its  former 
glory.      They  engaged   at  large  salaries  a  full  and 
talented  dramatic  corps,  which  they  placed  under  the  ] 
absolute  control  of  Mr.  Walcot,  an  experienced  actor, 
but  through  mismanagement  the  season  closed  with 
an  actual  cash  loss  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars.    The 
theatre  was  sold  at  auction  on  April  21, 1866,  to  John 
Grason  for  thirty-two  thousand  dollars,  and  on  August  i 
12th  of  the  same  year  Messrs.  John  T.  Ford,  Kunkle,  j 
and  Moxley  leased  the  property.    Among  those  who'j 
had  managed  the  Holliday  previous  to  this  time  (be- 
sides Wignell   &  lieinagle,   Warren  &  Wood)  were 
Joseph  Cowell,  Rowbothara  &  Maywood,  Walton  & 
Ward,  E.iA.  Marshall,  Thomas  Kemble,  William  E. 
Burton,  Thadius  J.  Barton,  and  Clifton  W.  Tayleure.  ' 


Under  Mr.  Ford's  energetic  and  efficient  management 
the  establishment  attained  a  degree  of  popularity  and 
prestige  never  before  known  in  the  theatrical  annals 
of  Baltimore.  In  1859,  James  J.  Giflbrd  remodeled 
the  theatre  for  Mr.  Ford,  and  on  August  28th  it  was 
opened  by  Stuart  Robson  as  Tony  Lumpkin  in  the 
play  of  "  She  Stoops  to  Conquer."  In  1870,  Mr.  Ford 
purchased  the  theatre  and  some  adjoining  property 
from  Messrs.  George  Small  and  Washington  Booth 
for  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  season  of 
1873-74,  which  was  doomed  to  so  sudden  and  dis- 
astrous a  termination,  opened  on  Monday,  August 
11th,  with  the  spectacular  drama  of  "  The  Ice  Witch," 
and  promised  to  be  the  most  brilliant  and  profitable 
the  theatre  had  ever  known.  On  Monday,  September 
8th,  "  After  Dark"  was  placed  on  the  boards,  and  on 
Tuesday  night  was  again  performed.  That  evening 
the  curtain  fell  for  the  last  time  on  the  stage  of  the 
Old  Holliday,  for  in  less  than  three  hours  afterward 
(half-past  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  September 
10th)  a  fire  broke  out,  which  in  a  short  time  entirely 
consumed  it.  It  may  appear  as  a  singular  coincidence 
that  the  last  words  spoken  in  the  play  of  "  After 
Dark"  are  "  After  dark  the  light  has  come." 

Soon  after  the  burning  of  the  theatre  Mr.  Ford  as- 
sociated with  him  his  eldest  son,  Charles  E.  Ford,  a 
gentleman  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  duties  of 
theatrical  management,  to  aid  him  in  conducting  his 
extensive  business.  In  November  these  gentlemen, 
with  James  J.  GifTord  as  architect  and  superintendent, 
began  the  rebuilding  of  the  Old  Drury  on  the  same 
site,  and  on  the  3d  of  August,  1874,  it  was  opened  to 
an  immense  audience  crowding  all  parts  of  the  house. 
The  exterior  of  the  new  theatre  is  on  the  same  model 
as  the  old,  and  the  front  is  nearly  of  the  same  charac- 
ter and  style ;  but  the  interior  has  been  materially 
improved,  and  possesses  ;i  ^neater  seating  capacity. 
The  programme  on  the  opening  occasion  was  as  fol- 
lows :  National  Overture,  by  Prof  J.  A.  Rosenberger's 
orchestra;  an  opening  address  of  seventy  lines,  writ- 
ten by  Wm.  Leggett  in  1828,  upon  the  opening  of 
the  New  Chestnut  Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  was 
road  by  Wm.  Harris ;  Boucicault's  drama,  "  After 
Dark,  or  London  by  Midnight,"  was  produced  with 
a  cast  of  characters  in  which  the  following  performers 
took  part :  Wm.  Harris,  W.  H.  Southard,  Mark  M. 
Price,  M.  Lanagan,  Charles  Stanley,  W.  H.  Burton, 
Charles  Harkinson,  H.  A.  Webber,  G.  W.  Denham, 
James  CuUington,  J6hn  Atwell,  Wm.  H.  Warren,  C. 
Gonzales,  G.  A.  Sorter,  Miss  Gussie  de  Forrest,  Miss 
Jennie  Clifford.  Besides  thedrama,MissLydia  Denier 
introduced  some  novel  dances,  and  the  Prseger  family- 
gave  some  comic  variety  performances.  In  1871,  John 
T.  Ford  erected  the  Grand  Opera-House,  and  in  July, 
1876,  he  leased  the  Holliday  Street  Theatre  to  Wm. 
Gilmore,  a  variety  manager  of  Philadelphia.  Mr. 
Ford  now  gave  his  exclusive  attention  to  the  Opera- 
House  management,  and  "in  May,  1877,  sold  all  his 
interest  in  the  Holliday  Street  Theatre   to  Messrs. 


^cXn  /// 


AMUSEMENTS. 


George  Small  and  Washington  Booth.  In  1879,  John 
W.  Albaugh,  who  had  commenced  his  first  regular 
season  at  the  Old  Drury  on  Aug.  22,  1855,  secured  a 
lease  of  the  property,  and  after  thoroughly  renova- 
ting it  at  a  cost  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  opened  it  on 
Sept.  1,  1879.  Under  Mr.  Albaugh's  admirable  man- 
agement the  theatre  has  regained  its  former  place  in 
public  favor  and  esteem,  and  is  now  one  of  the  most 
complete  and  successful  theatrical  establishments  in 
the  United  States.  John  William  Albaugh  was  born 
in  Baltimore  on  the  30th  of  September,  1837.  His 
father,  John  Wm.  Albaugh,  was  born  in  Virginia 
in  1800,  and  his  mother,  Elizabeth  Peters,  in  Frederick, 
Md.,  in  the  same  year.  His  paternal  grandfather  and 
grandmother  were  natives  of  "Virginia,  but  removed 
to  Hagerstown,  Md.,  in  the  early  part  of  the  present 
century.  His  maternal  great-grandfather,  whose 
name  was  Holler,  emigrated  from  Holland  about  the 
middle  of  the  last  century  and  settled  at  Frederick, 
Md.,  where  he  built  the  Barracks,  and  also  a  portion 
of  the  town,  which  was  called,  after  him,  "  Holler's 
Town."  Young  Albaugh's  education  was  received 
at  private  schools,  and  although  there  was  nothing  in 
his  training  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  the  dramatic  pro- 
fession, he  evinced  a  decided  talent  for  the  stage  while 
quite  young,  and  took  part  in  amateur  performances 
at  the  old  "  Mud  Theatre"  and  other  favorite  theatri- 
cal resorts  of  the  day.  His  first  appearance  was  in 
an  amateur  performance  of  the  "  Merchant  of  Venice" 
at  the  old  "  Oak  Hall,"  corner  Frederick  and  Balti- 
more Streets,  in  1853,  where  he  essayed  the  r6le  of 
Portia,  and  sustained  the  character  so  well  as  to  sur- 
prise and  delight  the  audience.  His  first  regular  ap- 
pearance on  the  professional  stage  was  at  the  Balti- 
more Museum,  under  the  management  of  Henry  C. 
.Tarrett,  Joe  Jefferson  stage  manager,  on  the  1st  of 
February,  1855,  as  Brutus  in  "Brutus,  or  the  Fall  of 
Tarquiii."  He  was  received  with  great  favor  both  by 
the  public  and  the  press,  one  of  the  Baltimore  papers 
saying,  "  Though  young  in  years  and  lacking  experi- 
ence, Mr.  Albaugh  acquitted  himself  in  the  most 
creditable  manner,  and  it  was  universally  acknowl- 
edged that  his  was  the  best  '  first  appearance'  that 
has  been  made  here  for  some  time.  He  has  much 
talent,  and  will  no  doubt  make  a  good  actor  if  he 
should  adopt  the  profession."  In  the  following 
month  Mr.  Albaugh  appeared  as  Hamlet  in  a  com- 
l)limentary  benefit  tendered  him  by  his  friends  in  and 
out  of  the  profession,  and  rendered  that  difficult  and 
delicate  role  in  a  manner  that  reflected  great  credit  upon 
his  dramatic  taste  and  ability.  His  first  regular  engage- 
ment was  as  second  walking  gentleman  at  the  HoUi- 
day  Street  Theatre,  then  under  the  management  of 
John  T.  Ford,  for  the  season  commencing  Aug.  20, 
ISS.*),  at  a  salary  of  eight  dollars  per  week,  which  was 
not  bad  pay  in  days  when  stars  frequently  closed  a 
season  poorer  than  they  began  it,  and  were  often  glad 
to  get  out  of  town  with  their  wardrobes.  The  next 
sei^son,  1856-57,  he  was  with   Charles   T.  Smith    at 


Troy,  engaging  as  first  walking  gentleman,  and  going 
up  through  the  regular  succession  to  leading  business. 
In  1858-59  he  played  juvenile  business  at  Pittsburgh, 
and  then  went  to  the  Gayety  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  under 
engagement  as  heavy  man.  After  a  successful  en- 
gagement in  Albany,  where  he  soon  became  a  great 
favorite,  he  played  in  Montgomery,  Ala.,  in  1860-61, 
and  the  next  year  in  Boston,  Washington,  Philadel- 
phia, and  the  West.  He  was  next  for  three  years 
leading  man  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  in  1865  supported 
Charles  Kean  in  his  engagement  at  the  Broadway 
Theatre,  New  York,  where  he  played  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  season.  In  1866  he  made  a  starring 
tour,  and  in  1868-69  was  associated  with  Bidwell  & 
Spalding  in  the  management  of  the  Olympic  Thea- 
tre in  St.  Louis.  In  1870  he  returned  to  Albany, 
and  was  stage  manager  for  the  Trimble  Opera-House, 
under  Lucien  Barnes.  From  there  Mr.  Albaugh 
went  to  New  Orleans  as  a  partner  with  Ben  de  Bar 
in  the  management  of  the  St.  Charles'  Theatre. 
After  a  season  of  managing  in  Montreal  and  a  little 
more  starring,  he  became  manager  of  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Leland  Opera-House,  in  Albany,  N.  Y., 
opening  it  Nov.  24,  1873,  since  which  time  he  has 
been  sole  lessee.  In  1878  he  played  a  star  engagement 
under  Edgar  &  Fulton,  in  what  is  now  Daly's  Theatre, 
New  York,  appearing  as  Louis  XI.,  and  winning  the 
highest  commendations  from  the  journals  and  critics  of 
that  city.  In  addition  to  the  HoUiday  Street  Theatre 
in  Baltimore  and  the  Leland  in  Albany,  he  is  also  man- 
ager of  the  National  Theatre  in  Washington.  He  was 
married  on  the  29th  of  July,  1866,  to  Mary  Mitchell 
(sister  of  Maggie  Mitchell),  who  was  born  in  New 
York  of  English  parents.  Like  her  sister,  she  had 
great  talent  for  the  stage,  and  made  her  first  appear- 
ance in  Newark,  N.  J.,  as  Topsy.  She  soon  rose  to 
the  position  of  leading  lady,  which  she  held  in  New 
York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  St.  Louis.  Of  late 
years  she  appears  but  rarely  upon  the  stage,  her 
duties  as  wife  and  mother  being  dearer  to  her  than 
the  triumphs  of  public  life. 

Front  Street  Theatre  and  Circus.— After  Messrs. 
Hallam  &  Henry  dissolved  their  company  and 
abandoned  the  frame  theatre  which  they  had  erected 
near  the  intersection  of  Pratt  and  Albemarle  Streets, 
the  building  was  remodeled  to  suit  either  theatrical  or 
equestrian  performances.  It  was  for  many  years 
known  as  the  circus  on  Philpot's  Hill,  and  in  1797 
Rockett's  equestrian  company  performed  there.  In 
December,  1809,  it  was  opened  by  Messrs.  Pepin  & 
Brechard,  the  managers  of  the  "  new  circus"  company, 
which  played  with  great  success.  The  prices  of  ad- 
mission at  this  time  were  "  boxes  one  dollar,  pit  fifty 
cents,  children  half  price."  Doors  opened  at  five 
o'clock,  and  the  performances  began  at  six.  In  Oc- 
tober, 1811,  it  was  known  as  the  Olympic  Theatre, 
and  opened  with  the  play  of  "  The  Road  to  Ruin," 
which  was  followed  by  "  feats  of  horsemanship  and 
a  great  display  of  fireworks."     The  old  Olympic  The- 


690 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


,'i■rr^. 


atre  having  become  dangerous  it  was  pulled  down, 
and  on  June  13,  1827,  Messrs.  Edmund  Simpson  and 
Joseph  Cowell  published  the  prospectus  of  a  new 
theatre  to  be  erected  on  its  site,  "suited  equally  for 
theatrical  and  equestrian  performances,"  to  be  called 
the  Olympic  Theatre.  This  was  the  origination  of 
the  present  Front  Street  Theatre,  which  was  com- 
menced by  a  stock  company  early  in  1829.  The 
architect  and  builder  was  Charles  Grover,  and  when 
finished  it  was  the  largest  and  most  complete  theatre 
in  the  United  States.  It  is  situated  on  the  south- 
western corner  of  Front  and  Low  Streets,  fronting 
on  the  former  and  binding  on  the  latter  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-one  feet  to  Jones'  Falls.  The  building 
is  four  stories  high,  has  three  tiers  of  boxes  and  a  pit, 
and  comfortably  accommodates  four  thousand  per- 
sons. There  are  three  entrances  on  Front  Street  and 
one  on  Low  Street,  built  as  a  combined  theatre  and 
circus ;  there  were  extensive  dressing-rooms  under  the 
stage,  and  stabling  for  over  fifty  horses.  In  the  rear 
of  the  stabling,  bordering  on  the  Falls,  there  was  a 
spacious   court  with 


three  large  doors 
opening  on  the  Falls, 
with  steps  descend- 
ing to  the  water.  The 
st:ii;:c>  was  seventy- 
li\r  feet  long  and 
^    .,  the  same  in  breadth, 

^C^    -■'.  '  with    a    large    door 

I ,  twelve      feet     wide 

opening  on  the  Falls, 
where  a  >tagc  was  crerteil  over  sixty  feet  long.  The 
opening  of  the  stage  was  thirty-four  feet  wide,  with 
ways  nine  feet  broad  so  as  to  admit  horses  or  carriages. 
The  ring  was  forty-seven  feet  in  diameter,  with  two 
doors,  thirteen  feet  high  and  six  feet  wide,  leading 
from  the  stables.  The  height  from  the  dome  to  the 
ring  was  fifty-two  feet;  and  the  dressing-room  was 
seventy  feet  long,  twenty  feet  high,  and  the  same  in 
width.  The  scenery  was  perhaps  the  finest  in  the 
country. 

The  "New  Theatre  and  Circus"  (now  called  Front 
Street  Theatre)  was  first  opened  on  Tuesday  evening, 
Sept.  10, 1829,  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances. 
The  audience  was  "larger  than  previous  experience 
led  persons  to  believe  Baltimore  could  supply,"  the 
number  of  those  present  being  estimated  at  about 
three  thousand.  It  was  opened  under  the  manage- 
ment of  W.  Blanchard,  a  gentleman  at  the  time 
well  known  through  this  country  and  Canada  as  the 
manager  of  a  first-class  equestrian  corps.  Previous 
to  the  commencement  of  the  performance,  Mrs.  Hill, 
from  the  London  and  New  York  theatres,  delivered 
a  prize  address,  written  bv  Robert  Morris,  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

After  the  equestrian  performances  a  musical  farce 
entitled  "The  Spoiled  Child"  was  produced.  Doors 
opened  at  6i,   and   the   curtain  rose  at  71    o'clock. 


"Boxes,  fifty  cents;    pit,  twenty-five;   and  colored 
gallery,  twenty-five." 

The  theatre  had  been  erected  by  an  association  of 
citizens,  and  in  February,  1830,  they  applied  to  the 
Legislature  to  be  made  a  body  corjjorate.  Accord- 
ingly, on  February  27tli  the  as.sociation  was  incorpo- 
rated, under  the  name  of  the  "  Baltimore  Theatre  and 

j  Circus  Company,"  with  the  following  incorporators: 
Thomas  Wildey,  president;  William  Hicklcy,  Elijah 
Stansbury,  John  J.  Gross,  Joseph  Kobinson,  Ephraim 
Barker,  James  Bush,  John  Boyd,  Thomas  J.  Murphy, 
Adolpbus  Dunan,  Charles  Grover,  Jacob  Gross,  H. 
W.  Bool,  William  Cullimore,  Henry  Clifle,  Walter 
Crook,  Jr.,  Richard  Bradshaw,  David  Pugh,  Joseph 
Otterman,  and  Theophilus  T.  Fitzelberger.  The  capi- 
tal stock  was  not  to  exceed  $50,000,  divided  into  shares 

i  of  $100  each,  and  the  charter  to  extend  until  1845. 
Front  Street  Theatre  never  attained  the  celebrity 

I  of  the  Holliday,  although  many  distinguished  per- 
formers have  from  time  to  time  appeared  there.  The 
most  remarkable  of  its  entertainments  were  two  of 
totally  diiferent  character.    Built,  as  we  have  seen,  as 

I  a  combined  theatre  and  circus,  equestrian  perform- 
ances were  from  time  to  time  held  in  it,  and  in  1838 

I  it  was  occupied  by  Cooke,  an  Englishman,  who  in- 
vested his  entire  fortune,  and  brought  to  America  the 
most  remarkable  troupe  of  performers  who  ever  ex- 
hibited in  this  city.   Unfortunately,  about  five  o'clock 

'  on  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  February  the  theatre 

,  took,  fire,  and  the  flames  spread  with  such  rapidity 
that  not  an  article  was  saved.  The  entire  wardrobe, 
scenery,  decorations,  and  a  stud  of  over  fifty  superb 
horses  were  consumed,  and  the  buildings  utterly  de- 
stroyed.    Mr.  Cooke  was  totally  ruined  by  the  catas- 

[  trophe.  The  theatre  was  rebuilt  the  same  year  by 
William  Minifie,  architect,  for  a  number  of  new  stock- 

,  holders,  and  was  reopened  on  Dec.  3,  1838,  but  its 
distance  from  the  lashioniible  quarters  of  the  city 
operated  against  it,  although  many  noted  actors  ap- 
peared there. 

No  theatrical  sensation  of  the  day,  however,  was 
equal  to  that  created  by  Jenny  Lind  when  she  ap- 
peared for  the  first  time  in  Baltimore  at  the  Front 
Street  Theatre,  on  the  night  of  the  8th  of  December, 
1850.  Her  astonishing  reputation  had  preceded  her 
to  America,  and  it  is  scarcely  an  exaggeration  to  say 
that  the  people  went  mad  over  her.  Absurd  prices 
were  paid  for  the  first  choice  of  seats, — from  one  hun- 

I  dred  dollars  in  Baltimore  to  seven  hundred  dollars  in 
Providence,  R.  I.  Under  the  management  of  P.  T. 
Barnum,  the  scale  of  admission  to  her  concerts  was 
far  beyond  any  prices  ever  before  demanded.  Five 
dollars  wiis  a  low  average  for  good  seats,  and  for  her 
fourth  and  last  concert  in  Baltimore  a  charge  of 
twelve  and  a  half  cents  was  made  at  the  door  for  all 

I  persons  who  attended  the  auction  of  tickets.  The 
receipts  from  the  four  concerts  were  about  sixty  thou- 
sand dollars,  a  very  snug  sum  for  the  singing  of  some 
two  dozen  songs.     On  the  night  of  the  fii-st  concert 


AMUSEMENTS. 


the  scene  within  the  theatre  was  one  beyond  the 
power  of  description.  Every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
vast  building  was  filled,  just  room  enough  being  left 
on  the  stage  for  the  orchestra  and  the  fair  nightingale. 
A  more  brilliant  audience — more  beauty  and  fashion 
— never  assembled  within  the  walls  of  any  building 
in  this  city.  The  doors  were  opened  at  six  o'clock, 
and  the  crowd  poured  in  in  a  continuous  stream  till 
eight.  Front  Street  was  blocked  up  with  carriages, 
omnibuses,  and  a  dense  mass  of  spectators,  so  that  it 
was  extremely  difficult  to  get  near  the  door,  and  then 
only  with  the  assistance  of  the  police. 

On  Dec.  11,  1848,  Macready  began  an  engagement 
{it  the  Front  Street  Theatre,  in  Macbeth,  while  For- 
rest appeared  in  the  same  role  at  the  Holliday.  The 
rivalry  existing  between  these  two  actors  was  intense, 
and  the  warm  partisans  of  each  were  enthusiastic  in 
favor  of  their  idols,  and  crowded  both  theatres  from 
pit  to  dome.  In  August,  1854,  Mrs.  Harvey  Tuck- 
ett  became  the  lessee  of  the  theatre,  with  Messrs.  H. 
B.  Matterson  and  James  J.  Bobbins  as  managers.  It 
has  been  under  various  managements  since,  not 
always  satisfactory  to  its  best  patrons,  and  for  several 
years  was  entirely  closed.  About  1870  it  was  leased 
by  William  E.  Sinn,  who  conducted  it  with  some  suc- 
cess as  a  variety  theatre.'  The  following  actors  and 
actresses  made  their  first  appearance  at  this  theatre: 
Miss  Addie  Anderson,  as  Mazeppa ;  Mrs.  Frank  Drew, 
who  was  born  near  Belair,  Harford  Co.,  made  her 
i.mut  here  in  1842,  as  Duke  of  York  to  the  elder 
Booth's  Kichard  III.;  Mrs.  Henry  Eberle,  in  De- 
cember, 1840,  as  Peggy  in  "  Raising  the  Wind ;"  J. 
K.  Field,  in  1838  ;  S.  K.  Glenn,  Nov.  20,  1848,  as 
John  Jones  in  the  farce  of  that  name ;  John  S.  Good- 
man ;  J.  Adams  Graver,  in  1853  ;  Miss  Cornelia  Jef- 
ferson, as  the  Duke  of  York ;  Henry  Charles  Gordon 
(born  in  Baltimore),  May  1,  1841,  as  Marlin  Spike  in 
the  "Scourge  of  the  Ocean;"  and  James  Wills,  in 
1831.  Charlotte  Cushman  was  also  among  the  pro- 
fessional celebrities  who  occasionally  honored  the 
Front  Street  Theatre  with  their  presence. 

The  Old  Baltimore  Museum,  which  formerly  stood 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  Calvert  and  Baltimore 
Streets,  like  most  of  the  early  museums  of  the  coun- 
try, owed  its  existence  to  the  indefatigable  efforts  of 
Charles  Wilson  Peale  and  his  sons,  Raphael,  Rem- 
brandt, and  Rubens,  and  his  nephew,  Charles  Peale 
Polk.  Charles  W.  Peale  was  born  of  English  parents 
at  Chestertown,  Kent  Co.,  April  16,  1741,  and  re- 


1  Among  the  prominent  events  that  have  taken  place  at  the  Front 
Street  Theatre  may  be  mentioned  the  following:  The  centennial  anni- 
versary of  the  birth  of  Washington  was  celebrated  on  Feb.  22, 1832,  by 
an  immense  procession,  and  the  reading  of  bis  Farewell  Address  in  the 
theatre  by  William  H.  Collins,  followed  by  an  oration  by  Hon.  John  H. 
B.  Latrobe.  The  National  Democratic  Convention,  which  had  adjourned 
from  Charleston,  reassembled  there  on  June  18,1860;  and  the  Union 
National  Convention  met  in  the  same  place  on  June  7, 1864,  and  nomi- 
nated Abraham  Lincoln  for  re-election  as  President.  On  the  laying  of 
the  corner-stone  of  the  new  Masonic  Temple,  Nov.  20, 1S6G,  the  visiting 
commanderies  were  entertained  there  by  the  Knights  Templar  of  Bal- 


moved  to  Annapolis  in  January,  1762.  He  was  ap- 
prenticed to  a  saddler,  carried  on  successively  the 
trades  of  saddler,  harness-maker,  silversmith,  watch- 
maker, and  carver,  and  afterwards,  as  a  recreation  in 
the  sedentary  pursuit  of  portrait-painting,  became  a 
sportsman,  naturalist,  and  a  preserver  of  animals, 
made  himself  a  violin  and  guitar,  invented  and  con- 
structed a  variety  of  machines,  and  made  the  first 
sets  of  enamel  teeth  made  in  this  country.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-six  he  received  instruction  in  painting 
from  Hesselius,  and  afterwards  from  Copley,  in  Bos- 
ton, and  was  for  about  fifteen  years  the  only  portrait- 
painter  in  North  America.  Having  made  an  exten- 
sive collection  of  portraits,  stuffed  birds,  quadrupeds, 
curiosities,  etc.,  in  1784  he  opened  the  first  museum 
in  the  country  at  Philadelphia,  for  which  he  pro- 
cured in  1801  almo.st  an  entire  skeleton  of  a  mam- 
moth, and  was  the  first  to  lecture  on  the  subject  of 
natural  history.  In  January  he  opened  a  branch  es- 
tablishment in  Baltimore  at  Mr.  Sadler's,  which  he 
called  the  "  American  Museum."  This  was  continued 
but  a  short  time,  for  in  January,  1791,  we  find  his 
nephew,  Charles  Peale  Polk,  "  wishing  to  fit  up  an 
exhibition  room  for  the  entertainment  of  the  public," 
and  soliciting  their  patronage.  He  accordingly  fitted 
up  a  house  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Frederick  and 
Water  (now  Lombard)  Streets,  where  he  exhibited 
for  several  years  many  objects  of  an  interesting  char- 
acter. This  museum  was  discontinued,  and  in  Oc- 
tober, 1796,  Messrs.  Raphael  and  Rembrandt  Peale, 
late  of  Philadelphia,  "  having  collected  a  number  ot 
articles  of  nature  and  artificial  production,  together 
with  their  paintings,"  announce  to  the  people  of  Bal- 
timore that  they  have  opened  rooms  at  the  house  in 
Frederick  Street,  next  door  to  the  southwest  corner 
of  Water  Street,  under  the  title  of  the  "  Baltimore 
Museum."  They  state  in  their  prospectus  that  they 
have  on  exhibition  "sixty-four  portraits  of  illustrious 
men,  who  having  distinguished  themselves  in  the 
American  Revolution,  both  as  statesmen  and  war- 
riors, highly  merit  the  attention  of  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States.  The  collection  also  contains  a  variety 
of  miscellaneous  portraits  and  pictures,  besides  up- 
wards of  two  hundred  preserved  birds,  beasts,  am- 
phibious animals,  fishes,  etc.  Also  Indian's  dresses,  or- 
naments, utensils  for  civil  and  military  life,"  etc.  The 
rooms  were  always  open ;  admittance,  twenty-five 
cents ;  children  half-price.  At  the  same  time  the  pro- 
prietors offered  their  services  to  the  citizens  of  Balti- 
more as  portrait-painters,  and  in  time  painted  the  por- 
traits of  some  of  our  most  distinguished  citizens,  as 
well  as  some  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  country. 
On  March  29,  1797,  the  Museum  was  closed  previous 
to  its  removal  "  to  a  large  and  commodious  house" 
at  No.  45  Charles  Street.  In  April,  1800,  Raphael 
Peale  left  Baltimore  after  painting  "seventy-two 
miniatures  since  his  arrival."  A  "  New  Museum" 
was  opened  at  No.  6  Water  Street,  between  Calvert 
and  South  Streets,  on  Nov.  4,  1807,  which  was  fol- 


692 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


lowed  by  the  "Baltimore  Permanent  Museum,"  C. 
Boyle,  proprietor,  at  No.  57  Water  Street,  two  doors 
east  of  Gay.  On  Feb.  15,  1814,  anotlier  "  Baltimore 
Museum"  was  opened  at  No.  236  Market  {now  Balti- 
more) Street,  opposite  toSharpe.  In  1813,  Rembrandt 
Peale  came  to  Baltimore  to  permanently  reside,  and 
soon  after  purchased  a  lot  on  the  west  side  of  Holi- 
day Street,  north  of  Lexington,  and  began  the  ejec- 
tion of  a  museum  and  gallery  of  fine  arts,  which  is 
still  known  as  the  "  Old  City  Hall,"  and  which  served 
our  municipal  purposes  until  the  erection  of  the  pres- 
ent magnificent  marble  structure.  Peale's  Museum 
was  completed  iu  1814,  and  for  many  years  was  one 
of  the  chief  attractions  of  Baltimore.  It  was  erected 
after  the  designs  of  the  elder  Robert  Carey  Long. 
The  building  contained  an  extensive  museum  of  all 
kinds  of  curiosities,  after  the  fashion  of  museums  in 
general,  very  finely  preserved  specimens  of  birds, 
beasts,  reptiles,  insects,  etc.,  and  a  valuable  collection 
of  paintings.  The  original  cost  of  the  Museum  Build- 
ing was  over  fourteen  thousand  dollars,  which  greatly 
involved  Mr.  Peale,  and  from  which  he  never  recov- 
ered. The  site  was,  moreover,  an  unfortunate  one, 
and  the  whole  venture  failed  to  yield  the  pecuniary 
results  expected  from  it.  To  relieve  himself  of  his 
difficulties,  Mr.  Peale,  on  Dec.  18,  1817,  obtained  an 
act  from  the  Legislature  appointing  James  Mosher, 
John  McKim,  Jr.,  Robert  Carey  Long,  Alexander 
Fridge,  and  Henry  Robin.son  trustees  "  to  receive 
subscriptions  of  stock  to  an  amount  not  exceeding 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  in  shares  of  one  hundred 
dollars  each,  to  be  by  them  applied  to  the  payment 
of  the  charges  and  expenses  which  have  been  or  may 
be  incurred  in  building,  furnishing,  and  improving 
the  museum  lately  erected  and  partly  furnislied  by 
Rembrandt  Peale,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore."  It  was 
a  condition  of  the  subscriptions  to  stock  that  the  same 
should  be  redeemed  by  Mr.  Peale  at  any  time  after 
the  expiration  of  eight  years,  by  paying  the  principal 
sum  due  on  each  share,  with  interest,  payable  semi- 
annually, at  the  rate  of  eight  per  cent,  per  annum  ; 
and  to  secure  the  stock  Peale  was  to  convey  the 
museum  and  fixtures  to  the  above-named  trustees. 
Mr.  Peale  accepted  the  conditions  of  the  act  because 
(as  he  afterwards  explained  to  Hon.  Charles  F.  Mayer 
in  a  letter  dated  Oct.  12,  1830)  "  money  was  not  other- 
wise to  be  obtained,"  and  he  was  "  not  without  hopes 
that  the  receipts  and  profits  of  the  institution  would 
enable  him  within  eight  years  to  buy  in  all  the  stock." 
"The  times,"  he  continues, 

"became  unfortunate  in  Baltimore,  and  I  suffered  in  the  Reneral  ca- 
lamity. My  difficulties  were  greatly  aggravated  by  the  miafurtiines  of 
my  connection  with  the  gu8  company.  The  idea  of  such  an  euterprisc 
originated  with  me,  and  I  wiis  entitled  to  some  of  the  advantages  that 
might  be  derived  from  it,  and  would  have  enjoyed  them  largely  had  my 
plans,  in  co-operation  with  Mr.  William  Gwynn,  been  carried  into  effect, 
but  unfortunately  the  evils  tliat  fell  upon  the  company  arose  almost  en- 
tirely out  of  misconception  of"  two  of  the  directors  "  with  whom  I  was 
associated  as  a  committee,  and  who  uniformly  overruled  and  thwarted 
my  designs,  and  then  censured  mo  for  the  errors  which  they  had  com- 
mitted.   The  museum  consequently  sutfered  by  the  want  of  my  time  and 


att«nt)on  and  the  labors  of  J.  Griffiths,  which  were  for  a  long  time  de- 
voted to  laborioue  though  unavailing  efforts  to  remedy  the  evils  result- 
ing from  my  coadjutors  insisting  on  a  bad  site,  resisting  my  desires  to 
make  contracts  with  workmen,  etc.  But,  what  waa  worst  of  all  to  me, 
the  unjust  and  severe  conduct  of  those  gentlemen  had  an  effect  on  my 
nerves  and  mind  most  injurious  to  my  family,  and  nearly  destnictive  to 
my  life.  .  .  .  The  museum  was  sacrificed,  my  fondest  purposes  blasted. 
1  gave  up  all  that  I  could.  .  ,  .  But  for  the  evils  thus  brought  upon  mo 
by  the  gas  business  I  should  have  been  able  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the 
museum,  in  spite  of  all  other  difficulties.  .  .  .  My  brother  Rubens  hav- 
ing bought  the  museum  of  me  as  it  stood,  on  the  Ist  of  May,  1822,  agreed 
to  assume  all  my  personal  responsibilities  in  Baltimore,  as  they  were 
stat«d  to  him  by  Mr.  Robinson  and  me.  His  situation  was  not  liberally 
considered  by  all  tho  parties  with  whom  he  was  involved,  and  he  wa» 
forced  to  withdraw  himself  from  Baltimore,  where  his  zeal  and  elTortB 
would  have  beeu  so  honorable  to  the  city.  Reluctant  compromises  have 
held  him  in  part,  but  it  is  manifest  that  it  should  have  been  made  liia 
interest  to  concentrate  in  Baltimore  the  labore  which  ho  has  divided  l{e- 
twcen  that  city  and  New  York.  It  is  not  to  the  credit  of  Baltimore  that 
the  liberal  views  and  purposes  of  science  should  be  sacrificed  by  the 
sordid  calculations  of  short-sighted  commercial  avarice." 

Peale's  Museum,  on  Holliday  Street,  «'as  opened  in 
the  summerof  1814,  the  music  being  supplied  by  "an 
excellent  six-octave  piano,  made  by  Mr.  Stcwar*,  of 
Baltimore."  In  a  short  time  the  skeleton  of  the 
mammoth  which  was  dug  up  by  Mr.  Peale  in  1801 
out  of  a  marl-pit  in  Ulster  County,  N.  Y.,  was  re- 
moved to  Baltimore  and  placed  on  exhibition  in  the 
museum.  0"  June  11,  1816,  "carburetted  hydrogen 
gas"  was  exhibited  for  the  first  time  at  this  establish- 
ment, and  it  was  announced  that  "  at  the  commence- 
ment of  next  season  a  chandelier  of  fifty  burners, 
executed  by  Mr.  Bonis,"  would  be  placed  in  the 
quadruped-room  as  one  of  the  attractions.  This  was 
the  first  building  in  the  city  lighted  by  gas,  and  was 
Mr.  Peale's  individual  enterprise.  The  gas  was  made 
in  the  building,  and  attracted  considerable  attention 
from  the  citizens.  The  experiment  suggested  the 
idea  of  lighting  the  city  by  the  same  means,  and  a 
company  was  organized  by  Rembrandt  Peale,  in 
which  he  became  a  very  large  stockholder.  In  the 
fall  of  1822  and  1823  exhibitions  of  paintings,  minia- 
ture drawings,  and  engravings  were  given  by  the 
citizens  at  the  Museum,  which  did  much  to  encourage 
art  and  elevate  public  taste,  and  in  May,  1823,  Mr. 
Charles  Wilson  Peale,  then  in  his  eighty-third  year, 
delivered  in  Baltimore  two  or  three  lectures  upon  art 
and  natural  history. 

The  Old  Museum  continued  on  Holliday  Street 
until  January,  1830,  when  the  edifice  was  sold  at  auc- 
tion and  purchased  for  a  city  hall,  and  the  collection 
was  removed  to  more  commodious  quarters  on  the 
{  northwest  corner  of  Calvert  and  Baltimore  Streets. 
The  new  site  of  the  Museum  had  been  previously  oc- 
1  cupied  by  three  frame  stores  and  dwellings,  which 
'  were    sold    at   public   auction    in    September,   1828, 
!  and  purchased  by  John  Clark,  a  prominent  lottery 
;  broker,  for  the  sum  of  twenty-seven  thousand  two 
hundred   dollars.     Mr.   Clark   soon   afterwards   tore 
down  the  old  buildings  and  erected  a  new  building, 
which  was  considered  at  the  time  quite  a  marvel  of 
j  architecture.    In  December,  1829,  he  rented  the  upper 
stories  for  a  museum  to  the  Pcales,  and  they  reopened 


AMUSEMENTS. 


in  the  new  building  on  Jan.  1,  1830.  The  following 
were  the  prices  of  admission :  Tickets  for  a  family,  ten 
dollars  per  year;  for  a  gentleman  and  lady,  five  dol- 
lars per  year;  single  admission,  twenty-five  cents; 
children,  half-price.  The  collection  at  this  time  was 
very  extensive,  and  contained  many  paintings  of  more 
than  ordinary  merit,  many  of  them  full-length  por- 
traits of  celebrated  characters.  Among  these  were  a 
very  large  number  of  theatrical  worthies,  male  and 
female,  including  many  of  the  most  famous  actors 
and  actresses  of  the  English  stage.  Nearly  the  whole 
collection  was  destroyed  by  fire  early  in  1833,  very  few 
articles  being  saved  from  the  flames,  but  the  Museum 
was  immediately  rebuilt,  and  reopened  on  the  4th 
of  July  of  the  same  year.  As  an  investment  the  en- 
terprise did  not  prove  a  success,  and  passed  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  Peale  family  into  the  control  of  the 
stockholders,  who  in  1833  made  J.  E.  Walker  man- 
ager. In  the  financial  storm  which  swept  over  the 
country  in  1842  Mr:  Clark  failed,  and  the  building 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  United  States  General 
Insurance  Company,  which  also  failed,  in  company 
with  many  other  institutions.  The  afl'airs  of  the  com- 
pany were  wound  up  by  the  late  Judge  John  Glenn, 
who  bought  up  most  of  tlie  stock,  jointly  lor  himself 
and  Josiah  Lee,  banker.  After  the  death  of  these 
two  gentL'men  the  interest  of  Mr.  Lee  was  bought, 
about  1854,  by  W.  W.  Glenn,  and  he  afterwards  pur- 
chased the  interest  of  his  father,  making  the  cost  of 
the  property  about  eighty  thousand  dollars  in  fee. 

In  1844,  Edmund  Peale  assumed  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Museum,  and  meeting  with  more  suc- 
cess than  his  predecessors,  was  enabled  iu  a  short 
time  to  purchase  part  of  the  stock ;  and  iu  pursuance 
of  a  decree  of  the  Baltimore  County  Court,  on  Jan. 
25,  1845,  all  the  curiosities,  pictures,  etc.,  comprising 
the  objects  of  exhibition  in  the  Museum,  were  sold  to 
Mr.  Peale  for  one  hundred  dollars,  subject  to  back- 
rents  amounting  to  four  thousand  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars.  He  arranged  in  the  upper  story  of  the 
building  a  small  theatre  for  theatrical  and  other  per- 
formances, which  became  very  popular,  though  not 
greatly  profitable,  as  the  capacity  of  the  "saloon,"  as 
it  was  then  called,  was  quite  small,  seating  not  more 
than  five  hundred  persons.  In  1845,  P.  T.  Barnum, 
the  great  showman,  through  the  agency  of  Fordyce 
Hitchcock,  purchased  the  Museum  from  Mr.  Peale, 
and  placed  it  under  the  management  of  his  uncle, 
Alonzo  Taylor.  Mr.  Taylor  only  lived  six  months 
afterwards,  when  it  was  put  in  charge  of  Charles  S. 
Getz,  the  eminent  scenic  painter,  who  painted  his 
first  scene  for  this  building,  and  who  conducted  it 
until  it  was  purchased  by  Albert  N.  Hann,  in  behalf 
of  the  "Orphean  Family,"  a  musical  troupe,  which 
during  their  management  produced  a  number  of  Eng- 
lish operas.  Josh  Silsbee,  the  "  Yankee  comedian," 
formed  a  partnership  with  Hann  in  the  spring,  of 
1847,  and  the  place  was  remodeled,  the  third  story 
being  removed  to  admit  three  tiers  of  boxes  and  a 


neat  parquet,  giving  the  saloon  a  much  greater  ca- 
pacity, enabling  the  management  then  to  engage  a 
larger  number  of  actors  and  to  produce  a  better  class 
of  entertainments.  In  1849,  Silsbee  was  induced  to 
start  a  similar  place  in  Philadelphia,  when  he  sold 
his  interest  to  John  E.  Owens,  who  before  this  had 
played  at  the  Museum  for  fifteen  dollars  per  week. 
The. firm  then  was  Hann  &  Owens,  but  in  1850  Mr. 
Owens  became  the  sole   proprietor.     In   December, 

1851,  he  sold  his  interest  to  Henry  C.  Jarrett,  now 
one  of  the  most  successful  theatrical  managers  in  the 
country.  This  was,  however,  his  first  essay  at  the- 
atrical management.     About  the  1st  of  September, 

1852,  the  Museum  was  opened  for  the  season,  under 
the  management  of  Mr.  Owens,  and  on  Jan.  3,  1853, 
he  took  his  "farewell  benefit."  In  August  it  was  again 
reopened,  under  the  management  of  Messrs.  Jarrett 
and  Walter  M.  Leman.  In  1856,  Mr.  Jarrett  .sold  out 
to  George  W.  Zeigler,  who  ran  it  for  a  season,  and 
then,  in  January,  1857,  disposed  of  his  interest  to 
Henry  Bateman,  formerly  of  Baltimore,  but  then  a 
theatrical  manager  in  St.  Louis.  Mr.  Bateman  com- 
pletely renovated  the  establishment,  but  it  was  not  a 
pecuniary  success,  and  it  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Robert  Spring.  He  continued  it  for  a  brief  period, 
but  by  this  time  the  museum  had  become  a  wreck, 
and  he  soon  afterwards  sold  it  to  pharles  S.  Getz, 
who  distributed  the  works  of  art  and  the  curiosities 
that  were  left  among  different  institutions  throughout 
the  country.  In  September,  1861,  the  Museum  Build- 
ing passed  into  the  hands  of  George  Kunkle,  who 
renovated  the  property,  and  called  it  "  Kunkle's  Ethi- 
opian Opera-House."  But  its  fortunes  gradually  de- 
clined, and  it  eventually  became  a  disreputable  place, 
with  its  brazen,  painted  women  and  wine-room.  On 
May  9, 1866,  a  shooting  affray  took  place  in  the  saloon, 
then  known  as  the  "  New  American  Theatre,"  and  a 
young  man  was  killed.  Early  on  the  morning  of 
Dec.  12,  1873,  the  Museum  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and 
finally,  on  Aug.  7,  1874,  the  site  was  sold  for  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  to  the  Bal- 
timore and  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  which  has  erected 
upon  it  a  magnificent  building  for  its  own  use. 

In  its  early  history  the  ^Museum  was  a  first-class  re- 
sort, and  all  the  best  actors  of  the  country  except 
Forrest  played  upon  its  stage.  It  was  the  school  of 
some  of  the  finest  actors  now  living,  notably  Jeffer- 
son, Owens,  John  S.  Clarke,  Edwin  Adams,  Mrs.  D. 
P.  Bowers,  and  Caroline  Richings,  who  were  all  mem- 
bers of  its  stock  company.  The  stars  were  T.  D. 
Rice  (familiarly  called  Daddy  Rice),  Barney  Wil- 
liams, Walcot,  Brougham,  Western,  Booth,  John 
Sefton,  Chippendale,  McBride,  Jamison,  Jas.  W.  Wal- 

I  lack,  Jas.  E.  Murdock,  J.  R.  Scott,  Charles  Webb, 
Geo.  Farren,  Edwin  Dean,  Joe  Cowell,  Charles  Burke, 
Charlotte  Cushman,  Mrs.  Farren,  Miss  Julia  Dean, 

i  Miss  Davenport,  Agnes  Robertson,  Mrs.  Sinclair,  the 
Batemans,  Miss  Nelson,  and   many  others  of  note. 

■  John  W.  Albaugh,   now  the  proprietor  of  the  Hoi- 


694 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


liday  Street  Theatre,  made  his  first  appearance  here 
Feb.  1,  1855,  as  Brutus,  under  the  management  of 
Joseph  Jefferson,  and  Mrs.  Fred.  B.  Conway  and 
A.  H.  Davenport  in  1849.  Miss  Mary  Ann  Graham 
was  connected  with  the  Musuem  in  1856,  but  on  her 
marriage  to  Clifton  W.  Tayleure,  the  distinguished 
author  and  dramatist,  she  retired  from  the  stage.  In 
1839,  Mrs.  John  Hoey  made  iier  first  appearance  in 
America  on  the  stage  of  the  Museum  (which  was 
then  under  the  management  of  De  Selden)  as  Eliza 
in  "  Nature  and  Pliilosophy,"  her  sister  Charlotte 
playing  Colin.  Charles  Boniface  was  engaged  here 
in  1849.  ITnderthe  management  of  Sefton  and  Chip- 
pendale, John  E.  Owens  was  the  comedian,  and 
Messrs.  Gallagher,  Johuston,  Ganien,  Henry,  Ma- 
chin,  Mrs.  John  llixy  (Miss  IIn-sill  .  Wilkinson, 
Watts,  Gannon,  Ludlnu  ,  Si,  ( 'l:ni ,  :im.|  M  i^srs  Fanny 

and  Emma  Juce  forinccl  tin-  >tn.|<  ( puny.     Owens, 

Barney  Williams,  Jerterson,  and  others  often  played 
in  the  stock  here  for  twelve  dollars  and  a  half  and 
fifteen  dollars  per  week.  On  the  8th  of  December, 
1845,  Owens  made  his  first  appearance  in  the  Museum 
as  a  star  in  "  Gretna  Green  and  State  Secrets"  to  a 
$70.50  house.  On  his  benefit  night,  December  13th, 
he  jilayed  to  a  $124.62  house.  James  Wallack,  Mrs. 
Wallack,  and  J.  B.  Booth  (the  elder)  played  one 
night  to  a  $32-  house.  On  the  19th  of  April,  1845, 
the  elder  Booth  played  in  "  Beauty  and  the  Beast," 
for  his  benefit,  to  a  $102  house.  Barney  Williams 
wa-s  far  from  a  success  at  the  beginning  of  his  career. 
On  the  Kith  of  December,  1845,  he  made  his  first  ap- 
pearance in  Baltimore  on  the  Museum  stage  in  the 
play  of  "  Bumpology  and  the  Irish  Tutor,"  to  a 
$46.50  house,  and  at  his  benefit  the  receipts  were  only 
$55.87.  John  Brougham  also  made  his  first  appear- 
ance in  Baltimore  on  the  Museum  stage.  He  played 
Sept.  16,  1845,  to  a  $45  house,  and  at  his  benefit  the 
receipts  were  only  .$70.  The  stars  usually  played  on 
shares  ;  if  they  had  a  bad  run,  the  proceeds  of  a  bene- 
fit generally  gave  them  money  enough  to  get  away 
from  the  city  with  their  wardrobe. 

The  Mud  Theatre. — There  formerly  stood  at  the 
northwest  coriier  of  North  and  Saratoga  Streets  a 
small  building,  whose  proper  title  was  the  Adelphi 
Theatre,  but  which  was  commonly  known  as  the 
"  Mud  Theatre,"  from  the  fact  of  its  being  located  in 
alow  muddy  part  of  the  city  known  as  the  "Meadows." 
It  wa.s  destroyed  by  fire  on  the  22d  of  June,  1876. 
The  lot  has  since  been  used  as  a  coal-yard,  and  the 
blackened  walls  are  all  that  is  left  of  the  Adelphi 
Theatre.  The  theatre  was  erected  by  John  Findley 
(assisted  by  his  brothers,  Hugh  and  William),  who 
owned  tlie  site,  and  who  thought  he  saw  a  fortune  in 
the  enterprise.  It  was  a  neat  little  structure,  though 
not  so  elaborately  ornamented  as  some  of  the  dramatic 
establishments  of  the  present  day,  and  seated  about 
eight  hundred  people.  It  was  opened  for  the  first 
time  on  Dec.  9,  1822,  with  a  crowded  house.  The 
])erformancc  began  with   a  patriotic   overture,  com- 


posed and  arranged  by  Mr.  Clifton,  and  rendered  by 
a  fine  orchestra  under  the  direction  of  J.  Nenninger. 
An  address,  written  for  the  occasion,  was  then  de- 
livered by  H.  A.  Williams,  followed  by  the  comedy  of 
"  The  Soldier's  Daughter,"  and  the  comic  opera  of 
the  "Poor  Soldier."  In  1842  it  was  known  as  the 
"  National  Theatre,"  and  vaudeville,  comedies,  and 
other  performances  of  the  same  character  were  given 
there.  Findley  finding  his  investment  unprofitable, 
subsequently  turned  part  of  the  property  into  a  bath- 
house and  reading-room,  which  he  called  the  "Colon- 
nade." Afterwards  it  became  a  kind  of  bazaar,  and  was 
finally  metamorphosed  into  a  stable  and  horse  mart, 
and  was  used  for  this  purpose  when  destroyed  by  fire. 
Lenno.x  &  Singer,  both  actors,  were  at  one  time  the 
lessees  of  the  Adelphi,  the  latter  of  whom  subse- 
quently acquired  fame  and  fortune  through  his  sew- 
ing-machines. Among  the  celebrities  who  at  various 
times  trod  the  boards  of  the  Mud  Theatre  w-ere  the 
elder  Booth,  Hackett,  Macready,  Farmer,  John  R. 
Scott,  A.  A.  Adams,  James  E.  Murdock,  Eaton,  and 
Edmund  Kean.  Madame  Celeste,  the  popular  dan- 
seuse,  also  illustrated  the  wonderful  grace  and  poetry 
of  motion  there,  and  Hervio  Neno,  the  man-monkey, 
there  astonished  the  theatre-goers  of  his  day.  George 
Jordan,  William  Jordan,  S.  K.  Chester,  and  John  W. 
Albaugh  prepared  themselves  for  the  dramatic  pro- 
fession within  its  walls,  and  there,  too,  Hon.  Joshua 
!  Vansant,  Col.  George  P.  Kane,  and  others  who  after- 
wards won  laurels  on  another  stage  wore  the  "  bus- 
1  kin"  or  the  "  sock,"  and,  according  to  high  dramatic 
j  authority,  wore  them  well.  It  was  here,  too,  that  the 
Anderson  riot  of  1833  occurred,  which  was  occasioned 
i  by  the  indiscreet  utterances  of  Anderson,  who  was 
■  an  English  actor,  with  reference  to  the  "  blarsted 
Yankees." 

Roman  Amphitheatre.— This  establishment,  which 
formerly  occupied  the  site  of  the  present  Northern 
Central  Railroad  Depot,  at  the  northeast  corner  of 
Franklin  and  Calvert  Streets,  was  built  by  Messrs. 
Sands,  Lent  &  Co.,  circus  managers,  after  a  design  of 
R.  Carey  Long.     It  was  constructed  of  brick,  in  the 
I  form  of  a  circle  one  hundred  feet  in   diameter,  the 
I  ring  being  fifty  feet  in  diameter.     The  roof  was  sup- 
'  ported  by  sixteep  pillars,  and  handsomely  decorated 
I  with  paintings  of  the  ancient  Olympic  games.     The 
I  fronts  of  the  bo.xes  were  beautifully  ornamented,  and 
handsomely-decorated  arches  sprung  from  pillar  to 
1  pillar  around  the  interior  of  the  circle.     In  the  rear 
j  of  the  building  stables  were  erected  for  the  accommo- 
;  dation  of  eighty  horses.     It  was  opened  Oct.  26,  1846, 
I  by  the  magnificent  equestrian  troupe  of  Messrs.  Sands, 
Lent  &  Co.    Though  capable  of  holding  five  thousand 
persons  comfortably,  it  was  full  from  pit  to  dome  on 
the  opening  night,  and  many  were  unable  to  obtain 
!  entrance.     It  was  burned  down  about  1847,  and  the 
:  site  purchased   in  June,  1848,  from    the   Baltimore 
Water  Company  by  the  Susquehanna  Railroad  Com- 
pany and  the  present  ilc|)ot  erected. 


AMUSEiMENTS. 


Howard  Athenseum.— On  the  9th  of  April,  1848, 
Joseph  K.  Randall  leased  the  upper  floors  of  the 
building  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Baltimore  and 
Charles  Streets,  then  owned  by  W.  W.  McClellan, 
and  remodeled  them  for  the  purposes  of  a  theatre, 
whiili  he  called  the  "  Howard  Athenaeum  and  Gal- 
lery of  Arts."  The  saloon  was  handsomely  fitted  up 
by  Messrs.  A.  &  J.  Gifford  with  two  tiers  of  boxes 
and  a  parquet,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  from  eight 
hundred  to  one  thousand  persons.  It  was  opened  on 
June  12th  of  the  same  year,  under  the  management 
of  Charles  Howard,  with  Sandy  Jamison  as  director 
of  music  ;  J.  Spencer,  stage  carpenter;  and  John  H. 
Hewitt,  treasurer.  The  performance  began  with  an 
opening  address,  delivered  by  Mrs.  Howard,  followed 
by  the  "  Rivals,"  a  dance  by  Miss  Albertine,  and  a 
farce  called  the  "  Two  Queens."  The  prices  of  ad- 
mission were  :  "  General  admission,  twenty-five  cents ; 
reserved  seats,  twelve  and  a  half  cents  extra;  private 
boxes,  two  dollars;  children  over  ten  years,  full 
price;  gentlemen  unaccompanied  by  ladies,  twelve 
and  a  half  cents  extra;  and  ladies  unaccompanied  by 
gentlemen  not  admitted.  Colored  persons  also  not 
admitted."  In  1849,  Mr.  Edmund  Peale  became  the 
proprietor  of  the  Athenseum,  and  opened  it  on  March 
12th  with  an  attractive  variety  of  panoramic  views. 
In  1853,  John  E.  Owens  assumed  charge  of  the  thea- 
tre, opening  on  the  25th  of  April,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Barney  Williams.  On  the  5th  of  May  the  property 
was  leased  to  George  Joseph  Arnold,  formerly  con- 
nected with  the  Museum,  for  a  term  of  ten  years.  He 
improved  and  greatly  enlarged  the  saloon  at  an  ex- 
pense of  over  twelve  thousand  dollars,  and  called  it 
"  Arnold's  Olympic  Theatre."  At  this  time  the  build- 
ing had  a  front  on  Baltimore  Street  of  fifty  feet,  ex- 
tending on  Charles  Street  seventy-two  feet,  and  the 
height  from  parquet  to  dome  was  forty-three  feet. 
The  stage  was  fifty  feet  wide  by  twenty-six  feet  deep, 
with  a  comfortable  green-room  and  dressing-room. 
The  stage  manager  was  Charles  Burke.  On  Septem- 
ber 12th  the  Olympic  was  opened  with  an  overflow- 
ing house.  On  the  rising  of  the  curtain,  an  appropri- 
ate opening  address,  written  by  J.  B.  Phillips,  of  New 
York,  was  delivered  by  Mr.  Arnold.  "  The  Poor 
Gentleman"  was  then  played  with  a  strong  cast,  fol- 
lowed by  the  farce  of  "  The  Young  Widow."  Arnold 
very  soon  transferred  his  interest  to  "  The  Kemble 
Company  of  Baltimore,"  composed  of  Wm.  Key 
Howard,  Wm.  R.  Travers,  George  P.  Kane,  Wm. 
Sperry,  and  others,  who  had  originally  furnished 
him  with  the  means  to  improve  it,  and  on  Christmas 
Eve  the  Olympic  was  reopened  by  Laura  Keene  and 
the  finest  company  that  had  ever  appeared  in  Balti- 
more. The  new  company  held  the  boards  until  the 
close  of  the  season,  drawing  the  most  fashionable 
audiences.  Early  in  the  winter  of  1854,  John  E. 
Owens  again  assumed  the  management,  and  contin- 
ued to  manage  the  theatre  until  June  10,  1855.  On 
the  1st  of  July  following  Joseph  Jefl'erson  and  John 


Sleeper  Clarke  rented  the  establishment,  and  under 
their  management  it  was  again  completely  renovated 
and  much  improved.  It  was  soon  after  reopened  by 
Joseph  M.  Dawson,  who  failed  to  make  it  a  financial 
success.  Finally,  in  September,  1856,  Mr.  McClellan 
altered  the  saloon  into  warerooms  and  offices.  The 
property  having  passed  out  of  his  hands  into  that  of 
H.  V.  Ward,  of  Boston,  it  was  found  necessary,  early 
in  1880,  to  tear  down  the  building,  which  had  become 
dangerous  through  age,  and  upon  its  site  a  magnificent 
property  has  been  erected  in  its  place.  It. was  in  this 
theatre  that  John  Wilkes  Booth,  who  assassinated 
President  Lincoln,  made  his  dihCd  as  Richmond  in 
"  Richard  III.,"  and  here,  too,  John  S.  Clarke,  wlio 
was  born  in  Baltimore  in  1833,  made  his  first  appear- 
ance as  a  member  of  the  Thespian  Association,  of 
which  Edwin  Booth  was  also  a  member.  Maggie 
Mitchell  appeared  as  a  child  at  this  theatre  on  April 
9,  184S,  niid  it  was  here  that  Edwin  Adams  made  his 
first  great  hit. 

Concordia  Opera-House.— This  building  is  situ- 
ated on  the  southwest  corner  of  Eutaw  and  German 
Streets,  and  was  erected  by  the  Concordia  German 
Association.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  on  the  5th  of 
September,  1864,  by  G.  W.  Noedel,  president  of  the 
association,  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  Upon  the 
occasion  Dr.  Wunder  read  a  poem,  and  Mr.  Facius 
delivered  an  address.  The  German  Mannerchor 
Singing  Association  were  also  present,  and  rendered 
several  pieces  of  music.  On  Sept.  10,  1865,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Concordia  Association  convened  for  the 
first  time  in  their  new  building,  which  was  formally 
opened  by  an  inaugural  address  from  Mr.  Noedel,  and 
by  festivities  which  were  continued  one  week.  The 
building  cost  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
dollars.  Early  in  February,  1868,  Charles  Dickens, 
the  distinguished  English  novelist,  gave  a  course  of 
readings  in  the  saloon  of  this  building,  which  were 
largely  attended. 

Monumental  Theatre.— The  site  of  this  theatre 
at  an  early  period  was  occupied  by  an  ancient-look- 
ing building,  known  as  "Hart's  Tavern,"  in  its  day 
a  great  resort  for  persons  residing  on  Patapsco  Neck. 
The  property  occupied  the  block  bounded  by  Balti- 
more, Plowman,  and  Front  Streets  and  the  east  side 
of  Jones'  Falls.  In  1836-37  the  property  was  se- 
cured by  William  C.  Harris,  who  immediately  began 
the  erection  of  a  building  formerly  known  as  Wash- 
ington Hall.  William  Minifie  was  the  architect 
and  builder.  When  the  building  was  completed  Mr. 
Harris  was  so  deeply  involved  in  financial  difficulties 
that  the  property  was  sold  to  Hugh  Gelston  at  a 
forced  sale  for  about  twenty  thousand  dollars.    Wash- 

I  ington  Hall  was  opened  for  the  first  time  in  the  early 
spring  of  1837  with  a  military  ball.     The  first  fair 

i  ever  held  in  Baltimore  for  the  exhibition  and  en- 
couragement of  the  mechanic  arts  was  commenced 
in  the  saloon  of  this  building  on  May  18,  1848.  In 
the  same  year  it  was  finely  fitted  up  by  Messrs.  G.  J. 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Adams  and  J.  H.  Robinson  as  a  theatrical  saloon, 
under  the  name  of  the  Olympic  Theatre,  and  was 
opened  on  the  21st  of  August.  It  was  used  for  vari- 
ous purj)oscs  until  it  was  leased  during  the  late  civil 
war  by  the  Kernan  Brothers,  who  opened  it  as  the 
Baltimore  Opera-House  with  variety  performances. 
About  half-past  one  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Oct. 
13,  1874,  a  (ire  broke  out  at  No.  3  East  Baltimore 
Street,  which  soon  consumed  the  Opera-House,  and 
destroyed  the  buildings  within  the  entire  block 
bounded  by  the  Falls,  Baltimore,  Front,  and  Plow- 
man Streets.  The  Opera-House  was  -soon  afterwards 
rebuilt  by  the  Kernan  Brothers,  and  opened  on  Aug. 
16,  1875,  as  the  "  New  Central  Theatre."  The  audi- 
torium was  formerly  on  the  second  floor,  but  since  the 
completion  of  the  new  building  the  interior  arrange- 
ments have  been  altered  and  the  auditorium  placed 
on  the  first  floor,  and  the  name  changed  to  the  Monu- 
mental Theatre.  The  theatre  is  of  the  vaudeville 
variety  character;  it  has  a  front  of  sixty-five  feet  on 
Baltimore  Street,  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
feet,  and  is  of  brick  with  Mansard  roof. 

Ford's  Grand  Opera-House.— This  elegant  and 
substantial  structure  was  erected  by  the  well-known 
dramatic  manager,  John  T.  Ford,  and  formally  opened 
to  the  public  Oct.  2,  1871.  It  was  constructed  under 
the  supervision  of  James  J.  GifFord,  who  was  also  the 
architect.  It  is  situated  on  the  north  side  of  Fay- 
ette Street,  east  of  Eutaw,  and  is  readily  acce.ssible 
from  all  sections  of  the  city  by  the  street  railway 
cars.  The  Fayette  Street  front  is  of  pressed  brick 
painted  white,  three  stories  high,  with  five  wide  doors 
leading  through  spacious  vestibules  and  by  broad 
stairways  to  the  various  parts  of  the  house.  The 
stage  entrance  is  from  Marion  Street  in  the  rear,  the 
building  having  eighty-si.\  feet  front  by  one  hundred 
and  fifty-si.\  feet  depth,  and  running  from  street  to 
street.  The  whole  structure  has  a  solid  and  at  the 
same  time  elegant  appearance.  The  building  is  richly 
and  tastefully  furnished,  and  is  provided  with  all  the 
elegant  conveniences  of  the  most  finished  theatres  in 
the  country.  The  immense  stage  and  box-oflSce  are 
connected  by  telegraph,  electricity  is  employed  to  light 
the  gas  and  to  run  the  clocks,  and  the  arrangements 
for  ventilation  and  light  are  e.xcellent.  For  the  open- 
ing Mr.  Ford  had  selected  Shakspeare's  comedy,  "  As 
You  Like  It,"  but  as  the  house  was  not  completed  in 
time  for  the  advertised  programme,  an  impromptu 
gratuitous  entertainment  was  given  to  the  immense 
audience  present.  The  programme  consisted  of  the 
opening  address,  written  by  Dr.  C.  O.  Bombaugh, 
and  read  by  Harry  C.  Murdock  ;  selections  of  music 
by  the  orchestra  ;  a  recitation  of  the  "  Seven  Ages  of 
Man"  by  James  W.  Wallack  ;  a  comic  declamation 
by  Mr.  Murdock  ;  and  vocal  selections  by  Mrs.  Caro- 
line Richings  Bernard.  No  tickets  were  taken  up  at 
the  door  for  this  performance,  but  those  previously 
issued  were  good  for  the  following  evening,  when  the 
published  programme,  "  As  You  Like  It,"  was  given. 


John  Thompson  Ford,  after  whom  the  Opera-Hou.-^< 
was  named,  was  born  in  Baltimore,  April  KJ,  18'2'.K 
His  father,  Elias  Ford,  was  a  farmer  of  Baltimore 
County,  and  an  active  and  prominent  member  of  tin 
fraternity  of  Odd-Fellows  for  over  fifty  years.  Mr. 
Ford's  education  was  principally  received  in  tin 
public  schools  of  Baltimore.  Before  the  twentieth 
year  of  his  age  he  entered  the  employment  of  his 
uncle,  William  Treanor,  a  well-known  tobacco  man- 
ufacturer of  Richmond,  Va.,  with  whom  he  remained 
for  a  time,  and  then  entered  into  the  book  and  peri- 
odical business,  which  he  pursued  for  about  a  year. 
■  Mr.  Ford's  managerial  career  commenced  in  his 
twenty-second  year,  as  agent  for  a  popular  company 
of  singers.  He  next  formed  a  copartnership  with 
George  Kunkle  and  Thomas  Moxley  in  leasing  the 
Richmond,  Va.,  and  the  HoUiday  Street  Theatres, 
Messrs.  Kunkle  &  Moxley  taking  charge  of  the  thea- 
tre in  Richmond,  while  Mr.  Ford  as.sumed  the  man- 
agement of  the  Holliday  in  Baltimore.  When  the 
civil  war  interrupted  communication  between  Balti- 
more and  Richmond  his  partnership  was  dissolved, 
and  Mr.  Ford  became  the  .sole  lessee  and  manager  of 
the  Holliday.  Mr.  Ford's  first  theatrical  venture  in 
Washington  was  undertaken  in  1856,  and  from  that 
time  to  this,  with  but  little  intermission,  he  has  con- 
ducted dramatic  enterprises  in  that  city.  He  has 
built  three  theatres  in  Washington, — two  in  Tenth 
Street,  and  one  at  the  corner  of  Ninth  Street  and 
Louisiana  Avenue.  His  first  theatre  in  Tenth  Street 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  on  the  site  of  that  structure 
he  built  the  house  known  as  Ford's  Theatre,  in  which 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  afterwards  assassinated.  The  place 
was  then  seized  by  the  United  States  government, 
and  an  order  issued  prohibiting  the  use  of  it  forever 
I  as  a  place  of  amusement.  In  1878  he  assumed  the 
!  management,  with  Mr.  Zimmerman  as  resident  part- 
!  ner,  of  the  Broad  Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  and 
conducted  it  with  great  success.  Mr.  Ford's  produc- 
'  tionof  "Pinafore"  was  the  earliest,  after  that  of  Mont- 
gomery Field  at  the  Boston  Museum,  in  the  country, 
and  he  was  the  first  manager  in  America  to  offer  any 
compensation  to  the  authors  of  the  piece.  He  subse- 
quently leased  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  where  the 
"  Pirates  of  Penzance"  was  produced  for  tlip  first 
time  in  the  United  States,  and  which  his  son,  Charles, 
E.  Ford,  who  has  been  educated  with  special  refer- 
ence to  his  succession  to  his  father's  dramatic  enter- 
prises, managed  for  some  months  with  great  success 
;  and  ability.  The  death  of  Ben  De  Bar  in  1877  left 
I  Mr.  Ford  the  oldest  living  manager  in  America. 

Mr.  Ford  has  served  several  terms  in  both  branches 
of  the  City  Council,  and  has  been  prominently  con- 
nected with  many  of  the  most  important  measures 
of  municipal  legislation.  As  early  as  1858  he  was 
elected  to  the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Council,  and 
chosen  president  of  that  body.  Here  he  was  the  ear- 
nest advocate  of  the  introduction  of  the  waters  of  the 
Gunpowder  River  as  a   city  supply,  and    i)rotostcd 


AMUSEMENTS. 


697 


against  the  short-sighted  policy  of  resorting  to  a 
stream  like  Jones'  Falls,  claiming  that  five  million 
dollars  could  be  saved  by  employing  the  Gunpowder. 
His  arguments  and  predictions  were  not  heeded,  and 
the  Jones'  Falls  plan  was  adopted,  Mr.  Ford  only 
voting  in  the  negative.  Time  has  abundantly  verified 
the  wisdom  and  truth  of  his  views.  Mr.  Ford  was 
also  an  original  advocate  of  a  Paid  Fire  Department, 
and  left  the  president's  chair  in  the  First  Branch  of  the 
City  Council  and  secured  the  passage  of  the  measure 
by  an  earnest  and  telling  speech.  The  police  and 
fire-alarm  telegraph,  the  erection  of  a  new  jail  and 
improved  station-houses,  the  purchase  of  Druid  Hill 
Park,  and  the  establishment  of  the  sewerage  commis- 
sion were  all  measures  that  received  the  most  earnest 
support  from  him  during  his  public  life,  and  some  of 
them  were  originated  by  him.  He  afterwards  intro- 
duced the  first  ordinances  to  pave  Baltimore  Street 
with  Belgian  blocks  (which  was  the  initial  act  for  the 
general  repaying  of  the  city),  to  remove  railings  from 
the  public  squares,  and  to  extend  their  area  to  the 
curl>-stones.  As  one  of  the  Committee  on  Public 
Schools,  he  was  the  constant  advocate  of  better  school 
buildings,  and  as  chairman  of  the  Council  Committee 
on  the  City  Extension,  was  mainly  instrumental  in  se- 
curing the  necessary  legislation  from  the  General  As- 
sembly. In  1871,  Mr.  Ford  was  elected  to  the  Second 
Branch  of  the  City  Council,  and  in  1874  was  again 
elected  to  the  First  Branch.  While  president  of  the 
First  Branch  of  the  City  Council,  Mr.  Ford  frequently 
acted  as  mayor  ex  officio,  and  sometimes  filled  the 
position  for  several  months  at  a  time  with  marked 
ability  and  to  the  general  satisfaction.  Mr.  Ford  has 
been  a  city  director  in  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road Company,  a  commissioner  of  the  McDonogh 
Fund  on  the  part  of  the  city,  has  served  as  president 
of  the  Union  Eailroad,  as  director  in  the  Boys'  Home, 
frequently  as  foreman  of  the  grand  jury,  and  director 
of  the  Maryland  Penitentiary.  Throughout  his  en- 
tire life  he  has  been  prominently  identified  with  all 
leading  public  charities,  and  for  some  years  past  has 
been  president  of  the  Free  Summer  Excursion  So- 
ciety, one  of  the  noblest  benevolent  agencies  in  the 
city.  At  the  beginning  of  every  summer  he  gives  a 
perforpiance  at  his  Grand  Opera-House  in  aid  of  this 
charity,  and  the  proceeds  have  never  failed  to  exceed 
two  thousand  dollars.  Besides  being  a  generous  and 
public-spirited  citizen,  Mr.  Ford  is  a  frequent  con- 
tributor to  the  press,  and  in  this  way  has  added  largely 
,  to  the  interests  and  prosperity  of  his  native  city.  He 
was  among  the  first  to  suggest  the  celebration  of  the 
sesqui-centennial  anniversary  of  the  settlement  of 
Baltimore,  and  was  a  leading  member  of  the  municipal 
executive  committee,  and  to  his  tireless  energy  and 
ability  much  of  that  great  success  was  due.  He  was 
also  one  of  the  leading  spirits  in  the  "  Baltimore 
Oriole  Celebration,"  which  was  also  a  grand  success. 
Mr.  Ford  married  young,  and  has  reared  a  family  of 
eleven  children. 


Academy  of  Hasic. — A  meeting  was  held  on 
March  22,  1870,  at  the  Mount  Vernon  Hotel,  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  a  company  to  erect  an  Academy 
of  Music.  Dr.  J.  Hanson  Thomas  was  called  to  the 
chair,  and  Israel  Cohen  was  appointed  secretary. 
A  charter  was  read  and  adopted,  fixing  the  stock  at 
$300,000,  and  the  shares  at  $50  each,  with  the  privi- 
lege to  every  holder  of  twenty  shares  of  a  free  seat  to 
all  dramatic  representations,  so  long  as  the  twenty 
shares  should  be  held  in  one  block.  The  following 
gentlemen  were  then  chosen  directors  :  Israel  Cohen, 
William  T.  Walters,  Thomas  H.  Morris,  S.  T.  Wallis, 
A.  Schumacker,  A.  J.  Albert,  William  F.  Frick,  W. 
P.  Smith,  Werner  Dressel,  Dr.  J.  Hanson  Thomas,  J. 
Hall  Pleasants,  and  John  Curlett.  In  October  the 
company  purchased  the  lot  occupied  by  the  armory 
of  the  Fifth  Regiment  Maryhind  National  Guard, 
on  the  west  side  of  Howard  Street,  north  of  Franklin, 
having  a  front  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  with 
a  depth  of  two  hundred  and  forty-four  feet,  three 
inches  to  a  sixteen-foot  alley.  The  contract  for  erect- 
ing the  building  was  awarded  to  Benjamin  F.  Ben- 
nett, builder,  the  architect  being  J.  Crawford  Neilson. 
The  Academy  was  formally  opened  by  a  grand  ball  on 
the  5th  of  January,  1875,  preceded  by  an  opening 
address  from  Hon.  S.  Teackle  Wallis. 

The  Academy  of  Music  is  one  of  the  finest  thea- 
tres in  America.  In  the  beauty  of  its  design,  the 
completeness  of  its  arrangements,  the  taste  and  rich- 
ness of  its  ornamentation,  and  the  elegance  of  all  its 
appointments,  it  is  in  every  respect  a  model  theatrical 
structure,  and  will  bear  comparison  with  any  other 
building  of  the  same  character  in  the  United  States. 
Its  facade  is  in  the  Romanesque  style,  and  is  one  hun- 
dred feet  high.  The  entrance  on  Howard  Street  is 
through  an  elegant  hall  paved  with  marble  tiling,  on 
each  side  of  which  are  elegant  caffe.  Over  these,  on 
the  second  floor,  is  a  concert  and  lecture-room  capable 
of  accommodating  twelve  hundred  persons,  contain- 
ing spacious  galleries,  dressing-rooms,  and  other  con- 
veniences suitable  for  large  entertainments.  The  en- 
trance to  the  concert-room  is  from  the  hall  by  two 
grand  stairways.  At  the  end  of  the  hall  and  in  the 
rear  of  the  building  is  the  grand  saloon  for  dramatic 
or  operatic  entertainments,  which  is  so  arranged  that 
the  entire  stage  is  visible  from  any  part  of  the  house. 
The  stage  is  eighty  by  seventy-five  feet,  with  a  height 
of  eighty  feet,  and  is  unsurpassed  in  its  appointments 
by  any  in  the  United  States.  The  house  is  heated 
by  steam  and  lighted  by  electricity,  with  a  magnifi- 
cent chandelier  depending  from  the  centre.  The 
Academy,  with  its  furniture  and  the  ground  upon 
which  it  is  built,  cost  over  four  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  The  establishment  having  cost  more  than 
the  amount  of  stock  subscribed  (two  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  dollars),  the  Academy  was  mortgaged 
to  a  number  of  bondholders  for  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  to  enable  the  company  to  pay  off  the 
floating  indebtedness.    In  November,  1876,  the  bonded 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


indebtedness,  with  interest,  and  the  floating  debt 
amonnted  to  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 
dollars.  The  company  failed  to  pay  the  semi-annual 
installments  of  interest  on  the  bonds,  and  a  decree  of 
foreclosure  of  mortgage  was  approved  by  the  Circuit 
Court  on  Nov.  30,  1876,  appointing  Henry  James, 
J.  Hall  Pleasants,  and  .Joseph  H.  Rieman  trustees 
to  sell  tlie  property.  On  December  14th  of  that  year 
the  Academy  and  appurtenances  were  sold  at  the  Ex- 
change at  public  auction  to  Messrs.  Samuel  G. 
Wynian,  James  A.  Gary,  and  Otho  H.  Williams 
(acting  for  the  bondholders)  for  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  thousand  dollars.  B.  F.  Bennett,  the 
builder,  who  was  a  large  stockholder,  filed  objections 
to  the  ratification  of  the  sale,  contending  that  the 
act  of  Assembly  under  which  the  bonds  were  issued 
was  unconstitutional,  as  allowing  usurious  interest 
(seven  per  cent.) ;  that  the  sale  itself  was  void,  as 
being  to  directors  of  the  company,  and  that  the  trus- 
tees were  interested  in  the  purchase.  The  objections 
were  overruled,  and  the  sale  ratified  on  June  6,  1877. 
The  property  was  assigned  to  the  three  purchasers 
on  Feb.  1,  1878.  A  new  company  was  immediately 
formed,  and  the  certificate  of  incorporation  placed 
upon  record  on  April  4th.  The  capital  stock  of  the 
new  company  is  ?200,000,  in  200  shares  of  $1000  each, 
divisible  into  thirds  of  shares  at  S333.33.  One  share 
and  a  third  of  a  share  entitles  the  holder  to  two  .seats 
at  all  operatic  and  dramatic  performances;  and  two 
shares  entitle  him  to  a  similar  ticket,  transferable; 
six  shares  entitle  the  holder  to  a  stall,  and  five  shares 
to  a  loge,  each  for  four  persons,  while  the  holder  of 
twelve  shares  may  contract  with  the  directors  for  the 
use  of  a  proscenium  box  for  eight  persons  in  lieu  of 
other  free-seat  privileges.  The  first  board  of  direc- 
tors were  Samuel  G.  Wyman,  F.  C.  Latrobe,  James 
A.  Gary,  William  F.  Lucas,  William  F.  Frick,  Sam- 
uel H.  Tagart,  Robert  Garrett,  J.  Hall  Pleasants,  and 
Joseph  H.  Rieman.  The  incorporators  other  than 
the  directors  were  Henry  E.  Johnson,  D.  C.  Howell, 
William  T.  Walters,  J.  D.  Logan,  S.  P.  Thompson, 
John  Uhrig,  T.  Harrison  Garrett,  William  Sinclair, 
Decatur  H.  Miller,  Frederick  Raine,  George  S.  Brown, 
Otho  H.  Williams,  Thomas  Wilson,  T.  Robert  Jen- 
kins, M.  B.  Sellers,  A.  J.  Albert,  and  William  M. 
Boone.  The  new  organization  having  been  effected, 
on  May  30th  Messrs.  Wyman,  Gary,  and  Williams  ex- 
ecuted a  deed  transferring  the  Academy  property  to 
the  new  stock  company.  Its  first  manager  was  T.  B. 
Furguson,  who  was  followed  by  Nicholas  Hill.  It  is 
at  present  under  the  management  of  Samuel  W.  Fort. 


CHAPTER    XL. 

THE    BENCH    AND    BAR. 

The  bar  of  Maryland,  of  which  that  of  Baltimore 
is  now  the  focus,  has  long  been  distinguished  for  its 
learning,  its  probity,  and  the  lofty  professional  stand- 


'  ard  it  has  maintained.  It  has  been  equally  renowned 
for  the  prominence  of  its  leaders,  who  have  conjoined 
in  a  marked  degree  knowledge  of  tlie  law,  familiarity 
with  the  statutes,  and  acquaintance  with  the  rules  of 

i  practice  and  pleading,  to  signal  powers  and  graces  of 

I  oratory,  no  less  than  it  dominates  the  jury,  and  makes 
the  court  wish,  like  Ulysses,  to  be  tied  to  the  mast. 
Colony  and  State,  the  Maryland  bar  can  point  to  an 
unbroken  succession  of  these  conspicuous  leaders  from 
the  earliest  periods  down  to  our  own  very  day.  Each 
gem  in  that  galaxy  is  a  bright  particular  star,  yet  so 
closely  do  they  succeed  one  another  that  there  seems 
no  interval  between.  The  Bordleys,  Dulaneys,  Jen- 
ningses,  Tilghmans,  and  Carrolls  of  the  earlier  periods 
are  followed  in  unbroken  order  by  the  Chases  and 

]  Johnsons  of  the  Revolutionary  age,  to  whom  Martin 
and  Pinkney  are  rather  younger  brothers  than  chil- 
dren. When  Wirt,  Harper,  Winder,  and  others  of 
that  "  old  school"  fell  into  the  "  sere  and  yellow  leaf 
the  mantle  was  not  dropped  before  it  was  caught  by 
the  brilliant  circle  in  the  centre  of  which  McMahon, 
Nelson,  and  Schley  shone  brightest,  nor  can  these  be 
said  to  have  left  a  vacuum  so  long  as  we  have  Wallis, 
Steele,  Frick,  Williams,  Horwitz,  Carter,  Fisher,  and 

I  their  associates. 

Severn  Teackle  Wallis,  the  pride  and  ornament — 

I  prcrsidium  et  dulce  dcrus — of  the  Baltimore  bar,  was 
born   in  Baltimore,  Sept.  8,  1816,  graduating  at  St. 

{  Mary's  College  in  1832,  studying  law  under  Wil- 
liam Wirt  and  John  Glenn,  and  coming  to  the  bar  in 
1837.  His  professional  career  of  forty-four  years  has 
been  a  singularly  brilliant  one,  while  in  society  he 
has  been  a  leader,  and  in  his  civic  relations  always  a 
moulder  of  public  opinions,  and  an  exemplar  of  good 
citizenship.  Mr.  Wallis  has  not  suffered  the  steady 
pursuit  of  his  practice  in  the  musty  associations  of 
the  bar  to  destroy  his  abiding  taste — we  should  rather 
say  love — for  literature.  He  has  always  found  time 
to  exercise  his  elegant  pen — it  has  been,  perhaps,  his 
mode  of  resting  himself  from  professional  drudgery — 
in  some  sort  of  literary  recreation,  a  poem,  an  edito- 
rial, an  address,  a  volume.  His  two  books  on  Spain, 
and  especially  the  latter  one,  are  full  of  scholarly  re- 
flection, acute  observation,  frequent  comment,  set 
forth  in  all  the  attractive  graces  of  a  style  of  rare 
elegance  and  purity.  Mr.  Wallis  has  always  been  a 
public  man  and  leader,  never  a  politician.  Once  only 
he  held  elective  office,  when,  in  1861,  he  served  as 
member  of  the  Maryland  Legislature,  that  service 
costing  him  fourteen  months'  imprisonment  in  Forts 
Mclienry,  Lafayette,  and  Warren.     He  is  provost  of 

!  the  University  of  Maryland.     Mr.  Wallis   is  leader 

j  of  the  Baltimore  bar,  not  more  from  his  distinguish'ed 
success  ius  an  advocate,  his  consummate  judgment  as 

I  a  counselor,  and  his  accurate  and  critical  knowledge 

I  of  the  law  in  all  its  bearings  than  because  of  his  lofty 
standard  of  professional  ethics,  and  the  knightly  purity 
of  his  professional  conduct  in  every  relation.    He  is  an 

'  ideal  lawyer,  the  Sir  Galahad  of  American  barristers. 


:^ 


THE   BENCH    AND   BAK. 


Tliere  is  no  more  delightful  pleasure  than  Mr. 
Wallis,  the  charm  of  his  skillful  oratory  and  ele- 
gant diction  being  sustained  throughout  by  a  brilliant 
and  versatile  fancy,  great  powers  of  wit,  irony,  and 
sarcasm,  and  all  the  resources  of  a  carefully-cultivated 
mind  brought  into  service  by  a  wonderful  memory. 
The  ornamental  parts,  however,  are  never  more  than 
buttresses  to  the  solid  building  of  his  argument.  The 
dainty  glove  protects  the  steel  gauntlet  underneath 
from  rust,  but  never  weakens  it. 

William  Frederick  Frick,  who  is  also  a  most,  dis- 
tinguished member  of  the  Baltimore  bar,  was  born  in 
this  city  on  the  21st  of  April,  1817.  He  is  the  eldest 
son  of  Judge  William  Frick,  who  was  also  born  in 
Baltimore,  on  the  2d  of  November,  1790.  The  grand- 
father of  Judge  Frick  was  one  of  a  body  of  Swiss 
Protestants,  who,  fleeing  from  religious  persecution 
in  their  native  country,  emigrated  to  America  and 
founded  in  1732  a  colony  at  Germantown,  Pa.  His 
father,  Peter  Frick,  was  born  at  the  latter  place.  He 
left  it,  however,  together  with  a  number  of  other 
early  settlers  of  Baltimore,  who  removed  from  Ger- 
mantown, and  also  from  Lancaster,  previous  to  the 
Revolution,  to  establish  their  fortunes  with  the  little 
growing  town  on  the  shores  of  the  Patapsco,  and  to 
contribute,  as  they  did  largely  by  their  industry  and 
enterprise,  to  lay  the  foundations  of  its  subsequent 
commercial  prosperity.  His  name  may  be  found  at 
an  early  day  and  in  various  ways  identified  with 
nearly  all  the  public  interests  of  the  town.  When  in 
1796  it  was  elevated  to  the  dignity  of  a  city,  he  ap- 
pears to  have  been  a  member  of  the  first  City  Council 
which  was  elected,  and  to  have  served  for  some  years 
as  the  president  of  the  First  Branch. 

In  those  days  the  men  who  bad  the  largest  interest 
in  the  city  devoted  their  time  and  services  to  the 
administration  of  municipal  affairs.  Such  names  as 
those  of  Robert  Gilmor,  Peter  Hoffman,  James  A. 
Buchanan,  Robert  Smith,  Nicholas  Rogers,  Edward 
Johnson,  and  others  of  like  prominence  in  commerce 
and  business  will  be  found  connected  with  the  dis- 
charge of  public  duties  in  the  City  Councils  and  in  all 
departments  of  official  service.  From  siich  sources 
emanated  the  wisdom  and  foresight  with  which  the 
first  foundations  of  the  commercial  importance  of 
Baltimore  were  laid. 

Judge  William  Frick  received  his  early  education 
at  a  Moravian  college  at  Nazareth,  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  emigrants  of  that  sect  were  then  among  the  most 
learned  scholars  in  the  country,  and  their  system  of 
teaching  was  thorough  and  efficient.  He  returned  to 
Baltimore  to  prosecute  his  legal  studies  in  the  office 
of  Gen.  William  H.  Winder,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1813.  He  acquired  rapidly  a  prominent  posi- 
tion in  his  profession,  and  also  in  public  aflFairs.  He 
had  become  by  early  devotion  to  books  and  writing, 
and  by  intimate  association  with  the   most   accom- 


plished men  of  the  day,  a  cultivated  scholar,  and  es- 
pecially a  very  admirable  linguist.  He  was  an  easy 
and  practiced  writer,  and  an  attractive  speaker.  In 
his  profession  he  devoted  himself  more  especially  to 
admiralty,  maritime,  and  insurance  causes,  and  con- 
tributed by  some  valuable  publications  and  transac- 
tions to  the  learning  upon  those  branches  of  the  law. 
He  was  possessed  of  a  singular  fund  of  humor  and 
graphic  powers  of  conversation,  controlled  always  by 
great  kindness  of  character ;  and  these,  conjoined  to 
an  always  active  and  conscientious  public  spirit  which 
identified  him  with  almost  every  social  and  public  en- 
terprise of  any  importance,  served  to  render  him  one 
of  the  most  trusted  and  popular  men  of  his  day.  He 
became  pron;inently  associated  with  public  men  and 
political  affairs  in  early  life.  He  took  an  active  part, 
with  Judge  Heath,  Chief  Justice  Taney,  and  other  dis- 
tinguished men  of  that  period,  in  the  organization  of 
the  Jack.son  party  in  Maryland  in  1824.  Upon  the 
death  of  Mr.  McCulloh,  collector  of  the  port  of  Bal- 
timore, in  1836,  he  was  appointed  his  successor,  and 
retained  that  position  afterwards  during  the  adminis- 
tration of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  He  subsequently  for  two 
terms  represented  the  city  of  Baltimore  in  the  State 
Senate.  On  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Archer,  in 
June,  1848,  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  P.  F. 
Thomas  chief  judge  of  the  then  Baltimore  County 
Court,  with  Judges  Legrand  and  Purviance  as  asso- 
ciate judges.  As  chief  judge  of  that  court  he  became 
a  member  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  the  State.  He 
occupied  that  position  until  the  adoption  of  the  new 
constitution  in  1861,  when  he  was  elected  by  the 
people  as  the  first  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of 
Baltimore  City.  He  held  that  position  until  his 
death,  which  took  place  July  29,  1855,  from  an  acute 
attack  of  illness  of  a  few  days'  duration  only,  at  the 
Warm  Springs,  in  Virginia. 

Judge  Frick  was  married  June  6,  1816,  to  Mary, 
daughter  of  James  Sloan,  who  survived  him  and  died 
in  1865.  He  left  living  at  his  death  eight  children. 
The  eldest,  William  F.  Frick,  born  April  21,  1817, 
received  his  early  education  at  the  old  Baltimore  Col- 
lege, still  standing  at  the  head  of  Cathedral  Street, 
under  the  tutorship  successively  of  Drs.  Girardin  and 
Williams,  two  of  the  famous  teachers  of  that  day.  He 
was  sent  at  an  early  age  to  Harvard  University,  at  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  where  he  graduated  in  1835  with  honors. 
After  four  years'  study  of  the  law,  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  May,  1839,  and  rapidly  attained  great 
success  in  his  profession.  His  education  and  culture 
fostered  in  him  a  marked  taste  for  scholarly  and  stu- 
dious pursuits.  He  devoted  much  of  his  early  profes- 
sional life  to  lectures  and  addresses  on  matters  of  sci- 
entific and  public  interest,  and  to  contributions  to  the 
periodical  literature  of  the  day.  He  was  especially 
interested  and  useful  in  the  early  organization  of  our 
public-school  system,  having  been  for  some  years 
president  of  the  School  Board,  and  contributed 
largely  by  his  writings  and  addresses  to  develop  the 


roo 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


active  and  well-directed  public  interest  in  that  system 
which  has  since  rendered  it  one  of  the  great  insti- 
tutions of  our  city.  Of  late  years  Mr.  Frick  has  de- 
voted himself  more  exclusively  to  the  demands  of  a 
large  and  engrossing  practice,  which  has  been  chiefly 
connected  with  important  commercial  and  corporation 
interests.  In  court  and  before  a  jury  Mr.  Frick  is  a 
colleague  whom  any  lawyer  might  envy,  and  an  adver- 
sary whom  all  must  fear.  The  easy  grace  and  refined 
courtesy  of  his  manners  and  address  on  all  occasions 
are  accurately  reflected  in  the  style  of  his  oratory, 
which,  with  no  lack  of  vigor,  is  chaste,  classical,  and 
toned  down  to  a  standard  of  exquisite  taste. 

On  the  10th  of  February,  1848,  he  married  Ann 
Elizabeth,  eldest  daughter  of  James  Swan,  for  a  long 
time  president  of  the  Merchants'  Bank  of  Baltimore, 
and  son  of  Gen.  John  Swan,  an  officer  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary-army in  the  Maryland  line.  He  has  three 
children,  one  son  and  two  daughters. 

One  of  the  younger  brothers  of  William  F.  Frick, 
Prof.  Charles  Frick,  whose  premature  death  on  the 
25th  of  March,  1860,  was  justly  regarded  as  a 
public  calamity,  had  reached  at  an  early  age  a  pro- 
fessional position  and  reputation  in  this  country  and 
abroad  of  so  marked  a  character  that  this  sketch 
would  be  imperfect  without  some  reference  to  his 
short  but  brilliant  career.  He  was  born  in  Balti- 
more, Aug.  8,  1823.  His  education  was  completed  at 
Baltimore"  College,  under  President  Renter,  who 
spoke  of  him  a  few  years  before  his  death  as  the 
cleverest  boy  ever  under  his  charge.  For  a  few  years 
after  leaving  college  he  pursued  the  profession  of 
engineering  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad. 
A  strong  natural  bent  towards  the  science  of  medi- 
cine, encouraged  by  intimate  intercourse  with  and 
great  admiration  for  his  uncle,  Dr.  John  Buckler, 
then  the  leading  physician  of  the  city,  induced  him 
at  tlie  age  of  twenty  to  enter  with  ardor  upon  the 
study  of  that  profession  and  its  cognate  sciences. 
His  brother-in-law,  Prof.  William  Power,  a  favorite 
pupil  in  Paris  of  the  great  Louis,  had  just  returned, 
and  introduced  for  the  first  time  in  Baltimore  the 
knowledge  and  practice  of  auscultation.  He  recog- 
nized the  singular  zeal  and  patience  of  investigation, 
the  clearness  of  intellect,  and  quickness  and  accuracy 
of  observation  which  characterized  Dr.  Frick,  and  he 
stimulated  and  aided  his  rapid  progress  into  the  front 
ranks  of  the  young  physicians  of  the  day.  In  March, 
1845,  he  took  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  and 
as  early  as  April,  1846,  three  years  only  after  the  com- 
mencement of  his  studies.  Dr.  Frick  contributed  to 
the  American  Journal  of  Medical  Sciences  reports  of 
cases  of  remittent  fever,  accompanied  by  remarks  by 
Dr.  Still6,  of  Philadelphia,  the  value  of  which  may 
be  judged  of  by  the  fact  that  it  was  extensively  quoted 
in  Bartlett's  book  on  fever  and  other  treatises  as  an 
important  contribution  to  the  knowledge  of  the  path- 
ology of  remittent  fever.  In  1847  he  organized,  with 
three  of  his  friends,  a  preparatory  school,  under  the 


name  of  the  Maryland  Medical  Institute,  in  which,  at 
the  early  age  of  twenty-four,  he  assumed  the  province 
of  a  teacher,  and  rapidly  developed  a  singular  talent 
for  that  branch  of  his  profession.  In  January,  1848, 
he  published  the  results  of  his  analyses  of  the  blood, 
into  which  investigation  he  had  been  led  by  a  great 
taste  for  animal  chemistry.  This  article  of  Dr.  Frick 
gave  him  a  place  among  the  most  distinguished  medi- 
cal writers  of  his  time,  and  in  modern  works  on 
animal  chemistry  his  investigations  are  quoted  side 
by  side  with  those  of  the  most  eminent  authorities  of 
the  world.  In  October,  1849,  he  was  elected  phy- 
sician to  the  Maryland  Penitentiary.  Having  mean- 
while pursued  with  patient  labor  and  intelligent 
investigation  the  subject  of  urinary  pathology,  he 
published  in  1850  his  volume  of  "  Renal  Diseases." 
Of  this  work  a  distinguished  professor  said  in  1879, 
years  after  its  publication,  that  it  still  stood  as  a  val- 
uable contribution  to  a  branch  of  pathology  previ- 
ously but  little  understood.  This  work  was  followed 
by  various  contributions  from  time  to  time  to  the 
medical  journals  of  the  day,  all  of  them  exhibiting 
novel  and  original  investigation  of  a  most  valuable 
character. 

On  the  establishment  in  1856  of  the  Maryland  Col- 
lege of  Pharmacy,  Dr.  Frick  was  selected  to  fill  the 
chair  of  Materia  Medica,  and  in  that  institution  his 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  subject,  and  his  peculiarly 
apt  and  impressive  mode  of  imparting  information, 
soon  established  his  reputation  as  a  lecturer.  In  the 
summer  of  1857  he  made  a  short  visit  to  Europe  with 
his  brother,  William  F.  Frick,  visiting  with  interest 
and  profit  the  hospitals  of  Paris  and  London.  At 
this  time  he  was  only  thirty-four  years  of  age,  and 
the  professor  of  a  Maryland  college  in  the  city  of  Bal- 
timore ;  yet  he  was  received  by  the  great  pathologists, 
and  it  was  a  matter  of  just  pride  to  him  to  know  that 
he  was  indebted  for  this  reception  to  their  familiarity 
with  his  scientific  papers,  and  to  their  high  apprecia- 
tion of  them.  His  name  was  now  mentioned  in  other 
schools  of  medicine  in  this  country,  but  he  would 
not  consent  to  accept  a  professorship  elsewhere,  and 
finally,  when  in  1858  a  vacancy  occurred  in  the  chair 
in  the  University  of  Maryland,  "all  eyes,"  to  use  the 
expression  of  a  friend,  "  were  turned  to  Dr.  Frick  as 
the  man  above  all  others  in  the  medical  profession 
whose  entire  fitness  for  the  place  was  pre-eminent 
and  undeniable."  By  his  professional  brethren  at 
this  period  he  was  regarded  not  only  as  occupying 
an  eminent  position  in  science,  but  as  destined  to  be 
•a  prominent  practitioner ;  for  with  all  his  high  scien- 
tific attainments,  his  investigations  had  a  direct  bear- 
ing upon  practical  medicine.  He  was  looked  upon 
with  reverence  by  men  of  his  own  date,  and  over  the 
younger  he  had  unbounded  influence.  But  Dr.  Frick 
had  not  only  the  qualities  which  inspired  admiration 
for  his  intellect,  but  something  even  higher  than 
these  in  traits  of  the  heart  that  endeared  him  to  all. 
He  had  the  fiieulty  of  making  every  one  he  wa.s  known 


^Svz^-,x?-di-<_  cys^-^^-r-i^ 


^& 


THE   BENCH    AND   BAR. 


with,  in  and  out  of  his  profession,  his  friend.  It  was 
his  uniform  kindness  and  affection  towards  others 
which  inspired  in  them  a  reciprocal  feeling.  Even  the 
convicts  of  the  penitentiary  were  notoriously  softened 
by  his  intercourse  with  them  as  their  physician.  He 
had  the  rare  combination  of  the  strong  muscular 
points  of  courage,  self-possession,  firmness,  and  de- 
cision, united  to  those  gentler  ones  of  kindness  and 
unselfishness  which  we  look  for  in  the  other  sex,  but 
which  when  found  in  the  manly  character  render  it 
so  attractive.  At  a  time  when  he  was  thus  prepared 
by  great  acquirements  and  reputation,  and  by  the 
affectionate  and  admiring  regard  of  the  community 
in  which  he  lived,  to  enter  upon  a  life  of  distinction 
for  himself  and  usefulness  to  others  he  was  suddenly 
snatched  from  life.  In  performing  at  the  infirmary 
the  operation  of  tracheotomy  upon  a  poor  negro 
woman  who  was  sinking  from  epidemic  diphtheria, 
he  contracted  that  disease  in  a  malignant  form.  Per- 
fectly aware  of  his  impending  death,  and  that  the 
same  operation  would  do  no  more  than  afford  him 
temporary  relief  from  his  sufferings,  he  requested, 
by  signs,  its  performance  by  his  friend,  Dr.  George 
W.  Miltenberger.  "  Never,"  said  Dr.  John  Buckler, 
"  never  shall  I  forget  the  manner  in  which  he  arose 
from  his  bed,  not  able  to  speak,  and  seated  himself  in 
the  chair,  directed  how  the  light  should  be  placed  so 
as  to  cast  no  shadow  on  the  hand  of  the  operator, 
handed  the  instrument,  and  placing  his  finger  on  the 
sjiot,  threw  back  his  head  for  the  knife  with  a  courage 
perfectly  heroic." 

The  news  of  his  death  spread  a  gloom  through  the 
city.  The  daily  papers  and  a  general  meeting  of  the 
medical  profession,  called  for  the  first  time  for  many 
years  for  such  a  purpose,  gave  expression  to  the  uni- 
versal sorrow  and  sense  of  the  great  loss  which  the 
science  of  medicine  had  sustained. 

As  late  as  nineteen  years  after  his  death  an  address 
upon  his  life  and  writings  was  delivered  by  his  cher- 
ished friend,  Prof.  Frank  Donaldson,  before  the  asso- 
ciation of  the  alumni  of  the  university  in  which  he 
was  a  professor.  From  this  glowing  tribute  to  his 
eminence  as  a  scientist  and  his  virtues  as  a  man  this 
sketch  is  briefly  made  up.  In  it  Prof.  Donaldson 
says,  "  He  was  the  pride  of  his  friends  and  the  orna- 
ment of  his  profession.  He  has  left  his  mark  and 
impress  upon  his  generation.  Young  as  he  was  in 
years,  he  was  eminent  in  science,  skillful  in  his  arts, 
high  in  the  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him,  and  his 
memory  is  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  many  who  loved 
hira." 

Dr.  Frick  married,  in  October,  1853,  Achsah,  the 
eldest  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  B.  Sargent,  D.D., 
of  Baltimore,  an  eminent  Methodist  clergyman.  He 
left  only  one  child,  a  daughter,  now  married  to  Thomas 
Hillen,  a  merchant  of  this  city. 

Orville  Horwitz  is  another  scholarly  lawyer  of  the 
Baltimore  bar.  Mr.  Horwitz,  indeed,  has  in  his  blood 
an  inheritance  of  culture  almost  as  rich  as  that  which 


his  own  studies  have  grafted  upon  his  intellect.  His 
father,  Dr.  J.  Horwitz,  was  a  favorite  pupil  of  Dr. 
Benjamin  Rush,  and  graduated  in  181.3  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  fine  linguist  and 
Orientalist,  and  his  lectures  were  both  popular  and 
instructive.  He  settled  in  Baltimore  early  in  life, 
where  he  won  both  distinction  and  success  in  his  pro- 
fession, dying  in  the  city  of  his  adoption  in  1852. 
Orville  Horwitz  inherited  his  father's  talent  and  taste 
for  mathematics  and  languages,  and  graduated  from 
St.  Mary's  College  at  the  age  of  sixteen  with  high 
honors. 

For  two  or  three  yeai-s  after  his  graduation  he  was 
engaged  in  teaching  in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  at 
the  close  of  that  period  being  principal  of  Winchester 
Academy.  Not  satisfied  with  a  preparation  which  to 
most  men  would  have  seemed  entirely  suflicient,  he 
attended  two  full  courses  of  medical  lectures  at  the 
University  of  Maryland,  and  then  entered  upon  his 
legal  studies  in  the  office  and  under  the  direction  of 
the  late  Judge  Albert  Constable.  But  while  earnestly 
pursuing  these  studies  and  making  himself  thoroughly 
master  of  the  profession  to  which  he  proposed  to  de- 
vote his  life,  he  did  not  neglect  the  claims  of  litera- 
ture, and  added  largely  to  the  mental  stores  which  he 
had  already  acquired. 

Among  other  things,  he  devoted  considerable  time 
at  this  period  to  the  study  of  Anglo-Saxon,  with  which 
he  became  so  familiar  that  when  the  "Anglo-Saxon 
Grammar"  and  "  Analecta,"  and  other  kindred  works 
of  Dr.  Klepstein  were  published,  Mr.  Horwitz  was 
induced  by  the  author,  who  had  been  one  of  his  fel- 
low-students, to  prepare  a  history  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
language  and  literature.  This  grammar  is  now  the 
text-book  of  the  schools  and  colleges  of  the  country, 
and  is  a  lasting  reminder  of  the  fact  that  the  law,  jeal- 
ous mistress  as  she  is,  may  find  in  literature  a  helpful 
handmaid  to  its  best  achievements.  After  his  admis- 
sion to  the  bar  Mr.  Horwitz  went  abroad,  where  he 
spent  some  time  in  the  study  of  modern  languages, 
and  returning  to  Baltimore  in  1841  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  He  has  visited  Europe 
several  times  since  that  period,  and  in  1854  published 
a  little  volume  entitled  "  Brushwood  Picked  Up  on 
the  Continent,"  which  even  after  the  lapse  of  many 
years  will  be  found  to  contain  much  of  practical  value 
to  the  European  traveler.  In  addition  to  these  pub- 
lications, Mr.  Horwitz  has  been  a  frequent  contributor 
to  the  journals  and  magazines  of  the  day,  and  the 
papers  thus  contributed  are  remarkable  for  the  grace 
of  their  diction  no  less  than  for  the  force  and  dignity 
with  which  the  subjects  are  discussed.  As  a  lawyer 
Mr.  Horwitz  stands  in  the  front  rank  of  the  Maryland 
bar,  and  is  noted  for  his  familiarity  not  only  with  all 
the  great^rinciples  of  law,  but  with  those  illustrations 
and  exemplifications  of  its  application  to  special 
cases  which  are  only  to  be  found  in  the  decisions  of 
the  highest  judicial  tribunals.  He  is  a  ready,  grace- 
ful, and  eloquent  speaker,  and  in  the  statement  and 


702 


HISTOllY   OF   BALTIMOllE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


discussion  of  intricate  legal  points  has  few  equals 
among  even  the  best  representatives  of  the  bar.  A 
large  fortune  has  set  upon  his  professional  labors  the 
seal  of  practical  approval,  and  the  poor  have  reason 
to  rejoice  that  wealth  has  been  placed  in  such  gener- 
ous hands.  In  politics,  Mr.  Horwitz  has  always  been 
an  unswerving  Democrat.  His  religious  views  are  of 
the  most  liberal  character,  and  he  cultivates  the  spirit 
of  the  broadest  charity  towards  men  of  every  faith. 
He  was  married  in  1861  to  Miss  Maria  Gross,  by  whom 
he  has  had  four  daughters. 

William  Alexander  Fisher,  the  son  of  William 
Fisher  and  Jane  Alricks  Fisher,  was  born  in  Balti- 
more on  the  8th  of  January,  1836.  His  father  was 
for  many  years  a  wholesale  dry-goods  merchant  of 
this  city,  and  was  afterwards  head  of  the  well-known 
banking  house  of  William  Fisher  &  Sons.  William 
Alexander  Fisher  was  a  student  of  St.  Mary's  College 
until  it  ceased  to  have  an  academical  department,  and 
after  a  brief  period  spent  at  I^oyola  College,  entered 
Princeton  College,  where  he  graduated,  and  from 
which  he  subsequently  received  the  degree  of  A.M. 
Mr.  Fisher's  legal  studies  were  conducted  under  the 
direction  of  the  late  William  Schley,  and  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  on  the  8th  of  June,  1858.  His  in- 
dustry and  ability  were  soon  appreciated,  and  the 
firm  of  Marshall  &  Fisher,  of  which  he  is  a  member, 
occupies  a  leading  position  in  the  city  and  State. 

In  November,  1879,  he  was  elected  to  the  Maryland 
Senate  from  Baltimore  City,  and  by  his  thorough 
business  methods  and  habits  proved  himself  a  useful 
and  valuable  member  of  that  body.  One-tenth  of 
the  acts  passed  at  the  session  of  1880  were  introduced 
by  Mr.  Fisher,  among  them  the  new  law  of  limited 
partnerships,  wliich  materially  changed  the  existing 
system.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee of  the  Senate,  chairman  of  the  Joint  Com- 
mittee on  Registration,  chairman  of  the  joint  com- 
mittee appointed  to  draft  a  bill  to  apply  the  restraints 
of  law  to  primary  elections,  and  a  member  of  the 
committee  appointed  by  the  Democratic  caucus  to 
confer  with  the  Governor,  comptroller,  and  treasurer 
in  reference  to  the  preparation  of  legislation  for  the 
retrenchment  of  expenses  and  the  reform  of  alleged 
abuses.  Mr.  Fisher  also  introduced  many  other 
measures  of  importance,  all  of  which  were  passed  by 
the  Senate,  though  not  ail  by  the  House.  Especially 
prominent  were  the  services  rendered  in  the  defeat  of 
the  bill  passed  by  the  House  of  Delegates,  which, 
while  reducing  car  fares  to  five  cents,  made  no  pro- 
vision for  transfers,  and  proposed  to  deprive  the  city 
of  the  tax  of  twelve  per  cent,  now  paid  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  parks.  This  bill,  after  a  protracted  and 
exciting  struggle,  was  defeated  single-handed  by  Mr. 
Fisher  in  the  Senate.  He  was  also  active  in  the  de- 
feat of  the  bill  to  tax  mortgages;  made  a  vigorous 
fight  against  the  present  system  of  inspections  in 
tobacco,  cattle,  hay,  etc.,  advocating  earnestly  the 
policy  of  leaving  trade  to  protect  its  own  interests ; 


opposed  on  the  same  principle  the  building  by  the 
State  of  an  elevator  for  water-borne  grain,  and  intro- 
duced bills  for  the  sale  of  the  State  tobacco  warehouses. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Water  Board  since 
1878,  and  prior  to  his  connection  with  it  in  that  ca- 
pacity was  specially  employed  to  conduct  the  pro- 
ceedings for  the  condemnation  of  the  lands  necessary 
for  the    immense  enterprise  and   improvements  in- 
volved in  the  introduction  of  the  new  water  supply 
from  the  Gunpowder.    Mr.  Fisher  has  been  trustee  of 
the  Maryland  Institution  for  the  Instruction  of  the 
I  Blind  for   the   past  six   years';    one  of  the  trustees 
and  secretary  of  the  Thomas  Wilson  Sanitarium  for 
Children,  and  of  the  Thomas  Wilson    Fuel  Giving 
Society,  as  well  as  executor  and  trustee  of  the  same 
estate,  and  president  of  the  Society  for  Organizing 
Charities  of  Baltimore  City.     Mr.  Fisher  is  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 
I  In  May,  1859,  he  was  married  by  Bishop  Mcllvaine, 
'  at  the  residence  of  her  father  in  Cincinnati,  to  Louise 
!  Este,  daughter  of  Judge  David  Kirkpatrick  Este,  of 
that  city.     Mr.  Fisher   is   counsel    for  the  Western 
I  Maryland  llailroad,  for  the  Union  Railroad  Company, 
1  and  for  many  local  and  foreign  interests  of  great  im- 
portance.    He  is  one  of  the  best  read,  most  careftil, 
and  thorough  lawyers  in  the  State,  and  an  honorable 
and  upright  gentleman  in  all  phases  of  life. 

Bernard  Carter  is  descended  from  two  of  the  lead- 
]  ing  families  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  the  Calverts 
of  Maryland  and  the  Carters  of  Virginia.  His  father, 
Charles  H.  Carter,  was  the  son  of  Bernard  Moore 
Carter,  whose  father  was  Charles  Carter,  of  "  Shirley," 
on  the  James  River,  who  was  the  grandson  of  "  King" 
Carter,  as  Robert  Carter  was  known  in  colonial  times. 
Charles  H.  Carter,  the  father  of  Bernard  Carter, 
:  was,  on  his  mother's  side,  the  grandson  of  "  Light 
Horse"  Harry  Lee,  the  father  of  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee. 
The  mother  of  Bernard  Carter  was  Rosalie  Eugenia, 
daughter  of  George  Calvert,  the  son  of  Benedict  Cal- 
vert, and  the  grandson  of  Charles,  the  sixth  Lord 
Baltimore.  The  wife  of  George  Calvert  was  Rosalie 
Eugenia  Stier,  daughter  of  Henry  J.Stierd'Aertzlaer, 
of  Antwerp,  Belgium,  a  lineal  descendant  of  Rubens. 
Mr.  Stier  fled  to  this  country  in  1794,  to  escape  the 
scenes  and  dangers  of  the  French  Revolution,  but 
returned  in  1805,  when  Belgium  was  annexed  to 
France,  to  prevent  the  confiscation  of  large  landed 
estates  in  that  country.  His  daughter  married  Mr. 
Calvert. 

Bernard  Carter  was  born  in  Prince  George's  County, 
Md.,  July  20, 1834,  and  was  graduated  from  St.  James' 
College,  Washington  County,  in  1852.  His  legal 
studies  were  prosecuted  at  Harvard  Law  School,  then 
under  Prof.  Parsons  and  Chief  Justice  Parker,  of 
New  Hampshire.  His  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws 
was  conferred  in  1855,  and  returning  to  Baltimore  he 
entered  the  office  of  J.  Mason  Campbell,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar.  He  has  devoted  his  time  almost 
exclusively  to  his  profession,  and  taken  a  high  position 


THE    BENCH    AND   BAR. 


703 


among  the  leading  lawyers  at  the  Baltimore  bar,  the 
Court  of  Appeals  of  Maryland,  and  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  to  the  bar  of  which  he  was  ad- 
mitted in  1865,  when  he  argued  the  case  of  the  steamer 
"Louisiana,"  reported  in  "Wallace's  Reports."  On 
that  occasion  he  won  the  unusual  compliment  from  the 
reporter  that  his  argument  was  an  excellent  one.  In 
1861,  Mr.  Carter  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  for 
the  position  of  State's  attorney  of  Baltimore  City,  and 
in  1864  for  the  office  of  attorney-general  for  Mary- 
land ;  his  party  on  both  occasions  being  in  a  minority, 
he  was  defeated.  In  1869  and  1870  he  was  a  member 
of  the  City  Council,  and  was  made  chairman  of  the 
Committees  of  Ways  and  Means,  on  Jones'  Falls,  and 
on  the  New  City  Hall,  the  most  im|)ortant  committees 
of  the  Council.  It  was  chiefly  through  his  personal 
exertions  that  the  building  committee  under  whom 
that  splendid  building  was  constructed  so  economi- 
cally was  formed.  In  1867  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention  which  framed  the  present 
constitution  of  the  State,  and  was  appointed  on  the 
Committee  on  Revision  and  Compilation,  which  was 
always  regarded  as  the  highest  compliment  which  the 
convention  could  bestow.  In  1878  he  was  elected  pro- 
fessor in  the  Law  School  of  the  University  of  Mary- 
land. 

He  married,  April  20,  1858,  Mary  B.,  the  daughter 
of  David  Ridgely,  of  White  Marsh,  Baltimore  Co. 
Upon  the  death  of  J.  Mason  Campbell,  Mr.  Carter 
was  made  attorney  for  the  Northern  Central  Railroad, 
and,  after  the  death  of  Daniel  Clark,  also  attorney  for 
the  Baltimore  and  Potomac  Railroad. 

In  politics,  Mr.  Carter  has  always  been  a  decided 
and  positive  Democrat,  and,  without  being  a  partisan, 
he  has  always  lent  the  aid  of  his  fine  talents  to  ad- 
vance the  principles  which  he  believed  to  be  correct 
for  the  government  of  State  and  Union.  In  religion 
he  is  a  Protestant  Episcopalian,  and  belongs  to  Mount 
Calvary  Church.  He  is  recognized  as  the  leading  ec- 
clesiastical lawyer  in  the  State,  and  has  taken  part  in 
all  the  discussions  that  have  agitated  the  church  for 
several  years  past.  He  enjoys  a  large  and  lucrative 
practice,  the  result  of  fine  talents  well  improved,  and 
of  a  private  character  above  reproach. 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  brief  sketches  that  the 
l)ar  of  Baltimore  has  not  lost  any  of  its  old-time 
brilliancy.  It  is  still  distinguished  for  its  eloquence, 
its  integrity,  and  for  its  solid  learning  as  of  yore. 
But  these  qualities  are  not  so  conspicuous  now  as  their 
singularity  made  them  in  the  period  from  1750  to 
1820,  when,  for  two  generations,  the  lawyers  of  Mary- 
land were  almost  without  peers  in  their  profession 
upon  this  continent.  Massachusetts  and  Virginia 
were  rivals,  but  not  superiors,  if  even  equals.  In  that 
period  Annapolis,  and  afterwards  Baltimore  and  Fred- 
erick, were  centres  of  legal  rivalry  such  as  are  seldom 
seen.  A  style  of  oratory,  ornate  and  elegant,  yet 
precise,  correct,  and  elaborated  upon  the  best  models 
of  pure  English,  furnished  the  fitting  capstone  to  a 


solidly-built  column  of  carefully-studied  principle 
and  i)recedent ;  the  judges  were  worthy  of  the  barris- 
ters who  pleaded  before  them,  and  neither  judges  nor 
I  barristers  were  content  unless  they  seemed  at  least  to 
measure  themselves  with  the  mo.st  conspicuous  lights 
of  Westminster  Hall  and  the  great  English  circuits. 
During  this  period,  indeed,  our  bar  prided  itself  upon 
closely  following  English  models.  It  claimed  to  have 
its  Erskines  and  its  Mansfields,  its  Scarlets  and  its 
Broughams ;  it  followed  most  rigidly  the  precedents 
of  old  English  law  and  the  practices  of  the  English 
courts,  and  certainly  refreshed  itself  more  frequently 
''  with  English  methods  and  English  studies  than  the 
I  bars  of  either  Massachusetts  or  Virginia.  The  courts 
of  these  States  were  provincial,  the  one  from  neces- 
sity, the  other  from  a  certain  lordly  and  aristocratic 
indifference  which  regarded  Williamsburg  as  good 
enough  for  the  men  who  followed  legal  pursuits  in 
Virginia,  as  the  cream  of  the  tobacco  noblesse  did 
not.  But  estates  were  not  so  large  in  Maryland, 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  rewards  of  the  law  as  a 
profession  were  much  more  tempting  in  our  State 
than  in  Virginia.  It  paid  for  the  younger  sons  of  a 
family  to  pursue  the  law  in  Maryland,  and  the  com- 
petition was  so  keen  that  it  paid  the  fathers  of  those 
younger  sons  to  give  them  a  good  legal  education  in 
the  London  Inns  of  Court.  Hence,  a  surprisingly 
large  number  of  our  young  lawyers,  during  the  colo- 
nial period,  studied  their  profession  in  the  Temple 
and  Lincoln's  and  Gray's  Inns.  The  Bordleys,  the 
Dulanys,  the  Taskers,  the  Carrolls,  the  Tilghmans, 
the  Jenningses,  the  Pacas,  and  Bennetts,  and-Helms- 
leys  were  all  represented,  at  one  time  or  another,  in 
those  classic  walks.  After  the  Revolutionary  war 
these  fashions  were  not  resumed ;  yet  Pinkney  went 
twice  to  London  to  defend  and  secure  American  in- 
terests, and  it  was  proudly  believed  by  those  who 
knew  him  best  that  he  had  found  no  rival  there  with 
whom  he  feared  to  cope. 

There  must  have  been  sufiBcient  causes  for  this  ex- 
ceptional brilliancy  of  the  early  Maryland  bar,  nor 
are  these  cau.ses  far  to  seek.  They  are  the  same  as 
those  which  subsequently  gave  their  great  eminence 
to  the  bars  of  Kentucky  and  some  other  Western 
States, — the  certainty  of  handsome  emoluments  and 
the  existence  of  much  litigation.  It  was  the  confu- 
sion of  titles  and  the  multiplicity  of  claims  to  the 
rich  lands  of  Kentucky  which  involved  that  whole 
State  in  lawsuits  and  feuds  after  its  first  settlement, 
and  afforded,  in  both  the  criminal  and  the  equity 
sides  of  the  courts,  such  an  opportunity  as  is  rarely 
offered  for  the  profitable  exercise  of  legal  talents  and 
legal  skill.  The  same  causes  are  now  at  work  to  give 
peculiar  brilliancy  to  the  bar  of  Texas.  In  Mary- 
land, when  the  colony  was  settling,  while  the  lands 
were  being  cleared,  the  Indians  pushed  back,  and  all 
society  was  seething  with  the  hand-to-hand  struggle 
between  Protestant  and  Catholic,  Puritan  and  Cava- 
lier, there  were   practically  no   lawyers,   the   courts 


704 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE  CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


were  mere  justices'  courts  and,  later,  vestry  courts, 
and  the  beiicli — outside,  at  least,  of  St.  Mary's,  if  we 
may  trust  the  author  of  the  "  Sot- Weed  Factor" — was 
boorish  and  ignorant  if  not  venal.  But  there  came  a 
swift  change  with  the  settlement  of  the  provincial 
government  at  Annapolis,  the  clearing  of  the  "  back- 
woods," the  large  importation  of  labor,  both  white 
and  colored,  and  the  general  growth  of  the  colony  in 
wealth  and  importance.  Three  or  four  elements  are 
noticeable  right  here  as  concerting  together  for  the 
rapid  development  of  an  able  and  brilliant  bar.  The 
rapidly-increasing  forces  of  labor  could  only  be  prof- 
itably employed  by  a  correspondingly  rapid  opening 
up  of  new  lands,  and  of  these  there  was  great  variety 
of  choice.  The  old  ])lanters  rested  contented  upon 
their  inherited  estates,  but  their  overseers  and  factors, 
busy,  pushing,  ignorant  men,  took  negroes  and  con- 
victs to  the  newer  settlements,  worked  them  for  all 
they  were  worth,  grew  rapidly  rich,  and  were  corre- 
spondingly arrogant  and  litigious.  When  they  came 
to  Annapolis  they  had  money  to  spend  and  lawsuits 
to  adjust,  in  respect  to  both  of  which  they  found 
plenty  of  young  lawyers  to  accommodate  them. 
Every  lease  or  sale  of  land  made  by  the  provincial 
government  implied  an  addition  to  the  income  of  the 
Lord  Proprietary,  and  quick  sales  and  hasty  surveys 
necessarily  involved  the  validity  of  many  a  title. 
Besides  this,  the  proprietary  government,  claiming 
and  exercising  extraordinary  powers,  felt  constrained 
to  maintain  its  pretensions  by  extraordinary  means. 
It  was  the  fountain  of  patronage  for  both  State  and 
Church,.and  it  made  this  patronage  profitable.  There 
were  many  offices,  and  all  these  were  in  the  gift  of 
the  Lord  Proprietary,  or  his  deputy  at  Annapolis. 
Surveyorships,  advowsons,  parishes,  clerkships,  to- 
bacco-inspectors, collectorships  of  rents  and  taxes, 
sheriffalties,  coronerships, — all  were  appointed  from 
Annapolis.  A  sheriffalty  in  that  time  was  a  plum 
indeed,  and  the  prothonotary  of  a  county  might  grow 
rich  on  the  fees  of  office  in  ten  years.' 

Besides  these  there  were  militia  commands,  com- 
mands in  the  wood  rangers,  and  a  very  great  variety 
of  other  patronage,  paid  for  from  the  fees  of  office. 
Any  young  scion  of  a  good  family  who  studied  law, 
came  to  Annapolis,  and  showed  his  loyalty  to  the 
existing  government,  winking  at  its  abuses  and  court- 
ing its  leading  spirits,  might  be  sure  of  securing  an 
office  such  as  would  yield  him  a  good  support.  If  it 
were  necessary  he  could  be  made  a  pluralist.  John 
Coode,  miserable  rebel  agitator  and  atheist  as  he  was, 
held  commissions  militant,  civil,  and  apostolic  at  once, 
— he  was  in  holy  orders,  he  was  collector  of  customs,  i 
and  he  was  colonel  of  county  militia.  Rev.  Bennett  I 
Allen,  controversialist,  brawler,  duelest,  murderer, 
and  sot,  was  incumbent  of  St.  Ann's  parish,  in  Anne 

•  A«  cnrly  as  1C80  one  of  the  alleged  grounds  for  Coode's  rebellion  was 
excessive  fees  of  office  and  extortionalo  tnlle,  against  which  uo  remedy 
can  bo  found,  "the  ofBcere  tliemselvoe  that  are  parljes  and  culpable,    I 
being  Judges." 


Arundel,  and  the  best  parish  in  Frederick  County. 
In  1770,  among  other  fees  and  salaries,  Governor 
Sharpe  was  paid,  besides  his  salary  of  £1000  as  Gov- 
ernor, £226  as  surveyor- general,  and  an  unstated 
amount  as  chancellor.  Benjamin  Tasker  was  presi- 
dent of  Council,  member  of  Upper  House,  and  joint 
commissary,  his  pay  in  the  latter  position  amounting 
to  £483.  Benjamin  Tasker,  Jr.,  was  councilor,  mem- 
ber of  LTpper  House,  and  naval  officer,  the  fees  of  the 
latter  office  being  £318.  Edmund  Jennings  was 
councilor,  member  of  Upper  House,  and  secretary 
for  county  clerks,  register  in  chancery,  clerk  of  pro- 
vincial court,  and  notary  public,  his  six  offices  yielding 
him  £1307.  George  Steuart  was  judge  of  the  land- 
office  and  commissioner  of  the  land-office,  receiving 
£517  salary.  Daniel  Dulany,  to  the  practice  at  An- 
napolis courts,  added  the  place  of  joint  commissary, 
with  £483  salary. 

These  various  causes  soon  built  up  a  strong  legal 
circle  at  Annapolis.  In  1710,  when  Daniel  Dulany 
the  elder  came  to  the  bar,  then  fresh  from  England, 
there  were  but  few  lawyers,  and  these  chiefly  provin- 
cial born  and  educated  at  the  provincial  court. 
Among  these,  Dulany,  Stephen  Bordley,  and  the  father 
of  Edmund  Jennings  were  the  chief.  In  1771  the 
bar  of  Annapolis  was  illustrious  for  its  great  lawyers 
and  the  great  number  of  lesser  lights  revolving  about 
them.  They  made  a  society  of  their  own,  witty,  in- 
genious, dissipated.  They  fought,  gambled,  dissipated, 
had  their  clubs,  wrote  for  the  newspapers,  patronized 
the  theatres,  the  cock-pit,  and  the  race-course,  and 
all  the  province  paid  toll  to  them.  They  rode  the 
circuits  to  some  extent,  going  to  Marlboro',  Joppa, 
Frederick,  Chestertown,  andEaston,  but  Annapolis  was 
their  home  and  the  fountain  of  their  business.  Here 
was  Daniel  Dulany  the  younger,  of  whom  Pinkney, 
who  only  saw  him  in  the  evening  twilight  of  his 
greatness,  said  that  "  even  among  such  men  as  Fox, 
Pitt,  and  Sheridan  he  had  not  found  his  superior," 
and  of  whom  McMahon  said,  "  For  many  years  before 
the  downfall  of  the  proprietary  government  he  stood 
confessedly  without  a  rival  in  this  country  as  a  law- 
yer, a  scholar,  and  an  orator."  He  was  regarded  as 
"an  oracle  of  the  law."  Here  was  John  Beale  Bord- 
ley, just  retiring  from  the  Governor's  Council  and  the 
emoluments  of  office  in  Baltimore  County  to  become 
the  Cincinnatus  of  the  Eastern  Shore.  Here  was 
Samuel  Chase,  first  and  one  of  the  greatest  of  our  pa- 
triots, whose  energies  "quickened  all  that  he  touched, 
and  whose  abilities  illustrated  all  that  he  examined.'" 

"  What  he  felt  he  expressed,"  says  the  lawyer  his- 
torian of  Maryland,  "  and  what  he  expressed  came 
stamped  with  all  the  vigor  of  his  mind  and  the  un- 
compromising energy  of  his  character;  if  his  manner 
was  a  fault  it  leaned  to  virtue's  side.  It  is  not  for  my 
feeble  pen  to  portray  his  virtues  and  abilities,  they  are 
registered  in  the  nation's  history,  and  there  is  no  true 


THE   BENCH   AND   BAE. 


American  to  whom  his  name,  recorded  on  the  imper- 
ishable roll  of  American  independence,  does  not  bring 
back  the  grateful  recollection  of  his  services.  He  was 
a  son  of  Maryland,  and  when  will  she  have  his  like  j 
again?"  Here  was  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  i 
fresh  from  his  law  studies  in  the  Temple,  eager  and 
able  to  challenge  Daniel  Dulany's  masterly  pen  in  a  | 
pamphlet  controversy  about  American  rights  and 
American  liberty, — the  wealthiest  citizen  in  the  prov- 
ince, and  the  most  keen  to  stake  his  fortune  for  inde- 
pendence and  sacred  honor,  and  "  to  win  or  lose  it 
all."  Here  was  "  Barrister"  Carroll,  another  law 
student  of  the  Temple,  another  leader  of  public  opin- 
ion, another  patriot,  whose  able  pen  may  be  traced  in 
many  of  our  tersest  and  most  effective  State  papers  of 
the  Revolutionary  period.  He  was  descended  from  \ 
Daniel  and  Dorothy  Carroll,  of  Ely  and  O'Neill,  Ire- 
land, whose  ancestry  is  veiled  in  the  mists  of  remote 
antiquity.  "  This  Daniel  Carroll,"  it  is  said,  "  had  j 
twenty  sons,  whom  he  presented  in  one  troop  of  horse, 
all  accoutred  in  habiliments  of  war,  to  the  Earl  of 
Ormond,  together  with  all  his  interest,  for  the  service 
of  King  Charles  I.  Most  of  these  died  in  foreign  ser- 
vice, having  followed  the  hard  fate  of  King  Charles 
II."  From  this  Daniel's  many  sons  are  presumed  to 
have  sprung  all  the  different  branches  of  the  house  of 
Carroll.  The  eldest  son  of  Daniel  and  Dorothy  Car- 
roll was  named  Daniel,  who  had  two  sons,  Charles 


and  .lohn.  Charles  married  Clare  Dunn,  who  was 
the  daughter  of  the  great  O'Connor  Dunn  (or  Don), 
her  mother  being  Jane  Bermingham,  daughter  of  Ed- 
ward Fitz  Richard,  the  seventeenth  Lord  Athenry. 
He  had  three  children, — Dr.  Charles  Carroll,  the 
father  of  Charles  Carroll,  barrister;  John  Carroll, 
who  died  at  sea;  and  Dorothy  Carroll.  John  Car- 
roll, the  second  son  of  Daniel  Carroll,  "  was  the  father 
of  Sir  Daniel  O'Carroll,  who,  at  the  instance  of  the 
Duke  of  Ormond,  was  made  colonel  of  a  regiment  of 
horse,  being  also  by  Queen  Anne  created  a  baronet ; 
was  knight  of  the  order  of  Arragon  in  Spain,  and  died 
lieutenant-general  of  His  Majesty's  forces  in  1750." 

Dr.  Charles  Carroll,  the  eldest  son  of  Charles  Car- 
roll and  Clare  Dunn,  came  to  America  about  the  year 
1715,  and  resided  in  Annapolis.  He  was  educated  in 
England  as  a  Catholic,  but  soon  after  his  settlement 
in  the  province  renounced  his  faith  and  became  a 
Protestant.  For  many  years  he  practiced  medicine, 
but  gave  it  up  and  actively  entered  into  mercantile 
business,  at  which  he  amassed  a  considerable  fortune. 
He  accumulated  a  large  landed  estate,  especially  in 
and  near  Baltimore,  including  "  Carroll's  Island," 
"Mount  Clare,"  "The  Plains"  (near  Annapolis), 
"  Clare  Mont"  (now  the  residence  of  Hon.  Carroll 
Spence,  late  minister  to  Turkey),  and  the  "Caves" 
(now  the  property  of  Gen.  John  Carroll),  in  Baltimore 
County.       Dr.    Charles    Carroll    represented    Anne 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Arundel  County  in  the  Lower  House  of  Assembly  in 
1737,  and  continued  to  do  so  till  the  day  of  his  death. 
He  married  Dorotliy  Blake,  daughter  of  Henry  Blake, 
of  an  ancient  family  in  Hampshire,  England,  and 
had  three  children,— Charles  Carroll,  barrister,  Mary 
Clare  Carroll,  and  John  Henry  Carroll.  Mary  Clare 
Carroll  married,  on  the  21st  of  July,  1747,  Nicholas 
Maccubbin,  and  had  several  children  ;  John  Henry 
Carroll  died  .linc  prole;  Dr.  Charles  Carroll,  after  a 
lingering  illness,  died  on  Monday,  Sept.  29,  1755,  at 
his  residence  in  Annapolis,  aged  sixty-four  years. 


his  father's  death  in  1755  was  elected  to  fill  his  seat 
in  the  Lower  House  of  Assembly.  In  spite  of  his 
English  training,  he  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most 
prominent  advocates  of  American  independence,  and 
soon  became  one  of  the  most  trusted  leaders  of  the 
Revolution.  In  connection  with  Matthew  Tilghman, 
John  Hall,  Samuel  Chase,  Thomas  Johnson,  Jr., 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  and  William  Paca,  he 
was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence at  the  meeting  of  deputies  of  the  province 
held  at  Annapolis  from  the  8th  to  the  12th  of  Decera- 


LL,  BARRISTER. 


His  only  son,  Charles  Carroll,  barrister,  was  born 
on  the  22d  of  March,  1723,  and  at  an  early  age  was 
placed  at  college  under  the  immediate  tuition  of  the 
Rev.  Edward  Jones,  at  the  English  House,  in  Bairro 
Alto^  West  Lisbon,  Portugal.  When  about  si.xteen 
years  of  age  he  was  removed  to  the  celebrated  school 
of  Eton,  in  England.  Desiring  to  devote  himself  to 
the  profession  of  law,  by  direction  of  his  father  he 
entered  the  University  of  Cambridge,  wiiere  Daniel 
Dulany  was  then  pursuing  his  studies.  With  a 
mind  thoroughly  trained,  he  commenced  the  .study 
of  law  in  the  Middle  Temple,  Garden  Court,  Library 
Staircase  No.  2.  In  1746  he  returned  to  Maryland 
and  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Being 
thoroughly  conversant  with  affairs  at  home  and 
abroad,  he  was  early  called  into  public  life,  and  on 


ber,  1744,  and  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Safety  by  the  convention  of  provincial  delegates 
which  assembled  in  the  same  city  on  the  25th  of  July, 
1775.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  convention  of 
delegate^  which  met  at  Annapolis  Dec.  7,  1775,  and 
took  a  leading  part  in  all  the  debates  and  measures  of 
that  assembly,  frequently  presiding  over  its  delibera- 
tions and  serving  on  the  most  prominent  and  important 
committees.  He  was  chosen  president  of  the  conven- 
tion of  delegates  of  the  province  which  met  at  Annap- 
olis on  the  8th  of  May,  1776,  and  relieved  Governor 
Eden  of  his  official  powers,  and  during  its  session  was 
re-elected  to  the  Council  of  Safety.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  convention  which  met  at  Annapolis  on 
the  21st  of  June  following;  was  elected  for  the  third 
lime  to  the  Council   of  Safety  on   the  5th  of  July, 


THE   BENCH   AND   BAR. 


and  to  the  Annapolis  convention  of  the  14th  of  Au- 
gust, 1776.  On  the  17th  of  the  same  month  the  con- 
vention appointed  him  a  memher  of  the  committee 
"  to  prepare  a  declaration  and  charter  of  rights  and  a 
form  of  government  for  this  State  ;"  and  on  the  10th 
of  November  in  the  same  year  the  convention  dele- 
gated him,  in  conjunction  with  Matthew  Tilghman, 
Thomas  Johnson,  Jr.,  William  Paca,  Thomas  Stone, 
Samuel  Chase,  and  Benjamin  Rurasey,  to  represent  the 
State  in  Congress.  In  the  following  year  (1777)  he 
was  elected  to  the  first  Senate  of  the  State  of  Mary- 
land, and  was  also  appointed  chief  justice  of  the  Gen- 
eral Court, — the  first  appointment  to  that  position 
under  the  new  government, — which,  however,  he  de- 
clined, and  in  1781  he  was  again  elected  to  the  Senate. 

Barrister  Carroll  "was  an  elegant,  fluent,  exact, 
and  terse  writer,  and  was  selected  to  serve  on  every 
committee  which  required  wisdom  in  council  and  the 
ability  to  embody  its  expression  in  forcible  language. 
To  his  facile  pen  our  Kevolutionary  ancestors  were  in- 
debted for  many  of  their  ablest  public  papers.  'The 
Declaration  of  Rights,'  which  was  adopted  by  the 
convention  of  Maryland,  3d  of  November,  1776,  em- 
anated from  his  pen.  This  is  true,  also,  in  a  large 
measure,  of  the  first  constitution  and  form  of  govern- 
ment of  the  State  of  Maryland." 

In  the  earlier  years  of  his  profes-sional  life  much  of 
his  leisure  was  spent  at  the  "  Caves,"  a  beautiful  es- 
tate of  three  thousand  acres,  which  he  greatly  im- 
proved, and  which  still  remains  in  the  family,  being 
now  owned  by  Gen.  John  Carroll,  of  Baltimore 
County. 

In  1754,  however,  he"  built  the  Mount  Clare  House, 
which  the  records  note  was  constructed  of  English 
brick.  The  historic  old  mansion  remained  until  re- 
cently a  graphic  monument  of  the  past,  surrounded 
by  the  brickyards  which  now  occupy  the  once  beauti- 
ful grounds  of  the  estate.  With  its  fine  terrace  over- 
looking the  town,  its  grave  dignity  of  exterior,  and 
its  lions  rampant  on  the  pillars  of  the  gateway,  it 
spoke  eloquently,  even  in  its  decay,  of  the  honor  and 
glory  of  its  past. 

Mr.  Carroll,  on  the  3d  of  June,  1763,  married  Mar- 
garet Tilghman,  daughter  of  Hon.  Matthew  Tilgh- 
man, by  whom  he  had  two  children,  twins,  who  died 
in  infancy.  His  own  death  occurred  at  his  residence. 
Mount  Clare,  on  the  23d  of  March,  1783,  the  day 
after  the  sixtieth  anniversary  of  his  birth. 

In  1771  the  bar  of  Annapolis  also  contained  such 
illustrious  men  as  Thomas  Johnson,  the  people's  law- 
yer, Washington's  friend,  "  Tom"  Johnson,  the  organ- 
izer and  sustainer  of  the  Revolution  in  Maryland,  full 
of  work,  of  fiery  energy,  of  unquenchable  hope,  and 
that  implacable  resolution  which  looks  too  closely  at 
the  main  object  in  view  to  see  or  take  heed  of  the 
obstacles  intervening.  There  came  to  the  bar  also 
the  venerated  Matthew  Tilghman,  with  William  Paca, 
Robert  Goldsborough,  and  many  other  leading  law- 
vers  of  the  Eastern  Shore,  while  the  Western  Shore 


furnished  a  Key,  a  Stone,  a  Worthington,  a  Dorsey, 
and  a  Hanson. 

At  this  very  date  the  bar  of  Baltimore  could  only 
boast  of  Jeremiah  Townley  Chase,  Robert  Alexander, 
Benjamin  Nicholson,  Thomas  Jones,  George  Chal- 
mers, Robert  Smith,  of  W.,  Robert  Buchanan,  of  W., 
Francis  Custis,  and  David  McMechen.  The  contrast 
between  it  and  that  of  Annapolis  is  too  obvious  to 
need  to  be  emphasized.  Of  those  named,  Robert 
Alexander  was  probably  the  leading  lawyer  and  citi- 
zen. He  had  been  chosen  to  many  distinguished 
positions  and  posts  of  honor  by  his  fellow-citizens. 
He  had  been  one  of  the  commissioners  to  look  after 
the  removal  of  the  County  Court  from  Joppa  to  Balti- 
more, had  borne  a  conspicuous  part  in  connection  with 
the  internal  improvements  of  the  latter  town,  and 
evidently  was  much  trusted  by  the  people.  In  the 
movements  against  the  stamp  duties,  in  the  later  more 
serious  movements  against  taxation  in  general  by  the 
British  government  which  led  to  the  Revolution,  Mr. 
Alexander  and  Jeremiah  Townley  Chase  went  hand 
in  hand  at  the  head  of  all  the  different  committees 
and  in  all  the  public  demonstrations.  They  were 
comrades  on  the  various  Committees  of  Observation 
and  Safety,  and  Robert  Alexander  was  finally  elected 
and  served  as  one  of  the  representatives  of  Maryland 
in  the  first  Continental  Congress.  But  at  this  point 
Alexander's  heart  failed  him.  He  quailed  at  the 
sound  of  actual  hostilities,  and  when  the  Declaration 
of  independence  was  rung  out  from  that  simple  old 
bell-tower  in  Philadelphia,  Robert  Alexander  fairly 
ran  away  and  left  the  country,  a  loyalist  and  refugee, 
with  a  blighted  career.  Chase,  on  the  other  hand, 
behaved  manfully.  He  was  a  younger,  a  more  hopeful 
and  more  patriotic  citizen  than  Alexander ;  he  won  the 
esteem  and  approval  of  every  one  during  an  estimable 
and  distinguished  career  at  the  bar,  and  in  1806, 
having  previously  served  as  judge  of  the  General 
Court,  was  appointed  chief  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  in  which  post  of  honor  he  served  until  1824. 
He  was  also  a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress 
in  1783-84,  and  a  member  of  the  first  Constitutional 
Convention  of  Maryland  in  1776,  and  of  the  conven- 
tion of  1788  to  ratify  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  Benjamin  Nicholson,  under  the  first  State 
government,  became  judge  of  the  Admiralfy  Court, 
holding  the  place  so  long  as  that  court  existed, — that 
is  to  say,  until  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion. Thomas  Jones  was  the  first  register  of  wills  for 
Baltimore  County. 

Robert  Smith's  career  was  an  eminent  one.  He 
was  an  elector  in  the  first  electoral  college,  surviving 
all  his  brethren  in  that  venerable  body.  He  was  a 
delegate  and  senator  several  times  in  the  Maryland 
Legislature;  was  appointed,  but  declined,  the  chancel- 
lorship and  chief  judgeship  of  the  General  Court  of 
Maryland ;  was  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Attorney-Gen- 
eral, Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  and  de- 
clined a  nomination  as  minister  to  Russia.     He  was 


708 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


provost  of  the  University  of  Maryland,  president  of 
the  first  Maryhind  Bible  Society,  and  president,  also, 
of  the  first  agricultural  society  organized  in  the 
State,  dying,  rich,  honored,  and  full  of  yeara,  in  1842. 
David  McMeehen,  who  appears  to  have  been  one  of 
the  hot-bloods  of  the  Revolution,  for  he  wjis  concerned 
in  the  tarring  and  feathering  of  Goildnnl.  tin'  ininlcr, 
besides  serving  on  many  of  the  war  cniMiniti, ,  ,.  uas 
often  delegate  from  Baltimore  in  the  .MaiylMiid  As- 
sembly, a  member  of  the  first  City  Council,  and  died 
a  member  of  the  State  Senate. 

It  seems  quite  remarkable  that  so  many  of  the  little 
corporal's  guard  who  comprised  the  earliest  recorded 
lawyers  of  the  small  and  insignificant  Baltimore  Town 
of  that  day  should  have  attained  distinction  not  only 
in  their  profession  but  in  public  office.  But  this  be- 
comes still  more  remarkable  when  we  note  how  soon 
after  the  Revolutionary  war  Baltimore  began  to  absorb 
from  other  places  and  attract  to  itself  the  cream  of  the 
legal  talent  of  the  State.  By  1790  half  the  great 
lawyers  of  Annapolis  and  the  rest  of  the  State  had 
come  to  live  in  Baltimore,  and  by  1800,  in  spite  of 
its  being  the  seat  of  the  Courts  of  Appeal  and  Chan- 
cery, Annapolis  had  become  provincial,  and  Baltimore 
was  the  legal  metropolis  of  the  State.  There  were 
excellent  courts  and  lawyers  at  Marlborough  and 
Frederick,  at  Belair  and  Cluu-listou  n.  ;iihI  at  Easton 
and  Princess  Anne,  as  well  as  ai  \mi,i|Mili>,  but  the 
leading  counselors  and  barrist(  i~  .  -.(iiMi-licd  them- 
selves in  Baltimore,  and  in  their  train  followed  all  the 
active,  energetic  young  men  of  talent  and  self-confi- 
dence who  looked  to  the  profession  of  the  law  for  a 
career  as  well  as  for  a  livelihood.  Already,  almost 
immediately  after  the  peace  of  1783,  Daniel  Dulany 
found  a  home  in  Baltimore.'  Charles  Carroll  and 
Samuel  Chase  came,  Luther  Martin  followed,  and 
William  Pinkney,  while  always  claiming  residence  in 
"  the  ancient  city,"  got  half  his  State  practice  from 
Baltimore  and  in  connection  with  Baltimore's  swelling 
volume  of  business. 


1  A  writer  in  Decemljor,  1847,  said  tliat  Daniel  Dulany  was  "  the  groat 
Quiutilian  of  the  day."  He  was  the  patron  of  youth  and  very  liberal ;  he 
lived  to  a  good  old  age.  In  his  second  childliood  all  tlie  Hner  feelings  of 
the  licart  predominated.  How  well  I  remember  his  flHed  pockets  of 
ginger-uuts  and  sugar-plums  that  were  scattered  to  crowds  of  little  chil- 
dren tliat  always  followed  hiui,  and  in  my  memory  lioar  the  tolling  of 
old  St.  Paul's  bell  on  tlio  day  of  hia  funeral;  from  sunrise  to  sunset  did 
Its  mournful  tone  tell  us  we  had  lost  a  worthy  man.  As  the  procession 
moved  through  the  streets  the  clouds  dropped  team.  Well  do  I  remem- 
ber the  bier,  covered  with  a  black  pall,  supported  by  six  pall-bearers, 
with  scarfs  of  white  silk,  with  a  rosette  on  tlie  right  slioulder,  crossing 
the  breast,  and  falling  from  tlie  left  in  a  graceful  fold,  hat-bands  of  the 
same  material,  with  long  streamers,  and  white  kid  gloves.  The  liody 
was  borne  to  the  church,  whore  It  remained  during  the  appropriate  part 
of  the  funeral  service;  it  was  then  consigned  to  the  earth  in  tlie  burial- 
ground  then  contained  within  four  streets,— St.  Paul's,  Lexington,  Sara- 
toga, and  Cbariea."  Ho  died  on  the  I9th  of  March,  1797,  in  the  seventy- 
fifth  year  of  his  age.  His  daughter  and  only  child  married  a  French 
gentleman,  Monsieur  De  Locore.  Uis  granddaughter,  Miss  Do  Lacere, 
»ome  years  ago  married  by  special  license,  at  tlio  Marquis  of  Wellcsloy's, 
the  marquis. 
t  the  daughter 
of  the  late  Rosier  Duluny,  of  Virginia. 


The  courts  at  that  time  were  but  little  altered  from 
1  the  provincial  or,  in  other  words,  the  old  English 
model.  They  were  much  more  formal  and  precise 
j  than  now,  more  stern  in  rule,  more  rigid  as  to  prece- 
[  dent,  more  complicated  in  practice.  They  were,  iii 
fact,  overloaded  with  formalisms,  and  the  official  docu- 
mentary language  was  but  little  removed  from  an 
utterly  barbarous  jargon.  The  business  of  the  courts 
was  apportioned  into  more  numerous,  minuter,  and 
.  sharper  divisions,  and  the  predominant  rule,  which  is 
now  simplicity,  tended  in  those  days  constantly  to- 
wards over-refinement.  Chancery  was  then  by  no 
means  a  name,  but  the  labyrinthine  way  by  which 
alone  most  men  could  reach  after  long  wanderings 
the  adytum  of  equity  as  to  property  and  goods,  estates 
and  hereditaments.  The  chancellor  was  the  most 
important  judge  in  the  State,  and  was  paid  the 
highest  salary.  There  was  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
which  had  then  but  minor  jurisdiction,  the  Admi- 
ralty Court,  superseded  by  the  United  States  District 
Court  after  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution, 
and  the  chief  judge  and  his  associates  of  the  General 
Court.  These,  after  their  appellate  business  at  An- 
napolis was  concluded,  used  to  separate  and  preside 
over  the  Oyer  and  Terminer  terms  of  the  County 
Courts.  In  1777  the  chancellor's  salary  was  .£650  (in 
Maryland  currency),  the  chief  judge  of  the  General 
Court  got  £600,  and  his  two  associates  £500  each  ; 
the  five  judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  received  .£200 
each,  and  the  judge  of  the  Admiralty  Court  was  paid 
£250.  This  pay  does ,  not  seem  large,  but  it  sufficed 
to  secure  for  the  bench  some  of  the  best  lawyers  in 
the  State.  They  were  appointed  by  the  Governor 
for  life,  they  did  not  have  to  court  the  popular  favor, 
they  were  as  good,  if  not  better,  lawyers  than  the 
barristers  who  pleaded  and  the  attorneys  who  prac- 
ticed before  them,  and  they  kept  up  a  dignified  pres- 
ence and  attitude  which  would  appear  astonishingly 
severe  at  the  pre.sent  day.  The  wig  was  not  part  of 
the  judge's  costume,  but  the  gown  was  until  quite  a 
late  period,  and  there  was  a  certain  state  about  the 
courts  which  must  have  admirably  upheld  what  it 
was  meant  to  enforce,  the  dignity  and  elevation  of 
the  judiciary.  This  was  well  conceived  for  a  bench 
which  had  such  unlimited  power  over  the  persons  as 
well  as  estates  of  the  citizens,  which  could  retain 
property  in  chancery  for  unlimited  intervals,  could 
imprison  for  debt  while  life  lasted,  which  could  pillory, 
or  brand,  or  whip,  or  hang  in  chains  and  gibbet  for 
offenses  which  to-day  scarcely  cause  a  year  or  two's 
imprisonment.  It  must  not  be  inferred  from  this, 
however,  that  these  severe  punishments  were  very 
often  imposed  in  Baltimore  County  during  the  later 
colonial  days  and  the  early  State  history  of  Maryland. 
The  infrequency  of  capital  executions  is  to  be  inferred 
from  the  strong  impression  made  by  such  incidents 
upon  the  popular  mind.  Thus  the  people  in  the 
upper  part  of  Baltimore  County  still  talk  about  the 
murderer,    Adam    Horn,   :iiul    his    execution   with  a 


THE   BENCH   AND   BAK. 


709 


lively,  active,  and.  personal  interest,  and  the  bleak 
and  desolate  eminence  in  "The  Soldier's  Delight" 
upon  which,  in  1752,  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine 
years  ago,  John  Berry  was  hung  in  chains  for  the 
murder  of  Mrs.  Clark  is  still  known  by  the  name  of 
"  Berry's  Hill,"  every  child  in  the  neighborhood 
being  familiar  with  the  legend  attached  to  that  name. 

The  bench  held  to  its  dignity  as  severely  as  it  held 
to  its  ancient  forms  and  complicated  and  involved 
terminology.  The  lawyers  were  kept  in  order  by  a 
rigid  construction  of  the  contempt  rules,  and  the 
judges  also  sought  to  apply  these  rules  as  rigidly  to 
the  press.  In  fact,  for  many  years  the  courts,  both 
in  Baltimore  and  Annapolis,  attempted  to  control  the 
relations  between  the  press  and  the  public,  so  far  as 
their  sessions  were  concerned,  much  more  according 
to  the  precepts  of  Lord  Thurlow  than  in  obedience  to 
the  suggestions  of  common  sense  in  a  free  and  en- 
lightened country,  and  collisions  between  the  two 
powers  were  consequently  quite  frequent,  the  courts 
seeking  to  maintain  themselves  upon  a  very  high 
plane  of  constructive  dignity,  the  papers  resolute  to 
give  the  people  the  news  as  promptly  and  fully  as 
possible,  with  such  editorial  comments  as  they  thought 
necessary  to  make.  About  the  last  of  these  battles 
was  fought  out  in  1845,  between  Judge  Nicholas  Brice, 
chief  judge  of  Baltimore  City  Court,  and  the  Balti- 
more Sun.  The  result  was  not  favorable  to  the  re- 
newal by  the  courts  of  such  unnecessary  and  fac- 
titious issues. 

The  courts  had  not  so  many  officers  as  they  now 
have,  but  the  officers  were  worthy  of  much  more  con- 
sideration, and  were  consequently  supplied  from  a 
better  class  of  materials.  The  prothonotary,  after- 
wards clerk,  held  office  for  life,  as  did  also  the  regis- 
ter of  wills,  and  both  were  paid  in  fees.  These  officers 
were  appointed.  The  sheriff,  who  had  great  power, 
was  appointed  under  the  provincial  government,  but 
elected  under  the  State  government.  He  also  received 
liis  pay  in  fees,  and  the  position  was  as  lucrative  as  it 
was  influential  and  responsible.  Under  the  colonial 
government  the  sheriff  was  tax  and  tithe  collector, 
and  his  influence  upon  and  intercourse  with  the 
people  must  have  been  extensive  to  a  very  unusual 
degree.  Down  to  quite  a  recent  period  the  sheriffs  of 
the  counties  were  selected  from  among  persons  of  the 
first  consequence,  and  their  criminal  functions  were 
looked  upon  as  the  least  part  of  their  charge. 

Among  the  members  of  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention of  1777  wa«  Luther  Martin,  representing 
Harford  County.  The  constitution  then  matured 
provided  for  an  attorney-general  of  the  State,  and 
after  Thomas  Jennings,  James  Tilghman,  and  Benja- 
min Galloway  had  one  after  another  declined  the 
appointment,  thought  to  be  particularly  perilous  in 
a  time  of  war,  in  which  the  party  which  miglit  chance 
to  lose  would  be  treated  as  rebels,  Governor  Johnson 
tendered  the  post  to  Mr.  Martin,  who  accepted  it  Feb. 
11,  1778,  and  performed  the  duties  of  the  office  until 


December,  1805,  when  he  resigned  and  was  succeeded 
by  William  Pinkney.  From  1778  until  the  reorgan- 
ization of  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  1805  the  judges 
of  the  court  were  Benjamin  Rurasey,  chief  judge; 
Benjamin  Mackall,  Thomas  Jones,  Solomon  Wright, 
and  James  Murray.  Judge  Wright  dying  in  1801, 
Littleton  Dennis  succeeded  him,  and  Richard  Potts 
was  the  same  year  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused 
by  Judge  Murray's  death. 

Samuel  Chase  came  to  Baltimore  to  live  in  1786, 
won  by  the  liberality  of  one  of  his  warm  admirers, 
John  Eager  Howard,  who  gave  him  a  block  of  land 
on  Eutaw  and  Lexington  Streets,  where  he  built  a 
solid  brick  mansion,  which  many  will  remember  to 
have  seen.  But  Mr.  Chase  was  more  of  a  Baltimorean 
than  that,  for,  though  born  in  Somerset  County,  he 
was  but  a  few  months  old  when  his  father,  a  minister, 
moved  to  Baltimore  to  become  rector  of  St.  Paul's 
Church.  He  lived  here  until  he  was  eighteen,  the 
only  child  of  his  widowed  father.  Then  he  went  to 
Annapolis  to  study  law  with  John  Hall  and  John 
Hammond,  passing  the  bar  in  1761,  and  soon  gaining 
distinction.  Chase  was  an  impetuous  man, — they 
called  him  "  the  Demosthenes"  of  his  cause, — and  the 
Stamp  Act  called  out  all  the  vehement  impulses  of 
his  soul.  He  spoke,  he  wrote,  he  persuaded,  he  com- 
pelled the  people  to  give  themselves  up  to  the  patri- 
otic cause.  But  his  Revolutionary  record  is  known. 
As  a  lawyer  it  is  enough  to  say  that  he  won  the 
encomiums  of  Pinkney,  Marshall,  and  Hanson,  and 
deserved  the  confidence  of  his  State.  He  was  an  able 
civilian  and  jurist,  yet  greatest  in  legislative  and 
political  assemblies.  He  went  to  England  in  1782  as 
agent  and  trustee  of  the  State  to  recover  its  stock  in 
the  Bank  of  England;  in  1791  he  was  judge  of  the 
General  Court  of  the  State,  and  in  1793  judge  of 
Baltimore  County  Court,  from  which,  in  1796,  he 
was  appointed  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  He  was  an  ardent  Federalist  and 
partisan ;  was  impeached,  tried,  and  acquitted,  his 
speech  in  his  own  defense  being  considered  one  of 
the  legal  classics  of  the  country.  Mr.  Chase  was  a 
very  companionable  man,  full  of  wit  and  vivacity, 
the  author  of  many  pungent  sayings,  hospitable,  and 
cheery.  He  was  six  feet  in  height ;  with  a  well-pro- 
portioned figure,  a  handsome  countenance,  his  mien 
and  presence  were  dignified  and  prepossessing.  His 
house  was  long  a  social  centre.  He  died  in  1811  of 
ossification  of  the  heart. 

Judge  Chase  was  a  better  man,  at  least  so  far  as 
decency  and  decorum  of  conduct  went,  than  Luther 
Martin,  but  the  world  never  produced  a  better  lawyer 
than  this  great  legal  genius,  whose  knowledge  was  as 
broad  as  his  judgment  was  unerring,  who  had  so 
many  of  the  solid  parts  of  the  law  at  his  command 
that  he  could  afford  to  neglect  the  graces  in  his  plead- 
ings. Unlike  Patrick  Henry,  who  trusted  to  elo- 
quence and  genius  to  carry  him  through,  Martin  was 
all  his  life  a  student.     They  lower  themselves  who 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


think  of  this  man  as  a  simple  case  lawyer,  earning 
fees  in  order  that  he  might  besot  himself  with  brandy. 
He  was  a  profound  student,  and  a  student  of  prin- 
ciples. At  Princeton  College,  in  addition  to  the' 
studies  necessary  to  give  him  the  highest  honors  in  a 
class  of  thirty-five,  Martin  took  a  course  of  French 
and  Hebrew.  His  parents  were  poor,  but  he  said  that 
in  giving  him  a  liberal  education  they  had  endowed 
him  with  "a  patrimony  for  which  my  heart  beats 
towards  them  with  a  more  grateful  remembrance 
than  had  they  bestowed  upon  me  the  gold  of  Peru  or 
the  gems  of  Golconda."  Luther  Martin  was  born  in 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  in  1744;  he  was  graduated  in 
1762,  and  immediately  set  out  to  this  State  in  search 
of  a  school,  securing  one  at  Queenstown,  Queen 
Anne's  Co.,  under  the  patronage  of  Edward  Tilgh- 
man.  While  teacliing  school  he  studied  law,  borrow- 
ing books  from  Judge  Solomon  Wright,  and  laboring 
indefatigably.  He  was  often  arrested  for  debt,  even 
at  that  early  day,  but  his  studies  were  never  arrested. 
"  I  am  not  even  yet,"  he  said  long  after  this  period, 
"  I  was  not  then,  nor  have  I  ever  been,  an  economist 
of  anything  but  time."  Even  while  walking  on  the 
street  he  would  be  seen  reading  some  volume  or  docu- 
ment lest  a  moment  should  be  wasted. 

Martin  was  admitted  to  the  Virginia  bar  in  1771, 
began  to  practice  in  1772,  removed  to  Accomac,  and 
thence  to  Somerset,  in  Maryland,  where  his  practice 


was  soon  worth  one  thousand  pounds  per  annum. 
In  his  first  term  in  a  criminal  court,  of  thirty  cases 
he  had,  twenty-nine  resulted  in  acquittal.  He  took 
an  active  and  ardent  part  in  the  struggle  for  American 
independence,  was  member  of  the  Maryland  Consti- 
tutional Convention,  and  the  only  leading  lawyer  who 
dared  accept  the  office  of  attorney-general.  Tories 
were  abundant  in  Somerset  County  at  that  time,  and 
Martin  prosecuted  them  and  confiscated  their  goods 
with  an  unsparing  vigor,  and  with  such  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  law  that  none  escaped.  Martin, 
like  Chase,  was  an  ardent  Federalist  politician.  He 
defended  Chase  when  impeached,  and  his  defense  of 
Burr  in  his  trial  for  treason  is  not  only  one  of  the  causes 
cHibre  of  the  United  States,  but  secured  for  Martin  the 
active,  life-long  gratitude  of  the  most  heartless  man  the 
country  ever  produced.  This  great  man  died  paralytic, 
imbecile,  in  penury,  a  pen.sioner.  Yet  the  Maryland 
bar  had  such  a  sense  of  his  greatness  and  of  his  broad 
contributions  to  legal  science,  and  their  obligations  to 
him  on  that  account,  that  they  willingly  consented  to 
pay  an  annual  license  tax  for  his  maintenance,  and 
procured  an  act  of  the  Legislature  legalizing  the  as- 
sessment and  collection  of  the  tax,  a  case  probably 
without  precedent  in  professional  history.  Martin 
stands  out  among  lawyers  for  presenting  the  sound 
sense  of  the  law  without  trick  or  ornament,  in  beauty 
unadorned.    His  knowledge  was  ahvavs  broader  than 


THE   BENCH    AND   BAR. 


711 


his  case ;  his  mind  seemed  to  grasp,  co-ordinate,  and  I 
classify  the  principles  of  the  law  as  if  it  were  one  of 
the  exact  sciences,  and  his  professional  accuracy  was 
so  generally  acknowledged 
that  his  mere  opinion  was 
considered  law,  and  is  still 
deemed  sound  authority  be- 
fore any  of  our  tribunals.  i 
It  is  commonly  said  that  I 
when  Wm.  Pinkney  returned 
iVum  Europe  (where  he  had 
l)oen  serving  as  commis- 
sioner under  the  Jay  treaty), 
in  the  full  flush  of  his  ex- 
traordinary powers,  and  with 
his  eloquence  pruned  and 
chastened  down  to  the  tone  of  English  models, 
Martin's  great  position  at  the  bar  fell  away.  But 
when  Pinkney  came  back  Martin,  who  was  twenty 
years  his  junior,  had  already  -seen  his  best  days, 
and  these  two  were  never  rivals,  nor  can  they  well 
be  compared  together.  Their  methods  were  en- 
tirely difl'erent.  Martin's  cases  and  his  arguments  on 
them  grew  out  of  his  knowledge  of  the  law,  as  the 
tree  springs  from  the  soil ;  but  Pinkney  built  up  his 
cases  as  the  architect,  with  magic  design  and  exact 
eve  and  selection  of  faultless  material, builds  a  Stras- 
buia;  cathedral  or  an  Alhambra.  The  art  is  wonder- 
ful, supernatuial  if  vou  will,  but  it  is  art  neverthe- 
less 

William    Pinknev     this    magic    mechanician,   was 
bom  at    Vnnipolis,   March    17,  17G4,  had  a  private 
tutoi    HI   tlissRs,  began    to   study  medicine,  finally 
^^  studied    law    with    Samuel 

iPHMmL  Chase,  and  came  to  the  bar 

#^^^  in  1786.  He  held  some  legia- 

^L  43^  aSt  lative  offices,  and  practiced 

TT,  r  his    profession    successfully 

'  ''^^  until  1796,  when  he  went  to 

England  on  the  .Jay  treaty 
( laims  commission,  and  also 
ti}  reclaim  Maryland's  Bank 
of  England  stock  from  chan- 
cery. Mr.  Pinkney  removed 
to  Baltimore  in  1S06.  He  was 
attorney-general  of  Mary- 
land and  of  the  United  States,  State  senator,  member 
of  Congress,  minister  to  Russia,  and  United  States 
senator,  dying  in  1822,  in  the  height  of  his  fame.  He 
was  the  most  brilliant  lawyer  the  State  ever  produced, 
but  not  so  sound  nor  so  solid  as  Martin.  Vain,  chary 
of  his  reputation,  he  never  went  into  a  case  without 
the  most  careful  and  elaborate  preparation.  He  did 
not  wish  to  appear  so,  but  was  the  most  laborious  of 
men,  studying  each  theme  like  an  actor  preparing  his 
l)art.  He  knew  the  law  deeply,  but  only  regarded  it 
as  his  instrument.  He  was  philosophical  and  poeti- 
cal in  the  same  way,  so  that  he  might  fill  out  and 
round  up  his  nosegay  ;  yet  so  consummate  was  this 


great  actor's  art — on  the  country's  broadest  stage, 
moreover — that  his  hearers  thought  him  the  most 
perfect  of  orators,  and  said  that  he  conjoined  to 
Burke's  turbid  thought  and  tropical  rhetoric  the 
chaste  sentiment  of  Canning,  the  sonorous  declama- 
tion of  Pitt,  the  vivid  fancy  of  Sheridan,  Fox's  ardor 
and  passion,  and  Erskine's  rapid  but  eloquent  flow. 
Why  not?  William  Pinkney  was  the  aptest  pupil 
that  ever  lived,  and  during  his  nine  years  in  England 
he  was  at  school  to  all  these  masters.  The  traditions 
of  his  triumphs,  however,  are  something  wonderful, 
and  show  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  extraordinary 
force  and  versatility.  These  triumphs,  however, 
were  always  the  personal  victories  of  Mr.  Pinkney, 
and  only  legend  tells  of  th<^m,  while  the  victories  of 
Martin  were  the  victories  of  the  law,  and  its  applica- 
tions such  that  the  courts  even  to  this  day  respond  to 
their  influence.  The  distinction  is  as  great  as  that 
between  the  appearance  and  manner  of  the  two  men, 
— Marlin,  awkward,  matter-of-fact,  slovenly  in  speech 
and  dress,  a  great  snuff-taker,  and  often  using  his 
sleeve  in  lieu  of  a  handkerchief,  sometimes  hardly 
sober  enough  to  appear  in  court,  yet  never  losing  or 
tangling  the  thread  of  his  argument ;'  Pinkney,  with 
the  airs  of  a, petit  maitre,  coming  into  court  gloved 
and  dressed  in  the  height  of  fa.shion,  or  hurrying  in, 
booted  and  spurred,  as  if  he  had  only  remembered 
the  case  at  the  last  moment,  making  good  play  with 
his  handkerchief  and  his  pinch  of  snufi'  a  ki  mar- 
quise, always  the  actor,  afliected  even  to  himself  and 
his  own  thoughts,  yet  always  fortified  at  every  point 
in  regard  to  his  own  case,  terribly  in  earnest  to  win 
it,  and  (^erribly  determined  to  let  no  rival  eclipse  him 
in  the  argument. 

To  divide  business  with  these  great  barristers  there 
came  to  Baltimore  in  1802  one  of  the  best-connected 
men  of  the  lower  part  of  the  Eastern  Shore,  William 
H.  Winder,  of  Somerset  County.  Born  in  1775,  edu- 
cated in  Pennsylvania,  studying  law  under  John 
Henry  and  Gabriel  Duvall,  Gen.  Winder  began  his 
public  career  by  representing  his  native  county  in  the 
Legislature.  He  came  to  Baltimore,  and  by  tact, 
skill,  and  the  winning  grace  of  his  Eastern  Shore 
manners  soon  took  a  front  place  in  his  profession. 
In  the  war  of  1812,  while  Pinkney  only  took  a  com- 
pany command.  Winder  went  regularly  into  service, 
rose  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general  and  adjutant- 
general,  nor  did  his  capture  on  the  Canadian  frontier 
nor  his  inglorious  defeat  at  Bladensburg  injure  his 
popularity.  When  he  died,  in  1824,  only  forty-nine 
years  old,  he  had  the  largest  practice  of  any  lawyer 
at  the  Baltimore  bar,  and  one  of  the  largest  in  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court. 


^  In  his  latter  days  Martin  could  not  plead  unless  under  the  InHuence 
of  stimulants,  and  the  story  is  ramiliar  of  the  case  where  his  client  made 
his  fee  contingent  upon  Martin's  keeping  his  promise  not  to  drink.  He 
stammered,  stumbled,  broke  down,  and  at  last,  seixlint:  for  a  pint  of 
brandy  and  a  loaf  of  bread,  ate  the  requisite  stimulant  with  his  bread 
soaked  in  it,  and  won  his  case. 


7ii 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


Here,  too,  about  the  same  time  came  the  illustrious 
son-in-law  of  Charles  Carroll  of  CarrolltoJi,  Robert 
Goodloe  Harper,  a  Virginian  by  birth,  graduate  of 
Princeton,  representative  of  South  Carolina  in  Con- 
gress from  1794  to  1801.  Harper  was  Pinkney's  age, 
but  became  United  States  senator  eight  years  before 
the  latter.  Gen.  Harper  was  a  business  lawyer  of  the 
highest  standing,  liis  social  rank  was  exceptionally 
good,  and  he  had  many  sterling  qualities  and  solid 
attainments.  He  was  one  of  the  counsel  of  Judge 
Chase  in  his  impeachment  trial ;  was  a  pamphleteer  of 
signal  ability,  as  the  published  volume  of  his  speeches 
and  addresses  testifies ;  took  a  leading  and  conspicuous 
part  ill  the  foundation  of  the  American  Colonization 
Society,  and  was  foremost  in  promoting  the  works  of 
internal  improvement  in  which  Maryland  began  to 
embark  during  his  prime.  He  died  very  suddenly  on 
the  14th  of  January,  182.5. 

If  to  these  names  we  add  those  of  Roger  Brooke 
Taney,  the  late  chief  justice  of  the  United  States, 
and  William  Wirt,  whose 
lives,  public  property, 
do  not  need  to  be  recited 
here,  it  will  be  admitted 
that  the  early  bar  of  Bal- 
timore deserves  all  and 
more  than  the  encomi- 
ums that  have  been  be- 
stowed upon  it.  Taney, 
though  he  lived  down  to 
our  own  times,  was  the 
contemporary  of  Harper 
and  Winder,  of  Pinkney 
and  Martin.  He  was 
attorney-general  of  Maryland,  and  at  the  head  of  the 
profession  in  the  city  and  State,  when  Andrew  Jack- 
son took  him  and  in  rapid  succession  made  him  At- 
torney-General of  the  United  States,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
A  man  of  the  purest  character,  the  loftiest  principles, 
the  calmest  judgment,  the  racst  unblenching  courage,, 
his  spotless  life  and  record  were  proof  against  the 
foulest  breath  of  calumny  and  the  mo.st  frantic  con- 
vulsions of  cant.  He  served  his  State  and  his  country 
well,  and  rests  peacefully  in 
his  honored  grave.  Wirt, 
the  most  amiable  and  affec- 
tionate, the  most  loved  and 
esteemed  of  men,  did  not 
come  to  the  city  to  live 
until  all  these  greater  lights 
of  the  law  had  passed  away, 
l)ut  he  had  long  been  their 
intimate  and  familiar  as 
well  as  their  assc^ciate  in 
many  important  cases. 
wH.iiAM  wiitT.  Wirt  was  a  charming  au- 

thor,— his  "  British  Spy"  is 
in  some  sort  a  classic, —  he  was  eloquent,  elegant,  and 


ornate,  yet  it  must  be  confessed  his  strain  was  rather 
thin.  His  oratory  and  his  arguments  appear  effemi- 
nate and  flimsy  in  contrast  with  Martin's  massive 
logic  and  Pinkney's  subtle  reasoning,  and  even  his 
Blennerhassett  speech,  famous  as  it  is,  will  not  bear 
comparison  with  the  musical  style  of  Harper,  much 
less  the  solid,  unadorned  opinion  of  Taney. 

Around  these  giants  in  law  gathered  many  men 
who    but    for    comparison   with    them   would   have 
shown  themselves  to  be  far  above  the  ordinary  stat- 
ure.  Of  these  it  is  only  possible  to  mention  the  names 
of  Thomas  Beale  Dorsey,  William  Frick,  John  Pur- 
viance,  Nicholas  Brice,  Elias  Glenn,  and  Alexander 
Nesbet,  all  of  whom  ascended  the   bench ;   Joseph 
Hopper  Nicholson,  of  the  old  Ea-stern  Shore  family 
of  that  name,  who  was  chief  judge  of  the  Baltimore 
County  circuit,  and   afterwards   (in    180-5)    was   ap- 
pointed to  the  Court  of  Appeals ;    William  Ward, 
Theodorick  Bland,  who  became  chancellor;  Zebulon 
Hollingsworth,  Stevenson  Archer,  also  chief  judge  of 
Baltimore  County  circuit;  John  Kilty,  David  Hoff- 
man, the  author;  Wm.  Gwynn,  editor  of  the  Federal 
Gazette,  and  prince  of  the  Delphian  Club,  etc.    Jona- 
than Meredith,  a  contemporary  of  all  these,  lived 
right  down  into  our  own  times,  and  deserves  the  title 
I  which  was  accorded  him  of  "  the  Nestor  of  the  bar." 
(       And  meantime  the  students  of  all  these  elders  were 
coming  forward  to  restore  for  a  second  time  the  golden 
age,  the  Safurula  reyna,  of  the  Baltimore  bar.    A  good 
I  focal  point  from  which  to  glance  at  these  would  be 
the  date  of  the  amended  constitution  of  1838,  when 
the  Governors  of  the  State  were  first  elected  by  the 
people.     By  that  time  there  had  been  a  general  re- 
action against  the  State's  policy  of  internal  improve- 
ments, which  had  involved  the  community  in  over- 
whelming debt.     The  protest  of  the  "glorious  nine- 
teen"  had  succeeded   in   arousing   the  people  to  a 
i  consciousness  that  the  State  government  was  degen- 
erating into  a  mere  rotten  borough  system,  and  the 
general  sentiment  was  being  effectually  "democrat- 
ized," so  to  speak.     This  had  its  decided  influence 
1  upon  the  temper  and  character  of  the  bar,  and  though 
j  the   incoming   leaders  were  still   Whigs,  they   were 
Whigs  of  a  very  different  stamp  from  the  semi-Fed- 
1  eralists  of  the  Harper  school.     Fogyism  was  depart- 
ing,  like  silk  stockings  and  hair  powder,  and  the 
railroad  spirit  had  already  made  its  distinct  and  rec- 
ognizable impress  upon  society. 
I       Easily  first  and  foremost  of  the  new  school,  legiti- 
[  mate  and  worthy  successor  of  Martin  and  Pinkney, 
Winder   and   Harper,  stands   the  towering  form  of 
I  John  Van  Lear  McMahon.     Born  at  Cumberland  in 
I  1800,  taking  first  honors  at  Princeton  when  only  seven- 
teen years  old,  and  coming  to  the  bar  at  nineteen,  Mr. 
McMahon  was  as  distinctly  a  nineteenth  century  man 
as  Messrs.  Harper  and  Carroll  were  of  the  eighteenth. 
His  immediate  success  at  the  bar  did  not  prevent  him 
from  plunging  at  once  into  politics,  and  in  his  second 
term  in  the  House  of  Delegates  he  became  the  recog- 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR. 


nized  leader  of  that  body,  taking  a  memorable  stand 
in  favor  of  granting  equality  of  civil  rights  to  the 
Hebrews.  In  1826  he  came  to  Baltimore  to  live,  was 
twice  njain  oloctrd  to  the  Legislature  as  a  .lackson 
Democrat,  and  declined  a 
nomination  to  Congress.  It 
was  rather  a  personal  issue 
with  the  Jackson  party  than 
a  change  of  principles  which 
ma. I.'  :\r(01uhon  turn  Whig; 
liis  (  'iinilirihind  birth,  educa- 
tion, ami  associates  inclined 
him  to  favor  internal  im- 
provements from  the  first, 
and  this  he  did  in  a  masterful 
way,  not  only  by  his  eloquent 
J,, II  voice,  but  by  his  equally  ef- 

fective pen,  in  pamphlets, 
memorials,  reports,  and  in  bills  and  charters  which 
embodied  and  vivified  the  spirit  of  the  institutions 
he  aided  in  creating.  He  drew  the  charter  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  the  first  incorporating 
act  of  the  kind  ever  prepared  in  this  country,  and  the 
model  for  all  that  have  succeeded  it.  This  fragment 
of  Maryland  history,  which  is  one  of  the  monuments 
to  Mr.  McMahon's  memory,  has  caused  the  best  judg- 
ments to  regret  that  he  did  not  devote  himself  entirely 
to  literary  pursuits,  for  it  is  in  this  field  that  his 
broad  and  philosophical  mind. seemed  to  exercise 
itself  most  freely.  He  was  a  man  of  towering  genius, 
the  equal  of  any  political  speakers,  a  lawyer  pro- 
found, astute,  full  of  resources,  and  knowing  at  once 
the  authority,  the  precedent,  the  principle,  and  the 
"  right  reason"  of  every  point  he  made.  He  was  an 
insatiate  reader,  and  a  teacher  of  such  winning  pow- 
ers that  those  who  listened  to  him  were  never  con- 
scious of  the  lapse  of  time.  His  oddities  and  eccen- 
tricities were  harmless,  and  he  was  the  most  charm- 
ing and  fascinating  of  companions. 

John  Nelson,  one  of  McMahon's  rivals  at  the  bar, 
though  not  thought  to  be  a  larger  and  broader  man, 
was  by  many  esteemed  to  be  a  better  lawyer  than  even 
that  eloquent  pleader,  who  boasted  that  he  never  lost 
a  case.  Mr.  Nelson  was  a  most  accomplished  and 
able  barrister ;  he  was  a  skillful  and  astute  diploma- 
tist, and  a  man  all  of  whose  varied  parts  were  rounded 
up  into  perfection  by  close  and  exhaustive  study,  by 
acute  analysis  and  a  power  of  conjoined  comprehen- 
sion and  apprehension  such  as  is  vouchsafed  to  but 
few  men.  He  was  a  genial,  kindly,  warm-hearted, 
thoroughly  well-balanced  man.  His  natural  endow- 
ments were  great,  his  intellect  was  luminous  and  vig- 
orous, and  he  regarded  law  as  a  science,  the  most  in- 
tricate problems  of  which  it  was  his  province,  his 
privilege,  and  his  delight  to  master  and  unravel.  In 
the  didactic  parts  of  his  profession,  before  the  court 
and  before  a  jury,  his  rea.soning  was  close  and  ex- 
haustive, his  logic  masterly,  but  this  did  not  preclude 
him  from  tlie  exercise  of  a  genuine  eloquence  that 


was  pleasing  without  being  florid,  and  persuasive  with- 
out vehemence.  The  late  Reverdy  Johnson,  in  speak- 
ing of  Mr.  Nelson's  powers,  said,  "  I  have  heard  more 
eloquence,  more  brilliant  imagery,  more  power  of 
amplification,  and  more  affluence  of  learning,  but  I 
do  not  think  that  in  force  of  analysis,  clearness  of 
arrangement,  perspicuity  of  statement,  simplicity  of 
language,  closeness  of  logic,  and  concentration  of 
thought  I  have  ever  seen  Mr.  Nelson  much,  if  at  all, 
excelled."  John  Nelson  was  born  in  Frederick,  Md., 
in  1790 ;  he  was  elected  to  Congress  when  only 
twenty-five  years  old ;  appointed  minister  to  Naples 
by  Andrew  Jackson,  and  made  Attorney-General  by 
John  Tyler.  In  the  latter  position  he  succeeded  the 
brilliant  Hugh  Swinton  Legare,  of  South  Carolina, 
but  did  not  sufl'er  in  the  least  by  the  comparison.  He 
died  in  Baltimore  in  1860,  after  a  severe  fit  of  the 
gout. 

It  is  natural  when  we  speak  of  McMahon  and 
Nelson  for  the  thought  to.  revert  to  Reverdy  John- 
son. This  sturdy  oak  of 
the  law  was  the  senior 
of  the  great  triumvirate, 
in  some  resjiects  like- 
wise the  greatest  of  the 
three.  A  man  of  won- 
derful power,  both  phys- 
ical and  mental,  com- 
bative, yet  subtle,  acute, 
yet  never  wasting  time 
on  hair-splitting,  Mr. 
Johnson's  scope  and 
range  were  remarkable. 
He  could  talk  to  a  jury 

of  plain  farmers  in  a  simple  diction  of  which  they 
understood  every  word  (or  thought  they  did),  and  so 
make  them  have  perfect  faith  in  a  new  medical  theory 
of  "  moral  insanity,"  invented  by  him  for  the  nonce 
and  enforced  by  precept  and  example.  He  knew — 
none  better  than  he — how  to  address  the  venerable 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  so  as  to  win  their  ap- 
probation while  securing  their  attention,  and  giving 
them  the  pleasing  sense  of  relief  from  the  deluge  of 
verbiage  perpetually  rising  around  and  threatening 
to  overwhelm  them.  He  was  the  readiest  of  debaters 
in  the  Senate,  where  his  profound  grasp  of  constitu- 
tional subjects  kept  him  ready  armed  in  any  emer- 
gency. He  was  skillful,  astute,  and  aufait  in  all  the 
language  and  terms  of  diplomacy,  never  losing  sight 
of  the  main  issue  of  his  case,  while  affecting,  with 
the  politesse  of  Talleyrand,  the  indifferent  attachment 
of  a  Walpolc  to  the  middle  way  of  compromise,  and 
as  an  after-dinner  speaker  he  was  as  clear,  as  genial, 
as  sparkling,  and  as  delightful  as  a  draught  of  old 
southside  Madeira,  sunny  and  golden  as  the  ra.vs  in 
which  it  had  ripened.  His  capacity  for  work  and 
business  was  almost  miraculous.  It  despised  the 
weight  of  years  and  the  loss  of  sight,  and  when  his 
last  fatal  accident  befel  him,  on  Feb.  9,  1876,  at  An- 


7U 


HISTORY   OF  BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


napolis,  liis  mind  and  his  powers  seemed  to  be  in 
their  full  vigor.  Mr.  Johnson  was  bred  in  the  law. 
The  son  of  Chancellor  Johnson  the  first,  the  brother 
of  Chancellor  Johnson  the  second,  he  was  born  in 
Annapolis,  May  21,  1796,  educated  at  St.  John's  Col- 
lege, and  taught  law  in  his  father's  otlice.  In  1817 
he  came  to  Baltimore  to  challenge  the  stalwart  .elders 
whose  history  we  have  already  sketched.  He  never 
hesitated  to  throw  down  tlie  gauntlet  to  any  one.  His 
success  was  immediate  and  continuous,  nor  did  his 
loss  of  popularity  in  consequence  of  the  Bank  of 
Maryland  troubles  affect  his  standing  at  the  bar.  He 
was  Attorney-General  of  the  United  Suites  in  1849, 
United  States  senator  in  1863,  minister  to  England 
in  1868,  and  besides  these  received  many  other  im- 
portant appointments  at  the  hands  of  his  State  and 
the  Federal  Government. 

Hon.  John  Glenn,  Mr.  Johnson's  associate  in  many 
business  enterprises,  died  in  18-53,  being  judge  of  the 
United  States  District  Court.  He  was  the  successor 
of  Upt<in  S.  Heath,  who  had  died  in  February,  1852, 
aged  si.xty-seven,  after  fifteen  years'  distinguished  ser- 
vice on  that  bench,  to  which  he  was  appointed  by 
President  Van  Buren.  Mr.  Glenn  w:is  essentially  a 
business  lawyer,  attending  to  what  is  known  as  cham- 
ber practice  mainly.  In  this  field  he  had  few  equals, 
and  his  business  of  this  sort  wa-s  probably  more  ex- 
tensive than  that  of  any  of  his  contemporaries. 

ilr.  Johnson  took  criminal  business  of  importance 
in  the  Baltimore  Criminal  Court  now  and  then,  and 
■was  in  this  way  often  brought  into  contact,  and  some- 
times in  collision,  with  George  R.  Richardson,  the 
last  attorney-general  of  Maryland  under  the  old  con- 
stitution, and  one  of  the  most  brilliant  criminal  law- 
yers of  his  day.  Mr.  Richardson  came  to  Baltimore 
in  1834,  and  rose  so  rapidly  that  in  1845,  when  Josiah 
Bayley  resigned,  the  position  fell  almost  naturally  to 
him.  He  never  had  his  equal  at  the  Baltimore  bar, 
probably,  in  the  force  of  his  appeals  to  the  jury,  not 
to  mercy,  but  to  vindicate  the  majesty  of  the  law. 
The  State  was  his  client,  and  he  defended  it  with  all 
the  power  of  his  remarkable  eloquence,  with  all  the 
acumen  of  an  almost  intuitive  judgment.  His  search- 
ing, rigorous  cross-examination,  his  keen  sifting  and 
analysis  of  testimony,  his  bold  arraignment  and 
scathing  impeachment  made  him  the  terror  of  the 
criminal  and  the  dread  of  the  criminal's  counsel.  He 
was  always  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  his  energy 
seemed  almost  resistless.  Hon.  S.  Teackle  Wallis,  in 
the  bar  meeting  after  3Ir.  Richardson's  death,  spoke 
of  "  his  high  attainments,  the  masculine  vigor  of  his 
thoughts,  his  close-knit,  cogent  logic,  his  intense,  im- 
passioned eloquence,  that  have  triumphed  here  too 
■often  to  pass  away  with  the  breath  of  his  nostrils." 
Mr.  Richardson  was  manly,  brave,  generous,  and  had 
a  warm  and  tender  heart,  iis  quick  to  forgive  as  to 
resent.  He  proved  this  in  the  collision  between  him 
and  Reverdy  Johnson  in  June,  1843,  when  it  is 
thought  that  a  duel  was  only  prevented  by  the  prompt 


arrest  of  Mr.  Johnson  upon  Judge  Brice's  warrant. 
A  day  or  two  later  the  two  belligerents  met  and  shook 
hands  in  open  court.  They  were  completely  recon- 
ciled, and  abided  friends  until  death. 

It  was  in  this  court,  and  principally  under  the 
abrasions  of  George  R.  Richardson's  rasp,  that  the 
late  William  C.  Preston,  Richardson's  contemporary 
as  well  as  ours,  acquired  that  skill  and  dexterity 
which  made  him  one  of  the  best  criminal  lawyers, 
astute  and  resourceful  to  a  remarkable  degree  in  the 
difficult  art  of  defense.  Many  another  leading  crim- 
inal lawyer  will  acknowledge  the  same  sort  of  indebt- 
edness to  this  brigiit  intellect.  Mr.  Richardson  was 
born  in  Worcester  County  in  1803;  came  to  the  Bal- 
timore, bar  in  1825.  Mr.  Bayley  made  him  his  deputy 
in  1836,  and  from  that  place  it  was  natural  for  him  to 
step   into   the   attorney-general's   place.     He  was   a 

!  member  of  the  Executive  Council  of  Maryland  for 
several  years. 

One  of  the  best-known  and  most  estimable  lawyers 
of  this  period  was  Charles  F.  Mayer,  who,  after  prac- 
ticing his  profession  and  enjoying  the  esteem  and 
confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens  for  over  forty  years, 
died  in  1864.  A  man  of  business  and  possessed  of 
large  interests  of  various  kinds,  he  wiis  also  a  man 
full  of  public  spirit.  He  had  not  held  office,  beyond 
serving  once  as  State  senator,  but  was  identified  with 
every  movement  for  the  advancement  of  the  city. 
His  ways  were  modest  and  retiring,  but  he  was  not 
only  a  scholar  deeply  read  and  the  master  of  a  vigor- 
ous and  impressive  style,  but  also  a  speaker  of  rare 
force  and  earnest  eloquence.  No  man  was  so  often 
called  upon  to  deliver  addresses  upon  public  occa- 
sions of  a  momentous  or  solemn  character,  and  none 
would  have  surpassed  him  in  this  difficult  class  of  di- 
dactic performance. 

^  David  Hotfman,  LL.D.,  J.U.D.,  was,  however,  the 
leading  member  of  the  early  bar  of  Baltimore  who 
mingled  the  sweets  of  authorship  with  the  excerp- 
tions of  the  forum.  Mr.  Hotl'man,  though  surviving 
until  1854,  was  born  in  Baltimore  as  early  as  1784. 
From  1817  to  1836  he  was  Professor  of  Law  in  the 
University  of  Maryland,  and  after  the  termination  of 
his  connection  with  this  institution,  resided  two  years 
in  Europe,  and  subsequently  settled  in  Philadelphia, 
where  he  remained  until  1847.  In  the  fall  of  this 
yejir  he  again  visited  Europe,  returning  home  in  1853. 
and  died  suddenly  of  apople.vy  in  New  York,  Nov. 
11,  1854.  In  1817  he  published  "  A  Course  of  Legal 
Study,"  addressed  to  the  students  of  law  in  the  United 
States,  which  was  rewritten  and  much  enlarged,  and 
published  in  two  volumes  in  1836.  The  first  edition 
was  ably  reviewed  by  Judge  Story  in  the  Morth  Ameri- 
can BerieiB  for  July,  1817,  in  whicJi  he  said  that  he 
had  "  not  the  slightest  hesitation  to  declare  that  it 
contained  by  far  the  most  perfect  system  for  the  study 
of  the  law  which  has  ever  been  offijred  to  the  public." 
The  second  edition  was  reviewed  in  the  same  periodi- 

'  cal  for  July,  1838,  by  George  S.  Hillard,  who  com- 


,^^^^.o.-..:^2r  ;z$t^,^^ 


THE   BENCH   AiND   BAR. 


(15 


mends  the  work  iu  the  highest  terms  ;  and  it  has  been 
rewarded  by  the  approbation  of  Marshall,  Kent,  De- 
Witt  Clinton,  and  other  competent  judges  iu  Europe 
and  America.     Mr.  Hoffman  also  published  in  183G 
one  volume  of  his  "  Legal  Qutlines  ;"  "  Miscellaneous 
Thoughts  on  Men,  Manners,  and  Things,"  in  1837  ; 
"  Viator;  or,  A  Peep  into  my  Note-Book,"  in  1841 ; 
"  Legal  Hints,"  in  1846  ;  "  Chronicles,"  two  volumes,  j 
in  18.55,  which  was  to  have  been  extended  to  six  vol-  | 
umes.     "If  we  were  called   upon,"  says  the  North. 
American  Review,  xlv.,  482,  "  to  designate  any  single 
work  which  had  exercised  a  greater  influence  over 
the  profession   of  the  law  in  this  country  than  all  j 
others,  which  had  most  stimulated  the  student  in  his 
studies,  most  facilitated  his  labors,  and,  in  fine,  most 
contributed  to  elevate  the  standard  of  professional 
learning  and  morals,  we  should  unhesitatingly  select  | 
Hoffman's 'Course  of  Legal  Study.' "     George  S.  Hil- 
lard  said,  "  The  constant  reply  of  Lagrange  to  the  ' 
young  men  who  consulted  him  respecting  their  mathe- 
matical studies  was,  '  Study  Euler ;'  and,  in  like  man- 
ner, we  should  say  to  every  law  student  from  Maine  | 
to  Louisiana,  '  Study  Hoffman.' "     In  the  words  of 
another  admirer  of  this  excellent  and  useful  writer, 
"  What  Cujacius  said  of  Paul  de  Castro  has  been  ap- 
propriately applied  to  Prof.  Hoffman's  '  Course  of 
Legal  Study,' — Qui  non  habet  Paulum  de  Castro,  tuni- 
cam  vendat,  et  emat." 

Two  other  lawyers  of  a  literary  turn  must  be  named 
here,  Messrs.  John'H.  B.  Latrobe  and  Isaac  Nevett 
Steele.  The  latter  was,  if  we  mistake  not,  a  con- 
tributor to  Blackwood's  Magazine  about  1820-25,  and 
if  his  profession  had  not  captured  him  and  his  clients 
bound  him  down  to  it,  some  charming  and  important 
work  must  have  come  from  his  bright  and  sparkling 
pen.  Mr.  Steele  is  a  native  of  Cambridge,  Dorches- 
ter Co.,  where  he  was  born  on  the  25th  of  April,  1809. 
He  was  the  son  of  James  Steele,  who  was  a  promi- 
nent citizen  of  Dorchester,  and  was  the  ninth  of  a 
family  of  ten  children.  In  1819  his  father  removed 
to  Annapolis,  where  Mrs.  Steele  [nee  Miss  Mary 
Nevett)  had  been  educated,  and  where  his  death  oc- 
curred not  long  afterwards.  His  demise,  however, 
did  not  interfere  with  the  education  of  his  son,  which 
had  been  commenced  at  Cambridge  under  Rev.  Na- 
thaniel Wheaton,  his  private  tutor,  and  was  after- 
wards continued  at  St.  John's  College,  Annapolis, 
and  at  Trinity  College,  Hartford,  Conn.  Mr,  Steele 
began  his  law  studies  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  in  the 
office  of  Alexander  C.  Magruder,  of  Annapolis,  com- 
pleting them  under  the  direction  of  David  Hoffman, 
of  Baltimore,  and  coming  to  the  bar  in  1830.  His 
earlier  professional  experience  was  not  unlike  that  of 
the  great  majority  of  legal  aspirants, — a  weary,  wait- 
ing time,  gradually  dawning  into  hope  and  success. 
Happily  he  was  not  a  man  to  waste  this  seed-time, 
and  when  the  opportunity  that  comes  to  every  man 
was  at  length  presented  it  found  him  full  armed  and 
ready  to  meet  on  equal  terms  the  best  legal  talent  of 


his  day.  In  1839  he  had  so  far  distinguished  himself 
as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  then  attorney-gen- 
eral, Josiah  Bayley,  who  appointed  him  his  deputy 
for  Baltimore  County  Court,  an  appointment  con- 
tinued by  Mr.  Bayley's  successor,  the  late  George  R. 
Richardson,  and  retained  by  Mr.  Steele  until  he  re- 
signed it  in  1849. 

His  health,  which  had  never  been  robust,  and 
which  had  prevented  his  graduation  at  Trinity  Col- 
lege, again  failed  him  in  1845,  and  he  was  forced  to 
seek  in  foreign  travel  rest  and  recreation  from  the 
labors  of  his  office  and  the  general  practice  that  had 
by  this  time  engaged  him.  Accordingly  he  visited 
Europe,  and  remained  abroad  eighteen  months, 
traveling  in  England  and  on  the  continent.  On  his 
return  to  Maryland  he  at  once  resumed  the  practice 
of  the  law  in  Baltimore,  and  in  1849  married  Rosa  L., 
daughter  of  the  late  Hon.  John  Nelson,  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Frederick  bar.  Still  impeded  in  his  pro- 
fessional career  by  tlie  feebleness  of  a  physical  con- 
stitution which  was  unequal  to  the  demands  made 
upon  it  by  a  vigorous  intellect,  he  accepted  in 
1849  the  position  of  c/mrf/e  d'affaires  to  Venezuela, 
in  the  hope — fully  realized  by  the  result — that  the 
mild  and  equable  climate  of  that  latitude  would 
enable  him  at  last  to  persevere  without  interrup- 
tion in  the  labors  of  professional  life.  At  Caraccas 
Mr.  Steele  remained  for  four  years,  narrowly  es- 
caping death  in  a  struggle  with  robbers,  who  broke 
into  the  house  occupied  by  the  legation,  in  the  ex- 
pectation of  finding  in  the  dwelling  of  the  charge 
d'affaires  the  specie  which  it  was  customary  for  per- 
sons to  deposit  for  safe  keeping  with  the  diplomatic 
representatives  of  their  respective  nationalities. 
While  in  Venezuela  Mr.  Steele  gained  considerable 
credit  for  having  secured  the  settlement  of  heavy 
claims  on  the  part  of  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
which  had  been  so  long  postponed  as  to  be  regarded 
as  almost  hopeless. 

Mr.  Steele's  health  having  been  restored  by  his  so- 
journ in  Venezuela,  he  returned  to  the  United  States 
in  18S3,  at  once  resuming  his  practice,  and  devoting 
himself  to  it  without  interruption  from  that  time  un- 
til the  present.  Although  his  connection  with  poli- 
tics has  been  merely  of  a  passing  character,  he  was  at 
one  period  chairman  of  the  Whig  State  Central  Com- 
mittee, and  has  always  been  found  ready  to  throw  the 
weight  of  his  influence  and  intellect  in  support  of 
the  principles  which  he  has  believed  best  for  the 
welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  country,  permitting, 
even  as  late  as  1880,  the  use  of  his  name  as  one  of  the 
Democratic  Presidential  electors  of  Maryland.  No 
other  pursuit,  however,  no  matter  how  tempting  or 
attractive,  was  suffered  to  divert  his  mind  and  ener- 
gies from  the  profession  to  which  he  had  devoted 
himself,  and  it  is  to  this  fixedness  of  purpose  and  pa- 
tient determination  that  much  of  his  success  is  due. 
The  first  occasion  which  drew  public  attention 
strongly  to  him  was  the  trial  of  Adam  Horn  in  1843, 


716 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


in  which  Mr.  Steele  alone  represented  the  State,  con- 
ducting the  prosecution  against  the  counsel  for  the 
defense,  two  of  them  of  the  highest  standing  in  the 
profession,  and  securing  the  conviction  of  the  ac- 
cused after  a  seven  days'  trial,  in  which  he  displayed 
the  most  conspicuous  ability.  In  the  present  limits 
it  is  impossible  to  enumerate  even  the  most  important 
of  the  many  noted  eases  in  which  Mr.  Steele  has  been 
engaged  during  his  long  professional  career.  There 
have  been  few  cases  before  the  Maryland  courts  within 
the  last  twenty-five  years  involving  great  principles 
or  large  interests  in  which  Mr.  Steele  has  not  been 
prominent  as  counsel,  and,  with  one  or  two  excep- 
tions, his  name  will  be  found  more  frequently  in  the 
pages  of  the  Maryland  reports  than  any  other  lawyer 
of  his  time.  After  all,  though  the  judges  on  the 
bench  pronounce  the  decisions,  it  is  sometimes  the 
lawyer  on  the  floor  below  who  moulds  the  judicial 
mind,  and  it  is  neither  exaggeration  nor  extravagant 
praise  to  say  that  much  of  that  part  of  the  law  of  i 
the  State  which  is  to  be  found  in  reported  cases  and 
judicial  decisions  bears  the  impress  of  Mr.  Steele's 
clear,  comprehensive,  and  powerfiil  intellect.  In  his 
mental  constitution  logic  and  reason  claim  the  fore- 
most places.  Rhetoric  and  forensic  display  are  dis- 
carded unless  they  spring  naturally  and  spontane- 
ously from  the  subject.  If  there  be  a  weak  point 
in  his  adversary's  armor,  no  matter  how  ingenious 
the  concealment  or  cunning  his  fence,  it  is  instantly 
discovered,  and  as  instantly  made  the  object  of  suc- 
cessful and  irresistible  attack.  In  his  statement  of  a 
case  ■'  he  is  remarkable  for  his  clearness,  and  in  his  1 
argument  of  it  for  his  forcible  conciseness.  At  the 
trial  table  he  is  cautious  and  wary,  leaving  nothing 
to  chance,  and  taking  nothing  for  granted,  and  when  j 
he  is  done  there  is  little  left  for  any  one  else  to  do." 
There  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  verdict  which  posterit)' 
will  pass  upon  his  profes.sional  rank  and  career,  as 
there  is  none  with  regard  to  the  judgment  of  the 
present  generation.  He  stands  easily  among  the  first 
lawyers  of  the  day,  and  in  the  future  will  be  classed 
with  the  brilliant  galaxy  of  legal  talent  that  has 
adorned  the  history  of  the  Maryland  bar. 

Mr.  Steele  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 
At  the  annual  commencement  on  the  31st  of  July, 
1872,  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  was  conferred  on 
him  by  St.  John's  College,  Annapolis. 

John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  born  May  4,  1803,  seems  to  be 
incapable  of  either  wearing  out  or  rusting  out.  He  j 
has  been  one  of  the  busiest  men  in  Baltimore  for  over 
fifty  years, — artist,  engineer,  railroad  lawyer,  patent 
lawyer,  business  lawyer,  philanthropist,  historian,  poet,  j 
At  what  point  has  he  not  touched  society  in  Baltimore, 
and  where  has  his  touch  fallen  without  being  felt  for  the 
good  and  benefit  of  all  ?  No  man  in  the  United  States 
has  a  larger  store  of  varied  information  than  Mr.  La- 
trobe, and  in  the  way  of  ana,  reminiscences  and  ob- 
servation, such  as  a  man  of  the  world  picks  up  in  the 
:  of  long  inculcation  in  society  of  the  best  sort. 


Mr.  Latrobe's  memory  is  an  unequaled  treasure- 
house. 

To  this  period  also  belongs  George  M.  Gill,  who 
still  gives  the  community  the  benefit  of  his  sage  coun- 
sel and  his  local  knowledge.  Mr.  Gill  was  born  in 
Baltimore  in  1803;  educated  at  St.  Mary's  College, 
and  brought  to  the  bar  when  only  twenty  years  old. 
For  fifty-eight  years  he  has  been  in  steady  practice, 
having  much  fiduciary  business  and  many  public 
trusts  in  his  care.  He  is  not  a  politician,  yet  no  one 
speaks  more  boldly  or  more  frequently  to  the  public 
on  occasions  when  the  general  interests  demand  it. 
Early  in  life  he  was  a  member  of  the  City  Council, 
also  city  counselor,  and  he  represented  Baltimore  in 
the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1867,  where  he  was 
eminently  successful  in  securing  the  adoption  of  safe- 
guards to  protect  the  city  from  debt  and  loose,  illicit 
expenditures. 

The  last  of  the  lawyers  whom  we  shall  attempt  to 
mention  in  connection  with  this  period  as  fertile  in 
legal  ability  of  the  first  order  will  be  William  Schley 
and  Hugh  Davy  Evans.  The  latter,  the  best,  most 
amiable,  most  unsophisticated  of  men,  was  also  the 
most  erudite  of  lawyers  in  obstrusities  and  the  by- 
paths, the  musty  precedents  and  abandoned  practices 
of  his  profession.  But  he  was  a  man  "  born  out  of 
his  due  time,"  or,  rather,  living  in  the  wrong  sphere. 
As  an  English  proctor,  a  judge  of  a  court  of  arches, 
or  the  counsel  of  an  Episcopal  government,  with  his 
books  in  the  dim  religious  shade  of  a  cathedral  close, 
Mr.  Evans  would  have  been  a  great  success.  His 
services  were  invaluable  in  consultation.  His  books 
are  accurate  and  condensed  embodiments  of  the  legal 
status  of  their  subjects,  his  briefs  were  models  in 
their  way,  but  he  had  no  sort  of  success  at  the  bar 
that  was  at  all  proportionate  to  his  talents  and  indus- 
try. Mr.  Schley,  on  the  other  hand,  was  one  of  the 
most  competent  and  successful  barristers  and  pleaders 
that  the  Baltimore  bar  has  produced.  He  knew  the 
law  well,  both  the  common  law,  the  statutes,  and  the 
rulings;  he  was  an  excellent  judge  of  human  nature, 
full  of  sound  practical  common  sense,  and  no  man 
could  be  plainer  or  more  logical  than  he  in  statement 
and  argument.  In  many  respects  he  resembled  Lu- 
ther Martin,  and  he  had  the  faculty  in  a  remarkable 
degree,  both  before  judge  and  before  jury,  of  follow- 
ing up,  pursuing,  and  hunting  down  with  pertinacity 
and  the  unerring  instinct  of  a  sleuth-hound  the  point 
of  all  others  which  was  the  material,  vital,  and  hinge- 
ing  point  of  the  case  upon  which  he  was  engaged. 

In  1851  the  issue  raised  by  the  "glorious  nineteen" 
was  finally  settled.  Governor  Philip  Francis  Thomas, 
in  his  message  to  the  General  Assembly  when  it  met 
in  January,  1850,  speaking  of  the  long-deferred  ques- 
tion of  constitutional  reform,  very  plainly  told  them 
that  "unless  the  wishes  of  the  people  in  this  behalf  are 
gratified,  the  sanction  of  the  Legislature  will  not 
much  longer  be  invoked."  A  "  Reform  Bill"  calling 
a  constitutional  convention  was  accordingly  adopted  ; 


4^^^f7^ 


y^;^^ 


THE   BENCH   AND   BAR. 


ri7 


the  convention  met  in  November,  and  adopted  the 
new  constitution  of  May,  1851. 

This  instrument  did  away  with  the  Court  of  Chan- 
cery, made  judges  and  court  officers  elective  by  the 
people,  abolished  imprisonment  for  debt,  and  radically 
changed  the  whole  court  apparatus  of  the  State,  sim- 
plifying practice  and  processes,  deeds,  and  instru- 
ments, and  paving  the  way  for  codifying  the  statutes. 
The  State  was  divided  into  eight  judicial  districts  for 
county  courts  ;  there  was  a  Court  of  Appeals  with  four 
judges,  and  for  Baltimore  City  there  were  established 
a  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  a  Superior  Court,  and  a 
Criminal  Court,  to  which  was  afterwards  added  a  City 
Circuit  Court.  The  office  of  attorney-general  was 
abolished.  Under  this  new  system  John  C.  Legrand 
was  elected  chief  judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  with 
John  Bowie  Eccleston,  William  Hallam  Tuck,  and 
John  Thompson  Mason,  associates.  In  the  Sixth  Ju- 
dicial Circuit,  comprising  Cecil,  Harford,  and  Balti- 
more Counties,  Albert  Constable  was  elected  judge. 
When  he  died,  in  1855,  the  vacancy  was  filled  by 
James  M.  Buchanan,  until  the  election  of  John  H. 
Price  as  his  successor.  In  Baltimore  City,  Judge  Wil- 
liam Frick  was  elected  to  the  Superior  Court  bench. 
When  he  died,  in  1855,  Benjamin  C.  Presstman  was 
appointed,  until  the  election  of  Zadoc  Collins  Lee. 
When  he  died  Robert  M.  Martin  was  appointed. 
William  L.  Marshall  was  elected  judge  of  the  Com- 
mon Pleas,  and  Henry  Stump  judge  of  the  Criminal 
Court.  The  latter  was  removed  by  impeachment  in 
1860,  and  Hugh  Lennox  Bond  appointed.  Under  the 
constitution  of  1867,  under  which  we  now  live,  the 
Baltimore  County  circuit  has  Richard  Grason,  chief 
judge,  and  George  Yellott  and  A.  W.  Bateman  asso- 
ciates. The  chief  judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  is 
James  Lawrence  Bartol.  In  Baltimore  City  there  is 
what  is  called  the  Supreme  Bench.  As  originally 
elected,  it  comprised  Thomas  Parkin  Scott,  chief 
judge,  George  W.  Dobbin,  Henry  F.  Garey,  Camp- 
bell Whyte  Pinkney,  and  Robert  Gilmor.  George 
William  Brown  is  now  chief  judge,  vice  Scott,  de- 
ceased. These  judges  sit  alternately  on  the  benches 
of  the  Superior  Court,  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
the  Criminal  Court,  the  Circuit  Court,  and  the  City 
Court. 

Another  of  the  thoroughly-sound  lawyers  at  the 
Baltimore  bar  is  George  Hawkins  Williams,  who  was 
born  in  Baltimore,  Oct.  5,  1818.  He  belongs  to  a 
family  distinguished  in  both  the  earlier  and  later 
history  of  Massachusetts.  His  father,  George  Wil- 
liams, was  a  native  of  Roxbury,  in  that  State,  and  a 
descendant  of  Robert  Williams,  the  founder  of  the 
American  branch  of  the  family,  and  one  of  the  earli- 
est settlers  of  Roxbury,  where  many  of  its  represen- 
tatives still  reside.  Attracted  by  the  more  genial 
climate  of  Maryland,  George  Williams  determined  to 
remove  to  this  State,  and  soon  after  his  arrival  more 
completely  identified  himself  with  his  new  home  by 
a  matrimonial  alliance  with  one  of  the  most  promi- 
4(5 


nent  families  of  Maryland.  His  wife,  Elizabeth 
Bordley  Hawkins,  was  the  daughter  of  Matthew 
Hawkins,  of  Queen  Anne's  County,  whose  ancestors 
had  settled  in  that  region  previous  to  the  date  of  Lord 
Baltimore's  charter.  The  family  were  originally  set- 
tlers of  Poplar  Island,  but  afterwards  removed  to 
Queenstown,  where  its  members  occupied  a  leading 
position  from  the  earliest  period  of  colonial  history. 
One  of  its  representatives  was  judge  of  the  Provin- 
cial Court  about  1700,  and  another,  Ernault,  at  a 
later  period  was  surveyor-general  of  the  customs. 
Through  the  Fosters  and  the  Lowes  they  were  con- 
nected with  the  family  of  Lord  Charles  Baltimore, 
and  were  also  related  to  the  DeCourcys,  and  through 
the  Marshes  with  the  Formans  of  Clover-Fields,  the 
Tilghmans  of  Hope,  and  the  Chamberses  and  other 
families  at  Chestertown.  Of  John,  the  judge  of  the 
Provincial  Court,  the  father  of  the  surveyor-general, 
and  the  son  of  Thomas,  the  emigrant,  a  very  inter- 
esting memorial  remains  in  the  possession  of  the 
vestry  at  Centreville,  consisting  of  a  large  and  mas- 
sive piece  of  silver-plate  in  an  excellent  state  of 
preservation.  A  fragment  of  his  son's  tombstone  may 
yet  be  seen  near  Queenstown,  but  the  date  of  Er- 
nault's  death  can  be  ascertained  only  by  a  reference 
to  the  correspondence  of  Elizabeth,  his  widow,  now 
in  the  keeping  of  the  descendants  of  the  Hon.  Thomas 
Hands,  at  Chestertown.' 

Descended  thus  from  the  best  blood  of  Massachu- 
setts and  Maryland,  George  H.  Williams  was  care- 
fully educated  and  prepared  to  enter  the  Harvard 
University,  at  which  he  graduated  in  1839  with  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  He  at  once  commenced 
his  legal  studies  under  the  direction  ol'  William 
Schley,  and  soon  proved  himself  a  student  worthy  of 
his  distinguished  instructor.  Upon  his  admission  to 
the  bar  he  at  once  took  high  rank  in  his  profession, 
and  his  reputation  has  since  steadily  kept  pace  with 
the  progress  of  time.  In  many  branches  of  the  law 
Mr.  Williams  has  few  equals  even  among  the  most 
distinguished  of  his  contemporaries,  and  as  a  mer- 
cantile lawyer  especially  he  has  no  superior  at  the 
Maryland  bar.  As  a  speaker  Mr.  Williams  is  pe- 
culiarly happy,  and  possesses  the  rare  faculty  of 
presenting  his  cases  in  a  manner  at  once  attractive 
and  forcible,  interesting  both  judge  and  jury  at  one 
and  the  same  time,  and  convincing  both  while  per- 
haps addressing  only  one.  In  politics  Mr.  Williams 
is  a  Democrat  of  tlie  most  pronounced  character,  and 
has  always  been  a  stanch  supporter  of  all  the  measures 
and  men  of  the  party  to  which  he  belongs.  In  1877 
he  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Delegates  from  Balti- 
more County,  and  although  this  was  the  first  occasion 
on  which  he  had  accepted  political  office,  he  at  once 
took  a  leading  position  in  the  General  Assembly. 
His  principal  object  in  entering  the  political  arena 
was  the  defeat  of  the  efibrt  to  extend  the  city  limits, 


We  are  indebted  for  these  particulars  to  Davis'  Day  t 


HISTORY  OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


and  in  spite  of  powerful  opposing  influence  lie  tri- 
umphed in  this  contest,  and  also  in  his  opposition  to 
the  attempt  to  effect  the  repeal  of  the  law  requiring 
one  of  the  United  States  senators  from  Maryland  to 
be  a  resident  of  the  Eastern  Sliore.  In  1879  he  was 
elected  to  the  State  Senate  from  Baltimore  County, 
taking  his  seat  at  the  session  of  1880,  and  is  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  ablest  members  of  that  body,  where 
he  did  efficient  and  valuable  service  as  a  member  of 
the  Committees  on  Finance,  Education,  Library,  and 
Article  3,  Section  24  of  the  Constitution. 

Mr.  Williams  is  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church.  He  was  mariied  in  January,  1848,  to 
Eleanor  A.  Gittings,  only  daughter  of  the  late  John 
S.  Gittings,  and  has  had  seven  children,  of  whom  six 
— two  .sons  and  four  daughters — are  living.  His 
eldest  son,  George  May,  who  died  in  1880,  was  a 
young  man  of  the  brightest  promise  intellectually,  as 
well  as  of  a  peculiarly  pure  and  exalted  moral  charac- 
ter. He  was  a  member  of  the  bar,  and  had  been 
educated  at  Oxford,  England,  graduating  at  the  col- 
lege of  St.  .John  the  Baptist  in  1872.  The  youngest 
son  is  now  at  the  Charter  House,  Surrey,  England, 
and  will  complete  his  education  at  Oxford. 

While  Mr.  Williams  is  a  thorough  lawyer  and  mas- 
ter of  his  profession  in  its  every  detail  and  depart- 
ment, he  is  at  the  same  time  a  gentleman  of  broad 
and  varied  culture,  and  brings  to  the  discharge  of  his  1 
professional  duties  an  intellect  enriched  by  extensive  i 
and  careful  reading,  and  a  natural  genius  brightened  I 
by  communion  with  the  best  minds  of  all  the  ages. 

John  C.  Legrand  died  in  September,  1861,  at  the 
early  age  of  forty-seven.  He  conjoined  political 
talents  of  the  sort  which  most  quickly  wins  popu- 
larity to  a  well-balanced  legal  mind  and  that  splen- 
did oratorical  power  by  which  multitudes  are  swayed 
and  controlled.  In  this  respect  he  resembled  the  late 
Judge  Albert  Constable,  one  of  the  men  who  have 
made  .the  deepest  sort  of  impression  upon  the  Balti- 
more County  bar.  Albert  Constable  was  a  man  of  re- 
markable brilliancy,  and  of  almost  meteoric  success. 
He  studied  his  profession  with  intense  ardor  and  appli- 
cation, and  when  he  came  to  the  bar  of  Cecil  County 
leaped  at  once  to  success  as  one  who  mounts  a  gallop- 
ing steed.  In  Congress  his  career  was  that  of  a  man 
of  mark  and  distinction  from  the  very  first,  and  on 
the  bench  he  proved  himself  at  once  to  be  one  of  the 
ablest  and  mo.st  conscientious  bf  judges.  His  "strict 
attention  to  his  arduous  duties  in  connection  w5th 
that  cause  ciltibre,  the  Colvin  will  case,  was  the  im- 
mediate cause  of  his  death.  Mr.  Constable's  public 
services  in  office,  however,  were  not  near  so  long  nor 
continuous  as  those  of  Judge  Legrand,  who  was 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  Secretary  of  State, 
judge  of  the  County  Court,  and  chief  justice,  serving 
eighteen  years  continuously  on  the  bench.  He  was  a 
man  of  prodigious  memory  and  wide  miscellaneous 
reading  outside  of  his  i)rofession,  and  one  of  the  most 
genial  and  charming  companions. 


j  Hon.  James  M.  Buchanan,  who  succeeded  Judge 
Constable,  came  of  an  old  Baltimore  County  family, 
in  every  way  prominent  in  its  annals.   Mr.  Buchanan 

,  entered  politics  early  in  life;  he  was  postmaster  at 
Baltimore  in  1845,  and  minister  to  Denmark  from 
1856  to  1860,  besides  holding  many  other  positions  of 

[  trust  and  responsibility. 

Thomas  Parkin  Scott,  the  first  chief  judge  of  the 
Supreme  Bench  of  Baltimore  City,  was  born  in  that 
city  in  1804.  He  was  graduated  at  St.  Mary's  College, 
read  law,  and  came  into  a  large  chancery  and  chamber 
practice.  He  was  auditor  of  the  Court  of  Chancery 
for  thirty-three  years.  He  served  a  term  in  the  City 
Council,  and  in  1861,  while  a  member  of  the  Legis- 

{  lature,  he  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  Fort  La- 

:  fayette,  and  other  bastiles  of  the  United  States,  being 
detained  in  custody  for   fourteen   months,  and  then 

j  released  without  accusation  or  trial.  In  1867  he  was 
elected  judge  of  the  City  Court,  and  in  October,  same 
year,  chief  judge  of  the  Supreme  Bench. 

Another  member  of  the  Legislature,  arrested  at  the 

I  same  time  with  Judge  Scott,  was  Charles  H.  Pitts,  one 

i  of  the  most  accomplished  and  most  beloved  members 
of  the  Baltimore  bar,  who  died  in  1864.  Mr.  Pitts  was 
endowed  with  those  qualities  which  give  usefuln&ss 
and  honor  to  his  calling,  thoroughly  grounded  in  the 
principles  of  his  profession,  and  quick  and  able  in 

1  their  perception  and  application.  He  was  distin- 
guished for  his  taste  and  judgment  as  an  advocate, 
was  eloquent,  witty,  and  forcible,  full  of  manliness, 
honor,  and  loyalty  to  duty  and  to  friendship.'  Mr. 
Pitts  was  a  native  of  Frederick,  but  made  Baltimore 
his  home  from  the  time  that  he  came  to  the  bar. 
The  profession  had  no  greater  favorite  than  Mr.  Pitts. 
Among  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  bar  of 
to-day  is  Archibald  Stirling,  Jr.  Mr.  Stirling  is  the  son 
of  the  venerable  Archibald  Stirling,  now  in  his  eighty- 
fourth  year,  and  president  of  the  Baltimore  Savings- 
Bank,  with  which  he  has  been  so  long  identified  that 
a  full  account  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Stirling  would  be  a 
history  of  the  bank.  Tlie  father  of  Archibald  Stirl- 
ing, Sr.,  was  James  Stirling,  who  was  born  in  Scot- 
land and  emigrated  to  Baltimore  in  1765  ;  he  served 
in  the  Baltimore  cavalry  troop  at  the  siege  of  York- 
town.  The  wife  of  James  Stirling  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania, of  a  family  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  settled 
in  Pennsylvania  long  prior  to  the  Revolution. 
■  The  maternal  grandfather  of  Archibald  Stirling,  Jr., 
vWis  Jacob  Walsh,  born  in  Baltimore  of  ancestors  who 
settled  in  Pennsylvania  in  the  early  times  of  that  col- 
ony. Margaret  Yates,  the  maternal  grandmother,  was 
the  daugliter  of  Maj.  Thomas  Yates,  of  Baltimore,  who 
served  in  the  American  army  during  the  Revolution. 
Archibald  Stirling,  Jr.,  married,  June  13,  1855,  at 
Wye  Heights,  Talbot  Co.,  Md.,  Anne  Steele  Lloyd, 
daughter  of  Daniel  Lloyd,  of  Talbot  County,  Md. ; 
was  descended  from  Edward  Lloyd,  of  Wye,  who 
came  to  Maryland  from  Virginia  in  1650.  She  was 
the  granddaughter,  on  her  mother's  side,  of  Arthur 


'.^<p 


THE   BENCH   AND   BAR. 


Upshur,  of  Accomac  County,  Va.,  and  daughter  of  j 
Virginia  Lloyd,  nee  Upshur. 

Mr.  Stirling  was  educated  at  j)rivate  schools  in  Bal- 
timore, chiefly  at  the  schools  of  Thomas  D.  and  E. 
Thompson  Baird,  and  at  that  of  Michael  McNally, 
from  whence  he  went  to  Princeton  College  and  was 
graduated  in  18.51. 

Returning  to  Baltimore,  he  studied  law  with  John  \ 
H.  B.  Latrobe,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1854. 
He  has  gradually  risen  to  the  first  rank  of  lawyers  at 
the  bar  of  this  city ;  was  city  counselor  of  Baltimore 
City  from  1858  to  1863,  and  State's  attorney  for  the  i 
city  from  1863  to  1864,  and  is  at  present  United  States 
district  attorney  for  Maryland,  having  been  appointed 
in  1869  by  President  Grant,  and  retained  by  President 
Hayes.  Mr.  Stirling  was  brought  up  a  Whig  in  pol- 
itics, casting  his  first  vote  for  Gen.  Scott  for  President 
in  1852.  He  acted  with  the  American  party  and  with 
the  Union  party  during  the  war,  and  has  since  been 
a  recognized  leader  of  the  Republican  party.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Delegates  from  Baltimore 
City  in  the  session  of  1858,  and  was  chairman  of  the 
Committee  of  Ways  and  Means.  His  religious  con- 
nections are  with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  were 
those  of  his  father's  family,  while  his  wife  belongs  to 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  Having  early  made 
the  practice  of  law  his  selection  of  a  profession,  he  has 
steadily  adhered  to  it,  and  made  for  himself  a  name 
and  reputation  at  the  Baltimore  bar.  Firm  and  de- 
cided in  his  political  opinions,  he  has  always  exhibited 
the  courage  of  his  convictions  and  firmly  maintained 
his  principles  without  regard  to  their  popularity  in 
the  community.  Respected  by  his  professional  asso- 
ciates and  esteemed  by  the  whole  community,  Mr. 
Stirling's  success  in  life  has  been  attained  without 
the  least  unpopularity. 

Henry  Winter  Davis,  despite  the  political  estrange- 
ments to  which  his  radical  opinions  and  his  boldness 
in  expressing  them  gave  rise,  is  acknowledged  on  all 
hands  to  have  been  one  of  the  brightest  and  most 
conspicuous  ornaments  of  the  bar  of  Maryland.  He 
was  but  forty-nine  years  old  when  his  death  occurred, 
in  December,  1865,  yet  he  had  reached  a  prominent 
and  commanding  position  in  national  affairs.  Born 
in  Annapolis  in  1817,  he  was  educated  at  Kenyon 
College,  Ohio,  and  the  University  of  Virginia,  with 
the  idea  of  becoming  a  minister  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church.  He  however,  passed  the  bar  in 
Alexandria,  Va.,  and  after  practicing  there  a  while  ; 
came  to  Baltimore  in  1850.  He  was  always  fond  of 
polemics,  however,  and  .shone  in  ecclesiastical  contro- 
versy. He  was  in  every  way  a  ripe  scholar,  full  of 
various  attainments  carefully  elaborated,  and  must 
have  attained  success  as  a  writer  rf  his  oratorical 
powers  had  not  swept  him  away.  As  an  orator  he 
scarcely  had  his  equal,  and  he  was  as  impressive 
on  the  stump  as  he  was  in  legislative  halls.  As 
elector  on  the  Scott  ticket  in  1852,  he  canvassed  the 
State  as  it  had  never  been  canvassed  before.   Then  he  ' 


1^ 

<RY    WINTER  DAVIS. 


joined  the  Know-Nothing  movement,  and  represented 
Baltimore  in  the  Thirty-fourth,  Thirty-fifth,  and 
Thirty-sixth  Congresses,  and 
again  in  the  Thirty-eighth, 
having  been  defeated  for  the 
Thirty  -  seventh  by  Hon. 
Henry  May.  Mr.  Davis  was 
a  master  of  elocution.  His 
mind  was  a  store-house  of 
immense  reading,  which  his 
memory  kept  ready  parceled 
for  his  service;  he  was  highly 
imaginative,  had  great  power 
of  invective,  and  his  wit  and 
sarcasm  were  mordant  to  the 
last  degree.  He  was  one  of 
the  ablest  debaters  who  ever 
went  to  Congress,  and  a  man  of  superb  genius,  im- 
posing presence,  and  possessing  the  faculty  of  com- 
mand in  a  distinguished  degree. 

Richard  James  Gittings  wa.s  born  on  May  22,  1830, 
on  the  family  estate  of  "  Roslin,"  in  the  Eleventh 
District  of  Baltimore  County.  His  father  was  Dr. 
David  Sterett  Gittings,  who  was  born  Aug.  17,  1797, 
and  was  married  to  Julianna  West  Howard,  the 
daughter  of  Col.  .John  Beale  Howard,  who  was  born 
on  Sept.  26,  1798.  She  died  on  Jan.  16,  1847.  The 
father  of  David  Sterett  Gittings  was  Richard  Git- 
tings, who  married  Polly,  the  daughter  of  John 
Sterett;  and  John  Sterett's  wife  was  Deborah,  the 
daughter  of  John  Ridgely,  the  eldest  son  of  the 
original  proprietor  of  the  Hampton  estates.  Richard 
Gittings  was  the  son  of  James  Gittings,  who  married 
the  daughter  of  Dr.  George  Buchanan,  one  of  the 
founders  of  Baltimore.  The  wife  of  Dr.  George  Bu- 
chanan was  Eleanor  Rogers,  and  he  was  the  owner  of 
the  Druid  Hill  estate,  now  Druid  Hill  Park.  Dr. 
Buchanan  was  the  father  of  Gen.  Andrew  Buchanan, 
the  lieutenant  of  Baltimore  County  during  the  Revo- 
lution, and  afterwards  chief  judge  of  the  County 
Court;  also  of  William  Buchanan,  one  of  the  first 
registers  of  wills  of  Baltimore  City  and  County, 
grandfather  of  James  M.  Buchanan,  late  United 
States  minister  to  Denmark,  and  great-grandfather 
of  Admiral  Franklin  Buchanan,  of  the  Confederate 
States  navy,  the  commander  of  the  ironclad  "  Vir- 
ginia" in  the  fight  with  the  "  Monitor"  in  Hampton 
Roads  in  March,  1862.  The  brother  of  Richard  Git- 
tings was  James  Gittings,  who  was  the  father  of  Lam- 
bert Gittings  and  the  late  John  S.  Gittings.  The  two 
brothers,  Richard  and  James,  married  two  sisters,  the 
daughters  of  John  and  Deborah  Sterett,  so  that  Dr. 
David  Sterrett  Gittings  and  John  Sterett  Gittings 
were  doubly  first  cousins.  Dr.  David  Sterett  Git- 
tings was  educated  at  Dickinson  College,  at  Carlisle, 
Pa.,  and  was  graduated  in  medicine  at  the  Maryland 
University.  He  then  went  abroad  to  complete  his 
prpfessional  training,  and  spent  two  years  in  the  hos- 
pitals of  London,  Paris,  and  Edinburgh.    In  the  year 


720 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND  COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


1820  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  took  up 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Baltimore  County, 
where  he  still  resides.  He  was  a  contemporary  and  a 
life-long  friend  of  the  late  Prof.  Nathan  R.  Smith, 
and  also  of  Prof.  John  Buckler.  The  wife  of  Dr. 
Gittings  was,  as  has  been  stated,  the  daughter  of  Col. 
John  Beale  Howard.  Col.  Howard's  wife  was  Mar- 
garet West,  daughter  of  Rev.  William  West,  once  the 
rector  of  St.  Paul's  parish. 

Richard  James  Gittings  was  married  June  5,  1855, 
at  Woodlawn,  the  seat  of  the  bride's  femily,  in  Anne 
Arundel  County,  to  Victoria,  the  daughter  of  the  late 
Col.  Alfred  Sellman.  They  have  five  daughters  and 
one  son,  David  Sterett  Gittings,  Jr.,  who  is  now  going 
through  the  courses  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  University. 
When  Mr.  Gittings  was  ten  years  of  age  he  went  to 
boarding-school  at  New  London  Cross-Roads,  Chester 
Co.,  Pa.,  and  among  his  comrades  there  were  Edwin 
H.  Webster,  since  that  time  member  of  Congress  and 
collector  of  customs  at  the  port  of  Baltimore,  and 
John  C.  King,  afterwards  Judge  King.  After  leaving 
this  institution  he  was  placed  at  a  boarding-school  at 
Sweet  Air,  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Stephen  Yerkes, 
who  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  University  and  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  is  now  Professor 
of  Ancient  Languages  at  Danville  Seminary,  Ken- 
tucky. Prof.  Yerkes  combatted  Mr.  Gittings'  inten- 
tion to  prepare  for  mercantile  life  and  successfully 
advised  him  to  prepare  for  college.  The  preparatory 
course  was  undertaken  under  the  supervision  of  Prof. 
Yerkes,  and  in  184G,  Mr.  Gittings  entered  the  College 
of  New  Jersey  at  Princeton.  He  graduated  in  1849, 
receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  and  taking 
the  second  honors  in  a  class  of  eighty,  of  which  he 
was  next  to  the  youngest.  At  the  commencement  ex- 
ercises he  delivered  the  English  salutatory.  Among 
his  classmates  were  Basil  L.  Gildersleeve,  now  of 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  and  Gen.  Bradley  T. 
Johnson.  He  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the 
oflSce  of  George  Harlan  Williams,  where  he  remained 
for  two  years,  and  then  entered  the  law  school  of  Har- 
vard Universit)'  on  Sept.  11,  1850.  He  continued  his 
studies  here  until  July  21, 1852,  when  he  was  graduated 
and  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws. 

The  custom  then  was  to  have  at  the  annual  com- 
mencements a  jury  trial,  the  law  students  electing  two 
counsel  for  the  plaintiff"  and  two  for  the  defendant.  A 
fictitious  case  was  made  up  by  one  of  the  professors, 
and  the  written  evidence  for  the  defendant  and  that 
for  the  plaintiff' was  made  as  nearly  equal  as  possible. 
The  jury  were  selected  from  the  senior  class  of  the 
Collegiate  Department.  The  trial  was  public,  and  the 
court  was  presided  over  by  one  of  the  professors,  who  at 
the  close  of  the  argument  delivered  his  charge  to  the 
jury.  On  this  occasion,  in  the  year  1852,  Mr.  Git- 
tings was  made  senior  counsel  for  the  defendant,  and 
his  opponent  was  his  room-mate,  George  R.  Locke, 
of  Louisville,  Ky.  The  legal  and  forensic  contest 
lasted  for  several  days,  and  the  end  of  it  was  a  drawn 


battle.  Mr.  Gittings  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
Circuit  Court  for  Baltimore  County  on  Dec.  4,  1852, 
by  Judge  Albert  Constable,  then  presiding,  and  with- 
in the  next  year  he  was  passed  to  the  bar  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals  of  Maryland,  and  that  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States.  He  rented  an 
office  in  common  with  Arthur  Webster  Machen,  who 
.  had  been  his  classmate  at  Harvard,  and  they  formed 
a  partnership  in  the  practice  of  the  law  which  still 
exists.  In  1855,  Mr.  Gittings  was  elected  State's  at- 
torney for  Baltimore  County  over  Lloyd  W.  Wil- 
liams, who  had  held  the  ofiice  for  the  preceding  term 
of  four  years.  In  1859  he  was  re-elected,  his  oppo- 
nent then  being  Richard  Grason,  now  chief  judge 
of  the  circuit  and  on  the  bench  of  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals. In  1876  he  was  an  elector  upon  the  Tilden 
and  Hendricks  ticket,  and  this  was  the  last  of  his 
political  experiences.  Among  the  more  important 
trials  in  which  Mr.  Gittings  has  been  engaged  was 
that  of  Cropps  and  Corrie,  who  were  convicted  of  the 
murder  of  Policeman  Rigdon  and  hanged.  The  case 
was  removed  from  the  Criminal  Court  of  Baltimore 
City  to  the  Circuit  Court  for  Baltimore  County  while 
Mr.  Gittings  was  State's  attorney  for  Baltimore 
County.  The  most  remarkable  criminal  cases  in 
which  he  has  appeared  for  the  defendant  were  the 
trial  of  Samuel  McDonald  for  the  killing  of  Berry 
Amos,  and  the  Mount  Hope  case,  when  the  oflScers 
of  the  Mount  Hope  Insane  Asylum  were  indicted 
for  conspiracy  upon  the  testimony  of  some  of  the 
inmates  of  the  institution. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gittings  are  members  of  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church,  and  he  is  a  vestryman  of 
Christ  Church  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  Christ  Church  Orphan  Asylum.  Mr. 
Gittings'  children  are  Leila,  born  April  6,  1858 ; 
David  Sterett,  June  7,  1861 ;  Anna  Sellman,  April 
3,  1863;  Louisa,  May  11,  1865;  Mary  Sterett,  Dec. 
10,  1872;  and  Victoria  Elizabeth,  Feb.  11,  1879. 

Aloysius  Leo  Knott  was  born  near  New  Market, 
Frederick  Co.,  Md.,  May  12,  1829.  His  father  was 
Edward  Knott,  a  native  of  Montgomery  County, 
Md.,  and  for  many  years  a  successful  farmer  and 
planter  both  in  that  county  and  the  adjoining  county 
of  Frederick.  His  grandfather,  Zachary  Knott,  was 
born  in  St.  Mary's  County,  Md.,  but  shortly  after  the 
Revolutionary  war  removed  to  Montgomery  County, 
where  he  engaged  extensively  in  raising  tobacco. 
The  father  of  Mr.  Knott  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of 
1812.  His  ancestors  were  from  Yorkshire,  England, 
and  came  to  this  country  in  1642,  at  which  time  they 
settled  in  St.  Mary's  County,  John  Knott  being  the 
pioneer  of  the  family  in  Baltimore  County.  The 
mother  of  Mr.  Knott  was  Elizabeth  Sprigg  Sweeney, 
daughter  of  Allen  Sweeney,  of  Chaptico,  St.  Mary's 
Co.,  Md.,  and  granddaughter  of  Allen  Sweeney,  an 
officer  who  allied  himself  with  the  fortunes  of  the 
Pretender,  fought  bravely  at  Culloden,  and  escaped 
to  America  from  that  disastrous  field. 


THE    BENCH    AND   BAE. 


721 


When  eight  years  of  age  the  subject  of  this  sketch  j 
was  sent  to  St.  John's  Literary  Institute,  Frederick 
City.  This  school  was  established  by  the  late  Eev. 
John  McElroy,  and  was  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Jesuits.  After  three  years  of  careful  training  young 
Knott  accompanied  his  parents  to  Baltimore  in  1842, 
and  was  matriculated  at  St.  Mary's  College  in  that 
city.  After  six  years  of  diligent  study  he  graduated 
from  that  institution  with  honor  in  1847.  Mr.  Knott 
selected  teaching  as  his  first  venture  in  life,  and  se- 
cured a  position  as  assistant  in  the  Cumberland  Acad- 
emy. Here  he  remained  for  a  year,  when  he  was 
offered  and  accepted  a  position  as  teacher  of  Algebra 
and  Greek  in  St.  Mary's  College,  his  almamater.  He 
passed  two  years  in  the  college  with  pleasure  to  him- 
self and  profit  to  those  placed  under  his  charge.  He 
then  determined  to  embrace  law  as  his  profession, 
and  entered  the  office  of  William  Schley,  at  that  time 
and  until  his  death  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  and 
most  powerful  advocates  at  the  bar  of  Baltimore. 
Mr.  Knott  suspended  his  studies  after  he  had  read 
law  for  a  year  to  become  the  principal  of  the  Howard 
Latin  School,  in  Howard  County,  Md.,  an  institu- 
tion founded  by  himself  and  which  enjoyed  unusual 
prosperity  for  many  years.  Mr.  Knott  returned  to 
Baltimore  in  1855  and  re-entered  the  law-office  of 
William  Schley,  where  he  remained  until  he  had 
completed  his  studies,  and  upon  motion  of  his  pre- 
ceptor he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  courts  of 
Baltimore  City.  He  entered  into  a  law  partnership 
with  the  late  James  H.  Bevans,  which,  after  a  lapse 
of  two  years  and  a  half,  was  dissolved,  and  Mr.  Knott 
began  the  practice  of  law  on  his  own  account. 

He  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  exciting  political 
struggles  which  were  inaugurated  in  Baltimore  with 
the  advent  of  the  American  or  Know-Nothing  party, 
and  in  1858  he  entered  the  political  arena  and  at- 
tracted general  attention  by  his  manly  efforts  to  rid 
the  city  of  the  mob  rule  which  had  been  fastened  on 
her,  and  from  which  she  was  released  by  the  cam- 
paign of  1859.  In  1859  he  was  sent  from  Baltimore 
as  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  State  Convention, 
which  assembled  in  Frederick  in  the  month  of  Au- 
gust, and  was  chosen  secretary  to  the  convention. 
He  was  elected  chairman  of  the  executive  committee 
of  the  Democratic  City  Convention  in  1860.  During 
the  summer  of  1860  it  became  apparent  that  the  two 
wings  of  the  Democratic  party  could  not  much  longer 
hold  together.  The  strife  developed  at  the  Charleston 
Convention  ripened  before  that  body  reassembled  in 
Baltimore,  and  the  delegates  had  not  been  in  session 
many  hours  in  the  Front  Street  Theatre  when  the 
party  was  rent  in  twain,  with  Mr.  Douglass  as  the 
leader  of  one  faction  and  John  C.  Breckenridge  of  the 
other.  Mr.  Knott  regarded  the  former  as  the  embodi- 
ment of  Democratic  principles,  and  gave  him  his  earn- 
est support  in  the  subsequent  campaign.  He  made 
many  eloquent  speeches  in  the  State,  and  won  for 
himself  an  enviable  reputation  as  an  orator  and  de- 


bater. His  views  were  conservative,  and  after  the 
election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  he  made  strong  efforts 
to  bring  together  the  best  men  in  the  State  for  the 
formation  of  a  conservative  party,  which  should  repel 
the  extremes  of  sectionalism  both  North  and  South, 
and  make  a  determined  stand  for  the  preservation  of 
the  Union.  The  intention  was  noble,  but  events 
were  rushing  on  to  a  catastrophe  too  rapidly  to  be 
stayed  by  one  man  or  set  of  men,  and  Mr.  Knott,  find- 
ing his  most  cherished  wishes  defeated,  retired  for 
three  years  from  public  life  and  devoted  himself  to 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  These  were  doubtless 
precious  years  in  his  career ;  they  gave  time  for  re- 
flection, study,  and  the  crystallization  of  opinions 
which  were  but  yet  crude  in  their  character.  That 
Mr.  Knott  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  thus 
presented  may  be  readily  inferred  from  the  complete- 
ness of  his  character  and  the  maturity  of  his  views 
when  he  again  appeared  in  public  life.  In  1864  the 
Republican  party  had  gained  absolute  control  of  the 
State  Legislature.  Through  successive  disfranchising 
acts,  intimidation  of  voters  by  the  military  at  the 
polls,  and  the  arrest  and  incarceration  of  prominent 
citizens,  they  had  cemented  their  power  until  scarcely 
a  corporal's  guard  of  the  Democratic  party  could  be 
mustered. 

At  this  .juncture  a  bill  was  passed  submitting  to  the 
people  a  call  for  a  convention  to  frame  a  new  consti- 
tution. The  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party  saw  in 
this  move  the  source  of  infinite  misfortune  to  the 
State.  They  could  only  judge  the  future  by  the  past, 
and  using  that  standard  there  was  no  bright  spot  in  the 
political  horizon.  The  few  stanch  Democrats  left  in 
the  Legislature  of  1864  determined  to  make  an  effort 
to  nip  this  project  in  the  bud,  and  with  that  end  in 
view  a  conference  was  called  at  Annapolis,  in  Febru- 
ary of  that  year,  of  the  leading  Democrats  of  the 
State.  There  were  present  at  this  meeting  Hon. 
Thomas  G.  Pratt,  Judge  Oliver  Miller,  Daniel  Clark, 
Senator  Briscoe  (of  Calvert),  and  Col.  John  F.  Dent. 
Committees  were  appointed  for  the  counties  and  for 
Baltimore  City,  to  thoroughly  canvass  the  State  and 
create  a  feeling  of  opposition  to  the  proposed  conven- 
tion. Geo.  M.  Gill,  Dr.  John  Morris,  Hon.  Wm.  Kim- 
mell,  Joshua  Vansant,  and  A.  Leo  Knott  composed 
the  committee  for  this  city.  At  their  first  meeting  it 
was  disclosed  that  the  harmony  necessary  to  success- 
ful action  did  not  exist,  and  nothing  of  moment  was 
accomplished  afterwards.  The  convention  was  called, 
with  very  slight  opposition,  and  a  constitution  framed 
which  realized  the  darkest  apprehensions  of  those  in 
opposition.  Sweeping  political  proscription  was  its 
most  prominent  feature,  and  there  were  other  clauses 
which  threatened  at  one  blow  to  erase  from  existence 
the  entire  property  of  thousands  of  citizens.  It  was 
determined  to  make  a  strong  fight  against  this  obnox- 
ious instrument,  but  it  was  necessary,  in  the  first  place, 
to  reorganize  the  party  and  place  it  in  accord  with 
the  Democracy  of  the  North  for  the  approaching  Pres- 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


idential  campaign.  Mr.  Knott  drew  up  the  first  call 
for  the  reorganization  of  the  party  in  Baltimore  City, 
June,  18G4,  and  it  was  published  in  the  daily  papers. 
Delegates  were  elected  to  a  city  convention,  and  the 
members,  from  prudential  motives,  assembled  in  the 
daytime.  A  State  convention  followed  shortly  after- 
wards. Mr.  Knott  was  a  delegate  to  both  conventions. 
By  the  latter  he  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  National 
Democratic  Convention  which  met  at  Chicago  and 
selected  as  candidates  for  the  Presidency  and  Vice- 
Presidency  of  the  United  States  Gen.  George  B.  Mc- 
Clellan  and  Hon.  George  H.  Pendleton,  respectively. 
Mr.  Knott  was  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party 
for  Congress  in  the  Third  Congressional  District 
during  this  year,  his  opponent  being  Gen.  Charles  E. 
Phelps.  The  result  of  the  election,  as  was  antici- 
pated, was  unfavorable  to  the  Democratic  party.  In 
1865  efforts  were  made  to  modify  the  obnoxious  pro- 
visions of  the  new  constitution.  In  the  summer  of 
that  year  important  dift'erences  were  developed  be- 
tween President  Andrew  Johnson  and  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States.  His  attempts  to  carry  out  the 
policy  of  his  predecessor  were  regarded  with  disfavor 
by  the  Republicans  of  the  country,  as  reflected  in 
Congress,  and  the  differences  soon  ripened  into  hos- 
tility. It  was  considered  a  favorable  moment  for  the 
people  of  Maryland  to  present  their  grievances  and 
sue  for  the  interposition  of  the  jjower  ul'  the  execu- 
tive. 

By  the  advice  of  Hon.  Francis  P.  Blair,  Sr.,  and 
Hon.  Montgomery  Blair,  a  committee  composed  of 
Col.  William  P.  Maulsby,  William  Kimmel,  and  A. 
Leo  Knott,  representing  the  State  Central  Committee 
(Mr.  Knott  being  the  secretary  of  that  body),  went 
to  Washington,  June  17, 1865,  and  explained  to  Presi- 
dent Johnson  the  disabilities  under  which  the  people  i 
of  the  State  were  laboring,  and  the  iniquitous  clauses 
in  the  new  constitution  which  produced  these  evils.  | 
Mr.  Johnson  was  non-committal  as  to  any  aid   he  | 
might  extend  in  the  premises,  though  he  expressed 
hostility  to  the  proscriptive  clauses  of  the  new  con- 
stitution, and  symiiathy  for  the  oppressed  people  of 
the  State.     Early  in   1866,  when  it  had  become  ap- 
parent that  the   breach  between  the  President  and  ■ 
Congress  could  not  be  closed,  another  movement  was 
made  in  Baltimore  to  throw  off  the  incubus  of  the 
new  constitution,  which  resulted  in  a  grand  mass- 
meeting  at  the  Maryland  Institute,  February  22d,  at  i 
which  time  was  accomplished  a  fusion  of  the  Demo- 
crats with   the  moderate  or  Johnson   Republicans. 
Mr.  Knott  displayed  an  active  interest  in  securing  the 
union  of  these  elements  of  conservatism  in  Mary-  1 
land,  a  union  which  almost  immediately  led  to  the 
reformation  of  the  constitution.     In  the  fall  of  this 
year,  after  a  bitter  and  exciting  struggle,  Mr.  Knott 
was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Legislature  from  the  | 
Third  Legislative  District  of  Baltimore  City  by  the 
Democratic-Conservative  party.   Mr.  Knott  developed 
marked  legislative  ability  <lnring  the  session,      lie 


was  selected  as  chairman  of  several  of  the  most  im- 
portant committees,  notably  the  Committees  on  Elec- 
tion and   on  Internal   Improvements,  and  rendered 

j  very  efficient  services  on  a  number  of  other  commit- 
tees.   He  was  placed  on  the  joint  special  committee 

)  of  the  Senate  and  House,  which  was  formed  on  the 
second  day  of  the  session,  with  Hon.  Richard  B.  Car- 
michael  as  chairman,  to  report  a  bill  to  reform  the 
constitution  of  the  State.  Mr.  Knott  was  a  strenuous 
advocate  for  a, convention,  and  also  for  the  retention 
of  the  basis  of  representation  of  1864,  which  gave  to 
Baltimore  a  largely-increased  representation  in  the 
State  Legislature.  The  Legislature  of  1866  passed 
the  Enfranchisement  Bill  and  the  bill  for  a  conven- 
tion, and  by  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution  the 
State  was  restored  to  its  normal  condition,  and  the 
reins  of  government  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
party  which  represented  the  sympathies  and  interests 
of  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants. 

In  1867,  Mr.  Knott  was  elected  by  the  Democratic 
party  State's  attorney  for  Baltimore  City.  He  was 
re-elected  in  1871,  and  again  in  1875.  This  is  a  suf- 
ficient indorsement  of  his  fidelity  as  a  public  officer ; 
but  Mr.  Knott  was  not  only  faithful  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duties,  he  brought  to  the  oflice  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  its  duties  and  the  proper  method  of 
enforcing  them,  a  ripe  judgment,  a  scholarly  mind, 
and  more  than  ordinary  powers  as  an  advocate.  Un- 
der his  administration,  aided  by  the  upright  judges 
who  presided  over  the  Criminal  Court,  Baltimore  was 
almost  entirely  freed  from  a  vicious  element  which 
was  the  cause  of  serious  injury  to  the  interests  of  the 
city  in  former  years.  As  a  lawyer,  Mr.  Knott  ranks 
well.  He  is  an  easy  speaker,  a  ready  debater,  cool 
and  deliberate,  and  so  perfectly  posted  as  rarely  to  be 
thrown  off  his  guard  by  the  keenest  antagonist.  He 
is  pleasant  in  manner,  and  the  sharp  conflicts  which 
necessarily  occur  at  the  bar  in  his  case  leave  no  scars 
to  tell  of  the  severity  of  the  struggle. 

Samuel  Snowden,  of  the  Baltimore  bar,  was  born 
in  Anne  Arundel  County,  Oct.  13,  1833.  His  father 
was  Samuel  Snowden,  sou  of  Philip  and  Patience 
(Hopkins)  Snowden;  and  they  trace  their  descent 
directly  back  to  Richard  Snowden,  of  Wales,  who 
came  to  Maryland  in  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
mother  of  Samuel  Snowden,  the  subject  of  our  sketch, 
was  Mary  Richardson,  of  West  River,  Anne  Arundel 
Co.  He  married.  May  13,  1864,  in  Baltimore  City, 
S.  Emma  Hoff,  daughter  of  Jacob  Hoff,  a  native  of 
Wurtemberg,  and  Adeline,  nh-  Whiting,  a  native  of 
Massachusetts. 

His  early  education  was  obtained  in  the  public 
schools  of  Anne  Arundel,  until  1846,  when  he  at- 
tended St.  John's  College  until  1849,  in  which  year 
he  removed  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  and  took  a  position 
as  clerk  in  a  mercantile  house  until  1852,  when  he 
returned  to  Annapolis  and  clerked  for  James  Iglehart 
&  Co.  until  1855,  and  then  returned  to  Columbus,  Ohio, 
as  book-keeper  for  .).  G.  lUitlcr,  and  remained   until 


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A-(L-^.^t/~Ci,^zyC^ 


THE   BENCH   AND   BAR. 


723 


1857.  In  that  year  he  removed  to  Baltimore,  and 
entered  the  law-office  of  the  Hon.  Henry  F.  Garey, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  September,  1859.  He 
has  since  pursued  his  profession  with  a  marked  de- 
gree of  success, — "keeping  his  office,  his  office  has 
kept  him," — until  he  has  taken  rank  among  the  first 
lawyers  at  the  bar  of  Baltimore.  He  always  thoroughly 
prepares  his  cases,  and  his  arguments  and  propo- 
sitions of  law  are  highly  respected  by  the  bench.  His 
knowledge  of  the  law  is  accurate  and  extensive.  He 
lias  had  the  largest  trial  docket  of  any  lawyer  at  the 
bar,  as  well  as  a  lucrative  office  practice.  His  profes- 
sional work  is  indicated  in  the  Maryland  reports, 
where  numerous  important  cases  in  which  he  has 
been  employed  are  set  forth,  and  among  them  may  be 
mentioned  the  Parkersburg  bond  case,  the  Highland 
Park  Land  Company  cases,  Doll  vs.  Citizens'  Fire 
Insurance  Company,  Rice  vs.  Hoffman,  and  many 
others.  In  politics  a  Democrat,  but,  with  the  e.xcep- 
tion  of  school  commissioner  in  1867-68,  he  has  avoided 
public  office,  and  confined  his  labors  to  his  profes- 
sion. Here  devotion  on  his  part  has  been  rewarded 
with  a  large  practice,  as  well  as  a  comfortable  fortune. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order  and  of  the  I.  O. 
O.  F.  By  the  latter  he  was  sent  in  1869  as  grand 
representative  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  which  met  in  San 
Francisco,  Cal.  He  is  a  member  and  trustee  of  the 
Mount  Vernon  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

The  bar  of  Baltimore  to-day,  as  refiected  in  its 
living  and  active  members,  both  those  upon  the 
shady  side  of  the  hill  and  those  younger  men  who 
are  gallantly  climbing  towards  the  summit,  is  not  un- 
worthy in  any  respect  of  the  distinguished  ancestry 
whose  faint  outline  has  been  painted  in  the  jireceding 
jiages.  The  profession  holds  out  the  same  high  re- 
wards to  honorable  industry,  cultivated  talents,  pro- 
bity, and  integrity,  and  our  contemporaries  toil  with 
an  inherited  zeal  and  compete  with  an  ardor  trans- 
mitted through  unbroken  generations  for  the  same  sort 
of  distinction  as  that  which  compensated  Chase  and 
Martin,  Pinkney  and  McMahon.  Those  who  lightly 
pretend  to  believe  the  bar  has  degenerated  are  not 
familiar  with  its  past  or  have  neglected  to  measure 
the  stature  of  its  present.  They  may  not  have  for- 
gotten Wallis  and  Steele  perhaps,  but  they  do  not 
sufliciently  take  into  account  such  men  as  Bernard 
Carter,  Orville  Horwitz,  Charles  Marshall,  Wm.  F. 
Frick,  Wm.  A.  Fisher,  Wm.  P.  Whyte,  Eichard  J. 
Gittings,  Charles  Phelps,  Archibald  Stirling,  Jr., 
George  H.  Williams,  Samuel  Snowden,  J.  V.  L.  Fin- 
ley,  Thomas  M.  Lanahan,  C.  J.  M.  Gwinu,  John  H. 
TJioraas,  Fielder  Slingluflf,  A.  W.  Machen,  W.  A. 
Stewart,  Isador  Rayner,  Jno.  K.  Cowen,  B.  F.  Hor- 
witz, B.  T.  Johnson,  John  C.  King,  Thomas  W.  Hall, 
.Tas.  L.  McLane,  James  A.  Buchanan,  and  their  rivals 
in  the  different  courts  of  the  city  and  State. 

Robert  Lyon  Rogers  was  born  in  Baltimore  in  the 
year  1827.  His  father  was  Micajah  Rogers,  a  native 
of  Massachusetts,  who  graduated  at  Harvard  Univer- 


sity in  the  class  of  1817,  which  numbered  among  its 
members  the  historians  George  Bancroft  and  Jared 
Sparks,  the  famous  politician  and  jurist  Caleb  Gush- 
ing, and  others  of  equal  eminence  in  literature  and 
statesmanship.  Micajah  Rogers  removed  to  Balti- 
more, established  a  classical  school,  studied  law,  and 
married  Mary  Lyon,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Maj. 
Robert  Lyon,  a  distinguished  officer  of  the  American 
army  in  the  Revolution.  Robert  Lyon  Rogers  was 
well  educated  at  Sandy  Springs,  Montgomery  Co., 
Md.,  and  in  1844  he  went  to  Tennessee  and  became 
a  law  student  in  the  office  of  his  cousin,  Thomas  C. 
Lyon,  who  was  a  leader  of  the  bar  of  the  State. 
Thence  he  entered  the  Dana  Law  School  of  Harvard 
University,  and  graduated  in  1848  with  high  honors 
and  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  He  was  on  his 
way  back  to  Baltimore,  when  he  met  a  relative  who 
had  been  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  United 
States  frigate  "  Cumberland,"  then  in  port  at  New 
York,  and  under  orders  for  a  cruise  in  the  Mediterra- 
nean, with  whom  he  accepted  the  position  of  private 
secretary.  The  old  ship  has  since  become  historical 
on  account  of  her  fight  with  the  Confederate  ironclad 
"  Virginia"  in  Hampton  Roads,  when  she  was  sunk 
with  her  colors  flying  at  the  masthead,  and  the  men 
serving  the  guns  until  the  decks  were  submerged. 
During  his  two  years  on  the  foreign  station  Mr, 
Rogers  made  a  general  tour  in  Southern  Europe,  and 
visited  the  ancient  cities  of  Asia  Minor  and  Egypt, 
and  the  sites  of  those  which  have  long  been  extinct. 
He  returned  to  Baltimore  in  1850,  and  quickly  achieved 
a  very  large  law  practice.  When  the  late  Judge  T. 
Parkin  Scott  went  upon  the  bench,  Mr.  Rogers  suc- 
ceeded him  as  auditor  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Balti- 
more City,  and  resigned  the  position  after  he  had  held 
it  for  four  years.  On  April  4, 1867,  he  was  appointed 
United  States  commissioner  for  the  District  of  Mary- 
land, the  responsible  duties  of  which  position  he  has 
discharged  with  signal  ability.  Many  important 
criminal  cases  have  been  disposed  of  by  him,  and 
many  very  important  civil  cases  have  been  referred  to 
him  as  Master  in  Chancery  of  the  circuit  of  the  United 
States  for  this  district.  Mr.  Rogers  is  thoroughly 
schooled  in  all  the  departments  of  law,  and  is  par- 
ticularly an  authority  on  delicate  points  arising  out 
of  maritime  law,  and  he  has  in  each  year  to  pass  upon 
scores  of  such  cases  that  never  fail  to  arise  in  such  a 
seaport  as  Baltimore.  His  practical  acquaintance 
with  the  sea  and  with  the  conditions  of  life  on  ship- 
board has  been  of  much  value  in  the  adjudication  of 
knotty  disputes.  Mr.  Rogers'  wife,  whom  he  married 
in  1857,  was  Miss  Ann  R.  Hall,  his  second  cousin, 
and  daughter  of  Washington  Hall,  of  Mount  Wel- 
come, Cecil  Co.,  Md.  He  is  a  man  of  immense  force 
of  character  and  a  cultured  scholar,  and  he  possesses 
social  qualities  which  endear  him  to  all  those  who  are 
fortunate  enough  to  possess  his  intimate  friendship. 

Hon.  William  A.  Stewart  was  born  in  Baltimore, 
Dec.  29,  1825.     His  paternal  ancestors  were  from  the 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


north  of  Ireland,  and  came  to  America  in  the  early 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  His  mother  sprang 
from  a  Huguenot  family  which  fled  from  France  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  to  escape 
from  the  religious  persecutions  instituted  against  the 
Protestants.  Both  parents  are  living  at  an  advanced 
age  in  this  city.  Numerous  representatives  of  each 
family  are  plentifully  sprinkled  through  nearly  all  of 
the  Southern  States.  Mr.  Stewart  attended  the  pub- 
lic and  private  schools  of  the  city  when  a  boy,  and 
afterwards  pursued  a  thorough  course  of  study  at  Bal- 
timore College,  which  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  de- 
partments of  the  University  of  Maryland.  He  studied 
law  in  Baltimore,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  May 
17,  1847,  being  then  but  twenty-two  years  of  age. 
Law  is  a  jealous  mistress,  and  must  not  be  slighted 
for  other  pursuits.  Mr.  Stewart  appreciated  this,  and 
devoted  himself  to  the  practice  of  his  profession.  His 
reward  was  rapid  and  great.  He  very  soon  built  up 
a  practice  and  established  a  reputation  as  a  subtle  ad- 
vocate and  reliable  counselor.  He  was  elected  chief 
clerk  of  the  First  Branch  of  the  City  Council  of  Bal- 
timore for  the  years  1849-51.  He  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  House  of  Delegates  from  the  city  of  Balti- 
more in  1851,  and  served  during  the  sessions  of  1852 
and  1853.  These  Legislatures  immediately  succeeded 
the  passage  of  the  new  constitution,  and  an  immense 
amount  of  routine  work,  as  well  as  many  new  measures 
of  importance,  demanded  their  attention.  Mr.  Stewart 
displayed  great  ability,  as  well  as  a  marked  degree  of 
energy,  and  before  the  close  of  the  session  was  num- 
bered among  the  most  useful  and  influential  legisla- 
tors. He  at  that  time  established  a  character  for 
honor  and  purity  which  has  always  clung  to  him,  and 
made  many  reports  upon  important  matters  which 
were  very  highly  commended  at  the  time,  among 
which  was  the  report  on  the  claims  of  the  Nanticoke 
Indians,, and  also  his  recommendations  on  the  subject 
of  an  appropriation  for  the  House  of  Kefuge.  In 
1854,  Mr.  Stewart  served  as  chief  clerk  of  the  House 
of  Delegates,  and  was  highly  commended  by  the  press 
and  the  people  for  his  uniform  courtesy  and  prompt 
dispatch  of  business.  In  1852,  during  the  absence  of 
the  consul  from  the  port,  Mr.  Stewart  acted  as  com- 
mercial agent  for  the  republic  of  Venezuela  in  this 
city.  In  1858  he  was  empowered  by  the  city  govern- 
ment of  Baltimore  to  revise  the  ordinances  and  digest 
the  acts  of  Assembly  relating  to  the  city,  a  work  of 
paramount  importance,  which  he  executed  in  a  highly 
commendable  manner.  Mr.  Stewart  for  some  years 
devoted  himself  entirely  to  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion, which  had  been  very  much  enlarged  by  his  close 
attention  to  business,  and  in  1866  he  made  an  ex- 
tended tour  of  Europe,  from  which  he  returned  re- 
freshed in  body  and  mind  with  a  store  of  new  ideas 
and  an  increased  fitness  for  the  active  duties  of  public 
and  professional  life.  His  return  was  signaled  by  his 
election  to  the  House  of  Delegates,  and  at  the  session 
of  lS(i8  he  was  elected  Speaker  of  tluit  body.     The 


following  resolutions,  unanimously  adopted  by  the 
House  at  the  close  of  an  eventful  session,  will  give  a 
just  estimate  of  the  manner  in  which  he  performed 
the  difficult  duties  of  that  position : 

"  Resolved,  That  our  sincere  thanks  are  due,  and  they  are  hereby  given. 
to  tlie  Hon.  William  A.  Stewart,  Speaker  of  this  House,  for  his  kind  and 
courteous  deportment  during  this  session  to  each  and  all  of  its  members, 
and  for  the  impartial,  remarkably  able,  digniiied  manner  in  which  he 
has  discharged  the  arduous  duties  of  his  high  and  responsible  position. 

"  Reiolved,  That  in  the  Hon.  William  A.  Stewart,  Speaker  of  this  House, 
distinguished  as  he  is  for  his  integrity,  ability,  and  patriotism,  we  recog- 
nize the  true  type  of  the  Maryland  statesman,  and  that  knowing  him  to 
be  as  brave  as  he  is  true,  able,  and  patriotic,  we  have  every  confidence 
that  in  whatever  position  he  may  be  placed  in  the  future  he  will  battle 
for  the  interest,  honor,  and  sovereignty  of  our  gallant,  noble,  and  beloved 
commonwealth." 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  resolutions  go  entirely 
beyond  the  stereotyped  phrases  of  eulogy  common  on 
such  occasions,  and  speak  of  Mr.  Stewart  in  a  manner 
and  after  a  fashion  which  shows  that  he  must  have 
made  a  strong  impression  upon  those  with  whom  he 
was  associated  as  their  presiding  officer. 

On  July  10,  1868,  he  was  appointed  by  the  mayor 
and  City  Council  of  Baltimore  one  of  the  trustees  of 
the  McDonogh  Farm  School  and  Fund,  and  was  soon 
thereafter  made  vice-president  of  the  board. 

Mr.  Stewart  has  been  for  many  years  identified  with 
the  progress  of  the  Protestant  religion  in  Baltimore, 
and  the  Sunday-school  cause  has  received  his  special 
attention.  For  twenty-five  years  he  has  served  as  a 
teacher  and  superintendent  in  the  schools,  and  also  as 
secretary  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Sunday-School 
Society  of  the  City  of  Baltimore.  He  has  also  served 
as  a  vestryman  of  the  church  of  which  he  is  a  mem- 
ber, and  has  generally  represented  it  as  a  lay  delegate 
in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Convention  of  the  Diocese 
of  Maryland. 

On  March  16, 1869,  Mr.  Stewart  was  married  to  Miss 
Emily  Gallatin,  daughter  of  the  late  Commander  Al- 
bert G.  Slaughter,  of  the  United  States  navy.  Two 
children,  a  son,  William  A.  Stewart,  Jr.,  and  a  daugh- 
ter, Emily  Slaughter  Stewart,  have  been  the  fruit  of 
this  union. 

The  life  of  Mr.  Stewart  has  been  that  of  an  eminently 
useful  citizen.  He  has  filled  many  public  offices, 
and  has  always  filled  them  well.  He  has  had  many 
trusts  reposed  in  him,  and  has  executed  them  faith- 
fully. Throughout  his  career  he  has  been  actuated 
by  a  high  sense  of  duty,  and  probably  none  in  Balti- 
more are  freer  from  cant,  the  flimsy  representative  of 
morality  and  religion.  He  stands  deservedly  high  at 
the  bar  as  a  safe  counselor  and  an  honest  attorney. 

Thomas  Jefferson  McKaig,  who  is  also  a  practitioner 
at  the  Baltimore  bar,  was  born  at  Steubenville,  Ohio, 
on  the  4th  of  November,  1804.  His  grandfather 
emigrated  to  this  country  from  the  north  of  Ireland 
in  1759,  settling  in  Adams  County,  Pa.  His  father, 
Patrick  McKaig,  was  born  in  Cork  in  1758,  and  was 
but  a  few  months  old  when  he  arrived  in  America. 
He  married  Rachel  Star,  a  native  of  Adams  County, 
and  tlie  granddaughter  of  Robert  Stuart,  who  held  a 


^^ 


<^y^rr^^,:^  ^/.      .   /^  (y/^  .-T'^^^ 


THE  BENCH   AND   BAR. 


725 


command  under  the  Pretender  at  the  battle  of  Cullo- 
den,  escaping  with  him  from  Scotland  to  France,  and 
subsequently  emigrating  to  this  country  and  settling 
in  Adams  County. 

A  few  years  after  their  marriage  they  removed  to 
Steubenville,  Ohio,  and  about  1806  moved  to  Colum- 
biana County,  in  the  same  State,  where  they  took  up 
their  residence  upon  the  west  fork  of  Beaver  River, 
in  the  midst  of  an  unclaimed  forest,  and  in  a  region 
over  which  the  Indians  still  held  partial  sway.  Bur- 
dened with  the  maintenance  of  a  large  family  of 
thirteen  children,  and  dwelling  in  a  country  where  a 
rapid  accumulation  of  wealth  was  impossible,  the 
father  could  do  but  little  to  assist  the  youthful  ambi- 
tion of  young  McKaig  to  obtain  a  liberal  education. 
Aided,  however,  by  one  of  his  brothers,  he  succeeded 
in  his  object,  graduating  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts  at  Washington  College  in  October,  1826,  from 
which,  as  well  as  from  Cannonsburg,  or  Jefferson  Col- 
lege, he  afterwards  received  the  degree  of  A.M.  He 
had  now  realized  the  first  step  of  his  ambition,  but 
his  resources  were  exhausted,  and  he  left  college  with 
only  ten  dollars  in  his  pocket.  Too  independent  to 
ask  further  aid  from  his  generous  brother,  he  turned 
his  face  eastward,  and  taking  stage  arrived  in  Cum- 
berland, Md.,  (in  the  3d  of  October,  1826,  with  a  capi- 
tal of  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents.  But  happily 
Fortune,  which  smiles  upon  the  brave,  had  guided 
his  steps  in  the  right  direction,  and  he  found  at  Cum- 
berland the  opportunity  which  he  was  seeking.  The 
Alleghany  County  Academy  needed  a  principal,  and 
Mr.  McKaig  secured  the  position,  which  he  held  for 
eight  [years.  Under  his  masterly  management  the 
institution,  which  had  been  fast  falling  into  a  decline, 
was  infused  with  new  life,  so  that  when  he  resigned 
in  1834  the  number  of  pupils  had  increased  from 
seventeen  at  the  beginning  of  his  administration  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty,  and  was  one  of  the  best-regu- 
lated and  most  flourishing  schools  in  the  State.  Mr. 
McKaig  was  a  born  teacher,  and  had  his  energies  and 
talents  not  been  devoted  to  wider  fields,  would  have 
made  a  brilliant  mark  as  an  educator  and  instructor. 
But  his  ambition  had  not  yet  reached  its  goal,  and  so 
in  the  intervals  of  scholastic  duties  he  prepared  him- 
self assiduously  for  the  bar,  to  which  he  was  admitted 
in  April,  1831.  He  continued  his  labors  at  the  acad- 
emy for  several  years  longer,  however,  and  only  re- 
linquished them  at  the  imperative  command  of  his 
physicians,  who  told  him  that  he  must  either  give  up 
the  academy,  the  law,  or  his  life,  and  he  therefore 
abandoned  in  October,  1834,  what  had  become  to  him 
a  labor  of  love,  and  devoted  his  entire  energies  to  his 
profession. 

His  success  at  the  bar  was  instantaneous.  He 
argued  a  case  alone  on  the  day  of  his  admission,  re- 
ceiving a  fee  of  fifty  dollars  for  his  services,  and  on 
the  second  tried  another  case  unassisted,  gained  it, 
and  received  a  fee  of  one  hundred  dollars.  Some 
idea  of  his  rapid  success  may  be  gathered  from  the 


fact  that  at  the  second  court  after  his  admission  to 
the  bar  he  had  fifty-six  cases  out  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-two  on  the  docket.  This  early  promise  was 
followed  by  a  professional  career  of  exceptional  suc- 
cess and  brilliancy,  and  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say 
that  when  Mr.  McKaig  retired  from  the  active  prac- 
tice of  the  law  he  stood  in  the  very  front  rank  of  his 
profession.  He  was  counsel  for  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  at  Cumberland  for  thirty-nine  con- 
secutive years,  and  argued  many  of  the  most  im- 
portant cases  which  came  before  the  Maryland  Court 
of  Appeals.  During  the  course  of  his  long  professional 
career,  he  was  frequently  called  upon  to  try  cases 
of  peculiar  importance  in  Virginia,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Ohio,  and  was  often  employed  in  association  with 
or  against  such  men  as  John  V.  L.  McMahon,  John 
Nelson,  William  Schley,  Charles  F.  Mayer,  S.  Teackle 
Wallis,  and  I.  NevettSteele  during  the  brightest  days 
of  the  Maryland  bar.  Gifted  with  a  wonderful  mem- 
ory and  an  intellect  of  great  natural  strength,  and 
possessing  a  mind  which  had  been  brought  to  a  high 
state  of  discipline  by  his  experience  as  a  teacher,  and 
which  could  utilize  on  the  instant  any  of  the  large 
stores  of  knowledge  which  had  been  laid  up  in  the 
early  days  of  his  professional  life,  he  became  a  power 
in  the  legal  forum,  and  in  certain  departments  stood 
almost  unrivaled.  He  excelled  especially  in  the  com- 
bination and  presentation  of  the  facts  of  a  case  before 
a  jury,  or  in  any  argument  which  chiefly  demanded 
the  possession  of  logical  force  and  clear  statement. 
In  1872,  after  a  long  and  honorable  career  of  more 
than  forty  years,  he  retired  from  active  practice,  to 
the  regret  of  the  public  and  of  his  large  and  con- 
stantly-increasing clientage. 

Mr.  McKaig  began  life  as  a  Whig,  but  his  connec- 
tion with  that  party  was  due  rather  to  early  associa- 
tions and  his  strong  personal  attachment  to  Mr.  Clay 
than  to  actual  belief  in  its  political  doctrines.  In 
1849  he  ran  as  the  Whig  candidate  for  Congress 
against  William  T.  Hamilton,  the  present  Governor  of 
the  State,  and  was  defeated  by  only  one  hundred  and 
sixteen  votes  in  a  total  vote  of  twelve  thousand.  After 
the  death  of  Mr.  Clay  the  only  tie  that  bound  him  to 
the  Whigs  was  severed,  and  under  the  belief  that  that 
party  was  becoming  imbued  with  Abolition  tendencies, 
he  declined  to  act  any  longer  with  it,  and  supported 
Gen.  Pierce  against  Gen.  Scott.  In  1854  he  was  elected 
to  the  Legislature  to  urge  the  completion  of  the  Chesa- 
peake and  Ohio  Canal  to  Cumberland,  and  in  1859 
was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  from  Alleghany 
County,  being  a  member  of  the  memorable  Legisla- 
ture of  1861. 

While  an  earnest  Democrat,  he  was  opposed  to  se- 
cession, and  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  committee 
which  visited  President  Davis  at  Montgomery,  Ala., 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  about  a  peaceable  adjust- 
ment of  the  difficulties  of  that  period.  He  delivered 
an  eloquent  and  forcible  address  before  the  Confed- 
erate president  and  cabinet,  portraying  the  folly  of 


726 


HISTOllY   OF   BALTIMOIiE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


resistance,  and  picturing  in  almost  prophetic  language 
the  actual  course  of  events. 

The  government  considered  his  mission  to  Mont- 
gomery as  an  effort  to  take  the  State  out  of  the  Union, 
and  Mr.  McKaig  was  arrested  after  his  return  and 
imprisoned  in  Fort  McHeury,  where,  however,  he  was 
kindly  treated,  and  from  which  he  was  soon  released. 
In  1867  he  was  elected  and  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention,  and  took  a  leading  part  in 
the  proceedings  of  that  important  body. 

Mr.  McKaig  served  for  several  years  as  colonel  of 
the  Fiftieth  Regiment,  and  was  subsequently  ap- 
pointed brigadier-general  of  the  Maryland  militia. 
In  1879,  in  addition  to  the  titles  previously  received 
from  other  institutions  of  learning,  he  was  honored 
by  St.  Mary's  College,  at  Emmittsburg,  with  the  de- 
gree of  LL.D. 

Gen.  McKaig  was  brought  up  as  a  Presbyterian,  but 
has  since  become  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
Since  his  retirement  from  the  profession  his  residence 
has  been  at  "Rockland  Farm,"  Washington  Co., 
Md.,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  country-seats  in  the 
State. 

Gen.  McKaig  married  Margaret  Ann  Tilghman, 
youngest  daughter  of  Dr.  Frisby  Tilghman,  of  Wash- 
ington County,  and  granddaughter  of  Louisa  Lamar, 
who  was  the  daughter  of  Col.  William  Lamar,  of 
Revolutionary  memory.  His  children  are  Frisby 
Tilghman  and  Nina  Lamar  McKaig. 

In  making  comparisons  between  the  lawyers  of  the 
past  and  present,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  much 
more  is  demanded  of  advocates  nowadays  than  was 
the  case  a  hundred  or  even  fifty  years  ago.  The  rules 
and  forms  of  practice  have  been  greatly  simplified, 
statutes  codified,  reports  made  more  complete  and 
comprehensive,  and  the  profession  wears  much  more 
the  aspect  of  a  science  than  formerly.  But  at  the 
same  time  the  sphere  of  the  advocate  has  both 
widened  and  deepened  enormously.  Precedents  and 
rulings  have  multiplied  on  all  sides,  and  the  juris 
consult  must  nowadays  be  ready  at  a  moment's  warn- 
ing to  thread  the  intricate  labyrinths  of  a  dozen 
branches  of  science  whicli  had  no  existence  in  the 
times  of  Martin  and  Pinkney.  Then  expert  testi- 
mony was  almost  unknown,  now  it  is  called  in  the 
majority  of  important  issues.  Patent  law,  railroad 
law,  telegraph  law  all  open  new  and  most  arduous 
fields  to  the  profession,  and  compel  it  to  specialize  it- 
self more  and  more  every  day.  Business  law  is  assu- 
ming a  thousand  new  shapes,  each  more  compli- 
cated than  the  other,  nor  can  the  vast  body  of  de- 
cisions, rapidly  as  it  accumulates,  keep  pace  with  the 
ever-swelling  volume  of  new  issues  daily  coming  up 
for  adjudication.  A  lawyer  who  would  embrace  the 
whole  scope  of  his  profession  nowadays  must  travel 
very  far  beyond  Coke  and  Blackstone,  Chitty  and 
Greenleaf,  Kent  and  the  code.  He  must  be  an  ac- 
countant, a  civil  engineer,  an  architect,  a  mechani- 
cian, a  cliemist,  a  pliysician,  lie  must  know  the  vocab- 


ulary and  technology  of  all  the  arts  and  professions, 
he  must  be  a  theologian  and  a  metaphysician,  with 
the  experience  of  a  custom-house  appraiser  and  the 
skill  in  affairs  of  an  editor.  And  after  all,  with  all 
these  stores  in  his  possession,  so  great  is  the  compe- 
tition that  he  may  scarcely  be  able  to  hew  out  a  living 
in  his  profession. 

Baltimore  Court-Houses. — When  the  county-seat 
was  removed  from  Jojipa  to  Baltimore  Town  by  the 
act  of  June  22,  17(i8,  Messrs.  J.  B.  Bordley,  John 
Ridgely,  Jr.,  John  Moale,  Robert  Adair,  Robert  Alex- 
ander, William  Smith,  and  Andrew  Buchanan  were 
constituted  commissioners,  with  authority  to  lay  out 
and  purchase  one  and  a  half  acres  of  ground  "on  the 
uppermost  part  of  Calvert  Street,  near  Jones'  Falls," 
and  to  build  thereon  the  Baltimore  County  court- 
house and  prison.  The  act  also  provided  that,  to  de- 
fray the  expenses  of  the  buildings,  "  the  quantity  of 
three  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco  is  to  be 
assessed  in  this  and  the  next  year,  to  be  paid  to  the 
commissioners,  who  are  authorized  to  collect  and  re- 
cover the  money  which  has  been  subscribed  for  these 


After  the  removal  of  the  county-seat  and  before 
the  completion  of  the  court-house  in  Baltimore  Town, 
the  courts  held  their  sessions  in  the  hall  over  the 
market-house  then  standing  on  the  northwest  corner 
of  Gay  and  Baltimore  Streets.  In  accordance  with 
the  requirements  of  the  act,  the  court-house  was  built 
on  the  steep  bluff  overlooking  Jones'  Falls,  precisely 
on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Battle  Monument. 
This  court-house  was  a  two-story  brick  building,  front- 
ing south,  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  length,  and  not  quite 
so  much  in  width.  A  hall  and  large  court-room  oc- 
cupied the  first  floor,  while  the  Orphans'  Court,  the 
register  of  wills,  and  the  offices  of  the  various  clerks 
connected  with  the  administration  of  justice  were  in 
the  second  story.  The  two  courts  which  occupied  in 
turn  the  large  court-room  below  were  the  County 
Court,  which  was  the  civil  tribunal  for  both  town 
and  county,  and  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer, 
whose  jurisdiction  was  limited  to  the  hearing  of  crim- 
inal cases. 

After  the  organization  of  the  Federal  judiciary,  the 
United  States  tribunals  also  occasionally  occupied  the 
court-room  when  not  needed  for  the  sessions  of  the 
county  courts.  In  the  course  of  time  public  conve- 
nience demanded  the  opening  of  Calvert  Street  and 
the  removal  of  the  bluff'  upon  which  the  court-house 
stood,  but  the  town  was  in  no  condition  to  elect  a  new 
temple  of  justice,  and  the  foot  of  progress  must  have 
been  stayed  for  a  time  at  least  but  for  the  ingenious 
device  of  Leonard  Harbaugh,  a  patriotic  and  zealous 
craftsman  of  Baltimore,  who  proposed  to  underpin 
the  building  with  substantial  stone  arches,  and  thus 
at  the  same  time  make  way  for  the  street  and  save 
the  court-house.  The  suggestion  was  at  first  con- 
sidered as  the  dream  of  a  visionary  projector,  but  tiie 
idea  at  length  took  bold  of  the  public  mind,  and  sub- 


THE    BENCH    AND   BAR. 


727 


scriptions  were  raised  to  enable  Harbaugh  to  carry 
out  his  plan.    The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  original 

subscription-iist : 

Baltimohe,  2l8t  September,  1784. 
The  subscribers,  impressed  witli  the  many  advantages  whicli  wonbi 
result  to  Baltimore  Town  and  the  country  at  large  from  Calvert  Street 
ill  said  town  being  opened,  which  street  is  at  preseut  blocked  up  by  the 
court-house,  to  the  great  injury  of  the  town  and  country,  do,  by  this  in- 
strument of  writing,  engage  and  bind  themselves  to  pay  the  sum  or 
sums  annexed  to  their  names,  respectively,  for  the  purpose  of  underpin- 
ning and  arching  the  said  court-house  in  Calvert  Street  aforesaid,  so  as 
large  and  convenient  passages  may  be  had  underneath  the  same  to  the 
end  that  new  communications  may  be  opened  with  the  country;  pro- 
vided always,  that  the  said  subscriptions  shall  not  be  paid  or  demanded 
unless  the  Honored  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Maryland  shall 
authorize  the  said  undertaking,  and  appoint  fit  ami  proper  persons  for 
tlie  collecting  and  supplying  the  same : 


John  McLure 

John  Boyd 

Nathaniel  Smith 

Matthew  Pattou 

Twinnal  &.  Geroack 

Hanshewc-g 

Andrew  and  Alexander 
Robinson,  in  case  the  said 
Calvert  Street  is  not  ex- 
tended so  as  to  iuternipt 
""'" "         riage-road 


I  Alle 


?f'\"i '"',:;,':  ■■■• 



50  00 

IHoi- 

50  Ot) 
50  00 
25  00 

10  00 

wuJKim  iiaKei 

George  McCandless 

10  00 

li'i'viMi'KMK.... ■'"!:■'!.""!! 

10  00 

John  Bterett,  lur  lien 

Gist. 

10  00 

Henry  Wilsou,  paid.. 

Jacob  Brow 
George  Levely. 

Erasmus  Uhler 10  00 

William  CI 


The  confidence  thus  expressed  was  fully  justified  by 
the  result,  and  In  due  time  Mr.  Harbaugh's  project 
was  realized,  and  the  court-house  stood  elevated 
twenty  feet  above  the  street,  the  admiration  of  all 
beholders.  The  house  was  undermined  and  two  arches 
built  under  the  north  and  south  walls,  while  the  east 
and  west  sides  were  supported  by  solid  masonry.  Two 
small  compartments  were  formed  by  the  new  walls, 
that  on  the  west  side  of  the  building  being  used  as  a 
sort  of  station-house,  while  the  other  contained  the 
staircase  which  led  up  to  the  court-room. 

Within  the  space  made  by  the  inner  walls  of  these 
apartments  and  nearly  under  the  middle  of  the  build- 
ing stood  a  rude  post,  divided  into  two  stories  by  a 
floor,  of  which  it  was  the  only  support  and  which  was 
a  hexagon  or  an  octagon.  Of  these  two  stories  the 
upper  was  a  pillory  and  the  lower  the  whipping-post. 
The  transverse  piece  of  the  pillory  was  formed  of  two 
strong  boards  on  each  side  of  the  post ;  the  lower  one 
was  fixed,  but  the  upper  could  be  lifted  on  a  hinge. 
At  the  jufiction  of  these  two  planks  were  two  semi- 
circular holes,  a  large  one  iu  the  middle  to  admit  the 
culprit's  neck,  and  the  smaller  one  for  his  wrists,  at 
such  a  distance  as  would  keep  his  arms  somewhat 
inconveniently  extended.  When  his  neck  and  wrists 
had  been  placed  in  these  holes  the  upper  plank  was 
let  down  upon  them  and  remained  fixed  by  its  own 


weight,  so  that  he  could  not  change  his  position, 
which  soon  became  very  painful.  There  were  two  of 
these  fixtures,  one  on  each  side  of  the  central  post. 
The  whipping-post  was  fur- 
nished with  irons,  something 
on  the  principle  of  handcutt'h, 
into  which  the  sufferer's  wrists 
were  introduced  and  which 
prevented  their  withdrawal.' 


At  length,  after  many  years  of  i  \ithtul  sei  \  u  e,  the 
old  court-house  became  unfit  Jor  hirthci  u>e,  and  on 
the  27th  of  January,  1806,  the  General  Assembly 
passed  an  act  appointing  Thomas  McElderry,  Thomas 
Rutter,  Thomas  Dixon,  Alexander  McKim,  John 
McKim,  Jr.,  William  C.  Goldsmith,  Robert  Stewart, 
Henry  Payson,  and  William  Jessop  commissioners  to 
contract  "  for  and  superintend  the  erection  of  a  new 
court-house  on  the  public  ground  belonging  to  the 
county,  at  the  north  end  of  the  dwelling  occupied  by 
John  Hollins,  on  North  Calvert  Street,  at  the  corner 
of  Lexington  Street."  This  building,  which  is  the 
one  still  in  use,  was  completed  in  1809,  during  which 
year  the  first  sessions  of  the  courts  were  held  in  it. 
It  was  built  by  George  Milleman.  who  furnished  the 
plans  and  did  the  wood-work ;  William  Stewart  exe- 
cuted the  stone-work,  and  Col.  James  Mosher  the 
brick-work. 


1  The  penalty  even  1 
and  crueUy  severe,  our 
tiie  punishment  the  more 
ment  for  debt  was  used  ! 
this  is  afforded  by  the  cast 
imprisoned  for  a  debt  of  e 
in  fees  before  his  malice 
somewhat  puritanical  lav 
pleasure  of  the  court,  no 


,  misdemeanors  in  those  days  was  exqessively 
cestors  acting  upon  the  idea  that  the  greater 
effective  the  check  to  crime.  Even  imprison- 
18  a  means  of  private  malice.  An  instance  of 
>  of  a  colored  barber,  who  had  a  tipsy  customer 
ix  and  a  quarter  cents,  and  paid  three  pounds 
i  was  satisfied.  Persons  ofTending  against  the 
«s  of  the  province  were  imprisoned  during  the 
it  exceeding  one  year.  Among  other  punish- 
boring  through  the  tongue  with  a  red-hot  iron, 
slitting  the  nose,  cutting  oS  one  or  both  ears,  whipping,  branding  with 
a  red-hot  iron,  in  the  hand  or  on  the  forehead,  with  the  initial  letter  of 
the  offense  for  which  the  sufferer  was  punished, — "  S.  L."  for  seditious 
libeler,  on  either  cheek, "  M."  for  manslaughter,  or  "  T."  for  thief,  on  the 
left  hand,  "  R."  for  rogue,  on  the  shoulder,  and  "  P."  for  perjury,  on  the 
forehead, — "  flogging  at  the  cart's  tail,"  when  tlie  criminal  was  tied  to 
the  end  of  a  cart  and  ilogged  on  his  naked  back  while  the  cart  was  driven 
slowly  through  the  town.  At  the  Baltimore  County  Assizes  iu  1748  an 
old,  gray-haired  man  was  convicted  of  blasphemy,  and  his  tongue  was 
bored  through  and  he  was  sentenced  to  remain  in  jail  until  he  paid  a 
fine  of  twenty  pounds.  The  pillory  and  whipping-post  were  also  used  as 
a  Bortof  preliminary  punishment  to  the  more  severe  penalties  to  follow. 
In  1819  the  pillory  was  used  for  the  last  time  in  Maryland  for  a  revolting 
crime.  The  last  man  whipped  in  the  State  was  a  postmaster  for  tamper- 
ing with  the  mails  in  Annapolis.  He  was  tied  to  one  of  the  pillars  of 
the  porrico  of  the  State-House  and  whipped,  while  Judge  Chase  was  hold* 


HISTORY    OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


On  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  February,  1835, 
the  roof  and  upper  story  of  the  court-house  were 
destroyed  by  fire.  The  City  and  County  and  Or- 
phans' Courts  and  the  grand  jury  were  in  session 
at  the  time,  and  all  the  important  records  were  either 
removed  or  remained  in  safety  in  the  fire-proof  rooms 
in  the  first  story.  The  fire  was  checked  on  the  second 
floor,  so  that  the  City  Court  room,  though  not  fire- 
proof, was  fortunately  saved.  One  of  the  chimneys 
was  left  standing  after  the  conflagration,  and  on  the 
27th  of  June  in  the  same  year  was  blown  down  with 
terrific  force.  In  its  fall  the  chimney  broke  down  a 
temporary  roof  erected  to  protect  the  offices  in  the 
first  floor,  and  the  ruins  of  the  chimney  and  roof  fell 
on  the  staircase  and  partly  into  the  hall  of  the  build- 
ing. Thomas  Marshall,  son  of  the  venerable  chief 
justice  of  the  United  States,  had  arrived  in  the  city 
a  few  hours  before  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia  to  visit 
his  sick  parent.  He  was  walking  with  a  friend  in 
the  street  near  the  court-house  when  the  rain  com-  ! 
menced,  and  both  sought  shelter  in  the  hall  from  the 
storm.  Mr.  Marshall  unfortunately  occupied  a  posi- 
tion immediately  within  the  reach  of  the  falling 
ruins,  which  were  precipitated  on  his  head,  and 
wounded  him  so  severely  that  he  expired  on  Monday 
following,  at  the  house  of  his  friend  and  relative. 
Dr.  Alexander. 

In  1866,  under  authority  of  a  resolution  of  the  City 
Council,  extensive  alterations  and  improvements  were 
made  in  the  building,  and  the  room  at  present  occu- 
pied by  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  was  added  on 
the  west  side  of  the  structure.  The  principal  change, 
however,  consisted  in  the  removal  of  the  heavy  wall 
and  earth  banks  surrounding  the  building,  and  the 
transformation  of  the  cellar  into  a  basement  story  for 
the  clerks'  and  sheriff's  offices.  In  spite  of  these  im- 
provements the  edifice  has  been  found  unequal  to 
present  needs,  and  two  of  the  courts  have  been  forced 
to  find  accommodations  in  the  old  Masonic  Hall,  on 
St.  Paul  Street.  The  erection  of  a  new  court-house 
has  been  agitated  for  a  number  of  years  past,  and 
during  the  early  part  of  the  present  year  (1881)  a  com- 
mission, consisting  of  Mayor  Latrobe,  chairman,  and 
Messrs.  Wm.  A.  Fisher,  B.  F.  Newcomer,  I.  Parker 
Veazey,  and  A.  H.  Greenfield,  was  appointed  to  inquire 
into  and  report  upon  the  subject.  In  their  report, 
which  was  made  on  the  3d  of  May,  the  commission 
recommend  the  purchase  of  the  square  bounded  by 
Calvert,  Fayette,  and  St.  Paul  Streets  and  Court- 
House  Lane,  and  the  erection  of  a  new  court-house. 
The  property  between  Court-House  Lane  and  Lex- 
ington Street,  upon  which  the  present  court  buildings 
stand,  is  now  owned  by  the  city,  and  with  the  pur- 
chase of  the  addition  mentioned  the  whole  square 
bounded  by  Calvert,  Lexington,  St.  Paul,  and  Fayette 
Streets  would  be  at  the  disposal  of  the  city. 

The  commission  estimated  that  the  new  court- 
house and  ground  would  cost  about  two  million  two 
huiulreil  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 


Pbrsidino  Justices. 

1730,  Rogor  Mathews. 

1732.  Edward  Hall. 

1734,  William  Hamilton. 

1736,  Richard  Gist. 

1742,  Tliomas  Sheiedine. 

174H,  Thomas  Franklin,  who  held  the  office  over  twenty  years. 

The  justices  who  resided  in  or  near  Baltimore  Town  and  most  fre- 
quently occupied  the  bench,  were  A.  Buchanan,  John  Moale,  W.  Bu- 
chanan, J.  Van  Bibber,  A.  Van  Bibber,  George  Lindenberger,  James  Cal- 
houn, William  Russell,  Thomas  Kussell,  Thomas  McHenry,  Peter  Shep- 
pard,  Henry  Wilson,  Thomas  Elliott,  John  Merrynian,  Robert  Lemmon, 
Thomas  SoUers,  Jesse  Bussey,  and  Thorogood  Smith. 

Henry  Ridgely  was  many  years  chief  justice  of  the  County  Court. 

The  justices  of  the  peace  who  formed  the  County  Court  upon  the  for- 
mation of  the  State  government  in  1777  were  Andrew  Buchanan,  John 
Moale,  Benjamin  Rogers,  Wm.  Buchanan,  Wm.  Spear,  Thomas  Sollers, 
John  Beale  Howard,  James  Calhoun,  Hercules  Courtney,  George  Gould- 
smith  Prestbury,  Isaac  Van  Bibber,  Peter  Shepherd,  John  Cradock,  Ed- 
ward Cockey,  John  Merryman,  Jr.,  Henry  Stevenson,  son  of  Edward, 
Jeremiah  Johnson,  Charles  Ridgely,  son  of  Wm.,  Wm.  Goodwin,  John 
Robert  Holliday,  Wm.  Lu.v,  Nicholas  Merryman,  Philip  Rogera,  Chris- 
topher Owings,  Nicholas  Jones,  John  Hall,  son  of  Joshua,  George  Lin- 
denberger, Thomas  Piiilip,  Abraham  Anderson,  Christopher  Vaughan, 
Frederick  Decker,  Jesse  Bussey,  Robert  Lemmon,  Richard  Cromwell. 


Judges  of  the  Orphans'  Cocet,  1856-81. 
ISSr).— Edward  D.  Kemp,  C.J. ;  Charles  G.  Griffith,  Samuel  G.  Spicer. 
1859. — Edward  D.  Kemp,  C.J. ;  Joseph  H.  Audoun,  Franklin  Supplee. 

(Kemp  resigned,  and  J.  Spear  Smith  was  appointed  to  fill  the 

vacancy.    In  1863,  Aaron  Hoffman  was  appointed,  vice  Audoun, 

resigned.) 
1863.— Joseph  H.  Audoun,  C.J. ;  Franklin  Supplee,  Aaron  Hoffman. 
1867.— Josiah  Balderston,  C.J. ;  Thomas  Bond,  Bolivar  D.  Danels. 
1871.— Bolivar  D.  Danels,  C.J. ;  George  W.  Bishop,  George  W.  Lindsay. 

(On  March  6, 1874,  John  A.  Inglis  was  appointed,  vice  Danels, 

1875.— John  A.  Inglis,  C.J. ;    George  W.  Lindsay,  John  K.  Carroll.    (On 
Sept.  10, 1878,  Nelson  Poe,  C.J.,  was  appointed,  rice  Inglis,  de- 

1879.— Nelson  Poe,  C.J. ;  George  W.  Lindsay,  John  K.  Carroll. 

Reoisters  of  Wills,  1861  to  1881. 
1851.— Nathaniel  Hickman.  [  1867.— J.  Harmon  Brown. 

1859.— Isaac  P.  Cook.  I  1879.— Robert  T.  Banks. 


May  1, 1861,  Charles  F.  Cloud. 
Nov.  20, 1851,  John  Hayes. 
Nov.  28, 1863,  John  Hyndes. 
Nov.  6, 1866,  Samuel  Caskins. 
Nov.  30, 1867,  Thomas  Creamer. 
Nov.  23,  1859,  George  D.  Button. 
Nov.  23, 1861,  Edward  R.  Sparks. 
Nov.  28, 1863,  Jno.  J.  Daneker. 


,  1851-81. 

[  Nov.  23, 1865,  William  Thompson. 

Nov.  25,  1867,  .Tohn  W.  Davis. 
'  Nov.  25,  1869,  Augustus  Albert. 
:  Nov.  26, 1871,  George  P.  Kane. 

Dec.  1, 1873,  Augustus  Albert. 

Dec.  1, 1876,  Samuel  S.  Mills. 

Nov.  14, 1877,  Philip  Snowden. 

Nov.  22, 1879,  Alfred  E.  Smyrk. 


In  1788  a  criminal  court  was  organized  for  the 
county  and  town,  consisting  of  five  judges, — Samuel 
Chase  (chief  justice),  John  Moale,  William  Russell, 
Otho  H.  Williams,  Lyde  Goodwin.  To  these  suc- 
ceeded George  Salmon,  George  G.  Presbury,  Job 
Smith,  and  Nicholas  Rogers. 

Joshua  Seney  was  chief  justice  of  the  district  from 
1777  to  1790. 

In  1799  a  new  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  was  or- 
ganized for  the  city  and  county,  with  Walttr  Dorsey 
as  chief  justice,  and  George  G.  Presbury  and  Job 
Smith  as  associate  justices.  In  1808,  Judge  Dorsey 
died,  and  was  succeeded  by  John  Scott,  who  died  in 
1813,  and  his  successor  was  Luther  Martin. 

In  1805  the  General  Court  was  abolished,  and  the 
chief  justices  of  the  District  Courts  were  constituted 


THE    MEDICAL   PROFESSION. 


a  Court  of  Appeals.  The  State  was  divided  into  six 
districts,  of  which  Baltimore  and  Harford  Counties 
composed  the  last.  Joseph  H.  Nicholson  was  ap- 
pointed chief  justice,  and  Benjamin  Rumsey  and 
Thomas  Jones  associate  justices.  Mr.  Rumsey  not 
accepting,  Zeb  Hollingsworth  took  his  place.  Judge 
Jones  died  in  1812,  and  was  succeeded  by  Theodoric 
Bland. 

Cleuks  of  City  Courts. 

1880,  Wm.  F.  McKewen. 


1867-73,  T.  P.  Scott.  |  1875-77,  C.  W.  Pinkney. 

1873-75,  G.  W.  Browu.  l  1877,  H.  F.  Garey. 


Clerks  of  Ct 
Isij'i,  Laraford  Norwood,  John 

Davis. 
1855-61.  William  J.  Hamill. 


OF  Common  Pleas. 
1861-67,  James  D.  Lowry. 
1867, 1.  Freeman  Raisin. 


Clerks  of  Superior  Court.i 
1S51-57,  Edward  Bowling.  1867-78,  George  Robinson. 

1857-63,  George  E.  Saugston.  1878,  F.  H.  Prevost. 

1863-67,  Alfred  Mace.  1 

The  clerks  of  the  Circuit  Court  have  been  William  H.  H.  Turner,  G. 
W.  Sherwood,  E.  J.  Kerr,  John  T.  Adams,  Samuel  M.  Evans,  James  E. 


United  States  Court-House.— In  185.5  the  Hons. 
.Joshua  Vansuiit  and  Henry  May  both  introduced 
bills  into  Congress  to  provide  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  courts  of  the  United  States  for  the  dis- 
trict of  Maryland  and  for  a  post-office  in  Baltimore. 
At  the  same  session  a  bill  passed  providing  for  build- 
ing a  United  States  court-house  at  Baltimore,  and 
also  authorizing  the  President  of  the  United  States 
to  select  a  suitable  site  for  the  erection  of  the  same. 

The  United  States  Court  had  formerly  been  held 
in  the  old  Masonic  Hall,  on  St.  Paul  Street.  On  the 
16th  of  May,  1859,  President  James  Buchanan,  with 
his  cabinet,  visited  Baltimore  to  select  a  site,  and 
chose  that  offered  for  $50,000  by  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  North  and 
Fayette  Streets.  The  contract  for  the  building  was 
awarded  to  N.  Osbourne,  of  New  York.  The  Pres- 
byterian church  stood  upon  a  hill,  which  was  leveled 
before  the  foundation  of  the  court-house  was  laid  in 
1862.  The  building  was  completed  in  1865.  It  is 
constructed  of  granite  from  the  Maryland  and  Maine 
quarries.  It  is  one  hundred  and  eighteen  feet  in 
length,  and  including  the  front  portico,  which  was 
afterwards  removed  and  placed  on  the  North  Street 
front,  it  was  sixty  feet  wide.  The  height  of  the  ex- 
terior walls  to  the  eaves  is  sixty-five  feet.  The  archi- 
tectural style  of  the  building  is  Italian  with  Grecian 
porticos.  It  was  designed  by  A.  B.  Young,  govern- 
ment architect.  The  lot  is  inclosed  by  a  handsome 
iron  railing  supported  by  granite  posts.     The  court- 


'  After  the  separation  of  the  county  from  the  city. 


house  was  contracted  for  at  $112,800,  but  owing  to 
the  suspension  of  the  work  and  the  increased  price  of 
labor  and  materials,  its  cost  amounted  to  over  $250,- 
000.  . 

The  first  session  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court 
held  in  this  building  commenced  May  25,»1865. 

Officers  op  United  States  Court. 
Circuit  Courl.—Aag.  4,  1870,  Hugh  L.  Bond.  UiiUed  SlalM  DiMriclJvdga 
for  Morjiaiirf.— 1791-1800,  William  Paca,  who  died  1806.  He  held 
the  first  United  States  Court  in  Baltimore,  May  7, 1791.  1799-1806, 
James  Winchester,  died  1806 ;  1806-19,  James  Houston,  died  1809; 
1819-24,  Theodorick  Bland  ;  1824-36,  Bliaa  Glenn  ;  1830-.52,.Upton  S. 
Heath,  died  Feb.  25,  1852:  1852-53,  John  Glenn;  1853-79,  William 
F.  Giles,  died  March  21, 1879  ;  1879,  Thomas  J.  Morris.  United  Slata 
Clerki.—lo  1834,  Philip  Moore,  died  April  28, 1834,  aged  sixty-four ; 
1834-64,  Thomas  Spicer;  1864  to  present  time,  James  W.  Chew. 
United  States  Dutrict  AUomeys—KOH,  Zeb  Hollingsworth;  1806-11, 
John  Stephens ;  1811-12,  Thomas  B.  Dorsey;  1812-24,  Elias  Glenn  ; 
1824-41,  Nathaniel  Williams;  1841-45,  Z.  Collins  Lee;  1846-60,  Wil- 
liam li.  Marshall ;  1850-63,  Z.  Collins  Lee;  1853-62,  W.  Meade  Ad- 
dison; 1862-65,  William  Price;  1865-66,  William  J.Jones;  1866-67, 
William  Price;  1867-69,  Andrew  Sterett  Ridgely ;  1869,  Archibald 
Stirling,  Jr.  United  Slate»  Ulanhah  for  Maryland  District.— WOO, 
Jacob  Graybill.'died  on  July  9, 1800;  1800-1,  David  Hopkins;  1801- 
4,  Reuben  Etting ;  1804-17,  Thomas  Butter;  1817-27,  Paul  Ben- 
talou ;  1827-35,  Thomas  Finley;  1835^1,  Nicholas  Snider;  1841, 
Thomas  B.  Pottenger ;  1849,  Morcau  Forrest;  1849-53,  Thomas  H. 
Kent  (of  Jos.);  1853-61,  John  W.  Watkins;  1861-69,  Washington 
Bonifant;  1869-77,  Edward  Y.  Goldsborough  ;  1877,  John  M.  Mc- 
Clintock. 


CHAPTER    XLI. 

THE    MEDICAL    PROFESSION. 

There  is  no  more  interesting  subject  connected 
with  the  history  of  Baltimore  than  the  rise  and  pro- 
gress of  the  medical  profession,  which  may  be  justly 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the 
early  development  as  well  as  in  the  later  civilization 
of  all  great  communities.  That  this  has  been  pre-emi- 
nently the  case  with  respect  to  Baltimore  is  evident 
from  even  the  most  superficial  study  of  its  history, 
and  it  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find  that  from 
the  very  beginning  the  members  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession have  borne  an  important  part  in  shaping  the 
destinies  of  the  metropolis  of  the  State.  It  is  no  mere 
figure  of  speech  to  say  that  they  were  present  at  the 
birth  of  Baltimore,  for  two  representatives  of  the  pro- 
fession, Dr.  Walker  and  Dr.  George  Buchanan,  were 
appointed  commissioners  under  the  act  of  1729,  and 
were  prominent  in  all  the  proceedings  connected  with 
the  laying  out  of  the  town.^    Until  1750  there  appears 


2  The  names  of  Drs.  Buchanan  and  Walker  occur  with  great  frequency 
in  the  early  annals  of  the  town,  in  connection  with  many  of  the  most 
important  undertakings  of  the  day,  and  it  is  evident  that  they  w-ere  both 
men  of  note  and  influence  in  the  community.  Dr.  Buchanan  was  a 
Scotchman,  and  settled  in  the  county  as  early  as  1723,  where  he  practiced 
his  profession  until  his  death,  in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  in  April, 
1750.  He  was  a  landholder  and  one  of  the  justices  of  the  county.  Pre- 
vious to  1716,  Dr.  Walker  had  been  a  resident  of  Anne  Arundel  County, 
where  he  had  practiced  medicine  with  a  brother  James,  but  about  that 
period  he  removed  to  Baltimore  County  and  purchased  a  tract  of  land 
near  the  subsequent  site  of  Baltimore,  which  he  called  Chatsworth,  and 
which  retained  that  title  until  its  occupancy  for  building  purposes  within 
the  last  few  years. 


730 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


to  be  but  little  record  of  any  medical  operations  of  in- 
terest, but  in  that  year  there  occurred  an  outbreak  of 
disease,  which  was  called,  for  want  of  a  better  name, 
"  winter  fever,"  and  which  would  seem  to  have  puzzled 
the  physicians  as  well  as  the  public.  There  is  reason 
to  believe,  however,  that  it  was  simply  the  smallpox, 
for  two  years  afterwards  that  disease  is  described  as 
"  raging"  in  the  town,  and  indeed  throughout  the 
whole  of  the  province,  carrying  off  Col.  William  Ham- 
mond, of  Baltimore,  and  many  other  persons  of  note. 
The  epidemic  appears  to  have  prevailed  in  various 
sections  of  the  province  for  a  considerable  period,  and 
to  have  revisited  the  town  on  more  than  one  occasion, 
for  a  long  time  apparently  baffling  the  best  medical 
skill  and  resources.'  Fortunately,  about  this  period 
the  medical  profession  of  Baltimore  was  reinforced  by 
a  valuable  auxiliary  in  the  person  of  Dr.  Henry  Ste- 
venson, a  native  of  Ireland,  who,  with  his  brother, 
Dr.  John  Stevenson,  settled  in  the  town  between  the 
years  1754  and  1760.  He  at  once  took^a  leading  rank 
in  the  profession,  and  devoted  himself  with  great  skill 
and  success  to  the  relief  of  the  community.  He  did 
not  confine  himself  to  Baltimore,  however,  but  trav- 
eled all  through  the  province  for  the  purpose  of 
doing  battle  with  the  disease.  He  was  a  most  pro- 
nounced advocate  of  inoculation,  and  in  August, 
1765,  claimed  that  "  he  had  inoculated  with  as  much 
success,  if  not  more,  than  any  on  the  continent,"-  and 
it  is  stated  lost  but  seven  out  of  eighteen  hundred 
patients  inoculated  by  him. 

He  soon  attained  so  much  success  and  popularity 
that  in  1769  he  converted  his  elegant  stone  house, 
which  was  called  "  Stevenson's  Folly,"  into  a  hospital 
for  the  regular  reception  of  patients.  His  charges 
were  two  pistoles  for  inoculation  and  twenty  shillings 
a  week  for  board  and  lodging.'     On  the  adoption  of 


1  On  the  30th  of  March,  1767,  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  smallpox  in 
Annapolis,  the  Governor  issued  a  proclamation  directing  the  Legislature 
to  meet  in  Baltimore  on  theoth  of  April.  It  accordingly  met  for  the  firat 
and  only  time  in  the  town.  In  July  of  the  same  year  the  disease  ceased 
its  ravages  in  Annapolis,  after  having  been  epidemic  there  for  alrout  nine 
months,  and  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  Governor  appointing  the 
12th  of  August  as  a  day  of  general  and  public  fasting,  humiliation,  and 

-  From  a  statement  in  the  Maryland  Gazette  of  March  14, 1705,  it  ap- 
pears that  "out  of  every  one  hundred  and  sixteen  persons  inoculated 
only  one  died  of  smallpox,  while  nearly  one  out  of  every  five  died  who 
were  not  inoculated.  The  doctors  inoculated  gratuitously,  and  the  cor- 
poration of  Annapolis  provided  necessaries  for  those  who  were  inocu- 
lated." Smallpox  prevailed  all  over  the  province  at  this  time  to  an 
alarming  extent. 

''  Among  the  names  which  we  meet  with  about  this  period  are  those  of 
Dr.  11.  Hulse,  from  St.  Thomas',  Guy's,  and  the  Lying-in  Hospital,  Lon- 
don, who  resided  at  the  Rev.  Mr.  Craddock's,  Garrison's  Forest,  Baltimore 
Co.,  and  "practiced  every  branch  of  Surgery,  physick,  and  Midwifery  at 
an  expense  much  under  the  customary  charges;"  Dr.  Steuart,  who  was 
appointed  a  meinber-  ..f  the  Council  in  1769  by  Lord  Baltimore;  Dr. 
Ephnuii,  II.  >.,H.l..  I  I  ikii.lKO,  Md.;  and  Dr.  William  Dnshiell,  a  pupil 
ofDr.  Wi  n;:,,i  \  .  iiH^ionof  someinterestcomnienced  InJanuary, 
1774,  i';.  I'       il        'I  mid  Dashiellwithregard  totheconsetiuences 

of  aI'M -■  -  I  iniiii.  u llif  muscular  and  tendonons  parts,  especially 

with  reference  to  tlio  tuae  of  one  William  Coale.  Baltimore  seems  also 
to  have  been  favored  with  visits  from  several  peripatetic  physicians, 
among  whom  were  "  Dr.  Graham,  Oculist  and  Anrist,  of  Edinburgh," 
who  remained  in  the  town  during  October,  1773,  and  Dr.  John  II.  fiilliert. 


the  Declaration  of  Independence,  Dr.  Stevenson  es- 
poused the  royal  cause,  and  was  forced  to  leave  the 
town.  His  property  was  subsequently  confiscated,  a 
rather  poor  return,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  for  the 
zeal  and  humanity  he  had  shown  in  the  alleviation 
of  suffering  and  disease.* 

Dr.  Henry  Stevenson  was  not  alone  in  his  humane 
and  benevolent  labors,  and  about  this  same  time  we 
find  among  the  medical  profession  of  Baltimore  and 
vicinity  the  names  of  Dr.  Charles  Frederick  Wiesen- 
thall.  Dr.  John  Boyd,''  Dr.  Craddock,  Dr.  M.  Haslett, 
Dr.  Thomas  Andrews,  Dr.  S.  S.  Coale,  Dr.  F. 
Ridgely,  Dr.  W.  Beard,  Dr.  John  Labesius,  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Lyon,  Drs.  Hulse,  Stcnhousc,  Pue,  Gray,  Coul- 
ter, and  Patrick  Kennedy.  Dr.  Wiesenthall  was  sur- 
geon to  Col.  William  Smallwood's  battalion  in  1776, 
and,  with  other  physicians  of  the  town,  would  seem  to 
have  responded  with  great  ardor  to  the  very  first  calls 
of  patriotic  duty.  The  following  appeal,  published  on 
the  12th  of  March,  1776,  shows  that  they  were  not 
behind  any  other  class  of  the  community  in  their  de- 
votion to  the  Revolutionary  cause  : 

"  To  the  puijlic  in  geitentl  and  tJie  ladies  in  particular : 

"  Our  repose  which  we  have  hitherto  eujoyt-d,  in  preference  to  our 
neighboring  colonies,  is  at  last  disturbed,  and  we  are  now  called  forth  to 
our  defense.  The  alacrity  with  whicli  our  brave  countrymen  assemble 
and  the  determination  to  fight  visible  in  every  countenance  demon- 
strates that  if  the  enemy  should  be  hardy  enough  to  encounter  them  we 
have  reason  to  expect  wounds.  The  necessity  of  taking  all  imaginable 
care  of  those  who  may  happen  to  be  wounded  (in  the  country's  cause) 

"  a  German  and  regular  bred  physician,"  from  Philadelphia,  who  adver- 
tised on  the  18th  of  September,  1773,  that  "  he  would  stay  for  the  season 
at  Mr.  Frazier's,  opposite  Andrew  Steiger's,  on  Gay  Street,"  and  offered 
to  an  afiQicted  public  sundry  wonderful  tinctures,  ointments,  balsams,  etc., 
as  well  as  "  copies  of  the  '  Vicar  of  Wakefield,'  by  Dr.  Goldsmith." 

■*  Dr.  John  Stevenson,  who  accompanied  his  brother  Henry  to  Balti- 
more and  settled  here  at  the  same  time,  does  not  seem  to  have  practiced 
his  profession  after  his  arrival,  but  to  have  devoted  himself  almost  ex- 
clusively to  mercantile  affairs.  The  peculiar  advantages  of  the  place 
with  respect  to  the  trade  of  the  frontier  countries  of  Virginia,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Maryland  appear  to  have  been  almost  immediately  appreci- 
ated by  him,  and  he  has  the  houor  of  being  the  first  to  conceive  the  idea 
of  making  Baltimore  the  grand  emporium  of  Maryland  commerce.  He 
may  justly  be  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  grain  trade  of  the  city,  for 
very  soon  after  his  settlement  here  he  purchased  and  shipped  consider- 
able quantities  of  wheat  to  Ireland,  which  were  sold  to  great  advantage. 
This  was  the  commencemeut  of  a  trade  that  soon  began  to  attract  gen- 
eral attention,  and  which  proved  so  valuable  to  the  town  that  Dr.  Steven- 
son has  been  regarded,  in  a  commercial  sense,  as  the  founder  of  Balti- 
more, and  on  one  occasion  was  accosted  by  Sir  William  Draper  as  the 
"  American  Romulus."  He  died  on  the  23d  ofMarcli,  1785,  at  his  residence 
in  Market  Street.  He  seems,  like  his  brother  Henry,  to  have  had  a 
leaning  towards  the  royal  cause,  and  was  accused  of  illegally  Importing 
salt  into  the  colonies  from  prohibited  sources,  and  brought  before  the 
Baltimore  County  Committee  on  that  charge.  He  was  again  arraigned 
before  the  committee  on  the  25th  of  July,  1776,  charged  with  making 
treasonable  reflections  upon  the  Continental  Congress. 

s  Dr.  Boyd  was  requested,  with  the  other  physicians  of  Baltimore,  by 
the  Baltimore  County  Committee,  May  28, 1776,  to  refrain  from  inocu- 
lating with  smallpox,  to  prevent  the  appearance  of  the  disease  among 
the  troops.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Baltimore  Connty  Committee  of 
Observation  in  January,  1775,  and  was  elected  clerk  of  the  coinndttee. 
On  the  30th  of  November,  1774,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Balti- 
more County  Committee  of  Correspondence,  and  also  a  delegate  to  the 
Maryland  Convention.  He  received  various  other  minor  appointments 
and  commissions  from  the  Council  of  Safety.  Dr.  William  Lyon,  of 
Soldier's  Delight,  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  BoUimore  County  Com- 
mittee of  Observation,  May  16,  1778. 


THE    MEDICAL   PROFESSION. 


731 


urges  us  to  address  our  humane  ladies  to  lend  us  their  kind  assistance  in 
furnishing  us  with  linen  rags  and  old  sheeting  for  bandages,  etc.,  to  he 
delivered  either  to  Dr.  Wieseuthall,  Dr.  Boyd,  Pr.  Craddock,  or  any 
member  of  the  committee." 

Still  later  in  the  struggle,  when  the  Continental 
currency  had  become  almost  worthless,  in  November, 
1779,  a  card  was  published  by  Drs.  Wiesenthall,  Has- 
lett,  Boyd,  Andrews,^  Coale,  Eidgely,  Beard,  and  Le- 
besius,  informing  the  pmblic  that 

*'  tlie  pi-actitiouers  of  physic,  owing  to  the  fluctuation  of  prices  and  the 
nntixt  value  of  money,  are  compelled  to  charge  for  their  services  in 
country  produce,  or  by  way  of  barter,  or  in  money  at  such  prices  as  will 
bear  proportion  to  the  necessaries  of  life  at  time  of  payment." 

In  spite  of  the  heavy  pressure  of  the  times,  how- 
ever, they  had  not  forgotten  the  claims  of  humanity, 
for  they  add  that  "  the  indigent  sick  may  neverthe- 
less apply,  and  they  shall  be  attended  to  as  usual 
with  tenderness  and  charity."  While  these  early  pio- 
neers were  thus  laboring  with  generous  self-sacrifice, 
the  community  was  frequently  invaded  by  medical 
charlatans,  who  often  brought  discredit  upon  the  pro- 
fession, and  did  serious  injury  to  the  public."  1 

1  Dr.  Andrews  died  in  Baltimore  on  the  26th  of  December,  1783,  while 
attending  his  father,  Dr.  Ephraim  Andrews,  who  died  a  few  hours  after- 
wards, in  the  same  day.  In  the  same  year  a  Dr.  Ludwig,  "lodging  at 
Mr.  Hildebrand's,  in  Market  Street,"  was  added  to  the  medical  corps  of 
Baltimore,  and  in  February,  1785,  Dr.  Gilder  advertises  to  cure  "  the  ul- 
cerous or  putiid  sore  throat  lately  so  fatal  to  the  people  in  Fredericks- 
burg, Virginia,  and  the  people  of  this  town." 

-  As  early  as  September,1745,Mon3.  Francis  Torres,a  native  of  France, 
and  "  lately  an  inhabitant  of  New  Spain,  traveled  through  the  provinces, 
pretending  to  cure  all  kinds  of  ills  and  complaints  by  means  of  his 
Chinese  stones  and  bags  of  powder,  at  the  price  of  twenty-five  shillings 
per  stone  and  powder." 

In  his  advertisement,  supported  by  a  large  number  of  certificates  from 
persons  living  in  Rhode  Island,  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  Virginia, 
and  Maryland,  he  states  that  "  by  long  travel,  study,  and  experience  he 
has  discovered  several  secrets  that  have  relieved  and  cured  many  persons 
under  disorders,  particularly  of  the  rheumatism,  gout,  bite  of  venomous 
snakes,  cancers,  swellings,  pains  in  the  joints,  sciatica,  dropsy  in  the 
legs,  cramp,  pleurisy,  women's  labor  pains,  pains  in  children's  bellies, 
burns,  pains  in  the  bones,  coughs,  fever  in  the  bead,  sore  eyes,  headache, 
toothache,  and  several  other  diseases,  and  that  in  a  manner  hitherto  un- 
known, by  virtue  of  a  Chinese  stone  and  powders,  to  be  applied  to  the 
place  most  affected,  without  taking  anything  inwardly."  The  directions 
for  using  the  Chinese  stones  and  powder  were  as  follows; 

"When  any  person  has  been  bit  by  a  snake  or  other  venomous  crea- 
ture the  stone  must  be  immediately  applied  to  the  wound,  where  it  will 
tick  fast  and  draw  out  the  venom;  in  an  hour  the  pain  will  entirely 
leave  the  bitten  person.  Then  put  the  stone  about  two  minutes  in  a 
ghi£s  of  warm  water,  it  will  purge  itself;  afterwards  dry  it  in  warm 
ashes,  wrap  it  up  carefully,  and  so  continuing  to  do  every  time  it  ia  used 
it  may  serve  an  hundred  times. 

"  For  the  gout  and  rheumatic  pains,  the  patient  must  apply  one  of  the 
small  bags  of  four  ounces  of  the  powder  to  the  place  most  affected,  which 
will  in  a  night's  time  suck  out  and  dry  up  the  humor,  then  apply  the 
same  bag  to  the  next  place  that  you  find  most  in  pain,  always  rememhei^ 
ing  first  to  warm  it  in  a  fire-shovel,  aud  then  wash  the  place  with  warm 
rum  or  brandy,  and  wrap  the  bag  close  on  the  place  to  keep  the  part  warm. 

"For  the  cancer  or  any  other  humors,  the  toothache  or  any  other 
pains,  two  ounces  of  the  powder  is  sufficient;  first  warm  it  in  a  tire- 
shovel,  then  wash  the  place  as  before  mentioned,  and  then  lay  on  the  bag 
of  powder.    For  the  toothache,  lay  the  bag  to  the  cheek. 

"To  purge  the  powder  from  the  venom  or  ill  humors  which  it  hath 
drawu  from  the  affected  places  and  to  tnake  it  fit  for  use  again  lay  the 
bag  before  the  fire  for  a  small  space  of  time,  and  it  will  servo  a  hundred 
times  without  losing  its  virtues."  A  critic  in  the  Pennsijlvania  Gazelle, 
under  date  of  Oct.  30,  1745,  says,  "  Go  to  a  cutlass-shop,  there  you'll  find 
a  remnant  of  buckshorn,  cut  off  probably  from  a  piece  that  was  too  long 
for  a  knife. handle,  saw  and  rasp  it  into  what  shape  you  please,  and  then 


It  soon  became  apparent  that  in  order  to  maintain 
a  proper  medical  standard  and  to  protect  the  com- 
munity from  these  inroads  it  was  necessary  to  estab- 
lish a  more  thorough  organization  among  regular 
practitioners,  and  to  provide  legal  safeguards  against 
medical  impostors. 

Accordingly,  on  the  4th  of  December,  1788,  a  pub- 
lic meeting  was  called  by  Dr.  Wiesenthall  in  behalf 
of  the  faculty  of  Baltimore,  to  "  be  held  on  the  15th 
instant,  to  petition  the  Assembly  for  the  better  regula- 
tion of  the  practice  of  physic  throughout  the  State."^ 
Nothing,  however,  it  is  believed,  came  of  this  effort, 
and  on  the  1st  of  June  in  the  following  year  Dr. 
Wiesenthall,  who  was  the  leader  in  the  movement, 
died,  and  the  matter  seems  to  have  been  abandoned 
for  the  time.  In  speaking  of  his  death  the  Maryland 
Journal  of  the  2d  of  June,  1789,  pays  him  the  follow- 
ing tribute : 

"  The  shaft  he  so  warded  from  others  has  pierced  him  at  last.  Yester- 
day morning,  about  half-past  seven  o'clock,  departed  this  life  Dr.  Charles 
Fred.  Wiesentbal,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age,  after  having  prac- 
ticed physic  in  this  town  for  thirty-four  years.  If  the  strictest  attention 
in  his  profession  which  humanity  could  excite,  and  that  success  which 
might  be  expected  from  superior  medical  abilities,  improved  in  an  un- 
common manner  by  reason  and  observation,  deserve  to  be  remembered, 
tho  tears  of  gratitude  must  flow  in  sorrowful  profusion.  He  is  gone,  and 
the  pain  of  reflection  is  the  more  heightened  because  it  is  at  the  time 
when  he  was  in  daily  expectation  of  the  return  of  an  absent  and  only 
son,  whose  virtues  and  abilities  are  beloved  and  admired  by  all  who 

Dr.  Wiesenthall  had  distinguished  himself  by  his 
devotion  to  the  Revolutionary  cause,  having  been  a 
member  of  the  Baltimore  County  Committee  of  Ob- 
servation in  January,  1775,  and  having  held  many 
offices  of  trust  under  the  Council  of  Safety.  In  De- 
cember, 1775,  he  was  appointed  supervisor  of  the 
manufacture  of  saltpetre  for  Baltimore  County,  and 
March  2,  1776,  was  commissioned  by  the  Maryland 
Council  of  Safety  surgeon  of  the  Maryland  Battalion. 
His  son  was  Dr.  Andrew  Wiesenthall,  who  subse- 
quently assumed  a  leading  rank  in  his  profession,  and 
who,  on  the  28th  of  July  following,  "took  the  liberty 
of  acquainting  his  friends  that  he  had  commenced 
the  practice  of  physic."  The  medical  profession  was 
further  strengthened  in  the  same  year  by  the  addition 
to  its  membership  of  Dr.  George  Buchanan,  who  was 
admitted  to  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Physics  at  a  spe- 
cial commencement  of  the  University  of  Philadel- 
phia on  the  10th  of  February,  1789.     He  was  a  son  of 


bum  it  in  hot  embers,  and  you  will  have  Mons.  Torres'  Chinese  stone, 
which  will  stick  to  a  wet  finger,  fresh  sore,  etc.,  and  have  all  the  virtues 
of  a  new  tobacco  pipe. 

"Your  sawdust  and  raspings  and  clips  of  the  same  horn,  burnt  in  the 
same  manner,  and  put  into  a  little  linen  rag  makes  the  miraculous 
chemical  or  comical  powder." 

3  As  indicating  the  state  of  public  feeling  on  the  subject,  a  letter  writ- 
ten by  Elisha  Hall  to  Dr.  Wiesenthall,  and  published  two  days  before  tho 
meeting,  is  worthy  of  mention .  In  it  the  writer  earnestly  calls  attention 
to  the  importance  of  making  any  legislation  that  might  be  secured  ap- 
plicable not  only  to  persons  who  might  "  in  future  apply  to  practice  med- 
icine in  the  State,"  but  also  to  "the  pestilent  empirics  and  quacks  who 
are  at  present  preying  on  the  community."  In  this  communication  Dr. 
Wiesenthall  is  addressed  as  president  of  the  medical  society. 


n-2 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY  AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


the  Dr.  Buchanan  wlio  was  one  of  the  commissioners 
appointed  to  lay  oft'  the  town  in  1729,  and  on  the 
18th  of  June  following  his  graduation  he  joined  his 
fortunes  with  those  of  Miss  Laetitia  McKean,  second 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  McKean,  Chief  Justice 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  The  estimation  in 
which  the  professional  ability  of  Drs.  Buchanan  and 
Andrew  Wiesenthall  wiis  held  is  indicated  by  the  fact 
that,  on  the  Uth  of  September  of  the  same  year,  they 
were  both  elected  physicians  to  the  county  hospital, 
in  company  with  Dr.  Samuel  S.  Cole,  Dr.  Gilder,  Dr. 
Wynkoop,  Dr.  Johnson,  Dr.  Brown,  and  Dr.  Little- 
john,  some  of  whom  were  practitioners  of  many  years 
standing.  They  soon  demonstrated  their  right  to  this 
confidence  by  the  zeal  and  ability  with  which  they 
devoted  themselves  to  the  work  of  the  profession,  and 
signalized  the  year  in  which  they  entered  upon  its 
practice  by  the  first  attempt  to  establish  a  medical 
college  in  the  town.' 

This  important  undertaking  was  announced  to  the 
public  on  the  11th  of  September  in  the  following 
terms : 

"Oil  the  first  Monday  in  December  next.  Dr.  George  Buchanan  will 
begin  a  course  of  lectures  on  the  theory  and  practice  uf  midwifery,  com- 
prehending the  iliseases  of  women  and  children.  At  the  same  time  will 
commence  a  course  of  clinical  lectures,  exhibiting  a  particular  view  of 
the  Bruuonian  doctrine,  by  Dr.  George  Buchanan,  M.D.,  member  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society.  Dr.  A.  Wiesenthall  proposes  to  deliver 
a  course  of  anatomical  lectures  the  ensuing  winter  in  Baltimore  Town. 
Tlie  subjects  usually  comprehended  in  a  course  of  this  kind  will  be  treated 
in  the  one  proposed,  viz. :  the  anatomy,  physiology,  and  pathology  of  the 
human  body,  the  operations  of  surgery,  and,  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
course,  some  lectures  on  the  gravid  uterus.  The  course  will  commence 
on  the  first  Monday  in  December  ne.xt.  Proposals  containing  at  large 
the  subjects  to  be  treated,  and  terms  of  attendance,  may  be  had  at  the 
doctor's  house  in  Gay  Street,  Baltimore.  The  doctor  will  endeavor  to 
accommodate  two  or  three  gentlemen  in  the  house  during  the  season, 
where  they  will  have  peculiar  advantages." 

These  announcements  seem  to  have  stimulated  the 
zeal  of  the  other  members  of  the  profession,  and  on 
the  6th  of  November  following  "  the  physicians  of 
Baltimore,  agreeably  to  public  notice  previously  given, 
met  for  the  purpose  of  forming  themselves  into  a  body 
which  they  agreed  to  distinguish  by  the  name  of  the 
'  Medical  Society  of  Baltimore.'  "  The  "  great  and 
principal  end  of  the  institution"  was  announced  to  be 
"  the  promotion  of  medical  knowledge,"  and,  in  order 
to  accomplish  this  object,  "  the  correspondence  of 
medical  gentlemen  in  different  parts  of  the  country" 
was  solicited.  By  the  provisions  of  its  constitution 
the  society  was  to  meet  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  each 
month,  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  at  Mr.  Starck's 
tavern.  Its  officers  for  the  first  year  were  Dr.  Edward 
Johnson,  president ;  Dr.  Andrew  Wiesenthall,  secre- 
tary, treasurer,  and  librarian  ;  Dr.  John  Boyd,  Lyde 
Goodwin,    Reuben  Gilder,    George  Buchanan,  and 


George  Brown,  committee  of  correspondence.  Dr. 
Wiesenthall's  introductory  lecture  was  delivered  at 
his  house  on  the  7th  of  December,  at  twelve  o'clock, 
and  Dr.  Buchanan's  on  the  same  date.  On  the  29th 
of  the  same  month  a  contemporary  writer,  in  refer- 
ring to  those  lecture-s,  says, — 


"The  attempt  to  establish  a  medical  seminary  in  this  State  meets 
with  all  reasonable  encouragemeut.  The  advantages  which  would  anse 
upon  the  establishment  of  such  an  institution  in  our  midst  are  obvious 
to  all.  The  gentlemen  who  are  delivering  their  respective  courses  of 
lectures  in  this  city  are  endeavoring  to  make  their  labors  as  complete 
and  beneficial  as  possible.  Tlie  Legislature  may  probably  think  the  en- 
terprise of  sutticient  consequence  to  give  the  sanction  of  public  patronage." 

Other  members  of  the  profession  were  soon  enlisted 
in  the  same  work,  and  lectures  were  delivered  by  Dr. 
George  Brown  on  the  theory  and  practice  of  physic ; 
by  Dr.  Lyde  Goodwin,  on  the  theory  and  practice  of 
surgery;  and  by  Dr.  Samuel  Coale,  on  chemistry  and 
materia  medica.  Dr.  Wiesenthall's  lectures  were  pro- 
bably continued  in  1790,  for  on  the  1st  of  July  in 
that  year  he  informs 


1  It  had  previously  been  the  custom  for  young  men  desiring  to  pursue 
the  study  of  medicine  either  to  do  so  abroad  or  in  some  other  State,  or  to 
become  the  office  pupils  of  local  physicians.  Such  notices  as  the  follow- 
ing, which  appeared  under  date  of  May  15, 1788,  were  by  no  means  in- 
frequent: "  Wanted  by  a  regular  bred  physician  a  youtii  of  genteel  con- 
nexions as  a  pupil.    He  must  be  well  versed  in  the  liittiii  tongue." 


of  physic  in  this  and  the  neighboring  towns  that  the  an- 
atomical lectures  will  commence  in  Baltimore  on  .the  first  Monday  in 
October  next,  and  that  he  will  deliver  two  courses  in  the  season." 

The  appreciation  in  which  these  efforts  were  held 
is  indicated  by  the  following  highly  complimentary 
testimonial  to  Drs.  Buchanan  and  Weisenthall  : 

"To  George  Buchanan,  M.D.,  Lecturer  o«  Midicifery  : 

"  SiE, — Having  finished  your  first  course  of  lectures  on  this  branch  of 
our  scieuce,  and  given  us  such  evident  proofs  of  your  abilities,  and  tlie 
intense  application  with  which  you  have  made  yourself  master  of  this 
subject,  and  that  your  industry  is  adequate  to  the  task  of  tracing  the  no 
less  beautiful  than  wonderful  progress  of  man  from  a  minimum  visible 
to  his  most  perfect  state,  we  take  the  liberty  of  giving  this  public  testi- 
mony of  our  approbation  and  acknowledgment  of  the  instruction  and 
advantages  we  have  derived  from  attending  your  lectures.  That  you 
and  your  friend,  Dr.  Wiesenthall,  may  meet  with  the  encouragement 
that  your  merit  deserves  in  making  tlie  first  essay  towards  establishing 
a  medical  school  in  Maryland,  is  the  sincere  wish  of  your  humble  ser- 
vants, Andrew  Aitken,RobertJoyner,  John  Nicholson,  Frederick  Dalcho, 
Thomas  Williams,  Jr.,  Thomas  Robertson,  Jr.,  Simon  Guttrow,  Robert 
Alexander,  Thomas  Johnson." 

This  was  published  in  March,  1790.  The  success 
which  attended  these  efforts  inspired  other  physicians 
to  share  their  labors,  and  on  the  29th  of  March  in  the 
same  year  the  following  announcement  was  made  in 
the  columns  of  the  Maryland  Journal: 

"The  zeal  for  study  and  eager  desire  of  requiring  knowledge,  that  at 
present  distinguish  the  students  of  medicine  in  Baltimore,  have  with 
much  satisfaction  been  observed  by  some  of  the  physicians  of  this  place, 
who  being  desirous  to  aid  and  cherish  as  far  as  in  their  power  so  lauda- 
ble a  spirit  have  entered  into  an  association  to  establish  a  medical  school 
here  the  ensuing  winter,  where  youth  who  are  engaged  in  the  study  of 
physic  shall  have  (in  aildition  to  those  advantages  they  already  possess) 
opportunities  of  hearing  courses  of  lectures  on  the  different  branches  of 
medicine  and  surgery.  The  gentlemen  engaged  in  promoting  this  in- 
stitution wish  to  decline  offei-ing  anything  in  favor  of  Baltimore  as  an 
eligible  situation  for  such  a  seminary,  as  the  advantages  to  be  derived 
from  a  public  hospital,  etc.,  are  too  apparent  to  require  illustration. 
They  would  only,  in  justice  to  themselves,  obsei-ve  that  this  essay,  which 
they  engage  in  from  principle,  shall  be  cultivated  witii  industry  and  ex- 
ertion. At  an  early  period  of  ^he  ensuing  winter  courses  of  lectures  on 
the  following  subjects  will  commence: 

"Anatomy,  by  Dr.  Andrew  Wiesenthal;  Midwifery,  by  Dr.  George 
Buchanan  ;  Chemistry  and  Materia  Medica,  by  Dr.  Samuel  Coale ;  The- 
ory and  Practice  of  Surgery,  by  Dr.  Lyde  Goodwin  ;  Theory  and  Practice 
of  Pliysic,  by  Dr.  George  Brown." 


THE   MEDICAL  PROFESSION. 


In  the  same  month  an  effort  was  made  by  Drs. 
George  Brown,  Andrew  Wiesenthall,  Lyde  Goodwin, 
S.  S.  Coale,  James  AVynkoop,  Edward  Johnson,  Geo. 
P.  Stevenson,  Miles  Littlejohn,  George  Buchanan, 
Moore  Falls,  Moses  Haslett,  and  John  Coulter  to  estab- 
lish a  "  Humane  Society,  for  the  recovery  of  persons 
apparently  dead  from  sudden  accidents,  as  drowning, 
suffocating,  lightning,  etc.,"  but  with  what  success  is 
not  known. 

In  the  following  year  (1791)  the  prevalence  of 
yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia  created  considerable 
alarm  in  Baltimore,  and  it  was  considered  necessary 
to  establish  quarantine  regulations  for  the  protection 
of  the  inhabitants.  The  excitement,  indeed,  was  so 
great  that  military  detachments  were  posted  on  the 
Philadelphia  road  to  intercept  fugitives  from  Phila- 
delphia, as  appears  from  the  following  extract  from 
the  Maryland  Journal: 

"  September  loth,  a  detachment  from  the  Independent  Volunteer  Com- 
pany, commanded  by  Capt.  Strieker,  marched  out  of  Baltimore  to  relieve 
the  company  who  occupied  a  pass  on  tlie  Philadelphia  Eoad  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preventing  such  persons  aa  come  from  Philadelphia,  or  any 
other  place  infected  with  the  malignant  fever  now  raging  in  that  city, 
to  enter  Baltimore  without  a  certificate  from  the  health  office.  They  re- 
lieve each  other  every 


All  direct  intercourse  with  that  city,  as  well  as  the 
admission  of  infected  vessels,  was  prohibited  by  the 
Governor,  and  Drs.  John  Ross  and  John  Worth  ing- 
ton  were  appointed  health  officers.  A  temporary 
marine  hospital  was  also  established,  and  at  a  public 
meeting  on  the  13th  of  September  it  was  resolved 
that 

*'uo  citizen  should  receive  into  his  house  any  person  coming  from  Phil- 
adelphia or  other  affected  place  who  did  not  produce  a  certificate  from 
the  health  officer,  or  officer  of  patrol,  signifying  that  he  might  be  re- 

At  the  same  time  Messrs.  Stephen  Wilson,  Samuel 
HoUingsworth,  John  Strieker,  James  Calhoun,  An- 
drew Buchanan,  and  Alexander  McKim  were  author- 
ized to  adopt  such  measures  as  they  might  judge 
necessary  to  prevent  intercourse  with  Philadelphia, 
and  liberal  subscriptions  were  made  to  enable  them 
to  carry  out  their  instructions.  In  order  to  still  fur- 
ther allay  the  public  apprehension  the  following 
certificate  was  published  on  the  28th  of  September  by 
Drs.  E.  Johnson,  L.  Goodwin,  M.  Haslett,  G.  Brown, 
G.  Buchanan,  E.  Gilder,  M.  Littlejohn,  S.  S.  Coale, 
J.  Coulter,  G.  De  Butts,  and  Henry  Stevenson  : 


"  We,  the  subscribers,  practicing  physicians  in  Baltimore  Town,  hereby 
certify  that  we  have  no  patients  under  our  care  that  we  have  reason  to 
believe  are  infected  with  a  malignant  fever,  nor  do  we  know  of  any  such 
disorder  in  Baltimore  town  or  county ;  and  that  the  inhabitants  of  this 
place  are  uncommonly  healthy  for  the  season." 

The  precautions  adopted  proved  effectual  for  the 
time  ;  but  in  1794,  before  the  departure  of  the  troops 
from  Baltimore  to  suppress  the  "  Whisky  Insurrec- 
tion," the  yellow  fever  made  its  appearance  in  the 
town,  and  Messrs.  Gustavus  Scott,  George  Salmon, 
Joseph  Townsend,  Alexander  McKim,  Jesse  Hollings- 
47 


worth,  Thomas  Johnson,  and  Thomas  Dixson  were 
appointed  a  Committee  of  Health.  There  were  three 
hundred  and  forty-four  deaths  by  the  fever  and  other 
diseases  during  the  months  of  August  and  September. 
The  malady  did  not  cease  until  the  15th  of  October. 
Capt.  James  Allen,  who  had  conducted  his  company 
of  riflemen  as  far  as  Frederick,  to  protect  the  State 
arsenal  from  the  insurgents,  returned  an  invalid,  and, 
with  other  meritorious  citizens,  fell  a  victim  to  the 
fatal  disease.  The  commissioners  of  health  purchased 
a  site  for  a  hospital  from  Capt.  Yellott,  which  was  im- 
proved and  continued  to  be  used  as  a  hospital  for 
strangers  and  sea-faring  men  until  1808,  when  it  was 
leased  on  certain  conditions  to  Drs.  Smyth  and  Mac- 
kenzie. It  was  at  this  period,  and  particularly  on 
account  of  the  fever,  that  many  citizens  fled  from  the 
town  with  their  families,  where  it  appears  the  fever 
did  not  reach  them,  and  some  of  them  erected 
country  residences,  which  now  ornament  the  vicin- 
ity.' 
During  at  least  a  part  of  this  period  Dr.  Wiesen- 


1  These  precautions  continued  for  several  years.  From  contempora- 
neous references,  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  town  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  especially  good  at  this  period,  frequent  complaints  being  made 
of  filthy  streets  and  dirty  alleys,  and  there  is  some  reason  to  suspect  that 
the  outbreaks  of  disease  were  due,  in  part  at  least,  to  the  neglect  of  hy- 
gienic laws.  In  November,  1797,  all  the  patients  remaining  at  the  hos- 
pital at  the  northeastern  part  of  Fell's  Point  were  so  far  recovered  as  to 
be  discharged.  In  August  of  the  following  year,  however,  Mayor  James 
Calhoun  issued  a  proclamation  establishing  a  quarantine  against  Phila- 
delphia, which  was  again  suffering  from  the  ravages  of  the  fever.  By  the 
terms  of  the  proclamation  *'  no  persons  from  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
were  to  come  within  three  miles  of  Baltimore,  nor  any  goods  from  Phila- 
delphia until  they  had  been  absent  therefrom  fifteen  days,  except  such 
persons  or  goods  as  might  stop  at  Merry's  tavern,  on  the  Philadelphia 
road,  and  be  there  examined  by  Dr.  Joseph  Way,  and  obtain  his  passport 
of  admittance." 

Since  1849,  when  we  were  visited  with  a  slight  attack  of  the  cholera, 
although  there  have  been  brief  visitations  of  disease,  Baltimore  has 
been  free  from  all  serious  epidemics,  and  its  healthfulness  and  cleanli- 
ness have  become  proverbial. 

The  death  rate  for  the  past  eight  years  has  been  as  follows  ; 


Tear. 

1873.. 


Deaths. 


S043 


Death  r 


Ml 


Among  the  chief  causes  of  deatii  in  1879  were  consumption,  1162; 
pneumonia,  509 ;  cholera  infantum,  475 ;  scarlet  fever,  367 ;  diphtheria, 
298 ;  heart  disease,  262 ;  typhoid  fever,  166 ;  whooping-cough,  80 ;  measles, 
43.  The  causes  of  death  in  1800  are  classified  by  the  Board  of  Health  as 
follows : 

1st.    Infantile  (occurring  under  five  years  of  age),  of  which  503 

were  from  cholera  infantum 3602 

2d.     Consumption 1221 


Total.. 


8043 


The  estimated  expenses  of  the  Health  Department  for  1881  are  two 
hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  dollars.  The  officers  of  the  depart- 
ment are  Dr.  James  A.  Stewart,  commissioner  of  health  and  register ; 
Dr.  James  F.  McShane,  assistant  commissioner  of  health  ;  Dr.  E.  Lloyd 
Howard,  resident  physician  at  Marine  Hospital ;  and  A.  Robert  Carter, 
secretary. 


734 


HISTORY   OF   BALTIMORE   CITY   AND   COUNTY,  MARYLAND. 


thall  continued  to  deliver  his  lectures,  which  were  an- 
nounced in  both  1796  and  1797.  His  course  in  the 
former  year  comprehended  anatomy,  physiology,  and 
surgery,  and  in  the  latter,  anatomy,  surgery,  and  mid- 
wifery, the  lectures  being  delivered  at  his  residence. 
No.  40  Gay  Street.^ 

These  patient  and  persistent  efforts  at  length  began 
to  bear  fruit,  and  on  the  20th  of  January,  1799,  an 
act  was  passed  by  the  General  Assembly  to  establish 
a  medical  and  chirurgical  faculty  or  society  in  the 
State  of  Maryland.  The  incorporators  on  the  part 
of  Baltimore  City  were  Drs.  George  Brown,  John 
Coulter,  Miles  Littlejohn,  George  Buchanan,  Lyde 
Goodwin,  and  Ashton  Alexander  f  Arthur  Pue,  Daniel 
Moores,  Henry  Stevenson,  Thomas  Craddock,  Thomas 
Love,  John  Cromwell,  Philip  Trapnell,  and  Christo- 
pher Todd,  on  the  part  of  Baltimore  County.  By 
this  act  the  medical  faculty  thus  established  was 
authorized  to  elect  "  twelve  persons  of  the  greatest 
medical  and  chirurgical  abilities  in  the  State,"  who 
should  be  styled  the  Medical  Board  of  Examiners 
of  the  State  of  Maryland,  and  whose  duty  it  was 
made  to 

"  grant  liceuaes  to  such  medical  and  chirurgical  gentlemen  as  they,  either 
upon  a  full  examination  or  upon  the  production  of  diplomas  from  some 
respectahle  college,  may  judge  adequate  to  commence  the  practice  of  the 
medical  and  chirurgical  arts."  After  the  appointment  of  the  board  it 
was  provided  that  '*  no  person  not  already  a  practitioner  of  medicine  or 
surgery  should  be  allowed  to  practice  in  either  of  said  branches  and  re- 
ceive payment  for  his  services  without  having  first  obtained  a  license, 
certified  as  by  law  directed." 

The  incorporation  of  the  Medical  and  Chirurgical 
Faculty  was  almost  immediately  attended  with  happy 
results,  and  its  influence  was  at  once  discernible,  not 
only  in  an  improved  professional  standard,  but  in 
the  impetus  which  was  given  to  medical  research  and 


t  In  1796  the  profession  lost  one  of  its  most  valuable  and 
members,  Dr.  Moses  Haslett,  who  died  on  the  29th  of  February.  In 
1797,  however,  it  received  an  important  accession  in  Dr.  Peter  Chatard, 
a  French  physician,  who  had  for  three  years  previously  been  a  member 
of  the  Medical  Society  of  Delaware,  and  had  practiced  in  Wilmington. 
He  came  to  Baltimore  in  June  of  that  year,  and  took  a  house  in  sight  of 
the  Falls,  in  Harrison  Street,  between  Market  and  Gay  Streets.  In  the 
same  year  Dr.  J.  Morgan,  67  Bowley's  Wharf,  announces  that  he  devotes 
himself  to  the  cure  of  certain  classes  of  diseases.  In  January,  1796,  Dr. 
H.  Chase  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine ;  and  in  November  of  the 
same  year  Dr.  A.  Warfleld  informed  the  public  that  he  was  to  be  found 
at  :)1  Howard  Street. 

-  Dr.  Ashton  Alexander  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  but  was  a  resident  of 
Baltimore  for  mauy  years.  He  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  179.'),  his  thesis  being  "  The 
Influence  of  One  Disease  on  the  Cure  of  Another."  He  was  greatly  es- 
teemed, both  as  a  physician  and  a  gentleman.  He  died  at  his  residence 
in  Baltimore,  March,  1855,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  Dr.  George  Buchanan, 
as  has  already  been  said,  waa  a  son  of  the  Dr.  Buchanan  who  assisted  in 
laying  off  Baltimore  Town.  He  possessed  considerable  means,  and  was  a 
man  of  great  influence  i  u  society.  Dr.  Thomas  Craddock  has  already  been 
mentioned  as  a  practicing  physician  of  Baltimore  County  many  years 
previous  to  this  time.  Dr.  John  Owen,  of  Baltimore,  was  one  of  the  char- 
tered members  of  the  Medical  and  Chirurgical  Society  of  Maryland.  He 
died  at  his  residence  in  Baltimore  in  October,  1824.  Dr.  Arthur  Pue  was 
a  successful  practitioner  in  Baltimore  and  it«  vicinity  as  early  as  1771. 
He  waa  a  mau  of  influence  and  a  physician  of  prominence.  Dr.  Henry 
Stevenson  was  the  son  of  the  physician  of  that  name,  whose  success  and 
[nallpox  have  been  already  mentioned. 


investigation.  It  was  about  this  period  (in  1801)  that 
Wm.  Taylor,  merchant  in  Baltimore,  received  from 
his  brother,  John  Taylor,  of  London,  a  quantity  of 
vaccine-matter  for  distribution  among  the  physicians 
of  the  city,  which  was  delivered  through  Dr.  M.  Lit- 
tlejohn, Mr.  Taylor's  physician,  to  Dr.  James  Smith. 
Dr.  Jenner's  discovery  was  then  only  five  years  old, 
and  its  merit  was  still  far  from  being  generally 
acknowledged.^  It  appears,  however,  to  have  been 
received  with  favor  in  Baltimore,  and  in  March,  1802, 
the  establishment  of  a  sort  of  vaccine  depot  for  the 
benefit  of  the  poorer  classes  was  suggested  by  Dr. 
Smith,  and  the  plan  indorsed  by  Mayor  Calhoun  and 
the  trustees  of  the  poor,  Messrs.  Wm.  Gibson,  Thos. 
Dickson,  Wm.  Lorman,  Patrick  Bennett,  Ebenezer 
Finley,  Frederick  Schaeffer,  and  Wm.  Wilson.  The 
following  extract  from  an  address  of  Dr.  Smith  to 
the  citizens  of  Baltimore  on  the  benefit  of  vaccina- 
tion will  not  be  found  uninteresting  in  this  connec- 
tion: 

*'  Having  an  opportunity  highly  favorable  to  the  experiment  when 
the  vaccine-matter  was  first  received  into  this  State  (May,  1801),  I  made 
use  of  it  in  ten  or  twelve  cases  with  the  greatest  care  and  circumspec- 
tion, uor  did  I  then  venture  to  depend  on  the  efficacy  of  this  inoculation 
before  I  had  subjected  these  persons  to  fair  and  repeated  trials  to  infect 
them  with  the  smallpox.  These  experiments  were  decidedly  in  favor  of 
the  vaccine  inoculation;  for  as  in  the  old  way  I  gave  a  regular  couree 
of  medicine  and  prescribed  a  strict  regimen  of  diet  and  exercise,  in 
this  I  gave  none,  neither  did  I  prescribe  any  regimen  whatever.  These 
patients  were  all  permitted  to  eat  and  drink  as  usual,  to  work  as  usual, 
or  to  amuse  themselves  as  usual,  and  passing  through  the  whole  opera- 
tion obtained  a  perfect  security  againt  the  smallpox  without  the  least 
confiuement,  sufTering  neither  pain  nor  sickness,  anxiety,  fear,  nor  dis- 
tress. From  these  trials,  therefore,  and  from  the  experience  of  others, 
as  well  as  my  own  in  private  practice  since  that  time,  I  now  feel  myself 
authorized  to  assert  without  any  doubt  that  the  cowpox,  though  no  more 
than  the  shadow  of  a  disease,  is  an  effectual  and  certain  preventive  of 
the  smallpox."  * 

Dr.